Fireball – KIMCO

Kingston Fire and Rescue scrambled crews to KIMCO on John Counter Boulevard this morning after multiple reports of an explosion and fire.  It turns out there was an explosion of some type that created a fireball at the metal recycling plant but there was no fire.

Napanee – Assault

Police are hoping the public will be able to help them track down a man who assaulted another man in downtown Napanee.

It happened shortly before 7am yesterday on Centre Street near the Post Office.

44 year old Allen Orr was walking his wife to work when a man came up behind them and attacked Orr.  He got into a scuffle with the man and wound up with a broken finger, cuts and bruises.

The OPP says the man who assaulted Orr took off through the parking lot beside the Post Office and was wearing only a t-shirt, track pants and one shoe.

Napanee OPP is asking for anyone with information about the unprovoked attack to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

Woman Charged – Threats

A 34 year old Kingston woman is facing charges of sending threatening text messages to her former partner.  Police say the two have a child and a history of custody issues.

Police say the man received threatening messages on December 30th.

The woman was arrested on Tuesday and faces charges of uttering threats to cause death and two counts of breaching probation.  She’d been on probation for an assault conviction.

Plaza Set to Re-Open

The Plaza Hotel in downtown Kingston will re-open February 1st under new management.

The previous management didn’t renew the lease and the Plaza has been closed since the end of December.

Belinda Sato of Trenton is taking over the lease and says – aside from a few things…nothing will change at the strip club and hotel at the corner of Queen and Montreal Streets.

Youth Shelter Worker

The Kingston Youth Shelter has hired a family support worker to help fight youth homelessness.

They will work on helping prevent young people from becoming homeless by addressing the problems that lead to homelessness like…family breakdowns…conflicts and communication difficulties.

The family support worker position is being funded by the United Way and is part of the plan to end homelessness in the Kingston area.

Sir John A Celebration

Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will lead Kingston’s annual Sir John A. Macdonald Day tribute on Monday.

McGuinty was premier from 2003 to 2013.

Event organizer Art Milnes says the former premier will make brief remarks during the annual ceremony to mark Sir John A.’s birthday at the Father of Confederation’s Statue at noon on Monday.

Milnes says former Kingston and the Islands MPP and Ontario Attorney General John Gerretsen is helping organize the event and past MP Peter Milliken and current MP Mark Gerretsen will be on hand for the celebration.

Happy New Year – Lottery Win

It is a happy new year for Cheryl McShane of Kingston.

McShane won $250,000 in the January 2nd Lottario draw.

Her tickets matched all six numbers to win the jackpot.  She also won $4 for matching three numbers on another selection.

The winning ticket was purchased at Rexall Pharma Plus on Princess Street.

Crayfish Bust

The great crayfish caper has backfired badly on two men from New York State.

The pair pleaded guilty in Kingston to illegal importation of crayfish.

They’ve been fined a thousand dollars each and received one year fishing license suspensions after border guards found nine dozen crayfish purchased in New York State in their vehicle when they entered Ontario at the Thousand Islands crossing on August 23rd.