2025 - The Year in Review - May to Aug

MAY

•Approximately 300 people attend a job fair for the newest Mercato Fresh store, which is the fourth store in the Mercato chain. The new store is located at 365 Sandwich St. S. 

•The Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce (ACOC) presented its 20th annual Business Excellence Awards. James H. Sutton Funeral Home was recognized for its 120th anniversary, the Amherstburg Freedom Museum for its 50th anniversary and the River Town Times for its 30th anniversary. 

•The St. Clair College “Alumni of Distinction” awards had some Amherstburg representation. Chuck Kelly, currently the president and CEO with Movati Athletics, was presented the award at a banquet at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts in Windsor. He is a 1991 graduate of the Ambulance and Emergency Care program.

•An open house regarding a proposed new nine-hole disc golf course at Holiday Beach Conservation Area brought out over 100 people to the Libro Centre, the bulk of whom were opposed. The opposition to the disc golf course led to the ERCA opting not to proceed with it later in the year, as they voted to rescind direction to put in a disc golf course and to continue dialogue with park users for other opportunities.

•Norm Ross, a retired principal and drama teacher, is officially appointed as town crier. He succeeds Frank Gorham, who is retired from the position.

•The owners of the local Sobeys franchise, Rick and Krista Truant, the staff and the community as a whole held fundraiser to raise money for a new prosthetic leg for Bill Blackwell, the grocery store’s produce manager. 

•The large charity yard sale for the Hope of St. Joseph Shelters returned to the home of Mary and Marc Beneteau. Unlike previous years, the sale was smaller than in past years and operated on only one weekend.

•The Windsor Motorcycle Ride for Dad saw the first stop at Royal Canadian Legion Br. 157. The Amherstburg Legion gave back as they presented local Ride organizers with a $1,500 donation. Legion Br. 157 was recognized as a gold-level sponsor. Following the stop at the Legion, the stops included the Colchester Bar & Grill and the Bourbon Tap & Grill in Belle River.

•Essex-Windsor EMS presented “Survivor Day” at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts. Stories of 26 survivors were shared with the first responders who helped save them highlighted. The Survivor Day cases involved 63 paramedics, 69 firefighters, nine ambulance communications officers, seven Canada Border Services Agency officers and 23 civilians.

•Town council authorized administration to negotiate an agreement with PaxPitch Sports for the installation and operation of a new cricket pitch at Anderdon Park. PaxPitch paid for the development of the pitch, with the aim to add another at Pat Thrasher Park in 2026. 

•Open Air Weekends returned and lasted into the fall, with some themed weekends along the way. The 14-weekend program kicked off with a night market, the “Bagpipes in the Burg” parade, town crier Norm Ross, live music and more.

•Economic Development Week was held, organized by the town’s economic development department. An “Entrepreneurial Spotlight Panel” kicked off the week, with networking events, a job fair, workshops, and walking tours part of the activities.

•The fight against cancer got a boost thanks to St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School. Villanova held its Relay for Life with the event starting in sunshine in the early afternoon and ending at night in the rain. It raised approximately $124,500. Sofia Borrowman, a Grade 11 student who co-captained the organizing committee with friend Michela La Porta, said the school raised $72,000 in its last Relay for Life in 2023. 

•The Woofa-Roo Pet Festival returned, several weeks earlier than usual, to take advantage of cooler temperatures. Dock diving, dog luring, Windsor police K-9 demonstrations, hunting dog demos, the Border City Barkers, vendors, and more were featured that weekend.

•The Amherstburg Freedom Museum held the latest in its “Freedom Achievers” series and it featured Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers. Rogers spoke to students from around Essex County and Windsor who are part of the Black Student Leadership Committee. 

JUNE

•Veterans and Legion members who have died in the past year were honoured. Royal Canadian Legion Fort Malden Br. 157 presented its annual Decoration Day service at the cenotaph in King’s Navy Yard Park. The Amherstburg Legion’s colour guard conducted a short parade from the parkette down to the cenotaph and the service began after that.

•The keys to the Brentwood Dream Home were presented. David Taylor received the keys to the home at 28 Brittany Cr. in Amherstburg. It was the grand prize of the 2024 Brentwood Dream Home Lottery, with the winners announced in January. The home was constructed by Nor-Built Construction of Amherstburg.

•Curtis Realba of the Fighting Island Boxing Club won a Canadian National Championship in Quebec City. He won in the U17 48 kg category. The 14-year-old Realba stated he fought twice while in Quebec City, winning both fights. His goal when he climbs into the ring is to “go in there and get my hand raised.” The gold medal bout was against a 17-year-old but Realba didn’t know that until after he beat him.

•A house fire in Malden Centre displaced a local family and caused between $800,000-$900,000 damage. The damage estimate came from the Amherstburg Fire Department, who were called to the structure fire. The home, located on Durango Ave., was destroyed. The fire was not considered suspicious. No other homes were damaged.

•The fight against cancer got a shot in the arm thanks to the McGregor Music Festival again this year. Eight bands, a pig auction, car show, raffles and more were among the highlights. All proceeds benefit the patient assistance fund with the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation. It was announced in July the festival raised $85,000.

•A show entitled “Travel through Time” was filmed by YourTV. Crews were in Amherstburg, including a stop at the Park House Museum where three episodes were filmed. Another show was centred around the Amherstburg Freedom Museum. Other locations were the Canadian Aviation Museum, John R. Park Homestead, and Willistead Manor.

•The AMA Sportsmen’s Club hosted the Bob Meloche Fishing Derby on Father’s Day. Young anglers up to 12 years of age cast their lines. Several club members set up in Navy Yard Park measuring the fish while others, including Bob Meloche’s son Gord, were at the club measuring and recording.

•Amherstburg resident and volleyball player Makenna McCann played in the 16U Girls All Canadian Volleyball Games. The event was hosted by founder and Canadian comedian Gerry Dee and it was held in Orangeville. It involved 24 of the best volleyball athletes from across Canada in the 16U age division.

•The first-ever Fort Malden Medieval Faire was held at Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada. Presented by Faires.ca, the medieval festival featured jousting, treboucher launching, birds of prey, stage shows featuring Zoltan the Adequate, Sibling Rivalry and Men in Tights, aerialists and pirate cannon shows.

•North Star High School held its athletic banquet. June Buchner won Female Athlete of the Year, Owen Scott captured Male Athlete of the Year, Lauren Essenpreis won Female Student Athlete of the Year and Traven Fines won Male Student Athlete of the Year. The Coaches Award of Excellence went to Wyatt Jackson while the Most Dedicated Athletes were Camryn Carmack and Sawyer Krokos. Emma Rudling and Isiah Rusenstrom won the Athlete-Plus Award while Sportsmanship Awards were won by Carsyn Atkinson and Drew Shank. Spirit Awards went to Jaden Taba and Julia Mailloux. 

•The Amherstburg Freedom Museum fundraiser “Ribs & Ragtime” returned, this one having a special meaning. This year’s event was presented during the 50th anniversary for the museum. As part of the festivities, the formal dedication and sign unveiling for a portion of King St. was held. The block between Gore St. and Simcoe St. now has the additional designation as “Mac Simpson Way.”

•The Active Aging Expo was at the Libro Centre with vendors, line dancing demonstrations, wine and spirit samples, singing and more offered throughout the day. It was presented by the Town of Amherstburg’s recreation department and ACS.

•The Ministry of Transportation approved Boblo Island as part of an expanded golf cart pilot program. A letter from Raj Cheema, manager of the road safety program development office with the MTO announced the approval via a letter.

•Community Living Essex County held its Annual Meeting of the Members (AMM) and mourned the loss of chair Sue Desjarlais during the meeting. Desjarlais, also a LaSalle councillor, died in April. Several awards were also presented that night.

•A Community Care Fair was held with it being hosted by a number of community partners. Held on a lot between two Victoria St. S. apartment buildings, it featured the Windsor Police Service as one of the hosts. Over 15 vendors attended the event, with the vendors providing services to the community. 

•The St. Clement Church Catholic Women’s League (CWL) commemorated its 90th anniversary with a Mass in St. Clement Church followed by a dinner and banquet at the Columbian Club Hall in McGregor. President Diana Coyle recalled the history of the St. Clement CWL and pointed out Elizabeth Bissonnette was the first president when the charter was received in 1935. 

•A new exhibit was launched at the Park House Museum. “We Were Always Here” was created by curator Kat Bezaire and summer students Callie McRorie and Emily Trepanier. The exhibit highlights historic members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and ran until the end of August.

•The eight pickleball courts at the Libro Centre started getting used as the grand opening took place. A ribbon cutting featuring members of town council, the Amherstburg Pickleball Association (APA) and other supporters took place as part of a tournament. The cost of the new courts was $468,568.31.

•Ribfest returned to Ramsay St. with crowds coming through to enjoy ribs from three ribbers and other food items. It was presented by the Dan Gemus Real Estate Team.

•Four track and field athletes from North Star High School competed at the OFSAA meet in Toronto. Wakan Rainville won a gold medal in the junior boys 100m hurdles. Tyler Lamarche won bronze in the junior girls shot put. Ava Mayrand won eighth in discus and placed tenth in shot put at the junior girls level. Emma Rudling finished 19th in steeplechase and 17th in the 3000m at the senior level. 

•The “Fill the Bus” food collection drive returned with three organizations benefitting. Buses were parked at Sobeys, No Frills and Walmart. Mercato Fresh also assisted. Donations were made to the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission, Amherstburg Community Services (ACS) and Be The Light Outreach Ministry.

JULY

•Canada Day festivities were held in Amherstburg. Approximately 1,030 people take part in the Canada Day Run, Walk & Wheel 5K with $23,870 raised. That money goes to Amherstburg Community Services, the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission and the Bryerswood Youth Camp Optimist Club. Canada Day saw the town host events in Toddy Jones Park including a look at the “Mighty Machines” (town-owned vehicles), a visit from the Amherstburg Fire Department ladder truck, games, food, dancing from the Rivertown Dance Academy, hockey on the grass thanks to the Amherstburg Admirals, live entertainment and fireworks. Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada was also busy with activities including cannon firings and musical entertainment.

•The demolition of the former Boblo Island dock on Front Road South finally takes place after funding comes through from the federal government. After only a couple of days, the twisted dock was removed from the Detroit River, alleviating safety concerns many residents had.

•Residents of Concession 6 North want to see their road upgraded and took action. An online petition was circulated, started by Kerry McGrail, whose parents Mike and Nancy live on the road. It asks the stretch between Alma St. and County Road 10 be redone. The petition, found on Change.org and called “Fix the 6^th,” calls for the work to be done quicker than the town’s current projected timeline.

•The proposed mixed use plan for the former General Amherst High School site will proceed. Amherstburg town council approved an Official Plan amendment and a zoning bylaw amendment and that means the proposal by the Valente Development Corporation has cleared a major hurdle as they attempt to redevelop the site. While an addition to the motion to approve the amendments called for the town to ask administration to work with the developer on the issues of lighting, traffic, garbage, fire protect, access to the site and other related issues, the plan for 130 Sandwich St. S. is moving forward. Those plans call for an eight-storey residential tower, an 11-storey residential tower and commercial space while trying to preserve historic facades of the former public high school.

•The Windsor-Essex Bike Community (WEBC) got a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to help with its programming. The Ontario government stated it is investing $25,700 through the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s (OTF) Capital grant stream to support WEBC in expanding cycling infrastructure and youth programming in Essex County. The OTF grant was used over a six month period to purchase equipment, storage solutions, and a bike repair station.

•The Amherstburg Art Crawl returned, with events and activities geared for youth and adults. Starting with the Art Crawl Social at The O and ending with a Windsor Symphony Orchestra (WSO) brass quintet in King’s Navy Yard Park, the weekend was filled with tours both guided and self-guided tours, stops at museums like the Amherstburg Freedom Museum and the Park House Museum, artists gathered at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, a photography exhibit at the Marsh Historical Collection, unveilings of new murals, plein air and on-street artists and artisans, a Junior Art Crawl for children and youth, and a performance by The Bishop Boys. It was organized by the Art Amherstburg Society.

•Council members and staff from both Amherstburg and Essex gathered in McGregor to celebrate a new accessible playground. The ribbon was cut on the new playground at Co-An Park with each of the two towns putting in roughly $200,000 apiece towards the new amenity. 

•Essex-Windsor EMS launched a new initiative to get life-saving AEDs into the hands of organizers of events and gatherings across Windsor-Essex County. EMS’ program allows the public to sign out – for free – an Automatic External Defibrillator from Essex-Windsor EMS (EWEMS). Learn more about the AED loaner program and fill out an online form to get one for an event or gathering: www.countyofessex.ca/emergency-services/automated-external-defibrillators/aed-loaner-program/.

•The Amherstburg’s Gone Car Crazy show was held with portions of Richmond St., Dalhousie St., Ramsay St., Murray St., Rankin St., North St. and all of Toddy Jones Park packed with vehicles and people. Over 580 vehicles were estimated to have come out. The Paulie Award for best in show, named for former town councillor and car show co-founder Paul Renaud, was won by Mark DiMilo from Leamington and his 1970 Plymouth Cuda.

AUGUST

•Emancipation Day took a bit of a different turn this year but the events surrounding it that mark the anniversary of the day slavery in Canada was abolished still took place. The Amherstburg Freedom Museum held events as Aug. 1 was the day in 1834 that the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect. The museum was open Aug. 1 free-of-charge to allow people to come in, view film screenings, have guided tours or just look at the exhibits on their own. 

•Colleagues, friends and family of Karen Bolger gathered to celebrate her retirement from Community Living Essex County after a 40-year career. Bolger started her career as a support worker, worked her way up and was the agency’s executive director for the last seven years. Bolger thanked her co-workers, the board of directors, partner agencies, friends and her family for the support she received over the last 40 years. 

•The Living History Festival was held at Fort Malden with encampments, musket firings, artillery demonstrations, fashion shows, bagpipe shows, cooking demonstrations and more. A number of different community groups such as the Marsh Historical Collection, Gibson Gallery, Amherstburg Freedom Museum, Park House Museum, Canadian Transportation Museum, Caldwell First Nation were also part of it. Debra Honor was on hand selling her book “The Lives That Touched Belle Vue Amherstburg.”

•Council rejected a recommendation to assume infrastructure on Boblo Island. The recommendation called for the town to assume underground infrastructure, curbs and the concrete roadway on the south end of the island but the motion failed on a 4-3 vote.  Mayor Michael Prue cast the deciding vote, stating he walked the roads of the south end. Five photos that he took were placed on the large screen in the council chambers with Prue asking administration on how they were repaired and what happened.

•Any notion of Amherstburg working with Windsor to renegotiate a new policing contract for policing looks to be finished. Windsor had already notified Amherstburg of its intention to end the current policing contract at the end of 2028. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkins told the River Town Times in February it was “a dollars and cents issue” as the contract signed in late 2018 no longer made sense for the city. Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue said they had tried to work with Windsor to see about getting a new deal, but announced the town is moving on. The issue that was raised was not financial, he indicated, and that it was the city’s rejection of a town request to have a vote on the Windsor Police Services Board. 

•The history of agriculture was on display at Co-An Park in McGregor. The Essex County Steam and Gas Engine Show was held with Allis Chalmers being the featured brand. The show was presented by the Essex County Steam and Gas Engine Museum. Museum president Gary Struhar estimated there were at least 100 pieces of antique farm equipment and steam engines at the show. Museum members offered up their equipment for the show while others with antique equipment also put them on display.

•The Amherstburg Summer Baseball Classic capped the U8 team’s season and the local team won it all. The Amherstburg Cardinals U8 team won the tournament at Bill Wigle Park, finishing the day with an 11-6 victory in the championship game over the Woodslee Orioles. Beau Schiefer was named tournament MVP for Amherstburg.

•Work comes to Concession 8 North after town council approved a tender for the project. The tender was awarded to D’Amore Construction for $2,641,028, excluding GST. The plan was to fully construct the road from Alma St. to 680 metres north of Texas Road, with the work being completed in November. That project got started as work on the George and Seymour streets project concluded.

•Art by the River attracts over 9,500 people to the grounds of Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada. The 58^th annual arts and crafts show is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Gibson Gallery. Artists, artisans, food vendors, authors, a plein air art contest, kids zone and entertainers were across the grounds during the event.

•The Ontario Summer Football League (OSFL) named its all-stars and an Amherstburg player was one of them. Drake Ouellette, an offensive lineman, made the OSFL’s Bantam AAA all-star team. 

•New homes are going to be able to come to town thanks to provincial funding. Essex MPP Anthony Leardi announced that the Town of Amherstburg received over $9.3 million - $9,306,990 to be exact – under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) to build approximately 1,101 homes in the southeast quadrant of town. Those lands are owned by four separate developers and are near Lowes Side Road, Fryer St. and nearby areas. The money will help with the installation of sanitary and potable water infrastructure. It includes a new sanitary pumping station, a force main, sewers and watermain.

•A ribbon cutting was held for Al-Noor Private School and the Windsor Islamic High School, both being located at the former Western Secondary School. The elementary school has approximately 350 students. The high school had about 100 students registered.

•The issue over a back-up ferry to Bois Blanc Island, one that garnered significant interest from the Town of Amherstburg, saw some good news result as the back-up ferry “Columbia” returned. It joins the regular and larger ferry “Ste. Claire” as ways to get residents back and forth to the island.

•The Fighting Island Boxing Club sent a pair of fighters to the novice provincial championships at the BMO Centre in London and both came home with a medal. Adrian Strong was a gold medalist, winning in the 75kg weight class. Ben Evola captured a silver medal in the 80 kg weight class.

•One of the town’s largest employers announced it is shutting down operations locally. Diageo plans to close its St. Arnaud St. facility by February 2026, making the announcement, stunning the community with its late August announcement. Reports say employees were called to a meeting and informed of the news. The union that represents the employees said they will work hard to oppose the decision and plans on meeting with company officials to keep the jobs in Amherstburg. Reports have varied between 160-200 employees that will be impacted. A rally was held within days of the announcement to support the workers inside the Amherstburg bottling plant.

•The accessibility advisory committee looked at plans for the King’s Navy Yard Park extension. Drawings show a semi-circle pathway around the northern part of the property that leads to the waterfront, with a pathway along the shoreline. 

•The Amherstburg Soccer Club (ASC) marked the end of its travel season with a banquet at the Ciociaro Club. Players from the U8 division to the U18 level were honoured. 

•The third phase of the cycling trails at the Libro Centre officially opened. The project was carried out in large part by the Windsor-Essex Bike Community (WEBC), in partnership with the Town of Amherstburg.

2025 - The Year in Review - May to Aug

Continue reading in Year In Review Part 3 (September-December)...