Man dies on Train Tracks in Sioux Lookout

A 33-year-old Cat Lake First Nations man has been found dead in Sioux Lookout.

The body of Edward Sakakeesic was found in the CN rail yard on Front Street on Saturday morning.

Provincial Police say foul play is not suspected in his death.

A post-mortem exam took place over the weekend at Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but

police are still awaiting the results. 

Northwest Fire Crews Help out in Kirkland Lake

Local help is on the way to Kirkland Lake to battle a large forest fire.

Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Debbie McLean says about 200 fire rangers from northwestern Ontario area heading to northeastern Ontario.

Nine fixed wing aircraft and 11 helicopters are also being dispatched to the fire fighting effort.

The Northwest Region has also supplied over 300,000 feet of hose, 140 pumps and two mobile values protection units with an additional 50 sprinklers kits.

McLean says the forest fire hazard is currently low to moderate across Northwestern Ontario.

Property Owners Mobilize over the Closure of the ELA

Lots of reaction to the closure of the Environmental Lakes Area east of Kenora, but none of it positive.

The Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association is the latest to criticize the decision of the federal government.

Vice-president, Robert Bulman says the decision to shut the facility has international implications.

Bulman says phosphorous studies conducted at the Environmental Lakes have had a big impact on their understanding on blue/green algae blooms on Lake of the Woods.

Pioneer Awarded Municipal Paving Contract

The City of Kenora is going to spend about 900 thousand dollars on paving municipal streets and roads this year.

Council approved a tender with Pioneer Construction last night.

Pioneer had the lowest of two bids on the Municipal Road Works contract, at 876 thousand dollars.

Council has agreed to spend an extra 70 thousand dollars to pave a number of parking stalls at Kenora Public Library for its patrons.

Poor First Quarter Results for the KMTS Citizan's Trust

A disappointing start to 2012 for Kenora's Citizan's KMTS Trust Fund.

Figures released by the city show the trust earned just 0.12 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Chief Administrative Officer Karen Brown says they still expect to meet their target of five percent by the end of the year, but admits it was a disappointing start to the year.

Councillor Louis Roussin has suggested the city could lend some money from the trust to the Kenora District Services Board to help pay for the new land ambulence base on Barsky's Hill.

He says that would provide a better rate of return for the city.

Coney Houseboats Staying put this summer

A number of houseboats moored on the northeast side of Coney Island will be allowed to stay at least another summer.

Kenora City Council passed a resolution permitting houseboats to moor as long as they meet a number of conditions.

That includes regular pump outs.

Last year, council had indicated it wanted to remove the houseboats due to some complaints from Coney residents about noise and garbage.

Winnipeg Man Survives Bear Attack in NWO

Ontario provincial police say two Winnipeg men are OK following a bear attack in northwestern Ontario.

Police say the men were camping on Dunbar Lake, north of Sioux Lookout, when the attack occurred early Saturday.

Investigators say a 65-year-old man suffered bites and scratches when a black bear dragged him out of a structure at the camp.

A 63-year-old man heard the commotion and came to the rescue by shooting and killing the bear.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Meno-Ya-Win hospital and released.

Richards Heading to the Stanley Cup Finals Again

For the second time in three years, Mike Richards is heading back to the Stanley Cup Final.

This time with the Los Angeles Kings.

Dustin Penner scored 17:42 into overtime, to give the Kings a 4-3 victory over Phoenix, to capture the Western Conference final four-games-to-one.

L.A. is 8-and-0 on the road in the playoffs.

Richards also scored his fourth of the play-offs, giving the Kings a temporary 3-2 lead in

the second period.

Stanley Cup won't begin until May 30th at the home of the Eastern Conference winner.

Some Kenora Flavour at the Memorial Cup

A bit of a Kenora connection at the Memorial Cup tonight in Shawinigan.

Kevin Raine of the London Knights will be on the ice against Michael St. Croix of the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Raine is a former member of the Kenora Triple "a" Midget Thistles, while St. Croix is the youngest son of former Kenora Muskies goalie Rick St. Croix.

Both teams sit at 1-1 after two games at the Memorial Cup.

Two Fighters qualify for Canadian Karate Team

Two members of the Kenora Can-Te Karate Club have qualified to fight for Team Canada at the World Championships this fall.

Darcy Ilderton and Kaylin Sundin qualified at the WKC Canadian Championships this past weekend in Montreal.

Ilderton won silver in continous fighting, while Sundin took home a bronze medal in the same event.

Ilderton also finished 7th in point sparring, while Sundin was 5th.

The World Championships will take place in Montreal in October.

Announcement on Lake of the Woods Watershed expected June 30th

A new era for Lake of the Woods could begin this summer.

The federal government's of Canada and the United States are expected to announce their plans for the local watershed by June 30th.

Todd Sellars from the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation says at this point they don't know what to expect.

Sellars says he was in Ottawa earlier this month to meet with federal officials about the IJC report on Lake of the Woods.

Manitoba Complains About the Closure of the Experimental Lakes Area

The Manitoba government is worried about federal cuts that will shut down a world-class water research project near Kenora.

Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh says his staff have already begun to lobby Ottawa to reverse the decision to close the Experimental Lakes Area.

The research program being killed made important findings on hydro development, the banning of phosphorus in detergent, acid rain and mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The Harper government says the provinces or universities could fund the research instead.

NAPS Seize Drugs in Nakina

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Police have made a significant drug bust in Nakina, 3-hundred Kilometres North of Thunder Bay.

Police raided a home and found more than 42-thousand dollars worth of marijuana and hashish.

Police Spokesperson Jackie George points out the location of the seizure as being key because Nakina is the jump off point for a number of northern Communities. 

A 46-year old Nakina man has been arrested and will appear next in court on June 14th.

Fight for Tourism Centers isn`t Over Yet

The fight to reopen tourist information centres in Fort Frances, Rainy River and Kenora is not over.

That according to Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell.

Campbell held a rally Saturday in front of the Fort Frances centre to say there's some encouraging news coming out of Queen's Park.

Campbell doesn't support handing the centres over to municipalities, something she sees as a form of downloading.

SIU Called in to Investigate Thunder Bay Fatal

The Special Investigations Unit has been called in to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of a 67-year-old man in Thunder Bay on Sunday.

Late that night, a police officer was about to pull over a reported stolen vehicle, but the vehicle didn't stop after the officer activated his cruiser's lights.

A short distance later, the vehicle crashed in a second vehicle.

The driver of that second vehicle, a 67-year-old man, died at the scene.

Police say 20-year-old Shane Kolody is charged with Criminal Negligence Causing Death and Possession of Stolen Property Over 5-thousand dollars.

Landmark Agreement for Wabigoon

A landmark settlement for Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation.

Ontario is going to pay 27-million dollars in financial compensation for past and ongoing flooding on the shoreline of reserve lands.

Chief Ruben Cantin Senior says the agreement follows 20-years of negotiations.

Cantin Senior says the problem was rooted in the construction of a provincially-approved dam without the First Nations consent in 1897.

MNR Crews make Headway on Falcon Island Fire

Overnight rains should help fire crews deal with a massive fire on an island on Lake of the Woods.

Kenora Fire #36 on Falcon Island grew to about 580 hectares in size over the weekend.

Crews were able to make some headway over the weekend with some wet weather.

There were able to establish helipads and fire lines around the blaze.

There are still some hot spots that continue to challenge fire fighers.

Falcon Island is located about 35 kilometers south of Kenora near the U.S. border.

Discover Center adds Interpretive Forest

Its been a busy weekend for Tourism Kenora.

In addition to the Discovery Center, summer staff have opened up the Thistle Pavillion for another year.

Tourism Development Officer, Heather Paterson says one of the things they want to do at the Discovery Center is add an interpretive forest.

``We`re working on the project right now.  I`m expecting to have the trees in the ground by the beginning of June. The back side of the building will be a forest that will be broken down into eco-system beds, will have information and identification.``

Paterson says they also expect to add some docking space at the Discovery Center later this summer.

OPP Locate Body of Missing Atikokan Man

The OPP say they have found the body of a missing Atikokan man six months after he was initially reported missing.

The remains of 49 year old Eric Natti were recovered on Miller Lake last week by members of the Underwater Search and Recovery Unit.

Natti was reported missing back in Novmeber after he failed to report to work.

A search was unable to locate him at the time due to cold weather and ice conditions.

A post-mortem was held Friday in Thunder Bay.

Youth Nabbed in Break-in

A 17 year old youth faces charges after a failed break-in attempt in the River Street area.

The OPP say the youth entered a home around 3:30 in the morning.

However, he was met by the homeowner, who held the suspect until police arrived at the scene.

That was one of two break and enters reported to the local OPP over the weekend.

Saints Boys win NorWOSSA Soccer Gold

A gold medal for one of Thomas Aquinas' soccer teams at the NorWOSSA championships.

The Saints boys squad needed extra time to earn a 1-0 win over Sioux Lookout in the gold medal game yesterday in Rainy River.

T.A. will now advance to the NWOSSA Finals next week.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas girls teams didn't get the bounces they needed.

The Saints were beaten 3-2 in a shootout by Red Lake in the semi-finals.

It was the girls first loss in NorWOSSA league play this season.

Library Lobbies for Federal Funding Program

The Kenora Public Library is seeking help from city council to fight a recent federal budget cut.

The government is doing away with its Communty Access Program Sustainability funding.

Councillor Ron Lunny says it will mean a loss of just 37 hundred dollars from the Library's bottom line.

He says while its not a lot of money, every penny counts these days in times of tight budget.

Experimental Lakes on the Chopping Block

The Experimental Lakes area east of Kenora is one of the casualties of the federal government's recent budget cuts.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced yesterday that it will be closing down the 58 lake freshwater laboratory between Kenora and Dryden.

The Experimental Lakes is considered a world class research facility that studies everything from the effects of acid rain and phosphates on the eco-system to fisheries.

A Fisheries spokesperson says every attempt will be made to transfer the ownership of  the facility to universities or the provinces.

Gravelle Defends the Bear Wise Program

The Minister of Natural Resources is listening to municipal concerns over the changes being made to the bear wise program.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield has said the cuts to the program are just another service being downloaded onto the backs of municipalities.

Minister, Michael Gravelle says that's not so.

Police will now be handling calls of nuicence bears.

Campbell Talks to Privacy Commissioner

Ontario's Privacy Commissioner is being asked to look into a contract with a Tennessee company which is working on an automated licensing  system for Ontario for hunters and anglers.

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell raised the issue in the Ontario legislature this morning.

She says the outsourcing of the jobs just adds insult to injury.

Opposition critics are worried that the Patriot Act in the U.S. will allow the American government to access private information about Ontario residents.

Lipinski Returns as President of MNO

A Fort Frances area man has been given another mandate to head the Metis Nation of Ontario.

Gary Lipinski received over 87 per cent of the vote to be returned as president.

The Metis Nation says there was a record voter turnout in this election.

Lipinski says its a strong mandate to continue to push forward on their Métis rights agenda.

NAN gives the Premier the Cold Shoulder

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is panning the Premier.

They sent him a curt response saying no to his invite to speak at the 7th annual first nations meeting.

NAN is declining the Premier's invite because they would only have seven minutes to speak with Dalton McGuinty and they feel that's not enough time to properly air their grievances.

Phase Three Tender for Downtown Revitalization ready to go

The third phase of the downtown revitalization project will cost almost 700 thousand dollars before a shovel even hits the ground.

City council is planning to award the design and contract administration tenders for the project next week.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says the same architect reponsible for phases one and two would also be involved in the third phase.

The city is going to be applying to both the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and FedNor to help fund the project.

MNR Battles Blaze on Lake of the Woods

High winds have been causing problems for fire crews in northwestern Ontario.

The MNR says its continuing to battle a 150 hectare blaze on an island on Lake of the Woods.

The fire on Falcon Island was initially reported on Tuesday.

Its not threatening any private property, but the MNR says they do have three water bombers and two fire crews trying to douse the fire.

There were three new wildfires reported in the region yesterday.

Coney Shuttle Will Run Again this Summer

There will be a boat shuttle to Coney Island once again this summer.

Kenora City council is expected to approve a two year contract with Wharf Marina to operate the service.

As part of its budget deliberations, the city has decided to cut the subsidy it pays to operate the service.

Last year, the city provided five thousand dollars to operate the shuttle.

This year, the subsidy will amount to just 25 hundred dollars.

Saints Boys Soccer Team Rebounds for win

The Thomas Aquinas boys soccer team had a bit of a scare this morning.

The Saints trailed Rainy River 1-0 at the half in their NorWOSSA Single "a" semi-final.

T.A. rallied in the second half though for a 5-1 victory and now advance to the gold medal game at 5:00 this afternoon.

The Thomas Aquinas Girls are also playing in today's semi-finals. 

Neighbors Help Foil Break-In

Proof the Neighborhood Watch program works.

The OPP say they managed to arrest four people in connection

to a break-in in the Minto area of town, thanks to the watchful eyes of a neighbor.

Police say three females aged 12, 13 and 14 and a 15 year old male were caught breaking into a home on Minto Avenue.

They have been charged with break and enter.

TA Students Excel at Dryden Track meet

Some outstanding performances for a couple of local students at the Dryden Track and Field Championships this week.

Tory Stebnitsy recorded a couple of meet records.

She set a record in the elementary girls long jump and also the elementary girls 100 meter dash. She finished the race in time of 13.4 seconds.

Savana Neniska also set a record in the elementary girls high jump at 1.35 meters.

Devin Krolyk had the meet record in the elementary boys 1500 meter race in a time of five minutes 16.5 seconds.

Thomas Aquinas placed fourth overall in the elementary school standings with 108 points.

Youth in Philanthropy Hands out Grants

Its a Dog's Life, the Agape Table, the Fellowship Center, and the Kenora Public Library.

Those were just some of the non-profit groups in the city that received a bit of a boost from the Youth in Philanthropy Program.

Evan Michaluk has been a member of the Thomas Aquinas group for the past four years and says its a good way to become more involved in your community.

A total of eight 700 dollar cheques were presented at a granting ceremony yesterday.

Other receipients included the Women's Shelter, Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation, the Minto Resource Center and the Harborfront Concert Series.

OFAH Worried Personal Data may be Compromised

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters says its 100-thousand members are ``deeply concerned'' about having their personal data stored in the U-S. A Tennessee-based company now handles license applications for Ontario hunters and fishers.

 Anglers and Hunters' spokeswoman Lezlie Goodwin says Ontarians are very worried about the situation.

 The Ministry of Natural Resources says Active Outdoors of Nashville signed a contract to protect personal information of Ontario residents, but critics point out the U-S Patriot Act would trump provincial law.

Power Outage in Sioux Lookout Today

Sioux Lookout will be left in the dark for a good chunk of the day today.

Sioux Lookout Hydro says a power outage is planned from 9 this morning until 2 p-m.

All customers in Sioux Lookout, Hudson and Alcona will be affected.

Hydro One customers on Highway 72 South and Frenchman's Head are also impacted.

The outage is due to emergency repairs to the main transmission line that supplies electricity to the surrounding area.

Beardy Seeks Top Aboriginal Job in Ontario

There's going to be a race for the Regional Chief of Ontario.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy will be going up against incumbent Angus Tolouse.

Beardy says he's been thinking of running for sometime.

Beardy will continue to be NAN's Grand Chief up until the election which takes place at the end of June at the Chiefs of Ontario Conference in Toronto.

Health Unit Returns Cash to Municipalities

Municipalities that contribute to the Northwestern Health Unit are receiving money back from the agency.

More than 165-thousand dollars has been returned back to communities across the Kenora and Rainy River District.

The municipal share is based on population which dropped by 4-thousand in 2011 over 2010.

Council Considers RFP for Coney Wharf

Kenora City Council will vote next week whether to seek a request for proposals for a new wharf at Coney Island.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck was an underwater inspection shows the crib docks at Coney are in very poor shape.

He admits it could cost over 250 thousand dollars to replace the current structure.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield suggests the city should approach local contractors who specialize

in docks to come up with a quote for the work and not bother with an engineering study of the wharf.

Fire Hazard Rises in NWO

MNR Fire crews continue to have their hands full.

There were six new wildfires reported in the region, three of those in the Kenora District.

Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Heather Pridham is urging the public to use extreme caution.

One of the fires was a small 0.1 hectare blaze behind Valleyview School yesterday afternoon.

A section of Valley Drive was closed because fire crews had to stretch a fire hose across the road

into the bush area, they were battling the fire.

NorWOSSA Soccer Play-offs begin today

The NorWOSSA Single "a" Soccer Champions will be crowned today.

The play-offs begin this morning in Rainy River.

Both Thomas Aquinas teams finished the regular season without a loss and will be playing semi-final games starting at 9:00 this morning against the 4th ranked teams in both the boys and girls divisions.

The finals will be played this afternoon at 5:00.

Police Block Valley Drive as Fire Crews Battle Blaze

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department has been hopping dealing with brush fires.

For the third time in three days, crews had to deal with a blaze in the Valley Drive area of town.

The fire broke out just before noon, but crews managed to bring it under control fairly quickly.

A small section of Valley Drive was actually blocked off this afternoon to protect a hose that was connected to a fire hydrant on the other side of the road.

OPP Release Name of Keewatin Fatality

The OPP have released the name of a 22 year old Kenora man who died in Keewatin over the Weekend.

He's been identified as Justen Kroeker.

Kroeker's body was found near the C.P. Train tracks Sunday morning.

Police are still waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam conducted on Monday.

Foul play is not suspected.

Visitor Traffic Up early in 2012

The closure of the Tourist Information Center at the Ontario/Manitoba Boundary is partly being credited for an increase in visitor numbers in Kenora.

The Lake of the Woods Development Commission says there has been a 74 percent increase in traffic in the first three months of the year.

Don Denver is a member of the commission and says special events also play a role in increased tourist numbers.

The commission presented its first quarter report to city council this week.

More Fire Activity in the Kenora District

(File Photo)

Things are starting to heat up for local fire ranger crews.

Another five wild fires were reported in the northwest region yesterday, four of those in the Kenora District.

The MNR says all of the new blazes were the result of lightning strikes, but were fairly small in size and have all been extinguished.

Currently there are 15 forest fires that are considered active in the region.

Property and Planning Approves Outdoor Patios

Outdoor eating could be a growth industry in Kenora this summer.

The Property and Planning Committee has paved the way for more outdoor patios, by approving a new policy.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they will be allowing local bars and restaurants to set up outdoor patios on municipal property and hopes local businesses take advantage.

A detailed application form should be available as early as next week, if city council adopts the new Outdoor Patio Policy.

NAPS Investigate Death of an 18 month old Pikangikum toddler

A 33 year year old woman has been charged in the death of an 18 month old child from the Pikangikum First Nation.

The Nishinabe-Aski Police say they were called in to investigate the death of Isaac Keeper last week on the Poplar Hill First Nation.

His caregiver, Shannon Moose has been charged with aggravated assault.

She's currently in custody and is due to appear in Kenora Court on Friday.

Harborfest Concert Line-up Finalized

(Buckcherry)

Harborfest has finalized its nightly entertainment for this August Long weekend.

The Saturday night show will feature Treble Charger and Buckcherry.

Director of Entertainment, Dave Blake admits they are targeting a younger crowd with their Saturday night concert.

Tickets for the Saturday night show will go on sale this Friday.