Con College Celebrates local Graduates

The Kenora Campus of Confederation College has graduated 51 students.

Graduation Ceremonies took place last night at Thomas Aquinas School.

Meanwhile, Confederation College is now up and running in Red Lake.

A grand opening was held for the new campus on Howey Street yesterday afternoon.

Vice President Academic Judi Maundrell says its an exciting time for both Confederation College and the community of Red Lake.

A number of programs will be offered at the School including business, native child and family services and mining.

Lake of the Woods Task Force and Control Board to hold local meetings

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says its not going to be providing any feedback on a final draft report by the Task Force looking at water quality on the lake.

One of the recommendations of the Task Force is to review the regulations by which water levels are controlled on Lake of the Woods.

There hasn't been any changes in those regulations in almost 100 years.

Executive Engineer of the Control Board Rick Cousins says while he doesn't feel a review is necessary, they are also not opposed.

Both the Control Board and the Task Force will be in Kenora next week to hear from local residents.

Another Profitable year for Hospital Foundation

The Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation still is a big contributor to the fortunes of the medical facility.

At the Hospital's annual general meeting last night it was revealed that the foundation was able to turn over 550 thousan dollars to purchase capital equipment and help out with infrastructure programs.

Some of the major purchases this year included a harmomic scalpel and a tissue processor lab, cost over 100 thousand dollars.

The foundation is also planning another major fundraiser this year, an Octoberfest in the fall.

Search continues for missing angler near Morson

The OPP say they still have not located an angler who has been missing on Lake of the Woods for the past two weeks.

69 year old Richard Herman from Peoria, Illinois was reported missing on evening of Monday, May 23rd.

He and 73 year old James Wealther, also of Illinois, had been fishing in a 16 foot boat near Morson.

Wealther's body was found the next day, where it had washed up on shore, but so far there has been no sign of Herman.

The OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit had been brought in, with no success.

Only the Marine Unit is still actively looking for his body.

Health Unit offers Prenatal Progams

The Northwestern Health Unit is asking expecting mothers to sign up for a prenatal education program.

Spokesperson Kathy Bryck says the classes are offered 2 to 3 months before someone' due date.

Bryck says the program is a valuable tool.

For more information go to the Health Unit website at http://www.nwhu.on.ca/

Federal Government Launches Nutrition North Program

The federal government has launched a program to help bring food costs down in communities in the far north.

Subsidies are now available under the government's Nutrition North program.

David Stezenko is one of the people who is helping to co-ordinate the program in this region and hopes it will help bring healthy affordable food to remote communities.

The federal subsidy is expected to reduce transporation costs.

Kenora girls Soccer Team wins gold in Winnipeg

A golden finish for a local girls soccer team.

The Kenora Athletic Soccer Club's Under 14 squad went undefeated at the Children's Hospital Tournament in Winnipeg over the weekend.

The team won their division with a 2-1 win over Niakwa in the final.

 
The team gave up only two goals in five games.

Two Grassy Men in Hospital Following Single Vehicle Accident

Two Grassy Narrows residents remain in hospital following a single vehicle accident on Highway 671.

The OPP say the accident took place on the road to Grassy Narrows around 12:30 Sunday morning, about 30 kilometers north of the By-Pass.

Police say the vehicle drove off the road and hit a hydro pole.

Both of the occupants of the vehicle were transported by ambulence to Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The driver, a 48 year old man sustained what are being called life-threatening injuries, and was transported by air ambulence to hospital in Winnipeg.

The passenger, a 35 year old man, sustained less serious injuries, but remains in hospital.

A good Weekend for the Cancer Society

An incredible weekend for the Canadian Cancer Society in northwestern Ontario.

Relays for Life were held in 4-communities on Friday and Saturday.

Over 250-thousand dollars was raised in the 12-hour event.

Red Lake topped everyone with over 106-grand brought in.

Dryden raised 58-thousand dollars, Sioux Lookout 57-thousand and Ear Falls 32-grand.

Kenora will hold its Relay for Life this Friday.

Fire Destroys Apartment Building on 4th Street North

An overnight fire has gutted an apartment building in the north end of town.
The blaze broke out around 11:00 last night and Kenora fire crews spent all night trying to bring the fire under control.

Fire fighers are still at the scene mopping up, and there is still some smoke that can be seen coming from the roof of the building.

A spokesperson for the fire department says the apartment building was pretty much engulfed in flames by the time they arrived at the scene.

All the occupants managed to escape the burning building and there were no injuries reported.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation

Hospital in the Black again

Lake of the Woods District Hospital finished last year in the black.

Figures released at the Hospital's AGM show a surplus of just over 71 thousand dollars in the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital, Marc Belcaen says this year will be a challenge to balance their books, because they still don't know exactly how much money they will be getting from the province.

Belcaen says increased staff costs, and inflation as a whole means its going to be tough to have any kind of surplus this year.

Con College President Earns National Honor

The outgoing President of Confederation College has received a National award.

Pat Lang has received the ACCC Distinguished Service Award.

The award is for outstanding leadership and service in the Canadian College system.

Lang was recognized for her advocacy in getting students the advanced skills education they need in Northern Ontario.

Lang has more than doubled the apprenticeship opportunities for Northerners and developed new contract training opportunities for 50-Aboriginal communities.

Con College Recruiting Students for Trades programs

Confederation College is making the rounds to regional high schools over the next two weeks.

It's promoting its Trades and Aviation programs.

Recruitment intern Pam Lamba says in some cases students don't need to leave their home community.

Lamba says the demand for employees in the trades is very high, especially in northwestern Ontario.

16 Year old Girl rides the rails into the US

Officials won't say much about a missing southern Manitoba girl who took shelter in a parked freight train and woke up the next morning in Minnesota.

RCMP says the 16-year-old from Steinbach was able to get past the border and ended up in Duluth.

It's believed the train may have passed through the border at Warroad, Rainy River and Fort Frances.

Kenora Mother Supports Deer Cull

A Kenora mother is supporting the idea of a deer cull in the city after a close call.

Courtney Van Aertselaer says a female deer jumped over her six foot fence into her back yard this week and almost trampled her daughter.

Van Aertselaer says she managed to scare the deer away, but her dog was trampled three times by the agressive deer.

Girls Soccer Teams finish out of the Play-Offs at OFSAA

Overall a pretty successful OFSAA tournament for Thomas Aquinas and Beaver Brae girls soccer teams.

The Saints finished the round robin with a 2-2 record, which is their best performance at the All-Ontario Championships.

Despite their record, T.A. still was unable to advance to the medal round.

Beaver Brae meanwhile compiled a 1-3 record at the Double "a" championships in Windsor.

Richardson Acclaimed as Hospital Board Chair

The board of Lake of the Woods District Hospital has a new chair.

Fred Richardson was acclaimed to the position at last night's annual general meeting.

Richardson had served the past two months as acting chair following  the resignation of Debbie Baldwin.

He says one of his main goals is to kick-start a campaign to have a new hospital built in Kenora.

Dale Munro was acclaimed as vice-chair of the hospital board at last night's meeting.

Hospital Board Elects Three New Members

Lake of the Woods District hospital has three new board members.

Conrad Delaronde, chief of the Treaty Three Police, Geraldine Kakeway from Confederation College and Calvin Harasemchuck were all introduced at last night's AGM.

They replace Anita Cameron, who has been on the board for the past 10 years, Blair McCallum and Debbie Baldwin.

This is the first year that new board members were selected from the corporate membership rather than being chosen through the municipal election process.

Hampton Disappointed by Shortened Session at Queen's Park

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Howard Hampton says he's surprised, but not shocked that the Liberal government cut short the current sitting of the Ontario legislature.

MPP's were supposed to sit yesterday, but Hampton suggests Premier Dalton McGuinty wanted to cut his losses and pulled the plug on the sessin a day early.

Hampton says with the legislature officially adjourned, the provincial

election campaign will hit high gear.

Con College Graduation Ceremonies Today

Over 14-hundred Confederation College students from across the Northwest will be graduating today.

Registrar Marjorie Kinnunen says ceremonies will be taking place at satellite campuses right across the region.

The day will be filled with honorary diplomas and the announcement of the Governor General's award.

KMTS "Likes" the Community Foundation

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation is getting a helping hand once again from KMTS.

The local telephone utility says its will donate 50 cents to the foundation for every person who logs onto their facebook site.

Darlene McGillvary is the executive director of the foundation and says any funds raised will go towards their operations.

McGillvary says they hope to be able to attract at least five thousand people to the KMTS site.

Fort Frances Man Faces Child Porn Charges

A Fort Frances man is scheduled back in court today on several sexual offences involving children.

O-P-P says 41 year old Christopher Ernest Simmons was arrested after a May 19th search of his home turned up alleged images of child sexual abuse on computers and video devices.

He's also been accused of trying to obtain sexual services from someone under 18.

Saints win First Ever Game At OFSAA

Thomas Aquinas has won its first ever game at the All-Ontario girls soccer championships.


The Saints earned a 3-0 win over Ecole Secondaire St. Marie yesterday in round-robin action in Pain Court.

T.A. got goals from Lila Degagne, Brittani Swail and Josee Gautier.

The Saints have a 1-1 record after two games.

Their next match is against the third ranked team from Char-Lan at 10:00 this morning.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae is still looking for its first win at the OFSAA double A championships in Windsor.

The Broncos dropped a 4-0 decision to Holy Cross from St. Catharines yesterday afternoon.

Earlier in the day they lost 1-0 to St. Christopher from Sarnia.

Beaver Brae's next game is at 8:30 this morning against Bishop Strachan from Toronto.

All Day Kindergarten to be extended to five more local schools

The Province has outlined its plan to have full-day Kindergarten in all schools by 2015.

The program will be rolled out in Ear Falls, Keewatin, New Prospect School, Sioux Narrows and Upsala for 2013 and 2014.

Public School Board Superintendent Caryl Hron says the program has been well received by parents and teachers in Dryden and Kenora.

The final phase of the program will take place in 2014-2015 at Crolancia School in Pickle Lake, Golden Learning Centre in Red Lake, Ignace, King George and Vallyeview Schools in Kenora as well as Lillian Berg and Savant Lake.

Local Petition gets noticed at Queen's Park

A local resident has received some fairly high profile publicity for her petition.

Grace Jorgensen is a Keewatin resident and has collected about 500 signatures on a petition calling on the provincial government to remove the Harmonized Sales Tax home heating bills.

NDP leader Andrea Horvath made mention of the petition at Queen's Park yesterday and asked the premier to eliminate the HST on heating oil, hydro,  gas, and diesel.

She promises to make that a major campaign promise for the October 6th provincial election.

Council spends 2.3 million dollars this week

Kenora City Council has approved over 2.3 million dollars worth of projects this week.

Council held a special meeting earlier this week and agreed to spend 300 thousand dollars to paint the interior and exterior of the Keewatin Water Tower.

The City has also agreed to hire Dominion Divers out of Winnipeg to repair the Second Street Wharf, at a cost of 360 thousand dollars.

In one other piece of business council also approved a 90 thousand dollar tender for Don Hagar Contracting to carry out sidewalk repairs in the city this summer.

New Tim Horton's Camp gets approval for Whiteshell

Great news for local kids following another successful Camp Day at Tim Horton's.

A new camp for underpriveleged kids is opening in Whiteshell Provincial Park near the Ontario/Manitoba border.

Company spokesperson Aaron Brown says the camp will house two thousand campers and will be situated on Sylvia Lake.

The camp will include the Tim Horton Leadership specialty program.

Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas Girls Soccer Teams at OFSAA

The provincial girls high school soccer championships get underway today and Kenora is being represented by two teams this year.

Beaver Brae is in Windsor for the Double A championships.

Broncos head coach Janis England is hoping third time is a charm for her team.

Beaver Brae's first game is at 10:30 this morning against St. Christopher from Sarnia.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas girls are in Pain Court near Chatham for the OFSAA single A championships.

They play their first game at 9:30 this morning against West Elgin.

Water Walkers Heading to Duluth

The Mother Earth Water Walk will be leaving northwestern Ontario today and will be entering Minnesota.

Spokesperson for the group, Heidi Smith the walk was first organized by Josephine Mandamin to  bring awareness to the state of the world's water supplies.

The walkers passed through Kenora on Friday evening.

The group is one of four bring water from different areas to Duluth  where they'll dump it in Lake Superior.

Hospital Foundation Warns of Local Phone Scam

The Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation is warning of a scam that's been going around.

Someone has been calling up local residents looking for donations for the Children's Project at the hospital.

The Hospital Foundation says there is no such project underway at the hospital.

The foundation also says it does not use third parties to solicit donations.

Local residents are also encouraged not to give credit card information should you receive such a phone call.

Pinecrest still waiting for long term care beds

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network still has not signed off on  ten temporary new beds at the Pinecrest Home for the Aged.

Administration at the long term care home has been working with the LHIN's for months trying to get funding to open the beds, but CAO, Kevin Queen says they have nothing in writing yet.

He's hoping there will get approval to open the beds by the end of the month.

Pinecrest has been waiting since the beginning of the year for the extra long term care beds to help ease a critical shortage in the community.

OPP Commissioner worried about staff shortages

The Ontario Provincial Police is facing a severe shortage in staff.

The Police Force stands to lose about 400-officers due to retirement.

On a tour of Northwestern Ontario detachments last week, Commissioner Chris Lewis says this region is not immune.

Lewis says they want to recruit as many officers from the north as possible, so they will stay and

work in the north. 

More MNR Fire Rangers Heading to Alberta Today

The Ministry of Natural Resources is sending more personnel to the forest fire fight in Alberta.

Another 102-fire staff are expected to leave today, replacing some of those who have been in the western province for the past two weeks.

85 of the 190 Ontario personnel now in Alberta are expected to return later this week.

Here at home there is only 1-active fire, a 13-hundred hectare blaze currently under control near Savant Lake.

Grassy Narrows Blockade back in Action

Grassy Narrows First Nation says its long-running blockade in the woods is seeing action.

Women from the Kenora-area community blocked Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement officers yesterday who were attempting to stop road repair work by the First Nation.

Judy Da Silva says the community is repairing a bridge used as an alternate route out of the community during forest fires, flooding and other emergencies.

Da Silva says the Ministry has threatened 10-thousand dollar fines if the work is not halted, but she says work continued behind the blockade.

The blockade began in 2002 when women and youth from the community blocked logging machinery from entering what they say is traditional territory.

NAN Grand Chief Speaks out against OPP Commendations

The head of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation says a decision to reward some OPP officers last week sends a wrong message to First Nations.

Grand Chief Stan Beardy says the commendations are glorified and unnecessary

One award was for exemplary performance in the Pikangikum First Nation dispute last year and the other, a bravery award for the officer who shot an aboriginal woman in downtown Kenora last June. 

Abitibi completes the sale of its Hydro Assets in Ontario

AbitibiBowater has completed the sale of its hydro-electric assets in Ontario which include the dams in Kenora and Fort Frances.

The company is receiving 300-hundred million dollars for the sale to a consortium of a Canadian investor and a private Canadian renewable energy company.

Chief executive officer Richard Garneau says it allows the company to reduce its debt and help improve its finances.

The hydro dam in Iroquois Falls is also on the list of assets being sold by AbitibiBowater. 

Pioneer Wins 2011 Municipal Paving Contract

The City of Kenora is going to spend just over 1.6 million dollars on its municipal paving program this year.

That's a lot higher than usual, due to the carry over of about 900 thousand dollars from last year's paving of the highway 17 east and west entrances into the city.

The city has received approval to use the extra money to pave a secion of  Lakeview Drive from the Keewatin Bridge, east to the Husky Station.

Paving will also be done in the Valley Drive, Second Street North, Eighth Street South, and 8th Avenue South areas this year.

Pioneer Construction had the lowest of two bids for the road work.

Another Illinois Man drowns in Northwestern Ontario

OPP say an American angler was not wearing a life jacket when he fell into Red Lake and died.

Police and emergency crews were called to the McFinley Mine Site Dock, near Cochenour last Wednesday, where local residents were trying to bring the 58-year-old man back to life.

An investigation found that Robert Glick fell into the water while fishing with 2-other men.

Glick was visiting Red Lake from Highland Park, Illinois.

Discovery Center Nearing Completion

Tourism Kenora is hoping to move into its new digs in another month or so.

The finishing touches are being put on the Discovery Center on Lakeview Drive on Cameron Bay.

Tourism development officer, Heather Paterson says the building will provide more than just a tourist information office.

The two million dollar building is scheduled to open to the public by the end of June.

Rickford gets ready for news session of Parliament

MP's are back to work Thursday with the election of a new Speaker.

Kenora Conservative representative Greg Rickford is expecting a quick session.

The budget will be presented next Monday.

Rickford says the budget will set out plans for the next phase of the government's economic action plan.

Conservation Camp begins today

55 Years running and still going strong.

The Annual Dryden Conservation Course opens today with Grade 10 students from Dryden, Kenora and Southern Ontario participating.

Domtar is one of the major sponsors and Spokesperson Bonnie Skene says activities are taking place at Blue Lake Park, Aaron Park and Domtar's harvesting operation.

The course is geared towards getting kids interested in conservation and resource management.

Search for Missing Angler on Lake of the Woods Continues

A search for a missing American angler continues near Morson.

Provincial Police were back in Lake of the Woods yesterday looking for 69-year-old Richard Herman.

The Illinois man was with another fishing on the lake last Monday.

Their capsized boat and the body of a 73-year-old man were found by police the next day.

MTO Stats show local roads are getting safer

Figures released by the Ministry of Transportation shows that the number of accidents in the Kenora area continues to climb, but the number of people being injured or killed has been substantially reduced.

The latest figures from the MTO show that there were 50 people injured in vehicle accidents in 2008, compared to 77 in 1996.

Tom Marinis is a spokesperson for the MTO and says there are a number of reasons for the decrease.

Marinis says alcohol continues to play a big factor in local accidents, with about 25 percent the result of impaired drivers.

Hospitals get capital funding from Northwest LHIN's

The North West Local Health Integration Network is providing a total of 3.6-million dollars to 13 Northern Hospitals for upgrades.

Lake of the Woods District Hospital has been promised about 250 thousand dollars in capital funding.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen points out that the funding was actually promised earlier this year, and they are only just getting the cheques now.

Local School Boards sign bussing agreement

An agreement on transportation has been reached by the  four area School Boards.

The new protocol will cover students from across the Region, with the same rules for each Board.

Judy Green is the Manager of the Northwestern Ontario Student Services Consortium and says more information is available on-line.

The site also outlines the new school bus eligibility distances.

Another Drug Bust on the By-Pass

A 24 year old Kenora man faces drug charges after being pulled over by police on the Kenora By-Pass.

The OPP says they stopped a vehicle on Highway 17-A Thursday afternoon around 5:30.

Officers noticed some open alcohol in the vehicle and conducted a search for more liquor licence violations.

During their search about 173 grams of marijuana was uncovered.

Stephen Beckworth has been charged with possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.

He's due to appear in Kenora Court on July 14th.

Rafferty to Raise Border Crossing Issues

A meeting is being planned to discuss the issue of border access at the Fort Frances and International Falls points of entry.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty says he's hoping to meet with U-S Senator Al Franken in early July.

Rafferty is also trying to access information on the number of Americans turned back at the border compared with other locations.

Attiwapiskat Drug Bust

A major drug bust in Attawapiskat First Nation.

The Combine Forces Organized Crime Unit searched an Attapiskat home and seized nearly 14-thousand dollars worth of drugs.

Police seized 169-Oxycodone pills and nearly 5-thousand dollars worth of cocaine.

43-year-old Richard Edwards faces 2-counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking in cocaine and oxycodone.

Kenora Area Road Safety Committee re-focuses

The campaign to improve road safety in the Kenora area has been revived.

The Kenora Area Road Safety Committee is planning a number of initiatives to try and reduce accidents and injuries on local highways.

Maria Bagdonis is a spokesperson for the committee and says one of the biggest causes of accidents locally is distracted driving.

Bagdonis says Kars will also be holding a car seat clinic in June, to make sure children are being buckled up properly.

Saints Girls earn another trip to OFSAA Single A Soccer Championship

Both of Kenora's high school soccer teams are heading to southwestern Ontario this week for the All-Ontario Championships.

Thomas Aquinas booked its ticket by winning the NWOSSA crown over the weekend.

The Saints beat Terrace Bay in two straight games in the best-of-three final.

T.A. got by Terrace Bay by scores of 5-0 Friday night and 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.

Thomas Aquinas will now travel to London on Wednesday and take the bus to Chatham for the OFSAA championships, which start on Thursday.

Beaver Brae`s girls will head to Windsor for the Double A championships later this wee as well.