Lake levels stable despite rain

Despite all the rain this weekend, water levels on Lake of the Woods aren't expected

to rise very much in the next few days.

Rick Cousins is a spokesperson for the Lake of the Woods Control Board and say
the south end of the drainage basis is still quite dry.

Cousins says they expect the lake to rise three to five centimeters over the next
seven days.

Outflow from the Norman Dam will remain unchanged.

Couchiching Toll Booth removed

Members of the Couchiching First Nation have brought down a toll booth on Highway 11 near Fort Frances.

Band members removed the booth Monday night at about 9 p.m.

They opened the toll booth on May 21, charging $1 per vehicle to raise awareness about a highway land claim.

The band also called for funds to relocate six families living on what the band claims is contaminated soil from a former sawmill.

A band spokesperson says the reason for the removal of the toll booth will be explained in a statement later today.

Provincial police earlier said traffic flow was orderly through the toll with a minimal wait.

Big Fine for Building on Lake of the Woods

A Winnipeg man has been fined a total of nine thousand dollars for illegally building in the
Clearwater Bay area.

Ian Rentz was fined a thousand dollars for constructing a building without a work permit.

He was also fined four thousand dollars for continuing construction after receiving a stop work order from the Ministry of Natural Resources and another four grand for failing to comply with the terms and conditions of a work permit.

The court heard that in April of last year a Ministry of Natural Resources technician inspected Rentz’s cottage property on an island in Echo Bay on Lake of the Woods in Kenora.

Rentz was doing some construction work without a permit.

He was ordered to stop work until he obtained a work permit.

A month later a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer saw Rentz continuing to work on the structure despite the stop work order.

A few months later, Rentz received his work permit but failed to comply with its terms and conditions.

The area where Rentz was constructing the cottage is under a Restricted Area Order.

Fire Hazard Dropping

Rainfall over the weekend in much of Northwestern Ontario has helped ease the forest fire hazard.


Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Debbie McLean says the current hazard is listed as low to moderate.

McLean adds the forest fire hazard still remains high in the Quetico Park area where three fires are still burning.

With the fire hazard on the decline, MNR Fire Fighters are being sent to northeastern Ontario to deal with
wild fires there. 

Cancer Rates in the Northwest still high

Residents of Northwestern Ontario still live a lifestyle that poses a cancer risk.

The latest report card from Cancer Care Ontario indicates we smoke more than the provincial average and are more overweight as well.

Michael Power of the Regional Cancer Centre says even cutting down on smoking would help reduce rates considerably


The report card also shows the local Centre is doing a good job in cancer radiation treatment.