News

Copy by Craig Foster

It was a short and sweet council meeting last night and several items were approved but first, Councillor Cory Engelsdorfer announced that he would be making a motion asking council to rescind strong mayors powers at a future council meeting. Strong mayors powers came into effect May 1 for Prince Edward County but there have been several councillors opposed to the appointment citing it could lead to undemocratic practice and corruption. 47 communities have been granted strong mayor powers including Belleville.

Prince Edward County is preparing to enter into an agreement with Sandbanks Provincial Park to allow the park to offer paid parking along the municipal road allowance. The agreement was discussed during Tuesday’s council meeting. The area in question is alongside County Road 12. Under the agreement, the provincial park would be responsible for maintaining the parking area year round, including snow removal and garbage bins. In exchange for the space for parking, the park would also agree to provide off-season access at additional gates maintained by the park, access to warm and maintained restrooms at the west gate during the off season, post signage to indicate which gates offer off-season access, and the park would agree to not increase the number of allowed visitors. The deal will last for one year, with the option to renew yearly for three additional years. The motion passed without debate.

A project in Bloomfield to install a path around Mill Pond has been declared a project of community interest. The declaration was made during Tuesday’s meeting of Prince Edward County council, following a deputation by Sarah Soetens and Barry Turpin. By declaring the project to be of community interest, tax receipts can be issued for donations towards the project. The current plans call for a new walking path to be installed in the area, with seating and educational signage, in an effort to highlight the features of the surrounding wetland for residents making use of the parkland.

Israeli military strikes killed at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health authorities said, in a significant escalation of the bombardment as U.S. President Donald Trump continued his visit to the Middle East. Medics said most of the dead, including women and children, resulted from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes that targeted several houses in the Jabalia area in northern Gaza. The Israeli military had no immediate comment and said it was trying to verify the reports.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, a major U.S. policy shift ahead of an expected meeting with Syria’s Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Trump is set to say hello to Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, a White House official said, setting up an encounter between the president and the former al Qaeda commander who took power after Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

Sports

Mikael Granlund provided all the offence for the Stars, netting a hat trick to give the Stars a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4. Dallas now leads 3-1 with the series set to shift back to Winnipeg for Game 5 on Thursday.

Sidney Crosby showed off some superstar skill and scored his first goal of the men’s world hockey championship as Canada beat France 5-0 Tuesday.

Ken Holland will be the next general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, and the team will hold a press conference to announce the hiring tomorrow.

Junior Caminero’s ninth inning grand slam bounced off the scoreboard on the third deck of Rogers Centre to hand the Tampa Bay Rays a 11-9 win over the Toronto Blue Jays