City Wide Boil Water Advisory in Kenora

Due to this winters epidemic of water main breaks the water and sewer department has put all of Kenora under a boil water advisory.

The department says the extreme temperatures and level of frost in the ground is causing breaks in water mains faster then they can be repaired.

Because of this operation crews are having issues opening valves again after mains are broken.

During the water advisory the city can open all the valves to broken mains and ensure they are prepared and that system pressure can be re-established.

Any water used for human consumption  must be boiled for at least 60 seconds.

In the past week the city has dealt with large water main breaks on First Street South, Second Street South, Fifth Avenue North, and River Drive.

Snowmobiler Dies Near Ear Falls

The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal accident near Ear Falls.

Police say 3 snowmobilers were travelling along a hydro trail when one of the riders hit a guide wire.

The Northwest Emerhency Medical Services found a man, 43 year old Robert Boucha of Ear Falls, dead at the scene.

The Ear Falls OPP along with the Technical Collision Investigator are looking into the accident.

City Delays Load Restrictions

No need to lighten the load just yet.

The City of Kenora says it has decided to post-pone weight restrictions on
local roads due to the extremely cold weather.

Load limitations usually go into effect for the spring starting March 1st.

However, the city says it will bag the signage until roads start to thaw and
conditions worsen.

Kenora Endures Coldest Winter in almost a Century

It's been a miserable winter across northwestern Ontario, but it's not
the coldest on record.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says historical records show
the winter of 1916/1917 was actually much worse.

He says back then, the average temperature during December, January and February was -22 celcius.

This year, the average winter temperature in Kenora has been about -18.

There's not a lot of relief in sight.

Environment Canada says Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec can all expect colder than normal conditions during the month of March.

Another Day, Another Water Main Break

It's starting to sound like a broken record.

Yet another water main break...this time on 1st Street South by the Kenora curling club.

A large pool of water is covering the road there and also on 7th Avenue
South over towards Park Street.

Meanwhile, Second Street South between 7th and 8th Avenues remains closed to traffic this morning.

That section of the Trans-Canada through town has been affected by a water main
break.

Fort Frances Explosion Under Investigation

An investigator with the Ministry of Labour is expected to be in Fort Frances today looking into yesterday's accident at Resolute Forest Products.

A dust explosion and subsequent fire at the company's biomass boiler sent an unnamed worker to hospital with serious burn injuries.

The man was last listed in critical condition.

A company spokesperson says they're also trying to determine the cause of the accident and that their main focus is with the employee and his family.

Operations at biomass have since resumed.

Councillors Enjoy Positvie Meetings with Cabinet Ministers

The effort continues to twin Highway 17 to the Manitoba Border.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says that was a main message they sent across at the Ontario Good Roads Conference.

He says they told the minister that they want the project to start this summer if at all possible.

Canfield says the meeting with Transportation meeting Glenn Murray was very productive.

He notes another big issue they discussed was getting government support for infrastructure projects.

Odor of Marijuana Takes over OPP Detachment

That's not skunk you smell at the OPP detachment in Kenora.

A strong odor of marijuana has permeated the building in recent days.

Inspector Dave Lucas says they have a large amount of marijuna in their
storage lockers as a result of recent drug busts.

He says ideally they'd like to store the smelly evidence outside their offices.

Lucas says some of the pot is evidence in on-going court cases.

He adds that they also need the green light from Health Canada before they can dispose
of the marijuana.

St. James Church In Keewatin Set To Close

An end of an era for a century-old church in Keewatin.

St. James will be closing it's doors at the end of April.

Archbishop of the Keewatin Diocese, David Ashdown says
the small congregation can no longer keep the church running.

Ashdown says the congregation will become part of St. Alban's in Kenora.

He says no decision has been made as to what to do with the actual building.

Greenstone Customers Lose Natural Gas Supply

The heat is slowly coming back on in homes and businesses in the Longlac Area.

As many as 800 Union Gas customers were without heat yesterday and the municipality declared a state of emergency.

Greenstone Mayor Ron Beaulieu says a warming centre has been opened at the Geraldton High School with transportation being provided.

Union Gas' regulating station in the Greenstone area failed most likely because of the severe cold weather.

Spokesperson Dave Sword says they're still working on fixing the problem.

Province Drafts Legislation To Tackle Invasive Species

Ontario is getting tough on invasive species.

Natural Minister David Orazietti says if passed, Ontario would become the first in Canada to have its own legislation to better deal with things such as zebra mussels, Asian carp and mountain pine beetles.

He suggests the will  make it easier for Ontario to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to invasive species.

Orazietti says the province currently relies on a patchwork of federal and provincial laws that don't have enough teeth.

Bronco Boys Lose Game One of NorWOSSA Final

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team is in must-win territory.

The Broncos came out flat in game one of the NorWOSSA finals
last night in Fort Frances, dropping a 7-1 decision to the Muskies.

Fort leads the best-of-three series 1-0.

Game two is back home Sunday night at 7:30 at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Hockey for Health in Need of Teams

A tough year for the Hockey for the Health 3 on 3 tournament.

Organizer Jess Rheault says without more registrations some divisions may go by the wayside.

Rheault says they have availability up to 6 teams in all divisions but can run the tournament with 4.

The deadline to register for the tournament is tomorrow.

All proceeds collected go to support the hospital foundation and the expansion of the rec centre.

visit http://www.lwdhf.com/events/3-on-3-hockey/ or call Jess at 468-9861 ext. 2419 to sign up your team.

Saints Ranked 8th for OFSAA

The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team now know where they sit heading into OFSAA next week.

The Saints have been given the 8th spot in the rankings for the single A all-Ontario Championships next week in Richmond Hill.

TA will play round robin games on Monday at 10:30, 1:30, and 4:00 and also Tuesday at 1:00.

Playoffs begin at 4:00 on Tuesday and run through Wednesday.

TSB Releases Report on Fatal Pickle Lake Plane Crash

Darkness and dim runway lights are being blamed for a fatal plane crash in Pickle Lake a year and a half ago.

Three people were killed in the crash of an Aerofab Lake 250 aircraft on the night of October 16th, 2012.

The Transportation safety board says the pilots of the plane likely lost their bearings due to the lack of visual clues.

The report released by the TSB says the plane came in for landing at six times the normal rate of descent
and hit the ground.

The two pilots from Quebec and a 27 year old passenger also from Trois Rivieres were killed.

Another passenger survived with only minor injuries.

Weather Records Set Two Days in a Row

Weather records continue to tumble.

For the second day in a row, Kenora has set a record for cold temperatures.

This morning, the thermometer has dropped to -34, smashing the previous
record set back in 1962, of -31.7.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says a number of records were
also broken across the region yesterday.

In Kenora, the temperature dropped to -31 just before midnight, breaking the
previous record of -29.4, set in 1964.

Laidlaw says the intense cold will continue right through the weekend and into next week as well.

Neknomination Charges Laid

OPP in Atikokan are laying charges on two male youth after their investigation into a Neknomination video that was recently posted.

One has been charged with failing to wear a helmet on a snowmobile and having an improper tow attachment.

The second youth is being charged with underage drinking and failing to wear a helmet as well.

Samsung Donates 20 Thousand Dollars to Thomas Aquinas

Technology at Thomas Aquinas has gotten a shot in the arm.

Phyllis Eikre is Director of Education at the Separate Board and says Principal Paul White received a 20 thousand dollar grant at the top principal's award gala.

Eikre says the money could help build a new program at the school or
they could improve upon the bring your own device program that was started this year.

The grant was presented to all the prinicpals at the awards through the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow program.

OPP Investigate Snow Shovelling Scam

Not all scams happen on-line or over the phone.

The Kenora OPP are investigating a scam where items were stolen out of a persons home.

Police say a number of items went missing from the bathroom of a home after a man and woman offered to shovel their driveway.

The items were taken when one of the shovellers asked to use the bathroom.

If you have any information on this incident please call OPP or Crimestoppers.

Crime Drops In Kenora in 2013

The crime rate continues to plummet in Kenora.

Figures released by the OPP shows there was 13,502 incidents in 2013, a drop of about 15 hundred from the year before.

Inspector Dave Lucas says they are targeting a number of areas to reduce crime in the community.

Lucas adds that violent crime in 2013 was down about 28 percent, while
property crimes were about 25 percent lower last year.