St. Patrick’s Day – Police Reaction

 

Kingston Police say they have some work to do in planning for future St. Patrick’s Day and Homecoming parties in the Queen’s University district.

Police say the crowd on Saturday was larger than they expected with four to five thousand people partying on Aberdeen Street.

Staff Sergeant Matt Funnell was the incident commander and says 118 charges were laid…mainly for liquor offences and seven people were arrested for public intoxication.

A boat was also taken from a backyard on Aberdeen Street and crowd surfed along the street.  It was recovered by police and returned to its owner.

 

Peacekeeping – Mali

 

Canadian peacekeepers are going to one of the most violent conflicts in the world where more than 150 U-N peacekeepers have died.

The government has confirmed Canada will be sending two Chinook helicopters and four smaller, armed Griffon helicopters along with support personnel to Mali.

It’s not clear how many troops will be joining the helicopters on this mission but the government intends to fulfill a promise to the U-N by significantly increasing the number of women deployed.

The mission will last 12-months but the government hasn’t said when it will begin.

 

Political Maneuvering

 

There’s been lots of political maneuvering in Ontario as the province prepares for an election on June 7th.  Yesterday the Wynne government promised major spending in health care to tackle hospital wait times and expand home-care and mental-health services, while reducing the overall deficit.  Details will come in the Ontario budget next week.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has unveiled a dental plan funded by tax increases on the wealthy and corporations.  She promised to invest 1.2 billion dollars in a dental program that would subsidize care for 4.5 million people.

Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford has promised to scrap the increase in the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour next year and eliminate income tax for those making less than 30 thousand dollars a year.  Last night he told a crowd of nearly two-thousand supporters he plans to “take back this province.”

 

Man Charged – Dating Site

 

A Kingston man who met a woman through an online dating site is now facing 17 charges including assault, uttering threats and criminal harassment.

Kingston Police say the two met through the dating website in June of 2017.

Police say it didn’t take long for things to go wrong and the man became physically and verbally abusive.  They say he also harassed her with non-stop calls and by showing up at her workplace.

The 32 year old man was arrested on Sunday.

 

Jobs

 

The KEYS Job Centre is hosting its 10th annual Kingston Job Fair at Portsmouth Harbour today.  Approximately 50 local and area employers will be at the event.

Ann Vincent at KEYS says it is an excellent opportunity for anyone looking for a job or considering a career change.

The Job Fair is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

Couple Wins Bingo Doubler

 

A Kingston couple has won the top prize in the Instant Bingo Doubler Game.

The Ontario Lottery Corporation says Roger Vincent and Cherylann Bailey of Kingston won the top prize of $100,000.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Circle K on Milford Drive.

 

Spring – 12:25 p.m.

 

Spring arrives on Tuesday.

The vernal equinox…or spring equinox arrives at 12:15 this afternoon.

On the equinox, the length of day and night is nearly equal.  For example, today the sunrise is at 7:09 this morning and sunset is at 7:17 tonight.