Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Council gets to work on 2012 budget today

Councillors say they will be keeping an eye on the bottom line when they begin the budget process today.

Council has a pair of budget meetings scheduled at City Hall.

The first will deal with the 2012 capital budget.

That will be followed by a look at the solid waste and Sewer and Water budgets this afternoon.

Council has already decided that it will have to raise sewer and water rates by at least 10 percent this year to start to address an infrastructure deficit in the department.

Clarification provided on Eco Energy program

Some clarification about the Eco-Energy efficiency program.

Reaction was swift after a Sunday announcement that the retrofit program would not continue until March.

The Office for Kenora MP Greg Rickford says the program has ended because it has reached its original target of 250-thousand registered homeowners.

Officials add that the Conservative Government is spending an additional 117-million dollars on grants for successful applicants.

People already signed up for the program have until June 30th to have their follow up home evaluation.

IJC Submits final report to the federal government

It took about a month longer than expected to complete, but the

International Joint Commission has submitted its final report on the management of the Lake of the Woods Watershed to the government's of Canada and the United States.

Kelly Saunders was on the initial Task Force and she like a number of the recommendations that have been made in the report.

The report calls for a joint management board for the Lake of the Woods Watershed, as well as a summit meeting by 2015.

The final report still has to be approved by both the government's of Canada and the U.S.

Three people fined for Illegal moose hunting

Three Dryden residents have been fined a total of 42-hundred dollars for illegal moose hunting.

Court heard that the three were hunting southwest of Dryden in December 2010 when they came upon a bull moose.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says Edward Smith left the vehicle and shot the moose while standing on the road.

The animal ran into the surrounding bush and was retrieved by the hunting party.

Edward Smith has been banned from hunting in Ontario for 2-years.

Lisa and Russell Smith are both banned from hunting for 1-year.

Ignace Mayor resigns

A major vacancy to fill in Ignace.

Mayor Lee Kennard has announced his resignation.

Kennard was elected as a first term Mayor in 2010.

He adds it won't be easy leaving the community where he's lived for 35-years.

Saints lose in Overtime to the Muskies

A heart-breaking loss for the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team.

The Saints skated into Fort Frances last night and tied the league leading Muskies 6-6 after 60 minutes.

Overtime didn't settle anything, and Fort finally won in a shootout, which went to seven shooters.

Tanner Kapera had a pair of goals for the Saints, while Duncan McGilvary added a goal and two assists.

T.A. is back in action tomorrow night against the Sioux Lookout Warriors.

Beaver Brae splits with Fort

Beaver Brae earned a split of its games against the Fort Frances Muskies in their first NorWOSSA Court sports activity since the exam break.

The Broncos senior girls volleyball team swept Fort yesterday at home, while the Beaver Brae junior girls needed five sets to subdue the Muskies.

It was a different story on the basketball courts as the Musky boys domintaed.

Beaver Brae's senior boys trailed by just one a the half, but ended up losing 40-26 to Fort.

The Bronco junior boys were able to keep it close, but dropped a 35-32 decision to the Muskies.

Increase in Fishing Violations South of the Border

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is seeing a jump in fishing violations on Lake of the Woods this winter.

The DNR recently seized 234 walleyes and sauger for various violations on the Minnesota side of the lake.

Conservation officers investigated over 50 incidents last week ranging from over-fishing, to anglers fishing without a license.