Skate 4 Life Suffers Setback

A bit of a setback for a cross-country rollerblader.

Ashley Gilbank brought her Skate 4 Life tour to Kenora yesterday, but not before her support vehicle was involved in an accident on Highway 17 east of Kenora.

Gilbrank admits her trip has been a lot more difficult that she imagined.

Gilbank is hoping to resume her tour today to raise awareness of youth mental health issues.

Her support vehicle sustained some minor damage, but no-one was hurt in yesterday's collision.

Catholic School Board Concerned with Putting Students First Act

The Kenora Catholic District School board is giving the thumbs down to the Putting Students First Act.

The bill is currently being debated in the Ontario Legislature and includes a salary freeze for public school teachers.

Director of Education Phylis Eikre also believes the legislation will create an uneven playing field between Catholic and Public school boards.

Eikre says if the bill is passed, hiring practices and student assessments will be different between Catholic and Public School boards.

No West Nile in Northwestern Ontario

No concerns in northwestern Ontario, but the West Nile virus is hitting southern Ontario hard.

Health officials say 82 people, all in southern Ontario, have been infected.

Public Health Ontario says the virus has been identified in northwestern Ontario, but no-one here has yet contracted the mosquito-borne disease.

Concern Raised about Riding Changes

A possible redraw of federal ridings in northwestern Ontario has the MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River scratching his head.

The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario proposes Lake of the Woods township be a part of the Kenora riding.

John Rafferty is confused why it has to be moved out of his riding.

Rafferty intends to voice his opposition at upcoming meetings this fall.

More Problems for Ornge in the north

Ornge's helicopter air ambulance service is once again operating out of Thunder Bay.

Earlier in the week the service was operated out of Moosonee and Kenora due to a pilot shortage.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro says staffing has been an ongoing issue for Ornge.

Mauro says Ornge was able to find some pilots to operate the helicopter service back at the Thunder Bay base.

One Temperature Record in NWO

It was a warm one yesterday but only one record high was set.

Fort Frances was the only community to set a new record, reaching 32.5, beating the old mark of 31.5.

Red Lake tied its record high of 29.7.

The thermometer hit 31.7 in Kenora yesterday, just shy of a record for August 29th.

Bronco Football Team Plays Exhibition Game

Beaver Brae's football team will get a good chance to evaluate this year's talent today.

The Broncos are playing an exhibition game against the Dryden Eagles at Pete Fair Memorial Field this afternoon.

This year, Beaver Brae has dropped down to the single "A" Currie Division of the Winnipeg High School Football League.

That will put them in the same division as their traditional rivals from Fort Frances and Dryden.

Kick-off this afternoon is at 3:00.

Ladies Slo-Pitch Results

The play-off picture is a little clearer this morning in the Days Inn Ladies Slo-Pitch league.

Northern Harbor has advanced to the A-Side finals with a win over Dunit Contracting last night.

In the B-side play-offs, Kenora Truck Service is moving on after a convincing 22-1 win over Roen Rednex.

In the c-side play-offs, Riverview Industries advanced to the finals with a 13-12 victory over Neniska.