Kingston News, March 21, 2018

Kingston – Municipal Election

Kingston is hoping free public transit will help boost voter turnout during the municipal election this October.

Last night…city council approved a request for Kingston Transit to provide free rides for people who have their voter registration card on Advance Voting Day…October 13th and Voting Day…October 22nd.

Other things the city is considering are a longer period for Internet voting and allowing people to vote at any of the voting places in their district.

Smart Cities

Kingston will be competing with other cities in Canada for a 10 million dollar grant under the federal government’s Smart Cities initiative.

City council approved the application last night for the Smart Cities Challenge Fund.

A report for council in December identified the Fund as an opportunity to help the city develop its Smart Kingston strategy.

Woman Assaults Husband

A Kingston woman who suspected her husband of being unfaithful faces eight charges after the man was hit with a guitar and a woman was confronted with a rifle in a hotel room.

Kingston Police arrested the woman around 5:30 Monday afternoon in the parking lot of a west end hotel.  They seized a loaded 22 caliber rifle.

A 45 year old woman faces charges including assault, assault with a weapon and possession of a firearm without a license.

Back Behind Bars

A 62 year old Kingston man who was out on a conditional release for two counts of second degree murder is back behind bars after assaulting his ex.  Kingston Police say the assault took place in September of 2017 but wasn’t reported to them until last Wednesday when the victim told a friend.

The man was arrested last Thursday…his release was revoked and he was sent to a federal holding facility.  Police say he had been on mandatory release after being sentenced on the two second degree murder charges in 1981.

Free Lawn Signs

Free lawn signs that say, “No Matter Where You Are From, We’re Happy You’re Our Neighbour” in five languages will be handed out in Kingston starting today.

March 21^st is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the lawn sign idea came from the Kingston Immigration Partnership.

The signs are in English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Mandarin.

They are free on a first come first served basis at: Kingston Community Health Centres, KEYS Job Centre, City Hall, City of Kingston Housing and Social Services Department, Artillery Park Aquatic Centre, Invista Centre, City offices at 1211 John Counter Blvd and ACFOMI.

Habitat Homes

Two families in Kingston have received the keys to their new homes thanks to Habitat for Humanity.

The Moedt and Lovelace families are the owners of the new semi-detached homes on Cowdy Street…built by Habitat volunteers.

Both families put in 500 hours volunteer hours on the project.

They are required to put 30 per cent of their monthly earnings towards the mortgage…and a portion of that money will go to build other homes.

Injured Swan

An injured swan is recovering at the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in Napanee after being rescued from a busy bike path on the Thousand Islands Parkway.  The swan was found near Chisamore Point Road and was drawing a lot of attention on Saturday afternoon.  The OPP says…despite some squawks of protest from the swan, officers were able to gather up the bird with the help of a volunteer and it was transported to the wildlife centre.