UPDATE: Woodstock Police say both missing teens have returned home, and are safe.

Woodstock Police are looking for the public's help in locating two missing teens.
 

Two 13-year-olds, a boy and girl, Tyler Wilson and Morgan Conlan, who they describe as teenage runaways.

Tyler has not been seen by his family since 6 o'clock last night, while Morgan returned home at 3:30 this afternoon, picked up some clothing, and took off running from the area.

Morgan is described as 125 lbs, 5'4", blue eyes, long blonde hair, last seen wearing blue jeans and dark purple American Eagle hooded sweatshirt with gold symbol on it.

Tyler is 130 lbs, 5'5", brown/blonde shaggy hair, last seen wearing dark jeans, and grey hooded sweatshirt with red stripes.

If you have any information on their whereabouts, call Woodstock Police at 537-2323.

A second suspect has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tim Bosma, a Hamilton father who took two men on a test drive and never returned.
   
Mark Smich, 25, appeared in court today in Hamilton.
   
His lawyer says Smich will plead not guilty.
   
His next court appearance was set for June 13, the same day the other suspect in the case is to appear.
   
Dellen Millard, 27, is charged with first-degree murder as well as forcible confinement and theft of a vehicle. His lawyer has said his client will also plead not guilty.
   
Police allege the suspects are the two men Bosma took for a test drive in the pickup truck he was trying to sell online. The search continues for at least one other suspect.
   
Bosma's remains were found about a week after he disappeared, burned beyond recognition at a farm belonging to Millard.

Oxford County now has a formal Agricultural Hall of Fame Award display at County Administration building.

The wall was unveiled Wednesday night with past and present inductees on hand.

President of the Oxford County Federation of Agriculture Walter Kropf says the wall is important to give something back to those who give so much to the community.  "It just shows how much effort goes in to so many activities; just like whether it was the Rotary or the Lion's Club, without dedicated people nothing happens.  And just the backbone of the community is often agriculture".

2013 Oxford County Agricultural Hall of Fame Award recipient John de Bruyn says he feels very honoured with the appointment and says this kind of thing is very important.  "I think once and awhile a positive story, just showing what simple people in a small community can do to have an affect on their community is a great way to advertise Oxford County and just to advertise agriculture and advertise small communities I think".

The new Award replaces the Federation’s Community Service Award, first awarded in 2001 for service to the agricultural community.

Past recipients of the Community Service Award will be retroactively inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A second man has been arrested in the death of Tim Bosma.

The 32 year old was killed May 6 after taking two men on a test drive of a pickup truck he posted for sale online.

Hamilton Police Superintendent Dan Kinsella, "Today the Hamilton Police Service arrested Mark Smich, 25 years, of Oakville, Ontario." He will be held in custody and charged tomorrow with first degree murder.

27 year old Dellen Millard is also facing charges of first-degree murder, forcible confinement and theft of a vehicle in this case.

Kinsella would only say Smich and Millard were known to each other and that Smich was known to police.

Kinsella says police have also identified the second vehicle involved in the case as a dark blue Yukon belonging to Millard which police are searching for more evidence.

Police are still looking for a third suspect.

The issue of domestic abuse will be front and centre next week in Woodstock.
 

The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is set to take place on June 1st, and preceding that event will be a speech from Michael Kaufman.

He's the author of six books on gender issues, and has been speaking out against gender based violence around the world.  Barb Wright with Domestic Abuse Services Oxford says, "He's a co-founder of the white ribbon campaign, and he's known around the world for his work in engaging men and boys to work with women at ending gender based violence."

He's coming to the Quality Hotel & Suites in Woodstock on May 29th, and Wright says he's been brought in by the five Rotary clubs in Oxford County.  "Because it's a Rotary event, they've done some wonderful work to put this together and we think it's going to be a terrific event, both inspirational and very enjoyable."

Tickets can be purchased by contacting Barb Wright at 539-7488 Ext. 236.

Ontario's Health Minister makes a stop in Woodstock today.

Deb Matthews is slated to make an announcement "improving access to health care for families in the Woodstock area".

Matthews is scheduled to be at the Woodstock and Area Community Health Centre at 2 o'clock this afternoon.

We'll have details on the announcement this afternoon on Heart FM News.

Officers in air helped OPP catch a motorcyclist travelling 57 kilometres over the speed limit on highway 401.

That's part of the numbers released after a busy long weekend on the road for Oxford OPP.

Among the other highlights listed, 57 speeders were stopped, 22 RIDE programs were done with 4 highways Traffic Act and 1 Liquor Licence Act charge laid and there were 7 collisions on all area roadways with just two of those resulting in injuries.

Ontario's budget has won support from the New Democrats,  averting a spring election.

N-D-P Leader Andrea Horwath announced today she'll help ensure passage of the minority government's budget.

Local MPP Ernie Hardeman says he is disappointed for Ontario families who cannot afford to have the Liberals in power.

"I think they really can't afford this type of government to treat the money like it was Monopoly money and just keep printing it and passing it out where ever they have to or where they think they need to to stay in power."

"First we see them wasting $600 million on gas plants, now we see them wasting well beyond a billion dollars to stay in power so I guess it really does show the Liberals will do whatever it takes to stay in power and obviously the NDP are willing to sell it."

Andrea Horwath says the Liberals addressed a long list of demands in the May 2 budget and agreed to one of the NDP's accountability measures afterwards.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for most of Southern Ontario.

Scattered thunderstorms with the slight risk of some severe storms are expected to hit a number of regions today and tomorrow.

According to the weather agency, the main threats are damaging wind gusts and large hail.

Some areas could experience localized heavy rainfall and an isolated brief tornado cannot be ruled out.

Thunderstorms are expected for our region today and tomorrow before cooler weather moves in Thursday and sticks around for the weekend.

Cyclists are being told, if you want to be on the sidewalk, get off your bike and walk it.

It's part of a crack down Woodstock Police are conducting this week.

They say they are targeting cyclists who ride on the sidewalk down Dundas Street, posing a safety risk to pedestrians.

From now until Sunday police say if they catch you, you will be fined.

Tavistock Queen's Park is getting a financial boost from the federal government.

MP Dave MacKenzie was on hand last week to make the announcement to help in the construction of a multi-use pavilion on the grounds.

MacKenzie, says the funds come from the Government's Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund.

"The total cost I'm told is about $1,400,000 so the contribution from the federal government is just over $170,000."

MacKenzie adds the investment will help create jobs and growth and will support community spirit for years to come.

Scammers are now impersonating bank personnel.

The latest scam to hit the streets involves a telephone call from someone claiming to be from your bank, saying your account was tampered with by a bank employee.

Once they have your attention, they ask you to go to the bank, make a cash withdrawal and then walk down the street where you will be met by a bank investigator who you are to turn the money over to in order to help them track down who is tampering with your account.

OPP say you will likely never see the money again as you did voluntarily hand over the funds.

OPP say if you have received a telephone call like this,contact police right away.

Luckily there are a few simple precautions that individuals can take to ensure they don't fall prey to this type of fraud.

-         It is important to remember that neither your bank nor a police investigator will ever request that you assist in an undercover investigation or ask you to withdraw money from your account. If you receive such a suspicious call, hang up and call police.

-        Never give out personal bank information over the phone unless you have called your bank and they ask you questions to verify your identity.

-         If you do need to withdraw a large sum of money for a legitimate purpose, request a bank draft or a money order as this ensures only the intended recipient is able to access the money. Criminals will not accept these forms of payment because it creates a paper trail that can be used by real investigators to track the fraudsters.

-        Check your bank statement frequently and report any irregularities to your bank as soon as you notice them.

Woodstock Police are on the lookout for a reddish/purple Hummer that may be involved in a suspicious person case.

Police say a 22 year old woman was walking north of Cedar Street just before 5 Friday night when a vehicle pulled up next to her asking for directions.

Officers say the woman became uncomfortable as the driver continued to talk to her, eventually asking if she wanted to get into his vehicle.

It wasn't until a nearby resident began walking toward them that the driver left.

Police would like to speak with the driver described as a white man, about 27-30 year old, tanned with a thin face, wearing a grey baseball cap and large sunglasses driving a reddish/purple Hummer with dark tinted windows and a tire carrier mounted to the back and the H3 emblem engraved on the carrier.

Anyone with information is asked to call Woodstock Police 519-537-2323.

The Oxford County Injury Prevention Team now has a new tool to get their message across.

A 20 thousand dollar community event trailer has been purchased through donations and sponsorship to help them communicate injury prevention messages and increase their visibility with the county.

Public Health Nurse Lorna Boratto says the trailer has safety messages prominently displayed on the outside and a driving simulator inside.

"So they can drive and we'll be asking people, okay, text a message now and what impact does that have on your driving or reaching for a cup of coffee or fiddling with the radio dials, that sort of thing. Just as sort of a hands on demonstration and reminder what can happen if you drive distracted."

"We can decrease our risk for injury and we know that 90-95 percent of incidents that cause injury are preventale. So what are the teachings, what can we do to decrease that risk."

The trailer will be taken out to bike rodeos, the farm show and other safety events in the county.

OCIPT is a partnership of representatives from Woodstock Police, Oxford OPP, Woodstock Fire, Red Cross, Ministry of Transportation, Oxford County Public Health and Emergency Services, MADD and Community Volunteers.

....And to the Ontario Municipal Board it goes.

City Council has decided to officially file an appeal with the OMB over a $1-million expansion of the works facility on County Road 30 proposed by Oxford County.

City Council says the plan does not maintain the general intent and purpose of the Official Plan and does not represent good planning and would set a dangerous president in the future.

While the decision to file the appeal with unanimous, council are offering to transfer ownership of land Tecumseh Street to the County of Oxford at no cost as long as they retire the Road Patrol Yard on the 11 Line.  

There will be a strong police presence on the roads, trails and waterways this long weekend.

Officers will be on the lookout for impaired, aggressive and distracted drivers, and people who are not buckled up.

They`ll also be enforcing the province's move over law, which requires drivers to slow down and move over when passing an emergency vehicle on the shoulder.

Police will also be patrolling to ensure boaters and off-road riders are obeying the rules.

Forensic analysis of two Waterloo locations related to the Tim Bosma murder case are expected to wrap up later today.

27 year old Dellen Millard is charged with first degree murder in the case.

CTV News is reporting detectives have reopened the investigation into the death of Millard's father Wayne last November, which was originally ruled a suicide.

On top of that, CTV says they are also investigating the case of a 23 year old Laura Babcock who went missing back in June.

Police say Babcock was in a relationship with Millard before she went missing and telephone records show the last call she made was to Millard before her disappearance.

Students were screaming and running from Fanshawe College's Woodstock campus this morning.

It was part of a training opportunity for the Woodstock Police Service to enhance their response to a lockdown situation inside of the school.

Students from the Police Foundation program played the victims, some of which were outfitted with fake gun shot wounds and were found lying on the ground.

Police Foundation Instructor Fidel Zabian says this is the first time the Woodstock campus has participated in a lockdown exercise.

"About three or four different scenarios as to what could happen if say a disgruntled student comes in or a shooter comes in. Its sort of a preparatory for a worse case scenario of what might happen, so it helps us at the school if we have any weaknesses here and also helps the Police Services for training which they seem to do twice a year."

Constable Eric Hiiuvain says they tried to make it as real as possible.

"We have casualties, you have screaming students who have been injured, you have fatalities and the officers have to negotiate through the rooms, check doors, clear the area to locate the person who is committing the offense, who is actually shooting and looking to kill people."

Hiiuvain says this kind of training has become experientially important.

"Hearing about it in the States, it's something that we want to be prepared for, it's not something we want to react to after the fact, we want to be ready for anything to the best of our abilities."

Woodstock Police say no form of live ammunition was used during the scenarios.

The 66th Annual Victoria Day celebrations have official kicked off in Woodstock.

The World's Finest shows opened the festivities at Southside Park Thursday afternoon and will continue on through the weekend.

Back again this year is the men's fastball tournament with the first pitches being thrown Friday evening.

Festivities continue Monday morning with the parade.   City of Woodstock Manager of Community Services, Brad Janssen says the parade will leave from the Woodstock Fairgrounds at 10:00 am sharp.  "It will weave its way down Dundas Street to Wellington, than to Henry and Finkle into the park.  We have 15 major league marching bands, we have all kinds of floats about 50 to 60 entires in total.  And then at 1 o'clock in the sports field, we have six of the best marching bands in the province performing field performances during the Band Tattoo.  We're asking people to bring a non-perishable food item as a price of admission that we'll give to the food bank".

The parade will go rain or shine Monday but if the weather turns soggy, Janssen says the Band Tattoo will move into the Southwood Arena at the Community Complex at 1:00 pm.  Heart FM will pass along the details if the event is moved.

For a full list of the activities, click here to visit the City of Woodstock website.

The City is being asked to continue making investments in their baseball diamonds.

At Thursday night's meeting, President of Woodstock Minor Baseball Brent Peltola said some of the smaller diamonds in the city are not big enough to fully accommodate the dimensions of the games they play, so they are forced to modify the diamonds to make it safe for the players.

Peltola says almost 500 minors play in the city with 95% of them living in Woodstock.  "Minor ball has actually seen a growth in Woodstock in the last two years, our registration is up by 10% over the last two years and we're really an anomaly in southern Ontario.  Most minor ball associations are actually shrinking while we are growing".

Peltola says they would like the city to consider not only new development, but also to continue to maintain existing diamonds.  He says "there are good serviceable diamonds that would not take millions of dollars to keep up to date.  We would hope that they could continue to improve those diamonds".

Personal Service Coffee's days at 62 Ridgeway Circle are numbered.

City Council denied the company's request for a temporary zone change to allow them to continue operation 62 Ridgeway Circle until a new, properly zoned location could be found.

City Planner Ron Versteegen said if the company closed off part of their retail and make it more of a wholesale location, it would be within zoning limits.

Owner Randy Hosick dismissed the idea.  "I would be putting a wall five feet inside my door, that's not going to happen, I can't do that.  If you've ever been in there you can't walk in the door and hit a wall".

Hosick says he will reopen somewhere in Oxford County, it just might not be in Woodstock.

Nearly 23 hundred grams of prescription drugs have been taken off the streets of Woodstock.

City Police held the first annual Prescription Drug Drop Off Day last Saturday where residents could drive up and hand over any unused prescription drugs without leaving their vehicle.

Diazepam, Hydromorphone, Percocet, Oxycocet and Phenobarbital and among the drugs collected.

Anyone still wishing to drop off their unused medication can do so at pharmacies across the province.

The Toronto Sun is reporting that the death of Tim Bosma may have been a "thrill kill".

In their article that was published Thursday, the paper says police have "a theory that it was about stealing a truck but also hurting somebody".

The officer interviewed by the paper says that the police are looking at a small "close-knit group of friends" that were known to hang out together.  They are still looking for at least two suspects; one who joined Bosma for the test drive and another who was driving a car that followed behind.

The Sun reports one clue found at the rural scene where Bosma's remains were discovered is a portable farm incinerator that would typically be used to cremate dead farm animals.

The officer said investigators are taking a look at some previous deaths including that of Dellen Millard's father, William who died of a gunshot wound to his eye last December.  At the time, it was considered suicide but police say the coroner could request for that case to be looked at again.

On Monday, Kijiji published a statement on their website sending their thoughts to the family and community of Ancaster.  They also advised that they have been cooperating with the Hamilton police in their investigation.

"We confirmed to the police that the ad posted by Mr. Bosma on Kijiji did not feature personal contact information, nor did it receive any replies, which determines the incident did not occur as result of his ad posting on Kijiji".

Bosma had posted his ad on AutoTrader as well.  AutoTrader has not released a statement at this time but have sent their condolences to the Bosma family and his community.

Kijiji has also posted safety tips on their website for both buying and selling items online.

A planned expansion of a works facility is becoming a battle of County versus City.

Woodstock City Council is expected to authorize staff to file an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board Thursday night in regards to the expansion of a works facility on County Road 30 which the City says does not maintain the general intent and purpose of the Official Plan and does not represent good planning.

Councilor Paul Plant says this decision could be a game changer.

"There have been other instances where they have tried to put services beyond the boarders and it's just one of those things that an urban centre has to object to. If you start supplying urban services to all of the places on your boundary where does the city grow in the future?"

Plant says this reinforces his request to find out what it would cost for the City to retain their own planning services instead of using the County's.

"Right now the City of Woodstock does all of the County road plowing in the City of Woodstock. You don't see County trucks doing County roads here, you see City of Woodstock trucks doing County roads. Why don't we do that in all the municipalities, it would be cheaper? So to go and argue that we have to extend this works yard and put the servicing outside of it, it's not right from the stand point of future growth of the City and it doesn't make sense that we're not sharing resources."

Plant says the City of Woodstock tries to be responsible with their money and he feels the County doesn't want to share.

"We offered the County two situations and one is written in the report, offered them land on Tecumseh Street. I think what you've really got to look at, is do we need two roads service yards within a couple miles of each other."

The City says they are willing to transfer ownership of land on Tecumseh Street to the County of Oxford at no cost as long as they retire the Road Patrol Yard on the 11 Line.  

City Council will debate the issue Thursday night.

Locals worried about selling items online are being told if they exercise caution, it shouldn't be an issue.

Woodstock Police Chief Rod Freeman says sadly there are those out there looking to victimize others and we need to protect ourselves.

"You screen the people over the telephone first I would suggest. Finding out who they are and what time they are expected at your house. If you're inviting a stranger into your home it may be a good idea to have a neighbour accompany you or a friend or relative just so you've got some people around you."

"Trust your gut. If you get an uneasy feeling about somebody you're dealing with, then back away. You can always recontact them again if needed."

Freeman says residents shouldn't fear selling their items online, they just need to remember that if it doesn't feel right or is too good to be true, it likely is.

Hamilton police say a 27-year-old man will be charged with first-degree murder in the death of a man who vanished after a test drive more than a week ago.

Detective Sgt Matt Kavangh, "Investigation has now revealed that Tim Bosma was murdered. He was taken to a location in Waterloo area where is body was burned beyond recognition. This is now a homicide investigation. The coroners office as well as the Centre for Forensic Science have both been consulted and are assisting in this investigation at different sites where we have warrants being executed."

Kavangh say Dellen Millard will be charged with first degree murder on Wednesday. He is already charged with forcible confinement and theft over $5,000.

"Video evidence that we have now recovered shows that when Mr Bosma's vehicle left his residence, there was a second vehicle following. We do not know at this time how many people were in this second vehicle so right now we're looking at at least three, possibly more (suspects)."

He says police believe Bosma was targeted but will not reveal how. He says the public has every right to be afraid this will happen again.

"Certainly there is a fear of that. Look what he did the first time to Mr Bosma. So yes, there is a fear and we're doing everything we can to identify this person and get him under arrest."

Based on evidence police have at this point, they believe Bosma was killed the same night his truck was taken.

It is a tragic ending to the search for Tim Bosma.

Hamilton Police Chief, Glenn DeCaire confirmed this morning that remains were found which they believe are those of Bosma.  "A number of searches have taken place and human remains have been located.  We are convinced by the totality of the evidence that these are the remains of Tim Bosma.  The evidence indicates that the remains have been burned".

Police had been searching the land of a farm on Roseville Road near Ayr which neighbours say belonged to 27 year-old Dellen Millard, the man who was arrested on Saturday in connection with the disappearance of Bosma.

DeCaire said their investigation led them to a number of areas.  "Our investigation led to the identification of several locations related to the accused, Dellen Millard.  Authorized searches took place and evidence has been recovered.  We can not discuss all of the evidence at this point given the ongoing criminal process".

DeCaire says investigators from the Centre of Forensic Sciences are currently on the scene and their investigation is far from over.

Police are still on the hunt for a second suspect.

Lane reductions and delays are on the way as road construction season kicks into high gear.

Director of Public Works Rob Walton says there are several road resurfacing projects planned throughout Oxford County as well as a few reconstruction projects.

"Parkinson Road east of Norwich Ave out towards, just east of Longworth Lane there's a fairly major reconstruction plan for there later this summer and on County Road 8 in Plattsville, in the Township of Blandford Blenheim theres a joint project with the Township to do the second phase of the Plattsville drainage works and the reconstruction of the County Road."

Walton says there are two bridge rehabilitation planned for the summer as well.

"One on County Road 29 just west of the 401 and one on County Road 19 east, between Springford and Otterville. Those are deck rehabs, there could be some minor works that would require temporary closures but those would be lane reductions as well."

Walton suggests visiting the County's website for more information on the estimated dates for each project.

A Zorra woman is facing charges following a collision in Thames Centre.

Middlesex OPP say they were called early Thursday morning after a black car left the road and went into the ditch.

When they arrived they say they discovered the driver had been drinking.

Charged with impaired, over the legal limit and failing to remain at the scene of an accident is 31 year old Crystal Wilcox of Zorra Township.

Security is about to be beefed up at the Woodstock Skate Park.

Director of Parks and Recreation Brian Connors says security cameras will soon be installed.  "We just finished the hydro so we are now looking at what type of camera, what its capacity is; that type of thing".

At this time there is no word on what the cost for the project will be.

Connors says he would also like to see the installation of shade shelters on the park sometime in the future.  "You see now that you are pretty much in direct sun or right now you could go underneath the trees but if you still want to watch, we should be providing some shade shelters".

Connors says lights would also be on the wish list for the park though community consultation would be needed before any installation would begin.

Construction is on schedule for the new Oxford Children's Aid building.

The new 9.6 million dollar Peel Street location is on track to open in December.

Executive Director Bruce Burbank says construction is about 35 percent complete.  "You can sort of see the shape and some of the architectural aspects like the curved wall and the atrium and those sorts of things.  People could probably observe that from the street".

Burbank says the current location on Light Street is on County property and even when they put the expansion in in 1993, it was under a 20 year lease.

He says staff have long since outgrown the current building and the new location will beneficial in many aspects.  "This facility will provide us a long term viable home and over the long run we will own the building and the property outright, for the first time in modern history".

Local kids with a passion for skateboarding will soon be taught how to do it right.

The City of Woodstock is working on offering a skateboarding class for children aged 6-9 starting in June.

Director of Parks and Recreation Brian Connors says children will learn how to ride a skateboard safely as well as some basic tricks.

"The big focus will be on safety. Making sure that they're wearing helmets, wrist guards, knee protection, all of those things is going to be kind of the critical base components to learning to skateboard."

"Just learn how to ride and skateboard safely, how to learn some of the basic tricks and how to get on the board and that kind of programming."

Connors says there will be eight classes that run from 9 to 9:45 Saturday mornings. No word at this point on how to register for the classes or the cost.

Locals looking into doing renovations have another option for supplies, one which also gives back to the community.

The Woodstock Habitat for Humanity ReStore held their grand opening yesterday with the profits from the store going into running the organization so all of the monetary donations can go into their Habitat for Humanity builds. 

CEO for Habitat for Humanity Oxford, Middlesex, Elgin, Jeff Duncan says lots of great things are happening for the organization locally.

"We introduced our next family so we're going to be building this year with the support of Toyota Motor Manufacturing. They have come forward as a house sponsor so we're going to build a second house here in Woodstock. We're hoping to do a third, if we can find a family before the end of the year we'll actually build a third home before the end of the year."

"We want to be building and have a ReStore in Tillsonburg as well. We have already started discussion with council there and we've met the chamber and some business people and some other community groups, faith groups there and there's a lot of energy and vibe there that they want to get going there and our strategic plan shows a ReStore there as well for 2014."

Duncan says ReStores are important because they become the hub of the organization and show that they're here to stay.

"We've hired locally. We're walking the talk in my mind. We've said we want to build houses here and then we don't disappear. We're here you know employing people and putting them back into the community and it gives a sense of community for people that I think is important."

ReStore is located at 1058 Parkinson Road in Woodstock.

Chrysler is recalling 469,000 Jeep SUVs worldwide because they can shift into neutral without warning on startup.

The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Grand Cherokees and 2006 to 2010 Commanders.

U.S. safety regulators say cracks in a circuit board can cause a faulty signal as the SUVs are being started. If the vehicles shift into neutral they can roll away.

Chrysler says the problem has caused 26 crashes and two injuries.

Chrysler will notify owners and dealers will update software to take care of the problem.

Chrysler found cracks in a circuit board that turns the four-wheel-drive system on and off.

Repairs will be made at no cost to owners.

The recall covers 295,000 vehicles in the U.S., 28,500 in Canada, and 4,200 in Mexico. The remaining 141,000 are outside North America.

The company says in documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Administration that it began looking into the problem after a customer complained that an SUV rolled away in January of 2012 after being started remotely.

Locals are hoping to raise ten thousand dollars for Lupus.

Today marks the third annual Walk for Lupus in Woodstock.

Walk Organizer Jan Ropp says Lupus is very hard to diagnose and no two cases are alike.

"Symptoms often include fatigue, fever, aching joints, to chest pain, head aches, shortness of breath. It can cause a lot of major problems with major organs. It can attack your kidneys, cause blood clots, seizures and heart attacks."

Registration opens at 10am with the walk beginning at 11am at Southside Park.

Hamilton Police now have a description of the suspects in the case of a missing Ancaster Man.

32-year-old Tim Bosma went missing Monday night when he accompanied two men who showed up at his home to test drive a pick-up truck he was selling.

Hamilton Police Service Representative Matt Kavanagh says one of the suspects is white, 6 foot 1 - 6 foot 2, 170-180 pounds, in mid 20s, light to medium short brown hair, unshaven with blue jeans and an orange shirt and running shoes.

"On one of his wrists, ether left or right, where a person wears a wrist watch was the word 'ambition'. There was a box tattooed framing the outside of the word 'ambition'."

Kavanagh says while the tattoo itself is not uncommon, the location of the tattoo is very unique.

The second suspect is described as male, white, 5’9” to 5’10” , small to medium build, early to mid 20’s, dark hair, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt with hood up over his head.

Kavanagh also says "late yesterday afternoon Mr Bosma's cell phone was recovered in an industrial area of west Brantford. Last night, police conducted a ground search of this area, it was a very large area, however nothing further of Mr Bosma's was found. Second,police received information that Mr Bosma's vehicle was seen at approximately 10:10pm  in the downtown area of the City of Brantford on Monday, May 6."

Police are asking Brantford businesses to check their video surveillance tapes from 9:30pm-10:30pm Monday for any clues as to the route the truck may be taking.

Police also say "from the cellular records and interviews Police have found these two same individuals that attended Mr Bosma's house test drove a similar type of vehicle a similar type of vehicle in the City of Toronto on May 5 in the middle of the day. The owner of this vehicle was not harmed."

Police have set up a tip line at 905-546-2100 for anyone with information.

Rescue workers in Bangladesh freed a woman buried for 17 days inside the wreckage of a garment factory building that collapsed, killing more than 1,000 people.
 

The rescuers discovered the woman Friday afternoon and ordered the cranes and bulldozers to immediately stop work. They used handsaws to cut her out of the rubble, and the crowd gathered at the scene erupted in cheers when she was freed. She was rushed to a military hospital in an ambulance.
 

Soldiers at the site said her name was Reshma and described her as being in remarkably good shape despite her ordeal.
 

Abdur Razzak, a warrant officer with the military's engineering department who spotted her in the wreckage, said she was OK and could even walk.
 

Workers at the site began tearing through the nearby wreckage looking for other survivors.

Mayors from Woodstock, Ingersoll, Stratford and St. Thomas are among officials leaving today for an overseas trade mission.
 

They'll be visiting Japan and South Korea over the next two weeks to possibly drum up some new business and industry for the region.

Mayor Pat Sobeski says for Woodstock, it's also about strengthening our current ties.  "In many ways, it's a retention visit.  When we're in Japan we'll be visiting with a number of companies that have made a significant investment in Woodstock.  We not only have Toyota, but Toyota Boshoku, Toyota Tsusho, HINO, VuTeq...so in many ways it's a retention visit."

As mentioned, Sobeski and Economic Development Commissioner Len Magyar will be in South Korea for the first time.  But Sobeski says the city already has a connection in place.  "South Korea is important, because locally, Timberland signed a major contract with Hyundai shipping.  So we have a contact over there, but really it's to go over and find out how to best market ourselves."

The visit comes as Canada is in the midst of a free trade deal with the country that is home to major corporations like Hyundai, LG, and Samsung. 

More on the trip, who's going, and what they'll be doing in our full-length interview with Sobeski below:

An emotional plea today from the wife of a missing Ancaster man.
 

32-year-old Tim Bosma went missing Monday night when he accompanied two men who showed up at his home to test drive a pick-up truck he was selling.

Bosma's wife, Sharlene, made a desperate plea for her husband's return today.  "It is just a truck...you don't need him, but I do, and our daughter needs her daddy back.  So please, please let him come home."

The Bosma family have friends and family here in the Woodstock-area.

Police are known to have been searching the Brantford-area this week.

Because of the unusual nature of the case, Hamilton Police's homicide unit has taken over the investigation.

Two suspects in the case are described as:

1)      male white, 6’1” to 6’2”, 170 to 180 lbs, mid 20’s, light to medium short brown hair, unshaven, wearing blue jeans, long sleeve orange shirt and running shoes
 
2)       male white, 5’9” to 5’10” , small to medium build, early to mid 20’s, dark hair red hooded with hood up over his head.

Click on the photo on right for future descriptions of Tim, and his missing truck.

A first ever dance-a-thon is set to take over Woodstock's Oxford Auditorium this weekend.

The event is an awareness and fundraising event for FIRST - a foundation in support of those afflicted with Ichthyosis a rare skin disorder.
 

9-year-old Ema Hodgkinson was born with it - which is as rare as one in 2.5-million births.  However, Ema still very much leads a normal life, and is an avid dancer.

Ema's mom, Sarah, says that's where the dance theme comes in for Saturday's dance-a-thon.  "We have dance classes, provided by Woodstock Dance Co-op, and there's going to be presentations at the top of the hour of each dance class.  So after you've had a 30-minute dance lesson, you come back onto the main stage and present your dance."

Hodgkinson, says aside from dance lessons and presentations, there's a number of other activities to take advantage of.  "You can come and make a card for Mother's Day, All About Scrapbooks is providing those.  You can paint a picture for Mom, a watercolour painting, 4-Cats Art Studio is providing that.  There's facepainting, and the other hilights is at 5:30 we have Woodstock's Finest...firemen, police and EMS are going to be leading us in with YMCA."

There are also door prizes, and a silent auction.  Top items include trips to Chicago and Collingwood, a signed London Knight's hockey stick, and tickets to see the Wizard of Oz in Toronto, among others.

The event runs from Saturday from 11-7 at the Oxford Auditorium.  Tickets are $10 per person. 

Click here for more details.

Oxford Gardens retirement home is now licensed to serve.
 

The upscale retirement home is now the first in Oxford County to offer a licensed bar to its residents.

The grand opening was held this afternoon, as Owner Bill Van Haeren says they converted a former lounge at the residents request.  "They requested a bar, they requested a drink at lunchtime, or maybe at night when they're playing cards.  So we went through the process, weighed out the odds, and it seemed like a great idea."

Manager Nelia Hunt says it's about providing the amenities that residents want.  "All about options, just about having choices and amenities all available to you in one area."

Van Haeren says work on the 82-room addition to Oxford Gardens is on schedule (photo below).  "It's coming along great, we're motoring along, painting the two top floors.  We're likely installing kitchens next week and carpet and then putting brick on the face of it."

It should be complete in mid-August with residents moving in starting in September. 

An Ancaster family is frantically searching for a missing 32-year-old man in a strange case.
 

On Monday, Tim Bosma was reported missing, after he accompanied two men who took the truck he was selling out for a test drive.

Bosma (in photo on right) did not return home.

He was last seen wearing blue jeans, work boots and a long sleeve shirt.

The Truck is described is a black Dodge Ram 3500 pickup with license plate number 726 7ZW.

It's 15-months in jail for William Krygsman.
 

The Tillsonburg-area man was sentenced on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to charges of making child pornography, and sexually touching a child.

Krygsman was accused of abusing two children, who are not being identified.

He was arrested back in 2012 at the Canada-US border, after serving a prison term in the states.  He was arrested in 2004 in Atlanta, after an undercover FBI sting netted Krygsman, who had made on-line arrangements to meet a mother to have an encounter with a 4-year-old child.  That mother turned out to be an FBI agent.

After being arrested in Canada, Krygsman was released on bail, and was living with family in Otterville.

On top of his 15-month sentence, Krygsman faces 2-years of probation, a ban on owning cameras or computer equipment, and cannot go near public pools or parks when he's released.

He'll also submit a DNA sample, and will be a registered sex offender.

A Woodstock man, drafted this week by the Calgary Stampeders is proving that "Punters are People Too!"
 

23-year-old Dumitru Ionita was taken in the 7th round of Monday's draft by a team that he says, he never worked out for and never even spoke to before the draft.  "I wasn't completely sure that I'd get drafted, because I'm a kicker and I've been out of school for a year-and-a-half now.  It was up in the air because last Saturday, I had a pre-draft workout with the Argos, so I had an idea they might take me late in the 7th round.  But it was completely unexpected the Stampeders took me.  I talked to most teams in the CFL, but Calgary, so that was a big shock when they drafted me."
 

Ionita, who lives in Eastwood, says he got a text from a fellow draftee, and then a call from his agent, informing him he'd been drafted.  He was shopping at Winners with his brother when he got the news.

He'll head to Calgary at the end of the month for a rookie camp, and expects to compete for a job on the team this spring.  "Their punter had a good year last year, but I feel I can beat him out in camp.  We'll be competing for the whole month or two."

Ionita, played high school football for the St. Mary's Warrior, and went on to play University Football at Concordia.  Last year, he played Junior Canadian Football for the the Twin Cities Predators in Waterloo, where he averaged 42.5-yards a punt.

During this past off-season, Ionita continued kicking indoors, thanks to the Woodstock Soccer Club for allowing him to train in the Cowan Park Complex.  He moved outdoors, and has continued kicking at his old stomping grounds at St. Mary's.

He says he hopes he can show local kids that if they put in the work, they can have a shot at playing professional football.  "I just want to show Woodstock to keep the youth program going for football, and the high school programs going...just to show that it is possible to go to University and play and move onto the next level and play CFL ball too."

VIDEO: Ionita's scouting video from YouTube.

It looks like the death blow has been dealt to horse racing in Woodstock.

Winrac has filed to the Ontario Racing Commission to have the Woodstock license cancelled.

It will be effective on May 19th, but no race dates have been scheduled this year for the Woodstock Racetrack.

Winrac continues to operate races in Dresden, who received 16 race dates for this year.

The horse racing industry in the region has been hurt by the provincial government's claw back of slot machine revenues that supported purse money for races in Ontario.

They were peddling hard in support of children and families with cancer at St. Mary's Catholic High School.
 

The Inside Ride, Canada's first indoor cycling challenge and fundraiser invaded the gym at the school this morning.

Lori O'Hara-Hoke with Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation says,  "The beautiful thing about this event is it really supports and commemorates students who come back into their school after having a diagnosis of cancer.  In fact, we have a student here, Madison, who came back...she's cancer free, and it's a real celebration for her and the school to come together as a community and make a difference for kids living with and beyond cancer."

The teams raised funds leading up to the event, which was in support of their fellow student Madison McIntyre who is now a cancer survivor.  McIntyre was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer), in her right femur in January 2012.  She was off from school for an entire semester after surgery and treatment, but is back at school this year, and has been cancer free since April 9th, 2012.  At this morning's event, McIntyre told Heart FM, "I am so blessed.  Honestly, this just makes my heart melt that they raised over $16,000 when their goal was $7000.  It makes me so happy that it's going somewhere that counts."

By the end of today's event, the school had raised over $17,000.

240 staff and students participated in the event for the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation, which supports child and families with cancer.

Don McKay talks about issues coming up at County Council this week, including a new public works yard, the need for security cams at rural Libraries and bringing the Lely cows to Toronto last weekend.

The province says it is improving fire safety for its most vulnerable residents by making automatic sprinklers mandatory in all homes for seniors and people with disabilities.
   
Premier Kathleen Wynne says the government will force all older nursing and retirement homes to be retro-fitted with water sprinkler systems.
   
But she didn't give a time frame for when the systems must be installed.
   
The government plans to unveil the necessary legislation next week and Wynne says other amendments to the fire code will also be announced then.

Youth and Children are the focus of this year's Mental Health Awareness Week.

The theme this year is all about "Bouncing Back".

Executive Director of the Woodstock and Area Community Health Centre and Student Support Leadership Initiative member, Cate Melito says promoting wellness and mental health is within the reach of everyone. "We can involve children and youth in strategies and ways that they can help themselves bounce back, in ways that they can be resilient, can promote their own mental health. Really that can lead to hopefully a lifetime of a stronger ability to deal with stresses and strains that come with life."

A number of items are planned for local children this week including a series of short videos as well as a special bracelet that will be handed out to children on Wednesday.

Melito says the Student Support Leadership Initiative have been working with the dance group Dynamic Dozen to create the series of five videos on bouncing back from mental health.

A new video will be released each day; to view the video click here.

A pair of young girls are suffering life threatening injuries following an ATV collision near Tillsonburg.

Emergency crews were called around 6:15 Saturday night after the ATV the girls were driving hit a tree in a field south of County Road 19.

The girls, aged 12 and 13 have been taken to Hamilton Health Sciences for treatment.

OPP are investigating.

The Oxford Renaissance Festival is getting a ten thousand dollar boost from the City of Woodstock .

Council approved a one time special grant for the festival to help with advertising and promotion as part of the City's Community Grants Policy.

Festival Director Greg Schuurman says it makes sense the City wants him to advertise outside of Woodstock.

"I am like them, I don't want it to be a one-off, I want it to be an annual event for the city to bring in tourism and to bring in all kinds of people into the City of Woodstock."
 

A minimum of 80 percent of the grant must be spent on regional advertising reaching markets outside of the County in order to appease council.

The festival is slated for June 14-16 at the Woodstock Fair Grounds.

It will be at least the fall before the new Woodstock Art Gallery Board takes over.

Council voted Thursday night to replace the current advisory committee which would see much of the gallery's decision making taken out of the hands of council with the exception of the final budget approval. The creation of the board will also put the gallery in a better position when applying for federal and provincial grants.

Manager of Culture & Museum Curator Karen Houston says Art gallery will continue to be governed by an advisory committee while final details for the change over to a board are hammered out.

"I think that if we're taking the summer to actually see what the bylaw will be, the fall is going to be on hammering out whatever questions and concerns the public or the council may have at that point and if not, it will take a shorter amount of time and if there are concerns it will take longer. "

Houston says at this point, she is not sure how many of the current committee members would be interested in joining the new advisory board.

It's called the largest demonstration of civic pride outside of Woodstock.
 

After a 1-year hiatus, nearly 1100 took part in this year's trek to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays for Woodstock Day at Rogers Centre.

Locals arrived to find the familiar Lely cows outside the stadium.  They were brought to attract attention by Oxford County Warden Don McKay.  "What a thrill to be able to bring cows to Toronto and the attention it captures and brings to the City of Woodstock, the Dairy Capital of Canada."
 

Pre-game festivities were all about Woodstock, including the WCI Voices performing the national anthems infront of a crowd of over 35,000.

7-year-old Max McClelland was selected to represent the city for the game's opening pitch (in photo on right, warming up with Jays mascot Ace).  It was a perfect strike to Ricky Romero, who signed the ball for Max, and he came away happy with his performance.  "It was exciting and it was fun to throw the first pitch." 

Even the Mayor, Pat Sobeski was impressed by the pitch.  "Great form!  I mean, the way Blue Jays pitchers have been going this year...I think Max was seen by a scout."

Also pre-game, city resident and longtime Jays fan, Marie Bowerman got the chance to get a jersey from pitcher Aaron Loup (photo on right).  "It was awesome.  To think I'm picked out of 1100 people to receive this gift.  I think Aaron Loup is probably one of the best relievers we've got right now...and good looking."

But unfortunately for Marie, the slumping Jays couldn't pull off a win on Woodstock Day.  They were thumped by the Mariners 8-1.

Still, Mayor Sobeski believes it is a successful event, "Here in Toronto, when they see 1000 people coming from a city of over 38,000, I hope it leaves them with a message that there's great community spirit."

The Woodstock skate park hours have been cut down.

Council approved a motion Thursday night that would see the skate park close at dusk as opposed to 10 o'clock, as it stood previously.

Director of Parks and Recreation Brian Connors says the time change will help cut down on possible injuries at the park.  "There's no lights right now, so we would actually be saying that the park is open, when it's pitch black sometimes.  We wouldn't have as much liability on us, as opposed to if it happened at 9:45 when they said, 'Look, the park's open at 9:45, but it's pitch black right now'."

While Council approved the time change, no penalty was attached to anyone caught using the park after hours was discussed.

Connors says the City doesn't have an immediate plans to add lights to the facility.  "It's something I think we should be looking into, though.  The one thing that we'd have to look into is how much light is going to be necessary, and if the surrounding residents ok with that."

But as it stands now, skateboarders will have to get their ollies and kick-flips in before dusk.

Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman says the provincial budget is "more of the same" from the provincial Liberals.
 

Finance Minister Charles Sousa says the budget takes a "balanced approach" to limiting spending growth and eliminating the deficit.
   
It will grow the deficit to 11.7 billion dollars this year from 9.8 billion last year -- but Sousa says the province remains on track to rebalance the books in 2017-18.

However, Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman isn't buying it.  "Spending in this budget is going up $3.6-Billion and it does nothing to encourage anybody to come and invest in our economy because it's that same policy and same direction they've been going since McGuinty was here and this Premier (Kathleen Wynne) is taking us in the same direction."

Meantime, Woodstock's Mayor is happy to see gas tax transfers remain in the provincial budget.  Mayor Pat Sobeski says the fact that the government committed to the payments for a number of years provides the kind of commitment municipalities were looking for.  "We'll have to see what comes out of the agreements that the minority government can work, but as far as the stability goes, that's good to see."

In Thursday's budget the province promised to make gas tax transfers permanent.

Woodstock has used the gas tax transfers to purchase several new buses over the last few years, to bring the city's transit fleet up to date.

Local cab owners are tired of paying for your good time.

Cabbies are asking council to impose a $120 cleaning fee if someone vomits or defecates in their cars.

Cab Owner Paul Soares says it's a public safety issue.  "It's not the matter of picking up the cleaning fees, it's also the fights that some times occur.  It's also having a clean cab".

Soares says it's not as simple as rinsing out the cab after someone vomited.  "It's not just about a little bit of puke or whatever the case may be, there's a lot in to it.  If it isn't cleaned properly, that's the second part of it.  Somebody can get sick from that; like this weekend I said somebody got injured from some kind of accident and there was perversely a lot of bleeding in the car and we have to get that cleaned.  If you come in to contact with that, you can get severely sick".

Soares says the vehicle needs to be cleaned with special chemicals that remove biohazards.

Council has asked staff to come up with options for a possible bylaw and also to look into if council has a legal right to force someone to pay a fine.

The Ontario Liberals have laid out their $127.6 billion budget for 2013-2014. The Progressive Conservatives have already said they will not be supporting the budget. The budget is said to meet or surpass all NDP demands, as the Liberals need their support to avoid triggering an election.

Here are some of the highlights:
 

-$35 billion over three years for infrastructure spending, including a new $100 million fund for small and rural municipalities to repair roads and bridges.
 

-the government will legislate an average 15 per cent cut in auto insurance premiums, but won't say over what period of time.

- the threshold for paying the 1.95 per cent employer health tax will be raised, which the budget says will mean 60,000 businesses will pay less, while the exemption would be eliminated for companies with a payroll over $5 million.
 

- new high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes will be installed on some 400 series highways in the Toronto area _ including Highway 401 in Toronto, Highway 417 in Ottawa _ allowing drivers without passengers to pay to use high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
 

- income testing will start in August 2014 to force higher income seniors to pay a larger share of their prescription drug costs.

- there is a one per cent increase for people on welfare and disability support, who will also be allowed to keep the first $200 of earnings each month before their benefits are reduced.
 

- a one per cent annual increase in spending on home and community care on top of the four per cent increase announced in last year's budget.
 

- there is $195 million over two years to help create 25,000 job opportunities for youth; $45 million over two years for a youth entrepreneurship fund;
 

- $42 million a year to help adults with development disabilities and their families.
 

-the deficit for 2013-14 is projected to be $11.7 billion, up from the $9.8 billion estimate for last year.

- total spending will be $127.6 billion this year, and is projected to grow by 1.8 per cent a year over the next three years.
 

- economic growth is projected at 1.5 per cent this year, 2.3 per cent in 2014 and 2.4 per cent in both 2015 and 2016.

- Ontario's net debt was projected to be $252.8 billion as of March 31, 2013.

UPDATE: OPP say the vehicle turned out not to have been stolen.  No charges will be laid, and the roadway is back open.

Highway 2 in Thamesford is blocked off by a heavy police presence this afternoon.

The road was blocked after police managed to stop a transport truck and trailer that was allegedly stolen in London.

Police pursued the stolen rig, before managing to get it stopped in the village.

Witnesses in the area say there are as many as 10 police cruisers at the scene.

There's no word from police on how long the roadway might be shut down.  We'll have more details as they become available.

Senior amateur sports in Oxford County is getting a financial boost, thanks to an endowment fund.
 

The fund was created during the 2001 Canada Summer Games in London.  The Oxford Community Foundation, once again, has doled out some of the interest from that fund.
 

Money is going to lawn bowling clubs in Woodstock and Zorra for equipment.  The Southgate Centre and Tillsonburg Seniors Centre is getting cash to refurbish their pool tables.
 

OCF Executive Director, Keith Hudson, says it's small amounts of money that goes a long way.  "They are thrilled.  It's not a large amount, but for small groups like that, it allows them to do the repairs and maintenance that they would usually have to take out of membership fees, or go out and seek fundraising."

Funds distributed:

Embro-Zorra Lawn Bowling Club - clubhouse renovations                $   300
South Gate Centre - purchase of a pool table                                 $   400
Tillsonburg Seniors' Centre - refurbishment of a pool table              $   500
Woodstock Curling Club - certification course fees for 2 instructors  $   350
Woodstock Lawn Bowling Club - purchase of a freezer                    $   400
                                                                                      TOTAL  $1,950

The announcements were made at the OCF's 10th Annual General Meeting this week.  They have also elected a new President - Tanya Murray is taking on the role.

The Woodstock Art Gallery may soon be able to make their own decisions.

Council has been presented with four governance options for the gallery which could see most of the decision making taken away from council.

As it stands now,  the Art Gallery Advisory committee can only advise council on what they would like to do and would still need council approval on their decisions. The new recommendations would see the creation of a board that could make decisions on fundraisers and the purchasing of art with council only needed for final budget approval.

Mayor Pat Sobeski says the current model has been hurting the City when it comes to applying for provincial grants.

"We are competing with private sector galleries and there's a view sometimes with these federal and provincial granting institutions that well, you're owned by the City of Woodstock, so they've got deep pockets so you can survive without our money, so it's a direction I think we have to make."

Council is expected to vote on the matter Thursday night.

The Progressive Conservatives want you to know more about food.

Earlier this week the party announced they were putting forward an amendment to add food literacy into the Local Food Act which would require food education to become a mandatory component of the curriculum for school children.

Local MPP Ernie Hardeman says through public consultations it became clear the lack of food knowledge people had was a problem.

"We needed to do more to educate people about food, the qualities and the things that you needed to be watching for and a healthy diet and so forth and as this bill was introduced without that again, we decided that maybe we should look at proposing an amendment to put in there to deal with it."

Hardeman says the Conservatives had to request the amendment before it went to committee.

"To amend the education act to put it in the curriculum, it requires unanimous consent from all three parties to allow us to open another act that the bill presently doesn't open. With that agreement we can then move forward and have it added to the local food act."

A recent study by Farmers Feed Cities found that only 41 percent of 18-34 year olds knew where their food comes from.

Oxford OPP have closed a section of Township Road 4 after a single vehicle crash this morning.

Police have closed the road between Oxford Road 4 and Blandford Road to complete their investigation, more specifically between the CPR Railway crossing and Oxford Road 4.

The driver of the vehicle was taken to London Health Sciences with critical injuries shortly after 9:00 am Wednesday morning.

Police say the road will remain closed for several hours as the Technical Traffic Reconstruction Investigators are on scene.

A tense situation as staff and students were evacuated at East Oxford Central School.

It happened around 1:30 this afternoon when a suspicious note was found on the school property raising safety concerns.

OPP say everyone was cleared out of the building and were not at risk at anytime.

OPP are continuing to investigate.

Pat Sobeski discusses issues coming up at city council this week, including Woodstock looking at 17 possible solar sites, a by-law to charge for cleaning "bodily fluids" out of taxis, and a governance model for the Art Gallery.

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the government will spend $300-million over the next two years to fight youth unemployment.
   
She says there'll be four funds to help create jobs, give young people work skills and support young entrepreneurs.
   
It's the latest sneak peak at Thursday's budget -- and appears to be part of an effort to gain the support of the New Democrats.
   
The minority Liberals need help from at least one opposition party to pass their budget -- and avoid an election.

If you're selling booze for a profit at a stag and doe, you could have your liquor permit revoked, or face a fine.
 

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is cracking down on the rules surrounding a "Special Occasion Permit" to sell alcohol.

Spokesperson Lisa Murray says they can't monitor all of the events, but the rules will be enforced.  "There are tens of thousands of Special Occasion Permits that are issued each year.  Obviously, AGCO Inspectors and/or police are not going to be at every event.  We are trying to inform people.  There's certainly more education out there and more discussion out there.  I think people are now more aware of what the rules have been."

Click here for more on the AGCO's permits and rules.

The enforcement of the rules has caused at least one prominent venue to start the process of taking over alcohol sales.  The Woodstock Ag. Society is working towards attaining a liquor license for its venue, which will cut into the profits for charity events like the Golden Gala, Rotary Fish Fry, and others.
 

Under a proposal before the Ag. Society's board, they're looking to take a 25% share of the booze sales from those charity events.  But it would also allow events, like Stag & Doe's to draw a 50% share of alcohol proceeds.  Those are the figures the Ag. Society has tabled, as it works through the process of applying for liquor licensing.

However, the Ag. Society has declined comment to Heart FM on the story.

It's a day of reflection for those who have been hurt, and those who have died on the job.

The annual "Day of Mourning" was marked on Sunday by the Oxford Labour Council today.  (In photo: group of CUPW members from across region gather in Museum Square.)  A brief but solemn ceremony was held in Museum Square, drawing attention to the fact that nearly 400 workers were killed in Ontario alone last year, while at work. 
 

Over 250,000 more filed occupational injury and disease claims.

President of the Oxford Regional Labour Council says workplace "accidents" seem to happen far too often.  "I mean it's disgraceful.  We have many good employers that do their job, and do the training, and enforce the rules and regulations of working safely.  But we have others out there that do not do their job and unfortunately it's the workers that suffer and so do their families."

The most recent local case happened back in January, when 51-year-old Rafael Figueros of Ingersoll was struck by a falling lid off a mould at Johnson Controls in Tillsonburg.

(Bottom photo: ORLC "Day of Mourning" plaque in Museum Square)

Carey says workers need to bring unsafe conditions to the attention of their employers.  "If they see something that doesn't look right, or doesn't feel right to them.  Whether it's repetitive strain from doing the work over and over the same way everyday, or whether it's a piece of something that's breaking, they need to let their employer know so the employer can fix it."

And Carey says if the employer fails to act, the worker has the right to refuse unsafe work.

They're trying to raise $6000 in Innerkip today for new playground equipment.
 

The Innerkip Firefighters are putting on a breakfast, while allowing the public to visit their parking lot to test drive a Ford.

Woodstock Ford has several models available to test drive, and for every test drive taken, they're donating $20 to the Innerkip Central School Playground Committee.

It's in an effort to finish $60,000 worth of fundraising for two new playgrounds for the school.

Principal Lisa Munro hopes the community will come out and support the cause.  "We would love the Innerkip Community and the greater community at large to come out...it costs no money for you to drive a Ford, but it will certainly benefit students."

As well, Innerkip's Grade 8 students are hosting a car wash at the school's parking lot, also in support of the playground.

Munro says the committee has been raising funds for some time, and they're now in the process of tendering, and selecting equipment. "We have been pricing equipment for the last few weeks, and it's quite expensive.  We have a very large school yard with one area for our junior-intermediate students and another area for our primary students.  So we do want to be able to provide equipment for both...and we hope the equipment can be used by the greater community during off-school hours."

The test drive event runs from 8AM - 2PM at the Innerkip Fire Hall.

peopleCare in Tavistock were the big winners of the Ontario Long Term Care Quality Improvement Recognition Awards.

The home took Workplace of the Year honors, after beating out a significant number of entries based on a wellness plan developed by staff which helped several staff members quit smoking and lose a substantial amount of weight.

peopleCare's Chief Operating Officer, Elaine Shantz says she couldn't be happier for her employees.

"It is a program that is being rolled out to all of the peopleCare homes and in fact, through the Ontario Long Term Care Association, because it has been recognized as the Quality Workplace of the Year, it will also be written up and presented to other workplaces."

Shantz says the idea for the wellness plan really came from a group of employees who wanted to make a change.

"Our employees need to be taken care of and if they're happy and healthy then they will provide that exceptional care and this team really recognized that and embraced that  value and moved forward with it."

According to the Ontario Long Term Care Association the award is given out to the member homes that excel in physical, environmental and occupational health and safety for a transformative organizational change.

As the death toll continues to rise after a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, local students are speaking out about sweat shops.

It's part of the All's Fair Wear-athon which kicks off next week and looks to raise awareness of fair labour practices by asking residents to wear the same t-shirt for 110 hours as a way to see what life is like for someone working in a sweatshop.

St Mary's student Amanda Geras says hearing about the tragedy in Bangladesh made her know she was doing the right thing in participating in the next week's event.

"Well this is like, kind of a reason why we're doing the All's Fair Wear-athon. It's just to have people aware of it and have it to stop because this is the thing that will happen from it if we don't make a change."

Geras says she wants to educate students that they are the future and changes need to be made in order for the future to look brighter here and in third world countries.

Student Jamie VanVliet says being media savvy has helped her when selecting which companies to support when buying clothing.

"Sometimes companies, they get negative publicity for the things that they do in their companies whether it's over seas or wherever it's taking place in the world. So by kind of paying attention to the news and other things around you and listening to what other people have to say it really does help you in know what companies do have fair trade and fair labour."

Program Director for the Peace Project at YFC/Youth Unlimited Woodstock Dave Steenburg says this tragedy in Bangladesh really hits home the project's message.

"With a tragedy like this it certainly gets people's attention as to where our clothes come from and who's paying the cost for the cheap clothes that we get. The event that we're running, the All's Fair Wear-athon, part of it is promoting the Fair Labour Association and this is a strategy for companies that are trying to do the right thing in developing nations."

To get involved in the All's Fair Wear-athon, you can buy the t-shirt from Imogene's WERCreations at 426 Dundas St. for $15 by Tuesday, April 30.

They were lined up at 7:30 this morning.  Eager campers were ready for Pittock Conservation Area to open the gates at 8 o'clock this morning, kicking off camping season.
 

Pittock Superintendent, Brent Verscheure is encouraging anyone to come and check out the campground this weekend.  "The weather's working out fantasic.  This weekend our gates will be open up until Sunday, free access is permitted so come out and enjoy the campground."

Verscheure says the wet spring hasn't dampened the grounds too much.  "It has been a wet spring, but it's on par with other years.  The lake is full and we're ready for boating, fishing and all water sports alike.  We have canoe rentals and very, very good fishing here at Pittock."

And for families that are looking to try camping for the first time, Verscheure says they have a new program that families should take advantage of, "One new thing that we want to add this year, we want to invite young families out for camping for the very first time.  Here at Pittock we'll provide the essential camping gear to allow families to experience camping without the initial expense."

Pittock features 5kms of hiking and biking trails, water sports, and a swimming pool and splash pad for when the weather really heats up.  Campground features include:
 

• Great day use area for special events
• 250 campsites
• Picturesque and private group camping facilities
• Large lake for swimming, boating, sailing and fishing
• Modern washrooms and laundry facilities
• 5 kilometres of hiking and biking trails
• Swimming pool in campground
• Summer recreation programs
• Children’s splash pad
• Peaceful day use area
• National rated 18 hole disc golf course

• Rental program including canoes, shelter and sporting equipment
• OFAH TackleShare program – fishing gear for everyone
   

Several new events are set for this season including a learn to canoe and star gazing course.  Here's a full list of special events at Pittock this year:

May 26: Multi Sport Canada - Woodstock Triathlon

June 15: Planting for Tomorrow (Tree Planting for everyone)

July 6: Pittock CA Water Festival

July 15: Paddle Pittock (Learn to CANOE)

July 27: Amazing Stargazing

August 10: Woodstock Rotary Dragon Boat Festival

October 6: Woodstock Memorial Forest Dedication

Property taxes still aren't being paid on the former Capitol Theatre property in downtown Woodstock.

If the delinquent property owner, from Toronto, continues to fail to pay, the city will be in a position by 2015 to take the property over.

By that time, the tax bill will have climbed to $600,000.

That's on top of the $500,000 the city spent in 2010 to demolish the old theatre that was starting to fail.  (In photo - Oct. 2010, demolition crews get ready to take down the former Capitol Theatre.)

Woodstock Mayor Pat Sobeski tells Heart FM neglected buildings become a catch 22.  "It's an empty lot right now, we've got $600,000 (invested) because of the demolition costs which were imposed by the city.  We don't own the property, so we could take back the property and it gives us at least control of the site.  It could be used for parking, or who knows what down the road.  It's a difficult situation for every municipality that have older structures in their downtown that are vacant."

In the last year, the city has taken over the old Reg Hall building downtown, and the former Thomas Bus Factory on Tecumseh as part of tax arrears takeovers.  The city still hasn't announced firm plans for either of those properties.  The city is shoring up the roof of the Reg Hall building.

 Health Canada says some products for disinfecting soft contact lenses contain hydrogen peroxide and can cause eye injury if used improperly.

    Three products sold in Canada, Clear Care, Aosept and Oxysept  contain three per cent hydrogen peroxide and are used for cleaning, disinfecting and storing soft contact lenses.

    The hydrogen peroxide in these solutions needs to be neutralized in a specialized lens case provided with the product for a certain amount of time before the lenses can be safely inserted into the eyes.
 

    Only multi-purpose or saline solutions should be used to rinse contact lenses before they are inserted.
 

    Health Canada says it has received reports of eye injuries from consumers who confused the hydrogen peroxide-based contact lens solutions with other types of solutions.
 

    Consumers are advised to carefully read and follow labelling and packaging information before buying and using contact lens products.

Student volunteers are helping CAMI build a new forest that will link two existing natural areas.

Several Woodstock area children put shovel to ground today to help CAMI accomplish a five year goal along their property on Thomas Street. 

Senior Environmental Engineer at CAMI, Brenda Beaudoin says during the expansion of the plant, a small wood lot was removed and the reforestation was important to meet General Motor's sustainability and partnership goals.

"We had taken out about five acres of woodlot and different kinds of trees so we are replacing that with about 16 acres of trees. It's in a good area because it connects up with the five points wetland that is out the north west corner of the property and it will provide a wildlife corridor."

Community Partnership Specialist with Upper Thames, Brad Hertner says the conservation authority was able to walk in the neighbouring woodland to determine the best native trees and shrubs to plant.

"Pine, dogwood, Kentucky coffee tree, poplar, elderberry, cranberry, a real mix of tall canopy trees and wildlife shrubs that will provide food sources for locals mammals and birds."

Hertner says with student planting, the Conservation Authority has an average 85 percent survival rate.

He says they really love having school children out to plant trees.

"We feel that if they are engaged and find value, boots on the ground, in their local, natural areas it builds a conservation ethic and it will lead them to more environmental choices as they get older."

Hertner commended CAMI for using students saying it is more expensive to use student labour citing the use of larger trees and mulching by hand as a couple of reasons for the extra costs.

Public Consultations are now over when it comes to a proposed wind farm in Norwich Township.
 

Last night was the final open house for Pro Wind, which is looking to install 10 turbines along Gunn's Hill Road.

Project Developer with Pro Wind, Juan Anderson says now that the public meetings have wrapped, they will be submitting their renewable energy approval materials to the Ministry of the Environment.  "Some of the new things we're happy to announce, we've been able to reduce the sound levels again from the turbines.  This is the second time we've been able to do that...to minimize impacts.  We're also quite pleased to be open the possibility for co-operative ownership of part of the project."

Anderson says they continue to work in good faith with the Township of Norwich planning staff even though he finds it disappointing they have public stated they are "not a willing host" for the project. 

Curries Resident Keith McKay says he is completely opposed to the project and claims the only local residents in favour are those who will benefit financially.  "The rest are going to lose at least 25% value on our property.  We've talked to Pro Wind about this...they guarantee us there will not be property loss, but they will not put it in writing, they will not back that fact up."

Pro Wind's Anderson says the power of approval is now in the hands of the province.

Norwich Township has written a letter to the Premier, saying they don't want the turbines erected in their township.

Depending on final approvals, construction could begin in the first quarter of 2014 at the earliest.

Norwich has a feces problem.

The issue was brought up at council earlier this month following a scheduled Easter egg hunt at Peter Lossing Forest where several members of the public had to clean up mounds of feces before the event could be run.

Director of Fire and Protective Services, Bob Parsons says there is a bylaw in place which requires residents to pick up after their animals.

"The tickets issued for failure to remove feces from a dog in a public property is $150 plus court costs of $30, so $180 in total."

Parsons does admit it can be difficult for bylaw officers to issue tickets.

"The difficulty is sometimes this occurs when it's not observed by a bylaw officer so it's difficult to issue tickets based on just the information without knowing the owner of the dog or some information as to noting the time and date that that occurred."

A dry May 2-4?
 

Unionized workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario could be going on strike just before the May long weekend.
   
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents more than 7000 LCBO workers, says members are prepared to walk out on May 17th unless a deal is reached.
   
It says talks with the retail giant have brought little progress and the union has "no choice'' but to plan for job action.
   
The workers have been without a contract since March 31st.

There's been talk of beefing up security around the country's rail lines following Monday's news that two would-be terrorists were allegedly targeting a passenger train.
   
But experts say the best way to protect railways is to invest in counter-terrorism intelligence, not baggage screening and metal detectors.
   
They say it's simply not practical to try to secure sprawling rail networks.
   
Ontario's attorney general had suggested that train travel might benefit from the same types of security measures used for planes.

When you think "flea market", you probably don't think "upscale".
 

But that's the concept behind a new business launching at the former Juliana bar and grill.

The "Canadian City Mart" is the name of a new flea market that is launching in the former bar starting in June.

They're looking for vendors right now, and spokesperson Marylisa Tavares explains what they're looking at.  "For the indoor, it's going to be all year round, we're going to have the meat, the bakery, the cheese, the clothing, the electronics.  We'll have an Internet cafe with the bookstore.  Outdoors, we'll have flowers and plants, vegetables, hot dog carts, specialties like that."  Tavares is also the owner of a photography studio that is looking to operate out of the market.

They're hoping to run the market four days a week, from Wednesday to Saturday.

Businesses have struggled to succeed at the Juliana property of the years.  Most recently, the building was a nightclub.  So a flea market will be a stark contrast.   But Tavares believes the market concept will be a success.  "It's a beautiful piece of property.  It's got a lot of parking spots.  And location, you couldn't get any closer to the core of where Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire are and it's just a great, great location."
 

The market is tentatively set to open on June 19th.

For more information on becoming a vendor, contact:

Bruce An: 519-536 9275
Email: bruwest@hotmail.com

Marylisa Tavares: 519-535-2742
Email: marylisatavares@hotmail.com

Downtown businesses may soon get a face lift with help from the County.
 

At council Wednesday, council will be asked to approve a draft Community Improvement plan that would see the County partner with Tillsonburg and Woodstock to offer tax incentives for business improvements.

Warden Don McKay says if the property today was assessed at $200,000 and they make $200-300,000 in improvements, they will only pay for the next five years, tax based on the original $200,000, giving them a break on the increased value of the property.

McKay says while the improvement of downtown's isn't really in the county's jurisdiction, the tax they would be forgoing will enhance and come back.  "The tax that we're foregoing, will enhance and come back.  So your postponing for 5-years the tax increase.  So your (Oxford County) not providing money up front, you're no money out of pocket.  And any of those increases in one property, the neighbouring properties are going to respond with value and business in the downtown core."

McKay says they're thinking more and more about what they can do to enhance the are municipalities as well as the quality of life that the people in their communities are looking for.