Three Arrested in Drug bust

Three people face drug charges after being stopped by the OPP in Kenora early this morning.

The Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and Drug Enforcement Unit helped out with the traffic stop.

Police say about 29 grams of cocaine was seized.

42 year old Arcland Beacham, 19 year old Franklin Major and 51 year old Claudette McLeod, all of Kenora have been charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking.

All three are due to appear in Kenora Court July 5th to face the charges.

Kenora to Host Western Regional Midget Championship

The Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles will be playing in the Telus Western Regional championships for a second straight year.

Hockey Northwest has announced that Kenora will be playing host to the four team tournament next April.

The top teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario, as well as the Thistles as host will take part in the regional championship April 4th to 7th.

The winner will advance to the Telus Cup National Midget Championship in Sault Ste. Marie.

The Thistles advanced to the regional championships for just the second time in team history this

past April.

CP employees hit the picket lines

Picket lines have gone up in front of the Canadian Pacific rail yard in Kenora.

About 150 members of the Teamsters walked off the job just after 1:00 this morning after contract talks with C.P. broke down.

Local Union rep, Art Lockhart is hoping they can negotiate a new contract with the company.

He says pensions, some work rules and fatigue management are the major points of contention.

Boat Accident sends one person to hospital

One person is in hospital in Winnipeg and three others were injured in a boat crash on Lake of the Woods.

Kenora Provincial Police were notifed of a vessel hitting the short near Copper Island around 5 o'clock Saturday morning.

Those on board were aged 21 to 29.

OPP have laid charges of operating a vessel in a careless manner.

Police are trying to determine what caused the boat to hit the shoreline.

Aamikkowiish Gets the Go Ahead for final housing project

The Aamikkowiish Non-Profit Housing Corporation has the green light to proceed with the final piece of its 2.8 million dollar social housing project in Kenora.

City council last night narrowly approved a re-zoning application for a piece of property in the 19th Street North area of town.

Collette Surovy is the executive director of Aamikkowiish and says they need to start construction as soon as possible.

Some of the residents in the area are concerned about the location of the two duplexes in their neighborhood.

Pam Cedarwall urged council not to approve the re-zoning request, raising a number of concerns, including the fact local residents were not notified by mail of the zoning meetings.

Surovy says they are willing to sit down with the local residents to talk about their concerns.

Man dies on Train Tracks in Sioux Lookout

A 33-year-old Cat Lake First Nations man has been found dead in Sioux Lookout.

The body of Edward Sakakeesic was found in the CN rail yard on Front Street on Saturday morning.

Provincial Police say foul play is not suspected in his death.

A post-mortem exam took place over the weekend at Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but

police are still awaiting the results. 

Northwest Fire Crews Help out in Kirkland Lake

Local help is on the way to Kirkland Lake to battle a large forest fire.

Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Debbie McLean says about 200 fire rangers from northwestern Ontario area heading to northeastern Ontario.

Nine fixed wing aircraft and 11 helicopters are also being dispatched to the fire fighting effort.

The Northwest Region has also supplied over 300,000 feet of hose, 140 pumps and two mobile values protection units with an additional 50 sprinklers kits.

McLean says the forest fire hazard is currently low to moderate across Northwestern Ontario.

Property Owners Mobilize over the Closure of the ELA

Lots of reaction to the closure of the Environmental Lakes Area east of Kenora, but none of it positive.

The Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association is the latest to criticize the decision of the federal government.

Vice-president, Robert Bulman says the decision to shut the facility has international implications.

Bulman says phosphorous studies conducted at the Environmental Lakes have had a big impact on their understanding on blue/green algae blooms on Lake of the Woods.

Pioneer Awarded Municipal Paving Contract

The City of Kenora is going to spend about 900 thousand dollars on paving municipal streets and roads this year.

Council approved a tender with Pioneer Construction last night.

Pioneer had the lowest of two bids on the Municipal Road Works contract, at 876 thousand dollars.

Council has agreed to spend an extra 70 thousand dollars to pave a number of parking stalls at Kenora Public Library for its patrons.

Poor First Quarter Results for the KMTS Citizan's Trust

A disappointing start to 2012 for Kenora's Citizan's KMTS Trust Fund.

Figures released by the city show the trust earned just 0.12 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Chief Administrative Officer Karen Brown says they still expect to meet their target of five percent by the end of the year, but admits it was a disappointing start to the year.

Councillor Louis Roussin has suggested the city could lend some money from the trust to the Kenora District Services Board to help pay for the new land ambulence base on Barsky's Hill.

He says that would provide a better rate of return for the city.

Coney Houseboats Staying put this summer

A number of houseboats moored on the northeast side of Coney Island will be allowed to stay at least another summer.

Kenora City Council passed a resolution permitting houseboats to moor as long as they meet a number of conditions.

That includes regular pump outs.

Last year, council had indicated it wanted to remove the houseboats due to some complaints from Coney residents about noise and garbage.

Winnipeg Man Survives Bear Attack in NWO

Ontario provincial police say two Winnipeg men are OK following a bear attack in northwestern Ontario.

Police say the men were camping on Dunbar Lake, north of Sioux Lookout, when the attack occurred early Saturday.

Investigators say a 65-year-old man suffered bites and scratches when a black bear dragged him out of a structure at the camp.

A 63-year-old man heard the commotion and came to the rescue by shooting and killing the bear.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Meno-Ya-Win hospital and released.

Richards Heading to the Stanley Cup Finals Again

For the second time in three years, Mike Richards is heading back to the Stanley Cup Final.

This time with the Los Angeles Kings.

Dustin Penner scored 17:42 into overtime, to give the Kings a 4-3 victory over Phoenix, to capture the Western Conference final four-games-to-one.

L.A. is 8-and-0 on the road in the playoffs.

Richards also scored his fourth of the play-offs, giving the Kings a temporary 3-2 lead in

the second period.

Stanley Cup won't begin until May 30th at the home of the Eastern Conference winner.