Friday, May 14, 2010

No Subsidy for Tournament for Cancer

Organizers of a summer hockey tournament which raises money for the

Canadian Cancer Society won't be getting any financial support from
the City of Kenora.

The second annual Kenora Hockey Kids for Cancer tournament will take place
at the Keewatin Arena at the end of August.

Organizers had requested a break on ice rentals for the weekend, but council
says at123 dollars an hour, the city already subsidizes ice times.

Councillors say even though the event is for a good cause, if they gave them
a break on ice rentals, they'd have to do the same thing for other groups.

Rec. Center Tender to be finalized


A local company has won a bid to install new sewer and water lines and a storm drain system

at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Norquip Construction had the lowest of four bids for the job at just over 600
thousand dollars.

The infrastructure work has to be completed before the parking lot at the Rec. Center
can finally be paved.

Councillor Dave McCann says the tender is about 250 thousand dollars lower than
any other bid on the project.

Chemical Spill on the By-Pass

A chemical spill is expected to keep the Kenora By-Pass closed for several more

hours.

A two vehicle collision involving a couple of tractor trailor units near the
intersection of Highway 17-A and the Minaki Highway took place around
2:00 this morning.

The OPP says both drivers sustained only minor injuries.

Miller Environmental Services has been called in to help clean up the
chemicals spilled in the collision.

Police says the section of the By-Pass between the Redditt Road and the
west entrance could be closed until at least noon today.

Environmental Education being encouraged

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is one of the first boards

in northern Ontario to adopt an Environmental Education Policy.

Trustees unanimously approved the policy at this week's board meeting.

Environmental Education leader, Kathy Boone says they've had a lot of
input.

Boone says the goal of the policy is to increase awareness and knowlege
and incorporate environmental education into the curriculum.

Services Board Budget Finally Passed

It took 6-months, 4-drafts and another 5-hours of debate yesterday, but the Kenora District Services Board has finally agreed on an acceptable 2010 budget.


After being instructed in March to trim the budget by 1-percent, staff came back with a document which included signficiant cuts in child care, ontario works, social housing and land ambulance.

Sten Lif  is the Chief Adminstrative Officer of the Services Board andsays Municipal Leaders agreed to maintain services.

If Board members had approved the March 18th budget, communities would have had to shell out roughly 200-thousand dollars less for social services.

Accident closes By-Pass

The OPP say a section of the Kenora By-Pass could be closed for several more hours

this morning.

A two vehicle collision took place near the intersection of Highway 17-A and the Minaki Highway
around 2:00 this morning.

Police say both drivers sustained minor injuries and an investigation into the cause of
the accident is continuing.

Currently the by-pass is closed at the Redditt Road and the west entrance to Highway 17-A.

The OPP say that section of the by-pass may be closed until at least noon.