It was a tragic long weekend locally as two Kitchener teens were killed in a multi-vehicle accident Monday afternoon on Dashwood Road.
Killed were passengers Grant Eisenporth and Jacob Traplin, both 17, when the westbound car they were in attempted to pass a tractor-trailer and collided with two eastbound vehicles. There were numerous other injuries, including to two 17-year-old Kitchener females who suffered critical injuries and remained in stable condition as the Times-Advocate was going to press.
It hasn’t been a stellar month for safety on our area roads – both on Dashwood Road and Highway 4.
On April 27 an 18-year-old London man was killed when his northbound car on Highway 4 crossed the centre line and collided with a southbound tractor-trailer just south of McGillivray Drive.
Last Friday, two drivers were airlifted to London Health Sciences Centre with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after a collision on Highway 4 just north of Denfield Road.
Again in that accident, a car heading northbound crossed the centre line and struck a car traveling southbound. Thankfully, no one in this accident was killed.
These accidents remind us that life can change in the blink of an eye on the highways. And these three recent accidents, two of them deadly, are evidence that more care needs to be taken on the roads. It’s the time of year when weather isn’t normally a factor on the roads, but the roads are going to start to get busier with tourists, particularly on long weekends. Drivers need to be careful and use a little patience and common sense out on the roads.

Info night
Talk over potential school closures continues as trustees with the Avon Maitland District School Board mull over their options before making a decision on area closures at a June 22 board meeting.
While the very idea of closures is always a controversial and emotional one, the other issue that has raised the interest of many parents is the potential of area Grade 7 and 8 students being educated within the high school.
Citing the fear of having their children exposed to various vices normally learned at an older age, parents have spoken out against sending their Grade 7 and 8s to the high school.
While a decision has yet to be made, the school board is hosting an “information night” on that very topic in the South Huron District High School library Thursday night from 7-8:30 p.m.
May 31, parents will have a chance to tour Goderich District Collegiate Institute, which houses Grades 7-12. A free bus is available for that tour, which leaves SHDHS at 9: 30 a.m., returning at 12:30 p.m.
While the latter event may be tough for some parents to get to because of job responsibilities, here’s hoping some parents do take part and that Thursday’s information meeting is well attended.