Police Name Driver of Viral Video

Provincial Police have released the name of the transport driver who narrowly missed an oncoming tractor-trailer unit on Highway 11 in Greenstone last month.

The incident generated over a million hits on Youtube.

Police say 31-year-old Akmal Hayat of Milton, Ontario tried to pass a snow plough and confronted a north bound transport.
The driver of that vehicle was forced to the side and struck several guard posts.

Police say Hayat drove off without stopping.

OPP were able to identify the driver through the Youtube video.

No one was injured.

Hayat faces 3-charges.

Police Make Arrests Following Break and Enters

Kenora OPP have made arrests in relation to the break and enters in the city earlier this week.

22 year old Allan Pencoff and 32 Derek Pencoff have been charged with break and enter, attempt to break and enter, and theft under 5 thousand.

Police says the men broke into 2 homes in the North End on Tuesday afternoon and made off with cash, tools, and firearms.

Both men will remain in custody until their bail hearings.

The Street Crime Unit, Organized Crime and Enforcement Bureau, Drug Unit, and the Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau collaborated in the investigation.

Fire Destroys Home in New Osnaburgh

Nishnawbe-Aski Police are investigating what is believed to be a fatal house fire in New Osnaburgh First Nation south of Pickle Lake.

Sergeant Jackie George says the blaze was reported around 3 o'clock this morning.

George says the Ontario Fire Marshall is scheduled to arrive in the community tomorrow and at that time more information will be released.

A relative of the family says a mother and her two children where in the home at the time.

Police aren't confirming any fatalities but George says officers are currently searching for the residents.

TBSO Gets Standing Ovation At King George

A musical education for King George students.

The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra made an encore appearance in Kenora this morning.

Daniel Bartholemew-Poyser is the associate conductor and says they want to reach out to young listeners.

The hour-long pops concert featured classical pieces from Brahms and Tchaikovsky
, as well as more modern fare from Star Wars, The Pirates of the Caribbean and Taylor Swift.

Chamber Of Commerce Hands Out Business Awards

A couple of new businesses took center stage at the Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce's annual business awards.

Lake of the Woods Brewing Company took honors as the Tourism/Hospitality company of the year.

Taras Manzies says they still have big plans for their product and building on Second Street South and expect to be able to sell their beer at the LCBO soon.

Meanwhile, Good Things won for best new business under two years old.

Andrea Lundy is the manager of marketing and says they likely won't be moving into their new location
on Second Street until the fall.

Other winners last night:

Customer Service Excellence-Staff Up to 10-901 West Side
Customer Service Excellence-Staff Over 10-Kenora Home Hardware
Business Entrepreneur/Owner/Manager of the Year: Chad Gropp (Gropp's Country Catering)
Innovative Small Business:  Roots and Rights Media
Business Improvement:  Borelli's on the Harbourfront
Youth Entrepreneur:  Jillian Puls and Meagan Pearson (Radical Nails)

No Delays Or Closures From Overnight Snow

Despite some snow overnight, it's all things go this morning across the region.

All school buses in the region are operating and all roads are open.

Roads are described on both sides of the border as partly snow covered with poor visibility.

There was a brief closure of highway 71 near Sioux Narrows yesterday, following a two vehicle collision.

No one was injured.


The only closure this morning is in Dryden, where the high school has been shut down because of a water main break.

Bitter Winter Causes Headaches For Operations Department

A colder and snowier winter has been hard on the city's operating budget.

Snow removal has been going on non stop, and city crews have also been kept
hopping dealing with frozen and broken water lines.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says there's not much they can do about the
situation except wait for warmer weather.

Perchuck says they've had to deal with frozen water lines almost daily, and
they've also had two to three broken water lines reported each week.

Companies Fined in Ring of Fire

The Ministry of Natural Resources is fining two companies 27-thousand dollars for illegally building a mining camp in the Ring of Fire.

Vancouver based Fancamp Explorations and Thunder Bay's Webequie Logistics were found guilty of carrying out constructionw ork without the authority of a work permit.

The cases were heard in the Ontario Court of Justice recently.

NorWOSSA AA Playoffs Today in Fort

The NorWOSSA double "a" play-offs get underway this morning in Fort Frances.

All four Beaver Brae teams will have to play a semi-final in order to qualify for the gold medal games.

At 10:00 this morning, the Bronco junior boys basketball and junior girls volleyball teams will face Dryden.

At 11:30, the Beaver Brae senior boys basketball and senior girls volleyball teams will take on Fort Frances for the right to advance to the finals.

Saints Win Two Gold Medals At NorWOSSA Finals

A pair of gold medals for Thomas Aquinas teams at the NorWOSSA Single "a" championships in Red Lake.

The Saints senior girls won the final against Rainy River three sets to one.

It was the first set the Saints lost in league play this year.

The Thomas Aquinas Senior girls are now preparing for NWOSSA on
February 20th and 21st.

In junior boys basketball, T.A. upended the Owls 41-21.

The only other Saints team in action yesterday, was the junior girls volleyball team, which settled for silver after losing to Rainy River three sets to two.

Meanwhile, the Norwossa Double "a" championships are taking place today
in Fort Frances.

Beaver Brae boys basketball and girls volleyball teams are involved in all
four semi-finals this morning.