Beware of conterfeit cheques

The Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce is warning local businesses about a possible scam that could be coming to town.

Local police have advised the Chamber that a number of people from Winnipeg may try to pass off counterfeit cheques from a company called Diversity Food Services Inc.

The OPP says while the company appears to be legitimate the address on the cheques is fake.

The cheques have the address 613 Spence Street, Winnipeg.

Pilot Walks away from Plane Crash in Pinewa

A pilot who walked into the restaurant at the golf course in Pinawa looking for help is still the talk of the town.

The 56-year-old Winnipeg man came in yesterday to use the telephone, minutes after his float plane crashed into the bush after trying to land in the Winnipeg River.

Lac du Bonnet R-C-M-P Constable Kyle Bernier says the plane wasn't in the air for long before it went down.

A witness says it appeared as though the plane's engines stopped. The pilot was the only person on board.

Sharks win gold at Man/Sask Championships

A strong performance for a number of members of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club at the Man/Sask Championships at the Pan/Am pool in Winnipeg over the weekend.

11 year old Winnie Boucha led the way with four medals, including first place finishes in the 400 meter individual medley and the 200 meter butterfly.

Michelle Belcaen also added a couple of gold medals to her resume, placing first in the 50 meter butterfly and 100 meter freestyle.

Bryce Jones also posted a couple of first place finishes in the 100 and 200 meter backstroke.

More weekend accidents

Another early morning accident has claimed at least one life in the Kenora area.

Highway 71 about six kilometers south of Sioux Narrows was closed early yesterday morning following an accident.

The OPP say the collision took place around 5:00 in the morning, closing the highway in both directions for almost seven hours.

The road was finally opened to one lane by 11:30 Sunday morning.

So far no details about the accident have been released.

There was also an accident on Highway 17 west of Kenora in the area of the tourism bureau at the Ontario/Manitoba border.

Eyewitnesses say a semi-tractor trailor unit was totalled in collision that took place just after 6:00.

Concern Raised about Trapping nuisence beavers

The City of Kenora has agreed to re-new its agreement with the Kenora Trappers Council for the removal of nuisence beavers.

That despite some concern about the the potential of the traps to the public.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they met with the Trappers Council recently about the placement of the traps.

Perchuck says in more urban areas, live traps will be used to capture nuisence beavers.

More good results for Rainy River Resources

More strong gold and silver findings from Rainy River Resources at its gold project north of Barwick.

The company says high grades of gold and silver were found in recent drilling in the sites western zone.

Notable results included over 13-hundred grams per tonne in gold and 76 grams per tonne in silver from one particular hole.

Health Unit releases report card

The Northwestern Health Unit is giving itself top marks in the release of a new public health report card.

The report outlines a variety of programs and the progress made in improving people's health.

C.E.O. Mark Perrault feels their doing very well.

One of the highlights was the health unit's unconditional accreditation from the Ontario Council on Community Health Accreditation.

Forest Fire cause power outage in Pickle Lake area

The nearly 79-thousand hectare forest fire burning near New Osnaburgh has consumed power lines and left hundreds of people in the dark.

Hydro One says the power went out around 3:30 yesterday afternoon in New Osnaburgh, Pickle Lake and Cat Lake First Nation.

Officials say power might not be restored until tomorrow at noon.

The fire is still very active in the area which poses a problem for Hydro One crews.

First Nations on Evacuation Alert due to Forest Fires

Residents in Sandy Lake, Cat Lake, North Spirit Lake, Keewaywin and Koocheching First Nations remain on evacuation alert as smoke continues to drift in from four area forest fires.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says crews are making progress on the multiple fires and stress the fires are not a threat to the First Nation communities.

543 Deer Lake evacuees remain in Greenstone.

There were 9-new fires reported yesterday in the District, including 3 in the Red Lake District and 2 more in the Sioux Lookout area.

A total of 76-active fires are currently burning in the region affecting nearly 115-thousand hectares of land.

A majority of the activity is in the Red Lake and Sioux Lookout Districts.

OPP Commissioner pays a visit to the region

OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis would like to see a bigger emphasis put on preventing crime.

Lewis was in the region last week to meet with officers, and municipal representitives.

Lewis says spending money on prevention programs can keep municipalities safe.

Lewis says its still important to balance resources that also ensures there's enough officers doing patrols.

Inquest to go ahead into death of aboriginal youth

An inquest into the death of a native teen attending High School away from home is a step closer to moving ahead after years of delays.

Thunder Bay coroner Dr. Michael Wilson says a pre-inquest hearing into the death of Reggie Bushie will begin on July 21st, and a date will be set for the inquest following that hearing.

The 15-year-old's body was recovered from the McIntyre River in Thunder Bay in 2007.

He is the first of several teens from Nishnawbe Aski Nation who died in similar circumstances, leading provincial opposition parties to suggest those tragedies could have been avoided had the inquest been completed earlier.

Bushie's inquest was set to begin in 2009, but was delayed due to a lack of First Nations representation on the jury roll.

While the inquest will focus on Bushie's specific case, the jury may also make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in First Nations students who move to attend school.

OPP release the Names of Two People Killed on local highways

The OPP have released the names of two people killed in two separate accidents in the Kenora area.

40 year old Colin Duguay of Kenora has been identified as the lone occupant of a Pontiac Montana that crashed into a rock cut on Highway 17 east of Kenora early yesterday morning.

Police say the vehicle caught fire, and Duguay was transported to hospital in Kenora, but succumbed to his injuries.

The other accident took place yesterday morning around 6:30 on Highway 71 in Sioux Narrows.

The OPP say an 18 year old Thunder Bay man lost control of a Suzuki passenger vehicle.

The car rolled several times and came to rest in a ditch on the west side of the road.

The driver was the lone occupant and was ejected from the vehicle.

Nicholas Corrigan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kenora Hydro Rates going up

Kenora Hydro has asked for, and received an 8 percent increase in its rates.

The Ontario Energy Board approved the rate increase earlier this week.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro, Dave Sinclair says they had submitted their request for the increase way back in November.

For the average homeowner, electricity rates will be going up about eight dollars a month.

The rate increase went into effect July 1st.

Ontario Wood has new marketing tool

A new Ontario wood logo is supposed to make it easier for consumers to see if the wood they buy is manufactured in this province.

The Executive Director of Ontario Wood Works Marianne Berube says until now, people couldn't tell

Berube said the new branding is a welcome initiative.

Deer Lake Residents Evacuated

About 500 residents of a northwestern Ontario community have been safely evacuated because of nearby forest fires.

Two Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft from Winnipeg flew the Deer Lake residents to Greenstone.

The blazes, which were burning within 3.5 kilometres from the community, sent thick smoke across the area.

Ministry of Natural Resources crews are fighting the fires with water bombers.

Annual Ride for Memories Next Month

The Alzheimer Society of Kenora-Rainy River has started the planning for its annual Ride for Memories and poker derby.

Executive Director Lynn Moffitt says this year's motorcycle ride will have start locations in Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Fort Frances.

Registration packages for the August 27th event can be obtained at the Adventure Inn or by visiting the agencies website at alzheimer-k-r-r-dot-com.

OPP investigating two fatal accidents in the Kenora area

The OPP are investigating two fatal accidents this morning.

The first collision took place shortly after midnight on Highway 17 east of Kenora.

Police say a vehicle hit a rock cut about 10 kilometers east of the Highway 71 junction.

One man was killed in that collision.

The highway was closed overnight, but traffic is moving normally again in that area.

Meanwhile, one person is also dead in an accident that took place on Highway 71 in Sioux Narrows.

The OPP say they were called out around 6:30 this morning.

The collision took place near the intersection of Fickas Road, but so far no other details about that fatality have been released.

Highway 17 closed overnight

Traffic is moving normally again on Highway 17 east of Kenora.

The OPP closed the Trans-Canada overnight following a single vehicle accident just east of the Highway 71 intersection.

Police there was a rollover in the area around 1:00.

One lane of traffic was finally opened shortly before 5:00 and both lanes were re-opened around 7:30.

So far there has been no indication whether there were any injuries in the collision.

Young Pikangikum Joyrider arrested

A 12 year old girl faces a number of charges after going for a joy ride in the remote community of Pikangikum.

The OPP say they were notified about a pick up truck driving in an erratic manner around 5:00 Saturday morning.

Officers tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver refused to stop.

Because the driver appeared to be quite young, the OPP gave up the chase.

A short time later, the vehicle ran into a hydro pole, knocking out power to the entire community.

Police say there were 14 passengers in the truck at the time, including three ten year olds, four 12 year olds, three 13 year olds and three 14 year old youths.

Only one person sustained minor injuries in the collision.

Big Trout Lake votes to ban industrial activity

The residents of the Big Trout Lake First Nation are saying with one voice they want their watershed protected from the results of industrial development.

Band spokesperson John Cutfeet says that was the result of this weeks referendum on the issue and says it should send a message to companies

The environmental watchdog group Earthroots is calling on the McGuinty government to respect the results of the vote.