Final Draft from Lake of the Woods Task Force Complete

A task force set up by the International Joint Commission to look at water issues on Lake of the Woods has come up with its final draft report.

The final report will be presented to the IJC in July, but between now and then local residents will get a chance to comment on the recommendations that are being made.

Kelli Saunders is the Canadian secretary on the task force and says one of the main recommendations is representation by first nation groups in the decision making process.

Other recommendations, include streamlining the number of agencies working in the Lake of the Woods

and Rainy River drainage basins, and reviewing water level guidelines for the lake.

A public consultation session is scheduled to take place in Kenora on June 16th.

MNR sending more Fire Rangers Out West

The Ministry of Natural Resources is sending more firefighters to Alberta.

An additional 82 forest fire staff will leave today for the Western Province, bringing the total of Ontario staff to 191.

Half of the resources are from Northwestern Ontario.

There were no new fires reported yesterday in this Region and crews are making good progress on a large fire currently being held near Savant Lake.

The MNR is also controlling a small fire about 22-kilometres southeast of Red Lake.

OPP see an increase in drug related crime in Kenora

The Kenora OPP says there has been an increase in the number of assaults, break and enters and mischief complaints in the first three months of 2011.

Inspector Dave Lucas presented his most recent report to the police services board Wednesday morning.

He says they are noticing a trend in those areas and are taking action to address those problems.

Lucas also submitted his 2011 business plan to the Police Services Board, which was drafted following community consultations and an analysis of crime in the city since the OPP took over in the summer of 2009.

Cancer Care Northwest sees room for improvement

Cancer Care Northwest has made improvements to its colorectal cancer programs.

That's one of the areas they saw improvements in a province wide cancer index.

Vice President Micahel Power says even though they did well they will continue to work towards improvement.

The screening rates for that cancer are below the provincial average and came in at 26 percent.

Search continues for missing angler near Morson

An OPP dive team is expected on Lake of the Woods near Morson today in search of a missing boater.

The man was with another fishing on the lake and reported overdue Monday.

OPP found their capsized boat Tuesday and the body of the other man on the shore.

No names have been released.

Bronco Girls win NorWOSSA Gold

Beaver Brae's girls soccer team is heading to the provincial championships.

The Broncos edged the Dryden Eagles 2-1 in penalty shots yesterday in the gold medal game.

They now head down to Windsor next week for the OFSAA Championships.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's boys had less success.

The Broncos dropped a 1-0 decision to Fort Frances in the gold medal game, and had to settle for silver this year.

Angler Drowns on Lake of the Woods

One person is dead and another is still missing following a fishing expedition on Lake of the Woods.

The OPP say they were contacted Monday night about two overdue anglers near Morson.

The OPP's Marine Unit was dispatched to the scene, and officers managed to locate the body of one of the men on shore.

His boat was located a short distance away and had capsized.

The Northwest Emergency Response Unit is continuing to search the shoreline for the other missing man.

The OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit is expected to be on the scene later today.

Kenora BIZ Reflects on a Year of Success

The Kenora Business Improvement Zone says it will continue to do what it can to improve the downtown area.

BIZ held its annual general meeting last night, and chair, Kerick Funk outlined some of their successes in the past year.

That included 50 thousand dollars in funding for the new Harborfront Tent, and the installation of cigarette butt containers on light standards.

BIZ says it still wants to deal with the parking issue in the downtown core, specifically, it wants to make sure parking spaces in front of local businesses are set aside for customers, and not the staff of local businesses.

NAN looking for Better Education Funding

The Deputy Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is again calling on the Federal Government to better fund aboriginal education.

Terry Waboose says the funding gap is growing bigger each year.

Waboose says they're working on creating a self governing first nation's education system that would give them more control over funding and curriculum.

Fire Hazard Reduced to Low in NWO

All the rain this weekend has reduced the fire hazard in northwestern Ontario.

We started the weekend with a high to extreme hazard, but its now down into the low range.

Fire Information Officer Debbie McLean says there were very few new fires reported over the past four days.

McLean says Thunder Bay fire #22, which forced the evacuation of 11 people in Wabakimi Provincial Park over the weekend, is now listed as being held.

Fort Frances Area Man killed in Train Accident

A Morley Township man has been identified as the victim of a collision involving a vehicle and a train near Fort Frances last Friday night.

92-year-old Donald Robert Bolen was killed in the mishap that occurred at a CN Rail crossing on Highway 617 in Stratton.

Both OPP and CN Rail Police have determined the red lights at the crossing were flashing and operating property at the time.

A post mortem examination is taking place in Kenora at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Beaver Brae hosts NorWOSSA ``AA`` Soccer Finals

The NorWOSSA Double A Soccer championships take place in Kenora today.

The host Broncos already have a bye into this afternoon's gold medal games.

Now they are just waiting to find out who they will play.

In semi-final action this morning, Dryden will take on Fort Frances in both the boys and girls semi-finals.

Those games are scheduled to start at 10:00.

The finals will go at 2:00.

OPP investigate Vehicle Fire near Golf Course

The OPP are investigating a vehicle fire on Golf Course Road over the long weekend.

Police say that early Sunday morning, shortly after 3 A.M., they were called out to a blaze reported near the Kenora Golf and Country Club.

The vehicle was fully engulfed by flames by the time officers arrived at the scene, and Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department was  called out to extinguish the blaze.

Police say the vehicle was a black 2007 Dodge.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Kenora Detachment of the OPP.

Petition For JM Arena Presented to Council

Pressure is being put on Kenora City Council to do something about the future of the Jaffray Melick Arena.

A petition was presented to council last week asking that an ice plant be installed in the community run facility.

Heather Rogers presented the petition to council last week.

The petition was started up this past winter, after the JM arena had to close early, due to warm weather and a lack of volunteers to operate the facility.

Fatal Accident Near Stratton over the Long Weekend

The investigation continues into a collision involving a vehicle and a train that killed one person in Stratton.

A C-N train hit the vehicle on the tracks at Highway 617 about 50 kilometres west of Fort Frances.

Police are trying to determine if the crossing lights were working at the time.

They had little information yesterday about the victim.

Forest Fire Threatens Northwestern Ontario Community

A fairly quiet weekend for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews, but one blaze is continuing to  be a cause for concern.

A large forest fire is burning in Wabakimi Provincial Park, about 38-kilometres east of Savant Lake.

The fire is burning near fly-in-lodges and the CN mainline and at one point forced the evacuation of 11-residents from the tiny community of Allanwater.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says the fire had grown to over 14-hundred hectares in size but notes thanks to the combined efforts of firefighters and air attack, no property was lost.

Evacuees have returned to their residence and operations on the CN main line have resumed.

There are 21-fire crews and 5-helicopters still commited to the blaze.

The cause is not known.

Work begins on new Tourism Portal

A number of economic development agencies in the region are launching a significant new tourism development project in the Kenora District.

The project is the first step towards the ultimate goal of a multimedia web portal that will showcase this area.

Spokesperson for the group, Vicki Kurz says they have to do a lot of ground work before they can launch their portal. Kurz says the infrastructure will include a mobil application so that people can plan an activity when travelling through the District.

Kenora, Red Lake, Ear Falls, Sioux Lookout, Ignace and Machin are involved.

OPP get new sponsor for trauma teddies

The OPP are continuing their efforts to help out children who are victims of trauma.

Local Superintenent Ron van Straalen says they've recieved a new supply of stuff toy bears to give away

Van Straalan says the program is also good for the image of the OPP.

The OPP have a new sponsor to supply the stuffed toy bears they give out to truamatized children, Aviva Canada.

OPP Marine Unit Hits Lake of the Woods

The OPP says it will be out in force this weekend on Lake of the Woods.

The Marine Unit will have several of boats patroling the big lake and some of the other smaller bodies in the region.

Mike Barclay is a spokesperson for the Marine Unit and says they will be looking specifically for open alcohol in boat and safe boating practices.

Barclay adds that the marine unit will also be teaming up with MNR conservation officers, making sure anglers obey local fishing regulations.

Harborfest Line-up Announced

Harborfest will be rockin' once again this summer.

The concert line-up for the 20th annual August Long Weekend festival has been released.

Friday night will feature four bands including Honeymoon Suite and Streetheart.

Randy Nickle is chair of Harborfest and says they had a tough time finalizing the Sunday night concert line-up.

Sunday night will feature the Watchmen and Sloan, while Saturday night has Doc Walker as the headliner.

Tickets will go on-sale on the Harborfest website this afternoon.