Saints Boys Soccer Team Rebounds for win

The Thomas Aquinas boys soccer team had a bit of a scare this morning.

The Saints trailed Rainy River 1-0 at the half in their NorWOSSA Single "a" semi-final.

T.A. rallied in the second half though for a 5-1 victory and now advance to the gold medal game at 5:00 this afternoon.

The Thomas Aquinas Girls are also playing in today's semi-finals. 

Neighbors Help Foil Break-In

Proof the Neighborhood Watch program works.

The OPP say they managed to arrest four people in connection

to a break-in in the Minto area of town, thanks to the watchful eyes of a neighbor.

Police say three females aged 12, 13 and 14 and a 15 year old male were caught breaking into a home on Minto Avenue.

They have been charged with break and enter.

TA Students Excel at Dryden Track meet

Some outstanding performances for a couple of local students at the Dryden Track and Field Championships this week.

Tory Stebnitsy recorded a couple of meet records.

She set a record in the elementary girls long jump and also the elementary girls 100 meter dash. She finished the race in time of 13.4 seconds.

Savana Neniska also set a record in the elementary girls high jump at 1.35 meters.

Devin Krolyk had the meet record in the elementary boys 1500 meter race in a time of five minutes 16.5 seconds.

Thomas Aquinas placed fourth overall in the elementary school standings with 108 points.

Youth in Philanthropy Hands out Grants

Its a Dog's Life, the Agape Table, the Fellowship Center, and the Kenora Public Library.

Those were just some of the non-profit groups in the city that received a bit of a boost from the Youth in Philanthropy Program.

Evan Michaluk has been a member of the Thomas Aquinas group for the past four years and says its a good way to become more involved in your community.

A total of eight 700 dollar cheques were presented at a granting ceremony yesterday.

Other receipients included the Women's Shelter, Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, the Minto Resource Center and the Harborfront Concert Series.

OFAH Worried Personal Data may be Compromised

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters says its 100-thousand members are ``deeply concerned'' about having their personal data stored in the U-S. A Tennessee-based company now handles license applications for Ontario hunters and fishers.

 Anglers and Hunters' spokeswoman Lezlie Goodwin says Ontarians are very worried about the situation.

 The Ministry of Natural Resources says Active Outdoors of Nashville signed a contract to protect personal information of Ontario residents, but critics point out the U-S Patriot Act would trump provincial law.

Power Outage in Sioux Lookout Today

Sioux Lookout will be left in the dark for a good chunk of the day today.

Sioux Lookout Hydro says a power outage is planned from 9 this morning until 2 p-m.

All customers in Sioux Lookout, Hudson and Alcona will be affected.

Hydro One customers on Highway 72 South and Frenchman's Head are also impacted.

The outage is due to emergency repairs to the main transmission line that supplies electricity to the surrounding area.

Beardy Seeks Top Aboriginal Job in Ontario

There's going to be a race for the Regional Chief of Ontario.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy will be going up against incumbent Angus Tolouse.

Beardy says he's been thinking of running for sometime.

Beardy will continue to be NAN's Grand Chief up until the election which takes place at the end of June at the Chiefs of Ontario Conference in Toronto.

Health Unit Returns Cash to Municipalities

Municipalities that contribute to the Northwestern Health Unit are receiving money back from the agency.

More than 165-thousand dollars has been returned back to communities across the Kenora and Rainy River District.

The municipal share is based on population which dropped by 4-thousand in 2011 over 2010.

Council Considers RFP for Coney Wharf

Kenora City Council will vote next week whether to seek a request for proposals for a new wharf at Coney Island.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck was an underwater inspection shows the crib docks at Coney are in very poor shape.

He admits it could cost over 250 thousand dollars to replace the current structure.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield suggests the city should approach local contractors who specialize

in docks to come up with a quote for the work and not bother with an engineering study of the wharf.

Fire Hazard Rises in NWO

MNR Fire crews continue to have their hands full.

There were six new wildfires reported in the region, three of those in the Kenora District.

Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Heather Pridham is urging the public to use extreme caution.

One of the fires was a small 0.1 hectare blaze behind Valleyview School yesterday afternoon.

A section of Valley Drive was closed because fire crews had to stretch a fire hose across the road

into the bush area, they were battling the fire.

NorWOSSA Soccer Play-offs begin today

The NorWOSSA Single "a" Soccer Champions will be crowned today.

The play-offs begin this morning in Rainy River.

Both Thomas Aquinas teams finished the regular season without a loss and will be playing semi-final games starting at 9:00 this morning against the 4th ranked teams in both the boys and girls divisions.

The finals will be played this afternoon at 5:00.

Police Block Valley Drive as Fire Crews Battle Blaze

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department has been hopping dealing with brush fires.

For the third time in three days, crews had to deal with a blaze in the Valley Drive area of town.

The fire broke out just before noon, but crews managed to bring it under control fairly quickly.

A small section of Valley Drive was actually blocked off this afternoon to protect a hose that was connected to a fire hydrant on the other side of the road.

OPP Release Name of Keewatin Fatality

The OPP have released the name of a 22 year old Kenora man who died in Keewatin over the Weekend.

He's been identified as Justen Kroeker.

Kroeker's body was found near the C.P. Train tracks Sunday morning.

Police are still waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam conducted on Monday.

Foul play is not suspected.

Visitor Traffic Up early in 2012

The closure of the Tourist Information Center at the Ontario/Manitoba Boundary is partly being credited for an increase in visitor numbers in Kenora.

The Lake of the Woods Development Commission says there has been a 74 percent increase in traffic in the first three months of the year.

Don Denver is a member of the commission and says special events also play a role in increased tourist numbers.

The commission presented its first quarter report to city council this week.

More Fire Activity in the Kenora District

(File Photo)

Things are starting to heat up for local fire ranger crews.

Another five wild fires were reported in the northwest region yesterday, four of those in the Kenora District.

The MNR says all of the new blazes were the result of lightning strikes, but were fairly small in size and have all been extinguished.

Currently there are 15 forest fires that are considered active in the region.

Property and Planning Approves Outdoor Patios

Outdoor eating could be a growth industry in Kenora this summer.

The Property and Planning Committee has paved the way for more outdoor patios, by approving a new policy.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they will be allowing local bars and restaurants to set up outdoor patios on municipal property and hopes local businesses take advantage.

A detailed application form should be available as early as next week, if city council adopts the new Outdoor Patio Policy.

NAPS Investigate Death of an 18 month old Pikangikum toddler

A 33 year year old woman has been charged in the death of an 18 month old child from the Pikangikum First Nation.

The Nishinabe-Aski Police say they were called in to investigate the death of Isaac Keeper last week on the Poplar Hill First Nation.

His caregiver, Shannon Moose has been charged with aggravated assault.

She's currently in custody and is due to appear in Kenora Court on Friday.

Harborfest Concert Line-up Finalized

(Buckcherry)

Harborfest has finalized its nightly entertainment for this August Long weekend.

The Saturday night show will feature Treble Charger and Buckcherry.

Director of Entertainment, Dave Blake admits they are targeting a younger crowd with their Saturday night concert.

Tickets for the Saturday night show will go on sale this Friday.

Wintle wins Dryden By-Election

A former Mayor and Councilor has been elected in Dryden's by-election for one vacant Council seat.

Sid Wintle received 997-votes yesterday to win the vote by a wide margain.

Shayne MacKinnon came in second, while Chuck Schmitt finished third.

A total of 29-hundred ballots were cast and voter turnout was 52.45-percent.

Thunder Bay follows Kenora's Lead on Deer

The City of Thunder Bay is following Kenora's lead.

A legal deer hunt within Thunder Bay city limits will start this fall.

Their City Council passed the bow hunting by-law last night and Councillor Ken Boshcoff says he's heard positive feedback.

Boshcoff says they can't afford to hide their heads in the sand anymore, because the over population of deer needs to be addressed.