Kingston News, December 4, 2017

Vance – Peacekeeping

Chief of Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance says he’s is no rush to send Canadian peacekeepers to some international hotspot.   Canada has told the United Nations it’s ready to provide helicopters, aircraft, troops and trainers to the agency for peacekeeping duties.  General Vance says he won’t deploy troops unless it helps resolve a problem.

Crash – 401 Westbound Closed

The driver of a transport truck that crashed on Saturday morning and closed down the westbound 401 between Camden East and Napanee blew an alert on a roadside breath testing device.  The big rig hit and damaged concrete median on the highway around 5:30 Saturday morning.

A heavy tow crane had to be brought in to lift the tractor trailer out of the median.

The westbound 401 was closed for over nine hours due to the crash.

The 35 year old driver from Quebec has been charged with dangerous driving and had his license suspended for blowing an alert.

Impaired – Highway 2

A 22 year old man from Stone Mills township has been charged with impaired driving after a pickup truck was found upside down in a ditch on Highway 2 near the Shannonville Motorsport Park. There was no driver with the vehicle when it was found around 5:30 Saturday morning.   The OPP called in its canine team but before it arrived the driver was found walking along highway 2.  He was taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Operation Red Nose

Kingston’s Operation Red Nose says volunteers are still needed to help it keep roads safe during the holiday season.  The designated driver program says volunteers have provided a total of 97 rides during its first two weekends of operation.

Operation Red Nose operates on Friday and Saturday nights during the holiday season.

www.rednosekingston.com

Gun Incident

Kingston Police believe a pellet gun was involved in an incident n on Indian Road near Champlain Avenue.  Police were called to a home on Sunday after a report of an altercation where a man pulled a gun and fled the scene.

Paramedics were called – but there was no report of injuries…and so far no word from police on charges.

Man Arrested – Multiple Charges

A 27 year old man faces a lengthy list of charges after being arrested for attempted theft.

Police arrested the man after a complaint about someone trying to get into vehicles in the area of Sydenham and Bay Streets on Saturday morning.

A search turned up four knives and small quantities of cocaine and crystal methamphetamine.

The man faces a total of 16 charges including breach of probation, carrying concealed weapons and carrying a weapon while prohibited.

St. Mary’s of the Lake Sold

Providence Care has sold the former St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital property to Queen’s University.

The hospital is vacant after the new Providence Care hospital opened earlier this year.

Queen’s hasn’t decided exactly how it is going to use the property.

A statement says it’s looking at a number of options, including relief space for administrative offices and parking to alleviate a current lack of on campus parking.

Queen’s recently announced it is selling the former Prison for Women property on Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard because it can’t find a suitable use for the site.

Kingston Transit

Kingston Transit has seen the largest increase in ridership of any transit system in Canada.

Data from the 2016 census shows the number of commuters using Kingston Transit to get to work increased by 33 per cent between 2011 and 2016.

Kingston Transit credits the increase in ridership to improvements including express routes, a reliable transit app, extended Sunday and Holiday Service and the Transpass program.