Long-gun Registry

The national long-gun registry will live on for a few months to come.

The House of Commons won't get the chance to debate the bill to abolish the controversial registry before M-Ps break for Christmas.

The Conservative government tabled the bill in October, around the same time as other marquee Tory legislation was being presented.

While bills to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly and add 30 new seats to the Commons could be passed into law as early as tomorrow, the gun registry bill has yet to make it to a final vote
in the House.

The Tories say they just couldn't get around to everything

Attawapiskat Update

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan are to meet today in Thunder Bay.

Spence and Duncan are making another attempt to find a lasting solution for the housing crisis on the James Bay reserve.

Duncan has announced a third-party manager, in addition to an audit and emergency aid for Attawapiskat.

Spence says she welcomes the aid and will work with the auditors but is opposed to the third-party management.

Highway 17

The winter weather has resulted in a highway closure here in Kenora.

Highway 17A is closed at Airport Road .

The road was closed around 2:30 this morning.

OPP say east and westbound traffic will be re-routed through the Kenora by-pass for the most part today.


Motorists are urged to use caution on the road today due to blowing snow and slippery conditions.

Strategic Improvement Plan

The Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says they are making good strides in their Strategic Improvement Plan.

Jack McMaster says staff and administration continue to focus on three main areas.

McMaster says the plan is aimed at ensuring students are taking full advantage of their time they spend in school.

Emergency Landing

It was a lucky day for 8 passengers aboard a Thunder Airlines flight from Attiwapiskat to Thunder Bay.

They had some tense moments when one of the engines went out and they were forced to land in Geraldton. Greenstone Mayor Renald Beaulieu says the fire department was called in.


Beaulieu believes the passengers could be band officials from the troubled First Nation on their way to meetings with the Aboriginal Affairs Minister.

Phone Scams

'Tis the season for telephone scams.

The OPP in Kenora say they have received numerous complaints from local residents in recent days.

Police say the scams include callers claiming to be relatives involved in a motor vehicle accident and needing funds to get home.

In another scam, the caller says they represent an estate and they require a fee to release the funds.

If you have any concerns about the identity of a caller, you are encouraged to
contact the OPP or Phonebusters.

Bus Service

Due to road conditions and various road closures, First Student school buses have been cancelled in KENORA, RAT PORTAGE and SIOUX NARROWS.

Kenora City Transit will be running as scheduled today.

Tri-Municipal Handi-Transit will be running as scheduled today.

War in Iraq

The war in Iraq is officially over.

After nearly nine years, 45-hundred Americans dead, 32-thousand wounded and more than 800-billion dollars -- the U-S will send its troops home.

In Baghdad, there was a symbolic ceremony today during which the U-S Forces-Iraq flag was
officially retired.

The U-S military lowered the flag and wrapped it in camouflage, formally ``casing'' it, according to Army tradition.

U-S Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says  troops leaving Iraq that they should be proud of their
service.

Rent Rates in Kenora

Some good news if you're a renter in Kenora.


The vacancy rate has hit its highest level in five years at five percent.

Warren Philp is an analyst with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and suggests
vacancy rates can be considered an economic indicator for the city.

Philp adds that the average rent for a two bedroom unit in Kenora has dropped to 757 dollars a month, down from 799 dollars last year.

OPP investigate vandalism at Golf Course

The Kenora Golf and Country Club has been the target of vandals once again.

The OPP say they were contacted yesterday about some damage to some of the greens.

Police say that sometime during the evening hours, someone drove an ATV around the golf course.

Anyone with information about the mischief is asked to contact the Kenora OPP or Crimestoppers.

Community Foundation hoping for stable funding from City next year

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation is hoping the city restores its full grant next year.

Members of the Foundation made a budget presentation to council yesterday.

Chair, Don Parfitt says they anticipate another good year in 2012.

Parfitt says while donations have been going up, they still need operational funding.

He's hoping the city continues its 25 thousand dollar annual contribution in 2012.

Penney re-elected as Chair of the public school board

Dave Penney appears to be a permanent fixture as the head guy at the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board table.

For an eighth straight year the Ignace Trustee was elected Chair of the Board.

Kenora's Cecile Marcino is back as Vice-Chair.

The elections were held Tuesday night in Dryden.

Sprague area hotel damaged by fire

A hotel in a small town in southeastern Manitoba has been damaged by fire.

Mounties say it happened early Tuesday morning at the Woodridge Inn near Sprague.

No one was in the hotel at the time.

The Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner is also investigating.

City-Property Deals

The City of Kenora is getting ready to complete a transaction that will see
the old Kenora Fire Hall on 2nd Street South sold off to private investors.

They are planning to transform the heritage building into a brew pub.

Meanwhile, a deal between the Kenora Catholic District School Board and
the City of Kenora is also nearing completion.

The city is planning to sell the old Pinecrest Community Club to the separate
school Board.

Both deals will be finalized at Monday's open meeting of council.

Rainy River Resources

Rainy River Resources plans to scour the countryside for workers for its proposed open-pit gold mine north of Barwick.

The company will be creating just under 1300 jobs in 2015. On the construction side they’ll need at least 675 workers and it’s estimated that they’ll also add another 600 plus men and women in the mine.

Vice-president of Operations Garret McDonald says they hope to attract some of those now out west.

McDonald says the company is already planning to build its current workforce which sits at 60.

City Council Budget

The cost of living continues to go up, but not every group in Kenora is looking for
more money from the City.

City Council heard five budget presentation yesterday and two groups, Triple Play
and Handi-Transit indicated they would not need more money in 2012.

Debbie Novak is the coordinator of Triple Play and says they can actually manage with
less money next year.

On the other hand, the Museum and the Economic Development Commission are looking for an increase in their budgets totally almost 100 thousand dollars in 2012.

2009 Human Remains

More details will be released tomorrow morning in Orillia on an unsolved mystery in Kenora.


The investigation centers around human remains found near Miller Rapids Road on June 17th, 2009.

OPP say a Forensic Artist has enhanced the investigation with facial re-creations.


OPP will be seeking further assistance from the public and medical community to identify the individual.

The Regional Coroner for Northern Ontario and a representative of Ontario Forensic Pathology services will take part in the Media Conference.

Kenora District Services Board

Housing for low income residents in the Kenora Riding will continue to be a huge challenge

for the Kenora District Services Board in 2012.

Chief Administrative Officer Dan McNeil met with city council yesterday to provide an
overview of some of their budget issues next year.

McNeil expects they will end up working more closely with the province on the issue of homelessness.


McNeil adds that municipalities currently pay 100 percent of the non-profit housing budget in
the Kenora District, and that continues to be a huge part of their budget.

No Parking

Motorists who insist on parking in the fire lane beside the Kenora Rec. Center may soon get a rude awakening.

The City wants to get tough on people who continue to park illegally.

Council says its not willing to tow away vehicle just yet, but it is prepared to
start ticketing vehicles.

The lane on the north side of the Rec. Center is currently posted as a Fire Lane.

The Nutritious Food Basket

Northwestern Ontario continues to be one of the most expensive areas of the province to buy

food.

The Health Unit has released the results of its annual Nutitious Food Basket.


It shows the cost to feed a family of four has risen to just over 918 dollars a month.

Public Health Dietician, Chelsea Lecain says that doesn't leave a lot left over for other
bills.

The Nutritious Food Basket is based on 67 food items purchased in 13 communities the Northwestern
Health Unit services in the region.

http://www.nwhu.on.ca/

Water Meters

When it comes to reading water meters, the City of Kenora is going to continue to

go "old school".

The Operations Department wants to hire a meter reader to go door to door, once
every three months.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says it would cost two million dollars to install
a new remote "reading" system.

He expects the cost will eventually go down, but in the meantime, he says its more
feasible to hire someone to do the reading manually.

Kenora Assembly of Resources

The City plans to extend its agreement with the Kenora Assembly of Resources for another year.

K.A.R. is responsible for helping out with special events on the Kenora Harborfront.

Councillor Ron Lunny says the contract is the same as last year at 151 thousand dollars.

Kenora Girls hockey teams bring home gold from Emo

Lake of the Woods Girls Hockey teams continued their winning ways in Emo over the weekend. 

Female players from six Kenora teams were in the race for Gold along side Emo and Fort Frances teams.

The Atom Storm went undeafeated taking gold over Kenora's Red Panthers with a score of 1-0.

The Novice Blue Jays also brought home gold, with Jessica Pitura scoring the winning goal with 2.5 seconds remaining in the second overtime period assisted by McKenna Isfeld.

The Peewee Dyn-o-mite sported some hardware of their own bring back home the bronze in that division defeating Fort Frances Esso.

"The level of hockey these young girls are playing today is simply amazing! We have young girls playing Boys Hockey and Rep Hockey then switching it back to play in the House league raising the bar for a more talented game." says Cindy Johnson president of LOWGH.

The Novice Atom Home Tournament will be held January 6th bringing over 400 visitors into our community.

Saints Boys win Silver in Killarney

The Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints were in Killarney, Manitoba this past weekend for the Killarney Raiders AA Hockey Tournament.

The Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints finished the weekend in 2nd place only losing to College Gabrielle-Roy Caveliers in the final.

The Saints beat Melita to advance to the semi-final were they went on to beat the defending tournament champions and host team Killarney Raiders 4-3 in a shoot-out.

The Saint Thomas Aquinas Boys Hockey Teams next games are this Friday and Saturday vs Red Lake.

Science North Brings Traveling Planetarium to Northwestern Ontario

Science North is now offering the planetarium experience to schools and events in the Northwest.

Spokesperson Nicole Chaisoon says they have a portable planetarium based in Thunder Bay and available for travel

The cost of the inflatable unit and all the equipment that goes with it, is about 90 thousand dollars.

Kenora District To Get a new Judge

The Kenora District is gaining a court Judge and that has upset the Rainy River Law Association.

Justice Thomas McKay is relocating to London and his replacement is now being redisbuted to Dryden.

Association President Barbara Morgan says it's a further erosion of court services the District has experienced.

Morgan says the decision by Ontario Chief Justice will delay cases because the judge will be be traveling from Dryden to preside over court in Fort Frances.

Man falls through Ice on Lake of the Woods

A not so subtle reminder to check the ice conditions before you head out on the lake.

A 77 year old Kenora man went through the ice of Lake of the Woods over the weekend while riding his ATV in the area of Kendall Inlet Road.

The man was able to use a screw driver as an ice pick and crawl out of the frigid waters and onto the ice.

He then rolled to shore and sought shelter in a nearby cabin.

He managed to call for help and the OPP also showed up responding to an intrusion alarm at the cottage.

Other than being cold, the driver of the ATV was no worse for wear.

Saints Girls Win Gold in Dryden

The Thomas Aquinas Senior Girls volleyball team is in mid-season form less a month into the winter court sport season.

The Saints won gold at a tournament in Dryden over the weekend, compiling a perfect 9-0 record, including winning twice against the host Eagles Squad.

T.A. faced Dryden in the gold medal game on Saturday and won by scores of 25-20 and 25-16.

Melissa White led the scoring attack with 38 kills and 24 aces.

The Saints are back in action tomorrow as they travel to Red Lake to take on the Rams.

Attawapiskat update

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence says the additional housing units are welcome -- but the team Ottawa appointed to review her reserve's finances is definitely not.

Spence says her James Bay community appreciates the federal government's move to buy the reserve seven more modular homes, for a total of 22.

The announcement came yesterday from Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan.

But Spence says Duncan was sadly misinformed when he said she had acknowledged the necessity of allowing Ottawa's third party management team to do its job.

The chief insists that statement was completely false.

Kenora 2012 Budget

Kenora City Council is starting the budget process three months ahead of last year.

This week, council will hear pre-budget submissions from a number of community groups including Triple Play, the Economic Development Commission and the Museum.

Mayor Dave Canfield says its going to be a real challenge to keep tax rates low next year.


Canfield says they also have to deal with aging infrastructure including a number of bridges along Lakeview Drive, which are in need of millions dollars worth of repairs.

Michael Gravelle

MPP's are on Christmas break after the Ontario Legislature wrapped up last week.


Newly appointed Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle says he's still got plenty of work to do during the holidays.

Gravelle will be getting brought up to speed on his new cabinet post.

The Ontario Hospital Association

The Ontario Hospital Association wants Ontario hospitals to develop guidelines for CEO salaries.


Health Sciences Centre Human Resources Spokesperson Don Halpert is also in favour of the idea.

Halpert as it is now hospitals pay different amounts and they compete to hire top executives.

OPP North West Region Crime Unit

A lengthy investigation has resulted in the arrest of a Sioux Lookout Man.

OPP charged 32-year-old Brent Cadeau on Friday with 4-counts of trafficking a controlled substance.

The OPP North West Region Crime Unit initiated an investigation in March after receiving information that a man was trafficking prescription pills.

National Strategy on Forestry

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty says its time for a national strategy on forestry.

Rafferty feels the federal government has been neglecting the industry for too long, and communities depend on forestry continue to struggle to survive.

Rafferty put forward three motions in the House of Common's last week he hopes will spur those discussions.

Midget Thistles host the Southwest Cougars this weekend

The Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles will look to regain their winning ways at home this weekend.

The Thistles won a pair last weekend, but lost to the Winnipeg Wild in a mid-week contest.

Tonight, the Southwest Cougars are in town for the first of two games.

Game time is 8:00 tonight at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Double "a" PeeWee Thistles are hosting their annual tournament this weekend.

The Thistles first game is at noon against Sioux Lookout.

They are then back in action at 4:15 against Beausejour.

OPP tackles local Break and Enters

The OPP says its seen a dramatic increase in the number of break and enters in Kenora.

Inspector Dave Lucas presented his monthly statistics to the Police Services Board this week and it shows there were 22 B and E's during the month of October.

That's a big increase from 8 for the same month the year before.

Lucas says they have identified a group of people who were responsible several of the break-ins and they have since been charged.

The were over 11 hundred calls for service in October.

Police Board to get an increase in Per Diem

Members of the Kenora Police Services Board won't be getting a raise next year, but they will be getting more money when they go out of town on business.

The Police Board has approved an increase in its per diem.

It increases to 163 dollars a day, up from the current level of 125 dollars.

Board chair Colin Wasacase says their board policy states that their per diems shall keep up with with the city's rates.

City council approved an increase in its per diems last month.

Canfield says Police Increase Reasonable

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says he can live with a proposed two percent increase in the policing budget next year.

Canfield says the OPP has been doing a good job of coming in under budget over the past couple of years and hopes they can continue that trend next year.

Canfield says considering salaries for OPP officers are going over five percent, the increase is reasonable.

A new tourism brand being developed for Kenora

The City of Kenora should have a new image to project to tourists by next spring.

Roger Brooks is helping spearhead the new branding exercise.

He says the goal is to come up with a unique vision for Kenora that can be sold to visitors.

Brooks is asking local residents to fill out an on-line survey on the city's web portal.

That information will be used as the base for the whole branding exercise.

New Stop lights for Rail Crossing

The City of Kenora is taking steps to make the 16th Avenue North Railway Crossing safer for motorists.

An extra set of stop lights have been erected on the north side of the tracks and a new sign has also been installed.

It warns drivers not to block the railway tracks.

The city says the OPP will be out monitoring the railway crossing and will ticket anyone who stops on the tracks or fails to stop at the tracks before crossing.

New Detachment Manager at Kenora OPP

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP has a new manager.

Paul Van Bellingham has been selected to take over as second in command of the detachment office.

He replaces Brian McKillop, who has been promoted as the detachment Commander in Hawksbury in Eastern Ontario.

Van Bellingham has also been promoted to Staff Sergeant.

Campbell speaks out over Doctor Shortage in Ear Falls

Health care concerns in Northwestern Ontario continue as Ear Falls is expected to lose its only doctor at the end of this month.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell raised the issue in the Legislature today and says the Government is ignoring the needs of the North.

Minister of Health Deb Matthews says the Government has made it a high priority to increase physician coverage in the North.

Campbell claims the Minister has been ignoring Ear Falls by not returning phone calls or e-mails.

Another Drug Bust in Northern Ontario

A search of a Moose Cree First Nation home payed off for the Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit.

Police sezied 91-grams of cocaine worth an estimated 14-thousand, 600-dollars.

Officers also found over 13-thousand dollars in cash, 29-firearms, 18-bottles of alcohol as well as drug paraphernalia and communication devices.

Four people from Moose Factory face numerous charges.

The ages of the accused range from 27 to 65.

More on Attawapiskat

The Federal Government is forcing the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation to pay a private-sector consultant about 13-hundred dollars a day to run its finances.

That's despite the fact the Government's own assessments say the third-party management system is not cost-effective.

The money to pay Jacques Marion of BDO Canada comes straight from the Attawapiskat First Nation's budget.

Grand Chief Stan Louttit says that amount over the course of a year would run up to 300-thousand dollars and easily pay for at least one nice, solid house.

He says Ottawa should cover the costs.

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus fears the band will have to cut funding for educational assistants in order to pay for the government appointee.

Wasaya Airlines Plays Santa

Over 2 thousand turkeys and 4 thousand bags of goodies are being delivered to remote First Nation communities for Christmas.

Wasaya Airways is doing the delivering and providing of the gifts and Spokesperson Jennifer Mihalcin says it's their way of giving back.

Christmas turkeys and goodie bags will be delivered to Cat Lake, Pikangikum, Bearskin, Fort Hope and Deer Lake First Nations.

Bisson Critical of Winter Road Maintenance

Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson says Highway 17 and our secondary roads are being closed more frequently due to bad weather because there are fewer plows on the road.

Bisson says the Province needs to re-work the contract to ensure motorists keep safe and to ensure a steady flow of goods.

The NDP member says the Government has changed the terms of its plowing contracts, which means there's 25-percent less equipment being used to clear highways.

KACL Strikes a deal with its employees

The Kenora Association for Community Living should have labor peace for the next two years.

KACL and members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union have tentatively agreed on a new four year agreement.

Members of OPSEU local 702 have ratified the agreement, and are just waiting for the board of KACL to endorse it.

The deal will expire March 31st, 2014.

The workers had been without a contract since April 1st, 2010, and the deal is retroactive to that date.

Saints boys back in action tonight

A tall order for the Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team. They host the Fort Frances Muskies

tonght at the Kenora Rec. Center. The Saints dropped their last game 4-1 to Sioux Lookout.

Game time is 7:30 at the Thistle Rink.

NOMA

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is tearing a strip of Ontario's

Environmental Commissioner.

In his most recent report, Gordon Miller suggested the Caribou Conservation Plan would
have only a limited impact on local communities.

NOMA vice-president, Dave Canfield says Miller has his facts wrong.

Canfield says the Caribou Conservation Plan is already reducing the available wood
supply by up to 65 percent in some Forest Management Plans.

Kenora Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force

Prescription drug abuse is the biggest concern these days of the Kenora Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force.

The Task Force has just unvailed a new billboard to tackle the issue.

Constable Bob Bernie says the problem isn't just about dealing drugs, it's also about the people who are abusing the pills.

Bernie says the Task Force raised most of the money for the new billboard through a charity slo-pitch tournament this past October.