Report on Ontario Jury Rolls to be Released next Week

A long awaited report on the jury roll system in Ontario will be released
next week.

Former Ontario Superior Court judge, Frank Iacobucci was asked to
look at how to better get aboriginal representation on jury rolls.

His report will be released in Thunder Bay next Tuesday.

Iacobucci was asked by the Attorney General back in August of 2011 to look at ways of getting aboriginals living on reserve included on provincial jury rolls.

Scientists Speak Out for ELA

More high level support for the Experimental Lakes area.

The ELA was on the minds of the delegates at the annual meeting of the
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography in New Orleans yesterday.

A number of delegates showed up wearing t-shirts supporting the ELA.

In his opening address, president of the association,  Dr. James Elser suggested that almost every session will use pieces of science either derived or inspired by research at the ELA.

He calls the closure of the ELA a tragedy for the public good and scientific enterprise.

Defense Presents It's Case to the Jury

The second degree murder Trial of Kenneth Ivall is rapidly winding down.

Yesterday, defense lawyer Chris Watkins presented his case.

In a short opening statement to the jury, Watkins claimed that Angela Duchesne was the only person who seemed to have a motive to kill Ed Wilson.

He says Duchesne exhibited a lot of anger and animosity to the victim.

Watkins also presented just two witnesses to give evidence.

Both were both briefly cell-mates with Duchesne in the Kenora Jail.

Kimberly Skead says Duchesne told her that Wilson was a stalker and
a paedophile and he deserved what he got.

Both the crown and the defense will present their final arguments for the
jury beginning this morning.

Fraser Institute Rates Local Schools

A good news, bad news report card for elementary schools in Kenora.

Overall, Kenora schools received a mark of 5.3 out of ten from the Fraser
Institute, just below the provincial average of 6.0.

Peter Crowley is one of the authors of the annual Elementary Schools Report
Card and says it shows where there is room for improvement.

Ste. Margarite Bourgeoys led all schools with a rating of 8.4 out of ten, ahead of Valleyview
at 6.0, King George at 5.1 and Pope John Paul at 4.7.

Mixed Reviews for Throne Speech

The MPP for the Kenora-Rainy River Riding says the throne speech lacked in commitment to fix problems facing the province.

Sarah Campbell says she's interested to see what premier Kathleen Wynne does to keep her promises.

Campbell adds that the speech did include a lot of concerns facing the province but lack any plans for action.

Meanwhile,  Kenora mayor Dave Canfield  says no one promise in the throne speech caught his attention.

Canfield says he is happy to hear the province is promising to continue to work on infrastructure.

Canfield adds that he plans to continue talking to ministers at the Good Roads conference next week about work on the Winnipeg River West Branch Bridge.

OPP Getting Ready for Crime Prevention Campaign

The Kenora O.P.P will be looking for some public feedback during Crime Prevention Campaign.

Constable Dave Cain says they are using the information to plan workshops throughout the year.

Cain says crime prevention is important because the O.P.P can't be everywhere at once.

He adds that community initiatives such as Neighborhood Watch are proving to be effective.

Memorial Bench Project Being Launched

The City of Kenora is giving people the chance to memorialize a loved one.

Councillor Sharon Smith says the city has a new memorial bench project in place.

Smith says anyone interested in donating a bench has a number of options to choose from.

She says the benches can be placed along any one of the city's urban trails.

You can get more information on the memorial bench project by calling the city's Operations or Parks department.

Saints Begin Hockey Play-offs Tonight

The High School hockey play-offs begin tonight in Kenora.

The Thomas Aquinas boys squad will face Dryden in game one of their semi-final series tonight at the Rec. Center.

The Saints finished the abbreviated regular season in second place, just behind Fort Frances, while the Eagles were third.

Game time tonight is 7:30.

The Broncos will take on the Muskies Saturday night in game one of their series.