NAN

It's thumbs down by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation to an offer from the Ontario government. Premier Dalton McGuinty is offering meetings instead of a Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of seven NAN students in Thunder Bay. Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose says they expect nothing less from the Premier than to announce the inquiry.

All-Candidates Debate

The region's forest industry, health care, taxes and energy were all hot topics at last nights all candidates debate in Dryden. The NDP's Sarah Campbell, Progressive Conservative candidate Rod McKay and Green hopeful Jo Jo Holiday focused all their attention on Liberal candidate Anthony Leek. All parties touched on government policies on taxation, energy and forestry. Kenora is hosting a second debate on Tuesday

OFL

The Ontario Federation of Labour will co-ordinate simultaneous solidarity rallies at every community college campus in Ontario next Tuesday.

The O-F-L has been supporting the striking support workers at the colleges who have been out for more than two weeks.O-F-L president Sid Ryan will join picket lines today at Mohawk College to show his support.

Trustee upset over EQAO test results

Aboriginal High School literacy test results have caught the attention of a Sioux Lookout Trustee with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Bob O'Donohue says the success rate has dropped 10-percent over the past 5-years and he believes all the time and energy spent on aboriginal education is not paying off.

Superintendent of Education Sean Monteith is defending the results.

89 students wrote the mandated exam last year and 57-passed.

46 of 70 students were successful in 2009-2010.

McGuinty Says No to Northern Leaders Debate

Premier Dalton McGuinty is the lone holdout for a Northern Ontario leaders debate ahead of the October 6th election.

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is hosting the debate in Thunder Bay next Friday.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says that McGuinty is once again turning his back on Northerners.

P.C. Leader Tim Hudak says the Liberals don't care about local issues.

McGuinty says he'll instead push for a Northern segment in the televised leaders' debate September 27th in Toronto.

EQAO

More students in the Keewatin-Patricia School District are passing the EQAO reading and writing exams.

The success rate for reading is 74-percent for Grade 6 and 63-percent for Grade 3 students.

Superintendent of Education Caryl Hron says she's not surprised by the results.

The success rate for writing is 64-percent in Grade 6 and 61-percent for students in Grade 3.

All-Candidates Forum

Local and Provincial issues will be in the spotlight tonight as the first All-Candidates Forum of the Provincial Election is being held in Dryden.

The Kenora-Rainy River candidates will debate the hot topics.Candidates will be able to grill one another and questions will also be accepted from the Media and the Floor.The Forum starts at 7 o'clock at the Royal Canadian Legion.

If you can't make it, the debate will be broadcasted live on Shaw Cable 10.

Kenora Hydro

Kenora Hydro is trying to find the cause of regular power outages in the Lakeside, north end and
Coney Island areas.

Over the past few weeks, electricity has been interrupted several times, sometimes for hours on end.

President and CEO of Kenora Hydro Dave Sinclair says they've done a complete inspection of the system, but haven't been able to find out what's triggering the outages.

Sinclair says if anyone notices any strange activity, or noise on the hydro lines in their neighborhood, they should contact Kenora Hydro with the details.

Riverside Foundation for Health Care

A long-time resident of the Rainy River district is presenting Riverside Foundation for Health Care with one-hundred thousand dollars.
Foundation Director Nicke Baird says gift comes from someone who is choosing to remain anonymous.


Baird says the individual is also leaving it up to the Foundation on how the money will be used.

Full-Day Kindergarten

Area classrooms are bustling with little ones this year as the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board enters the second year in implementing the Full-Day, Early Learning Kindergarten Program.254-students are enrolled in the program across the District this year, 86 of those right here in Kenora

College Student Alliance

A student advocacy group is calling for a resumption of negotiations in the strike by support workers at Ontario community colleges.

Brian Costantini, president of the College Student Alliance, says the impact on students will increase the longer the strike that started Sept. 1 continues.

The group says students from various colleges have reported problems getting needed services such as IT, child care and tutoring, and adds some students' semesters are threatened by the walkout.

The workers are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents about 8,000 cleaners, food service staff, registration officers and other workers at the province's 24 colleges.

Wages and job protection are major issues in the dispute. The colleges say they will remain open during the strike, using management and non-unionized part-time staff.

Lake of the Woods

The federal government should get some high level recommendations on how to protect
water quality on Lake of the Woods by Christmas.

The International Joint Commission is looking through a report by a Task Force that was set up last year to look at the local watershed.

Kelly Saunders was a member of the committee and is hoping the commission takes their recommendations seriously.

The governments in Canada and the United States are expected to announce their water quality
plans for Lake of the Woods by the spring of 2012.

Bob Bernie

A member of the Kenora Detachment of the OPP is getting a provincial honor.

Constable Bob Bernie has been chosen as Officer of the year.

He was singled out for his work with the Kenora Mental Health and Drug Awareness Task force.

Bernie will pick up his award at the OPP Accolades Ceremony in Orillia next Monday.

Ford Canada

Forty-four years of production comes to an end today at the Ford of Canada plant in the southwestern Ontario community of St. Thomas.

When the last Crown Victoria rolls off the assembly line, the plant's last 12-hundred hourly-paid employees will be out of work. Sales of Crown Victorias and other large rear-wheel drive cars made by Ford have been falling in recent years as consumers opt for more fuel efficient models

Randall Hopley

A psychiatric examination was ordered for Randall Hopley when he appeared in a court in Cranbrook, B-C yesterday.

The evaluation will determine if Hopley is fit to stand trial on charges of kidnapping and abducting a child under 14. He has been ordered to be back in court for a bail hearing on November 9th.

Hopley was charged after three-year-old Kienan Hebert vanished for four days in Sparwood, B-C.

Canadian Blood Services

253 Kenora residents took one hour of their time over the last 2 days to donate blood at Thomas Aquinas High School. Harvey Heather from Canadian blood services says over 600 patients will benefit from this weeks blood donor clinic. For more information about becoming a blood donor call 1-888-2-DONATE or visit: www.bloodservices.ca

AbitibiBowater

AbitibiBowater says it's concerned about proposals for managing the Abitibi River forest.


The Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association has said the proposal would immediately cut the conifer wood supply in the area by 25 per cent.

AbitibiBowater says the such reductions in wood supply could jeopardize future forest sector investments.

It says it could also impact the economic foundation of 25 northern Ontario communities.

The Ontario Health Coalitions

The Ontario Health Coalitions wants to make health care a priority in the provincial election campaign.

Spokesperson Natalie Mehra says the political parties need to explain where they stand on the key issues in health care. Mehra says more than 18-thousand hospital beds have cut since 1990 while 24-thousand people wait for nursing home beds and 10 thousand wait for home care.

Randall Hopley

The Mounties say kidnapping charges await Randall Hopley when he  appears in a court in Cranbrook, British Columbia today.

Hopley was arrested yesterday 20-kilometres east of Sparwood. Three-year-old Kienan Hebert was returned to his Sparwood home on Sunday, four days after he disappeared.

R-C-M-P Inspector Brendan Fitzpatrick says it appears Hopley acted alone. Fitzpatrick adds no deal was made for the safe return of the boy

Air Canada Strike

Air Canada's flight attendants voted overwhelmingly to give their union leadership a mandate to call a strike.

Some 68-hundred workers could walk off the job as early as September 21st after giving the airline 72 hours notice.

The two sides continue to negotiate, but union president Jeff Taylor says progress has been very slow. Air Canada says it's business as usual until a strike is launched, when it plans to operate a partial schedule including code share flights operated by its partner airlines

Forest Fire Update

A shift in weather conditions has drifted smoke from a forest fire in Minnesota into Northwestern Ontario and as far east as Owen Sound and Barrie.


The lightning caused fire is 60-thousand acres in size and is about 15-kilometres south of the Canadian Border.The fire poses no threat to Canadian communities; however some U.S. road closures and evacuations have taken place.There are 45-active fires in the Northwest Region, with an area of nearly 480-thousand hectares burned.

Saskatchewan Man fined for Illegal Hunting in NWO

An Estavan, Saskatchewan man has been fined 25-hundred dollars for several hunting-related offences.

Justice of the Peace Daisy Hoppe heard the case in Ignace.

Richard Pesola pleaded guilty and fined for possessing a void hunting licence, moose hunting without a valid licence and making a false statement on a Ministry of Natural Resources Ontario Resident Outtdoors Card application.

Court heard that last May, Pesola provided false information when applying for a card and went moose hunting in this area.

Council to vote on Coney Houseboats next week

House boats moored off Coney Island will find out next week whether they will have to move.

City Council is expected to vote on a resolution calling for the removal of the house boats by October 31st.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says they have looked at some of the legal issues raised by the house boat owners.

He says now that they have the answers, council will have to make a final decision on their fate.

STR re-visits Cross Town Corridor

Winter is still a few months away, but that's not stopping the Sunset Trailriders from trying to re-vive the cross town snowmobile corridor.

STR members met with council this morning to look at some alternate routes for a snowmachine trail.

Sean Clifford says a cross town corridor is a win/win for everyone.

 The city says it will work with STR on the proposed corridor, but also wants to hold a public meeting to get some feedback on the trail location.

Alarmed for Life tonight in Norman

The City of Kenora Fire and Emergency Services will be conducting there annual Alarmed for Life Campaign tonight.

Fire crews will be canvassing the Norman area to ensure everyone has a working smoke alarm and that they're installed in the right place.

Fire fighters will be going door to door between 6:30 to 8:30 tonight, handing out fire prevention material.

Crash Test Dummies Cancel Kenora Concert

Those hoping to see the Crash Test Dummies perform in Kenora are out of luck.

The Winnipeg-based band has cancelled a fall tour of Canada and the U.S. because of lead singer Brad Roberts' back problems.

The Crash Test Dummies were scheduled to entertain fans on November 17th at the Dryden Centre.

On his Facebook page, Roberts says he's deeply disappointed but notes his medical condition has to be his priority right now.

Dragon Tamers Win in Winnipeg

Its the best ever finish for the Kenora Dragon Tamers.

The squad placed first in the All-Female Divsion of the FMG Dragon Boat Festival in Winnipeg over the weekend.

The Dragon Tamers beat out 17 other boats to claim the top honors.

The races took place this year on Shirley Lake instead of the Red River.

OPSEU Strike

Hundreds of striking Ontario college support workers carried a wooden table in downtown Toronto this morning to symbolize their demand for new negotiations.

Workers from 10 community colleges took part in the march from George Brown College on King Street to the management head office on Bay Street during the morning rush hour.

The workers, who have been on strike since Sept. 1, planned a rally at the management office.They are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union which represents about 8,000 cleaners, food service staff, registration officers and other workers at the province's 24 colleges.

Wages and job protection are major issues in the dispute. The colleges have pledged to stay open during the strike, with management and non-unionized part-time staff stepping in.

Kenora Professional Firefighters

Kenora Professional Firefighters will soon be making more money.


The City is expected to ratify a new three year contract next Monday.

The deal calls for a three percent increase, plus retention

bonuses for longer serving members of the fire department.

Deer Population

The City of Kenora is trying to become a less deer friendly community.

City Council is considering a by-law change which will allow bow-hunters to shoot deer south of the Kenora By-Pass.

Councillor Sharon Smith says its one way of trying to reduce the rampant deer population. The by-law change will be the subject of a couple of public meetings over the next week so council can gather feedback from local residents.

Ambulance Base

Still no word as to if, or when, a new land ambulance base will be built in the City of Kenora.

Councilor Louis Roussin says they will be getting an update on the actual building costs at the next meeting of the Kenora District Services Board later this month.

In the meantime, site evaluation is being completed on the property, which is located next to the fire hall on Barsky's Hill.

Forest Fire Update

Extreme weather conditions caused fire activity to surge over the past few days. There are now 45 active fires in the Northwest region affecting an area of 479,874 hectares. Fourteen of which burning in Sioux Lookout , seven in Fort Frances and four here in Kenora.

McKay opens campaign offices

The Conservative Candidate in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding says he's not impressed with the Northern Ontario platforms of the Liberals or the NDP.

Both parties released their election plans for this region last week.

Rod McKay says in less than a week on the campaign trail, there are really only two issues local residents seem to be interested in.

McKay will be opening his campaign office in Kenora this afternoon in the old Town and Country building on 2nd Street South.

Smoke drifting in from out west

The smell of smoke in the Kenora area over the past few days is from fires far away in the U.S. Northwest.

An MNR Spokesperson says they received numerous calls about the smell and haze but note its not from this area.

Meanwhile, the hot and dry weather of the weekend will give way to cool and damp conditions in the coming week, with daytime highs of just 7 degrees expected by Wednesday.

Blood Donor Clinic today and tomorrow

There's a high demand for blood in Northwestern Ontario so Canadian Blood Services is hoping for a

good turn-out for their blood donor clinic this week.

Harvey Heather from Canadian Blood Services says the process is virtually painless and only takes about an hour

The Blood Donor Clinic takes places at St Thomas Aquinas High School tonight from 4:30 to 9 and again tomorrow 9 am to 12:30.

Body Found in Sioux Lookout

Little is known about a body that has been found in Sioux Lookout.

Sergeant Shelly Garr is with the OPP Northwest Regional Headquarters in Thunder Bay.

Garr says the body of a 30-year-old man was located behind the Water Treatment Plant on Saturday.

The cause of death has not been determined.

A post-mortem was held yesterday but the results are not known.

Rafferty Eyes NDP leadership

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M.P. John Rafferty is flirting with the idea of becoming the leader of the NDP.

Rafferty says several people have suggested he enter the race, prompting him to post on his Facebook site to solicit further input.

Rafferty admits the biggest challenge would be money.

Candidates must ante up 15thousand dollars to enter with campaigns running upwards of half a million dollars.

Northern Heritage lands a Candidate in Kenora-Rainy River

Then there were five.

Another candidate has thrown her hat into the ring for the October 6th provincial election in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding.

Charmaine Romaniuk filed her nomination papers yesterday to run for the Northern Ontario Heritage Party.

Ed Deibel is the party leader and says they now have two candidates who can raise issues that are important to northerners.

The other candidate for the party is running in the Timmins-Cochrane Riding.

NDP Leader

A long-time NDP insider may be the first to formally enter the race to replace the late Jack Layton.

Party president Brian Topp is scheduled to make an announcement this morning in Ottawa.

He'll be joined by NDP MP Francoise Boivin.Topp's name surfaced early as a possible contender in the NDP leadership race.

The fully-bilingual Montrealer has worked in NDP backrooms for years, and was a close confidant to Layton, who died last month of cancer.

The NDP is set to hold a caucus retreat starting tomorrow in Quebec City.

Distracted Driving

Ontario Provincial Police are launching their latest blitz on drivers phoning and texting behind the wheel.

This week's campaign is called ``Phone in one hand, Ticket in the other.''

Police say distracted driving has been identified as a factor in almost 5,000 collisions on roads and highways patrolled by the provincial force so far this year.Officials say hundreds of people have close calls every day, but drivers continue to use cellphones while driving.

During the first seven months of this year, provincial police handed out more than twice the number of tickets for distracted driving compared with the same period in 2010.

The fine for talking on a cellphone or texting while driving is $155, while watching an entertainment device while behind the wheel carries a fine of $110.

Loonie

The Canadian dollar briefly slipped below parity with its U-S

counterpart this morning for the first time since January 31st.

The loonie fell 53-100ths of a cent -- to 99.87 cents U-S -- that's

before it rebounded back to 100.19 cents U-S.

All-Candidate Forum

The Provincial candidates in Kenora-Rainy River are preparing for two All-Candidate debates.

The first session is at 7 PM on September 15th at the Royal Canadian Legion in Dryden.

Rod McKay of the Conservatives, Anthony Leek of the Liberals, Sarah Campbell of the NDP and Jo Jo Holiday of the Green Party are all expected to participate.

The second forum is in Kenora on September 20th.

Train Collision

No reported injuries, but plenty of debris, after a train collided with a truck on Saturday.

Following an investigation Dryden OPP have charged 35-year-old Sean Warren with impaired operation of a motor vehicle, operation of a motor vehicle with more than 80-millgrams of alcohol in his blood and failing to remain at the scene of a crash.


Warren has been released and will appear in Court on September 26th.

His licence has been suspended for 90-days.

Weather Record

It was a beautiful weekend across the Northwest, with several records falling.

Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Ear Falls all reached record high temperatures on Friday and Saturday.

Red Lake was the hot spot at 30.7-degrees on Friday.

Here in Kenora we started the weekend by breaking records set in 1982 reaching highs of 29.7 degrees on Friday.

Alarmed For Life

Don't be alarmed to find fire trucks and firefighters in your neighborhood September 13th 2011. The Kenora Fire and Emergency Services will be out in the Norman area tomorrow between 6:30-8:30 PM. They will be knocking on doors and making sure you have a working smoke alarm and that they're properly installed. During the canvass, or anytime the Fire Service is invited in to inspect a home, firefighter will not be issuing tickets to residents, but will show them how to bring their home up to Code and optimize safety.

Forest Fire Update

Ontario’s fire season isn’t over yet.There were 32-new forest fires over the past 3-days in Northwestern Ontario.Conditions were extreme with high winds and drought-like conditions.

Several fires that were quiet came back to life including Red Lake number 84.The Ministry of Natural Resources says despite aggressive air and ground attack, a commercial outpost cabin was lost on Gull Lake.


Help is on the way with cool and damp conditions in the forecast. There are 51-active fires in this region.

Kienan Hebert

The family of a three-year-old boy abducted from his bed last Wednesday in Sparwood, B-C, is thanking the abductor for bringing him home.

The weeping parents of Kienan Hebert addressed the media yesterday, just hours after their little boy was returned home.

Paul Hebert directed his comments at a 46-year-old suspect, saying Randy Hopley did the right thing.

Police received an anonymous 9-1-1 call at 3 a-m telling them where to find the boy, who had been sneaked back into the home. Doctors said he was unharmed and in good spirits.

The R-C-M-P has again made a plea to Hopley to turn himself in.

Broncos win season opener

Beaver Brae's football team is off to a winning start to the 2011 season in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

The Broncos edged the Steinbach Sabres 13-12 Friday afternoon in Steinbach.

Jordan Davis scored both majors for Beaver Brae.

The Broncos now have a bye week before playing their next game.

They will take on the Miles MacDonnell Buckeyes at home on September 23rd.

Northern Ontario Heritage Party a no-go?

Its doesn't look as if the Northern Ontario Heritage Party is going to be a force in provincial politics this year.

The party had hoped to run as many as 11 candidates in the election, but Party President Ed Deibel says as of today they don't have anyone ready to file nomination papers.

Deibel says if they don't have at least two candidates nominated they will have to de-register the party.

9/11 Ceremony Being Held Sunday

Emergency service workers in Kenora will be remembering the 9/11 terror attacks this sunday.

They're also inviting the public to join them for a modest ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

The assembly will take place beneath the flag pole at the District #1 fire station on Barsky's Hill at approximately 8:45 AM - this sunday september 11th.

Record Temperatures Recorded in Kenora.

The City of Kenora could be in store for some record weather over the next few days.

Temperatures are expected to soar to 29 degrees for the next two days.

In fact, Kenora set a weather record yesterday..

The thermometer hit 29.2 out at the airport, which just barely broke the previous high for September 8th of 28.8 degrees.

That record was set back in 2003.

Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Ear Falls also set temperature records Thursday.