Rotary Auction Starts Today

A major fundraiser for the Kenora Rotary Club is

now underway. 

The annual Rotary Auction began this morning just after 9:00.

Fred Wright is a spokesperson for the local Rotary Club and says they have over 200 items up for bid this year.

The Rotary Auction will run until next Wednesday.

Campbell Re-news Calls for Prescription Drug Strategy

There's a renewed call for more help to those dealing with the withdrawal of oxycontin in Ontario.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell says she first raised the need for a Substance Abuse Strategy for First Nations two months.

Health Minister Deb Matthews says she is responding and has established an expert panel to

provide recommendations to her ministry.

Matthews the strategy also includes sending more doctors to support a methadone treatment program and strengthen support through Telehealth.

Water Levels Rising Slowly on Lake of the Woods

Despite a dry spring, water levels on Lake of the Woods are starting to rise slowly.

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says water levels have gone up a couple of centimeters in the past week, and are expected to go up another couple of centimeters in the coming seven days.

Spokesperson Rick Cousins says despite some concern about water levels, the lake is at a pretty good level for this time of year.

Cousins says they'd like to see the lake level go up another foot or so before summer, but that will be dependant on spring rains more than anything else.

Performers Sought For Canada Day

Plans are already in the works for Canada Day festivities in the City of Kenora.

This year, July 1st celebrations will be split between Keewatin and Kenora.

Crystal Stokes is the city's special events coordinator and says they are looking for volunteers to come forward for the evening entertainment under the big tent.

Daytime activities will take place in Keewatin, while the nighttime will belong to the Harborfront in Kenora on Canada Day.

City to Hold Emergency Expo

The City's Fire and Emergency Services Department is eager to show off its Emergency capabilities.

The fire department, police agencies and other groups in the city are planning to hold an Emergency Expo in May.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says they will be doing the expo in conjunction with Emergency Preparedness Week.

The Emergency Expo will take place on Saturday, May 12th.

Good Marks for Confederation College

Confederation College continues to perform ahead or at the provincial average.

A new report suggests that student and employer satisfaction has risen, as well as the school's graduate employment rate which is number one in the province.

School President Jim Madder says they are always looking to improve.

Madder also credits excellent dedication and work ethic for the success of the school.

Pickle Lake Motel Evacuated due to fire

The OPP say it was able to evacuate a motel in Pickle Lake following an early morning fire.

The blaze broke out in the kitchen area of the Winston Motel, just before 3:00 this morning.

Police evacuated the building because they were concerned about three large propane tanks that were attached to the building.

A radius of 500 meters was evacuated around the motel as a precaution.

The Pickle Lake school was opened up to lodge the evacuees.

The local fire department was able to contain the blaze and bring it under control.

Beaver Brae Juniors excel at NWOSSA Badminton Finals

Beaver Brae's junior badminton squad made its mark at the NWOSSA championships yesterday in Thunder Bay.

The Broncos won the overall junior title with 42 points.

Tyler Neil won the junior boys singles title, while Logan Gin took the silver medal.

Beaver Brae also won gold in the junior boys doubles, with Bo Rogers and Alex Smith compiling a perfect 5-0 record.

The Broncos took silver in the junior mixed doubles division with Davin Iverson and Kaitlin Sparkman finishing with a 4-1 mark.

Kenora senior players had less success. There were no medals at NWOSSA this year.

Thistles Drop their Second Game at Allan Cup

Its do or die time today for the Kenora Senior Thistles.

The Thistles lost their second game in a row last night at the Allan Cup in Lloydminster, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Stony Plain Eagles.

Jonathan Poirier scored the lone goal for the Thistles, his second of the tournament.

The Kenora Seniors are now into the quarter-finals today and will play Rosetown in an afternoon tilt.

That game is scheduled to start at 5:00 Kenora time.

Cross Province Unicycle Tour Starts in Kenora next month

Kenora will be the starting point of a 26 hundred kilometre unicycle journey.

Derrick Ferguson will be cycling across Ontario on a tour to raise money for the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Derrick says a trip to Central America is what inspired him.

Ferguson will begin his journey in Kenora on May 6th.

Economic Development Commission Sets up New Committee for Lakewood

The Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission has established a new committee to move the adult education concept for Lakewood School forward.

The public school board declared Lakewood Surplus last week and has sent out letters to interested parties asking for bids.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield is on the new committee but says he's not sure what role the city will play in the development.

Local education groups will have first right of refusal on Lakewood, followed by the municipality, and then other government agencies.

Summit on Ring of Fire called a Success

Some are calling it an unprecidented meeting.

A weekend summit of First Nations and regional municipal leaders on the Ring of Fire produced a resolution supporting Exton in Greenstone as the site of the proposal chromite smelter.

Greenstone Mayor Ren Beaulieu says for the first time, a united front is emerging.

A total of five first nation communities also attended the summit. 

OPP Traffic Unit Stays Busy

The OPP are in the midst of a two week long seatbelt campaign, but officers have been busy charging drivers with a variety of other offenses.

Over the past couple of days, the OPP's Traffic Division has charged one motorist for driving while suspended.

Three other people were nailed for driving without a licence while another driver had his vehicle impounded for 45 days for prohibited driving.

The Spring seatbelt campaign will wrap up on April 22nd.

CCAC Launches Speak Up campaign

Area residents are being encouraged to "Speak Up" about the type of health care they want in the event they aren't able to communicate their wishes later on.

Marg Poling of the Northwest Community Care Access Centre says too many people aren't prepared.

Officials says the discussions should start early and often as situations in life changes

Two Common Ground Research Projects complete

A million dollar research fund is starting to bear fruit for Tunnel Island.

The first two research papers from the Common Ground Research Forum have been completed.

Teika Newton heads up the Forum and says they will be presenting the results of the research papers in June.

The research papers looked at the attitude of local residents towards Tunnel Island and the Common Ground initiative.

Alzheimer Society Launches Penny Drive

Call it Pennies from Heaven.

The Alzheimer Society of Kenora and Rainy River is launching a penny drive to raise funds for its programs locally.

Lynn Moffatt is executive director and says they will also be offering prizes to major contributors.

A number of containers have been set up at businesses across the city so people can drop off their pennies.

Thistles Back in Action Today at the Allan Cup

Two teams searching for their first win at the Allan Cup in Lloyminster will do battle this evening.

The Kenora Thistles will face the Stoney Plains Eagles tonight in a clash of 0-1 teams.

The Eagles lost their first game of the Allan Cup last night 3-2 to the host Lloydminster Border Kings.

Meanwhile, the Southeast Prairie Thunder have a perfect 2-0 record after beating up on Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland 5-2 last night.

T.A. Student Advances to finals of Ontario Technological Skills Competition

A Kenora student is heading to Waterloo at the end of this month to showcase his carpentry skills.

Kevin Schabler from Thomas Aquinas won the individual carpentry competition put on by Confederation College for local high school students.

This was the regional contest to see who would qualify for the Ontario Technological Skills Competition in carpentry, culinary arts, television production and welding.

The top three finishers in each division advance to the provincial championships.

Schabler was the only Kenora student to advance.

Kenora Businessman Faces Hefty Fine

A Kenora businessman is facing a hefty fine for illegally taking gravel from a local pit.

Roland Roen was fined 10 thousand dollars for 13 counts of failing to pay annual fees, another two thousand dollars for operating a gravel pit without a permit and two thousand for harvesting on crow land without a licence.

The court heard that Roen had been hired by Ontario Hydro to repair a road in the Gundy Lake area back in 2008.

Material used for the road repair was removed from a nearby small pit on Crown land, for which Roen did not have a permit.

He also removed trees from three of his aggregate pits without obtaining a forest resource licence.

Boil Water Advisory in Lakeside area

About 30 homes in the Lakeside area are under a boil water advisory today.

The advisory was issued by the Northwestern Health Unit after a water main break in the 5th Street South area yesterday morning.

City operations manager, Rick Perchuck says crews has since found the water main leak and have been able to repair it.

The boil water advisory will remain in effect for at least a couple of days as the Health Unit waits for water tests to come back clear of any contamination.