Each week, the Gazette looks back on stories from the past. Here is what happened this week, by year…
1928
– Wellington council agreed to pay J.E. Benson a nominal sum of 41 per year to use his land to host a drain built by the municipality. Council also appointed two members to a committee to secure a right-of-way for a street running from Maple Avenue to Belleville Road.
– The Dairymen’s Association of Eastern Ontario discussed the question of Sunday cheesemaking, given the government had recently stated it wasn’t necessary. The cheesemakers urged government to grant licence to those who needed to work Sundays.
– Ontario’s attorney general declared Picton a provincial police district. An officer would be stationed in town regularly.
1948
-County council approved a budget of $175,000 for road and bridge work, subject to government subsidies. $125,000 was designated for road work and $50,000 for bridges. The biggest capital project was a $40,000 bridge in Milford.
– A weather balloon launched at a station in Buffalo, N.Y. was found in a tree in Bloomfield. It featured a red parachute connected to a box of instruments that measured temperature, moisture, and air pressure. Police intended to return the instruments to Buffalo for measurement.
– Toronto Maple Leafs stars Wallie Stanowski and Jim Thompson were to speak at Picton Collegiate Institute and referee two charity hockey games in February.
1978
– Stating that Ontario was facing an energy crisis and other members of cabinet didn’t share his sense of urgency, local MPP James Taylor resigned as energy minister. Taylor indicated he would serve the balance of his term and not run again.
– Picton Mayor Donald King wrote a letter to MP George Hees to express his disappointment with the condition of the federal building and post office on Main Street. The government hired an out-of-town firm for maintenance and King felt snow removal and cleanliness was not up to par.
– It appeared costs for a new Wellington sewer system would soar beyond the $4-million estimate provided by the Ministry of Environment for the system and plant.
1998
– Police were advising drivers to take special care when approaching newly installed lights in front of Tim Hortons in Picton. New markings on the road were obscured by snow and the lights featured two different stopping areas with two sets of lights that function differently.
– Prince Edward-Hastings MPP Gary Fox predicted a more calm period in provincial politics after his Progressive Conservative party spent its first year making wide-ranging policy changes. He said the second year of their mandate would focus on making the changes work.
– PECI joined a Student Crime Stoppers program with six other area secondary school to help deter vandalism and theft.