Friday, February 18, 2011

Peaceful Ending to Pikangikum Stand-Off

The OPP says a stand-off on the Pikangikum First Nation has ended
peacefully.

Police were called out shortly after 1:00 Thursday morning after a shot was
fired inside a home on the community during a domestic dispute.

No-one was injured, but the OPP's Emergency Response Unit and a Crisis
negotiator were dispatched to the scene.

A perimeter was set up around the house and around 10:00 yesterday
a male suspect gave himself up to police.

The OPP say charges are still pending in the incident.

Traffic Moving On By-Pass After Being Closed all Night

Travel could be slow going this morning in the Kenora area.


Freezing rain last night created very slippery conditions on local roads,
and now blowing snow has resulted in very poor visibility.

The good news is that Highway 17-A has finally been re-opened to two-way
traffic.

The Kenora By-Pass was opened by the OPP around 5:00 this morning.

Highway 17-A had been closed around 10:00 last night, forcing drivers to
park their rigs along the side of the highway all night long.

School Buses Cancelled today

The Keewatin Patricia District School Board has cancelled all its

buses this morning due to the freezing rain and blowing snow.

The cancellation also affects the Kenora Catholic District School Board.

Roads are still very slippery in some sections, and the high winds have
resulted in very poor visibility on local highways.

Schools buses have also been cancelled in Red Lake, Ear Falls, Dryden,
Sioux Lookout, Ignace and Upsala.

The weather conditions have also forced the cancellation of the
NorWOSSA double "a" boys basketball and girls volleyball finals
up at Beaver Brae today.

McGuinty Responds to Agent Orange Report

Premier Dalton McGuinty is trying to resassure retired government forestry workers.

It comes after a report that says they may have been exposed to the cancer causing chemical Agent Orange during their work years.

McGuinty says the government is interested in getting information on the situation.

Speaking in Thunder Bay Premier McGuinty says he was only recently made aware of the issue.

Council refuses to endorse Northern Harbor Expansion

Kenora city council says its not willing to publically support a proposal to

expand Northern Harbor.

Because the Marina is not within city limits, council says it will defer any
decision about the expansion to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Council made the decision even though it admits the area could benefit
from increased docking facilities.

Northern Harbor is wants to add another 400 docking slips over the next
25 to 30 years and develop an R.V. Park on its property on Lake of the Woods.

New Lease for Rec. Center Concession

The City of Kenora has decided that it no longer wants to operate the

concession stand at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Council is expected to approve a lease with Kim Pries for the operation
of Food and Beverage Service at the Thistle Rink.

The lease is for 525 dollars a month.

The city had tried to lease out the concession stand last year, but felt the
tenders were too low.

At the time the Community Services Committee felt it could make more money
by operating the concession on its own.

The new lease will take effect as of March 1st and run for two years.

Saints lose out in the NorWOSSA Semis

The finals are all set for the NorWOSSA Single "a" boys basketball
and girls volleyball at Thomas Aquinas.

Yesterday, the Saints Senior Boys Basketball bowed out in the
semis, dropping a 57-36 decision to Sioux Lookout.

The Warriors take on Red Lake in the gold medal game at 9:00.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas junior girls volleyball team pushed
Sioux Lookout to a fifth set, but still lost 15-12 in the fifth and deciding
game.

In other match-ups today, the Thomas Aquinas junior boys basketball
team will face Red Lake in the final at 11:00 and the T.A. senior girls volleyball
squad will take on Rainy River in the other final at 1:00.

Thistles Drop First Game of Play-offs

The Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles are on the brink of elimination in
the Manitoba Midget Hockey League.

The Thistles were shutout 6-0 last night by the Eastman Selects in
Beausejour last night in game one of their best-of-three preliminary
round series.

The Kenora Midgets will try to stave off elimination Saturday night
at the Thistle Rink, when they host game two of the series.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's boys hockey team lost their final regular season
game.

The Broncos had a make up game last night in Dryden and droped a 6-4 decision to the Eagles.

The same two teams will meet up in the first round of the NorWOSSA play-offs next week.