Winnipeg Man Arrested on Drug Charges

A 39 year old Winnipeg man faces drug charges following an arrest by the  OPP's Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau.

 Police say the seized about three grams of cocaine on Tuesday.

Jack Brown has been arrested and will appear in Kenora Court next month on a charge of possession of a narcotic.

NOMA Supports Northern Policy Institute

The Northern Policy Institute is starting to take shape.

The Institute was one of the key promises contained in the Northern Growth Plan released earlier this year.

Dave Canfield is vice-president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association and says they recently had a chance to provide their input to the special advisors the province had appointed to guide the process.

Canfield admits that universities in Sudbury and Thunder Bay will likely get to host the Northern Institute, but is hoping smaller communites in the region get a chance to be a part of the process.

Spring Feast this Afternoon at Rec. Center

Get ready to strap on the feed bag.

A spring feast is being held today at the Kenora Rec. Center to celebrate the season.

Constable Bob Bernie of the OPP says a number of different community groups are helping organize the event.

The Spring Feast will start at noon and run until 3:00 this afternoon.

More Forest Fire Activity in the Northwest

The Ministry of Natural Resources is hoping that the weather forecast will provide some relief for fire crews in the northwest region.

There has been a number of new fires in the past day in the Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances Districts.

One fire was located in Sioux Narrows.

It was located southwest of the bridge in behind the Narrows Limited gift shop.

The MNR says the blaze grew to about one hectare in size before being

brought under control.

The cause of the fire is still being looked into.

Heading into the long weekend, the fire hazard right across the region is listed as high.

Economic Development Commission to take over City Special Events

The City of Kenora has outlined how it plans to carry out special events in the future.

The City says it will continue to work with the Kenora Assembly of Resources on certain events, such as the Farmer's Market, but increasingly, special event management will be turned over to the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission.

Starting June 1st, the Commission will be responsible for co-ordinating and renting special events equipment.

The city has also promised KAR free access to the big tent and other special event infrastructure to carry out the farmers market this year, but next year the weekly event is to be transferred over to special events.

New President Announced for Confederation College

Confederation College has announced its new President.

Jim Madder will be taking over for outgoing President Pat Lang who will be stepping down in July.

Madder says handling a region this large will be a challenge.

Madder most recently was the Executive Vice President Academic at Red Deer College in Alberta.

Wild fires Threaten Pickle Lake

The Ministry of Natural Resources and OPP are investigating three forest fires near Pickle Lake.

The 8-hectare fires burned dangerously close to the community this week.

Mayor Roy Hoffman says the situation could have been different if the wind had picked up.

No damage is reported and the fires are now classified as held or under control.

Clement continues in FedNor Portfolio

The Head of the Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario is staying put.

Tony Clement has kept his post as FedNor Minister in the new Federal Cabinet.

Since taking over the Industry Canada program in 2006, Clement has spent nearly 150-million dollars in the North.

John Duncan keeps his job as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister, while the Natural Resources portfolio will see a change with Toronto-area MP Joe Oliver taking over.

MNR Investigates bush fire on Highway 17 East

The Ministry of Natural Resources is continuing to investigate a wild fire on Highway 17 east of Kenora.

The blaze broke out yesterday afternoon and MNR fire crews were called out to help out members of Kenora's fire and emergency services deal with it.

The fire grew to about 0.5 hectares in size before being contained.

Crews were able to get a hose line around the fire.

The fire broke out near a sand pit just off the Parmeter Road.

Forest Tenure Bill Passes Third and Final Reading

The Provincial Government has passed the forest tenure Bill.

Third reading of Bill 151 and an hour of debate took place yesterday.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton calls the entire process a travesty.

The NDP member says Northern First Nations were also not consulted.

Petition Calls for A Deer Cull in Kenora

At least one business in Kenora is tired of dealing with the city's rampant deer population.

Debbie's Green House has started up a petition asking the city to deal with the issue.

Vince Schatkowski says the deer continue to be very destructive.

Schatkowski is suggesting a cull of the deer, or perhaps an expanded hunting season in the city.

Municipal Cultural Plan Coming together

After about six months of work, a draft municipal cultural plan for the City of Kenora.

The draft was presented to city council and members of the community earlier this week.

Ariana Moscate is the consultant who has been heading up the project and says hopefully the plan will pave the way for improved access to arts and culture in the city.

Comments on the draft municipal cultural plan can be made on-line until May 24th.

The final plan is expected to be presented to city council next month.

City Council Supports Shoal Lake's "Freedom Road"

Kenora City Council is throwing its support behind a proposed all-weather road from the Shoal Lake #40 First nation to the mainland.

The island community currently doesn't have year-round road access but is proposing to construct its so-called "Freedom Road" to access the Trans-Canada Highway.

The resolution passed by council suggests the lack of a permanent road to the mainland has had dire consequences for the communities economy, and resulted in band members moving away from their homes.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says they developed the resolutions following an informal meeting with the chief and bands members earlier this month.

Three northwestern Ontario Police Officers Honored

Three Northwestern Ontario Police Officers have been appointed to the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

The Order was created in 2000, to recognize exceptional service by members and employees of Canadian Police Forces.

Thunder Bay Chief Robert Herman, Treaty 3 Chief Conrad DeLaronde and Kenora OPP Detective Dennis Olinyk have been honoured.

The Order of Merit recognizes contributions by officers that extend beyond the protection of the community.

Landlords getting hit with Unpaid Tennant Utility Bills

The City of Kenora has found a way of re-couping the cost of unpaid utility bills.

Its now charging unpaid bills to the landlords of the delinquint tennants.

The new regulations aren't sitting well with local landlord Vince Cianci, who made a deputation to city council last night.

The city sent out the notices of the policy change last month and followed  that up with the actual bills last week.

Unpaid utility bills are now being added onto the landlords tax account for that property.

Northwestern Ontario Fire Fighters Heading Out West

Ontario is sending firefighting crews to Slave Lake to help the Alberta town battle a devastating forest fire.

Eighty fire rangers will be dispatched this morning and are expected to arrive in Alberta this afternoon.

Winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour have fuelled the wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

Provincial officials say Ontario will assess its ability to provide additional resources as the fire situation evolves in Alberta.

Rickford Returns to Parliament Hill Next Month

A bill to kill the long-gun registry is expected to be high on the priority list when the House of Commons resumes sitting.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford and his fellow MP's will return to work on June 2nd.

Government House Leader John Baird says the long-gun registry will be among several pieces of Legislation that will be introduced.

First things first; choosing a Speaker and the throne speech.

Sioux Lookout Rails against Mill Closure

The Mayor of Sioux Lookout Mayor is lashing out at the Province for not allocating wood rights for the Hudson Mill.

McKenzie Forest Products has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Dennis Leney says the Government has turned its back on his community.

Leney says the move in effect closes the mill, resulting in the loss of over 300 jobs.

Heritage Kenora Seeking Funding from City

Heritage Kenora is seeking funding from the City of Kenora to carry out its work.

The committee has been in existence for about seven years and is involved with designating heritage buildings and landscapes in the community.

Heritage Kenora now says it needs a budget in order to carry its mandate, which includes doing title searches.

A minimum budget of 25 hundred dollars has been requested from the city.

Council says it will consider the request.

Northwest Aboriginal Leaders Heading to the Big Apple

The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is heading back to the United Nations.

Stan Beardy will be leading a NAN delegation to the annul Forum on Indignous issues in New York this week.

The two week forum will focus on topics including economic and social development and the environment.