Health Unit Opens New Offices in Market Square

The Northwestern Health Unit has opened its new offices in Market Square.

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place yesterday morning on the second floor of the building.

Dr. Jim Arthurs says one of the programs they have located in the new office space is a dental program for children.

Health Unit Holds All-Staff Conference in Kenora

About 150 employees of the Northwestern Health Unit are in Kenora today for a two day retreat.

The All-Staff Conference brings together staff from all the Health Unit offices in the region.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Jim Arthurs says they try to bring everyone together at least every 18 months.

The conference is being held today and tomorrow at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Bronco Soccer Teams begin season in Fort

The High School Soccer season begins today for the Beaver Brae Broncos.

The Boys and Girls teams will make the trip to Fort Frances for the first round of League play with the Muskies and the Dryden Eagles.

In NORWOSSA Single A play, the Sioux Lookout Warriors are hosting a Tournament at Queen Elizabeth High School.

Beaver Brae Evacuated due to a small fire

A fire drill at Beaver Brae Secondary School proved to be the real deal.

Staff and students were evacuated this morning due to a small blaze at the high school this morning.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says the fire was quickly extinguished  and damage is said to be minimal.

Classes have been cancelled for the rest of the day to allow the smoke to be fully ventilated from the school.

The public school board says it has sent a number of buses to the school to take students home.

The Board says all other school bus transportation will operate as usual this afternoon.

Census Forms Being Distributed this Week

Local residents should begin receiving their census forms this week.

Statistics Canada has begun the census process and has enumerators going door to door in the Kenora area.

Gary Dillion is the regional co-ordinator for Stats Can and says its important for all households to fill out the census form.

While every household is required to fill out the 10 question mandatory short form census, only one in three households will be given a long form survey.

Good Turn-Out for the Federal Election

It may have been the fourth federal election in seven years, but that didn't stop local residents from coming out in pretty good numbers.

With 154 out of 155 polls reporting, the voter turn-out for yesterday's federal election was just over 60 percent.

That means almost 25 thousand people came out to cast their ballots.

Incumbant Conservative M.P. Greg Rickford held onto the riding, increasing his margin of victory, by over two thousand votes.

Rickford re-elected easily in the Kenora Riding

Its wasn't a landslide, but it was a convincing win for the Conservatives in the Kenora Riding.

Incumbant M.P. Greg Rickford easily held onto the riding with a 45 hundred vote margin of victory over Tania Cameron of the NDP.

Rickford says while he's pleased there will be a Conservative majority government in the House of Commons, he won't speculate on what his role might be.

Roger Valley slipped to third place in the polls yesterday and says the party is going to have to take a close hard look at the results not only in this riding but nationally as well.

The other two candidates finished well back, with the Green Party Candidate, Mike Schwindt garnering just 2.6 percent of the vote, while Independant candidate collected just 146 of the almost 25 thousand votes cast.

Ministry of Labor Investigates Fatality in Stratton

The Ministry of Labour is looking into the death of a man at a garage in Stratton what OPP describe as a workplace accident.

Emergency personnel were called to Stratton Service Thursday afternoon where they found 42-year-old Shawn McDonald inside unresponsive.

He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem exam was conducted on Friday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Canfield back as Vice-President of NOMA

No major announcements for Kenora at the annual Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Thunder Bay.

The convention wrapped up on Saturday and Kenora mayor Dave Canfield was acclaimed again as vice-president of NOMA.

Canfield also hosted a forum on the forest industry and says they did get some clarification on what's  going on with the Forest Tenure Act.

Canfield adds that both the resolutions submitted by the City of Kenora, one dealing with funding for roads and bridges and the other dealing with the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway from Kenora to the Manitoba Border, were unanimously approved by the delegates.

Training Funding Announced by the Province

83 sites in Northern Ontario will be offering literacy training thanks to the Provincial Government.

Minister of Training and Colleges John Milloy says they'll be offering basic skills training.

Two million dollars will go towards local programs.

Milloy made the announcement at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference.

Rickford back as MP for the Kenora Riding

Conservative Greg Rickford is back as MP of the Kenora Riding.

Rickford finished the election in first with about 45 percent of the vote, while NDP  candidate Tania Cameron second and Liberal Roger Valley third.

Despite some mud slinging in the campaign, Rickford says he decided to take the high road.

Like his party, Liberal Roger Valley finished in third place, and he admits they are going to have to take a hard look at what went wrong this election.

Green Party Candidate Mike Schwindt was a distant fourth place with just over
two percent of the vote, while Kelvin Chicago-Boucher collected less than 200 votes.

To the east, John Rafferty of the NDP was re-elected in Thunder Bay-Rainy River.

Bruce Hyer of the NDP is also back in the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North.

LOWDPOA Holds Annual General Meeting Today

It may be election day across Canada, but the Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association is also taking time to meet with its members.

The Property Owners Association is holding its 49th annual general meeting in Winnipeg.

In addition to the AGM, their annual cottage show is being held at the Victoria Inn.

A number of businesses and agencies from Kenora area attending the afternoon and evening event.

It runs from 2:30 to 8:30 this evening.

Polls open today

It should be a good day, weather wise to go out and cast your ballot.

Today is election day across Canada, with the polls opening at 8:30 this morning right across the Kenora Riding.

Gerry Oulette is the returning officer and says polling stations will be open right across the region.

The polls will close at 8:30 this evening, and CJRL will be providing live election coverage starting at 9:00 this evening.

Another OPP Drug Bust

Two Kenora residents face charges following a bust by the OPP.

Last Thursday, members of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, the Drug Enforcement Unit, assisted by Kenora Detachment Street Crimes Unit  executed a search warrant on a 12 Street north residence.

Police seized about 50 grams of marijuana.

42 year old Darren Coughlin and 42 year old Lori Powell have been charged with possession of narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.

They are scheduled to make an appearance in Kenora Court in June.

Atikokan Approves 2011 budget

Atikokan town councillors have finalized a budget that will include a 2-point-four per cent tax increase.

Mayor Dennis Brown says it amounts to about a 30 dollar increase to the average homeowner's tax bill.

The township will spend just over 8-million dollars over the next year.

Two more wood agreements accepted

Two more companies in northwestern Ontario have accepted wood supply offers from the provincial government.

Domtar will use its wood supply for full-time softwood pulp production at its mill in Dryden.

Wagner Forest Management Limited has indicated that it will use its wood fiber to build a pellet manufacturing plant in Ignace.

The business is expected to be up and running by October of 2013 and employ 20 new jobs.

Future of Biomass Research in Limbo

There's no committment from Michael Gravelle for future funding for a biomass research centre in northwestern Ontario.

The centre received 25 million dollars three years ago, but the forestry minister is reluctant to talk about additional dollars.

To this point the centre's website lists only one publicly approved project but is promising to announce 5 more.

Evergreen Closing Delayed for one year

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says its still plans to close Evergreen School, they are just going to take a bit longer to do it.

Trustees held a special board meeting last week and agreed to extend the life of the elementary school by one year.

Evergreen is now scheduled to shut its doors for good at the end of the 2012 school year, instead of this year.

The public school board says it made the decision after conducting a survey of parents at the school.

Students at Evergreen will be transferred over to Lakewood in the fall of 20102.

New Report Raises Questions about FedNOR

A report says FedNor, the federal development agency for northern Ontario, is slow to approve projects and fails to measure its long-term effectiveness.

The study by an independent consultant in Winnipeg says it takes an average of six months to get a green light on a project.

The Industry Canada program has spent at least 150 million dollars in the region since 2006.

Prairie Research Associates found that every job created or maintained under the program cost taxpayers about 52-hundred dollars.

The analysis also shows the administration of the program eats up more than one of every five dollars spent.

OFIA Continues to Lobby Against Bill 151

The Ontario Forest Industries Association is once again expressing disappointment with the McGuinty Government and its handling of the Forest Tenure Reform Bill.

Spokesperson Scott Jackson says they've attended all of the hearings and have gone through all written submissions and no one is happy with Bill 151 in its current state.

The Government has filed a time allocation motion that would fast track Bill 151 through the Standing Committee and eliminate debate during Committee meetings.

Kenora Rockets win Four Gold at year end tournament

A good way to wrap up the season for the Kenora Rockets badminton team.

They held a wind up tournament up at Beaver Brae on Saturday and claimed 16 of the 21 medals up for grabs.

Andrew Neil was the only double gold medalist, teaming up with Logan Ginn to

win the boys doubles event, and then took top honors in the Singles "B" division.

Boe and Rhianna Rodgers won the mixed doubles competition, while Tanner

Olson was first in the Singles E division.

Scribilo Sworn in as NOACC President

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce has a new president.

Andy Scribilo, president of the Kenora and District Chamber of Commerce was sworn in last night.

Scribilo says he's looking forward to the challenge.

Barry Streib is the outgoing president of NOACC.

NOACC Drafts Five Resolutions

A total of five resolutions were approved by the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce during yesterday's afternoon session.

The resolutions dealt with a wide range of issues, including Bill 151, the Forest Tenure Act, to urging the provincial government to move ahead with the twinning of the section of the Trans-Canada Highway from Thunder Bay to Nipigon.

The resolutions will now be forwarded to the Ontario Chambers of Commerce for debate later this year.

Infrastructure plan for the North Planned

Ontario's Infrastructure Minister says the north has special needs.

That's why Bob Chiarelli says his 10 year infrastructure plan will take that into account, telling NOMA delegates in Thunder Bay, the north is different.

Chiarellit says his plan will include the infrastructure needs of the Ring of Fire mining development

Fire Season starts to heat up in NWO

With the snow pack almost all melted in northwestern Ontario, more and more wild fires are starting to pop up across the region.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has had to deal with four new blazes this week, one north of Dryden, two near Sioux Lookout and one near Thunder Bay.

All the fires were less than 0.3 hectares in size.

Rain is in the forecast for this week, and is expected to put a damper on an increasing fire hazard.

Sally Ann says goodbye to the Gosse's

The Salvation Army in Kenora has said farewell to Captain Debbie and Tony Gosse.

A farewell lunch was held to the two church leaders earlier this week.

The Gosse's had headed up the Lake of the Woods chapter of the Salvation Army for the past five years.

Yesterday, it was announced that Majors Al and Karen Hoeft will take over the local church on an interim basis starting in early May.

Chicago-Boucher on Talkback

The countdown to the federal election begins this weekend.

Just three days remain in the campaign.

This morning, CJRL news wraps up its series of five talk shows with the candidates as independant, Kelvin Chicago-Boucher is scheduled to be in our studios.

Talkback can be heard righ after the 9:00 news.

Con College Expected to Hire A new President Soon

Confederation College is expected to announce a new president to replace Pat Lang next month.

Board of Governor's chair Marilyn Gouthro says they have a short list of six candidates who meet the qualifications they were looking for.

Gouthro says interviews are taking place over the next week.

Observant Neighbor Helps OPP Arrest Suspect

The OPP in Kenora are crediting an observant neighbor for helping arrest a suspect in a break and enter in the Pinecrest area of town.

Around 7:30 Monday night, police were contacted by a resident in the Heenan Place area about a youth acting suspiciously.

Officers were able to locate the youth a short time later, and questioned him about his activities earlier that evening.

As a result, the suspect was arrested on charges of break, enter and theft.

Helen Proulx Sentenced to Six Months More in Jail Time

A 39 year old Grassy Narrows woman has been sentenced to 6 more months in jail for her part in a shooting incident in downtown Kenora last year.

Helen Proulx was found guilty of trying to assault an OPP officer last year with a knife and was shot as a result of the incident.

She was charged with Assaulting a Peace Officer with a weapon and and possesion of a weapon dangerous to the public.

Proulx's sentencing hearing took place yesterday afternoon in Kenora Court.

So far she has spent 134 days in custody and will be on probation for another 12 months probation once she's released.

This is Proulx's 3rd conviction of Assaulting a Peace Officer.

Gas Prices Up Again

Its going to costs a lot more to fill up your vehicle today.

Most service stations are selling a liter of unleaded gas today for 136.9 cents a liter.

That's up eight cents from earlier this week, when the price of gas was at 128 cents.

Kenora is far from the most expensive place to fill up.

Gas in Marathon is selling for a dollar 49 a liter.

Property Crimes dropping in Sioux Narrows

The OPP says the number of calls for service in the Township of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls has been relatively stable over the past five years, but they have noticed a significant decline in the number of

crimes against property.

The Kenora OPP has released its 2010 statistics and it shows there were 239 calls for service last year, which is down slightly from the year before.

However, Inspector Dave Lucas says there were just 20 crimes against property, which has been steadily declining over the past five years.

Lucas adds that the clearance rate for property crimes has improved significantly, with 55 percent of the cases solved last year, up from just 14 percent the year before.

Health Unit releases Community Reports

Healthy eating and physical activity top the list of most commonly identified community health needs based a series of reports released by the Northwestern Health Unit.

The reports are the result of consultations in 12-communities last year.

Spokesperson Tanis Fretter explains the next step.

Recreational opportunities, drug and alcohol use and mental health were other priorities identified.

Cameron Appears on Talkback This morning

Candidates running in the May 2nd federal election have just four more days left to campaign.

This morning, CJRL news continues its coverage of the election with the fourth of five talk shows scheduled with the candidates.

Tania Cameron of the NDP is our scheduled guest this morning on the CJRL Open Line program Talkback today.

Talkback can be heard right after the 9:00 news.

NOMA Conference gets down to Business Today

Four Provincial Cabinet Ministers are attending the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Thunder Bay.

Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli will be the key note speaker at the conference.

NOMA president Ron Nelson says they're happy with the amount of Provincial representation.

The bear pit session on Friday will also see the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.

NOACC Holds Annual Spring Meeting in Kenora

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce will be holding its annual spring meeting in Kenora this week.

Chamber representitives from across the region will begin arriving in town tonight.

Andy Scribilo is the president-elect of NOACC and says they have decided to hold the conference Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this year.

Scribilo says chamber members from across the region will be voting on a number of resolutions this week to pass to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce later this year.

Advance Polls Busy in Kenora Riding

The Easter Holiday didn't seem to deter people from casting ballots during the advance polls.

The advance polls were held Good Friday, Saturday and Easter Monday, and over 28 hundred people took advantage in the Kenora Riding.

Returning Officer Gerry Oulette says that was 268 more than the last federal election.

He adds that Monday was the busiest day at the advance polls, with 13 hundred people showing up.

Artrepreneur conference takes place tomorrow

Networking, funding advice and marketing expertise will be the main topics of conversation at the Artpreneur Conference in Dryden.

The event is being held tomorrow and is sponsored by the Northwest Business Centre.

Spokesperson Mike Greaves says the first Artrepreneur conference two years ago in Kenora was a big success with more than 90 participants.

He says the goal is to provide artists an inside look into what it takes to create and grow a successful art business.

Conservatives on the Defensive over FedNOR

Opposition parties keep saying FedNor will be gutted if the Harper Conservatives are back in government.

Speaking in Thunder Bay, the minister responsible, Tony Clement repeated that the program is safe and says it's the local NDP members who seem to be sending mixed messages.

Clement was in Thunder Bay campaigning with the two Conservative candidates in the Lakehead

Police Investigate Fire on Kasabonika

The Ontario Fire Marshall is expected to arrive in the remote Northern community of Kasabonika this week.

The Fire Marshall was called in after a large fire at the Northern Store last Friday afternoon.

The blaze gutted the building and left only 2-walls standing.

No injuries or deaths have been reported.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Small Quake confirmed in NWO last Month

Natural Resource Canada is confirming that a minor earthquake struck near Devlin last month.

The 1-point-9 magnitude quake happened around 2 in the morning on March 25th.

Seismic activity is not uncommon to northwestern Ontario, although most of the minor quakes over the past year have been around the Atikokan area.

Richards and Flyers move onto Round Two of NHL Play-Offs

The Philadelphia Flyers are off to the second round of the play-offs after a 5-2 victory over Buffalo last night.

Flyers captain Mike Richards had five assists in the series, including two last night, but says he just couldn't seem to score on Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

The Flyers won the series 4-3 and will find out who they play in round two later today. 

Standing Room Only At All-Candidates Forum

It was a standing room only crowd for the final all-candidates forum in the Kenora Riding prior to the May 2nd federal election.

About 100 people crammed into the Days Inn last night to hear from the five candidates.

Most of the main party candidates stayed close to the message of their parties.

Conservative Greg Rickford touted the intiatives of the Harper Government over the past two and a half years.

Meanwhile, NDP Candidate Tania Cameron suggested its time for a change in Ottawa.

Independant Candidate Kelvin Chicago-Boucher added a touch of humour to the proceedings when asked about what he would do about the inflation rate.

Green Party Candidate Mike Schwindt and Liberal Roger Valley also took part in the all-candidates forum.

American Man charged with importing illegal Baitfish

An Iowa man has been fined for importing live baitfish into Ontario for a second time in less than a year.

This time Thaddeus Strecker was stopped on Lake of the Woods back in February.

Conservation officers found that the man also failed to maintain a clear and unobstructed view of a fishing line and hid several dozen live minows in a container in the snow.

He has been fined a total of 11-hundred dollars.

Tories looking for a breakthrough in NWO in Provincial Election

Tim Hudak appears confident about his party's chances in the upcoming Provincial Election.

The Progressive Conservative leader says getting solid candidates in the region will certainly help in getting Tories elected in Northwestern Ontario.

Hudak has his work cut out for him as the PC's haven't elected a member from northwestern Ontario since 1987, when Leo Bernier
represented the Kenora Riding.

Green Party Candidate Campaigns in Kenora

The Green Party Candidate in the Kenora Riding doesn't think remote communities in the far north will benefit from the construction of a new high voltage electrical line.

Mike Schwindt says even though most remote aboriginal communities in the riding rely on Diesel generators, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to expand the transmission line into those reserves.

Schwindt feels a better solution is developing hydro, wind or solar power projects in remote communities to wean them off of costly diesel generators.

Kenora To Fly Fort Frances Town Flag

The Fort Frances' town flag will soon be flying high over the city of Kenora.

Mayor Roy Avis says its the outcome of a bet he made with Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield during the recent Allan Cup tournament.

Canfield bet Avis that the Thistles would be Fort Frances in the Quarter-finals of the Allan Cup earlier this month.

The Thunderhawks eliminated Kenora from the tournament with a 5-3 victory.

Fort Frances Man Remains in Jail

The man involved in a lengthy stand-off with O.P.P. in Fort Frances last November will be spending a little more time in custody.

Richard Edward Kabatay was sentenced to eight months in jail after being convicted last week on a charge of assault with a weapon.

An initial charge of attempted murder was dropped.

Another man was stabbed during the November 27th incident

Kabatay has been in Fort Frances jail since.

Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls passes Municipal Budget

The average property owner in Sioux Narrows/ Nestor Falls can expect to pay almost 10 percent more in taxes this year than last year.

The town council passed the budget last week and it contained a minor increase of 0.6 percent in the mill rate.

Mayor Bill Thompson says while they have tried to hold the line on spending, the cost for social services and policing continues to go up.

Thompson says he's also concerns in the 8.9 percent increase in the town's overall property assessment, which is making it more difficult for people on a fixed income to make ends meet.

OFIA says Little Support has been Shown for Bill 151

The Ontario Forest Industries Association says the McGuinty Government doesn't have a lot of support for its Forest Tenure Legislation.

The OFIA attended hearings last week in Toronto on Bill 151 and says a majority of presenters expressed concern with the Act.

Scott Jackson is a spokesperson for the OFIA and says the legislation doesn't address the concerns of the forest industry.

Jackson says the legislation should not just create new employment opportunities, but needs to protect the existing forestry operations.