Kingston

Road sign reading "Road Closed" sits atop 3 orange and white warning bars with reflectors on the top corners. Sign is placed in middle of a long road that stretches into the distance.

County staff address public concerns about Highway 41 closure

September 20, 2024 by Ted Evans

This week, Lennox and Addington addressed concerns about the current Highway 41 closure for culvert replacements raised by the township of Addington Highlands, but weren’t able to offer an immediate solution.

To address potential reductions in service, emergency services are planning to add staff in the northern area of the closure. They have coordinated with the Central Ambulance Communication Centre (CACC) to ensure neighboring services are informed, and to mitigate delays in critical situations, according to Lennox and Addington. Transporting patients from this area will require rerouting to hospitals in Perth, Belleville, or Kingston, as going to Napanee would be significantly longer. Overall, these adjustments are aimed at minimizing impact during the closure, but offer no solution other than detouring around the closure.

A road closure notice was issued on Aug. 30 informing emergency services, residents, and businesses that closures would take place from Sept. 16-25.

Wooden patio with shade coverage is shown overlooking a lake with trees far in the background. Sky is shown with small amount of cloud coverage. Diners are eating on the patio.

New regional food blog launches to highlight areas including Loyalist

August 8, 2024 by Ted Evans

Best Eats Ontario East, a new food blog about local eateries in Eastern Ontario, will feature restaurants, food trucks, patios, stores, farms, and community champions in the region. The blog launched July 31.

Loyalist Township, and all of Lennox and Addington County, are filled with a wide range of farms, stores, and eateries that the blog’s creator, Les Cseh, may explore and highlight in a future post.

According to the website, the blog covers a range of locations including Kingston, Gananoque, Brockville, Cornwall, Napanee, Belleville, Trenton, Cobourg, Westport, Perth, Smiths Falls, Carleton Place, Renfrew, Picton, Prince Edward County, and all the villages and places in between.

Best Eats Ontario East is also set to provide tips for local food businesses to be able to promote themselves online, as well as gather and encourage reviews.

Bright red tomatoes and yellow onions in a basket, close-up shot.

Partners in Mission Food Bank marks 40 years serving Kingston community

June 17, 2024 by Christena Lawrie

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Partners in Mission Food Bank serving the Kingston community since its first food collection on June 17, 1984.

Over the decades, it has grown into a pillar of support for the community, with 93 cents of every dollar donated going towards their Hamper Program, according to the organization. In 2023, Partners in Mission distributed an average of 1,542 hampers monthly, and 3,984 households accessed the program.

In a motion brought forth by Coun. Brandon Tozzo and Mayor Bryan Paterson, June 17 was declared Partners in Mission Food Bank Day by Kingston City Council at their last meeting.

Partners in Mission has also been recognized nationally, the organization being named a Top 10 Canadian Food Bank and a Top 10 Canadian Impact Charity by Charity Intelligence for the past few years.

Learn more about how to contribute to Partners in Mission here.

Person holding book in foreground. Books in a basket in the background.

Local authors featured at growing book fair

March 21, 2024 by Ted Evans

The Napanee Writers Forum will be hosting their second annual meet and greet book fair at the Wilton Community Hall on April 6.

The larger venue will see 13 local authors attending, with six doing readings throughout the day.

Attendees will get the chance to ask questions, win gift basket raffles, and purchase the authors’ books. There will signings available as well.

The event is in partnership with Kingston Literacy & Skills (KL&S,) which offers free training on reading, writing, math, computers, and job skills for adults in Kingston and the surrounding communities. The event was held at the Napanee branch last year, and proceeds from the event go towards the branch.

The forum may be looking to expand the event again next year, as the number of authors wanting to be involved continues to grow, as do the number of attendees.

The event runs from noon until 4 p.m. and is free to attend.

Two senior men high-fiving in park setting. Trees and sky in background.

New seniors active living centre coming to Loyalist Township in spring

March 7, 2024 by Ted Evans

A new partnership between Loyalist Township and the Seniors Association Kingston Region will see a long list of new programs for seniors in the township. Seniors Centre Loyalist is set to launch in May with programming in Amherstview, Bath, Wilton, and Odessa.

The centre will be the third Seniors Active Living Centre (SALC) designation for the Seniors Association. Among their offerings are health and wellness programs, social activities, and educational workshops. The partnership was funded by the Ministry of Seniors & Accessibility.

Executive Director of the Seniors Association Don Amos noted his excitement for the project.

“After a period of anticipation and hard work, we are elated to unveil Seniors Centre Loyalist. This expansion reflects the province’s confidence in our ability to deliver outstanding programs and services. The patience and diligence involved in the process have been substantial, but the result is a testament to our commitment to enhancing the lives of seniors in our community.”

A sunny day, a red and blue sign reading 'emergency' and providing directions beside Kingston General Hospital.

Healthcare professionals advocate for new nurse practitioner led clinic in Kingston

January 17, 2024 by Christena Lawrie

A group of nurse practitioners and allied healthcare professionals are advocating to open a hybrid nurse practitioner led clinic in Kingston.

Nurse Practitioner Maryanne Green embarked on this project in May 2023, when the Ontario Government put out an expression of interest for new health centers. Green put together a proposal to open a hybrid nurse practitioner led clinic, hoping to utilize nurse practitioners and other health professionals to help address the primary care crisis in Kingston.

Despite originally expecting a response in fall 2023, applicants have yet to receive word from the Ontario Government regarding their submissions. To encourage a response, Nurses for Kingston have kicked off a campaign to raise awareness in Kingston. The group has created a petition, which they plan to send to the government in the coming weeks.

Local hockey player Ethan Miedema on a mission to honour mother’s breast cancer battle

January 10, 2024 by Jeff Gard

Cobourg’s Ethan Miedema of the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs is raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society this season in tribute to his mother Amy.

In November, she celebrated 11 years cancer-free following a battle with breast cancer. Miedema is more than halfway to his goal of raising $10,000.

The 18-year-old is in his third OHL season after originally being selected fourth overall by the Windsor Spitfires in 2021 and traded to Kingston midway through last season in a blockbuster deal involving top NHL draft pick Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken.

Last June, Miedema was selected in the fourth round (109th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL Entry Draft.

CFWN caught up with Miedema to discuss how it’s going in Kingston, attending the prospect and main camps of the Sabres and Miedema’s Mission.

Municipal building in background with flags and flower bed in foreground

Council receives rural transit study report, considers options

December 12, 2023 by Ted Evans

Loyalist Township is looking at different rural transit options this week.

The rural transit study report (RTS report) presents two possible options to extend service to Bath and Odessa. The first option includes new rural routes using a minibus, as well as a limited service to Bath, Taylor-Kidd Industrial Park and Odessa. The second would be to extend Route 10 using two Kingston Transit vehicles to include new branches out to Bath via Taylor-Kidd Industrial Park and Odessa.

Loyalist Township staff presented council with the RTS report at their Dec. 11 meeting. The report, titled, “Bringing Commuter Public Transportation to Rural Kingston, Gananoque, South Frontenac, and Loyalist” provides analysis statistics from public and stakeholder consultation. It also includes a brief summary of some current transit initiatives in the township.

In the report, staff noted consultants have projected costs over five years for the township to start at $329,000 in year 1, and increase to $354,000 in year 5. Projected revenue ranges from $43,000 in year 1 to $87,000 in year 5.

With the various transit initiatives currently in action, and the new options from the RTS report, staff noted that council may wish to pursue options for developing an overall Loyalist transportation plan.

Staff will provide a further report early next year on possible next steps, recommendations, and options for funding.