Connected
Trunk line update The pipes are in the ground. Bolted together. Two kilometres. Through hard rock, under creeks and streets. Water and sanitary mains are now installed and connected across the breadth of Wellington from Belleville Road to the water plant and wastewater treatment plant on the western edge of the village. The pounding has […]
Signs of the times
Local artist’s painting welcomes visitors to Wellington Visitors to Wellington now have beautiful new welcome signs to greet them at the entrances to the village thanks to the Wellington Community Association. Featuring a painting by County artist Stewart Jones, one sign on Belleville St. opposite the arena was unveiled last week by Peta Hall, a […]
Change
County elects new mayor and seven new council members The County voted for change on Monday— and turnout reached a new high. Unofficial results indicate that just over half of eligible voters cast a ballot in Prince Edward County’s municipal election on Monday night: 50.07 per cent, the highest turnout since amalgamation in 1998. Residents […]
Then there were three
Picton candidate meeting Each Picton council candidate—to varying degrees—wants to put Shire Hall on a more financially stable footing. Yet, all are eager to expand municipal funding. All three vying for two council seats are in favour of more spending on: Tax and water bill relief programs; Arts funding; Youth engagement; Parks, and Affordable housing. […]
Baseline
A waterworks capital financing explainer They are big numbers— bigger than this municipality has ever had to manage or explain. We’re here to make sense of them. The headline figure, $280 million, has received considerable attention since September 8. Several candidates and others have described it as the County’s total exposure under the proposed waterworks […]
My personal picks for council
RICK CONROY Note: The following endorsements are mine alone—not those of this newspaper or its publisher. My choices favour candidates who demonstrate financial discipline, scrutinize major infrastructure commitments and bring relevant experience to council. I also value independent judgment and a willingness to explain difficult trade-offs. WARD 1 Jane Lesslie has earned the right to […]
Reflections
New book of poetry and stories from John Giraudy Last Thursday evening about 20 people gathered at the Picton library to hear County resident John Giraudy read excerpts from his new book of poetry and short stories, Reflections. The book is a compendium of items he had written over the span of several decades, based […]
On waterworks infrastructure
Candidates answered four questions; waterworks dominated In Wellington, the mayoral candidates were always going to be measured on their stance on waterworks. About 350 folks gathered at the community centre last Tuesday to hear their answers to four prepared questions. Another large, full-to-capacity assembly assessed the men who would be mayor. Strangely, no questions were […]
Civic Recognition Awards
Honouring residents and organizations for outstanding service Atotal of 21 individuals and groups, plus one dog, were celebrated for outstanding volunteer service to the community during the inaugural Civic Recognition Awards held at the Regent Theatre on September 24. In addition, Mayor Steve Ferguson presented Ben Thornton with the Governor General’s Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers […]
Ballot question
Is Council too big? Slipping under the radar in this election cycle is the question on the ballot. With infrastructure spending, soaring property taxes, crumbling roads, and strong mayor powers dominating the conversation, the issue of council governance lurks beneath the surface. For the second time since amalgamation forged the County of Prince Edward’s current […]