Beaver Brae dominates NorWOSSA Badminton Qualifier

Beaver Brae Badminton players dominated the NorWOSSA qualifying tournament yesterday.

A total of 13 Broncos placed either first, second or third in their respective divisions.

Thomas Aquinas had seven top three finishes.

The NorWOSSA Championships will take place in Dryden next Wednesday in the boys and girls singles, doubles and mixed doubles divisions.

NAFN Tournament Returns this Weekend

An Easter Weekend sporting tradition returns to Kenora.

The North American First Nations Tournament of Hockey gets underway this evening at the Kenora Rec. Center.

As many as 16 teams will be vying for the guaranteed first prize money of 20 thousand dollars.

OCN is back to defend its title in the open division this year.

There will be an Oldtimers tournament this year as well, with eight teams looking to win five thousand dollars.

Action gets underway at the Thistle Rink at 6:00 this evening and wraps up Sunday afternoon.

The Oldtimers final is 3:00 followed by the A-Side final at 5:45.

OPP Launch Easter Weekend Traffic Bliz

The long weekend has begun, and so has the holiday safety blitz by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Sgt. Shelley Garr says officers are on the lookout for impaired and aggressive drivers, unfastened seat belts and drivers talking on cell phones that aren't hands-free.

Garr says long weekend's usually bring extra traffic onto the roadways with people travelling to get to Easter celebrations.

Dryden looking at selling its Municipal Telephone Service

The City of Dryden is speaking with TBay Tel about a possible deal to purchase DMTS.

Mayor Craig Nuttall has confirmed that the two have been in discussions.

However, Nuttall notes that they are keeping an open mind.

Nuttall says they are looking at the best possible deal for the citizens of Dryden and they want to make sure their telephone service is still operating.

The City has previously stated that forming partnerships is also an option.

Seniors Group to meet with Resolute over Pensions

A group of seniors concerned over the pensions of former Abitibi-Bowater employees is being given an audience with the company.

Allan Bedard, chair of the group, Seniors and Retirees Against Pension and Elder Abuse, says company officials asked for the meeting to take place later this month.

The meeting comes after the group just made its self public.

The group is concerned over a recent reduction in pension payouts and the future of the fund.

Pellatt Fire Crews Deal with grass fire

The fire hazard is starting to inch up across northwstern Ontario with the recent, warm, dry weather.

Yesterday, about 18 volunteers from the Pellatt United Fire Department were called to deal with a grass fire near Lac Lu that grew to about two hectares in size.

MNR Fire information officer Debbie McLean says crews will be on alert this Easter Long weekend.

Yesterday's blaze also destroyed an old abandoned log home.

Its estimate the log cabin was about 138 years old, but had been lived in over over 25 years.

Gas Prices Jump in Kenora

Just in time for the Easter Long weekend.

The price of gas took a big jump in Kenora.

The price at most service stations this morning is 131.9, an increase of six cents in 24 hours.

That's far from the most expensive gas in the province.

In Sioux Lookout, gas is selling at 1.40 a liter.

The average price of gas in Ontario is 1.37.

Tourism Officials kick up Campaign to Save Tourist Centers

Local tourism officials say they haven't heard anything yet from the Ministry of Tourism about why its closing down three tourist information centers in northwestern Ontario.

Gerry Cariou from Ontario Sunset Country says the the only communication they have came from the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership announcing the closures last week.

He suggests the only way the centers will stay open is if local municialities take them over.

Carious says tourist organizations in the region have started a letter writing campaign to try and convince the government to reverse its decision to close the Tourist Information Centers.

OPP charge Duo after Tim's Take-down

Two Wabigoon residents face charges following a high-risk take down in the parking lot of Tim Horton's last Friday.

The arrests followed a search of a Wabigoon home by Ontario Provincial Police, the Drug Enforcement Unit and Emergency Response Unit.

OPP say 49-year-old Shawn Pakarinen and 40-year-old Shirley Brown both faces charges of possession of an prohibited or unauthorized firearm, careless storage of a firearm, possession of goods obtained by crime and possession of illicit drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

Both will appear in Court next month.

Rickford says Budget has Money for Aboriginal Communities

The Federal Government is making progress on improving First Nations education but more work needs to be done.

That's the feeling of Parliamentary Secretary for Aboriginal Affairs Greg Rickford.

The Kenora MP says the Conservatives made great strides in the recent Federal budget.

Rickford adds the Feds are investing 330-million dollars over two years to improve water and sewer infrastructure in First Nations communities.

Thistles prepare for Renwick Cup

The Kenora Senior Thistles are heading to southern Ontario today for the right to advance to the Allan Cup.

The Thistles will battle the Dundas Real McCoys in the Renwick Cup starting tomororw night.

Thistles head coach, John Tresoor says despite a lack of playing time, he says the players are ready.

The Renwick Cup is a best-of-three series for the Ontario senior's men's hockey championship.

Easter Egg Hunt this Weekend

An Easter tradition will be maintained in Kenora this weekend.

The Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be taking place down on the Kenora Harborfront Saturday morning.

The staff at Bestway Rentals puts the event on each year.

The hunt starts at 11:00 sharp, and organizers say you better be on time, because the eggs go fast.

Transport Driver Charged with leaving accident scene

A Quebec transport driver didn't get to far following a motor vehicle collision.

Ontario Provincial Police were notified of the crash on Highway 17, about 15-kilometres east of Ignace.

Police say the commercial vehicle left the scene and was later spotted in Dryden.

OPP say 59-year-old Tadeusz Nizio of Quebec has been charged with careless driving and failing to report damage to property.

KDSB Hands out Funding to local Agencies

Child care agencies are getting a financial shot in the arm from the Kenora District Services Board.

The Board is handing out a total of 153-thousand dollars under the National Child Benefit program.

Triple Play in Kenora is being promised 20 thousand dollars to help lower income families participate in local recreational programs.

Northland Supportive Housing will also be getting five thousand dollars in base funding.

The District Services Board is also planning to continue the Ontario Works Backpack Program, which

provides families vouchers to buy back to school supplies and clothing.

NorWOSSA Badminton Qualifier Today at Beaver Brae

There's a racket being made up at Beaver Brae's gym today.

The qualifier for the NorWOSSa Badminton championships is taking place today.

The top male and female singles, doubles and mixed teams will be looking to advance to next week's finals is taking place.

The NorWOSSA finals will be taking place in Dryden next Wednesday.

Rainy River Resources Inks Deal with local First Nations

A number of first nations are giving their seal of approval for a major gold mining project in northwestern Ontario.

Rainy River Resources says its signed a participation agreement six aboriginal communities in the area.

The agreement sets out a schedule of benefits including employment and business opportunities, funding to support skills development, occupational training and education.

The proposed mine is located about 80 kilomters south of Kenora and is expected to be in production by 2015.

Grassroots Group Demands Pension Protection

A grass-roots movement to protect the pensions of seniors is starting up in northwestern Ontario.

The group is called Seniors, Retirees Against Pension and Elder Abuse.

Allan Bedard says he's launching the initiative over concerns about the health of private and public penion funds.

Bedard says he initially got the movement started a couple of years ago over concern for the pensions of Abitibi workers after the company went through bankruptcy proceedings.

The group is meeting tonight in Fort Frances at 7:00 at the Sister Kennedy Center.

Museum Gets Green Light to Hire

Lake of the Woods Museum has been given approval to fill a job vacancy later this year.

City Council held a short special meeting yesterday to deal with the staffing request.

The museum wants to hire a community co-ordinator and wants to have someone in place by May to cross-train with an employee who is retiring.

Council approved the new position in its 2012 budget, but deferred the decision until some details about the job could be clarified.

Car Batteries Stolen on Lakeview Drive

Someone must have needed a big boost.

The OPP are investigating the theft of more than 200 car batteries from behind a business on Lakeview Drive.

Police say the batteries were stolen between Saturday night and Monday morning, when the theft was discovered.

Anyone with information about the stolen batteries is asked to contact the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Moose Hunters Fined

Two men from Devlin have been handed huge fines for not following party hunting rules while moose hunting.

The men were charged last October after the Ministry of Natural Resources received conflicting information over who actually shot the animal.

Court fined the men over 27-hundred dollars.

Their kill was also forfeited to the crown.