Contact North sees big increase in usage

Contact North is reporting a 50-per cent increase in the number of people using its services to access college and university courses.

Vice-president of regional service Debby Sefton says the over 23-thousand registrants is a record for the the distance education network.

Sefton says Contact North sites across the region have seen increases in usage this year.

Mitigoog looks towards expansion

The president of the Mitigoog Limited Partnership says he'd like to see the forest management company expand to include other areas of northwestern Ontario.

Eric Fisher says Mitigoog has been charged with the management of the Kenora Forest, but says in order to be successful, they are going to have to expand their operations.

Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle the provincial government would allow and even encourage the expansion of Mitigoog to take on other sustainable forest licences in the region in the future.

Weyerhaeuser sees bright future for ILevel Plant in Kenora

The president of Weyerhaeuser is bullish on the future of the I-Level Timberstrand mill on the Jones Road, despite discouraging news from the U.S. housing market.

Anne Giardini was in Kenora last week and had a chance to visit the timberstrand mill.

She says they aren't panicking because American markets haven't turned around yet.

The timberstrand mill has experienced some downtime and lay-offs in recent months due to poor markets in the U.S.

New Strategic Plan released for the City of Kenora

The next edition of city council will have a brand new strategic plan to help guide them.

The current city council has approved Kenora Vision 2015, which is a stragic plan to guide the city over the next five years.

Chief Administrative Officer, Karen Brown helped draft the strat plan and says a lot has changed in the city over the last five years and the new plan addresses the changing economic landscape

in Kenora.

The corporate strategic plan identifies priorities for the city and sets targets and goals for

adminstration and council alike.

Parson Breaks silence in Mayoralty Race

One of the candidates for the mayor's chair in the City of Kenora has made his

first public comments since the campaign began.

Jim Parson spoke to CJRL news about his decision to stay in the

mayoralty race, despite the death of his wife Patti a month ago.

Parson says its been a difficult time for him personally.

The municipal election will be held one week from today.

Votes will be tallied just after 8:00 on October 25th.

Missing Woman Found near Mantario Trail

An experienced hiker and camper who was overdue from a weekend trip on a challenging wilderness trail in eastern Manitoba's Whiteshell region has been found.

RCMP Sgt. Rod Karpish says the 47-year-old Winnipeg woman was located safe and sound by a rescue team after a plane spotted a beacon late last night near the Mantario trail.

Karpish says the woman, whose name has not been released, was taken to hospital in Pinawa in ``good shape.''

The hiker was due back Saturday evening from the 66-kilometre trail, but she still had not shown up by Sunday morning.

She had left a schedule with her family and was equipped with a sleeping bag and

food to last for several days.

Compton continues to lobby PM for federal jobs

Kenora mayor Len Compton says he hasn't given up his goal of getting

federal jobs moved to the city.

Compton says he has written the prime ministers office a couple of times now

asking that the Harper government re-locate a federal payroll center to

Kenora.

Compton says the city has been hit hard by the downturn in the forest

industry and says well-paying federal jobs would be welcome.

Compton admitted that he's received only a short note from the Prime Minister's Office thanking him for his letter, but he's still keen to speak with Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford about the issue.

Council not in a giving mood

Even though the October 25th municipal elections are just over a week away, Kenora City

Council isn't feeling in a very giving mood.

Last week council rejected a couple of requests for donations from local community groups.

The Kenora Triple "A" senior men's hockey team had requested a three thousand dollar donation as it prepares to host the 2011 Allan Cup.

Councillor Chris Van Wallenghem says they city already provides a 35 percent subsidy on ice rentals at

the Rec. Center.

He adds that the city will consider becoming a corportate sponsor of the Allan Cup, when it

begins discussing the 2011 budget.

Council also refused a funding request to help out with today's community feast. 

KPDSB Receive Grant for Aboriginal Achievement

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has received a grant from the Ministry of Education for 75 thousand dollars to help aboriginal students.

Superintendant of Education, Sean Monteith says they have a number of ideas of how they want to use the funding.

Monteith says they have applied for a number of grants from the province

specifically targeting aboriginal student achievement.

Mail-in Ballot Deadline Passes

There are still a lot of ballots out there for the October 25th municipal election.

Saturday was the last day local residents are supposed to mail in their ballot kits,

but as of Friday afternoon, only about 35 percent of the ones mailed out to local

residents were turned in.

Returning officer, Joanne McMillan says just over 41 hundred electors have voted.

If you have missed the mail-in deadline, you can still drop off your ballot kits

in person at City Hall over the next seven days.

Confederation College hosts Chinese delegation

Confederation College is getting a stamp of approval from a school in China it's partnering with.

Con College is offering it's Hospitality program to 400 students there.

President Pat Lang says as part of the process they are hosting a couple of Chinese school officials

Lang says it's a chance for the Chinese to examine the program where it originates.

First community fall feast this afternoon

Preparations are well underway for a community feast in the City of Kenora.

The feast is being sponsored in part by the O.P.P. and will take place this afternoon in front of the detachment office on the Sunset Strip.

Bob Bernie is the OPP's Community Liason Officer and says they wanted to do something to bridge the cultural gap in the city.

The fall feast will take place from noon to 2:00 today.

There is no charge to attend.

Summer Literacy Program Lauded

A summer literacy program piloted by the Keewatin-Patrica District School Board this past summer is being described as very successful.

Students in grade one, two and three took part in the summer camp at Sioux Mountain School.

Carol Hron is the superintendant of education for the public school board and says they could look at partnering with other communities if the interest is there.

The program was funded by the Council of Directors of Education.

Students attended the literacy camp for six hours a day, five days a week for six weeks.

Thistles and Broncos Win

An offensive outburst for the Kenora Triple A midget Thistles.

The Kenora Midgets won both home games against the Parkland

Rangers over the weekend in convincing fashion.

Yesterday, Bryson Koistinen scored three goals en route to a 6-2 win

over the Rangers.

Saturday, Tim McFatridge had the hat trick in an 8-0 win over Parkland.

The win improves the Thistles record to 4 wins, two losses and a shootout

loss.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's football team is a step closer to clinching a play-off

berth.

The Broncos improved to 4-2 on the season with a 33-8 win over the Steinbach

Sabres on Friday.

Beaver Brae wraps up the regular season at home on Friday against West Kildonan.

Saints Split in Red Lake

Thomas Aquinas boys volleyball teams remain unbeaten in NorWOSSA league

play.

The Saints were in Red Lake yesterday and both the senior and junior boys
volleyball teams swept the Rams three games to none.

It was a different story on the basketball court as Red Lake dominated

T.A.

The Saints junior girls dropped a 34-21 decision, while the Thomas Aquinas

senior girls were upended 51-24.

This weekend, the Thomas Aquinas and Beaver Brae senior Boys volleyball

teams are in Dryden for the Eagles annual Invitational Tournament.

Healthy Workplaces Month

October is Healthy Workplace Month and the Northwestern Health Unit is encouraging area workplaces to implement job satisfaction initiatives.

Officials say when employees are supported at work to make healthy choices, research shows that they work more efficiently.

Workplace Health Promoter Jessica Brown says the Health Unit offers a number of services.

Brown notes that 52-percent of the Canadian workforce has little access to workplace health services.

Broncos Footballers Play in Steinbach

After a tough three game stretch, Beaver Brae's Football team gets a bit of a break in the schedule today.

The 3-2 Broncos hit the road to take on the winless Steinbach Sabres in Winnipeg High School Football League action.

The expansion team has an 0-5 record after losing 20-15 to Dryden last week.

It was the Eagles first victory of the season.

Game time is 3:00 this afternoon in Steinbach.

New Agreement for Kenora Forest SFL

Its being called an historic agreement.

The Kenora Forest is now part of a co-operative forest licence involving private business and several area first nations.

Eric Fisher, chief of the Wabaseemung First Nation, is the president of the Mitigoog Limited Partnership, and says it gives aboriginal communities a 50 percent stake in forest activities in the Kenora Forest.

Weyerhaeuser, which had the Sustainable Forest Licence for the Kenora Forest is also a member of the Mitigoog partnership.

Other partners include the Dalles, Whitefish Bay, Kenora Forest Products, Wincrief, and the Kenora Independant Loggers.

Police urge motorists to watch out for wildlife

Police are warning motorists in northern Ontario that more

wildlife are now on the roads.

They say there are 14-thousand reported collision involving

animals in Ontario every year, that's one every 37 minutes.

October, November and December are one of the peak times for

wildlife collisions since it is the mating and migration seasons.

Lac Des Iles Mine Re-Opens in NWO

Two-hundred people can go back to work now that North American Palladium`s Lac des Iles mine has reopened northwest of Thunder Bay.

North American Palladium says it's constructing a shaft that will extend below the existing pit into a recently-discovered ore body.

Company president William J. Biggar says that ore body could extend the life of the mine for another 10 years.

Nearly 400 employees were laid off when the mine ceased production two years ago because of falling palladium prices.