Kingston News, June 21, 2016

Power Outages

Power is out to about 700 Hydro One customers in areas west, north and east of Kingston following severe thunderstorms last night.

The Kingston area and most of southeastern Ontario greeted the summer solstice with a tornado warning…but there have been no reports of any tornadoes.

Strong winds did bring down trees and tree branches.  A 150 year old barn that was under renovation on the shore of Hay Bay was destroyed.

Hydro One says crews are hoping to have the power restored for customers in the Bath area, east of Verona, north of Gananoque and north of Napanee by mid-afternoon.

Engineers to Determine Pole Problem

Utilities Kingston is hiring a third-party engineering firm from outside the Kingston area to conduct an investigation into why hydro poles collapsed on John Counter Boulevard.

President and CEO Jim Keech says they don’t know why eight poles collapsed around noon on Friday and hope the independent engineering firm will be able to determine what caused the problem.

Keech says five other poles were impacted by the collapse.

He says Kingston Police is conducting a separate investigation into the possibility the mystery of the poles was caused by a vehicle.

SUV Hits Woman

Kingston Police is hoping the public will help it track down the driver of a vehicle that knocked down a pregnant woman in the parking lot of Shopper’s Drug Mart at Kingslake Plaza Friday afternoon.

A copper coloured Nissan SUV backed up and hit the woman around 4:15 Friday afternoon.

The vehicle drove off east on Conacher Drive.

The pregnant woman was taken to hospital as a precaution.  Police say she received minor injuries.

Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to contact Kingston Police.

Aboriginal Day – Apology

Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington has issued an apology and promise to do a better job to mark National Aboriginal Day.

The video admits the role the Children’s Aid Society had in residential schools and removing aboriginal children from their parents and pledges a new path of hope with Aboriginal Peoples.

Executive Director Steve Woodman says he hopes a protocol being drafted with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte will help.

Woodman says the video was necessary to continue the healing started by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Syrian Refugee Funding

The Community Refugee Relief Fund in Kingston is getting $20,000 to help people relocate to Kingston.

The funding comes from community foundations across Canada and was announced last night at the Refugee Voices from Around the World event at the downtown library.

The funding will provide up to two thousand dollars for each person who is in need of extra help when they arrive in Kingston.

Road Safety – Commercial Vehicles

A safety blitz on area highways has resulted in the OPP saying continued enforcement measures are needed to improve the safety of commercial vehicles.

The OPP and Ministry of Transportation conducted the 24 hour enforcement initiative last Thursday.

52 drivers of commercial vehicles were charged with distracted driving…11 vehicles were taken out of service…drugs were seized from two vehicles, and 37 drivers were charged with failing to wear seat belts.

One trucker even gave officers the middle finger while driving and talking on his cell phone.  Another was stopped twice in less than an hour and charged twice with using his cell phone.