Contact North sees big increase in usage

Contact North is reporting a 50-per cent increase in the number of people using its services to access college and university courses.

Vice-president of regional service Debby Sefton says the over 23-thousand registrants is a record for the the distance education network.

Sefton says Contact North sites across the region have seen increases in usage this year.

Mitigoog looks towards expansion

The president of the Mitigoog Limited Partnership says he'd like to see the forest management company expand to include other areas of northwestern Ontario.

Eric Fisher says Mitigoog has been charged with the management of the Kenora Forest, but says in order to be successful, they are going to have to expand their operations.

Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle the provincial government would allow and even encourage the expansion of Mitigoog to take on other sustainable forest licences in the region in the future.

Weyerhaeuser sees bright future for ILevel Plant in Kenora

The president of Weyerhaeuser is bullish on the future of the I-Level Timberstrand mill on the Jones Road, despite discouraging news from the U.S. housing market.

Anne Giardini was in Kenora last week and had a chance to visit the timberstrand mill.

She says they aren't panicking because American markets haven't turned around yet.

The timberstrand mill has experienced some downtime and lay-offs in recent months due to poor markets in the U.S.

New Strategic Plan released for the City of Kenora

The next edition of city council will have a brand new strategic plan to help guide them.

The current city council has approved Kenora Vision 2015, which is a stragic plan to guide the city over the next five years.

Chief Administrative Officer, Karen Brown helped draft the strat plan and says a lot has changed in the city over the last five years and the new plan addresses the changing economic landscape

in Kenora.

The corporate strategic plan identifies priorities for the city and sets targets and goals for

adminstration and council alike.

Parson Breaks silence in Mayoralty Race

One of the candidates for the mayor's chair in the City of Kenora has made his

first public comments since the campaign began.

Jim Parson spoke to CJRL news about his decision to stay in the

mayoralty race, despite the death of his wife Patti a month ago.

Parson says its been a difficult time for him personally.

The municipal election will be held one week from today.

Votes will be tallied just after 8:00 on October 25th.