Saints Start New NorWOSSA Season on the Road

A new year in NorWOSSA sports is underway.

Yesterday, the Thomas Aquinas girls basketball and boys volleyball teams travelled to Atikokan to open the season.

Both boys volleyball teams won, the Senior Saints in three straight games, while the junior squad won three sets to one.

In girls basketball, the T.A. juniors beat the Voyageurs 30-24, while the Saints Senior girls suffered the lone defeat of the day, dropping a 24-23 decision to Atikokan.

Today, all four teams head down Highway 11 to take on Rainy River.

Changes Coming to City Committees

A bit of a shake up to the committee structure at City Hall.

Council is planning to create one new committee and disband another.

The new Event Center Committee will look at expansion plans for the Kenora Rec. Center.

Councillor Ron Lunny says the committee will be looking different ideas for the Rec. Center.

Lunny says one of the issues the new committee will look at is twinning the ice surface.

In the meantime, the Youth Committee is being disbanded by council.

CAO Karen Brown says it really wasn't living up to its mandate of providing a youth voice to council decisions.

Instead she says they will be looking to student volunteers who might want to sit at the council table and provide direct imput on their decisions.

Council to Vote on Casino Next Month

Kenora City council will decide on October 4th, whether it will  agree to be considered a site for a new casino.

Last night, the first of two public meetings were held to gather feedback from the public.

The Lake of the Woods Development Commission says it supports the concept of a casino, but council says it won't support that recommendation until its heard all the feedback.

People who aren't able to attend the public meetings can fill out a survey on the city's web portal.

OPP Release Details of Pickle Lake Stand-off

A 35-year-old man faces charges following a nearly 24-hour standoff in Pickle Lake.

Provincial Police responded to a report of an assault around 3:30 Saturday morning.

The man refused to turn himself in and barricaded himeself inside a home.

OPP negotiators and the Tactics and Rescue Unit were called in and the man was finally arrested outside the home around 2:30 Sunday morning.

OPP say the accused faces counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and assault.

He remains in custody and his first court appearance is Thursday.

No name has been released.

A woman was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

New Events Website for Kenora District almost Ready

"Find Yourself Here" is the new tagline for a cultural mapping website that's aimed at increasing tourism in the Kenora district.

The tagline and logo was submitted by Christine Petre of Winnipeg.

Project Manager Catherine Dashny says they selected the two following an on-line competition.

The cultural mapping project will feature events, activities and attractions across the district.

Fire Destroys Rainy River Hotel

The investigation continues into the cause of a fire that destroyed a Rainy River landmark.

Firefighters from Rainy River and Baudette spent several hours yesterday battling the blaze at the Canadian Northern Hotel.

It was spotted early yesterday morning passers-by early this morning.

The hotel opened in 1903 and had operated up to the fire.

OPP Investigate a Rash of Mischief Complaints

The OPP say they are investigating a rash of mischief complaints.

Over the weekend, police say graffitti was tagged in a number of areas, including 9th Street North, 2nd Street North and 4th Avenue South.

Officers also say that a vehicle parked in the 10th Street North area had its windshield smashed.

An unlocked vehicle on Drewry Drive was entered as well.

A number of items, including some change and a multi-tool were stolen.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact the OPP or Crimestoppers.