The scramble intersection at Union and University streets was louder and busier than usual as Queen’s University students gathered Tuesday afternoon to protest the recent changes the provincial government has made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), which will take effect next school year.

For Samantha Hartmann, a fourth-year sociology student and co-organizer of the Queen’s Students for OSAP group, she decided to share her own OSAP story with the crowd.

“I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how I could encompass the stories and sentiments I’ve heard from people around campus and across the province,” Hartmann said.

When she was young, Hartmann’s father was killed in a road accident and her mother ended up taking time off work to look after Hartmann and her younger brother.

“Even with the help from the community and friends donating money to my brother and my future, that was still not enough to be able to pay for university,” Hartmann said to the crowd of 200-plus students and other supporters. “When I was in high school, I applied to and received a scholarship through CIBC and Big Brothers and Big Sisters, which in itself did help over the last four years, but I still needed OSAP on top of this.

“When the previous government announced the funding to free tuition to people below a certain income, I was in that group of people. I was excited because it took pressure off both me and my mother. I am fortunate because these [new] changes will be implemented once I’m already [done].”

She continued by saying she recognizes that many have an OSAP story, whether it is that they are the first person from their family to attend post-secondary or someone coming from a single-parent household. There are many solid reasons to need help when it comes to striving for more education.

The lunch-hour protest included a variety of chants, waving signs and signing a petition.

There were a number of other speakers, including city councillors Robert Kiley and Jim Neill, former Liberal politician Steven Del Duca, Craig Berggold, president of the local 901 of Public Service Alliance of Canada, and a representative from Kingston and the Islands MPP Ian Arthur’s office.

“Students are seeing their access to education and their ability to get funding cut and access to education is one of the most important things and it’s one of the greatest equalizers,” Lucas Borchenko, the other co-organizer of the Queen’s Students for OSAP group and second-year politics, arts and science student at Queen’s, said. “These cuts specifically target low-income students that already struggle to pay and go to university. We’re fully against that.”

Other colleges and universities across the province are also seeing student protests.

“Our protest movement has had really positive feedback from students here today, and we’ve had a lot of people reach out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in support,” Borchenko said. “The few negative comments have been completely drowned out by the positive support.”

The Ford government on Jan. 17 announced changes to a number of provincial post-secondary education programs, including OSAP, which will begin in the 2019-20 school year.

Currently, OSAP offers post-secondary funding through grants and student loans that help to cover the costs of tuition, books, living expenses, child care and more.

Some of the changes to OSAP include implementing a 10 per cent tuition reduction across the province, eliminating the free tuition grant program, and eliminating the six-month interest-free grace period, so students will be incurring interest on the loan immediately after graduation.

There are also changes that affect mature students, those entering a second-entry program and international students.

The main reason the provincial government has given for the changes to OSAP is that it is “restoring financial sustainability to OSAP. Under the previous government, OSAP had grown into a program that was fiscally unsustainable.”

“We believe that if you’ve got the grades, you deserve access to an affordable post-secondary education,” Merrilee Fullerton, minister of training, colleges and universities, said in a news release. “By lowering tuition across the entire province, our government is ensuring that all qualified Ontario students will have more affordable access to high-quality skills, training and education.”

“Most [students], on average are losing $4,000 of their OSAP, and a lot of that is switching from grants to loans,” Borchenko argues.

According to the Ontario.ca website, “starting in September 2019, going to college and university in Ontario will be more affordable, thanks to a 10 per cent tuition reduction for Ontario students.”

“The Ford government may want to celebrate [this] announcement, but the truth is any benefit of a tuition fee reduction is being offset by other reckless changes being proposed,” Nour Alideeb, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, said in a news release. “The real impact of this announcement was revealed in the details, and in almost every way it is a bad deal for students and their families.”

jmckay@postmedia.com

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David Dossett with three Froid’Art pieces outside his art gallery, Martello Alley, in downtown Kingston on Saturday. (Meghan Balogh/The Whig-Standard)

An outdoor installation project that aims to bring colour and art into the streets of wintry Kingston could be in its final year.

Froid’Art is running in its fifth season, which founder David Dossett says could be its last.

Froid’Art sees ice-encased original paintings installed at businesses and homes at various locations throughout the city. The art pieces are sponsored by the business or homeowners for $200 each, plus tax, and the original artwork contained inside the ice is theirs to keep — once it’s thawed out.

The original pieces are created by local or regional artists and are sometimes customized to order for the businesses purchasing them.

The art is painted on acrylic plastic and then sent to Iceculture Inc., a company in northeastern Ontario that builds ice products such as bars and hotels. They freeze the artwork in rectangular, translucent blocks of ice and transport them to Dossett in Kingston.

With 20 art pieces in 15 different locations — one in Napanee — Dossett’s original mission to spread colour on the cold, grey streets of Kingston in the winter isn’t failing.

But he says it is a big commitment to organize the sponsorships for the pieces each year.

Dossett said that co-ordinating the effort — on which he loses money — and trying to pin down commitments from art sponsors for the iced artworks is difficult while running his business.

“People said, ‘What would it take?’ They offered a suggestion, to get them pre-sold,” he said. “Then my answer would be yes, [I’ll continue]. If people could give a nonrefundable deposit, then I’m not scrambling through my holidays trying to organize this. It’s really tough, and I don’t want to bug people at the last minute. I know that everybody is busy.”

Dossett pays someone to help him transport the 300-pound blocks of ice from the unloading dock where they are delivered to the various businesses that have sponsored the pieces. There, Dossett and his hired assistant carefully manoeuvre the ice off the back of a truck and into place, doing their best not to cause any cracks to the surface.

“They’re very, very heavy. It’s painful work,” Dossett said, and another reason why he’s considering leaving the project behind in 2020.

The Froid’Art concept started when Dossett began considering the bleakness of Kingston in winter.

“I said, it’s too bad we don’t have art events outside in the winter,” Dossett said.

Miriam Sayeed agrees. She owns Back On Track Physical Therapy and Osteopathy and has sponsored a piece of iced art for the past few years.

“I just thought it was a great idea,” she said. “ We live in a grey environment, unfortunately, in Kingston. There’s a little too much limestone. You need some life and colour.”

If he can mitigate the last-minute sales rush and the backbreaking labour, Dossett said he might be convinced to keep it going. But he wants people to sign up as soon as possible.

“Contact us through Facebook, say, ‘Yeah, I’m in.’”

The forecast will see Kingston staying mostly below zero for the next couple of weeks, so Dossett is pleased.

The art pieces will get a good run this season.

“I’m the only person praying for cold,” Dossett said, laughing.

Go online to www.facebook.com/FroidArtKTown to see a map of painting locations.

A 51-year-old man, subject to a long-term supervision order, appeared fairly blase about court proceedings when he pleaded guilty in Kingston’s Ontario Court of Justice to criminally harassing a 15-year-old girl and consequently violating the terms of his release — right up until the point Justice Allan Letourneau asked him if he had anything he wanted to say.

John I. Sunshine suggested that assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Ferguson was overreaching in asking for a five-year sentence and told the judge: “You might as well give me life, sir, because when I get out I’m going to tear this whole world a new a——.”

“You guys are in trouble,” he ranted. “You guys enjoy the breath you have. That’s all I have to say.”

Justice Letourneau enquired: “What do you mean by we’re in trouble” and “we’d better enjoy our breath?” He asked if Sunshine was making a threat.

The middle-age man didn’t answer directly. Instead, he claimed to have been recently elevated to “chief of the Cree Nation,” and when Justice Letourneau persisted in asking if he was threatening to do something, Sunshine told him he wasn’t going to do anything, that he’d just be sitting back smoking a cigarette when whatever he was suggesting happened.

Ultimately, he was sentenced to four years and 47 weeks in prison. Justice Letourneau credited him with five weeks of pretrial custody, reasoning that he was entitled to some mitigation for his guilty plea, even though Ferguson disputed that entitlement: she told the judge that following his arrest, Sunshine ended up serving a 45-day sentence for threatening guards and just one day earlier had received an additional 15-day sentence for throwing urine on a guard.

Sunshine was charged after Kingston Police received a complaint about an incident on Nov. 12 at the YMCA on Wright Crescent.

Crown prosecutor Ferguson said a 15-year-old girl was in the pool area there at 10:10 p.m. when Sunshine, who had only recently taken out a membership, walked in fully clothed, got within arm’s length of her and wanted her address and phone number.

Ferguson told the judge he frightened the teen so badly she later balked at appearing on camera to give her statement to police, opting for an old-fashioned audio recording instead, “because she didn’t want him [Sunshine] seeing her image.”

Ferguson also told the judge that a staff member at the Y recalled when interviewed by police that Sunshine had been reluctant “bordering on aggressive,” about not wanting to provide his address when he applied for his membership, which he took out in the name Ivan (his middle name) Gladue. She said he eventually did give an address, 1453 Bath Rd., but didn’t reveal that street address attaches to the Henry Traill Community Correctional Centre, which is essentially a halfway house for federal offenders operated by Correctional Service Canada.

The name Gladue, significantly, is now legal shorthand for a landmark 1999 Supreme Court decision that stands for the proposition that restorative justice must be considered in sentencing Indigenous offenders. Now, anyone self-identifying as Indigenous is entitled to have a Gladue Report prepared for the court, detailing their individual and family history, cultural background, the impact unique factors such as residential schools or the “sixties scoop” may have had on their lives, and the availability of restorative programs in their own Indigenous communities. Yet Sunshine’s exchanges with the judge suggested he wasn’t entirely conversant with the name’s implications.

He insisted on representing himself, said he didn’t want to apply for legal aid, refused to even speak to the defence lawyer available to him at the courthouse serving as Ontario Legal Aid duty counsel that day, and told Justice Letourneau “I’ve done this a million times.”

He also knew, before entering his pleas, that the Crown was seeking a five-year sentence. But when the judge offered, following his outburst, to postpone sentencing and order him a Gladue Report, which he suggested might argue for a reduction in Sunshine’s sentence, the 51-year-old asked only how long it would take. Told several weeks, Sunshine said, “we’re not going to do that.”

In the beginning, however, his only quibble had related to claims about his persistence in trying to get the teen’s personal information. Ferguson said the girl told police the stranger in the pool area pressed her repeatedly for her address and phone number “and she felt threatened.” Sunshine insisted, “I only asked her once,” and “she just walked away.” He said, “I was going to ask her for coffee, but she took it the wrong way. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.”

Later, however, he would complain that he’s being punished “for just speaking to a girl,” and “that’s ridiculous.”

Sunshine isn’t just any innocuous stranger, however.

Ferguson told the judge his record spans 34 years and contains significant violence. He was declared a dangerous offender in 2004 because of his persistent aggressive behaviour, she said. At the time, he was only sentenced to two years in prison, in addition to the year he’d already spent in pretrial custody, however, because his sentencing judge thought there was a reasonable prospect of control in the community. Fourteen years later, Ferguson suggested “a different judge might not share that view.”

Sunshine’s criminal record includes convictions for robbery, multiple assaults, including two assaults causing bodily harm, a sexual assault, at least four assaults on peace officers and four prior breaches of his long-term supervision order.

Ferguson said he’s been diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder.

Still, Sunshine argued that any sentence over two years for breaching a condition of long-term supervision is “unorthodox.” Most long-term offenders, he told the judge, get two years: “I know that,” he said, “because I read the book.”

He pointedly told Justice Letourneau he has numerous certificates attesting his successful completion of various prison rehabilitation programs, which prompted the judge to observe, “they didn’t work.” That, in turn provoked Sunshine to reply: “It doesn’t matter whether they worked or not.”

syanagisawa@postmedia.com

KINGSTON – Having largely sat out the appeal hearing for The Capitol condo project, the city will also not be mounting a mediation process aimed at resurrecting development at the site.

City staff had put forward a proposal to approach the two sides of the dispute and the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal in an attempt to “move forward on the matter by way of mediation and to determine if a solution as to what will be built on the property.”

But the idea of the city mediating a resolution between the developer and opponents of the project did not find much support among councillors. The mediation plan was defeated by an 11-2 vote.

In early November, the LPAT ruled against the project, saying that the 16-storey, 212-unit building proposed for 223 Princess St. was too tall for the area.

While the project’s developer, IN8, is appealing, the November decision was a clear defeat for the project, and many councillors were confident that it would stand up to any court appeal.

“We are on solid ground for saying no,” said Williamsville District Coun. Jim Neill, who added that the developer should return with a new proposal that meets the city’s planning and heritage policies.

Neill also objected to the idea of mediation being used to decide the fate of the site, as it would be conducted behind closed doors, something he said would be in “total defiance” of the city’s pledge of transparency.

Sydenham District Coun. Peter Stroud said people don’t like mediation, and the plan could be interpreted as the city giving away the victory that opponents of the project won last year.

“We need to be firm. Not conciliatory. We need to be firm,” Stroud said. “If we don’t hold firm, our official plan is worth nothing.”

King’s Town District Coun. Rob Hutchison said the city would be hard-pressed to appear impartial as a mediator because city staff authored reports supporting the 16-storey project.

Although some councillors, including Mayor Bryan Paterson and Pittsburgh District Coun. Ryan Boehme, suggested mediation could be a chance at a compromise, most around the table didn’t see it as a good idea.

Meadowbrook-Strathcona District Coun. Jeff McLaren said the proposal for the city to lead a mediation effort was to stir up fears that IN8’s appeal could be successful and the plan for a 16-storey building could return.

“The fear that is being generated in here is unfair for us,” McLaren said.

As part of the mediation process, city staff wanted to hire a development law specialist to help the city in its mediation efforts.

That lawyer, Adam Brown, said it would be less expensive for the city to take control of the process rather than let IN8’s appeal process to carry on.

“I think we can agree that at the end of the day, we would all like to see some kind of development on the property,” Lanie Hurdle, commissioner of community services, said.

RIDEAU TRAIL CLUB OF KINGSTON, WEDNESDAY WALKERS: Ideal for people interested in healthy exercise walking at a comfortable pace with some social interaction. Walks depart every Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. For details, contact Helen at hkramer@outlook.com with your name and phone number.

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES: Donors needed. Blood donor clinic at 850 Gardiners Rd., Unit B, from 1-7 p.m. Book your appointment at blood.ca or call 1-888-2DONATE.

VON FOOT CARE: Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 1469 Princess St., Kingston. For more information, call 613-634-0130 ext. 2303.

VISUAL PARADISE 2019: Presented by Creative Arts Focus program, A gallery exhibit of Fine Art and Design at 274 Princess St. The event runs to Jan. 27. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 613-540-4134.

WELLNESS INFORMATION SESSIONS AT CROSSROADS: Wednesday mornings from 9:30–10:30 a.m. at 690 Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd. There will be a range of wellness-related topics, a different one each week. Sessions are free of charge, unless otherwise indicated. For more information, go online to www.crossroadsunited.ca.

MORNING FITNESS CLASSES AT CROSSROADS: Wednesdays Balance/Falls Prevention 11-11:45 a.m. Classes taught by certified instructors. Cost is a goodwill offering each class. No need to register. Classes are open to all ages and fitness levels. We are located at 690 Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd. For more information, go online to www.crossroadsunited.ca

BRIDGE CLUB: Games seven days a week at 12:30 p.m. Short game $5 at The Bridge Centre, 645 Gardiners Rd. For more information, go online to bridgewebs.com/kdbc, or call 613-384-0888 for a partner.

SIX-HANDED EUCHRE: 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560. All welcome.

ADULT 50-PLUS BASIC COMPUTER AND TABLET LITERACY CLASSES: Classes are offered by CCASA Senior Services Kingston. Computer classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-11:30 a.m. for six weeks for $40. Tablet classes are on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon for $25. Both options offer one-on-one time with students and teachers. Classes are held at St. John’s Anglican Church, 41 Church St. in Portsmouth Village. For more information, contact Sam Laldin 613-546-9286 or Mike Kavanagh 613-384-8162.

SPEAK SERIES LUNCHEON: Health Equity and Homelessness, hosted by Community Foundation for Kingston and Area from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Residence Inn by Marriott Kingston Water’s Edge, 7 Earl St. Tickets are $50 (includes lunch and a $25 charitable receipt). Preregistration required. For more information, go online to https://www.cfka.org.

MODERATE EXERCISE GROUP: 9 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Deseronto Public Library, 358 Main St. Come join in and participate in a walking exercise video workout. Donations to the Food Bank is appreciated. For more information, call 613-396-2744.

SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL: 10:30 a.m. at the Deseronto Public Library, 358 Main St. Children up to four years old can learn basic, rhythm, tempo and timbre to their favourite nursery rhymes. For more information, call 613-396-2744.

LITTLE PICASSOS: 5:30 p.m. every first Wednesday at the Deseronto Public Library, 358 Main St. This is a painting program for children ages five to 14. We will put a painting lesson on the big screen and we can all paint together. For more information, call 613-396-2744.

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KINGSTON – City council pushed pause on a plan to hire a consultant to research a new brand for the city.

City council was asked Tuesday night to approve a contract with Toronto firm Scott Thornley and Company to research a brand for the wider Kingston community.

The brand position would act as a “unifying anchor” for the city as a whole but many around the table questioned its need, particularly coming a week before the budget process begins.

The proposal was deferred until after the strategic planning session in March.

Several councillors said they could not understand the need for another branding process nor could they figure out exactly what the branding process would yield.

“We don’t want to dilute the brand that we already have,” said Meadowbrook-Strathcona Coun. Jeff McLaren.

“To have more brands is going to confuse the matter,” said McLaren, adding that the city’s current motto “Where history and innovation thrive” hits the “sweet spot.”

Other councillors questioned why staff wanted to award the contract to an out of town company rather than hire a local company or have the city’s communications department handle it.

Hurdle was clear that the branding process was beyond the communication department’s ability and no local companies bid for the contract and if any had they would not have received preferential treatment.

“The intent here it to position the overall city, not the corporation itself, to be able to attract people and businesses,” said Lanie Hurdle, commissioner of community services.

The brand is needed, Hurdle said, to compete with communities in the Greater Toronto Area and Southwestern Ontario to attract skilled workers.

“What you will see more and more is the need to attract skilled individuals to our community,” she said. “We have a shortage in terms of skills in our community. We already feel it severely in the health care sector and that is only going to grow with more and more retirements.”

But Sydenham Coun. Peter Stroud said the way the contract was advertised discouraged smaller, local companies from bidding.

Mayor Bryan Paterson, one of the few on council to speak in support of the idea, said it would try to mimic the success of the city’s tourism sector.

“How do we take that same approach and apply it to the community as a whole,” Paterson said.

“If we become successful by building a brand to bring visitors to Kingston, how can we take that brand and use that to be able to bring residents to Kingston to fill our workforce gaps.”

Paterson the branding effort could help bridge the gap between what

The decision about the branding contract will likely return to council in the late spring.

A man has been charged by Kingston Police after his ex-wife saw him scratching her friend’s truck last Friday.

It was very early in the morning, just after midnight, when a woman was sitting in the living room and hear a noise from outside.  Going to the window of her west-end home, she looked out and saw her ex-husband. Police said he was scratching up a truck that was parked out front and belonged to her visiting friend.

The woman called police who began an investigation into the matter. Officers spoke to the ex who offered some alibis for his whereabouts at the time of the incident. In the end, police determined charges were warranted and on Tuesday, the man turned himself in at police headquarters.

The 33-year-old local man was charged with mischief not exceeding $5,000 and with breaching his release conditions. He was released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

A Belleville man lost his licence for 90 days and his vehicle for seven after Ontario Provincial Police pulled him over on Highway 401 last Friday evening.

OPP said in a news release that at about 5:33 p.m., officers responded to a report of a motor vehicle driving erratically in the westbound lanes of the highway near Odessa. The man pulled over for the officers, who noticed that the small passenger vehicle had stuck a guardrail prior to the stop. While speaking to the driver, the officers noted an odour of alcohol on his breath.

As a result of the investigation, 32-year-old Jack Dillon of Belleville was arrested and charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with an blood-alcohol concentration of more than 80 mg. The man was later released on a promise to appear in court next Tuesday.

The accused was released on a promise to appear and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Napanee on Jan. 29.

The OPP are reminding drivers to report drivers they suspect to be impaired by calling them at 1-888-310-1122.

The Canadian Force’s Soldier On program received more than $5,700 in donations on Tuesday morning, raised through grassroots fundraising efforts. The fundraising efforts were organized by a Canadian Forces Base Kingston barber who learned about her clients’ sacrifices through her own.

“If we took in $1 or $1,000, it didn’t matter, 100 per cent of it would have gone to Soldier On,” said Debbie Reed, owner of the Canex Barber Shop and organizer of a Christmas gift-wrapping fundraiser and various bake sales throughout 2018 that raised most of the money. “It has been such a positive experience. People would come along and just put $20 in, even if they didn’t have anything to wrap.”

CFB Kingston base commander Col. Kirk Gallinger and retired major Robert Hicks, Canada’s 2018 Invictus team captain, were both on hand to receive the contributions on behalf of Soldier On.

Chief Warrant Officer Jeff Aman, from left; Invictus athlete and 2018 Team Canada captain, retired major Robert Hicks; owner of The Glass House, Lynda MacRae; and Canadian Forces Base Kingston base commander Col. Kirk Gallinger are seen at the Canex mall on Tuesday. MacRae raised a little more than $200 for Soldier On by contributing a portion of the sale of glass poppies.  Steph Crosier/The Whig-Standard)

Lynda MacRae, owner of The Glass House, was also happy to contribute a little more than $200 garnered from a percentage of sales of glass poppies. She got the idea from Reed, who was “very persuasive” when asking from contributions to the cause.

Members of Alterna Savings and Credit Union contributed a significant amount of time to the fundraising efforts, Reed said. Cindy Bilow, manager of personal finance at Alterna Savings, told the group that while Reed wouldn’t want her to say so, she’s never met someone so passionate about helping the military.

“She will do everything and anything that she possibly can,” Bilow said.

While she has been cutting hair at CFB Kingston for more than 30 years, it wasn’t until Reed went over to Afghanistan in 2008 that she truly understood the sacrifices that Canadian Forces members make. She said that before she went, she was blind to it.

“I watched them deploy and I saw all of the things that they dealt with on a day-to-day basis, and how our soldiers shined when they were deployed,” Reed said. “They have nothing to work with and they make everything work.”

Reed learned even more about the troops’ sacrifices through her own. When she went over, she left grandchildren who really didn’t want her to go.

Col. Kirk Gallinger, base commander of CFB Kingston, speaks after receiving $5,505 for Soldier On from Debbie Reed, owner of the Canex Barbershop, at the Canex mall on Tuesday. (Steph Crosier/The Whig-Standard)

“It gave me a better understanding because of my granddaughter standing on the lawn with tears rolling down her cheeks. When that memory comes to me, it affects me so profoundly,” Reed said. “Our soldiers deal with that every day.”

When she came back from Afghanistan, she found that she had no patience for doing women’s hair and stuck to the barbershop.

“It just didn’t seem as important anymore; that wasn’t my lot in life,” Reed explained.

Having known Hicks for a number of years, Reed asked few years ago how she could do more. When she learned more about Soldier On, she knew it was the right fit.

“[Soldier On] really, really touches my heart. I can’t help but get emotional,” Reed said. “The [members] give so much for us. They give everything: their heart, their soul, their lives, their families, their marriages. They give it all to us as a country.”

Retired major Robert Hicks, the 2018 captain of Invictus Team Canada, comments after Soldier On received $5,705 in donations at the Canex mall on Tuesday. (Steph Crosier/The Whig-Standard)

The majority of the funds were raised this past year through a gift-wrapping fundraiser outside of Reed’s barbershop. Volunteers who wrapped included members of the Forces, a Kingston Police constable, a couple of high school students, staff from Royal Military College, and members of Alterna Savings and Credit Union.

Hicks said the fact that the money came from teamwork is extra meaningful.

“You can see that this is not just an effort that is done by one individual,” Hicks said. “This really is a community effort. I think it makes it just that much more special when Soldier On is able to receive these donations and they know that they come with that spirit behind it.”

Reed already has plans for a Valentine’s Day fundraiser, bake sales and a bowl-a-thon, all for Soldier On.

scrosier@postmedia.com

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Col. Kirk Gallinger, base commander of Canadian Forces Base Kingston, receives $5,505 for Soldier On from Debbie Reed, owner of the Canex Barber Shop, at the Canex mall on Tuesday. (Steph Crosier/The Whig-Standard)

Correctional service officers at Joyceville Institution intercepted an inmate on Monday afternoon who was attempting to bring contraband into the institution, a news release from Correctional Service Canada said.

The contraband seized includes 12 grams of cannabis concentrate. The institutional value of this seizure is estimated to be $6,000, the release said.

The seizure was the result of the combined efforts of correctional officers, security intelligence officers and provincial partners.

The police have been notified and the institution is investigating.

Pat Watson, third from right, is seen with local Girl Guides and other Girl Guides from Nova Scotia during an exchange trip facilitated by Experiences Canada in summer 2017. Watson is receiving a national award for the trip planning. (Supplied Photo)

A local Girl Guides volunteer has been selected as the winner of a national award.

Pat Watson, a resident of Elgin, who leads the First Kingston Trex unit, will be presented the Experiences Canada Award at the Governor General’s History Awards ceremony in Ottawa next week.

“I’m thrilled to be getting the award,” Watson said during a phone interview on Tuesday.

Experiences Canada offers youth exchanges for as many as 5,000 participants ages 12-17 each year through various schools and organizations across the country. Youth are given the opportunity to travel to different communities to learn about history, culture, immigration and language, or even for sports opportunities.

Watson was selected as the winner of the Experiences Canada Award from the many trip organizers who applied for and received funding for their proposed travel exchanges.

She planned an exchange with a Girl Guides unit in Nova Scotia, and Experiences Canada covered all of the travel expenses for the participants.

“Every year, Experiences Canada recognizes exemplary leaders from among the hundreds of volunteer organizers who work with us to provide these transformative educational experiences for young Canadians,” said Deborah Morrison, president and CEO of Experiences Canada, in a news release. “What stood out about Pat’s program was how she seamlessly connected ideas of community stewardship – both formal and informal, historic and in present-day society.”

Watson’s exchange trip took a collection of 14 girls from various area Girl Guides units to Nova Scotia for one week, and then the group hosted the Nova Scotia unit for one week.

As the host unit, Watson led the visiting unit, as well as the local girls and volunteers, through a thorough tour of eastern Ontario’s diverse history, with visits in Ottawa to Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Royal Canadian Mint, the National War Memorial, and the Canadian War Museum.

In Kingston, they visited Fort Henry, Kingston Penitentiary, Bellevue House, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and spent a day paddling voyageur canoes through a historic lock near Smiths Falls and on Clear Lake and Opinicon Lake, with a visit to a Queen’s University biology station on the latter.

As a geologist, Watson views the many outdoors activities that she promotes to her Guides regularly — as well as the visiting unit during the award-winning experience she planned in summer of 2017 — to be part of their historical learning opportunity.

“I’m a geologist, so for me history starts 4.6 billion years ago, roughly,” she said. “The landscape we live on and how we live on it depends on what’s underneath it and what created it, how the rock was formed. It all works from there.”

Watson has been a volunteer with Girl Guides for 37 years, and before that participated as a guide in her youth.

“When I first came back as a leader when I finished university, I remembered what good experiences I had had as a girl,” she said. “Many things are interesting [about Girl Guides], but I really enjoy watching the girls themselves develop, experience new things, and expand their horizons.”

“Pat Watson is a woman of dedication,” Megan McKever, a former administrative community leader for Girl Guides Ontario, said in a news release. “For decades, she has given her time and effort to the development of young girls in her community through Girl Guides of Canada, particularly working to keep opportunities alive for girls in rural eastern Ontario. Her wealth of scientific and historical knowledge have provided exceptional experiences for girls from across Canada to learn about the culture and background of her region.”

Watson is grateful to be receiving the award, which comes along with a $2,500 grant toward another trip experience for next year.

She hopes the award will help promote Experiences Canada to Girl Guides in the region.

“I hope that we can continue to get lots of guiding units to take advantage of this,” Watson said. “While there’s always a lot of work to do for a trip, Experience Canada helps with getting everything planned. You don’t have to make plane reservations or plan activities [at your exchange site], and that takes away a whole chunk of the work.

“It’s a really neat way of doing it, and you have this other group behind you. And you get to do this with other guiding friends.”

Watson will travel to Ottawa to receive her award on Jan. 28.

mbalogh@postmedia.com

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES: Donors needed. Blood donor clinic at 850 Gardiners Rd., Unit B, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Book your appointment at blood.ca or call 1-888-2DONATE.

WALK ON: A free, drop-in volunteer-led indoor walking program offered at six sites in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington from November to March: Invista Centre and Memorial Centre, Perth Road Public School, Napanee District Secondary School, La Salle Secondary School, and Rideau Heights Community Centre. For the full schedule, go online to www.kflaph.ca/en/clinics-and-classes/Walk-On.aspx or call 613-549-1232, ext. 1180.

BRIDGE CLUB: Games seven days a week at 12:30 p.m. Short game $5 at The Bridge Centre, 645 Gardiners Rd. For more information, go online to bridgewebs.com/kdbc, or call 613-384-0888 for a partner.

SENIORS 50-PLUS YEARS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FITNESS: Walk, dance, sing and move with us to your favourite rock ‘n’ roll beats on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Stimulate brain, balance, agility, and strength through age-appropriate, stimulating exercises, created to prevent injury. Class starts at 9:30 a.m. Free demos at west-end fitness studio. For more information, call Dee 613-389-6540.

VISUAL PARADISE 2019: Presented by Creative Arts Focus program, a gallery exhibit of fine art and design at 274 Princess St. The event runs to Jan. 27. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 613-540-4134.

BID EUCHRE: 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560. All welcome.

INDOOR ARCHERY: Tuesday and Thursday evenings 7-9 p.m. to April. We offer target archery, fun shoots and the Canbow program for juniors. We welcome ages eight-plus, teens, adults, seniors, novices and pros in all styles of archery. Non-members are welcome to drop in and shoot for a $10 walk-in fee. Personal archery equipment is required for club evenings and walk-ins. For more information or to join, contact us at info@kingstonarcheryclub.org and check us out on the web at kingstonarcheryclub.org where online membership is available.

MORNING FITNESS CLASSES AT CROSSROADS: Seniors Fitness, 9:15-10:15 a.m. Classes taught by certified instructors. Cost is a goodwill offering each class. No need to register. Classes are open to all ages and fitness levels. We are located at 690 Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd. For more information, go online to www.crossroadsunited.ca.

55-PLUS FITNESS: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m., to March 28 at Chalmers United Church, 212 Barrie St. Healthy hearts, healthy weight program, strength, stretch. $5 per class. For more information, contact Can Fit Pro Trainer 613-888-8922, www.fitnesswithjill.ca or email Fitnesswithjill@hotmail.com.

FUNFIT AEROBICS: Classes every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Sessions take place at the Edith Rankin Memorial United Church. Everyone welcome anytime. For more information, call Janice at 384-3181 or funfit4you@cogeco.ca.

WIDOW AND WIDOWERS SOCIAL GROUP: The WW is a support and social group for Widows and Widowers. If you or your friends are widowed there is a welcome awaiting. The larger, more diverse our age range the more we are able to do for each other. We meet at 7 p.m. every other Thursday at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560, located at 734 Montreal St. Ask the bartender where the Widowers are meeting and she will point you in the right direction. For information, call Raymond at 613-767-2367 or email Barb at rwilde4@cogeco.ca.

VON FOOT CARE: Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 1469 Princess St., Kingston. For more information, call 613-634-0130 ext. 2303.

THURSDAY TOUR FEATURING SOUNDINGS: An Exhibition in Five Parts from 12:15–1 p.m. at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 36 University Ave., Kingston. This free, lunch-hour exhibition tour is available on a drop-in basis. A friendly and informed community docent will meet you in the Atrium before the guided gallery tour.

PARENT AND BABY GROUP: At Mulberry Waldorf School, 25 Markland St., from 1:30-3 p.m. This group is on a drop-in basis, free of charge and open to all parents or caregivers with infants up to 15 months of age. For more information, see our website at www.mulberrywaldorfschool.ca.

CARDIO AND STRENGTH EXERCISE CLASS: From 9:30-10:30 a.m. at Grace Hall, Grace Social Activity, 4295 Stagecoach Rd., Sydenham. This mid- to high-impact exercise class is a great way to get the heart rate up and build muscles.

T.L.T.I. GROUP FITNESS CLASSES: Tuesdays Body Blast, and Thursdays Cardio Boxfit. Join any time as classes are continuous. $7 drop-in rate; one time per week, $50; two times per week, $80. For beginners or advanced participants. Open to men and women and held at the Lansdowne Community Building from 6-7 p.m. Find us on Facebook under Group Fitness Classes-Lansdowne Community Building. For more information, contact the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands recreation department at 613-659-2415 or go online to www.leeds1000islands.ca.

L&A SENIORS OUTREACH SERVICES (SOS): Social Diner at Moscow Friend’s Meeting House, 20 Huffman St., noon to 1:30 p.m. Come enjoy a meal of mushroom chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetable and dessert. Entertainment by Barry Lovegrove and his Ukulele Band SMILE. Cost is $12 per person. Call 613-354-6668. Wheelchair accessible.

NATIVE BEES IN ONTARIO: With bee specialist Susan Willis Chan. Hastings Stewardship-2019 Winter Speaker Series opener, 7-9 p.m. at the Community Hall, 11379 Highway 62 in Ivanhoe. Cost is $5 (or a donation). Children are free. For information, contact Ray at 613-848-7697 or info@hastingsstewardship.ca.

MAD SCIENTISTS: 3:30 p.m. at the Deseronto Public Library, 358 Main St. Children from ages eight to 14 can learn science and do the experiments together. Every week will be something different to discover. For more information, call 613-396-2744.

~~~~~

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Submit information for the Community Listings a minimum of 14 days before the date of publication to KingstonEvents@sunmedia.ca. Include a brief description of the event, location (with the address), time and the name and phone number of the person submitting the information, within the body of the email. Weekly or repeating listings need to be resubmitted each month.

A little-known community group, the Citizen Advisory Committee, whose members go inside area institutions to act as go-betweens with offenders, Correctional Service Canada staff and the community is celebrating its awareness week this week.

“The CSC uses this week as an opportunity to celebrate the contributions that our members give us and to solicit interest among others that may be interested in joining,” Scott Harris, the correctional service’s regional deputy commissioner for Ontario, said in an interview this week.

The committees are volunteer groups that act in a neutral fashion between inmates, correctional officers, management and other staff inside the institutions. They believe in public safety, the rights of all citizens to be involved in the correctional process, and the ability of offenders to become law-abiding citizens, a profile of the committee on the CSC website said.

Harris said the committees were created more than 30 years ago after several incidents involving inmates at institutions across the country, including the Kingston region.

After those incidents, Harris said recommendations were made to strengthen the ability of citizens to be involved inside the walls of CSC institutions.

Harris has worked with various Citizen Advisory Committees since the late 1990s and was in charge of the file nationally for many years.

“I’m a big proponent of Citizen Advisory Committees,” he said.

Harris said committee members volunteer in all of the area CSC institutions and facilities.

There are about 60 committee members in Ontario, with the majority in the Kingston area, and hundreds who volunteer at institutions and parole offices across the country.

Harris said committee members provide three primary tasks for CSC: to give advice regarding correctional service policy and procedures, observe what is happening inside the institution, and form a bridge from inside the institution to the outside.

“They obviously bring the voice of the community into the institution,” he said. “We’re very appreciative of their contributions.”

One of the committee’s focuses over the past few years, Harris said, is helping meet the needs of CSC’s older offenders.

Harris said committee members never take one side over another group when trying to resolve issues behind the walls.

“They have to have credibility with all the stakeholders, whether that be offenders, staff or community members,” he said. “Their job really is to represent the community and be the voice of the community in a non-partisan and non-biased way.”

Harris said the offender population finds the committee members are another voice to hear the offenders’ concerns.

“It gives the offender population an outside credible voice to represent their interests, not only to the management team but to the public,” he said. “And to be able to share information with the public who is often misinformed about what really happens in the business.”

Ryan Lynch of Kingston has been an advisory committee member for about nine years.

“When I graduated from university, I wanted to assist with people who have challenges when it comes to criminal behaviour,” he said in an interview this week.

Lynch holds a criminology degree from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B.

After graduating, he worked in an at-risk youth group home for about a year but had to resign due to issues with his disability.

Not being able to work since, Lynch volunteers with the advisory committee to pass on his knowledge in the field of criminology.

“That gives me the time to volunteer where I do,” Lynch, who volunteers once or twice a week at a local institution.

One of Lynch’s main volunteer activities is to take part in segregation review boards.

He can advise on whether the offender is put back in segregation, sent back to his range or another range, or transferred to another institution altogether. But management doesn’t have to follow his recommendation, and Lynch doesn’t have a problem with that.

“Our main focus there is to be a neutral group to the inmates, the correctional officers and the staff that work there, such as management, parole officers and programming officers, anyone that works inside the institution,” he said.

He finds the work very rewarding.

“I like being part of the big team both in the institution that I work at and outside the institution,” he said.

This weekend, Lynch is going to CSC’s national headquarters with other committee members for further training.

Lynch provided another example of the impact a committee member can have on an offender.

In September of last year, an offender who was soon to be released was getting transferred to an institution in Quebec to be closer to his family in Montreal. But the offender wanted to attend St. Lawrence College in Kingston upon release.

Lynch advised the offender that he could attend the St. Lawrence campus in Cornwall and stay close to his family at the same time.

“By telling him, it made him much more happier that he could be close to his family if he needed that assistance,” Lynch said.

Lynch said the ranks of the advisory committees need to be expanded.

“We’re in need to recruit CAC members and retain them as volunteers,” he said.

Harris said the group needs Kingston-area people to volunteer.

“Our continuing desire is to make sure that people are able to be involved if they want to with us in terms of our work,” he said. “Their job is to bring to us those extra set of eyes that are there to represent the average community member.”

As well, Harris said, the volunteers help with the transparency among the public, especially after an incident inside an institution.

Anyone interested in volunteering as a CAC member can send an email to: ontmedia@csc-scc.gc.ca. Write “Join CAC” in the subject line.

Scott Harris, the regional deputy commissioner for the Ontario Region at Correctional Service Canada’s Regional Headquarters in Kingston. (Ian MacAlpine/The Whig-Standard)

imacalpine@postmedia.com

twitter.com/IanMacAlpine

An online survey seeks to shed light on how immigrants are connecting with the local job market. 

KEYS Job Centre wants to hear from immigrants to better understand the challenges they face finding work. Employers are also being asked to provide their concerns about the job market in the city.

With an aging population and a growing labour shortage, immigration is seen by many as a way of filling job vacancies.

“This in-depth survey is an important step in establishing a baseline for diversity and inclusion in Kingston’s labour force,” Craig Desjardins, the city’s director of strategy, innovation and partnerships, said. “The feedback will help guide the continued development of community-wide programs and collaborations to attract, retain and develop talent for the Kingston employers.” 

But incorporating new Canadians into the workforce has its challenges. 

In a 2015 survey by Kingston Immigration Partnership, seven out of 10 Kingston residents reported witnessing racism or discrimination. 

Even when it is not intentional, evidence has shown that misalignment in workplace expectations can result in miscommunication and conflict, which leads to lower productivity and low retention rates. 

The results of the survey are to be released in the spring and are expected to be used to better inform local businesses, policy-makers and service providers.

The confidential survey is open to employers and workers, both those who were born here and newcomers.

A survey for workers can be found online at tinyurl.com/YGKworkersurvey. The employer survey can be found at tinyurl.com/YGKemployers. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested two individuals after two raids on houses in Kingston on Thursday afternoon.

A spokesperson with the RCMP stated their operations in the city are ongoing and that more information will be provided on Friday.

“The RCMP and Kingston Police confirm that police operations are taking place in Kingston,” Cpl. Louise Savard said in an email to the Whig-Standard. “All actions are being taken to ensure public safety.”

They posted the same statement on Twitter. Kingston Police added that they can assure “everyone there are no public safety issues to be concerned about.”

The houses in question were on Kingsdale Avenue and Macdonnell Street. Kingston Police assisted the RCMP, providing traffic control and their emergency response unit.

The two residential streets were closed for about two hours during the searches. Forensics officers from the RCMP remained on scene.

The house on Macdonnell Street was recently sold by a local rental company.

A senior government official speaking on background confirmed with Canadian Press that the arrests were related to a national security investigation.

The official, who did not wish to be identified because the investigation is in its early stages, said the situation is “contained” and there’s no threat to public safety.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said any operational details on the RCMP investigation will be released by the Mounties, adding that the country’s security agencies act on credible information about potential threats.

“The government of Canada has no greater responsibility than to keep its citizens safe. Earlier today, the RCMP and other police partners took action in Kingston, Ontario, based on credible information, to ensure public safety,” Goodale said in a statement Thursday evening.

“The government of Canada constantly monitors all potential threats and has robust measures in place to address them. Canadians can be confident that whenever credible information is obtained about a potential threat, the RCMP, CSIS and other police and security agencies take the appropriate steps to ensure the security of this country and the safety of its citizens.”

Goodale said the country’s official threat level remains at “medium.” It has stood at that level since the fall of 2014.

With files from Canadian Press

The city has no plans to ban fossil fuel-powered vehicles from parking in spots assigned to the new network of electric vehicle charging stations.

City council was briefed Tuesday night about the progress of construction of the new electric vehicle charging network.

So far, 42 of the planned 46 Level 2 charging stations have been installed across the city. The remaining Level 2 chargers and two Level 3 chargers are to be installed later this year.

But city officials said there are no plans to deal with one of the biggest annoyances electric vehicle drivers have: non-electric vehicles parking in spots assigned to the chargers.

After announcing $100,000 in federal funding for the two Level 3 charging station last week, even Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen, an electric car driver himself, bemoaned the lack of a city bylaw prohibiting fossil fuel-powered vehicles from the parking spots.

Sheila Kidd, director of transportation services, told council Tuesday night that allowing only electric vehicles to use the spots would greatly reduce the number of vehicles that could park in them.

“The spaces that we have on street are very highly sought after, high-demand spaces in the downtown. We want to do that so that the EV charging stations are visible and easy to locate, but at the same time we are still trying to manage our parking supply,” Kidd said.

“We do have some pressures on the parking supply, there is no question about that, and dedicating spaces would mean those spaces would be underutilized.”

Sheila Kidd, director of transportation services, says designating parking spaces for electric vehicles only would make those spaces underused. (Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard)

The issue is most acute at the higher demand locations, including Clarence Street, the Chown Memorial Garage and Artillery Park.

To qualify for the $100,000 in funding from Natural Resources Canada, the two Level 3 chargers had to be relocated from the Invista Centre on Gardiners Road to the Frontenac Lot because the city’s downtown is considered by the federal government to be underserviced for charging stations.

The Frontenac Lot was already to be home to a pair of Level 2 charging stations.

The conversion of the four parking spaces to electric vehicle charging stations involves three other parking spaces that will be permanently removed from service and used for the needed infrastructure, including a transformer, distribution panel and charging stations.

When it was launched, the city’s electric vehicle charging network was expected to involve about 0.1 per cent of the parking spaces in the downtown.

The tiny fraction of parking spaces impacted by the network mirrors the number of electric vehicle that can take full advantage of it.

While electric vehicles are becoming more common and major car manufacturers are committing to greatly increasing their production and move away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles, they still represent a tiny fraction of the total number of vehicles on the road.

According to Statistics Canada, there are about 8.2 million passenger vehicles registered in Ontario. Of those, only about 10,000 are electric vehicles.

Signs and pavement markings are posted at all of Kingston’s charging stations, reminding drivers that electric vehicles should have priority for the spaces.

There are no immediate plans to designate parking spaces for electric vehicle charging stations in Kingston. (Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard)

Other municipalities, including London, Burlington and Ottawa, have amended their parking bylaws to ban non-electric vehicles from using the spots.

Although a 2017 report suggested Kingston enact a similar bylaw amendment, city staff now say more information about how the charging stations are being used is needed before any bylaw changes are made.

Kidd said that if any parking spaces are designated for electric vehicles only, they would likely be located in parking lots or garages, where drivers are encouraged to park for longer periods. 

Street parking, by comparison, is meant to be used for short-term parking, she added.

Since they began operating, the charging stations have been used more than 2,130 times with close to 17,000 kilowatts of electricity being dispensed. The use translates to the removal of about 27 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

Patterns of use suggest that stations in busy downtown parking garages are used mainly by commuters and drivers downtown for shopping, entertainment and appointments.

At other locations, data indicates use by drivers visiting facilities, such as arenas and parks or overnight use by drivers who live in the area but can’t charge their vehicles at home.

A 36-year-old man who accosted a stranger in the parking lot of the 1201 Division St. shopping plaza last July, asked for money, showed the stranger three throwing knives in a bag, and got him to pony up his last $10, has been sentenced to 135 days in jail — four and a half months — on top of time already spent in pretrial custody.

Justin G. King pleaded guilty in Kingston’s Ontario Court of Justice to robbery and a companion charge of violating a condition of the two-year probation he’d received in Brockville in December 2016 that required him to keep the peace.

Justice Larry O’Brien, accepting a joint recommendation from King’s lawyer, Paul Blais, and assistant Crown attorney Greg Skerkowski, actually imposed a 12-month sentence on King, who has a significant record for violence. But after enhancing King’s pretrial custody, he credited the 36-year-old with seven and a half months of that sentence already served.

He also imposed two years of probation upon completion of his sentence and ordered King to complete all assessments, counselling and rehabilitative programs as directed by his probation officer after King told him he’d take any counselling offered. Justice O’Brien had asked if King wanted bereavement counselling after the 36-year-old volunteered that his tattoos memorialize the many family members he’s lost. King also volunteered that following his mother’s death he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Crown prosecutor Skerkowski told the judge the incident with the knives unfolded around 8 p.m. on July 24 last year.

The victim, he said, arrived at the Division Street plaza around 8 p.m., parked in front of the Bulk Barn and walked down to Domino’s Pizza at the end of the walkway.

Skerkowski said King was also in the plaza, but the victim didn’t notice him until he returned to his car with his hot pizzas. He’d just opened his car door and was putting them inside, Justice O’Brien was told, when King came up behind him and announced he needed money. Skerkowski said he then opened a pouch containing three knives — which King later identified to the judge as throwing knives.

The victim thought King was acting oddly, suspected he might be high, and felt trapped with little chance of escape, according to the Crown prosecutor, so he made the short walk to the vestibule of the Kingston Community Credit Union, which is right next door to the Bulk Barn. The credit union itself was closed, Skerkowski told he judge, and the victim wasn’t a member in any event, but there was an ATM.

He told Justice O’Brien the victim first tried to withdraw $20 from his account, but his account couldn’t cover it. He was only allowed to get $10.

King, meanwhile, stood right outside the vestibule waiting for him, and when the victim emerged and handed over the cash, Skerkowski said he told his unwilling benefactor “thanks, man,” hugged him and walked out into the parking lot where he was picked up by a dark-coloured truck.

Since the two men didn’t know each other, Skerkowski told Justice O’Brien, it took some time for Kingston Police to identify King. He has a record but is better known to police around the Belleville area.

Skerkowski said they did eventually connect him to the crime, however, and he was arrested in late September.

In recommending the 12-month sentence, Skerkowski told Justice O’Brien the crime was deserving of significant jail time because King’s victim, “in fear for his life, gave up the last $10 in his account to satisfy whatever need Mr. King had.”

In the next breath, however, he suggested the sentence length was the product of compromise: he noted that no threat was actually verbalized: King simply showed the victim the knives. Had he chosen to fight the charge, Skerkowski told the judge, there could have been triable issues in the form of an alternate explanation for the behaviour.

“I’m not sure I would have bought it,” he said. But equally important, from his perspective, he told Justice O’Brien the victim had come to court for what was initially expected to be King’s trial and “frankly, he was afraid to testify.”

Defence lawyer Blais noted that his client has no prior convictions for robbery, and the longest sentence King has served previously was 90 days of intermittent jail on weekends. Consequently, this sentence represents a big jump for him.

King, when invited to speak directly to the judge, insisted that he wasn’t high that evening and told Justice O’Brien that he needed the $10 for gas. And he was just starting to give the judge that alternative explanation Skerkowski had alluded to when his lawyer stopped him.

He enthused, as well, that “this is the cleanest I’ve ever been,” causing Justice O’Brien to remark, drolly, that “we could give you more jail time and you’d be super clean.”

King declined and disclosed to the judge that he has eight children and is eager to get out and make a better life for himself.

Justice O’Brien, in sentencing King, observed that he was claiming “five months [in jail] has had some effect on him,” and suggested he’d accept that, but “you’re now at that tipping point,” he told King. “You need to shine up or we will ship you out.”

syanagisawa@postmedia.com

BRIDGE CLUB: Games seven days a week at 12:30 p.m. Short game $5 at The Bridge Centre, 645 Gardiners Rd. For more information, go online to bridgewebs.com/kdbc, or call 613-384-0888 for a partner.

ADULT 50-PLUS BASIC COMPUTER AND TABLET LITERACY CLASSES: Classes are offered by CCASA Senior Services Kingston. Computer classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-11:30 a.m. for six weeks at a cost of $40. Tablet classes are on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon for $25. Both options offer one-on-one time with students and teachers. Classes are held at St. John’s Anglican Church, 41 Church St. in Portsmouth Village. For more information, contact Sam Laldin 613-546-9286 or Mike Kavanagh 613-384-8162.

MIXED 10-PIN BOWLING FOR 55-PLUS: Every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at Prost Bowling Centre, 830 Gardiners Rd. Automated lanes and scoring. Practice starts at 9:50 a.m.: three games for $13, with complimentary bowling shoes. No pressure, all fun, compete against yourself only. New bowlers must sign in at 9:30 a.m. For further information, contact Alex at 613-540-1280.

RNR KARAOKE: 8 p.m. to midnight at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560, with $3 cover for non-members. Open to the public.

NOW SOCIETY ENSEMBLE: 1-3:30 p.m. at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 36 University Ave., Kingston. Free and open to all. Performing Iahgo adili and American Ledger (No. 1) by Raven Chacon and Surrounded/Surrounding by Tania Willard.

VISUAL PARADISE 2019: Presented by Creative Arts Focus program, A gallery exhibit of Fine Art and Design at 274 Princess St. The event runs to Jan. 27. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 613-540-4134.

39 CLUB OF KINGSTON DANCE: 7:30-11 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 631, 4034 Bath Rd., Collins Bay. Music by Heartland Country. Admission $12, Members $10. Lunch at 11 p.m. Everyone welcome. For more information, call Crystal Gurnsey at 613-544-5100.

IN GOOD TASTE: A dining experience for single seniors will meet at Grecos, 167 Princess St., at 5:30 p.m. If interested in attending, contact Norma at 613-542-3622 or Shirley at 613-384-5719.

CARDIO AND STRENGTH EXERCISE CLASS: Fridays from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at Grace Hall, Grace Social Activity, 4295 Stagecoach Rd., Sydenham. This mid- to high-impact exercise class is a great way to get the heart rate up and build muscles.

PICKLEBALL: Monday and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon at Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church Gym. Grace Social Activity Centre is excited to be offering three courts open for play every Monday and Friday until spring. All level of players welcome. Non-SFCSC members $5 and SFCSC members $2 drop-in fees.

MEAT DRAW: Starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Gananoque branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Everyone welcome.

SOUP AND SANDWICH LUNCHEON: At St. Matthew’s Hall, Marlbank, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $7 per person, includes soup, sandwich, dessert, tea or coffee.

MODERATE EXERCISE GROUP: 9 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Deseronto Public Library, 358 Main St. Come join in and participate in a walking exercise video workout. Donations to the Food Bank is appreciated. For more information, call 613-396-2744.

TODDLER TIME: 10:30 a.m. at the Deseronto Public Library, 358 Main St. Children ages 18 months to three years and their caregivers will enjoy stories, finger rhymes, and a craft. For more information, call 613-396-2744.

~~~~~

Want your community event included?

Submit information for the Community Listings a minimum of 14 days before the date of publication to KingstonEvents@sunmedia.ca. Include a brief description of the event, location (with the address), time and the name and phone number of the person submitting the information, within the body of the email. Weekly or repeating listings need to be resubmitted each month.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested two individuals in Kingston on Thursday afternoon as part of a national security investigation.

The two individuals, who have yet to be identified, were arrested during raids on houses by the RCMP and Kingston Police. The houses in question were located on Kingsdale Avenue and Macdonnell Street. A spokesperson with the RCMP stated that their operations in the city are ongoing and that more information will be provided on Friday.

“The RCMP and Kingston Police confirm that police operations are taking place in Kingston,” Cpl. Louise Savard said in an email to the Whig-Standard. “All actions are being taken to ensure public safety.”

They posted the same statement on Twitter. Kingston Police added that they can assure “everyone there are no public safety issues to be concerned about.”

The two residential streets were closed by Kingston Police for about two hours during the searches. Forensics officers from the RCMP remained on scene.

The house on Macdonnell Street was recently sold by a local rental company.

A senior government official speaking on background confirmed with The Canadian Press that the arrests were related to a national security investigation.

The official, who did not wish to be identified because the investigation is in its early stages, said the situation is “contained” and there’s no threat to public safety.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said any operational details on the RCMP investigation will be released by the Mounties, adding that the country’s security agencies act on credible information about potential threats.

“The government of Canada has no greater responsibility than to keep its citizens safe. Earlier today, the RCMP and other police partners took action in Kingston, Ontario, based on credible information, to ensure public safety,” Goodale said in a statement Thursday evening.

“The government of Canada constantly monitors all potential threats and has robust measures in place to address them. Canadians can be confident that whenever credible information is obtained about a potential threat, the RCMP, CSIS and other police and security agencies take the appropriate steps to ensure the security of this country and the safety of its citizens.”

Goodale said the country’s official threat level remains at “medium.” It has stood at that level since the fall of 2014.

With files from The Canadian Press

RELATED STORY: Kingston’s mystery plane captured on camera

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have laid terrorism charges against a young person in Kingston.

The RCMP said in a news release that their Integrated National Security Enforcement Team charged the young person with: knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity, and also counselling a person to deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device to, into, in or against a place of public use with intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, in a case where the offence was not committed.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents any further release of information regarding this individual, the RCMP said.

“I want to reassure the citizens of the Greater Kingston, Ontario, area and all Canadians that during the investigation, our primary focus was the safety and protection of the public,” Chief Superintendent Michael LeSage, Criminal Operations Officer in O Division, said in the news release. “I would also like to highlight the efforts of our INSET here in Ontario which worked diligently to obtain the evidence required for these charges. Investigations of this nature are complex and require significant time and resources to come to a successful conclusion, while ensuring public safety at all times.”

The youth and an adult man were arrested during raids at two residences in Kingston on Thursday afternoon. The adult man has been arrested but not charged. The two residences were on Kingsdale Avenue and Macdonnell Street.

The Canadian Press reported that Amin Alzahabi, the father of the adult man, Hussam Eddin Alzahabi, 20, said his son had been arrested but not charged. He was unsure what was happening.

“I want to know where he is,” Amin Alzahabi said at his Kingston home.

The family came to Canada about two years ago after fleeing war-torn Damascus for Kuwait. Their home in Syria has been destroyed. The father was once imprisoned for not joining the ruling political party and would be vulnerable to arrest and severe retaliation should he and the family return home, according to one of the churches that sponsored the refugee family.

In their news release, the RCMP thanked their partners in the investigation: Kingston Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.

Kingston Police Chief Antje McNeely said her force helped the RCMP with public engagement and community outreach.

“We recognize the tremendous value of law enforcement, working in close collaboration, to protect the safety our communities,” McNeely said.