Midget Thistles prepare for Branch Playdowns

The third season for the Kenora triple "a" midget Thistles begins this evening.

The Thistles are taking on Thunder Bay Kings in the best of three northwest branch playdowns.

Coach Brian Olson says the team is looking forward to the challenge.

Game one of the best of three series take place at the Thistle Rink tonight

at 7:30.

Game two is tomorrow night and game three, if necessary will take place Sunday afternoon.

Work Begins to Develop a Municipal Cultural Plan in Kenora

Anyone who wants to enhance Kenora's cultural landscape is being

invited to provide their two-cents at a special forum this evening.

Jennifer Findlay is with the Economic Development Commission is looking

for some feedback it can use to help develop a Municipal Culture Plan.

Findlay says the City has received funding from the Ministry of Culture to
develop a Municipal Culture Plan.

The forum will take place in the Minis Hall of the Super 8 Motel at 7:00.

Whiteshell lakes designated as protected areas

A lake in Whiteshell Provinical Park in Manitoba that had been considered as a possible site for a Tim Hortons camp for children  will be set aside as a natural protected area.

The province says Meditation Lake, along with Sylvia Lake, in the Whiteshell will be free from development.

The Tim Hortons Foundation Leadership Camp looked at Meditation Lake, but a wilderness group argued that many other areas of the Whiteshell were better suited for such a project.

An area west of Sylvia Lake was eventually chosen and approved for the camp, but the province says land adjacent to the lake will not be developed or made accessible for cottage construction.

Former TA student wins medal at CIS Volleyball Championships

A former member of the Thomas Aquinas senior boys volleyball team now has a Canadian University Silver medal to add to his two OFSAA gold medals.

Dan Boutwell is the starting middle hitter for the Brandon Bobcats men's volleyball team.

The Bobcats fought their way in to the national championships Sunday, but lost to the host team from Trinity Western.

This is the best ever finish for the Bobcats, who were competing in just their second national championship.

Public School Board looks at Aboriginal Achievement

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says its doing what it can

to close the gap between aboriginal students and the rest of their peers

in local schools.

Trustees were presented a couple of reports this week that looked at how

teachers and administration were planning to improve student achievement.

Director of Education Jack McMaster admits aboriginal students continue to

lag behind, but they are working to build bridges that will hopefully pay dividends

in the long term.

McMaster says they are starting to see some improvement in credit  recovery for aboriginal students, but there's still more work that can be done.

Local Hospitals reducing falls

There's praise for health care facilities in Northwestern Ontario from a top provincial official.

Dr. Ben Chan, CEO of the Ontario Health Quality Council notes that institutions in Kenora, Dryden and Red Lake have reduced patient falls by half in the past year. Chan says that frees up beds elsewhere in the region.

Local health care facilities have been concentrating on the reduction of falls in recent years.

Drug Bust On the By-Pass

The OPP say they have seized over 18 thousand dollars worth of cocaine during a routine traffic stop on the Kenora By-Pass.

Police stopped a vehicle for speeding around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.

The driver did not have a valid license and officers decided to search the vehicle.

About six ounces of cocaine and over 13 hundred dollars in cash were found in the car.

The driver 35 year old Jeffery Coleman of Sault Ste. Marie and  the passenger 30 year old Russell Lidstone of Calgary have been charged with trafficking in a narcotic as well as possession of property obtained by crime.

They made their first court appearance yesterday. 

SIU Clears Dryden Police in fatality last May

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has cleared the Dryden Police of

any wrong in the death of a 25 year old man in the lock-up of the Dryden

Police Station last year.

Dustin Douglas Ruillard had initially been taken to hospital for high levels

of alcohol in his system on May 11th.

Dryden Police were contacted after Ruillard repeatedly tried to leave

the hospital.

Ruillard was eventually taken to the Dryden Police Station to sober up, but began showing signs of mental distress.

He was again taken to hospital, but died a short time after being re-admitted.

After months of investigation, the cause of death still has not been determined, but the SIU says the post-mortem shows there was no sign of misconduct while he was in police custody.

Saints Senior Girls win Silver

For the second year in a row the Thomas Aquinas senior girls

volleyball has won silver at the All-Ontario single "a" championships.

The Saints made it into the gold medal game last night against the Ottawa area team from Embrun, but ended up losing three sets to one.

T.A. took the first set 25-23, but proceeded to lose the next three.

Embrun came into the tournament as the second seed, behind Thomas Aquinas.

Youth Arrested for Keewatin Vehicle Break-Ins

The OPP say they have arrested three youth in connection to a string

of vehicle break-ins in Keewatin.

Last Friday night, officers responded to complaints of youth who were

seen going into unlocked vehicles in the Wharf Street area.

A short while later, police located three young male suspects between

the ages of 12 and 14.

The OPP say they are continuing their investigation and remind local residents to local their vehicles when the are left unattended.

Facilitator Named to look at Evergreen School Closure

The provincial government has named an independant facilitator to look at the closure of Evergreeen School by the Keewatin Patricia District School Board.

The Ministry of Education has announced that Joan Green will begin the administrative review of the Kenora Accomodation Review Committee on March 21st.

Green is a former director of Education in Toronto and was the founding CEO of the Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office.

She will report back to the Ministry of Education within four to eight weeks with her final report.

While the facilitor cannot overturn the school board's decision to close Evergreen it can determine whether the public school board followed its own policies.

Hudson School to Close

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board will be closing not one, but two of its elementary schools this year.

Last night, trustees approved a resolution to shut down Hudson School.

Superintendant of Business Dean Carrie says they knew that if a new school opened  at nearby Frenchman's Head has drastically reduced the school population at Hudson.

The student enrolment at Hudson is now 22 students.

Carrie says the school would close as of June 30th and students will be bussed to Sioux Mountain in Sioux Lookout starting in the fall.

Lake of the Woods Water Quality Forum Starts today

The annual conference looking at the health of Lake of the Woods is taking place this week in International Falls.

The 8th annual Lake of the Woods Water Quality Forum gets underway at Rainy River College.

Todd Sellars is one of the organizers of the conference and says this year delegates will get a chance to provide some feedback on the interim task force report on Lake of the Woods.

Sellars says some of the sessions will focus on the state of the fisheries and effects of nutrients and algae on water quality on Lake of the Woods drainage basin.

Thomas Aquinas Perfect after OFSAA Round Robin

The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team is living up to its top billing so far at the All-Ontario Single A championships taking place in Belleville.

The Saints are undefeated in the round robin, with a perfect 4-0 record.

So far T.A. has yet to drop a set.

Last night, Thomas Aquinas finished the day with a 25-15, 25-20, straight sets win over West Park Secondary School from St. Catherines.

The Saints have now advanced to the quarter-finals and will be on the court at 11:30 in a must-win game.

A victory moves them into the semi-finals, and a loss would send them home empty handed.

Conservatives Hints at their Northern Platform

With a provincial election just seven months away, the Progressive Conservatives are starting to outline their platform for Northern Ontario.

Tory Critic for Northern Development and Mines, Randy Hillier says they don't like many of the policies and legislation drafted by the McGuinty government and would scrap the Far North Act.

Hillier describes the Far North Act as divisive, because it excludes about half of the territory of northern Ontario from any sort of development.

City Demanding Money to Repair Bridges

Its like being between a rock and a hard place.

That's how some members of city council have described this year's budget process.

Of particular concern is what to do with the city's aging bridges.

There's no money in the capital budget to fix them up, but Councillor Ron Lunny says they know the work has to be done eventually.

The West Winnipeg River Bridge, better known as the Husky Bridge, is the main priority for the city, and needs over 5.5 million dollars of repair work done.

Mayor Dave Canfield says he doesn't want to foot the bill for the project and is insisting the provincial government take back control over bridges from the municipality.

Camp on Lake of the Woods Destroyed by Fire

A fire to a camp on Lake of the Woods is believed to have caused more than a million dollars damage.

The OPP say they were contacted around 3:00 Sunday morning about a blaze in the area of Strawberry Island.

Police say the building was not occupied at the time and was completely

destroyed by the fire.

The Ontario Fire Marshall's office has been contacted, but will not be attending the scene.

The Camp belonged to Jim Richardson and was valued at about 1.6 million dollars.

First Student Canada wins school bussing contract in Kenora

A new company will be picking up kids for school in the Kenora

area next year.

The Northwestern Ontario Student Services Consortium, which handles

transportation issues for local school boards, has awarded a five year

contract to a company called First Student of Canada.

That company will be taking over from Excel Coachlines, which has

had the contract for several years.

The Student Services consortium says the tender process was part of a

provincially mandated initiative.

First Student will take over school bus service in Kenora this fall.

Tent Tenders for the Harborfront come in under budget

One of the items in the City's capital budget in 2011 is the tent covering for the festival park.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they have received back

the tenders for the tent, and they are all under the 1.5 million dollars

that has been budgeted for the strucuture.

Perchuck says a report will be presented to the committee of the whole  next week for review.

Council still has to find a way of funding the tent structure

City Starts Budget Process

Kenora city council has started the long budget process for 2011.

Today councillors got a first hand look at the capital budget, which

calls for spending of 13 million dollars this year.

Chair of the finance committee Ron Lunny admits there are some

big challenges ahead.

Some of the items in this year's capital budget are completion of the Discovery Center and downtown revitalization, the harborfront tent, and a new pumper truck for the fire department.

HST to add to City's Budget Woes

The Harmonized Sales tax could have some impact on the City of Kenora's 2011 budget.

The provincial government has said repeatedly, the HST is revenue neutral, but Chief Adminstrative officer of the city, Karen Brown expects the HST will add about 1.7 percent to its spending.

She says city department's will have to take that into account when drafting their operating budget's this year.

NOACC supports Northern Growth Plan

The Northwestern Associated Chambers of Commerce is another organization on board with the Northern Growth Plan.

NOACC President Barry Streib says the proposed Northern Policy Institute is welcome by the chambers

While critics say the plan has no substance, Streib believes the framework is there to guide growth into

the future.

Rafferty Demands HST be taken off gasoline

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty believes gas prices in northwestern Ontario are out of control.

In the House of Commons Friday, Rafferty says removal of the HST would help bring them down.

Rafferty says studies suggest the recent increase in prices is netting the federal government almost 7-million dollars each week

Agent Orange Panel being set up

Natural Resources Minister Linda Jeffrey says an independent panel into Ontario's use of Agent Orange will be up and running by the end of the week.

She says she will likely name the head of the panel within the next few days.

Close to 650 calls have flooded provincial hotlines in the wake of recent revelations that Agent Orange was used in Ontario for more than three decades.

Saints Aim for Gold at OFSAA

The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team is in Belleville today for the start of the All-Ontario Single A championships.

Saints head coach Bob Kowal says this is probably the best team he has taken to OFSAA.

The Saints go into the tournament as the number one ranked team.

Their first game is at 8:00 this morning against People's Christian Acadamy from Toronto, which is the lowest seed at OFSAA.

Festival Funding Announced

A couple of local festivals are getting a helping hand from the provincial government.

Celebrate Summer, a festival which will take taking place just after Canada Day has been promised 40 thousand dollars to help stage that event this year.

Harborfest will also be getting 75 thousand dollars from the Ministry of Tourism's Celebrate Ontario fund.

A total of 20 million dollars has been promised 230 different festivals across the province, to help attract more visitors and create jobs in the community.

Council begins budget process this morning

Kenora city council will get its first crack at the 2011 budget this morning.

A special council meeting is scheduled to take place in Council chambers to go over the capital budget and take a look at long term projects.

The budget time-line for this fiscal year will also be laid out.

The budget meeting is scheduled to take place at 9:00 this morning.

Mixed reviews for the Northern Growth Plan

The head of the Northwestern Ontario Muncipal Association is giving thumbs up to the province's Northern Growth Plan.

Ron Nelson says NOMA is especially happy that a Northern Policy Institute is part of the plan

Nelson says now the plan is out it's up to everyone concerned to make sure it moves forward.

NDP MPP Howard Hampton doesn't see much oppirtunity for growth after reading the new Growth Plan For Northern Ontario,

The Northern Growth Plan was released on Friday to much fanfare.

Northern Policy Institute being Planned

The McGuinty government's proposal for a Northern Policy Institute is only a idea so far.

Liberal MPP Bill Mauro says details will be worked out by the presidents of Lakehead and Laurentian Universities.

Mauro says the advice will be passed on the Minister of Northern Development.

Wasaya Air expanding again

Flying services to Northern Ontario will be getting a boost.

Wasaya Airways is meeting increased demand for air service in the North by adding its second Bombardier Dash 8 since October.

Vice President George Simon says the company also plans on adding a third Dash 8 as part of an expansion plan.

Simon says the new planes can carry 37 passengers which is a lot larger than the current planes in their fleet.

The Fight is on for Northern Ontario Curling Teams

The federal NDP wants to save Northern Ontario and its place on the national curling stage.

Sports Critic Glenn Thibeault of Sudbury says they're trying to stop the Canadian Curling Association from eliminating the region's place at the Brier and giving it to the defending champion.

Thibeault says the region's vastness and uniqueness support the need for a separate Northern Ontario entry.

Hospital still in the black

Lake of the Woods District Hospital still expects to break even this year

despite its recent bed shortage.

Finance manager Cindy Gasparini says as of the end of January they wereabout 220 thousand dollars in the black.

She adds that the bed shortage has meant more overtime costs, so that will eat into their surplus.

She adds that at this point they still don't know what their budget will be for this years, but says right now they are working with the expectation of a zero percent increase.

Bronco Girls win NorWOSSA hockey Gold

Beaver Brae's hockey teams have won one gold and one silver medal in the NorWOSSA finals.

The Bronco girls took the NorWOSSA double "a" title last night with a 4-2 win over Dryden.

Ainsley Linquist led the scoring attack with a goal and three assists, while Sam Smith, Hannah Rose and Haley Moncrief each scored singles for Beaver Brae.

The Broncos won the best-of-three final two games to none and will head to Stratford after the March Break for the All-Ontario championships.

Meanwhile, the Fort Frances Muskies took the NorWOSSA double "a" boys crown with a 4-3 win over Beaver Brae last night at the Rec. Center.

The Muskies scored the game winner 12:28 in overtime to take the series two games to none.

Senior Thistles Trounce Penticton

The Kenora Triple "a" senior Thistles were not good hosts over the weekend.

The Thistles whipped the Penticton Vees in two games played at the Kenora

Rec. Center.

Yesterday, Jeff Richards had a pair of goals en route to a 9-1 win over the Vees.

On Saturday, the Kenora Seniors got three goals from Jon Johnson in a 9-4

rout over Penticton.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Double "a" PeeWee Thistles came up short in their best-of-three final against Steinbach in the EastMan Manitoba League.

The Millers best the Thistles 2-1 yesterday at the Keewatin Arena to take the series two games to one.

Beaver Brae Cheerleaders win Double Gold at Northern Regionals

Beaver Braes cheerleading squad won a couple of gold medals at the Northern Region Championships yesterday in Thunder Bay.

The Broncos took the Team Dance gold and also won the small, all-girl intermediate cheerleading competition.

The both cheerleading squads had now qualified for the provincial championships.

The cheer squad will head to Missisaugua in April.

OPP wrap up investigation of Ear Falls Snowmachine Fatality

The OPP have released more details surrounding a snowmachine

accident near Ear Falls.

23 year old Marcel Santerre was badly injured around 2:30 Tuesday
afternoon after he ran into a hydro guide wire.

He had been travelling with two other people on the Hydro line trail at
the time.

The other two sledders took Santerre to hospital in Ear Falls, but
he succumbed to his injuries.

Police say neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in the fatality.

Martin Falls Begins Blockade of Ring of Fire

The Marten Falls blockade is underway.

The First Nation community wants more input when it comes to ring of fire development.

NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy says some companies working in the region already get the message.

Beardy says First Nations in the region aren't against development; they just want to make sure there are long term benefits for their communities.

Hospital Experiencing another Bed Shortage

Lake of the Woods District Hosptial is experiencing another severe bed shortage.

In fact, the hospital has asked for and been granted

1-A status by the Northwestern Local Integration Network.

Director of Patient Care, Leslie Brown says that gives patients waiting for long term care, first priority for any beds that open up.

Brown says they have requested that the 1-A status be extended for at least four weeks to address their overcrowding issues.

Catholic Board Looks Forward to expanding All Day Kindergarten

The Kenora Catholic District School Board says it should have no problem accomodating an all-day, everyday program at Pope John Paul II school.

PJP and Lakewood will be getting all day learning at the kindergarten level by the fall of 2012.

Director of Education, Phylis Eikre says the all day program has been a big success at St. Louis in Keewatin this year.

Eikre says Pope John Paul was designed with all-day, everyday kindergarten in mind, so they should be able to roll it out next year with no problems.

Northern Growth Plan to be released today

After three years of consultation, the Northern Growth Plan will be released today.

The opposition, though, is not impressed.

NDP Critic Gilles Bisson says several towns across northern Ontario have already lost their major employer and the Liberals response so far has been inadequate.

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle says the document is an economic vision for northern Ontario for the next 25 years.

Canfield honored for Support Forest Industry

The Ontario Forest Industries Association still has fond memories of Kenora

mayor Dave Canfield.

Canfield was one of six people who were presented awards for their contribution

to the forest industry yesterday at the OFIA's annual general meeting.

Canfield says he really wasn't expecting the honor.

Canfield also accepted an award on behalf of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association for its work in support of the forest industry in Ontario.

Winter Carnival Begins Tonight

A busy weekend in Kenora.

The Winter Carnival begins this evening.

Tourism Development Officer Heather Paterson says they have a full slate of events this weekend.

Things get underway this evening with a bang.

The fireworks will start at 7:00 followed by an Al Simmons concert at Lakewood and the BluesFest at Shooters.

OFSAA Nordic Championships underway in Ottawa

One medal so far for Kenora's cross country skiiers at the All-Ontario championships taking place in Ottawa.

Jamie Triskle of Thomas Aquinas won gold in the para-nordic event yesterday.

The top finish in the junior girls 5 kilometer freestyle race was Sammi Burkhart from T.A. in 5th, while Maya Boivin placed 8th.

In the senior boys 7.5 kilometer freestyle, Erik Lockhart placed 31st out of over 160 racers.

Meanwhile, Manon Magnon was 15th overall in the Senior girls division.

Beaver Brae's junior girls were 6th in the team event.

Today, the team relays will take place.

Saints boys hockey team OFSAA Bound

The Thomas Aquinas Boys hockey team is heading to OFSAA.


The Saints doubled up the Sioux Lookout Warriors 8-4 last night at the

Kenora Rec. Center to win their best-of-three NorWOSSA single "a" final series two games to one.

T.A. now travels to Timmins after the March break for the All-Ontario championships.

Meanwhile, the NorWOSSA finals begin on two fronts for Beaver Brae's hockey teams.

The Broncos girls will host the Dryden Eagles in Game one of the best-of-three series
tonight at the Kenora Rec. Center.

The puck drops at 8:30.

The Bronco boys are on the road tonight.

They travel to Fort Frances to take on the Muskies in game one of their

best-of-three series.

Game two is back at home at 7:00 at the Thistle Rink.

JM arena petition being circulated

A petition is being circulated trying to get support for an

artificial ice plant at the Jaffray Melick arena.

Organizers say they had good support last night for the
petition, and it will be doing the rounds some of the other
arenas in town over the next few days.

The plan is to present the petition at the next committee of the
whole meeting of council.

Due to volunteer burn-out and unseasonably warm weather
in February, use of the natural ice surface was cut short. 

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.