OPP charge Duo after Tim's Take-down

Two Wabigoon residents face charges following a high-risk take down in the parking lot of Tim Horton's last Friday.

The arrests followed a search of a Wabigoon home by Ontario Provincial Police, the Drug Enforcement Unit and Emergency Response Unit.

OPP say 49-year-old Shawn Pakarinen and 40-year-old Shirley Brown both faces charges of possession of an prohibited or unauthorized firearm, careless storage of a firearm, possession of goods obtained by crime and possession of illicit drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

Both will appear in Court next month.

Rickford says Budget has Money for Aboriginal Communities

The Federal Government is making progress on improving First Nations education but more work needs to be done.

That's the feeling of Parliamentary Secretary for Aboriginal Affairs Greg Rickford.

The Kenora MP says the Conservatives made great strides in the recent Federal budget.

Rickford adds the Feds are investing 330-million dollars over two years to improve water and sewer infrastructure in First Nations communities.

Thistles prepare for Renwick Cup

The Kenora Senior Thistles are heading to southern Ontario today for the right to advance to the Allan Cup.

The Thistles will battle the Dundas Real McCoys in the Renwick Cup starting tomororw night.

Thistles head coach, John Tresoor says despite a lack of playing time, he says the players are ready.

The Renwick Cup is a best-of-three series for the Ontario senior's men's hockey championship.

Easter Egg Hunt this Weekend

An Easter tradition will be maintained in Kenora this weekend.

The Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be taking place down on the Kenora Harborfront Saturday morning.

The staff at Bestway Rentals puts the event on each year.

The hunt starts at 11:00 sharp, and organizers say you better be on time, because the eggs go fast.

Transport Driver Charged with leaving accident scene

A Quebec transport driver didn't get to far following a motor vehicle collision.

Ontario Provincial Police were notified of the crash on Highway 17, about 15-kilometres east of Ignace.

Police say the commercial vehicle left the scene and was later spotted in Dryden.

OPP say 59-year-old Tadeusz Nizio of Quebec has been charged with careless driving and failing to report damage to property.

KDSB Hands out Funding to local Agencies

Child care agencies are getting a financial shot in the arm from the Kenora District Services Board.

The Board is handing out a total of 153-thousand dollars under the National Child Benefit program.

Triple Play in Kenora is being promised 20 thousand dollars to help lower income families participate in local recreational programs.

Northland Supportive Housing will also be getting five thousand dollars in base funding.

The District Services Board is also planning to continue the Ontario Works Backpack Program, which

provides families vouchers to buy back to school supplies and clothing.

NorWOSSA Badminton Qualifier Today at Beaver Brae

There's a racket being made up at Beaver Brae's gym today.

The qualifier for the NorWOSSa Badminton championships is taking place today.

The top male and female singles, doubles and mixed teams will be looking to advance to next week's finals is taking place.

The NorWOSSA finals will be taking place in Dryden next Wednesday.

Rainy River Resources Inks Deal with local First Nations

A number of first nations are giving their seal of approval for a major gold mining project in northwestern Ontario.

Rainy River Resources says its signed a participation agreement six aboriginal communities in the area.

The agreement sets out a schedule of benefits including employment and business opportunities, funding to support skills development, occupational training and education.

The proposed mine is located about 80 kilomters south of Kenora and is expected to be in production by 2015.

Grassroots Group Demands Pension Protection

A grass-roots movement to protect the pensions of seniors is starting up in northwestern Ontario.

The group is called Seniors, Retirees Against Pension and Elder Abuse.

Allan Bedard says he's launching the initiative over concerns about the health of private and public penion funds.

Bedard says he initially got the movement started a couple of years ago over concern for the pensions of Abitibi workers after the company went through bankruptcy proceedings.

The group is meeting tonight in Fort Frances at 7:00 at the Sister Kennedy Center.

Museum Gets Green Light to Hire

Lake of the Woods Museum has been given approval to fill a job vacancy later this year.

City Council held a short special meeting yesterday to deal with the staffing request.

The museum wants to hire a community co-ordinator and wants to have someone in place by May to cross-train with an employee who is retiring.

Council approved the new position in its 2012 budget, but deferred the decision until some details about the job could be clarified.

Car Batteries Stolen on Lakeview Drive

Someone must have needed a big boost.

The OPP are investigating the theft of more than 200 car batteries from behind a business on Lakeview Drive.

Police say the batteries were stolen between Saturday night and Monday morning, when the theft was discovered.

Anyone with information about the stolen batteries is asked to contact the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Moose Hunters Fined

Two men from Devlin have been handed huge fines for not following party hunting rules while moose hunting.

The men were charged last October after the Ministry of Natural Resources received conflicting information over who actually shot the animal.

Court fined the men over 27-hundred dollars.

Their kill was also forfeited to the crown.

Bill to Kill the Far North Act fails

The Far North Act isn't going anywhere.

MPP's have voted in support of keeping the controversial Legislation.

Ontario PC Northern Development Critic Norm Miller says the bill has turned Northern Ontario into a virtual museum by banning forestry and mining opportunities.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell voted against the Private members bill, noting while the Act is flawed, scrapping it would delay development in the North.

Summer Company Deadline Looming

Looking to start up your own business this summer?

The Northwest Business Centre is helping young entrepreneurs with the launch of the 'Summer Company' program.

Spokesperson Stefanie Armstrong says they are open to all ideas.

Over the past 5-years the Kenora-Rainy River District has developed over 15-young entrepreneurs.

The application deadline is May 7th

Campbell Urges Government to Reconsider Closing Tourist Centers

The campaign to keep three tourist information centers in northwestern Ontario open is being brought to Queen's Park.

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell appealed to the premier Dalton McGuinty reverse the government's decision to close them.

She calls the decision irresponsible and misguided. 

Tourism minister Michael Chan defending the decision saying visitor traffic to the tourism centers had decreased by 50 percent, and the government was simply making a wise business decision.

OPP Cruisin' for a Cure

OPP are Cruisin' for a Cure.

Sixty officers and their families from the northwest region will be taking part in the Winnipeg Police's Cops for Cancer run in May.

Constable Anne McCoy says she's running to help bring more public awareness to the disease. 

Runners will participate in the half marathon and the 2 person relay half marathon.

Blood Donor Clinic has good first day

Canadian Blood Services says it was happy with the turn-out on day one of its blood donor clinic in Kenora.

Yesterday, 151 people showed up to give the gift of life.

A total of 127 units of blood was collected.

The goal after the first day was 134 units with a two day total of 220 pints of blood.

The blood donor clinic will wrap up at 12:30 this afternoon at the Thomas Aquinas gym.

Local Tourism Officials Looking to Save Tourist Info Centers

Area tourism officials hope to meet with the Ministry of Tourism this week to discuss the pending closure of the Tourist Information Centres in the Kenora-Rainy River districts.

Tom Pearson, president of the Ontario Sunset Country Travel Association, says the closures are bad for business.

The tourism center at the Manitoba border and Rainy River won't open at all this summer, while the Tourist Bureau in Fort Frances will close permanently on April 30th.

Campbell Seeking Input on the Provincial Budget

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell says she's still not sure if she'll support last week's provincial budget.

She says there's a lot in the budget that she doesn't like, and will find it hard to vote in favour of.

Campbell says she wants her constituents to weigh in on the budget.

She says that input will help her decide whether to support it or not.

Expensive Wolf Hunt

A hunting trip north of of Dryden has cost three Southern Ontario men over 47 hundred dollars.

Court heard that Douglas McDonald shot two wolves while hunting near Thaddeus Lake.

Craig England attached his tag to one wolf and Paul England's tag was attached to the other animal.

Violations include possessing illegally killed wildlife, tagging a wolf killed by another person and attaching a tag to a wolf killed by another person.

OPP Investigate mischief and theft complaints

The OPP are investigating a rash of mishief complaints over the weekend.

There were a number of incidents of rocks being thrown through windows.

The Beer Store on Park Street, the Subway in Market Square, a car parked on Tunnel Island, and a home on Minto Avenue, all had windows broken.

Police are also investigating the theft of an all-terrain vehicle from a Bayridge Road residence.

The OPP say the 1989 Honda quad was taken from the garage.

The keys were in the vehicle at the time.

NAPS gets a new Deputy Chief

The Nishinabe Aski Police Service has a new deputy chief.

Former Thunder Bay Police Chief, Bob Herman is taking up the duties on an interim basis.

NAPS Sgt. Jackie George says he will be helping the force for the next year to navigate through expected funding cuts.

Herman begins his new duties on April 16th.

Hoppe Rink places fourth at the Dominion

Kenora's Lori Hoppe rink finished with a 2-3 record at the Dominion provincial championships over the weekend in New Liskeard.

Her record was good enough for fourth place overall.

Geralton won the playdowns with a 6-1 record.

Two arrested in connection to Coney Island Break-ins

The OPP have arrested two men in connection to a rash of break-ins on Coney Island.

Over the weekend a number of camps were entered.

18 year old Paul Letander and 21 year old Roderick Land of Kenora have been charged with seven counts of Break and Enter.

They also face two counts of Mischief and one count of Theft, and possessions of property obtained by crime as well as breach of probation.

Blood Donor Clinic Starts This Afternoon

Canadian Blood Service says its looking for more donor's for this week's blood donor clinic in Kenora.

Right now there are 49 appointment times still available tonight and tomorrow morning.

Harvey Heather from Canadian Blood Services says the need starts to pick at this time of year.

The Blood Donor Clinic will run from 4:30 until 9:00 tonight at St. Thomas Aquinas, and then again tomorrow from 9:30 to 12:30.

Thistles to Face the Real McCoys For the Renwick Cup

The Kenora Senior Thistles now know who they'll face in the Renwick Cup.

The Thistles will travel to Dundas next weekend to take on the Real McCoys in a best-of-three series.

The winner will move on to the Allan Cup.

Dundas won the southern Ontario title last night with a sudden death 5-4 overtime victory over Whitby in seventh and deciding game of their series.

The Thistles were supposed to play Fort Frances for the right to play the southern Ontario champs, but the Thunderhawks folded their team before the end of the season due to a lack of players.

Ontario Worst Roads Back

It's time once again to cast your vote in the Ontario Worst Roads campaign.

Pelican Falls Road in Sioux Lookout was voted the worst road in Ontario in 2010.

Spokesperson Korey Kennedy says this is the perfect time to select a road that you are fed up with.

Kennedy says since 2003, more than 90-percent of the roadways nominated have been repaired or are scheduled to be repaired.

Health Care changes in the Region Applauded

The Kenora Chiefs Advisory is embracing a new blueprint for health care in northwestern Ontario.

Joe Barnes is the executive director and says for too long, heath care groups have been working on their own.

Earlier this week, the Northwest Local Health Integration Network came out with a new health strategy for the region, creating five seperate Districts which will develop and implement their own plans.

Kenora Catholic District School Board to receive more Funding next year

The Kenora Catholic District School Board is expecting a boost in its education grant from the province next year.

The separate school system will see an increase in funding next year of about 75 thousand dollars.

Their budget will go up to just over 20 million dollars starting in the fall.

Most of the increase is being attributed to higher enrolments.

Public School Board facing big budget cuts

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is looking at a million dollar hit to its budget next year.

Last week, the provincial government outlined exactly much much each school board would be getting for the 2012/2013 school year.

Superintendant of Business Dean Carrie says its going to be a challenge to balance their budget this year.

If there is a bright spot, its in the all-day everyday kindergarten program.

The public school board will be getting an extra 800 thousand dollars next year to expand the all day JK and SK programs in the region.

Tourism Officials Concerned about Ontario Tourism Bureau closures

Local Tourism officials aren't sure what impact the closure of the Ontario Tourism office on at the Manitoba Border will have on their operations.

Last week, the province announced it was permanently closing three tourist bureaus in northwestern Ontario.

Kenora's Tourism Development Officer Heather Paterson says the closure presents some challenges and some opportunities for them.

Fort Frances and Rainy River will also see their Tourism Ontario offices closed down this year.

City starts branding itself

We have the brand, now we have to find a way to use it.

That's the challenge for the Brand Leadership Team now that Kenora is being promoted as North America's Premier Boating Destination.

Randy Nickle is chair of the city's tourism committee and says he's excited by the possibilities.

Nickle says the brand leadership team has a to do list of some 80 items to get the city ready to begin using its new marketing image.

OFAH Concerned about Cuts at the MNR

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters wasn't surprised the Provincial Government decided to overhaul the MNR.

A 3 year transformation plan is included in the Provincial budget and OFAH Spokesperson Greg Ferrant says they'll be meeting with Minister Gravelle about it.

The plan calls for some staff and offices to be reduced and will be implemented if the budget is passed.

Kids for Cancer Tournament sets a new Record

The week long Kids for Cancer three on three hockey tournament proved to be an unqualified success.

At the end of play yesterday, 52 thousand dolars had been raised, more than doubling last year's tally.

Proceeds from the tournament will be split between the Canadian Cancer Society and the Lake of the Woods Hospital Foundation.

Midget Thistles winless at Telus Western Championships

A tough weekend for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles at the Telus Western Championships.

The Thistles failed to win a game in their three game round robin.

Their last game on Saturday was a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Saskatoon Contacts.

The Contacts went on to win the Western Final, beating the host team, the Southwest Cougars 5-1 yesterday afternoon.

They now advance to the national midget championships later this month.

Three Arrested in Death of Pikangikum Youth

Three youth from Pikangikum have been charged with murder in connection to the death of a 17 year old boy in the remote northwestern Ontario community.

The OPP say they charged a 17 year old youth on Wednesday with murder in connection in the death of Calvin Quill.

His body was found behind a home in Pikangikum late Tuesday night.

Yesterday, police laid charges against two other people, a 16 year old boy and a 17 year old male.

All three all due to appear in Kenora Court today.

New Marketing Brand Adopted for Kenora

Call it Brand Aid.

A new tourism marketing concept has been developed for the city of Kenora.

Tourism Guru Roger Brooks has been helping a local group and says he likes

the idea of marketing Kenora as North America's Premier Boating Destination.

A branding committee has spent the past two months going through a number of ideas for a marketing concept, and spent the past three days in an intensive process to select the one idea while will now be used to advertise the city locally, nationally and internationally.

NOACC Approves of Federal Budget

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce is giving the Federal budget two thumbs up.

Harold Wilson is the Chief Operating Officer of NOACC and says he's especially pleased that a mining investment incentive has been left untouched for now.

 Wilson says he's also happy that the environmental assessment process is being streamlined

Three Northwestern Ontario Tourism Bureaus Closing

The full impact of the provincial budget is just starting to be felt.

The province has announced that its closing the Tourist Bureau on Highway 17 west at the Ontario/Manitoba border.

That's one of three tourism centers being closed across the region.

The Tourist Information Center in Fort Frances at the Canada/U.S. border is being shut down along with the one in Rainy River.

The Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership is blaming low visitor numbers for the decision to close the centers.

MNR Restructuring

The Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to transform itself.

The Provincial Government included a 3 year plan in the budget that would look at cutting staff and offices.

Minister Michael Gravelle says it was bound to happen since the MNR is running a defecit.

The plan will be implemented if the Provincial budget is passed.

Campbell Angry with God's Lake Payout

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell is accusing the provincial government of throwing away taxpayers money.

Campbell is angry Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci has agreed to pay God's Lake Resources 3.5 million dollars for its mining claims in the Big Trout Lake area.

Campbell suggests the government could have avoided the expensive pay-out if it had convened a joint panel, as promised back in 2009 to resolve outstanding issues between the community and God's Lake.

She says Ontario has to be the only province in Canada where a mining company can make a substantial profit without having to break ground.

OPP investigate Fatality in Pikangikum

The body of a 17-year-old boy has been found in the remote Northern community of Pikangikum.

Provincial Police say Calvin Quill was reported missing on Tuesday afternoon.

His body was found behind a home late that night.

Police are treating his death as suspicious.

A post mortem examination is pending.

Ice Anglers Reflect on Their Adventure on Lake of the Woods

A group of American ice anglers rescued off a giant ice floe on Lake of the Woods celebrated the adventure by frying up its catch of the day and kicking back with beers.

Tracy Sobush, one of the 13 men from Wisconsin, says they didn't factor in the wind would loosen a piece of the ice near Birch Point on the Manitoba side of Lake of the Woods.

More than a dozen rescue workers and firefighters were called out and a special airboat was brought in. to help rescue the men.

Thistles lose to the Cougars in Virden

Not the start the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles wanted at the Telus Western Regional Championships in Virden.

The Thistles were blanked 4-0 last night by the host Southwest Cougars.

The Thistles managed just 14 shots on net in a losing cause.

The tournament doesn't get any easier today, as the Kenora Midgets face the top team in the Manitoba Midget Hockey League today.

The Thistles will face the Winnipeg Wild at 5:00.

The Wild played to a 3-3 tie with the Saskatoon contacts yesterrday afternoon.

Canfield has mixed feelings on Provinical budget

The provincial government is offering municipalities some tools to help collect traffic fines.

Each year thousands of dollars of parking and speeding tickets go uncollected.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says Tuesday's budget seems to address the problem of unpaid tickets.

Last year alone, the city had to write off more than 90 thousand dollars in uncollected traffic tickets.

New Tourism Website being developed for Kenora District

A new user-friendly and interactive tool will soon be in our hands to promote tourism in the Kenora District.

The Cultural-Tourism Marketing website is set to be on-line this Summer.

Michelle Hovi led a community session in Kenora yesterday and says this is an excellant opportunity to showcase area communities.

The group has hired a media technician to photograph and video events, businesses and activities for the website.

Northwest LHIN's Promises Overhaul of Health Care in the Region

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network is overhauling the health care system in the region.

The governing body for health care spending is creating Local Health Hubs and regional programs.

CEO Laura Kokocinski says the goal is to share services and common practices at a local level.

Thunder Bay would handle more regional programs including cancer care.

Rickford Promises Balance Approach in Today's Budget

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says today's Federal budget will strike a balance.

Rickford says we can expect a measured response by the Government in terms of reducing the deficit.

However, Rickford stresses the Feds understand that maintaining several key programs is essential in keeping the economy going.

Lakewood School to be declared Surplus?

The future of Lakewood School is a little clearer today.

Trustees with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board met Tuesday night to discuss what to do with the building.

Trustee Bob Onysko says after much discussion and debate they agreed to support a recommendation by senior administration to declare the school surplus and put the property up for sale.

A resolution to that effect will go to the next open meeting on April 10th.

Midget Thistles in Virden for Western Regional Championships

The Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles are in Virden, Manitoba today for the start of the Telus Western Regional Play-offs.

The winner will advance to the national championships next month.

First up for the Thistles are the host team, the Southwest Cougars.

Game time is 8:00 this evening.

Tomorrow, the Thistles will face the Manitoba Midget League Champions, the Winnipeg Wild.

The Kenora Midgets advance to the Western Regional Championships by beating Thunder Bay two weeks ago in the Northwest Branch finals.