Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Helen Lake Man Identified, and charges laid in incident.

A Winnipeg man has been charged in the fatal hit and run near Nipigon.

The incident occured on or around 6:30 am on October 31st. The OPP were called out to a report that there was a man lying in the middle of Highway 11,17.

The Highway was closed for nearly nine hours while police conducted an investigation.

The 21 year old male has been identified as Miles Fawcett, of Lake Helen, Ontario. Fawcett was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Investigation has resulted in 44 year old Peter Angelkowski from Winnipeg being charged with Failure to Stop at the scene of an accident. He will appear in Kenora Court on November 3rd.

Tentative deal for NOSM employees

A tentative deal has been reached between the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and OPSEU.

The agreement was reached early this morning following nearly 24-hours of Provincially-mediated talks in Thunder Bay.

The deal, which is being recommended by the Union bargaining team, still must be ratified by both parties.

Some 150-support workers have been on strike since mid-August.

NOMA seeking a new president

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is searching for a new President.

The position will become vacant in December, when Anne Krassilowsky officially leaves office.

The outgoing Dryden Mayor has been President of NOMA since 2007.

Executive Director Charla Robinson says it will be up to the organization's membership to fill the vacancy.

Robinson says they will look within for an interim President until their Annual General Meeting in April.

Thunder Bay Councilor Iain Angus is a Vice-President on NOMA's Board of Directors.

African Children's Choir tours NWO

The sounds of Africa resonated through the Knox United Church last week.

Members of the African Children's Choir performed as part of a cross-Canada tour.

Chimera Victor, a team leader, says they're also raising awareness of Africa's orphaned and abandoned children.

It's the sixth year the choir has visited Kenora as part of a tour of northwestern Ontario.

OPP investigate hit and run on Nipigon River Bridge

Police aren't releasing any new information about the death on the Nipigon River Bridge Sunday.

A 21 year old Lake Helen man was pronounced dead there after what police believe to be a hit and run.

OPP Sergeant Ken Mantey won't say if there are any witnesses.

A post mortem has taken place at the Regional Health Sciences Center in Thunder Bay, but the
cause of death has not been released. 

Human Remains Identified

Dryden and Ignace OPP have wrapped up their investigation into human remains found on Highway 17, about 25-kilometres east of Ignace.

The remains were found August 17th by a group of blueberry pickers.

A post-mortem was conducted in Toronto and the individual was identified through the use of medical records.

The remains are that of 55-year-old Steven Raycroft.

Raycroft was a transient who frequently travelled across Canada.

Foul play is not suspected in the case.

Near record temperatures for October

Its been a remarkably warm fall so far in the Kenora area.

The month of October was one of the warmest on record.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says temperatures last
month were well above normal.

Laidlaw adds the precipitation was just below normal, with
48.5 millimeters of rain and snow last month.

The normal is 53 millimeters.

Infrastructure projects face deadline

With winter getting ready to set in, there has been some concern about the status of some of the infrastructure projects funded by the federal and provincial government's.

A recent report by the federal auditor questioned whether all the projects would be complete
by the March 31st deadline imposed by the Harper government.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says so far, the projects in his riding seem to be on schedule for
completion.

A couple of projects in the Kenora area are still underway, including the Discovery Center in
Norman and the new water treatment facility in Redditt.

Both are scheduled to be complete sometime during the winter months.