MNR Making Progress on Forest Fires

Fire crews continue to make good progress on wildfires burning across northwestern Ontario.

There are currently 83 blazes burning in the region, down from 96 yesterday.

Five new fires were sparked yesterday, and the Ministry of Natural Resources is worried that all the lightning we've had over the past couple of days will result in even more fire activity.

A total of 200 fire crews will be returning back to British Columbia and other provinces because their tour of duty is winding down.

Another 160 will start arriving later today.

Province promises to fix up By-Pass Bridges

A couple of bridges along the Kenora By-Pass are in for a makeover this year.

Reconstruction work on the Middle Lake and Winnipeg River Bridges are two of the projects included in this year's Northern Highways program.

The province will be spending 618 million dollars on roads in northern Ontario this summer.

The twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway east from the Manitoba Border is also included in the Highway programs budget this year.

NDP send Travelling Ballot Box Around the Riding this Weekend

The NDP will be taking a travelling ballot box around the Kenora-Rainy River Ridng to select a candidate for the upcoming provincial election.

The New Democrats are trying to hold onto a riding held for the past couple of decades by Howard Hampton.

Kenora Lawyer Robert Sinding is challenging Hampton's constituent assistant Sarah Campbell for the nomination.

Sinding believes the party's platform will resonate with local residents.

The travelling ballot box will start the day in Sioux Lookout and be in Kenora on Sunday afternoon, before ending up in Fort Frances Monday night.

Clement Announces Funding for Aboriginal Businesses

There's almost 2-million of Federal dollars going to help Aboriginal business development in the Northwest.

FedNor Minister Tony Clement says the support is needed because raising money to start a business in First Nation communities is totally different that in larger centres.

Clement made the announcement in yesterday while touring the region.

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Day this Sunday

Waste Diversion Ontario is helping out the City of Kenora this year with its household hazardous waste disposal day.

Usually the city has to foot the entire bill for the waste collection day, but Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says they are eligible for some additional funding.

Perchuck says the city usually has to pay 35 thousand dollars every year to hold the Hazardous Waste Disposal Day.

You can drop of hazardous materials this Sunday at the Waste Transfer Station from 8:00 to 4:00.

Health Unit Re-Opens Keewatin and Round Lake Beaches

Good news for people who want to cool off this weekend.

The Northwest Health Unit has lifted the swimming bans at Keewatin Beach and Round Lake.

The most recent round of testing shows that bacterial levels have returned to acceptible levels.

The two swimming holes had been closed for the past week due to high levels of e-coli.

Province to Review lack of Aboriginal Representation on Juries

A former Supreme Court of Canada justice is going to look at why aboriginals are being shut out from juries in Ontario.

First Nations who live on reserves in the province say they have been excluded from juries for years.

Now the province has asked former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to look at the issue and come up with ways to fix the problem.

Bombardier Strike in Thunder Bay over

Striking Canadian Auto Workers members at Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant have reached a tentative agreement after just one day on the picket line.

Both sides reached an agreement last night.

The 700 union members, who assemble rail cars at the plant, are expected to vote on the offer on Saturday.

Staff walked off the job Tuesday but both sides returned to negotiations yesterday morning.

Bike Trails coming to City

The City of Kenora hopes to become more cycler friendly in the next few months.

Work is underway to develop a bicycle route through town.

Councillor Sharon Smith says that will include a marked route along Lakeview Drive, once that section is re-paved in the fall.

The route will include "share the road" signage, as well as bicycle stencils on the shoulder of the road.

OPP Arrest Two people in Rideout area

The OPP have arrested two people as a result of a drug bust in the Rideout area of town.

The Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and the Drug Unit executed a search warrant on a home on Mascott Avenue earlier this week.

Police say 3.5 grams of marijuana, six oxycodone pills and other drug paraphenalia were seized.

50 year old Leo Delorme and 22 year old Harley McLeod from Kenora have been charged with possession of a narcotic.

They are scheduled to make a court appearance in September.

Economic Development Commission Present Q2 report

All the city's investment in infrastructure over the past couple of years is starting to pay off.

That's the message of the chair of the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission.

Dennis Wallace presented the second quarter report to council this week and says there is a lot of interest in the former Abitibi property.

Wallace admits it could take a couple of years for the interest to translate into actual jobs, but says the foundation is there for growth.

City Council Turns Down Funding for Fellowship Center

Kenora City council has turned down a request from the Fellowship Center for a 12 thousand dollar grant.

The emergency shelter had requested the funding to help cover utility costs and recycling.

Councillor Sharon Smith says while the City doesn't have the funds to give the shelter money,

she suggested that Fellowship Center work with the Kenora Assembly of Resources to see if they can share some services.

The Kenora Assembly of Resources operates a couple of programs on the Kenora Harborfront

including the Green Team and Buck's Brigade.

Slight Improvement in Forest Fire Situation

The Ministry of Natural Resources continues to gain the upper hand on several wildfires in Northwestern Ontario.

There are now 95-active fires, down from 110-fires last night.

Information Officer Gabby Rivard says they are also getting fresh blood to help in suppression efforts.

There were just two new forest fires reported in northwestern Ontario yesterday.

US Economic Woes Good News for Local Housing Market?

Economic troubles south of the border could help out the housing market in Kenora.

Lakehead University Economics Professor Livio Di Matteo says the turmoil will likely mean interest rates will stay low which will make it easier for people to get a mortgage.

Di Matteo says the Federal Reserce Bank vowing to keep interest rates low will likely cause the Bank of Canada to do the same or even lower its rate.

Bombardier Strike in Thunder Bay over

Striking Canadian Auto Workers members at Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant have reached a tentative agreement after just one day on the picket line.

Both sides reached an agreement last night.

The 700 union members, who assemble rail cars at the plant, are expected to vote on the offer on Saturday.

Staff walked off the job Tuesday but both sides returned to negotiations yesterday morning.

City Considering Lawsuit over Bridge Repairs

The City of Kenora is talking legal action to get the provincial government to help pay for much needed repairs to a couple of local bridges.

The price tag to fix up the Keewatin Channel and the Winnipeg River West Branch Bridges is going to be at least six million dollars.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says a lawsuit is one way of forcing the government's hand.

The bridges were downloaded onto the municipality 14 years ago, and Canfield suggests some of the problems predate the transfer.

He plans to bring the issue up as his number one priority at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario convention in London later this month.

City Fails Safety Audit

The City of Kenora has received a failing grade in a recent work place safety audit by the WSIB.

Kenora was given 35 out of 100 in the Workwell audit.

While some councillors aren't happy with the audit results, Health and Safety officer, Bruce Graham says the news isn't all bad.

Another Workwell Audit will take place in February and the Graham predicts the city will perform much better.

NDP Releases more of its Northern Platform

Much of NDP's election platform for the north is still under wraps, but leader Andrea Horwath is giving us a sneak peak.

She is making promises that involve changes to the laws involving mining and keeping those resources here

The NDP is also promising to scrap the current wood allocation process.

City wants houseboats moved off Bush Island

The City of Kenora is planning to crack down on people parking houseboats illegally on municipal property.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they've been getting complaints from Coney Island residents about a number of houseboats moored just off Bush Island.

Lunny says the city will give the owners of the houseboats until the end of September to find somewhere else to park.

A lull in Forest Fire Battle

For the first time in two months, there were no new forest fires reported in northwestern Ontario.

Two days of showers has brought some relief to firefighters battling more than a 100 wildfires across northwestern Ontario.

Up to 30 millimetres of rain fell in some parts of the region.

The precipitation and cooler temperatures, will allow FireRangers to consolidated hose lines around some of the bigger fires and help crews focus their suppression efforts.