Province promises to fix up By-Pass Bridges

A couple of bridges along the Kenora By-Pass are in for a makeover this year.

Reconstruction work on the Middle Lake and Winnipeg River Bridges are two of the projects included in this year's Northern Highways program.

The province will be spending 618 million dollars on roads in northern Ontario this summer.

The twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway east from the Manitoba Border is also included in the Highway programs budget this year.

NDP send Travelling Ballot Box Around the Riding this Weekend

The NDP will be taking a travelling ballot box around the Kenora-Rainy River Ridng to select a candidate for the upcoming provincial election.

The New Democrats are trying to hold onto a riding held for the past couple of decades by Howard Hampton.

Kenora Lawyer Robert Sinding is challenging Hampton's constituent assistant Sarah Campbell for the nomination.

Sinding believes the party's platform will resonate with local residents.

The travelling ballot box will start the day in Sioux Lookout and be in Kenora on Sunday afternoon, before ending up in Fort Frances Monday night.

Clement Announces Funding for Aboriginal Businesses

There's almost 2-million of Federal dollars going to help Aboriginal business development in the Northwest.

FedNor Minister Tony Clement says the support is needed because raising money to start a business in First Nation communities is totally different that in larger centres.

Clement made the announcement in yesterday while touring the region.

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Day this Sunday

Waste Diversion Ontario is helping out the City of Kenora this year with its household hazardous waste disposal day.

Usually the city has to foot the entire bill for the waste collection day, but Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says they are eligible for some additional funding.

Perchuck says the city usually has to pay 35 thousand dollars every year to hold the Hazardous Waste Disposal Day.

You can drop of hazardous materials this Sunday at the Waste Transfer Station from 8:00 to 4:00.

Health Unit Re-Opens Keewatin and Round Lake Beaches

Good news for people who want to cool off this weekend.

The Northwest Health Unit has lifted the swimming bans at Keewatin Beach and Round Lake.

The most recent round of testing shows that bacterial levels have returned to acceptible levels.

The two swimming holes had been closed for the past week due to high levels of e-coli.

Province to Review lack of Aboriginal Representation on Juries

A former Supreme Court of Canada justice is going to look at why aboriginals are being shut out from juries in Ontario.

First Nations who live on reserves in the province say they have been excluded from juries for years.

Now the province has asked former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to look at the issue and come up with ways to fix the problem.

Bombardier Strike in Thunder Bay over

Striking Canadian Auto Workers members at Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant have reached a tentative agreement after just one day on the picket line.

Both sides reached an agreement last night.

The 700 union members, who assemble rail cars at the plant, are expected to vote on the offer on Saturday.

Staff walked off the job Tuesday but both sides returned to negotiations yesterday morning.

Bike Trails coming to City

The City of Kenora hopes to become more cycler friendly in the next few months.

Work is underway to develop a bicycle route through town.

Councillor Sharon Smith says that will include a marked route along Lakeview Drive, once that section is re-paved in the fall.

The route will include "share the road" signage, as well as bicycle stencils on the shoulder of the road.

OPP Arrest Two people in Rideout area

The OPP have arrested two people as a result of a drug bust in the Rideout area of town.

The Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and the Drug Unit executed a search warrant on a home on Mascott Avenue earlier this week.

Police say 3.5 grams of marijuana, six oxycodone pills and other drug paraphenalia were seized.

50 year old Leo Delorme and 22 year old Harley McLeod from Kenora have been charged with possession of a narcotic.

They are scheduled to make a court appearance in September.

Economic Development Commission Present Q2 report

All the city's investment in infrastructure over the past couple of years is starting to pay off.

That's the message of the chair of the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission.

Dennis Wallace presented the second quarter report to council this week and says there is a lot of interest in the former Abitibi property.

Wallace admits it could take a couple of years for the interest to translate into actual jobs, but says the foundation is there for growth.

City Council Turns Down Funding for Fellowship Center

Kenora City council has turned down a request from the Fellowship Center for a 12 thousand dollar grant.

The emergency shelter had requested the funding to help cover utility costs and recycling.

Councillor Sharon Smith says while the City doesn't have the funds to give the shelter money,

she suggested that Fellowship Center work with the Kenora Assembly of Resources to see if they can share some services.

The Kenora Assembly of Resources operates a couple of programs on the Kenora Harborfront

including the Green Team and Buck's Brigade.

Slight Improvement in Forest Fire Situation

The Ministry of Natural Resources continues to gain the upper hand on several wildfires in Northwestern Ontario.

There are now 95-active fires, down from 110-fires last night.

Information Officer Gabby Rivard says they are also getting fresh blood to help in suppression efforts.

There were just two new forest fires reported in northwestern Ontario yesterday.

US Economic Woes Good News for Local Housing Market?

Economic troubles south of the border could help out the housing market in Kenora.

Lakehead University Economics Professor Livio Di Matteo says the turmoil will likely mean interest rates will stay low which will make it easier for people to get a mortgage.

Di Matteo says the Federal Reserce Bank vowing to keep interest rates low will likely cause the Bank of Canada to do the same or even lower its rate.

Bombardier Strike in Thunder Bay over

Striking Canadian Auto Workers members at Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant have reached a tentative agreement after just one day on the picket line.

Both sides reached an agreement last night.

The 700 union members, who assemble rail cars at the plant, are expected to vote on the offer on Saturday.

Staff walked off the job Tuesday but both sides returned to negotiations yesterday morning.

City Considering Lawsuit over Bridge Repairs

The City of Kenora is talking legal action to get the provincial government to help pay for much needed repairs to a couple of local bridges.

The price tag to fix up the Keewatin Channel and the Winnipeg River West Branch Bridges is going to be at least six million dollars.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says a lawsuit is one way of forcing the government's hand.

The bridges were downloaded onto the municipality 14 years ago, and Canfield suggests some of the problems predate the transfer.

He plans to bring the issue up as his number one priority at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario convention in London later this month.

City Fails Safety Audit

The City of Kenora has received a failing grade in a recent work place safety audit by the WSIB.

Kenora was given 35 out of 100 in the Workwell audit.

While some councillors aren't happy with the audit results, Health and Safety officer, Bruce Graham says the news isn't all bad.

Another Workwell Audit will take place in February and the Graham predicts the city will perform much better.

NDP Releases more of its Northern Platform

Much of NDP's election platform for the north is still under wraps, but leader Andrea Horwath is giving us a sneak peak.

She is making promises that involve changes to the laws involving mining and keeping those resources here

The NDP is also promising to scrap the current wood allocation process.

City wants houseboats moved off Bush Island

The City of Kenora is planning to crack down on people parking houseboats illegally on municipal property.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they've been getting complaints from Coney Island residents about a number of houseboats moored just off Bush Island.

Lunny says the city will give the owners of the houseboats until the end of September to find somewhere else to park.

A lull in Forest Fire Battle

For the first time in two months, there were no new forest fires reported in northwestern Ontario.

Two days of showers has brought some relief to firefighters battling more than a 100 wildfires across northwestern Ontario.

Up to 30 millimetres of rain fell in some parts of the region.

The precipitation and cooler temperatures, will allow FireRangers to consolidated hose lines around some of the bigger fires and help crews focus their suppression efforts.

Elections Ontario Getting Ready for October 6th

The Ontario provincial election is just under two months away.

Elections Ontario, the agency tasked with managing the election, is getting prepared.

Deputy chief electoral officer Lauren Wells says for the first time, voters will get the chance to vote by mail.

Wells says Elections Ontario will have its returning offices up and running in early September.

Clean Energy Grants Awarded

Two companies in the Kenora District are getting funding to change over to clean energy.

Slate Falls Outposts will get just over nine thousand dollars to install a new solar powered system to replace propane appliances.

Dorsey Contracting is a tree-planting company, and is getting a grant for just over 13 thousand dollars to install a new geothermal heating system to power one of its buildings.

The funding from the province's Northern Energy Program.

Canoer Rescued from Woodland Caribou Park

A 51-year-old Florida man is in good condition after he was rescued from Woodland Caribou Provincial Park.

Red Lake OPP received an emergency call in regards to a stranded canoeist inside the park on Friday.

Police say the canoeist severely injured his knee on the first day of his planned 15-day canoe trip.

Once OPP got the call and the emergency beacon was activated on the man's GPS, it took officers about 5-hours to rescue the man.

Two City Councils vying for Conservative Nomination

It looks like there will be a race for the Conservative nomination in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding.

Louis Roussin has confirmed that his nomination papers have been accepted by the party.

Roussin is a member of Kenora city Council and is the seat mate of the other candidate seeking the Conservative nomination, Rod McKay.

Roussin is a former real estate agent in the City of Kenora.

Still no word as to when a nomination meeting will be held.

Two Kenora Bridges in Need of Repair

A sobering report on the state of Kenora's Bridges.

Stantec Engineering has conducted the review and it looked specifically at the West Branch of the Winnipeg River Bridge and the Keewatin Channel Bridge.

Mike Boisseneault is the project engineer and says the West Branch Bridge in particular, is in need of repair.

Boisseneault says the steel girders on the bridge are corroding in some places and the concrete footings are also starting to crumble in areas.

The total price tag to do basic repairs to the two bridges is about six million dollars.

OPP Investigate weekend break-ins

The OPP are investigating a couple of break and enters at the west end of town.

Over the weekend, someone broke into a business on Ottawa Street in Keewatin.

Police say the incident took place sometime between 6:30 Friday night and 7:40 Saturday morning.

An undisclosed amount of money was stolen.

Officers responded to a complaint of another break and enter on Lakeview Drive on Sunday.

Once again, the suspects broke into the business and made off with a quantity of cash.

KeeMan Elects Five Member Board

Organizers of a vote to select a slate of officers to oversee the new KeeMan Local Services Board say they are happy with the turn-out of their elections over the weekend.

A total of 135 people turned up at the McKenzie-Clearwater Bay Fire Hall on Saturday.

Six people were in the running for five positions on the board.

Jerry Perras, Terry Wright, Laurie Bracken, Roger Giguere, and Larry Warelis were all elected.

The board now has to meet to decide who will take on specific duties such as chair, treasurer and secretary.

Right to Play gets more money

The provincial government is boosting the amount of money its giving the Right to Play organization.

Right to Play will be getting 1.5 million dollars this year to expand programs into at least 30 first nation communities in northern Ontario.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chris Bentley says the groups youth leadership program has been particulary successful.

The Leadership program was initiated a couple of years ago in two first nation communities and was expanded to four first nations last year.

Nature Conservance of Canada Develops plan for Lake of the Woods

A natural area plan for Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake is ready to be put into action.

It was worked on by the Nature Conservancy of Canada for the past decade.

Regional vice-president Chris Maher says the aim is to protect the area from over development.

Maher says the plan goes to its board of directors in the fall before work on its implementation takes place..

OPP Use Taser to subdue brawl

The OPP say they had to use a taser to subdue a man who was involved in a brawl in downtown Kenora over the weekend.

Around 2:00 Saturday morning, police say they were called to deal with a large disturbance on Matheson Street South.

Officers tried to break up a fight involving a large number of people.

One man refused to back down and started to act agressively towards the police.

The OPP say a conducted energy weapon was used to subdue the assailant.

24 year old Kane Smith of Kenora was charged with assault with intent to resist arrest.

Local Paddlers excel at Dragon Boat Festival

The Super Troopers were super once again at the 9th annual Dragon Boat Races on Rabbit Lake.

The Kenora team, made up of members from the Seymour and Boucha Families won the A-side final Sunday afternoon.

The B-side went to a new team called ThinkHeadwaters from Winnipeg, while Aeolian Arc won the Ladies division for the third year in a row.

In the youth races, Sink or Swim took top honors.

A mixed youth squad also won the 200 meter sprint race, beating out five other adult boats.

Storm Damages Harborfront Tent

Its a good thing the city is getting a new tent for the Kenora Harborfront, because the old tent isn't going to be of much use for a while.

A sudden windstorm yesterday afternoon ripped the tent off its moorings, snapped the ropes holding the tent in place, and toppled the structure.

While no one was hurt, a few vehicles sustained some minor damage.

The loss of the tent means there will have to be a change in venue for the farmer's market tomorrow.

Its still not known where it will take place.

KFP Uncertain when sawmill will re-open

The Manager of the Kenora Forest Products Mill still isn't exactly sure when the sawmill might re-open.

The province announced 101 thousand cubic meters of wood from the Kenora Forest to expand the mill operations.

Rod McKay says they are tentatively looking at the spring of 2012, but that's still dependant on the American market.

Kenora Forest Products is hoping to hire back 98 of its laid off workers and hire as many as 36 new employees, once things get back up and running.

Red Cross In NWO Accepting donations for Somalia

Red Cross officials in northwestern Ontario are collecting money for famine relief in Somalia as the situation there remains critical.

Spokesperson Rob Zuback says people across the region are starting to respond.

Zuback says more donations started to come in when the Harper government announced it would match them dollar for dollar.

ILevel Gets Electricity Rebate

The I-Level Timberstrand Mill on the Jones Road is getting a much needed boost from the province.

Less than a month after being promised a wood allocation from the Kenora Forest, the company will also be getting a 5.8 million dollar electricity subsidy.

Bill Canline is the mill manager and says the funding is much needed.

The money will give the mill a two cents a kilowatt hour subsidy over the  next three years and comes from the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program.

NOHFC Announces more funding for local Communities

Nine communities in northwestern Ontario will be sharing 5.4 million dollars from the northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

That includes money the Whitefeather forest Management Corporation to develop a business plan for the operation of a new sawmill in Red Lake.

Minister responsible for the Heritage Fund, Michael Gravelle says these projects are deserving of the funding.

The North Caribou First nation will be getting a million dollars to build a community and Recreation Center, while Deer Lake will also get a million dollars to complete a multi-purpose facility.

Goldcorp Donates to Eye Van

Goldcorp is making a 25-thousand dollar donation in support of the CNIB Eye Van.

Red Lake Gold Mine Manager Chris Cormier made the announcement in Red Lake last week.
The vehicle is a mobile clinic that brings the best in medical eye care to remote areas in Northern Ontario.

The Van travels more than 6-thousand kilometres to 30-communities, examining more than 5-thousand patients.

MNR Hoping weather will help their fight against forest fires

The Ministry of Natural Resources is hoping the weather this week will help them combat more than 130 fires burning in the region.

There are 41-forest fires alone burning in the Red Lake area.

Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Kathy Crampton says the lightning caused fire is 32-hundred hectares in size and growing.

Heavy smoke from the fires was blowing into the Kenora area and parts of southern

Manitoba over the weekend.

Walk For Good Life wraps up

A group of walkers has completed their journey around the Kenora-Rainy River district.

The seventeen young people took part in the "Walk for Good Life" that started a week ago on the Eagle Lake First Nation.

16-year-old Justin Morrison of Couchiching says its been a great experience.

The group wrapped up the trek yesterday back at the Eagle Lake First Nation.

Libitka and Bennett win KBI

It came down to the wire, but the Kenora duo of Mark Libitka and Dave Bennett took away top honors at the 24th annual Kenora Bass International.

They reeled in 50.67 pounds of bass, just edging out Jeff Gustafson and Chris Savage, who weighed in

last on day three of KBI on Saturday.

Jess Swenson and Michael Reid from Sioux Narrows placed third with 47.83 pounds.

Libitka and Bennett took home more than 25 thousand dollars for their three days of work on Lake of the Woods.

In the Can/Am Challenge, Team Canada narrowly beat out Team USA by less than four pounds.

Dragon Boat Races this weekend

Rabbit Lake will be infested with dragons this weekend.

The annual Dragon Boat Festival will launch from Garrow Park on Sunday.

Darlene McGillvary is the executive director of the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation and says they are expecting an excellent turn-out.

Racing will take place all day long, with finals set to begin at 2:00 Sunday afternoon.

Curling Club gets Trillium Funding

The Kenora Curling Club is getting some help paying for some renovations.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation has promised 76 thousand to install a new roof  and boiler system to upgrade the facility.

The money is part of the 766-thousand dollars in community grants to 11-local  not-for-profit organizations.

Lac Seul First Nation is also receiving 84-thousand dollars to establish an  Ojibway community radio station.

Kenora Forest Products Gets Wood Supply

Finally some good news for the forest industry in Kenora.

The provincial government has announced that Kenora Forest Products has accepted a wood supply offer of 101 thousand cubic meters of wood a year from the Kenora Forest.

Michael Gravelle is the minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry and admits the announcement was a long time coming.

Kenora Forest Products still hasn't indicated when it might be able to re-open its sawmill in Kenora, but company officials are targeting the spring of 2012, as long as markets improve.

McKay to Seek Conservative Nomination in Kenora-Rainy River

The manager of the Kenora Forest Products mill in Kenora is considering a shift in career to provincial politics.

Rod McKay has indicated he plans to run for the Conservatives in the  upcoming provincial election.

McKay says the decision by Howard Hampton not to run again, didn't really affect his decision.

McKay is a member of Kenora City council.

So far the party has not indicated when it might hold its nomination meeting.

City Gets Funding for Harborfront Tent

City officials are breathing a sigh of relief.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has come up with  800 thousand dollars for the new Harborfront Tent.

Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield says that's a big load off his mind.

The board of the Heritage Fund is meeting in Kenora this week and made the decision to provide the funding yesterday morning.

The money will cover about half the 1.6 million dollar cost of the tent.

Vote this Weekend for KeeMan Local Services Board

The KeeMan Local Services Board will be holding its first ever vote  this weekend.

The local services board will oversee the operations of the McKenzie-Clearwater Volunteer Fire Department.

Jill Kalika has been involved with the process since the beginning and says it will still be a while before they are able to start collecting a levy from all the property owners in the area.

Kalika says at this point seven people have expressed interest in the five positions that are up for grabs.

The vote will take place Saturday morning at 10:00.

RCMP Arrest Suspect in Falcon Lake Break-In

The RCMP say thanks to help from the public, they have recovered a stolen truck and arrested a suspect who is believed to have been involved in a break-in at a camp-site in Falcon Lake.

The Mounties say the incident took place last week at the Seasonal Trailer Village.

Along with some electronic devices, a wallet containing numerous credit cards was stolen.

Police say one of the stolen credit cards was used to make purchases at several businesses in West Hawk Lake.

The RCMP say they had video surveillance of the suspect and the vehicle used.

The pick-up truck was reported stolen from the Steinbach area three days before.

Concern Raised about Environment Canada Cuts

Proposed personnel cuts at Environment Canada could impact local weather predicting.

The Federal Government wants to layoff 700 people at the crown agency and CJRL Meteorologist Bill Laidlaw says depending on what gets cut, it could greatly impact Northwestern Ontario.

Laidlaw says organizations like the Weather Network are in the same boat as Signal Weather.

Health Unit Closes Two Beaches

Its not the kind of announcement swimmers want before another warm weekend.

The Northwestern Health Unit has decided to close down the Keewatin and Round Lake Beaches.

The beaches were closed yesterday after heavy rains due to high bacterial counts.

The beaches will be closed until tests show water quality has improved.

That means both areas will be off limits to swimmers all weekend long.

Winnipeg Team leads after day one of KBI

The first team to weigh in after day one of fishing at the Kenora Bass International is still in the lead.

Alex Kezler and Wayne Wagner from Winnipeg reeled in 18.79 pounds of bass yesterday and that weight held up after all 135 teams weighed in.

In second, just a couple of ounces off the pace, is the Sioux Narrows tandem of Matt Ryberg and Brian McNanney, at 18.76 pounds.

The Kenora team of Mark Libitka and Dave Bennett hold down third place, with 18.46 pounds.

After day one, Team Canada has a commanding 10 pound lead in the Can/Am Challenge.