Mr. Speaker, on January 17, St. Catharines lost one of its best loved media personalities. Nicknamed the “Mayor of the Morning”, Radio Station CHSC's John Larocque passed away following a long battle with both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
John was a familiar voice for nearly 30 years in his post as CHSC's morning man. He was also a familiar face at almost every kind of community event we could think of. From hosting hundreds of charity functions to attending probably thousands of local sporting events, John was the epitome of CHSC's old slogan “All About this Town”.
The week before John died, the building that housed CHSC Radio on Queenston Street was bulldozed to the ground. I cannot help but find some symmetry to the fact that this was the last week John was on this earth, and made his exit.
For St. Catharines, the loss of CHSC and of John Larocque is truly the end of an era.