Ice huts off Bay of Quinte by March 1st at midnight

Time is running out for anglers to get their ice huts off the Bay of Quinte.

Jim Hoyle of the Natural Resources Ministry’s Lake Ontario Management Unit in Glenora says the deadline is twelve o’clock on Sunday night, and anyone who leaves their shack behind could be fined .

He says it has been an unimpressive year for ice fishing for walleye on the Bay this winter, even though it is believed the fish stocks are healthy…

The number of huts on the ice peaked at about 350 last month, but is down to around 200 this week because of mild weather.

Picton Shoppers Drug Mart rezoning hits a bump

A bit of concern about a new Shoppers Drug Mart in Picton.

The Prince Edward County Planning Committee voted Wednesday night to recommend County Council reject rezoning of property at Main and Washburn Streets for the 17-thousand square foot building.

Shoppers’ proposal would reduce parking spaces, and the committee also got comments about the store from other merchants and the Street Smarts and Heritage Advisory Committees.

The rezoning application will now go to the County Council meeting on March ninth.

Brighton business of the year awards handed out

A store that has been open for only four-and-a-half months is the best new business in Brighton.

Dragonfly, which carrys unique jewelery, purses and clothing, picked up the award at the Brighton and District Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards for 2008. It opened on Main Street in early October.

The General Business of the year is Gordon Tobey Developments, and Cindy Lewis of Rock, Paper, Scissors is the top business person.

The meeting also saw the election of Mary Robertson as President of the Brighton and District Chamber for 2009.

E-learning a possibility in Kawartha-Pine Ridge Board schools

The Kawartha-Pine Ridge School Board is considering e-learning as a way of dealing with reduced provincial funding for education because of declining enrolment..

Board chairperson Diane Lloyd told last night’s board meeting a teacher in one location could teach students at another school by having them log on to a computer.

The board’s secondary student enrolment increased by 398 students over the last four years, but the number of elementary students is down by almost 32-hundred.

Lloyd said e-learning wold allow students to continue taking certain courses despite declining enrolment.

New way to get high school diplomas credits in Brighton and Campbellford

Students with skills, such as fluency in another language or expert talent on a musical instrument, could be eligible for credits toward diplomas at the high schools in Brighton and Campbellford.

The Kawartha-Pine Ridge School Board made that possible by aproving revisions to its Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition policy last night.

Trustees also voted to increase the board’s renovation fund by 5.1-million dollars for architectural, electrical and mechanical upgrades ab 39 schools.

They also appoved a five-and-a-half-million-dollar tender by Atlas Corporation to build a new school in Apsley, replacing the current elementary school building.

Teachers’ Talks Resume

Talks to reach a local contract for public elementary school teachers in Hastings-Prince Edward resume this week.

The negotiations are still necessary even though the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario accepted the province’s final contract offer earlier this month, and school boards have until March 31st to finish local bargaining.

Hastings-Prince Edward School Board Official Kerry Donnell says contract talks for the seven-hundred full time teachers will resume tomorrow, and continue on Monday and Tuesday, while those for the occasional elementary teachers will be held this Friday.

Local contract negotiations for elementary school teachers with the Kawartha-Pine Ridge and Limestone School Boards will also continue in an effort to reach an agreement.

Brighton Woman Charged with Assault

A Brighton woman faces 2 assault charges after allegedly punching her husband in the face several times, on two different occasions yesterday.

A 41 year old man said his 43 year old wife had last punched him while he was seated at his computer, just before Northumberland OPP arrived at the door.

The woman was charged, and appears in court April 7th.

Theft Suspect Arrested

Central Hastings OPP have arrested a young man in connection with a house break in last week.

Several items were stolen when a window was broken at a home on River Heights Road, south of Marmora.

Yesterday, OPP picked up a 20 year old man from Mamora on the street, charging him with break, enter, and theft.

Prince Edward County Mayor supports new Green Energy Act’s handling of windmill farms

Prince Edward County Mayor Leo Finnegan says he supports provincial legislation for “green energy.”

Mayor Finnegan says he welcomes the Green Energy Act, which includes province-wide standards on where new wind turbines can be located, taking that power away from municipalities. Several citizen’s  groups in Prince Edward County are fighting proposals to put windmill projects in the County.

Soil from Meyer’s Pier in Belleville is being dealt with

Provincial officials say that contaminated soil from Belleville’s Meyers Pier area, that was dumped on a local farm, is being dealt with.

An independent contractor involved in the Meyer’s Pier cleanup dumped the soil. Ministry of Environment spokesperson, Nancy Dyck, says a third party consultant reported that the farmland was not appropriate for the soil.   Dyck says it will be removed from the farm by the end of March. The city of Belleville expects to takeover the Meyers Pier area later this year once the 15-million dollar cleanup project is completed.