Second All-Candidates forum tonight in Sioux Lookout

Its Round 2 of 3 for the Federal Candidates in the Kenora Riding.

An All-Candidates forum is being held in Sioux Lookout tonight.

Its an open mic format and the forum is being held at the Legion from 7 until 9 o'clock.

Conservative Greg Rickford, Tania Cameron of the NDP, Liberal Roger Valley and Independent Kelvin Chicago-Boucher are scheduled to participate.

Mike Schwindt of the Green Party won't be in attendance.

The final All-Candidates forum will be next Monday in Kenora.

Drinking Water Crisis on Pikangikum

A state of emergency is in effect in Pikangikum First Nation.

In a press release, Chief Jonah Strang stated there has been no supply of potable or running water in the community.

Strang added that residents have been drawing water from a nearby lake, which is unsafe to drink.

Over 40-thousand litres of bottled water were ordered and its not known if that supply has arrived.

Strang says the water system in Pikangikum requires an immediate and complete overhaul and notes they are footing the bill to have water shipped in.

The issue has been compounded by reports of flooding in the area.

Police Nab Drunk Driver in Seatbelt blitz

The OPP's seasonal seatbelt campaign has been effective in not only nabbing motorists who fail to buckle up, but its also taken at least one impaired driver off the road.

Police say they pulled over a vehicle yesterday for a seatbelt violation.

In speaking with the driver, they noticed he had been drinking and was given a roadside breath test.

The driver failed and was taken to the Kenora Detachment office.

A 37 year old Winnipeg man is due to appear in court next month on impaired driving charges.

Bronco Cheerleaders win Bronze at Provincial Championships

The Beaver Brae Cheerleaders will be advancing to the national championships next month in Niagara Falls.

The Broncos cheer team was in Missisaugua for the provincial championships this past weekend.

Beaver Brae competed in the small team, all girls division and were 5th after the first day of competition.

On day two, the Broncos were in second, and their two day score gave them the bronze medal.

OPP seize drugs in routine traffic stop

The OPP's seatbelt campaign has netted more than just drivers failing to buckle up.

Police pulled over a vehicle on Highway 17-A over the weekend for a seatbelt infraction.

Officers also noticed the evidence of some drug use inside the car.

A search of the vehicle uncovered of 340 Oxycodone pills, 25 Ecstasy pills and 11 hundred dollars

in cash with an estimated street value of $37,000.

41 year old Ryan Place of Victoria and 41 year old Shane Nixon of Calgary have been charged

with possession of property obtained by crime, trafficking in a narcotic and possession of a weapon

for a dangerous purpose.

Kids for Cancer Tournament Seeks Support from City Council

Organizers of a hockey tournament for cancer research are seeking help from Kenora City Council.

Dean Caron started up the annual Kenora Kids for Cancer Research Tournament two years ago.

He says they have expanded every year and expect more than 20 teams this year.

He says they would like to expand ever further, but would like a break on some of their

costs at the Rec. Center. 

Caron says the tournament raised over 12 thousand dollars last year for cancer research and their target this year is 15 thousand.

No Digital Billboard for the Harborfront

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

At least that seems to be the case with Kenora City Council.

After paving the way earlier this week for the possibility of a digital bill board, the Property and Planning Committee has apparently had a change of heart.

In a vote Friday morning, a majority of council voted against a sign variance that would allow the installation of the digital display on Lakeview Drive.

Councillor Ron Lunny says that means the existing five billboards along the Kenora Harborfront will stay in place.

Allan Cup Wraps up with near Sell Out

Organizers of the Allan Cup in Kenora say they are pleased with how the week-long tournament ran.

The event wrapped up Saturday with the gold medal game in front of a near sell-out crowd at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Chair of the Allan Cup Committee Judy Bain says they were pleasantly pleased with the attendance at all the games.

Bain says it will likely take another month before they know if the Allan

Cup tournament generated any profit or not.

Flavour Gone Campaign Back with a Vengeance

The Flavour Gone campaign against flavoured tobacco has been re-launched.

The youth-based anti-tobacco organization has been battling tobacco companies for the past couple of years for targeting youth with flavoured tobacco.

Roberta Lappage says they thought they had won the battle after the federal government passed legislation against flavoured tobacco back in 2010.

During the Allan Cup tournament, a number of brightly clad youth in so-called morph suits protested the continued manufacture of flavoured tobacco.

Con College Offers New Training Program

A new training program aims to prepare First Nations workers for jobs in mining and energy.

Confederation College President Pat Lang says the program is customized to meet the needs of participants.

Courses will be offered on-reserve and by Confederation College in Thunder Bay and Geraldton.

250 training opportunities have been offered to five area First Nations by to prepare participants for jobs in the energy and mining sectors.

New Boating Test Required for Licence

That test needed to obtain a Pleasure Craft Operators Card is now a little harder.

The test includes more questions and if done on line, a 3-hour course must be completed first.

Cameron Taylor of BoatSmart! Canada doesn't see the changes discouraging people from getting the card.

The fine for not having a card is 250-dollars.

Sharks take a bite out of the Competition in Thunder Bay

The Kenora Sharks Swim Club is the cream of northern Ontario.

The Sharks took part in the Ontario division three swim championships over the weekend and took top honors.

Kenora Swimmers earned 782.5 team points ahead of Thunder Bay, North Bay and Kirkland Lake.

Teams were awarded points for their individual swimmers.

The win means that the Sharks now move up to the Ontario Division two championships next year.

Caribous Take Allan Cup back to Newfoundland

The underdog Clarenville Caribous have their first ever Allan Cup title.

The Caribous topped the six team field over the weekend with a 5-3 win over the Bentley Generals in the gold medal game.

Ivan Hapgood is the team's coach and says the win is special, especially since they failed to win a game at the Allan Cup tournament last year.

Jason Churchill, Clarenville's goal was named the tournament MVP, while Thistles captain, Sean Hughes was named to the Allan Cup all star team at forward.

First All Candidates Forum in Dryden

It got a little testy at times during last night's All-Candidates forum for the Federal Candidates in the Kenora Riding.

It was a packed house at the Dryden Legion.

Liberal Roger Valley closed the night by asking NDP and undecided voters to vote red.

Conservate Greg Rickford steered away from the remark and instead wanted to

focus on his party's track record over the past three years. 

Tania Cameron of the NDP took exception to the Valley comment and suggest that Valley was

actually supportive of her party's policies. 

Independent candidate Kelvin Chicago-Boucher decided to stay out of the name-calling and instead

called for more accountability on First Nation Communities.

Green candidate Mike Schwindt was unable to attend the debate.

The next all-candidates forum will take place in Kenora on Monday, April 25th.

OPP Focus on Missing Children

The OPP say they've made some headway in reducing the number of children who are reported missing each year in the Kenora area.

Local police say they get over a thousand reports of missing kids annually.

Inspector Dave Lucas of the Kenora OPP says they've been working with local child care agencies to reduce those numbers.

Lucas says the success of other programs such as Opening Doors, an after school program for youth at risk, also helps out.

Digital Billboard up for Debate Again

The social media is being used once again to lobby Kenora City Council.

Once again the issue of contention is the proposed digital billboard on Lakeview Drive.

Councillor Rory McMillan says he's received over 40 facebook messages since Tuesday's Property and Planning meeting.

At that meeting, council members refused to turn down the request for a digital billboard.

The Property and Planning Committee is scheduled to meet once again this morning to deal with the issue.

MNR Wraps up Training for local Fire Crews

The Ministry of Natural Resources has wrapped up a comprehensive training program for some its key members.

Response and Operations Manager Dave Cleavely says the forum was geared towards staff from across Northwestern Ontario.

Cleavely says a lot of the information was a refresher, however he notes new safety guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of workers before they do any task.

Thistles ousted from Allan Cup

The Kenora Thistles dream of Allan Cup glory are over.

The Thistles were ousted from the tournament last night in the quarter-finals with a 5-3 loss to Fort Frances.

Thistles coach Ryan Raynard says the team came out flat in their biggest game of the year.

Myles Kuharski scored a hat trick for the Thunderhawks, while Chris Medicine was strong in net for Fort.

Mike Garrow, Sean McAslan and Jon Johnson scored Kenora's goals. 

The Thunderhawks will meet the Bentley Generals in one semi-final this evening, while Dundas will take on the well-rested Clarenville Caribous this afternoon.

Dundas advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-0 shutout against the Southeast Prairie Thunder yesterday afternoon.

Allan Cup Preview

It will be a battle of northwestern Ontario in the Allan Cup quarter-finals this evening at the Kenora Rec. Center.

The Kenora Thistles will meet up with the Fort Frances Thunderhawks at 8:00.

The winner will move onto tomorrow's semi-final round, while the loser will be eliminated from further play.

Thistles Head Coach Ryan Reynard says even though the Thunderhawks are winless so far, he expects a tough game.

The other game today will see the Southeast Prairie Thunder take on the Dundas Real McCoys.

That's a 2:00 start.

The Clarenville Caribous and the Bentley Generals have a bye into tomorrow's semi-finals.

Substance Abuse Task Force Set Up

Kenora's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force has come out with its first ever Drug Strategy for the community.

The Task Force was set up about a year ago, with close to 30 local agencies represented at the table.

Constable Bob Bernie of the OPP says the Drug Strategy is about more than just enforcement.

Bernie says the goal of the task force is to reduce the harm caused by substance abuse.

The Task Force has set up a web-site and hopes to develop some billboards to help to deliver their messages.

NOMA Opposes Forest Tenure Act

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is having its say about the Forest Tenure Act.

NOMA called for a minimum five year trial period for the proposed forest management corporations.

President Ron Nelson made his comments to the standing committee over video conference.

NOMA wants the bill amended before it returns to the Legislature for third reading.

City Seeks Funding Increase for Beds and Heads

The City of Kenora is seeking increased transfer payments from the provincial government.

Council is looking to pass a resolution calling for money for so-call heads and beds.

Currently the province provides the city about 75 dollars for every hospital, jail and college bed in the community.

That amounts to about 28 thousand dollars a year in revenue for the city.

That funding hasn't increased since 1987, and the city is seeking an increase to about 135 dollars per bed.

District Services Board has job vacancies

The Kenora District Services Board has a few key vacancies it has to fill.

The Services Board is currently looking for a Director of Emergency Services.

Peter Marshall has announced his resignation.

Councillor Louis Roussin also says the Board is looking for a new Human Resources Officer and is looking to enlarge the I.T. department.

The District Services Board has also hired a new Chief Administrative Officer.

Dan McNeil begins his new duties next month.

Thistles Lose to Bentley at Allan Cup

The Kenora Thistles have dropped their first game at the Allan Cup.

The Thistles lost a hard fought 3-2 decision against the Bentley Generals last night at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Sean Hughes and Kevin Chabbert scored power play goals for the Thistles, who are back in action tonight.

Kenora will take on Fort Frances in a quarter-final match-up at 8:00.

In yesterday's other game, the Clarenville Caribous got by the  Southeast Prairie Thunder 3-2 and earned a bye into Friday's semi-finals.

Southeast will face the Dundas Real McCoys in today's other quarter-final at 2:00. 

Council Still Grappling with Digital Billboard Decision

Kenora City Council is still split over the issue of what to do about a digital billboard along Lakeview Drive.

The Property and Planning Committee met for almost an hour this morning debating the issue.

Derrick Johnson is a representitive with Pattison Outdoor Advertising and tried once again to sell council on the idea of the digital billboard.

An ad-hoc committee set up by council to look at the issue had recommended that a variance to the sign  by-law not be given to allow the digital billboard, but the sign committee voted 3-1 against that recommendation.

Kenora Catholic District School Board Moving its Offices

The Kenora Catholic District School Board will be saying good bye to its old board offices on First Street North this week.

The Board is closing its old offices as of noon today as it begins moving to its new office space in the Old Thomas Aquinas Annex.

Director of Education, Phylis Eikre says they plan to spend the next few days moving.

Eikre says they plan to be in their new board offices by Monday, April 18th.

The new board offices cost about one million dollars to build.

Hampton Angry over Wood Allocation Decisions

A lot of words but not much action from the Liberal Government.

That's the message from Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton after he questioned the McGuinty Liberals Monday on their wood allocation decisions.

Hampton says the Grits are out of touch with Northern Ontario and the forest industry.

Hampton says everyone he talks to in the forest sector is calling for a resumption of sawmilling in Ontario, something he says is lost with the Liberals.

Harborfront Tent Ready for Labor Day?

The City of Kenora still isn't exactly sure when the new Harborfront Tent will be installed.

Council has given the formal go ahead for the 1.4 million dollar tent, but it likely won't be ready for the summer festival season.

Chair of the Operations committee, Rod McKay says while they would like to see it up by the middle of August, he suggests September 1st is a more likely target.

That means all of the special events this summer will be held under the old tent on the south parking lot.

First All-Candidates Forum Tomorrow in Dryden

The candidates vying for a seat in Parliament as the Kenora representative will take part in their first debate this week.

An All-Candidates Debate is set for Thursday at 7 o'clock at the Royal Canadian Legion in Dryden.

Roger Valley, Tania Cameron, Greg Rickford and Kelvin Chicago-Boucher are all scheduled to participate.

Mike Schwindt of the Green Party is unable to attend.

The candidates will be taking questions from the floor and the media and will also have an opportunity to question their competitors.

Bentley and Claronville Win on Day Two of Allan Cup

The Fort Frances Thunderhawks and the Dundas Real McCoys are still searching for their first wins at the Allan Cup.

The Real McCoys were edged 4-3 by the Bentley Generals from Alberta last night at the Thistle Rink.

The loss ensures the Real McCoys will finish at the bottom of their pool.

The Thunderhawks are in a similar position after dropping a 3-1 decision to the Clarenville Caribous yesterday afternoon.

Tonight, the host Kenora Thistles will take on Bentley in a battle for first place in their pool.

Clarenville will face the Southeast Prairie Thunder this afternoon for first in the other pool.

Thistles win first game at Allan Cup

An impressive win for the Kenora Triple A Senior Thistles to start the Allan Cup.

The host team cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Dundas Real McCoys last night at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Tyler Gordon backstopped the Thistles to the victory with 36 saves, including a couple of key break-aways.

He says the team played solidly in front of him.

Sean Hughes was the player of the game with a pair of goals and two assists, while Jon Johnson had a pair of goals, and Jeff Richards scored once and added two assists.

The Thistles next game is tomorrow night against the Bentley Generals.

Meanwhile, the Fort Frances Thunderhawks squandered leads of 1-0 and 2-1, and eventually fell 6-3 to the Southeast Prairie Thunder from Steinbach in the early game.

Council Approves 1.61 percent budget increase

After months of review, Kenora City Council has finally put the 2011 municipal budget to bed.

Council yesterday agreed on a 1.61 percent increase in the mill rate.

Ron Lunny is chair of the finance committee and says they were able to trim the budget down a bit, but increasing the industrial tax rate for the first time in more than 10 years.

Lunny points out that some property owners could face a much higher tax increase than the 1.61 percent, because municipal property assessments went up an average of 2.4 percent.

Council is expected to formally approve the budget next Monday.

Nuclear Waste up for Discussion in Ignace

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is hosting community sessions in Ignace today and tomorrow.

The group will present the results of initial screening held last year in the community.

Officials are trying to determine whether there are obvious reasons that would eliminate Ignace from continuing in the site selection process for a deep geological Nuclear repository.

If residents and Council are in favour of the findings, the community can then decide if it wants to request a feasibility study, which would take 2 to 3 years to complete.

Today's and Wednesday's sessions are from 1 to 4 and 6:30 until 8:30 at the Curling Club Gallery.

Black Bear Hotline Up and Running Again

The provincial bear reporting hotline is up and running.

The toll-free number is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources Bear Wise Program, to educate people on how to avoid attracting bears.

As black bears come out of hibernation, the ministry says people should be taking steps to prevent encounters with them.

MNR conservation officer Ross Johnston says people should be thinking about taking down bird feeders before they receive unwelcome visitors.

Summer Company Applications now available

The Northwest Business Centre is offering students a unique summer job opportunity.

Spokesperson Mike Greaves outlines the 'Summer Company' program.

The Centre will assist those interested in owning and operating their 8 to 12-week business over the Summer.

Over the past 5 years, the Kenora-Rainy River District has developed over 15-young entrepreneurs.

NOACC Makes presentation on Forest Tenure Legislation

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce is giving the provincial government a piece of his mind.

Chief Operating officer of NOACC, Harold Wilson was in Toronto yesterday to share his concerns about the forest tenure bill.

Wilson says the province isn't listening to their recommendations.

Bill 151 would create a number of crown corporations to manage area forests.

OPP nab a pair of impaired drivers

An 18 year old man faces drunk driving charges following a single vehicle accident early Saturday morning.

The OPP say they responded to a vehicle roll-over on the Airport Road around 12:30 Saturday morning.

The driver was was taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

In another incident, Police were conducting a RIDE Check Stop early Sunday morning on Darlinton Drive when a vehicle approached and tried to avoid officers.

The OPP managed to stop the vehicle and charged the driver with impaired operation of a motor vehicle.

City Council Ready to Take the Wraps off the 2011 Budget

Kenora City Council will be taking the wraps on the 2011 municipal budget.

A public meeting is being held this afternoon to go over the fine print in this year's fiscal document.

Council has been meeting over the past few months to try and whittle down both the operating and capital budgets.

The budget meeting will take place at 2:30 this afternoon prior to the committee of the whole meeting.

The actual budget won't officially be passed until next week.

Hospital Hoping for Funding increase in 2011

Lake of the Woods District Hospital says it still isn't sure exactly how much money it will have to work with in the 2011 fiscal year.

The provincial government promised a 1.5 percent increase in health care spending this year.

But CEO of the Hospital, Marc Belcaen says there are indications that the funding will be tied to performance related data.

Last year, the hospital had a budget of about 45 million dollars.

Allan Cup Ready to Roll

Two years of planning comes to fruition this week with the Allan Cup tournament taking center stage in town.

The week long event gets underway this afternoon with the first game at the Thistle Rink.

Judy Bain is chair of the Allan Cup Committee and says they are pleased with ticket sales so far.

Bain says their goal is to basically even, but expects they should be able to post a small surplus.

LOWBIC Lending up in 2010

The Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation has a profitable year in terms of small business loans.

LOWBIC held its annual general meeting on Friday and its balance sheet showed about 1.2 million dollars lent out to 12 businesses in 2010.

Ryan Reynard is the Executive Director of LOWBIC and says there is some optimism in the tourism sector, despite a downturn in that industry in recent years.

LOWBIC says it also offered one on one, in-depth business councilling to 167 clients last year.

Hospital Bed Shortage Continues

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is seeking another two week extension to its 1-A crisis status.

The status gives patients in alternate level of care the first shot at a long term care bed when one opens up at either Pinecrest or Birchwood.

Director of Patient Care Leslie Brown says they currently have 16 patients waiting for long term care beds, which is the same, when the 1-A status was approved by the Northwest Local Health Integratin Network one month ago.

She says the 1-A status is due to expire on April 11th, but they are hoping to extend it beyond the Easter Long weekend.

Hospital CEO Marc Belcaen adds that they still haven't heard any word as to if or when Pinecrest will be able to open up 10 interim long term care beds.

Canadian Military Plans Forest Fire Training Exercise

The Ministry of Natural Resources is working with the Canadian Military in a 7-day firefighting training excercise.

About 100-military personnel and helicopters will be participating with MNR waterbombers, helicopters and firefighters.

Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Hill says the Military needs to fine-tune their policies in the event of an emergency.

'Trillium Response' will take place in Bon Echo Park near Trenton the first week of May.

Hill was one of the keynote speakers at the Northwest Response Forum in Dryden.

Teams gearing up for Allan Cup

All the teams in this weeks Allan Cup have arrive in town and are getting ready to start play today.

The round-robin begins this afternoon, with Fort Frances taking  on the South East Prairie Thunder from Steinbach.

Tonight's feature game has the host Kenora Thistles taking on the Ontario champs, the Dundas Real McCoys.

Thistles Fordward, Jeff Richards says even though they don't know much about these teams, their game plan is pretty straight forward.

The Opening Ceremonies take place at 7:30 this evening, with the puck drop in the Thistle Game at 8:00.

The other game between Fort and Southeast will start at 2:00.

OCN wins 22nd Annual NAFN Tournament

The OCN Penguins proved to be the team to beat at the 22nd annual North American First Nations tournament of Champions.

The Penguins cruised to the A-Side final and easily dispatched Norway House 8-2 in last night last in the championship game.

OCN also claimed the first prize money of 20 thousand dollars.

In the B-Side final, Shoal Lake edged the Whitedog Falcons 3-2.

In the old timers tournament, Rat Portage reclaimed the title with an easy 11-3 victory over Whitedog.