OPP warn of thin ice

With the warmer weather this week, the OPP is warning local residents to careful when heading out on the ice of local lakes and rivers.

Over the past few days, officers have responded to reports of youth

playing on the ice near open water.

Police say ice conditions can change quickly at this time of year,

and kids put not only themselves at risk playing near open water,

but the lives of emergency service personnel as well.

Independant Candidate Hits the Campaign Trail

Kenora Riding Independant candidate Kelvin Chicago-Boucher says he has a list of recommendations  on how grassroots aboriginals can hold their leadership accountable.

That's his main plank in his Federal election campaign.

Chicago-Boucher says more transparency is needed in all levels of Government.

The 46-year-old is from Lac De Milles Lac First Nation outside Upsala, but lives in Minaki.

Taxi rates going up next month

Its going to cost a bit more to catch a cab in Kenora next month.

City council has approved a modest increase in taxi rates effective April 18th.

Most of the rate increases have to do with the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax.

The starting rate will go from three dollars and 83 cents, up to four dollars and 30 cents.

For each one tenth of a kilometer, the rate will actually drop from from 22 cents down to 10 cents.

Council agreed to the rate changes following a deputation earlier this year from the cab companies

in town.

CDC prepares for Merger

The delivery of child and family services in the Dryden and Kenora District's will change on Friday.

'Firefly' will replace the amalgamated agencies of Patricia Centre for Children and Youth and the Lake of the Woods Child Development Center.

Patricia Centre President Jackie Mitchell says its seen as a welcome move.

Mitchell says the merger will allow staff to share ideas and will create more services for more families.

Con College Likes provincial budget

Confederation College President Pat Lang says she's pleased the Provincial Government supports post-secondary education in tough economic times.

Lang is supportive of yesterday's Budget, noting it showcases education as an economic driver for Ontario.

Lang notes she would like the Government to keep investing in rural education.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan is promising funding to add 60-thousand spaces to post secondary institutions by 2015-16.

NDP Leader says provincial budget is bad news for the North

The NDP is continuing its critique of the provincial budget.

In an interview with CJRL news, party Leader Andrea Horwath says even though the McGuinty Government has promised to increase spending for hospitals, they are going to have a tough time making ends meet.

Horwath says the McGuinty Liberals are also cutting the budget for the

MNR by 7.3 percent, which will have a big impact on northern Ontario.

Boutwell to attend National Junior Selection Camp

A former member of the Thomas Aquinas Senior Boys Volleyball team will be attending the National junior men's selection camp.

Dan Boutwell is the starting middle hitter for the Brandon Bobcats men's volleyball

team and will be heading to Gatineau, Quebec for the camp.

Boutwell earned a silver medal at the CIS national championships last month with

the Bobcats.

The National junior men's volleyball team will be competing in tournaments this

summer in Argentina, Brazil and Slovenia.

UFO Sighting?

(Photo courtesy of Sandra Allan)

Some residents of northwestern Ontario are talking about a strange object that has appeared over the night sky over the past couple of days.

Sandra Allan of Fort Frances, who took photographs, says it hovered for nearly half an hour last night before it disappear.

Some residents on the Shoal Lake and Rat Portage First Nations have reported seeing the UFO as well over the past few nights. 

Hampton Pans Provincial Budget

The provincial budget isn't getting good reviews from the opposition at  Queen's Park.

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton claims yesterday's fiscal plan is a pre-election budget for Southern Ontario.

He believes the budget does more harm than good for northern Ontario.

Hampton says the budget forges ahead with the controversial forest tenure reform plan.

Provincial Budget Gets Mixed Reviews

The Minister of Northern Development is standing by his Government's Provincial budget.

Michael Gravelle admits there wasn't specific money set aside for the Region but notes there were projects that were mentioned.

Randy Hillier, the Progressive Conservative Critic for Northern Affairs says the budget is 300-pages of nothing for Northern Ontario.

Hillier points out the only announcement was one that was already made; 10-million dollars extra for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

Two mergers of child care agencies in NWO near completion

Not one, but two mergers will be finalized this week involving local child care agencies.

The Lake of the Woods Child Development Center will be joining forces with the Patricia Center for Children and Youth out of Dryden.

The new agency will be called "Firefly".

The other merger will see the Kenora-Patricia Child and Family Services amalgamate with Rainy River Family Services.

Both amalgamations will take effect on April 1st.

Kenora-Patricia Child and Family Services is holding a meeting Thursday afternoon to update staff and the media about the merger.

Council supports proposed changes to building code

Kenora City Council is supporting proposed changes to the Ontario building code that

would allow the use of wood in the construction multi-story buildings.

The province is looking at allowing the use of wood in constructing buildings up to six stories high.

Council has passed a resolution saying such changes to the building code would support the forest industry in northern Ontario and increase opportunities to use wood in building projects.

Mayor Dave Canfield says some countries in Europe allow wood in buildings as high as 10 stories.

The resolutions urges the government to include the changes in the 2012 Ontario Building Code.

Daffodil Days here again

The Canadian Cancer Society 'Daffodil Sales' campaign kicks-off Thursday across Northwestern Ontario.

Fundraising Coordinator Margaret Saville says they are offering a new twist this year.

The fundraisinig campaign helps off-set transportation costs for patients requiring treatment.

Last year, the Society assisted 336-cancer patients from this area.

Fire Department to get another truck

Kenora's Fire Department is going to be getting a new piece of equipment.

An aerial ladder truck is being purchased second-hand from the Oakville Fire Department.

The total cost of the purchase is expected to be about 80 thousand dollars.

Fire chief Warren Brinkman says that includes the cost of having the truck shipped to Kenora, and a retrofit of the truck, including the installation  of new tires on the vehicle.

OPP Investigate Pickle Lake Fatality

A Thunder Bay man has succumbed to injuries sustained in a single vehicle crash on Umex Mine Road in Pickle Lake.

OPP say the incident occurred on March 16th and involved a  tractor trailer unit, carrying a bulldozer and large metal conatainer.

Police say the tractor trailer unit slid into an intersection and jacknifed while striking a snow bank.

The driver was transported to Thunder Bay Hospital with serious injuries.

Police say the man, 58-year-old Thomas Dufault, was released from Hospital on March 24th, but later died.

Five names expected on Federal Election Ballot

The election ballot could see a couple of more names added on in the Kenora riding in the next few weeks.

At least two more candidates are expected to file nomination papers before the May 2nd federal election.

The Green Party says it has nominated a new candidate.

Mike Schwindt, a teacher from the Poplar Hill First Nation will be carrying that party's colors during the 38 days campaign.

An independant candidate, Kelvin Chicago-Boucher is also talking about entering the election campaign.

St. Louis Tops local schools in Fraser Report

The Fraser Institute is out with its annual report card on Elementary Schools in Ontario, and this year a small school in Keewatin tops the list in this region.

St. Louis had the top mark of 7.6 out of ten.

Michael Thomas is one of the authors of the report and says they compile all the data from the Education, Quality and Accountability tests to come up with results.

Ste. Margarite Bourgeoys was just behind St. Louis at 7.2.

Valleyview had a rating of 5.8, while Pope John Paul was at 5.3 and  King George at 4.6 out of ten.

Hampton Critical of Northwest Jury Crisis

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton is putting the blame on the McGuinty government for the jury crisis in the northwest.

The NDP critic says there is no reason a judge had to postpone a jury trial last week because there was not enough Aboriginals on the jury roll

Hampton says the government has been aware of the situation since 2008 and simply has not taken the issue seriously.

OPP in Rainy River Crack down on Drugs

The crackdown on drug trafficking continues in Northwestern Ontario.

Police have released some details surrounding 3-separate investigations in Rainy River and Emo on March 16th.

During the search of two homes, Police seized 34-marihuana plants and 860-grams of dried marihuana.

The street value of the drugs is estimated at nearly 52-thousand dollars and no charges have been laid yet.

In the third case, Police did charge a 57-year-old man after seizing a substancial quantity of money as well as roughly 45-hundred dollars worth of prescription pills.

Nielson wins Dominion Club Playdowns in Kenora

A Fort Frances area team has won the regional Dominion Curling Club Championships in

Kenora.

The Maury Nielson rink from the Stratton Curling Club finished the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record.

Nielson beat the Steve Lundin foursome in the final game of the round robin 8-3 to secure the right to attend the provincial playdowns next week in Sault Ste. Marie.

Lundin and Ted Shesky from Kenora finished in a three way tie for second with a

2-2 record.

DSAB to Give Back Money to Local Municipalities

Local municipalities can expect to get a rebate back from the Kenora District Services Board later this year.

The final audited financial statements for 2010 are just being completed chair of the services board, Phil Vinet says it looks as if they will be able to hand back about 550 thousand dollars.

Vinet says the rebates are the result of the reconciliation of the programs they provide, such as Ontario Works.

Kenora's share of the rebate is about 115 thousand dollars.

City`s Water Treatment Plant gets perfect score

The city's water treatment plant is getting top marks.

Council was presented the 2010 Water System report last week.

Councillor Rod McKay the report shows the water department is not only doing its job properly, but doing it very well.

The city is planning to upgrade the staff at the water treatment plant this year with the addition of an electrician.

Drug Bust on Airport Road

The OPP says it has seized over 40 thousand dollars worth of marjijuana during a drug bust on the Airport Road.

Late Last week the Regional Guns and Gang Unit, along with the Kenora Drug Enforcement Unit and the Kenora Street Crimes Team executed a search warrant.

Officers discovered over four and a half pounds of marijuana, along with five firearms and some drug production paraphenalia.

A 29 year old Thunder Bay man faces a number of charges, including production of drugs, possession of marijuana and unauthorized possession of a fire arm.

Kevin Zdep is due to appear in Kenora Court on May 24th to answer the charges.

Bearskin adds new plane to fleet

Starting in May, Bearskin Airlines are going to be putting a new aircraft to use.

A brand new 34 seat plane is expected to take flight and will fly from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg.

Bearskin Airlines vice president Cliff Friesen says the plane is larger and can carry more passengers.

The plane will also make stops in Sioux Lookout and Red Lake.

Army Worm infestation looming

Army Worms will invade the region's tree population in two summers from  now.

The last outbreak of the leaf eating caterpillars ended in 2004.

Ministry of Natural Resources Expert Taylor Scarr says in peak years army worms have caused slippery highways.

The furry insects have a 7 to 10 year outbreak cycle.

Community Improvement Plan Approved for Abitibi Lands

The City of Kenora is going to move ahead with a Community Improvement Plan for the Abitibi properties on 9th Street North.

Council passed a resolution last week approving a change to the official plan.

Councillor Rory McMillan says the intent of the Improvement Plan is to encourage development on the property.

There is still a 21 day appeal period for the Community Improvement Plan.

McMillan says the change to the official plan will go into effect once that appeal period is over.

Kenora Candidates Election Ready

The slate in the Kenora Riding for the May 2nd federal election has a familiar look.

All three main political parties will have the same candidates as the last election three years ago.

Tania Cameron is the NDP candidate and says she's actively been campaigning

for a couple of years now.

Liberal Candidate Roger Valley is also not stranger to the campaign trail and says he plans to get to as many communties as possible over the next 38 days.

Incumbant Conservative candidate, Greg Rickford has also been busy, opening his campaign office in Kenora just hours after the election writ was dropped in Ottawa.

There is also expected to be at least one independant candidate in the Kenora Riding this election.

Bronco Girls win OFSAA Consolation title

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team didn't win a medal at the All-Ontario

A/AA championships but they did get the consolation prize.

The Broncos won the consolation final 2-0 Friday afternoon in Stratford.

Beaver Brae was also presented with the sportmanship banner from the

tournament.

Meanwhile, the Wayne Fiecek foursome is home from the National Wheelchair curling Championships without a medal.

Fiecek's Northern Ontario squad finished the round-robin with a 4-5 record

and out of the play-offs at the Edmonton bonspiel.

Kenora Rockets dominate Fort Badminton Tournament

The Kenora Rockets had a big weekend at a junior badminton tournament in Fort Frances over the weekend.

Andrew Neil won the boys under 13 singles title and teamed up with Johnny Houlden for the double crown.

Tyler Neil won three gold medals, winning the Under 16 boysdivision, then teaming up with Logan Ginn in the boys double event, and Cayleigh Payne for the Mix doubles title.

Meanwhile, the Lake of the Woods Flyers struck gold at an Atom Girls hockey tournament in Winnipeg.

The Flyers beat Dryden 6-1 in the A-two final of the Stars Cup yesterday.

The Blue Sharks from Kenora won the bronze medal with a 2-1 win over

the Thompson, Tigers.

Kenora Hydro discovers cause of power outage

Kenora Hydro thinks its isolated the problem that caused a city-wide power outage.

Electricity to all Hydro customers in Kenora and Keewatin was out for about 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro, Dave Sinclair says they had a hardware malfunction which caused the black out.

He says the computer in question has since been taken off line, and they will be working with their vendor to find why the computer caused the outage.

OPP arrest suspect in Assault

A 51 year old man has been arrested following an assault in the Railway Street area of town.

The OPP say they were called out to a disturbance around 10:00  Wednesday morning.

Police say two men were involved in an altercation and one man had to be taken to hospital for treatment and later released.

John White of Kenora was arrested at the scene and has been charged with  Assault with a Weapon, Uttering threats and Mischief under five thousand dollars.

He appeared in Kenora Court yesterday on the charges.

Fire Fighters ask for old Fire Bell

Kenora's professional fire fighters are asking city council to review its decision not to move the old fire bell and call box from the

Fire Hall on Second Street South up to the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

President of the union, Fred Ralko says contrary to recent suggestions, fire fighters have done what they can to maintain the old bell.

Ralko has requested council revisit the city by-law, which designated the fire bell and call box as an integral part of the heritage building.

City gets Additional Funding from the Province

A bit of a bonus for the City of Kenora.

The provinical government is promising an extra 697 thousand dollars from

the Ontario Municipal Partnership fund.

Karen Brown is the city's chief adminstrative officer and says the extra money

actually has to do with Kenora's unusually high policing costs back in 2009.

Brown says the city borrowed money from reserves to help pay for the disbandment of the Kenora Police Service, and the money announced yesterday from the province will go back into reserves.

Big Trout Lake Girls dies of Hypothermia

The OPP say hypothermia is the likely cause of death of an 11 year old girl last weekend in Sioux Lookout.

The girl has been identified as Chloe Matthews from the Big Trout Lake First Nation.

She had been reported missing last Friday and her body was found the next day on the grounds of Sacred Heart School in Sioux Lookout.

The OPP's Criminal Investigations Branch says it is continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Concern Raised About Agent Orange Panel

Agent Orange is under the spot light again.

Timmins MPP Gillies Bisson questioned the McGuinty government about the appointment of Dr. Leonard Ritter.

Ritter is going to investigate the use of Agent Orange in Northern Ontario.

Bisson expressed his concerns in the Legislature.

The panel will look into the use of the toxic herbicide between the 60s and 80s.

Round Robin Wraps up at National Wheelchair Curling Championships

Wayne Fiecek continues to alternate wins and losses at the National Wheelchair curling championships in Edmonton.

Yesterday, Team Northern Ontario started the day with a 5-2 victory over the host team from the Jasper Center Curling Club.

The Fiecek rink then followed that up with a narrow 8-7 loss to the unbeaten Alberta squad.

With two draws left, Team Northern Ontario has a 3-4 record and needs to win both games today to have any chance at the play-offs.

OFSAA Hockey update

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team has moved into the consolation semi-finals at the All-Ontario A/AA championships in Stratford.

The Broncos blanked Lester B. Pearson High School from Hamilton yesterday 3-0 in the consolation quarter-finals.

Jody Melillo, Jess Ricklefs, and Karly Kantola each scored for Beaver Brae.

The Bronco's next game is at 9:15 this morning.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team suffered a costly loss yesterday at the OFSAA A/AA championships in Timmins.

The Saints were edged 8-7 by Glendale Secondary School From Tillsonburg, dropping T.A.'s record to 1-2 with just one round robin game left to play.

Thomas Aquinas will take on Algoma District Secondary School at 9:00 this morning.

Former mayor faces impaired driving charges

The former mayor of Kenora will appear in court in May on impaired driving charges.

The OPP say they pulled over a vehicle in downtown early this morning because it was being operated in what they called a suspicious manner.

The driver of the vehicle was given a road-side breath test and failed.

74 year old Leonard Compton was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle with having over 80 milligrams of alcohol in his blood.

He's due to appear in court on May 2nd.

OPP says girl died of Hypothermia in Sioux Lookout

The OPP say hypothermia is the likely cause of death of an 11 year old girl last weekend in Sioux Lookout.

The girl has been identified as Chloe Matthews from the Big Trout Lake First Nation.

A post-mortem exam had been conducted earlier this week in Toronto.

Matthews had been reported missing last Friday and her body was found the next day on the grounds of Sacred Heart School in Sioux Lookout.

The OPP's Criminal Investigations Branch says it is continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Small Communities interested in using Kenora's Landfill

The Kenora Municipal Landfill Site out at Silver Lake seems to be attracting a lot of interest.

A number of communities in the region have contacted the city about using the landfill to deal with their own garbage issues.

Mike Mostow is the city's solid waste manager and says the interest is a mixed blessing.

Mostow admits the life span of the landfill is going to be a lot longer than anticipated because local residents are recycling more than they used to.

The life span of the landfill was originally estimated at 35 years.

Museum submits budget request to council

Lake of the Woods Museum says it won't be seeking any increase in its budget from the city this year.

Chair of the museum board, Jan Lindstrom made a budget presentation

to council this week.

She says they are willing to hold their request from the city to 216 thousand dollars in 2011, even though their overall budget will be going up by about 24 thousand dollars this year.

The museum has three full-time employees says there will only increase in wages is if council approves a move on the salary grid for non-union employees this year.

Kenora Hydro Investigating power outage

The cause of a city-wide power outage is still being looked into by Kenora Hydro.

Shortly after 2:00, all residential and commercial customers in Kenora and Keewatin saw their electricity cut off.

Hydro service was finally restored around 3:00.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro Dave Sinclair says there are a couple of possible causes for the massive outage, including software problems.

Kenora gets extra funding from the Province

Some good news for a couple of cash-strapped municipalities in northwestern Ontario.

Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle announced extra money, which is over and above what they normally get under the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund

Kenora will get nearly 697-thousand dollars in additional funding, while Sioux Lookout has been promised 108 thousand dollars.

Local Candidates brace for Election Call

Members of Parliament are bracing for a possible election call this weekend.

A non-confidence vote is scheduled in the House of Commons tomorrow afternoon.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says he isn't impressed with the contempt of parliament

motion that is expected to topple the Harper government.

Meanwhile, the NDP candidate in the Kenora Riding says she understands why her party isn't supporting the Conservative budget, because it doesn't help out the people really in need.

All three parties in the Kenora riding say they are ready to hit the campaign trail, should

the election call be made this weekend.

SIU clears officers in Sioux Lookout fatality

The Special Investigations Unit says the death of a 63-year-old Summer Beaver Reserve man was unrelated to his arrest earlier this month.

Provincial police arrested Albert Moonias on the morning of March 15 and put him in a cell at the Sioux Lookout detachment.

The SIU says Moonias was later found to be in medical distress and was transported to Sioux Lookout Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A post mortem determined that Moonias had died as a result of a heart attack.

The police watchdog agency says there was no evidence of trauma to suggest that he was involved in a fight or restrained.

Director Ian Scott says the SIU has concluded Moonias died as a result of a condition unrelated to any actions by the police and has closed the file on the death.

Fiecek Splits Games on Day three of National Wheelchair Championships

The Wayne Fiecek Foursome has a 2-3 record through five draws at the National Wheelchair Curling Championships in Edmonton.

Yesterday, team Northern Ontario split its games.

In the afternoon draw, Fiecek downed Ontario 8-7, but then dropped an 8-4 decision to Quebec in the late draw last night.

The Fiecek Rink is back on the ice this afternoon against the host team from the Jasper Center Curling Club.

Broncos and Saints looking for first wins at OFSAA

 

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team and the Thomas Aquinas Boys will be looking for their first wins today at the All-Ontario A/AA championships.

The Bronco girls managed just one point in two games yesterday in Stratford.

In their afternoon game, Beaver Brae managed a 2-2 tie with St. Christopher Secondary School from Sarnia.

The Broncos wrap up the round robin at 11:15 this morning against St. Charles from Sudbury, which is also looking for its first win in the OFSAA tournament.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas Saints play their second game at the OFSAA championships in Timmins this morning at 7:00.

The Saints take on Jean Vanier High School from Toronto.

Yesterday, T.A. dropped a 6-2 decision to Timmins in its first game.