First Blood Donor Clinic of 2013

It's in you to give.

Canadian Blood Services will be holding their first clinic of the year in the city on Monday January 14th.

Harvey Heater from Canadian Blood Services says the need for donors continues to rise.

The first clinics run from 4 until 9 on Monday evening and 9:30 until 12:30 Tuesday morning at St. Thomas High School.

You can book your appointment by calling 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283)

Highway 17 Closed at Highway 71 Junction

O.P.P have closed sections of highway 17 east of Kenora due to a collision near Percy Lake.

Constable Ronni Grosenick says the Eastbound lane is closed at the Highway 71 Junction and the Westbound lane is closed from Vermillion Bay.

Grosenick adds that more closures may happen as a winter storm crosses the region tonight.

O.P.P are advising against travel on any area highway.

Highway 71 Re-opened

Highway 71 from the Highway 17 junction to Sioux Narrows was re-opened early this afternoon.

The highway had been closed due to slippery road conditions and 2 tractor trailer units getting stuck.

The semi trailers have since been cleared.

However O.P.P are advising against travelling on area highways as a winter storm rolls into the area bringing heavy snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain.

Rickford Looking Forward to Today's Meeting

Kenora MP Greg Rickord is looking forward to this afternoon's meeting between aboriginal leaders, the Prime Minister and other government officials.

Rickford says he continues to work closely with area First Nations on addressing their concerns.
and feels most communities are making some headway.


Rickford will be in attendance at the meeting along with Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan.

He says open dialogue continues to be key for the Federal Government.


The meeting comes at a time when tensions are starting to flare between the government and First Nations.

School Buses Cancelled This Morning

A long weekend for some students in the Kenora area today.

The Northwest Student Services Consortium says its canceling all its
school buses this morning due to treacherous road conditions.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says it has also closed its
elementary schools today in preparation for a planned protest by its
elementary teachers.


High schools and all schools operated by the Kenora Catholic District School
Board will be open today for anyone who walks or can get a ride to class.

Municipal transit service is operating as usual today.

Highway 71 Closed This Morning

There is one road closure this morning.

Highway 71 from the Junction of Highway 17 to almost
Sioux Narrows has been closed due to slippery road
conditions.

Police say two transports have become stuck and are blocking
the highway.

Weatherwise, the worst is still to come.

Rob Coon from the Ontario Storm Center says a classic Colorado Low is
on the way.

Coon says we can expect about 10 to 15 centimters of snow overnight
and another couple of centimeters tomorrow.

Liberal Delegates Selected this Weekend

Provincial Liberals can select their candidates for the leadership convention at the end of the month.

Leadership Candidate Charles Sousa wants to see a good turnout at the vote this weekend.

The selected delegates will vote at the Leadership convention to select the new Premier.

Delegate selection will take place at the Best Western in Dryden tomorrow.

Day One of Murder Trial in the Books

Testimony has started in the in second degree murder trial of 42 year old Kenneth Ivall and 24 year old
Angela Duchesne.

A number of people took the stand yesterday at the trial looking into the murder of Ed Wilson on March 21st, 2009.

His daughter and the two members of a CP rail crew gave testimony this morning.

Donald Gordon was the engineer of the locomotive and says they noticed a body lying on the train tracks
about 1.8 miles west of the Kenora train station.

He says he tried to stop the train, but it still ran over top of the body.

The conductor of the train, Burton Bastin says the body was severed at the shoulders.

The engineer went down to the Tim Horton's on Lakeview Drive, where he noticed police cars in attendance.

The trial is schedule to continue today.

Temperature Records Set

Its been a crazy 24 hours for weather in the Kenora area.

Yesterday smashed previous highs for January 10th, with the
thermometer topping out at 5.9 degrees.

The previous record was set last year, when the temperature hit
2.7 celcius.

The hot spot in the region was Fort Frances which hit 8.3 degrees
yesterday.

Saints Boys Win Again

The Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team continues to roll along.

Last night the Saints edged Sioux Lookout  2-1 in overtime.

Tanner Kapera had the game winner.

The Saints are now off for the next couple of weeks for the exam break.