Richards Way signs AWOL

Kenora's decision to name a street after Philadelphia Flyer's captain Mike Richards is proving to be popular.

Maybe too popular.

The signs for Mike Richards Way were installed earlier this month, but have already been stolen.

Kenora City Councillor Chris Van Wallenghem says they'd like to get the signs back.

The signs were stolen just two days after being unveiled at a special ceremony on July 2nd at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Priesentanz says goodbye to council

Kenora City Council has bid a fond farewell to a long time employee.

Bill Preisentanz attended his final meeting as Chief Administrative Officer
Monday night.

Councillor Rory McMillan says Preisentanz will be missed after 18 years on the
job.
Preisentanz's last official day on the job is July 31st.

The City's Chief Financial Officer, Karen Brown will take over his duties as of
August 1st.

Stafford rides into Northwestern Ontario

Rodney Stafford and his son, Daryn, are crossing into Ontario today in their bicycle journey from Edmonton to their hometown of Woodstock, Ont.

This is Day 21 of their 3,500-kilometre trip to raise money and awareness for Child Find Ontario.

In recent days, the Staffords have contended with road construction near West Hawk Lake, Manitoba where they attended a parade on Saturday.

They are due in Woodstock on August 8.

The bike ride is in memoray of his eight-year-old daughter Victoria, who was
abducted from her school and killed last year.

Highway 17 North campaigns

A campaign to have the twinning of the Trans-Canada moved north of the current road bed seems to be gaining momentum.

A group called Highway 17 North made a deputation to Kenora City      Council last night.

Rob Giguere is a spokesperson for the group and says they just want the Ministry of Transportation
to abide by the MNR's regulations regarding development in the Clearwater Bay protected zone.

Kenora City Council has passed a resolution in support of keeping the Trans-Canada twinning north
of the current road bed.

The issue will be the subject of another public meeting scheduled for later this month at the
McKenzie Clearwater Bay Fire Hall.

India signs mining deal with Ontario

India and Ontario have formed a partnership when it comes to mining.


A memorandum of understanding was signed by the two party's mining ministries.

Minister Michael Gravelle says the agreement will benefit companies in the Northwest.

The agreement was signed recently with India's Mining Minister touring Ontario.

Abitibi Fined for Workplace Injuries

Abitibi-Consolidated has been fined 125-thousand dollars for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused injuries to 2-workers and a student in Fort Frances.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a tool was not used near a live electrical installation.

The 3-people were injured by an arc flash while working on a paper machine on August 20th, 2008.

The two electricians suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns.

A student who was watching them suffered first-degree burns.

In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Deer Lake fatal investigated

The OPP's Criminal Investigation's Branch is looking into the death of a Deer Lake First Nations man over the weekend.

The Nishinabe Aski Police Service was called to the Deer Lake Nursing Station
Saturday evening.

A 27 year old man had been pronounced dead, while a second male had been injured and was airlifted to hospital in Thunder Bay.

Police say the deceased has been identified as Joey Crowe.

A post-mortem exam was conducted at Lake of the Woods District Hospital and foul
play is suspected, though the cause of death has not been released.

26 year old Jason Miller from Deer Lake has been taken into custody and charged with attempted
murder in relation to injuries sustained by Nielson Meekis.

Miller appeared in Kenora Court yesterday on the charges.

Oxdrift Fire

A large log garage was destroyed following a fire near Oxdrift over the weekend.

The Oxdrift Volunteer Fire Departmetn responded to the blaze shortly after 7 o'clock Saturday night.

11-firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within an hour.

Highway 601 was closed while the blaze was being battled and no one was injured.

The cause is under investigation.

Groups Oppose Forest Tenure Plan

The Ontario Forest Industry Association is calling on the Provincial government to cancel its plans to reform the forest tenure process.


The OFIA is part of a province wide coalition against the McGuinty government's forest tenure proposal.

President Jamie Lim says it's going to have a negative impact on the forest industry.

The coalition is made up of unions, forestry groups, municipal leaders and chambers of commerce.

Life Jacke Campaign

The OPP Marine Unit has launched a new campaign on Lake of the Woods promoting life jacket use.

Members of the Marine Unit haned out red t-shirts over the weekend to kids
proclaiming, "I got caught wearing my life jacket".

The OPP says while most of the life-jackets were handed out to youth, some adults were also rewarded.

The message from local police is if the motor is running, life jackets should be on.

Broadband service in northwestern Ontario expanded

More homes in the remote northwest will be getting high speed internet.

Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews made the announcement last week.

He says the project will be completed by the end of next year by three companies.

TBay-Tel, Galaxy Broadband Communications and the Spectrum Telecom Group will be rolling
out the broadband service.


Toews says here are about 45 hundred households in the region that will benefit from the funding
announcement

Discovery Center Tender to be Awarded Tonight

The City of Kenora is ready to move ahead with a new tourism office on Lakeview Drive.


Council is expected to approve a tender of 2.1 million dollars to build the Discovery Center
near Norman Park.
Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they had budgeted 1.8 million dollars for construction but
is asking council to approve the tender despite the increased costs.

Council is expected to approve almost six million dollars in expenditures on two separate
projects, including phase two of downtown revitalization.

That project came in about 634 thousand dollars higher than projected.

Weekend Fatal

There was one fatality on northwestern Ontario highways over the weekend.


The OPP in Nipigon say a motorcycle lost control while traveling up a hill near Schreiber.

Police say road conditions were damp at the time.

The male driver of the bike was pronounced dead at the scene, while a female passenger was taken to the Health Sciences Center in Thunder Bay for treatment of unspecified injuries.

The Trans-Canada in the area was closed briefly due to the accident.

Apartment Fire under investigation

An apartment building on Cambrian Drive had to be evacuated Friday morning
due to a fire in one of the units.

The fire broke out around 9:30, but Kenora Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says
they were able to contain the blaze to the apartment of origin.

He says there was extensive damage to the apartment, but quick response from
fire fighters kept the fire from spreading to any other units in the building.

Brinkman says the apartment complex was evacuated only as a precaution.

No damage estimate has been given but Brinkman says the apartment will need
extensive renovations.

The cause of the fire still has not been determined.

Another Quiet Forest Fire Weekend

Another relatively quiet weekend for forest fires in northwestern Ontario.

Just three new blazes were reported over the past three days.

One of the fires was located on an island on Lake of the Woods just

north of Morson.

Fire crews from the Fort Frances District responded.

It was just 0.1 hectares in size.

The other fire was also small and located about 75 kilometers

southwest of Pickle Lake.

There was some smoke lingering in the Kenora area yesterday, but the
MNR says it was from fires burning in Saskatchewan.

Phase Two of Downtown Revitalization Awarded

Its going to cost almost four million dollars to complete phase two of the downtown

revitalization project.

Council held a special meeting this morning to approve a tender from Jarnel Contracting
worth 3.943 million dollars.

Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says the contract includes construction of Lake of the
Woods Plaza and the new festival site.

Perchuck says the tender is about 624 thousand dollars more than than budgeted.

Council has agreed to take money out of its reserve fund to pay for the work.

City looks to haul own Garbage and recycling

Kenora and Dryden could soon be teaming up in a bid to reduce recycling costs.


The city is planning to buy a transport truck which would haul recyclables from Kenora
a couple of times a week, and two times a week from Dryden.
The Solid Waste Department is eligible for 80 thousand dollars in funding from Waste Diversion
Ontario for the purchase of the truck.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they can reduce their costs by doing doing the
hauling themselves instead of contracting it out.

The City of Dryden still has to come to an agreement with Kenora to share the costs of
hauling the recyclables.

The city estimates it will be able to save about 35 thousand dollars a year by doing its
own hauling.

Signage Options Explored

The City of Kenora is considering an idea to install five permanent, changeable message boards at various access points in the city to promote special events.

At the Property and Planning Committee this week, councillor Wendy Cuthbert says the signs could be posted on Lakeview Driver, the Tourism Office on Highway 17 east, Jack Robinson Park, the new Norman Discovery Center and at the intersection of Valley Drive
                                                       and the Airport Road.

She says the signs would provide an avenue for advertising for non-profit groups.

They have complained in recent months they no longer had space to promote their
events, since the CP rail fence has been made off limits under the new Sign By-Law.

The idea came forward from the Beaches, Parks and Trails Committee and will be
put forward for inclusion in the 2011 municipal budget.

No more flavours Smokes

Local health officials are calling it an important step forward for public health.


All flavoured cigarettes and cigarillos must be pulled from store shelves.

The ban came into effect July 1st..

Daniel Depeuter says he would have liked to see the Federal Government take the ban one step further and ban flavoured chew tobacco.

Store owners caught selling the flavoured tobacco products will be subject to potential enforcement action, including fines.

Free Family Fishing Week Wraps Up

Organizers of Family Fishing Week activities say they expect Free Family Fishing week will become an annual event.

This is the first year free fishing in Ontario waters has been expanded from two days up to seven.

Mike Melnyk is with the group called Catch Fishing and says doesn't think there will be any turning back now.

Melnyk says they also hope to expand their Free Family Ice Fishing weekend in
February, to a full week in 2011.