Sioux Narrow/Nestor Falls Budget

Residents of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls can expect to pay a bit more in taxes
this year.

The town council recently passed its 2010 budget and is looking at an overall
increase of about one percent.

Mayor Bill Thompson says while they have been able to hold the line on municipal
spending, other costs are beyond their control.

Thompson says while the education portion on the tax bill has gone down,
assessments in his community are up about seven percent, so that has offset
any savings local property owners might have enjoyed.

Training and Education Strategy

The City of Kenora is being asked to embrace higher learning in order to
build out local economy.

An Education and Training Strategy has been developed by the Lake of the Woods
Development Commission.

Chair of the sub-committee, Geordie McEwan says there are lots of opportunities
in the education field.

McEwan says they have hired an intern to do a study on the opportunities
in Education and Training.

That report is scheduled to be presented to council in September.

Hudson's Bay Presentation at Museum

Northwestern Ontario residents are being given the opportunity to get a glimpse into history of the one of the oldest companies in the world.

Winnipeg is home to the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company, and archivist James Gordon is travelling the region to explain how they can be accessed.

Gordon says the material dates back to the company's incorporation in 1670.

A presentation will be made tonight a the Lake of the Woods Museum.

Local High Schools Rated

High schools in the Kenora-Rainy River district are ranked well below many of their counterparts in southern Ontario according to the Fraser Institute's latest study.

The Conservative Think-Tank ranks schools based on the results of annual provincial testing.

Spokesperson Michael Thompson says its fair comparison.

St. Thomas Aquinas School in Kenora was in the middle of the pack at 350 out of 722 schools rated.

Beaver Brae placed 640th overall.

Novak and RBC Hockey Leader

Kenora Minor Hockey is 10 thousand dollars richer thanks to a long time
coach.

Doug Novak has been recognized as an RBC local hockey leader.

Novak has coached in Kenora for the past 22 year and says its a
real privalege to be given the honor.

Novak is the third Kenora resident to win an RBC Local Hockey Leader.

He'll pick up his award at a ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame in June.

Second Victim in Lac Seul Identified

Sioux Lookout OPP and Lac Seul Police have released the name of the man found dead in a Whitefish Bay home on Sunday.

54-year-old George Carpenter of Lac Seul has been identified as the victim.

OPP were called to assist Lac Seul Police in response to a report that someone was firing shots within the First Nation.

39-year-old Brian Gray was fatally shot during an "interaction" with officers in the incident.
Police continue to investigate the death of Carpenter.

The SIU is looking into the death of Gray.

Land Ambulence base de-railed?

The on-going saga of trying to find a location for a new land ambulence
base in Kenora looks like its going to continue.

The city's planning department has filed a report recommending against
a re-zoning application for some property on Railway Street.

The Kenora District Services Board wants to build the land ambulence base
on some vacant land next to the CP rail tracks.

But the planning report lists a number of concerns, including the fact
the land lies alongside a dangerous goods corridor.

Council will vote on the recommendation next Monday, but the services
board has the right to appeal any decision within 20 days to the Ontario
Municipal Board.

School Closure report submitted

A report on school closures in the City of Kenora won't be dealt with
until the fall.

The final recommendations from the Kenora Accommodation Review
Advisory Committee was presented to trustees with the Keewatin Patricia
District School Board last night.

Dean Carrie is the Superintendant of Business and says under provincial
regulations trustees can't take any action on the report for at least 60 days.

The report has a number of recommendations that can be implemented
over the next 10 years.

That includes short term ideas, like moving the board offices in Kenora into
Lakewood School.

Fatal Accident Update

A 47 year old man from eastern Ontario is dead following a single
vehicle accident on the Kenora By-Pass.

The OPP says an eastbound tractor-trailor unit left the highway
and came to rest down an embankment around 3:00 this morning.

After leaving the road, the semi caught fire and was totally destroyed.

The Longbow Lake Volunteer Fire Department helped extinguish the
blaze.

Police say the driver of the rig was not able to get out of the cab.

The driver was from Cardinal, Ontario, but his name has not been
released.

OPP investigate fata accident

Still not a lot of details about a fatal accident on the Kenora By-Pass this
morning.

The OPP say a semi tractor trailor unit drove off Highway 17-A just west of the
junction of Highway 17 early this morning.

The east bound rig came to rest off the road and caught fire.

The OPP's Technical Traffic Unit has been called in to help
investigate the cause of the crash.

SIU releases name of deceased

The province's Special Investigations Unit has
released the name of a man who was killed in a weekend incident
involving police in northwestern Ontario.

The agency says 39-year-old Brian Gray was fatally shot Sunday
during an ``interaction'' with provincial police officers in
Whitefish Bay.

Gray later died of his injuries in hospital.

Police, meanwhile, continue to investigate a separate but related
death at the same residence in the community north of Dryden.

The circumstances behind the death of the second person have not
been released, nor have that person's name or age.

OPP Hiring Youth

Kenora OPP are looking to hire some young people this summer.

The local detachment recently received funding from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to hire three youth for the Youth in Policing Initiative.

An information session for interested persons will be held Tuesday May 18th at 7pm at the OPP detachement on the by pass.

Wage Freeze Kenora

Managers and non-unionized staff at City Hall can expect to see their salaries
frozen this year.

Following the directive from the provincial government, there will be no increases
in 2010 from the 2009 salary grid.

However, based on performance, non-union staff can still move up in the grid this
year.

The freeze in salaries will affect about 24 employees of the City of Kenora.

Council says its also prepared to conduct a review of the salary grid for non-unionized staff sometime this year.

City Of Kenora Positions Changed

Some minor staffing changes are being made at City Hill in the wake of
the appointment of Karen Brown as the new Chief Administrative Officer.

Brown is the Chief Financial Officer, but instead of finding a replacement
for her, she says they decided to shuffle some of the duties within the
department.

Charlotte Edie is going to be appointed as Municipal Treasurer.

She had been the deputy treasurer and the city's tax collector.

Bill Ranger will take over from Edie to become the Deputy Treasurer.
and Pat Geisel will assume the duties as the municipal tax collector.

City of Kenora Bridge Inspection

The City of Kenora can expect to get some money from the provincial
government this year to help inspect municipal bridges.

Municipal Engineer, Marco Vogrig says the Ontario Good Roads Association
had lobbied for the funding and the city is eligible for up to 5 thousan dollars.

He says that will help offset some of the costs incurred by the city this year
for its annual inspection program.

Big Green Clean

It's the third year for the Big Green Clean in Kenora.

This year's event is going to be bigger and better with a free pancake breakfast and a flea market.

City of Kenora Operations Chair Dave McCann explains what areas of the City will be spruced up.

The Big Green Clean starts at 8am on Sunday at the Recreation Centre.

Forest Fire Update

The forest fire hazard in northwestern Ontario is edging up but still remains low.

The Ministry of Natural Resources reports that three new fires were reported in the region on the weekend.

Portions of Thunder Bay and Nipigon districts are under a moderate hazard.

Aboriginal Affairs Working Group

An aboriginal affairs working group has come out with a set of recommendations for Canada's Prime Minister and Provincial Premiers.

The group made up of first nations leaders and ministers of aboriginal affairs has come up with plans to close the graduation and income gap between first nations and non aboriginals.

Ontario's Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chris Bentley says Northern Ontario will see some benefits.

The working group also pledged to end violence against Aboriginal women and girls.

Social Housing Wait Times

The Ontario non-profit Housing Association says wait lists for people seeking subsidizing housing continues to grow.

The association says the Kenora District has 546 people on waiting list compared with 452 last year.

But Executive Director Sharad Kerur says it may be a lot higher.

According to the Association, people are waiting up to two years for housing.

Whitefish Bay Death SIU

Five investigators from the province's Special Investigations Unit are probing the circumstances surrounding the death of a 39-year-old man in Whitefish Bay.

The SIU says provincial police officers in Sioux Lookout were requested to assist Lac Seul police officers at a Whitefish Bay residence on Sunday morning.

The SIU says there was an interaction with a man, and he was shot.

He was taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

OPP say a seperate death occurred in the home.
No name has been released.

Investigators are asking any witnesses to contact the unit.