Kingston East’s newest mini café is set to open on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Located in Freeman’s Wine Making Shop, The Cork and Beans Café will serve coffee, Cappuccino, Café Latte, Espresso, Hot Chocolate, Chai tea, and seasonal drinks.

Ashley Kekkas, the Barista, will be serving hot beverages from Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 – 6 and Saturdays from 8:30 – 5.

Mr Hsu presented The Army, Navy and Air Forces Veterans in Canada Martello Unit 377 with Canadian Flags to fly in front of the Unit. The flags were presented during Mr Hsu’s visit to the Unit at the Levee.

Pictured left to right, Chris Carter Sgt @ Arms, Jack O’Brien President, Mr Ted Hsu, MP, Tom Burke 1st Vice President and Jim Pine 2nd Vice President.

ACFOMI’s Chair, Ms. Diane Sabourin, announced the appointment of Ms. Lucie Mercier as the new Executive Director at ACFOMI and Ms. Nathalie Dion as the new ACFOMI Employment Services Director on January 11th.

Nathalie Dion, succeeds Mrs. Annie Thibault. With a degree in Management, Bachelor of Education and an active member of the Canadian Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, Ms. Dion will maintain sound management within ACFOMI Employment Services.

City residents are invited to discuss the proposed improvements for the John Machin Sports Fields Park on Wednesday, February 15, at 7pm. in the Little Theatre room at La Salle Secondary School.
The City is considering:
- an artificial turf soccer field with sports lighting
- a permanent park washroom building
- a provision for a potential future seasonal air-supported dome for indoor sports

“John Machin Park has enjoyed a number of recent and popular upgrades. We are looking to add on to these and are calling on residents to help us define their sports park needs.” says Neal Unsworth, Manager of Parks Development.

Councillor Brian Reitzel’s January 17th Town Hall meeting was filled with talk of the 2012 city budget. Kingston Chief Administrative Officer Gerard Hunt was on hand to lay out points regarding Kingston’s Strategic Plan, which has been created for this term of council, lasting to 2014.

The Strategic Plan was created with the intent of outlining emerging priorities and strategies that are key to achieve the community’s vision of becoming the most sustainable city in the country. Some of those priorities include maintaining and enhancing infrastructure, enabling economic development, and developing proactive community plans. The plan is intended to be a living document, able to evolve with the community’s needs. Standing on the pillars of dynamic and diverse economy, social equity, a healthy environment, and cultural well-being. This document tries to define Kingston’s path to a sustainable community.

I thank everyone who attended our January 17th Town Hall Meeting. I also wish to thank CAO Gerard Hunt and Commissioner Lanie Hurdle for their attendance and presentations.
The success of these meetings depends on the attendance and engagement received from residents, and so far we have been very successful.

I fully understand the concern residents have regarding property taxes. This is never an easy topic to discuss as it is the most direct form of taxation we have. Responsible taxation is what we as a city council are using as our guide. Responsible taxation is meeting the needs and expectations of city residents, while not overburdening any one taxpayers ability to pay.

The Fort Henry Gymnastics Club Competitive Team and Pre-competitive athletes spent a day at Bennetts Valuemart asking the community for support for their club and the sport they all enjoy and work very hard at. They would like to thank Bennetts ValueMart and all of Kingston East for their support. The community raised close to $1,000 for the club. The funds will be going towards the purchase of new equipment that will benefit all of the children that use the facilities at the Fort Henry Gymnastics Club.

Most people celebrate Christmas with one or two Christmas trees, but Pam Boudreau doesn’t stop with just a few. She celebrates Christmas with thirty-three Christmas trees. They range in size from miniature trees in the bathroom to full size trees in the living room. There isn’t a corner in the house that doesn’t have a tree.

The exhibition and reception for Kingston’s Salon Prize was recently held at Gallery Raymond. This annual event, organized by Cleah Bunting, is an open art competition which accepts entries in paintings, drawings, mixed media, sculptures, etc. This year the jurors were Bonnie Brooks, J.T. Winik and David Perkins. The winners, announced at this year’s Salon Prize reception, were

A new year and a new city budget: This City Council has worked very co-operatively during the past year to ensure that we are able to deliver the best in services and facilities for 2012. As many of you are aware from previous columns I have written, and from our Town Hall Meetings, that the actual budget work began with the first ever Strategic Plan.