Wednesday, March 26, 2014

OPP Searching For Missing Girl

The OPP are looking for a missing person.

17 year old Chantel Cameron was reported missing back on March 22nd, when she didn't return to her place of employment.

She was last seen in downtown Kenora and is still believed to be in the city.

Cameron is of aboriginal descent, about five feet, three inches tall, brown eyes and brown hair won in a bun.

At the time of her disappearance she was wearing a black coat, blue jeans and black running shoes with leopard print.

Anyone who might know of her where-abouts is asked to contact the Kenora Detachment of the OPP.

Another Colorado Low Heading Our Way

A bit more snow is heading our way.

Environment Canada Meterologist Mark Schuster says much of northwestern Ontario will be
blanketed by this time tomorrow.

He says a Colorado Low is churning our way.

While the Kenora area will only get brushed by the system with two to four centimeters, other areas to the east like Thunder Bay could see anywhere from 5 to 10 centimeters.

Pharmacy Flu Shots Increase in Popularity

It appears getting a flu shot at the local pharmacy is catching in Ontario.

More than 750-thousand people opted to get the free flu shot at a pharmacy this past season.

That's triple the number over last season when pharmacies were given approval to administer the shot.

City Hopes To Lift Boil Water Advisory Soon

It may soon be safe to drink the water.

Rick Perchuk is the city's operations manager and says crews are working to lift the over 3 week old boil water advisory.

Perchuk notes it takes about 2 days to perform the tests and get the results.

If all goes well the advisory could be lifted on Friday.

Full House For Energy East Consultations

Consultations are continuing on the Energy East Pipeline project.

Last night the Ontario Energy Board was at the Best Western Lakeside Inn for the first of 7 meetings in the province.

Consultation lead Aleck Dadson says it's just the beginning for the OEB.

Dadson says all the comments will be made into a report that they will bring back to the communities to exam and review.

The final report will be used by the Minister of Energy when they continue the process with the National Energy Board.

Sioux Narrows Budget Delayed

It could be another month before the Town of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls passes it's budget.

Mayor Bill Thompson says they had been making good progress, but  suggests they  need to make some last minute changes.

He says they'll review the changes at their next meeting, but probably wait to pass it
at their last meeting in April.

He says at this point, they're doing okay and isn't expecting a big increase in the mill rate this year.

Optimism About New OPP Policing Model

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield has the support of another local leader over the cost of policing.

Red Lake mayor Phil Vinet is anxious for a new Provincial Police funding model to be approved.

With a meeting planned on April 2nd, Vinet hopes they are one step closer to implementation.

Vinet says the current system doesn't provide fairness.

Mauro Named New Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

A bit of a surprise from Queen's Park where Premier Kathleen Wynne has a new municipal affairs and housing minister by the name of Bill Mauro.  

The Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP was named as part of a government cabinet shuffle.

Mauro says he's very excited, but knows it's a huge learning curve.

Mauro replaces Linda Jeffray, who resigned yesterday to join the mayoralty race in Brampton.

New Poll Shows Concerns With Winter Road Maintenance

Research being released by the five companies under Ministry of Transportation's Winter Maintenance Program is showing that Ontarians want the government to make roads safer.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid from March 3rd to 7th shows that the majority of 1,500 Ontario drivers feel the government should increase spending on highway maintenance.

The study also shows that Ontarians find roads to be in worse conditions than they were 3 years ago by a  2-to-1 margin, and by a 3-to-1 margin in Northern Ontario.

The Ontario Road Builders Association continues to meet with government officials to resolve the road safety issues.