Supervisor likely to run Quinte Healthcare Corporation

It didn’t take long.  Last Friday, the Southeast Local Health Integration Network rejected Quinte Healthcare’s cost savings plan.  The LHIN said the plan failed to meet the criteria given QHC, as it would have continued to operate with a deficit.

Now, the Minister of Health and Long Term Care, David Caplan, has told Quinte Healthcare management that he intends to have the provincial cabinet name a supervisor to oversee the operation of the hospital.  The government believes the financial situation could get worse, jeapordizing medical care.

Impaired Charges in Spectacular Crash near Picton

Three men were taken to hospital and a Picton man faces impaired charges after a spectacular crash north of Cherry Valley. Prince Edward O-P-P say a westbound vehicle went off Miller Road last evening, near Mowbray Road, went into a ditch, rolled several times and became airborne, ejecting one of the passengers. Two passengers, 18 and 24, were transferred to Kingston General Hospital with serious injuries, and 18-year-old Michael Minaker was charged with two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. He will appear for a court date on April 22nd in Picton.

Cash Stolen in Brighton

A large sum of money has been stolen during a breakin at a home in Brighton. Northumberland O-P-P say a suspect got in through an unlocked front door at the house on Prince Edward Street yesterday afternoon, while the resident was in another part of the residence. The envelope containing the cash quickly disappeared, and the culprit was gone. No description is available, and anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crimestoppers or the O-P-P.

Marmora Four-Plex Destroyed by Fire

A four-plex in Marmora will be demolished following a fire Sunday night. Chief Building Official in Marmora and Lake Township Reg McCurdy says part of the building had to be demolished in order for firecrews to get at the blaze. He says the brick two storey building on McGill Street had severe damage to the back and upper floors.  The cause is still under investigation and damage is estimated at 250-thousand dollars. Three tenants were living at the complex and another had partially moved in to the fourth unit.

Catholic school start time in Campbellford and Grafton may be reconsidered

The decision to start school for Catholic students in Campbellford and Grafton almost a week before Labour day may get a second look.

The Peterborough Catholic School Board voted last Tuesday to begin classes at all of its schools on September first, rather than on the eighth, one day about labour day.

However, the Kawartha-Pine Ridge Board, which shares busing with the catholic board, decided later in the week it won’t send its students back to class until the eighth.

The Peterborough Catholic board is holding a special meeting tomorrow to once again discuss the issue of starting school a week early.

Local MPP Running for PC Leader

Randy Hillier is joining caucus colleague Frank Klees on the ballot for the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives.  The M-P-P for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington says tough times call for a smart leader who rises to challenges, `rather than making excuses and pointing fingers.’ Hillier was first elected to the legislature in October 2007, and is the party’s critic for rural affairs. Tim Hudak and Christine Elliott are also expected to be on the ballot to replace John Tory as party leader at a June 27th convention in Markham.

Costing saving Plans Will Continue at QHC

The acting Chairperson of the Quinte Health Care board says the financial recovery plan will continue.  Ray Goulet says the only information Q-H-C has received about the Southeast LHIN’s rejection of the 9.4-million-dollar cost cutting initiative, which also includes a budget deficit of four-million dollars, is a media release issued by the LHIN last friday. He says Quinte Health Care has not been instructed to stop implementing the plan, and Q-H-C President Bruce Laughton says he can’t imagine either the LHIN or the Health Ministry doing that.

Belleville Building Activity

A number of issues before Belleville’s Planning Committee when it meets next week, including   requests for rezoning that reflect future development.  There’s an application for rezoning two vacant lots adjacent to the site of the new regional courthouse at Coleman and Bridge Streets. The province is building the facility on land it bought from developer Brian Magee.  The owner of a site at the corner of Station Street and Albion wants zoning to allow a medical clinic as a possible use.   And up North Front Street, Quinte Retirement Residence is asking for a zoning amendment to allow a site on Donald Street to be used initially for parking, then later for an eight-storey special care residence, housing 225-people.

Quinte is Open for Business

The Quinte region will make a major bid later this spring to attract industry to the area. Quinte Economic Development Commission spokesman Chris King says the commission will be at a trade fair for large packaging, food processing, and logistics industries the first week in May.    He says this area has available food plants and other industrial lands that they want to promote.   King says many companies are continuing to make enquiries about possible re-location in the Quinte area.

Belleville’s new top cop sworn in

About 100-people, including officers from as far away as Niagara Falls, packed the main courtroom at 15 Victoria street yesterday as Mr. Justice Stephen Hunter presided at the swearing-in ceremony for Belleville’s new police chief.

Chief Cory McMullan says it’s her life’s goal and she “can’t wait to get started” as Belleville’s top cop. Forty-six-year-old McMullan says top of her priority list is an organizational review, touching on workload and policies. She says community stakeholders and residents will have an opportunity for input, then a business plan will be developed.   And McMullan says that, starting today, she wants to get to know each and every officer on the force.