Northern Rendez Vous Starts Tonight

Some pretty sporty vehicles will be driving around town today.

The Northern Rendezvous will be making its ever appearance in Kenora starting this evening.

Tom Struthers is one of the organizers and says they will be featuring mainly British sports cars.

Struthers expects more than 100 vehicles will be in town for the Northern Rendez Vous with the feature being the MG.

Struthers says 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the classic British roadster. 

Public School Board Approves 2012-2013 Budget

Just a slight increase in spending this year for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Trustees approved an 85.2 million dollar budget this week, which is an increase of about 500 thousand dollars from the year before.

Superintendant of Business Dean Carrie says the good news is that they expect their enrolments to start stabilizing after years of fairly significant declines.

The school board's funding is largely based on Student enrolment, and Carrie says their numbers will drop this year by about 60 students.

Council debates Harborfront Tent Capacity

A new document called the Harborfront Tent Users Guide is generating quite a bit of discussion at the council table.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says he drafted the policy after getting repeated questions about how many people the new tent can hold.

Mayor Dave Canfield suggests the new policy adds more red tape for people who want to rent the new tent.

But Brinkman says the information is based on the Ontario Fire Code and says if alcohol is

being served, no more than 1240 people should be under the tent.

He suggests that the standing room capacity is closer to 35 hundred, if no alcohol is being

served.

NOMA Applauds new Electricity Rate

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is giving its thumbs up to a new industrial electricity rate announced by the province this week.

The new rate will amount to about 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Dave Canfield is the vice-president of NOMA and says that's a good start.

The new rate will take effect new year for large industries that plan to expand or to re-locate in Ontario.

Fire Fighter Recalls Sandy Lake Airplane Fire

A harrowing tale from a Sandy Lake firefighter involved in yesterday's blaze at the community airport.

Ringo Fiddler says a Wasaya Airways plane was destroyed.

Fiddler says flames were shooting as high as 40-feet into the air and full fuel tanks were about 25-feet away.

He says firefighters had to fight the flames about 50-feet away from the blaze.

Ivan the Eye Van Returns for a 40th year

An anniversary for the CNIB's Eye Van.

The medical mobile eye care unit is back on the road for its 40th year.

Executive Director Monique Pilkington says it's brought much needed services to northern Ontario.

The Eye Van reaches Kenora at the end of July and the first part of August.

13TH Triple Play Take A Kids Fishing Day this Saturday

Wanted: a couple of good anglers to take a kid fishing.

Triple Play will hold its 13th annual Take A Kid Fishing day this weekend.

Debbie Novak from Triple Play says they are still looking for some volunteers to help out.

A total of 16 kids between the ages of 8 and 15 have signed up for this years day of fishing.

It will take place Saturday starting at 11:00 at Anicinabe Park.

TSB to Looking Sandy Lake Airplane Fire

Details are emerging after a Wasaya Airways plane that was destroyed by a fire yesterday.

The Hawker was off-loading fuel at the Sandy Lake Airport when something went wrong and the plane caught on fire.

Regional Manager of the Transportation Safety Board Peter Hildebrand says they are trying to find out what exactly went wrong.

Hildebrand says he hopes to speak with the two crew members in the next day or so and get more information on what possibly caused the fire.

The TSB is also talking with Wasaya officials.

Meantime, a Sandy Lake First Nations firefighter says yesterday's fire could have been a lot worse.

Ringo Fiddler says firefighters received the call just before 2 o'clock in the afternoon and it took about 5-minutes for crews to arrive.

Fiddler says flames were shooting as high as 40-feet into the air and full fuel tanks were about 25-feet away.

He says firefighters had to fight the fire about 50-feet away from the blaze.

Fiddler says the fire started near the fuel tank.

No one was injured in the incident.

Lake of the Woods Control Board to Hold Open House tonight

Water levels continue to rise on Lake of the Woods.

The lake level went up about three inches this past week and are expected to go up a similar amount in the next seven days.

Due to all the rain, the Control Board has increased outflow at the Norman Dam by about 50 cubic meters per second, with a second increase scheduled for tomorrow.

In the meantime, the Lake of the Woods Control Board will be holding its annual Open House in Kenora this evening for anyone who has questions or concerns about waters levels on the lake.

The Open House will run from 7:30 to 9:00 at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Council to Approve Outdoor Patio Policy

City council will once again try to pass regulations to allow outdoor patios on municipal property.

The Property and Planning met yesterday and approved changes, which would allow businesses to take out permits to expand or create patio areas on local sidewalks.

The proposed by-law was withdrawn last month for some more work and review by municipal solicitor.

The by-law would allow local businesses to set up outdoor eating areas for an annual lease of about 350 dollars.

Council is expected to approve the new by-law at its next open meeting next Monday.

Public School Board Promises a Computer for almost Every Student

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is getting into computers in a big way.

Starting this fall, every student from grade four to grade 12 will get their very own netbook or laptop.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says the trustees were really the driving force behind their 21st Century Learning plan.

The total cost of the computer project will be 2.3 million dollars this year, which will come from the boards reserves.

The public school board is also planning to purchase another 335 i-pads for students in Kindergarten to grade 3.

Longboating for Head Safety

With summer around the corner, it's prime time for helmet safety.

Mike Harris and Jeff Abbot are making a difference by long boarding across the country to raise funds for the Canadian Brain Injury Association and to promote helmet use in sports.

However Abbott and Harris weren't so lucky before. Both have had numerous concusions that almost cost them their life.

They left Vancouver on May 1st and currently are near Vermillion Bay.

Hydro Re-Stored to Thousands of Hydro One Customers

Hundreds of residents living between Emo to Kenora were in the dark for several hours yesterday.

The outage began just before 4:00 yesterday afternoon.

No reasons have been immediately given.

More than 45 hundred of Hydro One customers were effected.

Power was fully restored by 2:00 this morning.

Public School Board approves French Immersion

Trustees with the public school board have approved a couple of significant changes to the schooling landscape in Kenora.

Beaver Brae will become a school for students from grades 7 to 12 starting in the fall of 2013.

Superintendant of Education Sean Monteith says they will spend the next year on the transition.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board will also begin rolling out a french immersion program at Valleyview in the fall of 2013, but trustees were adamant that there had to be at least 16 students enrolled before the program would be allowed to proceed.

Big Fines for Fort Frances Hunting Guide

A Fort Frances guide is in hot water for his hunting practices.

Grant Gustafson has been fined 40-thousand dollars for charges relating to his deer hunting business.

He was convicted on several charges including killing a moose without a licence, unlawfully hunting wolves, using an illegal firearm and making a false statement to a conservation officer.

He is banned from hunting for the next 10 years and from guiding for the next 2 years.

Two of his employees and 5 of his clients were also fined a combined total of 15 thousand 500 dollars and 26 years of hunting suspensions.

Province Promises Cheaper Industrial Electricity Rates

The Provincial Government is providing new and existing businesses with cheaper electricity rates.

Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle says the only catch is the company must promise to create jobs in order to get the rebates.

The cheaper electricity rates will be provided to existing companies who are expanding or new ones that are willing to relocate to Ontario.

Wasaya Plane Destroyed by fire

Only one wing is left after a Wasaya Airways plane was completely destroyed in a fire yesterday afternoon.

The company says the aircraft was doing a routine fuel trip and received operations in Sandy Lake First Nation.

Reports indicate that the hose connection leaked and sprayed fuel on the still hot engine.

Ministry of Natural Resources helicopters were called to help extinguish the blaze and the main ramp at the airport and the terminal had to be closed.

No one was on board and the two crew members weren't injured in the mishap.

Con College Holds Spring Convocation

Confederation College's class of 2012 has collected their diplomas.

A total of 32 students graduated yesterday morning from the Lake of the Woods Campus during their convocation.

Jim Madder is president of the college and says he sees a bright future for the grads and our region.

The largest class this year was the Personal Support Worker course, which graduated 14 students.

OPP Investigate Stolen Boating Gear

The OPP are investigating the theft of some items from a boat in Minaki.

Police say last night, someone stopped by a Front Street residence and stole several pieces of boating gear.

Stolen items included a Minnkota trolling motor, three Troll master batteries and the Wave Wacker splash guards from the rear of the boat.

Anyone with information about the theft can call the Kenora OPP or Crimestoppers.

City Council Looking at Expanded Bow Hunt for Deer

The City of Kenora continues to grapple with our expanding deer population.

Council has agreed to expand the time period for a bow hunt in city limits this fall.

Councillor Sharon Smith says that's about the only thing the city can do to try and curb our deer numbers.

The bow hunt within city limits will be expanded by a full month this year to the end of deer hunting season on December 15th.

Smaller parcels of land will also be eligible for the hunt, going from 5 hectares down to 4.