December 20, 2024

December 20, 2024 5:55 am Published by Chris McLeod

December 20th is the 355th day of the year. There are 11 days remaining until the end of the year.

The final local Santa Claus parade is tonight in Thamesville.

The parade will begin at 7 p.m. Anyone interested in being in the parade is asked to meet at Thamesville Area Central School at 5:30 p.m.

The parade will have an alternate route this year: It begins at Sherman and Wallace, North on Ann St., left on Jane, South on Lemuel, Left on London Rd., North on Ann St., and then back to Sherman then East to Ferguson Park. The parade will not be going down Ferguson Street this year.

Santa will be at the Thamesville Royal Canada Legion after the parade to be give out candy bags for the children.

Grab some skates and get the family out for some FREE Public Skating this weekend.

Friday, December 20
Ken Houston Memorial Agricultural Centre – Dresden, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Chatham Erickson Arena – 4 – 5 p.m.

Saturday, December 21
Bothwell Arena, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Blenheim Arena, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 22
Memorial Arena Chatham – 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Ridgetown Arena, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Dresden Arena, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Tilbury Arena, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Wallaceburg Arena, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Wheatley Arena, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Monday, December 23
Ken Houston Memorial Agricultural Centre – Dresden, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Ridgetown Arena – 1 – 2:30 p.m.
Wheatley Arena – 1 – 2 p.m.
Blenheim Arena – 5 – 6:30 p.m.

For a full holiday skating schedule and more information, click here.

A few things to keep in mind with the holidays here:

Curbside garbage and recycling collection will be delayed by one day for the weeks of December 23 and December 30. Collections scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will occur one day later due to the holidays.
Ride CK services will be closed December 25, 26 and January 1.
Chatham-Kent’s municipal libraries and pools will be shut down on December 24, 25, 26, 31, and January 1.
All arenas are closed December 24, 25, 26 and January 1.
Municipal offices will be close at noon on December 24 and 31st. Closed all day December 25, 26, and January 1.
Museums, galleries, and theatres are closed on December 25, 26, and January 1.
CK Public Health offices will be closed from noon on December 24 to December 26 as well as on January 1.

Winter begins tomorrow at 4:20 a.m. It’s the shortest day of the year for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere.

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, meaning the least amount of sunlight. We should get 9-9.5 hours of sunlight.

After this today, the days start getting longer. The amount of daylight begins to increase.

The first day of spring is March 21st, 2025.

Fun fact: Fairbanks, Alaska, will see a mere 3 hours and 42 minutes of daylight on Saturday. Meantime, residents of Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), the northernmost town in Alaska, watched the sun go down toward the end of November and are in the midst of over 60 days of darkness.

The Friday before Christmas is the busiest travel day of the year.

Estimates say close to 140,000 people expected to arrive or depart from Toronto Pearson Airport. And almost 3 million people will hit the airport over the holiday period.

Flights out of Detroit Metro Airport peak today. From November 22 through January 5, 2025, the airport estimates a 6% increase in travelers compared to the same time last year. The bulk of travelers are expected to be passing through the airport during the Christmas and New Year’s travel period.

Arrive early! Make sure your passport and other documents up-to-date and don’t wrap gifts because they’ll have to be unwrapped. Be sure to check with your airline if there are any delays or cancellations.

A report by Nationwide says that the most dangerous day of the month to be out on the roads is December 23^rd; this coming Monday.

That’s not because of a terrible winter storm (although that could make things worse) it’s because there are a ton of busy, distracted drivers.

They say there are five or more distractions in a 32KM commute, with each distraction averaging 15 seconds. If you’re averaging 70 KM/h, that’s the equivalent of driving blind for the length of more than three football fields.