Alarmed for Life

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department will be taking it to the streets for Fire Prevention Week.

Fire fighters will be taking their Alarmed for Life Campaign into the Rabbit Lake Trailor Park this evening.

They will be making sure local residents have working smoke alarms.

Crews will be going door to door between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30 this evening.

Fire chief Warren Brinkman says their goal is to ensure every home in Kenora has a working smoke alarm on every level.

A sign of recovery in NWO forest industry

It's a big day in Terrace Bay.

The community's main employer is back in business.

Terrace Bay Pulp is making pulp again putting 300 people back to work.

It came after it's parent company, Buchanan Forest Products of Thunder Bay, managed to bring it out of creditor protection.

The provincial government kicked in a 25 million dollar loan to help refinance the start up

Another quiet Forest Fire Season in NWO

It was another quiet forest fire season in Northwestern Ontario.

With one month remaining, the Ministry of Natural Resources has responded to 351-fires, with just over 95-hundred hectares of land burned.

Information Officer Debbie McLean says there hasn't been a lot of hot spots.

The average over the past 5-years is 626-forest fires, with over 45-thousand hectares burned.

Children's and Youth Services Minister promises spring summit

Ontario's Children's and Youth Services Minister is commiting to working with native child welfare agencies in improving services.

Laurel Broten spoke recently at a provincial conference in Fort Frances.

Broten says with the hiring of John Beaucage as a advisor, they'll be talking further about making the system better.

Broten says it's an opportunity to work together to ensure that children and their families are well cared for.

NOMA Conference wraps up

How do we make Northern issues matter to the rest of the province?

That was the topic of a panel discussion at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association conference.

Past President of the Ontario Associated Community Futures Development Corporation Bill Spinney says municipal and business leaders have to get together and develop a common message for the Ontario government. 

The two day fall conference wrapped up over the weekend in Thunder Bay. 

Healthy Smiles Program returns

The provincial government has announced funding for a new dental program for children in the Kenora and Rainy River Districts.

Healthy Smiles Ontario will provide a no-cost dental program for kids under the age of 17, who do not currently have access to any dental coverage.

Dr. Jim Arthurs is the medical officer of health of the Northwestern Health Unit and says they also plan to be bring the program into communities that do not currently have dentists.

The program is intended for low income households across the region, that is families with a net income of 20 thousand dollars a year or less.

Abitibi getting ready to sell Kenora Mill Property

Insolvent newsprint giant AbitibiBowater is seeking court approval to sell 160 hectares of land that once housed a paper mill in Kenora, Ont., for $6 million.

A numbered company that is an affiliate of Imperial Trading Corporation verbally agreed three years ago to purchase the land once the mill was demolished and environmental remediation was completed.

Demolition of the mill was completed in September 2009, although a recycled paper plant still remains on the site. A phase one environmental study was completed two months later.

Montreal-based AbitibiBowater announced permanent closure of the mill on Dec. 14, 2005.

The sale is part of AbitibiBowater's efforts to sell about $1 billion of non-core assets before it exits court protection from creditors as a lower-cost producer.