Police Lay Additional Charge in Crime Spree

The OPP have laid one additional charge following a crime spree this past weekend.

Initially five people were arrested on a variety of charges in connection to a stolen firearm, a stolen pick-up and a number of break-ins in the community.

Police have laid a charge of careless storage of a firearm.

47-year-old Richard Darling of Kenora is set to appear in Kenora Court on June 5th.

April the Coldest in 64 Years

After enduring one of the coldest winters on record, spring is also starting
out with near record cold conditions as well.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says this past April was the coldest in more than 60 years.

He says the daily average mean temperature was -2.7, which was the coldest April on record since 1950.

Laidlaw says unfortunately May looks to start off much the same way with below normal temperatures for at least the next week.

Hunter Fined For Illegal Moose Kill in NWO

A southern Ontario man is being fined three thousand dollars for illegally hunting moose.

Wayne Riley plead guilty to firing his gun out of his truck and lying to a conservation officer.

The incident happened near Hidden Lake, southeast of Upsala.

Riley has also been banned from hunting in Ontario for a full year.

Campbell Previews Provincial Budget

The provincial budget is handed down this afternoon, but the opposition isn't expecting any surprises.

Most of what's contained has been announced by the Liberals.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell says it's how all paid for will be big issue.

Campbell worries the final price tag for the budget to be quite expensive.

Grand Chief Vows to Work with Local Municipalities

The Grand Chief of Treaty 3 sees a need for First Nations and municipalities to work together.

Warren White says everyone is facing challenges and have common interests and need to engage in one another.

 He says itès vital for the entire region everyone come together to help each other prosper.

White made his remarks while attending last week's Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association conference.

OPP Cracking Down On Sale of Stolen Goods

 The OPP in Kenora say they are cracking down on the sale of stolen goods.

Inspector Dave Lucas says they've noticed a steady increase in the amount of break-ins, theft and shoplifting complaints in the city.

He says it's one thing to arrest the suspects, but it's another issue trying to find the people actually buying the stolen items.

Statistics released by the OPP show there were almost twice as many theft complaints this past March as there were for the same time last year.

Health Unit Supports Tanning Bed ban

The Northwestern Health Unit is in full support of the Skin Cancer Prevention Act.

The act goes into effect today and bans youth under the age of 18 from using tanning beds in Ontario.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kit-Young Hoon says the legislation covers a number of other issues as well.

Young-Hoon says tanning beds increases the risk of melanoma, which is skin cancer.

Road Washout Results in Traffic Fatality

One man is dead after an early morning collision Wednesday on Highway 527 just south of Armstrong.

The road washed out as a driver was driving past the area.

A second vehicle following close by drove into the wash out and the vehicle caught fire killing the driver.

Police say they believe he is from the area but no name has been released.

Re-Instate Foreign Worker Program

A call is being made to reinstate the Foreign Workers program.

The program has been put on the shelf due to fresh allegations of abuse.

Red Lake Mayor Phil Vinet says the program has been successful in his community.

Vinet says the service industry in Red Lake is pressured and stresses they need the program to keep the sector operating.

IcePatrol Monitors Lake Conditions

(Photo courtesy of Tim Armstrong)

The calendar says May 1st, but judging by all the ice still on the lake, it looks more like April 1st.

A new website is tracking ice conditions on Lake of the Woods.

Tim Armstrong is a pilot with Walsten Air and says he's been updating the situation through aerial photographs.

Armstrong says his website, icepatrol.ca has been getting a lot of traffic with an average of about a thousand hits a day.

Three Broncos In Markham for OFSAA Badminton

Three Beaver Brae students will be in action this morning as the All-Ontario high school badminton
badminton championships get underway in Markham.

Tyler Neil is competing in the boys singles division, while Logan Ginn and Kate Charlebois are teaming up
in the mixed doubles competition.

All three will play their first games at 10:45 this morning.

The OFSAA tournament is basically a triple knock-out event.