November Unusually Cold

It's not winter yet, but it sure felt like it last month.

This past November was the coldest in more than 15 years.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says the average
temperature was -6.7 degrees.

The coldest November on record was in 1995.

Laidlaw says the normal average daily temperature in November in Kenora
is -4.9 celcius.

MTO Boasting About Summer Road Works

The Ontario government is boasting about its work on northern Ontario roads this year.

The government says 55-hundred construction jobs were created and several projects were completed.

Some of the major work included the resurfacing of Highway 72 and 516 in Sioux Lookout.

The government also replaced several bridges between Kenora and Ignace, including the Little Wabigoon River bridge, Melgund River bridge and the Nugget Creek bridge.

Parachutist Rescued in Thunder Bay

A daring rescue in Thunder Bay over the weekend.

City Fire crews spent more than 8-hours attempting to rescue a 24-year-old man after he got stuck on Mt. McKay.

Officials say the man was attempting a speed-wing parachute jump when something went wrong and he crashed into rugged terrain.

The rescue effort was hindered by dark and slippery conditions.

The man is now in hospital with multiple injuries.

Festival of Trees A Big Hit

Kenora residents were in a giving mood this weekend.

The 10th Annual Festival of Trees had 30 trees up for auction.

Darlene McGillivray from the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional
Community Foundation says they managed to raise a lot of money during
the three day festival.

She says they raised almost 30 thousand dollars during their 10th annual
event.

McGillivray says they also benefited from a five thousand dollar contribution
from proceeds from this summer's Air Show.

New Child Care Agreement for Off-Reserve Aboriginals

30 years in the making.

The Kenora and Rainy River District Child and Family Services are signing an agreement with the Weechi-it-te-win Family Services to serve off reserve aboriginals.

KRRDCFS Executive Director Bill Leonard says this move has been a long time coming and is actually encouraged by provincial legislation.

The WFS will begin serving off reserve members once the agreement is signed on Friday.

Public School Board Launches Safe Welcome Initiative

School administrators can now reject visitors from accessing schools before they ever enter the building.

The Safe Welcome program is being launched this morning
at all Elementary Schools in the Keewatin Patricia District School Board.

Shelley St. Hilaire is the Safe and Supportive Schools principal and says certain factors are keeping it out of high schools.

The program includes visitors buzzing a video intercom to speak with administrators before entering the school.

Stand Off Ends Peacefully On Lac Seul

A 28-year-old man has been arrested following a 14-hour standoff at a home in Frenchman's Head on the Lac Seul First Nation.

Lac Seul Police were notified of a domestic dispute shortly after midnight Sunday and Provincial Police in Sioux Lookout provided support.

OPP say the man barricaded himself inside his home and wasn't responding to police requests to exit the residence.
Police say there were also fears that the man had firearms in the residence.

Roadblocks were set up within the community and nine area homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Crisis negotiators were brought in and the man was arrested around 3:20 Sunday afternoon without incident.

The unidentified man is in custody and the investigation is ongoing.

Residents that were evacuated were allowed back in their homes and the roadblocks have been taken down.

Province Launches Open Government Consultations

The term "open government" may seem like a contradiction in terms to some, but the province's government services minister wants to change that.

John Milloy says his open government team is stopping in Thunder Bay this evening to get your views on what  can be done to make the government more open.

Tonght's forum is one of several taking place this month across the province.

CP Holiday Train Crosses Northwestern Ontario Today

It's a sight to behold.

The C.P. Holiday train will be crossing northwestern Ontario today with
several stops.

Salem Woodrow is the trains Spokesperson and says they have a photo contest to go along with the festivities.

The train collects donations for local food banks, and includes a visit by Santa and live music.

The Kenora stop is scheduled for 3:45 this afternoon behind the Real Canadian Wholesale Club.

Thistles Split Against the Capitols at Home

The Kenora Triple "a" Midgets continue to play .500 hockey.

The Thistles split a pair of games over the weekend at home against the
Central Plains Capitals.

Ben Hendrickson scored a pair of goals in a 4-3 loss yesterday at the
Kenora Rec. Center.

Hendrickson also notched a hat trick Saturday night in a 5-1 win over
the Capitols.

The Thistles now have a record of 10 wins and 10 losses this season.

Sharks Enjoy Weekend Meet in Winnipeg

A strong weekend for a number of members of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club in
Winnipeg at the Prairie Winter International Meet at the Pan Am pool.

Gabe Mastromateo led the medal parade with five gold medals and a bronze.

Mastromateo also was a member of the Sharks gold medal winning 12 and under boys medley relay team.

Other gold medalists over the weekend included Alex Illman and Natalie Peterson

Local Girls Hockey Teams Excel in Weekend Tournament

Kenora girls teams took won a lot of hardware at the 19th annual
Lake of the Woods Novice, Atom and PeeWee tournament.

The Purple Polar Puppies won silver in the Novice Division, losing a
2-1 decision to Dakota in the gold medal game yesterday.

In the Atom Division, The Atom Bomb's high powered offense struck
gold in an 8-1 win over the Silver Bullets in an all-Kenora match-up.

Two Kenora teams also faced off in the PeeWee final, with the Turbo prevailing with a 2-1 win over the Black Widows.

Saints Girls Lose to Dryden

In girls high school hockey action last night, Dryden fired a lot of rubber
at Thomas Aquinas in a 7-1 win.

The Eagles peppered Saints goalie Gilly Derouard with 70 shots.

T.A. is still looking for its first win of the season.

Miracle Marathon a Huge Success

(Midget Thistles Held Load Trailer)

The Salvation Army in Kenora has received a huge boost to it's Christmas Cheer campaign.

The 23rd Annual CJRL Miracle Marathon in support of the Salvation Army was a resounding success.

Over the last 2 days the marathon has raised over 4500 pounds in food, toys, and other items for the Salvation Army.

Business Manager Sandra Poole says the cash donations have been outstanding as well.

She says they collected more than 23 thousand dollars during the 19 hour radio marathon.

Poole says all the donations will be distributed within the community.

Impaired Driver Charged

A man from Sabaskong First nation is facing impaired driving charges.

OPP says they found a vehicle was blocking traffic on Highway 71 South of Nestor Falls yesterday evening.

Police found that the driver, 30 year old Todd Copenace, was impaired and charged him with Impaired Driving.

Copenance will answer to the charge in court today.

Kenora Retailers Embrace Black Friday

Black Friday is no longer a term being just used by American retailers.

It's coming just as big in Canada and now in Kenora.

Manager of McTaggart's Richard Boileau says his store is among many looking to attract customers with special deals today.

It's suggested Canadian will spent on average 300 dollars per person today.

PSAC Given Right to Represent NAPS Officers

Its being called a precedent setting decision.

The Canadian Industrial Labor Relations Board has ruled that officers with the
Nishinabe Aski Police can be represented by the Public Service Alliance
of Canada.

Sharon DeSousa is a spokesperson for P-SAC and says they can now move forward with negotiations on a new contract.

DeSousa adds that the ruling will also affect other aboriginal police services across the province, including the Treaty Three Police.

She says Treaty Three Police will have it's own hearing with the board in January about whether PSAC can represent their officers.

Atleo Addresses Ontario Chiefs

National Chief  of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo is addressing first nations issues with aboriginal leaders.

Atleo says he has felt widespread support from communities wanting to have more of an influence on education.

He says he will also be speaking with the United Nations to address Canada's sustainable development goals.

Atleo made the address to the Chiefs of Ontario meeting which is taking place in Thunder Bay this
week.

Harborfest Directors Planning for Next Summer

It may be looking a lot like Christmas, but Harborfest is already thinking
summer thoughts.

Work is already underway trying to book acts for next year's evening concerts.

Dave Blake is the director of entertainment and says its become increasingly challenging to book top flight bands.

Blake says their goal is to book at least one of the night's for the August long weekend before Christmas.

CO2 Detectors Soon To Be Mandatory in All Homes

A new carbon monoxide detector might make a good Christmas gift.

A private members bill has passed at Queen's Park that will soon mandate the alarms in all Ontario homes.

Tory MPP Ernie Hardeman, who pressed for the law since the death of a family from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2008, says it replaces old laws requiring only homes built after 2001 to have the alarms.

The Hawkins-Gignac Act is named in memory of the family who died.