Habitat For Humanity Gets Funding

Habitat for Humanity is getting a big boost from the Kenora District Services Board.

Councillor Louis Roussin sits on the KDSB and says the local committee will be getting 50 thousand dollars as part of an Affordable Housing Program.

The funding is being flowed through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

This is a ten year program aimed at reducing homelessness and creating more affordable housing.

Habitat recently completed construction of its first ever home in Kenora.

New City Committees Approved

Still no shortage of committees in the City of Kenora.

This week, city council agreeed to dissolve two committees, but at the same time will be establishing two new committees at its open meeting Monday night.

Council is doing away with the Audit Committee and Harbortown Center.

Councillor Ron Lunny says the Audit Committee had become redundant because BDO Dunwoody already carries out an independant review of the city's finances.

Volunteers are now being sought to sit on the newly established Special Events Center Committee and the

Non-Profit Housing Review Committee.

Plane Crash Still Under Investigation

The Transportation Safety Board says its investigation of a fatal plane crash near Pickle Lake is being hampered by dense bush.

The Laker 250 went down about two miles short of the Pickle Lake Airport Tuesday evening and it took rescue crews almost eight hours to locate it.

Peter Hildebrand from the Safety Board says they are trying to get the plane upright so investigators can get access to the fusillage.

Three men from Trois Rivieres, Quebec were killed in the crash.

Harbortown Center Committee Dissolved

A long-time City committee is going the way of the dodo bird.

The Harbortown Center Committee is being dissolved by city council.

Harbortown used to be a liason between downtown business, Harborfront programs and city hall.

However, the committee's importance began to wane in recent years with much of its work being taken up by the Harbortown BIZ and the Lake of the Woods Development Commission.

Arts Center Proposed for Bethesda

Artists in Kenora could soon have a new place to call home.

Bethesda Lutheran Church has been sold and the owners intend to transform the building into an arts space.

The Godbout family is behind the project and says they want to be a creative hub for the community.

Anna Godbout says she's still getting feedback from the local arts community about what their needs are.

She takes ownership of the former church on November 1st.

City Creates New Management Job

The City of Kenora is creating a new management position.

The Operations Manager's job is being split up, creating a separate job for Property and Planning.

Councillor Rod McKay says the Operations Managers workload was just getting too large.

The Property and Planning Manager will look after facilities, parks as well as planning.

McKay says the new position won't actually cost the city more money because it will mostly be a shuffling of departmental responsibilities.

Customer Service Focus of Presentation

Learn the benefits of customer service.

A world renowned retail specialist is being brought in by the  Northwest Business Centre.

Manager of the Business Centre Diane Schwartz-Williams says every business

can benefit from learning about customer service.

The "Get serious about service. Your customers are." presentation will be on October 29th in Kenora and October 30th in Dryden.

Visit Kenora.ca to get information and tickets for both presentations.

Federal Government Pledges Clean Water

Safe drinking water on First Nations communities in the far north has become a major priority for the Federal government.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford re-emphasized that point during the opening of a new water treatment facility in the Parry Sound area yesterday.

Rickford says they have to look at the big picture in the Kenora riding.

The Paliamentary Assistant for Aboriginal Affairs adds the government also plans to introdce legislation that would hold the Feds and First Nations communities more accountable.

Thistles Drop a Heartbreaker in Overtime

The Kenora Triple A Midget Thistles have suffered their first loss at home this season.

The Thistles dropped a 5-4 decision in overtime to the NorMan North Stars last night at the Rec. Center.

The loss drops the Thistles record to 2 wins, two losses and and overtime loss.

The same two teams will be back in action at the Thistle Rink tonight at 7:30.