Relay for Life Tonight

One of the biggest fundraisers for the Canadian Cancer Society takes place this evening.

Relay for Life takes center stage at Lakewood School.

Organizer Danielle LaJeunesse says the relay has 3 main messages.

LaJeunesse says anyone can come down to offer their support.

All donations raised during the relay will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Concerns Raised Over Flying Lanterns

They are pretty, but also pose a potential fire hazard.

Flying lanterns have become a big concern for the Lake of the Woods
District Property Owners Association.

Executive Director Susan McLeod says they are working to control how many lanterns make their way into the air.

McLeod says if the lanterns fall into a dry tree it's like lighting a giant candle in the forest.

Municipal Paving Tender Approved

The city will be spendng just over 836 thousand dollars on the municipal paving budget this year.

Council approved the low bid from Moncreif Construction at a special meeting yesterday.

Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says there several componants to the paving contract, including the resurfacing a half-kilometer section of Valley Drive.

Perchuck says he wanted the paving tender awarded as soon as possible so the work would be complete prior to the beginning of the new school year.

School Board Provides Update on Valleyview

Work to expand Valleyview School will be starting soon.

Sean Monteith is the Director of Education at the Keewatin Patricia District School Board and says they are are almost ready to select a tender for the project.

Monteith says in case the construction is not completed by the start of the school year that they still have the capacity to handle the influx of students.

Monteith adds that with three additional kindergarten programs at Valleyview, including a french immersion
class, the school is getting close to capacity.

Cliffs Defends Decision to Delay Ring of Fire Project

Cliffs Natural Resources says it still plans to stay in the Ring of Fire chromite project.

Spokesperson Bill Boor says the company decision to put the project on hold is necessary because of government and court delays in the environmental assessment process.

Boor can't say if the move will end up delaying the start up of the mine

Boor says he can't see any reason the issues can't be resolved quickly.

Elementary Teachers Agree to Deal with the Province

The union representing public elementary teachers has reached a tentative agreement with the government that freezes wages, but guarantees a two per cent raise starting next year.
   
Members of the Elementary Teachers' Federation are paid two per cent less than teachers in the French and Roman Catholic school systems.
   
Education Minister Liz Sandals says that situation that will be fixed before the next round of bargaining.
   
The extra money for the 76 thousand public elementary teachers will cost the province 112 million dollars a year on top of whatever
raises the union negotiates next time.

Museum Book Launch Tonight

The seasons of Kenora have been turned into poetry.

Diane Clarke is set to launch her new book of poems called Lake of the Woods Seasons.

Clarke says she is inspired directly by the area we live in.

The book launch takes place tonight at the
Lake of the Woods Museum.

Missing Woman Found Safe

A missing woman from Winnipeg has been located by Police in Kenora.

Police say that 26 year old Jade Kolba, who had gone missing yesterday morning, was safely located this afternoon.

The Kenora OPP are thanking the public for helping them locate Kolba.

OPP Searching for Missing Woman

Provincial Police are looking for assistance in locating a woman who has gone missing from Kenora.

OPP say 26 year Jade Kolba from Winnipeg was last seen at the Main Street Dock yesterday morning around 8:30.

Kolba is 5 foot 5, 130 pounds with blonde hair.

She was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black denim shorts and has 2 duffel bags.

Anyone with information is asked for contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or 548-5534.

Union Concerned About Cuts to Treaty Three Police Officers

More cutbacks for the Treaty Three Police Service.

Local Spokesperson with the Public Service Alliance of Canada Judith Monteith-Farrell says the aboriginal police service has announced a massive rollback in salaries, benefits, and hours.

Treaty Three Police Service is making the drastic cuts as a way to save the service, which has seen it funding reduced by the Federal government.

First Nation Chiefs are meeting on Monday to discuss how to proceed with the police service.

KPDSB Looking at Reduced Enrollment in the Fall

Enrollment continues to decline at the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

As part of its 2013/2014, budget package, there was enrollment projections for the next school year.

The public school board estimates overall student numbers will drop by about 100.

Director of Education Sean Monteith says there is some good news at the Kindergarten level, where they are seeing a big influx of students.

The largest drop will be felt at the secondary level, where enrollment is forecast to drop by 86 students next year.

Elementary numbers are expected to drop by just 20 students.

Campbell Happy With Passage of Provincial Budget

No real complaints from Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell on the approval of the Provincial Budget.

Campbell says she's pleased the NDP have promised to support the minority Liberals, adding it wouldn't have made sense to go to the polls this summer.

Campbell says she's happy there will be an Accountability Officer who will oversee spending by the parties.

She says other highlights for her are the changes in wait times for home care and a 15-percent cut in auto insurance premiums.

Gravelle Not Worried About Cliffs Commitment to Ring of Fire

Ontario's Minister responsible for mining isn't overly concerned that Cliffs Natural Resources is temporarily suspending its environmental assessment activities in the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario.

Michael Gravelle says these sort of challenges aren't unusual in a major project like this one.

The mining company says delays and uncertainty of land rights forced them to suspend their environnmental assessments.

Gravelle says talks will continue between the mining company and the Ontario government.

Sobey's Buying Safeway Stores

Canada's second-biggest supermarket chain is getting bigger.

Sobeys, which is based in Nova Scotia, is acquiring the Canadian assets of Safeway for 5.8-billion dollars.
   
Safeway has more than 200 stores between Thunder Bay and the Pacific coast.

Sobeys, which owns or franchises more than 13-hundred stores across Canada, says it has not yet decided if it will keep the Safeway name.

Big Trout Lake Woman Arrested

Some missing money has landed a Big Trout Lake women in some trouble with the law.

Provincial Police say a package containing a large amount of cash was sent to the community, but not all of it was there.

Police say 21-year-old Kaitlyn Sakakeep is charged with theft under 5-thousand-dollars and breach of trust.

Share the Road Bike Ride this Weekend

Its becoming an annual event.

The 2nd Share the Road Fathers Day Bike Ride is hitting the road this Saturday.

Maria Bagdonis with Young Drivers says they are holding the event again after the very positive support they received last year.

Bagdonis says the bike ride helps promote road safety.

Intermediate Track Results

Another track and field season is in the books.

Yesterday, grade seven and eight students took to the field at Thomas
Aquinas for the final day of the annual Elementary school track meet.

12 year old Jared Neniska had an impressive showing picking up first place medals for shot put, long jump, the 100 meter hurdles and the 100 meter dash.

Sarah Frankcom topped the field in the 12 year old girls 800 meter and 15 hundred
meter races, while Antwan Fair was tops in the 13 year old boys 800 and 400 meter races.

Logan Spencer was also a multiple winner taking the 12 year old boys 800 meter and 15 hundred
meter races.

Johnny Houldon was first in the long jump and 200 meter racem while
12 year old Kaitie Marcine won the girls 800 and 400 meter races.

Public School Board Approves Budget

A good news financial report for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Last night the school board voted to pass the 2013/2014 budget.

The budget has a surplus over 6 thousand dollars.

However Superintendent of Business Dean Carrie says the money is going to some basic costs including some capital projects at Valleyview, Beaver Brae, Dryden High and Red Lake High School.

Total spending will be about 83.5 million dollars next year, down about 1.7 million dollars from
this year.

Feedback Encouraged by Event Center Committee

Our survey says!

Kenora's Event Center Committee continues to gather feedback from the public about what they'd like to seen in any potential expansion of
the Kenora Rec. Center.

Chris Van Wallenghem is co-chair of the Committee and says they are encourging local residents to fill out an on-line survey.

The survey can be found on the city's web portal at Kenora.ca

Van Wallenghem says once they compile the information from the survey,
they will be presenting it to city council in July.

Mixed Views on Passage of Provincial Budget

The PC Candidate for Kenora-Rainy River Riding is disappointed with the NDP's decision to support the Liberal's budget.

Randy Nickle says it's like the NDP just wanted to get it over with.

Nickle says there's really nothing special that's being provided for Northwestern Ontario.

However,  Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle is happy to see the budget passed, since several initiatives in the fiscal document will help northerners.

The budget passed by a vote of 64 to 36 yesterday.

Cliffs Suspending Ring of Fire Project

Cliffs Natural Resources is temporarily suspending its environmental assessment activities for the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario.

The company is citing a number of delays and uncertainty including provincial and federal environmental assessments as well as unresolved issues related to land surface rights.

Cliffs also cites ``unfinished agreements with the Government of Ontario that are critical to the project's economic viability.''

The company says it will continue to work with the provincial government and First Nations communities in an attempt to restart the work.

Junior Track and Field Results

Some impressive results at the Junior track and field meet at T.A. field yesterday.

There were a number of multiple gold medalists.

11 year old Jacob Frankham was tops in the 400 and 200 meter races, and third in the 60 meter dash.

Alyssa Turcotte won the 10 year old girls 60 meter and 200 meter races and the long jump, while nine year old Jason Debbo was top in the 60 meter dash, the 200 meter and the 800 meter races.

Xavier Wickham, 11,  placed first in the high jump and also topped the field in the 60 meter
dash and was second in the 200 meter race.

Today the Intermediate Track and Field meet takes place at Thomas Aquinas.

Two Arrested in Downtown Drug Bust

A couple of people have been arrested as a result of a drug bust in downtown Kenora.

The OPP say the Emergency Response Team and Aboriginal Intelligence Unit helped execute a search warrant on an apartment on 1st Street South.

Police say they seized a number of prescription pills, including hydromorphone capsules and morphine, as well as 54 marijuana cigarettes and three codeine pills.

About 15 hundred dollars in cash was also seized.

42 year old Dax Davies and 32 year old Shanalee Paulson face charges of trafficking and
proceeds of crime.

They are due to appear in Kenora Court on August 1st.

Trustees Say Goodbye to Lakewood Tonight

The end is drawing near for Lakewood School.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board will be closing the elementary school at the end of this academic year.

Lynn McAughey is principal at Lakewood and says they are inviting parents, students and past students to the School for a special celebration next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, trustees from the public school board will get to say their goodbyes tonight.

The monthly open meeting of the board will take place at Lakewood starting at 7:00 this evening.

Plane Crashes Near Lac du Bonnet

Two men have been taken to hospital after their small plane crash landed in eastern Manitoba.
 
 A rescue official says the Cessna took off from a private airstrip near Lac du Bonnet around 9:00 this morning, then had mechanical problems.
 
The plane tried to go back but was forced to make a hard landing.
 
The pilot and passenger were pulled from the aircraft with
unspecified injuries.

Roof Repairs at City Hall Begin

Kenora City Hall is about to get a makeover.

Scaffolding is starting to go up at the heritage building on
Main Street South.

Earlier this spring, council agreed to spend over half a million
dollars to replace the roof of the century old structure.

Empire Restoration from Ottawa will be doing the work over the
next couple of months.

Hospital Joining MediTech Network

Lake of the Woods District Hospital will soon be less isolated from other hospitals in the region.

The hospital has just joined up with the MediTech Network.

Hospital vice-president, Cindy Gasperini says there's a number of benefits of being able to share patient information with other hospitals.

Gasperini says initially the MediTech system will just include patient
records and billing information.

It will later be expanded to include lab test results and pharmacy

Hospital Pleased With Results of Patient Surveys

No-one likes going to hospital, but patients who have to be admitted to
Lake of the Woods District Hospital have good things to say about their
experience.

A recent patient satisfaction survey show that 94 percent of patients
rated their experience as good.

97 percent also said they would feel comfortable returning.

And 97 percent also said they would recommend the hospital to a family
member or friend.

Chief executive officer Marc Belcaen says this was the highest number of
returned surveys they had and are pretty pleased with the results.

Rain Helps Put a Damper on Forest Fires

Despite recent rains, the forest fire situation remains a big concern in the Northwest.

Debbie McLean with the Ministry of Natural Resources says it has been a busy start to the season with 139 forest fires so far this season.

To date over 38-hundred hectares of forest has been burnt this season.

McLean says the recent rain fall has helped lower the fire hazard but has created a number of lightning caused fires.

Another Boating Fatality in Northwestern Ontario

For the third time in less than a week, someone has been killed in a boating accident in northwestern Ontario.

The OPP say they responded to a call on Manion Lake, northwest of Atikokan, after learning that three men from Minnesota were thrown out of their boat.

A group of fishermen found the men in the water and they were taken to shore.

However Provincial Police confirm that 64-year-old Douglas Davis from North Mankato was pronounced dead at the scene.

Inquest Almost Ready to Get Underway

Anyone who wants to take part in the inquest into the tragic deaths of seven
First Nations teens in Thunder Bay will get a chance to state their case today.  

Regional Coroner Dr. Michael  Wilson says only those with an direct interest in the outcome will be given standing at the upcoming inquest.

Today's hearing takes place at the provincial government building in Thunder Bay.

Air Show Essay Contest for Students

Soaring to new heights.

A couple of local students will get a chance to win a ride on a
stunt plane at the upcoming Kenora Airshow.

Barb Manson is one of the organizers and says Super Dave, one of their
featured pilots has volunteered to take two kids for a ride.

Local students have until June 15th to write a 500 word essay outlining
why they want to go flying with Super Dave.

Elementary Track and Field Today at T.A.

It looks like Mother Nature is co-operating for today's elementary school track and field meet.

This year, the racing, jumping and throwing competitions is taking place up at Thomas Aquinas School.

About 300 grade four, five and six students are competing in a number of different events today, including
high jump, long jump, 60, 200, 400 and 800 meter races.

Today, the junior aged students will take center stage, while tomorrow it will be the intermediate aged students turn.

Hospital Achieves Accreditation

Some recognition for Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

It has rececieved a commendation from Accreditation Canada.

Marc Belcaen is the Chief Executive officer of the Hospital and says
its a long process to be accredited, but well worth the effort.

Belcaen says the hospital will continue to work on the few areas that they fell short in the accreditation process.

Local Nursing Students Set to Graduate in the New Year

Local hospitals should have their pick of new nurses come the new year.

The next graduating class of the Bachelor of Nursing program offered
through Lakehead University and Confederation College will complete their studies in February of 2014.

Laura Christie is with Con College in Kenora and says that good news for local health care facilities.

The next RN course offered through Con College will start up in the fall, with a minimum of 24 nursing students expected to enroll.

Water Levels Easing On Lake of the Woods

Water levels on Lake of the Woods are starting to stabilize.

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says the lake went up four inches
in the past week.

That's slightly lower than we've seen over the past couple of weeks.

The Control Board says outflow from the Norman Dam has more than tripled
since the middle of May due to all the rainfall seen in the basin.

Anyone with concerns about water levels is invited to attend an open house
being staged by the Control Board on Tuesday night at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Staffing Levels Improve At Local ER

Things are starting to look up for the Emergency Department at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Chief of Medical Staff, Dr. Kerry McDonald expects that by the summer, all available shifts in the ER will be staffed local physicians.

That means locums will not be needed to help keep the emergency room
operating.

McDonald adds that it will also be a substantial saving to the provincial health care system.

He adds that it provides some continuity of care, as the doctors will become
more familiar with the patients that frequent the ER.

Busy Weekend for MNR Fire Crews

It was a busy weekend for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews.

28-new forest fires were reported over the weekend in northwestern Ontario.

Most of the fires were in the Sioux Lookout, Nipigon and Thunder Bay districts.

An aggressive air attack with water bombers was needed on most of the fires.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is paying close attention to a lightning-cased fire fire about 35-kilometres east of Summer Beaver.

The blaze is 15-hundred hecatares and is burning near several cabins in the area.

Fisher Qualifies for Ironman

Edie Fisher will be off to the World Ironman competition in Hawaii this fall.

Fisher qualified for the event by winning her age group at the Eagleman
70.3 Triathlon in Maryland.

Fisher placed first in the 55-59 division and will head to Kona, Hawaii in
October for her 4th Ironman.

Local Schools Achieve "Eco" Certification

Another environmental pat on the back for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Five schools in the District have received Ontario EcoSchools certification for environmental practices.

Board Spokesperson Kathy Boone feels they have become an environmental leader.

Beaver Brae, Lakewood, Dryden High School and the Golden Learning Centre received the EcoSchool certification.

Ornge Funerals Held

Funeral services were held in Kapuskasing over the weekend for an Ornge paramedic killed a week ago in an air ambulance crash in northeastern Ontario.
   
Dustin Dagenais was one of two paramedics and two pilots who died when the helicopter went down minutes after taking off from Moosonee.
 
The other paramedic, Chris Snowball,was remembered Friday
at funeral services in Burlington.
   
A memorial service for all four victims will be held in Toronto on June 18th.

Hard Rock Medical Debuts

A television series based on the Northern Ontario Medical School has debuted on TV Ontario.

The premiere episode of Hard Rock Medical was broadcast last night.

Actress Tamara Duarte, who play Gina Russo, a first year med student, feels its a good portrayal of the medical challenges facing the north.

Hard Rock Medical is the first ever scripted drama produced by TV Ontario.

Local High School Soccer Teams Return from OFSAA

Local high school soccer teams had one their best showing at the All-Ontario Championshiops, but still came home empty handed.

The Thomas Aquinas boys lost in the quarter-finals 1-0 to Ridley College of St. Catherines.

Ridley was the eventual silver medalist at the OFSAA single A championships.

Meanwhile, the T.A. girls were beaten 6-0 by the top team in the OFSAA Girls finals in the quarter-finals.

Villanova went on to win gold.

Beaver Brae's girls fells just short of the play-offs, finishing the round-robin in a two way tie for
second in their pool.

But because of goal differential, they were eliminated from the medal round.

Missing Minnesota Man Found in Quetico

Provincial Police have found the body of a missing Minnesota man in Basswood Lake within Quetico Provincial Park.

The remains of 78-year-old Richard Barber were found yesterday by OPP and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Richard and his wife Elaine were in the boundary of the park for a canoe trip when their canoe capsized.

Rescue crews were able to locate Elaine and return her safely to Atikokan.

Hospital Reports Small Deficit

Red ink for Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The hospitals financial year end financial statements were released last
night at the Annual General Meeting and its shows a deficit in 2012-2013 of 135 thousand dollars.

Cindy Gasparini is the hospital's chief financial officer and says that's
actually good news because initially they had projected a deficit of over
half a million dollars.

Gasparini their their budget was actually flat-lined by the province last
year, and revenues shrunk by 0.3 percent compared to the year before.

Richardson Returns as Hospital Chair

No change at the top at the Lake of the Woods Hospital Board.

Fred Richardson was acclaimed as chair of the board for the third
year in a row at last night's annual general meeting.

Richardson says under the hospital board's new by-laws, this will be
his final term.

He is only allowed to serve three consecutive years as chairman.

Dorothy Monteith has also been returned at vice-chair.

She was also acclaimed to the position.

Council Members Return from FCM

Two members of Kenora City council are back in town after a road trip to the west coast.

Mayor Dave Canfield and councilor Ron Lunny attended the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Vancouver.

Canfield says its important to attend these conventions because often
important policy decision are being made.

Canfield says they were able to bring back good information that may be
valuable for the city in the months and years ahead.

Bus Drivers Busy this PD Day

Today might be a PD day for students, but school bus drivers will be on duty anyway.

The Northwest Student Services Consortium is getting ready for the fall.

General Manager Judi Green says because Lakewood School is closing they have to test out new bus routes.

Green says the tests are to solve any problems relating to routing, timings, bus numbers.

High School Soccer Teams Still In Contention at OFSAA

The Round robin portion of the schedule at the All-Ontario Soccer Championships wraps up today.

All three Kenora High school teams have a shot at making the play-offs,
although only Beaver Brae's girls team managed a win yesterday.

The Broncos shutout Jean Vanier from Collingwood 1-0.

This morning Beaver Brae is back in action at 8:30 against a team from
Ottawa.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas girls have managed two points after tying
both their games yesterday.

The Saints play their next game at 8:00 against Stayner Collegiate.

The Thomas Aquinas boys will need to win both their games today to have
any chance of moving onto the play-offs.

T.A. managed just one tie yesterday.

This morning the Saints Boys play their third round robin game at 8:30 against
Waterford High School.