Hampton Lashes out at Energy Retailers

Beware of signing any long term contracts with energy retailers.

That's the message Howard Hampton says he wants to present at a pair of town hall meetings tomorrow.

Hampton says his constituency office regularly gets complaints about the unscrupulous practices of energy retail agents who go door to door.

Hampton will be holding information sessions at the TraveLodge at 2:00 and 6:00 tomorrow.

Saints boys hockey team losing game two of final

A third period collapse by the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team has forced a third and deciding game in the NorWOSSA single "a final.

The Sioux Lookout Warriors scored four unanswered goals in the final 15 minutes of the game to earn a 5-1 victory last night.

Game three is scheduled to take place tonight at 7:00 at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Treaty Three Police Opens New Detachment

First Nations leaders and other dignitaries gathered yesterday to celebrate the opening Treaty Three Police Services new detachment in Couchiching First Nations.

It's home to twenty officers policing First Nations in the Rainy River district.

Police Chief Conrad Delaronde says it provides them with some facilities they didn't have before.

Delronde says the move from offices in Emo also provides with them with more visibilities to the people they directly serve.

All Kindergarten expanding to two more schools in Kenora

Premier Dalton McGuinty says 900 more Ontario schools

will start offering full-day kindergarten in 2012.

Both Lakewood School and Pope John Paul II school will be opening

their doors to the all-day kindergarten programs in 2012.

Jack McMaster is the director of education with the Keewatin-Patricia

District School Board and says he been very encouraged by the program.

The Public school board will also be offering the program at Riverview in Dryden, Red Lake/Madsen Elementary School and at Sioux Mountain in Sioux Lookout by the fall of 2012.

Fatal Snowmobile Accident near Ear Falls

A Geralton resident has been killed in a snowmachine accident in northwestern Ontario.

The OPP say three men were riding their snowmobiles south of Ear Falls yesterday when the accident took place.

23 year old Marcel Santerre was injured in the collision and died a short time later.

Police say they are not releasing any other details about the fatality at this time.

Control Board begins Snow Monitoring Program

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says its beginning its

winter snow monitoring program this month.

Communities across the drainage basin have received higher than

average snow falls this winter.

Spokesperson for the Control Board Rick Cousins says its too early to

say what impact all the snow will have.

Cousins says realistically, spring rains have a bigger impact on water levels on the lake than the snow.

Government Evasive on Ring of Fire Blockade

The McGuinty government is saying very little about a planned blockade of the Ring of Fire area this week. The Marten Falls First Nation plans to stop access to the proposed chromite mining project.

In the legislature Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chris Bentley says Michael Gravelle is familiar with their concerns

Bentley says there are northern First Nations that are working on economic plans with the help of the government

A colder than normal February

Much of Northwestern Ontario experienced normal temperatures last month.

The exceptions being Thunder Bay and Fort Frances.

Meterologist Bill Laidlaw says they were hit with bitterly cold weather.

Laidlaw says snowfall amounts vary throughout the region as well with Ear Falls getting less than other areas.

Ultimate Fishing Town Nominations open

Nominations are now being accepted to the World Fishing Network's contest to find Canada's Ultimate Fishing town.

Towns can submit their bids in until April 8th.

Several northwestern Ontario communities were nominated in last year's contest with Nestor Falls coming in second to Port Alberni, British Columbia in the on-line contest.

IJC Task Force Seeks input on Interim Report

It's not making making any recommendations, but a Task Force examining the management of the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake basins has put forward plenty of ideas for discussion.

The Task Force has to submit a final report back to the International Joint Commission by July.

Canadian Secretary Kelli Saunders says they're now looking for public comment.

A least two more rounds of consultations are expected, including one in April.

More Downtime at the Abitibi Mill in Fort Frances

More downtime is planned for workers at the AbitibiBowater mill in Fort Frances.

The company says both the paper and kraft mills will be halted for fourteen days beginning March 28th because of poor market conditions.

More than 500 employees will be effected.

The news comes as about 230 employees are in the middle of a shutdown of the mill's paper machines that is to end March 7th.

NorWOSSA Hockey Finals set

Beaver Brae hockey teams now know who they will play in the

NorWOSSA Double "a" finals.

The Bronco boys will travel to Fort Frances Friday for game one of their

best of three final against the Muskies.

Fort advanced after beating Red Lake 6-1 last night in the third and deciding

game of their series.

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team will face-off against their nemesis from

Dryden.

The Eagles trounced Fort Frances 6-1 last night to win their best-of three semi-final two games to one.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team travels to Sioux Lookout tonight for game two of their best-of-three Single "a" final against the Warriors.

The Saints took game one last week and a win will advance them to the OFSAA championships.

March comes in like a Lion

In like a lion.

That's the way March has blown into Kenora.

A sudden snow system blew into town this morning, but we're not expecting a lot more snow today.

Severe weather specialist Geoff Coulson says areas to the east of Kenora are being harder hit.

Coulson says high winds will create low visibility due to blowing snow, and will also drive the temperatures down over the next few days.

Drug Bust in Rainy River District

Four Rainy River district residents face drug charges.

Provincial Police seized over 37-thousand dollars worth of drugs, including 36 marihuana plants, a quantity of marihuana bud and a quantity of prescription pills from two homes in LaVallee township and Chapple township last Thursday.

A 26-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man from LaVallee township each face production charges.

Two men, aged 27 and 23, from Potts Township, face charges of possession and Insecure storage of a firearm.

Countdown begins for Kenora Winter Carnival

Organizers of the Kenora Winter Carnival have officially begun the count down.

The carnival takes place over the weekend.

Heather Paterson is the tourism development officer for the city and says even before the event gets underway, one competition has already been a success.

Eight local charities have been busy selling their carnival buttons.

The charity challenge will wrap up as one of the final events of the winter carnival on Sunday.

Paterson adds that they are still looking for teams to enter the Great Canadian Canoe Race on Sunday afternoon.

Frank Symonds Classic Results

A good weekend for the Kenora Nordic Trails Ski Club.

It hosted the 21st annual Frank Symonds Classic out at the  Mount Evergreen Ski Club and members took home hardware in three different categories.

Carl Peever finished first in the men's 10 kilometer race, while

Jennifer Findlay was the top female racer.

In the 9 kilometer freestyle event, Dan Morwood took top honors, while Janet Findlay was the top female racer.

In the kids two kilometer race Jakob Rasmussen set the pace, with Elise Hummelbrunner the top female.

Ring of Fire Blockade Planned

A First Nation is planning to set up a blockade Thursday near the massive chromite deposit in northern Ontario known as the Ring of Fire.

Marten Falls First Nation is planning to block access to the deposit near James Bay because its members feel excluded from negotiations on its development.

Aboriginal communities in the area have complained that mining companies aren't consulting them in their plans to develop the deposit.

Schaeffer Inquest Begins this week

An inquest gets underway in northwestern Ontario this week to look into the shooting death of a Peterborough man.

The O-P-P's use-of-force policy is under the microscope as a coroner probes the 2009 shooting death of Levi Schaeffer near a remote First Nation community.

The inquest will also look into the circumstances that led to Schaeffer being shot by officers in the Osnaburgh Lake-area.

O-P-P officers and members of Schaeffer's family are expected to testify at the inquest, which is expected to run through Friday.

Kenora Hydro Undecided on New increase

Hydro rates in the City of Kenora will be going up as of May 1st, but

by exactly how much is still a question mark.

Kenora Hydro has to decide by the end of the week whether to apply

for another rate increase to cover their portion of a court ruling

last week.

An Ontario court Justice decided that Hydro companies had overcharged on the amount of interest they paid on overdue accounts.

The fine was 18 million dollars.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro Dave Sinclair says they are eligible to apply for a rate increase to cover the cost of the fine, but he's not sure whether they will or not.

Kenora Hydro already has a rate increase before the Ontario Energy Board and Sinclair isn't sure how a second increase would affect their application.

Gas Prices Up

                                        The price of gas continues to climb in Kenora.

Yesterday it hit a dollar 22 a liter, up three cents from the weekend.

Higher gas prices in Northern Ontario have the NDP talking about government regulation again.

Provincial leader Andrea Horwath says it's not fair that the North always pay more than what they do in Toronto

Horwath says government control would help even out the price in the province.

Money Still Available for Community Improvement

After two years, about two thirds of funding available through a community improvement fund for downtown Kenora has been spent.

The fund was set up as part of the downtown revitalization project and encourages local business owners to fix up their building facades and signage.

To date about 133 thousand dollars of the 250 thousand dollars set aside in the CIP fund has been spent.

Heritage Kenora is asking the city to re-new the program once again in 2011, to use up the funds remaining in the budget.

OPP Forensics Lab gets okay from Council

Kenora City Council has given the go ahead for a new

OPP Forensics Laboratory to be built north of the Kenora

By-Pass.

Council approved the site plan for the facility, which will

be built just east of the existing detachment office.

The Property and Planning committee says the OPP didn't

need approval from the city to proceed with construction,

but did so as a courtesy.

Its expected that construction will begin sometime later this year.

IJC Task Force releases Interim Report on Lake of the Woods

A task force looking into water quality issues on Lake of the Woods has come out with its interim report.

The 84 page document looks at some of the agencies currently involved on the lake and address some of the long term issues affecting water quality.

Todd Sellars is the Executive director of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation and says the interim report is a very thorough document.

The task force, which was set up by the Internation Joint Commission will be holding a couple of open houses in April to get feedback on the interim report.

The only stop in northwestern Ontario is April 7th in Sioux Narrows.

Construction on Discovery Center Progressing

The new discovery center on Lakeview Drive is expected to be open

in time for the 2011 tourism season.

Local officials got a first hand look at the facility this week.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says funding for the project was approved under the federal/provincial infrastructure project.

The Discovery Center will function as the new tourism bureau for the city.

Construction is expected to be complete by June.

Freedom of the City for the 116th Independant Field Battery

The 116th Independant Field Battery in Kenora is getting

a unique honor from the city.

Council has granted a request given the military group Freedom

of the City.

The honor is given to organizations or members of the community

that have provided heroric service to the City.

The request to have Kenora give the Freedom of the City was made last month by Colonol Woody Linton during a deputation to council.

He says its an honorary distinction, that places no monetary demands on the city.

Four Council Members at Good Roads

The City of Kenora is well represented this week at the Ontario Good Roads

Conference.

Four members of council and one staff member have made the trip to Toronto

four the three day conference.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says their main focus will be to get funding from

the provincial government to help fix up our aging bridges.

Canfield says the price tag for fixing up Kenora's bridges runs into the tens of

millions of dollars, something local taxpayers just can't afford.

Fiecek Rinks Avances to National Wheelchair Championships

A perfect weekend for Wayne Fiecek at the Northern Ontario Wheelchair curling championships.

The Fiecek foursome booked its ticket to the national championships with a 5-4 win over Steve Daniel of Sudbury yesterday at the Fort William Curling Club.

Fiecek finished with a 4-0 record and now moves onto the national championships

at the end of March.

Bronco Hockey teams win in NorWOSSA Semis

Both of Beaver Brae's hockey teams have advance to the NorWOSSA

finals.

The Bronco boys were in Dryden yesterday and earned a 2-1 win over

the Eagles in game two of their best of three semi-final.

Beaver Brae also won Friday night's game 1-0 and take the series
two games to none.

Meanwhile, the Bronco girls beat their cross-town rivals from Thomas
Aquinas in two straight games.

Last night Beaver Brae needed double overtime to tame the Saints.

The Broncos won 4-3, with a game winning goal by Sam Smith.

They now face the winner of the series between Fort Frances and Dryden.

A good weekend for the Kenora Triple "a" senior Thistles.

The Thistles won both games played at the Rec. Center this weekend against

the Fort Frances Thunderhawks.

Yesterday, Jeff Richards scored twice en route to a 6-1 win over Fort.

Saturday night, a similar scenario with the Kenora Seniors earning a 5-1 win.

Their next game is this weekend, with the Penticton Vees coming to town for

a pair of exhibition games.

Ontario Heritage Trust Volunteer Awards

Two Keewatin Residents have picked up volunteer awards from the Ontario Heritage Trust.

Ted Szjewski and Laureen Parsons were presented plaques for their work in restoring the old cemetary in Keewatin.

The cemetary dates all the way back to the early 1900's but had been abandoned and overgrown.

Szjewski and Parsons and a number of other volunteers have been working over the past few years to clean up the gravestones and spruce up the property. 

Police Board gets unexpected windfall

The Kenora Police Services board is a little richer today.

The board has been presented over 16 hundred dollars in found money.

OPP sergeant Kelly Fitzsimmons handed over the cash this week.

She says the money was collected over the past six years by the

former Kenora Police Service and either the owner was not found, or

the money was seized as part of a criminal investigation.

She says if there was no forfeiture order, the money has to by law

turned over the Police Board.

Chair of the board Colin Wasacase says the money will be put into

reserves for future use.

Fantino tours Northwestern Ontario

The Federal Government is providing almost 400 thousand to help seniors and people with disabilities in the region.

Minister of State for Seniors Julian Fantino made the announcement yesterday while touring the region yesterday and says its an important issue that needs support.

The funding is part of the 2010 Federal Budget and is being distributed through the New Horizons for Seniors Program.

District Services Board Approves Budget

The Kenora District Social Services Board has passed it's 38 million dollar budget.


The 2011 budget includes cost increases for Land Ambulance, Social Housing, and Ontario Works programs.

CAO Sten Lif says that's a 1.8 percent increase for local area municipalities.

Kenora's share of the budget will be increasing this year by 42 thousand dollars. 

Jeffrey won't budge on Land Permit Fees

If angry tourist outfitters were expecting help from the Natural Resources Minister they're out of luck.

Linda Jeffery doesn't give any indication she's willing to budge on the issue of increase land permit fees.

Some outfitters say they're fees have shot up 700 per cent, but Jeffery indicates it's a done deal with the Outfitters Association

Jeffery doesn't believe the fee increase will cause some fishing lodges to close as the outfitters claim.

OPP Investigate fatal accident in Sioux Lookout

A 50 year old Manitoba man is dead after an industrial accident in Sioux Lookout.

Abram Guenther and another man who is seriously injured were working on modular home units at McDiarmid Lumber.

Constable Jodi Peckford says they were were airlifted to Winnipeg for treatment on Wednesday night.

The Ministry of Labour is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Further information will be released as it becomes available.

Heatherington finishes out of medals at Canada Winter Games

Still no medals for Kenora athletes at the Canada

Winter Games in Halifax.

Luke Heatherington saw his first competition yesterday

and finished 7th overall in the men's under 66 kilo division.

Heatherington lost his first fight, won his second, then

dropped his third and final match.

He's back in action on Saturday in the team event.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Canada, Kaitie Dennis

won a bronze medal at Pacific International Judo Championships in Vancouver.

She finished with a 2-1 record in the women's 57 kilo event.

NorWOSSA Double "A" Finals re-scheduled

Beaver Brae is playing host to the NorWOSSA double "a" championships
today.

All four Broncos teams will be in action this morning in the semi-finals.

The Beaver Brae Junior Girls volleyball team hits the court at 10:00 against
Fort Frances in one semi, with the winner going on to face Dryden in the gold
medal game this afternoon.

The Bronco junior boys basketball team is also in action at 10:00 this
morning against the Muskies.

Both of Beaver Brae's senor boys basketball and senior girls volleyball
teams hit the court at 11:30 for their semis.

Peaceful Ending to Pikangikum Stand-Off

The OPP says a stand-off on the Pikangikum First Nation has ended
peacefully.

Police were called out shortly after 1:00 Thursday morning after a shot was
fired inside a home on the community during a domestic dispute.

No-one was injured, but the OPP's Emergency Response Unit and a Crisis
negotiator were dispatched to the scene.

A perimeter was set up around the house and around 10:00 yesterday
a male suspect gave himself up to police.

The OPP say charges are still pending in the incident.

Traffic Moving On By-Pass After Being Closed all Night

Travel could be slow going this morning in the Kenora area.


Freezing rain last night created very slippery conditions on local roads,
and now blowing snow has resulted in very poor visibility.

The good news is that Highway 17-A has finally been re-opened to two-way
traffic.

The Kenora By-Pass was opened by the OPP around 5:00 this morning.

Highway 17-A had been closed around 10:00 last night, forcing drivers to
park their rigs along the side of the highway all night long.

School Buses Cancelled today

The Keewatin Patricia District School Board has cancelled all its

buses this morning due to the freezing rain and blowing snow.

The cancellation also affects the Kenora Catholic District School Board.

Roads are still very slippery in some sections, and the high winds have
resulted in very poor visibility on local highways.

Schools buses have also been cancelled in Red Lake, Ear Falls, Dryden,
Sioux Lookout, Ignace and Upsala.

The weather conditions have also forced the cancellation of the
NorWOSSA double "a" boys basketball and girls volleyball finals
up at Beaver Brae today.

McGuinty Responds to Agent Orange Report

Premier Dalton McGuinty is trying to resassure retired government forestry workers.

It comes after a report that says they may have been exposed to the cancer causing chemical Agent Orange during their work years.

McGuinty says the government is interested in getting information on the situation.

Speaking in Thunder Bay Premier McGuinty says he was only recently made aware of the issue.

Council refuses to endorse Northern Harbor Expansion

Kenora city council says its not willing to publically support a proposal to

expand Northern Harbor.

Because the Marina is not within city limits, council says it will defer any
decision about the expansion to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Council made the decision even though it admits the area could benefit
from increased docking facilities.

Northern Harbor is wants to add another 400 docking slips over the next
25 to 30 years and develop an R.V. Park on its property on Lake of the Woods.

New Lease for Rec. Center Concession

The City of Kenora has decided that it no longer wants to operate the

concession stand at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Council is expected to approve a lease with Kim Pries for the operation
of Food and Beverage Service at the Thistle Rink.

The lease is for 525 dollars a month.

The city had tried to lease out the concession stand last year, but felt the
tenders were too low.

At the time the Community Services Committee felt it could make more money
by operating the concession on its own.

The new lease will take effect as of March 1st and run for two years.

Saints lose out in the NorWOSSA Semis

The finals are all set for the NorWOSSA Single "a" boys basketball
and girls volleyball at Thomas Aquinas.

Yesterday, the Saints Senior Boys Basketball bowed out in the
semis, dropping a 57-36 decision to Sioux Lookout.

The Warriors take on Red Lake in the gold medal game at 9:00.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas junior girls volleyball team pushed
Sioux Lookout to a fifth set, but still lost 15-12 in the fifth and deciding
game.

In other match-ups today, the Thomas Aquinas junior boys basketball
team will face Red Lake in the final at 11:00 and the T.A. senior girls volleyball
squad will take on Rainy River in the other final at 1:00.

Thistles Drop First Game of Play-offs

The Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles are on the brink of elimination in

the Manitoba Midget Hockey League.

The Thistles were shutout 6-0 last night by the Eastman Selects in
Beausejour last night in game one of their best-of-three preliminary
round series.

The Kenora Midgets will try to stave off elimination Saturday night
at the Thistle Rink, when they host game two of the series.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's boys hockey team lost their final regular season
game.

The Broncos had a make up game last night in Dryden and droped a 6-4 decision to the Eagles.

The same two teams will meet up in the first round of the NorWOSSA play-offs next week.

Temperature Records Set in NWO

Enjoy the spring-like conditions while they last.

Three days of above normal temperatures will come to a crashing halt later today.

Yesterday was a record days for a number of communties across northwestern Ontario.

In Kenora, the thermometer at the airport topped out at 7.6 celcius, which broke the previous high for February 16th by almost two degrees.

The previous record was 5.9 back in 1981.

Kenora wasn't the hot spot in the region.

Atikokan hit a sizzling 15.1 celcius, breaking the previous high of 9.8 degrees.

No Rebates for Local Municipalities from DSSAB

Local municipalities shouldn't expect to see any money returned back to them from the Kenora District Services Board this year.

Council says if the provincial government is paying the cost of more services, those savings should be passed back to towns and cities in the Kenora District.

Louis Roussin is the City representitive on the District Services board and says instead for returning money back to municalities, the extra money is being put into reserves.

He says the District Services Board then uses that money for capital expenditures, such as replacing ambulences.

Kasabonika Signs Mining Agreement

MacDonald Mines Exploration has signed a three-year agreement with  a northwestern Ontario first nation that gives it unrestricted access to  explore properties on band territory.

The value of the deal was not released, but the Toronto-based miner says it will issue shares to Kasabonika Lake First Nation, as well as make both a lump sum and ongoing payments.

MacDonald's property on the First Nation's territory has been reviewed  by nickel experts, and diamond drilling will begin later this year.

Kasabonika Lake First Nation is 575 kilometres northeast of Kenora and currently has a strategy to develop mineral exploration in the community.

Community Clubs to get Grants

The four community clubs in Kenora will be getting much needed funding

to help make it through the winter.

Kenora City Council has approved grants of six thousand dollars each
for Pinecrest, Rideout, Central and Evergreen.

Recreational Services Manager Colleen Neil says the money is really to
help off-set the cost of utilities, such as water, which is needed to flood
the rinks during the winter month, and to heat the buildings.

She adds that Rideout Community Club was able to access a reserve fund
this year to help fix up the floor of the building.

Government Continues Negotiations over Ring of Fire

The Ontario government is confident that it will reach an agreement with First Nations communities over the Ring of Fire mining project in northern Ontario.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle says he is working closely with the Matawa First Nations, who have threatened to block access to the chromite deposit located on their lands.

Gravelle says the government will ensure that the Matawa First Nations will benefit from the project.

Tourist Outfitters want meeting with Minister of Natural Resources

Angry Northwestern Ontario tourist outfitters are hoping for action from the Natural Resources Minister.

They've fired off a letter to Linda Jeffery demanding that a 700 per cent increase in land fee permits be reversed.

Their point man is Paul Boucher of the Ogoki lodge who says the message to Jeffery is "talk to us".

Boucher says these are desperate times form outfitters and they don't need such a hefty increase.

Concerns Raised about the Sale of Abitibi Hydro Assets

The NDP says it wants the provincial government to take a close look at the sale of Abitibi's hydro

dams in Ontario.

MPP Gilles Bisson says any decision that allows Abitibibowater to sell hydro assets
must be carefully scrutinized and involve local community leaders.

Last week, Abitibi announced the sale of eight Hydro dams, including those in Iroquois Falls, Fort Frances and Kenora to an unnamed buyer.

The sale is still subject to approval by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Historically the dams have provided low-cost electricity to mills in these communities.

Federal Funding for Aboriginal Housing

A number of first nation communities in northwestern Ontario will benefit

from a 14 million dollar housing program announced by the federal government.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford announced the infrastrucuture project at the Northern Housing Conference taking place in Thunder Bay.

The Rat Portage and Couchiching First Nations will get the largest share of the  money in this region.

Both communities have been promised 400 thousand dollars.

Rickford says the money will be used for social housing projects and also to help repair aging homes in the communities.

NorWOSSA Court Sport Finals in Kenora starting today

Both Thomas Aquinas and Beaver Brae are hosting NorWOSSA play-offs
this week.

Action begins today up at T.A. were the semi-finals of the single "a" boys basketball and girls volleyball take place.

The finals are scheduled to start at 9:00 tomorrow morning.

The Double "a" semis and finals will take place tomorrow at Beaver Brae.

Second Career Program Deemed a Success

The McGuinty Government is celebrating the success of the Second Career program in the North.

Just over 32 hundred Northern Ontario workers have particapated in the program, which offers financial assistance to laid off workers to retrain for a second career.

A recent survey shows 74 percent of Second Career students have found employment in less than a year after completeing the program.

The Second Career program was launched in 2008 by Employment Ontario. 

Woman fined for Illegal Deer Hunting

A Terrace Bay woman found out shooting deer can be expensive.


She was fined one-thousand dollars after pleading guilty to
shooting a deer from a roadway near Kenora last October.

Donna Parise was met by conservation officers on the Villeneuve Road after
they'd received a report of a high powered rifle been discharged in the area.

Parise said she fired a single shot at a deer from the centre of the road but believed she had missed.

The Ministry of Natural Resources reminds hunters it is illegal to shoot from, down or across a public road.

New Electronic Billboard Proposed for Harborfront

Its a sign of the times.

A national advertising company wants to put an electronic billboard up on
the Kenora Harborfront along the C.P. right of way.

Pattison Signs made a pitch to city council to replace the five conventional
billboards along the harborfront, with one electronic one.

Rob Sedgewick is a spokesperson for the company and says the concept is
a good one for the Harbortown area.

The only fly in the ointment, is that Kenora's new sign by-law prohibit any
new billboards from being erected in the Harbortown area.

Council has decided to set up an ad-hoc committee to look at the issue to
decide whether to allow the electronic billboard or not.

Free Parking for Veterans?

There may be no such thing as a free ride, but there is such a thing as

free parking, at lease if you are a military veteran in Kenora.

City council has re-visited a by-law allowing free parking for vets only
on certain days, such as Remembrance Day and D-Day.

Councillor Rod McKay feels anyone who fought for out country should be eligible for free parking.

He says it won't cost the city a lot of money.

There was some concern about people abusing the privaledge, but
Councillor Ron Lunny says the number would be so small, that it
shouldn't be a real issue.

LU closer to getting a Law School

Lakehead University is taking the next step towards getting a law school.


The proposed school's curriculum has received approval from the Law Societies of Canada.

University President Brian Stevenson says the curriculum focuses on aboriginal and resource based economy law.

The final law school decision rests with the Ontario government.

Healthy Food Basket comes to council

The Northwestern Health Unit says there are things City Council can do

to help people live more comfortably on a fixed income.

Health Unit dietician Chelsea Lecain made a presentation to council to
coincide with the Week of Action Against Poverty.

She says their healthy food basket program shows prices have
gone up higher in the Kenora area than anywhere else in Ontario.

Lecain says its costs about 918 dollars to feed a family of four, based on
the healthy food basket.

Plans for new land ambulence base coming together

Still no firm decision from the Kenora District Services Board when construction on
a new land ambulence base in Kenora will begin.

The city has given some land beside the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill to the Services
board to build the new facility.

Louis Roussin is the new council representitive on the board and says they still haven't
decided whether to begin construction this year, or next year.

He says the estimated cost of the project is about 2.8 million dollars.

Roussin says the District Services board may go ahead with the design portion of
the project this year, and wait til 2012 to begin construction.

Bronco hockey teams finish the regular season with a split

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team put a big exclamation mark on their season.

The Broncos beat the league leading Fort Frances Muskies 3-2 last night in

a shootout.

It was the second game in a row the Broncos beat the Muskies 3-2 in extra time.

With the win Beaver Brae finishes second overall in the Double "A" standings
and now faces Dryden in the First round next week.

Meanwhile, the Bronco Girls dropped a 3-2 decision to the Dryden Eagles in
a shootout.  Beaver Brae had already clinched first overall.

In Sioux Lookout, the Warriors edged the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team 6-5 last night to wrap up the regular season.

The two teams tied for first in the single "a" division, but the Saints will have home ice advantage in the play-offs thanks to a better goals against average.

T.A. will face Sioux Lookout next Tuesday in game one of the best of three final.

Council Unwilling to float loan for Paterson Medical Clinic

Kenora city council says its not willing to be the banker for the Paterson Medical Clinic.

The clinic owes the city about 6.8 million dollars for the renovation and expansion of the
medical facility on Tunnel Island.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they want the Kenora Medical Clinic to seek an outside financial
institution to pay the loan off to the city.

Councillor Louis Roussin says while he supports the resolution, he thinks the medical clinic
will find it difficult to find any financial institution which would be willing to foot the entire
loan amount.

Province to Appoint Facilitator to look into Evergreen Closure

Parents at Evergreen School haven't won the war yet, but they have scored

a minor victory.

The Ministry of Education has agreed to appoint a facilitator to look into
the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board's decision to close Evergreen
at the end of this school year.

Patti Letourneau is a member of the parents committee they really don't know
how the process is going to unfold.

The Ministry of Education says it can't overturn the school board's decision, but
it can determine if the public board followed its own processes in closing the
school.

Don't feed the Deer

Problems with deer experienced by some residents in the area over the past few years could be minimized by this winter's snowfall.

Melissa Mosley, a biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources, says the full impact won't be known for a while, but this year's heavy snowfall will help in keep deer in the bush.

The snow, though, is not impacting on the animal's ability to feed, and area residents should avoid setting up feeding areas.

Kenora Hunter Fined illegally hunting wolf

A Kenora area resident has been fined 15 hundred dollars for hunting a wolf

north of town.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says Jaques Choquette was hunting with a group in an area
off Ena Lake Road last October.

Conservation officers came across some photos of a wolf, and upon further investigation
discovered that a wolf had been shot a couple of days previous, but a tag had not been
affixed to the animal.

The wolf carcass had also been abandoned.

Choquette was fined a thousand dollars for abandoning a wolf pelt and 500 dollars for
failing to attach a game seal.

His digital camera and rifle have been seized until the fines are paid up.

Relay for Life Hosts Kick-Off event tonight

The Relay For Life for the Canadian Cancer Society will get a kick start this evening.

The kick-off event will take place this evening at the Minis Hall of the Super 8

Andrea Perchuck is co-chair of the local Relay and says they are actively seeking volunteers.

Perchuk says the Relay garnered over 77 thousand dollars last year, and they are hoping to top that
number this year.

Sharks Claim 88 medals in Fort

It was quite the medal haul for the Kenora Sharks Swim Club.

The Sharks were in Fort Frances over the weekend for the Boston Pizza Winter

Chill Invitational swim meet.

The Kenora swimmers collected 88 medals in all.

Winnie Boucha topped the leaderboard seven times, and also won a bronze.

Bryn Jones took home six gold and two silver, while Orion Demisse won four gold,

three silver and two bronze.

Three People Fined for Illegal Hunting near Minaki

Three Michigan men have been fined more than seven thousand dollars for illegally

hunting in the Minaki area.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says technicians discovered a couple of deer carcasses
in the ditch out side of Minaki last October.

Conservation officers checked some local tourist lodges and located the men responsible.

They discovered the hunters had removed the antlers but left the rest of the animal to
rot.

Two men have been charged with abandoning a white-tailed deer and also littering.

They each have been fined over 32 hundred dollars and banned from hunting in Ontario for
three years.

A third hunter was fined 750 dollars for allowing deer meat to spoil.

Rickford opposes FedNor Private Members Bill

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says a Private Members Bill to establish FedNor as a permanent regional economic development agency will do nothing but add an unnessary level of buracracy to the system.

The Conservative member voted against Bill C-309 in the House of Commons this week.

Rickford says the current system doesn't need to be fixed.

He stresses the Bill will never see the light of day.

Five groups band together for Northwestern Ontario Energy Plan

A group of Northwestern Ontario political leaders is now part of a new Energy Task Force.

It consists of the Municipal Association, the Chambers of Commerce, city of Thunder Bay and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.

NOMA president Ron Nelson says they'll fight for an energy plan for the northwest

Nelson says the northwest needs it's own plan for electricity generation, transmission and pricing

School Board Saves Money on Green Energy Projects

Apparently it is easy being green.


The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says its seen a three percent
reduction in its energy costs in the past year due to a number of different
conservation programs.

Kim Carlson is the school board's facilities manager and says by doing simple
things like upgrading the lighting system, they have been able to save money.

Carlson says the public school board is on the cutting edge in implementing
green technology, and they are being recognized not only in Ontario but
across Canada.

Ontario's Abitibi Dams Being Sold

It looks like the long talked about sale of the Abitibi dams in Ontario is

about to come to fruition.

AbitibiBowater has announced its has sold a 75 percent share of its
hydro assets in the province, that includes dams in Kenora, Fort Frances
and Iroquois Falls.

The sale price is listed at 300 million dollars.

The unnamed buyer is expected to close the sale in the next 60 days.

Abitibi says it will use the proceeds to help pay off its outstanding debt.

Kenora Skiiers win Gold at Manitoba Championships

A busy weekend out at Mount Evergreen Ski Club, where the Kenora Nordic Trails hosted a pair

of events for the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba.

On Saturday, the classic races were held, and a couple of Kenora racers won gold.

Alyson Stoliker won the 1.2 kilometer girls event and also the 1.2 kilometer girls freestyle mass start
yesterday, while Christopher Moose took
the 1.2 kilometer boy race.

It was a Kenora sweep of the medals on the atom girls 1.2 kilometer race, with Shayna
Hensrud claiming top honors. She also won Sunday's 1.2 kilometer freestyle mass start.

In the eight kilometer junior girls race, Samantha Burkhart beat out Maya Boivin for
gold.

Burkhart also won the eight kilometer freestyle event yesterday.