Flu Death

A person has died from the flu in the Kingston area.

KFL&A Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Ian Gemmil has confirmed the death but won’t identify the person.

A source says the 47 year old man passed way a week ago at Kingston General Hospital.

Dr. Gemmil says the H1N1 virus has returned for this flu season and it can cause severe health problems – even for young people.

He says the best defense against it is the annual immunization program which included the H1N1 strain for this season.

There has been a recent surge in new cases of the flu in the Kingston area.

KEDCO Review

Members of the public are being encouraged to take advantage of a unique opportunity to discuss the future of economic development in Kingston.

The Kingston Economic Development Corporation Review Committee is hosting a facilitated workshop at the Donald Gordon Conference Centre next Tuesday from 1-4 in the afternoon.

It will include breakout sessions where groups of people will get to discuss their own ideas for the future.

The associate director of the Executive Decision Centre at Queen’s Smith School of Business will facilitate the workshop.  Erik Lockhart is an expert who has facilitated over 1,500 strategy sessions across North America.

http://business.kingstoncanada.com/en/about-us/reviewcommittee.asp

Kingston Drug Bust

Two Toronto-area men are facing numerous charges after police seized drugs and a loaded rifle during a traffic stop in Kingston.  Police say the men had been the focus of an ongoing drug investigation in Kingston.

Their vehicle was pulled over on Monday night.  A news release says officers seized cocaine, heroin and loaded semi-automatic rifle during a search of the vehicle.  A 23-year-old man from Toronto and a 20-year-old man from Newmarket both face multiple weapons charges and charges of possession of cocaine and heroin for the purpose of trafficking.

Lockdown Over

A lockdown at the medium security Collins Bay Institution is over.

Inmates were locked in their cells last week to allow staff to conduct an exceptional search.  No reason was given for the search and the Correctional Service hasn’t released any information on what, if anything was found during the search.

Health Behaviour Study

A study conducted by Canadian researchers, including two from Queen’s University, has found relationships with family, school, peers, and community play a critical role in the health of young people.

The 2014 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey also found cannabis use had dropped to the lowest level in the past 24 years and reports of bullying have declined.

On the down side…it found high rates of students being overweight or obese.

It also noted negative mental health outcomes…especially for grade 9 and 10 girls.

William Pickett and John Freeman of Queen’s were co-principal investigators on the study.

http://www.hbsc.org/