Treaty 3 Police Service Decides to Close Doors

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is shocked at the decision to close down the Treaty 3 Police Service.

Regional Vice-Prescient Sharon DeSousa says the union is still willing to work with the force.

DeSousa says closing the force is not the right way to move forward and that more work can be done to find a solution.

She says in reaction to the announcement the union will be meeting with the officers on how they want to proceed.

She adds that it's disappointing that the communities the force serves will have to suffer due to a lack of federal funding.

The force is preparing to shut down on August 19th.

Power Out Due to Morning Storm

This mornings brief, but violent thunder storm has knocked out power
to over 200 homes in the Kenora area.

Hydro One says high winds associated with the storm system knocked trees onto power lines, resulting in the outages.

The electricity is out this morning in several areas west of the city including the McKenzie Portage area, Washagamis Bay First Nation and parts of Keewatin.

Its unknown when power will be restored.

City Gets a Clean Audit

A pretty robust bottom line for the City of Kenora.

A draft of the 2012 audit has been released and it shows the city's surplus has increased by about a million dollars over last year.

On paper the city has a surplus of 208 million dollars, but chair of the
finance committee Ron Lunny says that figure is misleading because it includes items such as roads and bridges, things he says are actually liabilities instead of assets.

One of the reasons for the increased surplus is a reduction in OPP costs
last year.

Lunny says with an 8.5 percent wage increase due next year, he doesn't anticipate the surplus will be as large in the future.

Fire Crews Quickly Bring Minto Brush Fire Under Control

Quick work by Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services department has prevented a fire in the Minto area from getting out of control.

Yesterday afternoon fire crews responded to and contained a bush fire on the South shore or Rabbit Lake.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says he's frustrated that resources were tied up due to reckless behaviour.

Brinkman says the cause of the fire was an unattended camp fire.

Resolute Mill Ready to Recall Some Workers in Fort Frances

Good news for some laid off workers at the Resolute Forest Products Mill in Fort Frances.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union reached an agreement that will allow the start up of paper machine number 7 for 2 to 3 months starting July 17th.

CEP National Rep Steven Boon says about 40 people will be back to work for that period of time.

Boon says they hope to get some feedback from Resolute on what the plans are for the long term.

Northern Policy Institute Ready to Hire First Ever President

The Northern Policy Institute is slowly starting to take shape.

There are reports that the province is ready to hire the first ever
president of the NPI.

Charles Cirtwill, who heads up the Atlantic Institute Market Studies,
has been tagged to head up the northern Ontario think tank.

The Northern Policy Institute has been set up by the provincial government to draft an economic blue print for the region.

Triathlon Ready to Go This Weekend

Organizers are gearing up for the annual Kenora Borealis Multi-Sport Triathlon.

Safety is a key concern for the participants.

Race organizer Kim Mann says they will have traffic detours set up to keep the race area clear from dangers.

Racing begins Sunday morning from Garrow Park, and includes a swim in Rabbit Lake, a bike ride and also a run.

More details are available at www.kenoraborealis.com.

Kenora Focuses on Aggressive Deer

Kenora City council will be looking at a number of possible solutions to reducing the deer population in urban areas.

Members of council, met with concerned members of the public and the MNR last week to discuss the issue.

Mayor Dave Canfield says they have identified a couple of areas to focus on including education.

Canfield says he'd also like to see the city sponsored bow hunt for deer coincide with the provincial bow hunt, which starts in September.

Acadia Broadcasting Looking to Purchase Another Radio Station

Acadia Broadcasting is moving to add another radio station to its stable.

The parent company of CJRL has filed an application with the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission to purchase CKNI-FM , News91.9 in Moncton from Rogers Broadcasting.

The Saint John based company currently owns ten stations in the Maritimes, and here Ontario.

Acadia Vice President Jim MacMullin says he looks forward to bringing our brand of community focused - quality local radio to Moncton.

The CRTC is expected to rule on the application later this year.

Trylight Theatre Prepared for Summer

There is something new taking place at Trylight Theatre.

Gord Day-Janz from Trylight says they are premiering a brand new play called Rats that focused on the era when the city's name was changed Rat Portage to Kenora.

Day-Janz says Trylight will also be starting their historic downtown walking tours on July 5th that focus on the history of Kenora.

Also new this year Water Stories will take place at the Trylight Stage at the First Baptist Church starting July 13th.

Visit www.trylight.ca for information on all the events planned by Trylight this summer.

Air Show Draws Huge Crowds

They came by the thousands.

The Up, Up and Away Airshow at the Kenora Airport proved to be an unqualified
success.

The highlight of the show was the performance of the Snowbirds aerobatic team.

Corporal Greg Wiebe is from Kenora and a member of the squad and says its been
a busy week for them.

The air show proved to be so popular that there were long line ups of cars, which at times stretched all the way down Airport Road.

MNR Shares Concerns over Flying Lanterns

The Ministry of Natural Resources is backing up concerns about flying lanterns.

Debbie McLean from the MNR says people are liable for the lanterns.

McLean does agree that the lanterns do cause a serious forest fire hazard.

The Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association are working with the MNR to ban the sale of the products in Ontario.

Over Half a Million Raised in Relays for Life in NWO

Another successful year for the Relay for Life across northwestern Ontario.

Eight community events were held for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Northwest Regional Manager Maria Cabral says over 577-thousand dollars was raised.

Cabral notes that's the unofficial total as more money is coming in.

She adds that there will be two additional Relays in the fall in Marathon and Atikokan.

KDSB Losing Long-Time Employee to Retirement

The Kenora District Services Board is losing a key member of its senior staff team.

Dianne Apland of Dryden has announced her retirement as Director of Integrated Social Services effective February, 2014.

Apland is currently in charge of Housing, Child Care and Ontario Works.

Apland has been with the Board for 10-years.

 She will be replaced by Sarah Stevenson, who has been involved in integration strategies with the Board since September 2011.

Temperatures Soar in NWO

It was a record breaking Wednesday in several communities in the northwest.

Kenora was the hot spot at 31.5 degrees, which broke the previous record set last year, at 29.6.

Dryden hit a new temperature record of 30.8.

That eclipsed the old mark of 29.6 set in 2003.

Ear Falls reached 31, beating the old record of 30 set in 1996.

Plans for Phase 3 of Downtown Revitalization to be Released

Design plans for phase three of downtown revitalization will be unvieled soon.

The City of Kenora is going to be showing off the plans for Second Street South next week at the Farmer's Market.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says the project is still dependant on gettng funding from both the federal and provincial levels of government.

 The price tag for phase three of downtown revitalization has been pegged at about six million dollars.

Broncos Football Schedule Released

The schedule for the Winnipeg High School Football League has been released, and Beaver Brae will once again have the luxury of four home games.

The Broncos will open the season on the road against the Elmwood Giants on September 4th.

Beaver Brae's first home game will be a week later against Dryden.

The Broncos will also get to face their NorWOSSA rivals from Fort Frances this year, with a home game in early October.

Beaver Brae will open its training camp on August 19th at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Date             Visitor             Home            Time

Wed Sep 4   Beaver Brae     Elmwood       5:00pm

Thu Sep 12   Dryden            Beaver Brae   4:00pm

Fri Sep 20    Tec Voc          Beaver Brae   3:00pm

Fri Sep 27    Beaver Brae    Maples         4:00pm Eastside

Fri Oct 4      Fort Frances    Beaver Brae   3:00pm

Thu Oct 10   Lorette           Beaver Brae 3:00pm

Fri Oct 18    Beaver Brae     St. John's       5:00pm Nomads

Federal Funding for Environmental Assessment

The federal government is out with funding for those interested in taking part in the environmental assessment for the Griffith Iron Ore project in Ear Falls.

The money is for eligible individuals and groups wanting to get involved in the environmental review and draft report.
Applications must be submitted by August 1st.

Northern Iron is proposing the redevelopment of the former Griffith Mine.

The project would produce roughly 16-thousand tonnes of ore per day, with a mine life of some 20-years.

information is available at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca Ref # 80035, by e-mailing PFP.PAFP@ceaa-acee.gc.ca or calling toll free at 1-866-582-1884.

MNR Reviewing Arizona Fire Fatalities

Preventing firefighter deaths in Northwestern Ontario.

The Ministry of Natural Resources continues to take the extra steps to make sure their crews are safe and prevent a similar incident like the one in Arizona that killed 19 firefighters.

MNR Spokesperson Al Tithecott says they aren't sure if it will change how they handle forest fires.

Tithecott says they also look at how the fires will move around and estimate where they will burn.

Lake Smart Program Back for Another Year

The Lake Smart Program is celebrating its third summer on Lake of the Woods.

The Lake Smart boat will be heading out to local camps starting this
week as part of an environmental education program.

Susan McLeod is the executive director of the Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association and says the program has been very successful so far.

McLeod says they have two students who will be doing the environmental outreach program this summer.