New Year's Eve in Kenora

The Kenora Rec. Center will be a hopping place once again this New Year's Eve.


The Kenora Rotary Club will be holding its 3rd annual Family night.

There will be free skating and swimming from 4:00 until 7:00 for everyone.

There will also be free sleigh rides from 4:00 until 6:00 outside the Rec. Center.

Kenora Lions Club

$67,000, that’s what this year’s annual Lions Club Christmas draw brought in.


Don Brown of the Lions Club says the tickets have been sold out for the last 5 consecutive years and he hopes 2012 will be no different.

Winners for the 2011 season include:

1st prize: Robert Gray (Dodge Journey or $28,000)

2nd prize: Murray MacDonald ($500 gift card to Safeway)

3rd prize: Dianne Little ($500 gift card for Canadian Tire)

The draw was held on Christmas day.

Healthy Smiles

There are plenty of Healthy Smiles in the Rainy River district.

Northwestern Health Unit has concluded a lengthy visit to the district of its mobile dental office.

The Health Unit's Dental Health Program Manager Dawn Sauve says its aimed at bring dental services to children in need.

Funding for the van came from the Ministry of Health.

Legislative Agenda

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says he's proud of his government's track record this fall.

Rickford says while the opposition spent a lot of time talking about the conditions on the Attiwapiskatt First Nation, the government stayed focused on its legislative agenda.

Rickford says a couple of important bills were passed including Electoral Reform and the Safe Streets and Communities act.

2012 in Kenora

A positive outlook for 2012 in Kenora.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield believes the city is due for better times.

He says its important to put out the welcome mat for business.

Canfield says a lot of money has been spent on improving the city's infrastructure over the past few years and he feels that will pay dividends in the months ahead.

Chamber of Commerce Business Awards

There are a dozen awards up for grabs this year including: entrepreneur of the year, manager of the year, customer service excellence, hospitality, and new business of the year.


Nominations can be submitted online to the Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce.

January 6th is the last day to submit nominations.

Recycle Your Electronics

If you're looking for a New Years Resolution how about this: Recycle your old electronics.

The Ontario Electronic Stewardship says they've seen a big increase in the amount of old cell phones, computers and televisions being recycled in northwestern Ontario.

But executive director, Carol Hochu suggests we can do better.

In Kenora, you can recycle your old electronics at the Waste Transfer Station on Barsky's Hill.

Ice Candle Festival Starts Tomorrow

Lake of the Woods Cemetary will be aglow with ice candles once again this Christmas

Volunteers will begin lighting the candles tomorrow.

Barb Manson organizers the annual event and says this year the funds will go towards completing a park in the Lakeside area.

A special ceremony will take place at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon at the cemetary with a special choral presentation from the Sideways Singers.

Bill to Abolish the Long Gun Registry Delayed until the New Year

The abolition of the federal long gun registry has now been put off until the new year.

Parliament rose last week, without third reading of the bill.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford expects it will be one of the first items of business when the House of Commons resumes sitting in February.

Rickford had hoped the bill would pass before Christmas, but says a very busy legislative agenda prevent it from getting third and final reading.

A mild Christmas in the Forecast

Santa isn't going to have to put on his warm, thermal underwear when he visits Kenora this Christmas.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says its going to remain unusually warm until at least early next week.

The forecast for Christmas calls for plus one and plus two for Boxing Day.

Local Business Survey Launched

What do local businesses need to survive and to thrive?

That's the question being asked by the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission.

Thelma Wilkins-Page says volunteers are contacting local business owners getting their feedback.

Wilkins-Page says they recently completed their survey of the automotive sector and will continue with their business poll in the new year.

IJC Report on Lake of the Woods Delayed

A report on the Lake of the Woods Watershed by the International Joint Commission is going to be delayed.

A Task Force set up by the IJC submitted its recommendations back in July, and the Commission was to present its findings to the government's of Canada and the United States by December 17th.

However, it now appears the final report won't be ready until the end of January.

Commission spokesperson Bernard Beckhoff says they are in the process of  finalizing the report and says additional time is needed to complete it.

NAN calls for Action on FASD

There's an accusation that the McGuinty Government isn't doing enough about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose says the Province needs to get serious about the problem because his people can't do it on their own.

Waboose says a countless number of children with the disorder are falling through the cracks.

Habitat For Humanity Committee Making Progress

Habitat for Humanity is confident it will be able to meet its fundraising target to build its first home in Kenora.

The local committee is hoping to raise 125 thousand dollars before the spring.

Ralph Page is one of the local members and says he's pleased with their progress to date.

Page says they have about 18 thousand dollars in cash donations and even more promised with "in kind" donations of labor and materials.

Catholic Board approves revised budget

The Kenora Catholic District School Board has approved its revised budget estimates for the current fiscal year.

Because enrolment is up, the separate school board is getting more funding from the Ministry of Education.

However, Finance manager Erica Baily, they still expect to add to their deficit this year, due to the extra student population.

Bailey says they have about 25.5 more students enrolled in the Catholic Board right now that they have projected back in June when they finalalized their budget.

Broncos split in Fort Frances

Beaver Brae's junior boys basketball team is going into the Christmas Break with a two game winning streak.

The Broncos edged the Fort Frances Muskies 27-26 yesterday in the Fort.

Beaver Brae opened the season on Tuesday with a win over Dryden.

The Broncos senior boys are still a work in progress. They were hammered 56-19 by the Muskies yesterday.

In girls volleyball action, the Beaver Brae senior girls picked up their first win of the season, downing the Muskies three sets to one.

The Broncos junior girls lost in three straight to Fort Frances.

Shoal Lake #39 Threatening to take Winnipeg to Court

The Shoal Lake #39 First Nation says its prepared to take legal action against the City of Winnipeg over the issue of water.

The band has given Winnipeg a deadline of January 20th to open negotiations.

Earlier this year, Chief Eli Mandamin indicated they were seeking 124 million dollars a year for the water Winnipeg uses.

The band claims the city is taking the water illegally.

Shoal Lake says the ball is now in Winnipeg's court.

Rickford supports adult training center

Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission is getting some high level support for its concept of a Adult Training Center in Kenora.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says developing training opportunities is key to the economic future of the community.

Rickford goes on to say he supports the concept.

The Commission briefed city council on the proposal for an adult training center at Lakewood School.

A final business plan is expected to outline some of the potential sources of funding for the project.

Atikokan not happy with Comparisons to Attiwapiskatt

The Mayor of Atikokan says he's not sure why his community is being used as a comparison with the financial spending of troubled Attawapiskat First Nation.

A published report notes Atikokan's operating budget to be a third of the remote Northern community.

Dennis Brown says location may play a factor.

Brown says it's also difficult to compare budgets since Atikokan doesn't have all of the same financial responsibilities as Attawapiskat.

Trout Forest Lands funding

A big catch for organizers of the Trout Forest Music Festival.

The Federal Government has handed the Ear Falls Festival 50-thousand dollars to help it through 2013 and 2014.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says the event is a great venue to showcase local and national talent.

Trout Forest Executive Director David Hoey says the funding will make it easier for planning and will allow organizers to showcase the top talent in Canada.