Old Man Winter Returns

Old man winter isn't done with us yet.

A blast of arctic air is going to keep things chilly for at least the next two days.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says the good news is the snow won't stick around for long.

The normal highs for this time of year is 8 degrees.

Trek from Kingfisher Lake Completed

Fundraising efforts continue for a new building to house a treatment program in Kingfisher Lake First Nation.

The campaign has hit a high note with the completion of a 500-kilometre walk from the remote Northern community to Sioux Lookout.

37-year-old William Mekanak and 16-year-old Bryan Sainnawap embarked on the journey to raise money for the prescription drug detox program.

The two walkers say a new centre to run the program is needed to combat the problem.

The goal is to raise 150-thousand dollars.

School Board's Worried About Possible Amalgamations

Is a merger forthcoming involving the Rainy River District School Board and the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board?

That's a possibility if the Provincial budget passes.

Mike Lewis is Chair of the Rainy River Board and he says it may help the province reduce the deficit but stresses there's more to consider than just money.

Lewis is encouraging residents and communities to speak up in opposition.

Fraser Institute releases latest report on Secondary School's

The Fraser Institute is out with is annual evaluation of secondary schools in Ontario.

Its mixed news in Kenora, where Thomas Aquinas saw its rating increase, while Beaver Brae slipped a few notches.

Study author, Michael Thomas says while some educators don't like their report, he thinks its still valid.

Thomas Aquinas was rated 84th out of the 718 schools ranked in the yearly report.

Beaver Brae was 623rd overall.

Saints, Sinners and Spirits at the Museum

Lake of the Woods Museum is looking into the dark underbelly of Kenora's past.

A new exhibit opened last week up called Saints, Sinners and Spirits.

Museum spokesperson Braden Murray says there's a long history of rum-running on Lake of the Woods.

The exhibit, developed by staff at the museum, will run until June 9th.

New Forest Fires Reported over the Long Weekend

The forest fire season in northwestern Ontario is only a week old, but there's already been 13 fires reported in the Kenora District.

Over the weekend, two more fires were reported.

One grew to 6 hectares in size before being brought under control.

The other was just a small 0.1 hectare blaze north of the city.

Both are listed as human-caused.

Fires were also reported in the Dryden and Fort Frances Districts as well this Easter Long weekend.

NOMA Supports Local Tourist Centers

There's more support for keeping tourist information centres in Fort Frances, Kenora and Rainy River open.

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is the latest to voice its opposition to the planned closures.

NOMA President Ron Nelson wants Tourism Minister Michael Chan to meet with area tourism officials and hold off hold off on the closures until then.

OCN Penguins with 5th Consecutive NAFN Title

Manitoba teams once again dominated the North American First Nations tournament of Champions.

For the 5th year in a row, the OCN Penguins took the A-side champioship winning the 20 thousand dollar first prize beating the Sandy Bay Feathermen 5-3.

In the battle for 3rd place, Eagle Lake shut out the OCN Blues 2-0.
In the B-side final, Grassy Narrows beat up on Shoal Lake 7-2.

In the Oldtimers division, Shoal Lake eked out a 2-1 win over the Whitefish Bay Rangers.

Senior Thistles Advance to Allan Cup

The Kenora Triple "a" Senior Thistles will be playing for Allan Cup for the second year in a row.

The Thistles hosted the tournament last year, but this year they played their way in by winning the Renwick Cup, and will be the Ontario representitives.

The Kenora squad beat Dundas in two straight games in the best-of-three series over the weekend.

The Thistles capped the series Saturday night with a convincing 6-1 win.

Jeff Richards had a three goal game.

Friday night, Kenora beat Dundas 5-2.

The Allan Cup starts one week from today in Lloydminster.

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.