NorWOSSA Soccer Action Underway

A couple of close games this morning at Thomas Aquinas.

Beaver Brae battled the Saints in boys and girls soccer action.

The elements kept scoring down in the first game of the day as
the Bronco boys played to a 0-0 draw with T.A. in a driving rain.

In the second game of the day, Thomas Aquinas blanked Beaver
Brae 1-0.

The round-robin exhibition series will wrap up at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon with the Saints boys taking on Dryden.

KDSB Offers Funding for Non-Profit Housing

Some social housing units in the Kenora District are getting a facelift

The Services Board has approved an extra 30 thousand dollars in funding to carry out the upgrades.

Director of Finance and Asset Management Corrine Owen says they originally set aside 310-thousand  dollars for capital work, but stresses more was needed to ensure tenant safety.

Aamikkowish Non Profit Housing in Kenora will get 15 thousand dollars to replace a failed furnace and remove water damaged/mouldy drywall.

Kenora Non Profit Housing is also getting 90 thousand dollars for various upgrades.

Fire Fighters Applaud New Cancer Regulations

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department is applauding a decision by the
provincial government to expand cancer coverage for fire fighters.

The regulation change was made last week just before the provincial election was
called.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says cancer is just one of their on-the-job hazards.

The province is adding breast, testicular and multiple melanoma to the list of cancers
fire fighters can get coverage for immediately.

Prostate, lung and skin cancers will be phased in by 2017.

Red Cross Concerned About New Osnaburgh

New Osnaburgh First Nation remains in a state of emergency as the community has difficulty dealing with a February 13th fatal fire.

A mother, her two young daughters and her nephew perished in the blaze.

A team from the Canadian Red Cross is in the community this week to assess the situation and Spokesperson Tracey Browne says this is a groundbreaking visit.

Browne says the ultimate goal is developing a plan to improve the quality of life in New Osnaburgh and determining what services various agencies should be offering.

Aboriginal Leaders Continue To Discuss First Nation Education

First Nations leaders are in Thunder Bay this week to discuss the First Nations Education Act.

NAN leaders, as well as members from the Chiefs of Ontario continue to express their opposition to the piece of legislation.

Bill C-33 was introduced on April 10th by the federal government, but has remained on hold since the resignation of National Chief Shaun Atleo.

Fort Coming To Grips With Resolute Closure

The town of Fort Frances says its ready to move ahead without the existence of its major employer for the past 100 years.

Resolute Forest Products announced Wednesday it will permanently shutdown its pulp and paper mill.

Mayor Roy Avis says it has lifted a cloud of uncertainty that existed for months.

Avis says the focus now will be on initiatives that help offset the economic loss.

National Day of Honor

The Royal Canadian Legion is perplexed about why the federal government gave them so little time to prepare commemoration ceremonies across the region for today’s National Day of Honour.

The day is to mark the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, however little notice was given.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty says several branches didn't have time to put something together.

No ceremony is planned locally, though residents are encourage to take two minutes of silence at 12:30 to honor our soldiers who died in the Afghan mission.

Sioux Lookout OPP Make Trafficking Arrest

A tip from someone has resulted in a bust for Provincial Police in Sioux Lookout.

Officers received information about a man travelling through the community who was believed to be carrying a large amount of cash.

Police nabbed the inidividual and found nearly 18-thousand dollars worth of what is believed to be drug money in his possession.

The accused was also in possession of a controlled substance.

OPP say 38-year-old Dean Bluecoat of Thunder Bay faces two charges.

Mother's Day Road Race Set to Go

Another edition of the mother's day road race is ready to go.

The annual 5 and 10 kilometre event goes Sunday at the Whitecap Pavilion.

Jennifer Findlay says the proceeds are going to the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

There will also be a fundraising pasta supper tomorrow night at Borelli's.

For registration details visit the Kenora Borealis Page here.

Muskies Ready To Make Their Home on Main

A community project.

That's how Irene McQuaig with the Lake of the Woods Arts Community feels about the Muskies on main project.

LOWAC gave a sneak peek of some the Muskies during an event on Wednesday.

They will be put for display on Main Street June 27th.

Team HNO Loses First Game at Gold Cup

Hockey Northwestern Ontario dropped its opener at the OHL Gold Cup in Kitchener.

The regional under 16 team fell to Hockey Eastern Ontario 4-2 yesterday.

Kevin O'Flaherty is the lone Kenora player on the squad.

They will try to rebound this morning at 8 o'clock against the team from the Greater Toronto Area.

NorWOSSA Soccer Season Gets Underway Today

The late spring means there won't be any high school soccer tournaments this year, but local teams will still get
a pre-season tune-up.

Both Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas boys and girls soccer teams will be involved in a series of games at the T.A. field today and tomorrow.

Action gets underway with the Saints hosting the Broncos in boys soccer at 9:00 Friday morning and the girls will do battle at 10:30.

Two teams from Winnipeg and the Dryden Eagles are also taking part in the two-day exhibition series.

Communities Readying to Host Flood Evacuees

A number of communities across northwestern Ontario say they are willing to host 300 flood evacuees from James Bay.

Kashechewan First Nation declared a state of emergency due to the flooding of the Albany River and is expected to begin evacuating vulnerable residents as early as today.

Thunder Bay, as well as Kapuskasing, Greenstone, Wawa, Fort Frances and Dryden are stepping up as host communities.

It's not yet confirmed which communities will be asked to host evacuees but they are prepared to do iso if they are requested by the Province.

Hunting Accident Results in Hefty Fine

A Timmins man has been fined three thousand dollars following a bizarre hunting incident.

Michel Quirion was pulled over by conservation officers east of Fort Frances last November after they noticed some damage to his passenger side door.

Quiron says he accidentally fired a shot inside his truck while deer hunting near Sioux Narrows.

He told conservation officers that he loaded the gun inside his truck because he didn't want to spook a deer he had seen on the road.

But he slipped while getting out of the truck and accidentally discharged the rifle.

The shot put a hole through the door, shattered the window and deployed the airbags.

Students Encouraged To Champion Human Rights

Students in northwestern Ontario who identify as being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or trans-gender are being encouraged to promote dignity and human rights in their schools.

About 80 gathered for a conference in Fort Frances yesterday.

Human rights-consultant Chris D'Souza hopes the message can spread outside schools as well.

D'Sousa was encouraged that school administrators and teachers attended to support the students efforts.

City Approves More Funding For Bridge Repairs

It's going to cost almost a million dollars more to repair the Winnipeg West Branch Bridge than
initially projected.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they discovered some issues with the concrete arch
while doing work on the bridge last summer.

He says fortunately they won't have to close the bridge in order to do the work.

Innovative Civil Constructors Inc. had the lowest of four bids for the project at 946 thousand
dollars.

Elections Ontario Readies For June 12th Vote

Elections Ontario is starting to gear up for the provincial election in
the Kenora-Rainy River Riding.

The main returning office will be located in Fort Frances once again in the
old town library.

Ian Simpson is also returning as the returning officer.

Satellite offices will be located in Kenora's Market Square, as well as Dryden,
Sioux Lookout and Red Lake.

Green Party Candidate Ready To Hit the Road

The Green party candidate in Kenora-Rainy River is ready to launch an aggressive campaign.

Tim McKillop of Pickle Lake says he won't be sitting on the sidelines this campaign.

McKillop says he wants to bring some stability back to the Ontario Legislature.

He is a teacher with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and has been involved with the party for a number of years.

OFIA Concerned By Funding Cuts for Forest Access Roads

The Ontario Forest Industries Association is in shock.

President Jamie Lim feels after the Liberal budget reduced the Ontario Forest Roads Program by 24 percent.

Lim is calling out Northern cabinet ministers for hiding the cuts.

It's the second reduction to the program since 2011 when it was cut back by 36 percent.

Harbourfest Seeking New Directors

Harbourfest is changing things up.

Board member Jay Whetter says they are looking for new directors to organize the August festival.

Whetter says the change is to keep things fresh at the event.

Some of the positions to be filled include a director in charge of food vendors, a volunteer coordinator, and a director for grant writing.

For more information you can visit:

 http://www.harbourfest.ca/