School Board's Worried About Possible Amalgamations

Is a merger forthcoming involving the Rainy River District School Board and the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board?

That's a possibility if the Provincial budget passes.

Mike Lewis is Chair of the Rainy River Board and he says it may help the province reduce the deficit but stresses there's more to consider than just money.

Lewis is encouraging residents and communities to speak up in opposition.

Fraser Institute releases latest report on Secondary School's

The Fraser Institute is out with is annual evaluation of secondary schools in Ontario.

Its mixed news in Kenora, where Thomas Aquinas saw its rating increase, while Beaver Brae slipped a few notches.

Study author, Michael Thomas says while some educators don't like their report, he thinks its still valid.

Thomas Aquinas was rated 84th out of the 718 schools ranked in the yearly report.

Beaver Brae was 623rd overall.

Saints, Sinners and Spirits at the Museum

Lake of the Woods Museum is looking into the dark underbelly of Kenora's past.

A new exhibit opened last week up called Saints, Sinners and Spirits.

Museum spokesperson Braden Murray says there's a long history of rum-running on Lake of the Woods.

The exhibit, developed by staff at the museum, will run until June 9th.

New Forest Fires Reported over the Long Weekend

The forest fire season in northwestern Ontario is only a week old, but there's already been 13 fires reported in the Kenora District.

Over the weekend, two more fires were reported.

One grew to 6 hectares in size before being brought under control.

The other was just a small 0.1 hectare blaze north of the city.

Both are listed as human-caused.

Fires were also reported in the Dryden and Fort Frances Districts as well this Easter Long weekend.

NOMA Supports Local Tourist Centers

There's more support for keeping tourist information centres in Fort Frances, Kenora and Rainy River open.

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is the latest to voice its opposition to the planned closures.

NOMA President Ron Nelson wants Tourism Minister Michael Chan to meet with area tourism officials and hold off hold off on the closures until then.

OCN Penguins with 5th Consecutive NAFN Title

Manitoba teams once again dominated the North American First Nations tournament of Champions.

For the 5th year in a row, the OCN Penguins took the A-side champioship winning the 20 thousand dollar first prize beating the Sandy Bay Feathermen 5-3.

In the battle for 3rd place, Eagle Lake shut out the OCN Blues 2-0.
In the B-side final, Grassy Narrows beat up on Shoal Lake 7-2.

In the Oldtimers division, Shoal Lake eked out a 2-1 win over the Whitefish Bay Rangers.

Senior Thistles Advance to Allan Cup

The Kenora Triple "a" Senior Thistles will be playing for Allan Cup for the second year in a row.

The Thistles hosted the tournament last year, but this year they played their way in by winning the Renwick Cup, and will be the Ontario representitives.

The Kenora squad beat Dundas in two straight games in the best-of-three series over the weekend.

The Thistles capped the series Saturday night with a convincing 6-1 win.

Jeff Richards had a three goal game.

Friday night, Kenora beat Dundas 5-2.

The Allan Cup starts one week from today in Lloydminster.

Beaver Brae dominates NorWOSSA Badminton Qualifier

Beaver Brae Badminton players dominated the NorWOSSA qualifying tournament yesterday.

A total of 13 Broncos placed either first, second or third in their respective divisions.

Thomas Aquinas had seven top three finishes.

The NorWOSSA Championships will take place in Dryden next Wednesday in the boys and girls singles, doubles and mixed doubles divisions.

NAFN Tournament Returns this Weekend

An Easter Weekend sporting tradition returns to Kenora.

The North American First Nations Tournament of Hockey gets underway this evening at the Kenora Rec. Center.

As many as 16 teams will be vying for the guaranteed first prize money of 20 thousand dollars.

OCN is back to defend its title in the open division this year.

There will be an Oldtimers tournament this year as well, with eight teams looking to win five thousand dollars.

Action gets underway at the Thistle Rink at 6:00 this evening and wraps up Sunday afternoon.

The Oldtimers final is 3:00 followed by the A-Side final at 5:45.

OPP Launch Easter Weekend Traffic Bliz

The long weekend has begun, and so has the holiday safety blitz by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Sgt. Shelley Garr says officers are on the lookout for impaired and aggressive drivers, unfastened seat belts and drivers talking on cell phones that aren't hands-free.

Garr says long weekend's usually bring extra traffic onto the roadways with people travelling to get to Easter celebrations.

Dryden looking at selling its Municipal Telephone Service

The City of Dryden is speaking with TBay Tel about a possible deal to purchase DMTS.

Mayor Craig Nuttall has confirmed that the two have been in discussions.

However, Nuttall notes that they are keeping an open mind.

Nuttall says they are looking at the best possible deal for the citizens of Dryden and they want to make sure their telephone service is still operating.

The City has previously stated that forming partnerships is also an option.

Seniors Group to meet with Resolute over Pensions

A group of seniors concerned over the pensions of former Abitibi-Bowater employees is being given an audience with the company.

Allan Bedard, chair of the group, Seniors and Retirees Against Pension and Elder Abuse, says company officials asked for the meeting to take place later this month.

The meeting comes after the group just made its self public.

The group is concerned over a recent reduction in pension payouts and the future of the fund.

Pellatt Fire Crews Deal with grass fire

The fire hazard is starting to inch up across northwstern Ontario with the recent, warm, dry weather.

Yesterday, about 18 volunteers from the Pellatt United Fire Department were called to deal with a grass fire near Lac Lu that grew to about two hectares in size.

MNR Fire information officer Debbie McLean says crews will be on alert this Easter Long weekend.

Yesterday's blaze also destroyed an old abandoned log home.

Its estimate the log cabin was about 138 years old, but had been lived in over over 25 years.

Gas Prices Jump in Kenora

Just in time for the Easter Long weekend.

The price of gas took a big jump in Kenora.

The price at most service stations this morning is 131.9, an increase of six cents in 24 hours.

That's far from the most expensive gas in the province.

In Sioux Lookout, gas is selling at 1.40 a liter.

The average price of gas in Ontario is 1.37.

Tourism Officials kick up Campaign to Save Tourist Centers

Local tourism officials say they haven't heard anything yet from the Ministry of Tourism about why its closing down three tourist information centers in northwestern Ontario.

Gerry Cariou from Ontario Sunset Country says the the only communication they have came from the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership announcing the closures last week.

He suggests the only way the centers will stay open is if local municialities take them over.

Carious says tourist organizations in the region have started a letter writing campaign to try and convince the government to reverse its decision to close the Tourist Information Centers.

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.