The Kenora Catholic District School Board

The Kenora Catholic District School Board says its seen an increase in enrolment this fall.

While the numbers won't be finalized for another month, director of Education Phylis Eikre says their numbers are up by about 60 students.

She says a large part of the increase is due to the addition of all-junior kindergarten classes at Pope John Paul.

Current enrolment at the separate school board is 15 hundred and 89 students.

Mill Auction

An auction of equipment from the former Atikokan Forest Products Mill is expected to go today.

A company had expressed interest in buying the mill, but was unable to secure a wood supply from the province.

The mill, which has been down for the past three years, was placed into receivership at the beginning of the year.

Debate

Party leaders will square off tonight for the first time in this campaign race. With the October 6th election looming, Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty, Tories' Tim Hudak and N-D-P's Andrea Horwath are prepping themselves for tonight’s televised debate. The 90 minute debate starts at 5:30 PM on CTV or at CTVNews.ca

Cigarette Packages

Ottawa has finally approved bold new labels for cigarette packages. Tobacco companies have until March to switch up the packs but feel the new campaign will have little effect.
The new labels will cover 75 per cent of cigarette packages outlining the risk of smoking. All cigarette packages will now include graphic pictures like that of a cancer-infected mouth, and of Barb Tarbox. She was an anti-smoking activist before dying of lung cancer at the age of 42.

Health advocates have praised the campaign, but were suspicious about the government's resolve to implement it.

NOACC wraps up fall meetings

The Northwestern Associated Chambers of Commerce has wrapped up its fall convention in Thunder Bay.

NOACC president Andy Scribilo says their goal is to get business leaders across the region more involved.

As part of the NOACC convention, Scribilo took part as one of the questioners in the northern leaders debate in Thunder Bay.

Police Investigate Cat Lake fatality

Nishnawbe-Aski Police are investigating a sudden death in Cat Lake First Nation, north of Sioux Lookout.

Police were assisting Sunday in the search for 83-year-old Charlie Gray who was overdue from a hunting trip.

Officers located Gray near his boat and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police don't suspect foul play.

An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Public meeting on Snowmobile Corridor tonight

Local residents will get a chance to comment on a new cross-town snowmobile corridor in the city.

An open house is being held this evening at the Operations building on Barsky's Hill.

The city has been working with the Sunset Trail Riders Snowmobile Club on an alterate route that will avoid residential areas, but will still connect the south side of the city to the north side.

The open house will run from 6:30 to 8:00 this evening.

Junior Saints win B-Side of KIVT

Dryden took top honors in the Kenora Invitational Junior Boys volleyball tournament over the weekend at the Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas gyms.

The Eagles won the A-Side final, getting by a Fort Frances split squad.

The other Muskies team lost to the Thomas Aquinas Saints in the B-side final Saturday afternoon.

T.A. won in two straight sets.

The Saints are back in action Wednesday when they travel to Whitefish Bay.

Drug bust in Fort Frances

Two residents of Fort Frances face several drug charges.

This after the OPP's Community Drug Action Team seized, from a home on Scott Street, last Thursday, nearly 7-pounds of marijuana, along with oxycodone and hydro-morphine.

Value of the drug seized is estimated at 65-thousand dollars.

33-year-old Kevin House and 27-year-old Laura Wickstrom will appear in court at the end of October.

SIU contacted about a weekend incident

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has been contacted by the local OPP about an incident in downtown Kenora over the weekend.

Officers were contacted around 9:00 Saturday night to a Main Street South residence about an unwanted visitor.

When police arrived at the scene, there were met by an intoxicated male.

The 32 year old man was asked to leave, but subsequently fell down a flight of stairs.

He had to be transported to hospital by an ambulence.

The SIU must be contacted anytime someone is injured as a result of an encounter with police.

Two youth taken to hospital in ATV accident

Two 14 year old youth have been taken to hospital following a single vehicle accident involving an All Terrain Vehicle on the Kenora By-Pass.

The OPP say an ATV went off the side of the highway near the Airport Road Saturday night around 10:30 and drove into a guard rail.

Both the driver and the passenger were taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for treatment.

The passenger sustained only minor injuries and was released, while the driver was later transferred to the Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg with serious injuries.

The OPP's Technical Traffic Collision Unit is helping out with out with the investigation.

Northern Heritage Candidate on the Campaign Trail

The candidate for the Northern Ontario Heritage Party in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding admits its been a challenge to get her message out.

Charmaine Romaniuk entered the race, a couple of days into the election campaign.

She says that being a student at Lakehead University makes it difficult to canvass door-to-door.

Romaniuk is one of five candidates in the riding seeking to become the new M.P.P. on October 6th.

Keewatin-Patricia School District

A living document is in place to help students in the Keewatin-Patricia School District succeed.The Board has approved a new 3-point strategic plan for 2011-2012.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says the Board will use intervention strategies to help at-risk students and teachers will clearly establish expectations.

Racism

A research project, looking at relations between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in the region, finds a persistence of racism and prejudice in the area.


Jeff Denis, an assistant professor at McMaster University, says part of the problem relates to an unwillingness to openly discuss the issue until a crisis arises.

Denis says he sees a need for ongoing education and dialogue starting at a grassroots level.

Habitat for Humanity

Safe, affordable and decent housing will soon be available in Kenora. October marks the start of the "Shingles" campaign, the first of many fundraisers for The Kenora Chapter of Habitat for Humanity


Co-Chair of the Fundraising Comimittee Thelma Wilkins-Page says donations are being accepted at most local businesses. All funds raised here in Kenora go directly into  building the first habitat home,in Spring of 2012.

Broncos lose to the Buckeyes

Beaver Brae's Football team has lost its first game of the year.

The Broncos were trounced 48-16 by the Miles MacDonnell Buckeyes Friday afternoon in their homecoming game.

Coach Chris Penner says the Buckeyes are pretty good football team.

Jared Davis had a pair of touchdowns for the Broncos and also had a 55 yard kick-off return and an interception.

Beaver Brae's next game is against Dakota Collegiate next Friday in Winnipeg.

Sioux Lookout Drug Bust

The Kenora Joint Forces Drug Unit has arrested a 30 year old Toronto man following a drug bust in the Town of Sioux Lookout.

The OPP say they seized 34 thousand dollars worth of oxycontin pills, cocaine and  45 hundred dollars in cash yesterday from a hotel room in the community.

Costy Dessource faces two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.

Residential School payment deadline passes

The head of the residential schools commission says some survivors are frustrated because they can't get papers needed to back up their claim.

Justice Murray Sinclair its because many government and church documents may have been destroyed.

The deadline was Monday for the so-called common experience payment which recognizes the impact of living at a residential school.

Sinclair says those who didn't file by the deadline are out of luck.

Northern Leaders Debate tackles Kenora's Bridges

Kenora's bridges are just one of the issues being discussed this morning in the northern leaders debate.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is promising to provide more infrastructure money to municipalities and upload social service costs.

Conservative leader Tim Hudak is promising more gas tax revenues for municipalities so they can fix up their aging infrastructure.

Premier Dalton McGuinty decided to skip the northern leaders debate and instead made a mental health funding announcement north of Toronto.

Hospital Unions Launch Hotline

Ontario's party leaders are being asked to address the shortage of acute care beds in local hospitals.

The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says its concerned with the number of elderly who are forced to stay in hospital while waiting for a long term care bed to open up.

Local union spokesperson, Judy Bain says opening more beds is only part of the solution.

The Council has launched its own hotline so family members can report their own experiences with the health care system.

Tresspasser charged with impaired driving

A 20 year old Kenora man faces impaired driving charges afte being pulled over by the OPP near Strecker Road.

Police were called out after an area resident reported that someone was tresspassing on their property.

The OPP say stopped a vehicle with three men inside.

Officers say the driver appeared to have been drinking and failed a roadside breath test.

He is due to appear in Kenora court November 3rd to answer the charge.

Rainy River Resources Moves to TSX

Rainy River Resources is moving to the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company has received conditional approval to move from TSX's Venture Exchange to the main board in early October.

President Raymond Threlkeld says the move will give the company more visibility to potential investors world-wide.

Saints take three of four from Ignace

Not quite a clean sweep for the Thomas Aquinas Saints boys volleyball and Girls Basketball teams.

T.A. took three of four games from Ignace Thursday afternoon.

Falcons senior girls beat the Saints for the first time since 1998, with a 35-34 nailbiter.

Samantha Burkhart had 15 points in a losing cause.

The T.A. junior girls held on for a 30-26 victory.

In volleyball action, the Thomas Aquinas junior and senior teams had an easy time with the Falcons, each winning in three straight games.

This weekend, Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas are hosting the Kenora Invitational Junior boys volleyball tournament.

Broncos face Buckeyes this afternoon

Beaver Brae's football team will try to improve to 2-0 today in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

The Broncos are playing their first home game of the season this afternoon as they take on the Miles MacDonnell Buckeyes.

Today is also Beaver Brae's Homecoming game.

Game time is 3:00 at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Doctors Without Borders Canada

The founder of Doctors Without Borders Canada sees similarities between remote first nation communities and the third world.
Dr. Richard Heinzl says more needs to be done to help aboriginal communities who don't have clean drinking water.

Heinzl spoke at Confederation College last night.

NOMA

The Ontario Liberals aren't getting heat from Northwestern municipal and forestry leaders. That's even though the party didn't address a majority of forestry concerns in an pre-election survey. NOMA's Ron Nelson says the answers simply form a base for the future

The Liberals didn't answer 12 of the 13 questions asked. Nelson hopes the parties will clarify some of their answers before the election.

Northern Ontario Leaders Debate

Thunder Bay takes centre stage today as it hosts the first ever Northern Ontario Leaders Debate.

Chief Operating Officer of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce, Harold Wilson

says they'll be asking a number of questions to the party leaders.

The NDP's Andrea Horwath and PC's Tim Hudak will square off at 11 today

Confederation College

Three part time support staff workers at Confederation College say they haven’t been back to school since the strike ended. They’re claiming to have lost there jobs because they didn’t cross picket lines when their full time co-workers were bargaining a new contract. Part time support staff isn’t represented by OPSEU but the local president says the union is trying to help those affected by this week's move.

Martin Falls deals with epidemic of prescription drug addictions

With a quarter of its tiny population hooked on prescription painkillers, Marten Falls First Nation has decided to embark on a costly but proven method to get addicts free and clear.

Starting October 3rd, about 60 affected residents of the Northern First Nation will take part in a 3-phase program to substitute their addiction to Oxycodone and other addictive pills with controlled doses of Suboxone.

A team of health professionals will taper the drug over 30 days until clients can be taken off completely or continue on short-term, low-dose maintenance.

Drug and alcohol counsellor Liza Moonias says painkiller abuse on the reserve, 500-kilometres north of Thunder Bay, started to become a serious problem about 5-years ago.

She says 20-per cent of the reserve's adult population has since become addicted.

Greenstone lobbies for Ring of Fire Smelter

The Municipality of Greenstone feels it now has a leg up in attracting a Ring of Fire refinery.

Consultant George Smitherman says his study shows that the Town of Exton should be the top choice for Cliffs Natural Resources when it makes a decision on a smelter location

Cliffs hopes to make a decision by the end of the year.

Rainy River Resources Strikes Nickle

There's gold - now there appears to be nickel at Rainy River Resources gold project south of Kenora.
The company says it recently found what it believes to be a new nickel deposit.

Further exploration is planned to better define the size of the discovery.

OPP investigate Weagamow fire

Sioux Lookout OPP and Weagamow Lake First Nation Police are investigating a major fire.

Police received a report on MOnday that a winter road check point building had been burned.

OPP believe the structure may have been burned intentionally.

Police say the building was a North Caribou Band Office security trailer.

Anyone with information is asked to contact OPP or Crime Stoppers.

Three drug busts in Rainy River District

Three people in the Rainy River district will make future court appearances on drug charges.

A 60-year-old Fort Frances man was charged after O-P-P seized 3-thousand dollars worth of marijuana plants from a home in late August.

A week later, a marijuana grow operation was discovered in Barwick where police seized plants and dry marijuana, valued at over 23-thousand dollars.

A 47-year-old man was charged.

A day later a 44-year-old woman from Couchiching First Nation was charged after police stopped a vehicle and found 41-hundred dollars worth of cocaine inside.

Portraits of Honor Coming to Kenora

A national tribute to soldiers who have died during the Afghan mission will be making its way to Kenora after all.

A couple of local residents have been lobbying for the truck to stop in the city on its cross-country tour.

George Storm and Carole Davis have been spear-heading the effort.

The Portraits of Honor carvan will also be stopping in Vermillion Bay next week.

NOMA

The Vice President of NOMA has a sneaking suspicion the Northern Ontario Leaders Debate will draw Premier McGuinty.

Dave Canfield says even though the Premier has said he can't attend; he might find a way in the end.

Canfield feels any Premier needs to be engaged with the region since we have all of the resources.

OFIA

Northwestern Ontario's Forest Industry could make a come back.


That's according to Ontario Forest Industry Association Spokesperson Scott Jackson.

The O-F-I-A wants a promise from each provincial party that if they win the election; they'll scrap policies that create red tape for the industry.

Ontario Mining Association

The President of the Ontario Mining Association is predicting the current mining boom only has a 20 year shelf life.


Chris Hodgson says we need to strike while the iron is hot.

Hodgson adds in order for the region to provide a solid workforce more women need to consider careers in mining.

MS Kenora

The M-S Kenora will continue to be a landmark on the Harborfront.


The owners of the tour boat have announced that they will continue to operate on Lake of the Woods, after threatening to move last year.

Owner, Al Luby admits its been a difficult couple of years but they hope to provide more services next year, including daily trips to Coney Island.

OPP investigate Fatal Fire on Lake of the Woods

One person is dead and another in critical but stable condition as a result of a fire at a cottage on Lake of the Woods.

The OPP say the blaze took place just before 5:00 Monday morning on Ward Island.

The cabin was completely destroyed.

The Ontario Fire Marshall's office has been called into investigate.

Police have not released the name of the deceased, but say both people were residents of the United States.

Organizers of Northern Leaders debate still hoping Dalton shows

Organizers of this week's leaders debate on northern issues are still hoping the premier might make an appearance.

Andy Scribilo is the president of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce and believes there is a lot of pressure on Dalton McGuinty to take part.

The leaders debate will take place Friday morning in Thunder Bay.

Far North Act Under Attack at all-candidates forum

The Far North Act came under attack at last night's all-candidates forum in Kenora.

At least three of the candidates indicated that their party would either scrap it or re-write it.

Rod McKay for the Conservatives says they believe in opening up the north for development.

Charmaine Romaniuk from the Northern Ontario Heritage Party says their goal would be to make sure any minerals mined in the north would be processed here as well.

Sarah Campbell from the NDP, Anthony Leek from the Liberals and Jo Jo Holiday of the Green Party also attended the forum.

Saints Sweep Rams in NorWOSSA season opener

A good start to the season for the Thomas Aquinas Boys Volleyball and Girls basketball teams.

They made it a clean sweep over the Red Lake Rams yesterday.

The T.A. senior boys cruised to an easy three sets to none victory over the Rams, while the Saints Junior boys needed five sets to get by Red Lake.

In Basketball action, the Senior Saints upended the Rams 30-12, while the Junior girls held on for a 27-24 victory.

Broncos lose season opener on home Court

A disappointing start to the season for Beaver Brae's court Sport teams.

They were swept by the Dryden Eagles this afternoon at home.

The Broncos Senior boys volleyball team took the Eagles to five games, but came out on the losing end, while the Beaver Brae junior squad lost in three straight sets.

In girls basketball, Dryden earned a 28-20 win over the Broncos.

Kaitlyn Sparkman led the offense with 7 points.

The Beaver Brae junior girls dropped a 41-30 decision. Riley Smith was the game's high scorer with 11 points.

Canada's Inflation Rate

Canada's annual inflation rate jumped to 3.1 per cent last month as consumers paid more for many items, including gasoline and food.

Statistics Canada says, on a month-to-month basis, consumers paid 3-10ths of a per cent more last month than in July.The surprisingly strong jump reverses a recent trend to more moderate inflation, which had seen the rate fall from 3.7 during May to 2.7 per cent in July.

But gasoline was 22.8 per cent more expensive last month than in August 2010. Food cost 4.4 per cent more

Fertility Treatments

Canada's fertility doctors are looking at barring obese women from having fertility treatments.

It's in light of some research showing obese women who have in-vitro fertilization treatments have higher risks of complications.

The idea is being discussed among the fertility doctors who are meeting at a conference this week in Toronto

Vote

A sure sign that the Provincial election is fast approaching!

Advance polls open in several communities today according to Kenora-Rainy River Returning Officer Ian Simpson.

Kenora residents can also start voting today at 227 2ND STREET SOUTH .

Voters should bring their photo ID and the Notice of Registration Card.

Youth Action Committee on Drugs

Kenora City Council is being asked to support yet another committee.

A couple of members of the Youth Action Committee on Drugs made a deputation this week suggesting the formation of a youth council.

The council would be made up of youth between the ages of 14 and 20 and would have an elected board of directors.

Air Canada

The skies are clear for Air Canada in its labour dispute with its flight attendants.

A threatened strike was averted after a tentative agreement was reached late yesterday between the airline and its 68-hundred attendants.

CUPE is happy with the deal and recommends members accept it when they vote on it next month.

The union says even though the agreement was reached with back-to-work legislation looming, it achieved about 80 per cent of what it wanted.

Canadian Doctors

The College of Family Physicians of Canada is releasing a report on Parliament Hill today calling for patient-centered care and timely access to health care for all Canadians.

C-E-O Dr. Calvin Gutkin says more clearly defined links are needed between the family-practice office and other health services in the community

Dr. Rob Boulay says all Canadians should expect to have a family doctor by 2020.