Severe Thunderstorms

 

A severe thunderstorms that rolled through the Kingston area early this morning has caused extensive damage and half a dozen power failures north of Kingston.

Heavy rain was accompanied by strong winds that have been described by at least two people as sounding like a freight train around 1:30 this morning.  The wind brought down tree branches and some trees.

The storm ripped a portion of the roof off a home in the Montreal Street and Aragon Road area and blew over a shed.

Hydro One says it is working to restore power from scattered outages caused by the storm.

 

Contracting Out – CFB Kingston

 

Representatives of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Union of National Defence Employees are upset about a plan to contract out cleaning jobs at CFB Kingston.  The two unions say nearly 100 public sector cleaners will lose their jobs.  Representatives of the unions will meet with Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen today to present an alternative business case.  They say contracting the work out will not save money for the Department of National Defence…will result in a reduction in the quality of service and further erode good middle-class jobs in Kingston.

 

Smart Data on Streets

 

Kingston is paying a company $170,000 to capture high definition, 3-D images of Kingston’s streets.

The city says it is part of a plan to build and maintain a smart, livable 21st century city. You may see a Ford Escape with rack mounted cameras travelling around the city over the next month collecting the data.  Chief Information Officer Jeff Bumstead says the images will be used to compile a library of highly accurate data on Kingston’s roads.

 

Kidd’s Name to be Removed

 

A plaque containing the name of a man serving a sentence on child pornography charges is being removed from the Isabel Turner Library.

The library board says it wasn’t aware of Rob Kidd’s name being on the plaque until a complaint on the city of Kingston’s Facebook page.

The former Assistant Chief of the Kingston fire department is currently living in South Frontenac under conditions of his parole after pleading guilty in 2015 to eight charges including making and possessing child pornography

The library board says out of respect for his victims…the plaque will be removed while it reviews the best way to honour people who make contributions to building projects.

 

Suspended Driver

 

A 48 year old Kingston man is facing charges after being stopped in a vehicle on First Avenue Friday afternoon.  An open can of beer and marijuana were found in the vehicle.  The man has been charged with two counts of driving while disqualified, breach of an undertaking and possession of a controlled substance.  Police say the accused is on two life-long Canada wide driving suspensions for impaired driving.

 

Election Signs

 

The OPP in Leeds County east of Kingston are reminding people damaging or removing election signs can lead to charges under the criminal code.  It is investigating the damage and theft of signs along County Road 5 in the Front of Yonge Township.   Anyone with information on the theft or damage is being asked to contact the OPP or Crime Stoppers.

 

Election Signs – Kingston

 

There won’t be any signs for candidates in at least one district in Kingston for the municipal election in October.  The candidates running in Portsmouth District have agreed not to put up lawn signs.

Councillor Jim Neill won’t be using lawn signs in his bid for re-election in Williamsville district.  He dropped off about 400 old signs at the recycling depot yesterday.  Neill says he feels the signs don’t really work.

 

Friday Crash – Charges

 

The driver of a transport truck that crashed on the 401 westbound near Switzerville Road on Friday night is facing charges.  The truck hit a guardrail and went into a ditch.  There were no injuries however the Hwy was closed for a couple of hours. A 27 year old man from Brampton has been charged with Careless Driving and Entering false information in a Daily log.

 

ALCDSB – Director Retiring

 

The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board is looking for a new Director of Education.

Jody DiRocco has announce he will be retiring…effective January 31st.

DiRocco started in the catholic system as a teacher at Nicholson Catholic College in Belleville in 1984 and worked his way up through the system to become Director of Education eight years ago. He says, so far he has no plans for his retirement.