Old Fire Hall Declared Surplus

The fate of the old fire hall on Second Street South is still up in the air.

Last week, Kenora City Council declared the property surplus to the needs of the city.

That now paves the way for the city to sell off the Heritage Building.

A request for proposals has been developed and the city is now looking for potential buyers to come forward with their ideas on what they want to do with the building.

The RFP's have to be submitted by the middle of November.

Election Day nears

The municipal election campaign is staggering into its final days.

Votes will be counted on Monday night.

As of Monday, only 43 hundred mail-in ballots had been received at

City Hall, which is less than 40 percent.

Despite the low numbers, former Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield still expects the voter turn-out this election to be over 50 percent.

Canfield is being challenged in the mayoralty race by former Councillor Andrew Poirier and councillor Jim Parson.

Heritage Kenora Opposes move of two fire hall items

The Kenora Heritage Committee is sticking to its guns.

The committee met with fire chief Warren Brinkman last week

to talk about whether two of the identified heritage assets in the

old fire hall on Second Street South could be moved to the new

fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

The Heritage Committee wants the call box and the alarm bell to

remain in the old fire hall.

There is a process that can change the Heritage designation of those two items, but it requires a by-law change by city council.

Brinkman has indicated he still will follow the process through to get the call box and bell moved up to the new fire hall.

Rainy River Resources continues drilling program

Rainy River Resources continues to be pleased with the results from its drilling program south of Kenora.

The information gathered will help better determine the future of an actual gold mine.

President Ray Threlkeld says the results will help determine whether they want to build

and open pit or underground mine.

The company hopes to begin underground exploration early next year.

Metis Wellness Committee makes Donations to OPP

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP has received a some warm gifts.

The Metis Wellness Committee of Kenora has presented the OPP

a number of knitted items officers can carry in their cruisers.

Handmade scarves, mittens and hats have been donated by the

wellness group.

The OPP say they will use the items to comfort people experiencing difficult times.

The clothing was presented to the OPP this week.

211 Network now up and running in Kenora and Rainy River

A telephone help-line that residents can call to access information on a variety of services and programs is now available in both the Kenora and Rainy River districts.

Marie Klassen, executive director of 211 North, says the service, first set up Thunder Bay, expects it to be widely used.

The Northwest Community Legal Clinic helped set up the data base for the 211 service in the region.

Hampton to Run Again for the NDP

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton confirms that he will be running

again in the next provinical election.

The election date has already been fixed by legislation for October 6th, 2011.

Hampton says he has no intention of retiring yet from provinical politics.

Hampton has been an M.P.P. in the Ontario legislature since 1987.

He stepped down as party leader of the NDP last year.

Two charged for possession of explosives

Two Winnipeg men have been arrested for possessing explosives.

Yesterday, the OPP's Organize Crime and Drug Units executed a search warrant on a Mascott area home.

The Northwest Explosives Disposal Unit, a canine unit, a Tactics and Rescue Squad and the Emergency Response Team were also called in to assist.

Police say a search of the property uncovered a quantitiy of explosives,

some pills and drug paraphenalia.

35 year old Mike Decoste and 23 year old Jeremy McPherson were

arrested and charged with unlawful possession of explosives.

They are due in court later today.

Report Critical of Northwest LHIN's use of Consultants

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network has been singled out in a report by the  province's Auditor General.

The report looks at health agencies that paid money for consultants.

NDP Leader Andrea Horvath says the public is paying for these expensive lobbyists.

The Auditor General says the three LHINs studied spent anywhere from 224 thousand dollars to 1.4 million per year on consultants.

Bronco Court Teams lose on the Road

Beaver Brae's court sport teams continue to struggle in NorWOSSA league play.

The Broncos were in Dryden yesterday and were swept by the Eagles.

The senior boys volleyball team lost three sets to one, while the Beaver Brae

junior boys were beaten in three straight games.

In hoops action, it wasn't any better, as Dryden beat the Bronco Senior Girls

39-13, while the junior girls lost 37-23.

Former Kenora Resident Runs for Mayor of Ear Falls

A former Kenora resident is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father.

Kevin Kahoot is one of three people running for the mayoralty of Ear Falls

this Monday.

Kahoot says one things he's been focussing on this campaign is making municipal council more accountable to local taxpayers.

Kahoot is the son of former Keewatin Mayor Bob Kahoot.

He's being challenged by Tracey Simon and Rob Doyle.

Small Business Week Seminars Offered

The Northwest Business Center and the Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation are teaming up to celebrate Small Business Week in Kenora.

A couple of seminars will be presented tomorrow.

Mike Greaves from the Business Center says they will be bringing in a couple of
well-known Manitoba businessmen as their keynote speakers.

The seminars will take place at the Super 8 Minis Hall tomorrow.

The first session starts at 10:30, followed by lunch and then the presentation
by Chris and Larry.

Wincrief planning to build pole peeling plant

Wincrief Industries says its still planning to open up a pole peeling plant in the

Kenora area this fall.

The company announced plans to make hydro poles this past summer.

Wincrief spokesperson, Greg Moncrief says they are still looking for the

best location for the plant.

Moncrief says once the pole peeling plant is up and running, it should employ another

dozen or so people.

The facility would be also be a co-operative venture with the Wabaseemung First Nation.

German Offensive Player of the Week in WHSFL

Another honor for Beaver Brae's football team.

Colt German has been named the offensive player of the week in the East Division of the Kas Vidruk Division in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

The Broncos quarterback was 11 of 14 in passing for 211 yards in a 33-8 win over Steinbach last week.

Beaver Brae closes out the regular season at home against the West Kildonan Wolverines on Friday.

Three running for mayor in Machin

The clock is starting to wind down on municipal election campaigns across the region.

In the township of Machin there are three people running for the top job.

Linda Anderson says job creation is one of her main priorities.

Incumbent Mayor Garry Parkes says he wants to continue working on recreation and tourism.

Gordon Dingman says expanding the local taxbase is his main focus.

Votes will be counted up on October 25th.

Drug Bust behind Beaver Brae

An 18 year old Sioux Narrows man has been arrested after being busted

for dealing drugs behind Beaver Brae Secondary School.

The OPP say last Friday afternoon, officers were patrolling the bush behind the

high school and came across a couple of male suspects involved in a drug transaction.

Jason Paypompee was arrested and charged with possession for the purpose

of trafficking.

He is due to appear in Kenora Court on November 15th on the charge.

Holiday Train Schedule released

The 'Holiday Train' is making a return trip to Northwestern Ontario.

The festive locomotive will stop Thunder Bay on December 3rd and in Ignace, Dryden, Vermilion Bay and Kenora on December 4th.

CPR Spokesperson Mike LoVecchio announces the headliner for this year's event.

Last year, CPR raised 743 thousand dollars and 237 thousand pounds of food for Canadian Food Banks.

Ignatieff makes a return trip to the Kenora Riding

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is paying a visit to the Kenora Riding next week.

Ignatieff will meet with residents in Sioux Lookout and Dryden next Friday.

Roger Valley is the Kenora Riding Liberal candidate and says the state of the economy will be just one issue that he will address.

Ignatieff was supposed to stop in the Riding over the Summer, but the death of one of his aids derailed those plans.

OPP nab young impaired driver

Impaired drivers seem to be getting younger and younger.

Over the weekend, the OPP say they arrested a 15 year old youth who was behind the wheel of a car.

Police say they came across a vehicle which was blocking a section

of Carlton Road around 1:30 Saturday morning.

After speaking with the driver, they determined the youth had been
drinking.

He was taken to the Kenora Detachment for a breath test and charged.

The youth will appear in Kenora Court on November 23rd.

Contact North sees big increase in usage

Contact North is reporting a 50-per cent increase in the number of people using its services to access college and university courses.

Vice-president of regional service Debby Sefton says the over 23-thousand registrants is a record for the the distance education network.

Sefton says Contact North sites across the region have seen increases in usage this year.

Mitigoog looks towards expansion

The president of the Mitigoog Limited Partnership says he'd like to see the forest management company expand to include other areas of northwestern Ontario.

Eric Fisher says Mitigoog has been charged with the management of the Kenora Forest, but says in order to be successful, they are going to have to expand their operations.

Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle the provincial government would allow and even encourage the expansion of Mitigoog to take on other sustainable forest licences in the region in the future.

Weyerhaeuser sees bright future for ILevel Plant in Kenora

The president of Weyerhaeuser is bullish on the future of the I-Level Timberstrand mill on the Jones Road, despite discouraging news from the U.S. housing market.

Anne Giardini was in Kenora last week and had a chance to visit the timberstrand mill.

She says they aren't panicking because American markets haven't turned around yet.

The timberstrand mill has experienced some downtime and lay-offs in recent months due to poor markets in the U.S.

New Strategic Plan released for the City of Kenora

The next edition of city council will have a brand new strategic plan to help guide them.

The current city council has approved Kenora Vision 2015, which is a stragic plan to guide the city over the next five years.

Chief Administrative Officer, Karen Brown helped draft the strat plan and says a lot has changed in the city over the last five years and the new plan addresses the changing economic landscape

in Kenora.

The corporate strategic plan identifies priorities for the city and sets targets and goals for

adminstration and council alike.

Parson Breaks silence in Mayoralty Race

One of the candidates for the mayor's chair in the City of Kenora has made his

first public comments since the campaign began.

Jim Parson spoke to CJRL news about his decision to stay in the

mayoralty race, despite the death of his wife Patti a month ago.

Parson says its been a difficult time for him personally.

The municipal election will be held one week from today.

Votes will be tallied just after 8:00 on October 25th.

Missing Woman Found near Mantario Trail

An experienced hiker and camper who was overdue from a weekend trip on a challenging wilderness trail in eastern Manitoba's Whiteshell region has been found.

RCMP Sgt. Rod Karpish says the 47-year-old Winnipeg woman was located safe and sound by a rescue team after a plane spotted a beacon late last night near the Mantario trail.

Karpish says the woman, whose name has not been released, was taken to hospital in Pinawa in ``good shape.''

The hiker was due back Saturday evening from the 66-kilometre trail, but she still had not shown up by Sunday morning.

She had left a schedule with her family and was equipped with a sleeping bag and

food to last for several days.

Compton continues to lobby PM for federal jobs

Kenora mayor Len Compton says he hasn't given up his goal of getting

federal jobs moved to the city.

Compton says he has written the prime ministers office a couple of times now

asking that the Harper government re-locate a federal payroll center to

Kenora.

Compton says the city has been hit hard by the downturn in the forest

industry and says well-paying federal jobs would be welcome.

Compton admitted that he's received only a short note from the Prime Minister's Office thanking him for his letter, but he's still keen to speak with Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford about the issue.

Council not in a giving mood

Even though the October 25th municipal elections are just over a week away, Kenora City

Council isn't feeling in a very giving mood.

Last week council rejected a couple of requests for donations from local community groups.

The Kenora Triple "A" senior men's hockey team had requested a three thousand dollar donation as it prepares to host the 2011 Allan Cup.

Councillor Chris Van Wallenghem says they city already provides a 35 percent subsidy on ice rentals at

the Rec. Center.

He adds that the city will consider becoming a corportate sponsor of the Allan Cup, when it

begins discussing the 2011 budget.

Council also refused a funding request to help out with today's community feast. 

KPDSB Receive Grant for Aboriginal Achievement

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has received a grant from the Ministry of Education for 75 thousand dollars to help aboriginal students.

Superintendant of Education, Sean Monteith says they have a number of ideas of how they want to use the funding.

Monteith says they have applied for a number of grants from the province

specifically targeting aboriginal student achievement.

Mail-in Ballot Deadline Passes

There are still a lot of ballots out there for the October 25th municipal election.

Saturday was the last day local residents are supposed to mail in their ballot kits,

but as of Friday afternoon, only about 35 percent of the ones mailed out to local

residents were turned in.

Returning officer, Joanne McMillan says just over 41 hundred electors have voted.

If you have missed the mail-in deadline, you can still drop off your ballot kits

in person at City Hall over the next seven days.

Confederation College hosts Chinese delegation

Confederation College is getting a stamp of approval from a school in China it's partnering with.

Con College is offering it's Hospitality program to 400 students there.

President Pat Lang says as part of the process they are hosting a couple of Chinese school officials

Lang says it's a chance for the Chinese to examine the program where it originates.

First community fall feast this afternoon

Preparations are well underway for a community feast in the City of Kenora.

The feast is being sponsored in part by the O.P.P. and will take place this afternoon in front of the detachment office on the Sunset Strip.

Bob Bernie is the OPP's Community Liason Officer and says they wanted to do something to bridge the cultural gap in the city.

The fall feast will take place from noon to 2:00 today.

There is no charge to attend.

Summer Literacy Program Lauded

A summer literacy program piloted by the Keewatin-Patrica District School Board this past summer is being described as very successful.

Students in grade one, two and three took part in the summer camp at Sioux Mountain School.

Carol Hron is the superintendant of education for the public school board and says they could look at partnering with other communities if the interest is there.

The program was funded by the Council of Directors of Education.

Students attended the literacy camp for six hours a day, five days a week for six weeks.

Thistles and Broncos Win

An offensive outburst for the Kenora Triple A midget Thistles.

The Kenora Midgets won both home games against the Parkland

Rangers over the weekend in convincing fashion.

Yesterday, Bryson Koistinen scored three goals en route to a 6-2 win

over the Rangers.

Saturday, Tim McFatridge had the hat trick in an 8-0 win over Parkland.

The win improves the Thistles record to 4 wins, two losses and a shootout

loss.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's football team is a step closer to clinching a play-off

berth.

The Broncos improved to 4-2 on the season with a 33-8 win over the Steinbach

Sabres on Friday.

Beaver Brae wraps up the regular season at home on Friday against West Kildonan.

Saints Split in Red Lake

Thomas Aquinas boys volleyball teams remain unbeaten in NorWOSSA league

play.

The Saints were in Red Lake yesterday and both the senior and junior boys
volleyball teams swept the Rams three games to none.

It was a different story on the basketball court as Red Lake dominated

T.A.

The Saints junior girls dropped a 34-21 decision, while the Thomas Aquinas

senior girls were upended 51-24.

This weekend, the Thomas Aquinas and Beaver Brae senior Boys volleyball

teams are in Dryden for the Eagles annual Invitational Tournament.

Healthy Workplaces Month

October is Healthy Workplace Month and the Northwestern Health Unit is encouraging area workplaces to implement job satisfaction initiatives.

Officials say when employees are supported at work to make healthy choices, research shows that they work more efficiently.

Workplace Health Promoter Jessica Brown says the Health Unit offers a number of services.

Brown notes that 52-percent of the Canadian workforce has little access to workplace health services.

Broncos Footballers Play in Steinbach

After a tough three game stretch, Beaver Brae's Football team gets a bit of a break in the schedule today.

The 3-2 Broncos hit the road to take on the winless Steinbach Sabres in Winnipeg High School Football League action.

The expansion team has an 0-5 record after losing 20-15 to Dryden last week.

It was the Eagles first victory of the season.

Game time is 3:00 this afternoon in Steinbach.

New Agreement for Kenora Forest SFL

Its being called an historic agreement.

The Kenora Forest is now part of a co-operative forest licence involving private business and several area first nations.

Eric Fisher, chief of the Wabaseemung First Nation, is the president of the Mitigoog Limited Partnership, and says it gives aboriginal communities a 50 percent stake in forest activities in the Kenora Forest.

Weyerhaeuser, which had the Sustainable Forest Licence for the Kenora Forest is also a member of the Mitigoog partnership.

Other partners include the Dalles, Whitefish Bay, Kenora Forest Products, Wincrief, and the Kenora Independant Loggers.

Police urge motorists to watch out for wildlife

Police are warning motorists in northern Ontario that more

wildlife are now on the roads.

They say there are 14-thousand reported collision involving

animals in Ontario every year, that's one every 37 minutes.

October, November and December are one of the peak times for

wildlife collisions since it is the mating and migration seasons.

Lac Des Iles Mine Re-Opens in NWO

Two-hundred people can go back to work now that North American Palladium`s Lac des Iles mine has reopened northwest of Thunder Bay.

North American Palladium says it's constructing a shaft that will extend below the existing pit into a recently-discovered ore body.

Company president William J. Biggar says that ore body could extend the life of the mine for another 10 years.

Nearly 400 employees were laid off when the mine ceased production two years ago because of falling palladium prices.

Renovations approved for Rideout Community Club

The Rideout Community Club is due for a 60 thousand dollar upgrade.

Kenora City Council approved funding yesterday to fix up the aging

building.

Councillor Chris Van Wallenghem says the city is providing about 31

thousand dollars in materials, while Sierra Construction has volunteered

the labor to fix up the community club.

Van Wallenghem says council was able to approve the spending, even though

they are considered a lame duck council, because the funding had already been

set aside in this year's capital budget.

Daytime break-in interupted

Three people have been arrested after breaking into a home on Park Street  during the day.

The OPP say a neighbor spotted three people trying to get into the house Wednesday afternoon and called police.

It turned out the owner was also in the house at the time of the break-in.

The culprits demanded food from the owner and ended up stealing a quantity of alcohol and food.

Officers located the suspects, two women and one man a short time later.

They have been charged with break, enter and theft.

Mixed EQAO results in local Public Schools

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says it has come up with a number of strategies for improving standardized test scores.

The latest round of reading, writing and math from the Education, Quality and Accountability Office show mixed results for grade three, six and nine students in the public school system.

Caryl Hron is the superintendant of education for the board and says one of things they've done to improve reading and writing test results is to put more of an emphasis on literacy.

Hron says they've increased literacy instruction in the class by 20 minutes a day.

Rec. Center Parking lot ready for paving

Not a lot of parking space available at the Kenora Rec. Center this week, but that's about

to change.

Pioneer Construction is in the process of re-paving the parking lot in front of the Thistle Rink.

The work is being done in conjunction with other construction which is being carried out in the

area.

A new storm water system is being installed along Mike Richards Way.

The warm weather this month, has meant, construction is pretty much on schedule.

Public School Trustees Honoraria Frozen

Trustees with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board won't see any increase in their pay for the next two years.

The honorarium for the elected school board members will be frozen at 59 hundred dollars a year.

Superintendant of Business, Dean Carrie says under the provincial government's restraint legislation, trustee salaries have to be frozen until April 1st, 2012.

After that, the honorarium will go up to almost 63 hundred dollars a year.

The chair will continue to receive another five thousand dollars a year, while the vice-chair

is eligible for an additional 25 hundred dollars.

CHAP is danger of shut down in Kenora

A popular community-based health program is in danger of being shut down due to a lack of funding.

The Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program, or CHAP for short, has been operating in Kenora since 2006 and is one of 16 communities across Ontario providing the service.

Randy Belair is with the Sunset Country Family Health Team, which operates the program and says they have been trying to convince the provincial government to continue funding CHAP.

Belair says unless they get additional funding, they will have to wrap up the program at the end of the month.

Canadian Bass Championships Seeking Help

For the second straight year, the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship is faced with the prospects of coming to an abrupt end.

The board says it needs someone to replace Tom Fry, who's stepping down as chair after three years.

Fry is hoping someone will take over by the time a public meeting on the tournament happens October 21.

The board has been trying to find a replacement for the past year.