CJRO News May 15 to May 21, 2023
Hello, bonjour, and welcome to CJRO News on CJRO Radio. I’m Candice Vetter, reporting from Embrun.
It’s been a hard week in our coverage area, with car accidents taking four lives and the attack on police taking one life. In the very early morning of May 12th two people were killed when their vehicle left the Hunt Club Road ramp on Highway 417. It rolled and was found upside down 120 metres away. The occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. Later that afternoon a person was killed at 8th Line and Parkway north of Metcalfe when his truck collided with an SUV. The five SUV occupants went to hospital. Two children are in serious but stable condition and three adults are in stable condition. The next day, Saturday, May 13th, an adult was pronounced dead at the site of a single vehicle crash at 9th Line and Pana roads.
On Thursday, May 11th, OPP Sergeant Eric Mueller of the Embrun detachment was shot in Bourget and died of his injuries. Two other Embrun detachment OPP were injured, one seriously. Alain Bellefeuille of Bourget was arrested at the scene and remains in custody. He faces charges of first degree murder and attempted murder. Anyone who heard or saw anything related to this case is asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
A procession of police and first responder vehicles went down Highway 417 and then Highway 174 on Saturday, May 13th to pay tribute to Sgt. Mueller as his body was moved from the Ottawa Hospital to a funeral home in Rockland. Members of the public lined the overpasses to show their respects. In Embrun the Russell Township Hall at 717 Notre Dame has a book of condolences which people can sign during business hours. Flowers and other tributes can be left outside the main entrance of the Township Hall. The OPP asks that the public respect the privacy of Sgt. Mueller’s family and the families of the injured officers during this difficult time. A police funeral will be held this Thursday, May 18th at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.
The police are cautioning homeowners about agreeing to repair work on roofs or driveways. The Fraud Unit received 10 complaints in a month from residents who hired fraudulent contractors and were then scammed out of money. One of the scams involves a person going up on a roof then showing a photo of serious damage, but the photo shown is actually of a different roof. So be wary.
A burn ban is on in Ottawa prohibiting all open-air fires, including campfires and farm or brush pile burns. Ottawa has not had rain in almost two weeks. The Ottawa Fire Department said there will be zero tolerance enforcement as long as the ban remains.
Okay, now for some good news. On Saturday, May 13th our new antenna was installed in Casselman. The transmitter should be turned on on May 25th, which will be followed by three weeks of test programming. If you are in Casselman let us know how it sounds by contacting cjrofm@rogers.com. We expect to start broadcasting regular content on June 15th.
The Russell Kin Club’s Catch the Ace lottery jackpot is still up for grabs. The jackpot is now estimated at $892,000 and the weekly prize at $45,000. Only seven envelopes are left. You must be in and live in Ontario to purchase a ticket. Purchases can be made at 26 retail locations or online at kinclubofrussell.ca.
Our astronomy contributor, Gary Boyle, told us the first of five planned public star parties will be this Friday, May 19th, rain date May 20th, in the parking lot of the Carp Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will set up their telescopes to show the wonders of the night. This free event will start at sunset. Bring mosquito repellant. There is a link at www.wondersofastronomy.com. When I first started doing local news about 15 years ago the RASC hosted star parties on Frontier Road at the edge of Russell Township, but there is too much light pollution there now.
Post-secondary students from the Carlsbad Springs, Edwards and Ramsayville area have until May 22nd to apply for one of two scholarships from the Carlsbad Springs Optimist Club. The deadline to email a 300-500 word essay is May 22nd.
The Russell Association for the Performing Arts is producing Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor on the weekends of May 27th and June 3rd for several shows at the Russell High School on the north end of Concession Street. This comedy of errors promises to be lots of fun. For tickets or information on RAPA see www.rapa.ca. You can hear my interview with Dave Rama and Scott Tomlinson on Local First.
The Carlsbad Springs Recycling and Bottle Drive will be Saturday, May 27th from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carlsbad Springs Community Center. Metal, electronics, vehicle batteries and alcohol bottles are accepted. The event started about ten years ago to divert recyclable waste, to show there are other solutions than stated by landfill proponents.
Children aged 4 to 11 can register for the Carlsbad Springs Bike rodeo on June 10th. Email Cluboptimistecarlsbad@gmail.com by May 29th.
The Russell Optimists are hosting a rib night and Yuk Yuk’s comedy evening on June 17th. I’m mentioning it now because the deadline to buy tickets is June 2nd. See cluboptimisterussell@gmail.com.
We are still in a transition period and changing the News format. We will soon start hosting a separate Events Round-up with Bill McInnis as host. To get your event listed send it three weeks before to newscjro@gmail.com, Candice@cjronews.ca or bill@cjronews.ca.
If you have News you want included on this weekly report, please let us know by Monday mornings. We have additional content and Local First podcasts at CJROradio.com. Hear us at 107.7 or 107.9, follow us on Facebook, listen to our podcasts on cjroradio.com or on the Tune-In and Radio Player Canada apps. I’m Candice Vetter for CJRO News. CJRO, last on the dial, first for local news.