Local Homeless Programs Receive Funding

Three area homeless programs will benefit as the result of one-time funding from the Provincial Government.

The 50-thousand dollars was split evenly yesterday by the Kenora District Services Board.

Red Lake will use the money to off-set the costs of on-going operations as well as helping at-risk individuals.

Sioux Lookout will use the funds for various capital improvements.

The Kenora Fellowship Centre plans to use the funds to hire additional staff.

Con College goes green

Confederation College is going green.

The provincial government is providing a million dollars towards the creation of a new bioenergy learning and research centre.

President Pat Lang says the facility will heat the REACH facility and the Shuniah building.

Wastewood from across the Northwest will be used to heat the two buildings.

Construction of New Land Ambulence Based expected to start this summer

Construction of the new Land Ambulance Base in Kenora may start late this Summer.

Kenora District Services Board CAO Dan McNeil says they hope to go to tender in mid-June.

McNeil says the Board still must make a decision on a suitable heating system for the Base.

Cost estimates for the project come in at around 2.4 to 2.3-million dollars.

Police Locate Body of Missing Woman

The OPP say they have found the body of a woman reported missing from the Rideout area of town.

Rosella Digirolamo was last seen last Friday, leaving her home on Mikado Avenue.

Yesterday, members of the Northwest Emergency Response Unit located her body in the bush off Miller's Rapids Road.

At this point, the OPP say they do not know the cause of death.

A post-mortem exam will be conducted at Lake of the Woods Hospital later today.

Services Board Hires New Emergency Services Manager

The Kenora District Services Board has hired a new manager for Emergency Services.

Andrew Tickner started his duties on Monday.

He takes over from Peter Marshall, who resigned last month.

Tickner was the former manager of the land ambulence bases in Sioux Lookout, Ignace and Pickle Lake.

In his new duties, he will be responsible for land ambulence services across the whole of the Kenora District.

High Gas Prices Could Impact Summer Tourism

The high price of gas is going to impact Northwestern Ontario's tourism industry.

Doug Reynolds is the executive director of Northern Ontario's Tourist Outfitters and says it's going to cost more to run area tourist camps.

Reynolds adds it's also going to cost more for Americans to drive here for fishing trips.

Economic Development Commission Presents First Quarter Report

Kenora's economy is off life support and is showing signs of recovery.

The Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission presented its quarterly report to council this week.

Chair of the commission, Dennis Wallace says sees a great future for the former Abitibi lands.

Wallace says the new owners of the Abitibi property are hoping to fill up the site within three to five years with industrial based businesses.

City non union staff to get wage increase

Non-Union staff with the City of Kenora will be getting a raise this year.

Kenora City council is planning to approve a 2.7 percent wage increase for 2011 at its next open meeting.

The City's human resources manager, Sharon McDowall says the increase is less than unionized workers in the city, who will get a three percent increase this year.

Some non-union workers are eligible for a move on the salary grid this year, but that's considered a performance based increase.

Public School Board launches new wedbsite

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is out with a new and improved website.

Communications Manager Sheena Valley says the site is the result of a lot of time and labour.

Valley says they tried to organize the website from a parent and community perspective.

The website can be locate at : http://www.kpdsb.on.ca/

Beaver Brae Soccer Teams find the win column

Beaver Brae's soccer teams finally found the win column. In fact the Broncos made it a clean sweep over the competition yesterday.

The Beaver Brae boys blanked Dryden in the morning game 3-0, and then shut out Fort Frances 2-0.

In girls action, the Broncos doubled up the Eagles 4-2, and followed that up with a 3-1 over the Muskies.

Farmer's Market to Stay on Harborfront this summer

Despite construction on the Kenora Harborfront, it looks as if the Farmer's Market is going to stay put this summer.

The City of Kenora is recommending allowing parking on the south side of Lakeview Drive on Wednesday's only, which is market day.

Councillor Sharon Smith says its one way of increasing parking in the Harbortown area.

There had been talk of moving the farmer's market to the Kenora Curling Club this year.

CIP Taking Shape for Abitibi Lands

The City of Kenora is putting the finishing touches on a Community Improvement Plan for the former Abitibi lands.

The city recently recieved approval to go ahead with the C.I.P., but the actual details are still being worked out.

Economic Development Officer, Jennifer Findlay says they are looking at a combination of tax breaks for new development and grants for businesses willing to locate on the property.

Findlay says they have ruled out any sort of loan program for the C.I.P.

A public meeting is scheduled to take place in the next month or so to get some feedback on the proposals.

Union Gas Lobbies for One Call System

Municipalities across northwestern Ontario are being asked to support a single call number to help locate buried utilities, such as natural gas, telecommunications, and sewer and water.

Union Gas made a presentation to council yesterday asking the city to support the one call system.

Luke Skaarup says too often homeowners or contractors fail to dial before they dig.

Skaarup says the provincial government is willing to move forward with legislation on a one call system, but only if they can sign up a majority of municipalities in Ontario first.

Province Says No to gas price regulation

Ontario's energy minister says there's not much he can do about soaring gasoline prices.

The cost is around 136 a litre in Kenora and as high as 145.8 in Sioux Lookout.

But Energy Minister Brad Duguid says there's little he can do to help.

Duguid says even if the government removed the harmonized sales tax from gasoline, the fuel companies will simply fill that space and prices would stay the same.

OPP Searching for Missing Rideout Woman

The OPP say they are searching for a person reported missing from the Rideout area of town.

Rosella Digirolomo was last seen on Thursday, May 5th.

Police say she had been seen leaving her residence on Mikado Avenue.

She has not been seen or heard from since.

Anyone who may have had contact with her is asked to contact the Kenora Detachment of the OPP.

Registered Nurses Call for Improved Health Care in the North

The President of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario is calling on all three parties to unveil a specialized health care plan for Northern and Rural Ontario.

Speaking in Dryden on Monday, David McNeil stressed this area faces significant challenges related to an aging population and access to care.

McNeil also lobbyied the Province to move forward with their mandate of hiring 9-thousand additional nurses.

Northwestern Ontario offers flood aid to Manitoba

Northwestern Ontario is lending a helping hand to flood ravaged Manitoba.

Thunder Bay's HMCS Griffon is sending 5 members and two inflatable boats.

Lieutenant Commander John Bell says they'll be helping to evacuate residents and bring in supplies.

The group left Tuesday but more personnel are expected to be sent within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Council Ready to Move Ahead with Common Ground

The long-dormant Common Ground Initiative on Tunnel Island may soon wake out of hibernation.

Kenora City council is trying to get the ball rolling again, agreeing to waive the need for a dispute resolution process in the By-Laws of Common Ground.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says it didn't make sense to continue to hold up the process any longer.

The Common Ground Initiative had been on hold for the past three years because the City of Kenora couldn't agree with its first nation partners on a dispute resolution process.

Canfield says now that issue has been resolved, he's hoping all sides can get together and pass By-Law #1.

Police Arrest Agressive Driver

A short temper has ended up costing a 50 year old Welland man.

Kenora OPP stopped a vehicle on Highway 17 on the weekend for a traffic violation.

Police say the driver became aggressive towards the officer causing a stuggle on the Highway.

An off-duty Treaty 3 officer witnessed the altercation and assisted the officer in apprehending the accused.

Police say Wallace Buss has been charged with assault with intent to resist arrest.

Youth Arrested in Evergreen Break-In

The OPP say they have arrested seven male youth in connection to a break-in at Evergreen School.

Police say the school was broken into Friday evening.

The culprits made off with a safe containing an undisclosed amount of money.

The OPP say the suspects are between the ages of 13 and 17 and will appear in

Kenora Court on June 11th.

They will face charges of break, enter and theft and possession of stolen property.

Police say a portion of the stolen cash has also been recovered.

Youth Charged with Arson in Beaver Brae Blaze

The OPP say they have charged a 14 year old youth in connection to a fire up at Beaver Brae Secondary School last week.

Police say fires had been set in two bathrooms, and the school had to be evacuated as a result.

Classes were also cancelled for the day to allow the smoke to be  properly ventilated and to allow officers to investigate the incident.

A male suspect is due to appear in Kenora Court next month on arson charges.

Hampton Attacks government over Missing Youth

The NDP is attacking the Liberal Governments inaction over the disappearance of 7-First Nation High School students in Thunder Bay.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton brought the issue up in Monday's Question Period.

Hampton is pushing for increased attention to the conditions of First Nations youth living off-reserve.

Fraser Institute Rates Local High Schools

Not a great report card for local secondary schools from the Fraser Institute.

Its released annual survey of high schools across the province, and only two from northwestern Ontario finished in the top 200.

Thomas Aquinas placed 181 out of 727 schools rated.

It had a rating of 7.2 out of ten, which was up from 6.8 last year.

The other top scoring school in this region was Atikokan at 161 overall.

Beaver Brae finished in that lower end of the scale with a score of 3.8 out of ten.

It was rated 655th, down from 588 last year.

Vermont Hunters Fined

Two men from Vermont have been fined a total of 1-thousand dollars for shooting a deer on private land near Kenora.

Court heard that in November of 2009, conservation officers investigated a deer that had been shot on private property and dragged onto Crown Land off Highway 596.

The following year, officers came in contact with 2-hunters in the same area.

While questioning the men, the officers learned they were involved in the 2009 incident.

Peter Flood had shot the deer and Ronald Comette helped move the animal onto Crown Land.

Police Investigate Shoal Lake #40 Fatality

The Treaty Three Police and the OPP are continuing their investigation into the death of a  21 year old Shoal Lake #40 man.

Daniel Green was found lying on a road in the island community the morning of April 30th.

He was airlifted to Lake of the Woods District Hospital but succumbed to his injuries there.

A post-mortem exam was conducted last week, but the cause of death has still not been released.

Anyone with information about the fatality is asked to contact the Kenora's Criminal Investigations Unit,

or the Treaty Three Police.

PC's Critical of Forest Tenure Amendments

The Progressive Critic for Northern Development is condeming the McGuinty Liberals for voting against crucial amendments to the Forest Tenure Reform Bill.

Randy Hillier says the PC and NDP amendments were turned down after 45-minutes of discussion on Wednesday.

Hillier says if Northerners want to have a voice with this Government, they had better join Greenpeace or the World Wildlife Fund.

He notes Bill 151 could come for third and final reading at any time now.

MNR releases new on-line database

It may not make catching fish any easier, but the Ministry of Natural Resources is putting all its resources at the finger tips of local anglers.

A vast data base of fishing information in Ontario has been posted on-line.

Matt Garvin says its a pretty extensive data-base.

Garvin says the Ontario Fishing data-base also includes, maps, directions to lakes, the guide to eating sports

fish in Ontario and fishing regulations.

LHIN's Announces a new Board of Directors

The Northwestern Local Health Integration Unit has a new board of directors.

Joy Warkentin of Thunder Bay is the new chair of the LHIN's.

She takes over from Jan Beasley of Fort Frances, who has been chair of the LHIN's board since its inception.

A familiar name has been appointed as vice-chair of the board.

Anne Krassilowsky says she's looking forward to taking on the challenge.

JM Judo Club win 12 medals at their own Tournament

The Jaffrey Melick Judo Club earned an even dozen medals at its annual Lake of the Woods Judo Tournament at Beaver Brae.

Over 100 fighters, representing 14 judo clubs across northwestern Ontario and Manitoba took part in the
day long event up at Beaver Brae on Saturday.

The local club won five gold, five silver and two bronze medals, with Lyndon Hensrud leading the way with a pair of medals, a gold and a silver.

Three members of the JM Judo Club will continue to train for the National Junior Judo, which will be held
in July in Sept-Iles, Quebec.

Northern Groups still upset with Forest Tenure Legislation

Groups across northwestern Ontario are speaking out against the provincial government's decision to move forward with its Forest Tenure Reform legislation.

The Standing Committee on General Government met Wednesday to make its final amendments to Bill-151.

The Ontario Forest Industries Association says the act is still flawed and will create uncertainty in the forest sector.

Despite recent assurances from the Minster of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, the OFIA says the government hasn't really addressed its concerns.

The Northwestern Associated Chambers of Commerce and the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association have expressed similar concerns. 

Sioux Narrows to get a new municipal building

The Town of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls is expected to begin work soon on a new municipal building.

The federal and provincial governments promised 165 thousand dollars towards construction of the half million dollar building.

Bill Thompson is mayor of the community and says it will really be a multi-purpose facility.

The federal government has extended the deadline for completion of all infrastructure projects until October of this year.

Bronco Soccer Teams Struggle in the Fort

Not a good start to the season for Beaver Brae's soccer teams.

Both the Bronco Boys and girls teams were in Fort Frances yesterday.

Beaver Brae's boys lost 3-1 decisions to both the Muskies and the Dryden Eagles.

The Bronco girls were upended 2-0 by the Eagles.

Their next action is in Kenora next Wednesday at the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex.

Council agrees to more money for Harborfront Tent

Its going to cost 100 thousand dollars more than expected to put up a new tent on the Kenora Harborfront.

Council held a special meeting yesterday to decide whether to spend the extra money to install permanant, retractable sidewalls on the tent, rather that the seasonal, removable ones, which had been proposed in the original tender.

Councillor Ron Lunny says in the end, it made sense to spend the extra money.

The extra 100 thousand dollars will be taken from the city's contingency reserve fund.

Only councillor Louis Roussin voted against the decision to install the permanent sidewalls.

Firearms Seizure on Kasabonika Lake

The Northwest Regional Guns and Gangs Unit has charged a 45-year-old man in Kasabonika Lake First Nation.

Police executed a search warrant last Friday and seized 10-firearms and 4-prohibited devices.

Officers found semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and 4 high-capacity rifle magazines.

Police say John Winter faces 3-charges including weapons trafficking and careless storage.

Winter will appear in court on June 16th.

OFAH Happy with Majority Consevative Government

The Vice-President of the  Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters sees a Majority Conservative Government as a good thing for the future of the long gun registry.

Glenn Rivard says the PM has promised them he'll scrap it and the OFAH will hold him to that

promise.

Rivard notes the Harper Government has also promised to form a National Advisory Panel on Fish and Wildlife Management.

NAN Chief Weigh In on Federal Election Results

The Grand Chief of Nishanawbie-Aski Nation is congratulating the Conservative and NDP parties for their successes in the Federal election.

However, Stan Beardy is concerned that NAN issues may get lost in the shuffle.

Beardy is hoping that between the two parties; NAN will have some of their issues adressed.

Like most Canadians, Beardy says he was surprised at the final results from Monday's vote.

Council to hold special meeting on Harborfront Tent

The Harborfront Tent is still posing some financial challenges for Kenora City Council.

A special meeting is being held this morning to approve an increase in the budget for the project.

Initially, council approved 1.4 million dollars for the festival site covering.

Now, its looks like the price tag is going to slightly higher.

Council is being asked to approve 1.6 million dollars in funding for the tent, so that side panels can be included on the structure.

Council is scheduled to meet at 10:00 this morning.

Health Unit Launches a mobile dental clinic

The Northwestern Health Unit has a new vehicle at its disposal.

Yesterday, a mobile dental clinic was unveiled.

Dawn Sauve is the Health Unit's manager of Dental Health and says they will be doing a pilot project with the van, which will allow them to help out residents in underserviced communities across the region.

The van has the logo, Miles of Smiles etched on the side.

Funding for the van was made available through the Ministry of Health.

Classes set to Resume at Beaver Brae following Fire

It will be classes as usual at Beaver Brae Secondary School this morning.

Yesterday students were sent home early, after fires were reported in two of the school's washrooms.

The blazes were quickly extinguished and damage was minimal, but students were given the rest of the day off to allow the building to be properly ventillated of the smoke.

Its believed the fires were deliberately set.

Valley Sad to See Iggy Leave

The Liberal candidate in the Kenora Riding is backing the work done by Leader Michael Ignatieff.

Ignatieff announced yesterday he is stepping down following his party's rout at the polls on Monday night.

Roger Valley, who finished third in this Riding, says Ignatieff can leave with his head held high.

Valley believes the leadership will be between Bob Rae and Ralph Goodale.

Hampton reacts to federal election results

This week's federal election results should be a warning for the Liberals in Ontario.

That's the feeling of Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton.

The NDP member of the Ontario Legislature says its clear voters are trying to send a message.

Hampton believes the Liberals will be hard-pressed to win any seats in northern Ontario in the upcoming provincial election.

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.