Tag Archives: Joy Dawdy

05.23.26
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At the upcoming AMO conference, the city would like to bend the province’s ear on childcare, support for seniors, and further preparation for the explosive growth of St. Thomas

In February of 2024, city council endorsed the 2024-27 Strategic Plan, titled Brighter Future.

According to a report presented to council at the time, “The Strategic Plan provides a road map for the current term of council, and consists of a Vision and Mission statement, six Guiding Values, two broad Strategic Pillars, and eleven Strategic Priorities.”

Once the plan was endorsed, city staff began to outline existing activities aligned with the strategic plan and new actions to help the city toward its new vision.

The Strategic Plan is a ‘living document’ that is continually being reviewed and updated.

Another portal to the city’s priorities moving forward is the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, to be held this year in Ottawa from Aug. 16-19.

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05.16.26
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The City of St. Thomas is seeking ‘visionary and innovative proposals’ for the former Wellington Street School

September 17, 2012, proved an exciting day in the life of St. Thomas, as students returned to Wellington Street School for the first time in several years.

The former Thames Valley District School Board facility, purchased by the city in 2011 to provide parking spaces for the new consolidated courthouse, was being revitalized as the St. Thomas campus of Algoma University.

“This is a great day for Algoma University, and it’s also a great day for St. Thomas and Elgin County,” enthused Algoma president Richard Myers.

“You’ve made my St. Thomas a richer place today, and it’s a richer place for all of us,” added Andrew Gunn, trustee for the estate of Dorothy Palmer, which contributed more than $1 million to the refurbishment of the heritage school.

Fast forward 20 months, and the headline of that day was being put to the test.

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05.09.26
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For Cliff Barwick, it was always about respect for the mayor’s chain of office

For many city residents, their first introduction to Cliff Barwick would have been at Arthur Voaden Secondary School, where the long-time mayor and alderman ruled over the classroom.

That certainly was the case for former mayor and MPP, Steve Peters.

“I took a couple of classes with him over the years,” recalled Peters this week after the news of Barwick’s passing.

Barwick was born and raised in Fort Erie and moved to St. Thomas after completing teacher’s college.

“He was a really good educator. He challenged students to think a little differently. It’s been interesting reading some of the Facebook posts of former students and how he inspired them or instilled in them certain career paths.

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04.18.26
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Hydro One to begin powering growth in the city this spring with construction of the St. Thomas Line

Work on the PowerCo EV battery plant began in earnest last summer with the pouring of concrete for the first pad of the gigafactory, and structural steel can now be seen reaching skyward.

But it doesn’t really give you a sense of just how massive this facility will become in the next couple of years.

Well, this eye-watering statistic may help clarify the picture.

The EV battery plant will require 380 megawatts of power when in production. That’s equivalent to the energy needed for a city the size of Windsor, according to Hydro One.

And that has necessitated construction of the St. Thomas Line, a 230-kilovolt, double-circuit transmission line that will extend from their existing transmission corridor north of Hwy. 401 in London to the new Centennial Transformer Station in St. Thomas.

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02.28.26
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‘The former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital site presents an exciting opportunity to put unused government land back to work, unlocking new homes, parks and local businesses’

In the coming years, in the shadow of St. Thomas, a small town will sprout and grow; its progression unfolding like time-lapse photography.

And its evolution will begin to germinate next week as the Municipality of Central Elgin begins the hunt for “experienced development partners” to play a leading role in turning about 400 acres of land into the largest planned community expansion in the municipality’s history.

The former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital lands in the coming decades will be redeveloped into a community of more than 3,500 new homes, with 9,000 residents, local businesses and parkland.

The hospital opened in 1939, and St. Joseph’s Health Care in London assumed control in 1997 as part of the reorganization initiative ordered by the Health Care Restructuring Commission.

It closed once the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care opened in 2013.

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12.13.25
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Joy Dawdy’s swimming lessons earn a reprieve; however, some conditions will apply

The days of treading water for the owner of 21 Philip Street are over, at least for the time being.
At Monday’s meeting of city council (Dec. 8), members unanimously agreed to direct staff to design a temporary bylaw, allowing Dawdy to continue offering swimming lessons in her backyard pool, likely for a period of three years.
Something she has done for more than three decades.
Staff were not recommending Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments in a report to council from Michelle Knieriem, Manager of Planning Services.
She concluded, “Staff understand and appreciate that the swimming lessons provided by the applicant are valued by many members of the community. While this value is noted, staff recommend refusal of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications due to issues of compatibility.

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12.06.25
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Some tinkering with the proposed 2026 property tax levy, but the result is still a hike in the range of six per cent for St. Thomas ratepayers

Round 2 of 2026 city budget deliberations is on tap for Monday’s (Dec.8) council meeting.
Several amendments are being presented by the city’s Director of Finance, Adam Boylan; however, they will not lower the projected six per cent hike to the municipal property tax levy next year.
A major consideration is the rescoping of the Emslie Field grandstand project.
Boylan notes city staff are exploring a ‘fresh start’ approach that would entail demolition of the grandstand, to be replaced by “modern, accessible amenities at a significantly reduced cost.”
These would include new, concrete bleacher pads, accessible bleachers, a barrier-free ramp, equipment storage, replacement player benches and protective netting.
The approximate price tag is $600,000, well below the original estimate of $1.2 million to fully rehabilitate the grandstand.

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07.05.25
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Is city hall about to pull the plug on a home-based business in St. Thomas teaching youngsters water safety?

For more than three decades, countless young children have learned to swim in Joy Dawdy’s backyard pool.
Her daughter, Brittany, is proud of the fact that some of those youngsters have gone on to become swim instructors themselves.
And, just like the City of St. Thomas, which will enact a personal flotation device bylaw in the aftermath of the drowning of Ryan Davies last fall in Lake Margaret, Dawdy is doing her bit to promote water safety.
This is her third location for conducting the swimming classes, she explained in a conversation yesterday (July 4). She currently lives near Central Elgin Collegiate Institute.
“Before this, I was doing it at our home on Balaclava Street, and it initially started at my parents’ house on Hughes Street.”

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