“F* The Fallen” Public Outrage After Paul Heffer’s Shocking Actions & Comments #PurgeCouncil

(Wingham, North Huron) On October 10, 2024, Paul Heffer, Reeve of Municipality of North Huron, made a clear promise: municipal crews would stop dumping snow onto the sidewalks, including around Wingham’s cenotaph. It was a simple commitment. A fraction of a second to divert a snow chute. A bare minimum of respect for the men and women whose names are carved in stone.

A year later, the promise is still broken.

Snow continues to be blown onto the cenotaph sidewalks. Not by accident. Not once. Repeatedly. And this month—after being asked again—nothing changed. The chute still points at the memorial. The sidewalks still get buried. The message, whether intended or not, is unmistakable: Forget the Fallen.

It gets worse.

Council was formally notified weeks ago that the cenotaph flag is tattered—frayed, worn, unfit to fly over a war memorial. Weeks later, it still hasn’t been replaced. No urgency. No apology. No action. If a private citizen let a memorial flag degrade like this, they’d be shamed into fixing it overnight. When it’s Town Hall? Silence.

When residents pressed the issue again this month—asking, once more, for crews to simply angle the chute away—the answer wasn’t accountability. It was arrogance. The CAO reportedly claimed municipal bylaws don’t apply to the municipality itself. Read that again. The people who enforce the rules say the rules don’t apply to them.

That’s not leadership. That’s contempt.

A cenotaph is not a traffic island. It’s not a snow dump. It is sacred ground in civic terms—meant to be treated with care every single day, not just for a photo op on Remembrance Day. When snow is deliberately dumped at its feet after a direct request to stop, and when a tattered flag is left flying for weeks, the message rings loud and ugly. Call it what many are already calling it: “F the Fallen.”

If that characterization offends, good. So should the conduct.

This isn’t complicated. It doesn’t require a budget amendment, a consultant, or a committee. It requires respect, attention, and the will to keep a promise. Angle the chute. Clear the sidewalk. Replace the flag. Today.

The public has had enough of apologies without action and promises without follow-through. Council meets Monday, December 15, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Residents should arrive early and make their voices heard—politely, firmly, and on the record. Ask why a promise made on October 10, 2024 was ignored. Ask why the flag is still tattered. Ask why Town Hall believes it is above its own bylaws.

And don’t leave until there’s a date, a name, and a fix.

The Fallen kept their word.
It’s time for North Huron to keep theirs.

North Huron Council Contact Info:
Paul Heffer
280 Manor Road
(519) 357-3594
[email protected] 
Mitch Wright
63 Bristol Terrace
(519) 357-9497
[email protected] 
Lonnie Whitfield
94 John St. West
(226) 222-2585 
[email protected] 
Anita van Hittersum
84012 Hoover Line
(519) 523-4492 
[email protected]
Chris Palmer
39331 Belfast Road
(519) 357-3385 
[email protected] 
Kevin Fascist  Falconer
303 King Street
(519) 955-0301 
[email protected]
Ric McBurney
202 Thuell St, Blyth
(519) 441-7415 
[email protected]

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