Broncos lose to Elmwood

A tough loss for Beaver Brae's football team.

The Broncos were trounced 38-1 by the Elmwood Giants Friday afternoon at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Coach Chris Penner says injuries played a role in the loss, especially the loss of running back

Dylan Pykerman, who's recovering from a concussion.

The Broncos fall to 2-3 on the season.

Their next game is at home next Thursday against St. Norbert.

Red Ink Continues to Grow in Dryden

Looks like Dryden is deeper in the hole than originally thought.

Mayor Craig Nuttall says that the city has 10 million dollars on top of the already 27 million it is in debt.

He says council is taking the issue very seriously, and looking where the city can save.

Nuttall says thanks to two new hockey tournaments coming to the area, the closure of the second ice surface is no longer a consideration.

Save ELA Submits Petitions On Parliament Hill

Over 23 thouand people are demanding that the federal government keep the Experimental Lakes area open.

Petitions to save the research facility east of Kenora were handed to members of parliament yesteday.

Director of the Coalition to Save the ELA Diane Orihel is telling people to speak out by contacting their local member of parliament.

The petition can be found at www.savetheela.org.

MNR Cutting Service At 10 Provincial Parks

Ten provincial parks in northern Ontario with low visitation rates will see staff cuts and have their designation downgraded, which means campers will not be able to access any services.

The only park in this area affected by the downgrade is Caliper Lake south of Nestor Falls.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says the changes will eliminate 28 full-time jobs and 102 seasonal positions, and will save $7.1 million a year.

Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle says the staff cuts and other changes will help the government eliminate a deficit of nearly $15 billion and modernize the way the ministry does business.

Public School Board Enjoys Increased Enrolment

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board claims its the fastest growing school board in the region.

The public school board has released its fall enrolment statistics and it shows an increase of 65 students over last year.

Sean Monteith is a superintendant of education and says the expansion of all day junior and senior kindergarten programs is part of the reason for the higher enrolment.

Monteith says they also have 20 more students at the secondary level this year.

SIU Won't Release Name of Woman Killed in Weekend Accident

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit says it will not be releasing the name of a 42 year old woman involved in a fatal accident at the intersection of the Redditt Road and the Kenora By-Pass this weekend.

The woman was killed while being transported in an OPP cruiser early Sunday morning.

SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon says the family has requested that the victims name not be released at this time.

Hudon adds that a post-mortem exam has been completed at Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but the details of the autopsy are also not being released at this time.

Mining Study Released

A new study says nine new mining projects in Northwestern Ontario are going to generate big bucks, at least 136 billion dollars.

However the study says in order to move ahead as quickly as possible, industry, government and First Nations have to work out their differences

The study also says the nine mines will help to generate over 13 thousand jobs and 16 billion dollars in tax revenue.

The study was headed by Dr. Bahram Dadgostar at Lakehead University who says some of the numbers the study uncovered surprised even him.

Big Trout Lake Man faces Assault Charges

Details are coming to the surface about a kidnapping in Big Trout Lake.

O.P.P. were called on Wednesday after parents apprehended the suspect who had taken their four kids, ages 5 through 8, earlier that day.

Police say two of the kids managed to escape and alert their parents but not before a 6 and an 8 year old were sexually assaulted.

The 33 year man remains in custoday and will appear in a Sioux Lookout court today facing charges of kidnapping, assault, sexual assault and uttering threats.

The children received immediate and on-going medical attention in Big Trout Lake and in Thunder Bay.

Broncos Play Third Game in A Week

Beaver Brae's football team will be going after its third win in a row this afternoon.

But it won't be an easy task.

The Broncos take on the unbeaten Elmwood Giants at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Elmwood is 4-0 on the season, while Beaver Brae has a 2-2 record and is playing its third game in a week.

Kick-off is 3:00 this afternoon.

Broncos Enjoy Home Court Advantage

Beaver Brae's court sport teams enjoyed their first taste of home court advantage.

The Bronco boys volleyball and Girls basketball teams took three of four games from Fort Frances yesterday.

The Beaver Brae senior girls basketball team dropped the Muskies 35-28.

Kaitlyn Sparkman led the way with 9 points.

The Broncos junior girls also won 33-23.

Rylee Smith accounted for almost half of Beaver Brae's points with 16.

The Broncos senior boys swept the Muskies three sets to none, while the junior squad suffered the lone loss of the day, losing 3-0.

Doors Open in Kenora this Weekend

You can walk through Kenora's past this weekend.

Doors Open is being brought back for the first time in four years.

Jim Clarke is one of the organizers and says Doors Open is a celebration of not only some of Kenora's older buildings, but some of our newer ones as well.

This year a total of 17 buildings and two cemeteries are included in Doors Open along with three urban trails as part of the Trails Open celebration.

Doors Open Kenora will take place tomorrow and Saturday.

Saints Clean up in Mountain Bike Races

It was a clean sweep for the Thomas Aquinas Saints in the NorWOSSA Mountain Bike races yesterday at Mount Evergreen.

Connor O'Flaherty placed first in the boys seven kilometer race.

He was followed by Ben Scott in seond and Blaine van der Krabben who finished third overall.

In the cross country races, Daniel Thomson was the top local finisher in the Senior boys division, placing second in the seven kilometer run.

The Saints also did well in the Grade 7 and 8 divisions, with Katie Marcine and Mia Coma finishing second and third respectively in the girls 2.4 k cross country race, while Logan Spencer and Jayme Caron were second and third in the boys division.

Save ELA Petitions to be Presented on Parliament Hill

The battle to save the Experimental Lakes area east of Kenora is heading to Parliament Hill once again today.

A number of petitions will be presented to M.P.'s.

Diane Oriehl heads up the group Save the ELA and says they are trying to protect research that's vital to our eco-system.

People from across Canada and even internationally have signed the petitions.

The ELA is slated to close in March of next year.

OPP Release Results of Satisfaction Survey

The OPP are getting better than passing grades from local residents in the way they police the City of Kenora.

The results of the most recent Community Satisfaction Survey were released yesterday.
Inspector Dave Lucas says the information helps them develop their annual business plan.

Lucas says more than 70 percent of those surveyed felt alcohol and drug abuse were the biggest issues in the community.

In the Town of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls, 61 percent of respondants indicated that break and enters were the biggest issue.

High School Students Get their Netbooks

Highschool students across the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board are now all outfitted with a new computer.

Over the past week, the board has been handing out netbooks for students in grades 9 through to 12.

Technology Teacher Mary Trist says the students seemed to be pretty comfertable with them.

Students in grade 4-8 within the Keewatin Patricia District School board will also be using them.

Northwest Regional Conference Starts today

Northwestern Ontario political and business leaders begin a two day conference in Thunder Bay today.

Ron Nelson, of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, says the regional meeting is a chance to discuss our readiness for the mining boom that's approaching.

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce is co-host of the conference.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield, and councillor's Louis Roussin and Ron Lunny are attending

the Regional Conference. 

Ignace Man Faces Sex Assault Charges

O.P.P. are laying sexual assault charges against an Ignace man after a minor came forward to police.

The 46 year old man was arrested Wednesday after a reported incident on September 19th.

The man remains in custody, charged with sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference.

His name is not being released in order to protect the identity of the victim.

Cigarette Responsible for Salvation Army Fire in Fort Frances

Police say it's most likely a burning cigarette started a fire at the Salvation Army in Fort Frances.

On Monday, police and the fire department responded to the fire at the building on Victoria Avenue, and extinguished the fire involving items left outside of the building.

Police say the fire happened outside of the building in an area between a walkway and a hedge on the North side of the building.

Police say a person of interest was taken into custody, but for an unrelated matter.

There have been no charges laid.

NWOSSA Golf Championships At Beauty Bay

Beauty Bay will be playing host to high school golfers from across northwestern Ontario today.

The NWOSSA championships are on tap, with teams coming from Thunder Bay, the North Shore as well as Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Kenora.

The top three teams from each division has qualified for today's championships.

Beaver Brae placed third in the NorWOSSA finals last week and will be participating along with golfers from Thomas Aquinas.

T.A. automatically qualifies as the host team.

Local High School Teachers Hold Strike Vote Today

Local members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation will be taking a strike vote later today.

Local union president John Dykes says it will likely take a few days to tabulate the results.

Teachers are upset with legislation passed earlier this month by the provincial government which bans strikes and freezes salaries for the next two years.

Earlier this month, local members of the Elementary Teachers Federation also held a strike vote, with 100 percent voting in favour.