Kingston – Syrian Refugees

Kingston may become home to more Syrian refugees.

The KEYS employment centre has received approval to resettle up to 100 refugees in Kingston.

Executive director Michael Harris says they will probably host a couple of families a month and work to quickly find them permanent housing and employment.   Harris says the actual number of refugees coming to Kingston hasn’t been decided, yet.

Search Warrant – Bust

Kingston Police have seized $80,000 worth of crystal meth, cocaine and marijuana after executing a search warrant at an address in central Kingston and one outside the city limits.

Police seized $30,000 worth of the drugs in Kingston on April 7th and $50,000 worth at the address outside the city.

A 29 year old man and 29 year old woman have each been charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Vehicle Stop – Drugs

A man and woman have been busted in Kingston after a cop spotted a bag of valium on front seat of a vehicle and a man dropped a bag of crystal meth he had clenched between his butt cheeks.

Police stopped the vehicle in the area of Division and Stanley Streets around 4:30 yesterday morning.

A 22 year old woman and a 32 year old man face charges for drug possession.

Demonstrations – $15 Wage and Autism

A demonstration in support of a $15 minimum wage will take place in Kingston and 14 other communities across Ontario today.

The demonstration in Kingston will take place at 10:00 am today in front if the Stauffer Library at University and Union Streets.

Parents of children with Autism will also be holding a demonstration in Kingston today.

They’ll be outside of Kingston and the Islands MPP Sophie Kiwala’s office at noon today.  The Ontario government is under fire for making changes in services to autistic children.

Use Less – Pay More – Electricity Prices

You’re going to pay more for electricity because you didn’t use enough during the mild winter.

The Ontario Energy Board says the price for households and small business is going up 2.5% starting May 1st.  The increase will add just over three dollars a month to the average bill.

The energy board says the price is going up because lower usage didn’t recover the cost of serving regulated price plan customers during the winter.

Happy Soul Project

The Happy Soul Project has received a donation of $37,000 from the Queen’s Vogue Charity Fashion Show.

Founder Tara McCallan says it will make a huge difference for the Kick-It-Capes campaign.

Kick-It-Capes has already provided five thousand superhero capes to children around the world.

Student Guitars Featured

Fourteen guitars made by students at KCVI are featured on the cover of the Lee Valley Spring catalogue.

Guitar Building Focus Program teacher Gary Pattenden had his wish granted when the company president chose the picture and a story about the program for its publication.

The catalogue has a circulation of 570,000.

Students will be showing off their guitars at the Lee Valley store in Kingston from April 21st to 24th.

Kingston Arts Council – New Leader

The Kingston Arts Council has a new executive director.

Beghinn Jennings is leaving the position to become Interim Education Manager with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Kingston Arts Council Outreach and Communications Officer Danika Lochhead assumes the role as Executive Director at the end of this month.