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Fenwick driver does 165km in 80km zone Niagara Regional Police traffic units carried out what they called “Project High Flyer" for three days last week on the roads of West Lincoln.
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Fenwick driver does 165km in 80km zone

Niagara Regional Police traffic units carried out what they called “Project High Flyer" for three days last week on the roads of West Lincoln. Police say the ongoing project is designed to reduce traffic collisions caused by vehicles travelling at high speeds. 8 District officers and members of the Traffic Enforcement Unit issued 12 tickets for speeds greater than 30 km/h over posted limits.

Three drivers had their vehicles and drivers licences seized for seven days for stunting.  One driver, a male resident from Fenwick, was found travelling on Regional Road 20 near Bismark at 165 km/h in a 80 km/h zone. The second driver, a male resident from Welland, was clocked on Victoria Ave near Regional Road 20 at 132 km/h in a 80 km/h zone. The third driver, a 19-year-old male from Dunnville, was found travelling 143 km/h on Caister-Gainsbourough Townline Rd, also in an 80 km/h zone.

Drivers charged with stunting face fines of between $2,000 and $10,000 upon conviction. Project High Flyer will continue throughout 2017.


Cruiser damaged in Pelham

Early last Wednesday morning, a Niagara Regional Police Service SUV patrol cruiser was severely damaged when hit by an oncoming car on Webber Road near the intersection of Balfour Street.

A little after 7:30 AM, an officer was stopped on the side of Webber with emergency lights activated for another incident. A tow truck was also present for the initial call.

Police say that the road was covered in black ice. An oncoming car tried to slow after seeing the police and tow truck emergency lights, but lost control and hit the cruiser. The officer suffered minor injuries, was treated in hospital as a precaution and released.

In response to rumours late last week regarding the identity of the driver, the driver’s condition, and whether the car involved was an official vehicle, police spokesman Sgt. Robert Schottlander responded that vehicle was privately owned by the driver.

“If there was any evidence of alcohol it would have been investigated without question on either driver,” he said.

Schottlander said that no criminal charges were laid and none were pending.


Ten car collision at Port Food Basics

Last Sunday just before 1 PM, police, fire, and medical services responded to a multi-vehicle collision that involved a pedestrian within the parking lot of the Food Basics grocery store in Port Colborne. Police say that a 70-year-old male driver and his 70-year-old female passenger, both from Port Colborne, were travelling within the lot in a 2000 Ford Windstar van. The driver lost control of the van, continuing through the lot striking nine other vehicles. During this sequence, a 53-year-old female pedestrian, also from Port Colborne, was walking to her vehicle and was struck by the out-of-control van. The occupants of the van were transported to a local hospital as a precaution and later released. The 53-year-old female pedestrian was also taken to a local hospital where she remains in serious condition. Any witnesses to the collision are asked to contact detectives at (905) 688-4111.


Brock prof on Trump press conference

In 15 years teaching American politics, Paul Hamilton has never seen anything like it.

“I’m surprised by how little he has changed from the primaries,” the associate professor in the Department of Political Science said of President-elect Donald Trump. “He doesn’t seem to have absorbed much of the sort of manners of the office.

“You would think meeting Obama, touring the White House, nominating people for Cabinet, that all of those things would have sobered his mind, but it doesn’t appear it has.”

Hamilton watched with interest last Wednesday as Trump officially addressed the media for the first time since winning the election Nov. 8. Trump’s acrimonious relationship with the media continued as he called out certain reporters by name and wouldn’t take questions from CNN, calling the network “fake news.”

“The testiest I’ve ever seen Obama or Bush was nothing compared to that,” Hamilton said. “It was astonishing. He seems to treat the press as an irritant, which they can be, but he can’t treat them that way.”

Trump is set to take the oath of office on Friday to become the 45th President of the United States.


Pelham Beautification Committee seeks members

Committee meetings are open to the public and are held once a month at the Town of Pelham municipal offices. The meeting schedule for 2017 is still to be decided and will be posted when available.

According to a Town press release, the following are “Terms of Reference” for the Committee:

Establish and maintain an outreach program to consult the community on beautification goals and priorities and to report back to the community on past initiatives; Examine the best practices to achieve beautification goals that were determined through community outreach; Establish and regularly review/update a committee Strategic Plan in alignment with the Strategic Plan of Council; Advise Council regularly on prioritized beautification initiatives, complete with best practices, budget and resource needs; Measure and review the effectiveness of implemented recommendations; and be cognizant and communicate to Council the budgetary needs of the committee to carry out these duties.

No specific contact information was provided. Interested parties may reach the Town at (905) 892-2607.


Niagara rush hour is rush minutes 

Unlike other parts of Canada, the Niagara Region is virtually free of traffic congestion, according to a recent study released by the Canadian Automobile Association.

The study, which focuses on highway traffic, is the first of its kind undertaken nationally by CAA. It shows that time-of-day traffic congestion adds only five to six minutes to daily drive times and focuses only on Niagara’s international bridges and a short stretch of the Queen Elizabeth Way.

“As you might suspect, the study confirms Niagara enjoys substantially fewer traffic snarls than other municipalities. It’s fair to say that Niagara’s rush hour is really just rush minutes,” says Rick Mauro, CAA Niagara’s Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations.

“In Toronto, traffic congestion adds 36 minutes to the daily commute,” Mauro noted from the study, “so, we’re lucky we don’t have to battle heavy highway congestion every day.”

According to the CAA study, congestion and traffic bottlenecks are the single biggest contributor to road delay, far outpacing traffic accidents, bad weather and construction.

Traffic is a major source of stress for Canadians. Canada’s top 20 traffic bottlenecks are in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Quebec City, and collectively cost drivers more than 11.5 million hours of their time every year and burn an extra 287 million litres of fuel per year.


Better prescription strategy for seniors

Canada needs a national strategy to address inappropriate prescribing practices that lead to the unsafe use of medications by seniors, says the author of a new study from the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Seniors are the heaviest users of prescription medicines in Canada.

On average, two-thirds take 5 or more prescriptions drugs over the course of a year and one-quarter take 10 or more, says Nicole Bernier.

“It is estimated that as much as half of the medications given to seniors are taken incorrectly or are overprescribed, increasing the likelihood of adverse drug reactions and interactions.”

“When it comes to seniors’ health, prescribing practices are too often based on little or no evidence, and as a result they can be inappropriate and even dangerous. Much more can and should be done to address this serious health issue for our aging population,” Bernier concludes.