Highway 17 Blockade Ends

Traffic is flowing again on the Trans-Canada highway near the Manitoba/Ontario border.

Shoal Lake #39 and #40 First Nations held a blockade as part of the Idle no more Movement.

Darrell Redsky was part of the protest and says they are reminding the government about the power of the treaty.

Redsky adds the protest was in part of a national day of action.

Traffic was completely blocked off from 1:00 until 2:00 when police allowed single lane traffic flow.

OPP to Monitor Idle No More Blockades

Expect some traffic delays this afternoon on Highway 17 west of
Kenora.

The Shoal Lake #39 and #40 First Nations are planning a blockade of
commercial truck traffic near the Ontario/Manitoba Border.

OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis says officers will be standing by to ensure
the protests remain peaceful.

Today's protest is scheduled to take place from 1:00 to 4:00.

A similar protest is being planned for Highway 11/17 near Nipigon today.

Municipal Budget Delayed

It could be a while before Kenora's 2013 budget is ready.

City council got a good head start in the fall, but the municipal
auditor general left midway through the process.

Councillor Ron Lunny says it will be up to other staff to pick up the
slack.

Lunny says right now it looks like the city will be able to post a modest
surplus on its operations in 2012.

Civilians Take Witness Stand At 2nd Degree Murder Trial

A couple of civilian witnesses took the stand at the 2nd degree murder trial of Kenneth Ivall and Angela Duchesne yesterday.

Ron LaLonde says he ran into Ken Ivall a couple of times on March 20th, 2009.

He says he had a couple of drinks with him at the Tower Hotel, but last saw him around 11:30 that night.

He then ran into Ivall and Angela Duchesne around 2:45 the next morning at the Tim Horton's on Lakeview
Drive.

Lalonde admits he doesn't remember much about their encounter and says he didn't actually hear about
the death of Ed Wilson until the next morning, when he was woken by a phone call from an employee at
the Tower Hotel.

Testimony is scheduled to resume this morning at the Kenora Court House.

Council Shoots Down Taxi Rate Increase

Some changes are coming to Kenora's Taxi By-Law, but they don't include
a rate increase.

Council agreed this week to a number of updates to the Comprehensive
Taxi By-Law.

Council considers the changes to be housekeeping, but won't include a
meter rate increase.

Late last year, Co-Ot Taxi had requested an increase due to the rising cost
of things like fuel and insurance.

Council did not give any reason for refusing the rate increase.

The changes are due to take effect on June 1st.

Thistles Win on the Road

After a rare weekend off league play, the Kenora Triple "A" midget
Thistles were back in action last night in Steinbach.

The Thistles doubled up the Eastman Selects 4-2, improving their record
to nine games over .500.

Dylan Gosselin-Archer had a two point night, with a goal and an assist.

This weekend, the Kenora Midgets hit the road for three games starting
Friday night in Portage la Prairie.