Army Worm infestation looming

Army Worms will invade the region's tree population in two summers from  now.

The last outbreak of the leaf eating caterpillars ended in 2004.

Ministry of Natural Resources Expert Taylor Scarr says in peak years army worms have caused slippery highways.

The furry insects have a 7 to 10 year outbreak cycle.

Community Improvement Plan Approved for Abitibi Lands

The City of Kenora is going to move ahead with a Community Improvement Plan for the Abitibi properties on 9th Street North.

Council passed a resolution last week approving a change to the official plan.

Councillor Rory McMillan says the intent of the Improvement Plan is to encourage development on the property.

There is still a 21 day appeal period for the Community Improvement Plan.

McMillan says the change to the official plan will go into effect once that appeal period is over.

Kenora Candidates Election Ready

The slate in the Kenora Riding for the May 2nd federal election has a familiar look.

All three main political parties will have the same candidates as the last election three years ago.

Tania Cameron is the NDP candidate and says she's actively been campaigning

for a couple of years now.

Liberal Candidate Roger Valley is also not stranger to the campaign trail and says he plans to get to as many communties as possible over the next 38 days.

Incumbant Conservative candidate, Greg Rickford has also been busy, opening his campaign office in Kenora just hours after the election writ was dropped in Ottawa.

There is also expected to be at least one independant candidate in the Kenora Riding this election.

Bronco Girls win OFSAA Consolation title

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team didn't win a medal at the All-Ontario

A/AA championships but they did get the consolation prize.

The Broncos won the consolation final 2-0 Friday afternoon in Stratford.

Beaver Brae was also presented with the sportmanship banner from the

tournament.

Meanwhile, the Wayne Fiecek foursome is home from the National Wheelchair curling Championships without a medal.

Fiecek's Northern Ontario squad finished the round-robin with a 4-5 record

and out of the play-offs at the Edmonton bonspiel.

Kenora Rockets dominate Fort Badminton Tournament

The Kenora Rockets had a big weekend at a junior badminton tournament in Fort Frances over the weekend.

Andrew Neil won the boys under 13 singles title and teamed up with Johnny Houlden for the double crown.

Tyler Neil won three gold medals, winning the Under 16 boysdivision, then teaming up with Logan Ginn in the boys double event, and Cayleigh Payne for the Mix doubles title.

Meanwhile, the Lake of the Woods Flyers struck gold at an Atom Girls hockey tournament in Winnipeg.

The Flyers beat Dryden 6-1 in the A-two final of the Stars Cup yesterday.

The Blue Sharks from Kenora won the bronze medal with a 2-1 win over

the Thompson, Tigers.

Kenora Hydro discovers cause of power outage

Kenora Hydro thinks its isolated the problem that caused a city-wide power outage.

Electricity to all Hydro customers in Kenora and Keewatin was out for about 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro, Dave Sinclair says they had a hardware malfunction which caused the black out.

He says the computer in question has since been taken off line, and they will be working with their vendor to find why the computer caused the outage.

OPP arrest suspect in Assault

A 51 year old man has been arrested following an assault in the Railway Street area of town.

The OPP say they were called out to a disturbance around 10:00  Wednesday morning.

Police say two men were involved in an altercation and one man had to be taken to hospital for treatment and later released.

John White of Kenora was arrested at the scene and has been charged with  Assault with a Weapon, Uttering threats and Mischief under five thousand dollars.

He appeared in Kenora Court yesterday on the charges.

Fire Fighters ask for old Fire Bell

Kenora's professional fire fighters are asking city council to review its decision not to move the old fire bell and call box from the

Fire Hall on Second Street South up to the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

President of the union, Fred Ralko says contrary to recent suggestions, fire fighters have done what they can to maintain the old bell.

Ralko has requested council revisit the city by-law, which designated the fire bell and call box as an integral part of the heritage building.

City gets Additional Funding from the Province

A bit of a bonus for the City of Kenora.

The provinical government is promising an extra 697 thousand dollars from

the Ontario Municipal Partnership fund.

Karen Brown is the city's chief adminstrative officer and says the extra money

actually has to do with Kenora's unusually high policing costs back in 2009.

Brown says the city borrowed money from reserves to help pay for the disbandment of the Kenora Police Service, and the money announced yesterday from the province will go back into reserves.

Big Trout Lake Girls dies of Hypothermia

The OPP say hypothermia is the likely cause of death of an 11 year old girl last weekend in Sioux Lookout.

The girl has been identified as Chloe Matthews from the Big Trout Lake First Nation.

She had been reported missing last Friday and her body was found the next day on the grounds of Sacred Heart School in Sioux Lookout.

The OPP's Criminal Investigations Branch says it is continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Concern Raised About Agent Orange Panel

Agent Orange is under the spot light again.

Timmins MPP Gillies Bisson questioned the McGuinty government about the appointment of Dr. Leonard Ritter.

Ritter is going to investigate the use of Agent Orange in Northern Ontario.

Bisson expressed his concerns in the Legislature.

The panel will look into the use of the toxic herbicide between the 60s and 80s.

Round Robin Wraps up at National Wheelchair Curling Championships

Wayne Fiecek continues to alternate wins and losses at the National Wheelchair curling championships in Edmonton.

Yesterday, Team Northern Ontario started the day with a 5-2 victory over the host team from the Jasper Center Curling Club.

The Fiecek rink then followed that up with a narrow 8-7 loss to the unbeaten Alberta squad.

With two draws left, Team Northern Ontario has a 3-4 record and needs to win both games today to have any chance at the play-offs.

OFSAA Hockey update

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team has moved into the consolation semi-finals at the All-Ontario A/AA championships in Stratford.

The Broncos blanked Lester B. Pearson High School from Hamilton yesterday 3-0 in the consolation quarter-finals.

Jody Melillo, Jess Ricklefs, and Karly Kantola each scored for Beaver Brae.

The Bronco's next game is at 9:15 this morning.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team suffered a costly loss yesterday at the OFSAA A/AA championships in Timmins.

The Saints were edged 8-7 by Glendale Secondary School From Tillsonburg, dropping T.A.'s record to 1-2 with just one round robin game left to play.

Thomas Aquinas will take on Algoma District Secondary School at 9:00 this morning.

Former mayor faces impaired driving charges

The former mayor of Kenora will appear in court in May on impaired driving charges.

The OPP say they pulled over a vehicle in downtown early this morning because it was being operated in what they called a suspicious manner.

The driver of the vehicle was given a road-side breath test and failed.

74 year old Leonard Compton was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle with having over 80 milligrams of alcohol in his blood.

He's due to appear in court on May 2nd.

OPP says girl died of Hypothermia in Sioux Lookout

The OPP say hypothermia is the likely cause of death of an 11 year old girl last weekend in Sioux Lookout.

The girl has been identified as Chloe Matthews from the Big Trout Lake First Nation.

A post-mortem exam had been conducted earlier this week in Toronto.

Matthews had been reported missing last Friday and her body was found the next day on the grounds of Sacred Heart School in Sioux Lookout.

The OPP's Criminal Investigations Branch says it is continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Small Communities interested in using Kenora's Landfill

The Kenora Municipal Landfill Site out at Silver Lake seems to be attracting a lot of interest.

A number of communities in the region have contacted the city about using the landfill to deal with their own garbage issues.

Mike Mostow is the city's solid waste manager and says the interest is a mixed blessing.

Mostow admits the life span of the landfill is going to be a lot longer than anticipated because local residents are recycling more than they used to.

The life span of the landfill was originally estimated at 35 years.

Museum submits budget request to council

Lake of the Woods Museum says it won't be seeking any increase in its budget from the city this year.

Chair of the museum board, Jan Lindstrom made a budget presentation

to council this week.

She says they are willing to hold their request from the city to 216 thousand dollars in 2011, even though their overall budget will be going up by about 24 thousand dollars this year.

The museum has three full-time employees says there will only increase in wages is if council approves a move on the salary grid for non-union employees this year.

Kenora Hydro Investigating power outage

The cause of a city-wide power outage is still being looked into by Kenora Hydro.

Shortly after 2:00, all residential and commercial customers in Kenora and Keewatin saw their electricity cut off.

Hydro service was finally restored around 3:00.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro Dave Sinclair says there are a couple of possible causes for the massive outage, including software problems.

Kenora gets extra funding from the Province

Some good news for a couple of cash-strapped municipalities in northwestern Ontario.

Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle announced extra money, which is over and above what they normally get under the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund

Kenora will get nearly 697-thousand dollars in additional funding, while Sioux Lookout has been promised 108 thousand dollars.

Local Candidates brace for Election Call

Members of Parliament are bracing for a possible election call this weekend.

A non-confidence vote is scheduled in the House of Commons tomorrow afternoon.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says he isn't impressed with the contempt of parliament

motion that is expected to topple the Harper government.

Meanwhile, the NDP candidate in the Kenora Riding says she understands why her party isn't supporting the Conservative budget, because it doesn't help out the people really in need.

All three parties in the Kenora riding say they are ready to hit the campaign trail, should

the election call be made this weekend.

SIU clears officers in Sioux Lookout fatality

The Special Investigations Unit says the death of a 63-year-old Summer Beaver Reserve man was unrelated to his arrest earlier this month.

Provincial police arrested Albert Moonias on the morning of March 15 and put him in a cell at the Sioux Lookout detachment.

The SIU says Moonias was later found to be in medical distress and was transported to Sioux Lookout Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A post mortem determined that Moonias had died as a result of a heart attack.

The police watchdog agency says there was no evidence of trauma to suggest that he was involved in a fight or restrained.

Director Ian Scott says the SIU has concluded Moonias died as a result of a condition unrelated to any actions by the police and has closed the file on the death.

Fiecek Splits Games on Day three of National Wheelchair Championships

The Wayne Fiecek Foursome has a 2-3 record through five draws at the National Wheelchair Curling Championships in Edmonton.

Yesterday, team Northern Ontario split its games.

In the afternoon draw, Fiecek downed Ontario 8-7, but then dropped an 8-4 decision to Quebec in the late draw last night.

The Fiecek Rink is back on the ice this afternoon against the host team from the Jasper Center Curling Club.

Broncos and Saints looking for first wins at OFSAA

 

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team and the Thomas Aquinas Boys will be looking for their first wins today at the All-Ontario A/AA championships.

The Bronco girls managed just one point in two games yesterday in Stratford.

In their afternoon game, Beaver Brae managed a 2-2 tie with St. Christopher Secondary School from Sarnia.

The Broncos wrap up the round robin at 11:15 this morning against St. Charles from Sudbury, which is also looking for its first win in the OFSAA tournament.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas Saints play their second game at the OFSAA championships in Timmins this morning at 7:00.

The Saints take on Jean Vanier High School from Toronto.

Yesterday, T.A. dropped a 6-2 decision to Timmins in its first game.

Three people arrested in downtown robbery

The OPP says it now has arrested three suspects in connection to a robbery in downtown Kenora over the weekend.

The incident took place at an apartment on 1st Street South around 10:00  Saturday evening.

Police say three men wearing masks forced their way into the residence and threatened three occupants with a weapon.

They then made off with a quantity of cash.

An investigation by the OPP and its Street Crimes Unit has resulted in the arrest of 28 year old Chris Jack of Washagamis Bay,  29 year old Vernon Jack and 26 year old Ricky Payash, both of Kenora.

They have been charged with multiple offences including Break and Enter, Robbery and Assault with a Weapon.

All three have been remanded into custody and are to appear in Kenora court later today.

Health Unit approves 2011 Budget

TheHealth Unit has passed its spending  requests on to local municipalities.

The Health Unit finalized its budget last month, and it calls for a three percent increase in spending.

The good news is that the province is picking up the lion's share of the increase.

Most municipalities in the Kenora and Rainy River Districts will see a decrease in their health unit levy of between 2.6 and 23 percent this year.

NAN Police reacts to Federal Budget

The Federal Government is giving more support to policing in aboriginal communities.

30-million dollars is being set aside in the budget for First Nations policing.

Nishnawbe-Aski Police Chief Claude Chum says it's not much when you look at the big picture.

The budget also includes 22-million over 2-years to help First Nations ensure fuel tanks that power their community meet environmental safety standards.

Local Liberal Candate pans federal budget

Don't trust the Conservative Government is the message today from the Liberal Candidate for the Kenora Riding.

Roger Valley is not in support of the Federal Budget.

Flaherty's new budget calls for total spending of 278.7-billion dollars.

Valley says the Liberals introduced a good chunk of the programs announced yesterday, including a tax credit for volunteer firefighters.

Rickford Reacts to Federal Budget

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is questioning the NDP's motives in suggesting they will vote against the Federal budget.

The New Democrats opposition to the budget is likely to pave the way for a Spring Election.

Rickford believes the Conservative Government struck a perfect balance in the budget.

Rickford says turning down the budget will result in a loss of funds for FedNor and Northern Ontario.

Council agrees to rate increase for Sewer and Water

Kenora City council continues to grapple with the harsh realities of

the budget process.

Council met for several hours yesterday to go over the Sewer and Water and

Solid Waste budgets.

Operations manager, Rick Perchuck says the city has a severe infrastructure

deficit, which is going to have to be addressed eventually.

Chief Administrative officer Karen Brown says the city spends about 500 thousand dollars each year to fix up aging sewer and water infrastructure, far short of the three million needed to properly maintain the system.

Northern Diabetes Network Opens Office In Kenora

More support is available for those with diabetes in the Kenora area.

The Northern Diabetes Health Network has set up a regional office in town in the Bannister Center.

Lauri Ann Marshall says while about 10 percent of the local population has diabetes, that number is much higher in aboriginal communities.

Marshall says the office in Kenora provides support services for primary care workers in the region, rather than diabetes patients themselves.

Broncos and Saints hockey teams at OFSAA

Two Kenora high school hockey teams are in southern Ontario today for the start of the OFSAA championships.

Beaver Brae's girls team is in Stratford for the All-Ontario Double "a" championships.

The Broncos first game is at 8:45 this morning against Kincardine.

Yesterday in an exhibtion game, Beaver Brae got by Listowel 4-1 in a warm-up for the OFSAA finals.

In Timmins, the Thomas Aquinas Boys teams is set to begin play in the All-Ontario single "a" championships.

The Saints first game is 8:00 this morning against the host team from Timmins.

Sharks win gold at Man/Sask Championships

A strong performance for the Kenora Sharks Swim Club at the Man/Sask championships in Saskatoon over the weekend.

Several Sharks won gold medals, with Paige Murphy leading the way with six first place  finishes.

Winnie Boucha also won seven medals, including three gold, three silver and a bronze, while Bryce Jones had four gold and two bronze.

Michelle Belcaen also won gold in the 50 meter freestyle and qualified for the senior nationals with her time.

Fiecek in the Win Column at National Wheelchair Championships

The Wayne Fiecek Foursome is finally in the win column at the National Wheelchair curling championships taking place in Edmonton.

In the late draw last night, team Northern Ontario got by Saskatchewan 9-4 to improve their record to 1-2 after three draws.

Earlier in the day, the Fiecek rink dropped an 8-1 decision to Nova Scotia, which is one of three unbeaten teams at the nationals.

OPP arrest man in Weekend Robbery

A 28 year old Washagamis Bay man faces a couple of charges following a  break-in to a downtown apartment.

The OPP say they received a complaint about a break and enter to an  apartment on 1st Street South, around 10:00 on Saturday evening.

Police say the suspects entered the building and threatened the occupants.

They then fled with a quantity of money.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, has been charged with robbery and assault with a weapon.

Kenora Team to be Featured on Hockey Night In Canada

Kenora may not have been a Hockeyville finalist, but we will be getting some national exposure on Hockey Night in Canada.

A local hockey team will be featured in the pre-game show on April 2nd.

Thelma Wilkens-Page is the Scotiabank branch manager in Kenora and says the selection of a local team was just the luck of the draw.

The Scotiabank pre-game show will start at 5:30, prior to the game between Ottawa and Toronto.

Council delays decision on Electronic Billboard

Kenora City Council has decided to post-pone any decision on whether to allow an electronic billboard along Lakeview Drive.

After hearing a couple of deputations and being inundated with Facebook messages

opposing the new billboard, council has decided to take a sober second look at the issue.

Mort Goss from the Harbortown BIZ says the proposed sign by Patterson Outdoor Signage doesn't conform with the city's new sign by-law.

Council says it will review the issue at its next Property and Planning Committee meeting in April, and is looking at setting up an ad hoc committee to look at  whether an electronic billboard should be allowed or not.

Council approves Harborfront Tent Tender

There will be a new tent up on the Kenora Harborfront sometime this year.

At least that's the hope of City council.

It has approved a 1.475 million dollar tender from KMA Contract for  the harborfront covering.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield admits they are still working to find ways of funding the project.

The Kenora Economic Development Commission is currently looking at sponsorship opportunities for the Harborfront tent.

Budget Day Challenge for NDP in NWO

Its budget day in Canada, and a war of words is brewing between  M.P.'s in northwestern Ontario.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says he'd like to see the two Thunder Bay NDP members

of Parliament support the fiscal document, because there are some projects in the Lakehead that could be affected if the budget doesn't pass.

Rickford says MP's Bruce Hyers and John Rafferty could be about to vote against

a four million dollar cyclotron at the Thunder Bay Health Sciences Center if they

oppose the budget.

OPP continue investigation into death of 11 year old girl

OPP continue to investigate the death of an 11 year old Big Trout Lake First Nation girl.

The young girl was reported missing in Sioux Lookout on Friday night and was later found on the property of Sacred Heart School early Saturday morning.

She was taken o the hospital where she was pronouced dead.

A post mortem exam is scheduled to take place yesterday in Toronto.

The name of the deceased is not being released.

NWO All-Stars lose twice at Bantam Championships

The Northwest Stars are also looking for their first win at the Ontario Triple "a" Bantam Championships taking place in Thunder Bay.

Last night, the All-Stars were blanked 7-0 by Elgin-Middlesex from Southwestern Ontario.

Earlier in the day, Team Northwest dropped a 7-1 decision to the host Thunder Bay Kings.

Fiecek Rink Loses First Game At National Wheelchair Championships

The Wayne Fiecek Foursome from Northern Ontario has lost its first game at the National Wheelchair Curling Championships, taking place in Edmonton.

The Fiecek Rink dropped a 9-5 decision to Manitoba in the first draw last night at the Jasper Center Curling Club.

The game was tied heading into the 8th end, when Fiecek gave up four to Manitoba.

Team Northern Ontario will look for its first win this morning against Nova Scotia in the second draw.

Northwest Bantams lose first game at provincials

The Northwestern Ontario All-Stars have dropped their first game at the all-Ontario Triple "a" bantam championships in Thunder Bay.


The Stars were beaten by host Thunder Bay Kings 7-1.

Rory Keith of Kenora scored the Stars only goal.

The Stars face Elgin-Middlesex tonight.

SIU Investigates fatality in Sioux Lookout

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has been called in to investigate the death of a 63 year old man in Sioux Lookout.

The OPP say they arrested a man last Tuesday around 10 in the morning.

Around 2:30 he began to display signs of medical distress.

He was taken by ambulence to the Meno-Ya-Win Medical Center, but

was pronounced dead at the scene.

The SIU says it has assigned four investigators to the case, including a forensics specialist.

Hospital CEO takes on New Duties

The Chief Executive Officer of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital has been given some new duties.

Marc Belcaen has been elected to the American College of Health Care Executives Council of Regents.

The body represents hospital CEO's across North America.

Belcaen says the election as a region presents him with a unique opportunity.

Belcaen is in Chicago this with for the 54th Council of Regents Meeting.

OPP Investigate Death of an 11 year old girl in Sioux Lookout

The OPP are looking into a fatality involving an 11 year old girl in Sioux Lookout.

Police were contacted last Thursday about a missing girl.

She was finally located on Friday and was taken to the Meno-Ya-Win Health Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

The OPP's Criminal Investigation Branch and the Northwestern Crime Unit have been called in to look into the cause of the fatality.

Bearskin Expansion Plans for the US on Hold

Bearskin Airlines says it won't be flying into the United States any time soon.

Bearskin Vice President Cliff Friesen says they have to delay their Thunder Bay to Minneapolis service until the fall.

Friesen says approval from Homeland Security in the United States is the biggest holdup.

He says the company now hopes to have the service running by the fall.

Fiecek Ready for National Wheelchair Curling Championships

The Canadian Wheel Chair Curling championships get underway this evening in Edmonton, with a Kenora skip making his fourth straight appearance.

Wayne Fiecek and his rink from Northern Ontario hit the ice at 8:00 tonight at the Jasper Place Curling Club.

Fiecek says he's not making any predictions this year how his team will do.

A tough opening round draw for Fiecek's foursome.

The take on Manitoba in their only game of the day.

Kroppy's Hawks win Ham and Egger

A team largely made up of members of the Kenora Senior Thistles took top honors at the
annual Ham and Egger hockey tournament at the Keewatin Arenea.

Kroppy's Hawks upended the Trailor Park Boys 8-1 in the A-Side final of the tournament
yesterday.

The 9-1-1 Rangers took the B-Side championship with a 12-3 rout over the Barn Dogs.

In the C-side final, it was the Voodoo over the Jets 3-2 in overtime.

NAN Fights against Boreal Forest Agreement

The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation continues to fight against the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement.

Stan Beardy is leading the call for its termination because first nations in this region have not been adequately consulted.

Beardy had originally called for the agreement to be terminated by mid-March.

The CBFA is made up of 21 forest companies that want to to control forest regulation.