Saints Boys and Girls Advance to OFSAA Championships

Thomas Aquinas boys and girls soccer teams are heading to the All-Ontario Single "a" championships.

The Saints Boys swept Manitouadge in it's best-of-three NWOSSA final on Friday.

T.A. won the first game in penalty kicks and then dominated the second and deciding game 3-0.

Ryan Landon scored a pair of goals in the win.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas girls had an easy time with Terrace Bay winning that best-of-three
NWOSSA final two games to none.

The Saints Boys head to London next week for the OFSAA champinships, while the T.A. girls travel to
Windsor.

Bimose Students Celebrate Turning Points

The Turning Points Program from the Learning Partnership is celebrating students in the Bimose Tribal Council.

15 students wrote essays reflecting on a turning point in their lives.

Oliver Ridler is the Ontario North Program Manager and said 5 essays were chosen for awards.

This is the first year that Turning Points has been offered in Kenora.

It's open to all high school students.

The top 3 essays were written by Scarlett Scott, Gillian Prouty, and Danielle McDonald

Sketch of Break In Suspect Released

The Kenora Provincial Police are continuing their search for a break and enter suspect.

A sketch has now been released following 2 break-ins between May 16 and 19.

The first break in was in the South Park area while the second occurred in the Lakeside area.

In both cases the residents waking up caused the suspect to leave.

Anyone who may have information on these break ins is ask to called the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Saints Off to OFSAA

No stopping the Thomas Aquinas girls offense.

The Saints cruised to an NWOSSA gold medal today in in Terrace Bay.

Last night the Saints ran up an 8-2 win.

TA continued it's strong play with a 4-0 win this morning.

The girls will now head to Windsor for the OFSAA "A" championship from June 5-7.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys went 4 to 2 in penalty kicks to take game one against Manitouage.

Game 2 goes at 3:30.

Wagamese To Earn Honorary Degree From Lakehead

A former Whitedog resident is being honored this weekend by Lakehead University.

Award winning author Richard Wagamese is one of four people who will have honorary degrees bestowed.

President Dr. Brian Stevenson says it's a wonderful time of year with more than two thousand degrees being awarded.

Bob Rae, Frank Iacobucci and Former MPP Mary Anne Chambers will all receive honorary degrees.

Transit Services To Be Affected By Downtown Revitalization

Local residents can expect not only some traffic delays, but some disruption to transit services over the next couple of months due to Downtown revitalization.

The city says four buses routes will be cancelled during the duration of
construction work on Second Street South.

First Student says it will be cancelling the 9:30 and 4:45 Pinecrest run, as well as the  11:30 and 1:30 Keewatin Express buses.

Those routes will be cancelled June 2nd until construction work is complete
in September.

The bus stop at Market Square is also being moved a little bit north to accommodate construction.

Two Arrested In Ear Falls Crime Spree

Two teens have been arrested following a crime spree in Ear Falls.

Provincial Police received several complaints of thefts from vehicles and property crimes at local residences and businesses.

Police say 19-year-old Brandon Banning and a 15-year-old boy have both been charged with 15-counts of theft under 5-thousand dollars and failing to comply with a probation order.

Banning also faces counts of possession of a weapon and carrying a concealed weapon.

Voter Cards Mailed Out for June 12th Election

Voters across the Kenora-Rainy River riding are beginning to receive find their notice to vote cards in their mail boxes.

It includes the polling station you vote at on election day.

Returning Officer Ian Simpson says check the cards closely to ensure they are accurate.

Voting can now be done at returning offices by special ballot with advance polls opening this weekend.

Fire Situation Heating Up

The Ministry of Natural Resources is shuffling it's fire fighting staff a bit
this week.

Water bombers, pilots and air attack staff that were sent out west to northern Saskachewan have now returned home.

However, the MNR has sent a quick attack team to Minnesota to help battle a wild fire in that state.

The team includes two water bombers, a bird dog aircraft and an air attack officer.

Meanwhile, the MNR says the fire situation is starting to heat up with six new forest fires this week, two of those caused by lightning.

Dryden Council Votes For Zero Tax Rate Increase

It appears there won't be any tax increase in Dryden this year.

Mayor Craig Nuttall and three Councillors stated yesterday at a special open meeting that they won't support a proposed 1.5-percent tax increase.

Although the vote won't be made official until probably next week, Nuttall broke a 3-3 straw vote by standing behind a zero
percent hike.

An official meeting date to approve the 2014 balanced budget hasn't been set.

Fort Mill Workers To Benefit From Unifor Deal

Laid-off mill workers in Fort Frances are being recognized in a new contract between Unifor and Resolute Forest Products.

The union says the deal allows for preferential hiring of workers for a new sawmill in Atikokan.

Unifor's Mike Lambert says it also impacts workers if someone happens to reopen the Fort Frances mill.

Resolute has not said if someone is interested in buying the now shuttered mill.

Former PMO Chief of Staff Urges Action on Ring of Fire

One of Northwestern Ontario's famous son's is urging the federal government to get involved in the Ring of Fire.  

Derek Burney, the former chief of staff for Brian Mulroney, says the giant mining project is important for the north and plans to speak with Greg Rickford about it.

Burney was in Thunder Bay to make a donation to Lakehead Universtiy.

Walk For Survivors Arrives in Kenora

A British Columbia man is halfway through his trek across Canada in remembrance of those who died in Canada's Residential Schools.

James Taylor arrived in Kenora Wednes day and suggests it's likely more than six thousand aboriginal children were killed in the residential school system.

Taylor will continue his journey eastwards on Sunday.

He plans to be in Ottawa by June 21st in time for National Aboriginal Day celebrations.

Saints Girls Soccer Team Win Away from OFSAA

An easy win to start the NWOSSA girls soccer championships for Thomas Aquinas.

The Saints cruised to an 8-2 win over Terrace Bay last night.

Kiera Riel and Lisle Compton each scored a pair of goals to lead the offense.

T.A. is back on the field this morning at 8:00 to try and wrap up the best-of-three final.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys will be on the field at 9:30 this morning to take
on Manitouadge in game one of their best-of-three NWOSSA championship series.

Game two goes at 3:30 and game three is necessary will be played tomorrow morning.

All games are up at the T.A. field.

OPP Investigate Hit and Run

The Kenora OPP are investigating a hit and run in the Veterans Drive area on Wednesday around 11:30 in the morning.

Police say a cyclist was hit by a grey GMC or Chevrolet pick up truck which then took off.

The cyclist suffered minor injuries in the accident.

The vehicle is missing a side mirror.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Justice Sinclair Addresses Residential School Abuse

After five years listening to the abuse in Canada's residential school system, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission admits he's still shocked by some of the revelations coming out of the hearings.

Murray Sinclair is chair of the Commission and says at least six thousand
aboriginal students never made it out of the residential school system alive.

Instead, Sinclair says the residential school system continued to operate
in Canada for another 67 years after the first revelations about wide-spread abuse were raised.

Sinclair was in Kenora last night as part of a series on the exhibit called We Were Taught differently put on by the Lake of the Woods Museum.

Work Schedule Released for Whiskey Jack Forest

A large section of the Whiskey Jack Forest north of Kenora will be off-limits to logging activity this summer.

The Annual work schedule has been released and an Individual Environmental Assessment will prevent work from taking place in the Grassy Narrows Traditional Land Use Territory.

District manager with the Ministry of Natural Resource Deb Weedon says they hope to begin work in the area within four months time.

In the interim Weedon says forest management activities are taking place in lands outside of the IEA guidelines.

Cancer Society Releases New Data on Skin Cancer

Some alarming news regarding skin cancer rates.

New data indicates skin cancer is the most common cancer in Canada with an estimated 6,500 new cases expected to be diagnosed this year.

Canadian Cancer Society spokesperson Kelly Cull says people are spending more time in the sun or tanning beds and not using sunscreen.

Cull says skin cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer.

During the summer, the Canadian Cancer Society will begin an awareness campaign to talk about the dangers of tanning - they will target adults between 15 and 39.

Hudak Expected to Skip NWO

Don't expect to see PC leader Tim Hudak in northwestern Ontario before the televised election debate next week.

And local party organizers won't say if Hudak will visit here before the June 12th vote.  

A Conservative spokesperson says that party organizers in southern Ontario are going to be sizing up their leader's performance on Tuesday against the Liberal's Kathleen Wynne and Andrea Horwath of the NDP.

After that Parks says they will try to determine what areas of the province a visit will give them, the biggest bang for their buck

Northwest OPP Officer Faces Theft Charges

The OPP are charging one of their own with several criminal offences.

It stems from an investigation into incidents occuring between October 2012 and March 2014.

Detective Constable Rory Thompson based out of Thunder Bay, is a ten year member of the force is charged with 8 counts of theft under 5-thousand, and one count of fraud under 5-thousand.

Thompson has been suspended with pay and will appear in court on July 11th.

NOSM Researchers Look Aboriginal Infections

A researcher at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is making a name for herself.  

Dr. Marina Ulanova is leading a team trying to develop a vaccine for a bacterial infection that strikes mainly Aboriginal people in northwestern Ontario.  

She says the reseach is at the next stage with volunteers from First Nation communities

Ulanova says the research shows the school is carrying out its mandate to improve the health of people living in the north.

Northwest Resident Killed in Jamaica

A tragedy in Jamaica where a Thunder Bay man died in a cliff diving accident near Negril.

Jamaican police say 26-year old Taylor Rankin was killed after jumping from a cliff at the popular tourist spot outside of Rick's Bar and Grill.

The accident happened on Tuesday afternoon.

Muskies Win NorWOSSA Soccer Gold

Plenty of gold for the black and gold.

Fort Frances dominated the NorWOSSA Double "a" soccer championships in Kenora yesterday.

The Muskies won both boys and girls titles at the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex beating Dryden in both finals.

Beaver Brae's boys and girls teams bowed out in the semi-finals.

The Broncos lost 3-1 to Dryden in the boys semi and 1-0 in the girls play-off.

Meanhile, a quick turn-around for the Thomas Aquinas girls soccer team.

The Saints are en route to Terrace Bay today for the NWOSSA championships.

T.A.'s first game is 6:30 this evening in game one of the best-of-three final.

The Thomas Aquinas boys will play their first game of the NWOSSA championship
tomorrow morning at the T.A. field at 9:30.

Koch Retires from CFL

Kenora's Kyle Koch has officially called it a career.

The Toronto Argonauts announced last week that the 6'2' offensive lineman has retired.

The Argos acquired the rights to Koch last September after he had been released by the Edmonton Eskimos.

He spent seven years in the CFL and was initially signed as a free-agent by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in
2007.

Koch played his college career with the McMaster Marauders and his high school football with the
Beaver Brae Broncos.

Broncos bow out of NorWOSSA play-offs

A tough day on the pitch for the Beaver Brae soccer teams at the Norwossa double "A" playoffs.

The Bronco Boys fell 3-1 to Dryden in this mornings semi final.

Tyler Kinger scored Beaver Brae's lone goal on a penalty kick.

Meanwhile the girls squad also fell 1-nil against the Eagles.

Both Dryden squads will take on Fort Frances this afternoon in the gold medal games.

NWHU Launches Do One Thing Campaign

The Northwestern Health Unit is targeting youth in the region.

Medical Officer of Health Doctor Kit Young Hoon launched the Do On Thing Campaign this morning.

Young Hoon says social media is a key aspect, as they will be using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to interact with the community.

She adds that the main goal of the campaign is to reduces heart attacks, strokes, and cancers which are the leading causes of death in the region.

Included in the Do One Thing Campaign is a 21 day challenge, which can be found here, to help promote healthy lifestyle choices.

The campaign will run for 3 years.

Community Foundation Ready To Launch Fundraising Challenge

10 thousand dollars in 10 hours.

That's the fundraising goal of the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation this month.

Darlene McGillvray is the executive director and says they will be trying to raise the month on May 30th as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations.

The 10 hour challenge will be held at both the Copperfin Credit Union and Lake of the Woods Brewing Company.

Dryden Residents Pushing For Zero Tax Increase

The City of Dryden is out with its 2014 budget.

The 25.3-million dollar budget follows 4-million dollars in savings found by staff, including 900-thousand dollars in department cost savings.

Chief Administrative Officer Andre Larabie says they did their best to reduce operating costs.

However, residents attending a public meeting last night demanded Larabie to go back to the table and find more savings.

They were quite vocal on a zero percent increase.

Justice Murray Sinclair To Speak At Seven Generations

The chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is making a return
appearance in Kenora.

Justice Murray Sinclair will be the keynote speaker this evening at Seven Generations
in the gymnasium in the old Lakewood School.

The Museum is reprising it's exhibit We Were Taught Differently, about the
aboriginal experience in the residential school system.

Sinclair will  be making his address at 7:00 this evening.

Kenora Drug Unit Arrests Two Men

A couple of Kenora men face drug charges following an investigation by the Community Drug Action Team and the Kenora Drug Unit.

Police say they witnessed what looked to be a drug transaction on Monday.

The OPP say a small amount of hydromorphone pills were seized.

25 year old Harley McLeod has been charged with trafficking a controlled sustance and possesion of property obtained by crime under five thousand dollars.

He's being held pending a bail hearing.

A 54 year old man faces a charge of possession of a controlled substance and breach of probation.

TSB Looks Into Red Lake Airport Accident

The Transportation Safety Board says no further action will be taken after a scary incident in Red Lake.

A Sky Care aircraft belly-landed at the Red Lake Airport last Friday.

Reports say 9 residents of Pikangikum were on board.

A letter from the First Nations community indicates that one person was transported to hospital, while another one suffered a knee injury.

The letter also indicates a lack of response from emergency personnel and states no one attended to the passengers to see if they were all right.

The TSB says the incident was reported and investigators have taken a look at the matter.

Highway 17 Near Wawa Closed

Long distance drivers take note.  

Highway 17,  18 kilometres south of Wawa remains closed.  It's so road repair work can take place.

OPP say traffic is being detoured on to Highway's 101 and 129 and they advise that long distance truck traffic may wish to take Highway 11 from North Bay to Nipigon.

The Highway should reopen today.

The Names of Weekend Accident Victims Released

The OPP have released the names of two men killed in a collision on Highway 17 east between Kenora and Dryden.

37 year old Adrian Chapados of Saskatchewan was the driver of a Ford Mustang and was pronounced dead at the scene.

18 year old Frisco McRae of Quebec was taken by ambulence to hospital in Dryden, but later died from his injuries.

The accident took place near Eagle River shortly after 6:00 Sunday morning and closed that section of the
Trans-Canada for much of the day.

The occupants of the semi were not injured and the OPP say no charges have been laid.

No Clear Cut Winner in Northern Leaders Debate

Just who won Monday's northern ontario leaders debate?

Liberal Kathleen Wynne and NDP Andrea Horwath went head to head on a number of issues.

Lakehead University Professor Laure Paquette says to her there wasn't a clear winner.

Paquette adds that the NDP's Andrea Horwath had more reason to go after the Liberals since she had to show how different their platforms are.

Mosquito Season Just Around the Corner

Don't look now, but the onslaught of mosquitoes is about to begin.  

Ken Deacon is a regional insect expert, and says we should start noticing them any day now.

He says the wet spring means there is more standing water, which is an excellent breeding
ground for mosquitoes.

Deacon says to expect some great big mosquitoes to show themselves by the weekend.

Meantime, Deacon says West Nile virus shouldn't be a problem since the species of mosquito that spreads the disease isn't common here

Saints Soccer Teams Win Gold

A pair of gold medals for Thomas Aquinas soccer teams.

The Saints girls continued their offensive on-slaught in a 4-1 win over Rainy River.

T.A. scored 13 goals in the two NorWOSSA play-off games they played this week.

They now head to Terrace Bay for the NWOSSA finals this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys eked out a 1-0 win over Sioux Lookout.

Ben Dennis scored late in the game to earn T.A. another trip to the NWOSSA Finals.

The Saints will host Manitouadge in a best-of-three affair starting Friday.

Meanwhile, the NorWOSSA double "a" soccer championships take place at the Tom Nabb Soccer

Complex today.

Beaver Brae's boys and girls teams will play Dryden in Semi-final action starting at 10:00 this morning.

The winner of those games will move on to play Fort Frances for Gold this afternoon.  

Do One Thing Conference Underway

The CEO of the Northwestern Health Unit has officially opened the Do On Thing Conference.

In his opening remarks Mark Perrault says health is not accomplished by 1 single entity.

Perrault notes the 3 themes of the conference are healthy communities, healthy workplaces, and the importance of partnerships.

Board of Health Chair Julie Roy noted that health is the culmination of environment, lifestyle choices, policies, and systems.

She also noted her excitement to build on partnerships during the 3 days conference.

Moncrief Getting Ready To Start Downtown Revitalization

You might start noticing some new street signs around Kenora today.

The city is preparing to direct traffic around downtown with Phase III of Downtown Revitalization set to begin next week.

This morning crews were out erecting road closure and detours signs around the city.

Parts of Second Street South, which is part of the main Trans-Canada route through the city, will be closed during construction.

The 4.7 million dollar project is scheduled to start on Monday.

Canfield Pleased With Northern Leaders Debate

Not alot of content, but words the president of Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association wanted to hear.

That from Dave Canfield after the debate.

In an interview with Net Newsledger, Canfield says there was a willingness from both leaders to work with northern Ontario.

Canfield says he will also hold the leaders to their word after the election.

Northern Heritage To Run Three Candidates for June 12th Vote

The party pushing for northern Ontario become it's own province is running three candidates in the provincial election.

Leader and founder of the Northern Ontario Heritage Party Edward Deibel is running in Thunder Bay-Atikokan.

Association president Paul Sloan is running in Thunder Bay-Superior North.

The party says it has a registered riding association for Kenora-Rainy River, but no candidate for this election.

KWG Suggests Help For Ring of Fire

KWG Resources is demanding a new provincial government should turn Ontario Northland into a transporation authority, similar to port and airport authorities in the province.

Spokesperson Frank Smeenk says it would help to raise money for capital projects in the Ring Of Fire, in which his company has a stake.

Smeenk says the new role for Ontario Northland would only require a change in the legislation.

Treaty Three Holds Spring Assembly This Week

The Grand Chief of Treaty 3 is preparing for the annual spring assembly.

Warren White says they assembly covers topics such as health care and child welfare.

White says unfortunately they won't have any provincial representatives attending.

He notes Kenora MP Greg Rickford and Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt have not responded to their invitations.

Dryden City Council Finally Ready To Release Budget Details

The City of Dryden will take the wraps off the 2014 capital and operating budget tonight.

A public meeting is being held at the Royal Canadian Legion at 7 o'clock.

Chief Administrative Officer Andre Larabie says they didn't move forward with all of the cuts suggested by consulting firm KPMG.

He says the cost of the severance packages would have just been too high.

Larabie notes details on severance packages issued to impacted staff will also be released.

Unifor Ratifies Deal with Resolute

The first collective agreement between Unifor and Resolute Forest Products has been ratified.

The new four-year agreement covers approximately two thousand
unionized workers at eleven of the company's mills in Ontario and Quebec.

The deal sets the pattern for negotiations with as many as eight thousand workers with other forest companies in eastern Canada.

Kowalik/Carpenter Bronco Athletes of the Year

Beaver Brae honored it's top athletes last night at the annual Bronco Athletic Awards Banquet.

Kyle Kowalik was named the male athlete of the year and says it's the culmination of years of hard work and fun.

Kowalik was also named boys curling MVP and won the Pete Fair Award for football.

Tyanna Carpenter was named the Broncos female athlete of the year.

Carpenter was also named the senior girls basketball MVP.

Other award winners last night were Halle Stasiuk with the Pete Fair Spirit Award, Lisa Ressing with the Diana Clark Award and Taylor Alcock with the Riel Tucker Award.

Saints Advance to NorWOSSA Soccer Finals

Both Thomas Aquinas boys and girls soccer teams are easily into today's NorWOSSA finals.

Yesterday, the Saints girls cruised to a 9-1 win over Red Lake to advance to the final.

Kiera Riel led the offense with four goals.

T.A. will now face Rainy River in the today's gold medal game at noon.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys earned a 3-1 win over the Rams setting up
a final against Sioux Lookout.

Aiden Tayor scored a pair of goals for T.A. in the victory.

The boys gold medal game goes at 10 this morning in Red Lake.

NWHU Hosts Do One Thing Conference

The Northwestern Health Conference is set to hold it's first ever major health conference.

The Do One Thing Conference begins tomorrow under the Whitecap Pavilion.

Event Manager Mike Greaves says over 300 people are scheduled to attend.

Greaves notes attendees include health professionals, schools, and non-profit organizations.

The Do One Thing Conference runs from tomorrow afternoon through Wednesday.

It also features an evening event with Rant specialist Rick Mercer.

for more details and to purchase tickets visit www.doonethingconference.ca.

Wynne/Horwath Duke It Out in Northern Debate

Energy, the Ring of Fire, police costs and social services.

Those were just some of the issues covered in the Northern Leaders Debate today in Thunder Bay.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield asked about improving supports for social services and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath agreed that more needs to be done for people on social assistance in this region.

For her part, premier Kathleen Wynne pledged to maintain ministries that are important to northern Ontario such as Aboriginal Affairs, Natural Resources and Northern Development and Mines.

Conservative leader Tim Hudak was a no-show, campaigning in southern Ontario instead.