Belleville Family Rescued by OPP

Rescue crews successfully returned a Belleville family and their dog from the woods north of Napanee. A 54-year old Belleville woman and her 23-year old son were out for a walk on a marked trail last evening in the Sheffield Conservation Park and then walked along the shoreline when they got lost in the dark wooded area. The called the OPP from their cellphone. Officers from the Emergency Response Team and the K-9 unit located them and escorted them back to their vehicle last night.

Woman Pedestrian Killed in Belleville

Station Street in Belleville has re-opened after being shutdown for seven hours overnight. City Police say a 25-year old woman was struck by a car while crossing Station Street in the area of the Beer Store at 2am. The driver remained at the scene. The section between Cannifton Road and Stokes Street re-opened just after 9am following a police investigation. Police say they are attempting to notify family members of the deceased woman.

Belleville burglar swipes cash

A homeowner in Belleville is out some cash following an alleged break-in.

The incident was reported to city police around eight last night.

Police say the suspect entered through the front door of the Stone St. home and stole an undisclosed amount of cash.

Belleville man charged with drunk driving

A Belleville man will be ringing in the new year by answering to charges of drunk driving.

City police early this morning stopped a vehicle that was allegedly driving erratically in the area of Station Street and Cannifton Road.

A 27-year-old man was charged with operating a motor vehicle with more than 80 mgs of alcohol in the bloodstream.

United Way still accepting 2010 donations

The United Way of Quinte is urging donors to consider taking action today.

It’s the last day donations to the United Way will go toward the 2010 campaign.

A spokesperson says the agency is still $10,000  away from its goal.

You can make donations online by clicking the donate button at www.unitedwayofquinte.ca.

A final tally will be available in the new year.

Prince Edward County chef honoured

Chef Jamie Kennedy is among the 54 new members of the Order of Canada.

Governor General David Johnston announced the new recipients today, recognizing their outstanding service to Canada.

Kennedy lives part time at his farm in Prince Edward County.

New Book Examines Middleton Murder

This summer will mark the 15th anniversary of the murder of a Belleville teen in Bermuda. and, the author of a new book is hoping to find Rebecca Middleton some justice in 2011. Doctor Carol Shuman’s book ‘Kill Me Once…Kill Me Twice: Murder on the Queen’s Playground’ details the way the investigation was handled after the 17-year-old Centennial Secondary School student was killed while on vacation in 1996. No one has ever been convicted of her murder. Shuman says it was evident to everyone she spoke with what went wrong..and, her book isn’t about identifying the problem but finding the solution.
Shuman and former Belleville resident Rick Meens, who was hosting Middleton in 1996, are in the process of appealing to the European Court of Human Rights and hopeful it will review the case in 2011.

“Driven to Quit” is Back in Quinte

With New Years just around the corner many people are making resolutions…. there may be one that could win Quinte area smokers a prize.
For the sixth year the Canadian Cancer Society in collaboration with the Hastings and Prince Edward Health Unit is issuing the challenge to Butt Out. Spokesman Jordan Prosper says the challenge begins in January and the list of prizes will be announced then. Prosper says the idea is to have people stay smoke-free after the March deadline for the contest. Registration for “Driven to Quit” begins January 4.

Napanee Downtown Revitalization

A plan to revitalize the downtown in Napanee will should get some added steam in the new year.
Coordinator Lindsay Tee says the call is out for more volunteers to help drive the initiative to have a better core area. The hope is to make some physical improvements, marketing and branding the community, and creating more foot traffic in the downtown. Tee says the town has a three-year grant to begin some projects, but needs more volunteers to undertake the planning.

Meyer’s Pier Handoff in New Year?

The long-running Meyers Pier re-development project at Belleville’s harbour could wind-up the spring of 2011.
The federal and provincial governments have paid two-thirds of the 15-million dollar cleanup of the contaminated site. Mayor Neil Ellis says he expects the city to take over Meyers Pier soon. He says officials are signing off on the last of the project…the last being the new sewage pumping station. Earlier this year Ottawa and Belleville agreed that another half-million dollars was required to address “some infrastructure issues” and that extra cost will be paid by the federal government.