Amber Alert Update

Police in Northern Ontario have ended an Amber Alert for two young children they say were abducted in the Timmins area.

Three year old Aiden Johnson and one year old Kara Johnson have been safely recovered in the North Bay area.

The father, 34 year old Zachary Johnson is in police custody.

Crime Stoppers Month

Join the fight against crime!

January is Crime Stoppers Month.


Supplying police with information about a crime that leads to an arrest could garner an award of up to $2,000.

The process is simple and your name remains anonymous.

If you have any information that could help police solve a crime, call 1-888-222-TIPS or visit ontarioccrimestoppers.ca

Drug Bust

A drug shipment didn't make it to its destination last week thanks to The Nishnawbe-Aski Drug Enforcement Unit and the North East Region Crime Unit.

The intercepted package contained sixty one grams of Marihuana and was destined for the community of Kashechewan First Nation.

Thirty two year old Kathy Kimberly Koosees has been arrested and charged with Possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and will appear in court on March 28th.

RRSP

You now have until the end of next month to make your RRSP contribution and according to a CIBC study many of us will be making contributions despite economic troubles.

Investment Expert Blake Cameron says what the report doesn't show is that not many people use RRSP's. Cameron adds it's somewhere around thirty percent.


Cameron says troubles with various other pension plans and the Canadian Pension plan seem to be driving people to RRSP's.

Economy

It could be a volatile year economy wise for Northwestern Ontario.

Thats the prediction from Lakehead University Economics Professor Livio Di Matteo.

He says construction should continue to provide a boost to the economy but two areas to watch is the forestry sector and the minority government.

Attawapiskat Aid

An Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team is to leave Oshawa today with 100-thousand dollars in aid supplies for Attawapiskat.

The aid includes water purification systems and tablets, adult and child hygiene kits, medical supplies and thermal clothing.

The team delivering the aid will include a Durham Region police officer, two paramedics, one each from Durham Region and Toronto E-M-S, and a water technician.

Riding Association

Liberals in the Kenora-Rainy River riding are looking to reorganize.


A riding association meeting is planned for January 17th in Dryden.

Anthony Leek, who represented the party in last October's election, says it's important to have a strong local riding association in place.

The riding association was not that active in the year's leading up to last fall's election.

Osisko Mining

Osisko Mining has become the target of an unsolicited mini-tender offer.

The company proposing an open-pit gold mine near Atikokan says its neither recommending nor endorsing the bid from TRC Capital.

TRC wants to acquire up to 5-million dollars in Osisko shares at a discounted share rate.

Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5 per cent of a company's outstanding shares.

Atikokan Cultural Plan

A final draft of a new municipal cultural plan is now in the hands of Atikokan township councillor.

It makes 33 recommendations aimed at promoting and using the town's cultural assets as an economic development tool.

Mayor Dennis Brown says the township will be able to carry out some, but not all of the recommendations.

Council will hear more about the plan when the plan's author visits next Monday night.

Winter Driving

Provincial police say winter conditions were factors in two multi-vehicle crashes that left seven teens dead.

The collisions occurred on Tuesday within four hours of each other in the Parry Sound and Sudbury areas.

Police say the tragedies show how important it is for motorists to adjust their driving behaviour to the road conditions.

The O-P-P is asking parents to speak to their young drivers about the dangers of winter driving and to lead by example

Amber Alert

Police in Timmins, Ont., have issued an Amber Alert for two young children they say were abducted in the Timmins area.


Police are looking for three-year-old Aiden Johnson and one-year-old Kara Johnson, who they believe to be with their father Zachary Johnson.

Zachary Johnson is described as five-foot-10, skinny build, short curly dark brown hair with some grey, grey-green eyes, and scruffy facial hair.

Aiden Johnson is described as three-foot-six, stocky build, light brown medium length hair with blue eyes.

Police say he was wearing black and red Oshkosh snow boots with two Velcro straps and a white winter jacket with blue and black rockets and spaceships.

Kara Johnson is described as two-feet-tall, petite build, light brown short hair with bangs, fine hair, and hazel eyes.

She was wearing a one-piece, turquoise baby sleeper with a bunny in front.

The vehicle Johnson was driving was located broken down near Westmount Avenue and University Street in Timmins.

Police have been unable to locate Johnson and the kids and say he could be headed for Ottawa, Nova Scotia or Saint Sauveur des Monts,Que.

Salvation Army Canada

The bells weren't the only thing jingling during the Salvation Army's annual Kettle Campaign.

The organization says it raised a record 20-million dollars this Christmas.

The Salvation Army marked the 120th anniversary of its Kettle Campaign with nearly two-thousand kettles in stores and on street corners across Canada and through an online campaign.

Hunting Fine

A northwestern Ontario woman has been fined 15-hundred dollars for hunting violations relating to an incident last fall in the Sioux Narrows area.


Trisha Brackett was charged in October after a Ministry of Natural Resources investigation revealed the resident of Marathon had fired from and across a road at a deer.

She later killed the animal, despite not having a proper tag.

Canada Day Poster Challenge

Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Honourable James Moore has launched the 2012 Canada Day Poster Challenge.

This years theme is " The Fight for Canada".

This national competition invites young Canadians aged 5 to 18 to design an original poster that illustrates how the people, places, and events of the past have shaped our country.


The deadline for entering the contest is March 9, 2012.

For more details, visit the competition website: Canadian Heritage

Veterans Access to Benefits

A software program that could end many disagreements between injured soldiers and Veterans Affairs Canada has been stuck in the federal bureaucracy for over a year.

Canada's veterans ombudsman Guy Parent wants the application made available online so vets and former Mounties can determine what benefits they're entitled to.

The program was developed by the ombudsman's office and is currently approved only for internal use.

Festive RIDE Program

The Festive RIDE Program came to a disappointing end. Spokesperson

Shelley Garr says 47 impaired charges were handed out in the Northwest and a new issues is people tweeting RIDE location.

 Garr says although tweeting the locations is not illegal it is generally frowned upon. Garr commented its disappointing to still see people drinking and driving.

Municipal employees: Fort Frances

Municipal employees in Fort Frances have started 2012 with new contracts.


Separate four-year-deals for unionized workers and managers and non-unionized staff were agreed to just before the Christmas break.

The deals include wage hikes of two per cent in each year.

One with the Canadian Union of Public Employees impacts 67 full and part time workers, along with eighteen unionized positions.

The other covers about 40 managers and non-unionized staff, along with another 28 students.

Kenora Winter Carnival Charity Challenge

It's a tight race for the Kenora Winter Carnival Charity Challenge.

Tourism Development Officer, Heather Patterson says “so far so good”.

The Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation and It’s a Dog’s Life are tied for a close first having sold just over 400 winter carnival buttons.






Other charities selling buttons include:

Kenora Scouts
Habitat for Humanity
The Canadian Cancer Society
Alzheimer’s Society
Special Olympics
Triple P.L.A.Y

Winter Carnival Buttons" are $2.00 each and are available at The Discovery Center, City Hall or online at http://www.kenorawintercarnival.ca/

The Kenora Winter Carnival is March 2-March 4th 2012.

Fibrek

Quebec pulp producer Fibrek is urging its shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid from Resolute Forest Products.



Resolute is offering 130-million dollars for the company that has pulp mills in Quebec, West Virginia and Michigan.


In a letter to shareholders, Fibrek says the bid deprives them of the opportunity to participate in the upside of the pulp business and other earnings streams.

Driven to Quit Challenge

Quit smoking and you could win a car.


The Canadian Cancer Society has launched its seventh annual “Driven to Quit Challenge”

The Challenge itself is funded annually by the Ontario government and is open
to anyone over the age of 19-who used tobacco for at least 10 months in
2011.

Those who stay smoke-free for the month of March could win their
choice of a new Ford Fusion hybrid or Ford Edge.

Click here to register!