Canadian Blood Services

253 Kenora residents took one hour of their time over the last 2 days to donate blood at Thomas Aquinas High School. Harvey Heather from Canadian blood services says over 600 patients will benefit from this weeks blood donor clinic. For more information about becoming a blood donor call 1-888-2-DONATE or visit: www.bloodservices.ca

AbitibiBowater

AbitibiBowater says it's concerned about proposals for managing the Abitibi River forest.


The Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association has said the proposal would immediately cut the conifer wood supply in the area by 25 per cent.

AbitibiBowater says the such reductions in wood supply could jeopardize future forest sector investments.

It says it could also impact the economic foundation of 25 northern Ontario communities.

The Ontario Health Coalitions

The Ontario Health Coalitions wants to make health care a priority in the provincial election campaign.

Spokesperson Natalie Mehra says the political parties need to explain where they stand on the key issues in health care. Mehra says more than 18-thousand hospital beds have cut since 1990 while 24-thousand people wait for nursing home beds and 10 thousand wait for home care.

Randall Hopley

The Mounties say kidnapping charges await Randall Hopley when he  appears in a court in Cranbrook, British Columbia today.

Hopley was arrested yesterday 20-kilometres east of Sparwood. Three-year-old Kienan Hebert was returned to his Sparwood home on Sunday, four days after he disappeared.

R-C-M-P Inspector Brendan Fitzpatrick says it appears Hopley acted alone. Fitzpatrick adds no deal was made for the safe return of the boy

Air Canada Strike

Air Canada's flight attendants voted overwhelmingly to give their union leadership a mandate to call a strike.

Some 68-hundred workers could walk off the job as early as September 21st after giving the airline 72 hours notice.

The two sides continue to negotiate, but union president Jeff Taylor says progress has been very slow. Air Canada says it's business as usual until a strike is launched, when it plans to operate a partial schedule including code share flights operated by its partner airlines

Forest Fire Update

A shift in weather conditions has drifted smoke from a forest fire in Minnesota into Northwestern Ontario and as far east as Owen Sound and Barrie.


The lightning caused fire is 60-thousand acres in size and is about 15-kilometres south of the Canadian Border.The fire poses no threat to Canadian communities; however some U.S. road closures and evacuations have taken place.There are 45-active fires in the Northwest Region, with an area of nearly 480-thousand hectares burned.

Saskatchewan Man fined for Illegal Hunting in NWO

An Estavan, Saskatchewan man has been fined 25-hundred dollars for several hunting-related offences.

Justice of the Peace Daisy Hoppe heard the case in Ignace.

Richard Pesola pleaded guilty and fined for possessing a void hunting licence, moose hunting without a valid licence and making a false statement on a Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario Resident Outtdoors Card application.

Court heard that last May, Pesola provided false information when applying for a card and went moose hunting in this area.

Council to vote on Coney Houseboats next week

House boats moored off Coney Island will find out next week whether they will have to move.

City Council is expected to vote on a resolution calling for the removal of the house boats by October 31st.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says they have looked at some of the legal issues raised by the house boat owners.

He says now that they have the answers, council will have to make a final decision on their fate.

STR re-visits Cross Town Corridor

Winter is still a few months away, but that's not stopping the Sunset Trailriders from trying to re-vive the cross town snowmobile corridor.

STR members met with council this morning to look at some alternate routes for a snowmachine trail.

Sean Clifford says a cross town corridor is a win/win for everyone.

 The city says it will work with STR on the proposed corridor, but also wants to hold a public meeting to get some feedback on the trail location.

Alarmed for Life tonight in Norman

The City of Kenora Fire and Emergency Services will be conducting there annual Alarmed for Life Campaign tonight.

Fire crews will be canvassing the Norman area to ensure everyone has a working smoke alarm and that they're installed in the right place.

Fire fighters will be going door to door between 6:30 to 8:30 tonight, handing out fire prevention material.

Crash Test Dummies Cancel Kenora Concert

Those hoping to see the Crash Test Dummies perform in Kenora are out of luck.

The Winnipeg-based band has cancelled a fall tour of Canada and the U.S. because of lead singer Brad Roberts' back problems.

The Crash Test Dummies were scheduled to entertain fans on November 17th at the Dryden Centre.

On his Facebook page, Roberts says he's deeply disappointed but notes his medical condition has to be his priority right now.

Dragon Tamers Win in Winnipeg

Its the best ever finish for the Kenora Dragon Tamers.

The squad placed first in the All-Female Divsion of the FMG Dragon Boat Festival in Winnipeg over the weekend.

The Dragon Tamers beat out 17 other boats to claim the top honors.

The races took place this year on Shirley Lake instead of the Red River.

OPSEU Strike

Hundreds of striking Ontario college support workers carried a wooden table in downtown Toronto this morning to symbolize their demand for new negotiations.

Workers from 10 community colleges took part in the march from George Brown College on King Street to the management head office on Bay Street during the morning rush hour.

The workers, who have been on strike since Sept. 1, planned a rally at the management office.They are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union which represents about 8,000 cleaners, food service staff, registration officers and other workers at the province's 24 colleges.

Wages and job protection are major issues in the dispute. The colleges have pledged to stay open during the strike, with management and non-unionized part-time staff stepping in.

Kenora Professional Firefighters

Kenora Professional Firefighters will soon be making more money.


The City is expected to ratify a new three year contract next Monday.

The deal calls for a three percent increase, plus retention

bonuses for longer serving members of the fire department.

Deer Population

The City of Kenora is trying to become a less deer friendly community.

City Council is considering a by-law change which will allow bow-hunters to shoot deer south of the Kenora By-Pass.

Councillor Sharon Smith says its one way of trying to reduce the rampant deer population. The by-law change will be the subject of a couple of public meetings over the next week so council can gather feedback from local residents.

Ambulance Base

Still no word as to if, or when, a new land ambulance base will be built in the City of Kenora.

Councilor Louis Roussin says they will be getting an update on the actual building costs at the next meeting of the Kenora District Services Board later this month.

In the meantime, site evaluation is being completed on the property, which is located next to the fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

Forest Fire Update

Extreme weather conditions caused fire activity to surge over the past few days. There are now 45 active fires in the Northwest region affecting an area of 479,874 hectares. Fourteen of which burning in Sioux Lookout , seven in Fort Frances and four here in Kenora.

McKay opens campaign offices

The Conservative Candidate in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding says he's not impressed with the Northern Ontario platforms of the Liberals or the NDP.

Both parties released their election plans for this region last week.

Rod McKay says in less than a week on the campaign trail, there are really only two issues local residents seem to be interested in.

McKay will be opening his campaign office in Kenora this afternoon in the old Town and Country building on 2nd Street South.

Smoke drifting in from out west

The smell of smoke in the Kenora area over the past few days is from fires far away in the U.S. Northwest.

An MNR Spokesperson says they received numerous calls about the smell and haze but note its not from this area.

Meanwhile, the hot and dry weather of the weekend will give way to cool and damp conditions in the coming week, with daytime highs of just 7 degrees expected by Wednesday.

Blood Donor Clinic today and tomorrow

There's a high demand for blood in Northwestern Ontario so Canadian Blood Services is hoping for a

good turn-out for their blood donor clinic this week.

Harvey Heather from Canadian Blood Services says the process is virtually painless and only takes about an hour

The Blood Donor Clinic takes places at St Thomas Aquinas High School tonight from 4:30 to 9 and again tomorrow 9 am to 12:30.