Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is trying something new to increase blood donations.

A Partners For Life Program is being launched across northwestern Ontario.

Harvey Heather says they want businesses and local agencies to encourage their employees to give the gift of life.

There is a blood donor clinic today and tomorrow in Kenora at the Thomas Aquinas Gym.

Illinois Man fined for Too Many Walleye

It was an expensive catch of walleye.

A Chicago man has been fined 24 hundred dollars for having 12 walleye over the legal limit in his possession.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says it was conducting a patrol on Lac LeCroix on the west side of Quetico Park back in June.

Dan Behrens had stopped for a shore lunch when conservation officers checked his boat.

They found 14 walleye in his possession.

Trustee Questions Graduation Rates

At least one trustee with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is questioning why students are allowed to take five years to graduate instead of four.

Figures from the public school board show that only 66 percent of students have 26 credits by the end of four years of high school.

Bob Onysko says 30 credits are needed to graduate, so obviously a lot of students are taking five years or more graduate.

He claims four year graduation rates are higher in most western provinces, such as

Manitoba and Alberta and wonders whether Ontario taxpayers should be footing the bill for a fifth year in high school for our students.

Vice-chair of the board Cecile Marcino says their job is to encourage student success, whether it takes four, five or even six years for students to graduate.

Cat Lake Woman Arrested in Drug Bust

A woman who was bound for Cat Lake First Nation didn't get out of Sioux Lookout.

The Kenora Joint Forces Drug Unit received information that the accused was in possession of drugs and was destined for Cat Lake.

Officers located the 20-year-old and found a number of drugs in her possession including oxycodone and marijuana.

The value of the drugs is roughly 5-thousand dollars.

Police say Rochelle Oombash of Cat Lake faces 3-charges.

Rickford Support Federal Government's Economic Direction

The M.P. for the Kenora Riding is defending the government's most recent economic forecast.

Yesterday, finance minister Jim Flaherty indicated the government would not be able to balance its books by 2014 as planned.

Greg Rickford says the government can and will do whatever it can to ensure our economy remains stable.

Rickford says the uncertainty surrounding the finances of Greece and Italy are definitely having an impact on Canada.

Rainy River Ready to Open Mine by 2015?

Rainy River Resources says it's could open its proposed open-pit gold mine south of Kenora by 2015.

Underground operations would begin 3-years later.

A preliminary economic assessment reveals the mine would operate for at least 13-years, producing more than 4-million ounces of gold and nearly 6-and-a-half million in silver.

Less Travel in Store for K-P Trustees

More technology, less travel.

That's the mantra of the Keewatin-Patricia District School board.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says there are practical reasons for holding their board meetings in Dryden, especially during the winter months.

McMaster says their committee of the whole meetings will be held in Kenora during the winter months, also via videoconference.

Saints Boys open High School Hockey Season Tonight

Another high school hockey season gets underway this evening.

The Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team heads to Red Lake to take on the Rams.

The game has been moved up an hour and is now scheduled to start at 5:45 at the Cochenor Arena.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's boys hockey team sees its first action Saturday, when they travel to Sioux Lookout to face the Warriors.

Broncos girls advance to NorWOSSA Finals

Beaver Brae's junior girls basketball team has saved its best for last.

Hilary Moncrief drained two free throws with under 30-seconds left to play as the Broncos upset the hometown Eagles  28-27 in this morning's NORWOSSA Semi-Final.

Beaver Brae is back in action this hour in the gold medal game against Fort Frances.

In the Junior Boys Volleyball Semi-Final, the Fort Frances Muskies came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Beaver Brae Broncos in 5 sets.

The Muskies will face Dryden in the 2 o'clock Final.

Beaver Brae's senior girls have also advanced to the NorWOSSA final.

The Broncos upended Fort Frances 29-13 in this afternoon's semi-final.

They're back in action at 7:00 in the gold medal game against the host Eagles.

Beaver Brae's senior boys volleyball team was ousted from the play-offs after losing in three straight games to Fort Frances.

Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation

Registered charities in The Kenora and Lake of the Woods region are a little richer this morning.


The community foundation handed out a total of forty-five thousand dollars in grants last night . Executive Director,Darlene MacGillivray says every little bit helps

For more details about this years recipients visit klcf.ca

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board

You can find out what's going on in your child's school with just a click of a mouse.


The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has been working with its schools to make sure each one now has their very own web site.

Sheena Valley is the board's website adminstrator and says some of the websites are more sophisticated than others right now.

Valley says you can access any of the school websites through the Keewatin-Patricia board's own main page.

Remembrance Day

Legions in Kenora, Keewatin and Redditt are all getting ready for their annual Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Gerry Lava is with the Kenora Legion and says its important to not only remember the veteran's of the two world wars, but also those who have fought and died in more recent conflicts like the war in Afghanistan.

The local services will all start at 10:30 Friday morning.

Community Foundation Holds Granting Ceremony Tonight

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation will be handing out just over 50 thousand dollars to a number of lucky community groups.

The fall granding ceremony will take place this evening at the Best Western Lakeside Inn starting at 7:00.

In addition to endowment funds, a number of separate groups, including the CP Rail Employees will be

presenting cheques as part of the granting ceremony.

TA wins double volleyball gold at NORWOSSA

Make it two for two for Thomas Aquinas at the NorWOSSA Single "a" championships.

Both Saints boys volleyball teams have won gold in Rainy River today.

The Thomas Aquinas senior boys lost their first set in league play, but still managed to down Atikokan three games to one to claim the NorWOSSA crown.

The T.A. junior boys managed to get past their nemisis this year, downing the Voyageurs three sets to one.

Atikokan had beaten the Saints in its two previous meetings, and won the first game of the final, but then lost the next three games to give Thomas Aquinas the gold.

T.A.'s senior girls will take to the court for the girls basketball final against the host Owls at 4:00 this
afternoon.

OFAH Upset with New Democrats over Gun Registry

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has come to the rescue of Thunder Bay's NDP MP's.

OFAH Spokesman Greg Farrant says they have sent an open letter to NDP Leader Nycole Turmel in support of Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty who were punished for voting in favour of ending the long gun registry.

Farrant says how can you punish someone for voting for what their constituents wanted when you don't have an official stance on the issue.

K-P Graduation Rates increasing

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is getting closer to the provincial target of an 85 percent graduation rate.

The most recent statistics from the public school board show that 81 percent of their students graduated last year.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says their graduation rate improved five percent compared to last year.

McMaster says the figures show that the longer a student is in their school system, the better their chances of graduation.

Thomas Aquinas battles for NorWOSSA Gold Today

Thomas Aquinas has a shot at three gold medals today at the NorWOSSA finals taking place in Rainy River.

The Saints junior boys won their semi-final yesterday three sets to none against Red Lake.

They are currently on the court against Atikokan.

The T.A. senior boys will also play Atikokan in the gold medal game.

The Thomas Aquinas Senior girls got 26 points from Melissa White yesterday en route to a 52-29 victory over Sioux Lookout in their semi-final.

The Saints will play Rainy River in the final game of the day at 4:00.

Montague back in Kenora Court next week

Four days of hearings have been set aside in Kenora Court starting next Monday in the forfeiture case involving Dryden's Donna Montague.

Donna's husband Bruce was released from jail back in January after serving time for 26-firearm related charges.

Montague has been fighting the civil forfeiture of his Eaton-Rugby home, firearms and other property ever since.

Bruce Montague says he has given up that fight and wants nothing to do with the case anymore.

Crown Attorney Peter Keen says next week's hearing is to do with the forfeiture of firearms only.

The Rural Voices Network

The Rural Voices Network is trying to bridge the communication gap between local residents and municipal leaders.

The Network is hosting 7-community consultations, with open discussions planned for Dryden and Thunder Bay.

Project Manager Manon Germain says your voice will be the key influence in a public survey that will be distributed to over 10-thousand rural Ontario residents.

Manon says they want folks to play a greater role in the growth of a community.

Rainbow Resource Centre

High School students in Northwestern Ontario will be hearing from youth peer-to-peer educators from the Rainbow Resource Centre based out of Winnipeg.


Gillian Lunny is the Manager of Sexual Health with the Northwestern Health Unit and says the students will be learning about the impacts of bullying and discrimination.

The presenters will be in Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Kenora the week of November 21st.

Coventry Resources

The Cameron Lake area southeast of Kenora could be home to a new gold mine as early as 2014.

Coventry Resources has been doing exploration work in the area for the past year.

Company spokesperson Nicholas Walker says the project shows a lot of promise.

Coventry held an open house in Sioux Narrows last week, to update local residents on the gold project.

Library holds first ever Giller Gala tonight

Its a first for the Kenora Public Library.

The Library is holding a special fundraiser tonight in conjuction with the Giller Awards.

Head Librarian Erin Roussin says they have a number of things planned for this evening.

The money from the fundraiser will go towards the purchase of a self check-out system at the Kenora Library.

The gala will take place at the Minis Hall of the Super 8

Kenora Man arrested in Sioux Lookout Robbery

A Kenora man has been arrested in connection to a robbery in downtown Sioux Lookout.

The OPP say a 19 year old man escaped injury after being attacked yesterday in the back alley behind Front Street.

Officers were on patrol when they received information about the assault.

The victim told officers that he was attacked and some property had been taken from him.

Police located the two attackers and 26-year-old Brian Panacheese and 24-year-old Ronald Panacheese of Kenora were both arrested.

Portraits of Honour Finally Confirmed for Kenora

Just in time for Remembrance Day.

Local organizers say they have confirmed that a memorial tribute to fallen Canadian Soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, will be coming to Kenora.

Carol Davis says Portraits of Honour will be arriving in town on December 1st.

Portraits of Honour will be housed in the new Kenora Fire Hall on Barsky's Hill from 11:00 to 5:00 on December 1st.

Deer bowhunt in Kenora ends next week

Its too early to say if the deer hunt in Kenora was a success or not.

The bow hunt south of the Kenora By-Pass officially wraps up next week.

Councillor Sharon Smith says they handed out 25 of the deer hunt packages.

Smith says she would like to hold another public meeting after the 15th, to guage the success of the deer hunt.

Government under Fire for Job Losses

The Provincial Government is under fire over last month's massive job losses.

Northern Ontario Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli says corporate tax rates are on the reason's we lost 75 thousand jobs in October.

Fedeli says hydro rates need to be dropped and red tape needs to be reduced to keep jobs here.

Nine First Nations going to court over Ring of Fire

A group of Northern Ontario First Nations says it doesn't want to get burned by a massive new mining operation in an area known as the Ring of Fire.

The Matawa First Nations wants a beefed up environmental assessment of a proposed chromite mine.

Chief Peter Moonias says they want the Federal Court to review the assessment process.

A year-long environmental study got underway last month, but critics say a more rigorous process

with public hearings is needed.

Hospital Board looking to fill vacancy

Lake of the Woods Hospital Board is hoping to have a new member as early as next month

One of the new appointees for the board resigned before he even started his term.

The Board's nomination committee says ads are being posted this week for the  position.

Ideally they would like an aboriginal candidate.

Chair of the nomination committee Dale Munro says they've already had two people express interest in the position.

He says they will put the name of one candidate forward for board approval at their next open meeting in

December.

NorWOSSA Play-offs start today in Rainy River

Thomas Aquinas court sport teams are getting ready to hit the road for the NorWOSSA Single "a" play-offs in Rainy River.

Only the Saints senior boys volleyball volleyball team has a bye into the gold medal game on Wednesday.

First up today, the T.A. junior boys will face Red Lake in semi-final action at 1:00.

The only other team in action tomorrow from Thomas Aquinas is the Senior girls.

They will take on Sioux Lookout at 4:00 for the right to face Rainy River in the final.

The double "a" play-offs will take place Thursday in Dryden.

Passport Clinic in Kenora this weekend

Need your passport?

Two passport clinics are being hosted by Kenora MP Greg Rickford this week.

The first session is today in Dryden.

The second clinic is Saturday at the Kenora Legion from 10 until 4.

Staff will be on hand to assist those who need to apply or renew their passports.

Hospital falls short in Workwell Audit

Lake of the Woods District Hospital has received a passing grade in its latest Workwell Audit.

The audit is carried out of the WSIB and looks to make sure all institutions are in compliance with current health and safety regulations.

Manager of Patient Care Leslie Brown says they had been hoping to score 75 percent on the audit, which is considered a pass.

Instead, they were given a mark of 56.4 percent.

She adds they now have six months to bring their Workwell grade up.

Tourism Kenora to embark on Winter marketing campaign

Tourism Kenora will be embarking on an ambitious marketing campaign once again this winter.

Tourism Development Officer Heather Paterson says once again the southern Manitoba and Winnipeg markets will be their main focus.

Paterson says their marketing seems to be paying off with not only increased tourist traffic during the summer months, but also during the winter, and spring and fall shoulder seasons.

Thistles lose two on weekend to Winnipeg teams

A tough weekend for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles, dropping both games played.

Yesterday, the Thistles were unable to hand on to a 2-0 second period lead and lost a 5-3 decision to the Winnipeg Thrashers at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Saturday afternoon, the Kenora Midgets were whipped 11-1 by the Winnipeg Wild.

This weekend, the Thistles embark on a three game road trip to western Manitoba.

Man charged following accident south of Minaki

OPP have charged a 22 year old Kenora man with two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm as a result of a collision on highway 596 just south of Minaki this weekend.

Officers found a Dodge Neon had lost control striking the rock cut.

Passengers in the vehicle were transported to Lake of the Woods District Hospital for non life threatening injuries.

 They have since been released.

Freedom of Information Act.

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is soon going to be affected by the province's Freedom of Information Act.

Starting on January 1st, 2012, the hospital will have to release certain documents, if they are requested by a member of the public.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen says that does not include patient or employee records, though someone can request their own patient records.

He adds that there are some documents that can be excluded under the Freedom of Information Act, but the hospital does have to comply with any requests that do come to them in writing.

It costs five dollars to make an initial request under the Freedom of Information Act, and the hospital has 30 days to make the documents available.

Most public sector institutions are already covered under the Freedom of Informatio Act.

Lake of the Woods District Hospital

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is still waiting to find out if it will be getting a couple of key planning grants.

The hospital has applied for funding to plan for an overhaul of its surgical unit and also a long term plan for a new hospital.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen says the Northwest Local Health Integration Network has approved the proposals and passed them onto the Ministry of Health in Toronto.

He says they hope to meet with ministry officials this week about their proposals and find out where they stand.

Dufresne Charity Challenge

Triple Play, the Minto Resource Center and the Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation have received a nice bonus.

The three local agencies were the Kenora recipients of the million dollar Dufresne Charity Challenge.

Mark Dufrense is the president of Dufresne Furniture and says the challenge was a one-time only donation to the communities they serve.

Dufresne says the Charity Challenge was a way of celebrating the company's 25th year in business.

Boil Water Advisory Expanded

A broken water line has city crews scrambling.

The water main broke earlier today and has resulted in an expanded boil water advisory.

The advisory now includes all of Keewatin and the Norman area all the way to the Husky Travel Stop on Lakeview Drive.

To compound the problem, there is a city wide power outage scheduled for Sunday morning and that could also affect the municipal water operations.

The boil water advisory will be in effect all weekend long.

Hospital in Good Financial Shape

Lake of the Woods District Hospital has a healthy bottom line halfway through the fiscal year.

Finance manager Cindy Gasparini says through the second quarter of 2011/2012, they were 230 thousand dollars in the black.

That's down slightly from 264 thousand dollars last year at the same point in time.

Gasparini says she expects outside sources of revenue will be down this year, and costs for energy are expected to be up this winter, so that's going to impact their bottom line.

She says at this point they are on target to balance their books by the end of the fiscal year, barring any unforseen circumstances.

City Wide Hydro Outage Planned for Sunday Morning

A couple of reminders for local residents this weekend.

In addition to the time change at 2:00 Sunday morning, there will also be a city-wide power outage tomorrow.

Hydro One says the outage will last no longer than an hour and a half.

It will start at 6:00 and run until around 7:30.

Hydro One is completing some upgrades at its sub-station on Rabbit Lake Road.

Sagkeeng youth killed in shooting accident

A shooting on a Manitoba First Nation has killed a nine-year-old boy.

R-C-M-P say the lad was accidentally shot by his 14-year-old brother last night at their home on the Sagkeeng First Nation.

The young victim was pronounced dead at hospital.

Band Councillor Derrick Henderson says the close-knit community is devastated by the death.

Sagkeeng is a Treaty Three community located about 200 kilometers northwest of Kenora. 

Minor Hockey prez arrested for Fraud

The former President of the Moose Factory Minor Hockey Association has been arrested.

Nishnawbe-Aski Police were contacted to investigate a report of fraudulent activity.

Police learned that nearly 16-thousand dollars had been made in unauthorized bank withdrawls.

Police say 33-year-old Terrance Hardisty of Moose Cree First Nation faces theft charges.

Rickford upset at federal NDP leader

Kenora's MP Greg Rickford says he is stunned with the NDP's decision to punish Thunder Bay's two MP's for voting to abolish the long gun registry. 

Rickford says its a hypocritical move. 

Rickford says effectively silencing Hyer and Rafferty is a slap in the face to everyone in their ridings. 

Hunting Trip

A hunting trip back home as ended up costing a Calgary man.

Dustin Gamble has been fined $1500 for posing as a resident hunter.

Court heard that Gamble moved from Dryden to Alberta and he used false information to continue buying an Ontario licence.

He used the licence to hunt both deer and moose in Ontario.

At the same time, Gamble used his Alberta resident licence to hunt in his home Province.

Kenora Public Library

Keewatin residents are passionate about their library.

About 40 people turned out for a public consultation session yesterday about the Kenora Public Library.

Cindy Christianson says its hard to talk about the services the library should be providing, when you're worried about services being cut altogether.

The group, Libraries in Transition is conducting an operational review of the Kenora Public Library.

A final report is expected to be complete by the end of this year.

Habitat for Humanity

The 2011 Shingles campaign has officially come to an end. Over $720 dollars was raised.

All proceeds will be towards the roof of the very first Habitat for Humanity build here in Kenora.

                                                      The project should start on Main Street in the spring of 2012

Lake of the Woods Discovery Center

The City of Kenora's new Lake of the Woods Discovery Center is already winning awards.


The Canadian Wood council had its annual gala in Ottawa last night where they recognize excellence in wood based construction projects and the organizations that are pioneering and preserving the use of wood.

Mayor Canfield says to see the award for institutional wood design, head out to The Discovery Centre on Lakeview drive.

Final Library meeting in Keewatin today

Local residents interested in the future of the Kenora Public Library have one final chance today to give their feedback.

A meeting is taking place at the Keewatin Branch Library with a group called Libraries in Transition.

The company is conducting an operational of the library and Peggy Walshe says a recent survey shows there is lots of support for the services it provides.

Today's session will run from 2 til 4:00 at the Keewatin Branch.

Two NDP M.P's punished for Supporting bill to abolish gun registry

Two northwestern Ontario MP's Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty are paying for their decision to go against the NDP and vote to abolish the long gun registry.

The NDP has stripped Hyer of his critics positions and he can't ask questions or make statements in the House of Commons.

He calls the punishment draconian.

Raffery says the NDP are punishing his constituents.

Tourism numbers improving in Kenora

Tourism Kenora must be doing something right.

Figures for the first 10 months of 2011 show a significant increase in visitor numbers.

Tourism Development officer Heather Paterson says the opening of the new Discovery Center certainly helped.

Paterson says they've had more than 13 thousand visitors pass through their tourism bureaus this year, compared to 73 hundred last year.