St. Croix Signs On as Leafs Goaltending Coach

A former Kenora resident has landed a high profile job in the NHL.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Rick St.Croix as their goaltending coach.

St. Croix replaces Francois Allaire, who had an acrimonious split with the team earlier this month.

The 57-year-old St. Croix was the goaltending coach for the 1999 Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars and also served as an assistant coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 1987 to 1989.

He also starred for the Kenora Muskies in his junior career in the early 1970's. 

NDP MPP's Pleased with Response from Health Town Halls

Lots of public feedback at a town hall meeting in Kenora on the Health Care system.

Kenora Rainy-River MPP Sarah Campbell and NDP Health Critic Frances Gelina spent over an hour listening to the concerns of local residents on Friday.

Gelinas says they'll now be taking those ideas and issues to Queen's Park to the health minister.

Campbell and Gelinas in total held five town hall meetings in five days in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding.

Hudak Holds Town Halls in NWO

While the NDP MPP's were touring the riding, the Conservative leader was also doing his own tour of northwestern Ontario.

Tim Hudak was in Thunder Bay and Dryden for his own town hall meetings.

Hudak's main focus was the economy and how to get it to turned around.

Hudak adds that there is a high demand for skilled trades, and it's important to get youth interested in them right out of school.

OPP Looking for New Recruits

The OPP in Kenora are on the lookout for some new recruits.

A recruitment workshop will held at the Kenora Detachment on Saturday October 13 from 8am till 3pm.

Several OPP speakers including a recruitment officer, general patrol officers and specialty units will be there to answer any questions from those looking to get into policing.

You can contact the detachment office for more information.

Campbell Critical of Park Cuts

The provincial government is continuing to erode the tourist infrastructure of northwestern Ontario.

That's the feeling of Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell, after the MNR downgraded 10 parks in the region, including Caliper Lake, south of Nestor Falls.

She feels the McGuinty Government is being short-sighted in this latest round of cuts.

The provincial government estimates it will save about seven million dollars by cutting staff and services at the 10 provincial parks.

Great Weather for CIBC Run for the Cure

The 21st edition of the CIBC Run For The Cure is being hailed as a success.

Runners and walkers enjoyed a brilliant day in downtown Kenora.

The event is Canada's largest single day event for breast cancer fundraising, education and awareness.

Organizers are still adding up the money from yesterday's CIBC Run For The Cure.

OSSTF Member in Kenora and Rainy River Support Strike Action

Secondary school teachers with the Rainy River District School Board are the latest to take a strike vote.

Members of the OSSTF in the Fort Frances area voted 97 percent in favour of strike action late last week.

That's a similar result to teachers with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, who voted 96 percent in favor of strike action.

The OSSTF says its members want to reach a made at home agreement, not one imposed by politiicans at Queen's Park.

Midget and PeeWee Thistles See Action

The Kenora Triple "a" Thistles are almost ready for the regular season in the Manitoba Midget Hockey League.

The Thistles have a 1-1 record after a home and home series against the Eastman Selects.

Yesterday, the Thistles dropped a 5-1 decision to Eastman after a 4-1 win on the Road Saturday in Beausejour.

The Thistles start the season next weekend on the Road against the Pembina Valley Hawks.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Double "a" Thistles began their season with a win and a loss.

The Thistles upended Dryden 7-1 on Saturday, but were blanked 6-0 yesterday by Fort Frances.

Broncos lose to Elmwood

A tough loss for Beaver Brae's football team.

The Broncos were trounced 38-1 by the Elmwood Giants Friday afternoon at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Coach Chris Penner says injuries played a role in the loss, especially the loss of running back

Dylan Pykerman, who's recovering from a concussion.

The Broncos fall to 2-3 on the season.

Their next game is at home next Thursday against St. Norbert.

Red Ink Continues to Grow in Dryden

Looks like Dryden is deeper in the hole than originally thought.

Mayor Craig Nuttall says that the city has 10 million dollars on top of the already 27 million it is in debt.

He says council is taking the issue very seriously, and looking where the city can save.

Nuttall says thanks to two new hockey tournaments coming to the area, the closure of the second ice surface is no longer a consideration.

Save ELA Submits Petitions On Parliament Hill

Over 23 thouand people are demanding that the federal government keep the Experimental Lakes area open.

Petitions to save the research facility east of Kenora were handed to members of parliament yesteday.

Director of the Coalition to Save the ELA Diane Orihel is telling people to speak out by contacting their local member of parliament.

The petition can be found at www.savetheela.org.

MNR Cutting Service At 10 Provincial Parks

Ten provincial parks in northern Ontario with low visitation rates will see staff cuts and have their designation downgraded, which means campers will not be able to access any services.

The only park in this area affected by the downgrade is Caliper Lake south of Nestor Falls.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says the changes will eliminate 28 full-time jobs and 102 seasonal positions, and will save $7.1 million a year.

Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle says the staff cuts and other changes will help the government eliminate a deficit of nearly $15 billion and modernize the way the ministry does business.

Public School Board Enjoys Increased Enrolment

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board claims its the fastest growing school board in the region.

The public school board has released its fall enrolment statistics and it shows an increase of 65 students over last year.

Sean Monteith is a superintendant of education and says the expansion of all day junior and senior kindergarten programs is part of the reason for the higher enrolment.

Monteith says they also have 20 more students at the secondary level this year.

SIU Won't Release Name of Woman Killed in Weekend Accident

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit says it will not be releasing the name of a 42 year old woman involved in a fatal accident at the intersection of the Redditt Road and the Kenora By-Pass this weekend.

The woman was killed while being transported in an OPP cruiser early Sunday morning.

SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon says the family has requested that the victims name not be released at this time.

Hudon adds that a post-mortem exam has been completed at Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but the details of the autopsy are also not being released at this time.

Mining Study Released

A new study says nine new mining projects in Northwestern Ontario are going to generate big bucks, at least 136 billion dollars.

However the study says in order to move ahead as quickly as possible, industry, government and First Nations have to work out their differences

The study also says the nine mines will help to generate over 13 thousand jobs and 16 billion dollars in tax revenue.

The study was headed by Dr. Bahram Dadgostar at Lakehead University who says some of the numbers the study uncovered surprised even him.

Big Trout Lake Man faces Assault Charges

Details are coming to the surface about a kidnapping in Big Trout Lake.

O.P.P. were called on Wednesday after parents apprehended the suspect who had taken their four kids, ages 5 through 8, earlier that day.

Police say two of the kids managed to escape and alert their parents but not before a 6 and an 8 year old were sexually assaulted.

The 33 year man remains in custoday and will appear in a Sioux Lookout court today facing charges of kidnapping, assault, sexual assault and uttering threats.

The children received immediate and on-going medical attention in Big Trout Lake and in Thunder Bay.

Broncos Play Third Game in A Week

Beaver Brae's football team will be going after its third win in a row this afternoon.

But it won't be an easy task.

The Broncos take on the unbeaten Elmwood Giants at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Elmwood is 4-0 on the season, while Beaver Brae has a 2-2 record and is playing its third game in a week.

Kick-off is 3:00 this afternoon.

Broncos Enjoy Home Court Advantage

Beaver Brae's court sport teams enjoyed their first taste of home court advantage.

The Bronco boys volleyball and Girls basketball teams took three of four games from Fort Frances yesterday.

The Beaver Brae senior girls basketball team dropped the Muskies 35-28.

Kaitlyn Sparkman led the way with 9 points.

The Broncos junior girls also won 33-23.

Rylee Smith accounted for almost half of Beaver Brae's points with 16.

The Broncos senior boys swept the Muskies three sets to none, while the junior squad suffered the lone loss of the day, losing 3-0.

Doors Open in Kenora this Weekend

You can walk through Kenora's past this weekend.

Doors Open is being brought back for the first time in four years.

Jim Clarke is one of the organizers and says Doors Open is a celebration of not only some of Kenora's older buildings, but some of our newer ones as well.

This year a total of 17 buildings and two cemeteries are included in Doors Open along with three urban trails as part of the Trails Open celebration.

Doors Open Kenora will take place tomorrow and Saturday.

Saints Clean up in Mountain Bike Races

It was a clean sweep for the Thomas Aquinas Saints in the NorWOSSA Mountain Bike races yesterday at Mount Evergreen.

Connor O'Flaherty placed first in the boys seven kilometer race.

He was followed by Ben Scott in seond and Blaine van der Krabben who finished third overall.

In the cross country races, Daniel Thomson was the top local finisher in the Senior boys division, placing second in the seven kilometer run.

The Saints also did well in the Grade 7 and 8 divisions, with Katie Marcine and Mia Coma finishing second and third respectively in the girls 2.4 k cross country race, while Logan Spencer and Jayme Caron were second and third in the boys division.

Save ELA Petitions to be Presented on Parliament Hill

The battle to save the Experimental Lakes area east of Kenora is heading to Parliament Hill once again today.

A number of petitions will be presented to M.P.'s.

Diane Oriehl heads up the group Save the ELA and says they are trying to protect research that's vital to our eco-system.

People from across Canada and even internationally have signed the petitions.

The ELA is slated to close in March of next year.

OPP Release Results of Satisfaction Survey

The OPP are getting better than passing grades from local residents in the way they police the City of Kenora.

The results of the most recent Community Satisfaction Survey were released yesterday.
Inspector Dave Lucas says the information helps them develop their annual business plan.

Lucas says more than 70 percent of those surveyed felt alcohol and drug abuse were the biggest issues in the community.

In the Town of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls, 61 percent of respondants indicated that break and enters were the biggest issue.

High School Students Get their Netbooks

Highschool students across the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board are now all outfitted with a new computer.

Over the past week, the board has been handing out netbooks for students in grades 9 through to 12.

Technology Teacher Mary Trist says the students seemed to be pretty comfertable with them.

Students in grade 4-8 within the Keewatin Patricia District School board will also be using them.

Northwest Regional Conference Starts today

Northwestern Ontario political and business leaders begin a two day conference in Thunder Bay today.

Ron Nelson, of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, says the regional meeting is a chance to discuss our readiness for the mining boom that's approaching.

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce is co-host of the conference.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield, and councillor's Louis Roussin and Ron Lunny are attending

the Regional Conference. 

Ignace Man Faces Sex Assault Charges

O.P.P. are laying sexual assault charges against an Ignace man after a minor came forward to police.

The 46 year old man was arrested Wednesday after a reported incident on September 19th.

The man remains in custody, charged with sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference.

His name is not being released in order to protect the identity of the victim.

Cigarette Responsible for Salvation Army Fire in Fort Frances

Police say it's most likely a burning cigarette started a fire at the Salvation Army in Fort Frances.

On Monday, police and the fire department responded to the fire at the building on Victoria Avenue, and extinguished the fire involving items left outside of the building.

Police say the fire happened outside of the building in an area between a walkway and a hedge on the North side of the building.

Police say a person of interest was taken into custody, but for an unrelated matter.

There have been no charges laid.

NWOSSA Golf Championships At Beauty Bay

Beauty Bay will be playing host to high school golfers from across northwestern Ontario today.

The NWOSSA championships are on tap, with teams coming from Thunder Bay, the North Shore as well as Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Kenora.

The top three teams from each division has qualified for today's championships.

Beaver Brae placed third in the NorWOSSA finals last week and will be participating along with golfers from Thomas Aquinas.

T.A. automatically qualifies as the host team.

Local High School Teachers Hold Strike Vote Today

Local members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation will be taking a strike vote later today.

Local union president John Dykes says it will likely take a few days to tabulate the results.

Teachers are upset with legislation passed earlier this month by the provincial government which bans strikes and freezes salaries for the next two years.

Earlier this month, local members of the Elementary Teachers Federation also held a strike vote, with 100 percent voting in favour.

Council Says Not to Tax Break on Mill Property

Kenora City Council is turning down a request from Resolute Forest Products, formerly AbitibiBowater to waive the taxes on its property on 9th Street North.

The company argues that some of the buildings left on the old mill site are damaged and are not usable.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they're not buying that argument.

Resolute wanted the taxes waived on the buildings for the 2011 tax year, the last year that it still owned the property.

Council Continues To Debate Future of JM Arena

Plans to turn the Jaffray Melick Arena into an indoor soccer complex is still generating debate at city council.

Yesterday, Councillor Louis Roussin says while he supports the concept,

he's concerned about the price tag attached to the proposal to twin the Rec. Center ice surface.

He says he's seen figures as high as 13 million dollars to build a second rink.

Roussin says if there is no government funding for the project, there's no way the city can afford a second arena.

He suggests it would be cheaper to put an ice plant into the JM Arena.

Northwest OPP Hand out Awards

The Ontario Provincial Police are celebrating their own and regular citizens today in their Northwest Region Awards.

During the fall of last year Daniel Morrison was working with the Ministry of Natural Resources conducting an animal count survey near Armstrong.

Morrison heard his coworkers cried for help and found her being mauled by a bear.

Morrison says he used his hunting knife to fight the bear off.

Morrison as well as Constable Randy Gosse and CO Ross Johnston received the Commissioner's Citation for Bravery and Lifesaving.

Classes Cancelled This Morning at Thomas Aquinas

Students at Thomas Aquinas will get a chance to sleep in today.

Hydro One has a power outage scheduled for the Jaffray Melick area from 9:30 to 12:30 today.

The Kenora Catholic District School Board says due to the outage, classes will be cancelled for the morning.

It adds that the school will be open for anyone arriving by bus today.

Grade 9-12 students are asked to report back to school for 11:25 for period 3 classes this morning, while Grade 7 and 8 students don't have to show up until 12:40.

Thomas Aquinas is the only school affected by today's power outage.

Body of Missing Man Found on Gunn Lake

The OPP's Underwater Search and Rescue Unit says it has recovered the body of a missing Winnipeg man on Gunn Lake, north of Kenora.

24 year old Blaine Letham has been boating with a friend Saturday night when their 14 foot Lund was hit by some large waves.

Both men were thrown into the water, but eyewitnesses managed to rescue one of the men, a 23 year old Winnipeg resident.

The OPP's Marine Unit began its search Sunday, while the OPP divers were brought in yesterday.

A post-mortem exam is being conducted today at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

By-Pass Safety Still a Concern

The safety of the intersections on the Kenora By-Pass are once again under a microscope following a fatal accident over the weekend.

A 42 year old woman was killed while being transported in an OPP cruiser early Sunday morning.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says to his knowlege this is the first fatality at the intersection of the Redditt Road and Highway 17-A, but adds there have been a number of near misses.

In the past, the city has requested that flashing amber light be installed before the stop lights on the By-Pass to alert motorists the lights are about to change to red.

SIU Says Accident Investigation Could Take a Month or More

Its going to take a while before any more details about Sunday's fatal accident is released.

The SIU has begun its investigation of the deadly collision that killed a 42 year old Kenora woman, but a final report could take a month or more.

Monica Hudon is a spokesperson for the SIU and says their reports are very comprehensive and it can take a while to gather all the information they need.

Hudon says on average, they try to complete their investigations within 30 business days.

Northwestern Students Win Bartleman Awards

Four northwestern Ontario aboriginal students have picked up a prestigious literary award.

The Bartleman Award winners were announced today.

Kiara Lynn Bird from Whitefish Bay, Rachel Bluecoat of Fort Severn, Chelsea McKay of Wunnumin Lake and Calista Mawakeesic of Sioux Lookout were four of the six winners.

This year's successful entries include poems that address the damaging effects of bullying, isolation and the legacy of residential schools.

The winners each pick up a cheque for 25 hundred dollars.

Fall Seatbelt Campaign Underway

The Ontario Provincial Police in Northwestern Ontario have launched a Fall seatbelt campaign.

The campaign is underway and concludes October 6th.

Constable Anne McCoy says too many people are still not buckling up.

A fine for non-compliance is $200 and two demerit points.

NDP Holds Health Care Town Halls this Friday

If you have issues with the local health care system, this is your chance to vent.

The NDP will be touring the Kenora-Rainy Riding this Friday gathering feedback from local residents at a series of town hall meetings.

The New Democrat's Health Critic Frances Gelinas will accompany Sarah Campbell at four stops.

They will be getting feedback in Fort Frances, Rainy River, Kenora and Dryden.

The Kenora town hall will take place from 3:30 to 4:30 at the Travelodge this Friday.

MNR Fire Crews Heading West

The Ministry of Natural Resources is sending forest firefighters to Alberta.

Twenty fireRangers, twelve incident commanders and an agency representatives left Ontario yesterday to aid with forest fire suppression efforts in that province.

Four MNR firefighters are also working in Minnesota.

Broncos Win Big in Winnipeg

Beaver Brae's offense has been on fire over the past two games.

Yesterday, the Broncos cruised to a 53-6 win over the St. John's Tigers at the Nomads field in Winnipeg.

Beaver Brae has now scored 97 points in their last two games.

They'll need to continue that trend Friday as the top team in the

Winnipeg High School Football league, the Elmwood Giants come to town.

Elmwood has a perfect 4-0 record, while the Broncos now sit at 2-2.

SIU Investigates By-Pass Fatal

Three investigators from the Ontario Special Investigations Unit are in Kenora looking into the death of a 42 year old woman.

The woman died while being transported in a police cruiser early Sunday morning.

The OPP say that around 2:00 the cruiser collided with a semi-tractor trailor unit at the intersection of the Redditt Road and the Kenora By-Pass.

The two officers in the cruiser were taken to Lake of the Woods District Hospital and later released, while the driver of the transport did not sustain any injuries.

The By-Pass was closed for over 17 hours, while the SIU conducted  it investigation of the crash scene.

Highway 17-A was finally re-opened around 7:15 last night.

OPP Continue Search for Missing Boater

The search will continue this morning for a missing boat on a lake north of Kenora.

The OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit is expected to arrive on the scene today to help locate a 24 year old Winnipeg man.

Police say two men were thrown into Gunn Lake, just south of Minaki Saturday evening around 8:00 after encountering high waves.

Neither man was wearing a life-jacket.

Eyewitnesses were able to rescue a 23 year old man from the lake, but his companion is still missing.

The missing man has been identified as Blaine Letham.

Mental Health Funding Announced

A big boost for mental health services in the Treaty Three area.

Shooniyaa Wa-Biitong has received a 50 thousand dollar grant from the Bell "Lets Talk" Community Fund.

April Medwechuck says they will use the funding to spear a new program to help front-line workers recognize people with mental health issues.

The funding was announced at the 2nd annual baseball tournament put on the Kenora Drug Abuse and Mental Health Task Force on Saturday.

Court Overturns Extradition for Rainy River First Nations Resident

Ontario's top court has ruled a man from Rainy River First Nations facing drug charges in the United States should not be extradited because of his aboriginal status.

Zachary Leonard was arrested with four others in 2006 after trying to cross the border at International Falls in a van containing 46-hundred ecstasy tablets.

After escaping from a Falls halfway house to Canada, an Ontario Superior Court judge committed him for extradition.

But the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the justice minister didn't properly take into account a legal principle that says different considerations must be made when sentencing aboriginal offenders.

The Appeal Court says Leonard could be prosecuted in Canada.

Aboriginal Life Stories Released

A teacher from the Kenora Catholic District School Board has helped launch a new literacy initiative.

Native Language teacher from St. John's Catholic School in Red Lake, Tom Doherty was in Toronto yesterday for the launch of "Books of Life".

The book is an Aboriginal education awarness and initive which tells the life stories of students from diverse school populations.

St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Kenora also participated in the program.

First Ever Sasquatch Bush Crawl this weekend

A unique fundraiser is going to be taking place one week from today.

The 1st ever Sasquatch Bush Crawl will take place on the Mount Evergreen Cross Country Ski Trails.

David White is one of the organizers and says you can walk, run or even crawl along the five kilometer route.

Money raised from the Sasquatch Bush Crawl will go into the endowment fund for the Kenora Association For Community Living.

Kenora Man Prepares for Trip to Ghana

A young Kenora resident is getting ready for a trip of a life time.

Dusty Snyider is planning to embark on a one month humanitarian mission to Ghana in west Africa.

Snyder says he will be working with the AIDS patients in that country.

Snyder will be leaving in November but has to raise six thousand dollars to help pay his way.

Health Unit Issues Ground Beef Warning

A Nation-wide recall has hit the region.

The Northwestern Health Unit is advising that the public to not eat any ground beef with a best before date on or before September 26, due to a possible e-coli contamination.

The contamination happened at the manufacturing plant in Alberta, and has been sent to local grocery stores.

The known affected product has been pulled from shelves, but some of it may have already been sold.

Foul Play Not Suspected in Death of Sioux Lookout Girl

An autopsy has been completed on a 15-year-old Sioux Lookout girl.

The body of Regina Kakekespan was found in a wooded area of Sioux Lookout a week ago.

Provincial Police are saying that foul play is NOT suspected, but the investigation is ongoing.

The cause of death has not been released.

Saints Win KIVT

Thomas Aquinas took top honors at the annual Kenora Invitational Senior Boys Volleyball tournament over the weekend.

The Saints never dropped a set in two days of play, and won the final Saturday afternoon with a straight sets win over Dryden in the final.

Coach Bob Kowal says he was impressed by his teams resiliance.

Beaver Brae bowed out in the play-offs Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the Broncos football team has a short week.

Beaver Brae plays two games in the next five days.

Today the Broncos are in Winnipeg to face the St. John's Tigers.

Kick-off is 5:00 this evening.