Aboriginal Diabetes Program Funding

The federal government is being urged to ensure there is funding in next week's budget for an aboriginal diabetes program.

The National Aboriginal Diabetes Association says an initiative they've overseen for the past five years is due to run out of money at the end of next month.

Dina Bruyere heads up the association and says as many as 600 diabetes programs on reserves are reliant on the funding.

Bruyere says they have been trying to find out if their funding will be continued, but so far the federal government has been mum on the issue.

Confederation College No Strike

Faculty at Ontario's 24 colleges have accepted what the colleges called their final contract offer.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board confirming that almost 51 and a half per cent accepted the offer in a vote across the province.

Confederation College president Pat Lang is glad there will be no strike.

Lang says in this day and age 5.9 per cent over three years is a fair contract.

Ignoring the North?

New Democrats are accusing the McGuinty Liberals of ignoring northern Ontario.

Leader Andrea Horvath told the legislature yesterday a group of municipal leaders from the northwest she recently met are looking for help in dealing with high unemployment rates and increase usage of social services.

Acting Premier Dwight Duncan admits there are unique challenges in the north, but noted the province has responded through a number of recent investments to mining, forestry and infrastructure.

Ontario Throne Speech

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he wants the province to get serious about competing for international students.

And that's part of his ambitious five-year plan called Open Ontario, which will be unveiled during the throne speech on March 8th.

Open Ontario also includes plans to cash in on a growing demand for water and clean water technology and a promise to develop a huge chromite deposit in the northwest known as the Ring of Fire.

HST Protest

Members of a northwestern Ontario First Nation braved a briskwind and blocked the Trans-Canada Highway yesterday to protest the impending Harmonized Sales Tax.

Protesters from Pic Mobert waved aboriginal flags, anti-H-S-T signs and beat traditional drums near their traditional pow wow grounds about 20 kilometres west of White River.

Most of Ontario's First Nations are concerned the H-S-T will hike the cost of essentials like heat and hydro.

More highway slowdowns are planned by northwestern Ontario First Nations before the H-S-T kicks in July 1st.

First Nations Housing

The eighth annual First Nations Northern Housing Conference hasdrawn about 200 representatives from eight tribal councils and 70communities in northern Ontario.

The conference in Thunder Bay features workshops, a trade showand 36 suppliers from Ontario and Manitoba.

Presentations include energy conservation and efficiency, mouldprevention and treatment, and a panel discussion on how First Nations' communities can improve housing conditions.

Research Lab LED

Lakehead University is getting over half a million dollars to build a new research lab.

It's being done in partnership with a private company.

Northern Development minister Michael Gravelle says the lab will study LED lights and ways to improve the technology.

The money comes from the provinces Northern Heritage Fund.

Tim Horton's Youth Camp

The Tim Horton's Foundation isn't giving up its plan to develop a kids camp in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Sylvia Lake is the latest battleground for a proposed youth camp.

Dave Newnham is the vice-president of the the Tim Horton Children's Foundation and says they want to build a 12-million dollar retreat for underprivileged children on an untouched portion of the park.

Newnham says they hope to finalize the location of the summer camp this year and start construction next year, with completion sometime in 2012.

Via Rail NWO

The move is on again to bring back passenger rail service to Kenora and Thunder Bay.

New Democrat MP Bruce Hyer plans to introduce a private members motion on the issue when parliament resumes.

Hyer says the time is right to restore the service and hopes his motion brings attention to the issue.

Downtown Kenora Funding

The City of Kenora is getting more funding to help fix up the downtown core.

The Ministry of Agriculture, food and Rural affairs has announced a250 thousand dollar grant that will be shared with the KenoraHarbortown Business Improvement Zone.

The funding will help out with landscaping improvements inthe downtown area and also signage and new banners.

The B.I.Z. is expected to contribute 25 thousand dollars aspart of the program.

Hampton Pensions Abitibi

Demands for pension assistance for Ontario's Abitibi-Bowater workers in the Legislature yesterday.

Kenora-Rainy River M-P-P Howard Hampton says support recently given to Nortel's pension plan should be offered to AbitibiBowater's underfunding pension plan.

Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky says the money given to Nortel was from a pension benefits guarantee fund that guarantees each worker one-thousand dollars per month.

Teaching Awards

Nominations are open for the Ontario Teaching Awards.

Anyone can nominate an educator who is innovative and creative can log onto www.teachingawards.ca

Ontario Teachers Federation President Reno Melatti says Northwestern Ontario has taken home the award before.

Nominations close on April 12th.

Signage By Law

Thursday is the final day local residents have to comment onthe city's new sign by-law.

The by-law has been in the works for months.

Councillor Wendy Cuthbert says the one issue people continueto comment on is the ban on posting sign banners on the C.P. Rail fence.

Cuthbert says council hopes to be able to approve the newsign by-law in the next couple of months.

Signage By Law

Thursday is the final day local residents have to comment onthe city's new sign by-law.

The by-law has been in the works for months.

Councillor Wendy Cuthbert says the one issue people continueto comment on is the ban on posting sign banners on the C.P. Rail fence.

Cuthbert says council hopes to be able to approve the newsign by-law in the next couple of months.

NOMA Energy

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is asking the Province to not abandon it's plans for new energy transmission lines in Northwestern Ontario.

President Anne Krassilowsky says they want to see the east of Nipigon to Pickle Lake line move forward as outlined in the Northern Growth Plan.

NOMA is asking the plan be modified to provide service to Whitesand First Nation, Armstrong and Gull Bay First Nation.

STR Trails

The Sunset Trail Riders Club is giving back to its volunteers.

President Ken Bracken says they're providing incentives for those members who groom area trails.

Bracken adds they've created a vintage sled permit for those members who have snowmachines 15 years and older.

Ontario Good Roads Conference

Several members of Kenora City Council will be spending the week in Toronto.

Councillor Dave McCann is attending the annual Good Roads Conference.

McCann says its a good chance for them to lobby provincial cabinet ministers on issues important for the city.

The City has 8 meetings set up with provincial cabinet ministers or their representatives.

Hospital Budget Meetings

The Ontario Health Coalition says hospitals need to find out sooner rather than later how much money they'll have to work with this year.

The Ministry of Health still hasn't indicated how much it plans to increase hospital budgets by in 2010.

Natalie Mehra is the executive director of the coalition and sayseven if hospitals get a two percent increase, it will leave manyshort of funds.

The Ontario Health Coalition is planning to hold a number of hearings across the province next month on the future of rural and northern Hospitals.

Common Voice on Growth Plan

A Regional group has given the Provincial Government something to think about.

Common Voice Northwest has submitted more than 100-recommendations in a response to the proposed Northern Growth Plan.

Chair George Macey says they're not asking for a complete re-write.

Among Common Voice's recommendations is an agency that allows for more input from
Northern Ontario into the decision making process at Queen's Park.

New Chamber President

There's been a changing of the guard at the Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce.

Dwayne Yaremko has stepped down after two years as chamber presidentand has been replaced by Andy Scribilo.

Scribilo says he's no stranger to the job as he held the same position 10 years ago.

Scribilo will be joined on the board of the chamber by Linda Davedow, who will take over as first vice-president.

Yaremko will stay on the chamber board as past-president.

Federal Funding Annoucements

Kenora MP Greg Rickford paid a visit to his riding this week and made a couple of funding announcements.

27 thousand dollars is going towards hiring a youth intern for Women's Place Kenora.

Rickford says the intern will assist with research and project management.

Another 2 thousand dollars was provided to the Rabbit Lake Trail System through St. Thomas Aquinas' Outdoor Education Program.

Driven to Quit Deadline

A Board member with the Northwestern Health Unit admits breaking the habit is hard to do, but she's encouraging fellow smokers to stick with it.

Emo resident Gerd O'Sullivan is taking part in the Driven To Quit Challenge.

Smokers have until the end of February to register for the Challenge.

A number of great prizes are up for grabs for those who successfully butt-out during the month of March.

Land Ambulance Base Kenora

At least one Kenora resident is on the record as opposing a proposalto locate a new land ambulence base on Railway Street.

Ron Brown made a deputation to council this week and suggestedthe Railway Street location is not practical, especially if there israil traffic blocking the crossings.

Brown also says Railway Street is narrow and very slippery in the wintermonths, and is a less than ideal location for an ambulence base.

Gale at Chamber Awards

Kenora's business community has received a glimpse at some of theideas being proposed to re-develop the former Abitibi lands.

Developer John Gale was the feature speaker at the Kenora andDistrict Chamber of Commerce's annual general meeting.

Gale says one of the keys to moving ahead with these projectsis co-operation and partnerships with local first nations.

Gale says some of the projects he envisions for Kenorainclude value added wood manufacturing, a conferencecenter, a resort and spa and an R.V. park.

Chamber Awards

A big night for Kenora's busines community.

A total of 12 plaques were handed out at the annual Chamber of Commerce Business Awards ceremony.

Sharon Smith was presented the Mayor's Award for community involvement.

She says she's a bit surprised to win the award.

Kevin and Leah O'flaherty were named business owner of the year.

Leah O'flaherty says it means a lot to be nominatedby her employees.

Mike Newton Design won the award for Home based businessof the year, while Andrew Brookes from Earth4U Consulting was named youth entrepreneur of the year.

Fatal Crash Highway 17

Two people from Geraldton are dead following a two vehicle collision on Highway 17 between Vermilion Bay and Kenora.

OPP say the crash occurred just before 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon near the Willard Lake Esso.

Police say a westbound transport came around the corner to find an eastbound van in its lane.

The occupants of the van, 64-year-old Raymond Buhr and 62-year-old Joeanne Buhr, died in the collision.

The crash forced the closure of the Trans-Canada for nearly 4-hours.

Land Ambulance Base Kenora

The Kenora District Services Board is defending its decision to put a land ambulence base on Railway Street.

A special zoning meeting was held yesterday to get feedback abouta proposal to build a new training facility and ambulence base beside Chrstal Clean Car Wash.

Peter Marshall is the manager of Emergency Services for the District Services Board and says they wanted a location closest to where they get the most emergency calls.

Superior Propane was the only local business to object to the zoning application.

Its concerned the land ambulence base could jeopardize its operations in the area, due to chance under the Hazardous Materials act.

Council is expected to decide on the re-zoning application next month.

Parking Kenora

Kenora City Council is having a hard time deciding how to accomodate vehicles that park in the Harborfront parking lot this summer.

The big tent is expected to be up for much of the summer and fall, displacing about 30 vehicles.

Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says they should be able to find space for 28 vehicles in the lot on the north side of Lakeview Drive.

Council has rejected the idea allowing parking on the south side of Lakeview Drive along the greenbelt.

Mayor Len Compton says it would block the view of the lake for people driving into the city.

Dufresne Furniture Award

For the 11th year in a row, Dufresne Furniture has been named one of the 50best managed companies in Canada.

In the past year, the company has opened two new stores in Ottawa and nowhas 11 stores across the country.

Debra Jonasson-Young is the company's vice-president and says theyare always looking at expansion opportunities.

Dufresne Furniture started out in Kenora 24 years ago andnow has outlets in Winnipeg, Dryden, Thunder Bay and Brandon.

Committee Membership

At least one member of City Council doesn't want non-residents to be able sit on Kenora's committees.

Dave McCann raise the issue this week and suggests that if someone isn't paying taxes in the City of Kenora, they shouldn't be allowed to dictate how city funds are spent.

McCann says if they don't own property then they shouldn't have the right to vote.

Mayor Len Compton agreed, but says people who rent apartments should be allowed to sit on committees, because they are residents of the city,but not necessarilty property owners.

Hampton HST

The MPP for the Kenora-Rainy River Riding says the Harmonized Goods and Services Tax isn't a done deal yet.

Howard Hampton says while the HST is supposed to go into effect this July, it still has a couple of political hurdles to clear before being proclaimed intolaw.

The NDP at both the federal and provincial level have been battling the HST saying it will increase the cost of living for people living in northern Ontario, especially people living in the far north.

Strategic Plan KPDSB

Trustees with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Boardhave been given an update on the 2009/2010 StrategicPlan.

Sean Monteith is the Assistant to the Director of Education andsays they have been making good progress on the main goalsoutlined in the plan.

The two main goals of the strategic plan are to improve student achievement and to ensure adequate resources and programs for aboriginal students in the school system.

Richards heads to Olympics

The winter Olympics start this evening in Vancouver.

The opening ceremonies take place tonight.

Kenora's lone representitive at the games is Mike Richardswho is a member of the Canadian Men's Hockey Team.

Richards says he's looking forward to making the trip to Vancouver this weekend.

Richards and Team Canada won't hit the ice until next Tuesday, when they play Norway in their first game of the Olympic Tournament.

Muskies sweep Broncos on the court

Another tough day on the court as the Beaver Brae Broncos finished off the NorWOSSA court sport regular season at home hosting the Fort Frances Muskies.

In volleyball action the senior girls lost 3 sets to 1 while the junior girls just came up a little short in a 3 sets to 2 loss.

On the basketball court, the senior boys lost a close game 49-46 with Mark Gramenz leading the charge with 13 points.

The junior boys are limping into the playoffs after losing another game to Fort Frances 73-32, leading scorer for the Broncos was Bryton Albany with 12 pts.

The NorWOSSA playoffs are in Dryden next Friday.

Bronco Boys Hockey Team Beats Rams

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team is a win away from securing second place in the NorWOSSA standings.

Last night, the Broncos upended Red Lake 5-2 at the Thistle Rink.

The two teams meet up again this morning for the back end oftheir double-header.

Game time is 11:30 at the Rec. Center.

A win would give Beaver Brae the second seed heading into the play-offs.

Hampton on Buy American

Premier Dalton McGuinty is defending the new deal on Buy American provisions in Washington's stimulus package from unions who say the deal is unfair to Ontario.

N-D-P trade critic Howard Hampton says Canada may be getting access to U.S.stimulus projects, but most of that money has already been spent.

Unions say the trade agreement will eventually give foreign companies permanent and unfettered access to contracts that supply Ontario's schools and hospitals.

Report: Move Northern Reserves

The federal government is being urged to work with aboriginal leaders to move residents on remote first nations onto urban reserves.

The recommendations is made in a study for the Frontier Center on Public Policy.

Joseph Quesnel is the author of the report and says aboriginalswho live in urban areas are more prosperous than those living in remote first nations.

Quesnel suggests that many remote first nations, especially those in northern Ontario, are not viable and have resulted in a wide range of social problems.

School Board seeks more trustees

Trustees with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board are seeking permission to elect one extra trustee in elections taking place this fall.

The board has written a letter to the Minister of Education asking to increase the number of trustees from nine up to ten.

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Dean Carrie says the request was made due to the addition of schools in Pickle Lake, Savant Lake and Upsala.

Carrie says one of the trustees would cover Pickle and Savant Lakes,while Upsala would be covered by the Ignace trustee.

Barrier Free Funding

Kenora City Council is taking steps to ensure all municipal buildings are barrier free.

Councillor Dave McCann says they will be setting aside 30 thousand dollars this year to improve accessibility.

McCann says provincial legislation will make it mandatory eventually to ensure all government buildings are barrier free, socouncil is just being pro-active.

Armed threat on reserve

A young male faces a long-list of charges following an incident on the Mishkeegogamang Reserve, northeast of Sioux Lookout.

Nishnawbe-Aski Police responded to a call about an armed suspect who threatened to shoot another individual.

The suspect fled in a vehicle and was latter nabbed by officers with assistance of OPP.

The accused faces 5-firearm and weapon related charges as well as uttering threats and theft over 5-thousand dollars.

He is in custody and will appear in Pickle Lake Court next Friday.

Sulphite Study

The effects of sulphate on Canada's lakes will be the subject of an upcoming study to be conducted at northwestern Ontario's Experimental Lakes near Kenora.

Researchers from York University are teaming up with others including Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Officials say the results of their controlled experiments could provide information about how the increased use of road salt is affecting lakes in the province’s central and northern areas.

Kenora Community Clubs

Good news for Kenora's community clubs.

City council has agreed to spend an additional 38 thousanddollars this year on the four outdoor skating rinks.

Councillor Dave McCann says part of the funding isfor their annual operating costs and the rest is formuch needed repairs.

Community clubs will be eligible for up to six thousand dollarsin operating grants this year, up from four thousand lastyear.

Ontario Colleges Possible Strike

The frustration level for students at Ontario's 24 communitycollege students has just gone up a notch.

Results of a strike vote by their teachers is too close to call.

Faculty, represented by the Ontario Public Service EmployeesUnion, voted 51 per cent in favour of accepting management's offer.

But the union says the margin was only 210 votes, and with 300outstanding mail-in votes that could tip the scales.

The official final vote won't be known until after a review ofall the ballots by the Ontario Labour Relations Board and thoseresults may not be known for up to 10 days or more.

The instructors had already set a Feb. 17 strike date, but if theoffer is ultimately rejected, a new strike date will be determined.

Fire Hall Concerns

Work is continuing on the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill, but at least onearea resident is concerned about the project.

Mark Barnaby lives just north of the construction site and says he'sworried about where water will drain off once the building is complete.

Barnabe says he's willing to take legal action if the city doesn'taddress drainage issues and conduct a Storm Water ManagementPlan.

McMasters Back

One time principal and school board trustee Jack McMaster is returning to the Keewatin Patricia District School Board.

McMaster will be taking over as the public board's Director of Education.

McMaster will be relocating to Dryden sometime in March.

McMaster is currently the Director at the Rainy River District School Board.

Rainy River trustees are planning to hold a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the resignation and how they'll replace McMaster.

McMaster returns to KPDSB

A familiar face is returning to the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board as Director of Education.

Jack McMaster was hired to replace Larry Hope, who signed last month.

McMaster has been a principal and Superintendant of Education with the public school board for a number of years.

He was hired away from the Rainy River District School Board where he has been the Director of Education for the past five years.

Med School Benefits

A study shows the Northern Ontario School of Medicine is providing big economic and social boosts to the region.

The study was commissioned by the school which has campuses at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and Laurentian University in Sudbury.

The study shows about 37 (m) million dollars is spent by the school and its medical students annually.

And recirculation of the funds generates up to 82 (m) million dollars in communities which are involved in N-O-S-M programs.

Sudbury and Thunder Bay get most of the money but Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Timmins, Kenora and Sioux Lookout also benefit.

Board chairman Fred Gilbert notes one of the biggest benefits is that more doctors will stay in the region either as graduates or simply as doctors interested in teaching.

Rezoning Meeting

The City of Kenora's Property and Planning Committee will be holding a public meeting on a rezoning application for a proposed land ambulance base.

The meeting will take place this Tuesday and deals with rezoning a piece of property that lies near a CPR line from highway commercial to institutional.

Assistant City Planner Tara Rickaby says the property owners Degagne Brothers are applying for the rezoning application.

Councillor Rory McMillan says members of the Kenora District Services Board could be speaking in favour of the rezoning application at the meeting on Tuesday.

Ring of Fire Protest

A First Nations blockade of mining activity at the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario could end as early as nextweek.

That's if a new memorandum of agreement is accepted by the Ontario government and the mining companies.

Marten Falls First Nation Chief Elijah Moonias met with government and industry representatives yesterday and outlined their concerns.

They include speeding up construction of a new airport, more environmental accountability for the mining companies, and the end to the use of frozen lakes as landing strips due to environmental concerns.

A group of First Nations set up blockades on the landing strips at Koper and McFaulds lakes in the Ring of Fire, a potentially massive chromite deposit 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

The blockade is effectively preventing planes used by mining companies from landing in the area.

The First Nations say the blockade could end by February 18th if all parties agree to address their concerns within the next six months.

Confederation College Applications

Confederation College is getting its fair share of applications for this fall's programs and courses.
Applications for full time studies are up 20 percent.

President Pat Lang says there are a number of reasons for the increase in applications.

Lang adds they've seen an increase in older student applications.

Snow Excuse Tourism Campaign

The Snow Excuse Winter Getaway advertising campaign seems tobe hit with Manitoba residents.

The campaign is a partnership between Tourism Kenora and theKenora Hospitality Alliance.

Heather Paterson is Kenora's Tourism Development Officer and saysthey are promoting all kinds of winter activities.

Paterson says the stay-in-kenora website has seen over 15 hundredhits over the past three days after the final phase of the ad campaign was launched in southern Manitoba and Winnipeg.

Sewer and Water Rates

While city taxes won't be going up a lot this year, you can expect a big hike in your utility bills.

City Council has approved a 5 percent increase in sewer and waterrates as of April 1st.

Finance Manager Karen Brown says they needed to increase ratesto help pay for much needed upgrades to the system.

Increases of five percent are also recommended in each of the nextfour years, but it will be up to the next council to decide whether to implement the higher rates.

Capital Budget

The City of Kenora's capital budget will come in at a whopping24.1 million dollars in 2010.

Most of the major projects on the books have already beenapproved.

That includes the new Kenora Fire Hall on Barsky's Hill,the redevelopment of Highway 17 east, the Norman Discovery Center and Phase Two of the DowntownRevitalization project.

Next year, the city's capital budget is supposed todropped to just 2.7 million dollars.

58 percent of those projects are being funded through grants from the federal and provincial levels of government.

Kenora Taxes Going Up

Property taxes will be going up slightly in the City of Kenora this year.

City Council approved a 0.43 percent increase in the millrate at last night's special meeting.

Councillor Dave McCann delivered the budget and says the city benefitted from a higher assessment base in 2010.

McCann says the city also managed to save 251 thousand dollarson policing in the 2010 budget over last year, and saw increased funding from the province through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund.

Municipal Budget set for today

Kenora residents should find later today much more they will have to pay in property taxes.

The 2010 municipal budget is going to be presented to council this afternoon at a special meeting starting at 3:00.

In addition to the municipal budget, new rates for sewer and water are also expected to be set.

While there should only be a modest increase in property taxes this year, sewer and water rates are scheduled to rise by about five percent this year.

The municipal budget is ready for passage almost three months earlier than normal.

Monopoly Wildcard Race

The race is on, and here comes Kenora in the backstretch.

The next round of voting for one of two wildcard spots on the Canadian Edition of the Monopoly board starts today.

A rally and voting station was set up at the Kenora Recreation Centre this morning where a special guest made some opening comments.

Kenora Mayor Len Compton played the role of Mr. Monopoly.

To vote log onto http://www.monopolyvote.ca/

Alzheimer Society Looks for Members

The Alzheimer Society of Kenora-Rainy River continues its search for more members.

The group is striving for 300 members.

Executive Director Margaret Schoenville says members can have a say in the direction of the organization.

Schoenville says a membership of 300 will also give the group three votes into the decisions at the provincial level.

Kenora By-Pass Open again

Highway 17A is open to traffic once again following an accident yesterday near the Meadows Lake bridge.

There were no injuries but the highway was closed for over 5 hours due to the size and number of vehicles involved.

The Kenora OPP are reminding the motoring public to drive safely on area roads after fresh snowfall and during slippery conditions.

Highway Safety Northwest

Highways across northwestern Ontario are safer today than they were two years ago.

That's according to statistics released by the OPP.

Constable Shelley Garr says since 2007, they have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of accidents, fatalities and injuries on local roads.

The OPP says its traffic safety program, which has been cracking down on unsafe and aggressive drivers is paying dividends right across the province.

Hospital Survey

The Lake of the Woods Hospital continues to gather community input.

The hospital board has embarked on a 2010 community engagement questionnaire.

Board Member Betty Anderson says they want to hear from hospital users.

Members of the hospital board have been meeting with a variety of community groups for over 3 years now and continue to do so into the coming months.

Hospital Board and Foundation Members

There will be a new face on the Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation Board.

The Hospital board nominated both Nicole Brown and Claudette Edie at its monthly meeting last night.

Edie has been a member of the hospital foundation before.

The openings became available after several directors steped down.

Meanwhile, Reed Thompson resigned from the hospital board and provided a letter of resignation to the hospital board last night.

Lake of the Woods Hospital Surplus

The Lake of the Woods Hospital is reporting a small surplus.

Vice President of Corporate Services Cindy Gasparini revealed last night the hospital is sitting on a 436-thousand dollar surplus.

Gasparini says they're going to be using some of that money to deal with renovations they've put off.

Gasparini says there is only 3 months left in their fiscal year and are confident they'll end the year with a small surplus.

KDMA Continues in Ear Falls

The speed limit on area highways, lack of rest stops, and tourism areas will dominate discussion at this weekend's Kenora District Muncipal Association conference.

The regional meeting is being held in Ear Falls this year, and President Garry Parkes says driving conditions and the speed limit is one of the main resolutions up for debate.

Resolutions and the Executive election will take place on the final day of KDMA.

Meanwhile, Kenora is sending its newest city councillor to the Kenora District Municipal Association conference.

Parson adds he's looking forward to mingling with fellow municipal councillors.

OPP Olympic Security

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver get under way next week, and there will be a Kenora presence at the games.

In addition to having Mike Richards on the National Men'sHockey team, three members of the Kenora Detachment ofthe OPP will be in attendance.

The three officers are part of a contigent of 150 OPPofficers providing security at the games.

Constables Heidi Britton, Peloso and Karen Rustigewill be working at different venues in and around Vancouver and Whistler over the next three weeks.

Sioux Lookout Charges

3-people have been charged and police are looking for a fourth stemming from 4-separate incidents in Sioux Lookout over the past 24-hours.

OPP were called to a local hotel to deal with an intoxicated man in the lobby.Police charged 37-year-old Christopher Mezzetay of Cat Lake First Nation with failing to comply with an undertaking.

The accused remains in custody.

Earlier in the day, another intoxicated male was arrested at a local business for breach of probation.

OPP say the third case relates to a domestic dispute and an 18-year-old man faces 1-count of assault.

The unsolved case involves a 19-year-old Sioux Lookout woman who is now wanted for not complying with her release conditions.No other names have been released.

Sioux Lookout Charges

3-people have been charged and police are looking for a fourth stemming from 4-separate incidents in Sioux Lookout over the past 24-hours.

OPP were called to a local hotel to deal with an intoxicated man in the lobby.Police charged 37-year-old Christopher Mezzetay of Cat Lake First Nation with failing to comply with an undertaking.

The accused remains in custody.

Earlier in the day, another intoxicated male was arrested at a local business for breach of probation.

OPP say the third case relates to a domestic dispute and an 18-year-old man faces 1-count of assault.

The unsolved case involves a 19-year-old Sioux Lookout woman who is now wanted for not complying with her release conditions.No other names have been released.

Accident Charges

A 27 year old Kenora man faces charges following a single motor vehicle accident.

On Monday afternoon, the OPP say they attended a collision onLakeview Drive.

Officer noticed that a hydro pole had been knocked down and there was debris on the roadway.

Kenora Hydro was called in to deal with the downed powerline and the road was closed for a short period of time.

The driver was taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospitalfor treatment of minor injuries and later released.

He has been charged with carelesss driving, failing to weara seatbelt and driving with an expired permit.

Traffic Stats

A downward trend in the number of major traffic incidents in Northwestern Ontario last year.

The OPP have released the year-end statistics for 2009.Police investigated 14-fatal collisions, down from 24 in 2007.3,183 crashes were reported last year, a drop of 350 from the year prior.

516 of the collisions last year resulted in personal injuries, compared to 653 two years ago.

KDMA Starts Today

The Kenora District Municipal Association is holding its annual general meeting this weekend in Ear Falls.

Deputy Mayor Tracey Simon says they were looking forward to the Minister of Natural Resources visiting, but notes that's changed.

Other guest speakers include Kenora MP Greg Rickford, Kenora Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton, and representatives from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

KDMA officially gets underway with a meet and greet tonight and runs until Saturday.

Hampton Election

Count Howard Hampton in.

Hampton told municipal leaders attending the Rainy River District Municipal Association conference he'll be seeking another term in next year's provincial election.

Hampton has been the riding's representative to Toronto since 1987.

Rickford on Forest Industry

A new report on the future of the forest industry in Canada is getting kudos from the M.P. from the Kenora Riding.

Greg Rickford says he agrees with a number of recommendations contained in the study by the Forest Products Industry Association of Canada.

The report suggests new bio-fuel and bio-product industries be built around existing mills to diversify their production and create morejobs.

Local Sports

In court sports, the Beaver Brae Bronco's hosted the Dryden Eagles.

The Senior Girls Volleyball team lost in 3 sets, and the Juniors lost in 4 sets.

On the basketball court, the Junior boys lost 57 to 48, while the Seniors beat the Eagles 34 to 22.

In high school hockey action...

The Beaver Brae Bronco Boys team beat the Eagles 4 to 3.

Meanwhile, the Bronco Girls lost to the Eagles 4 to 1.

Kenora Transit Survey

The Kenora Transit Authority will be conducting a survey of itsriders in the weeks ahead.

A questionaire has been developed which asked passengerswhat they like about the service and what they don't like.

The commission says the goal of the survey is to increaseridership and reach out to potential users.

A city employee will be on the bus late this week or earlynext week to conduct the survey.

Once the results are compiled, a report will be submittedto the Transit Authority for review.

Rainy River Resources Update

There's a lot more work ahead for Rainy River Resources in its search for gold in Richardson township, northwest of Emo.

Speaking to delegates attending the Rainy River Municipal Association meeting , vice-president Garet MacDonald says about 30 per cent of the area has been explored.

MacDonald says the company will release its latest resource estimate by the end of this month.

Abitibi Bowater Pension Shortfall

Abitibi Bowater's 1.3 billion dollar shortfall in employee pensions continues to weigh heavy on the mind of federal NDP members.

Thunder Bay Rainy River MP John Rafferty says the Federal Finance Minister needs to help find a resolution to the pension shortfall.

Rafferty is hopeful a meeting between the Federal Government, Abitbi Bowater and the Communication Energy and Paperworkers Union will happen sometime in the near future.

Land Ambulance Base Kenora

Still no word if or when the Kenora District Services Board is goingto build a land ambulence base in the City of Kenora.

The board has been looking at some property on Railway Street.

Chair of the Land Ambulence Committee, Garry Parkes says things seem to be moving in the right direction.

Last year, the District Services Board turned down an offer by the City of Kenora to build a land
ambulence base beside the newfire hall on Barsky's Hill.

The board has been planning to build a new land ambulence base in Kenora for several years, but has been unable tosecure suitable property.

Ice Road Fatal

One person is dead following a collision on an ice road on Lakeof the Woods south of Kenora.

The OPP say they were called out to an accident on SabaskongBay last Friday morning around 11 AM.

Police say a truck and a snowmachine collided on the ice road.

The operator of the sled, a 49 year old man from the Onigaming First Nation was killed.

So far his name has not been released.

Members of the OPP's Technical Traffic Collision Investigation Unit have been called in to look into the cause of the accident.

Fire at Duplex

Fire at a duplex in the north end of town caused extensive smokedamage to the building yesterday afternoon.

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department was called out shortly after 11:30 to a unit on Granite Court.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says they were able to contain theblaze to the room of origin.

He adds that the fire is not considered suspicious, andno-one was injured.

The cause is still being investigated.

Future of Forestry

Mills in this region need to expand beyond producing just pulp and paper.

That's the recommendation of a new report by the Forest Products Association of Canada.

Catherine Cobden is a spokesperson for the group and says mills need to diversify into other products like bio-fuels and bio-products.

Cobden says mills would be able to employ five times as many workers using the integrated production appoach.

Officer Injured

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP is investigating the circumstances surroundingan accident that saw one of its officer hit by a vehicle while on duty.

The officer was doing traffic control on Veteran's Drive Friday night around10:00 when he was hit by a passing car.

He was taken to hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The OPP say a section of Veteran's Drive was closed for several hoursnear 4th Street North while the Technical Traffic Collision InvestigationUnit assisted officers at the scene.

Environment Canada

Last month was unusual in Kenora for a couple of reasons.

The weather was warmer than normal, and we also experienceJanuary rain.

Environment Canada climatologist, Geoff Coulson says overallit was a pretty nice month in terms of weather.

Coulson says we received over nine millimeters of rain last month, compared to an average January rainfall amount of just0.4 millimeters.

Train vehicle collission

Fort Frances OPP have responded to an accident at the CN Rail Crossing in Dawson Township.

Around 9:30 this morning a southbound van collided with a slow moving westbound train.

The van's four occupants have been sent to Rainy River Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The train crew was not injured in the collision.

OPP and CN Rail officials continue to investigate the cause of the collision.

Hospital Budgets

Administration at Lake of the Woods District Hospital would like to hear from the provincial government sooner rather than later what it can expect in terms of funding this year.

Marc Belcaen is the CEO of the hospital and says they usually know before the end of January what kind of operating grants they will be getting.

Belcaen says they have been asked to submit operating budgets based on a zero,one or two percent funding increase.

He adds that they have been lobbying for a two percent increase in order to maintain their current level of service.

2010 OPP Business Plan

Crime Prevention and public safety are two of the goals found in the OPP's 2010 business plan.

Inspector Dave Lucas presented the draft plan to the police services board on Thursday.

Lucas says they also want to speak to residents about being safer on the ice and roadways.

The final version of the business plan is expected to be finished by the end of February.

Hospital Union supports forestry

The provincial government is being urged to form a crown corporation toopen pulp and paper mills that have been shut down in northern Ontarioand operate them.

The suggestions comes from the union representing hospital workersin Ontario.

Michael Hurley is president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unionsand says its a practical solution to a very bleak situation in this region.

Hurley says the Ontario government could not only own and operate the mills, but encourage Ontario residents to purchase Ontario paper products.

Cattle Markets

An official with the Ministry of Agriculture says a new abattoir to open next week in Emo will put the district's cattle producers in a good position to help sell their products to local consumers.

Barry Potter a livestock specialist says by building a brand, local producers can actually take advantage of a local market that's somewhat distant from others in the country.

Potter says the Ministry has established a number of programs that can help cattle farmers establish those brands.

OPP Snowmachine Rules

The OPP is pinching a number of snowmobile enthusiasts for not having proper registration, trail permits, and valid drivers licences.

O-P-P laid seven charges during a recent snowmobile patrol.

Constable Anne McCoy says they want to ensure sledders are following the rules.

During last Thursday patrol, three machines were towed off the trails after police found operators driving without a valid license.

OPP Recruitment

The officer responsible for recruiting in northwestern Ontario for the Ontario Provincial Police says the face of new recruits is changing.

Sergeant Darryl Wilson and says those considering a career in policing are coming from an older age group.

Wilson says a recent graduating class included an individual who was 48-years old.

Snowmobile Fatal Fort Frances OPP

A post-mortem was conducted yesterday on a 33 year old Fort Frances man killed in a snowmobile accident.

Thursday night around 8:30, two snowmobiles ran into each other on a trail on the Couchiching First Nation just east of Fort Frances.

The driver of one of the sleds, Aaron Hyatt was killed, while the passenger on his snowmobile and the driver of the other were taken to hospitalfor treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Treaty Three Police along with the OPP and Fort Frances Fire and Ambulence personnel were called out.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

CIP Fund Kenora

The City of Kenora is expected to continue its Community Improvement Project Fund for at least one more year.

One hundred thousand dollars is expected to be set aside as an incentive for businesses and building owners in downtown Kenora to fix up theirproperty.

The initiative was launched last year as part of the downtown revitalization project, and so far about 76 thousand dollars has been expended on building renewal projects.

A total of 250 thousand dollars was initially set aside for Community Improvement Projects.

Atikokan Fire

An Atikokan landmark has been destroyed by fire.

The blaze at the old Moose Hall was reported early Monday morning and Crews spent nearly 2-days attempting to extinguish the flames.

Major Dennis Brown says its a sad day for the community.

The Ontario Fire Marshall's Office is investigating the cause.

The building was vacant and no one was injured.

Heritage Fire Hall

Kenora's Heritage Committee says its willing to work with the city on a request for proposal on the old Fire Hall on Second Street South.

The Property and Planning Committee has been given the task offinding a prospective buyer for the heritage building.

The first order of business is to declare the fire hall surplus to the city's needs once the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill hasbeen been constructed.

The Heritage Committee says it would like to sit on any committee set up to decide the fate of the fire hall.

The fire hall was designated as a heritage building in theCity of Kenora last year.