Here are your latest Brockville and area headlines:
- The provincial government has made good on a budget promise to spend more on homelessness prevention locally. MPP Steve Clark says the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville will get almost double what it previously got. The increase is $1.56 million for a total of $3.16 million. The funding jump is due to rejigging the funding model. Warden Nancy Peckford is “very encouraged” by the announcement.
- A Brockville court will hear an update in two weeks on whether a North York man has hired a lawyer ahead of his October trial. Nosa Oriakhi is accused of online dating fraud in Edwardsburgh-Cardinal in 2019.
- Bringing outdoor pickleball courts to the Brockville Memorial Center grounds is the goal behind a major fundraiser later this week. A live auction is taking place at the center on Thursday starting at 7 p.m., featuring items including spa certificates, a gym membership, treadmill and hotel stays.
- The regional health unit is booking COVID-19 booster shots for high-risk groups. The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit says people who have not received a booster dose since Sept. 1 are recommended to get one. Clinics are held weekly on Fridays at the health unit office at 458 Laurier Boulevard.
- Ontario Provincial Police say in the East Region they laid 172 charges for not wearing seat belts over the four day Easter weekend – the focus of the provincial long weekend campaign. There was a total of 1690 charges laid – more than half of them for speeding.