Podcasts

By Jennifer Bowman

Being a student might become a little easier, at least where government funding is concerned. Starting this year, students will have to fill out less paperwork to get government assistance such as OSAP. According to a release, the government will also provide things such as more assistance for expenses such as tuition and housing, allow students to keep more money from part-time jobs, and provide a new grant for part-time students. The release says streamlining the process will save $10,000 work hours in student aid offices across the province.

Changes are coming to Ontario's pension system today. The package to be unveiled by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan is expected to deal with Ontario's pension benefits guarantee fund. It provides pensioners with up to one-thousand dollars a month if a plan fails to provide its full benefit, or any at all. The government has admitted the fund doesn't contain nearly enough money.

By Jennifer Bowman

Leona Dombrowsky is adding another political hat to her head. Premier Dalton McGuinty announced yesterday that she is part of the new Priorities and Planning Committee. The committee, according to a release, is to devote its attention to core government priorities. This includes focusing the Open Ontario Plan in improvements in economic growth, higher test scores in schools, lower emergency room wait times, and better access to doctors and nurses. The committee consists of six ministers and two new Cabinet members.

If you are tired of driving the same bumpy, potholed road, you have the opportunity to make your opinion known, or, if you have the priviledge of driving on a nicely paved, smooth road, you can let that be known too. CAA is running its 8th annual Worst Roads campaign, but this time, they want to hear about the best roads too. Their goal is to let politicians know what good roads should look like. Last year, Palmer Road in Belleville, was the fourth worst road in Ontario. It is scheduled to be redone. Ninety per cent of last year's 20 worst roads in Ontario have been slated for repairs.

By Jennifer Bowman

Police responded to five break and enters in Belleville that happened over the weekend. Three were at businesses with everything from money and alcohol to business documents stolen. Some places were also damaged. Two residences were broken into, they are missing electronics, money and a weed eater. Police are investigating these situations.

With the cost of electricity rising, people are looking for ways to cut their electricity bills. Chris Mace, public relations representative corporate communications of Veridian, says there are ways to reduce the amount of electricity used, one of the biggest being how people use their air conditioning. Chris Mace suggested keeping blinds on the south and west sides pulled to keep the room cooler, then setting the air conditioning four to five degrees lower than the outside temperature. Air conditioning accounts for up to 50 per cent of people's electricity bills, he said.

By Jennifer Bowman

Loyalist College media students are making their place in Canada known. Five former students obtained top awards at the Radio and Television News Directors Association of Canada ceremony in Edmonton this year. Jane Harrison, Dean of Media Studies at Loyalist, says Loyalist media grads have always been successful, but to have five grads awarded so highly is probably unpredecented. The awards were given earlier this year.

There will be a bus sitting in front of Sportcheck at the Quinte Mall for a few days. The bus is waiting to be stuffed with school supplies and backpacks through donations from individuals and businesses for the Stuff the Bus campaign. The supplies will be given to over 800 local children who registered for the Good Backpack program.

By Jennifer Bowman

Belleville Police Chief Cory McMullan says she is the unnamed victim of a domestic abuse incident in Belleville on Friday night. Police don't usually identify victims of domestic incidents, but McMullan says, given her position in the community, she feels its important she acknowledges it. She says she can't give any details at this time since the situation is in the courts, but she says she did receive injuries that required medical treatment.

She is asking the public and media to respect her and her family's privacy as they work through this difficult time. McMullan's 53-year-old husband will appear in court in September. McMullan is still working as Belleville's police chief and says she is dedicated to serving the community.

Two men were sent to the street with brooms to clean up their mess after they smashed beer bottles along West Street in Trenton. Police were called to the scene at 11:45 last night. With some help from workers who were striking close by, they found the two intoxicated men. They brought the men back to the area and gave them brooms to collect all the broken pieces. The police cautioned the men about their inappropriate behaviour. No charges were laid.

By Jennifer Bowman

Today is your opportunity to take one more step to protect your child by getting their finger prints and DNA. Belleville police are partnering with several local services to provide a Child Identification Program. The program is free of charge, takes about 15 minutes, and will be held at the Children's Safety Village at 93 Dundas Street in Belleville until 2:30 this afternoon. Parents will receive the identification, which will not be retained by any of the organizations involved.

A Belleville home owner has five broken windows that need to be repaired after a night of mischief. Two Belleville youth have been charged with mischief and prowl by night after throwing beer bottles at a house, breaking the windows. Police investigation revealed the 16 and 17-year-old boys know the home owner and the act was not random. They will appear in court in September.

By Jennifer Bowman

A Peterbourough man will be in court today after a six-hour manhunt last night. Twenty-one-year-old Etienne Beaulieu has been charged with first degree murder for alledgedly stabbing his mother, Isabel Robitaille, to death. The incident happened in a quiet neighbourhood near the Peterborough Golf and Country Club last night at 6 p.m.
Police arrested Robitaille's son at one this morning without incident a few kilometres from her home. He is scheduled to appear in court this morning.

Quinte Health Care in Belleville will be receiving 94 and a half thousand dollars more to reduce emergency room wait times. This is in addition to the 480-thousand dollars they have already received toward the development and implementation of their overall Emergency Department Performance Improvement Plan. The funding is through the pay for results program which was put in place in 2008 by the province to help reduce emergency room wait times. It has helped 46 participating hospitals reduce their wait times by 23 per cent.

By Jennifer Bowman

A passerby is now a hero after saving a man after he had a heart attack. A 69-year-old man was in his vehicle Saturday evening when he had a heart attack and drove backwards into a house. A woman who was passing by stopped and administerd CPR. The fire department and ambulance arrived and took the man to the hospital where, at the time of the last report, he was scheduled for a surgery. Police say the woman obviously saved the man's life.

Police are looking for more witnesses to come forward regarding a bicycle accident in Trenton. A pick up truck ran into a cyclist on Saturday night around 9:00 in front of the Pioneer gas bar on Dundas Street East. They are looking for anyone who witnessed the collision and anyone with more information on the cyclists movements. Police say injuries were not life threatening.

By Jennifer Bowman

Police charged a man for alledgely leaving an empty vehicle abandoned on CN railway tracks. Early Wednesday morning a westbound train crashed into the vehicle that was left on the tracks in Coleborne. There were no injuries in the collision. Michael Behan, of Alnwick-Haldimand Township, was arrested and charged with mischief endangering life. He was released from custody and will appear in court on Sept. 7.

OPP will be doubling their efforts to focus on safe boating and driving this weekend. They will especially be looking for aggressive driving, drinking and driving, and people not using seatbelts, restraints or flotation devises properly. They say 16 people died on Ontario's highways, trails and waterways on the Canada Day weekend, and they want to reduce that number this long weekend.

The City of Belleville is looking at a new way to make a little income and turn green at the same time. City Council voted unanimously to put a solar farm on the Quinte Sports Centre. Mayor Neil Ellis said the City should be able to make $600,000 profit from the green energy each year, which would pay the $3.5-$5 million project off in seven to eight years. He expects work to take about two years and possibly start int he spring.

A kayaker has died on a lake in eastern Ontario. Police say the 38-year-old man from Lithuania was spotted face down yesterday afternoon on Methuen Lake, about 50 kilometres northeast of Peterborough. The man was pronounced dead while being taken to hospital. Police say he was wearing a life jacket.

By Jennifer Bowman

Colonel Russell Williams is scheduled for another court appearance in Belleville today. The former commander of CFB Trenton is expected to appear by video link. Williams is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women, sex assaults against other women, and 82 other charges related to break and enter. None of the allegations have been tested in court and Williams has not yet filed a statement of defence.

Police are treating the sudden death of a Belleville woman as suspicious while investigation continues. Police arrived at the house on Edgehill Road at 10:00 on Tuesday morning to investigate the death. A post mortem was conducted yesterday, but results may not be available for six to eight weeks. All sudden deaths are treated as suspicious by police so no evidence is missed.

By Jennifer Bowman

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff will be in Kingston, Brockville, Napanee and Peterborough today. He is on the road again after his bus, "the Liberal Express," broke down in Hawkesbury yesterday. He is visiting the area during his second day on his cross-Canada road trip.

According to Quinte and District Real Estate Board, less properties are being sold in the area, but they are being sold for more. That could change though. June was the first month in nearly a year that didn't top the previous year's number of homes sold. There were also less properties sold in May and June than the months before. The Board says with less home buyers and more choices, that could lead to deflated prices and longer wait times when trying to sell a home.

By Jennifer Bowman

A wedding celebration ended in death on Chemong Lake early yesterday morning after two people were thrown from a boat. A 54-year-old man and his passenger were travelling at a high speed when they crashed into two docks and several other boats. Paul Heffernan was taken to the hospital where he later died. His female passenger only suffered minor injuries.

A 26-year-old Perth man is dead after he failed to resurface after cliff-jumping in Otty Lake in Lanark County. Police found Michel Daoust's body after the tragedy on Saturday. A port mortem is being scheduled at the Ottawa Hospital. Investigation is continuing.

91X NEWS...

As most people head back to work now that the fireworks are over, for some, the long weekend was a deadly one.