CNIB Eye Van Back in Town

Ivan the Eye Van is back in town.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind's mobile eye clinic is
spending a couple of days in Kenora.

The Van arrived yesterday and will open for appointments until
tomorrow.

Shelley Stoddard is a nurse on the Eye Van and says they do more than just eye testing.

She says they screen for diabetes as well as test blood sugar levels.

The Van arrived yesterday and will open for appointments until noon tomorrow and then
it heads to Ear Falls.

OPP Investigate Rash of Break-Ins

The OPP are investigating a rash of break-ins over the weekend.

A couple of the break and enters were reported to garages in the
Lakeside area, where several power tools were stolen.

A couple downtown businesses were also the victims of break-ins.

In one instance a 42 inch Samsung television, a Samsung blu-ray player
and an older model Sony DVD player were stolen.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Calls For Service Drop for Treaty Three Police

The Treaty Three Police Service is following a national trend that shows crime rates are going down.

In its annual report released last week, the Treaty Three Police say its seen a 21 percent drop in the number of calls for service in the past year.

In 2012, there were just over 88 hundred calls, down from over 11 thousand the year before.

The Wabaseemung First Nation continues to be the busiest in terms of crime with over 21 hundred calls, followed by Grassy Narrows at 11 hundred.

Lock it Or Lose It Campaign Launched

The OPP say local residents and visitors alike aren't doing a good job
of keeping their vehicles secure.

Youth in Policing Students conducted a Lock it or Lose it campaign
last week.

In all 500 vehicles in town were checked, and only 117 actually were
found to be secure.

That not only means the doors were locked and keys removed, windows closed, but valuables were kept out of sight.

The OPP says that's the best way of ensuring your car and its contents
aren't stolen.

Rickford Pleased with Long Gun Registry Court Victory

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is calling it a victory for long-gun owners.

A judge has rejected Quebec's attempt to stop Ottawa from destroying long-gun registry data.

Rickford says the registry isn't needed.

Rickford says it costs about 100-thousand-dollars each month to maintain the registry in Quebec.

Dryden Child Care Center Beefing Up Security

Dryden's Child Care Center is making some changes, following the incident where a child left the day-care unnoticed.

Manager of Children's Services Vanessa Shepherd says they are looking at installing a surveillance system and have installed a chime system any time the door is open or closed.

She adds they have also posted a large stop sign at the door to remind the children to stay put.

Shepherd says they have had regular meetings with staff and the mother of the child who escaped.

Three Sharks Return Home From National Championships

Three members of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club are home after competing in
the National Age Group Championships in Montreal.

Alex Olson, Kira Kuzemchuck and Winnie Boucha all made the finals in their events.

The highlight of the weekend was Olson's time in the 200 meter breast stroke,
which qualified her for the National Championships in February.

This marks the end of the formal training season for the Sharks, but they will start right back
up at the beginning of the new school year.

Con College Looking For New Board Member

Confederation College is looking to fill a vacant spot on their Board of Governors.

The three year term starts September 1st.

Interested people can apply to Confederation College by August 31st.

Maybe Annual Coney Island Festival Will be Back for a 6th Year

Organizers of an annual music festival on Coney Island say better docking is the best way to grow their event.

Yesterday about 21 hundred people took in the 5th Maybe Annual Coney Music Festival.

Ferg Devins says they have lots of room on the island to grow their numbers, but getting people there remains the biggest issue.

Devins confirmed there will be a 6th Maybe Annual Music Festival on Coney Island next July.

Nault "Disgusted" by Reports of Nutritional Testing on Aboriginal Students

A former Indian Affairs minister says he was surprised as anyone to
find out that aboriginal children in residential schools were subject to
nutritional experiments.

A number of rallies were held yesterday to express their feelings about
the experiments conducted during the '40's and '50's.

Former Kenora-Rainy River M.P. Bob Nault says he never heard about any such activities while he was a cabinet minister.

Reports have suggested that some of the testing was carried out at the Cecillia Jeffrey School along with St. Mary's in Kenora.

Kenora and Canadian Crime Rates Drops

Kenora is following a national trend in crime.

Over the past 2 year the crime rate in Kenora has dropped across the board.

Inspector Dave Lucas is the Commander of the Kenora OPP and says the community has plays a large part.

Last year the OPP laid over 25 hundred charges, down from 38 hundred last year and 41 hundred on 2010.

The Violent Crime Severity or Seriousness of Crime decreased by 5 per cent in Canada and 4 per cent in Ontario.

Tears For Justice Passes Through Kenora

Organizers of a cross country trek says they are disappointed the federal government has decided not to call an inquiry into missing or murdered aboriginal women.

Tears for Justice passed through Kenora on Friday and spokesperson Gladys Radek says the Harper government has been less than sympathetic to their cause.

Radick says their list of missing or murdered aboriginal women has reached over 42 hundred.

Seven walkers are continuing their cross-Canada journey to Prince Rupert, B.C.

Fire Hazard Drops to Low

At last, the forest fire hazard situation in our area of Northwestern Ontario is down to low.

However Ministry of Natural Resources Spokesperson Deb McLean says there is still quite a bit of activity.

McLean says the hazard in the northern parts of the region is still at moderate, but the rain is expected to help that.

There were no new forest fires reported in the region over the weekend, although the MNR says a
fire on an island on Lake of the Woods, which  has grown to about two hectares in size.

Its currently being monitors and does not threaten any properties.

Government Invests in New Fire Bases

The Provincial Government is investing 47-million-dollars in updating three forest fire response centers.

They include the Sudbury Facility, the Hailburton Fire Management Headquarters and the Armstrong Fire Attack Base.

Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Michael Gravelle says the 9 and a half million dollar upgrade for Armstrong will include building a new warehouse and sleeping facilities.

Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Olson Wins at National Age Group Championships

Alex Olsen continues to excel at the National Age Group championships.

The 15 year old member of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club won the
200 meter backstroke over the weekend in Montreal.

Her time of two minutes and 38 seconds is good enough to qualify for
the Senior Nationals.

Gussy Wins Fort Bass Tournament

A big win for Kenora's Jeff Gustafson.

Gustafson and his partner John Peterson from Minnesota won the
annual Canadian Bass Championships in Fort Frances over the weekend.

The duo reeled in over 55 pounds of bass.

Their weight of over 20 pounds on day three put them over a pound and
a half ahead of the second place team of Ryan Hyatt and Karl Wolff from Fort Frances.

Brandon Team Wins Men's Soccer Tournament

A team from Brandon took top honors at the Lake of the Woods Men's Soccer tournament over
the weekend.

Double Decker scored in the first half of overtime for a 1-0 win over the Sure Thing Centuries
from Kenora.

In the B-side final, it was an all Kenora affair with the Fury coming out on top with a 2-1 win over the Gunners.

In the C-Side final, Stonewall blanked Fort Frances 1-0.

New Board says Treaty Three Police Will Not Close Next Month

The new board of the Treaty Three Police Service is clarifying some previous statements about the possible closure of the police force.

The board held its first meeting yesterday and says if it decides to shut its
doors it would have to give at least a year's notice.

Yesterday the new board met with the police chief Conrad Delaronde, aswell as the financial comptroller and also a representative from the officers union.

The board says it plans to meet more frequently and expects to be able to come to some sort of resolution that all parties can agree upon.

Kenora Residents Love to Recycle

Kenora is setting the bar for e-waste diversion in the province.

City clerk Heather Kasprick says residents diverted almost 70 thousand kilograms of E-waste in 2012.

Kasprick says the community has really responded to some previous initiatives.

Kenora placed in the top 10 communities for e-waste diversion in Ontario.

Sobey's Selling Off Some Safeway Stores

Empire Company, which owns Sobey's stores in Canada, has struck a deal to sell some of its newly acquired Safeway properties in a sale-leaseback deal with property management company Crombie of Nova Scotia.

None of the stores impacted are in northwestern Ontario.