Thompson Acclaimed Mayor in Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls

Bill Thompson will be back for another four year term as mayor of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls.

Thompson was the only person to file his nomination papers for the top position on the town council.

There will be elections for all other seats on the Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls town council.

Four people are in the race for two councillor at large positions.

Incumbants Norbert Dufresne, Lou Kabel and Chan Motlong will be challenged by former
mayor Jerry O'Leary.

In the Sioux Narrows ward, incumbant Gale Black will be up against John Stuhldreier.

In the Nestor Falls ward, Randy Hanson and Wayne Hellier will face off against eachother.

Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls will be using a vote-by-mail system for the October 25th vote.

New Scam Launched in Northwestern Ontario

Ontario Provincial Police are warning local residents and retailers about a new telephone scam that has hit the area.


The scam involves a call from a fictitous company stating there are new Government health regulations in place requiring workplaces have special first-aid kits.

The caller goes on to state that any violation could lead to closure or fines.

OPP say the caller may identify themself as being with a representative of the Health Unit or a company identified as Canadian Safety Supplies.

They offer to sell the kits at a steep price and will go as far as sending companies and invoice.

Highway 17 Speed Limit Going Up

It should soon take a little less time to get around some areas of the city.

The Operations department is recommending the speed limits be increased in a couple of
areas of town.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says now that the east highway to the city limits has
been paved, he'd like to see the speed limit increased from 80 kilometers an hour.

Perchuck says they are also proposing to increase the speed limit on Highway 596, from the Darlington Bridge to Highway 17-A from 60 kilometers an hour up to 80 klicks.

Winnipeg Couple Win Bassin For Bucks

A husband and wife team has taken top spot in the 14th annual Bassin for Bucks.

Ted and Louise Stewner from Winnpeg were the big winners over the weekend, reeling in 54.85 pounds of bass over three days.

They edged out Jeff Gustafson and Mike Reid, who weighed in 53.6 pounds.

Gustafson and Reid had a huge first day weight of 24.55 pounds, but were unable to
match that performance over the next two days.

Hiram Archibald and Joe Pritchett took third place with 52.32 pounds of bass.

Kenora Gears Up for 2011 Allan Cup

The 2011 Allan Cup is still more than eight months away, but organizers are already putting plans in place for the week long senior hockey championships.

An official launch for the Allan Cup will take place later this week.

Judy Bain is one of the organizers and they just want to let people know what will be going on in Kenora next April.

The official launch for the 2011 Allan Cup will take place at the Minnis Hall in the Super 8 motel this Thursday at 6:30PM.

Police Investigate Cat Lake Fatality

The Ontario Provincial Police and the Northwest Region Forensic team have been asked to review the circumstances surround the sudden death of a man in Cat Lake First Nation.


Nishnawbe-Aski Police were called to assist staff with a man who was being examined at the nursing station on Thursday.

The man suddenly stopped breathing and efforts to revive him failed.

The deceased has been identified as 34-year-old Romeo Gerald Wesley of Cat Lake First Nation.

Blood Donor Clinic Starts Today

Canadian Blood Services says it still has a number of appointment slots open for its two day blood donor clinic in Kenora.

The clinic begins this afternoon at 4:30 at Thomas Aquinas.

Harvey Heather is a spokesperson for Canadian Blood Services and says they
are still hoping for over 300 donors to show up.

The blood donor clinic will run until 9:00 tonight, and again from 9:30 to 12:30 tomorrow.

Separate School Board Acclaimed

The only other election race on October 25th will be for the Keewatin-Patricia

District School board.

Five people have decided to run for three trustees positions available.

Jon Sigurdson filed his nomination papers Friday, and joins Gregory Wagar,
Michelle Ott, Bob Onysko and Cecile Marcino on the ballot.

Over at the Kenora Catholic District School Board, there won't be a trustee election
as only five people filed nomination papers for five seats.

Brenda Bye, Mike Favreau, Frank Bastone, Paul Landry and Theresa Gallick will form
the new separate school board.

Three Way Race for Kenora Mayor

The election race in the City of Kenora is Officially underway.

Friday was the deadline to file nominations.

Its going to be a three-way race for mayor, with Jim Parson moving from
council over to the mayoralty.

All three candidates agree that the economy will be the biggest issue in
the fall election.

Parson says one area he wants to seem improvement is an expansion of our tourism
base.

Andrew Poirier says he wants to continue to work closely with the economic
development commission to implement the key elements of its plan.

Former Mayor Dave Canfield says in order to improve economically, the city is going to
need a strong voice lobbying for the community.

The municipal elections officially take place October 25th, but mail-in ballots will be sent out
to local residents the last week of September or the first week of October.

Broncos win Season Opener

Beaver Brae's Football team has opened the regular season with a convincing 27-0  win over the Dryden Eagles.

Cody Jones had 12 of the Bronco points, including three field goals.

Beaver Brae head coach Chris Penner says after a lackluster first half, his team rebounded with a strong second half.

Nick Hendy had a 65 punt return for a touchdown in the first half for the Broncos, while

Billy Kitt had the other major for Beaver Brae on a five yard touchdown run.

The Broncos next game is on the road in Winnipeg next Friday against the Maples Marauders.

Bassin For Bucks

The northwestern Ontario Bass tournament circuit makes a stop this weekend in Sioux Narrows.

Fishing is just getting underway in the 14th annual Bassin' For Bucks.

A full field of 120 teams are hitting the water for the three day tournament.

Weigh-ins will take place each day at the Sioux Narrows Wharf, with final day weigh-ins taking place on Sunday.

High School Football Season ready for Kick-off

The High School Football season begins in earnest today for Beaver Brae.


The Broncos are at home to the Dryden Eagles.

Last week, Beaver Brae trounced the Eagles 31-6 in an exhibition game, but coach Chris Penner says they aren't going to take anything for granted this week.

The Broncos have four homes games this year, including three this month alone.

Game time is 3:00 at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Worst Roads

If you're sick and tired with the state of an area road, highway or bridge, its time to voice your displeasure.


The Canadian Automobile Association has launched its 'Ontario Worst Roads' campaign.

Spokesperson Korey Kennedy says the intiative has been well received in this area.

Kennedy points out that 90-percent of the roads that make the Top 20 Province-wide, have been either repaired or are slated to be repaired.

You have until the end of the month to submit nominations for Kenora's worst road.

Request for Proposals for old Fire Hall

A request for proposals for the Old Firehall on Second Street South will be going out soon.


A committee has been set up to find a buyer for the heritage building.

Tara Rickaby is the city's planning administrator and says they have three or four people who
have already expressed interest in the building.

One of the items of contention is whether some of the heritage features of the old fire hall,
such as the call box and bell should be included in the request for proposal.

The fire fighters want to bring those two items with them when they move into the new
fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

Whitefish Bay Protest

Members of the Whitefish Bay First Nation say they want answers about what's happening with the school in their community.

A protest was held yesterday at BaiBombeh School south of Kenora.

The school was closed yesterday and there are questions about the band's handling  of education issues in the community.

The band recently fired the board and the education director of the education authority, and the principal and several teachers have quit their jobs.

The band is in financial difficulties after a 2009 audit found that Whitefish Bay is in deep debt.

Hit and Run charges laid

The OPP say they have laid charges in connection with a hit and run accident on the Airport Road over the weekend.

Police say 18 year old Stephanie McDowell of Kenora was charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

The charges were laid after a cyclist was struck by a vehicle around 9:00 Saturday morning.

The bike rider was taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Election Deadline Looming

Candates continue to come out of the woodwork for the October 25th municipal election.


Waylon Scott, a former band councillor on the Wabaseemung First Nation filed his nomination papers for the city council race yesterday.

That brings the number of candidates seeking one of six council seats up to 13.

There are still only two people in the race for the mayor's chair.

Dave Canfield and Andrew Poirier will battle it out, unless someone comes forward at
the last minute.

The deadline to file nomination papers for the election is 2:00 this afternoon.

Abitibi land sale delayed again

Its taking a little longer than expected to finalize the sale of the Abitibi lands in Kenora to a private investor.

John Gale has been negotiating with the company for over a year.

Jennifer Findlay is the city's economic development officer and says they met recently with Gale to talk about his plans for the land.

The sale of the land was supposed to be finalized by August 31st, but Findlay says it now looks
as if the deal won't be completed until later this month.

Police Investigate Fatality on CP Tracks

Police say foul play is not suspected in the death of a man on the C.P. tracks in Kenora.

The incident took place last night around 7:00 on Tunnel Island.

The conductor of the train reported that they had hit a man on the tracks.

The OPP say the man died as a result of the collision.

So far the name of the deceased has not been released.

Nestor Falls a Finalist for Ultimate Fishing Town

Nestor Falls and Thunder Bay among the top ten cities into the final round of the World Fishing Network's search for the Ultimate Fishing Town in Canada.


A second round of voting is now underway and will end September 28th.

The winner will be announced in early October.

Kenora finished out of the running for the top ten list.