Hampton weighs in on Grassy Narrows Court ruling

The provincial government doesn't have a good track record when it comes to aboriginal affairs.

That's the feeling of Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton.

He was responding to a decision by the Ontario Superior Court this week in favour of Grassy Narrows in its battle against clear cut logging.

Hampton says the Far North Act and the decision to jail the leaders of Big Trout Lake two more examples ofthe McGuinty government failing to listen to the concerns of aboriginal communities.

Impaired Driver has vehicle impounded

An impaired driver is going to lose more than his license.

The OPP they stopped a vehicle on the Kenora By-Pass yesterday afternoon around 1:30 travelling at more than 50 kilometers faster than the posted speed limit.

After talking to the driver, officers noticed he had been drinking.

A 39 year old Steinbach man was arrested and taken to the Kenora Detachment.

Isaak Buehler-Buerkert has been charged with impaired driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

His vehicle has also been impounded for seven days under the provisions of the province's stunt driving legislation.

Conservatives in Kenora-Rainy River to select candidate

A big weekend for the Conservatives in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding.

A travelling ballot box will visit Fort Frances, Dryden and Kenora tomorrow to select a candidate for the upcoming provincial election.

Kenora City Councillor Rod McKay says he's been energized by the whole process.

McKay's seatmate on council, Louis Roussin is the only other candidate.

He says he likes what he sees in the Conservative platform.

The ballots will be counted just after 8:00 tomorrow night.

New VP for PJP

Another school year is less than two weeks away and local school boards are finalizing their staffing.

Over at the Kenora Catholic District School board, they have filled a vacancy for vice-principal at Pope John Paul School.

Jaqueline Robinson has been appointed the new vice-principal.

She takes over from Michelle Sawa, who has moved back to Red Lake to take a similar position there.

Robinson was the acting vice-principal at King George last year.

Health Unit Posts more Beach Signage

Its a sign of the times.

The Northwestern Health Unit has posted signage at every beach in the region warning of the potential of high bacterial levels following thunderstorms.

Jennifer McKibbon is the Manager of Enforcement and says they also have special signage for beach closures.

McKibbon says even though they regularly test the water at the beaches, it can days days to get the results back, so they don't always know if the water is safe to swim in or not.

Plane Crash Closes Trans-Canada near Marathon

Only minor injuries after a plane crash in Marathon. 

OPP say a pilot ran out of runway and clipped a poll yesterday afternoon and crashed in the ditch on highway 17. 

The man was taken to hospital and released but the crash forced the closure of the highway for several hours. 

SIU Investigates incident in Longlac

S-I-U investigators are expected in Greenstone after a

20-year-old woman suffered a minor injury during an ``altercation'' with police.

Police say two provincial police officers went to a Longlac home after someone called 911 and hung up.

At the home, police found a 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old female who, according to the police, became combative.

Men's Soccer Play-offs Winding down

The Sure Thing Centuries have booked their ticket into the championship game of the Hap's men's soccer league.

The Centuries earned a 2-1 win over the Stingers last night in the first of two semi-finals.

They will play the winner of the other semi tonight between the Playaz and the Gunners.

The final is set for next week on Tuesday night.

In Casey's Men's Ball Hockey action last night the finals are set as the Aces beat High Havarti to advance and the Jets got by the Gold Diggers

OPP locate body of missing swimmer

The body of a missing 28 year old Winnipeg man has been found in Shoal Lake.

Lucas Janz was last seen swimming on Sunday and failed to return to the camp he was staying at.

OPP say Janz's body was found not far from the camp on Galt Island Wednesday afternoon.

A post-mortem took place yesterday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital but the cause of death hasn't been released.