Human Remains still unidentified

Local police say they still don't know the identity of a woman whose body was

found near Miller's Rapids Road last year.

The human remains were found in a tent in a wooded area just off the D-2 one
year ago today.

The OPP say the woman was camping in the area no longer than a week before
her body was discovered.

She is described as a light-skinned female, between the ages of 26 and 50, about
5 feet 5 inches tall, about 110 pounds with shoulder length light brown hair.

She was wearing oval shaped eyeglasses with wire rims and three colored bead
necklaces.

Anyone who might have information as to her identity is asked to contact the OPP.

Parks, Beaches and Trails plans

Kenora's green spaces are due for some upgrades.


That's the feeling of the Lake of the Woods Economic Development
Commission.

Conceptual plans have been presented for local beaches, trails and
parks to upgrade them.

The city's economic development officer Jennifer Findlay says they want
to get some feedback from local residents on their plans.

Plans have been unveiled for Anicinabe Park, Coney Island, Garrow Park,
Portage Bay and Beatty Park.

Movie Gallery Closing outlets

Its going to be a little harder to rent a movie this weekend in Kenora.


The Movie Gallery has announced its closing all of its stores in
northwestern Ontario.

The company has 181 outlets across the country and says it will be
liquidating the merchandise from its stores over the next few weeks.

The Movie Gallery Corporation says its being affected by internet downloads,
video rentals from cable providers and subscription-based male delivery services.

American Hunters face hefty fine

Two American hunters face a huge fine for illegally hunting deer in the Kenora

area last fall.

Jamie Doucette and Jesse Caswell from Michigan have been fined a total of
over 11 thousand dollars for hunting deer at night.

The two were driving along Cynet Lake Road last Hallowe'en when a large
buck ran across the road in front of them.

One of the hunters turned the truck to point the headlights at the deer,
while the passenger got his rifle out to shoot at the buck out the side
window.

The shot missed its mark, but the gun discharged and the bullet ripped through the floor of the truck
as one of the hunters tried to put it back in its case.

Caswell and Doucette have also been banned from hunting in Ontario for three and six years
respectively.

Rickford defends FedNOR

The federal government is defending the FedNOR program.


Critics have said the Harper government is backing away from FedNor or has been mispending
funding.

But Keora M.P. Greg Rickford says the Harper government is still committed to the program.

Lakehead University, Confederation College and the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund recently
benefitted from 1.1 million dollars in FedNOR funding.

Van Wallenghem Not Running Again

There will be at least one vacancy on Kenora City Council this fall.


Councillor Chris Van Wallenghem says he doesn't intend to run in
the upcoming municipal elections.

Van Wallenghem made the announcement at the end of last night's
open council meeting.

Councillor's Dave McCann, Wendy Cuthbert and Jim Parson have
all submitted their nomination papers for the October 25th municipal
elections.

Councillors Charito Drinkwalter and Rory McMillan have not indicated if
they plan to run again.

School Boards gear up for All-day Kindergarten

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is gearing up for all-day kindergarten

this fall.

Two schools will be offering the day long junior and senior kindergarten classes.
Director of Education of the public school board Jack McMaster says they have been
working with the Kenora Catholic and the Northwest Catholic School Boards on the
roll-out of the program.

In Kenora the public school board will be offering all-day kindergarten at Evergreen
this fall, while the Catholic board will be using St. Louis for its program initially.

Local Services Board Proposed for Pellatt

The Pellatt United Fire Department is hoping to have a more reliable source

of funding soon.

Residents in four unincorporated townships west of Kenora are being asked to
support the creation of a local services board.

Barry Balteson is one of the people behind the proposal and says the goal is
to impose a small levy on each home owner in the area served by the fire
                                            department.

The first of two public meetings on the local services board will take place
tonight at the Pellatt Fire Hall at 7:00.

The actual vote will take place on August 14th.

Sioux Narrows fatality update

The name of a 22 year old man who died after jumping off the Sioux Narrows

Bridge over the weekend has been released.

Gerald Jonasson of Edinborough, North Dakota was killed after he jumped
off the bridge early Sunday morning and failed to resurface.

The OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit as well as the Kenora Marine
Unit were able to locate the body later in the day.

No other details about the incident have been released.

Environment Committee releases annaul report

The City of Kenora is getting a passing grade for its work on environmental issues.


The city's Environmental Advisory Committee has submitted its annual report to council and its generally favorable.

Dave Schwartz is a member of the committee and says they are pleased with a number of initiatives undertaken by the city last year.

Schwartz says the implementation of an Electronics Waste Depot is a positive move, but suggests he would have liked to have seen solar power used in the building of the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

A new principal at Beaver Brae

A couple of schools will see administrative changes next School year.


Beaver Brae Secondary School will get a new principal next year.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says Clinton Bruetsch will take over from Katherine McIvor.

Bruetsch is currently the vice-principal at Queen Elizabeth High School in Sioux Lookout.

Steve Poling becomes the new principal at Queen Elizabeth, while Wayne Mercer becomes the vice-principal.

Council decides against Parking changes

Parking could be at a premium in downtown Kenora over the next couple of months.


The big tent has gone up on the Harborfront, meaning that all monthly parking is being
moved to other lots in the downtown core.

City council has spent a long time debating how it wants to deal with the parking issue
and has decided against extending a two hour limit at the metered parking spaces
in the downtown area.

Recreation Manager Colleen Neil says she would like to see the time limit expanded
so visitors can spend more time touring Kenora.

The Tourism Office does issue visitor parking passes to tourists, but instead of day-long
passes, council says it would like them to be for two hours only.

Water Levels up

All the rain over the past couple of weeks has convinced the Lake of the Woods Control Board to

increase the outflow from the Norman Dam into the Winnipeg River.

Outflow rose from 150 cubic meters per second up to 200 on Friday.

The Control Board says water levels on the lake have increased two inches
over the past week and are expected to rise another two to three inches
over the next seven days.

The Control Board is also preparing for an open house in Kenora this
week.

It will take place at the Best Western Lakeside Inn on June 17th starting
at 7:30. 

Sioux Narrows Fatality

A bizarre incident in Sioux Narrows has resulted in the death of

an American visitor.
Just before 2:00 Sunday morning, the Sioux Narrows Volunteer
Fire department was called out to help look for a man who had jumped
off the Sioux Narrows Bridge.

There are reports that two people had jumped off the bridge, but only
one managed to make it to the surface.
The OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit was called in and divers
managed to locate the body of the missing man around 5:00 yesterday
afternoon.

The deceased was a 27 year old man, but his name has not been released
yet.

IJC encouraged to assist Lake of the Woods

The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation says its pleased with a number of initiatives that have been taking place over the past couple of weeks on the political front.

Earlier this month, a motion was passed in the House of Commons urging the protection of waters on Lake of the Woods.

Todd Sellars is the executive director of the Foundation and says a similar bill has also been passed in Minnesota.

Sellars says they also met recently with representitives from the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department and says a reference has also been drafted for the International Joint Commission to work on water quality issues on Lake of the Woods.

A good year for Relay for Life

A record year for fundraising at the Relay for Life.


In the 10th year of the event, over 74 thousand dollars was raised for
cancer research.

Ralph Page was one of the organizers of this years event and says they
managed to smash the previous best for the Relay locally.

A total of 25 teams showed up to walk in support of local cancer patients
at the Relay for Life this year.

Hearings begin on Far North Act

Consulation sessions are scheduled to take place in remote first nation communities this week.


The hearings are on the Ontario Government's Far North Act.

Nishinawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy says they need more time to translate the Far North document.

The far north act recently passed second reading and is subject to further revision prior to the third reading which is scheduled to happen this fall.

HST Tolls Threatened

A number of First Nations communities are preparing to impose toll fees on traffic passing through their territories over the HST.


Anishinabek Nation Chiefs meeting at Fort William First Nation endorsed a resolution directing their bands to begin advertising their intentions for this summer.

Native leaders want a point-of-sale tax exemption now given to aboriginal people extended when HST kicks in July 1st.

Rainy River Resources results

Rainy River Resources has hit more high-grade gold mineralization on its Rainy River Gold project about 80 kilometers south of Kenora.


Company officials say the exploration program continues to demonstrate the potential for underground mining.

They add the Company will be aggressively pursuing a drilling and engineering program to look at an all-underground mining operation or an open pit and underground operation.

Go Electric Biker

A Southern Ontario man is travelling across Canada on an electric bike.


Art Burns left Dundas, Ontario at the end of May, and hopes to be in Langley, B.C. by June 22nd.

Burns is scheduled to ride through Kenora today and says he's promoting green transportation.

Burns is driving a bike which is equipped with a small generator to charge its lithium batteries.

Free Fishing for Military weekend

A big thank-you is going out to Canada's armed forces this weekend in Kenora.


About 30 members of the Canadian Military will be in town for a day of fishing
on Lake of the Woods tomorrow.

Woody Linton is one of the organizers of the fishing weekend and says it was
really the idea of a local guiding service.

Linton says most of the soldiers who have signed up for the day of fishing are
veterans of the Afghan mission.

They will be spending the night at the Kenora Armories before going back to
their home bases.

New Gateway Signage for Kenora

The City of Kenora is planning to spend about 100 thousand dollars for new
signs at the east and west boundaries of the municipality.

The funding for the gateway project is being included in the money earmarked for
the Highway 17 east and west rehabilitation projects.

The city's economic development officer, Jennifer Findlay says a request for
proposals for the new signs will be going out shortly.

The city is budgeting about 50 thousand dollars for each sign.

Relay for Life tonight

The 10th Relay for Life gets going this evening at Lakewood School.

Relay volunteer Ralph Page says they are looking forward to holding the event
at a new location this year.

Page says there is going to be lots of activities to keep people going all night long.

There are 25 teams registered for this year's event.

Electronic Waste Recycling Coming soon

The City of Kenora will soon have the only waste electronics recycling depot in
northwestern Ontario outside of Thunder Bay.

The city has reached an agreement with the Ontario Electronics Stewardship to
collect old computers, televisions, monitors, printers and cellphones.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says local residents will have to pay to
dispose of their old electronic equipment.

Perchuck says the recent electronic waste disposal day was quite successful
with two and a half semi loads collected in one day.

Action Plan on Policing Demanded by Treaty Three

Grand Council Treaty #3 is demanding an action plan to deal with
policing relations in the City of Kenora.

The aboriginal group says there have been several regretful incidents
involving use of force by police and First Nation residents over the years.
The most recent event took place on Monday when a 39 year old Grassy Narrows
woman was shot twice in downtown Kenora after brandishing a knife at police.

Grand Chief Diane Kelly says she wants the OPP to take steps to assure
Treaty Three leadership that aboriginal citizans are safe to walk the streets
of Kenora.

Services Board to discuss Kenora Land Ambulence base

The Kenora District Services Board will be meeting later this month to decide what to
do about a new land ambulence base in the city.

Last month, city council rejected a re-zoning request on Railway Street for the base.

Chief Administrative Officer Sten Lif says the issue will be on their agenda for discussion at their
June 24th meeting, but at this point there is no back-up plan.

The Services Board has spent several years and thousands of dollars try to find a suitable
location for a new land ambulence base in Kenora, so far without any success.

Drug arrests in Kenora

Two Kenora men have been charged following a drug bust in the Rideout area of town.


The OPP say that last week the Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and the
Drug Unit conducted a search of a Mascott Avenue home.

Officers located about a kilo of marijuana, two grams of cocaine, and seven thousand
dollars in cash.

The value of the property seized is estimated at over 29 thousand dollars.

33 year old Trevor Triskle and 31 year old Travis Triskle have been charged with possession
for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.

Evergreen Parents Lobby to Save School

The Evergreen Parents Council has made a pitch to the Keewatin-Patricia

District School Board to keep their school open.

A deputation was made at this week's open board meeting.

Patti Letourneau was one of the presenters and says even though no schools are
scheduled to close in the next five years, they want the board to know that
Evergreen School is valuable to the local community.

The board isn't expected to make any decisions on a report on the Kenora Accommodation
Review Committee until the fall, but Letourneau says they wanted to make a
presentation on behalf of Evergreen before the summer break.

Bill to scrap long gun registry stalled

A private member's bill to scrap the Federal long-gun registry has hit a snag.


A Common's Committee is recommending that it not move forward.

Another vote in the House of Commons could come this week and Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty says its hard to say how that will go.

Rafferty is among a dozen NDP MP's who have joined the Conservatives to support the bill.

More Nominations for Municipal Election

A couple of familiar names will be on the ballot in the municipal elections this

fall.

Both councillor's Dave McCann and Wendy Cuthbert have filed their nomination
papers for the council race.

They will join Jim Parson and Chuck Cadger on the ballot in the October 25th
elections.

The final day to submit nomination papers is September 10th.

Treaty Three responds to Shooting

Grand Council Treaty Three is questioning the use of excessive force
by the OPP in a shooting incident in downtown Kenora this past Monday.

39 year old Helen Proulx from Grassy Narrows was shot twice outside an apartment building
after brandishing a knife.
Treaty Three says the city is infamous for its poor relations between
aboriginal residents and the police.

A candle light vigil is scheduled to take place this evening on 1st Street South
in support of her family.

The investigation is now in the hands of the SIU and Treaty Three says it
wants the investigation into the shooting incident to be transparent and
procedurally fair.

New Sign By-Law ready for Council

The finishing touches are being put on the new Sign By-Law in the City of Kenora.

The by-law was initially drafted over a year ago, but was sent back for
revisions to make it more user friendly.

The city's special events co-ordinator, Buck Matiowski says he still has concerns with the by-law and how it will affect groups putting on events.

Chief Administrative Officer, Bill Presentanz also questioned the wisdom of
having an annual 25 dollar licence fee.

He says it creates unnecessary red tape and its also hard to enforce.

SIU takes over Shooting investigation

An investigation into a shooting incident in downtown Kenora is now in the hands of the
Ontario Special Investigations Unit.

On Monday night, a 39 year old woman was shot after police responded to a domestic
dispute on 1st Street South.

Monica Hudon is a spokesperson for the SIU and says it could take a month or more to
complete their investigation.

The woman is currently at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Center where her condition
has stabilized.

Human remains found in Sioux Lookout

Human remains have been found in Sioux Lookout.


OPP were notified yesterday morning that a body was found in a wooded area in the community.

Police attended and located human remains.

A post-mortem examination is scheduled for today but foul play is not suspected.

The identity of the victim is being withheld until next of kin are notified.

New location sought for Land Ambulence Base

The ball is back in the court of the Kenora District Services Board in its attempt

to find a suitable location for a land ambulence base in the city.

Last month, council rejected the re-zoning application for property on Railway Street,
and the 30 appeal period has expired.

Council asked fire chief Warren Brinkman this week whether its too late to build
a land ambulence base beside the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill.
Brinkman adds that work on the new fire hall is currently progressing ahead of
schedule and on budget.

Progress on HST talks with aboriginal leaders

Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Stan Beardy says he's encouraged a solution may be reached in the HST point of sale controversy.

Beardy's comment comes in the wake of a meeting Monday between Ontario First Nations and the federal and provincial governments.


Beardy says both levesl of government have come a long way and is confident the point of sale exemption will continue for Natives when the HST comes into effect July first.

City Buys new Boat

The City of Kenora will soon have a new boat for its fleet.


Council has aproved the purchase of a 24 foot vessel with a
drop bow.

Councillor Dave McCann says the boat will allow them to take
over bear traps and other equipment needed to do work on the
island.

In the past, the city had to wait until the winter and use the ice
road to bring over material.

The boat will cost just over 42 thousand dollars.

Show Us Your Colors raises $$$

Organizers of the first ever Show Us Your Colors fundraiser for local cancer

patients proved to be a success.

Despite some wet weather, organizers says they managed to raise about
12 thousand dollars.
The dinner at Norman Community Club was sold out, and funds were also
generated through the sale of solar lights and a penny auction.

This weekend there will be another fundraiser for cancer.

The annual Relay for Life is scheduled to take place Friday night.

SIU to investigating downtown shooting

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has been called in to look into
a shooting incident in downtown Kenora.
Last night just after 8:00, the OPP say they responded to a domestic
dispute on 1st Street South.

An officer responding to the incident was confronted by a woman who was
wielding a knife outside of an apartment block.

The OPP say shots were fired and both on and off-duty officers provided
first aid to the injured woman at the scene.

She was then transported by ambulence to Lake of the Woods District Hospital
for treatment and then airlifted to the Winnpeg Health Sciences Center.

The name of the 39 year old woman has not been released by police.

Anti-Racism Rally Today

There's going to be an anti-racism rally today in Kenora.


Students in Beaver Brae's Canadian/Native Literature class
will be holding a march from the football field to the Harborfront
starting at 10:15.

The rally is called Bridging the Gap and is being held to promote
cultural awareness in the community and the school's student body.

The march is scheduled to wrap up around 12:30 this afternoon.

Woman shot in downtown Kenora

A section of downtown Kenora is still taped off by the OPP following an
incident on 1st Street South.

Around 8:30 last night there are reports that a woman armed with a
knife was shot by police.

So far, the OPP have not released any details of the incident, but
eye witnesses suggest a woman lunged at an officer with a
knife, before any shots were fired.

The whole section of 1st Street South is blocked off from Donny B's
to Matheson Street South.

Council debates Main Street Traffic issues

Some members of Kenora City Council aren't happy with the way traffic flows through

the downtown area.

Council spent a lengthy amount of time debating the merits of the current system, which
was brought in last year following phase one of downtown revitalization.

Councillor Jim Parsons says he's heard a number of complaints from local residents.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they hired a specialist to design the current system
and felt council agreed with the changes at the time.

Perchuck says a public meeting could be held to get feedback from local residents about
the current design, and possibly make changes, if warranted.

Bed shortage eases at Hospital

For the first time in over a month, the bed shortage at Lake of the Woods District

Hospital has started to ease.

On Friday, the Northwest Local Health Integration Network lifted the 1-A status, which
gave the hospital the first opportunity for any long term care beds that became available
in the community.

Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Marc Belcaen says there has been a slight improvement
in their situation in recent days.

Belcaen says they managed to place five patients from beds at the hospital into long term
care beds in Pinecrest and Birchwood Terrace over the past month or so.

Keewatin Break-in

Two male youth have been charged in connection to a break-in to a

business in Keewatin.

The OPP say they responded to an alarm at the Bigway grocery store on Ottawa
Street around 5:30 last Friday morning.

The suspects got into the building by smashing one of the windows out of
the front door.

Once inside, they stole the cash register.

A short time later officers noticed two youth in the area of Superior Street
and subsequently arrested them in connectin to the break in.

A 14 year old youth and a 16 year old have been charged with break, enter and
theft.

Rickford intoduces Water Quality Motion

Water quality on Lake of the Woods is apparently a motherhood issue for members

of parliament.

Last week, Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford introduced a motion calling on the government's
of Canada and the United states to work together to enhance and restore water quality.

The motion received unanimous support in the Commons.

Rickford says the resolution also calls on the International Joint Commission to become
involved in water quality issues on the lake.

Rickford says the motion will come back up for approval in the House in the Fall.

Clark Resigns from Hospital Board

A long time member of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Board is calling

it quits.

Jim Clark has resigned after 16 years as a board member.

Chief Executive Officer, Marc Belcaen says Clark's expertise will be missed.

Clark served two separate terms on the hospital board and also served as chair
of the board for a couple of years.

CP overhead pedestrian bridge safety

Concern has been raised about the safety of pedestrians using the overhead pedestrian bridge over the CP rail tracks.

There have been complaints of people loitering in the area and students being roughed up.

Inspector Dave Lucas says the OPP are aware of the problem and are dealing with it.

Lucas says there have also been complaints about garbage in and around the bridge and
intoxicated people hanging around.

More awards for Buster's

The Vermillion Bay-based company, Buster's BBQ sauce, has won more awards for its Blueberry
Barbeque Sauce.

The company earned 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd place ribbons at the Great American Sauce Contest in Kansas City.

They placed 5th overall out of a 130 entries at the contest. Buster's BBQ also took home a "People's Choice" award for their Blueberry Barbeque Sauce product line at the Great American Invitational and Open Contest.

These awards came after the company recently won the "Marketing Excellence" award at the Dryden District Chamber of Commerce.

Junior Constable Camp

OPP have changed the location of this year's Junior Constable Camp in August.

The camp will be held at Longbow Camp on Longbow Lake Road.


Constable Dave Cain says that there will be many things to do at this year's camp, with visits by
the Canine Unit, the Emergency Response Team and other specialized police units.

15 Boys and 15 Girls will chosen from various communities in the North West region.

The Camp will run from Monday August 9th to Friday August 14th.

Funding from Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Local residential school survivors will get a chance to attend a national event being put on

by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission later this month in Winnipeg.

The event will be taking place at the Forks between June 16th and 19th.

Grand Council Treaty Three says it has received funding to send 100 survivors and
their decendatants to the gathering.

100 bus tickets and free accommodations at the University of Winnipeg are being
offered.

Anyone interested in attending the national event is asked to call the Treaty Three
office in Kenora as soon as possible.

New Tourist Regions Imminent

It won't be long now before the provincial government officially announces the formation of 13 new tourism regions.


The Regional Tourism Organizations will effectively kill the three regions we now have in the northwest and bundle them into one.

Tourism Minister Michael Chan says it should be announced within a month.

The initiative has been widely criticized by the Sunset Country Travel Association because it means
that all tourism marketing for this region will include all of northern Ontario rather than just the northwest.

American injured in weekend Accident

A 74 year old man from Iowa is in good condition following a single vehicle accident

on Highway 502 south of Dryden.
On Saturday, the OPP say a car left the road about 47 kilometers south of Dryden and
rolled several time.

The driver was pinned inside the vehicle for some time.

The highway had to be closed temporarily while emergency crews from Dryden and
Oxdrift got the driver out.

Richard Beckham sustained only minor injuries and was released from hospital.

Hospital in the Black

Lake of the Woods District Hospital managed to finish the 2009/2010 fiscal year in the black.

The hospital posted a surplus of about 116 thousand dollars last year.

President and CEO of the hospital, Marc Belcaen says it hasn't been easy to keep their books balanced.

This is the third time in the past four years the hospital has managed to post a surplus on
its operations.

The hospital had a budget of almost 44 million dollars last year.

Show Us Your Colors

The first ever Show Us Your Colors fundraiser for local cancer patients gets underway this

afternoon.

Irma Milko is one of the organizers of the event and says they noticed a definite need in
the community to help out cancer patients who have to go to Winnipeg for treatment.

Tonight's supper is already sold out.

There are a number of other events taking place all day at Norman Park, including
Dragon Boat rides.

Hospital Chair Elected

Debbie Baldwin is back as chair of the hospital board for a second year

in a row.

The executive of the board was elected last night at the Annual General Meeting.

Baldwin becomes the first chair of the board under its new corporate model.

She says under the new model, the board has been reduced from 20 members down to
just 13.

Fred Richardson was elected as vice-chair of the hospital board last night.

Northern Ontario Party a go

The Northern Ontario Heritage Party is one step closer to gaining official party status.


Party spokesperson Ed Deibel says they're waiting for a letter from the Ontario Elections Commission.

More than 1 thousand one hundred and fifty signatures in favour of the party were sent to the commission.

Deibel says they hope to have as many as 11 candidates in place for the next provincial election in 2011.

Pikangikum fire grows

Sun and windy conditions  over the past couple of days continue to fan out a large forest fire burning northeast of Pikangikum First Nation.


The fire has grown to 44-hundred hectares in size and is considered not under control.

A number of hotspots continue to smoke and fire crews are on scene.

The good news for the MNR is that there have not been any new fire starts reported
in the region in the past five days.

Three local soccer teams at All-Ontario's

Three local high school soccer teams are in action today at the all-Ontario

championships.

The Thomas Aquinas boys are in Windsor for the start of the OFSAA single A championships.

The Saints face Smithville District Secondary School at 10 this morning in their first round robin game.

Meanwhile, the T.A. girls team are in Sudbury for the provincial single "a" championships.

They play their first game at 8:00 this morning against Guido de Bres.

In Sarnia, the girls double "a" championships are taking place and Beaver Brae

is representing NWOSSA there.

The Broncos play their first game at 11:00 this morning against St. Thomas Aquinas from Oakville.

All the provincial championships wrap up on Saturday.

Wet May weather

A year-long trend towards warmer weather came to a halt last month.


Environment Canada says temperatures in the Kenora area were pretty much
normal for this time of year.

The average daily mean temperature was 11.9 degrees.

Meteorologist, Chantal Cerny says unfortunately it was a much wetter month
than usual.

Kenora had just over 144 millimeters of rain last month, which is 80
millimeters more than normal.

Coronor Investigating Child's death

The Regional Coroner's office is investigating the death of a four year old Thunder Bay kindergarten student.


Willow Scott Hannam was on a field trip to Fort William Historical Park on Monday when the accident involving horses and a wagon occurred.

Dr. Michael Wilson says the investigation has begun and could take several months to complete.

Wilson says after the investigation concludes they will decide whether or not to launch an inquiry into the death.

Four arrested in brutal assault

Four men are in custody following a brutal beating on a remote first
nation in northwestern Ontario.

The Nishinabe Aski Police says 25 year old Brian Bluecoat was attacked on the
Fort Severn First Nation over the weekend.

Police say he suffered a fractured skull, a damaged windpipe, a punctured leg, bruising to his body, and a partially amputated figner.

The four men are being charged with aggravated assualt.

The accused include 18 year old Terrence Childsforever, a 16 male and two 14-year-old youths.

All four appeared in Kenora Court yesterday for a bail hearing.

MNR conducting Lake Surveys

The Ministry of Natural Resources says it will have staff out on area lakes once again

this summer conducting fish surveys.

This year, the MNR says it will be concentrating on lakes in the areas south of Kenora
to Fort Frances and over towards Dryden.

MNR spokesperson Bill Towill says they usually try to study the lakes on a five year
cycle.

Towill says they use the information collected for the Ministry of the Environment's
guide to sports fishing, and also to make any changes to fishing regulations in the
region.

(Photo courtesy of the MNR)

Hospital Foundation AGM

Despite a sluggish stock market, the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation

has been able to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local medical facility.
The Hospital Foundation held its annual general meeting last night and says it transferred
a record 750 thousand dollars to purchase new equipment and carry out capital upgrades.

While revenue from investments has been hit hard in the past couple of years, the Foundation
still managed to generate over 600 thousand dollars through its fundraising efforts.

The Foundation still has its work cut out.

The Hospital says its going to need over eight million dollars over the next five years
in capital projects and equipment purchases.

OPP officer charged

A veteran O-P-P officer in northwestern Ontario has been suspended from duty with pay

while he answers to charges of uttering threats and unauthorized
possession of firearms.

Investigators say an officer who was off duty in Terrace Bay is accused of uttering threats.

No details of the threat are being released to protect the identity of the victim.

Constable Gregory Sutton is to appear in Thunder Bay court on July 5th.

Internships for Northern Youth

Keeping our young people in the north.


That's the goal of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund's co-op and internship programs.

Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle says employers find it beneficial to hire the region's youth.

Over 300 Northern youth are getting on-site job experience through internship and co-op placements.

Couchiching pleased with progress in talks

Couchiching First Nation is claiming victory after taking down a toll booth on Highway 11 Monday night.


Councillor Sarah Mainville says the decision came after getting assurances from the federal government over the contaminated lands issue.

Mainville says negotations over the Highway 11 land claim with both the federal and provincial governments will also take place

Old Fort William Tragedy

The coroner is investigating the death of a four-year-old girl following an accident at Fort
William Historical Park in Thunder Bay.

Willow Scott Hannam was on a field trip on Monday with her kindergarten class when a wagon rolled over her when a horse was startled.

The Lakehead School Board and the Ministry of Labor are also investigating the incident.

Lake levels stable despite rain

Despite all the rain this weekend, water levels on Lake of the Woods aren't expected

to rise very much in the next few days.

Rick Cousins is a spokesperson for the Lake of the Woods Control Board and say
the south end of the drainage basis is still quite dry.

Cousins says they expect the lake to rise three to five centimeters over the next
seven days.

Outflow from the Norman Dam will remain unchanged.

Couchiching Toll Booth removed

Members of the Couchiching First Nation have brought down a toll booth on Highway 11 near Fort Frances.

Band members removed the booth Monday night at about 9 p.m.

They opened the toll booth on May 21, charging $1 per vehicle to raise awareness about a highway land claim.

The band also called for funds to relocate six families living on what the band claims is contaminated soil from a former sawmill.

A band spokesperson says the reason for the removal of the toll booth will be explained in a statement later today.

Provincial police earlier said traffic flow was orderly through the toll with a minimal wait.

Big Fine for Building on Lake of the Woods

A Winnipeg man has been fined a total of nine thousand dollars for illegally building in the
Clearwater Bay area.

Ian Rentz was fined a thousand dollars for constructing a building without a work permit.

He was also fined four thousand dollars for continuing construction after receiving a stop work order from the Ministry of Natural Resources and another four grand for failing to comply with the terms and conditions of a work permit.

The court heard that in April of last year a Ministry of Natural Resources technician inspected Rentz’s cottage property on an island in Echo Bay on Lake of the Woods in Kenora.

Rentz was doing some construction work without a permit.

He was ordered to stop work until he obtained a work permit.

A month later a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer saw Rentz continuing to work on the structure despite the stop work order.

A few months later, Rentz received his work permit but failed to comply with its terms and conditions.

The area where Rentz was constructing the cottage is under a Restricted Area Order.

Fire Hazard Dropping

Rainfall over the weekend in much of Northwestern Ontario has helped ease the forest fire hazard.


Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Debbie McLean says the current hazard is listed as low to moderate.

McLean adds the forest fire hazard still remains high in the Quetico Park area where three fires are still burning.

With the fire hazard on the decline, MNR Fire Fighters are being sent to northeastern Ontario to deal with
wild fires there. 

Cancer Rates in the Northwest still high

Residents of Northwestern Ontario still live a lifestyle that poses a cancer risk.

The latest report card from Cancer Care Ontario indicates we smoke more than the provincial average and are more overweight as well.

Michael Power of the Regional Cancer Centre says even cutting down on smoking would help reduce rates considerably


The report card also shows the local Centre is doing a good job in cancer radiation treatment.

Site Plan approved for new Birchcliff Facility

Plans to build a new group home on the site of the former Our Lady of the Valley
School on Brinkman Road are a step closer.

Kenora City Council has given its approval to site plans for the property and
the building design.

Planning Assistant Tara Rickaby says local motorists and pedestrians will
notice some changes in the area.

Council is still waiting for the city solicitor to review the site plan
before giving it their full endorsement.

Saints soccer teams heading to OFSAA

Both of Thomas Aquinas soccer teams will be heading to the All-Ontario
Single A championships this week.

The Saints girls swept Terrace Bay on Friday in the NWOSSA championships
to advance to the OFSAA finals in Sudbury.

The T.A. Boys also advanced, getting by Marathon in their best-of-three
NWOSSA championships over the weekend.

The Saints boys are travelling to Windsor for the OFSAA finals on
Thursday.

OPP issue fines for cellphone use

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP says it has been issuing fines for


people who have been driving and using their cell-phones while driving.

Inspector Dave Lucas told the police services board this week that about
20 tickets have been issued locally.

The new law went into effect back in October of 2009.

The maximum fine for using a cellphone while driving is 500 dollars.

Bridge Tenders awarded

The City of Kenora will be spending just over 110 thousand dollars to find out how
much work will be needed to refurbish aging bridges.

Stantec Engineering from Winnipeg was chosen to carry out pre-design and detailed
design work on the Keewatin Channel and the Winnipeg River West Branch bridges.

Council held a special meeting on Friday to award the tender.

The cost of rehabiliting the bridges is expected to be several hundred thousand dollars.

Plane skids off runway

A scary incident at the Kenora Airport.

Friday afternoon a Piper single engine aircraft ran off the runway while
trying to land.

The OPP say rain and strong winds were to blame.

There were three people on board the airplane at the time, including
the pilot, but fortunately no-one was injured.

Police say the aircraft did sustain some damage as a result of
the incident.

Social Services tab pushes taxes up

Local residents are going to have to pay a bit more in taxes this year than first expected.

When city council passed the budget back in February, the Kenora District Services hadn't
approved its budget yet.

Now the city has been told it will need an extra 98 thousand dollars to cover the increased
levy for social services.

Councillor Dave McCann says the budget for the Services Board continues to rise, even though
the province is picking up more of the costs for social services.

For the average homeowner, another .54 percent is going to be added onto their tax bill
to cover the extra costs associated with the Services Board Budget.

Mental Health and Addictions report released

Mental health and addiction services are the two topics being studied by a new provincial government group.


An interim report has been released after several community meetings in northwestern Ontario.

Committee Member Sylvia Jones says they'll be bringing the information forward to the responsible ministries.

Jones says the remoteness of the communities consulted make it hard to provide mental health and addiction services.

Contact North gets Funding

Contact North is upgrading its facilities in the region thanks to the provincial taxpayer.


The distance education facility has been given 3 and a half million dollars from the McGuinty government to modernize it's video equipment.

CEO Maxim Jean-Louis calls it an upgrade and enhancement.

Jean-Louis says the government helps Contact North with upgrades on a regular basis.