Kenora Doesn't Expect Much Benefit from 2011 Census

The City of Kenora likely won't see much benefit from an increased population.

The recent census shows that Kenora's population rose by 171 people in the last five years.

Chief administrative officer, Karen Brown says most of the grants they receive are not based solely on population.

She says some minor adjustments might have to be made for the Ontario Municipal Partnership fund, but doesn't expect it will have a significant impact on the money they get from the province.

Community Clubs Gets more Funding

Community Clubs in Kenora will be getting a bit more money from the city this year.

Council has agreed to increase the annual grant to eight thousand dollars a year for the Central, Rideout and Evergreen Community Clubs.

That's an increase from six thousand last year, and four thousand the year before.

Council also has agreed to put aside more money in a capital reserve fund to help fix up the aging community clubs.

Broncos swept in Dryden

Wins have been hard to come by for Beaver Brae's Court sport teams this week.

The Broncos were in Dryden today and lost all four games played.

An absolute thriller in Junior Boys Basketball between the Dryden Eagles and Beaver Brae Broncos.

The Eagles scored in the dying seconds and then survived a narrow miss on a buzzer beating jumpshot by the Broncos in a 25-24 victory today.

In senior boys action, the Eagles dumped Beaver Brae 57-29.

On the Volleyball Court, the Dryden Eagles Junior and Senior Girls swept the Broncos in three straight sets.

Kenora Skiiers win gold in Marathon

Kenora skiiers have won three gold medals at the NWOSSA Nordic Championships in Marathon.

Kaitie Lockhart from Beaver Brae won the Junior girls division, while Rowan Humphrey took home the bronze.

In the senior girls event, Maya Boivin from T.A. took top honors, while Jamie Triskle, also from Thomas Aquinas won the para-skiiing event.

In the senior boys final, Jake Surgenor won silver, while Alastair Wehner won the bronze for the Saints.

First Nations sign MOU

A group of eight Northwestern Ontario First Nations have signed an agreement which they hope will lead to more affordable electricity.

Brian Davey of the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund says the major priority is to deal with a fuel shortage.  The deal was signed in Thunder Bay Wednesday

Ice Safety

It was quite the scare for a pair of Ignace residents.

OPP received a report last Saturday around 2:45 in the morning of a man needing assistance.

The 17-year-old was driving a snow machine on Agimac Lake when it got stuck in the slush.

The man walked to a local residence and reported that his sister was still on the lake in freezing temperatures.

Officers used two locally owned snow machines to conduct a search and she was found a short time later wandering on the ice.

The 22-year-old was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Mental Health in Canada

Margaret Trudeau  says that prisons are not the place to house people with mental illness. The former wife of Pierre Trudeau spoke out against the Harper government's new crime bill to students at Confederation College Wednesday afternoon, saying more jails are not the answer. 

Trudeau has spent the last five years speaking on the struggles she had with depression

Trudeau also believes the government should provide more beds and not more prisons to house the mentally ill.

To learn more about mental health or the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness please visit:

 

Missing ATV's

The RCMP in eastern Manitoba are hoping to find four quads that were taken from a dealership in Lac Du Bonnet.


The Mounties say someone initially stole a utility trailer from a business in Beausejour last week.

A day later, they loaded four Yamaha Grizzley ATV's onto it and drove away.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the RCMP in Lac Du Bonnet

Census no Surprise to local economist

A Lakehead University professor points to declines in employment in the forestry sector as a main reason for the population drop.

Livo Di Matteo says it's no surprise to see the region losing people at a time which saw mill closures and a downturn in the industry.

Northwestern Ontario's population decreased 4.7 per cent while Ontario's grew 5.7 per cent.

Poverty Challenge

The second annual Poverty Challenge is underway.


The 12 people taking part in the seven day challenge have been introduced. They include Kenora Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell, a Treaty 3 Police Officer and a Financial Advisor.

Dan Jorgensen is a spokesperson for Making Kenora Home and says
the Challenge has a serious message behind it.

The participants have been given 52 dollars to live on for the next seven days,
plus additional daily challenges.

Follow there daily updates here: http://www.makingkenorahome.ca/

Federal Long Gun Registry

A bill to scrap the federal long gun registry is speeding its way through the House of Commons.

Earlier this week the Harper Government decided to limit debate on the bill.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford defends the decision to push through the time allocation motion.

Rickford expects the bill could pass third and final reading as early as next Wednesday.

The Neighborhood Watch Program

The Neighborhood Watch program is getting a boost from the City of Kenora.


Ralph Mosher from the Community Policing Committee asked council
this week to help out with the project.

Council says the signs should cost about 15 dollars a piece and has agreed to install them in the Rabbit Lake, Lakeside and the 5th Street area of Keewatin.