Spring Snow Storm On the Way

If the forecast holds true, it could be the worst snow storm of the season.

Right now Environment Canada is predicting about 30 to 35 centimeters of snow by the time the Colorado Low moves through the region.

Meteorologist Ria Alsen says the storm system is centered over Nebraska right now and will pass through the Kenora area over the next 24 hours.

While the Kenora area will take the brunt of the storm, areas to the east like Thunder Bay will see only a smattering of snow and some freezing rain.

All School Buses Cancelled Today

Another long weekend for students who take the bus to school.

Yet another snow day has been declared by the Northwest Student Services
Consortium.

School buses in Kenora, Sioux Narrows, Vermillion Bay, Dryden, Red Lake, Ignace
and Sioux Lookout have all ben cancelled today.

Schools will remain open however for any students who can get to class today.

Sunshine List Continues to Grow

The novelty of making Ontario's Sunshine List is starting to lose it's luster.

The number of people making more than 100 thousand dollars a year keeps growing.

According to the Public Sector Salary Disclosure List, the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has the most employees on the list in the Kenora area.

There are 52 people from the public school board making 100 thousand dollars or more.

The Kenora Catholic District School board had only 15, but it also has the highest paid
educator in the region.

Phylis Eikre made just over 198 thousand dollars last year.

The top-paid public employee in Kenora was Dr. Kerry McDonald at Lake of the Woods District
Hospital.

The regional patholigost earned 379 thousand dollars.

Two Kenora Teams Win Stars Tournament in Winnipeg

A big weekend for the Lake of the Woods Girls hockey teams.

A total of 12 local teams were in Winnipeg for the St. Boniface Stars Girls Hockey Tournament.

Kenora teams won two gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

The PeeWee Turbo and Bantam Dy-no-mite 4.0 both won their divisions, while the Novice Purple Polar Puppies
won silver after a 6-1 loss to Dryden in the final.

Do One Thing Conference Tickets On Sale

Registration is now open for the Northwestern health unit's "Do One Thing" conference.

The conference takes over the Whitecap Pavilion May 27th and 28th.

CEO Mark Perrault says it's a first of it's kind conference for service providers in the region.

One of the featured speakers will be Rick Mercer from CBC TV's Rick Mercer Report.

Tickets for the conference are 195 dollars and can be purchased on-line here.

Public School Board To Expand FASD Classrooms

Nothing but rave reviews for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board from a leading expert on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Gideon Koren is the founder and director of the Motherisk Program and a professor at the University of Toronto and he visited the FASD classrooms at Open Roads in Dryden and Sioux Mountain in Sioux Lookout.

Dr. Koren says there are only 2-programs of this kind in Ontario and four in Canada.

The Board is planning to expand the program next year in Keewatin Public School and the Madsen school in Red Lake.

No Charges Laid So Far in Dryden Fatal

Provincial Police say they continue to investigate the circumstances behind a fatal two vehicle collision on Highway 17 last week.

The crash claimed the life of 24-year-old Taylor Gardiner of Dryden.

Police say they won't be laying charges at this time.

Gardiner died when his west bound car struck an east bound transport.

The driver of the tractor trailer unit wasn't injured.

Funeral services for the well liked young man will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock at the United Church in Dryden.

Rickford Applauds Ring of Fire Agreement

The federal minister responsible for the Ring of Fire says he's pleased to see the province making progress.

Greg Rickford says he is encourgaged by this week's signing agreement between the Mattawa First Nations and the Minister of Northern Development and Mines.

Rickford calls it important progress to help advance the incredible potential of the Ring of Fire.

He adds that the federal government is also committed to the development, which will create jobs and prosperity for Northern Ontario.

Kenora School Boards Hosts Mental Health Symposium

Creating Mentally Healthy Schools...that's the theme of a forum taking place in Kenora today.

School board officials from across the region are taking part in the day-long session.

Superintendant of Education with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, Joan Kantola says they hope to make it an annual event.

Kantola says all eight mental health leads employed by school boards in northwestern Ontario are getting a chance to meet together to share resources and some of their best practices.

Missing Girl Located

Some good news on the missing person front.

The OPP say they have located a 17 year old girl who had been missing for the past five days.

Police put out a missing person notice earlier this week after Chantel Cameron failed to return to work in the early morning hours of March 22nd.

The OPP say she was finally located last night.

City Brings In Extra Help To Thaw Water Lines

City Crews are continuing to work on thawing frozen water lines in the city.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they are making up some ground.

He notes there are still around 80 homes waiting to be thawed.

Perchuk says local contractors have been called in to help speed up the process.

NOMA Supports Energy East Pipeline

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is supporting the TransCanada Pipelines Energy East project.

Vice President of NOMA, Iain Angus says it's the best way to go.

He believes shipping oil via pipeline is a safer option than using rail.

NOMA's comments come after a public consultation sessions in bot Kenora and Thunder Bay this week.

Kenora Figure Skating Club Wraps Up Season Tonight

A chance to see our figure skating stars of the future.

The Kenora Figure Skating Club is holding it's final performance of the season tonight.

Coach Roxanne Daignault says the show is called Dancing through the Decades and feature
dozens of local skaters.

The show begins tonight at 6:30 at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Fiecek Chases Canadian Wheelchair Curling Berth

The Wayne Fiecek Foursome from Kenora will try to advance to the Canadian Wheelchair curling championships this weekend.

Fiecek is in Thunder Bay for the Northern Ontario playdowns.

Three teams are in the competition including rinks from the host club from Fort William and Sudbury.

Opening ceremonies will take place at 4:45 this afternoon.

Boil Water Advisory Ends

The city wide boil water advisory is over.

The advisory was lifted this afternoon after water tests came back clear of any bacteria.

It has been 4 weeks since the city took the precaution due to the rash of water main breaks in the city.

Operations Manager says the action was needed as breaks caused a disruption to the entire system.

Meanwhile, the water trucks being provided daily at the Rec Centre and Keewatin Arena have been cancelled.

One Person Killed in Dryden Accident

Dryden OPP have confirmed one person has died following a two vehicle accident on the Trans-Canada Highway 17 east of Dryden.

Police says 24 year old Taylor Gardiner of Dryden died as a result.

The crash, that involved a transport and a passenger vehicle, occurred just East of Aaron Park and the Twin Towers around 8 o'clock this morning.

The highway is open to one lane of traffic.

The investigation is continuing.

Three People Arrested In Fort Drug Bust

Three people are facing charges following a drug bust at a Fort Frances home this week.

Members of the Combined Forces Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, along with the OPP executed a search warrant at an Armit Street home Tuesday to find 555 grams of marijuana, street valued at 11 thousand dollars, and over 18 hundred dollars in cash.

Two Winnipeg residents, ages 20 and 42, and a 47-year-old Fort Frances man were arrested and are awaiting court appearances.

Canfield Applauds Appointment of New Municipal Affairs Minister

No complaints from Dave Canfield on the appointment of Bill Mauro to the Ontario cabinet.   Mauro is now the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.  

The president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association says it can only be good for our region.

Canfield hopes it may move some NOMA concerns through a little faster at Queen's Park.

He adds it's also nice to see two cabinet ministers from northwestern Ontario at the cabinet table now, with Mauro joining his Thunder Bay counterpart Michael Gravelle.

City Already Planning for 2017 Summer Games

The deadline is still three years away, but the City of Kenora is already planning
for the arrival of the rowing events for the Canada Summer Games in 2017.

Rabbit Lake will be the venue for the rowing competition.

Kenora's Economic Development Officer Jennifer Findlay says there's lots of work to do.

Findlay says the summer games will effect a number of departments from planning, parks, tourism, and special events.

More Reaction to Energy East Project

Pushing against oil pipelines.

That was the general feeling at an Ontario Energy Board consultation in Kenora this week regarding the Energy East Project.

Tania Cameron was at the meeting and disputed that pipelines are not the only means moving oil.

Cameron disputed the safety of the project by using an example of a pipeline in the United States that saw 17 leaks occur within it's first year of operation.