BLACK RIVER-MATHESON — It’s been one year since a northern township’s council was sworn in under extraordinary circumstances, and local leaders feel the community has turned a corner.

Last August, the Township of Black River-Matheson became one of the few municipalities in Ontario where the province stepped in and dissolved council.

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Former Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra used a rarely invoked section of the Municipal Act to declare all seats vacant after council stopped meeting for more than 60 days.

By that point, the township had been plagued by resignations, boycotts, a lengthy lockout-turned-strike with unionized public works staff, and growing frustration from residents.

The byelection that followed brought familiar and new face

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