Student Consortium Testing New Bus Routes

The Northwest Student Services Consortium is making sure there are no service glitches this fall.

General Manager Judi Green says the closing of Lakewood School has created a number of concerns that need to be looked at.

Green says the tests will look at routes, timing, bus numbers.

She adds the test will take place during PA Day on June 7th with the full fleet of buses.

Parents are reminded that schools will be closed that day.

Morning Victories for Saints at NWOSSA

A good start for the Thomas Aquinas Saints soccer teams at the NWOSSA single "A" soccer championships.

The T.A boys ran away with a 3-0 win over Marathon in the morning game.

They will be back on the field at 2:00 for the second game.

The Saints girls were also victorious this morning earning a 1-0 win over Ecole Saint Josph.

Gilly Derouard scored the lone goal.

The girls are back on the pitch at 4:00.

Highway 17 East Re-Opened Near Redden's

Highway 17 at the east end of the Kenora By-Pass has been re-opened following a single vehicle accident.

Shortly after 8:00 this morning, a camper van flipped onto its side near the entrance to Longbow Lake Road.

Police have blocked off the highway, and are sending eastbound traffic back to the Jones Road as
a detour.

A number of police cruisers attended the scene along with the Long Bow Lake Volunteer Fire Department to clear the wreckage.

Four Killed in Ornge Helicopter Crash

CFB Trenton says four people are dead following an Ornge air ambulance helicopter crash in northern Ontario.
  
A spokesman at the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton says the helicopter crash site near Moosonee was located this morning and all four people on board are confirmed dead.
  
The Ornge air ambulance service says two pilots and two paramedics were on board the aircraft, but no patients.
   
Ornge says it has notified the family members of those who were on board.
   
 Ornge said the Sikorsky S76 helicopter left its base in Moosonee en route to Attawapiskat at about midnight and contact was lost with the aircraft shortly after takeoff.
   
The Transportation Safety Board has been notified and will be
investigating.

Plane Crash Under Investigation in Red Lake

A provincial police dive unit will join the search this morning for two people missing following the crash of a float plane in Red Lake.

The OPP says the plane took off about 5:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon en route to a tourist camp north of the community.
   
Police say the plane went down soon after takeoff about 200
metres from shore in the Bruce Channel between Cochenour and
McKenzie Island.
   
A man and woman from the United States are believed to have been the only people on board but their identities have yet to be confirmed.
 
There is no word on what caused the crash, although it was cloudy and windy and the lake was choppy at the time.

The Transportation Safety Board is also sending two investigators to the accident scene.

Community Wellness Day at Beaver Brae

Beaver Brae students are being released from their classrooms today.

The second annual Community Wellness Day will be taking place all
day throughout the high school.

Jodi Hall is one of the organizers and says its an opportunity for the
students to try something different.

The Community Wellness Day will start with an assembly, and will include a break for a free lunch up in the cafeteria.

Campbell Reluctantly Supports Provincial Budget

The provincial budget has some room for improvement.

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. spoke out on the budget this week in the Ontario Legislature and says there are things the cash-strapped Liberal government can do to
increase revenue.

She says the number one concern is tax loopholes that large corporations are taking advantage of.

Campbell is also urging the government to develop a better relationship with first nation communities in the region so that major projects such as the Ring of Fire and the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway west of Kenora, can move forward without delay.

Saints Soccer Teams Play NWOSSA Finals Today

Thomas Aquinas soccer teams are hoping to book themselves a ticket to the All-Ontario Single A
championships today.

The Saints girls team is home for the best-of-three NWOSSA finals against Wawa.

Game one is this morning at 10:00, with game two slated for 4:00.

Meanwhile, the T.A. boys squad is in Marathon for a best-of-three series against the Falcons.

Game one is this morning.

Beaver Brae Honors It's Top Athletes

Beaver Brae has payed tribute to its best and brightest athletes.

The annual Bronco Athletics Banquet was held last night and Jodi Melillo,
a soccer and hockey stand out, took home honors as Female Athlete of the year.

Meanwhile the Male Athlete of the Year award was shared between David
Simpkin and Davin Iverson.

New CPR Program in Local High Schools

A new life saving initiative is now in 10 local high schools.

Sandra Clark is the Executive Director for the ACT Foundation and says they are offering a new CPR and defibrillator training program to students in the Keewatin Patricia, Kenora Catholic, and Rainy River School Boards.

Clark says phys.ed teachers are being qualified to teach the program and it will be offered to over 1,000 students in Northwestern Ontario every year.

Clark says the use of CPR and defibrillators can increase the chance of survival in a cardiac patient by 75 percent.

T.A. Hands Out Youth In Philanthropy Grants

The Youth in Philanthropy program at Thomas Aquinas High School has presented grants to 4 charitable organizations in Kenora.

The grants were presented to the Minto Parent Child Resources Centre, Kenora Fellowship Centre, It's A Dog's Life, and the Cat Shelter.

Robert Baker is a student in the YIP program and says it's been a real eye opener.

With the presentations the YIP program has now offered over 19 thousand dollars in grants with help by the Kenora and Lake of the Wood Regional Community Foundation.

Northwest LHIN's Appoints New Board Member

The local health authority is welcoming a new board member.

The North West LHIN's Board of Directors now has nine members with the addition of Cathy Farrel.

Farrell filled the last remaining vacancy on the LHIN board and her three year term started last month.

She's worked in a variety of settings in the child welfare realm.

Treaty Three Signs Agreement With Cancer Care Ontario

Cancer Care Ontario is helping to reduce cancer concerns in Treaty 3 communities.

Cancer Care and Grand Council Treaty 3 have signed a relationship protocol.

Director for the aboriginal control program Alethea Kewawyosh  says the agreement is aimed at patient care and education.

Kewawyosh says Treaty 3 also helped in developing the aboriginal cancer strategy in Ontario.

The protocol agreement was signed this week on the Whitefish Bay First Nation where Treaty Three is holding its annual national assembly.

Leadership Changes at KPDSB

A game of musical chairs at local schools by the Keewatin-Patricia
District School Board.

With Lakewood School slated for closure at the end of the school year, principal Lynn McAughey will be moving over to King George as their new principal.

She'll replace Shelley St. Hilaire, who becomes the public school board's Safe and Supportive Schools Administrator.

And Bob Kowal will be moving over from Thomas Aquinas to become the vice-principal of Beaver Brae's and Seven Generations Adult Education programs, which will be housed in Lakewood starting this fall.

Flood Situation Easing in Kasabonika

The flood situation on a remote northwestern Ontario First Nation has improved although Emergency Management Ontario says water levels are still high.

E.
M.O says critical infrastructure on Kasabonika Lake First Nation is back to normal.

About 150 residents of Kasabonika Lake First Nation had been evacuated as a precaution.

E.M.O says most of the evacuees are back in the First Nation or on their way there.

TA Athletes Medal at NWOSSA Track and Field

Four medals for Thomas Aquinas Athletes at the NWOSSA Track and Field
Championships in Thunder Bay.

Eric Sundmark won a silver medal in the shot put, while Lisle Compton
was second in the girls 15 hundred meter and three thousand meter races.

Compton also won bronze in the long jump.

T.A. is waiting to find out whether Sundmark and Compton will qualify for the OFSAA championships.

Bronco Girls Win NorWOSSA Gold

One gold medal and a silver for Beaver Brae Soccer teams at the NorWOSSA championships
yesterday in Dryden.

The Bronco girls edged the Eagles 1-0 on pentalty kicks to win gold.

The game went into overtime tied at 0-0, and Beaver Brae won in a six player shootout.

The Broncos will now advance to next week's All-Ontario AA championships in Tecumseh.

Meanwhile, the Bronco boys weren't as fortunate.

They were beaten 2-1 in the NorWOSSA final by Fort Frances.

Kodai Kuroda scored the lone goal for Beaver Brae.

KPDSB Names New Superintendent of Education

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is welcoming a new Superintendent of Education.

Joan Kantola will take over the position on August 1st.

That's when Sean Monteith takes over as Director of Education.

Kantola is currently the Principal of Valleyview School in Kenora and she's been in the field for some 21-years.

She established the new French Immersion program at Valleyview and has been heavily involved in leadership planning.

Mental Health Symposium at Evergreen School

For the second year in a row, Evergreen School is hosting a Children's Mental Health symposium.

This year it's called Help Me, Help my Child.

Pam Cederwall is one of the organizers and says the forum is open to parents, teachers and education assistants.

The Mental Health Symposium will take place starting at 6:00 this evening.

Rain in Store for Kenora

Get ready for another dose of wet weather.

A Colorado low is heading our way and is expected to bring a lot of rain.

Geoff Coulson says even though temperatures are going to cool off but we won't see anymore snow

Coulson suggests some areas could get as much as 30 to 50 millimeters a day during the rain storm.