Flood Evacuees Returning Home

Flood concerns have subsided up north and that has allowed some residents to return home.

Emergency Management Ontario says 90-Attawapiskat First Nation residents currently staying in Greenstone are due to return today, and another 260 should begin flying back from Thunder Bay tomorrow.

EMO says 64 residents who were moved to Fort Frances will have to remain there a while longer until their homes are cleaned and repaired.

Nearly 400 members of the Kashechewan and Pic Mobert first nations remain evacuated.

Large Grass Fire near Pinewood

The MNR is battling a 12 and a half hectare fire near Pinewood south of Kenora near Fort Frances.

The grass fire started yesterday afternoon and was reported to Ontario MNR by the Minnesota Dept of natural Resources around 4:30 yesterday afternoon.

The blaze, just 3 miles off Highway 11 is listed as being held.

The cause has still not been determined.

Council Seeks Help in Battling Urban Deer

Municipalities across northwestern Ontario are taking a united front in
their battle against a growing urban deer population.

Kenora will be working with Thunder Bay and Dryden to lobby for lower deer permit fees to hunt deer within city limits.

Councillor Sharon Smith says the 45 dollar permit fee is just too high.

Smith suggests the permit fees are a deterrent to hunters.

City and CUPE Agree on Two Year Deal

There will be labor peace in the City of Kenora
for at least the next year and a half.

Kenora City Council has given tentative approval to a two year contract with the
Canadian Union of Public Employees on a deal retroactive to January 1st of this year.

The agreement includes a wage increase of 1.7 percent during each of the deal.

Mayor Dave Canfield suggests the contract is fair because its just over the cost of living.

Non-union staff and city councillors will also be getting similar increases.

Fire Investigation On Hold

The Fire Marshsall's Office has stopped the investigation of the fire at the old Kenora Machine Service Building.

The building is considered unsafe to examine at this time.

The investigation will continue once the building is deemed safe to enter again.
.

The building was destroyed by fire late Saturday night.

In the meantime, the OPP are continuing to hold the building until the Fire Marshall's office can complete
its investigation.

Sandy Lake Man Identified

Provincial Police have released the name of a man who died in Sandy Lake First Nation on Sunday morning.

The man has been identified as 29-year-old Uriah Kakepetum.

Nishanwbe-Aski Police responded to a call for medical assistance at a home.

Kakepetum was transported to the Sandy Lake Nursing Station where he died.

OPP are assisting Nishnawbe-Aski Police in the investigation.

Police haven't said if foul play is suspected.

Kenora MP Announces FEDNOR Funding

Downtown Kenora is getting more financial support by FEDNOR.

Earlier today Kenora MP Greg Rickford announced 425 thousand dollars in funding towards 2 initiatives.

Rickford says $300,000 is being given to the Lake of the Wood Business Incentive Corporation to provide small and medium sized businesses capital support..

The second part of the announcement was $125,000 going towards the engineering and design costs of the phase 3 downtown revitalization project.

Coney Footbridge To Be Removed Wednesday

Local residents will have at least one more day to use the Coney Island
Footbridge.

The city had hoped to remove the bridge today, but due to mechanical
problems with their boats, the removal has been delayed until Wednesday.

This will be the latest the bridge has ever been removed.

The previous latest date the bridge was to be removed was May 14th.

Pinecrest Getting Ready to Install Sprinklers

Pinecrest Home for the Aged says its fully supports plans by the province to improve
fire safety at long term car homes.

Last week, the Minister of Long Term Care announced that all facilities would have to
have sprinkler systems installed within 11 years.

Pinecrest CAO Kevin Queen says they are currently working on a plan to fund and install
sprinklers.

Queen estimates it could cost about a million dollars to install a new sprinkler system
at Pinecrest.

Coronors Inquest Getting Closer

A coroners inquest into the tragic deaths of 7 First Nations teens in Thunder Bay is one step closer to reality.

The regional coroner has now set the date for a hearing on who will have the legal right to take part in the inquest proceedings.  

That hearing takes place in Thunder Bay on June 11th.

Health Unit Launches Phone Survey

The Northwestern Health Unit is launching a telephone survey to hear from local residents.

CEO Mark Perrault says a handful of people will be selected.

Perrault says the results will be available later this year, and will measure the success of the 2013-2016 Strategic Plan.

LCBO Workers Set Up Strike Headquarters

The threat of a strike by Liquor Control Board workers this weekend remains real.  

Union spokesperson Robert Lorkowski says the issue centres around the ever increasing use of part time workers.

Last night, local workers set up their strike headquarters in office space on Chipman Street in preparation for a possible job action.  

LCBO workers could hit the picket line as early as this Friday.

Changes Being Made to Council Meeting Schedule

Kenora City council is tweaking its meeting schedule for the summer months.

Starting today, the Committee of the Whole meeting will move to Tuesday mornings, from its usual time on Monday afternoons.

The Committee of the Whole will also include the Property and Planning
Meeting.

Next week, the open meeting of council will move to Tuesday's at noon.

The changes are being tried out this summer on a trial basis and will be
reviewed again in August.

Northern Mayors Talk to MPAC

The Northern Mayors Coalition holds a conference call with provincial officials today to discuss the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation's assessments on mills in the north.

Dryden Mayor Craig Nuttall says today's meeting is a great first step.

Nuttall says the MPAC ruling on the Domtar mill has crippled the community and is urging the province to intervene.

Police Investigating Fatality in Sandy Lake

Provincial Police are assisting the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service regarding a death in Sandy Lake First Nation.

NAPS officers responded to a call for medical assistance, and took a man to the nursing station where he was pronounced dead.

The name of the deceased is not available at this time, and a post mortem is being done at Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora.

Anyone with information is asked to contact OPP.

Broncos Earn National Cheer Title

Beaver Brae's cheerleaders can add national champions to their resume.

Over the weekend, the Bronco Cheer Squad was in Niagara Falls for the 2013 National Cheer Evolution Championships.

Beaver Brae ended up winning the Small Senior Division, beating out seven other schools.

The Broncos picked up 81.13 points, which was almost two points ahead of their nearest rival.

Gallager Wins Mother's Day Road Race Again

A familiar name was atop the leaderboard at the 2013 Mother's Day
Charity Road Race.

Winnipeg's Cory Gallagher took top honors yet again after completing
the 10 kilometer route in just over 33 minutes.

The fastest Kenora runner was Ben Gustafson, who finished second, 6 and
a half minutes behind.

In the women's 10 K run, Victoria Alexander placed first in a time of 42 minutes,
34 seconds.

Kenora's Janet Findlay was second, just under a minute behind.

Lisa Doerksen won the women's 5 K road race, while Kyle Derouard won the
men's 5 K event.

Fire Marshall to Investigate Weekend Blaze

An investigator from the Ontario Fire Marshall's office is now at the scene of a fire that took place late Saturday night on Highway 17 East.

The blaze broke out in the old Kenora Machine Service building, between A&W and  Dingwall Ford around 11:40 Saturday night.

The fire took a couple of hours to bring under control.

The cause still hasn't been determined, but the OPP are holding the scene until investigators can go through the building.

Jobs Funding Available for Women

Opening doors to the economic opportunities for women in Northwestern Ontario.

The theme of a new initiative by the Federal Government that focuses on three key areas.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says the call for proposal will provide more options for women.

The call also focuses on improving prosperity for immigrant women and advancement in non-traditional occupations.

MNR Keep Busy with Weekend Grass Fires

It wasn't a very warm weekend, but that didn't put much of a damper on the
fire situation in the Kenora District.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says crews responded to another five
new wildfires over the past two days.

Four were located on the Wabaseemung First Nation and have been brought under
control.

The other was located near Grassy Narrows.

The Kenora District was responsible for half of the new fires that started up
this past weekend.