NOMA Agenda Finalized

The Agenda for the 66th annual Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Kenora has been finalized.

The only real change is the absence of NDP leader Andrea Horwath from the proceedings.

Horwath had been scheduled to speak to delegates Friday morning, but has since given her regrets.

Opposition leader Tim Hudak is still on the schedule, as are Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Kathleen Wynn.

They will be participating in a bear-pit session Friday afternoon.

Delegates will begin arriving in Kenora tomorrow.

Treaty Three Police Continue Investigation of Devil's Gap Fire

The Treaty Three Police aren't saying whether foul play was involved in a fire that destroyed seven cabins at Devil's Gap.

Detective Sergeant Doug McKenzie says they are still conducting interviews and collecting evidence.

He does say they are treating the blaze as a criminal investigation because there was property damage.

An investigator from the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office was brought in over the weekend, but the investigation has since been turned over to the Treaty Three Police.

While no-one was injured, damaged has been estimated at over a half a million dollars.

OPP Wrap up Spring Seatbelt Campaign

The Ontario Provincial Police have wrapped up the Annual Spring 'Seatbelt' campaign.

Police in Northwestern Ontario laid 163-seatbelt releated charges during the 8-day initiative.

OPP across the Province laid a total of over 55-hundred charges.

Beware of Invasive Plants

The Ontario Invasive Plant Council is already counting down to the May long weekend.

The council is launching a 24 day campaign this week to raise awareness of the types of invasive plants we're introducing into our environment.

Rachel Gagnon says the plants might look nice, but they are potentially harmful.

Gagnon says purple loosestrife is the most famous invasive plant, but says there are numerous others plants people don't realize aren't native to Ontario.

Caribou King Searches for Graphite near Kenora

An exploration company has taken an interest in some claims in northwestern Ontario.

Caribou King Resources says it has acquired three separate properties in the region, including one in the Kenora Mining district.

Caribou King says they are looking at graphite deposits in ten separate locations.

The other claims are in the Savant Lake and Garden Lake areas of northwestern Ontario.

T.A. to Host 2015 OFSAA Girls Hockey Championships

Kenora will soon be playing host to another provincial championship.

Thomas Aquinas announced yesterday it has won the right to bring the All-Ontario Single A and Double A girls hockey championships to Kenora in 2015.

T.A. is expecting at least 20 teams in town for the OFSAA finals.

The school is currently recruiting community members to help organize the event.

Retirees meet with Resolute Forest Products

A local seniors group is calling its meeting with Resolute Forest Products over their pensions concerns productive.

The group Seniors-Retirees Against Pension and Elder Abuse sat down with Company executives last week.

Chair Allan Bedard says they asked the company for a meeting with all of the local mills retirees and was pleased with the dialogue.

Bedard says they've also asked to have a retiree to be part of the company's pension committee.

Student Arrested for Dealing Pot

Drug dealers seem to be getting younger all the time.

The Kenora O.P.P. say they were contacted by staff at Thomas Aquinas High School on Friday about a youth who was selling marijuana.

A 14 year old boy was picked up and has been charged with trafficking.

He was one of four people arrested over the past three days for dealing marijuana in the Kenora area.

VCARS holds awards ceremony this morning

The focus of an awards ceremony today is on the victims of crime.

The Kenora and Dryden Victim Crisis Assistance and Referral Program is singling out staff and volunteers in the District.

Monica Huminiuk is the local VCARS co-ordinator and says the awards ceremony will be followed by an open house.

The awards ceremony will start at 10:00 this morning, followed by the open house at 12:30 at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Campbell Angry over the loss of MNR Call Center Jobs

Sarah Campbell doesn't sound like someone who's eager to support the provincial budget.

In the Ontario Legislature yesterday, the Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. lashed out at the McGuinty Government for cutbacks at the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci dodged Campbell's question and instead talked about how much money the government is putting into the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, and how much of that money has ended up in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding.

Two Arrested in Early Morning Drug Bust

A busy weekend for the OPP's Street Crimes and Drug Enforcement Units.

A total of four people have been arrested and charged with trafficking in three separate incidents.

Early this morning, officers stopped a vehicle in the Transmitter Road area.

The occupants were found to be in possession of 129 grams of marijuana.

Two Winnipeg men have been charged.

20 year old Jesse Gran and 25 year old Drew Melvin are due to appear in Kenora Court in June.

Girls hockey Hands Out Annual Awards

The Lake of the Woods Girls Minor Hockey Association is celebrating another successful season on the ice.

The girls hockey league held its third annual awards banquet Saturday night at the Kenora Curling Club.

About 400 people attended the event.

Awards were handed out to each of the division winners, as well individual awards for most improved,  dedication, pride hustle & determination, miss congeniality and most sportsmanlike.

Ontario Fire Marshall to Investigate Devil's Gap Blaze

The Treaty Three Police and the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office is investigating a fire near Devil's Gap that destroyed seven cottages.

The fire broke out early Saturday morning around 2:30.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says they know which cabin the blaze started at, and because the units are so close together, it didn't take long for the fire to spread.

He says their main priority became to protect a large lodge nearby.

Crews spent several hours putting out the fire and didn't leave the scene until about noon on Saturday.

He estimates damage could top over a half a million dollars.

Shaw KBI Turns 25

The grand-daddy of bass fishing tournaments in northwestern Ontario hits a major milestone this year.

The Kenora Bass International turns 25 in August.

Duncan McEwan is chair of the event and says they are still going strong with 25 thousand dollars up for first prize this year. 

McEwan adds that there is still room for teams to enter this year's event.

Kenora Hydro Tries to Address Outages

Kenora Hydro is trying to improve the reliability of its electrical system.

The Lakeside and Coney areas continue to be a source of concern, with numerous outages in recent weeks.

Hydro president Dave Sinclair says they've installed new equipment, which he believes is part of the problem.

Sinclair says they have seem some improvement in the Lakeside area in the past year, but he says they are still working to ensure better service to that part of town.

City Looking at Coney Island Docking

Kenora City council is still undecided whether to replace the aging municipal docks on Coney Island.

An underwater assessment of the crib docks will be done this spring by a dive team.

Councillor Sharon Smith thinks the city should be looking all options.

Smith suggests the city should send out a request for proposal for the Coney docks and wait to see what kind of response they get.

Community Business Survey nears completion

A business survey of all companies, large and small in the City of Kenora is nearing completion.

The survey is being conducted by volunteers from the Lake of the Woods Development Commission.

Chair of the Business Development committee Thelma Wilkens-Page says right now they are working on the retail sector.

Wilkens-Page says they hope to finish their surveys by the end of May.

Federal Government works on First Nations water legislation

The federal government is pushing through legislation for clean, safe drinking water on reserves.

But for many First Nations, especially those in remote areas, new regulations aren't bringing the kind of help they need right now.

The Slate Falls Nation in northwestern Ontario has lived for years with a boil-water advisory.

Chief Lorraine Crane says the lack of good, clean wat er means her community can't expand. And now, she and other leaders suspect the water may be responsible for a strange spike in the rate of miscarriages.

A recent national assessment of water on reserves said the federal government would have to invest 4.7 billion dollars over 10 years to bring First Nations water systems up to an acceptable par with the rest of the country.

NOMA speaks out against Budget Impasse

The president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association says the government should get at least a full year to see if it can work with the other parties before another election is called.

Ron Nelson says he doesn't like the idea of the government's first budget since the October election being turned into a political football.

However Nelson also says the Liberals ``have to listen, and the're not used to doing that.''

Ontarians could be headed back to the polls if the budget is defeated tomorrow.

Rafferty appointed FedNor Critic

John Rafferty's days of wandering in the political wilderness seem to be over.

Rafferty, the Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP says he's pleased with NDP leader Tom Mulcair's decision to appoint him as the new official opposition critic of FedNor.

Mulcair made the appointment at the unveiling of his first shadow cabinet as official opposition leader.

Rafferty and fellow Thunder Bay M.P. Bruce Hyer were kicked out of the NDP caucus last fall for supporting legislation to do away with the federal long gun registry.