Hospital Achieves Accreditation

Some recognition for Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

It has rececieved a commendation from Accreditation Canada.

Marc Belcaen is the Chief Executive officer of the Hospital and says
its a long process to be accredited, but well worth the effort.

Belcaen says the hospital will continue to work on the few areas that they fell short in the accreditation process.

Local Nursing Students Set to Graduate in the New Year

Local hospitals should have their pick of new nurses come the new year.

The next graduating class of the Bachelor of Nursing program offered
through Lakehead University and Confederation College will complete their studies in February of 2014.

Laura Christie is with Con College in Kenora and says that good news for local health care facilities.

The next RN course offered through Con College will start up in the fall, with a minimum of 24 nursing students expected to enroll.

Water Levels Easing On Lake of the Woods

Water levels on Lake of the Woods are starting to stabilize.

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says the lake went up four inches
in the past week.

That's slightly lower than we've seen over the past couple of weeks.

The Control Board says outflow from the Norman Dam has more than tripled
since the middle of May due to all the rainfall seen in the basin.

Anyone with concerns about water levels is invited to attend an open house
being staged by the Control Board on Tuesday night at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Staffing Levels Improve At Local ER

Things are starting to look up for the Emergency Department at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Chief of Medical Staff, Dr. Kerry McDonald expects that by the summer, all available shifts in the ER will be staffed local physicians.

That means locums will not be needed to help keep the emergency room
operating.

McDonald adds that it will also be a substantial saving to the provincial health care system.

He adds that it provides some continuity of care, as the doctors will become
more familiar with the patients that frequent the ER.

Busy Weekend for MNR Fire Crews

It was a busy weekend for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews.

28-new forest fires were reported over the weekend in northwestern Ontario.

Most of the fires were in the Sioux Lookout, Nipigon and Thunder Bay districts.

An aggressive air attack with water bombers was needed on most of the fires.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is paying close attention to a lightning-cased fire fire about 35-kilometres east of Summer Beaver.

The blaze is 15-hundred hecatares and is burning near several cabins in the area.

Fisher Qualifies for Ironman

Edie Fisher will be off to the World Ironman competition in Hawaii this fall.

Fisher qualified for the event by winning her age group at the Eagleman
70.3 Triathlon in Maryland.

Fisher placed first in the 55-59 division and will head to Kona, Hawaii in
October for her 4th Ironman.

Local Schools Achieve "Eco" Certification

Another environmental pat on the back for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Five schools in the District have received Ontario EcoSchools certification for environmental practices.

Board Spokesperson Kathy Boone feels they have become an environmental leader.

Beaver Brae, Lakewood, Dryden High School and the Golden Learning Centre received the EcoSchool certification.

Ornge Funerals Held

Funeral services were held in Kapuskasing over the weekend for an Ornge paramedic killed a week ago in an air ambulance crash in northeastern Ontario.
   
Dustin Dagenais was one of two paramedics and two pilots who died when the helicopter went down minutes after taking off from Moosonee.
 
The other paramedic, Chris Snowball,was remembered Friday
at funeral services in Burlington.
   
A memorial service for all four victims will be held in Toronto on June 18th.

Hard Rock Medical Debuts

A television series based on the Northern Ontario Medical School has debuted on TV Ontario.

The premiere episode of Hard Rock Medical was broadcast last night.

Actress Tamara Duarte, who play Gina Russo, a first year med student, feels its a good portrayal of the medical challenges facing the north.

Hard Rock Medical is the first ever scripted drama produced by TV Ontario.

Local High School Soccer Teams Return from OFSAA

Local high school soccer teams had one their best showing at the All-Ontario Championshiops, but still came home empty handed.

The Thomas Aquinas boys lost in the quarter-finals 1-0 to Ridley College of St. Catherines.

Ridley was the eventual silver medalist at the OFSAA single A championships.

Meanwhile, the T.A. girls were beaten 6-0 by the top team in the OFSAA Girls finals in the quarter-finals.

Villanova went on to win gold.

Beaver Brae's girls fells just short of the play-offs, finishing the round-robin in a two way tie for
second in their pool.

But because of goal differential, they were eliminated from the medal round.

Missing Minnesota Man Found in Quetico

Provincial Police have found the body of a missing Minnesota man in Basswood Lake within Quetico Provincial Park.

The remains of 78-year-old Richard Barber were found yesterday by OPP and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Richard and his wife Elaine were in the boundary of the park for a canoe trip when their canoe capsized.

Rescue crews were able to locate Elaine and return her safely to Atikokan.

Hospital Reports Small Deficit

Red ink for Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The hospitals financial year end financial statements were released last
night at the Annual General Meeting and its shows a deficit in 2012-2013 of 135 thousand dollars.

Cindy Gasparini is the hospital's chief financial officer and says that's
actually good news because initially they had projected a deficit of over
half a million dollars.

Gasparini their their budget was actually flat-lined by the province last
year, and revenues shrunk by 0.3 percent compared to the year before.

Richardson Returns as Hospital Chair

No change at the top at the Lake of the Woods Hospital Board.

Fred Richardson was acclaimed as chair of the board for the third
year in a row at last night's annual general meeting.

Richardson says under the hospital board's new by-laws, this will be
his final term.

He is only allowed to serve three consecutive years as chairman.

Dorothy Monteith has also been returned at vice-chair.

She was also acclaimed to the position.

Council Members Return from FCM

Two members of Kenora City council are back in town after a road trip to the west coast.

Mayor Dave Canfield and councilor Ron Lunny attended the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Vancouver.

Canfield says its important to attend these conventions because often
important policy decision are being made.

Canfield says they were able to bring back good information that may be
valuable for the city in the months and years ahead.

Bus Drivers Busy this PD Day

Today might be a PD day for students, but school bus drivers will be on duty anyway.

The Northwest Student Services Consortium is getting ready for the fall.

General Manager Judi Green says because Lakewood School is closing they have to test out new bus routes.

Green says the tests are to solve any problems relating to routing, timings, bus numbers.

High School Soccer Teams Still In Contention at OFSAA

The Round robin portion of the schedule at the All-Ontario Soccer Championships wraps up today.

All three Kenora High school teams have a shot at making the play-offs,
although only Beaver Brae's girls team managed a win yesterday.

The Broncos shutout Jean Vanier from Collingwood 1-0.

This morning Beaver Brae is back in action at 8:30 against a team from
Ottawa.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas girls have managed two points after tying
both their games yesterday.

The Saints play their next game at 8:00 against Stayner Collegiate.

The Thomas Aquinas boys will need to win both their games today to have
any chance of moving onto the play-offs.

T.A. managed just one tie yesterday.

This morning the Saints Boys play their third round robin game at 8:30 against
Waterford High School.

Kenora OPP Honor Veterans

Retired OPP officers in Kenora were given some special access today as part of OPP Veterans Day.

The detachment invited the 45 veterans in the city to tour the new forensic identification unit.

The President of the OPP Veterans Association Bob Arbour was also in town for the tour and offered his praise saying officers and the community will benefit greatly with in now in operation.

Arbour added it was a great experience for retired officers to see how policing has changed.

3rd Annual Street Fest A Huge Success

The Thomas Aquinas Arts Council has ended the school year in style.

The 3rd annual Street Fest held earlier today had a great turnout with almost every student in the school board attending at some point throughout the day.

Director of Music Darcy Ura says the day couldn't have gone better due to the beautiful weather.

Street Fest is one of the 3 big events held every year by the Arts Council.

Three Local High School Soccer Teams At OFSAA

A busy day for local high school soccer teams.

The provincial championships begin on three fronts.

The Thomas Aquinas boys squad is in Timmins for the OFSAA Single
A championships, and will play two round robin games today.

Meanwhile, the Saints girls team is in Hamner, near Sudbury for
the All-Ontario Single A championships.

The Thomas Aquinas girls will also play a pair of games today.

Beaver Brae's girls team is in Tecumseh near Windsor and will hit the field
this morning at 11:00 against St. Martin High School from Mississauga in
the OFSAA Double A championships.

The Broncos will also be back on the field at 2:00 this afternoon.

RN Program Being Brought Back

Back by popular demand.

Lakehead University and Confederation College will be again joining forces to offer LU's Bachelor of Science Nursing Program through the College's regional campuses.

An information session June 13 from 3:30 to 5 at the College's Lake of the Woods Campus in Kenora.

You can call the campus to register or for more information.