Festival of Trees Launches Tonight

A good chance to pick up your Christmas Tree this weekend.

The annual Festival of Trees kicks off tonight at Lake of the Woods Museum.

Linda Wideman is chair of the festival and says things get underway with their Seniors night.

The Festival of Trees wraps up on Saturday with family day.

The festival has become a major fundraiser for the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

Healthy Food Basket Cost Continues to Rise

The cost to feed a family of four in northwestern Ontario is keeping pace with the inflation rate.

The Northwestern Health Unit says this year, their Healthy Food basket costs about 941 dollars a month.

That's up about 23 dollars from last year, or about 2.6 percent.

Public health nutitionist Julie Slack says that might not sound like a lot, but social assistance rates have only increased by five percent in the last 14 years.

She says the cost of eating healthy is outpacing the budgets of people on low incomes.

Elk Population Stable in NWO

The elk population in northwestern Ontario seems to be stabilizing.

Recent figures from the Ministry of Natural Resources suggest the elk population is between 35 and 45 animals.

Murray English is the co-chair of the elk restoration coalition and says the goal is to increase the population  and perhaps re-open a hunting season in a few years.

English says the calf survival rate appears to be improving and that's good news for the future of the species in this region.

Salvation Army Gets Ready to Launch Christmas Cheer

The Salvation Army says its looking for some volunteers to help out with its annual Christmas Cheer Campaign.

The Kettles will be out soon and Christmas hampers are also being put together.

Captain Roy Blaton from the Kenora office says the deadline to apply for the hampers is fast approaching.

He says they will be wrapping up their interviews by December 7th. 

The Salvation Army's Christmas Cheer Campaign will get a big boost this weekend with the 22nd Annual Christ Miracle Marathon on CJRL.

OPP Investigate Another Fatality in Fort Frances

OPP are investigating another death in Fort Frances.

Police say the body of a man was discovered inside a residence at the Elizabeth Street Manor yesterday morning.

His identify and cause of death are still being determined.

A post mortem exam was conducted yesterday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Meantime, police are still investigating the death of 45-year-old Leo Whitecrow, found dead inside a Fort Frances motel two weeks ago.

High School Teachers Begin Job Action

High school teachers with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board have started their job action.

That after talks between the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation and the public school board broke off earlier this week.

Paul Elliott is a vice-president with the OSSTF and says even though they aren't allowed to strike, they can still exercise some of their labor rights.

Elliott says teachers are being urged to withdraw from their administrative duties, until a new contract can be negotiated.

Meanwhile, the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board feels contract talks with its high school teachers had been going well.

However, the OSSTF shut down all negotiations this week after the provincial government refused to approve a couple of contracts that had already been negotiated with school boards in southern Ontario.

Union negotiators are scheduled to meet on Monday to decide their next steps.