Andre Wareham: Not Guilty

Andre Wareham is a free man. A jury found him not guilty in the death of William Atkins in 2009.

Wareham calls the verdict overwhelming and just wants to put it all behind him saying it's been hard but "you have to walk through it all..stand strong, and just see it to the end".

When the verdict was read Wareham  had  an expression of great relief.

Fort Frances Shooting

A Fort Frances teenager is facing several charges including attempted murder following an incident last night at a Trailer Park in that community.

 OPP were initially called to the area around 6 last night about a missing boy. Family members later informed police he had been located, but was in possession of a gun.

 It was later determined that a family member was shot at, but was not injured.

The 14-year-old was eventually located inside a home at the park and taken into custody without incident.

Stan Beardy Calling For Help

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy says a catastrophe is looming with the decision to stop manufacturing the drug OxyContin.


Beardy says thousands of residents of Northern Ontario reserves are addicted to the drug, which is up to twice as strong as morphine.

Health Canada says when the pill is chewed or crushed, then injected or inhaled, it produces a ``heroin-like euphoria.''

The company that produces OxyContin will stop manufacturing the drug in Canada at the end of the month.

Purdue Pharma Canada will replace OxyContin with a new formulation called OxyNEO, which is formulated to make abuse more difficult.

Beardy says addicts will go into withdrawal, and says it's something that scares him.

He says without treatment to help deal with the addiction, a public health catastrophe is imminent.

Aboriginal Education

The Harper Government is signalling its intention to pour more money into aboriginal education, even as it prepares to slash spending on almost everything else.


The governing Conservatives have thrown their support behind an NDP motion calling on the government to provide the necessary funding to ensure First Nations children receive an education of equal quality to that received by kids in provincial school systems.

Moreover, the NDP says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has indicated a personal interest in the issue during private pre-budget consultations.

The Feds currently spends $1.4-billion annually on aboriginal education; the Assembly of First Nations has calculated that an additional $500-million a year is needed.

Conservative MP Thanking Two NDP Members

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is condeming NDP Interm leader Nycole Turmel for punishing two Thunder Bay MP's for breaking party ranks and joining the Conservatives to scrap the long gun registry.


Rickford says Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty were voting for their constituents.

He says appreciates and respects the two for standing their ground.

The Kenora Midget Triple "A" Thistles

The Kenora Midget Triple "A" Thistles kick off their best of three playoff series with the Nor-Man Northstars tonight.  All three games of the series will be played in Thompson.  Game 2 is tomorrow night with Kenora acting as the home team and game three if necessary will be held Sunday.  The Thistles finished the regular season with 32 points, good for 5th spot in the Eastern Conference.

Aboriginal Student Success

The principal at Beaver Brae says he's noticing a better atmosphere at his school for aboriginal students.

Clinton Bruetsch made a presentation on aboriginal student success to trustees this week.

He says he's been working with the Aboriginal Advisor on strategies to help engage aboriginal students in their day to day classes.

Bruetsch says overall aboriginal students have lower marks, higher absentee rates and lower graduation rates.

He says they are working to change that, but its not going to happen overnight.

Affordable Housing in Kenora

Affordable housing support is on its way for the Kenora District Services Board.


The Board has inked an agreement to access 1.4-million dollars over 10-years in Federal and Provincial dollars.

CAO Dan McNeil says the money will go towards projects which include a rent supplement program for the working poor and Ontario Works clients.

$50,000 is being earmarked for Habitat for Humanity in Kenora

Break & Enter: St. Thomas Aquinas High School

A 15 year old male from Kenora was caught red handed yesterday.


Ontario Provincial Police charged the youth with break and enter after responding to an alarm at St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Further investigation revealed that earlier last night the same 15 year old was responsible for a theft from a vehicle.

Break & Enter: Jaffray-Melick Community Centre

Over $20,000 worth of damage has been reported at the Jaffray-Melick Community Centre.


Ontario Provincial Police were called out to a break and enter at the building on February 13th after staff members came in to find a significant amount of damage to windows, doors, the concession stand and a number of lights used to illuminate the ice surface.

Two male youth from Kenora ages 15 and 17 have been arrested and charged with mischief over $5,000 and break and enter