News
An 80 year old Belleville man is facing a number of charges after an accident in Quinte West Saturday night. The accused was involved in a crash at the intersection of Highway 2 and Tripp Boulevard. When police arrived on the scene they discovered the man was impaired. His licence was suspended for 90 days and his vehicle was impounded. He was also charged with driving while impaired, driving under suspension and careless driving. The accused will appear in court in August to answer the charges.
You can learn more about the plans for the former Queen Elizabeth School property at an upcoming information meeting. Prince Edward County staff announced today that New View Holdings, the private partner in the redevelopment of the site, will host a public information centre on Thursday, July 16 at the Picton Town Hall. Final site plan drawings will be on display and attendees will be able to speak with presenters and technical specialists. The material will also be posted on the Have Your Say section of the County website for review and comment. The school was declared surplus in 2023. The property was purchased by the municipality who then partnered with a private sector developer to create affordable housing and a community hub on the property.
In a coordinated operation, law enforcement agencies in Canada, the United States and Europe have charged 37 individuals and arrested 24 suspects today. All of the accused are alleged members of three gangs including the notorious Bishnoi gang. Canadian Ravinder Singh Dhanda, the alleged leader of a drug trafficking network said to have moved massive quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into Canada from the US every week, is among those charged. Dhanda allegedly used commercial trucking firms to move the illegal drugs. The Bishnoi gang is an international criminal organization led by Lawrence Bhisnoi from his prison in India. The gang has been accused of extortion, violence and targeted assassinations including the murder of a man in BC in May who was linked to cricket match fixing.
Prime Minister Carney abandoned former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s non-partisan senate appointment policy today when he announced two new partisan senators. Liberal advisor and principal secretary to the Prime Minister Tom Pittfield will join the red chamber alongside Conservative MP Richard Martel. Martel’s appointment is unusual because he is a sitting MP. His appointment will leave a vacancy in a hotly contested Quebec riding that will need to be filled in a by election. Martel will enter the upper chamber without a party affiliation but could join the Conservative caucus if he chooses. There is no Liberal caucus and Pittfield will sit as an independent. Carney said that even though he is reviving partisan appointments there are no plans to resurrect the senate liberal caucus that was disbanded under Trudeau’s government.
And, at the University of Pisa in Italy, it’s OK to make paper airplanes in class. At least if you are part of Project Icarus, it is. A group of students formed project Icarus to build and fly the world’s largest paper airplane. They created a hand built 7 meter long craft with a 20 meter wingspan that was made entirely of paper and glue. The paper plane was launched manually and flew nearly 60 meters, beating the former record held by Germany’s Braunschweig Institute of Technology. The students said the idea for the unusual engineering project came after they started flying paper airplanes between classes to pass the time.
Sports
In FIFA World Cup action today Argentina managed to defeat Egypt 3-2 this afternoon after trailing 2-0 in the second half. The Argentinians scored three goals in just 13 minutes to overcome the Egyptian side with the winner coming off the boot of Lionel Messi. Switzerland and Colombia battle for the right to face Argentina in the quarter finals this afternoon. That game is the last in the round of 16 and the last game to be played in Canada. The Swiss and the Colombians kick off at 4 pm in Vancouver.
The International Olympic Committee announced today that Russian athletes will no longer be subject to neutral status vetting before events. Russian athletes will still be banned from using their flag and anthem and will continue to be subject to additional doping supervision. The IOC also confirmed that a ban on sanctioned events in Russia and participation by Russian government officials will continue.
In Major League Baseball the Blue Jays are on the road for the second game of a three game set with the San Francisco Giants tonight. Toronto will be hoping for a win after last night’s 10 to 2 drubbing. The Jays send Spencer Miles up against Trevor McDonald for the Giants. First pitch goes out at 9:45.
And most golfers consider a three under par, also known as an Albatross, to be the rarest and most difficult score to achieve but a Prince Edward County golfer managed one. The Picton Golf Club reported that local junior golfer Keenan Elliott scored an Albatross on the par five, sixth hole of the local course recently. The club also reported six holes in one since this year’s opening but this was the first Albatross.
