Cornwall, ON

Despite the efforts of the Cornwall Regional Task Force, it would appear contraband cigarette smugglers are busier than ever.

On March 31st, following a short term investigation, CRTF members stopped a vehicle occupied by two Hawkesbury women on Highway 417 near Hawkesbury.

The two women, aged 42 and 45, were found to be in possession of contraband tobacco.

Byron Mettican looks forward to fall weather so he can indulge in one of his favourite pastimes - hunting.

One thing he didn't count on, however, was what he calls "the insane amount of tick bites" he received while hunting in the bush near his home in late October and early November.

Of all the hospitals in Ontario, Cornwall Community Hospital has the shortest wait time for CT scans in the province, the hospital announced recently.

The wait is measured from the time the scan is ordered by the physician to the time the scan is performed.

The Cornwall hospital averaged a wait time of only 12 days, while the provincial average wait time for the diagnostic test is 42 days. The target wait time for a CT scan is 28 days, according to the hospital.

Three-hundred and sixty-three residents in the five eastern counties are among the patients who will be receiving registered letters following the investigation into a private Ottawa-area medical clinic.

During the investigation, it was discovered that the clinic did not always follow some infection prevention and cleaning protocols. As a precaution, letters are being sent to approximately 6,800 patients who underwent endoscopic procedures at the clinic between April 2002 and June 2011.

With hot, humid weather in the forecast for the next few days, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) is warning residents of the five Eastern Counties to take special care to prevent heat-related illness.

During extremely hot and humid weather, anyone can suffer heat-related illness when their body is unable to compensate for the extreme temperatures and properly cool.

Following tests carried out by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), a number of beaches in the area have been closed to the public.

Currently, the list of "posted beaches" includes the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary Beach in Ingleside, Riverside Cedar Campsite Beach in Morrisburg, Island Park Beach in Alexandria, Morrisburg Beach in Morrisburg and McLarens Beach in Ingleside.

Eastern Ontario has a higher rate of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) incidents, and Dr. Paul Roumeliotis believes underlying socio-economic and drug or alcohol addiction factors are likely the reasons why.

Roumeliotis, the medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), recently told this to the agency's board of directors. He said the claim can be backed up by data from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and the Children's Aid Society (CAS).

Many family, friends, and local businesses offered support to the Lapierre Sport/Olymel ladies' broomball team that recently competed in Austria. This summary, written by Dawn MacDuff of Vankleek Hill, is offered to them as well as to the community as a whole who support broomball locally.

The 2010 World Broomball Championships concluded four weeks ago in Innsbruck, Austria and according to Rick Przybsz, president and CEO of the International Federation of Broomball Associations (IFBA), "Austria was by far one of the most successful events for the Sport of Broomball ever hosted. The participants were at their best exhibiting the spirit of competition and enthusiasm... you were truly ambassadors of the sport in a foreign land."

At only two seasons into his DIRT racing career, Brent Kelsey was awarded with the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Rookie of the Year award last weekend at the annual DIRTcar banquet held in Verona, New York.