Angler Drowns on Lake of the Woods

One person is dead and another is still missing following a fishing expedition on Lake of the Woods.

The OPP say they were contacted Monday night about two overdue anglers near Morson.

The OPP's Marine Unit was dispatched to the scene, and officers managed to locate the body of one of the men on shore.

His boat was located a short distance away and had capsized.

The Northwest Emergency Response Unit is continuing to search the shoreline for the other missing man.

The OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit is expected to be on the scene later today.

Kenora BIZ Reflects on a Year of Success

The Kenora Business Improvement Zone says it will continue to do what it can to improve the downtown area.

BIZ held its annual general meeting last night, and chair, Kerick Funk outlined some of their successes in the past year.

That included 50 thousand dollars in funding for the new Harborfront Tent, and the installation of cigarette butt containers on light standards.

BIZ says it still wants to deal with the parking issue in the downtown core, specifically, it wants to make sure parking spaces in front of local businesses are set aside for customers, and not the staff of local businesses.

NAN looking for Better Education Funding

The Deputy Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is again calling on the Federal Government to better fund aboriginal education.

Terry Waboose says the funding gap is growing bigger each year.

Waboose says they're working on creating a self governing first nation's education system that would give them more control over funding and curriculum.

Fire Hazard Reduced to Low in NWO

All the rain this weekend has reduced the fire hazard in northwestern Ontario.

We started the weekend with a high to extreme hazard, but its now down into the low range.

Fire Information Officer Debbie McLean says there were very few new fires reported over the past four days.

McLean says Thunder Bay fire #22, which forced the evacuation of 11 people in Wabakimi Provincial Park over the weekend, is now listed as being held.

Fort Frances Area Man killed in Train Accident

A Morley Township man has been identified as the victim of a collision involving a vehicle and a train near Fort Frances last Friday night.

92-year-old Donald Robert Bolen was killed in the mishap that occurred at a CN Rail crossing on Highway 617 in Stratton.

Both OPP and CN Rail Police have determined the red lights at the crossing were flashing and operating property at the time.

A post mortem examination is taking place in Kenora at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Beaver Brae hosts NorWOSSA ``AA`` Soccer Finals

The NorWOSSA Double A Soccer championships take place in Kenora today.

The host Broncos already have a bye into this afternoon's gold medal games.

Now they are just waiting to find out who they will play.

In semi-final action this morning, Dryden will take on Fort Frances in both the boys and girls semi-finals.

Those games are scheduled to start at 10:00.

The finals will go at 2:00.

OPP investigate Vehicle Fire near Golf Course

The OPP are investigating a vehicle fire on Golf Course Road over the long weekend.

Police say that early Sunday morning, shortly after 3 A.M., they were called out to a blaze reported near the Kenora Golf and Country Club.

The vehicle was fully engulfed by flames by the time officers arrived at the scene, and Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department was  called out to extinguish the blaze.

Police say the vehicle was a black 2007 Dodge.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Kenora Detachment of the OPP.

Petition For JM Arena Presented to Council

Pressure is being put on Kenora City Council to do something about the future of the Jaffray Melick Arena.

A petition was presented to council last week asking that an ice plant be installed in the community run facility.

Heather Rogers presented the petition to council last week.

The petition was started up this past winter, after the JM arena had to close early, due to warm weather and a lack of volunteers to operate the facility.

Fatal Accident Near Stratton over the Long Weekend

The investigation continues into a collision involving a vehicle and a train that killed one person in Stratton.

A C-N train hit the vehicle on the tracks at Highway 617 about 50 kilometres west of Fort Frances.

Police are trying to determine if the crossing lights were working at the time.

They had little information yesterday about the victim.

Forest Fire Threatens Northwestern Ontario Community

A fairly quiet weekend for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews, but one blaze is continuing to  be a cause for concern.

A large forest fire is burning in Wabakimi Provincial Park, about 38-kilometres east of Savant Lake.

The fire is burning near fly-in-lodges and the CN mainline and at one point forced the evacuation of 11-residents from the tiny community of Allanwater.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says the fire had grown to over 14-hundred hectares in size but notes thanks to the combined efforts of firefighters and air attack, no property was lost.

Evacuees have returned to their residence and operations on the CN main line have resumed.

There are 21-fire crews and 5-helicopters still commited to the blaze.

The cause is not known.

Work begins on new Tourism Portal

A number of economic development agencies in the region are launching a significant new tourism development project in the Kenora District.

The project is the first step towards the ultimate goal of a multimedia web portal that will showcase this area.

Spokesperson for the group, Vicki Kurz says they have to do a lot of ground work before they can launch their portal. Kurz says the infrastructure will include a mobil application so that people can plan an activity when travelling through the District.

Kenora, Red Lake, Ear Falls, Sioux Lookout, Ignace and Machin are involved.

OPP get new sponsor for trauma teddies

The OPP are continuing their efforts to help out children who are victims of trauma.

Local Superintenent Ron van Straalen says they've recieved a new supply of stuff toy bears to give away

Van Straalan says the program is also good for the image of the OPP.

The OPP have a new sponsor to supply the stuffed toy bears they give out to truamatized children, Aviva Canada.

OPP Marine Unit Hits Lake of the Woods

The OPP says it will be out in force this weekend on Lake of the Woods.

The Marine Unit will have several of boats patroling the big lake and some of the other smaller bodies in the region.

Mike Barclay is a spokesperson for the Marine Unit and says they will be looking specifically for open alcohol in boat and safe boating practices.

Barclay adds that the marine unit will also be teaming up with MNR conservation officers, making sure anglers obey local fishing regulations.

Harborfest Line-up Announced

Harborfest will be rockin' once again this summer.

The concert line-up for the 20th annual August Long Weekend festival has been released.

Friday night will feature four bands including Honeymoon Suite and Streetheart.

Randy Nickle is chair of Harborfest and says they had a tough time finalizing the Sunday night concert line-up.

Sunday night will feature the Watchmen and Sloan, while Saturday night has Doc Walker as the headliner.

Tickets will go on-sale on the Harborfest website this afternoon.

Alcohol Ban imposed in Some Provincial Parks this weekend

The alcohol ban at provincial parks continues this May long weekend.

Parks Spokesperson Barb Rees expects a busy weekend despite the booze ban.

The alcohol ban is in place at Blue Lake, Rushing River, Sleeping Giant, Aero Lake and Silver Falls until May 24th.

Heightened MNR Enforcement expected this weekend

It's the opening weekend of the fishing season in Northwestern Ontario.

Conservation Officer Ross Johnston says you can expect to see enforcement officers out on area lakes and roadways all weekend long.

Johnston adds it's illegal to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol.

Regional Nursing Program Gets Kudos

The regional community based nursing program is getting rave reviews from hospitals in northwestern Ontario.

Darlene Furlong is with the Dryden District Hospital and says the program is a great recruiting tool.

The program is about to be featured in a position paper to be released by Confederation College and Lakehead University.

The program is currently being offered at satelitte campuses of Con College in Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances.

Saint Girls win NorWOSSA Gold

Thomas Aquinas could manage just one gold medal at the NorWOSSA single A soccer

championships yesterday at the T.A. field.

The Saints girls squad earned a 2-0 shut-out over Rainy River yesterday afternoon in the championship game.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys team dominated possession of the ball, but couldn't find the back of the next.

In the end the Saints were shut out by Red Lake 1-0 in the gold medal game and had to  settle for silver.

Long Wait Times Expected at Northwest Border Crossings

Officials in both Canada and the U-S are anticipating longer than usual wait times to cross at the Fort Frances-International Falls border this May weekend.

Both the Canada Border Services Agency and U-S Customs and Border Protection say long lines at the border could begin as early as today and again Monday afternoon.

They say wait times to cross could reach up to 45 minutes long during peak times.

New Directors for LHIN's appointed

Dianne Loubier of Ignace has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Northwest Local Health Integration Network.

The former Councilor is now the Chair of the Ignace Economic Development Committee and Treasurer of the Ignace Golf and Country Club.

Loubier will sit on the LHIN Board for a 2-year term.

She is joined by Goyce Kakegamic, the former Deputy Grand Chief of the NIshnawbe-Aski Nation.

He played a strong role in establishing the Northern Ontario Medical School campus in Thunder Bay.

Kakegamic will serve a 3-year term.