38 People Arrested in Drug Sweep in Kenora

A total of 38 people have been arrested in a massive drug bust in Kenora.

Over 263 thousand dollars worth of cocaine, marijuana and marijuana plants were seized as a result of the year-long undercover investigation.

Inspector Chris Harkins from the OPP's Crime Enforcement Bureau hopes this will put a dent in Kenora's illegal drug trade.

A total of 174 charges have been laid and the OPP says they also seized over 61 thousand dollars in property, including cash and illegal weapons.

Harkins says they had assistance from the Dryden Police, the Anishinabek Police Service, Treaty Three Police and the RCMP in their investigation.

Here's the OPP's list of the accused.

SUSPECT	CHARGES
LEROUX, Paul	20
LEBLANC, Jody	4
REDSKY, Ian	3
DURBIN, T. Wally	7
SMITH, Jory	4
WARMBIER, Paul	7
CEDERWALL, Kara	5
KRAWICKI, Ray	3
MAKARA, Russell	17
LEDUC, Ryan	15
KOSANJI, Bojan	2
TKACHYK, Jason	6
KITT, Chris	2
WIEBE, Tim	3
SKEAD, Shasha	2
SWANSON, Jason	1
ELDER, Miranda	5
SELLER, Liam	2
ALLISON, Tyler	1
CHEVREFILS, Peter	1
JORDAN, Chesterfield	3
DELORME, Rose	3
PENCOFF, Derek	4
COCHRANE, Cheyenne	2
ZINKIEWICZ, Mario	2
WETENDORF, Kevin	2
PAULSON, Shanalee	9
FOX, Arnold	2
MOYER, Matt	14
SAVOYARD, Patrick	2

Mock Disaster Set for Next Thursday

Lights, Sirens, Lock down.

That will be the sights and sounds of a mock disaster taking place in the city on October 24th.

The City's Chief Administrative Officer Karen brown says the drill is needed to test their emergency systems.

The Kenora Catholic District School Board is taking part in the mock disaster by going into lock down and having drama students at T.A. act like injured victims.

The drill will get underway at around 9:00 outside the Catholic Education Center
.

Police Investigate Murder in Fort Severn

A 19 year old Fort Severn Man was in Kenora Court yesterday on Second degree murder charge.

Tommy Raymond Miles Junior was arrested this week in connection

to the death of a 24 year old woman.

The Nishinabe Aski Police Service was called out to investigate a serious

assault Wednesday.

Georgina Becky Stoney was taken to the nursing station in Fort Severn

where she died from her injuries.  

A post-mortem exam was conducted yesterday at Lake of the Woods

District Hospital, but the cause of death has not been released. 

Rickford Ready to Start New Session

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is happy to start the Fall session of Parliament.

Rickford who is the minister responsible for FEDNOR says he wants to build off the recent successes reported in the City of Kenora.

He says infrastructure concerns like the downtown revitalization project are another priority.

Rickford who also hold the Science and Technology portfolio says there will also be investments to make local mills more sustainable.

Hydro Rates Going Up

Home and business owners in Northwestern Ontario will see a bit of an increase on their electricity bill effective November 1st.

Ontario Energy Board Spokesperson Vanda Wall says off-peak times will go up to 7.2-cents per kilowatt hour and mid-peak will go up to 10.9-cents.

She says overall says rates will go up 0.5-cents a kilowatt hour.

In plain terms, it works out to be about three-percent of the total monthly bill or about
four dollar more.

First Ever Bark For Life Tomorrow

The Kenora Harborfront will be going to the dogs this weekend.

The first ever Bark For Life will be taking place tomorrow from the Whitecap Pavilion.

Ashley Rooney is one of the organizers and says this event is becoming increasingly popular in other communities in Ontario.

Proceeds from Bark for Life will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Participants will be gathering at the Whitecap Pavilion starting at 9:00 tomorrow morning.

Broncos Wrap Up Regular Season in WHSFL Today

The regular season in the Winnipeg High School Football League wraps up
with Beaver Brae playing its third game in seven days.

The Broncos are back in Winnipeg today to take on the winless St. John Tigers.

Kick-off is 5:00 this evening.

Beaver Brae will use the game to prepare for its first home play-off game
in the WHSFL next Friday.

The Broncos will host a quarter-final match against a team still to be determined.

Krolyk Out of the Running at OFSAA Golf Championships

A disappointing second day for Beaver Brae's Matt Krolyk at the
OFSAA Golf Championships.

Krolyk fired a second round of 84, for a two day total of 163.

That tied for 66th out of 118 golfers that competed in the
two day high school championship near Windsor.

Police Set to Hold Drug Investigation Press Conference

Details of a lengthy drug investigation involving the Provincial Police, the Dryden Police, the Treaty Three Police, & the Anishinabek Police Service will be unveiled tomorrow.

A media conference has been scheduled for 10:00 in Kenora.

Officials say the conference will address the results of a lengthy undercover investigation which has led to significant cash, drug, and property seizures.

Kenora OPP Detachment Commander Inspector Dave Lucas, Chief Rob Davis of the Dryden Police Service, Interim Chief of Treaty Three Police Dan Davidson, & Inspector Derek Johnson of the Anishinabek Police Service will be in attendance.

Canfield Applauds Throne Speech

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says it was a worth while junket.

Canfield is returning home today after spending yesterday in Ottawa for the Speech from the Throne.

He says even though there was no specific mention of the Ring of Fire in the speech, there were a number of references to skills training, which will help the mining sector in the north.

Canfield says he had a chance to talk with both finance minister Jim Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Rainy River Resources Now New Gold

A friendly takeover of Rainy River Resources is now complete.

New Gold says it now controls all of the company's shares, completing a deal announced in June.

Executive chair Randall Oliphant says he's pleased the acquisition is now complete and they can focus attention on advancing Rainy River's gold project south of Kenora.

New Gold is in the process of completing a detailed review and update of the feasibility study as well as advancing the permitting efforts for the project.

Catholic Board Addresses Safety Concerns At St. Louis

The Kenora Catholic District School Board is making some moves
to improve safety in the area of St. Louis School in Keewatin.

Director of Education, Phylis Eikre admits safety has been a concern
for a number of years, and they've been able to make some changes
to improve the situation.

Eikre says they have moved a dumpster in front of the school and also
a bike rack to make more room for student drop-off and pick up in the
area.

FoTenn Gets City Planning Contract

The City of Kenora is going to be out-sourcing some of its future planning needs.

Council agreed to a three year agreement with FoTenn Consultants out of Ottawa this week.

It wasn't a unanimous decision with two members of council voting against.

Mayor Dave Canfield cast one of the dissenting votes.

The city received three bids for planning services, including one from former city planner Jeff Port.

Long Time Councillor Passes Away

A long time member of the old Kenora Town Council has passed away.

Helene Dubenski, often known as the hat lady, died earlier this week at the age of 96.

Kenora City Council paid special tribute to Dubenski last year for her years of service to the community.

Local School Board Officials Meet with Education Minister

The Minister of Education is gathering some feedback from educators in
northwestern Ontario about how to improve local schools.

The session was held yesterday in Thunder Bay called moving from Good To Great.

Phylis Eikre is the director of Education with the Kenora Catholic District School Board and was one of the invitees.

She says while they have had good results in the classroom, she feels more needs to be done for students at risk.

The session also included educators from across the region as part of a video web conference.  

Province Announces New Youth Job Strategy

The Provincial Government is touting its new Youth Jobs Strategy.

Education Minister Liz Sandals unveiled the strategy yesterday in Thunder Bay.

Sandals says they're spending over 200 million dollars will go towards creating four new funds that will help young people find work, build job skills and start their own business.

Sandals also met with school board officials, students and other education representatives about the needs of students in Ontario.

Less Snow This Winter?

Don't expect a lot of white stuff in northwestern Ontario this winter.

AccuWeather is out with its annual forecast and it shows below normal snowfall for the Lake of the Woods area.

The long range winter forecast also suggests temperatures should
be about normal.

OFSAA Golf Championships Resume Today

A couple of high school golfers from northwestern Ontario are in contention at the All-Ontario championships taking place near Windsor.

Matt Krolyk from Beaver Brae and Kirk Markowski from Dryden each shot 79's yesterday at the OFSAA finals taking place at the Essex Golf and Country Club.

They are tied for 38th place.

Krolyk will tee off at 9:12 this morning on day two of the championships.

Eastman Drops Thistles

A tough outing for the Kenora Triple "a" Midget Thistles.

The Thistles dropped a 6-1 decision to the Eastman Selects last
night at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Coach Doug Novak admits he was disappointed with his teams's effort.

Josh Brunton scored the lone goal for the Thistles.

This weekend the Kenora Midgets hit the road to Dauphin for a game against
the Parkland Rangers on Saturday.

Man Charged Following Police Chase

The Kenora Provincial Police have laid charges against a 30 year Kenora man following an early morning police chase.

The pursuit began when police arrived on Second Street North around 5:00 this morning to investigate a stolen car and the suspect drove off.

The chase led into the Pinecrest area where the man then ran by foot into the Minto area.

Police say a K9 unit and the Emergency Response Team located the man around 8:00.

As a result Mark Fontaine has been charged with driving while disqualified, flight while pursued by a peace office, dangerous operation of motor vehicle, theft over 5 thousand, possession of a weapon, and trespassing at night.