Standing Room Only At All-Candidates Forum

It was a standing room only crowd for the final all-candidates forum in the Kenora Riding prior to the May 2nd federal election.

About 100 people crammed into the Days Inn last night to hear from the five candidates.

Most of the main party candidates stayed close to the message of their parties.

Conservative Greg Rickford touted the intiatives of the Harper Government over the past two and a half years.

Meanwhile, NDP Candidate Tania Cameron suggested its time for a change in Ottawa.

Independant Candidate Kelvin Chicago-Boucher added a touch of humour to the proceedings when asked about what he would do about the inflation rate.

Green Party Candidate Mike Schwindt and Liberal Roger Valley also took part in the all-candidates forum.

American Man charged with importing illegal Baitfish

An Iowa man has been fined for importing live baitfish into Ontario for a second time in less than a year.

This time Thaddeus Strecker was stopped on Lake of the Woods back in February.

Conservation officers found that the man also failed to maintain a clear and unobstructed view of a fishing line and hid several dozen live minows in a container in the snow.

He has been fined a total of 11-hundred dollars.

Tories looking for a breakthrough in NWO in Provincial Election

Tim Hudak appears confident about his party's chances in the upcoming Provincial Election.

The Progressive Conservative leader says getting solid candidates in the region will certainly help in getting Tories elected in Northwestern Ontario.

Hudak has his work cut out for him as the PC's haven't elected a member from northwestern Ontario since 1987, when Leo Bernier
represented the Kenora Riding.

Green Party Candidate Campaigns in Kenora

The Green Party Candidate in the Kenora Riding doesn't think remote communities in the far north will benefit from the construction of a new high voltage electrical line.

Mike Schwindt says even though most remote aboriginal communities in the riding rely on Diesel generators, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to expand the transmission line into those reserves.

Schwindt feels a better solution is developing hydro, wind or solar power projects in remote communities to wean them off of costly diesel generators.

Kenora To Fly Fort Frances Town Flag

The Fort Frances' town flag will soon be flying high over the city of Kenora.

Mayor Roy Avis says its the outcome of a bet he made with Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield during the recent Allan Cup tournament.

Canfield bet Avis that the Thistles would be Fort Frances in the Quarter-finals of the Allan Cup earlier this month.

The Thunderhawks eliminated Kenora from the tournament with a 5-3 victory.

Fort Frances Man Remains in Jail

The man involved in a lengthy stand-off with O.P.P. in Fort Frances last November will be spending a little more time in custody.

Richard Edward Kabatay was sentenced to eight months in jail after being convicted last week on a charge of assault with a weapon.

An initial charge of attempted murder was dropped.

Another man was stabbed during the November 27th incident

Kabatay has been in Fort Frances jail since.

Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls passes Municipal Budget

The average property owner in Sioux Narrows/ Nestor Falls can expect to pay almost 10 percent more in taxes this year than last year.

The town council passed the budget last week and it contained a minor increase of 0.6 percent in the mill rate.

Mayor Bill Thompson says while they have tried to hold the line on spending, the cost for social services and policing continues to go up.

Thompson says he's also concerns in the 8.9 percent increase in the town's overall property assessment, which is making it more difficult for people on a fixed income to make ends meet.