NOMA Supports Northern Policy Institute

The Northern Policy Institute is starting to take shape.

The Institute was one of the key promises contained in the Northern Growth Plan released earlier this year.

Dave Canfield is vice-president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association and says they recently had a chance to provide their input to the special advisors the province had appointed to guide the process.

Canfield admits that universities in Sudbury and Thunder Bay will likely get to host the Northern Institute, but is hoping smaller communites in the region get a chance to be a part of the process.

Spring Feast this Afternoon at Rec. Center

Get ready to strap on the feed bag.

A spring feast is being held today at the Kenora Rec. Center to celebrate the season.

Constable Bob Bernie of the OPP says a number of different community groups are helping organize the event.

The Spring Feast will start at noon and run until 3:00 this afternoon.

More Forest Fire Activity in the Northwest

The Ministry of Natural Resources is hoping that the weather forecast will provide some relief for fire crews in the northwest region.

There has been a number of new fires in the past day in the Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances Districts.

One fire was located in Sioux Narrows.

It was located southwest of the bridge in behind the Narrows Limited gift shop.

The MNR says the blaze grew to about one hectare in size before being

brought under control.

The cause of the fire is still being looked into.

Heading into the long weekend, the fire hazard right across the region is listed as high.

Economic Development Commission to take over City Special Events

The City of Kenora has outlined how it plans to carry out special events in the future.

The City says it will continue to work with the Kenora Assembly of Resources on certain events, such as the Farmer's Market, but increasingly, special event management will be turned over to the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission.

Starting June 1st, the Commission will be responsible for co-ordinating and renting special events equipment.

The city has also promised KAR free access to the big tent and other special event infrastructure to carry out the farmers market this year, but next year the weekly event is to be transferred over to special events.

New President Announced for Confederation College

Confederation College has announced its new President.

Jim Madder will be taking over for outgoing President Pat Lang who will be stepping down in July.

Madder says handling a region this large will be a challenge.

Madder most recently was the Executive Vice President Academic at Red Deer College in Alberta.

Wild fires Threaten Pickle Lake

The Ministry of Natural Resources and OPP are investigating three forest fires near Pickle Lake.

The 8-hectare fires burned dangerously close to the community this week.

Mayor Roy Hoffman says the situation could have been different if the wind had picked up.

No damage is reported and the fires are now classified as held or under control.

Clement continues in FedNor Portfolio

The Head of the Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario is staying put.

Tony Clement has kept his post as FedNor Minister in the new Federal Cabinet.

Since taking over the Industry Canada program in 2006, Clement has spent nearly 150-million dollars in the North.

John Duncan keeps his job as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister, while the Natural Resources portfolio will see a change with Toronto-area MP Joe Oliver taking over.

MNR Investigates bush fire on Highway 17 East

The Ministry of Natural Resources is continuing to investigate a wild fire on Highway 17 east of Kenora.

The blaze broke out yesterday afternoon and MNR fire crews were called out to help out members of Kenora's fire and emergency services deal with it.

The fire grew to about 0.5 hectares in size before being contained.

Crews were able to get a hose line around the fire.

The fire broke out near a sand pit just off the Parmeter Road.

Forest Tenure Bill Passes Third and Final Reading

The Provincial Government has passed the forest tenure Bill.

Third reading of Bill 151 and an hour of debate took place yesterday.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton calls the entire process a travesty.

The NDP member says Northern First Nations were also not consulted.

Petition Calls for A Deer Cull in Kenora

At least one business in Kenora is tired of dealing with the city's rampant deer population.

Debbie's Green House has started up a petition asking the city to deal with the issue.

Vince Schatkowski says the deer continue to be very destructive.

Schatkowski is suggesting a cull of the deer, or perhaps an expanded hunting season in the city.

Municipal Cultural Plan Coming together

After about six months of work, a draft municipal cultural plan for the City of Kenora.

The draft was presented to city council and members of the community earlier this week.

Ariana Moscate is the consultant who has been heading up the project and says hopefully the plan will pave the way for improved access to arts and culture in the city.

Comments on the draft municipal cultural plan can be made on-line until May 24th.

The final plan is expected to be presented to city council next month.

City Council Supports Shoal Lake's "Freedom Road"

Kenora City Council is throwing its support behind a proposed all-weather road from the Shoal Lake #40 First nation to the mainland.

The island community currently doesn't have year-round road access but is proposing to construct its so-called "Freedom Road" to access the Trans-Canada Highway.

The resolution passed by council suggests the lack of a permanent road to the mainland has had dire consequences for the communities economy, and resulted in band members moving away from their homes.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says they developed the resolutions following an informal meeting with the chief and bands members earlier this month.

Three northwestern Ontario Police Officers Honored

Three Northwestern Ontario Police Officers have been appointed to the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

The Order was created in 2000, to recognize exceptional service by members and employees of Canadian Police Forces.

Thunder Bay Chief Robert Herman, Treaty 3 Chief Conrad DeLaronde and Kenora OPP Detective Dennis Olinyk have been honoured.

The Order of Merit recognizes contributions by officers that extend beyond the protection of the community.

Landlords getting hit with Unpaid Tennant Utility Bills

The City of Kenora has found a way of re-couping the cost of unpaid utility bills.

Its now charging unpaid bills to the landlords of the delinquint tennants.

The new regulations aren't sitting well with local landlord Vince Cianci, who made a deputation to city council last night.

The city sent out the notices of the policy change last month and followed  that up with the actual bills last week.

Unpaid utility bills are now being added onto the landlords tax account for that property.

Northwestern Ontario Fire Fighters Heading Out West

Ontario is sending firefighting crews to Slave Lake to help the Alberta town battle a devastating forest fire.

Eighty fire rangers will be dispatched this morning and are expected to arrive in Alberta this afternoon.

Winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour have fuelled the wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

Provincial officials say Ontario will assess its ability to provide additional resources as the fire situation evolves in Alberta.

Rickford Returns to Parliament Hill Next Month

A bill to kill the long-gun registry is expected to be high on the priority list when the House of Commons resumes sitting.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford and his fellow MP's will return to work on June 2nd.

Government House Leader John Baird says the long-gun registry will be among several pieces of Legislation that will be introduced.

First things first; choosing a Speaker and the throne speech.

Sioux Lookout Rails against Mill Closure

The Mayor of Sioux Lookout Mayor is lashing out at the Province for not allocating wood rights for the Hudson Mill.

McKenzie Forest Products has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Dennis Leney says the Government has turned its back on his community.

Leney says the move in effect closes the mill, resulting in the loss of over 300 jobs.

Heritage Kenora Seeking Funding from City

Heritage Kenora is seeking funding from the City of Kenora to carry out its work.

The committee has been in existence for about seven years and is involved with designating heritage buildings and landscapes in the community.

Heritage Kenora now says it needs a budget in order to carry its mandate, which includes doing title searches.

A minimum budget of 25 hundred dollars has been requested from the city.

Council says it will consider the request.

Northwest Aboriginal Leaders Heading to the Big Apple

The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is heading back to the United Nations.

Stan Beardy will be leading a NAN delegation to the annul Forum on Indignous issues in New York this week.

The two week forum will focus on topics including economic and social development and the environment.

Community Forestry to be Examined

A controversial idea gets a hearing at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Peggy Smith of the Natural Resources Department says a workshop will examine the concept of Community Forestry, which sees decisions made at the local level.

Smith says the workshop brings together people across the North to discuss the issue.

Distracted Drivers Beware!

Drivers should pay extra attention starting today, the O-P-P are looking for distracted drivers.

Officers are ramping up their efforts to prevent drivers from texting or using a handheld device while behind the wheel.

Constable Anne McCoy says there can be no more excuses.

McCoy says there have been accidents in the northwest region that were directly related to motorists being distracted.

Keewatin Figure Skater Wins CanSkate Award

A young Kenora Figure Skater has won a prestigious honor.

Audrey Godbout from Keewatin has been awarded the BMO Financial Group CanSkater of the year for northern Ontario.

She was presented the award at the Skate Canada Northern Ontario Sectional banquet in Sault Ste. Marie.

The award recognizes skaters eight and under for demonstrating talent, and skill, and a passion for skating.

Manitou Gold starts drilling program in the region

Manitou Gold is starting up a diamond drill program on its Higbee project, just south of Vermilion Bay.

The program will test several high grade gold showings.

Limited prospecting efforts to date have returned high grade gold assay results.

Manitou officials consider the area to be highly prospective.

The program will consist of 500-metres of drilling and is expected to take 2-weeks to complete.

New Application Process for Ontario Works in Kenora

Potential Ontario Works Clients in the Kenora District will now have to apply on-line.

The Services Board is moving away from paper applications as per the direction of the Provincial Government.

Director of Ontario Works Dianne Apland says help is available for those who don't have a computer.

The change comes into effect on Monday.

The KDSB currently has 702 Ontario Works clients, with an increase reported in Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Ear Falls.

Proposed Lakehead Law School gets a boost

Lakehead University's law school is one step closer to being a reality.

President Dr. Brian Stevenson says he's going to push for this project to get off the ground.

The University's senate approved the law curriculum at a meeting on Friday.

The next step is to apply for funds from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Mink Bay Trail Footbridge Officially Open

One of Kenora's most extensive urban trails is now officially open.

The Kenora Urban Trails Committee launched the Mink Bay trail on Friday with a ribbon cutting at a newly installed footbridge.

Councillor Sharon Smith says the City of Kenora provided all the funding for the project.

Smith says the price tag for the new footbridge was about 30 thousand dollars.

Busy Weekend for MNR Fire Crews

A warm, dry and windy weekend has increased the fire hazard across northwestern Ontario.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says its crews were kept hopping dealing with wild fires right across the region.

There were a total of 11 new forest fires reported in the region, 3 of which have been  declared out, 4 fires being held, 3 fires not under control.

There was one new forest fire reported in the Kenora area.

Most of the fires are being described as human caused.

New Group Home Expected to be ready this week

Kenora Patricia Child and Family Services is getting ready to open its new group home on Brinkman Road.

The home is one the site of the old Our Lady of the Valley School.

Bill Johnson is the director of finance for the child care agency and

says they should be ready to open their doors next week.

The new group home will replace the Birchcliff facility on the Coker Road.

The new home cost almost three million dollars to construct.

Foul Play Not Suspected in Death of Rideout Woman

The OPP says foul play is not suspected in the death of a 36 year old Rideout woman.

Rosella DiGirolamo went missing a week ago after leaving her home on Mikado Avenue.

The OPP's Northwest Emergency Response Team located her body in a bush area near Miller's Rapids Road this past Wednesday morning.

An autopsy was conducted yesterday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but at this time an exact cause of death has not been identified.

The Coronor's office along with the OPP are continuing the investigation.

Opposition Attacks Northern Growth Plan

The NDP are attacking the Liberal Government's Northern Growth Plan.

Northern Development Critic Gilles Bisson says the Liberals short changed the region with it's plan.

Bisson feels the Province should follow Quebec's lead and put the money where there mouth is.

Doctor Shortage Improving in NWO

Northwestern Ontario residents have better access to family doctors than they did in 2009.

That's the message from the Northwest Local Health Integration Network.

CEO Laura Kokocinski says 86 percent of our population had a doctor in 2009.

Kokocinski notes the Lakehead Nurse Practioner Clinic still has room for patients.

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.