Funding Announced for area groups

Six area community groups will be sharing over 474 thousand dollars in provincial funding.


Ontario's Minister of Health Promotion Margarett Best is providing the funding through her ministry's healthy community fund.


The Nishinawbe Aski Nation will be utilizing 120 thousand dollars for its "Girl Power Wolf Spirit" program.

Bearskin to offer flights to Minneapolis

Northwestern Ontario travelers may still have access to a daily flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul.


Delta Airlines has announced they are cutting their flight from Thunder Bay to Minneapolis this Fall.

However, Bearskin Airlines is reportedly stepping up to the plate to take over the route.

Vice-President Cliff Friesen says the company has begun the process.

Redditt Water Project Delayed

The community of Redditt north of Kenora will have to wait a little longer for

treated water.

The Redditt Local Services Board had hoped to begin work on a water treatment facility
this month, but those plans have been put on hold.

Jack Martin is chair of the Services Board and says costs of the project came in way over
their budget.

Martin says they had received over 550 thousand dollars from the federal and provincial
governments for the water treatment plant, but are now asking them for an extension.

Treaty Three Police Chief Resigns

The Treaty Three Police Service is looking for a new commanding officer.


Chief Conrad Delaronde submitted his resignation to the board at the end of
May.

The board has refused to comment on the reasons for Delaronde's departure.

Delaronde was hired in the fall of 2008.

His resignation followed on the heels of the departure of Deputy
Chief Louie Napish earlier this summer.

New KBI Winners

Mandamin and Carpenter weigh in at KBI)

Dennis Mandamin has been fishing KBI for the past 15 year and this year he finally is able

to call himself champion.

Mandamin and his partner Jason Carpenter from Whitedog beat out last years champions,

Brian McNanney and Matt Ryberg on the final day of the three day tournament.

Mandamin and Carpenter had a catch of 16.36 pounds on Saturday for a three day total

of 50.20 pounds.

McNanney and Ryberg had to settle for second with 48.73 pounds.

The leaders after day one and day two, Behn Carlson and Jon Pearson slipped to third

after weighing 13.17 pounds Saturday for a three day total of 48.44 pounds.

Team Canada easily won the Can/Am challenge weighing in just over 227 pounds of

bass over three days, compared to 185 pounds for Team USA

Keewatin Teams leads after Day 1 of KBI

The Keewatin duo of Behn Carlson and John Pearson have the distinction of leading the Kenora Bass International after day one.

They hauled in 19.55 pounds of bass yesterday, more than two pounds better than the second place team of Darren Marcine and Bart Stebnitsky.

In third place is the local team of Bruce and Tony Griffiths, at 16.85 pounds.

Team Canada leads the Can/Am Challenge by over 19 pounds after the first day of fishing.

Second day weigh-ins will take place at 4:00 this afternoon.

Harborfest Breaks Even

Harborfest organizers suggest that despite huge crowds over the weekend, the weekend event likely only broke even.

Dave Blake is one of the directors and says despite record bar sales Friday and Saturday night, they probably only managed to cover their costs.

Blake says they will be evaluating the success of the event over the next few weeks.

Blake says they expect to have a final report on Harborfest 2010's finances in the
next few weeks.

More Beach Closures announced

The Health Unit has been forced to close down three more beaches
for the weekend.

Recent test results for Rabbit Lake Beach, Garrow Beach and Anicinabe Beach show unacceptible bacteria levels.

The Health Unit conducts routine testing of the beaches during the summer and says water quality tests at the three beaches showed high levels of e-coli.

The beaches will be closed until water quality tests improve.

Council opposes Beach Warning Notices

Beach warnings being posted by the Northwestern Health Unit aren't being well received by Kenora City Council.

The Health Unit has started posted warning signs following heavy rain events about possible bacterial contamination.

Colleen Neil is Kenora's Recreation Services Manager and says right now the signs are causing a lot of confusion.

Council says that Kenora's beaches are part of our Tourism Marketing Campaign and having a blanket warning sign posted at them is not very tourist-friendly.

Council wants to work with the health unit on making the signs less alarming.

Funding Announced for Wincrief

A Kenora forest company is getting just over 1.2 million dollars in funding from the proincial government.

Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle announced  the funding at Wincrief Forestry Products Thursday morning.

Gravelle says the joint partnership between Moncrief Construction and Wabaseemung First Nation is the type of activity the province is interested in promoting.

The manufacturing facility on the Redditt Road currently employs about 20 people with
plans to double that number when the facility is fully operational.

Another Taser Incident in Northwestern Ontario

A 48 year old man faces a long list of charges following an alleged sexual assault on the Couchiching First Nation near Fort Frances.
Treaty Three Police say they were on patrol early Sunday morning when they heard a woman cryout for help.

A 40 year old woman was located near Highway 11 and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Following an investigation, officers tried to arrest Michael Robert Morriseau at a home in the community.

He fled the residence, but was apprehended by oficer a short time later.

While he was being arrested, police say Morriseau brought out a knife, which he
refused to give up.

Officers then used a Taser on the suspect.

He was finally taken into custody and charged with sexual assault, aggravated
assault, assaulting police, uttering threats and possession of a dangerous weapon.

New Gateway Signage for Kenora

The City of Kenora could soon see some new signage entering the community.

The Property and Planning Committee has awarded a contract for two new gateway signs.

Mike Newton had the winning bid for the project, which features a triagular sign holder, which will sport the new City of Kenora logo.

The city has set aside 50 thousand dollars for the project, but councillor Wendy Cuthbert says the winning design came in under budget.

A total of four designs were submitted for the gateway signs.

OPP arrest Drunk and Speeding Driver

A case of maybe too much liquid courage?

A 25-year-old man has been arrested after he was clocked driving 157-kilometres on the Kenora By-pass.

Officers noticed that the driver had been drinking and he failed a roadside test.

Bryan Hawrysh of Kenora faces counts of impaired driving and street racing.

More Fire Rangers heading west

Another one hundred Ministry of Natural Resource forest firefighters will depart for British Columbia this afternoon.

There are currently over two-hundred MNR personnel now in that province, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Fire Information Officer Debbie MacLean says more personnel will be provided if called upon.

Of the MNR personnel in the west, 75 are from the west fire region with another 63 to be part of today's deployment.

Due to all the rain in recent weeks, the fire hazard is low across most of northwestern Ontario

and no new fires have been reported in several days. 

Drug Bust on By-Pass

A routine traffic stop on the Kenora By-Pass has resulted in the seizure of a large quanity of marijuana.

The OPP say they stopped a vehicle for speeding Tuesday on Highwyay 17-A.

The driver confirmed to police that he had a suspended licence.

Officer also felt the operator of the vehicle was behaving in an unusual manner and conducted a search.

Police say 18 pounds of marijuana with a street value of about 167 thousand dollars was seized, along with about 500 dollars in cash and some drug paraphenalia.

30 year old Christopher Dawe from British Columbia was arrested and charged with
possession for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking in a narcotic.

He appeared in Kenora court yesterday to face the charges.

Treaty Three Critical of SIU Report

Grand Council Treaty #3 continues to be critical of the OPP response to a shooting incident in downtown Kenora.

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit released a report into the shooting of 39 year old Grassy Narrows resident last week clearing an OPP officer of any wrong-doing.

Grand Chief Diane Kelly says she's disappointed with the finds in the report and also the policies and procedures of the OPP.

She says the whole incident raises questions about why a lone female officer was sent to a domestic violence incident.

She also wonders why it took the OPP over 50 minutes to inform the SIU about the shooting.

Kelly says if she can't get answers from the OPP Commissioner or Ontario's Solicitor General, she will file a complaint with the Independant Police Review Director.

KBI Can-Am Challenge Teams Introduced

Anglers are gearing up for the 22nd annual Shaw Kenora Bass International.


The three day fishing derby gets underway tomorrow morning from the Kenora
Harborfront.

This morning, the members of the Can/Am Challenge were introduced.

Jeff Gustafson is a member of Team Canada and says so far pre-fishing has
been pretty slow.

Weigh-ins will take place at 4:00 tomorrow and Friday and
3:00 on Saturday under the big tent on the Harborfront.

Busy long weekend for the OPP

The OPP in Kenora were kept hopping ove the August Long Weekend.


The final tally shows 358 calls for service, including 64 liquor licence Act Offenses, 15 motor vehicle collisions and 13 mischief complaints.

Constable Dave Cain of the OPP say officers are also looking into a couple more serious complaints.

Cain adds that a 26 year old Kenora man was also charged with careless driving after a vehicle rolled over on St. Clair Street in Keewatin on Saturday.

KBI starts tomorrow

One of the biggest sporting events of the year in Kenora takes place this weekend.

The 22nd annual Kenora Bass International gets underway tomorrow morning from the Harborfront.

This is the first year as chair of the fishing tournament for Duncan McEwan and he says they are still looking for last minute entries.

So far 129 teams have entered KBI.

Anglers hit the water at 6:30 tomorrow morning.

Drowning in Falcon Lake

A little horseplay turned to horror yesterday when a Toronto teen

slipped under the waves of Falcon Lake and never surfaced again.

A group of 12 men and boys from Ontario had been in Winnipeg for
a Muslim religious convention when they decided to make a pit stop
at Falcon Lake for brunch and fun before beginning the long drive
back home.

A spokesman for the group says three teens hopped in a canoe that
was lying around and went out in the water without lifejackets.

The spokesman says the 17-year-old was fooling around and stood
up in the canoe, causing it to tip.

Traffic Changes in Stores for Downtown Kenora

The City of Kenora is planning to do some minor traffic tweaking in the downtown core.


A couple of public meetings were held last month to get feedback on how to improve
traffic flow for both vehicles and pedestrians.

Operations manger Rick Perchuck says one of the annoyances for pedestrians is the
length of time it takes to cross Main Street at the First Street intersection.

Perchuck is also recommending that the left hand turn from Main Street onto First Street South
be eliminated altogether during the day to prevent traffic build up.

Council is expected to vote on the changes at its open meeting next Monday.

Kenora OPP Taser Twice

It was a busy weekend for the Kenora OPP.


In fact, things got to the point early Saturday morning officers were forced to
use Tasers to get things under control after the Friday night Harborfest Concert.

Officers tasered two people who they believe were preventing officers from breaking up a fight on the harbourfront.

Constable Dave Cain says the officers were in their rights to use the weapons.

Cain says the two crowd members refused to obey officer's demands to stand back and acted in an aggressive manner.

JM Judoists Medal at International Tournament

Two members of the Jaffray Melick Judo Club medalled at a huge tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

over the weekend.

Kaitie Dennis won a silver medal, after advancing to the gold medal match in the 57 kilo
division.

Ben Dennis took home a bronze medal after losing to the eventual gold medal winner
in the boys 44 kilo division.

Over one thousand fighters from 100 countries took part in the weekend tournament.

Council Race Heats Up

Another person has thrown his hat into the ring for the race for Kenora City Council.


Gregary Potvin is the fifth person to submit nomination papers for the October 25th
municipal elections.

A total of six council seats are up for grabs, along with the mayoralty.

The deadline to submit nomination papers is September 10th.

A wet July confirmed

If you thought July was a wet month in the Kenora area you'd be right.


CJRL meteorologist, Bill Laidlaw says we were drenched by 198 millimeters
of rain last month, which is about double the average for July.

Temperatures were also slightly above normal for this time of year.

The average daily mean temperature last month was about a degree
higher than usual.

Water Levels continue to rise

Water levels on Lake of the Woods are starting to stabilize after rising steadily over over the past few weeks.

The Lake of the Woods Control board says water levels rose just a half an inch in the
past week and are expected to remain stable or decrease slightly over the next seven
days.

To cope with the higher water levels, the Control board has authorized yet another
increase in outflow from the Norman Dam into the Winnipeg River today.

Outflow will go from 730 to 800 cubic meters per second.

Water levels below the dam and downstream at Minaki are expected to rise
about six inches as a result of the increase in outflow.

Fire Rangers heading west

Ontario is sending more help to western Canada ravaged by forest fires.


Over one hundred Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters and support personnel were sent to northern Saskatchewan and British Columbia on Sunday.

Another twenty firefighters have been in Manitoba since early last week.

The M-N-R expects to be called on for more assistance, especially in B-C where the fire situation is worsening.

Two Coronor's inquests in Northwestern Ontario

The deaths of two men in northwestern Ontario last year will be subjects of coroner's inquests later this fall.


A September inquest in Fort Frances will examine the death of 21-year-old Dylan Wreggitt of Atikokan.

He died while in custody at the Rainy River District Jail last August.

Another inquest into the death of 30-year-old Levi Schaeffer will be held in Thunder Bay in October.

Schaeffer died in an altercation with Provincial Police in the Osnaburgh Lake area last June.

Anicinabe beach still closed

Just one beach remains closed in the Kenora area after heavy rains last week.


Anicinabe Beach is still listed as off limits to swimmers due to high e-coli levels in the water.

Advisories for Ottawa Street Beach and Darlington Beach in Keewatin were lifted over the weekend, as was the closure notice for Rabbit Lake Beach.

The health unit says it will continue its beach monitoring program for the rest of the summer.

Beach closure notices

The Northwestern Health Unit is changing how it will inform swimmers of potential bacteria in area beaches.


Instead of issuing warnings following water sampling, Medical Officer of Health Dr. James Arthurs says there will now be permanent signs posted at popular swimming areas.

Arthurs says the current warning does not always tell an accurate picture since samples are sent away and the situation often changes by the time results are known.

SIU issues correction in downtown Shooting

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has clarified one of the claims made in its report on a June 7th shooting incident in downtown Kenora.

Last week, the SIU issued a release saying it took two hours for the OPP in Kenora to notify them of the incident in which a 39 year old woman was shot by an officer on 1st Street South.

The SIU says the Kenora Detachment actually notified them 51 minutes after the shooting.

Despite the correction, the SIU says it would have liked to have been contacted as
soon after the incident as possible in order to mobilize its staff to begin their
investigation.

Counterfeit Cheque Scheme

A counterfeit cheque from an insurance company has been sent to a resident of Geralton along with a survey from Canada Post.

The person was asked to call a phone number in order to participate in the Canada Post survey.

Once the number is called a person is then asked to cash the cheque and sendpart of the money through Western Union to someone else.

The person who cashes the cheque gets the remainder of the money.

OPP would like to remind everyone that if you get one of these or similar cheques it could very well be a fraudulent cheque and you maybe responsible to pay the money back if you cash it.

If anyone receives a cheque like this and are unsure, please contact the OPP.

Beach Closures

Kenora area beaches have a high E.Coli once again this week.

There are numerous beaches in the area that have been closed for the time being.

They include, the Ottawa St. beach, Darlington Bay beach, Anicinabe Beach and the Rabbit Lake beaches are closed for the time being.

High E.Coli levels in the water pose certain risks to swimmers. Including, a variety of skin, eye, nose and throat infections, as well as gastrolintestinal illness.

However the other beaches in the area that have not been mentioned ARE open for swimming and the water quality signs have been removed.

Harbourfest Starts Today

Well the time has come the 2010 edition of Harbourfest gets going today.

Collective Soul headlines tonight with local band Random Acts opening for them.

On saturday, it's time for some Classic Rock, Canadian Kim Mitchell is the headliner with special guests; Starship staring Mickey Thomas and Asia featuring John Payne.

The festival winds up with Country artists Emerson Drive with guests Jessie Farell and Mark Ekins on the bill.

Tickets for all three nights are still available and can be bought at Two Bear's Marine, Donny B's and Nibblers Nook.

SIU KENORA

A Kenora O-P-P officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the June shooting of a woman in that city.

But the Special Investigation's Unit is questioning why it took Provincial Police almost two hours to report the incident.

39-year-old Helen Proulx was shot twice in the torso after brandishing a knife at an officer.

Director Ian Scott found no reasonable grounds to believe the female officer acted inappropriately.

Witnesses told the S-I-U, Proulx was intoxicated and in a despondent emotional state at the time and failed to comply with the officer's repeated requests to drop the knife

But in his report, Scott expressed concerned with the delay in reporting the shooting to the S-I-U, a contravention under the act, and that some officers at the scene were told by an association lawyer not to make notes.

He's asked the OPP Commissioner to investigate.

Rise in traffic fatalities over the past two years

With the dissapointing rise in traffic fatalities this year the OPP will be cracking down on irresponsible drivers over the next little while.

This year up until July 25th, there has been 163 deaths commpared to 154 in 2009 in the same period for an increase of 6 percent.

OPP commissioner Julian Fantino, was quoted as "It is very disturbing to see the carnage on our highways start to creep back up again, and any loss of life due to irresponsible driving is unnaceptable."

Harbourfest is just around the corner

This years Harbourfest is almost upon us.

The festival Kicks off this year with Collective soul on Friday night, with a local band "Random Acts" opening for them. Tickets cost $65.00. Show starts at 9 pm.

Tickets for the opening night are still availible, but you can't get them online any more, they can be picked up at: Two Bear's Marine, Donny B's and Nibblers Nook.

Saturdays line up includes: Kim Mitchell with special guests Starship starring Mickey Thomas and Asia featuring John Payne. Tickets are $55.00 Show starts at 7:30.

And Sunday it's country time with Emerson Drive Jessie Farrell & Marc Ekins, tickets are only $40.00 and show starts at 7:30.

Followed by a fantastic fireworks display at 10:30 pm.

Helicopter Crash Victims Identified

A local man has been named as one the two men who died in a helicopter crash late last week.

19 year old, Ethan Boucha from Rat Portage First Nation and John Tumchewics, origionally from Yellowknife but was living in North Bay, both died in the crash.

The crash happened 200 km south of Timmins, between the Elk Lake and Gowganda areas.

They were flying a Bell 206 helicopter that belonged to Essential Helicopters of North Bay.

No one at the company would comment and the investigation by the Transpotation Safety board continues.

Long weekend crack down

With good weather on the way for the long weekend, expect increased travel on the highways, trail and water ways.
The OPP would like to remind the publicthat they will be out patrolling to keep the community safe.

Officers will be targeting aggressive drivers, impaired drivers and people who aren't wearing their seatbelt.

And if you are planning on being on the lake, remember to waer your life jacket. And cary your operators card with you, if you are operating a vessel with a motor.

Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship

Dorian Lindholm of Fort Frances and Bill Wilcox of Burleson, Texas are your 2010 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Champions.

The pair had a 3 day total of 56.45 pounds of bass to take the 25 thousand dollar top prize.

Kenora's Jeff Gustafson and Partner Jon Peterson of Bemidji, Minnesota finished 3rd just over 4 pounds back of the winners.

Another local angler had a strong showing. Frank McClymont and partner Albert Trudeau of Ile-Des Chenes were 4th.

Thunder Bay OPP continue to investigate arson

Thunder Bay OPP continue to investigate an arson in Neebing Township.

The OPP have charged a 45 year old Female from Thunder Baywith arson, Assault and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

Police were called to a building fire that occured throughout the night on July 23rd, at a residence located on Jarvis Bay Rd. in the Neebing township.

Further investigation resulted with the other two charges. The female has been released and the investigation contiues.

Bronzeback Results

Adam Bachinski and Andrew Beernart are your 2010 bronzeback classic champions.

The pair won with a two day total of 31.58 pounds of bass. Jim Picha and Bill Low came second with a two day total of 29.54.

The top male/female team with Mary-Anne Rench and Wayne Early with 27.57 pounds of fish.

Brandon Scott and Curtis Scott were the top Adult/Child team with a two day total of 29.41.

For those with a motor of 50 horsepower or less, Brad and Jayden Symonds topped the list with a catch of 28.31.

Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship

A couple of Kenora-led teams are in the hunt for the Fort Frances Canadian Bass championship after the first day of fishing.

Frank McClymount and his fishing partner Albert Trudeau are in a tie for fifth, two-and-a-half pounds out of first place.

Jamie Bruce, who's teamed with Bryan Gustafson is also fifth while Trevor Guderyan and Dean Tackynk sit back in seventh.

Fatal Collision on Highway 17A

Two people are in hospital with life threatening injuries and two otther people are dead, following a crash yesterday morning.

For an undetermined reason a west bound Dodge Caravan left the roadway and struck a rock cut on Highway 17A near Jones road.

After hitting the rock cut the van caught fire and because of the damagethe occupants were trapped inside the vehicle.

OPP say there were 4 occupants in the vehicle, a 46 year old female and a 19 year old male were fatally injured. Another 18 year old male and a 46 year old male driver has been transported to Thunder Bay with life threatening injuries.

The investigation is continuing into the collision.

Keewatin Beach Closed

People who use Keewatin Public Beach will have to find another place to cool off over the next few days.

The Northwestern Health Unit has posted the beach as unsafe for swimming.

The Health Unit says recent tests has found high bacterial counts in the water.

The beach will remain closed until satisfactory test results come back.

The Health Unit tests local beaches on a regular basis and Keewatin Beach was found to have unacceptible levels of e-coli.

Kenora By-Pass Closed by Fatal Accident

A fatal motor vehicle accident has closed down a section of the Kenora By-Pass this
morning.

The OPP say there was a single motor vehicle accident shortly after 8:00 this morning
near the intersection of the Jones Road.

The vehicle burst into flames and fire crews and the OPP are at the scene dealing with
the situation.

As a result of the accident, the Highway 17-A has been closed down from the
east entrance to the By-Pass right to the Redditt Road.

Traffic is being detoured through the City of Kenora.

Busy weekend for sports ahead

Its shaping up to be a busy sports weekend in Kenora.

Four major events will be taking place over the next three days.

First up is the annual Lake of the Woods Men's Soccer Tournament at the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex.

Eight local teams will be doing battle with eight out-of-town teams from Manitoba, Fort Frances and Thunder Bay.

Action begins Friday evening and will wrap up Sunday afternoon with the

finals.

Just across the road, the Kenora Rowing Club will be holding its annual Tops and Bottoms

Regatta Saturday on Rabbit Lake. 

The Bronzeback Classic will start Saturday and finish with last day weigh-ins Sunday.

100 teams are entered in the sold out fishing tournament.

And finally on Sunday, the Kenora Borealis Triathlon/Duathlon will take place at Garrow Park.

The race is scheduled to start at 9:00.

Moose Tag Changes Proposed

Today is the last day Ontario residents have to comment on a proposed change that could impact the transfer of moose tags among hunters.


The Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to prohibit hunters from passing their tags onto another person in consecutive years.

Wildlife Management Coordinator Tosh Gierek says the recommendation based on input received at public meetings last year.

The new regulation could be in place for the 2011 hunting season.

Washed out Redditt road repaired

Residents on the north side of Redditt can now travel to the south side of the tiny hamlet without taking a lengthy detour.

A couple of weeks ago, the main road in the community north of Kenora washed out after a

beaver dam burst.

It took a couple of weeks for the repairs to be carried out, but a new culvert and gravel

were put in place late last week.

The Redditt Local Roads Board is appealing to the provincial government for emergency                      funding to cover the cost of repairs.

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More Money for Northern Highways

The McGuinty Government has increased the funding for the Northern Highway program.

An extra 125 million dollars was added to this year's budget.

Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle says four laning the highway will help our economy and our safety.

Included in the 775 million dollar funding includes twinning the first 15 kilometers of the

Trans-Canada Highway from the Manitoba Border towards Rush Bay and the re-surfacing of
10 kilometers of Highway 17 from the Kenora City limits east to the Kenora By-Pass.

Jack Irwing Passes Away at 78

A sad note to pass on about the parent company of Northwoods Broadcasting, its chairman Jack Irving passed away in Saint John New Brunswick after a short illness.

He was 78.

Among other accomplishments, Jack Irving was a member of the Order of Canada.

In 1952 he joined his father's businesses and worked all his life, along-side his brother Arthur in Irving Oil.

In addition, he was a Director of all Irving businesses and was responsible for and managed a number of the companies within the varied Irving enterprises.

Funeral services will take place Saturday in Saint John.

Round-About Etiquette urged

The OPP say local motorists need a refresher course on how to properly use the round-about by the Subway.
A recent survey by local summer students hired by the OPP show that about 61 percent of drivers exit the round-about without using their turn signals.

The students observed 151 vehicles recently and found that 93 didn't use their turning lights.

The OPP says using signals while exiting the round about helps with the continuous flow of traffic.

Donations Sought for Family

Making Kenora Home is looking for household items for a family of five displaced by a fire a couple of weeks ago.

The family lost all their possessions in the fire, but have managed to find a new place to live at the end of this month.

However, the mother and four kids are in need of a number of items including beds, dishes
and dish cloths, cutlery, clothing and toys.

The children include a 5 year old girl, a two year old and a four year old boy and a six
week old baby girl.

Donations can be dropped off at the Ontario Works Office at 120 Matheson Street South.

PUSH NWO Searching for Volunteers

People living with disabilities continue to work towards creating a more accessible society.


The group persons united for self help in Northwestern Ontario is holding an information session looking for volunteers.

Spokesperson Justin Miller says volunteers will help fight for equality in a number of areas.

 The Volunteer meeting will take place in August, but anyone who wants more information can contact  http://www.pushnwo.ca/

Rickford Supports Voluntary Census in 2011

The M.P. for the Kenora Riding says he supports his government's plan to

scrap the 2011 long form census.

A number of groups have written the government asking that the census
be carried out as normal.

Greg Rickford says he has concerns about the way the census is conducted
and the type of information that's being collected.

There are concerns that the response to a voluntary census will be very low among the poor, aboriginal communities and recent immigrants.

Minister of Natural Resources promoting Far North Act

Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey has been using her summer to tour area first nations.


Many people have said that there hasn't been enough consultation with aboriginals on the far north act.

Kenora Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton says proper consultation needs to take place throughout the entire implementation process.

Meanwhile, Minister Linda Jeffrey says its often hard to accomodate everyone in such a short period of time.

The bill will come back for a second reading in the legislature in the second week of September.

OPP Summer Students Busy

The OPP summer students have been busy in recent weeks keeping track of local motorists.


The students have been involved in a number of different initiatives, including the Lock it
or Lose it Campaign.

So far over 25 hundred vehicles have been checked in downtown Kenora and 14 percent have
found to be unlocked.

Over 21 hundred vehicles have also been checked for seatbelt compliance, and the students
have fund that 5.7 percent of motorists are failing to buckle up.

Three students have been hired by the OPP to patrol the downtown core this summer.

Construction resumes downtown

There shouldn't be any delays on Bernier Drive this week, as phase two of the downtown revitalization project gets under way.

Jarnel Contracting began work on the nearly four million dollar project yesterday.

Site work has started up in the area near the Thistle Pavillion.

Phase two will include the construction of Lake of the Woods Plaza south of the ScotiaBank on Main Street South and also preparation of the underground works for the festival site on the Kenora Harborfront.

Work is expected to continue through the rest of this summer right into late fall.

The city says it will be providing weekly updates on the progress of the project
on the BigSpruce website.

Phase Two of Downtown Revitalization Begins

Work has started on phase two of the downtown revitalization project.

Jarnel Construction began mobilizing yesterday and will be working over the next couple of months on the almost four million dollar contract.

The Lake of the Woods Plaza and festival park will all be part of the project.

One item that's not included in the work is the installation of a new tent on the Harborfront.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck admits that's something they will have to include in the 2011 budget.

Perchuck say the tent structure will likely cost about a million dollars.

The city has applied for a grant of 500 thousand dollars from the Northern
Ontario Heritage Fund to help cover the cost of the tent.

NOMA wants 2011 Census to Proceed

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is adding its name to the list of groups expressing concern about the recent Federal Census decision.

The Government is moving to discontinue the use of the mandatory long-form questionnaire in favour of a voluntary survey.

President Anne Krassilowsky says the voluntary response will be unreliable.

Krassilowsky notes its not known how many forms will come to Northwestern Ontario.

OPP seek Auxillary Officers

A recruitment effort is underway by the OPP to increase their numbers

in the Auxillary Unit.

The OPP Auxillary is a volunteer unit that works along side full-time
officers.

OPP Constable Dave Cain says members of the Auxillary do receive
training.

An information session will take place tomorrow night at the OPP
Detachment office on the Kenora By-Pass starting at 7:30.

Legalize ATV's For On-Road Use

If Kenora City Council has its way, All-Terrain Vehicles would be licensed to operate on local highways.

Council approved a resolution recently calling on the provincial government to review the Off-Road Vehicles act to include ATV's as vehicles that can be licenced to drive on provincial and municipal roadways.

The resolution says there are economic benefits in the tourism industry to develop ATV trails.

Hap's Runners Up at Women's Soccer Tournament

One local teams made it into the prize money at the annual Lake of the Woods Woman's Soccer Tournament over the weekend at the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex.
Hap's Hurricanes finished second overall, after losing the A-Side Final Sunday afternoon 4-0 to the Southend Shooters from Winnipeg.

Manitoba teams dominated the other finals played Sunday.

The Wisegals from Winnipeg edged Stonewall 2-1 in penalty shots.

In the C-Side Final, it was Portage over Victorious Secret from Winnipeg 2-1 also in penalties.

Canfield files nomination papers

Its going to be at least a two-man race for the mayor's chair in Kenora.

Former mayor Dave Canfield did the expected on Friday by filing his
nomination papers.

In an interview earlier this year, Canfield indicated he's ready to get back into
municipal politics after being defeated in the last municipal elections.

Canfield will challenge former city Councillor Andrew Poirier in the
mayoralty race.

The deadline to file nomination papers is September 10th.

CAV ready to Ride Into Kenora

The Canadian Army Veterans motorcycle club will be returning to Kenora over the August Long Weekend.

The 4th Annual Lewis McKenzie Order of Canada I-Cross National Honor Ride will take place July 30th to August 1st.

A number of events are being planned including a memorial service at the Lake of the Woods
Cemetary.

There will also be a flag raising event at Memorial Park.

As many as 100 motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to attend the three day gathering.

Second Coney Island Festival ready to roll

Organizers of the "Maybe Annual Coney Island Festival" say arrangements for this year's event are coming together.

The one day music festival featuring local performers takes place next
Saturday.

Ferg Devins is one of the co-ordinators of the event and says they
are still hoping to make this an annual event.

Devins says this year there will be a band stand, which was provided by
the city of Kenora.

Changes Urged to Commercial Fishing

The Canadian Federation of Taxpayers wants the Federal government to allow commercial fisherman the choice of selecting buyers for their catch.


All commercially caught fish are turned over to the federally regulated Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation.

Spokesperson Colin Craig says the Federal Government needs to consult area commercial fisherman.

Craig adds the fishermen who are forced to sell their catch to the government body do not have pensions,sick leave benefits or other perks that emplyees at the federal body enjoy.

Deer Lake man faces murder charges

A 26 year old Deer Lake First Nations resident is scheduled to appear in Kenora Court today on 2nd degree murder charges.

The OPP charged Jason Miller after investigating the death of 27 year
old Joey Crows from Deer Lake last weekend.

Crow had been pronounced dead at the Deer Lake Nursing Station on July 10th and another man had to be taken to hospital in Thunder Bay for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Jason Miller was initially charged with attempted murder in connection to the injuries sustained by Neilson Meekis.