Kenricia Hotel

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department is seeking a Section 15 order to close the Kenricia Hotel.

Kenora Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says they encountered a number fire code violations over the weekend during an inspection of the building.

Fire crews were called out Friday afternoon after a number of pipes in the historic building burst including the fire sprinkler system.

One business was flooded out, and the other has been closed afterFire Chief Warren Brinkman decided to cut power to the building.

He says all the water compromised the electrical system and created a fire hazard.

He adds that the fire alarm system for the building had also been shut off at the main breaker.

Under Section 15 Brinkman says he has the authority to close any building that is deemed a fire hazard.

He plans to update City council on the matter this afternoon.

KDSB Budget

The Kenora District Services Board is going back to the drawing board after voting down its 45 million dollar budget by a vote of 6 to 4.

Kenora Councillor and Board Chair Rory McMillan voted against the proposed budget stating Kenora Council had concerns.

Some board members are concerned with the hiring of 5 new staff members and want the provincial assesments to come out before they make any futher moves.

The budget will be back up for a vote in January.

Lake of the Woods Foundation

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Foundation has asked city council for a sizable donation.

The foundation made a special deputatation to council on Friday for a one time grant of 3.5 million dollars.

Andrew Paterson is one of the directors of the foundation and says the money would help a lot of groups in the area.

Currently, the foundation has just over two million dollars in assets.

Council says it will consider the request, but hasn't given time line for a response back to the foundation.

Abitibi Green Peace

AbitibiBowater is under fire for some of its logging practices in northwestern Ontario.

Greenpeace has just released a report on clearcut logging activities in the English River Forest between Ignace and Thunder Bay.

Author of the report, Kim Fry says they have a number of recommendations in the report.

Fry says they are concerned with Abitibi's logging practices, becausethe company has already failed a number of audits, but the province has allowed the company to continue to mismanage the English RiverForest.

Ice Candles Deadline

You can help light up the Lake of the Woods Cemetery this Christmas Eve.

5-thousand ice candles are expected to be lit this year, and volunteers are needed to help set the cemetery a glow.

Parks Supervisor Barb Manson says its their 11th annual festival of lights.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to light ice candles can call the Cemetery office at 467-2067.

The deadline to order ice candles is December 11th.

New Sioux Lookout Manager

The Municipality of Sioux Lookout has selected Neil Carbone for the position of Manager of Community Service.

Carbone will be responsible for determining the facility, program and service needs for the community.

The ultimate goal, according to Town officials, is making Sioux Lookout a prime recreation and tourism destination.

Carbone started his municipal career in Sioux Lookout over 2-years ago.

His initial top priority will be the new Multi-Cultural Community Development Centre on Front Street, which includes the Youth Centre.

Marathon Chemicals

Municipal officials in Marathon are upset with the approval of a plan to transfer 3-million litres of chemicals from the bankrupt Tembec pulp mill.

Mayor Rick Dumas says there is no guarantee the chemicals won't leak into the ground water or Lake Superior.

But under a plan hammered out in Toronto the chemicals will be moved to the mill's outdoor basin from storage tanks.

Swine Flu Update

The number of cases of the swine flu in northwestern Ontario has dropped considerably over the past couple of weeks.

Figures released by the Ontario Ministry of Health show there were just two new cases of the H1N1 virus this past week.

That brings the number of cases in the region to 72 since the start of the fall flu season.

Across there province there has been a noticible drop in the number of H1N1 cases over the past two weeks.

Transit Bus Schedule

The City of Kenora is having a tough time finding a new bus for the municipal transit system that fits its budget.

So far, the City has received just one tender for the bus, but it came in way over budget.

Chief Administrative Officer Bill Presentanz says they had only budgeted about 300 thousand dollars for a new bus, but the only estimate they have now is for 420 thousand dollars.

Presentanz says they are still waiting to see if they get a more competitive bid from New Flyer Industries out of Winnipeg, or they could look at purchasing a smaller bus for the transit system.

New Garbage Truck

Kenora City Council is debating whether to purchase a new garbage truck.

The city currrently has two trucks in use, but Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says both have been plagued by mechanical problems.

He adds the new truck would be a combination garbage truck and recycling pick-up vehicle.

He says ideally they would like to have at least three trucks in their fleet, so if one goes down with mechanical problems, they still have two on the road.

Parks Upgrades

The City of Kenora is looking to spend almost 400 thousand dollars fixing up a couple of popular parks next year.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says it will cost about 30 thousand dollars to repair damage caused by vandals at the Garrow Park change rooms.

Another 350 thousand dollars has been proposed to build new a newbathroom facility at Anicinabe Park.

Perchuck says the new building would replace the two existing bathroom structures.

He adds that the new washroom facility would be built in a central location at the park.