BNW Newsbrief – May 23, 2023

The courthouse on John Ross Matheson Way at the north end of Court House Square in Brockville, Ont. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

Here are your latest Brockville and area headlines:

  • The trial for two Brockville police officers charged with assault causing bodily harm is in the final stages. Consts. Adam McNish and Jordan Latham were charged after the violent arrest of a 59-year-old man at a Belvedere Place apartment building in May 2020. The trial has be going on over approximately 11 days since January. Friday saw the start of final submissions from the defence and Crown. They continue on June 2.

  • Skaters and hockey players in Prescott should be able to hit the ice at the new arena complex this fall. Council heard recently the ice in the $14.5 million facility should be in later this summer in time for the upcoming season. It was a little over a year ago the federal and provincial governments announced funding for the replacement for the Leo Boivin Community Center, which closed in August 2018.

  • A Brockville citizen will be recognized for his efforts in saving a woman trying to drown herself in Butlers Creek behind Rotary Park earlier this month. Aaron Largy was walking his dog and went into the water and kept the woman’s head above water despite her fighting him as she experienced an “excited delirium episode,” a letter to the police board from Sgt. Mike Grant of B Platoon explains. “The shift working, would like to thank Aaron for his act of compassion, despite being faced with such violent resistance.” First responders eventually arrived on scene and took the woman to hospital for treatment.

  • After surpassing two hours in March, the average time a Brockville police officer waited at the hospital for a mental health call was 1 hour and 11 minutes in April. The longest call was 2 hours and 32 minutes. Police dealt with 42 people for mental health calls in April – over half of them were people they’d never seen before.

  • Leeds and Thousand Islands Township will celebrate a little bit of history next month. The Leeds and 1000 Islands Historical Society will unveil a Lansdowne Railway Heritage Sign on June 3 on the north side of the railway tracks on Grand Trunk Avenue.