News
Habitat for Humanity and Base31 are joining forces to create more affordable housing for Prince Edward County. Base 31 will provide a block of townhouse lots as part of the Hilltop Village residential development. Base 31 will also handle exterior construction while Prince Edward-Hastings Habitat for Humanity will complete the interiors. Homeowners will be selected by Habitat for Humanity through its homeownership program. Base 31 Partner Alexandra De Gasperis said the agreement was the first step in what Base31 hopes will be an ongoing partnership that will grow overtime while Prince Edward-Hastings Habitat for Humanity CEO Hazzem Koudsi said the project will create opportunities for local families to stay in the community they are already part of. Construction on Hilltop Village is schedule to begin in October but no timing is available yet for the Affordable Townhouse units.
H. J. McFarland memorial Home has announced a facility wide respiratory illness outbreak. Masks are mandatory for all staff and visitors until further notice and visitors are asked to check with a staff member when visiting the home in case extra precautions are necessary and anyone with respiratory symptoms should avoid visiting during the outbreak.
If you use the Belleville transit system you need to be aware of some route changes that took effect today. Line 3 no longer service Loyalist College but will stop at the VIA rail station while route 6 will no longer stop at the train station. There are also changes to the routes for lines 3, 4, 6 and 8. Transit authorities say the changes will provide some additional stops and improve service for several areas.
Belleville police were busy over the long weekend responding to over 400 calls. Along with a couple of impaired driving arrests, police apprehended two individuals for violating probation orders and arrested one man on an outstanding assault warrant. In the most serious incident, a 26 year old Belleville man was arrested for assaulting his mother. According to police, officers were called to an east end residence on Sunday where a verbal dispute had escalated into a physical altercation. In addition to allegedly assaulting his mother the accused apparently damaged her property including smashing her cellphone. The man has been released from custody pending a court date in December.
In the first full day of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US good, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US-Canada Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will talk today but there is no indication that negotiations will resume. US President Donald Trump and US trade representatives have threatened additional tariffs while Canadian officials say there will be dollar for dollar response to any US action. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that there will be a cost to a shift away from the US as a primary trade partner but the alternative would be worse and US trade terms were unacceptable.
And in a surprising revelation on the international front, United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed allegedly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was planning something big ten days before the October 7th, 2023 attack. Bin Zayed was apparently rebuffed by Netanyahu who claimed the risk was from the West Bank not Gaza. Netanyahu’s government has denied the report but is resisting calls for an official investigation into the events preceding the attack which led to the war in Gaza. Israel is in the midst of an election campaign and opposition politicians jumped on the report as evidence of government bungling.
Sports
In local sports, five recent Prince Edward Collegiate Institute grads are moving on to post secondary Rubgy this fall bringing the total number of former PECI Panthers playing at the college or university level to 10. PECI rugby alumni will be playing for McMaster and Bishop’s Universities as well as St. Lawrence and Loyalist Colleges. And this year’s sports programs at PECI are just getting underway with tryouts for both individual and team sports this week and next. County FM will have a weekly update on PECI Panthers sports every Tuesday on the 4 and 6 pm news.
The Blue Jays are on the road tonight. They play the second game of a three game series with the Athletics. The Jays will be looking to get back into the win column as they continue to chase the Cleveland Guardians for the final wildcard spot. Toronto is just one game back of the Guardians. The Jays and Athletics get underway in Sacramento at 9:40 pm.
And Jonathan Goldbloom announced that he is stepping down as the chair of the Hockey Canada board of directors. Goldbloom joined the transitional board that was created in 2022 following the men’s junior hockey team sexual assault scandal. Goldbloom has chaired the organization for three years and his resignation will be effective October 5th.
