Passport Clinic in Kenora this weekend

Need your passport?

Two passport clinics are being hosted by Kenora MP Greg Rickford this week.

The first session is today in Dryden.

The second clinic is Saturday at the Kenora Legion from 10 until 4.

Staff will be on hand to assist those who need to apply or renew their passports.

Hospital falls short in Workwell Audit

Lake of the Woods District Hospital has received a passing grade in its latest Workwell Audit.

The audit is carried out of the WSIB and looks to make sure all institutions are in compliance with current health and safety regulations.

Manager of Patient Care Leslie Brown says they had been hoping to score 75 percent on the audit, which is considered a pass.

Instead, they were given a mark of 56.4 percent.

She adds they now have six months to bring their Workwell grade up.

Tourism Kenora to embark on Winter marketing campaign

Tourism Kenora will be embarking on an ambitious marketing campaign once again this winter.

Tourism Development Officer Heather Paterson says once again the southern Manitoba and Winnipeg markets will be their main focus.

Paterson says their marketing seems to be paying off with not only increased tourist traffic during the summer months, but also during the winter, and spring and fall shoulder seasons.

Thistles lose two on weekend to Winnipeg teams

A tough weekend for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles, dropping both games played.

Yesterday, the Thistles were unable to hand on to a 2-0 second period lead and lost a 5-3 decision to the Winnipeg Thrashers at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Saturday afternoon, the Kenora Midgets were whipped 11-1 by the Winnipeg Wild.

This weekend, the Thistles embark on a three game road trip to western Manitoba.

Man charged following accident south of Minaki

OPP have charged a 22 year old Kenora man with two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm as a result of a collision on highway 596 just south of Minaki this weekend.

Officers found a Dodge Neon had lost control striking the rock cut.

Passengers in the vehicle were transported to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for non life threatening injuries.

 They have since been released.

Freedom of Information Act.

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is soon going to be affected by the province's Freedom of Information Act.

Starting on January 1st, 2012, the hospital will have to release certain documents, if they are requested by a member of the public.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen says that does not include patient or employee records, though someone can request their own patient records.

He adds that there are some documents that can be excluded under the Freedom of Information Act, but the hospital does have to comply with any requests that do come to them in writing.

It costs five dollars to make an initial request under the Freedom of Information Act, and the hospital has 30 days to make the documents available.

Most public sector institutions are already covered under the Freedom of Informatio Act.

Lake of the Woods District Hospital

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is still waiting to find out if it will be getting a couple of key planning grants.

The hospital has applied for funding to plan for an overhaul of its surgical unit and also a long term plan for a new hospital.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen says the Northwest Local Health Integration Network has approved the proposals and passed them onto the Ministry of Health in Toronto.

He says they hope to meet with ministry officials this week about their proposals and find out where they stand.

Dufresne Charity Challenge

Triple Play, the Minto Resource Center and the Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation have received a nice bonus.

The three local agencies were the Kenora recipients of the million dollar Dufresne Charity Challenge.

Mark Dufrense is the president of Dufresne Furniture and says the challenge was a one-time only donation to the communities they serve.

Dufresne says the Charity Challenge was a way of celebrating the company's 25th year in business.