Fire Crews Continue to Battle Falcon Island Fire

The cool, damp weather over the past few days has allowed Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews to get the upper hand on a blaze burning on an Island on Lake of the Woods.

Kenora Fire #36 has been active for the past two weeks, but fire information officer, Debbie MacLean says they are making good progress on it now.

Crews are now working to put out any hot spots on Falcon Island and making sure the fire doesn't spread any further.

That's the only forest fire currently active in northwestern Ontario.

NorWOSSA AA Soccer Finals Today in Fort Frances

The NorWOSSA Double "a" soccer titles will be awarded today in Fort Frances.

The semi-finals and finals will take place today.

This morning, Beaver Brae's boys will be seeking their first win of the season when they take on Dryden in semi-final action.

The winner takes on Fort Frances in the gold medal game this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's girls team will await the winner of this morning's semi final between Fort Frances and Dryden.

The Broncos have the bye into the gold medal game with the best record during the regular season.

Kenora's Population is aging

Senior citizens now represent 17.2 per cent of the population of Kenora, a ratio higher than the national average, according to the latest census figures.

Newly released census information on age and sex makes it clear that Canadian society is getting older.

The census showed that just over 26 hundred people in Kenora were aged 65 or older.

Kenora's senior population of 17.2 per cent compares to a national average of 14.8 and a provincial average of 14.6 per cent.

Treaty Three National Assembly Starts Today

Members of Treaty Three are making their way to the Big Island First Nation today for their National Assembly.

The three day gathering will feature the traditional selection of the grand chief.

Diane Kelly, who is the first female grand chief of Treaty Three is expected to stand for election once again, and there may be at least one challenger.

The selection of the grand chief will take place tomorrow, while the National Assembly will wrap up on Thursday.

Northern Chiefs Bail on Student Housing Project

The Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says he will continue to work with northern chiefs and other First Nation organizations to ensure equal access to education for all students.

Jack McMaster is reacting to an announcement Friday by the chiefs that they have withdrawn from a project to renovate Pinewood School in Dryden and create a First Nations learning and housing facility.

McMaster says the Board will also go back to the drawing board in an effort to utilize the vacant Pinewood School.

City Seeking More Funding from the Province

The City of Kenora has its hand out for more money from the province.

Council has endorsed a resolution calling on the government to increase its payments in lieu from the government of Ontario.

Kenora gets just over 29 thousand dollars from the province for payment in lieu of taxes on the hospital, college and correctional institutions.

Councillor Rory McMillan says the last time that was increased was 1987.

He says based on inflation, the province should actually be paying more than 56 thousand dollars.

CP workers being Legislated Back to Work

Local CP rail workers are less than enthused about back-to-work legislation introduced by the federal government.

Lisa Raitt introduced the bill yesterday in the House of Commons.

Mike Wallace is a local union representitive and says their concerned that issues surrounding fatigue management and their pensions won't be addressed.

The government says it plans to limit debate on the back-to work legislation and will fast track the bill through the House of Commons.

Freight trains could be moving again by Thursday.

Police Forced to kill a wild dog

Wild dogs continue to pose a problem in the community.

Sunday evening, the OPP were contacted about a pack of wild dogs that brought down a fawn near Miikana Way.

Officers were able to locate the pack and managed to shoot and killone of the dogs.

The others managed to escape into the nearby bush.

Police say any dogs posing a risk to public safety may be killed if required.

Broncos Hand Out Sports Awards

Beaver Brae's top male and female athletes were honored last night at the Broncos annual Awards Banquet.

More than 60 awards were handed out by each of the sports teams at the high school.

The Male Athlete of the Year honors went to Andrew Marks, while Manon Magnon was selected as the top Female Athlete.

Shark Youngsters Excel in Thunder Bay

Some of the younger members of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club got to strut their stuff this past weekend in Thunder Bay.

 Natalie Peterson took top spot in the 10 and under 200 meter Individual Medley, while Gabe Mastromateo won the 10 and under 800 meter freestyle.

Amy Warner also won gold in the girls 12 and under 800 meter freestyle event.

The 10 and under boys relay team came 2nd in the 200 Medley Relay, while the girls 12 and under relay team placed first.

A number of the swimmers managed to secure themselves a place in the Man/Sask championships in Regina this July.

Ontario Mayor's Concered about the high cost of Policing

Municipal leaders are starting to raise the alarm bell about the high cost of Policing.

A new steering committee has been set up called the Mayors Coalition for Affordable, Sustainable and Accountable Policing.

Kenora City council has agreed to support the new group.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says policing costs in much of northern Ontario is much higher than southern Ontario and thinks the province should try levelling the playing field.

He says Kenora's costs are about one thousand dollars per capita, while some communities in the south are paying less than half that amount.

Fire Crews Battle Cabin Fire on Lake of the Woods

All the rain this weekend has helped keep the fire hazard low across

northwestern Ontario, but MNR Fire Crews were called out to help

battle a cabin fire on Lake of the Woods.

The fire broke out Saturday afternoon and gutted a cottage in the

Palisade Island area.

A helicopter with a bucket provided support to fire crews on the ground to try and prevent the flames from spreading into the nearby bush.

The OPP say foul play is not suspected in the fire.

Back to Work Legislation Could come Today for CP employees

Striking CP rail workers could find themselves back to work this week.

The Federal government is expected to table legislation sending the 48 hundred members of the Teamsters back to work.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says while he'd prefer to see a negotiated settlement, keeping the trains rolling is in the national interest.

Talks between the union and CP broke down over the weekend.

CP employees have been on strike for the past six days.

Rain to ease up by tomorrow

There is light at the end of this cloudy tunnel we've been in over the past week.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says there is sun in the forecast by Wednesday at the latest.

Yesterday, the Kenora area was deluged by 21 millimeters of rain.

Health Unit Launches Bedbug Awareness Campaign

They like to come out and bite at night and like to feed on the blood of humans.

We are not talking about a real-life Vampire story, we are talking about bed bugs.

Valdine McEwen is with the Northwestern Health Unit and she says the public show be aware that the tiny bugs can cause big problems.

The Health Unit has launched a public awareness campaign to help folks reduce the chances of bringing bed bugs into their home.

Joint Forces Drug Unit Seizes a large amount of pills

The Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit is celebrating a huge drug bust in Thunder Bay.

They raided a hotel room and found more than 14-undred Oxycodone Pills worth an estimated 8-hundred and 41-thousand dollars on the street and more than 93-thousand dollars in cash.

The total value of the bust is just over 9-hundred and 34-thousand dollars, which police believe was headed to a northern first nation community.

A 22-year old woman from Weagamow First Nation has been charged and will appear in court on may 29th.

More MNR fire Crews Heading to Northeastern Ontario

More fire crews from northwestern Ontario are heading to Timmins to help battle a number of wild fires raging out of control.

The MNR says 16 more FireRangers, 15 Overhead staff and two Waterbombers were transferred over to the Northeastern Region yesterday.

Over 200 FireRangers, 90 Overhead staff and over 30 Aircraft from this region are now in northeastern Ontario.

Locally, there is only one active fire of note.

Kenora Fire #36 located on Falcon Island on Lake of the Woods is now listed as being held.

Local Companies get an power boost

A number of tourist camps in northwestern Ontario are going green.

The Northern Ontasrio Heritage Fund is providing grants to four businesses in the Kenora and Rainy River District to install new energy efficient systems.

Salisbury Cruises in Kenora is getting funding to install a solar energy system on a floating lodge on Lake of the Woods.

Kenora Fish Hawk Freightways is also getting money to upgrade an existing solar panel system.

Saints win NWOSSA Soccer Crown

The Thomas Aquinas boys soccer team is heading to the All-Ontario Single A championships next month.

The Saints won the best-of-three NWOSSA final in two straight games against Marathon.

Yesterday afternoon, T.A. cruised to a 2-0 victory.

Patrick Van Bellinghem scored both goals for the Saints.

He also had the lone goal in the first game yesterday, a 1-0 victory over Marathon.

 

Thomas Aquinas will now travel to Windsor June 7th for the OFSAA championships.

Saints Boys Soccer Team Wins Game 1 of NWOSSA Final

The Thomas Aquinas boys soccer team is a win away from advancing to All-Ontario Single A championships.

The Saints edged Marathon 1-0 in the first game of the best-of-three NWOSSA final up at Thomas Aquinas.

Patrick Van Bellingham scored the lone goal of the game early in the first half.

Game two will be played at 5:00 this afternoon.

A win will given T.A. a berth at the OFSAA finals in Windsor next month.

Name Change Requested for Black Sturgeon Island

An island on Black Sturgeon Lake could be in for a name change.

A local resident is asking the city for support to change the name of Island "A" to James Island.

The island would be named after the original trapper who first owned the island.

The resolution will be part of an application being prepared for Ontario's Geographic Names Board for the name change.

OPSEU Speaks out Against Cuts at MNR

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is sounding the alarm over the Province's plans for the Ministry of Natural Resources.

President Smokey Thomas says the government has already cut back the MNR so much that any more cuts will jeopardize our ability to respond to emergency situations like forest fires.

Thomas says the Provincial Government has left fire fighters alone but they've continued to cut their support staff.

Federal Budget Bill Moving Slowly

The Federal Government budget bill is moving forward slowly, but surely.

That's according to Kenora MP Greg Rickford.

Rickford says debates continue with the opposition and pieces of the Legislation are now being reviewed at the Committee level.

Rickfored is hoping for a mid-June implementation date.

IBC Speaks out Against NDP Insurance Bill

A variety of people are speaking out against an NDP private members bill that calls for changes to auto insurance.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Insurance Bureau of Canada have both come out against Bill 45.

IBC Vice President Ralph Palumbo is calling on Northern Ontario MPPs to speak out against the bill.

The bill is scheduled to come before the Ontario legislature for a second reading June 7th.

Spring Feast this Afternoon at NeChee

The weather may not be ideal, but its time for what's becoming an annual tradition in Kenora.

The Spring feast will take place today at the NeChee Friendship Center.

Last year the spring feast was held at the Kenora Rec. Center.

It will take place from noon til 2:00 at 1301 Railway Street.

Saints host NWOSSA Boys Soccer Finals

A trip to the All-Ontario Single A soccer championships is on the line this weekend for Thomas

Aquinas.

The Saints Boys will play the first two games of a best-of-three series against Marathon today.

Game one of the NWOSSA final will start at 11:00 this morning, followed by game two at 5:00.

Game three, if necessary will be played tomorrow morning at the Thomas Aquinas Field.

Harborfest Parking Approved

Parking in downtown Kenora will still be at a premium this August Long weekend during Harborfest.

The Harborfest Committee has requested and received approval from city council to close down the south parking lot starting the Friday night of the long weekend.

In the past, the parking lot has been closed because a large tent was set up on the site.

Now with the new Harborfront tent in place, Harborfest is hoping to use the south parking lot as a staging area for some of their events.

Black Sturgeon Lake Management Study to Continue

The City of Kenora says it plans to continue monitoring water quality on Black Sturegon Lake.

Council has agreed to include the Black Sturgeon Lake management Plan into its 2013 capital budget.

The city conducted a water study a couple of years ago, and had agreed to test the water every five years as part of its on-going study.

The Management Plan was created due to concerns about all the development which is taking place on the lake.

Tourism Numbers up over the long weekend

Local tourism officials are crowing about their most recent numbers.

Tourism Kenora had both the Discovery Center and the Thistle Pavillion open to the public and more than 540 visitors passed through their doors.

That's a huge increase over last year when only 36 people came into the old Tourist Information bureau on Highway 17 east.

The M.S. Kenora also reported its best opening weekend in nine years.

55 Plus Expo Tomorrow

Kenora's 55 Plus Expo is a growing concern.

This is the second year in a row, Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford's office has staged the event.

Patti Letourneau is one of the organizers and says they'll have lots of information available this year.

The 55 Plus Expos will take place at the Discovery Center tomorrow from 9:00 to 3:00.

AbitibitBowater Now Officially Resolute

It's now official.

AbitibiBowater will officially be known as Resolute Forest Products starting today.

The name change was approved at the company's annual general meeting yesterday.

A mill employee at the Fort Frances mill was one of two to suggest the name in a company wide contest held last year.

Habitat For Humanity Sets Date for Kenora Build

June 18th is circled on Habitat for Humanity's calendar.

That's the day construction on Kenora's first Habitat home is scheduled to start.

Before that, the local committee still has some fundraising to do.

Thelma Wilkens-Page says they will be collecting donations at the Operations Center for their Re-store day this Saturday.

The actual sod turning ceremony for the Habitat Home in Kenora will take place on June 11th.

Plans for Youth Center moving forward

Plans are starting to come together for a new youth Drop-In center in Kenora.

The Kenora Youth Council is working to put the Drop-In Center in Lakewood School.

Spokesperson, Jarod McLean they they are working with a number of community partners to make this work.

McLean is hoping the city will be able to help get a grant for the youth drop-in center to help staff it.

NAN asks for Ontario Coronor's Inquest

The pre-inquest into the death of 15 year old Reggie Bushie is over.

It was adjourned today after the Nishnawbe Aski Nation applied to have the case sent to Ontario's Chief Coroner.

Regional Coroner Spokesperson Derry Miller says the joint inquest would examine the deaths of Reggie Bushie as well as six other teens who died while attending high school in Thunder Bay.

Ontario's Chief Coroner Dr. Andrew McCallum will decide whether or not to hold an inquest into the deaths of the First Nation teens.

Busy Long Weekend for Traffic Police

A busy weekend for Provincial Police across Northwestern Ontario during the Victoria Day long weekend.

Police charged 249 drivers for speeding, 21 for seatbelt infractions and seven with distracted driving.

Four careless charges were laid and one ticket was handed out for impaired driving.

The OPP laid roughly 8-thousand charges across the Province.

NorWOSSA Regular Season Wraps Up

Homefield didn't provide much of an advantage for Beaver Brae's Soccer teams.

The Broncos failed to win a game on the last day of the regular season yesterday at the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex.

The Bronco boys started the day with a 1-0 loss to Dryden and followed that up with a 2-2 draw against Fort Frances.

The Beaver Brae girls started the day with a 1-1 tie against Dryden, then lost their second game 1-0 against Fort Frances.

The NorWOSSA Championships will take place next Wednesday in Fort Frances.

Three Arrested in Drug bust

Three people face drug charges after being stopped by the OPP in Kenora early this morning.

The Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and Drug Enforcement Unit helped out with the traffic stop.

Police say about 29 grams of cocaine was seized.

42 year old Arcland Beacham, 19 year old Franklin Major and 51 year old Claudette McLeod, all of Kenora have been charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking.

All three are due to appear in Kenora Court July 5th to face the charges.

Kenora to Host Western Regional Midget Championship

The Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles will be playing in the Telus Western Regional championships for a second straight year.

Hockey Northwest has announced that Kenora will be playing host to the four team tournament next April.

The top teams from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario, as well as the Thistles as host will take part in the regional championship April 4th to 7th.

The winner will advance to the Telus Cup National Midget Championship in Sault Ste. Marie.

The Thistles advanced to the regional championships for just the second time in team history this

past April.

CP employees hit the picket lines

Picket lines have gone up in front of the Canadian Pacific rail yard in Kenora.

About 150 members of the Teamsters walked off the job just after 1:00 this morning after contract talks with C.P. broke down.

Local Union rep, Art Lockhart is hoping they can negotiate a new contract with the company.

He says pensions, some work rules and fatigue management are the major points of contention.

Boat Accident sends one person to hospital

One person is in hospital in Winnipeg and three others were injured in a boat crash on Lake of the Woods.

Kenora Provincial Police were notifed of a vessel hitting the short near Copper Island around 5 o'clock Saturday morning.

Those on board were aged 21 to 29.

OPP have laid charges of operating a vessel in a careless manner.

Police are trying to determine what caused the boat to hit the shoreline.

Aamikkowiish Gets the Go Ahead for final housing project

The Aamikkowiish Non-Profit Housing Corporation has the green light to proceed with the final piece of its 2.8 million dollar social housing project in Kenora.

City council last night narrowly approved a re-zoning application for a piece of property in the 19th Street North area of town.

Collette Surovy is the executive director of Aamikkowiish and says they need to start construction as soon as possible.

Some of the residents in the area are concerned about the location of the two duplexes in their neighborhood.

Pam Cedarwall urged council not to approve the re-zoning request, raising a number of concerns, including the fact local residents were not notified by mail of the zoning meetings.

Surovy says they are willing to sit down with the local residents to talk about their concerns.

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.