News

In local news, New View Holdings, the private partner in the redevelopment of the former Queen Elizabeth School site in Picton, is hosting a public information centre, or PIC, regarding the development plans for the property.

The PIC will take place on November 6 at the Rotary Hall inside Prince Edward Community Centre, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The proposed design will be on display at the meeting. Attendees can browse the information and speak with the presenters and technical specialists. A formal presentation of the design followed by a Q&A will begin at 6:15 p.m.

Feedback gathered at the PIC will be used to inform the proposed design as it proceeds through the municipality’s planning processes.

FRIENDSHIP
Also in the County this week, the Municipality of Prince Edward formalized a partnership initiative with the city of Krasyliv, Ukraine with receipt of the signed friendship agreement. Council authorized the final wording and signing of the agreement at the September Council meeting following draft versions reviewed by each City organization.

A connection between the municipalities goes back to the summer of 2019 when a delegation from Ukraine came to Prince Edward County to learn about the pros and cons of regional municipal amalgamations.

A working group comprising the Mayor, Councillor Roberts, municipal staff, a sponsoring organization and county citizens formed earlier this year will now working on social, cultural, educational and economic activities with their Krasyliv counterparts.

First up, is a Christmas card campaign to show that we have the people of Ukraine in our hearts.

SPEED CAMERAS
Ontario’s transportation minister says speed cameras across the province are set to be removed in two weeks, after Premier Doug Ford’s government passed legislation today to ban them.

Ford has said speed cameras don’t work to slow drivers down, though evidence collected by municipalities and Hospital for Sick Children researchers says otherwise, and believes measures such as speed bumps, roundabouts and signs with flashing lights are more effective.

The measures to ban speed cameras were contained in a red tape reduction bill, which the government fast-tracked, limiting debate and skipping public hearings.

GAZA
Internationally, Hamas handed over two bodies it said were of deceased Israeli hostages yesterday, a day after the tenuous Gaza ceasefire was shaken by a series of Israeli strikes which killed dozens of Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israeli forces received the two bodies via the Red Cross in Gaza and were transported into Israel for identification.

Under the ceasefire accord, Hamas agreed to hand over the remains of all 28 dead hostages in exchange for 360 militants that Israeli forces killed in the war. Up to now, Hamas had handed over 15 bodies.

And finally, if you are looking for old traditions this Halloween, try the practice of carving vegetables to frighten away spirits that originated in Ireland and Scotland. Early versions of the “jack-o’-lantern” used turnips with the practice spreading to North America with Irish and Scottish immigrants who then adopted pumpkins because they were native to New World and easier to carve.

Jack-o-lantern stems from the tale of Stingy Jack, a grumpy, mean Irish blacksmith who twice fools the devil. Upon his death, he is refused entry into both heaven and hell and condemned to wander the earth for eternity carrying only a candle in a carved out turnip to light his way.

Sports

Just in case you are not glue to the TV watching the Blue Jays two attempts at winning this year’s World Series, here are some other sports on tap tonight and tomorrow.

JUNIOR HOCKEY
Luckily, major league baseball will be done when the Wellington Dukes next take to the ice. On Sunday they welcome the Lindsay Muskies to LeHigh Arena for a 1:30 start. Same goes for the Picton Pirates who play Sunday on the road at Trent Hills. That game is a 4:30 pick drop

CFL
The CFL playoffs start tomorrow with two games sandwiched in between Games 6 and 7 of the World Series. First up at 2:00 pm is the Montreal Alouettes hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Both teams finished the regular season with a 10-8 record. At 5:30 PM, it is the BC Lions welcoming the Calgary Stampeders to Vancouver’s BC Place. These teams also had the same record of 11-7.

MLS
In Major League Soccer, the playoffs are also underway, The Vancouver White Caps are the only Canadian team to make the post-season and they will be on the road at FC Dallas. Vancouver took Game 1 of the 3 game series by a score of 3-0. Game 3 if necessary will be back in Vancouver on Nov 9th.

NHL
In the NHL, there are no Canadian teams in action tonight. If Game 7 happens, then there may be a smaller viewing audience as all teams are in action. Maybe the NHL schedulers knew what was coming as the Toronto Maple Leafs will be out of town in Philadelphia Saturday night.

NBA
Similarly, the Toronto Raptors are out of town tonight. They will be in Cleveland trying to get their season on track after a 1-4 start.