Monday, November 8, 2010

Local hockey teams struggle on the road

A tough weekend for the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team.

The Saints were in Red Lake for a pair of exhibition game, but lost both.

On Friday night, T.A. arrived late at the Cochenor Arena and their game never really got on track, sustaining a 12-4 loss.

Saturday, the Saints played a little better but still were doubled up 8-4.

Jared Snyder and Colt Manson led the offense with three points each in the
weekend series.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles didn't fare much better.

They were on the road for a pair of games and suffered two one goal losses.

Saturday, the Thistles were edged 3-2 by the Central Plains Capitals.

On Friday, a similar result, as the Kenora Midgets were beaten 4-3 by the Pembina

Valley Hawks in a shootout.

Fire on the Redditt Road

Fire has caused extensive damage to a building on the Redditt Road.

The blaze broke out just before 7:00 last night in a workshop/studio about a
kilometer north of the Kenora By-Pass intersection.

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services department was called out and a
number of pumper trucks were dispatched to shuttle water from a hydrant
about two kilometers away on Veteran's Drive.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and no one was injured.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says at this time is looks as though the fire may
have been caused by an electrical malfunction in the workshop area.

Warm Weather Records Set

The unseasonably warm weather is expected to continue for at least three more days.

Yesterday, Kenora hit a record high for November 7th, topping out at 13.5 degrees, which was just a shade warmer than the previous record of 13.3 in 1969.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says there is the possibility of more records this week.

Laidlaw says both Ear Falls and Atikokan also set temperature records yesterday.

Atikokan was the hot spot in the region at 14 degrees.

Crime Prevention Week

The Kenora OPP have a busy schedule for Crime Prevention Week.

There will be a community presentation tomorrow night.

Constable Dave Cain Says that it is going to be called "Women Traveling Alone."

Cain also says that there will be a Community Awareness open house on Wednesday at the Lakewood School Cafeteria, as well as a variety of school programs all week long.

Medical School Strike nearing an end

Administrative, clerical and technical staff at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine have ratified a tentative contract agreement.


Their union says 78 per cent of members of OPSEU Local 677 who voted approved the deal.

The tentative contract now goes to the medical school's board of directors tomorrow.

If approved by the board it will bring to an end a strike that began August 16 at the school's campuses at Laurentian University in Sudbury and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Details of the agreement will be released pending approval by the medical school's board.

Rosehart comments on Northern Growth Plan

Bob Rosehart says he's pleased to see the provincial government taking action on

some of his recommendations aimed at improving the economy of the region.

The former Lakehead University president was hired by the McGuinty government to advise what could be done for the Northwestern Ontario economy.

Rosehart says he's pleased with the progress with his recommendations

Rosehart says he'd still like to see action on getting improvements made to elementary education in the far north.

Hospital looking for a new facilities

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is trying to keep alive its dream of creating a new health care campus in Kenora.

The Hospital Board says it has applied for funding from the Ministry of Health for a Pre-Capital Health Service Improvement Proposal.

Board Chair, Debbie Baldwin says they would like to hire a consultant to get the ball rolling.

She adds that they are in this for the long haul and the project isn't going to happen overnight.