Council – Tax Increase

Kingston City Council has decided to keep tax increases at 2.5% for its next three years in office.
Council held a priority planning session last night to discuss the budget.
It passed a motion asking staff to prepare a plan for a 2.5% increase annually over the term of council.
The plan will be brought back to council for its approval.

Teachers – No Kingston Strike

High school teachers at the Limestone District School Board have no plans to take part in strike action this spring.
The president of the Limestone local of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federations says it isn’t in a legal strike position.  Local president John Vince says negotiations with the Limestone District School Board are in the early stages and he’s hopeful they will lead to a contract agreement.

Liver-Transplant

Doctors from Sick Kids and Toronto General Hospitals will issue an update today on a potentially life-saving liver transplant for a three-year-old Kingston girl.  A post on the family’s Facebook page says Binh Wagner received her “gift” from an anonymous donor.  The timing of the surgery is being kept secret to protect the donor’s privacy, but the family says Binh is “recovering well.”  Binh’s twin sister Phuoc went through the same surgery in February, receiving part of her father Michael Wagner’s liver to combat a potentially fatal genetic disorder.

Ticks

Kingston’s Medical Officer of Health says now that warmer weather has arrived, it is important to protect against tick bites.
Dr. Ian Gemmill says one out of five black-legged ticks carries Lyme disease and they’ve become common in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington area.
Tick bites that are left untreated can cause a serious illness.
Gemmill says the best defense against Lyme disease is preventing tick bites.

Henderson – St. Lawrence Gift

A gift of $50,000 from the foundation of late judge William Henderson will be used to set up a bursary for the Law Clerk program at St. Lawrence College.
The gift from the Henderson Foundation will provide the yearly cash award for a student entering the program in Kingston.

P.E. Wind Turbines

A group fighting the proposed construction of a wind turbine farm in Prince Edward County says it’s thrilled with its victory at the appeal court level.  The Appeal Court of Ontario found the project will cause serious and irreversible harm to Blanding’s turtle and their habitat….but… also ruled a review tribunal must now look at whether there might be a way to let the project go ahead if the turtles can be protected.
The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists has been fighting the project through the courts since it was approved by the Environment Ministry in 2012.

Shipping – Seaway closed

Shipping on the St. Lawrence River has come to a halt after a freighter carrying sugar ran aground under the Thousand Islands Bridge.
The freighter Juno ran aground around 1am on Monday.
No fuel or cargo was spilled and the U.S. Coast guard says a salvage team with tugs is expected on the scene today.