Dragon Boat Races this weekend

Rabbit Lake will be infested with dragons this weekend.

The annual Dragon Boat Festival will launch from Garrow Park on Sunday.

Darlene McGillvary is the executive director of the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation and says they are expecting an excellent turn-out.

Racing will take place all day long, with finals set to begin at 2:00 Sunday afternoon.

Curling Club gets Trillium Funding

The Kenora Curling Club is getting some help paying for some renovations.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation has promised 76 thousand to install a new roof  and boiler system to upgrade the facility.

The money is part of the 766-thousand dollars in community grants to 11-local  not-for-profit organizations.

Lac Seul First Nation is also receiving 84-thousand dollars to establish an  Ojibway community radio station.

Kenora Forest Products Gets Wood Supply

Finally some good news for the forest industry in Kenora.

The provincial government has announced that Kenora Forest Products has accepted a wood supply offer of 101 thousand cubic meters of wood a year from the Kenora Forest.

Michael Gravelle is the minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry and admits the announcement was a long time coming.

Kenora Forest Products still hasn't indicated when it might be able to re-open its sawmill in Kenora, but company officials are targeting the spring of 2012, as long as markets improve.

McKay to Seek Conservative Nomination in Kenora-Rainy River

The manager of the Kenora Forest Products mill in Kenora is considering a shift in career to provincial politics.

Rod McKay has indicated he plans to run for the Conservatives in the  upcoming provincial election.

McKay says the decision by Howard Hampton not to run again, didn't really affect his decision.

McKay is a member of Kenora City council.

So far the party has not indicated when it might hold its nomination meeting.

City Gets Funding for Harborfront Tent

City officials are breathing a sigh of relief.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has come up with  800 thousand dollars for the new Harborfront Tent.

Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield says that's a big load off his mind.

The board of the Heritage Fund is meeting in Kenora this week and made the decision to provide the funding yesterday morning.

The money will cover about half the 1.6 million dollar cost of the tent.

Vote this Weekend for KeeMan Local Services Board

The KeeMan Local Services Board will be holding its first ever vote  this weekend.

The local services board will oversee the operations of the McKenzie-Clearwater Volunteer Fire Department.

Jill Kalika has been involved with the process since the beginning and says it will still be a while before they are able to start collecting a levy from all the property owners in the area.

Kalika says at this point seven people have expressed interest in the five positions that are up for grabs.

The vote will take place Saturday morning at 10:00.

RCMP Arrest Suspect in Falcon Lake Break-In

The RCMP say thanks to help from the public, they have recovered a stolen truck and arrested a suspect who is believed to have been involved in a break-in at a camp-site in Falcon Lake.

The Mounties say the incident took place last week at the Seasonal Trailer Village.

Along with some electronic devices, a wallet containing numerous credit cards was stolen.

Police say one of the stolen credit cards was used to make purchases at several businesses in West Hawk Lake.

The RCMP say they had video surveillance of the suspect and the vehicle used.

The pick-up truck was reported stolen from the Steinbach area three days before.

Concern Raised about Environment Canada Cuts

Proposed personnel cuts at Environment Canada could impact local weather predicting.

The Federal Government wants to layoff 700 people at the crown agency and CJRL Meteorologist Bill Laidlaw says depending on what gets cut, it could greatly impact Northwestern Ontario.

Laidlaw says organizations like the Weather Network are in the same boat as Signal Weather.

Health Unit Closes Two Beaches

Its not the kind of announcement swimmers want before another warm weekend.

The Northwestern Health Unit has decided to close down the Keewatin and Round Lake Beaches.

The beaches were closed yesterday after heavy rains due to high bacterial counts.

The beaches will be closed until tests show water quality has improved.

That means both areas will be off limits to swimmers all weekend long.

Winnipeg Team leads after day one of KBI

The first team to weigh in after day one of fishing at the Kenora Bass International is still in the lead.

Alex Kezler and Wayne Wagner from Winnipeg reeled in 18.79 pounds of bass yesterday and that weight held up after all 135 teams weighed in.

In second, just a couple of ounces off the pace, is the Sioux Narrows tandem of Matt Ryberg and Brian McNanney, at 18.76 pounds.

The Kenora team of Mark Libitka and Dave Bennett hold down third place, with 18.46 pounds.

After day one, Team Canada has a commanding 10 pound lead in the Can/Am Challenge.

Richards Raises 40 Grand in Charity Golf Tournament

Mike Richards second annual charity golf tournament proved to be a big financial success.

This year, the tournament, which was held last month at the Kenora Golf and Country Club, raised over 40 thousand dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

Richards presented cheques to the two organizations this week.

Last year the tournament genrated 11 thousand dollars for those charities.

NOHFC Announcements expected this evening

There will be some interested by-standers this evening when Northern Development and Mines Mininister Michael Gravelle makes an appearance in Kenora.

Gravelle will be making a number of funding announcements from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

The board of NOHFC is meeting in Kenora this week.

Gravelle is also expected to make a wood supply announcement for a local sawmill.

He's scheduled to announce the details at 6:00 at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Kenora Stands Down on Emergency Order

The City of Kenora has decided to terminate its state of emergency, which has been in place for the past two weeks.

The city approved the declaration in order to help out Emergency Measures Ontario, as it tried to find temporary homes for thousands of people who had to be evacuated due to forest fires which  were burning out of control across the far north.

Emergency Measures Ontario says municipalities can now stand down.

In the interim, the city will be providing the province with information on timelines to get ready to accept evacuees, should the situation change.

Liberals get their man for Provincial Election

Liberals in Kenora-Rainy River have their candidate in place for this October's Provincial election.

Emo Councillor Anthony Leek was the only person to put his name forward at a nomination meeting last night in Fort Frances.

Leek says he's ready to begin the campaign.

Leek says he'll have his campaign team in place within the next few weeks.

Conservatives Still Seeking Candidate for Kenora-Rainy River

The Provincial Conservatives may be close to announcing a potential candidate in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding for the Fall Election.

Party officials say they had several people interested in running but were hesitate to do so with Howard Hampton sitting as MPP.

Now that the incumbent has announced he won't seek re-election, officials say the situation has changed.

Sources say the Conservatives are days away from announing at least one candidate.

OPP Investigating Thefts in region

The OPP are asking for public assitance to solve a couple of reports of theft.

Police received a report last Wednesday of the theft of 5-thousand dollars worth of tools from the CN yard property in Vermilion Bay.

Police were also contacted Tuesday after a guitar was stolen from a Waldhof home.

Anyone with information is asked to contact OPP or Crime Stoppers.

Organizers ready for KBI

Organizers are gearing up for one of the biggest sporting events of the summer in Kenora.

The 24th Annual Shaw Kenora Bass International hits the water of Lake of the Woods this morning.

Duncan McEwan says so far they have 136 teams entered in the three day fishing tournament.

This year 25 thousand dollars is up for grabs to the top team in the tournament.

Ag Fair Turns 100

One of the longest running summer events is celebrating a major milestone this year.

The Kenora Agricultural Festival is turning 100 years old.

Carol Kurtz is president of the Agricultural Society and says they will be paying homage to their past.

This year, the Agricultural Fair will have an outdoor music venue beside the midway.

Doors open at 6:00 this evening.

NAN Calling for Support of Sandy Lake Family

Stan Beardy is calling for taxpayer support for a Sandy Lake family of forest fire evacuees.

The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation says the family should get immediate support from both the Provincial and Federal Governments.

He says it's because their home was destroyed by fire while they were gone.

Forest Fires Continue to Burn

There are currently about 135 forest fires burning in Northwestern Ontario according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Most of the serious fires continue to burn in the Red Lake and Sioux Lookout District's.

However, Information Officer Stephanie Pagnucco says additional fires are popping up elsewhere.

Emergency Management Ontario and the MNR continue to work closely with First Nation communities to conclude the return of evacuees.

Smoke remains an issue in several communities.