City looks to haul own Garbage and recycling

Kenora and Dryden could soon be teaming up in a bid to reduce recycling costs.


The city is planning to buy a transport truck which would haul recyclables from Kenora
a couple of times a week, and two times a week from Dryden.
The Solid Waste Department is eligible for 80 thousand dollars in funding from Waste Diversion
Ontario for the purchase of the truck.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they can reduce their costs by doing doing the
hauling themselves instead of contracting it out.

The City of Dryden still has to come to an agreement with Kenora to share the costs of
hauling the recyclables.

The city estimates it will be able to save about 35 thousand dollars a year by doing its
own hauling.

Signage Options Explored

The City of Kenora is considering an idea to install five permanent, changeable message boards at various access points in the city to promote special events.

At the Property and Planning Committee this week, councillor Wendy Cuthbert says the signs could be posted on Lakeview Driver, the Tourism Office on Highway 17 east, Jack Robinson Park, the new Norman Discovery Center and at the intersection of Valley Drive
                                                       and the Airport Road.

She says the signs would provide an avenue for advertising for non-profit groups.

They have complained in recent months they no longer had space to promote their
events, since the CP rail fence has been made off limits under the new Sign By-Law.

The idea came forward from the Beaches, Parks and Trails Committee and will be
put forward for inclusion in the 2011 municipal budget.

No more flavours Smokes

Local health officials are calling it an important step forward for public health.


All flavoured cigarettes and cigarillos must be pulled from store shelves.

The ban came into effect July 1st..

Daniel Depeuter says he would have liked to see the Federal Government take the ban one step further and ban flavoured chew tobacco.

Store owners caught selling the flavoured tobacco products will be subject to potential enforcement action, including fines.

Free Family Fishing Week Wraps Up

Organizers of Family Fishing Week activities say they expect Free Family Fishing week will become an annual event.

This is the first year free fishing in Ontario waters has been expanded from two days up to seven.

Mike Melnyk is with the group called Catch Fishing and says doesn't think there will be any turning back now.

Melnyk says they also hope to expand their Free Family Ice Fishing weekend in
February, to a full week in 2011.

Teaching Opportunities Decline

A federal agency is suggesting the prospects of finding a teaching job in an elementary school in northwestern Ontario over the next few years will be limited.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada says the people currently in the professin are relatively young with only about one-quarter of all teachers now employed over the age of fifty.

Declining enrolments and school closures are also cited as having on impact on job prospects.

The agency says prospects are better for teachers who willing to relocate to remote or First Nation communities or work casual or on-call.