Schools buses running today

Despite some snow overnight, its going to be business as usual for local schools.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says its buses will be running in the Kenora area this morning.

Already, road crews are out plowing local streets and highways.

The Kenora area has been hit with about five centimeters of snow so far, and Severe Weather Specialist, Geoff Coulson says about the same amout of snow will likely fall today.

Roads in the Kenora area are listed as snow-covered with some slushy sections and

poor visibility.

The OPP say further to the east in the Dryden area, travel is not advised this morning.

Bell admits problems with PST rebates

Bell Canada is working with the Union of Ontario Indians to provide PST rebates to its first nation customers.

Spokesperson Jacqueline Michelis says they were overwhelmed with the amount of calls they received about the refund.

The rebates will be retroactive to September 1st when the PST was to be exempt from phone, satelite and cable bills for first nation residents.

Kenora Figure Skaters medal in Winnipeg

The Kenora Figure Skating Club took part in its first major competition of the year and had a strong showing at the Super Skate in Winnipeg.

The club brought home 23 medals including nine gold, nine silver and five bronze.

Josh Cariou ended up with four gold, finishing first in every event he was entered in.

Julia Withers, Haylee Creed, Cassandra Moncrief and Emily Whiting also medaled in every event coming back with multiple medals.

Fort Frances Man charged in connection to stand-off.

A man remains in police custody, facing a number of charges including attempted murder in connection to an incident in Fort Frances over the weekend.

Richard Kabatay is to return to court next Monday after making a brief court appearance yesterday.

Police have not confirmed whether Kabatay is connected to a weekend incident in which one man was sent to hospital with serious injuries while another was holed up in a home on Scott Street in Fort Frances for much of the day Saturday.

More Money for Winter Roads

The Provincial Government has increased the funds for this year's winter roads network.

4.5 million dollars is allocated for the road network that spans 3-thousand kilometres.

Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle doesn't foresee a problem with the warm weather we're experiencing.

Gravelle notes the winter roads will connect 31 northern First Nation communities.

New Fire Hall Officially Open

Kenora's fire and emergency services department is hoping the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill lasts as long as the century old fire hall on Second Street South.

The grand opening for the new fire hall took place yesterday with more than 100 guests on hand for the ceremony.

Charito Drinkwalter is the chair of the emergency services committee and says it was exciting to see the new building opened.

Meanwhile, Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says even though they had their ribbon cutting yesterday, its going to be a couple of more weeks yet before they can move into their new digs.

Brinkman is hoping they can move in by the middle of December at the very latest.

Police Arrest 38 people in Project Ghost

A six month undercover investigation involving four police agencies has resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals and 153 drug related offences.

Raids were carried out yesterday morning in Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Ignace.

Officers seized over two thousand oxycodone tablets, 185 grams of cocaine and 14 pounds of marihuana worth an estimated 245 thousand dollars.

Inspector Tom Dirling is the Program Manager of the OPP Drug Enforcement Unit and says they are being proactive in keeping drugs off the street.

The suspects arrested during Project Ghost include residents of Dryden, Eagle Lake, Wabigoon,
Fort Frances, Ignace and Sioux Lookout.

More Snow on the Way

Northern Ontario is going to be getting all kinds of precipitation over the next few days.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the region, stretching from the Manitoba border to North Bay.

North and west of Lake Superior and east of Kenora will get more than 10 centimetres of snow.

But ice pellets and wet snow are expected to hit Atikokan to Geraldton.

Thunder Bay and the north shore of Superior will see some wet snow changing to rain and eventually a change back to snow tomorrow.

Stand-Off in Fort Frances ends Peacefully

One man in is custody while another taken to hospital following a stand-off with police in Fort Frances that lasted nearly 12 hours.

The OPP were initially called to an assault involving two men about 4:30 Saturday morning.

One man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

His condition is not immediately known.

The other man barricaded himself inside a home on Scott Street, forcing police to close a section of the road to traffic and evacuate some nearby homes.

The Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service was also called to the scene.

The man eventually surrendered to police without incident.

Official Opening for Kenora's New Fire Hall Today

Its been more than a year in the making, but Kenora's new fire hall on Barsky's Hill will finally be opened up to the public today.

A grand opening ceremony will take place this afternoon at 1:30.

The fire hall cost the city about six million dollars, with one million of that coming from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

The new fire hall will replace the old 100 year old facility on Second Street South.

Later in the afternoon, Kenora City council will hold a special meeting to look at the request for proposals for the heritage fire hall.

Broncos and Thistles win Weekend Games

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team fired a lot of rubber at the Red Lake Rams this weekend and won both games on the road.

The Broncos had 60 shots in Saturday's game against the Rams, but the game was still tied at 1-1 after regulation.

The Broncos won the game scoring three times in the shootout.

Friday night, Colt German had a pair of goals and an assist as Beaver Brae downed Red Lake 6-1.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles had a good weekend winning both of its

homes games.

Saturday, the Thistles blanked the Pembina Valley Hawks 4-0.

Matt Benson turned aside 18 shots for the shutout.

 On Friday night, the Thistles beat up Pembina Valley 3-1.

Saints win Silver Medal at OFSAAA

The Saints two year reign atop the OFSAA Single "A" senior boys division has come an end.

Thomas Aquinas had to settle for a silver medal this year after losing the final in three straight sets to Quinte Christian High School from Belleville.

T.A. head Coach Joanna Krisko says they just didn't have their "a" game on Saturday.

The Saints had won the gold medal at the All-Ontario Championships the previous two years.

Local Health Unit Gains Accreditation

The Northwestern Health Unit says its the first one in the region to be accredited by the Ontario Council on Community Health Accreditation.

The Health Unit showed of its newly minted certificate last week.

Alex Berry was the team lead for the accreditation process and says it took about three years to complete all the work.

Berry says of the 36 health units across the province, only 14 are currently accredited.

Another Good Year for the Miracle Marathon

It was a good weekend for the Salvation Army's Christmas Cheer Campaign.

The CJRL Miracle Marathon raked in thousands of dollars in cash donations, toys and non-perishable food items.

Captain Debbie Gosse says the community certainly responded in a big way this year.

Gosse says they managed to collect a lot more this year during the Miracle Marathon than last year.

That's good because she feels there is going to be a bigger need this christmas for hampers in the community.

Saints through to the Quater-Finals

The Thomas Aquinas Saints have finished the round robin without a loss.

The Saints played their fourth game this morning and beat London District Chrisitan in two straight sets, by scores of 25-17 and 25-20.

The Saints will finish first in their pool with a perfect 4-0 record and have yet to drop a set.

T.A. will play in the quarter-finals this afternoon at 3:00.

Their opponant still has to be determined.

Drug Bust in Fort Albany

Two people face charges after Nishnawbe-Aski Police executed a search warrant at a Fort Albany First Nation home.

Police seized 25-hundred dollars worth of marijuana, 33-hundred dollars cash, 2-firearms and various packages of ammunition.

Police say 29-year-old Ross Loone and 28-year-old Angie Lagasse have been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a firearm and unauthorized use of a firearm.

Police to release details of undercover operation

Police Agency's from across Northwestern Ontario will take the wraps off a major 6-month undercover investigation tomorrow morning.

A press conference is taking place in Dryden involving the OPP, Treaty 3 and the Anishinabek Police Services.

Police say the probe led to significant cash, drug and property seizures.

The announcement is expected to coincide with a report relased yesterday highlighting the escalated prescription drug problem.

Miracle Marathon turns 20

The Salvation Army and CJRL is celebrating a special milestone today.

The 20th annual Miracle Marathon is being broadcast over the next two days to raise money to help support the Christmas Cheer Fund.

Captain Debbie Gosse says its a special time of year for her.

Over the past 19 years almost 1.5 million dollars in cash, non-perishable food items and toys have been donated to the Salvation Army through the Miracle Marathon.

The Miracle Marathon will run until 2:00 Saturday afternoon.

Bell Canada under fire for PST refunds

Bell Canada is being accused of failing its First Nation customers.

The Union of Ontario Indians says its members have had a hard time getting their PST refunds.

Spokesperson Maurice Switzer says some people have had to wait on the phone for over 4 hours.

All phone, cable and satelite bills were expected to be PST free as of two months ago.

OPP Launch seasonal RIDE campaign

Police in the region are gearing up for another Festive RIDE campaign.

Sergeant Ken Manti of the OPP says this year there are stricter rules in force.

The seasonal RIDE campaign begins today and will wrap up on January 2nd.