Contracting Out Recycling

Kingston city council has voted against contracting out recycling collection in Central Kingston.

Council heard from two union delegations about the impact of contracting out the collection of recycling to Waste Connections of Canada.

A recommendation before city council last night called for an end to end pickup in central Kingston by city employees on July 1st of this year.

It was rejected by city council last night.

 

Council – Stroud

City council has approved its integrity commissioners report on the actions of city councillor Peter Stroud.

The report found Stroud breached the city’s code of conduct and recommended his pay be suspended for 30 days.

Council voted in favour of the report last night. The report examined an incident involving a Kingston Transit bus that was stopped by Stroud last June…and several messages critical of Kingston Police Stroud had posted on Twitter.

 

KP Tours

City council is hoping a motion asking the federal government to speed up the approval process for access to Kingston Penitentiary this year will have some impact.  Council approved the motion last night.

The government wants a long-term contract with the city and says that’s why the process is taking longer than usual.

The city says contracts need to be signed by the beginning of March if Kingston Pen tours are going to start in May.

 

Sustainable Kingston

Sustainable Kingston will continue to operate this year thanks to a grant from the city of Kingston.

Council was unanimous in approving a one-year service level agreement with Sustainable Kingston in the amount of $105,000.  The agreement runs until December 31st of this year.

 

Charges – Impaired

A 24-year-old Kingston man is facing charges after the OPP stopped a vehicle on the 401 in Kingston going 53 kilometres over the speed limit.

Police arrested Wyatt Breen on Monday night and charged him with impaired driving, racing a motor vehicle and driving with liquor readily available.

 

Robbery – Four Charged

Four young people ranging in age from 17 to 19 have been charged with a violent robbery in Kingston.

Kingston Police say a man who entered a west end convenience store with a grocery bag was surrounded and attacked by the four young men Around 12:05 a.m. on Monday.  The victim was hit with a wrench and the four youths took off with his grocery bag.

Police rounded up their suspects about an hour later.

It turns out all four have had previous run ins with the law and are now facing a variety of new charges including robbery.

 

License Plates – Government Response

The Ontario government says it is investigating complaints about its new licence plates after a message was posted on Twitter by Kingston Police Sergeant Steve Koopman.

Koopman was off duty when he posted a picture on social media showing a new license plate at night that shows the numbers on the plate can’t be seen.

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police says it is also concerned about the readability of the plates at night.

Consumer Affairs Minister Lisa Thompson is defending them, saying they’ve been rigorously tested in a variety of conditions.  Thompson says the new plates are actually very readable.

 

Award Winner

Family and Children’s Services of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington will be presenting its highest award today during a ceremony at 1pm.

Youth counsellor Brian Howell will receive the 2020 Family Advocacy Award.

It recognizes Howell’s 30 plus years of work with at-risk youth in the Kingston area.

 

Police Hero Nominees

A second Kingston Police officer has been nominated for a Police Hero of the Year Award from the Police Association of Ontario.

Constable Fil Wisniak has been nominated for his quick action during a stabbing in downtown Kingston that claimed the life of 40-year-old Christopher Groeneveld-Barry and injured an 85-year-old man.

Wisniak put himself between the man with a knife and a woman who was trying to help one of the victims…then shot 22-year-old Evan Freeman in the leg before Freeman took his own life.

The nomination says Constable Wisniak demonstrated restraint, compassion and professionalism putting himself in harm’s way to protect others.

Sgt. Melanie Jeffries has also been nominated for the Police Hero of the Year Award for her work helping a person disclose a childhood kidnapping, sexual assault and near death.