Bearskin Lake youth faces Murder Charge

A 15 year old youth from the Bearskin Lake First Nation is due to appear in Kenora Court this morning on murder charges.

The Nishinaski-Aski Police says they were called to the nursing station in the remote community early Sunday morning.

Police say one man had been pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was taken to hospital in Sioux Lookout for treatment.

The deceased has been identified as 20 year old Neil Fiddler from Bearskin Lake.

An autopsy will take place in Toronto today to determine the cause of death.

In the meantime, the OPP's Northwest Crime Unit has been brought in to help out
with the investigation.

The 15 year old suspect, has been charged with second degree murder and also
attempted murder.

Ignace man charged in cold case

OPP have laid charges against an Ignace man in a cold case investigation that dates back to the mid 80's.


Between 1985 and 1987, Thunder Bay OPP looked into a number of cases where a man wearing a disguise and at times brandishing a weapon entered homes and sexually assaulted women.

A man was arrested and charged in 1987 but the charges were dismissed 2-years later.

Police reopened the case in 2007 and today arrested 62-year-old Donald Milani.

Milani has been charged with 19-offences including break and enter, sexual assault, wearing a disguise while committing an indictable offence, forcible confinement and robbery.

He has been released and scheduled in Court on August 30th.

Airport looking to increase traffic

The Kenora Airport Authority is looking for ways of increasing traffic at their facility.

Members of the Airport Authority met with Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford yesterday to discuss how the federal government might be able to help
out.

Rick Lovelace is chair of the airport authority and says they have big plans, which will require a lot of financial support.

Lovelace says they'd also like to build a new airport terminal, but all those plans will require funding from both the federal and provincial levels of government.

New Service Ontario Site Open

For the second time in less than a year the location to re-new your driver's licence in Kenora has moved.

A new Service Ontario office has opened up on Main Street South in the old Land Titles Office.

The site will offer both Ontario Health card and driver and vehicle licencing services.

The new Service Ontario office opened yesterday to the public and replaces the former site at the provincial building on Robertson Street.

Kenora Airport Gets Funding

The Kenora Airport is getting over three-quarters of a million dollars to improve the safety of the facility.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford announced 775 thousand dollars to install a fence to keep wildlife out of the airport compound.

Rickford says the funding comes out of the federal/provincial infrastructure program.

Airport manager Mike Zroback says they plan to install a 12 foot high fence around the airport to keep deer out.

He says there have been a number of near misses in recent years between aircraft
landing and taking off and wandering wildlife.

Highway fatality near Oxdrift

A woman from Kitchener, Ontario has been killed in a two-vehicle accident between Kenora and Dryden on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The OPP say the collision took place shortly after 10:00 yesterday morning near the intersection of Eton-Rugby Road and Highway 17.

Police say a west-bound car collided with an eastbound pick-up truck.

The driver of the car, 35 year old Rosanne O'Brien was killed, while the operator of the half-ton was taken to hospital in Dryden for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The highway was closed for over five hours as a result of the collision.

Ultimate Fishing Town Contest

Nestor Falls is getting a lot of support for its bid to be the Ultimate Fishing Town in Canada.

The northwestern Ontario community is second among all towns and cities nominated, with 142 submissions to the World Fishing Television contest.

Kenora has 40 votes and is fifth overall.
Nominator Maureen Hanson of Hanson's Hideaway Lodge says it's an important contest to win.

The winning town gets 25-thousand in prizes.

Voting begins today on the World Fishing Network website.

Angler Young Angler Winners

The founder of the Angler Young Angler Fishing tournament now has official
bragging rights.

Andrew Klopak teamed up with two other youngsters to win the one day
walleye fishing derby on Lake of the Woods over the weekend.

Klopak, Stephen Duynisveld, and Jordan Boychuck from Lac Du Bonnet weighed in more than
30 pounds of walleye to take this year's title, which featured 28 teams
from across Canada and the United States.

City and Health Unit meet over Beach Signage

The Northwestern Health Unit says its willing to work with the City of Kenora over Beach Warning notices.

Health Unit administration met with council at a special meeting last week to discuss the issue.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. James Arthurs says they are governed by very specific legislation, but are willing to look at suggestions on how to better present information about beach closures.

Members of council have suggested sending beach water samples to labs in Winnipeg to get quicker information about bacteria levels at local beaches.

Moncrief United Ladies Soccer Champs

Moncrief United were two for three in Kenora Women's Soccer this season.

United edged out Hap's Hurricanes for the overall league title.
The two teams also met up last night in the League Championship game,
and United prevailed 4-0.

Hap's won the Ladies Tournament title last month.

Treaty Three Police lay Murder Charges

Treaty Three Police Service have made an arrest in connection with stabbing death of a man on the Onigaming First Nation back in April.
22-year-old Thomas Ryan Indian appeared in a Kenora court on Friday on a charge of second degree murder in the death of 45-year-old William Kelly.

Kelly's body was found in a home in the reserve near Nestor Falls April 8.

Police say he died as a result of a single stab wound.

Rafferty wants investigation of Cross Border Complaints

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty wants to know if the enforcement of border crossings in northwestern Ontario is stiffer than elsewhere in Canada.

Rafferty says recent media reports of an Illinois man, denied entry at the Fort Frances border because of a criminal report dating back to his high school days, highlights the need for a review.

Rafferty understands the difficult role customs officers must perform, but is concerned with the number of complaints he's heard.

CAA launches annual Worst Roads Contest

Now is your chance to nominate the worst roads in the Kenora area.


The Canadian Automobile Association has launched its annual worst road contest.

CAA spokesperson Kory Kennedy says its easy to cast a vote.  You can log onto the CAA website
with your nomination.

Kennedy says 90 percent of the roads nominated to the yearly list have been either repaired or are slated to be repaired.

NOMA Opposed to Bill 68

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association says the so-called "Open for Business Act" will do nothing to help the struggling forest sector.


Bill 68 proposes changes to the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, giving the Endangered Species Act higher authority on forestry practices.

NOMA President Anne Krassilowsky says the move will have a devastating effect on local economy's.

Krassilowsky notes they have asked for the past 3-years to make Forest Management Plans the be-all, end-all.

More Border Crossing Complaints

Border crossings in Fort Frances and Rainy River continue to be a bone of contention for the area's tourism officials.


Executive Director of Ontario Sunset Country Gerry Cariou says area lodges are reporting large declines in American visitors, and point to the area's border as a contributing factors.

Cariou believes millions of dollars in revenue has been lost by enforcement of rules that restrict Americans with prior drunk driving convictions from entering Canada.

Wood Supply Announcement expected in the fall

The Ontario Government could announce the winners of the wood supply competition by the fall.


115 applications came forward for the 11 million cubic metres of wood up for grabs.

Minister Michael Gravelle says he's working as fast as he can on the process.

Those individuals with successful proposals will be able to use logs, branches and other wood in Crown forests for manufacturing or other commercial purposes.

Ignatieff Cancels Kenora Visit

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's Northwestern Ontario's tour has been cancelled.


It has been cancelled following the death of fellow party member Mario Lague in Ottawa last week.

Lague was killed in a accident yesterday on his way to work, when the Motorcycle he was driving collided with an S-U-V.

Ignatieff is flying back to Ottawa for thew funeral, but insists on continueing the tour later on, sometime in the fall.

He was scheduled to be in Kenora and Dryden on Saturday.

OPP looking into Pikangikum Policing Issues

Very little information is being released about members of the Pikangikum OPP being escorted out of the community.


Superintendent Ron Van Straalen says the 11 officers were asked to leave and were sent to the airport
earlier this summer.

Von Straalen calls the OPP's relationship with the Pikangikum community good.

The incident happened on June 30th and is still under investigation.

Liberal leaders Northwestern Ontario's trip has been cancelled

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's Northwestern Ontario's tour has been cancelled.

It has been cancelled following the death of fellow party member Mario Lague in Ottawa yesterday.

Lague was killed in a accident yesterday on his way to work, when the Motorcycle he was driving collided with an S-U-V.

Ignatieff is flying back to Ottawa for the funeral, but insists on continuing the tour later on, sometime in the fall.

Rowing Regatta

Kenora is holding the Rowing Regatta, this weekend.

It's been two weeks since the announcement was made that the Regatta has been moved from Winnipeg to Kenora.

Spokesperson for the event Ursula Wehner says, that it is short notice, but the event will go on.

The Regatta starts todayand wraps up on Saturday Evening, it's being held at Garrow Park on Rabbit Lake

Mike Richards present Cheques

Both the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation and Canadian Cancer
Society are 55 hundred dollars richer.

The two groups were recipients today of cheques from local hockey star Mike Richards.

The money came from Richards inaugural charity golf tournament held last month at the
Kenora Golf and Country Club.

Richards says it proved to be a very successful event.

Richards is currently involved in his annual summer hockey camp at the Keewatin Arena.

A total of 92 kids are signed up for the week long camp.

Dragon Boat Race Results

Out of town teams dominated the 8th annual Dragon Boat Festival on Rabbit Lake over the weekend.

The mixed A-side championship was won by the Prostrate Paddlers from Winnipeg with
Kenora's Super Troopers finishing less than a second behind.

Aoelian also from Winnipeg took the ladies open title, while the Stroking Rebels took the mixed B-Side final.

In the first ever 200 meter dragon boat sprint, Eat Our Wake from Winnipeg finished ahead of five other boats entered in the race.

More MNR Fire Crews Heading West

The Ministry of Natural Resources is sending another 20-firefighters from this District to Kamloops, B.C. today.


They will join the 20-staff from Northwestern Ontario that are already there.

Information Officer Heather Pridham says they can afford to lend a helping hand.

Pridham says the MNR also has 133-power pumps, 200-powerpump kits, 28-chainsaw kits and 8-thousand and 500 lengths of hose in B.C.

Rickford Supports Cabinet Shuffle

The promotion of British Columbia MP John Duncan to the Indian Affairs portfolio is garnering nothing but rave reviews from Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford.

Rickford says Duncan gives the Federal Government a "steady hand".

Rickford believes the new Minister will have a positive effect on Northwestern Ontario.

Rickford is also supporting John Baird as Government House Leader, noting he will move important Legislation forward in a timely manner.

Three Beaches Re-Opened

Just in time for the first heat wave of the summer, a couple of beaches in Kenora have been re-opened to the public.

The Northwestern Health Unit says water quality at Garrow Beach, Anicianbe Beach and Rabbit Lake Beach have improved to acceptible levels over the past few days.

The beaches were closed last week following heavy rains.

The Health Unit says it will continue weekly sampling at local beaches untill the end of the summer.

Kenora to Host Northwest Regatta

Rabbit Lake is going to be a busy place once again this weekend.

The Kenora Rowing Club will be hosting the Northwest International
Regatta.

Winnipeg was supposed to play host this year, but had to back out at the
last minute.

Urusula Wehner is one of the people tasked with organizing the regatta and
says things are coming together.

The Northwest Regatta attracts rowers from across northwestern
Ontario, Minnesota, and Manitoba.

Racing will begin Friday night.

New Bathrooms for Anicinabe

Kenora City Council is expected to approve a tender to replace the bathroom facilities at Aniciabe Park, even though the project is over budget.

The city had put aside 350 thousand dollars for the project in this years budget, but the lowest bid for the work came in at 475 thousand dollars.

Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says they have been able to reduce that cost by about 70 thousand dollars by making some changes.

Council has agreed to find an extra 79 thousand dollars in the 2010 capital budget
to proceed with the washroom facility at Anicinabe.

Its expected to be complete in time for next camping season.

No Spitting By-Law Proposed

Kenora Mayor Len Compton says a lot of interest has been generated by his idea to ban spitting in the city.

Compton raised the issue at a committee of the whole meeting this week.

He says he would like to see a by-law in place to deal with spitting.

The issue came to his attention after a recent farmer's market, where someone
complained about someone spitting under the big tent.

Compton says its an unsanitary practice and would like to see council take action
on the issue.

Compton says he's had media inquiries from Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and even
Ottawa in the past week.

Council supports voluntary Census

Don't expect Kenora City Council to support demands to bring back the long form census in 2011.

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is urging municipal council's to pass a resolution asking the federal government to do away with a voluntary census next year to replace the long form census.

Kenora Mayor Len Compton says he's always refused to fill out the census because it requires too much personal information.

He feels much of the information could be garnered from other government departments such as Revenue Canada.

Councillor Dave McCann says he also doesn't like the fact that people can be jailed for
failing to fill out the census.

Another quiet year for Forest Fires

There isn't the concern there used to be about this years forest fire season.

After a busy start, rain has kept the Northwest Region's fire hazard in the mostly low to moderate range.  Debbie McLean of the Ministry of Natural Resources that's keeping the number of fires relatively low

So far this year, there has been just over 300 forest fires reported in the west fire region.

There were no new forest fires reported in the region over the weekend and all the rain yesterday
is expected to keep the fire hazard low for the next couple of days.

Funding Announced for area groups

Six area community groups will be sharing over 474 thousand dollars in provincial funding.


Ontario's Minister of Health Promotion Margarett Best is providing the funding through her ministry's healthy community fund.


The Nishinawbe Aski Nation will be utilizing 120 thousand dollars for its "Girl Power Wolf Spirit" program.

Bearskin to offer flights to Minneapolis

Northwestern Ontario travelers may still have access to a daily flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul.


Delta Airlines has announced they are cutting their flight from Thunder Bay to Minneapolis this Fall.

However, Bearskin Airlines is reportedly stepping up to the plate to take over the route.

Vice-President Cliff Friesen says the company has begun the process.

Redditt Water Project Delayed

The community of Redditt north of Kenora will have to wait a little longer for

treated water.

The Redditt Local Services Board had hoped to begin work on a water treatment facility
this month, but those plans have been put on hold.

Jack Martin is chair of the Services Board and says costs of the project came in way over
their budget.

Martin says they had received over 550 thousand dollars from the federal and provincial
governments for the water treatment plant, but are now asking them for an extension.

Treaty Three Police Chief Resigns

The Treaty Three Police Service is looking for a new commanding officer.


Chief Conrad Delaronde submitted his resignation to the board at the end of
May.

The board has refused to comment on the reasons for Delaronde's departure.

Delaronde was hired in the fall of 2008.

His resignation followed on the heels of the departure of Deputy
Chief Louie Napish earlier this summer.

New KBI Winners

Mandamin and Carpenter weigh in at KBI)

Dennis Mandamin has been fishing KBI for the past 15 year and this year he finally is able

to call himself champion.

Mandamin and his partner Jason Carpenter from Whitedog beat out last years champions,

Brian McNanney and Matt Ryberg on the final day of the three day tournament.

Mandamin and Carpenter had a catch of 16.36 pounds on Saturday for a three day total

of 50.20 pounds.

McNanney and Ryberg had to settle for second with 48.73 pounds.

The leaders after day one and day two, Behn Carlson and Jon Pearson slipped to third

after weighing 13.17 pounds Saturday for a three day total of 48.44 pounds.

Team Canada easily won the Can/Am challenge weighing in just over 227 pounds of

bass over three days, compared to 185 pounds for Team USA

Keewatin Teams leads after Day 1 of KBI

The Keewatin duo of Behn Carlson and John Pearson have the distinction of leading the Kenora Bass International after day one.

They hauled in 19.55 pounds of bass yesterday, more than two pounds better than the second place team of Darren Marcine and Bart Stebnitsky.

In third place is the local team of Bruce and Tony Griffiths, at 16.85 pounds.

Team Canada leads the Can/Am Challenge by over 19 pounds after the first day of fishing.

Second day weigh-ins will take place at 4:00 this afternoon.

Harborfest Breaks Even

Harborfest organizers suggest that despite huge crowds over the weekend, the weekend event likely only broke even.

Dave Blake is one of the directors and says despite record bar sales Friday and Saturday night, they probably only managed to cover their costs.

Blake says they will be evaluating the success of the event over the next few weeks.

Blake says they expect to have a final report on Harborfest 2010's finances in the
next few weeks.

More Beach Closures announced

The Health Unit has been forced to close down three more beaches
for the weekend.

Recent test results for Rabbit Lake Beach, Garrow Beach and Anicinabe Beach show unacceptible bacteria levels.

The Health Unit conducts routine testing of the beaches during the summer and says water quality tests at the three beaches showed high levels of e-coli.

The beaches will be closed until water quality tests improve.

Council opposes Beach Warning Notices

Beach warnings being posted by the Northwestern Health Unit aren't being well received by Kenora City Council.

The Health Unit has started posted warning signs following heavy rain events about possible bacterial contamination.

Colleen Neil is Kenora's Recreation Services Manager and says right now the signs are causing a lot of confusion.

Council says that Kenora's beaches are part of our Tourism Marketing Campaign and having a blanket warning sign posted at them is not very tourist-friendly.

Council wants to work with the health unit on making the signs less alarming.

Funding Announced for Wincrief

A Kenora forest company is getting just over 1.2 million dollars in funding from the proincial government.

Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle announced  the funding at Wincrief Forestry Products Thursday morning.

Gravelle says the joint partnership between Moncrief Construction and Wabaseemung First Nation is the type of activity the province is interested in promoting.

The manufacturing facility on the Redditt Road currently employs about 20 people with
plans to double that number when the facility is fully operational.

Another Taser Incident in Northwestern Ontario

A 48 year old man faces a long list of charges following an alleged sexual assault on the Couchiching First Nation near Fort Frances.
Treaty Three Police say they were on patrol early Sunday morning when they heard a woman cryout for help.

A 40 year old woman was located near Highway 11 and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Following an investigation, officers tried to arrest Michael Robert Morriseau at a home in the community.

He fled the residence, but was apprehended by oficer a short time later.

While he was being arrested, police say Morriseau brought out a knife, which he
refused to give up.

Officers then used a Taser on the suspect.

He was finally taken into custody and charged with sexual assault, aggravated
assault, assaulting police, uttering threats and possession of a dangerous weapon.

New Gateway Signage for Kenora

The City of Kenora could soon see some new signage entering the community.

The Property and Planning Committee has awarded a contract for two new gateway signs.

Mike Newton had the winning bid for the project, which features a triagular sign holder, which will sport the new City of Kenora logo.

The city has set aside 50 thousand dollars for the project, but councillor Wendy Cuthbert says the winning design came in under budget.

A total of four designs were submitted for the gateway signs.

OPP arrest Drunk and Speeding Driver

A case of maybe too much liquid courage?

A 25-year-old man has been arrested after he was clocked driving 157-kilometres on the Kenora By-pass.

Officers noticed that the driver had been drinking and he failed a roadside test.

Bryan Hawrysh of Kenora faces counts of impaired driving and street racing.

More Fire Rangers heading west

Another one hundred Ministry of Natural Resource forest firefighters will depart for British Columbia this afternoon.

There are currently over two-hundred MNR personnel now in that province, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Fire Information Officer Debbie MacLean says more personnel will be provided if called upon.

Of the MNR personnel in the west, 75 are from the west fire region with another 63 to be part of today's deployment.

Due to all the rain in recent weeks, the fire hazard is low across most of northwestern Ontario

and no new fires have been reported in several days. 

Drug Bust on By-Pass

A routine traffic stop on the Kenora By-Pass has resulted in the seizure of a large quanity of marijuana.

The OPP say they stopped a vehicle for speeding Tuesday on Highwyay 17-A.

The driver confirmed to police that he had a suspended licence.

Officer also felt the operator of the vehicle was behaving in an unusual manner and conducted a search.

Police say 18 pounds of marijuana with a street value of about 167 thousand dollars was seized, along with about 500 dollars in cash and some drug paraphenalia.

30 year old Christopher Dawe from British Columbia was arrested and charged with
possession for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking in a narcotic.

He appeared in Kenora court yesterday to face the charges.

Treaty Three Critical of SIU Report

Grand Council Treaty #3 continues to be critical of the OPP response to a shooting incident in downtown Kenora.

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit released a report into the shooting of 39 year old Grassy Narrows resident last week clearing an OPP officer of any wrong-doing.

Grand Chief Diane Kelly says she's disappointed with the finds in the report and also the policies and procedures of the OPP.

She says the whole incident raises questions about why a lone female officer was sent to a domestic violence incident.

She also wonders why it took the OPP over 50 minutes to inform the SIU about the shooting.

Kelly says if she can't get answers from the OPP Commissioner or Ontario's Solicitor General, she will file a complaint with the Independant Police Review Director.

KBI Can-Am Challenge Teams Introduced

Anglers are gearing up for the 22nd annual Shaw Kenora Bass International.


The three day fishing derby gets underway tomorrow morning from the Kenora
Harborfront.

This morning, the members of the Can/Am Challenge were introduced.

Jeff Gustafson is a member of Team Canada and says so far pre-fishing has
been pretty slow.

Weigh-ins will take place at 4:00 tomorrow and Friday and
3:00 on Saturday under the big tent on the Harborfront.

Busy long weekend for the OPP

The OPP in Kenora were kept hopping ove the August Long Weekend.


The final tally shows 358 calls for service, including 64 liquor licence Act Offenses, 15 motor vehicle collisions and 13 mischief complaints.

Constable Dave Cain of the OPP say officers are also looking into a couple more serious complaints.

Cain adds that a 26 year old Kenora man was also charged with careless driving after a vehicle rolled over on St. Clair Street in Keewatin on Saturday.

KBI starts tomorrow

One of the biggest sporting events of the year in Kenora takes place this weekend.

The 22nd annual Kenora Bass International gets underway tomorrow morning from the Harborfront.

This is the first year as chair of the fishing tournament for Duncan McEwan and he says they are still looking for last minute entries.

So far 129 teams have entered KBI.

Anglers hit the water at 6:30 tomorrow morning.

Drowning in Falcon Lake

A little horseplay turned to horror yesterday when a Toronto teen

slipped under the waves of Falcon Lake and never surfaced again.

A group of 12 men and boys from Ontario had been in Winnipeg for
a Muslim religious convention when they decided to make a pit stop
at Falcon Lake for brunch and fun before beginning the long drive
back home.

A spokesman for the group says three teens hopped in a canoe that
was lying around and went out in the water without lifejackets.

The spokesman says the 17-year-old was fooling around and stood
up in the canoe, causing it to tip.

Traffic Changes in Stores for Downtown Kenora

The City of Kenora is planning to do some minor traffic tweaking in the downtown core.


A couple of public meetings were held last month to get feedback on how to improve
traffic flow for both vehicles and pedestrians.

Operations manger Rick Perchuck says one of the annoyances for pedestrians is the
length of time it takes to cross Main Street at the First Street intersection.

Perchuck is also recommending that the left hand turn from Main Street onto First Street South
be eliminated altogether during the day to prevent traffic build up.

Council is expected to vote on the changes at its open meeting next Monday.

Kenora OPP Taser Twice

It was a busy weekend for the Kenora OPP.


In fact, things got to the point early Saturday morning officers were forced to
use Tasers to get things under control after the Friday night Harborfest Concert.

Officers tasered two people who they believe were preventing officers from breaking up a fight on the harbourfront.

Constable Dave Cain says the officers were in their rights to use the weapons.

Cain says the two crowd members refused to obey officer's demands to stand back and acted in an aggressive manner.