Looking back at 2009 in the Kingston EMC
Posted Jan 14, 2010 By EMC News
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Tweet ThisIn this edition we wrap up our review of the year that was 2009. We hope that you have enjoyed revisiting some of the stories from the Kingston EMC and that you will enjoy our coverage in 2010.
JULY
Kingston Police investigate the deaths of Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, Geeti Shafia, 13 and Rona Amir, 50, after their bodies were found inside a 2004 Nissan Altima submerged in eight feet of water at Kingston Mills Locks June 30. Three weeks later police arrest and charge Mohammad Shafia, Tooba Yahya Mohammad and Hamed Mohammad-Shafia, relatives of the four victims.
The City of Kingston and Lowe's Canada agree to explore options for settlement before their dispute over 15 acres of industrial land at 1085 Gardiners Road goes before the Ontario Municipal Board. Lowe's wants to build a 174,000 square foot home improvement store on the property, but council has refused to rezone the property for commercial uses in order to protect its dwindling stock of industrial land.
Two opposing Kingston citizen groups take to the streets in an effort to drum up community support before councillors debate a motion by Coun. Leonore Foster. The motion is to reform the electoral system, getting rid of the 12 district model in favour of city-wide elections for all councillors. Later, city council defeats the controversial motion by a 9-4 vote.
City council gives final reading to a bylaw that establishes off-leash dog parks in MacLean Trail Park, Meadowbrook Park, the Memorial Centre and Rotary Park. City staff decide to move the only west-end park from property at the Norman Rogers Airport to Rotary Park after a groundswell of opposition from nearby residents.
AUGUST
The City of Kingston and Lowe's Canada come to an agreed settlement following mediation talks. The settlement still requires the approval of the Ontario Municipal Board and is contingent on Lowe's submitting a revised site plan application and supporting documents outlining the location, size and other store details. Councillors are tight-lipped about the particulars of the settlement.
After an 11-year quest to have the Ministry of Transportation assume ownership of the service docks for the Amherst Island ferry, Loyalist Township learns the province will take over ownership of the township-owned docks at Stella and Millhaven. Under the ministry's ownership upgrades are slated for the docks including conversion from side-loading to end-loading docks.
Ledgecroft Farms, located on Hwy. 15 just outside Seeley's Bay, introduces a multi-million dollar biogas project that will generate electricity using methane gas from manure and other waste products. The gas will be burned in an engine to produce electricity. It is expected that the project will be commissioned by November and supply enough electricity to power 400 homes.
SEPTEMBER
The city reveals the details of its settlement with Lowe's Canada. Instead of building on the northern half of a privately owned 15-acre plot of land at 1085 Gardiners Road, Lowe's agrees to move its store to the south end of the property beside Canadian Tire. The agreement ensures that nine acres of the property can be saved for potential industrial uses.
Canadian Hydro Developers celebrates the opening of the Wolfe Island Eco Power Centre and the successful completion of the wind power project. The project, which began in spring 2008, is comprised of 86 wind turbines and is expected to generate 594 GWh of renewable energy annually, enough to supply approximately 75,000 homes.
Enforcement checks by Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health staff at 161 retailers find 38 still selling tobacco to underage youth. Seventy-six per cent of retailers took the proper step to ask for identification and inspect it before refusing the sale of tobacco to underage youth, a much lower rate than previous years.
Barely 16 months after undergoing a three-year, $17.1-million facelift, Kingston's Grand Theatre will be closed for more renovations. The city earmarked $750,000 to improve wheelchair accessibility in the 19th-century building after the city's accessibility advisory committee voiced concerns about the main second floor washroom stalls not being big enough for power wheelchairs and scooters and the hand-operated lift not being long enough to fit the devices.
OCTOBER
The expansion of the Ravensview sewage treatment plant is completed ahead of time and under budget. The three-year project, the largest capital building project in the City of Kingston's history, came in $15-million cheaper than originally expected. Upgrades to the Ravensview sewage plant, which takes waste water from homes and street sewers, treats and releases it into the river, include a secondary treatment process to remove ammonia and other chemicals from the water, expanded capacity and a small cogeneration facility that recaptures heat from natural methane gas to power LEED buildings on site.
Canadian Hydro Developers Corporation's John Forrester, community liaison officer for the Wolfe Island wind project, presents a cheque for $333,986.30 to Frontenac Islands Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek and council members during a special meeting of the Frontenac Islands Council. The cheque is the first of many that will be given to the community over the next 20 to 40 years as a result of an amenities agreement negotiated by the municipality on behalf of Wolfe Island.
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health launches its Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Community Immunization Clinic at the Frontenac Mall. The first to receive the vaccine are those at the highest risk of complications as a result of contracting the H1N1 virus. KFL&A Public Health expect to open the clinic up to the rest of the public within two weeks. To date there has been one confirmed death as a result of the virus in the area.
Kingston Police take aim at a 2010 budget of $29.3-million, a 3.4 per cent spending increase over 2008. The number represents the department's smallest annual increase in about a decade.
NOVEMBER
City council approves a $5.9-million outdoor track and field facility to be built on city-owned land beside the Invista Centre. Construction of the new facility will start in spring 2010 and should be completed by spring 2011. The city has put up $4.9-million while local school boards have contributed $1-million to the project. The initial track and field design with a price tag of $6.9-million was reduced by $1-million due lack of additional funding.
The Queen's Golden Gaels football team takes the Mitchell Bowl with a 33-30 upset over the No. 1-ranked Laval Rouge et Or. The team now prepares to square off against the University of Calgary Dinos in the Vanier Cup.
2010 budget talks open at City Hall. Council aims for a 3.5 per cent tax increase, the lowest tax increase in its four-year term. A 3.5 per cent tax increase would have Kingston homeowners handing over an average of $90 more next year.
The latest financial reports have Kingston's flagship arena finishing its second straight year short of its target profit. The $47-million K-Rock Centre finished its inaugural year with a profit of $69,000, $853,000 short of its target. This year the sports and entertainment venue is expected to bring in $600,000, a nine-fold increase but still shy of its $1.1-million target.
Kingston gears up to host the Ontario ParaSport Winter Games. Jan. 22-24 over 300 athletes from across the province will descend on the Limestone City for the games, which includes wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, swimming, wheelchair curling, sledge hockey and Para Nordic Skiing. It will be the first time Kingston has hosted a competitive multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities in 30 years.
DECEMBER
City council approves a 2010 operating budget with a property tax increase of 3.27 per cent, the lowest tax hike in this decade. The increase will have homeowners paying an extra $85 based on an average household assessed at $250,000.
The Queen's Golden Gaels football team defeats the University of Calgary Dinos 33-31 to take the 2009 Vanier Cup. The victory counts as the team's fourth Vanier Cup championship victory. The team first took the cup in 1968.
Kingston Police make an arrest in a 39-year-old murder case. Joseph Clifford Edward Langford is arrested for the 1970 murder of Marshall Augustus (Teddy) Matier. The body of Matier was found behind the Armories building on Montreal Street on July 22, 1970. He had been stabbed to death. After a lengthy investigation, the case went cold, only to be reopened in 2008. Langford, now 66-years-old, was 26-years-old at the time of the murder.
The Olympic torch arrives in Kingston. Vicki Keith, the first person to swim all five Great Lakes in 1988, is one of 26 people from the area to carry the flame as it passes through Kingston during its 100-day and 45,000-kilometre relay across the country leading up to the start of the Winter Olympics Feb. 12. Keith carried the torch into Springer Market Square where she lit the cauldron in front of thousands of cheering spectators.
Queen's University opens the $169-million Queen's Centre. The facility, home to the Queen's athletics and recreation department as well as the School of Kinesiology, features a 38-metre by 25-metre pool, eight squash courts, varsity gym, food court, several lounges and office space for staff and university clubs.
