Thursday, December 5, 2013

Dryden Man Arrested in Robbery

A 26-year-old Dryden man has been arrested following a robbery at the Royal Bank around 11 o'clock this morning.

City Police say an elderly woman had withdrawn a significant amount of cash from an ATM.

The accused attempted to grab the money from her hands but the woman put up a fight.

Police say the man assaulted her and ran off with the money.

With help from witnesses, officers were able to locate the man, and place him under arrest.

Robert Chrest faces robbery charges and he will appear in court tomorrow.

Highways in Northwestern Ontario Remain Open Despite Snow

Despite all of the snow, there are no road closures in our area.

Roads are still snow packed and motorists are asked to allow for more time when travelling.

Motorists may also encounter poor visibility with blowing snow.

If you are headed east, be prepared for several highway closures.

Highway 11 between Kapuskasing and Longlac is closed as is Highway 17 east of Wawa and Highway 101 between Wawa and Chapleau.

Colorado Low Passes Through Northwestern Ontario

The worst of the Colorado Low has passed through the Kenora area.

Yoseph Mengsha is a meteorologist for Environment Canada and says
we have received about 12 centimeters of snow in the last 24 hours.

Areas to the east of Kenora like Ignace and Raith were hit by more than
20 centimeters of snow.

The Sprague area of eastern Manitoba was one of the worst hit areas with about 25 centimeters of snowfall.

Energy Minister Refuses Special Electricity Rate for the North

The province's long term energy plan continues to make waves in northwestern Ontario.

Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli is deflecting criticism over the high cost of electricity in the North.

Chiarelli was asked yesterday during a call with media if the Province would entertain a separate electricity rate for Northerners since generating electricity in the region is done fairly cheaply.

We face a 33-percent hike in our electricity rates over the next 3-years according to the new plan.

Harper and Wynne To Discuss Ring of Fire Today

After weeks of playing the blame game Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Kathleen Wynne are scheduled to sit down this afternoon to discuss the Ring of Fire.

The two sides are at an impasse over who is responsible for the massive mining development.

Wynne stated last week that she was surprised to hear the prime minister dismiss the development of the Ring of Fire as a provincial issue.

Bob Rae, the chief negotiator and counsel for the Matawa First Nations, has called on both levels of government to stop squabbling over provincial jurisdiction and create some level of certainty for businesses and First Nations.

School Buses Canceled This Morning

Almost business as normal in the Kenora area.

While there are no highway closures to report this morning,
all school buses in the region have been cancelled, including
all Kenora buses, and the bus to Sioux Narrows.

The Northwest Student Services Consortium says it has also cancelled buses in the Vermillion Bay, Dryden, Red Lake and Sioux Lookout areas this morning.

The Rat Portage School Bus has also been canceled this morning.

Even though buses are not running this morning, all schools in the Kenora area will remain open.