Tag Archives: St. Thomas Fire Department

04.04.26
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The updated model of care at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital results in the loss of 26 PSWs

St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital is updating its model of care, which will result in the elimination of 26 full-time Personal Support Worker positions.

The announcement came on the same day that London Health Sciences Centre indicated more than 200 nursing positions will be eliminated through voluntary resignations or retirements over the next three to five years.

According to a hospital spokesperson, there will be no media release outlining the rationale behind the model of care changes or additional details on what these changes might look like.

The method of care update at STEGH is designed to better meet the needs of patients whose medical conditions have become increasingly complex.

The spokesperson advised in a text message that more patients now require frequent nursing assessments, complex medication management, and timely clinical interventions

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07.12.25
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A spike in St. Thomas arson incidents sparks calls for action on the catch and release of ‘destructive and violent criminals’

St. Thomas was rocked this week by a pair of arson-related fires, which, thankfully, did not result in any injuries.
A blaze early Sunday morning destroyed part of the Acacia Block on Talbot Street, which dates back to 1881.
A couple of young entrepreneurs were close to completing renovations on the building adjacent to the Railway City Transit terminal that would have housed commercial operations on the ground floor and apartments on the second level.
Earlier this year, the ground floor was the campaign headquarters for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton.
Joseph Penfound was quickly apprehended on Sunday morning, and the accused, “a prolific offender,” according to St. Thomas Police,  has been charged with arson along with a couple of other offences.

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01.11.25
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Ryan Davies’ drowning in Lake Margaret is the impetus for a life jacket loaner program

What began as a pleasant morning of fishing on Lake Margaret this past Labour Day quickly turned tragic when a canoe holding three friends tipped over.
Two people were rescued, however, after a day-long search, the body of 26-year-old Ryan Davies was recovered.
The St. Thomas Fire Department’s water rescue unit was on the scene supplemented by the OPP underwater rescue unit.
Coast Guard officials arrived just before noon that day with sonar and submersible equipment to assist in what became a recovery operation.
St. Thomas Fire Chief Dave Gregory explained that the thick matted weeds under the surface of the water were making matters difficult.
Gregory advised at its deepest spot, Lake Margaret has a depth of about 20 feet.

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10.19.24
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For the third time in as many years, St. Thomas is on the hunt for a city manager

Well, that was short-lived.
Heralded as “a pretty good standout” among over 70 applicants, Michael Bradley assumed the city manager post at city hall on May 15.
Exactly five months later, a media release from Mayor Joe Preston announced, “City to begin recruitment for new city manager.”
Bradley has accepted the position of CAO with the City of Brantford – his hometown – and will depart his office at city hall in mid-November.
Before accepting the post in St. Thomas, Bradley had been the Commissioner of Community Development with the City of Brantford.
He also served for 11 years with the County of Brant, including a stint as CAO from 2018 to 2023.

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10.12.24
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The water is anything but calm when it comes to closure of the STEGH therapy pool

While the closure of the therapy pool at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital has resulted in a wave of disappointed users, one Central Elgin resident is vowing to pressure hospital administrators into re-opening the pool relied on by Talbot Trail Physiotherapy clients and other area residents.
And we’re not talking about just anybody.
Sally Martyn is the former mayor of Central Elgin and STEGH board member along with a pool user.
Martyn held a meeting recently which dozens of concerned residents attended.
One of the outcomes of that meeting is to arrange a face-to-face session with hospital president and CEO Karen Davies.
“There were over 60 people who came (to the meeting),” advised Martyn.

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02.17.24
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‘The year ahead represents, to me, a bridge to prosperity and a critical shift from past to present’ – Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan

city_scope_logo-cmykThe St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce Lunch with the Mayors gathering is typically a non-controversial State of the Union-type event, more jovial than jousting.
That all changed with last year’s get-together which came on the heels of Bill-63, the St. Thomas Central Elgin Boundary Adjustment Act.
Central Elgin lost hundreds of acres of farmland to St. Thomas for that municipality to assemble 1,500 acres for what would become the Yarmouth Yards industrial park and ultimately the home of Volkswagen/PowerCo and the EV battery giga-plant.
Much of the question-and-answer time slot was put to good use by former Central Elgin Mayor Sally Martyn to hold St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston’s feet to the fire on her municipality’s lack of involvement in the land deal.

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01.06.24
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The increasing demands on the St. Thomas Police Service “related to auto thefts needs appropriate attention” – Insp. Steve Bogart

city_scope_logo-cmykPrior to charging full steam into the Christmas/New Year’s holiday season, the provincial government announced $18 million in funding to help police services combat and prevent auto theft.
The Preventing Auto Theft (PAT) grant was presented to 21 projects across Ontario to support new and enhanced crime-fighting measures that focus on prevention, detection, analysis and enforcement.
The St. Thomas Police Service was one of the recipients with a grant of just shy of $609,000 over three years.
To be clear the money is earmarked for the actual theft of vehicles and not break and enter where contents are stolen.
The first question that comes to mind is: is the theft of vehicles a significant threat in St. Thomas?

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08.19.23
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Welcome to The Station in St. Thomas where there’s hope for what the future may hold ‘when there’s the assurance of somewhere to sleep and a place to call home’

city_scope_logo-cmykI had the pleasure Thursday of joining members of city council over the lunch hour for a tour of The Station, Indwell’s 45-unit supportive housing project on Queen Street that is in the process of welcoming tenants from the city’s by-name homeless list.
We had the opportunity to tour a couple of the apartments, one a studio-style unit and the second barrier-free.
More on the accommodation later, but first my conversation with Natasha Thuemler, Indwell’s regional manager in London.
We first met almost two years ago when touring Railway City Lofts, Indwell’s first project in St. Thomas consisting of 15 micro-apartments above the transit building on Talbot Street.
Owned by the city and operated by Indwell, the units are an example of welcoming supportive housing for individuals transitioning from homelessness and mental health challenges.

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07.15.23
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VW considers the St. Thomas EV battery gigafactory ‘a high-security plant.’ However, Mayor Joe Preston says, ‘I don’t believe so.’

city_scope_logo-cmykWe learned this week that policing services at the Volkswagen EV battery plant scheduled to begin production in 2027 will be provided by an OPP tactical unit.
The decision was made at a meeting in Toronto attended by St. Thomas Mayor and police board vice-chairman Joe Preston, former St. Thomas Police Chief Chris Herridge and current Police Chief Marc Roskamp.
We can assume Preston was representing the city in his capacity as mayor as the police board was not formally invited to the meeting.
Why would they have been?
This policing directive was a foregone conclusion administered at the provincial level.
Although initially hesitant to confirm, Preston stressed the OPP policing request came from the German auto manufacturer.

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