Friday, March 5, 2010

Winter Carnival this Weekend

It doesn't really feel like winter, but organizers are hoping local residents get in the spirit of the season with this weekend's Winter Carnival.

Heather Paterson is Kenora's Tourism Development officer and says if its too warm outside, there will still be lots to do inside this weekend.

Tempertures are expected to be five to seven degrees above this weekend, and Paterson says events like the snow sculpture competition could be affected by unseasonable conditions.

Thomas Aquinas hosts OFSAA next week

Some of the top high school girls volleyball teams in the province will be arriving in town this weekend.

Thomas Aquinas is playing host to the All-Ontario championships starting Tuesday morning.

Saints Head Coach, Bob Kowal says got a very experienced team organizing this year's event.

The tournament will be played at T.A., Pope John Paul and BeaverBrae Tuesday and Wednesday.

The OFSAA banquet will take place Monday night.

Hospital still in a surplus situation

With one month left in the fiscal year, Lake of the Woods District Hospital remains in the black.

President and CEO, Marc Belcaen says through the end of January,the hospital was running a surplus of more than 359 thousand dollars.

He says thats less than the month before, but still is ahead of their pace from last year.

Belcaen says they are seeing an increase in their overtime costsbecause all their beds are full right now, and that's starting to eat into their budget surplus.

Changes in store for Hospital Board

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is planning to reduce the size of its board of directors.

Currently there are 20 board members, 10 of which are elected in the municipal elections every four years.

However, at last night's board meeting, members voted to do away from the current model, and move to a corporate model, where only people who have a membership can be elected.

The new board would have just 13 members, nine elected and four from the hospital administration or representing the medical community.

Chair of the board, Debbie Baldwin says a smaller board will be more manageble and easier to get quorums for their meetings.

Rickford on Federal Budget

Despite a no frills budget, the federal government is still going to provide stimulus funding this year.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford admits the government has reined inspending to deal with its 54 billion dollar deficit, but there are still some positives for the riding.

He says there is money for the struggling forest sector.

Rickford says funding was increased for FedNor last year, and will be continued through this year.

Fewer people using cellphones while driving

It appears motorists in Northwestern Ontario are abiding by the cell phone ban while behind the wheel.

During the first month of Ontario's new distracted driver law, Provincial police issued
22 charges to people caught breaking the rules.

470-charges were laid Province-wide, with the Greater Toronto Area registering the most at 155.

The law banning drivers from using hand-held devices such as cellphones and looking at display screens such as laptops came into effect last October.

But there was a three-month grace period.

Puget Ventures at Werner Lake

A B.C. based mining company has completed the first phase of drilling on its Werner Lake property north of Kenora.

Puget Ventures is looking for cobalt deposits.

The first phase of the program was designed to confirm the historic mineral resource.

Over a thousand metres of drilling were completed in 17 diamond drill holes.

Drill results will be released as they become available.