Friday, July 19, 2013

Sioux Narrows and Dryden Hit Hard by Overnight Storm

Hydro One is starting to make some progress in its battle to restore power
to homes in the Sioux Narrows and Nestor Falls area.

As many as 900 homes were without power overnight, but that's been
reduced to about 300 this morning.

The area was hit with heavy rain and severe wind and reports on social media indicate trees were snapped and left lying on area roads.

In the Dryden area, about 15 hundred homes are without power this morning.

Health Unit Continues to Monitor West Nile

The Northwestern Health Unit may no longer be testing dead birds for the West Nile Virus, but that doesn't mean it's not monitoring for the disease.

The Health Unit is continuing to trap mosquitoes across the region.

Kurt Casey is a Public Health Inspector with the Northwestern Health Unit, and says even though the risk of West Nile is low, property owners should still take precautions.

Casey says symptoms of the virus are usually flu like symptoms.

Iacobucci Heads North

Frank Iacobucci is fully immersed in his role as the province's chief negotiator for the Ring of Fire mining project.  

Just before leaving on a trip from Thunder Bay to visit area First Nations, he spoke of how he's been getting himself up to speed on the complex issues he must face.

He says his talks will not be leaving any stone unturned

Iacobucci says he will be meeting with First Nations negotiator Bob Rae in the coming days.

Gold Canyon Working on Agreement with First Nations

Gold Canyon Resources and three area First Nations are moving forward on an agreement relating to mining activity in the Red Lake area.

The Vancouver based company says the deal relates to the Springpole Gold project, about 110-kilometer
s northeast of Red Lake.

Gold Canyon, Cat Lake, Lac Seul and Slate Falls have set a framework to negotiate an agreement.

Officials say the deal sets the foundation for future talks on the project, potential opportunities and concerns.

Northwest Angels Recognized

The Northern Ontario Angels group is being ranked as one of the top investing groups in Canada.

 Executive Director of the investment group, Mary Long-Irwin says it's great for their national body to recognize their hard work.

Long-Irwin says the 51 deals they made created a thousand new jobs in Northwestern Ontario.

She adds that over 16 million dollars has been loaned out over the past three years.

Dryden Vs. Fort Today in Kraft Celebration Tour

The town's of Dryden and Fort Frances will be duking it out on national TV today.

The Kraft Celebration Tour competition ends today with Dryden going up against Fort Frances.

Starting at 11 o'clock, you can vote as much as you like for a 24-hour period.

Mike Wood of the Eagles on Track program says they are hosting a community event at the High School.

The winner of the on-line vote will win 25 thousand dollars to fix up a recreational facility in their town and
will also host an episode of TSN's SportCenter.