Mark MacDonald Calls For Election Vote On Spending Progress Fund

February 08, 2010 — One councillor believes the people of Cornwall should decide whether the city should spend its $25 million Progress Fund. Mark MacDonald believes council should look at a referendum on the ballot for the October municipal election. Council learned tonight the city will need to borrow at least $25 million in long term loans for projects like the waste water treatment plant and the new arena. But MacDonald tells AM 1220 News this is the right time to look at spending the fund which came from the sale of Cornwall Electric in the 1990s. (Hear audio clip below) A question would have to be approved by council at least three months before Election Day, which is October 25th. The matter is expected to come up at a future council meeting.

Audio:

Mayor Asks For Meeting With Public Safety Minister; City Workers Showing Up To Work

February 08, 2010 — In other council news...

The mayor has called on newly-minted Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to get involved in talks over Cornwall's border dispute. In an open letter, Bob Kilger says the arrangement with the makeshift border crossing can not continue indefinitely. Kilger also asks for a meeting with Toews who recently took over the portfolio from Peter Van Loan during a cabinet shuffle last month. Click here to read a copy of the letter.

Some councillors say it's further proof the city doesn't an attendance management system. The latest report shows the average employee was off just over five days due to illness last year, which is down from 2008. The city shot down an attendance management system three years ago leaving it up to managers to keep track sick days and problem employees.

Drug Errors And Infection At Glen-Stor-Dun Lodge: Report

February 08, 2010 — Medication errors and high infection rates. Those are just some of the findings in a confidential report by Accreditation Canada for Cornwall's Glen-Stor-Dun Lodge obtained by AM 1220 News. The 31 page document noted a "high number of medication errors due to medications given but not signed for." The review also talks about a case where a patient was given insulin twice. Glen-Stor-Dun Lodge Manager Donna Derouchie tells AM 1220 News they are still reviewing the report which was done in late November. (Hear audio clip below) Management Board chairman Syd Gardiner says people are not getting the wrong medication. "They are caught before the medicine is given to the patients. Those errors have been caught. So it's not that people have been given the wrong medications. It's an issue. It has to be stopped that's the bottom line," Gardiner said. The report noted there were no injuries associated with the drug mishaps. The lodge was also red-flagged for C. difficile and Staph infections though officials would not comment saying it's being dealt with internally. The management board will meet Thursday to go over the report.

Audio:

Cornwall Police Officer Facing Impaired Driving Charge

February 08, 2010 — A Cornwall police detective is facing an impaired driving charge. O.P.P. officers were responding to a call in South Stormont last Monday night when they were flagged down by a man on County Road 15. The man had got out of a vehicle stopped at the side of the road. Officers arrested the driver of that vehicle, 45-year-old Emma Wilson-King, and charged her with impaired operation of a motor vehicle. Wilson-King is a detective constable with the Cornwall Police and has taken personal leave since the alleged incident. She will appear in a Cornwall court tomorrow and could face a Police Services Act charge of misconduct depending on the outcome of the court proceedings.

Two Arrested Following Drug Search Of North Glengarry Home

February 08, 2010 — Two North Glengarry residents are feeling the heat after being arrested on drug related charges. Police say they received a complaint recently there were drugs at a home in the township and went to investigate. That's when they found a stash of suspected marijuana, hash and methamphetamine. Combined, the haul is worth almost $5,000. A 27-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were arrested and are now facing drug possession charges.

Bowling Scores More Than $80K For Local Big Brothers and Big Sisters

February 08, 2010 — You can mark down a strike for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Cornwall. Tim Hortons held its Bowl for Kids Sake for the local organization on Saturday and Cornwallites answered the call, raising more than $70,000. The event was held in Cornwall at Olympia Bowl and Nativity while another venue took place in Chesterville. If you count the donations taken in there, the fundraising total is more than $80,000. All the proceeds will go directly towards Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Cornwall and District mentoring programs.