Monday, March 4, 2013

Summer Camp Fined


A long-running summer camp on Lake of the Woods has run afoul of the the Ministry of the Environment.

The B'Nai Brith Community Camp on Town Island has been fined over $7000 for a couple of drinking water violations.

The MOE says the camp director failed to provide a maintenance log of the drinking water system and also failed to carry out secondary treatment of the water.

B'nai Brith has been fined $6400, plus a victim surcharge fine of $1600.

The camp director has also been fined $500.

Two People Charged With Impaired Driving


Two people are facing charges as a result of drinking and driving.

On Saturday night Kenora O.P.P pulled over a vehicle on Highway 17 East of Kenora after receiving a complaint about a gas station theft.

Police charged 26-year old Samantha Paypompee with Impaired driving and theft under 5-thousand dollars.

Also, early Sunday morning police answered a call of a car accident on Airport Road.

As a result O.P.P charged 63-year old Gordon Szachury with exceeding the legal limit.

Both people will appear in Kenora Court on April 4th.

Saints Senior Girls At OFSAA


The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team is in Lakefield near Peterborough for the All-Ontario
Single "a" championships.


The Saints placed second in the Northland Cup this past weekend but earned the OFSAA birth due to the withdrawal of extra-curricular activities at public high schools.

It was a tough start for the 12th ranked Saints.


T.A. defeated is straight sets 12-25, 10-25 to the host team from Lakefield District Secondary School in
their first match this morning.

Thomas Aquinas is back on the court at 2:00 against Ecole Secondaire Le Caron.

The Saints will also play two round robin games tomorrow, at 7:30 and 10:30 (Kenora time).


Boil Water Advisory Finally Lifted


The boil water advisory affecting a some downtown businesses has been lifted.

The Blue Heron, The Banister Center, and Shoppers Drug Mart were told this morning that the water has be tested and is safe for consumption.

The advisory had been in affect since the water main break on First Avenue South last Monday.

Two Arrested In Minto Mischief


A couple of people have been charged in connection to
a mischief incident in the north end of town.

The OPP say they were called to the Minto Avenue area around
10:00 Thursday night after receiving complaints about a disturbance.

Police say they noticed some damage was done to a vehicle at the
scene.

As a result, 23 year old Joshua Bigblood was charged with mishief,
he and 21 year old Michaela Fisher have also been charged with
causing a disturbance.

Winter Carnival Gets Good Reviews


Almost perfect weather for the Kenora Winter Carnival over the
weekend.

People from all ages attended events throughout the city and down
on the Kenora Harborfront over the past three days.

Mark Duggan is the city's special events co-ordinator and says they
will be doing their post mortem on the Festival tomorrow.

Duggan says the fireworks displays both Friday and Saturday night proved
to be the most popular events at the Winter Carnival.

Northwest Energy Task Force Meets with OPG


Members of the Northwest Energy Task Force are back home following his meeting with power officials in Toronto last week.

Ian Angus chairs the committee and says their four hour meeting went well.

He adds that the Ontario Power Authoritys has a better understanding of the power needs that are expected during the upcoming mining boom.

Angus says they continue to disagree about where the supply of power should come from.

NOMA Launches Real Tree Hugger Campaign


The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is launching a new campaign called "REAL Tree Hugger".

President Ron Nelson says they want to remind the Premier that the forest industry cares about the environment while providing jobs for area communities.

The Tree Hugger campaign includes buttons and post cards that will be sent to members of the provincial Government.

You can send a message by visiting realtreehugger.wordpress.com or facebook.com/REAL Treehugger.

Clock Ticking on ELA


The Federal and Provincial governments continue to negotiate on what's going to happen to the Experimental Lakes Area.

The deadline to find a new operator for the research facility east of Kenora is March 31st.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says he's hopeful that a fair deal can be reached.

Rickford adds that negotiations are confidential at this point in time.


Save ELA will be holding a spaghetti supper and public forum tomorrow
night to try and drum up support at Knox United Church starting
at 5:30.  

Campbell Speaks Out Against Public Sector Freeze


Working to fix the provincial deficit.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP spoke in the legislature last week about her opposition to a public sector wage freeze.

Campbell says its unfair to cut employee wages while leaving management positions unchanged.

Campbell also discussed the idea of closing corporate tax loopholes that she says could save the province 1.3 billion dollars annually by 2019.

Help for Victims of Elder Abuse


Finally some help for victims of elder abuse.

There is now a toll-free number to call in northwestern Ontario for help.

211 is offering assistance to area residents looking for support according spokesperson Marie Klassen.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation gave the 211 network and an elder abuse group money to start up a 24/7 Senior Safety Line that provides counselling.

Report on Food Prices to Be Released Today

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation will be joining in on a webinar today that deals with the high cost of food in Canada.

Olivier De Shutter  will release the results of his report about the right to food in Canada after his mission to our country in May of last year.

NAN says it's remote First Nations communities have to pay double the cost for essential foods such as milk, vegetables and fruit making it difficult for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Team Fantastic Four Wins Great Canadian Canoe Race

Four Thomas Aquinas Students took top honors in the Great Canadian Canoe Race,

Team Fantastic Four easily beat the field of five boats Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Thomson and Jackson Fregeau were two of the members of the winning
team and says it was the toughest race they've ever been in.

Bo Alcock and Tyler Caron were the other members of the team, which won
one thousand dollars for their efforts.

Team Classy Grassy placed second while the Green Adventures team captained by
Ben Gustafson was third.

Saints Junior Girls Win Northland Cup


A just one gold medal and a couple of silver for local high school teams over the
weekend at the Northland Cup finals.

Last night, Beaver Brae's girls hockey team lost to Fort Frances 5-1 in the gold medal
game for girls hockey.

In boys hockey action, the Muskies also dominated, beating Thomas Aquinas 4-1 Friday
night to win gold.

The Saint will still get to go to the OFSAA championships later this month in Oakville as the
lone NorWOSSA representitive.

The Thomas Aquinas junior girls volleyball team was the lone gold medal winner.

The Saints beat Fort Frances Saturday afternoon two sets to one.

The T.A. senior squad came up just short, losing two sets to one to Dryden in their final.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's junior boys basketball team was runner to Fort Frances.

The Broncos lost a 31-22 decision to the Muskies on Saturday.

Senior Thistles Win/Midget Thistles lose


The Kenora Senior Thistles are back to their winning ways.

The Thistles eged the Manitoba Vipers Saturday night at the Kenora Rec. Center
4-3.

Jeff Richards led the Kenora offense with a goal and two assists.

The Thistles are preparing for the Renwick Cup, which is the Ontario senior
championships at the end of March.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Triple "A" midget Thistles will have to wait a couple of
weeks before their next action.

The Thistles were ousted from the Manitoba Midget League Play-offs Friday night
after dropping a 4-3 decision to Brandon in overtime.

The Thistles lost the best-of-five series in three games straight.

They will now prepare to host the Thunder Bay Kings in the best-of-three
Northwest Branch Playdowns starting March 15th at the Rec. Center.

Canucks Girls Win PeeWee Tournament


A golden performance from the Lake of the Woods Peewee Canucks
girls hockey team.

They were in Dryden over the weekend for a four team tournament and
finished in first place.

The Canucks edged their rivals from Fort Frances 3-2 in a shootout yesterday.

Laurel Paypompee scored the game winner.