Escaped Prisoner Found

The Kenora OPP have found an escaped prisoner.

Police say they received information today that 53 year Harvey Smith of White Dog First nation was in downtown Kenora.

The OPP located and arrested Smith over 2 weeks after he escaped custody from the Kenora Court House.

Smith did appear in Kenora
court today to answer to the charge of escaping lawful custody.

Barwick OSB Mill Sold

A change in ownership for the mill in Barwick, south of Kenora.

Ainsworth is selling off all of its assets, including the Barwick mill to Tennessee-based Louisiana Pacific for one-point-one-billion dollars.

Louisiana-Pacific chief executive Curt Stevens says it further strengthen their place in the market.

Stevens says sees all of newly acquired Ainsworth's operations as core to LP's future operations.

Coney Boil Water Advisory Lifted

Good news for Coney Island residents.

A boil water advisory has been lifted, after being put in place late last week.

The city needed two clean water samples to come back, but because of the Labor Day long weekend, it took longer than expected to rescind the advisory.

IISD To Take Over ELA in 2014

Its going to be a few months yet before the Experimental Lakes Area has a new operator.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development says it won't be taking over the ELA until 2014.

Project manager Matt McCandless says they'll use that time to find additional funding for the outdoor research laboratory.

McCandless says the funding announced this week by the province will cover only about half of  the annual operating costs of the ELA.

Social Assistance Numbers Dropping

The Kenora District Services Board says more and more people are managing to find jobs.

The latest numbers show 592 Ontario Works cases in the month of July, down from a high for the year of 653.

Social assistance recipients will be receiving a 1-percent hike on their cheque's starting on October 1st.

Save On Energy Program Launched in the Far North

The Provincial Government is out with a new energy saving program for Aboriginal Communities.

Keewayin and Wunnimin Lake First Nation are two of the 12-communities that will participate in the first year of the Save On E
nergy Aboriginal Conservation Program.

Vice President of Conservation with the Ontario Power Authority Andrew Pride says it's a great thing for Northwestern Ontario.

Pride says people in the First Nations have probably already seen project managers go out and talk to folks about conservation and the different retrofits available for houses and businesses.

Lakehead Officially Opens New Law School

Lakehead University's new Northern Ontario law school is officially open!

A grand opening event was held yesterday morning
at the Thunder Bay campus.

Thunder Bay Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle says its a school based in the north for northerners.

The inaugural class has students from Thunder Bay, Geraldton, Kenora, Marathon, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

Broncos Begin their Regular Season in WHSFL

A new football season begins today for the Beaver Brae Broncos.

The Broncos are visiting the Elmwood Giants for game one of the high school season.

Coach Chris Penner says it's always tough to scout an opponent to start the season.

The game gets underway at 5:00 at Elmwood High School.

Ladies Slo-Pitch Play-Offs Wrap Up

Northern Harbor has capped a perfect season by winning the A-side Finals of the Days Inn Ladies Slo-Pitch League.

Northern Harbor beat Dunit Contracting last night to win the best-of-three championship series two games to none.

They were also undefeated during regular season.

The Tribal Logistics Slammers took the B-Side Final, also in two straight games.

The Slammers got by the Martini's 9-5 last night at the A&W Ball Diamonds.

Speed Limit Proposed for Cameron Point

Kenora's Police Service Board is suggesting a speed limit in the Cameron Point area of Lake of the Woods.

The Board has received a letter from concerned residents about boats speeding through that area.

Inspector Dave Lucas from the Kenora OPP says its something they have been looking at for some time.

A limit of 9 kilometers an hour has been suggested, but Lucas says they will have to go through Transport Canada to have any kind of speed regulation in that area.

Police Release Details of Weekend Boat Blast

The OPP have released more details of a boat explosion on Lake of the Woods.

Police say the incident took place around 7:15 Monday evening in Bald Indian Bay.

Four people from Winnipeg were transporting gas cans from the Bare Point Marina, when the explosion took place.

The 5.6 meter fiberglas boat was destroyed in the blast, and all four occupants ended up in the water.

They were rescued by people who were at the marina at the time.

The four ranged in age from 22 to 59 and are recovering in hospital in Winnipeg.

The Ontario Fire Marshall's office has been contacted and the investigation is continuing.

Local Union Rep Embraces Merger of CEP and CAW

Canada's newest and largest private sector union is ready to hit the ground running.

The Canadian Auto Workers and Communication,
Energy and Paperworkers Union officially merged to become Unifor this weekend.

Local National Unifor rep Stephen Boone says first Unifor President Jerry Diaz has promised to get away from playing defence.

Unifor now represents almost 310-thousand Canadians, including 7-thousand in the northwest, in 20 key sectors.

Tourist Numbers Up this Summer

A mainly warm summer translated to increase visitor numbers
in Kenora.

Tourism Kenora says they saw over 20 thousand people pass through their doors at the Discovery Center and the Thistle Pavillion.

Acting Tourism Services Manager, Mark Duggan says this is the second year they have been able to track visitor numbers for a full summer at the Discovery Center.

While more people visited the Discovery Center, the biggest increase in visitor traffic was seen at the Thistle Pavillion, with more than 15 hundred more tourists this year than last year.

Wynne Committed To Twinning Highway 17 West

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she's fully committed to the twinning
of the Trans-Canada Highway west of Kenora.

But she admits she doesn't know when the project might ever get underway.

Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and prime minister Stephen Harper announced the funding for the 100 million dollar project four years ago.

That was the last time, until this weekend, that a sitting premier has visited Kenora.

Rickford Has Mixed Feelings on ELA Deal

A new deal is in place to keep the Experimental Lakes Are open and Kenora MP Greg Rickford couldn't be happier.

Rickford says the federal government put a lot of time and effort into talks with the province and the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

However, Rickford isn't mincing words when voicing his displeasure with the province on the way it handled the announcement.

He is accusing the government of playing games.

Rickford says the province released a statement with no mention of the federal government.

Northern Harbor Wins First Game of Ladies Slo-Pitch Final

Northern Harbor is a win away from another Days Inn Ladies Slo-Pitch Championship.

Northern Harbor took game one of its best-of-three A-Side final last night 13-5 against Dunit Contracting at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Northern Harbor has yet to lose a game this season.

Game two goes tonight at 7:00.

Rain Dampens Fire Activity in the Northwest

Despite widespread rain over the long weekend, the MNR says they still responded to
four forest fires across the region.

There were two new ones yesterday and two on Sunday.

The number of active fires has dropped to just 17.

One of the fires declared out was Kenora Fire #43, which was one of the
blazes burning on Lake of the Woods.

Ladies Slo-Pitch Finals Start Tonight

The finals in the Day's Inn Ladies Slo-Pitch League will begin this evening.

The best-of-three championships will begin in three divisions.

In the A-Side Final, Northern Harbor will take on Dunit Contracting at the Rec. Center Ball Diamonds at 7:00.

Northern Harbor has yet to lose a game yet this season.

In the B-Final, it will be the Martinis vs Tribal Logistics Slammers, while the C-Final will feature Riverview Industries against the Ice Cold Pitchers.

Both of those series will take place at the A&W Ball Diamonds at 6:30.

Police Investigate Explosion at Bare Point

Four people have been sent to hospital following an explosion in the Bare Point area.

The blast took place last night around 7:30 and sent four people to Lake of the Woods District hospital initially but were then transferred to hospital in Winnipeg for further treatment.

Their injuries are no considered life threatening.

Two of the people in the boat were picked up by a passing boater, while two others made it shore on their own.

The OPP are continuing their investigation of the explosion with the help of
local fire officials.

Union Members Approve Merger of CAW and CEP

The merger of two of Canada's largest unions is now complete.

Almost 96 per cent of delegates at a conference in Toronto on the weekend agreed that the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers and the Canadian Autoworkers should become the newly formed UNIFOR.

Jerry Diaz was elected its first president.

Unifor now represents almost 7-thousand members in northwestern Ontario, primarily in the areas of forestry, health care, manufacturing and transportation.