Police Set to Hold Drug Investigation Press Conference

Details of a lengthy drug investigation involving the Provincial Police, the Dryden Police, the Treaty Three Police, & the Anishinabek Police Service will be unveiled tomorrow.

A media conference has been scheduled for 10:00 in Kenora.

Officials say the conference will address the results of a lengthy undercover investigation which has led to significant cash, drug, and property seizures.

Kenora OPP Detachment Commander Inspector Dave Lucas, Chief Rob Davis of the Dryden Police Service, Interim Chief of Treaty Three Police Dan Davidson, & Inspector Derek Johnson of the Anishinabek Police Service will be in attendance.

Canfield Applauds Throne Speech

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says it was a worth while junket.

Canfield is returning home today after spending yesterday in Ottawa for the Speech from the Throne.

He says even though there was no specific mention of the Ring of Fire in the speech, there were a number of references to skills training, which will help the mining sector in the north.

Canfield says he had a chance to talk with both finance minister Jim Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Rainy River Resources Now New Gold

A friendly takeover of Rainy River Resources is now complete.

New Gold says it now controls all of the company's shares, completing a deal announced in June.

Executive chair Randall Oliphant says he's pleased the acquisition is now complete and they can focus attention on advancing Rainy River's gold project south of Kenora.

New Gold is in the process of completing a detailed review and update of the feasibility study as well as advancing the permitting efforts for the project.

Catholic Board Addresses Safety Concerns At St. Louis

The Kenora Catholic District School Board is making some moves
to improve safety in the area of St. Louis School in Keewatin.

Director of Education, Phylis Eikre admits safety has been a concern
for a number of years, and they've been able to make some changes
to improve the situation.

Eikre says they have moved a dumpster in front of the school and also
a bike rack to make more room for student drop-off and pick up in the
area.

FoTenn Gets City Planning Contract

The City of Kenora is going to be out-sourcing some of its future planning needs.

Council agreed to a three year agreement with FoTenn Consultants out of Ottawa this week.

It wasn't a unanimous decision with two members of council voting against.

Mayor Dave Canfield cast one of the dissenting votes.

The city received three bids for planning services, including one from former city planner Jeff Port.

Long Time Councillor Passes Away

A long time member of the old Kenora Town Council has passed away.

Helene Dubenski, often known as the hat lady, died earlier this week at the age of 96.

Kenora City Council paid special tribute to Dubenski last year for her years of service to the community.

Local School Board Officials Meet with Education Minister

The Minister of Education is gathering some feedback from educators in
northwestern Ontario about how to improve local schools.

The session was held yesterday in Thunder Bay called moving from Good To Great.

Phylis Eikre is the director of Education with the Kenora Catholic District School Board and was one of the invitees.

She says while they have had good results in the classroom, she feels more needs to be done for students at risk.

The session also included educators from across the region as part of a video web conference.  

Province Announces New Youth Job Strategy

The Provincial Government is touting its new Youth Jobs Strategy.

Education Minister Liz Sandals unveiled the strategy yesterday in Thunder Bay.

Sandals says they're spending over 200 million dollars will go towards creating four new funds that will help young people find work, build job skills and start their own business.

Sandals also met with school board officials, students and other education representatives about the needs of students in Ontario.

Less Snow This Winter?

Don't expect a lot of white stuff in northwestern Ontario this winter.

AccuWeather is out with its annual forecast and it shows below normal snowfall for the Lake of the Woods area.

The long range winter forecast also suggests temperatures should
be about normal.

OFSAA Golf Championships Resume Today

A couple of high school golfers from northwestern Ontario are in contention at the All-Ontario championships taking place near Windsor.

Matt Krolyk from Beaver Brae and Kirk Markowski from Dryden each shot 79's yesterday at the OFSAA finals taking place at the Essex Golf and Country Club.

They are tied for 38th place.

Krolyk will tee off at 9:12 this morning on day two of the championships.

Eastman Drops Thistles

A tough outing for the Kenora Triple "a" Midget Thistles.

The Thistles dropped a 6-1 decision to the Eastman Selects last
night at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Coach Doug Novak admits he was disappointed with his teams's effort.

Josh Brunton scored the lone goal for the Thistles.

This weekend the Kenora Midgets hit the road to Dauphin for a game against
the Parkland Rangers on Saturday.