Friday, December 31, 2010

Seat belt law turns 35

Ontario's seat belt law is turning 35. The law went into effect January 1st, 1976. Ontario was the first province to make it mandatory to buckle up and since then it's estimated seat belt use has saved more than 8,000 lives. OPP Traffic Sergeant Ken Mantey says fastening your seat belt is the most important thing you can do when you get into a motor vehicle. Nearly 93% of all Ontarians use seat belts; that's up from just 17% when the law came into effect. Mantey says he's perplexed by  those who still don't take the simple precaution.

Police beefing up New Year's patrols

City police will be out in force this New Year's Eve.   32 extra officers are being deployed this evening.  There's also additional support staff to handle extra files and other administrative work.   Plans are to heavily patrol both downtown cores. 

Food delivery prepares for rush

New Years Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year for the food delivery business. Local eateries are gearing up by getting huge quantities of ingredients ready and calling in extra staff. Papa Piccolino's Pizza owner David Falvo says it's a good idea to order early and that he's expecting about double the normal business. Golden Bakery owner Angelo Perna also suggests planning ahead and ordering much earlier in the day if you know you'll want food at a certain time.

Cabbies set for busy New Year's

If you are out partying Friday night  and plan to get a cab ride home, call well head of when you plan to leave. Dennis LeBeau of Roach's Taxi says New Year's is always busy.   He says the wait times for a cab will be about an hour.   LeBeau says they'll have all 42 taxi's on the street New Year's Eve.

Snow rings in 2011

It's going to be a snowy start to the new year. Meteorologist Alyssa Young says a second Colorado low is about to bear down on us. She says depending on how intense the ice pellets are, we could get 10 to 15 cm by New Years Day. Meantime to our west Atikokan, Fort Frances and Dryden have been getting hit with up to 15 cm and up to 20 cm more is expected.

Police save drunk from himself

A city snowplow operator has a story to tell today.  Police say he was working overnight on Court Street near John when a man walked in front of his machine and wouldn't let him pass.  They say the man was drunk and wanted to be run over.   The man spent the night in police custody