Thursday, March 10, 2011

Work Begins to Develop a Municipal Cultural Plan in Kenora

Anyone who wants to enhance Kenora's cultural landscape is being
invited to provide their two-cents at a special forum this evening.

Jennifer Findlay is with the Economic Development Commission is looking
for some feedback it can use to help develop a Municipal Culture Plan.

Findlay says the City has received funding from the Ministry of Culture to
develop a Municipal Culture Plan.

The forum will take place in the Minis Hall of the Super 8 Motel at 7:00.

Whiteshell lakes designated as protected areas

A lake in Whiteshell Provinical Park in Manitoba that had been considered as a possible site for a Tim Hortons camp for children  will be set aside as a natural protected area.

The province says Meditation Lake, along with Sylvia Lake, in the Whiteshell will be free from development.

The Tim Hortons Foundation Leadership Camp looked at Meditation Lake, but a wilderness group argued that many other areas of the Whiteshell were better suited for such a project.

An area west of Sylvia Lake was eventually chosen and approved for the camp, but the province says land adjacent to the lake will not be developed or made accessible for cottage construction.

Former TA student wins medal at CIS Volleyball Championships

A former member of the Thomas Aquinas senior boys volleyball team now has a Canadian University Silver medal to add to his two OFSAA gold medals.

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

The Bobcats fought their way in to the national championships Sunday, but lost to the host team from Trinity Western.

This is the best ever finish for the Bobcats, who were competing in just their second national championship.

Public School Board looks at Aboriginal Achievement

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says its doing what it can
to close the gap between aboriginal students and the rest of their peers
in local schools.

Trustees were presented a couple of reports this week that looked at how
teachers and administration were planning to improve student achievement.

Director of Education Jack McMaster admits aboriginal students continue to
lag behind, but they are working to build bridges that will hopefully pay dividends
in the long term.

McMaster says they are starting to see some improvement in credit  recovery for aboriginal students, but there's still more work that can be done.

Local Hospitals reducing falls

There's praise for health care facilities in Northwestern Ontario from a top provincial official.

Dr. Ben Chan, CEO of the Ontario Health Quality Council notes that institutions in Kenora, Dryden and Red Lake have reduced patient falls by half in the past year. Chan says that frees up beds elsewhere in the region.

Local health care facilities have been concentrating on the reduction of falls in recent years.

Drug Bust On the By-Pass

The OPP say they have seized over 18 thousand dollars worth of cocaine during a routine traffic stop on the Kenora By-Pass.

Police stopped a vehicle for speeding around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.

The driver did not have a valid license and officers decided to search the vehicle.

About six ounces of cocaine and over 13 hundred dollars in cash were found in the car.

The driver 35 year old Jeffery Coleman of Sault Ste. Marie and  the passenger 30 year old Russell Lidstone of Calgary have been charged with trafficking in a narcotic as well as possession of property obtained by crime.

They made their first court appearance yesterday. 

SIU Clears Dryden Police in fatality last May

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has cleared the Dryden Police of

any wrong in the death of a 25 year old man in the lock-up of the Dryden
Police Station last year.

Dustin Douglas Ruillard had initially been taken to hospital for high levels
of alcohol in his system on May 11th.

Dryden Police were contacted after Ruillard repeatedly tried to leave
the hospital.

Ruillard was eventually taken to the Dryden Police Station to sober up, but began showing signs of mental distress.

He was again taken to hospital, but died a short time after being re-admitted.

After months of investigation, the cause of death still has not been determined, but the SIU says the post-mortem shows there was no sign of misconduct while he was in police custody.

Saints Senior Girls win Silver

For the second year in a row the Thomas Aquinas senior girls
volleyball has won silver at the All-Ontario single "a" championships.

The Saints made it into the gold medal game last night against the Ottawa area team from Embrun, but ended up losing three sets to one.

T.A. took the first set 25-23, but proceeded to lose the next three.

Embrun came into the tournament as the second seed, behind Thomas Aquinas.