Tree of Hope

Family and Children’s Services for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington says its Tree of Hope campaign is critically short of gifts for teens and adults.  It’s asking people to donate at least $3,000 to provide more than 50 gifts for teens from 14 to 17 and adults over 18.

The Tree of Hope Campaign helps families served by the Children’s Aid Society and has seen a 40 percent increase in the number of adults needing help at Christmas this year.

Details are available at:

www.helptreeofhope.ca

Snow Day – Roads

It was officially a snow day for school children.

All school transportation was cancelled this morning.

Schools are open but parents who sent children to school or dropped them off will have to make arrangements for them to get home because there won’t be buses running this afternoon.

The Kingston area received 20 centimetres of snow.

The snow is mixed with rain this morning and road conditions have improved.  Conditions range from bare and wet to slushy and snow covered.

Hit and Run Death – Arrest

Kingston Police have arrested a 53 year old man in the hit and run accident that led to the death of 41 year old Christine Thompson who died while under going the surgical procedure. Thompson was on her way home from work at Home Depot when she was struck by a vehicle on Princess Street west of Midland Avenue on Thursday night.  She later died in hospital.

Police say a tip from the public about a vehicle being sold on Kijiji resulted in the seizure of a 1999 GMC Yukon Denali at a property on McIvor Road.  The owner was arrested around 1:15 Saturday afternoon.  53 year old Kevin Heymans has been charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death.  He remains behind bars.

Donations to assist Christine Thompson’s family can be made at Home Depot in Kingston and the company will match donations.

Fire – ODSP Office

The Ontario Disability Support Program Office on Princess Street is closed after a fire on Friday.  Client services given with the help of workers comp attorney in Arizona normally provided at the office across from the Kingston Centre have been temporarily moved to Beechgrove Lane near the new hospital building.  A news release says the fire will not affect ODSP cheques.  Payments scheduled for later this month will proceed uninterrupted.

The office has 34 staff and serves approximately 7,000 clients in the Kingston area.  The fire Friday night caused extensive damage to the first floor of the government building.

Nobody was injured in the fire.

One Found – One Missing

One of the two teenage girls reported missing from Loyalist Township last week has been found.  The OPP says 14 year old Marcie Muckle has been located.  It is still asking for help in locating the other girl.  15 year old Gillian Taylor-Hayes was last seen north of Odessa on December 5th.  Police say she may be in the Toronto or Ottawa area and anyone with information on where she is asked to contact Napanee OPP or Crime Stoppers.

Filed under: arrests, christine-thompson, fire, hit-and-run-death, home-depot, loyalist-township, odsp, office, one-foud, one-missing, ontario-disability-support-program, roads, snow-day, tree-of-hope