It was a busy year in Windsor-Essex in 2013. The area saw the long standing former Grace Hospital building torn down and the world descend on the city for the International Children’s Games, but it wasn’t all positive. Heinz announced the closure of its plant in Leamington and two young children lost their lives in a collision in Michigan.

Tragic death of two young children on I-75:

The year began with tragedy, with two young lives lost in a horrific pileup on I-75 in Detroit. A car carrying a family from Windsor was caught in the wreckage killing 7-year-old Aidan Hicks and 9-year-old Gabrielle Greenwood.

"When the smoke cleared, basically the snow dissipated, I saw there were cars everywhere," said Trooper Seth Swanson.

Windsor homicides:

The rose city recorded its first homicide of 2013 back in March.  Christopher Hillis, 37, was charged with second degree murder in the stabbing death of John Jubenville. On Oct. 19, Kevin Kugathasan, 19, was fatally stabbed during a weekend brawl downtown.

“This was a very dynamic, chaotic scene, multiple locations where serious assaults occurred. Officers were dealing with victims while other assaults were occurring, extremely chaotic,” said Windsor police Chief Al Frederick.

Grace hospital demolition:

After standing derelict for almost a decade, the former Grace Hospital was torn down. For many years the building was in a state of limbo, with several people stepping forward wanting to do something with the property, but for one reason or another, nothing ever manifested. The City of Windsor took steps in the summer to finally tear down the property.

"We earmarked $5 million in the 2014 budget process as part of the capital plan to begin shrinking the road and make it more aesthetically appealing and hopefully stimulate more opportunity for that site,” said Francis.

Diluted chemo drugs:

Windsor Regional Hospital officials announced on April 10, they have stopped using all products from Marchese Hospital Solutions. Hospital CEO David Musyj says they stopped using the chemo drug the moment they were told there was a possible issue with watered down doses. Approximately 1,200 cancer patients across two provinces were receiving the diluted drugs for as long as a year. Officials from Medbay said the saline bags were watered down by up to 20 per cent.

Dr. Jake Thiessen concluded that there was "no evidence of any malicious or deliberate drug-sparing dilution," by Marchese.

World descends on Windsor for ICG:

The Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre opened its doors to the world for the International Children’s Games. Thousands of athletes from across the world descended on the area for three days of sports. ICG marked the debut of the city’s premier swimming location.

“The world has arrived in the city and the city is prepared to, once again, showcase its best and our best on the world stage," said Mayor Eddie Francis.

Parkway girders removal:

The Windsor-Essex Mobility Group and Parkway Infrastructure Constructors announced on Nov. 1 the replacement of hundreds of "questionable" girders used in construction of the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway. It was a snag for the largest infrastructure project in the provinces history, after inspection reports disclosed cracking on some of the concrete girders. The cost to replace the 500 girders would not fall on the tax payers.

“The decision to reject the Freyssinet girders was made as a result of new information that came to light in the course of ongoing inspections and destructive testing,” said the mobility group in a statement.

Heinz closure: 1.1543139

In an emotional news conference on Nov. 14, Leamington mayor John Paterson told the media that Heinz will be closing their operation in the town. The closure will affect 740 full-time employees. Seasonal employees, the farming community and suppliers will also be affected. The plant will close by June, 2014.

"This Heinz plant runs Leamington, half the people that live in Leamington work at Heinz and supply Heinz with materials, it's going to be devastating."