Kingston News, May 26, 2016

Revenue Canada Scams

Kingston Police continue to warn you about scams involving people pretending to be from the Canada Revenue Agency.  One woman was talked into buying $3,000 in iTunes gift cards by a man claiming she owed $90,000 in back taxes.  The woman gave the man the redemption codes and was told to buy another $3,000 in iTunes cards.

Police say the woman was saved by staff at the second store who thought she may be the victim of a scam and contacted Kingston Police.  The woman lost 25 hundred dollars.  Police were able to cancel one of the original gift cards she bought that was worth $500.

The Canada Revenue Agency doesn’t call and threaten people and police say you should simply hang up on anyone who calls and claims to be from the agency.

KEDCO Review

The committee reviewing the operation of the Kingston Economic Development Corporation has lost one of its members.  Debi Wells has resigned.  Wells says she felt the review wasn’t independent.  But she says she found no reason to believe funds were misused by KEDCO.  Wells says she now feels it might be better for economic development to be controlled by staff at Kingston city hall.

The final report on the review of the Kingston Economic Development Corporation is more than a month late but should be ready in about two weeks.

Kingston – Olympics

Kingston already has a connection to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The head coach of Kingston’s Cutting Edge Fencing, David Howes will be a member of the Canadian coaching team.

Howes is a resident of Wolfe Island, an assistant coach with the RMC Paladins fencing team and the national coach for the Canadian women’s epee team.

Kingston Rowing Club member Rob Gibson is also going to the Olympics.  Gibson will be a member of Canada’s Quadruple Sculls team.  It qualified as Canada’s seventh and final boat at an Olympic Qualification Regatta this week.

Name that Horse

Name that Horse…Kingston Police will announce a contest today to name a new horse joining its Mounted Unit.  Constable Deb Wicklam will be joined by Constable Sarah Groenewen on horseback patrol in Kingston this summer.  The contest is to name the new horse.

Good Samaritans

The OPP is looking for two good Samaritans who saved a woman trapped in a vehicle following a fatal crash on Highway 15 in Rideau Lakes Township on May 7th.  One of the vehicles was on fire.  Police say two men in an older model blue or black pickup truck stopped at the scene.  They used a tow strap and their vehicle to pull a vehicle away from the burning vehicle. Police say it saved a woman who was trapped.

An 18 year old man died at the scene of the crash.

Anyone who knows the identity of the two good Samaritans is being asked to contact the Leeds OPP

Legion – Fort Mac Donation

The Branch 560 Legion in Kingston is giving a $20 thousand donation to help victims of the Fort McMurray wildfire.  The money will come from the legions Poppy Fund…the first time the fund has been used for other than veterans.

Fifty per cent of the money will go to the Red Cross for emergency funding and the rest will be accessible to anyone requesting assistance, not just veterans.

Paramedics

You can meet paramedics who work for Frontenac Paramedic Services today and tomorrow at the Cataraqui Centre.  It’s Paramedic Services Week.  They’ll be at centre court all day today and tomorrow showing off the tools of their trade and discussing what it is like to be a paramedic.