Archive for August, 2009

Traffic Note

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

A section of Sidney Street between Bridge Street West and Catharine Street in Belleville will be closed to traffic until September 7th for the Quinte Exhibition.

Fire Investigation In Greater Napanee

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Napanee O-P-P are asking the public’s help in their investigation of a house fire on Glennelm Road, northeast of Deseronto.

Police say the house burned to the ground sometime between 8 Friday night and 10 Saturday morning.

A neighbour discovered what was left of the home on Saturday morning.

Police say the home had not been occupied in over a month.

Anyone with information can call the Napanee O-P-P or crimestoppers.

New Contract For Quinte West Firefighters

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

The City of Quinte West and its professional fire fighters have come to terms on a new three year contract.

The signing of the deal this afternoon represents the end of a long arbitration process that started over two years ago.

The new contract will give firefighters a 3 per cent wage increase over the next three years, retroactive to January 1st, 2005.

Other features of the deal includes an increase in training allowance and new base wage rate differentials for the various ranks in the department.

Avalon Motel expansion plans go to Ontario Municipal Board hearing

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

A Belleville motel’s plans for a large expansion will go to an Ontario Municipal Board Hearing in October.

The Avalon Motel on North Front Street has reached an agreement with six property owners on North Park Street to sever part of their backyards for the addition.

However, another neighbour, concerned about a new building being so close, has appealed to the O-M-B, and a meeting is set for City Hall on October 15th.

Belleville’s Manager of Approvals, Spencer Hutchinson, says the land to be severed would also have to be rezoned from residential to commercial before the work could begin.

New VIA Rail Station for Belleville

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Belleville’s getting a brand new VIA Rail station. MP Daryl Kramp and VIA officials announced, this morning, that a new 7-million dollar station will be constructed at the Station Street property. Kramp says today’s announcment will create new jobs to stimulate the local economy and allow VIA to provide better service to its customers in Belleville. The new building will be aestetically pleasing and will be built adjacent to the current train station…a heritage building…constructed in 1856.

Tweed rally to raise funds for education of young Afghan children doesn’t go well

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

A big disappointment for the woman who organized a car rally in Tweed to raise money for the education of young Afghan children.

Co-ordinator Wendy Vermeer says Saturday’s event attracted only nine participants in two vehicles, so there wasn’t any money left after expenses were paid.

She says she may try to organize a similar fundraiser some time in the future.

It was in conjuction with an armed forces’ non-profit charity that builds schools, and provides school equipment and drinking water wells.

Man arrested after misbehaving in Marmora

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

A long list of charges against a man from west of Toronto in connection with an incident in Marmora.

Central Hastings O-P-P responded after a driver refused to pay for gas, and found his vehicle, which had been stolen from Halton Region, on Highway seven.

They tried to stop it, but the man took off, and was caught after a short pursuit. His passenger jumped from the vehicle and ran, but was arrested a short time later by the O-P-P canine team.

A 23-year-old Halton Region man was charged with impaired and dangerous driving, flight from police and other offences.

CFB Trenton aircraft search for missing man on Sudbury area lake

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Two Search and Rescue Aircraft from C-F-B Trenton have joined  Greater Sudbury Police, looking for a young man missing in a Sudbury-area lake.

The man was one of five young men in a canoe that overturned on Parkin Lake at about midnight last night.

Four of them were able to swim to shore.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Eight Wing was contacted a short time afterward, and sent a 4-2-4 squadron C-130 Hercules airplane and a Griffen helicopter to the scene.

Another Quinte West Doctor Coming

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Quinte West is getting ready to welcome its newest doctor in a couple of weeks. Councillor Sally Freeman says renovations at the medical centre in Trenton will be “almost” completed by then…the work includes an expanded waiting room and new nursing station.   Freeman says much of the work has to be done in the evenings. The city gave the medical centre 75-thousand dollars for the renovations.

Brighton Considering Railway Options

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Brighton is still awaiting the next report in the ongoing study into whether the municipality should undertake a 35-million dollar railway overpass or underpass. Consultants doing the railway level crossing safety analysis are expected to report at  the next Brighton council meeting in September.  Councillors already have the environmental assessment. But as Mayor Chris Herrington says, not all of council or the community are supportive of a change, and there’s Via Rail’s new plans for high-speed service to consider.

Loyalist Nursing Students Continue Legal Fight

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

The Loyalist College nursing classes that started in 1997 and ‘98 are fighting over the details of the school’s nursing program as it was then. The former students are suing the college because they say they were misled when they enrolled into believing they could get a Queen’s University degree upon graduation. Loyalist College has, in turn, brought a suit against Queen’s University in the matter. The Ontario College of Nurses in 2005 started a policy that anyone who wants to apply as a registered nurse must first have a bachelor’s degree… a degree that the claimants say they should already have.

VIA Making Investment in Belleville

Posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009

Big things expected today at the Belleville VIA Station. Prince Edward Hastings MP Daryl Kramp, Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis and VIA’s National Sales Director Pierre Santoni will be on hand for what’s being billed as a short media briefing. Earlier this summer, the Federal Government announced it was pouring nearly a billion dollars into the VIA rail Montreal to Toronto corridor and extra train stops and extra tracks at the Belleville station.

Big rig stops traffic near Trenton

Posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009

The westbound lanes of the 401 near Trenton are back to normal following a small crash involving a big rig.

Provincial police say the tractor trailer went into the median around 4:30 yesterday afternoon (SAT) around mile market 515, near Trenton.

The blockage took a few minutes to clear and traffic got back to normal while a tow truck took care of the trailer.

Police say there were no injuries and no charges will be laid.

Quinte vendors at the CNE

Posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Local vendors are making their mark at the annual Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.

Among them are Belleville-based Reid’s Dairy and Prince Edward County’s Black River Cheese.

The vendors were part of the Heritage Court in the Direct Energy Centre this weekend.

The Canadian National Exhibition started in Toronto in 1879 as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition.

The family-oriented event runs through September 7th.

More information at www.theex.com.

Power outage chaotic in Belleville

Posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009

It was a hectic couple of hours for people around Belleville.

City residents and visitors alike were hit with an unplanned city-wide power outage yesterday (SAT) afternoon around the lunch hour.

Belleville Police say they were in the process of calling in extra help when the power was finally restored.

Officers were kept busy with calls for service, as well as directing traffic at busy intersections during the blackout.

Police say the city-wide outage was not due to a car crash in the city’s west end, although that crash did add to the chaos.

Mother’s driving causes rollover in Belleville

Posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009

It was almost a miracle.

Belleville Police attended the scene of a vehicular “roll-over” in the city’s west end yesterday to find only minor injuries to the mother and child.

The rollover was said to have happened on Moira Street West by rotating a complete 360 degrees - so that the vehicle landed on its wheels.

Police say the mother who was driving was wearing a seat belt and the small child was secured in a car seat that was properly installed.

The mother was charged, however, with careless driving.

Canoes stolen from Corbyville Dam

Posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009

A group of campers from Western Ontario is up the creek WITH a paddle - but without their canoes.

Belleville Police say the group yesterday (SAT) morning reported their three canoes had been stolen while they camped near Corbyville Dam overnight.

Missing are one red and two dark blue 16′ canoes.

Anyone with information can contact Belleville Police or Crimestoppers.

Internet Scam

Posted on Saturday, August 29th, 2009

You might want to think twice about what you do online.

Over the past couple of days, there have been two reports of fraud over the Internet.

Belleville police say in both cases cheques were sent to the victims.

They were asked to cash them in and send a large quantity of money to Western Union.

After sending  700 to one-thousand dollars cash, the victims realized they had been scammed.

Police continue their investigation.

Hastings County Worried About Tax Increases

Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009

Hastings County is joining the fight to stop the province from dropping its “special funding” program. Such a move could mean significant tax increases for county residents.   Five Hastings County municipalities  benefit from the program.   Bancroft, Hastings Highlands, Madoc, Carlow-Mayo, and Tyendinaga  townships received a total of 485-thousand dollars this year in the special one-time assistance.  The province has announced it will discontinue the plan after next year.

Rural Internet Construction Almost Ready

Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009

Hastings County is moving ahead with plans to bring hi-speed internet service to the rural area. Administrator Jim Pine told county council yesterday that planners are working on the request-for-proposals now that the federal funding is in place. This will give speed and more internet capacity to people across the county  and some rural areas of Quinte west.   Pine says construction should begin in 2010.