Scribilo Sworn in as NOACC President

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce has a new president.

Andy Scribilo, president of the Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce was sworn in last night.

Scribilo says he's looking forward to the challenge.

Barry Streib is the outgoing president of NOACC.

NOACC Drafts Five Resolutions

A total of five resolutions were approved by the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce during yesterday's afternoon session.

The resolutions dealt with a wide range of issues, including Bill 151, the Forest Tenure Act, to urging the provincial government to move ahead with the twinning of the section of the Trans-Canada Highway from Thunder Bay to Nipigon.

The resolutions will now be forwarded to the Ontario Chambers of Commerce for debate later this year.

Infrastructure plan for the North Planned

Ontario's Infrastructure Minister says the north has special needs.

That's why Bob Chiarelli says his 10 year infrastructure plan will take that into account, telling NOMA delegates in Thunder Bay, the north is different.

Chiarellit says his plan will include the infrastructure needs of the Ring of Fire mining development

Fire Season starts to heat up in NWO

With the snow pack almost all melted in northwestern Ontario, more and more wild fires are starting to pop up across the region.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has had to deal with four new blazes this week, one north of Dryden, two near Sioux Lookout and one near Thunder Bay.

All the fires were less than 0.3 hectares in size.

Rain is in the forecast for this week, and is expected to put a damper on an increasing fire hazard.

Sally Ann says goodbye to the Gosse's

The Salvation Army in Kenora has said farewell to Captain Debbie and Tony Gosse.

A farewell lunch was held to the two church leaders earlier this week.

The Gosse's had headed up the Lake of the Woods chapter of the Salvation Army for the past five years.

Yesterday, it was announced that Majors Al and Karen Hoeft will take over the local church on an interim basis starting in early May.

Chicago-Boucher on Talkback

The countdown to the federal election begins this weekend.

Just three days remain in the campaign.

This morning, CJRL news wraps up its series of five talk shows with the candidates as independant, Kelvin Chicago-Boucher is scheduled to be in our studios.

Talkback can be heard righ after the 9:00 news.

Con College Expected to Hire A new President Soon

Confederation College is expected to announce a new president to replace Pat Lang next month.

Board of Governor's chair Marilyn Gouthro says they have a short list of six candidates who meet the qualifications they were looking for.

Gouthro says interviews are taking place over the next week.

Observant Neighbor Helps OPP Arrest Suspect

The OPP in Kenora are crediting an observant neighbor for helping arrest a suspect in a break and enter in the Pinecrest area of town.

Around 7:30 Monday night, police were contacted by a resident in the Heenan Place area about a youth acting suspiciously.

Officers were able to locate the youth a short time later, and questioned him about his activities earlier that evening.

As a result, the suspect was arrested on charges of break, enter and theft.

Helen Proulx Sentenced to Six Months More in Jail Time

A 39 year old Grassy Narrows woman has been sentenced to 6 more months in jail for her part in a shooting incident in downtown Kenora last year.

Helen Proulx was found guilty of trying to assault an OPP officer last year with a knife and was shot as a result of the incident.

She was charged with Assaulting a Peace Officer with a weapon and and possesion of a weapon dangerous to the public.

Proulx's sentencing hearing took place yesterday afternoon in Kenora Court.

So far she has spent 134 days in custody and will be on probation for another 12 months probation once she's released.

This is Proulx's 3rd conviction of Assaulting a Peace Officer.

Gas Prices Up Again

Its going to costs a lot more to fill up your vehicle today.

Most service stations are selling a liter of unleaded gas today for 136.9 cents a liter.

That's up eight cents from earlier this week, when the price of gas was at 128 cents.

Kenora is far from the most expensive place to fill up.

Gas in Marathon is selling for a dollar 49 a liter.

Property Crimes dropping in Sioux Narrows

The OPP says the number of calls for service in the Township of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls has been relatively stable over the past five years, but they have noticed a significant decline in the number of

crimes against property.

The Kenora OPP has released its 2010 statistics and it shows there were 239 calls for service last year, which is down slightly from the year before.

However, Inspector Dave Lucas says there were just 20 crimes against property, which has been steadily declining over the past five years.

Lucas adds that the clearance rate for property crimes has improved significantly, with 55 percent of the cases solved last year, up from just 14 percent the year before.

Health Unit releases Community Reports

Healthy eating and physical activity top the list of most commonly identified community health needs based a series of reports released by the Northwestern Health Unit.

The reports are the result of consultations in 12-communities last year.

Spokesperson Tanis Fretter explains the next step.

Recreational opportunities, drug and alcohol use and mental health were other priorities identified.

Cameron Appears on Talkback This morning

Candidates running in the May 2nd federal election have just four more days left to campaign.

This morning, CJRL news continues its coverage of the election with the fourth of five talk shows scheduled with the candidates.

Tania Cameron of the NDP is our scheduled guest this morning on the CJRL Open Line program Talkback today.

Talkback can be heard right after the 9:00 news.

NOMA Conference gets down to Business Today

Four Provincial Cabinet Ministers are attending the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Thunder Bay.

Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli will be the key note speaker at the conference.

NOMA president Ron Nelson says they're happy with the amount of Provincial representation.

The bear pit session on Friday will also see the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.

NOACC Holds Annual Spring Meeting in Kenora

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce will be holding its annual spring meeting in Kenora this week.

Chamber representitives from across the region will begin arriving in town tonight.

Andy Scribilo is the president-elect of NOACC and says they have decided to hold the conference Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this year.

Scribilo says chamber members from across the region will be voting on a number of resolutions this week to pass to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce later this year.

Advance Polls Busy in Kenora Riding

The Easter Holiday didn't seem to deter people from casting ballots during the advance polls.

The advance polls were held Good Friday, Saturday and Easter Monday, and over 28 hundred people took advantage in the Kenora Riding.

Returning Officer Gerry Oulette says that was 268 more than the last federal election.

He adds that Monday was the busiest day at the advance polls, with 13 hundred people showing up.

Artrepreneur conference takes place tomorrow

Networking, funding advice and marketing expertise will be the main topics of conversation at the Artpreneur Conference in Dryden.

The event is being held tomorrow and is sponsored by the Northwest Business Centre.

Spokesperson Mike Greaves says the first Artrepreneur conference two years ago in Kenora was a big success with more than 90 participants.

He says the goal is to provide artists an inside look into what it takes to create and grow a successful art business.

Conservatives on the Defensive over FedNOR

Opposition parties keep saying FedNor will be gutted if the Harper Conservatives are back in government.

Speaking in Thunder Bay, the minister responsible, Tony Clement repeated that the program is safe and says it's the local NDP members who seem to be sending mixed messages.

Clement was in Thunder Bay campaigning with the two Conservative candidates in the Lakehead

Police Investigate Fire on Kasabonika

The Ontario Fire Marshall is expected to arrive in the remote Northern community of Kasabonika this week.

The Fire Marshall was called in after a large fire at the Northern Store last Friday afternoon.

The blaze gutted the building and left only 2-walls standing.

No injuries or deaths have been reported.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Small Quake confirmed in NWO last Month

Natural Resource Canada is confirming that a minor earthquake struck near Devlin last month.

The 1-point-9 magnitude quake happened around 2 in the morning on March 25th.

Seismic activity is not uncommon to northwestern Ontario, although most of the minor quakes over the past year have been around the Atikokan area.