Public Meeting for new Economic Development Zone

A proposal for a new economic development zone for northwestern Ontario will be up for review this week.

A public information session will be taking place in Kenora tomorrow.

A joint task force has developed a plan to enhance economic development opportunties in the region and is looking for feedback.

The session will take place at the Day's Inn from 1:00 to 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.

Public weighs in on Lakewood's Future

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says it could make a decision on the future of Lakewood School in the next month or so.

A final public meeting was held last night, and not much concern was raised about possibly closing the elementary school and changing it into an adult education center.

Director of Education, Jack McMaster says he's not too surprised there wasn't more of a backlast over the possible closure of the school.

The school board recently conducted an on-line survey which showed 70 percent of local residents support changing Lakewood into an post-secondary institution.

Trustees are expected to make their final decision at their April 10th board meeting.

Mayoralty confusion in Ignace

A political drama is brewing in Ignace.

Council will hold a special meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss what to do with the Mayor's seat.

Lee Kennard submitted a resignation letter to the municipal clerk on January 27th but he decided to withdraw that letter 5-days later.

Council declared the office of the Mayor vacant on February 6th, sparking a debate on whether Kennard should return as Mayor.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing says Council handled the situation correctly.

Several options now lie on the table including holding a by-election, appointing a councilor as Mayor or appointing Lee Kennard as Mayor.

Local Student heads to Queen's Park

A Vermilion Bay elementary student is heading to Toronto.

Grade 7 Lilian Berg student Emma Lang has been selected to serve as a Legislative Page at Queen's Park.

Lang will serve as a messenger on the floor of the chamber, meet key parliamentry figures and learn about Ontario's parliamentry system.

She must study and learn the faces, names and locations of the 107 MPP's before arriving at Queen's Park for her first day.

Welfare Caseload down in the Kenora District

Some encouraging signs that the economy may be slowly starting to turn around in the Kenora District.

The Services Board says Ontario Works caseloads have dropped 78-cases over 2010 numbers.

Benefit cases have dropped the past 3-years but still remain above pre-recession figures.

Kenora saw the largest decline in 62-cases, while Dryden saw a drop of 30-cases.

Ear Falls, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake saw modest increases.

Habitat For Humanity Plans more Fundraising this Spring

The local Habitat for Humanity Committee says its getting closer to its goal to be able to build a home in Kenora.

A build is scheduled to begin in May.

Andrea Lundy is a spokesperson for the local Habitat Committee and says they already have a number of their skilled trades lined up.

Lundy says they have raised about 25 thousand dollars in cash, and will be launching their shingle campaign once again in the spring.

New Northern Committee Proposed at Queen's Park

John Vanthof says the NDP is not out to give Southern Ontario less of a voice, he's out to give Northern Ontario a stronger voice.

The Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP has table Legislation to create a new Legislative Committee made up of Northern MPP's.

Vanthof says the Committee would have the power to examine legislation and make recommendations to the Government.

The motion will be debated and voted upon on March 1st.

Police Lay Charges in Weekend Collision

A 51 year old Kenora man faces charges following an accident in the north end of town.

The OPP say they were called to a collision at the intersection of Matheson Street and Second Street North around 9:30 Saturday morning.

Police say a 60 year old woman had to be taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Charges of failing to yeild to traffic have been laid.

Sioux Lookout cruises through NorWOSSA Playdowns

The Warriors were the teams to beat at the NorWOSSA curling championships at the Kenora Curling Club.

Both the Queen Elizabeth boys and girls squads claimed first place in their respective pools after two days of round-robin play at the Kenora Curling Club.

Both Sioux Lookout teams went undefeated and will head into the NWOSSA championships next week as the teams to beat.

Traffic Stop nets a kilo of cocaine

The Kenora OPP say they have taken about 100 thousand dollars in cocaine of the streets following a routine traffic stop.

Officer pulled over an eastbound Dodge Caravan around 11:30 Friday night near the intersection of the Redditt Road and the Kenora By-Pass.

After speaking with the driver, the officer became suspicious and a search of the vehicle uncovered about a kilogram of cocaine.

About 440 dollars in cash was also seized.

A 38 year old Thunder Bay man has been arrested for trafficking.

Canfield Campaigns for more Funding for Bridges in Toronto

The campaign to get the province to pay to repair Kenora's Bridges resumes this week in Toronto.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield and three members of city council are attending the Good Roads Conference.

Canfield says they may have to take drastic action if the province is unwilling to provide any funding for bridge repairs this year.

Canfield says they will be speaking with the Ministers of Northern Development and Mines about the issue this week.

Final Public Meeting on Lakewood Tonight

The third and final meeting on the future of Lakewood School will take place this evening.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has been meeting with parents and interested members of the public this month about a project which would see the elementary school turned into a facility for adult education.

The public school board has put any of its school closure plans on hold until it decides how it wants to proceed with the whole Lakewood proposal.

Tonight's meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30.

Broncos Sweep NorWOSSA Hockey Semis

The finals are all set for the NorWOSSA hockey play-offs.

Beaver Brae's girls team got by Thomas Aquinas 6-0 last night at the Kenora Rec. Center to win the best-of-three semi-final two games to none.

Haley Moncrief had a pair of goals to lead the Bronco offense.

Beaver Brae will now take on the winner of the series between Dryden and Fort Frances, which is tied at one game a piece.

Meanwhile, the Bronco boys will face Fort Frances in the the NorWOSSA final.

The Broncos swept Thomas Aquinas in two straight games to advance.

The Muskies meanwhile beat Dryden, also in two straight.

NorWOSSA Curling Plays-offs Wrap up In Kenora

NorWOSSA curling action resumes this morning at the Kenora Curling Club.

The top mixed, boys and girls curling squads began their play-offs yesterday morning.

Play resumes at 8:30 this morning.

Teams from Kenora, Red Lake, Dryden, Fort Frances, Atikokan, Sioux  Lookout and Rainy River are taking part in the two day bonspiel.

Girls Hockey Teams in Fort Frances over the Weekend

The Lake of the Woods Peewee Dynomite girls hockey team placed 5th at a tournament in Fort Frances over the weekend.

The Dynomite blanked a team from Thunder Bay 8-0 in their final game on Sunday.

Campbell speaks out against Doctor Shortage

Ontario's Health Minister is being accused of forcing communities in northwestern Ontario into a medical crisis.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell reissued an invite to Deb Matthews to visit and speak with local officials about what can be done about the doctor shortage in small towns in her riding.

Matthews says her Ministry is working hard to help the community and has ensured emergency room coverage at Rainy River Health Centre until April 5.

Senior Thistles cancel weekend game

A couple of changes to the Kenora Senior Thistles Schedule.

The Thistles were supposed to play the Southeast Prairie thunder tomorrow night at the Kenora Rec. Center, but scheduling conflicts force it to be post-poned.

The Thistles next game will be Sunday, March 4th at 2:00 against the Fort Frances ThunderHawks.

That's the second game of a two game total point series to decide who will host the regional branch championships.

High School Hockey Play-offs this weekend

No shortage of high school play-off action this weekend.

Both Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas teams will be doing battle against eachother in NorWOSSA semi-final action.

Tomorrow night, the battle of Kenora will feature the Beaver Brae boys against Thomas Aquinas.

The Broncos beat the Red Lake Rams 6-2 last night in a one-game play-off  to advance.

Tomorrow night's game is scheduled for 8:30 at the Thistle Rink.

Meanwhile, the Beaver Brae Girls will meet up with Thomas Aquinas in game two of their series Sunday night at the Kenora Rec. Center.

 The Broncos lead the Saints one game to none in the best-of-three series.

City Council members head to ROMA/OGRA

Provincial cabinet ministers will be in short supply at the Ontario Good Roads Conference next week.

Traditionally, municipal leaders take the opportunity to meet with the ministers to talk about their concerns at the winter conference.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says they have received a lot of rejection letters this time around.

Canfield says they will be meeting with the Ministers of Northern Development and Mines, Natural Resources and Training, Colleges and Universities next week.

Downtown CIP continued for one more year

A program designed to fix up aging businesses and buildings in downtown Kenora is being continued for at least one more year.

Kenora City Council approved the Community Improvement Plan extension in its budget deliberations earlier this month.

Over the past three years about 200 thousand dollars in grants have been handed out to enhance the downtown core, with facade improvement and new signage.

Council has agreed to top up the budget for the Downtown CIP to 100 thousand dollars this year.