Broncos open home hockey schedule tonight

Double Header high school hockey action at the Kenora Rec. Center this evening.

Beaver Brae's girls team plays its home opener against the Fort Frances Muskies this evening at the Thistle Rink.

Puck drop is at 5:00.

Meanwhile, The Bronco boys will try to bounce back from a disappointing season opener on the road.

Beaver Brae were doubled up 4-2 by Sioux Lookout on Saturday.

The Broncos also host the Muskies starting at 7:30 following the girls game.

Blood donor clinic continues today

Canadian Blood Services is hoping for another good turn-out today for its blood donor clinic in Kenora.

Yesterday, 168 people turned up to give the gift of life, with 146 units collected.

That was 12 more than organizers had hoped for.

The Blood donor clinic runs until 12:30 this afternoon at Thomas Aquinas and there are still 25 appointment times available.

Thomas Aquinas Student Enjoys being Mayor for a Day

A Thomas Aquinas student has received a crash course in municipal politics.

Emily Bernie was the winner of a Mayor-for-a-day contest.

She shadowed mayor Dave Canfield yesterday as he did his rounds.

She says there are a couple of issues she'd like to see addressed in the city, including more of a focus on a youth and improved winter tourism. 

Bernie presided over yesterday's committee of the whole meeting, along with three runner's up in the Mayor-for-a-day contest.

Rainy River Resources updates Gold Mine project

There will be no base camp for employees working at its proposed gold mine south of Kenora.

Rainy River Resources released a preliminary economic assessment of the project last week.

President Raymond Threlkeld expects the projected 618 full-time workers to live in nearby communities.

As many as 675 would be involved in the construction phase with an open-pit mine in operation by 2015.

Two people charged in Fort Hope Cruiser Fire

Two people are charged  in connection with last weeks police cruiser fire in the far north community of Fort Hope. 

Police say the two, one 20 the other 23 years old, are scheduled for a court appearance in Thunder Bay today.  

No one was hurt in the blaze which destroyed the cruiser and caused damage to the house of a Nishnawbi-Aski Police officer.

Talks between Big Trout Lake and the Province on Hold

Talks between Big Trout Lake and the Ontario Government are on hold.

The First Nation feels the province is unable to provide assurance that mining  exploration by God's Lake Resources would stop while the joint panel meets.

Three deputy ministers were recently in the remote first nation community to meet with band members about the creation of a joint panel.

This past summer, Big Trout Lake issued an ultimatum to God's Lake, about its mining activity on KI's traditional land use territory.

City Councillors Due for a long overdue raise

Members of Kenora City Council are amongst the worst paid in Ontario.

But that could soon change.

City administration has come out with a report recommending a 30 percent increase next year.

Councillor Rory McMillan says they haven't had a pay raise since the year 2000.

If council approves the pay raise, the mayors salary will increase to just under 30 thousand, while councillors will get almost 15 thousand dollars a year.

Kenora Police Services

It took almost two and a half years, but the final costs surrounding the disbandment of the Kenora Police Service have been calculated.

The final payment from the disbandment of the Kenora Police was made last month.

It ended up costing the city about 2.5 million dollars once all the dust settled.

That included severance packages for former employees of the KPS as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

The final payment of 55 thousand dollars was made last month, ending a long drawn out process.

The previous edition of council decided to disband the municipal police service and go with the OPP back in July of 2009.

Utility Bills

Local homeowners might get sticker shock when they open their utility bills in the new year.
Kenora city council has received a report which suggests that sewer and water rates should increase 10 percent a year for the next six years.

Mayor Dave Canfield says one way they might be able to reduce rates is to increase the number of customers on the system.

The report suggests the sewer and water system is seriouly underfunded and higher rates are needed to pay for upgrades to the infrastructure.

Kenora City Payroll

Pay equity is catching up with the City of Kenora.

A pay equity plan has been completed which could affect five employees on the city payroll.

Its estimated that it will cost the city about 115 thousand dollars to implement the plan.

The pay equity review is retroactive to January 1st, 2009.

Councillor Louis Roussin says they knew there would be cost associated with the pay equity review, they just didn't know how much it would be when they drafted the 2011 budget.

Any pay adjustment could come from the City's contingency reserve fund.