Finances and budgeting will be the big challenge in the coming months, newly elected Wellington County warden Joanne Ross-Zuj says. The Centre Wellington mayor was elected unanimously to a seccond term at the head of county council at Friday's annual inaugural meeting.

While local MPP Ted Arnott continues to push the provincial Ministry of Health for a construction start date for a new Groves hospital, Local Hospital Integration Network CEO Sandra Hanmer says the project is almost ready to move to the second of five planning stages.

CARROLL, Donald Surrounded by family at Groves Memorial Hospital in Fergus, Ontario on Monday, November 30, 2009, Donald Victor Carroll passed away in his 87th year.

There's a frightening implication in the success of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health's H1N1 immunization program. The local health unit did an exemplary job of getting thousands of doses of vaccine out to doctors and the public through a host of special community clinics.

Whether we like it or not, the countdown is on for Christmas shopping. Even those of us who wait until the final moment before we venture out, shopping bag in one hand and credit card in the other, are getting edgy.

It's that time of year again, and the downtown of Fergus was packed on Saturday, Dec. 5, for the annual Santa Claus Parade.

A Fergus student has one of the lead children's roles in the National Ballet of Canada's production of The Nutcracker, running this month at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto.

The Grand River Conservation Authority has scheduled the second public open house concerning a decision on the fate of Drimmie Dam in Elora for Wednesday, Dec. 9, in the Veteran's Room at the Centre Wellington Township offices, starting at 4:30 p.m.

The area's newest theatre group is starting up with a classic drama. Climbing Vine Productions presents The Diary of Anne Frank, this weekend at the Fergus Grand Theatre.

It's becoming a familiar story for the Fergus Devils this season - their top line more than carries its weight, but it winds up just not being enough in the end.

Despite the lopsided final score, anybody who witnessed the Drayton-Elora contest on Friday, Dec. 4, might have been going on the assumption that the Rocks attention was elsewhere.

The Elora Rocks kept their perfect record in tact with two more wins last weekend, including an overtime thriller against the Shelburne Muskies. They took care of business Friday night by beating the visiting Drayton Icemen 9-4 behind a hat trick from Steve Walters.

The following terms have been used when describing CWDHS senior boy's basketball player Tim Francis: great athlete, good finisher, explosive, relaxed.

Last week, Fergus Devils assistant coach Eddy Gaffney said the team was hoping they could catch the Erin Shamrocks for fourth place by the time Christmas rolled around.