Podcasts about chatham kent

Most of the beaches in Chatham-Kent are getting the all-clear from local public health officials, Ontario could be changing its funding for colleges and universities in the spring, and VIA rail workers have a new contract in place now.

A familiar face in Chatham-Kent is joining the team at the local hospital's Emergency Department, Blenheim's 42nd annual Cherry-fest is underway, and you won't have to pay to get into Ontario Parks tomorrow.

CK police say concerns about a new encampment in Chatham should not automatically be considered an emergency, Chatham-Kent police have charged two women after an argument at a local home took a violent turn, and a section of Kent Bridge Road will be closed off for several days.

Police are looking to speak to witnesses after a boat crash on the water near Walpole Island over the weekend, Chatham-Kent police are about to get more eyes on the streets and the parks in the municipality, and a special air quality statement is still in effect for Chatham-Kent.

The Orville Wright pool in Chatham should open again this afternoon, the province's controversial Bill 5 is facing a lawsuit, and Chatham-Kent is cashing out more from the OLG this year than it did at the same time last year.

There's a new home for the encampment that was set up in downtown Chatham, the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission has a lot of work to do to address long-term water and wastewater shortfalls and challenges, and OPP are investigating a two-vehicle crash just outside of Chatham-Kent that sent one person to the hospital.

Another hot and hazy afternoon in Chatham-Kent, the Chatham-Kent community has lost a long-time member of the local media who dedicated his life's work to uncovering truth and spreading awareness of agricultural affairs, and no issues were reported as Chatham's largest homeless encampment was cleared out of the city's downtown area yesterday.

Chatham-Kent has a heat warning and a special air quality statement now, residents may notice a police presence near the homeless encampment at the Third Street Bridge in Chatham today, and Chatham-Kent's council meets tonight where they'll discuss awarding a contract to officially bring back dust control services.

We're in for another sweltering couple of days in southwestern Ontario, time is up for residents living in the homeless encampment in downtown Chatham, and Chatham-Kent council will get an update tonight on local trash stats.

A shoreline protection project along the Thames River in downtown Chatham is set to start soon, Chatham-Kent's rich history is on display through a new mural in downtown Chatham, and Donald Trump says the U-S is set to introduce a sweeping 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods next month.

The mayor and council of Chatham-Kent have committed to 13 recreational and cultural projects across the municipality so far this year, an unexpected boost for Canada's labour market last month, and it sounds like U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat may not be as bad as it sounded at first.

If you're looking to buy a home in Chatham-Kent right now, there is no shortage of options, dozens of First Nations in Ontario are calling for the province's environment minister to resign, and stargazers are in for a treat tonight -- as long as the weather holds up.

Home sales in the municipality have slowed despite a record number of homes on the market. Chatham-Kent police are looking to add more CCTV cameras to some communities as the system has helped solve numerous investigations and improved public safety. A 51-year-old man is facing charges after he allegedly tried to rob someone outside the bus station in Chatham. A number of First Nations in Ontario are calling for the province's environment minister to resign. A weekly routine has turned into a $250K prize for a Blenheim retiree.

Residents in Wheatley will see plenty of activity downtown, near the library, in the coming days. Chatham-Kent police are asking for help finding a missing man. A man who was vacationing in the Leamington area is lucky to be alive after he fell off a Sea-Doo in Lake Erie. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and tractors will be on display in Ridgetown this weekend. A non-alcoholic beverage sold across the country is being recalled over concerns of mould. 

A 12-year-old boy from Dresden is being remembered as an irreplaceable brother and teammate, a 51-year-old Chatham-Kent man has been charged after allegedly threatening a bank teller, and more than 100 people have died after some flash floods hit central Texas.

A 29-year-old Ridgetown woman has died following a crash on Longwoods Road. A Chatham-Kent police officer is in trouble with the law after an off-duty incident. The measles outbreak appears to be slowing down in Ontario. An evacuation is underway in Manitoba, as a nearby wildfire threatens a northern community. The Calgary Stampede kicks off tomorrow, and Shania Twain will open things up.

Gas was reported to be venting near the Wheatley library Friday morning, but it has since stopped. There's a heat warning in effect for Chatham-Kent this weekend. A 29-year-old Ridgetown woman has died following a crash on Longwoods Road. A Chatham-Kent police officer is in trouble with the law after an off-duty incident. A CK police officer was injured when trying to make an arrest in Wallaceburg. The measles outbreak appears to be slowing down in Ontario.

A Windsor resident is charged following a cocaine investigation, a Chatham-Kent police officer is arrested in Leamington, and Tecumseh rolls out new electric buses. All the noon headlines, and the weekend forecast, on the go.

Two local teens are facing assault charges after a fight in the parking lot of a retail area in Chatham, the investigation continues into some recurring gas emissions that were detected behind the public library branch in Wheatley, and a local farm known for its Christmas trees is once again teaming up with the Alzheimer's Society of Chatham-Kent for a flowery fundraiser.

There is a severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect for Chatham-Kent. Plans are in the works for what could be the largest single-site residential development in Chatham-Kent's history. A child has died following a train collision in Chatham. A 71-year-old Blenheim woman is facing a handful of charges after a police chase just outside of Ridgetown that ended in a cemetery. A 40-year-old Chatham-Kent woman is facing charges after allegedly causing a scene after she was refused service because of insufficient funds. The water at Ipperwash Beach has claimed another life.

Another gas detection call in downtown Wheatley, a Chatham-Kent man is facing firearms charges after he allegedly flashed a gun while he was robbing a convenience store in Sarnia, and the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers had a day to forget as their five-game win streak came to an end.

Plans are in the works for what could be the largest single-site residential development in Chatham-Kent's history, a 71-year-old Blenheim woman is facing a handful of charges after a police chase just outside of Ridgetown that ended in a cemetery, and a 40-year-old Chatham-Kent woman is facing charges after she allegedly spat on someone and threatened them after she was refused service because of insufficient funds.

There are closures across Chatham-Kent to celebrate Canada Day on Tuesday. A 62-year-old man from Leamington has died following a single-vehicle collision in Wheatley. Canada is rescinding the digital services tax and resuming trade talks with the U.S.

Fire Officials say the most recent gas threat in Wheatley has ended. A Chatham-Kent councillor has been elected as Ontario's vice-chair for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Canada's economy shrank in April by 0.1%. A new national survey has found that most people feel proud to be Canadian. Ryan Reynolds is set to be invested as an officer of the Order of Canada.

CKHA has started using Artificial Intelligence to help diagnose and treat patients with stroke-like symptoms. As the weather warms up this summer, Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency officials also want you to raise your awareness about safety around area waterways. Tick activity is on the rise in Ontario, including here in Chatham-Kent. Canada has agreed to spend 5% of its GDP on defence by 2035. On the next national census, you'll be asked what your sexual orientation is.

A Chatham-Kent OPP officer charged in the shooting death of a 24-year-old man nearly four years ago is walking free, a Chatham teen who has been battling cancer for two years will soon get to sleep in his own bed again, and three Chatham-Kent residents are headed to Thailand for the 2025 Jiu-Jitsu World Championships.

Another day with an extreme heat warning, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is going to need some major help to pay for road and bridge work across the area, and the realignment of Talbot Trail should be done by next summer.

Chatham-Kent police are putting out a notice to the public that you may see some officers along the Thames River in Chatham throughout the day, a heat warning is still in place, and you will likely run into some traffic delays and detours if your drive takes you along Highway 402 between London and Sarnia.

Chatham-Kent municipal offices and libraries are available as cooling centres while an extended heat warning is in place. First responders including aerial and marine units are looking along the Thames River in Chatham for a missing person. A Lake Erie beach remained closed on Monday as first responders searched for a missing swimmer. Bus fares in Chatham-Kent will be going up slightly on July 1st, but only for people who use a smart card. Ontario's government has proposed weakening some impending rules for recycling in the province. Voting is open for the Intercounty Baseball League's All-Star Game.

Municipal officials in Chatham-Kent are not happy with the province's proposed changes to the blue box program, Dr. Zeke Milkovic has been named the permanent Chief of Staff at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, and a local high school student's hard work is paying off in the form of a sizeable scholarship.

Chatham-Kent Council may have a bitter pill to swallow when it comes to water planning, summer starts tonight with a stretch of hot and humid days ahead of us, and there are a lot of events going on across Chatham-Kent this weekend.

The Walpole Island Fire Department is looking to revitalize its first-ever fire truck. Chatham-Kent dog owners should make sure they've got their 2025 licences. Some Canadian renters continue to face affordability challenges even as rent prices have fallen. A new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says if Canada doubles the pace of home construction over the next decade, housing prices will return to 2019 levels. Advocates for people with disabilities are asking the federal government to rethink a proposed tax bill.

Potential plans are in place for the future of the former Park Street Place Retirement Residence in Dresden. Chatham-Kent dog owners should make sure they've got their 2025 licences. An 83-year-old fire truck is set to be restored by the Walpole Island Fire Department. It's a big year for Thamesville, as the Threshing Festival marks 50 years. Some labour experts think Ottawa is setting up Canada Post for failure by forcing a vote by workers. 

There is a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for the area with the possibility of a tornado. Local conservation authorities are warning of possible flooding in low-lying areas. A 36-year-old Chatham-Kent man is charged with robbery after he allegedly attacked a local employee with some kind of spray and stole cash from the business. A 33-year-old Chatham-Kent man is facing a handful of charges after a violent incident inside a Chatham home late Tuesday night. The 13th annual Blenheim Classics Auto Show and Art in the Park will both be happening in Blenheim on Saturday.

The sex assault trial of a Chatham-Kent doctor will be moving forward. A 45-year-old woman is facing charges after allegedly breaking into a man's home and attacking him. A new mural will soon be installed in downtown Chatham highlighting the area's vast history. A Member of Parliament from Alberta has officially stepped down to make way for Pierre Poilievre. About 80K Canadians are in the Middle East while the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates.

A Chatham-Kent doctor charged with multiple sex charges involving a minor is going to trial, a Whitby resident has been charged after a single-vehicle rollover that closed down a section of Highway 40 just north of Chatham for a few hours yesterday, and a new mural will soon be installed in downtown Chatham highlighting the area's vast history.

Home sales bounced back a bit last month in Chatham-Kent providing a much-needed boost in the region, hundreds of classic car enthusiasts will be heading to One Classic Car Drive in Blenheim tomorrow morning for another round of RM's Cars and Coffee, and the Gordie Howe International Bridge is 95 percent done.

The number of suspected drug-related deaths or opioid overdoses in Chatham-Kent is down so far this year when compared to the final three months of 2024, the Capitol Theatre in Chatham is pulling in some recognizable names as it celebrates its 15th season this fall, and cross-border travel dropped again in May according to Stats Canada.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is reaching out to the federal government for help fighting back against a planned expansion at the Dresden landfill, dust control services are coming back to Chatham-Kent, and closing arguments are underway at the Hockey Canada sexual assault case in a London courtroom.

Ontario provincial police have pulled more than 40 kilograms of fentanyl off of the street, a 32-year-old woman is facing a pair of charges after she allegedly broke into a home in Chatham while intoxicated and assaulted the homeowner, and three communities in Chatham-Kent have been selected to take part in a province-funded environmental project.

Chatham fire crews were called to the Maple Court Apartments on Pine Street Tuesday afternoon.  American companies will now have a tougher time getting municipal contracts in Chatham-Kent.  Wheatley, Thamesville, and Wallaceburg will share a 385-thousand dollar grant to help mitigate the risk of climate change. A 32-year-old woman is facing a pair of charges after she allegedly broke into a home in Chatham while intoxicated and assaulted the homeowner.  Ontario provincial police have pulled more than 40 kilograms of fentanyl off of the street. Canada has invited Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the upcoming G7 Leaders Summit.

Some speed limit signs could be changing around Chatham-Kent, Provincial Police are investigating after a body was found near Leamington yesterday morning, and Downtown Chatham will be a busy place this afternoon with a pair of convocation ceremonies taking place at the Capitol Theatre.

Officials with the Wheatley Task Force and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent are looking for feedback on plans for a new park in Downtown Wheatley, Ontario's top doctor is giving another good reason to get the measles vaccine, and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is calling the union that represents its striking workers back to the bargaining table.

A tragic update in Ontario's latest measles report, phase two of the new regional park on Bear Line Road in Chatham should done by the end of the year, and municipal officials in Chatham-Kent are exploring all of their options for fighting against the expansion of a landfill just outside of Dresden.

A housing project years in the making is finally coming to fruition in Chatham, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is planning for future urban growth and development but there are some challenges and barriers in the way, and the Carney government is ready to table legislation to remove interprovincial trade barriers.

Wildfire smoke is affecting the air quality in Chatham-Kent. Shovels are finally in the ground for a housing project in Chatham that was proposed four years ago.  A 34-year-old man is facing charges after a Chatham store was reportedly robbed at knifepoint. Canada's unemployment rate ticked up to 7 per cent in May. Canada's Liberal government tabled some landmark legislation Friday afternoon. Folgers Coffee will soon be off the shelves at Loblaw grocery stores.

Local leaders and residents in Chatham-Kent are disappointed with Bill 5 passing through the Ontario legislature. A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to two more years behind bars for a shooting in downtown Chatham two years ago. Three dozen people have been arrested, including a 38-year-old from Chatham-Kent, in a province-wide child sexual exploitation investigation. Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health has announced the death of a baby in southwestern Ontario, partly because of measles. An open house is underway in Tilbury to talk about the route that was chosen for Hydro One's Longwood to Lakeshore transmission lines.

A horse has died after a barn caught fire south of Chatham, Chatham-Kent fire crews were called to a second fire yesterday, and two of the most prolific baseball names to come out of Chatham-Kent are set to receive special recognition from the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers this month.

Well, thank you once again for joining me on the Big Year podcast.  As May turns to June, spring migration is coming to a close. I've been busy all the merry month of May, birding in Long Point Provincial Park, where we got to see a Summer Tanager, Rondeau Provincial Parks for a Mourning Warbler, and Point Pelee National Park for Prothonotary Warblers and a Yellow-breasted Chat and Hillman Marsh for a Neotropic Cormorant and American Avocets.  I've taken trips to Toronto where I just saw a Western Kingbird at Humber Bay East and a Western Grebe at Colonel Samuel Smith Park, which was, for the longest time, my birding patch.   Now my birding patch is here in Branford, at a lovely spot called Gilkison Flats, along The Grand River.  I do enjoy birding there, but it's not quite the same as Colonel Sam. That was always my favourite spot to be during spring migration, and of course, that's where the Whimbrels have passed through on the way to their nesting grounds in the far north.  Alas, this year weather and other circumstances made it a disappointing Whimbrel Watch in Toronto, with much lower numbers than usual.     It might have been that they took a more westerly route this year.  I got to see Whimbrels in Chatham-Kent not far from Rondeau Provincial Park, in the same field I had not long before seeing a Yellow-head Blackbird, back in April.  And that was the same day I saw the Crested Caracara, which was probably the highlight of the season and Canada lifer for me.  That adventure started on a Monday, spending most of the day cruising around Essex County and going home disappointed, driving through blinding snow that prevented me from seeing the Yellow-headed Blackbird too.  On Wednesday the weather was much improved and I returned to Chatham for the Yellow-headed Blackbird, only to discover the caracara had been re-found only minutes from where I was.  I ended up seeing both birds that day.     It's now June 1, 2025 and the weather is perhaps, finally, hopefully, going to feel more spring like and I am going to enjoy birding without all the layers.  Sue and I spent a chilly final day of May, layered up from the wind, at the Huron Fringe Birding Festival, and we got to see Brewers Blackbirds and Upland Sandpipers, two of their specialty birds.  If you decide to go, you'll discover why the Kincardine Sewage Lagoons,(yes sewage lagoons-really), are known as Pelee North. The difference is that in Point Pelee, the birds are migrating through, but at the Huron Fringe Birding Festival, you are liable to find lots of nesting birds and birds that you may have missed because you weren't in the right place the right time during spring migration.   In fact, for me, I'm embarrassed to say this, but somehow I have not seen a Wilson's Warbler this year, and that's a little bit frustrating.  I was hoping to find one on Saturday, but no such luck.   But now it's time to get back to the podcast. And today we have Alberta's own, Gavin McKinnon. He was the birder, who in 2022, gave me a few tips and tricks to get some specialty songbirds in southern Alberta, like the Lark Sparrow and Thick-billed Longspur. I noticed late in 2024 that he had passed 400 species for Canada for the year and I wanted to know a little bit more about him, not just because he helped me, but because he is such an expert about birding in Alberta.  I will say we did chat before the end of 2024, after he had already passed 400 species, but I will follow up with him at a later date to find out how the year ended, and share it during an episode of "The Big Year Podcast: On the Road", in August.  In fact, as of June 1, he's once again the top birder in Canada with 324 species. Now, please enjoy all the stories you are about to hear equally and please don't show a preference for any one story, or birds will be removed from your Life List.  

Happy Podcast day, one and all!  Welcome to back to The Big Year Podcast.  Thank you once again for joining me.   It's April 15, 2025 and spring migration is well underway here in southwestern Ontario.  It's actually a bit of a miracle that I finished this episode on time because the last 2 weeks have been very busy for me and my fellow birders.  It started with a Western Grebe in Port Credit, a Black-headed Gull, at Port Colborne, followed by a Long-billed Dowitcher right here in Brant County.  The fun continued with over 50 American White Pelicans at Holiday Beach and a female Harlequin Duck down in Chatham-Kent.  I also go my first Ruffed Grouse and Common Loon for Brant County, but the real excitement was the chase for a Crested Caracara in Essex County, not too far from the Ontario/Michigan boarder, on April 7.   Dozens of birders flocked to the small town of Amherstburg for a once in a lifetime look at this large falcon that lost its way.  This bird should have been in Texas, and after a long day of searching seemed to have returned home.  I had then tried for a Yellow-headed Blackbird back in Chatham, but near blizzard conditions sent me home to contemplate missed opportunities.  However, on Wednesday the weather was nice again, so I decided to go back and look for the Yellow-headed Blackbird.  To my complete surprise, before I even arrived at McGeachy Pond, I was alerted to the return of the caracara, not in Amherstburg, but right there in Chatham, only 15 minutes from where I was parked at the side of the road.   Talk about being in the right place at the right time.  I drove, I saw, I counted a new Canada Lifer!  And I got to spend time with some of my favourite birding friends, including Kelly Sue, who you met on season one of the podcast.  She lived only 5 minutes away.  And yesterday we had another rare bird party as dozens of us migrated to Stoney Creek for a rare spring sighting of a Loggerhead Shrike.  And all through that I was trying to find time to finish this podcast.  Not only that, it's the onset of allergy season and my head feels like it's full of teddy bear stuffing.  Today's episode features Robert Gundy and Natasza Fontaine.  Robert is a biologist and Natasza was the 2024 ABA Bird of the Year Artist, painting the Golden-winged Warbler.  And they both completed a record setting (Covid)Florida Big Year in 2020.