New Stop lights for Rail Crossing

The City of Kenora is taking steps to make the 16th Avenue North Railway Crossing safer for motorists.

An extra set of stop lights have been erected on the north side of the tracks and a new sign has also been installed.

It warns drivers not to block the railway tracks.

The city says the OPP will be out monitoring the railway crossing and will ticket anyone who stops on the tracks or fails to stop at the tracks before crossing.

New Detachment Manager at Kenora OPP

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP has a new manager.

Paul Van Bellingham has been selected to take over as second in command of the detachment office.

He replaces Brian McKillop, who has been promoted as the detachment Commander in Hawksbury in Eastern Ontario.

Van Bellingham has also been promoted to Staff Sergeant.

Campbell speaks out over Doctor Shortage in Ear Falls

Health care concerns in Northwestern Ontario continue as Ear Falls is expected to lose its only doctor at the end of this month.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell raised the issue in the Legislature today and says the Government is ignoring the needs of the North.

Minister of Health Deb Matthews says the Government has made it a high priority to increase physician coverage in the North.

Campbell claims the Minister has been ignoring Ear Falls by not returning phone calls or e-mails.

Another Drug Bust in Northern Ontario

A search of a Moose Cree First Nation home payed off for the Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit.

Police sezied 91-grams of cocaine worth an estimated 14-thousand, 600-dollars.

Officers also found over 13-thousand dollars in cash, 29-firearms, 18-bottles of alcohol as well as drug paraphernalia and communication devices.

Four people from Moose Factory face numerous charges.

The ages of the accused range from 27 to 65.

More on Attawapiskat

The Federal Government is forcing the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation to pay a private-sector consultant about 13-hundred dollars a day to run its finances.

That's despite the fact the Government's own assessments say the third-party management system is not cost-effective.

The money to pay Jacques Marion of BDO Canada comes straight from the Attawapiskat First Nation's budget.

Grand Chief Stan Louttit says that amount over the course of a year would run up to 300-thousand dollars and easily pay for at least one nice, solid house.

He says Ottawa should cover the costs.

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus fears the band will have to cut funding for educational assistants in order to pay for the government appointee.

Wasaya Airlines Plays Santa

Over 2 thousand turkeys and 4 thousand bags of goodies are being delivered to remote First Nation communities for Christmas.

Wasaya Airways is doing the delivering and providing of the gifts and Spokesperson Jennifer Mihalcin says it's their way of giving back.

Christmas turkeys and goodie bags will be delivered to Cat Lake, Pikangikum, Bearskin, Fort Hope and Deer Lake First Nations.

Bisson Critical of Winter Road Maintenance

Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson says Highway 17 and our secondary roads are being closed more frequently due to bad weather because there are fewer plows on the road.

Bisson says the Province needs to re-work the contract to ensure motorists keep safe and to ensure a steady flow of goods.

The NDP member says the Government has changed the terms of its plowing contracts, which means there's 25-percent less equipment being used to clear highways.

KACL Strikes a deal with its employees

The Kenora Association for Community Living should have labor peace for the next two years.

KACL and members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union have tentatively agreed on a new four year agreement.

Members of OPSEU local 702 have ratified the agreement, and are just waiting for the board of KACL to endorse it.

The deal will expire March 31st, 2014.

The workers had been without a contract since April 1st, 2010, and the deal is retroactive to that date.

Saints boys back in action tonight

A tall order for the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team. They host the Fort Frances Muskies

tonght at the Kenora Rec. Center. The Saints dropped their last game 4-1 to Sioux Lookout.

Game time is 7:30 at the Thistle Rink.

NOMA

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is tearing a strip of Ontario's

Environmental Commissioner.

In his most recent report, Gordon Miller suggested the Caribou Conservation Plan would
have only a limited impact on local communities.

NOMA vice-president, Dave Canfield says Miller has his facts wrong.

Canfield says the Caribou Conservation Plan is already reducing the available wood
supply by up to 65 percent in some Forest Management Plans.

Kenora Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force

Prescription drug abuse is the biggest concern these days of the Kenora Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force.

The Task Force has just unvailed a new billboard to tackle the issue.

Constable Bob Bernie says the problem isn't just about dealing drugs, it's also about the people who are abusing the pills.

Bernie says the Task Force raised most of the money for the new billboard through a charity slo-pitch tournament this past October.