A Southwold Public School teacher is in custody following allegations of inappropriate, unwanted touching from both current and former students. Elgin OPP say the charges came after a one month investigation of the Thames Valley District School Board teacher and span the course of three years. 39 year-old Darren Blew of St. Thomas has been charged with Assault, Sexual Assault, Sexual Interference with a person under 16 and Sexual Exploitation. He is currently being held in custody.

A Norfolk teen has been sentenced to six months probation after getting caught with a switchblade at school. A Simcoe courtroom heard the incident happened in December when a teacher at the school spotted the teen and a friend exchanging the blade in the hallway. The teen pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon in court today. The teen's name is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

A 13 year-old girl from St. Thomas has been arrested and charged after being accused of bullying. The elementary school student was arrested Sunday after an investigation and now faces charges of criminal harassment. St. Thomas Police say a 13 year-old victim had been harassed to a point where she did not even want to go to school anymore. When she did she was afraid that she would get assaulted, and even had her possessions taken and given to others. Police add the victim was relieved when the weekend came knowing that she could be safe in her own home. The accused was released from custody with a pending court appearance. The school cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim.

Norfolk OPP are investigating a trio of break and enters in the county. Between Sunday and Monday, someone broke into a Highway 59 North Walsingham outbuilding and caused $50 in damage. Also on Monday, OPP say someone broke into a McDowell Road, Charlotteville home and took a black NASCAR Walkie Talkie valued at $150. OPP are also investigating a copper theft from a Radical Road, Port Dover address. Sometime between February 2 and March 8, OPP say someone entered the fenced property and took $3000 worth of wire.

A food recall for Norfolk residents to check for. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is extending its list of recalls for foods containing hydrolysed vegetable proteins. They say the foods by "Basic Food Flavors" may be contaminated by salmonella. The recall started in the States but has now moved to Canadian made products and includes: Family's Best Smokey Bacon Chips, No Name Onion Recipe and Soup Mix, No Name Cream of Leek Soup Mix, Compliments Onion Soup Mix and Quaker Crispy Minis Rice Cakes - Savoury Tomato & Basil.

For a list of codes effected, click http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/c ... rapp/2010/20100308e.shtml

Sixteen more jobs have been lost in Simcoe. Yesterday, Murpac Services Inc. announced in the next few weeks they are going to drastically downsize their current 23 employee base to only 7. The Gilbertson Drive operation (it's only Canadian plant) refurbishes spools used in wire manufacturing in factories in Canada and the United States. Some of the work done in Simcoe will reportedly be moved to a new plant in Indiana.

Brantford City Police have busted an alleged prescription drug operation. Yesterday afternoon, members of the Brantford Police Service Street Crime Unit were investigating a suspected drug dealer at a Liquor Establishment on Dalhousie Street. According to the undercover officer, the elderly suspect offered to sell him some oxycodone pills. The man was arrested and searched, where they found over 180 tablets and cash. 71-year-old John Hansen of Brantford has been charged with trafficking in a controlled drug, and possession of property obtained by crime under $5000.

A Norfolk County resident is telling Norfolk County they had no right to allow a sailing school at the Port Dover Harbour Marina. Norfolk County approved the request a few weeks ago to move the Port Dover Yacht Club's sailing school from Port Ryerse to Dover on a one year trial basis. Ken Painter says neither Community Services nor the PDHM Advisory Committee has authority or jurisdiction to allow this school because of an Ontario Municipal Board decision designating it a marina industrial priority area in the official plan. Norfolk County Council will be discussing the letter from Painter at their meeting tonight.

A transportation plan has been created to accommodate Norwich students wishing to attend Delhi District Secondary School in September. At last night's Grand Erie District School Board meeting, Superintendent of Business and Treasurer, Jamie Gunn, said so far 130 student from Oxford County have submitted option sheets confirming their intention to attend DDSS; 84 of those students currently attend Norwich District High School which is slated to close. Gunn says DDSS currently has a capacity of 474 students, though if the full 130 were to attend they would be over. However, there are plans in the works to renovate a computer lab to provide 2 classroom spaces, as well as a plan to relocate the Early Years Centre and Career Resource Centre to create another 2 classrooms, which would up the school's capacity to 558. The renovations to the classrooms is estimated at $33,000. The board has also worked out a busing schedule to accommodate the students at a cost of just under $66,000 a year. The board says they will make group stops in Burgessville, Norwich and Otterville, but will not go door to door in those areas. The board is looking for Oxford parents to make a firm commitment to DDSS in order to firm up the budget and staffing for the fall.

The province has announced a plan to create jobs and strengthen the economy by exporting clean-water technology but local MPP Toby Barrett says he'll believe it when he sees it. Barrett says the devil is in the details when the Liberal government announced they would introduce a new Water Opportunities Act, designed to take advantage of the province's expertise in clean-water technology. He says "this project has not been costed out - and that's a big worry. Former Minister David Caplan just introduced legislation about a week ago to re-vamp Ontario's water system. By our calculations that would cost homewoners another $600 a year." Barrett says it costs local farmers a lot of money already to make sure very limited agricultural run-off gets into waterways. He says it's time larger cities are forced to clean up their act - especially when it comes to storm sewer overflow.

Barrett says he can't argue against the Liberals who are calling for accountability in the publicly funded health care system but he says it's too bad they didn't do that before a billion dollars was wasted on the E-Health scandal. Barrett says he's very concerned because if they base funding for hospitals on demographics, that's going to hurt rural Ontario and Norfolk General because we are in a lower population growth area which means we wont see nearly the funding that will be going to places like Mississauga.

Overall Barrett says the throne speech didn't address any of the big issues facing Haldimand Norfolk or Ontario. He says it was a bit of a sleeper with no concrete information and no indications at all of what the McGuinty government plans to do in the next five years.