HST exemption now available

Area first nations can now get an 8 percent exemption from the HST at local retailers tills.


Anyone who has difficulty getting it is asked to contact the local chapter of the Union of Ontario Indians.

Spokesperson Judy Currie says she checked for herself to see if she would get the exemption and suggests
most of businesses in this area are honouring it at the cash register.

Northwest LHIN's Under Attack

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network is under fire from the Progressive Conservative party.


The PC's are taking aim at their spending.

Democratic Reform Critic Steve Clark feels the 4.8 million dollars the NW LHIN spent on administration could have been better spent.

The Northwest LHIN also spent 1.5 million dollars on consultants over the past four years.

Grassy Narrows Man arrested following standoff

A 23 year old Grassy Narrows man has been arrested following a stand-off in the First Nations Community North of Kenora.

Late last week, Treaty Three Police were called out after a 28 year old woman sustained several slash wound.

She was taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for treatment.

Police say the male suspect was still inside the victims residence when they arrived at the scene.

A crisis negotiator and the OPP's Northwest Emergency Response Unit were called in.

Several hours later, Barry Payash was taken into custody.

He appeared in Kenora Court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault and three
counts of breach of probation.

Fall Tourism Campaign Planned

With Labor Day now over, Tourism Kenora is looking ahead to the fall.

A new ad campaign is being planned for the Winnipeg and southern Manitoba
markets.

Heather Paterson is Kenora's Tourism Development Officer and says they are
taking a little different approach this year.

Paterson says the spring campaign that was launched in May and June in
southern Manitoba proved to be very successful.

Village Corner in Vermillion Bay Destroyed by Fire

A popular rest stop between Kenora and Dryden has gone up in smoke.


The Village Corner in Vermillion Bay was destroyed by fire yesterday.

Fire crews from Machin, Dryden, Oxdrift and Wabigoon were called out shortly
after 6:00 yesterday morning.

Fire Fighters spent most of the day putting out the blaze at the corner store and
gas station.

The cause of the fire still hasn't been determined, and there has been no estimate
placed on the extent of the damage.

Officials say no-one was injured in the fire.

Sioux Narrows/Nestor Fall Elections

It looks like there will be at least two election races in Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls in October.

With a week left before the nomination deadline, three people have signed up to run for two councillor at-large positions.

Former mayor Gerry O'Leary will battle incumbants Chan Motlong and Lou Kabel.

In Ward One, which represents Sioux Narrows North, Gail Black is being challenged
by John Stuhldrieir.

There is only one candidate for mayor so far.

Incumbant Bill Thompson has filed his nomination papers.

The only candidate in Ward Two, which is Nestor Falls south, is Randy Hanson

Broncos Upend Eagles in Exhibition Football

An impressive debut for Beaver Brae's Football Team.


The Broncos upended the Dryden Eagles 31-6 yesterday in exhibition action at Pete Fair Memorial
Field.

Scott Morgan had a pair of touchdowns for the Broncos, while Colt German had a couple of
touchdown passes.

Overall, head coach Chris Penner says he was pleased with how his players performed on both
offense and defence.

Ryan Van Bellingham and Nick Hendy each had touchdown receptions for the Broncos, while
Cody Jones added seven points from the kicking game.

Beaver Brae will start the regular season next Friday at home against the Eagles once again.

Fire Rangers Back Home

The last remaining Ministry of Natural Resources personnel working in British Columbia return home today.


The departure of 178 fireRangers and 30 support staff will end Ontario's support to the fire fight in B-C that began at the end of July.

In all about 750 people provided more than 10-thousand days of support, Ontario's the third largest dispatch on record.

Drug Bust on Fort Hope F.N.

Nishnawbe Aski Police executed a search warrant of the Fort Hope First Nation.


Police seized a street value of approximately 14-thousand dollars worth of OxyContin prescription drugs.

32 year old Linda Josephine Wabano and 32 year old Normand Sidney Shawinimash have each been charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking.

Wabano and Shawinimash have both been released on conditions and will appear in court on November 4th.

Nishinabe Aski Nation To Rally at Queen's Park

The Nishinawbe Aski Nation plans to rally at Queen's Park this fall.


Grand Chief Stan Beardy says they vehemently oppose the far north act and want it scrapped.

Beardy says they'll take action, but are still willing to talk with the government.

Beardy feels the far north act takes their land jurisdiction rights away.

Province ready to roll-out tourism zones

The provincial government is expected to roll out funding for the new regional tourism zones.


Minister Michael Chan says it will be any day now when the zones are made official.

Chan says he spoke with tourism officials in the northwest and they seem to be on board with the new larger zones.

Trus-Joist Back up after Downtime

Weyerhaueser says its not sure how the U.S. housing market it going to affect the

Trus-Joist Mill on the Jones Road this fall.

The mill is just coming off a week's down time.

Wayne Rosnowski says after a fairly promising start to the year, things have tailed
off in recent months.

Rosnowski says they hope to be able to operate at least five days a week during the
fall months, but that will all depend on how the american housing market performs.

Broncos gear up for Regular Season

Beaver Brae's football team will get its first real test today.


The Broncos play their first and only exhibition game this afternoon
at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

The Dryden Eagles are in town for the 3:00 kick-off.

The same two teams will tangle again next Friday at Beaver Brae in the first game of the season in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

Division two of the league has expanded to 16 teams this year and the Broncos will play four home games this season.

MNR Fire Fighters Return Home

The Ministry of Natural Resources tour of duty in British Columbia is coming to an end.

Information Officer Debbie MacLean says 81-Ontario firefighters arrived home last night, while the remaining 214-personnel are due back by the end of the week.

MacLean says the hard work by firefighters combined with rain has allowed crews in B.C. to get a handle on the fire situation.

Ontario staff and equipment have been in the Western Province since July 29th.

Two new lighnting caused forest fires sparked yesterday near Igance and Kenora.

CFIB Survey Crictical of City

A survey by the Canadian Federation of Independant Business suggests the City of Kenora

could be doing a better job.

The CFIB polled 37 business owners in Kenora this summer and 81 percent felt they were
not getting good value for the money spent on public service.

77 percent of respondants also felt the city had a poor awareness of the business sector.

Where Kenora did get good marks was in reasonable tax levels.

43 percent of business owners felt tax rates were reasonable, which was the tops among
the communities rated in northern Ontario.

Rickford looking forward to new duties

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is already embracing his new role.


The Conservative member has been named Parliamentary Secreatary for Official Languages.

Rickford says the Caucus appointment is a great honour.

The Secreatary looks at all of the policies and issues that arise in enforcing and understanding Canada's Official Languages Act.

Focus North Conference Wraps Up

Canada's Northern Development Ministers are leaving Thunder Bay with a better sense of how they can help the north.

Ontario's Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle says they're going to tackle the north's infrastructure deficit.

Gravelle adds each provincial minister had the opportunity to speak with Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan.

Goss Joins Council Race

A Kenora business man is looking to take a stab at municipal politics.

Mort Goss is the latest person to enter the race for Kenora City Council.

Goss, owner of Sure Thing and a executive member of the Kenora Business Improvement Zone, filed his nomination papers yesterday.

He joins eight other people in the race for six seats on council.

Another person has also signed up to run for the Kenora Catholic District
School Board.

Brenda Bye is the fifth person in the race for one of five seats on the
Separate School Board.

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

Six Robbery Suspects Sought

The OPP Street Crimes Unit is looking for witnesses to an assault and robbery that took place near the Kenora Rec. Center last month.

Police say a lone woman was walking along 1st Avenue South around 11:30 on the night of August 1st, when she was accosted by a group of six people.

They demanded cigarettes and alcohol from her, then knocked her to the ground and kicked her several times.

They also grabbed her purse during the assault and stole some cash and dumped the rest of the contents on the ground.

Two of the suspects are described as heavy set aboriginal females

There were also three first nation males with short dark hair.
The other suspect was a white male with blonde medium length hair.

The victim suffered minor injuries as a result of the assault.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the OPP Street Crimes Unit or
Crimestoppers.

Ladies Slo-Pitch Finals

The Days Inn Ladies Slo-Pitch League is starting to wind down.

The A, B and C side finals are being played out this week.

Last night, the Shoal Lake Troopers claimed the B-side crown by getting by the E & G Blades in two straight games in their best of three series.

In the C-Side Final, Roen Contracting got by the Neniska Crushers also in two straight games.

Johnny's Trashers and Northern Harbor are currently duking it out in the A-Side final.

Lunny To Run for Council

A familiar name has been added to the nomination list for the upcoming municipal  elections.

Former City Councillor Ron Lunny has decided to enter the race for councillor.

Lunny is the eighth person to sign up for one of the six council seats available

The deadline to file nomination papers is fast approaching.

September 10th is the last day to run for either the city council or one of the school boards.

OPP Rule Out Foul Play in Fatality

The OPP have ruled out foul play in the death of a 34 year old Kenora man over the weekend.

Police say they were called to a home on Railway Street on Sunday after a male was found unresponsive.

By the time emergency service personnel arrived at the scene, the man was proncounced dead.

A post-mortem exam was conducted Monday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital and it determined the man died of natural causes.

The deceased has been identified as Clifton Skead.

IJC Task Force in Kenora

The first of three meetings examining the binational management of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake Basins was held in International Falls last night.

Tonight, the task force will be in Kenora for another public consultation session.

Melanie Hanson, the Canadian co-chair to an International task force, says public input will be important.

The task force will be Best Western Lakeside Inn tonight starting at 7:00.

Aging At Home Funding

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network is expanding aging at home programs.


Three million dollars was announced for 16-community and home based initiatives.

Chief Executive Officer Laura Kokocinski outlines some of the programs they'll be funding this year.

The money will help provide health care and respite services for Seniors who want to stay in their own home.

Kokocinki says the funding will also reduces Emergency Room wait times.

OPP on Back to School Safety

The OPP is urging local motorists to slow down today as kids return back to school.

Classes resumed this morning for elementary and secondary school students in Kenora.

Police say motorists should be aware of school buses stopping and kids cross local roads.

The OPP say officers will be out patrolling school zones this week and conducting traffic enforcement to ensure students are going to be safe getting both to and from school.

Species at Risk Funding Announced

A couple of Species at Risk projects are being supported by the Provincial Government.

The Dalles First Nation is getting money to study lake sturgeon and their habitat on the
Winnipeg River.

AKRC will be getting funding to study species at risk on the east side of Lake of the Woods in
the Sioux Narrows area.

The Government is funding 113-community projects in Ontario to the tune of 3.6-million dollars.

Classes begin again today

Summer unofficially comes to an end today for kids heading back to school.

Students in both the public and separate school boards return to class this morning.

Phyllis Eikre is the director of education for the Kenora Catholic District School Board and says they have high expectations this year.

Eikre adds that they are also excited by their all-day kindergarten programs which will
be starting up at St. Louis School tomorrow.

Redditt Water project a go

Despite sky-rocketing costs, the Redditt Local Services Board is planning to move ahead

with a water treatment plant this year.

The project was tendered out earlier this summer, but the costs came in over twice as high
as the amount they had budget for.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says he's spoken to the Redditt Board and is relieved they are
going ahead with construction.

The Redditt Local Services Board says its going to look again at its tender to see if it can find ways of reducing costs of the project.

Under the terms of the federal infrastructure program, projects that receieved funding
have to start no later than March 31st, 2011.

Angry Angler lashes out at Canada Immigration Officials

A Hoffman Estates, Illinois man is irate with border guards at the Fort Frances crossing.


Ed Pokorski says he was denied entry into Canada because of a charge that dates back to the 1980's.

Pokorski also claims the border agents were rude and not at all helpful.

He adds the agents wouldn't give him information on who he could call and they wouldn't help him with directions so he could make travel plans back home.

Nomination Deadline looming

With just two weeks left to the nomination deadline for the upcoming municipal elections, there are still a couple of races that need more candidates.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board will elect three trustees from the Kenora area, but so far only Cecile Marcino and Bob Onysko has signed up to run for the public school board.

Likewise, there are only four people signed up for five positions on the Kenora Catholic District School Board.

Current trustees, Paul Landry, Mike Favreau, Theresa Gallick and Frank Bastone will be running
for re-election.

September 10th is the last day to submit nomination papers.

Kenora Team wins I-Falls Bass Tournament

A Kenora team has become the first to win the International Falls Bass Championship twice.


Jeff Gustafson, along with his fishing partner Scott Dingwall, won this year's title by weighing in just over 30-pounds of bass at the weekend tournament.

Gustafson and Dingwall won the inaugural tournament in 2005 by beating Travis Peterson and Scott Mattson who also finished second this year.

Winnipeg Man Charged with Assault

An 18-year-old Winnipegger has been charged with assault with a weapon in connection with an incident  on Lake of the Woods.

Ontario Provincial Police say a 35-year-old man from England was assaulted while visiting friends in Glass Township last Tuesday.

The victim was treated at Lake of the Woods District Hospital and released.

The suspect left the residence and police began a search that involved the OPP emergency response unit, a canine unit and a helicopter.

Two days later, Adriel Shworob was located at a home on the mainland.

He is scheduled to appear in Kenora court October 18th.

Rickford gets a new job

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford is getting a promotion.


Rickford will be getting his first post in the federal Conservative
caucus.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Rickford
will take over duties as the parliamentary secretary for Official Languages.

This is Rickford's first position in the federal cabinet.

Minister defends Open For Business Act

The Minister of Natural Resources says NOMA has jumped the gun when it comes to their concerns over the "open for business act".


The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association feels bill 68 proposes changes to the Crown Forest Sustainability Act; giving the Endangered Species Act higher authority on forestry practices.

Linda Jeffery says they just want to get rid of duplication.

Jeffrey made the comments on a recent tour of northwestern Ontario

Public School Board ready for new year

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is ready for a new School year.


The Board is working on a new strategic plan that will see teachers working together in order to enhance student learning.

Director of Education Jack McMaster predicts its going to be a great year and he's looking forward to his first full year at the helm of the public school board. 

McMaster adds full-day, all-day Kindergarten is now in place at Pinewood School in Dryden and Evergreen School in Kenora.

PUSH demands more supportive housing in Northwest

Persons united for self help in Northwestern Ontario wants the Ontario Ombudsman to investigate the region's long wait lists.


Currently there are over 400 adults in the region waiting for accessible supportive community housing and home support care.

President Ron Ross says some of those people have been on the wait list for 10 years.

The people on the wait list are living in long term care facilities or with their aging parents.

New V.P. for Pope John Paul

The Kenora Catholic District School Board had to search a little further afield

for a vice-principal at Pope John Paul II School.

Michelle Sawa, a teacher at St. John Separate School in Red Lake has been
selected to fill the vacancy.

The Separate School Board expanded last year by incorporating St. John's into
its system last year.

Sawa replaces Maureen Carlin-Franklin, who was promoted to the principal's
job at Pope John Paul earlier this week.

Machin Election Update

There's going to be a race for the mayoralty in the Town of Machin.


Two people are currently seeking the top job in Vermillion Bay.

Incumbent Garry Parkes is looking for a second term as Mayor.

He's now being challenged by Gordon Dingman and Linda Anderson.

Dennis Peterson is the only person to file nomination papers for council.

Tourist Numbers up in Kenora

Tourism Kenora says its seen an increase in tourist traffic through the city this summer.

Statistics show the number of visitors to the Tourism Bureau on the Harborfront are up from last year.

Heather Paterson is Kenora's Tourism Development Officer and says local businesses are also reporting a better summer season.

Paterson believes a marketing campaign carried out in the late spring and early summer in southern Manitoba and Winnipeg has played a big part in their increase in tourism numbers this year.

New CEO Hired for Northwest LHIN's

A new person is in charge of the Northwest Local Health Integration Network.


The Board has appointed Laura Kokocinski as Chief Executive Officer effective September first.

She has worked with the LHIN as the Senior Director, Planning, Integration and Community Engagement since January 2006 and was appointed Interim CEO back in February.

Kokocinski is from Northwestern Ontario and has extensive health care experience in various communities including Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay.

She was selected from a large Canada-wide pool.

Anglers Fined for Too Many Walleye

A fishing party of 4 has been fined 24-hundred dollars for having 16-walleye over the legal limit.

Roger Marion and Donalda Zoratti of Kenora and Cyril and Solange Taylor all pleaded guilty in Court and were fined 600-dollars each.

The group was stopped on a house boat on Lake of the Woods back in May.

Houston Lake Mining has evidence of a new gold zone at its West Cedartree project near Kenora.

The Sudbury-based Company says that a potential gold mineralized zone has been identified by sampling of surface bedrock.

Houston Lake says it will move forward with future exploration with diamond drilling.

Officials believe that they have discovered another area which creates resource potential for the project.

Garrow Beach Closed Again

With a warm weekend on the way, its not the news people wanting to cool off want to hear.

The Northwestern Health Unit has issued a notice closing Garrow Beach.

The Health Unit says recent water quality tests at the beach yeilded higher than acceptible levels of
E-coli bacteria.

The beach will be closed for swimming until satisfactory water quality test results
come back from the provincial lab in Thunder Bay.

More Fire Rangers Heading West

Ministry of Natural Resources fire personnel continue to bounce between Ontario and B.C.

Another 184-firefighters are scheduled to leave for fire ravaged B.C. today.

As they arrive to begin work, 200-personnel will be allowed to return home on Friday.

A total of 317-Ontario staff members are in the Western Province.

The MNR has been lending a helping hand since July 29th.

New Northern Energy Credit Program

If you want to get a piece of the northern energy credit pie, your going to have to apply.


The program provides up to 130 dollars for single people, and 200 dollars for families.

Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle says the credit is for low to middle income northerners.

Applications are available online, at any Service Ontario location, or by calling 1-866-305-1954.

Hampton opposes insurance changes

We're less than a week away from new auto insurance rates.

Changes to policies take effect September 1st and not everyone is a fan.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton says the move will hurt drivers.

Standard policies will see cuts made to medical benefits and income replacement levels.

Highway 17 West finally Reopens

It took a lot longer than expected for Highway 17 west to be re-opened to two lanes of traffic.

The Trans-Canada was initially closed down due to a firey collision between two transport trailor units near the Ontario/Manitoba border.

One lane of traffic was opened up around 8:30 yesterday morning, but it took another 12 hours for both lanes to be completely opened.

Three people were sent to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for treatment of injuries
sustained in the accident.

IJC establishes a Task Force for Lake of the Woods

The International Joint Commission is moving quickly to make its mark on Lake of the Woods.

The IJC was directed this summer by the government's of Canada and the United States to take on the job of protecting water quality on the Lake.

Todd Sellars is the executive director of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation. a Task Force has also been set up by the IJC.

Sellars says the Task Force will be given 18 months to come up with a governance model for Lake of the Woods.

A Stakeholder Advisory Group is also been formed to guide the work of the Task Force.

One Large Fire Burning in Northwestern Ontario

A forest fire east of Pikangikum First Nation continues to burn out-of-control.


The fire has grown to 178-hectares in size but is burning in an isolated area.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has 48-firefighters battling the blaze.

Meantime, 64-personnel left the Dryden Airport yesterday to help in the fire fight in B.C.

21-firefighters returned home.

Drinkwalter Running Again for Council

There's almost sure to be a race for Kenora City Council this fall.


A seventh person has entered the race for one of six seats on council.

Charito Drinkwalter filed her nomination papers on Monday.

She is a rookie member of council, and joins Dave McCann, Jim Parsons,
Wendy Cuthbert and Rory McMillan as councillors seeking re-election.

The deadline to file nomination papers is September 10th.

Highway 17 West Open to One Lane

Still no indication when Highway 17 west of Kenora near the Manitoba Border will be
re-opened to two lanes of traffic.

The Trans-Canada was closed by an accident involving two tractor-trailor units
early this morning.

The OPP say a westbound rig with a lone male driver collided with an eastbound semi.

The westbound transport caught fire and was completely destroyed.

The there were two people in the eastbound truck, and they were rescued by fire crews that
were on the scene.

All three were taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for Treatment of injuries sustained
in the collision.

The OPP says Charges are still pending.

NOMA reflects on AMO conference

Members of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association are recapping their recent meetings with provincial ministers.


NOMA met with 8 ministers on a variety of topics.

President Anne Krassilowski says she spoke with the Minister of Natural Resources about the forest tenure process.

Meanwhile, Krassilowski was elected to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario board alongside Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson.