Teachers Strike

All public elementary schools in Ontario will be closed today due to a province-wide strike by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario.

Elementary schools in the Limestone District Board will also be closed tomorrow due to a rotating strike.

Teachers in the French system are holding a provincewide strike on Thursday, and high school teachers are staging a one-day strike at select boards, including the Limestone District Board on the same day.

 

Coronavirus – CFB Trenton

The second plane carrying people from the coronavirus-quarantined region of China has arrived at CFB Trenton.  The plane carrying about 200 passengers and crew landed this morning.

The passengers and crew will be quarantined at the air force base in Trenton for 14 days.

So far, no one in the first two sets of passengers has shown any symptoms of the new coronavirus.

One of them, 25-year-old Myriam Larouche says her private room at Yukon Lodge, a motel on the base, has a fridge, a microwave, a T-V and an ensuite bathroom.  Meals are delivered to her door and she is allowed outside, but has to stay two-metres away from her fellow evacuees.

 

Special Forces – CFB Trenton

The federal government has announced the military’s elite Joint Task Force 2 will not be moving to CFB Trenton.  No reason was given for the decision.  The Harper government had expropriated land around the base for the unit and announced the plan to move the unit in 2007.

 

Picton – Sexual Assault – Child Pornography

A 14-year-old from Picton is facing charges of sexual assault and possession of child pornography.

Prince Edward County OPP executed a search warrant at a home in Picton around 7:30 last Wednesday morning and seized several electronic devices.

The 14-year-old was released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

 

Pipeline Demonstration

It is day six for a blockade of the rail crossing at Wyman Road in Tyendinaga and VIA Rail has cancelled passenger trains for this morning.  CN Rail traffic has also been blocked by the protest.

A small group of people set up the blockade last Thursday afternoon in support of the Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs in B-C who are protesting against a natural gas pipeline.

 

Women Entrepreneurs Program

A new program has been launched in Kingston to help technology companies led by women.

Compass North is a five-month long accelerator program designed for women entrepreneurs in the Belleville-Kingston-Brockville region.

Compass North is operated by Queen’s University and L-SPARK.

Each participant is partnered with a mentor, will have access to workshops and connections with a tightly knit community of entrepreneurs.

 

Website Award

A website that promotes Kingston as a great place to live and work has received an award from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario.

The City of Kingston has won the 2019 Workforce Development and Resident Attraction Award of Excellence for its PossibleMadeHere.org website.

The site provides job search tools, a cost of living calculator, a neighbourhood quiz and an interactive city map for people considering relocating to the Limestone City.

 

Police Sergeant – Hero of the Year

Sergeant Melanie Jeffries of Kingston Police has been nominated for a 2020 Police Hero of the Year Award.

Jefferies was nominated for the award by a person she has helped.

The person says they were able to admit hiding a childhood kidnapping, sexual assault and near death to Jeffries after keeping it a secret for 20 years.  Jeffries uses an intervention dog named Vern…the first of its kind to work with a police service in Ontario.

The award winners will be announced by the Police Association of Ontario at their annual meeting in March.

https://www.policehero.ca/sgt_melanie_jeff

 

Fireball – Edison’s Birthday

Some people in the Kingston area got quite a light show last night.

A fireball streaked across the western sky around 6:15 last night with a visible tail stretching out behind it.

 

And speaking of bright lights…from Tony’s Today in History File, Thomas Alva Edison was born on this day in 1847.  He is one of the greatest inventors of all time…credited with more than 1,000 patents, including electric lighting and the phonograph, which he patented in 1878.