More Power Outages This Weekend

For the second weekend in a row, local residents are going to have to endure some power outages.

This time, the outages are pre-planned.

In the City of Kenora, electricity will be shut off for one hour starting at 6:30 Sunday morning.

A similar one-hour outage will take place Sunday afternoon for Hydro One customers outside the City of Kenora.

About 44 hundred homes will be affected when their electricity is shut off between 3:00 and
4:00 Sunday afternoon.

Criminal Activity on the Decline in Kenora

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP says crime numbers continue to
fall locally.

Inspector Dave Lucas presented his latest figures to the Police Services
Board this week.

He says property crimes and assault numbers are both down significantly
this year.

There have been just 34 break and enters reported so far this year, which is an average of about five a month.

Over the past couple of years, the OPP has investigated an average of over 25 break-ins a month.

Man Dies In Float Plane Accident Near Red Lake

A 67 year old man from Minnesota is dead as a result of an float plane accident just south of Red Lake.

The OPP say the incident took place on DeeDee Lake yesterday morning around 10:30.

Police says the operator of an amphibious plane was standing on the floats as he was coming into shore.

When the plane came into contact with the shore, the pilot was thrown into the  propeller.

He was was transported to hospital in Red Lake where he died of his injuries.

A post-mortem exam will be conducted today at Lake of the Woods District Hospital on James Kowalski from St. Paul.

City Officials Meet With US Consul General

Kenora has taken a large step in creating more tourism for the entire Rainy/ Lake of the Woods area.

Mayor Dave Canfield recently meet with Canada's Consul General to the United States along with represenatives from the Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau.

Canfield says the talks focused on strength in numbers in promoting the area.

Canfield says some of the ideas includes promoting the history of the area and creating more winter tourism.

New Schools Opening in the Far North

A couple of new schools will be opening their doors this week in
northwestern Ontario.

Cat Lake and Sandy Lake both have new educational facilities.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says the Cat Lake funding announcement was
made last June and it took just over a year to complete the project.

Meanwhile, the school in Sandy Lake has undergone extensive repairs after
being damaged by a fire in February of 2012.

Rickford adds that
construction on a new school in Fort Severn is also underway.

OPP Find New Use for Unclaimed Bikes

The OPP says its found a new use for the unclaimed, stolen bikes it collects each year.

This year, the bikes have been donated to Beaver Brae's Integrated Technology Students.

Inspector Dave Lucas says once the bikes are repaired, they will end up going to local kids in need through Triple Play.

In the past the police have auctioned off the bikes, but over the past couple of years, the Police Board has
been donating them local agencies which have requested them.

MNR Fire Crews Heading Home This Weekend

About 100 fire crews from Ontario will be returning home this weekend.

The MNR fire rangers have spent the past 19 days battling wildfires out
in Montana.

The fire fighters are due to fly home tomorrow.

In the meantime, the fire season is starting to wind down in northwestern
Ontario.

No new blazes over the past couple of days and the number of active fires has been reduced to just 11.

Longbow Yard Sale Breaks Record

That was quite the yard sale.

Figures are in for the Longbow Lake Fire Brigade Garage Sale.

Over 25 thousand dollars was raised over the Labor Day Long weekend.

That topped last year's previous record of 23 thousand dollars.

All funds raised will go towards the operation of the Volunteer fire department.

Broncos Blanked in Season Opener

Beaver Brae's football team has been offensively challenged so far
this young season.

After failing to score a point last week in three exhibition scrimages, the
Broncos were shutout in their regular season opener.

Beaver Brae was beaten 27-0 by the Elmwood Giants yesterday afternoon in Winnipeg.

The Broncos are back in action next Thursday when they play their home opener at Pete Fair Memorial Field against the Dryden Eagles.

Bassin' For Bucks Starts Today

The northwest bass tournament season is quickly drawing to a close.

One of the final tournaments takes place this weekend in Sioux Narrows.

The 17th Annual Bassin' For Bucks gets underway this morning.

The three day tournament will wrap up Sunday afternoon at the Government Docks in Sioux Narrows.