Illegal Hunting in Vermilion Bay

A Vermillion Bay man is going to have to cough up a thousand dollars for illegally killing a wolf.
Trevor Robinson pleaded guilty to hunting and killing a wolf without a license.

The MNR says they received information that Robinson had shot a wolf on Little Clay Road near Vermilion Bay back in November of 2008.

Robinson was not licensed to hunt wolves, but he affixed a seal on the dead animal from another hunter.

Kenora's 2012 budget

Progress is being made on Kenora's 2012 budget.

A draft of the operating and capital budgets has been completed.

Councillor Ron Lunny says councillors will get a chance to view the proposed budget over the next couple of weeks.

Last week the City of Dryden approved a 10 percent increase, but Lunny says Kenora's increase won't be anywhere near that high.

WestJet

WestJet developing a regional jet service could mean big opportunity for Confederation College students.  Dean of Aviation Joe Vieira says it will benefit both pilots and mechanics.

WestJet could add 40 turboprop jets to compete head to head against Air Canada.

Vieira says he hopes this'll lead to more people enrolling in the the avaition mechanics program.

Special Olympian:David Ducasse

A Special Olympian from the Fort Frances district is being adopted by the Ontario Provincial Police.


Officers and staff across the district will help raise money for David Ducasse to attend the Ontario Provincial games at the end of May.

David Ducasse will compete in bowling in his third trip to the provincials.

Area residents can also help out by visiting the detachments or going online to specialolympics2012games-dot-com.

Health Unit Offices Still Recovering from "flood"

Things still aren't quite back to normal at the Northwestern Health Unit offices in Kenora.

A broken toilet flooded parts of the Health Unit's Wolsley Street location on Tunnel Island last weekend.

Medical officer of health, Dr. James Arthurs says they've had to rip up carpet and tear down drywall damaged by water.

Some files also sustained some water damage.

He adds that the front desk was hit hardest and calls are still be re-routed through their Market Square offices today.

Broncos Boys lose two over the weekend

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team is heading into the exam break on a two game losing skid.

The Broncos dropped a 4-3 decision to the Dryden Eagles last night at the Kenora Rec. Center and were beaten 5-1 Friday night in Fort Frances by the Muskies.

Beaver Brae doesn't play again until January 27th, when they travel to Dryden to face the Eagles.

The Broncos just have four games left in the regular season.

Fort Frances Wins Kenora Bantam Tournament

Fort Frances took top honors at the Kenora Double "a" Bantam Hockey tournament over the weekend.

The Canadians upended the Dryden Paper Kings in the A-Side final Sunday afternoon 5-3.

The host Kenora Double "a" Bantam Thistles earned the bronze medal.

Blood Donor Clinic Starts today

Canadian Blood Services is asking for your help

Adrienne Silver, Communications Specialist for Northwestern Ontario says the need blood is constant.

In the new year alone they'll be looking for atleast one hundred thousand new donors just to keep up with the high demand.

They're at St. Thomas Aquinas today and tomorrrow and looking to book over 140 appointments

The Blood Donor Clinic starts this evening at 4:30 and runs till 9:00, and then again tomorrow from

9:30 to 12:30.

Give the gift of life in 2012 - book your appointment - call 1888-2-donate

OFIA Complains about Environmental Commissioner

The Ontario Forest Industries Association continues to be engaged in war of words with the province's Environmental Commissioner.

Last week Gordon Miller complained about a lack of a plan to protect natural spaces and species at risk in Ontario.

Jamie Lim is the president of the OFIA and questions Miller's science.

Lim says Ontario has already recognized the importance of forestry to its Climate Change solution.

Dryden Youth Killed near Oxdrift

A 14 year old Dryden teen has been identified as the victim of an accident near Oxdrift over the weekend.

Tristen Wise was hit by a transport around 3:00 Saturday afternoon.

The OPP say the highway was closed for about four hours while Technical Traffic Investigators looked into the cause of the fatal collision.

The Driver of the semi was not injured and police say no charges are pending at this time.

Kenora Arena's

The City's Recreation Department has completed a facility review of its arenas.

The Jaffray Melick Arena had to be closed down this winter due to deficiencies, but the Keewatin Memorial Arena has passed with flying colours.

Recreation Services Manager, Colleen Neil says no major problems were uncovered
with the actual building.

Neil says one issue that needs to be addressed is a crack in the arena floor, but they
can include that in any future capital planning for the facility.

Kenora City Council 2012 Meeting

Kenora City Council holds its first open meeting of 2012 tonight.


One of the items that could to generate some debate is a resoultion on paving the shoulders of provincial highways.

The resolution comes from the Township of Carling and says paving the shoulders would create safer traffic conditions cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says the only highway in the City of Kenora that would be affected is the Redditt Road, because all the other provincial highways in the city have paved shoulders.

Chair of the Operations Committee Rod McKay says while he's not opposed to the idea, he questions whether the provincial government should be pursuing such initiatives, especially when its facing a 16 billion dollar deficit this year.

Adult Education Center

The viability of a new adult education center in Kenora should be a little clearer by the end of this month.

The Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission is expecting to receive a final business.

Geordie McEwan is the vice-chair of the commission and says they'll be presenting the
findings to all their partners.

McEwan says regardless of whether the public school board approves the use of Lakewood
or not, he believes an adult education center is going to be a viable project.

North Spirit Lake Plane Crash Update

The Transportation Safety Board has released some initial findings into a plane crash that killed four people in North Spirit Lake.

 Investigators have determined the landing gear of the Piper Navajo was down and the flaps partially extended at the time of the crash in Northwestern Ontario.

Investigators also found heavy fire damage in the fuselage and the right-wing area.

The team is planning to take a further look at the engines and propellers.

The pilot and three passengers died in the crash last Tuesday.

One man survived and is recovering in hospital.

Terrace Bay Pulp Mill

It's bad news for the Town of Terrace Bay.


After 3-months of downtime was announced just before Christmas; Buchanan has decided to sell the mill.

Mayor Mike King says he doesn't think the mill will be able to meet it's downtime deadline.

King is still hopeful they'll be able to find a buyer and the mill will continue to operate in the future.

Highway 17 Weekend Closure

OPP are expected to release the name of the young pedestrian killed in Saturday's collision on Highway 17.


Police say a pedestrian was struck by a transport near Glengoland Road around 3 o'clock.

The pedestrian was transported to Dryden Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The driver of the semi was not injured and no charges are expected to be laid.

The victim is said to be a young teen.

Rick Hansen Relay Arrives tomorrow

The Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay arrives in Kenora Saturday.

A total of 27 people will be participating in the run, which will start at Mount Evergreen at 11:45.

The relay will eventually make its way to the Harborfront Tent for a 3:00 ceremony.

Entertainment will start at 2:30 under the big tent.

Tough Weekend for Midget Thistles

A tough task for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles.

The Thistles will take on the Winnipeg Thrashers tonight at the Kenora Rec. Center.

The Thrashers site 29 points ahead of Kenora in the standings.

Game time is 8:00.

Tomorrow night, the Thistles will take on the first place Winnipeg Wild at home.

Meanwhile, two members of the Thistles will be in Morden on Sunday for the annual Manitoba Midget All-Star game.

Captain Grant Valiquette and goalie Davey Fisher will represent Kenora in the annual East versus West contest.

Busy weekend for NorWOSSA court sports

A busy weekend for local high school volleyball and basketball teams.

Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas are hosting a girls volleyball tournament today and tomorrow.

Both senior and junior teams will be in action starting this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Saints junior and senior boys basketball teams are on the road today.

T.A. is taking part in a tournament in Thunder Bay.

Beaver Brae junior and senior boys basketball teams are in Portage La Prairie for a weekend tournament.

Drugs Found in Northern First Nation

A drug bust in the remote Northern First Nation of Weagamow Lake is still under investigation.

Sioux Lookout OPP say that information was received that drugs were in the community and search warrants were obtained and acted on by the Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit.

A quantity of drugs and a large amount of cash was seized.

No arrests have been made as of yet.

More snow heading our way?

Its cold again today but warmer weather is coming, but with that will come more snow.

Our Meteorologist Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says a Colorado low is heading our way.

Laidlaw says we could see as much as 10-15 centimetres Sunday and Monday by the time the system blows through the region.  

Public School Board Embraces ipads

An Apple a day is good for student learning.

That seems to be the feeling of the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

The board is involved in a number of pilot projects using I-Pads and other computer technologies in the classroom.

Superintendant of Business Dean Carrie says they have set aside 100 thousand dollars as part of their 21st Century Learning Plan.

The public school board is already using I-Pads in one pilot project and Carrie says they have approved 11 more applications under the 21st Century Learning Plan.

Pikangikum hoping to re-open Community School Soon

School's out in Pikangikum this week, but the First Nation is hoping the disruption to the school year is short-lived.

The band council is meeting this week with federal officials to try and address a mould situation in the living quarters of the teachers in the community.

Chief Jonah Strang says there are no alternative living accommodations in the community for the teachers, and that's resulted in many having to leave and the cancellation of their classes.

Strang says they are seeking a lasting solution and is encouraged by the committment of the federal government.

He's optimistic that negotiations will result in a return of full operations of the  school and an early return of the teachers.

Vinet Returned as Chair of KDSB

Even though he's currently some 7-thousand kilometres away, Phil Vinet has still managed to hold on to his position as Chair of the Kenora District Services Board.

The Red Lake Mayor was acclaimed at the KDSB general meeting in Dryden today.

Vinet is currently vacationing in Hawaii.

This is his second consecutive term as Chair.

Social Services Levy set for local Municipalities

Municipalities in the Kenora District now have a rough idea on what they will have to pay for social services.

The Services Board has released its draft levies under the 2012 budget and CAO Dan McNeill says the average increase is 3.5-percent.

Kenora will have to pay just over 2.8 million dollars, 18 thousand higher than 2011.

Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls will see its levy increase by 6.67 percent.

Beaver Brae Basketball/Volleyball

It was a tough way to start 2012 for the court sport teams from Beaver Brae .


The Broncos travelled to Fort Frances yesterday and lost three of four matches.

On the basketball court the senior boys lost 40-23.

Beaver Brae's junior boys won the lone game of the day, topping the Muskies 28-20.

In volleyball action both the juniors and seniors lost by identical 3 sets to 1 margins.

There is no rest for the teams though as both girls volleyball teams will be participating in the "Winter Blast" tournament hosted in Kenora at both Beaver Brae and St. Thomas Aquinas.

The Bronco boys basketball teams travels to Portage for the annual tournament hosted by Portage Collegiate.

Mineral Mountain Resources

Mineral Mountain Resources says the first phase of a drilling program in an area of the former Straw Lake gold mine, north of Fort Frances, will begin later this month.


The company is focusing its work on newly acquired property.

The area has never been drilled in the past.

OPP release names of Deceased in North Spirit Lake Crash

The OPP have officially released the names of four people killed in a plane crash earlierthis week in northwestern Ontario.

The pilot of the Keystone Navajo aircrash has been identified as 41 year old Fariboz Abasabady of Lockport, Manitoba.

Abasabady was hired by Keystone this past summer.

The three other people killed in the plane crash near the North Spirit Lake First Nation have been confirmed as 38 year old Martha Campbell from Winnipeg.

She was a former resident of North Spirit Lake.

62 year old Ben Van Hoek of Carmen was the president of a company called Aboriginal Strategies.

39 year old Colette Eisinger of Winnipeg was also an employee of the company.

36 year old Brian Shead was the lone survivor of the crash.

Two New Police Detachments Opened in the far north

Two Northwestern Ontario First Nations are celebrating the opening of new Nishnawbe-Aski Police Detachments.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford was on hand as the facilities opened their doors in Sandy Lake and Fort Severn.

The Feds spent over 2.3-million dollars on the Detachments, while the Province threw in more than 2.1-million dollars.

First Nation officials in both communities say the new facilities provide better working conditions for police officers and ensure the safety of residents.

The Chief of Fort Severn credited Rickford for his personal intervention to get the Detachment constructed.

Saints and Broncos in action tonight

One game in Girls High School Hockey today.

The Red Lake Rams host the Beaver Brae Broncos.

Game time is 4:30 at the Ear Falls Arena.

In boys hockey action, the Thomas Aquinas Saints are at home to the Dryden Eagles.

The Saints have 11 points while, the Eagles are struggling with just seven.

Game time is 7:30 at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Shoal Lake Water Review Ordered

The Ontario Government has launched a review to see if Winnipeg's plan to extend its water and sewer pipes to rural municipalities violates any historical agreements involving the source of the city's water.

Ontario gave Winnipeg permission to draw water from Shoal Lake in Northwestern Ontario for municipal purposes in 1913.

Natural Resources Spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski says the department's legal branch started to sift through 100 years of water agreements two weeks ago.

The review comes as one First Nation in Shoal Lake threatens to sue the city, saying Winnipeg has no right to sell water before it resolves decades' worth of claims over lake water.

Name of Truck Driver Killed in Crash released

Ontario Provincial Police say a 45 year old Winnipeg truck driver has died in a collision east of Kenora.

Police say Amir Mohammadi died Wednesday when his eastbound tractor-trailer collided with a westbound tractor-trailer.

The westbound transport had jackknifed across Highway 17 in the Dogtooth Lake area.

Another westbound tractor-trailer and an eastbound passenger vehicle were involved when they could not avoid the collision ahead of them.

Police say those vehicles were damaged but the drivers were not injured.

The highway was closed from early Wednesday until Wednesday afternoon.

EQAO Tests

Writing an exam may never be the same again.


Jack McMaster is the director of Education with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and says they will be trying something different this year with some of their EQAO tests.

McMaster says they have received permission from the Ministry of Education to use computers for the writing section of the grade 6 EQAO tests.

McMaster believes the use of computers will especially help boys, who traditionally
do not perform as well in the reading and writing portion of the standardized tests.

Meno Ya Win Health Centre

Nursing students in the region can now train using the latest in simulation equipment and techniques at the Sioux Lookout Hospital.



Officials with the Meno Ya Win Health Centre and Confederation College unveiled the new Simulation Training Lab at a ceremony Wednesday.

Vice President of Health Services Barb Linkewich says the state-of-the art lab will help in retention efforts.

Designed as a real-life hospital setting, health care workers learn in lab experiences that simulate common scenarios including giving birth.

Ontario Wood Logo

The Provincial Government has its first lisenced user of the Ontario Wood Logo.

Forestry Minister, Michael Gravelle says the logo represents products that are grown, produced and designed in Ontario.


Gravelle adds that he's very optimistic that the logo will help promote and strengthen the province's forestry sector.

North Spirit Lake First Nation

Donations are being sought to help out the North Spirit Lake First Nation.


A crash Tuesday morning near the remote northwestern Ontario community
killed one community member, three other employees of a company called
Aboriginal Strategies.

Brian Walmark from K-Net says they've set up a website to accept cash
donations.

Walmark says donations will be used to help defray the cost of funerals and grief councillors, who are being brought into the community.

HST Atikokan

While most want it decrease, Atikokan town council is advocating a on per cent hike in the HST.

The town says the revenue could be earmarked for municipalities for infrastructure improvements.

Mayor Dennis Brown says it may be the only really option to covering the high cost of that work.

Brown adds that under their proposal, his community would receive more than 850-thousand dollars

Betty's

A recent window display has earned Betty's of Fort Frances some international recognition.


The display showed off German-based Schleich toy figurines and was entered in a company sponsored contest.

Blair Anderson says their store was selected third best among hundreds of retailers worldwide


Anderson says they get a voucher for free product they'll distributed to customers while photos of the display will be used by the company in future promotions.

Temperature records tumble in NWO

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday was was a record breaking day in four northwest communities yesterday.

Kenora hit 2.7 -degrees, eclipising the previous high of 1.3 which was set in 1990.

Fort Frances was the hot spot with a record 5.1-degrees.

Rat Portage Charging for Ice Road Access

The Rat Portage First Nation has once again decided to charge for the use of the ice road that runs through the reserve.

Effective yesterday, check points have been set up on the Gap Road and Matheson Bay entrances to the community.

A seasonal pass for non-residents of Rat Portage is 75 dollars, or 50 dollars a month, or 25 dollars a day.

Passes are available at the band office.

NorWOSSA games cancelled

Poor road conditions are playing havoc with the NorWOSSA court sports season.

Both Thomas Aquinas and Beaver Brae boys basketball and girls volleyball teams were supposed to be in action today.

The Saints were scheduled to host Red Lake, while the Broncos had a home date against Dryden.

Eight games in total have been cancelled due to road closures and treacherous conditions.

Highway 17 East open to one lane of traffic

Traffic is starting to move slowly again on Highway 17 east of Kenora.

The OPP say one lane of the Trans-Canada has been opened following a fatal multiple vehicle collision about 30 kilometers east of Kenora.

Police say a westbound transport jack-knifed near Dogtooth Lake around 1:00 this morning.

An eastbound semi was unable to avoid the truck and collided with it.

Police say the driver of the eastbound unit was killed.

A short time later  another tractor-trailor unit and a passenger vehicle also slid into the first two trucks.

There was one other accident reported last night, when a transport rolled over near Chadwick Lake on Highway 17 east and lost its load.

The OPP say the driver was not injured in that mishap.

One Person Survives North Spirit Lake Plane Crash

The only person who survived the crash of a small plane flying from Winnipeg to northern Ontario is said to be in stable condition in a Winnipeg hospital.

Thirty-six-year-old Brian Shead works for Aboriginal Strategies Incorporated, an administrative service for First Nations based in Winnipeg.

His wife Tracy says at first it was believed he died, but then she found out he had a broken ankle and broken bones in his face.

She says she's been told he's awake and his vital signs are good.

More troubles for Pikangikum

The only school in a troubled northwestern Ontario First Nation may have to shut its doors because mould has driven away many of its teachers.

The Pikangikum First Nation says it has seen almost all the non-local teachers leave the community because of mould growing in the teachers' residences.

Director of education Kyle Peters says after fighting for years for a decent school, and dealing with rampant suicide, substance abuse and poverty, this is the last thing the youth of Pikangikum need.

 Improving education is at the top of the agenda when First Nations leaders meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in two weeks for a summit in Ottawa.

Highway 17 east still closed

The OPP say it could be a couple of more hours before the wreckage from a fatal overnight crash on Highway 17 east of Kenora is finally cleared away.

Police say a westbound tractor-trailor unit jack-knifed about 30 kilometers east of town around 1:00 last night.

It was struck by an eastbound semi, which was unable to stop, due to slippery road conditions.

The driver of the eastbound unit was killed in the collision.

In the meantime, two more transports also collided with the other two semis.

Earlier in the evening, the OPP say there was also another roll-over on the Trans-Canada east of Kenora near Chadwick Lake.

Police say the semi spilt its load, but the driver was not injured.

Lakewood School Proposal pitched to KPDSB

Administration with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board isn't ready to endorse plans to re-develop Lakewood School just yet.

Geordie McEwan made his pitch for the Lake of the Woods Center at last night's board meeting and says there is definitely a need for such a facility in Kenora.

Trustees say they want administration to come to their next committee of the whole meeting
with some feedback about the proposal.

The board then says it will look at doing a community consultation on the idea.

Evergreen School Remains Open for One more year

Evergreen parents are breathing a sigh of relief today.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has agreed to keep the elementary

school open for at least one more year.

Trustees made the decision last night after hearing a presentation about a proposal

to re-develop Lakewood School into an adult education center.

Pam Cederwall says she's pleased the decision to close Evergreen has been

delayed.

The public school board was going to close the school at the end of this school year,

but agreed to delay closure until at least the spring of 2013.

Highway 17 Closed

Highway 17, 30kms east of Kenora is closed this morning.


The Kenora Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police say icy road conditions where the main factor of a motor vehicle collision in which they are still investigating.

A detour is available at Highway 11.

School Buses Cancelled

It's only the third day of school for students in 2012 but already they're catching a break thanks to Mother Nature

Unless you live within walking distance to the school, you might as well let the kids sleep in this morning.

School Bus services for  Kenora, Sioux Narrows, Dryden, Red Lake/Ear Falls ,Ignace, Minaki have been cancelled due to icy road conditions.

Any further updates will be posted. Please log onto www.nwobus.ca