Michael Richards Charity Golf Tournament Tees Off

The second annual Mike Richards Charity Golf tournament is taking place this afternoon at the Kenora Golf and Country Club.

Last year the tournament made 11 thousand dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

Richards expects the tournament to do just as well this year.

Some of the NHL stars taking part this year include Ian White of the San Jose Sharks, Jeff Carter of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Aaron Asham of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

MOE Pressures AbitibiBowater to Close Margach landfill

Pressure is being put on AbitibiBowater to de-commission an old landfill site in Kenora.

The Margach Waste Disposal Site hasn't been in use ever since the company closed the local newsprint mill back in 2005.

Ministry of the Environment spokesperson, Lisa Brygidr says they've gone to the courts to force Abitibi to de-commission the landfill.

The MOE is worried that phosphorous from the old landfill site could eventually leach into Laurenson's Lake, which drains into Lake of the Woods.

Lake Smart hits Lake of the Woods

A new program has been launched to help preserve the shoreline of  Lake of the Woods.

The Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association has hired a couple of ambassadors to conduct Lake Smart.

Barry Baltesson is president of the Property Owners Association and says its strictly a voluntary program.

Baltesson says they launched the Lake Smart program on July 1st and will continue to meet with local cottagers on the lake all summer long.

Earthroots applauds Audit of Whisky Jack Forest

An audit of the Whiskey Jack Forest is painting a disturbing picture of a forest in decline.

Environmental group Earthroots says the report backs up Grassy Narrows' First Nation's claims of mismanagement.

Spokesperson David Sone says the audit team found significant issues with the management of the forest.

MNR Fire Crews Continue to be busy

The Ministry of Natural Resources has 86 aircraft and almost 500 fire rangers on the ground battling wild fires in northwestern Ontario.

There were six new fires reported yesterday including one in the Kenora District, bringing the total to 81 in the region.

The MNR says 149 people were evacuated from the Community of Cat Lake yesterday due to smoke blowing into remote first nation.

The elderly, the young and people with health issues were flown to Kapuskasing.

Cat Lake is one of five areas the are currently in a state of emergency due to a lack of electricity.

A fire burning out of control about 50 kilometers northeast of Ear Falls has knocked out power to Pickle Lake, New Osnaburgh, Slate Falls and the Musselwhite Mine.

Hydro crews were able start work fixing up the power lines, but its expected to be the weekend before the lights are back on in those communities.

Cultural Mapping in Kenora District Complete

A database of the area's people, places and experiences has been created as part of a lengthy cultural mapping process.

Vicki Kurz was part of the team responsible for the exercise and says they wanted to find out what assets the Kenora District has to market to outside communities.

Kurz says officials will now look to the marketing and promotion of regional tours.

For more information on the project  you can go to http://www.culturaltourismmapping.ca/