2021 - THE YEAR IN REVIEW - SEPTEMBER

Explosion rocks Wheatley, injures 20

An explosion rocked downtown Wheatley on Thursday, August 26, sending at least seven people to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Dozens of emergency vehicles had converged on the village within a half-hour of the 6:15 pm blast. Ambulances were lined up along Talbot West near the Circle-K as they used that area for triage.

About 20 people were treated at the scene, with seven going to hospitals in Leamington, Windsor and Chatham.

Earlier Thursday afternoon — about 4:30 pm — gas monitor alarms went off, prompting Chatham-Kent Fire to put up those familiar roadblocks on Erie Street North near the four corners that residents have seen on two previous occasions.

Because of the high gas levels, evacuations were carried out immediately, which surely saved many lives.

Firefighters were doing gas level checks when the explosion occurred around 6:15 pm, levelling the former Pogue Irish Pub building and doing severe damage to the new Wheatley Hotel, Subway and MJ’s Pizza. Many other businesses and apartment dwellings are also damaged.

Houses in the area felt the brunt of the blast as well, with debris landing on homes in the neighbourhood. Windows were shattered all along Erie and Talbot Streets, including the entire front glass portion of Adamson Guardian Drugs.

Sharks to open season on October 1

The Wheatley Omstead Sharks will start their 2021-22 PJHL season on October 1 when they are in Lakeshore to take on the Canadiens.

The Sharks’ home opener will be Wednesday, October 6 when they host the Dresden Kings at Wheatley Area Arena.

After an 18-month absence, the hockey team is busy preparing for another Junior C season.

Community pulls together after blast

The explosion that shook Wheatley on Thursday, August 26 will long be remembered for the way it changed the landscape of the village’s downtown.

It will also be remembered for the way it brought people together for one common cause — to help others.

From GoFundMe pages, to food donations, to people donating their land for camping, the community — and surrounding communities — have shown that people do care about others.

Fire Fest a success

Dreams of one day becoming a firefighter may have been born this past weekend as many children and adults had a chance to step up on vintage trucks, ring the fire bells and get their photos taken with their favourites.

Saturday, September 4 was the first Fire Fest for the town, which was kicked off with a pancake breakfast in Cottam hosted by the North Station.

Kingsville Fire Chief John Quennell said they had a “great turnout” and that it was great to see so many kids out — some even in their “bunker gear” for the pancake breakfast.

The vintage trucks remained on the streets of Kingsville until about 3 pm when Kingsville Open Streets began.

Four-year-old Mason Levesque of Chatham sits on the front bumper of one of several vintage fire trucks on display at the first ever Kingsville Fire Fest held on Saturday, September 4.

15U Lakers drop heartbreaker in final

The Leamington 15U Lakers lost a heartbreaker on Saturday as the Port Lambton Pirates came from behind to beat the locals 7-6.

The win clinched the Ontario Baseball Association 15U B-C championship for the Pirates.

Leamington had won game one of the best-ofthree series in Port Lambton before the Pirates took game two on Friday night in Chatham.

Leamington lost the flip and took the visitors bench for game three and Port Lambton had last at-bat, even though the game was played here.

The Lakers led 6-2 after four innings on Saturday and appeared to have the game well in hand.

Blast zone cleanup complete

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has announced that the cleanup of debris within the immediate area of 15 Erie Street North in Wheatley is complete.

Tons of debris were cleaned up and taken away in large disposal bins last week as investigators continue to search for the hydrogen sulphide gas leak that has eluded them so far.

Festival of Guest Nations draws hundreds to park

The annual Festival of Guest Nations, hosted by the Migrant Worker Community Program (MWCP), was held on Sunday, September 12 at Seacliff Park. The event offered music and entertainment for migrant workers and local resident alike, who flocked to the Sunset Amphitheatre to hear the music and join in the celebration.

Local incumbents re-elected

The Conservative incumbents in Chatham-Kent Leamington and Essex appear to be re-elected to their seats after Monday’s federal election.

Although Elections Canada has announced that they won’t make it official until Saturday, September 25, local and national media outlets are declaring victories for both local incumbents.

The media has also declared Justin Trudeau re-elected as Prime Minister, with a minority government.

As of Tuesday morning, Epp had a 6,500-vote lead over Liberal candidate Greg Hetherington with 269 of the 272 polls reporting.

Lewis meanwhile, had a 6,200-vote lead in the riding of Essex over NDP candidate Tracey Ramsey, who was trying to win back the seat she lost in the last election. All but one poll were in.