Province Says Its Committed to ELA

It appears the Ontario government is committed to keeping the Experimental Lakes area open in the long term.

There have been concerns that the provincial involvement would only be one-time funding.

Ontario Natural Resources Mininster David Orazietti says the money will be below 2-million dollars but isn't commenting on a specific number.

The exact funding formula hasn't been determined.

The province and the federal government continue to negotiate the transfer of the research station to the
Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development.

A tentative transfer agreement expires at the end of August.

Four Vehicle Collision Ties Up Traffic in Downtown Fort Frances

OPP says it could have been a lot worse.

As many as four vehicles were involved in that accident yesterday afternoon on Portage Avenue in Fort Frances.

Constable Anne McCoy says it started when the driver of a pick up truck suffered a medical problem a couple of blocks from the downtown area.

The truck went back onto the road, missing oncoming car before colliding with two parked vehicles.

The 65-year-old driver and a woman inside one of the parked vehicles were taken to hospital for treatment.

Police Seek Suspect in Minto Mischief Rampage

The OPP say they are now investigating several more mischief complaints
in the Minto area of town.

Around 5:00 Monday morning, a man was seen striking a vehicle with a
crow bar.

He has been described as being about six feet tall and wearing dark colored
clothing.

Police say there were at least eight other vehicles in that area of town that also
sustained damage.

Anyone with information about the these incidents is asked to contact the
Kenora OPP or Crimestoppers.

Police Investigate Mischief Complaints

The OPP are investigating a couple of mischief complaints.

Monday morning, police were called to a home in the 9th Street
North area, where a car had been egged and the side of the vehicle
scratched.

A little later on, officers were dispatched to the Minto area, where the
rear window of a vehicle was smashed in.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to contact the Kenora OPP or Crimestoppers.

Funding Restored for Legal Aid Clinics

The Northwest Legal Clinic is relieved the provincial government has
reversed its funding cuts.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of the Attorney General announced it was
providing an additional 30 million dollars to community legal clinics.

Trudy McCormick is the executive director of the Northwest Legal Clinic
and says earlier this year the province had slashed their budget.

McCormick says if the province had not restored their funding, they were
looking at potential service cuts across the region.

Campbell Pleased With Youth Employment Program

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell is happy Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced details on a new youth employment program.

The province will provide up to 78-hundred dollars for each eligble youth, starting in September.

Campbell says it was one of the NDP's demands in the spring budget.

The grant also includes up to one-thousand-dollars to hep youth pay for costs like tools and transportation to work.

Police Investigate Baby Death on Big Trout Lake

Provincial Police are investigating the sudden death of a six-week-old baby girl in Big Trout Lake.

Officers were called to the nursing station Monday morning, and the child was pronounced dead.

Police say the deceased is Shantelle Sainnawap.

A post mortem is being done in Toronto.

Another Scam Reported

A scam in Northwestern Ontario, but this time the warning is out from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.

The Commission says people claiming to be with Sental Insurance have been targeting mostly Royal Bank of Canada clients.

They are asking for personal information in an effort to sell identity theft protection insurance on behalf of the bank.

But the Commission says the firm is not associated with the bank nor is it licensed to do business in Ontario.

Report Suggests Ontario Jails Over-crowded

Almost half of Ontario's jails are holding more prisoners than they were designed for.

Inspector Kevin Glenister says many inmates in the region end up at the Kenora Jail.

Glenister suggests the situation locally might not be as bad because a few years ago the Kenora Jail closed it's youth facility and says that's freed up more space for the adult population.

Glenister says all prisoners under 18-years-old either go to another facility in Kenora, Thunder Bay or Sault Ste. Marie.

CNIB Eye Van Back in Town

Ivan the Eye Van is back in town.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind's mobile eye clinic is
spending a couple of days in Kenora.

The Van arrived yesterday and will open for appointments until
tomorrow.

Shelley Stoddard is a nurse on the Eye Van and says they do more than just eye testing.

She says they screen for diabetes as well as test blood sugar levels.

The Van arrived yesterday and will open for appointments until noon tomorrow and then
it heads to Ear Falls.

OPP Investigate Rash of Break-Ins

The OPP are investigating a rash of break-ins over the weekend.

A couple of the break and enters were reported to garages in the
Lakeside area, where several power tools were stolen.

A couple downtown businesses were also the victims of break-ins.

In one instance a 42 inch Samsung television, a Samsung blu-ray player
and an older model Sony DVD player were stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Calls For Service Drop for Treaty Three Police

The Treaty Three Police Service is following a national trend that shows crime rates are going down.

In its annual report released last week, the Treaty Three Police say its seen a 21 percent drop in the number of calls for service in the past year.

In 2012, there were just over 88 hundred calls, down from over 11 thousand the year before.

The Wabaseemung First Nation continues to be the busiest in terms of crime with over 21 hundred calls, followed by Grassy Narrows at 11 hundred.

Lock it Or Lose It Campaign Launched

The OPP say local residents and visitors alike aren't doing a good job
of keeping their vehicles secure.

Youth in Policing Students conducted a Lock it or Lose it campaign
last week.

In all 500 vehicles in town were checked, and only 117 actually were
found to be secure.

That not only means the doors were locked and keys removed, windows closed, but valuables were kept out of sight.

The OPP says that's the best way of ensuring your car and its contents
aren't stolen.

Rickford Pleased with Long Gun Registry Court Victory

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is calling it a victory for long-gun owners.

A judge has rejected Quebec's attempt to stop Ottawa from destroying long-gun registry data.

Rickford says the registry isn't needed.

Rickford says it costs about 100-thousand-dollars each month to maintain the registry in Quebec.

Dryden Child Care Center Beefing Up Security

Dryden's Child Care Center is making some changes, following the incident where a child left the day-care unnoticed.

Manager of Children's Services Vanessa Shepherd says they are looking at installing a surveillance system and have installed a chime system any time the door is open or closed.

She adds they have also posted a large stop sign at the door to remind the children to stay put.

Shepherd says they have had regular meetings with staff and the mother of the child who escaped.

Three Sharks Return Home From National Championships

Three members of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club are home after competing in
the National Age Group Championships in Montreal.

Alex Olson, Kira Kuzemchuck and Winnie Boucha all made the finals in their events.

The highlight of the weekend was Olson's time in the 200 meter breast stroke,
which qualified her for the National Championships in February.

This marks the end of the formal training season for the Sharks, but they will start right back
up at the beginning of the new school year.

Con College Looking For New Board Member

Confederation College is looking to fill a vacant spot on their Board of Governors.

The three year term starts September 1st.

Interested people can apply to Confederation College by August 31st.

Maybe Annual Coney Island Festival Will be Back for a 6th Year

Organizers of an annual music festival on Coney Island say better docking is the best way to grow their event.

Yesterday about 21 hundred people took in the 5th Maybe Annual Coney Music Festival.

Ferg Devins says they have lots of room on the island to grow their numbers, but getting people there remains the biggest issue.

Devins confirmed there will be a 6th Maybe Annual Music Festival on Coney Island next July.

Nault "Disgusted" by Reports of Nutritional Testing on Aboriginal Students

A former Indian Affairs minister says he was surprised as anyone to
find out that aboriginal children in residential schools were subject to
nutritional experiments.

A number of rallies were held yesterday to express their feelings about
the experiments conducted during the '40's and '50's.

Former Kenora-Rainy River M.P. Bob Nault says he never heard about any such activities while he was a cabinet minister.

Reports have suggested that some of the testing was carried out at the Cecillia Jeffrey School along with St. Mary's in Kenora.

Kenora and Canadian Crime Rates Drops

Kenora is following a national trend in crime.

Over the past 2 year the crime rate in Kenora has dropped across the board.

Inspector Dave Lucas is the Commander of the Kenora OPP and says the community has plays a large part.

Last year the OPP laid over 25 hundred charges, down from 38 hundred last year and 41 hundred on 2010.

The Violent Crime Severity or Seriousness of Crime decreased by 5 per cent in Canada and 4 per cent in Ontario.