More fires over long weekend

Despite some wet weather, the Ministry of Natural Resources says there were eight new forest fires reported over the long weekend.

Blazes were reported in most districts including Fort Frances, Dryden and
Sioux Lookout.

The rain over the weekend did allow fire crews to declare four active fires
out.

The largest fire still burning in the area is 110 kilometers east of Red Lake, now
at 11 hundred hectares in size.

The MNR says it is concerned that all the lightning over the weekend could trigger
news fires in the region.

Gun Bill Vote in jeopardy

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says the Liberal opposition is doing everything it its power to stall a bill aimed at scrapping the Gun registry.


Rickford says all Liberals have been instructed to vote against the bill and notes the future of the registry lies in the hands of the NDP.

Rickford expects a third and final vote on the Bill in June.

Prime Minister Visits Kenora Riding

The prime minister of Canada seems to like the Kenora Riding.


Stephen Harper was in Dryden on Saturday for the airshow.

It was his fifth visit to the riding in the past three years.

Harper says he came in to help celebrate Dryden's 100th birthday.

Harper also thanked area Veterans for their service to Canada and the community.

The Prime Minister also made a major funding announcement for the Domtar Mill.

RCMP Investigates Falcon Lake Accident

Two people had to be taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital following
an early morning crash near Falcon Lake.

The RCMP say a head on collision involving an SUV and a passenger
vehicle took place about one kilometer west of the community on
Highway 1 around 3:30 Sunday morning.
The jaws of life were needed to extricate the driver and two passengers
from the vehicle, and they were transported to hospital in Kenora.

The two people inside the SUV were taken to hospital in Steinbach for
treatment.

Police say alcohol was not a factor in the collision.

The Trans-Canada was closed for about three hours due to the
accident.

Free Parks Passes

Enjoy Canada's Parks.


That's the message being delivered by Kenora MP Greg Rickford who is visiting area communities with a special gift in hand.

Rickford presented grade 8 students with a free pass for all national parks and historic sites in Canada.

Rickford says the initiaitve is a great way for youth to connect with our natural and historical treasuers.

Rickford made the announcement at Evergreen Public School and Thomas Aquinas School on Friday.

Grassy Blockade taken down

As one road block comes down in the region, another has gone up.


Treaty Three Police say a two day blockade on the Grassy Narrows First Nation has come
to a peaceful resolution.

A road block was set up last week at the entrance to the community on Highway 671.

Treaty Three Police were denied access to conduct general patrols due to a number of
policing concerns.

The deputy chief of the police service, met with community members Thursday afternoon.

Treaty Three Police have made a committment to look at Grassy's concerns over the next
few weeks.

Meanwhile, a toll booth was set up on Couchiching First Nation near Fort Frances late Friday
afternoon.

The band says its asking for a dollar per vehicle for any vehicle to gain access to Highway 11
in their community.

Its trying to get the federal and provincial government to address a number of issues in
the community.

So far, the OPP say there have been no incidents at the toll both, and delays have been
minimal over the weekend. 

Service Canada closures

Service Canada has announced plans to close several Employment Insurance Claim processing sites in Northern Ontario.

The sites slated for closure by 2014 include Kenora, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and Timmins.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty isn't happy with the cuts and says they come at a bad time considering the economic situation in the region.


The move is meant to centralize services bringing the number of offices in the province down from 24 to 6.

Highway 71 open again

Highway 71 between Sioux Narrows and Nestor Falls is open to traffic again

after being closed for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon.

A large sinkhole opened up in the road in the area of Cameron Lake.

The Ministry of Transportion was contacted and the problems was fixed
by about 6:30 last night.

Its believed a broken beaver dam caused the problem.

NorWOSSA Single "A" soccer play-offs today

The second season in the high school soccer league begins today.


The NorWOSSA single "a" championships take place in Red Lake.

The Thomas Aquinas Saints go into today's play-offs as the number one
ranked boys and girls teams after round-robin play.

The winners will move onto the NWOSSA championships next week.

Provincial Parks open for the Long Weekend

Provincial Parks in Ontario will be full of activity this May long weekend.
It's the opening weekend for camping, and an alcohol ban is in place at most of the provincial sites in the region.

Parks Spokesperson Barb Rees says the alcohol ban is in place at Blue Lake, Rushing River, Sleeping Giant, Aero Lake and Silver Falls until May 24th.

Fire Hazard on the rise

Things are starting to heat up in the bush.


The Ministry of Natural Resources says they are dealing with active fires in the region.

Fire Information Officer Debbie McLean says the hazard in the region is definitely on the rise.

While there isn't a restricted fire zone in place, the MNR is encouraging local residents to postpone any outdoor burning over the long weekend.

(Photo courtesy of the MNR)

Toll starts today on Couchiching First Nation

There is no backing down for Chief Chuck McPherson of the Couchiching First Nation.


Plans are in place for the band members to set up a toll booth tomorrow on a section of Highway 11 that runs through the community near Fort Frances.

Chief McPherson says he's taking a lot of heat for his position, but says it's a matter of priniciple

McPherson says he is prepared to go to jail for his stand.

Electronic Waste Recycling

Get ready to junk your old computers and TV's.


Kenora's waste transfer station will be holding a one day
electronics recycling campaign on Saturday, May 29th.

Councillor Dave McCann says they want to keep electronic
items out of the landfill if possible.

The Ontario Electric Stewardship is sponsoring the
one day recycling blitz.

There is only two electronic recycling depots in northwestern
Ontario and both are located in Thunder Bay.

Water Main Leak Fixed

                                                                                      
City work crews have been able to find and fix
a water main leak under the Safeway Bridge.

Crews have been working for the past couple of days to try and get to the problem area.

While crews continue to work at the scene, traffic is moving normally across the bridge over Laurenson's Creek after being reduced to one lane
over the past two days. 

BIZ Levy approved

The Kenora Business Improvement Zone will be getting another 48 thousand dollars

from its members this year.

Kenora City Council approved the 2010 levy at its open meeting this week.

Chair of the downtown BIZ, Kerick Funk says they currently have almost
300 members.

He adds they have a number of beautification projects this summer and will
be hiring a summer student to work on some of their initiatives.

Youth in Philanthropy

Eight community groups are 700 dollars richer today thanks to the Youth in

Philanthropy programs at both Thomas Aquinas and Beaver Brae high schools.

A granting ceremony took place yesterday where the cheques were handed out to
Triple Play, Saakaate House, The Cat Shelter and The Kenora Fellowship Center.

Rachel Sawatzky is a Beaver Brae student and says they actually expanded their
Youth In Philantropy program this year to include donations for victims of the earthquake in
Haiti

The Kenora Sexual Assault Center, the Breakfast for Learning program at Pope John Paul
School, the Lake of the Woods Railroaders Muesum and Iggy's Wildlife Rehabilitation
Center were also presented cheques yesterday.

Opposition to Forest Tenure Changes

The proposed forest tenure reform is the final nail in the forest industry's coffin.


That's the feeling of the Ontario Forest Industry Association.

President Jamie Lim says the government believes it's consulting stakeholders; but it's not.

The first public consultation session was held yesterday in Thunder Bay and another
one will be taking place today in Dryden.

Kenora Mayor Len Compton will be attending today's session.

NOMA opposed to Endangered Species Act

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is going to bat for the Ontario forest industry.


It's launched a letter writing campaign to exempt the industry from more red tape under the Endangered Species Act.

NOMA President Anne Krassilowsky says that forest companies are already required to file to identify threatened and endangered species when they prepare a Forest Management Plan.

NOMA has launched an email writing campaign to lobby the government on the issue.

Boreal Forest to be protected in the North

Canada's top pulp and paper companies and environmental groups who spent years fighting them have united in an unlikely alliance to protect 72 million hectares of threatened boreal forests in northern Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Forest Products Association of Canada president Avrim Lazar says Canada's troubled forest industry will adapt to a marketplace that is getting "more environmentally progressive."

Lazar said the former foes were able to trust each other after realizing the importance of compromise -- that loggers need trees to make a living, but that endangered caribou need a habitat to live.

NorWOSSA Soccer on tap today

One final tune-up for Beaver Brae's boys and girls soccer teams before the NorWOSSA finals next week.

The Broncos are hosting Dryden and Fort Frances in the final round-robin games before the finals next week.

Both Beaver Brae's boys and girls team are in second place in the
standings after the first two mini-tournaments.

The Broncos girls have seven points with two wins, a tie and a loss.

The Beaver Brae Boys have four points with one win, two losses and
a tie.

The Broncos take on Dryden this morning at 9:00 at the Tom Nabb Soccer
Complex.