Kenora OPP Officer Receives MADD Award

A 23 year veteran of the OPP in Kenora has been given an award by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Constable Steve Jacko has received the Terry Ryan Memorial Award for Excellence in Police Services.

The award recognizes officers who show exemplary service in reducing impaired driving.

Jacko was recently named in the OPP's top ten list for traffic statistics, and also received the Ontario Provincial Police Regional Commander’s Letter of Recommendation.

Fort Frances Derailment Cleaned Up

A rail car that toppled over Friday on Resolute Forest Products mill property in Fort Frances has now been emptied and hauled away.

Some of it's contents, hydrogen peroxide, spilled, but crews had it contained by Saturday.

The chemical is used in the bleaching process at the mill, but officials says it posed no risk to the public at any time.

Roads that had been closed during the incident have now been reopened.

Local Aboriginals Hold Solidarity March

Standing in solidarity.

A gathering took place Friday afternoon at the Whitecap Pavilion to support the aboriginal protest in New Brunswick.

Donna Anderson who organized the gathering says their message is simple.

They want the province of New Brunswick to respect the rights of first nations people.

Events like this have been held throughout the country since the RCMP converged on a fracking blockade by aboriginal people in Rexton.

English River Collision Claims Five Lives

Five people are dead following a four vehicle crash on Highway 17 between Ignace and Upsala.

Provincial Police say a westbound truck hit an eastbound transport around 10:45 Saturday night about 15 kilometers east of English River.

Four men in the truck and the transport driver all died in the crash.

The driver of the transport has been identified as a 43 year Sukhwinder Thandi  from Cambridge, Ontario.

The four men in the pickup truck haven't been positively identified.

Two other transports were involved in the crash but no one was injured.

The cause is under investigation.

Acting Treaty Three Police Chief Dives into New Job

The new acting chief of the Treaty Three Police Service is quickly getting
his feet wet.

Dan Davidson was involved in a press conference announcing a large drug
bust in Kenora last week.

He admits still learning the ropes after just one week on the job.

Davidson says one of his jobs is to fill some of their key vacancies, including
a new detachment commander for their southern base on the Couchiching
First Nation.

Forest Fire Season Winding Down

With snow on the ground, it's not too surprising there hasn't been much in the way
of forest fire activity in recent weeks.

Ministry of Natural Resources Spokesperson Deb MacLean says things have been quiet for a while now.

 MacLean says the last fire was in Red Lake, and was put out last Wednesday.

Two prescribed burns in the Sioux Lookout District continue to burn, and are being held at 45 and 15 hectares.

City Issues Reminder About Deer

The City of Kenora is offering some safety reminders when you come into contact with deer.

It's mating season for the animals and the city's deputy clerk,  Heather Kasprick says it's better to be safe than sorry.

Kasprick says humans don't aggravate deer anymore then usual but that the animals are much more likely to react.

She says it's mating season and the city wants to make sure people are taking extra precau
tuion.

New Gold Says It's Ready to Proceed with Rainy River Project

It has a new owner, but officials says plans for a new gold mine south of Kenora is still on moving forward.

New Gold has completed an acquisition of Rainy River Resources.

Director of Sustainability Kyle Stanfield says the project itself is still aiming for ministerial approval of the environmental assessment next year.

A final report of the environmental assessment is due out later this month.

Lakehead Tops National Rankings

A Northwestern Ontario University is the top in the province when it comes to undergraduate research.

Lakehead University in Thunder Bay was ranked number one in all of Ontario in this year's Canada's Top 50 Research Universities.

Vice President of Academics Dr. Rod Hanley says this is great news.

The school was considered based on the total amount of research dollars, intensity, and research output based on articles published in peer-reviewed literature.

Aussie Horseback Rider Arrives in NWO

He's travelled over 13-thousand miles on horseback in Australia, the U.S. and in Canada and now he has arrived in   northwestern Ontario.

Aussie Joe Guy is in the area as part of his long-rider trip.

Guy says he rides a different horse in every part of the country he travels in.

In this case the horse he's riding is from Manitoba and the owner will meet him in Thunder Bay to pick it up.

Thistles Split Weekend Road Games

A weekend split for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles on the road this weekend.

Saturday, the Thistles earned their second win of the young season with a 3-0
shut out of the Parkland Rangers.

Eric Sinclair led the offense with a pair of goals, while Ben Dennis was in net for the shut out.

A tougher test yesterday for the Thistles as they were upended 5-1 by the Winnipeg Wild.

Bronco Football Team to Host WHSFL Playoff Game

 Beaver Brae's football team has been guaranteed a home play-off
date for the first time ever.

The Broncos will face Daniel McIntyre from Winnipeg on Thursday afternoon in quarter-final action at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Beaver Brae finished the regular season with a 6-2 record after a 42-14 win over the St. John's Tigers on Friday.

Bronco Boys Win Pre-Season Tournament in Morris

A promising start for Beaver Brae's boys hockey team.

The Broncos won a tournament in Morris, Manitoba over the weekend, posting
a perfect 3-0 record.

Beaver Brae advanced to the final against the host team from Morris and edged
the Mavericks 3-2.