Museum Celebrates 50th Anniversary

50 years young.

The Lake of Woods Museum is celebrating the half century mark this year.

Lynn Riddell is the community coordinator and says they have numerous events planned throughout the year, including the "Find 50" competition, which is an historic scavenger hunt.

A kick off event is scheduled for 2:00 on Saturday.

KPDSB Not Happy With Fine From MOE, but Will Pay

The Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says safety was never compromised at the schools in Upsala and Savant Lake.

Sean Monteith is reacting after the Board was fined 15-grand for violations under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Monteith says the government is taking money out of the classroom and is putting right in the pocket of the Ministry of Environment.

Officials say they corrected the problems right away and in one case even notified the province on one of the issues.

City of Kenora Working on Homelessness Plan

The City of Kenora wants to take its work plan on Homelessness a step further.

Council is supporting the hiring of a coordinator for a pilot project.

Louis Roussin is on the city's Homelessness committee and says one of the jobs would be pulling together all the resources available locally.

Roussin says they are working on a proposal for the provincial government to fund the pilot project for two or three years.

Fellowship Center to Expand Housing Options

Teaching independence.

That's what the Kenora fellowship is hoping to do as they continue to prepare the new Room and Boarders Residency Program.

Fundraiser Outreach Coordinator Taylor Hainey says the program will be very educational.

Hainey says the center is looking for donations to purchase equipment like beds, showers, and a washer and dryer.

She notes they hope to have the program operating in a few weeks time.

Toronto Man To Remain In Custody for Kidnapping His Sons

The man arrested in Dryden for allegedly kidnapping his two sons will have his case heard in Alberta.

29-year-old Illhami Butin was stopped Tuesday afternoon by Provincial Police on a Canada-wide warrant.

The man was wanted for abducting his three year old and  four year old sons in Edmonton and attempting to bring them to Toronto.

Butin made a brief court appearance yesterday morning and was told that Edmonton Police would be coming to pick him up.

He will remain in Dryden custody for a maximum of six days as he may be out earlier depending on when the transfer will be completed.

Butin is on orders to not directly or indirectly contact his kids while in custody.

Trans-Canada Closed Between Hadashville and Winnipeg

Despite all the snow yesterday and overnight, there are no road closures or bus cancellations to report so far this morning.

The main highways in the Kenora area are described as snow-covered with visibility ranging from fair to poor.

A different situation this morning in Manitoba, where the Trans-Canada is closed all the way from Hadashville to Winnipeg.

Visibility is described as poor to non-existent in the area.

Otherwise, Highway 1 is described as snow-covered from Falcon Lake to Prawda.

In town, road crews are currently plowing the main arteries, but side streets still have
a lot of loose snow.

Intersections this morning are also starting to get pretty slick so motorists are urged to
slow down while out on the highway and travelling around town this morning.

Youth Charged For Child Pornography

A local youth is facing child pornography charges.

On January 12th police were notified that explicit photographs of a 17 year girl were discovered.

OPP investigated and found that the pictures were electronically distributed by a 16 year boy from Kenora.

As a result the boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with distribution of Child Pornography.

He will answer to the charges in Kenora court later this month.

Supreme Court Rules On Release Residential School Documents

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is pleased the Superior Court has ordered the Federal Government to release documents relating to abuse at a residential school in Fort Albany.

Surviors of that school have called for the documents since they first found out they existed in 2003.

The ruling says the Government of Canada has to produce documents to claimants and survivors and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission relating to a 1990’s criminal investigation into abuse at St. Anne’s Residential School.

The Superior Court hearing took place in December, but the ruling was just released yesterday.

Kenora Skiers Excel at Falcon Lake Biathlon

Good results for Kenora skiers at a Biathlon competition in Falcon Lake over the weekend.

It was a sprint race with two shooting competitions.

Katie Lockhart is competing for a berth at the Canada Winter games and placed second in the junior girls division.

In the girls 11 and 12 age group, Elise Hummelbrunner didn't miss any shots and topped the division, followed by Olivia Ura.

Tim Wehner was first in the Masters men's division, while Elizabeth Hartwick placed third in the Masters women's race.

Osisko Rejects Goldcorp Offer

Osisko is resisting a takeover bid from Goldcorp.

Earlier this week, Goldcorp made an offer of 2.6 billion dollars in cash and stock for Osisko.

Osisko calls the offer very low and opportunistic.

The board of the mining company is urging shareholders to hold off from accepting Goldcorp's
offer until they have a chance to make a recommendation on the proposal.

Another Attempt to Gain UNESCO Designation

Another attempt is going to be made to have a vast area spanning the
border of Ontario and Manitoba declared a UNESCO World Hertiage site.

Pimachiowin Aki is an area of boreal forest that Ontario and Manitoba want
to have recognized by the United Nations.

Last year the World Heritage Committee deferred its decision and now the
Manitoba government says its re-working its application.

The deadline is February 1st, but if they can't make that they will have to
wait until 2016.

KPDSB Looking to Move Board Office in Kenora

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is close to signing a 10-year lease agreement with Seven Generations for the new site for the Board Office in Kenora.

The new office would be more visible and central at the former Lakewood School.

Director of Education Sean Monteith says there are a number of reasons behind the move.

The new lease agreement is pegged around 200-thousand dollars a year, but renovations are expected to be factored into the price.

Monteith says there will be no provincial funding for the move.

Council Concerned With Rising Social Service Costs

Kenora City Council is raising alarm bells about the rising costs of social services.

The city's contribution to the Kenora District Services Board will increase by 1.6 percent this year.

Mayor Dave Canfield says when the government started uploading services again, the cost of the DSAB was supposed to go down, not up.

Canfield says their infrastructure deficit is the result of aging social housing units, and a land ambulance system which has to cover a huge territory.

Rabbit Lake Possible Venue For National Rowing Competition

Kenora is hoping to play a key role in the 2017 Canada Summer Games.

Winnipeg will be hosting the games, but Kenora has been approached about being a venue for the rowing competition.

Property and Planning Manager Charlotte Caron says Rabbit Lake is an ideal location
for the rowing events.

Mayor Dave Canfield says the city had a chance to be the rowing venue for the 1999 Pan/Am games,
but the decision was made to go with Minnedosa instead.

Toronto Man Arrested In Dryden For Kidnapping Sons

A Toronto man who allegedly kidnapped his 3-year-old and 4-year-old sons from Alberta has been arrested in Dryden.

The Edmonton Police Service alerted Ontario Provincial Police and the man was spotted driving through Dryden around 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.

Police arrested 29-year-old Ilhami Butin.

Butin faces 2-counts of child abduction, 2-counts of kidnapping and 1-count of uttering threats.

He remains in custody and is due in court today.

The two young boys were unharmed.

NAPS Seizes Illegal Firearms

The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service has seized prohibited weapons from a northern first nations home.

Officers searched a Mattagami First Nation residence last Friday and found two sawed-off rifles, one sawed-off shotgun and several types of ammunition.

Police are still investigating and more information will be released once charges have been laid.

Carnival Snow Sculpture Contest Launched

A chance to be an Olympian.

The theme for this years snow sculpture competition is the Olympics.

Crystal Stokes is the Special Events Coordinator and says the event will get underway next month.

Registration forms can be found around town and are being accepted until February 3rd.

Plane Crash Survivor Files Lawsuit

The sole survivor of a plane that went down at North Spirit Lake is suing the airline and the estate of the dead pilot, claiming negligence.

Brian Shead has filed the lawsuit in Winnipeg court.

Three passengers and the pilot were killed in the January, 2012 crash.

A Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded poor weather, ice on the wings and the pilot’s inexperience landing in icy conditions contributed to the deadly crash.

The lawsuit also alleges that Keystone Air Service was negligent because it failed to provide proper training to the pilot, didn't provide a plane that could handle the winter weather and applied pressure to its pilots to complete flights in adverse weather conditions.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Shead is also seeking undetermined out-of-pocket expenses, as well as compensation for loss of income,
belongings that were destroyed in the crash and damages for future costs of care.

NOSM Hosts European Dignitaries

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is hosting an international recruitment conference tomorrow.

Dean Dr. Roger Strasser says northern European countries are coming to Thunder Bay to learn how to attract health care professionals to under serviced areas.

Strasser says later in the afternoon they'll listen to the delegates from the European nations on what they're doing to attract Doctors.

Resolute Set For Paper Machine Shutdown

The last operating paper machine at Resolute Forest Products mill in Fort Frances will go silent at the end of the month.

The company says paper machine number 5 will stop running January 31st because of poor market conditions.

Spokesperson Xavier Van Chau says it's not certain when or if the machine will run again.

About 150 employees will be impacted, leaving about 60 other workers to manage operations afterwards.

OPP Offer Ice Hut Drinking Reminder

Provincial Police are reminding folks that it's illegal to drink booze in an ice shack.

Police say they know it's happening and add they have received several complaints.

Constable Erin Huckell says their main concern is drinking and driving.

Anyone caught drinking alcohol in an ice hut could be hit with a fine.

Huckell says officers will be patrolling area ice roads.

Council Enters Final Year of Four Year Term

It's the beginning of the end for Kenora City Council.

This edition of council begins it's fourth and final year of the
current term today.

The first committee of the whole meeting of 2014 is just getting
underway.

A new council will be elected in October.

So far, only one person has entered the council race.

Kelvin Chicago-Boucher, who ran in the last federal election as an independent, filed his nomination papers last week.

CUPE Challenges School Board to Accept Contract

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is calling on opposition parties at Queen's Park to reject new legislation being fast-tracked by the provincial government.

Fred Hahn is president of CUPE Ontario and says Bill 122 would allow the government to collectively bargain for all school boards across the province.

Hahn says the government still hasn't honored legislation it drafted last year dealing with school support workers.

Hahn says the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is one of 12 across the province that hasn't signed onto a collective agreement reached last year with CUPE.

BIZ Bullish On Shop Local Campaign

A shop local campaign launched just before Christmas seems to have paid dividends for local business.

The Harbortown Business Improvement Zone says it's pleased with it's
Black Friday promotion.

Mort Goss is chair of BIZ and says they'd like to carry out similar campaigns during special events in 2014.

Goss says they are looking at tax free shopping events attached to events
like the Winter Carnival, Canada Day and Harborfest.

Northwestern Ontario Skater Heading to Olympics

Balmertown's Eric Radford is headed to the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Radford, who trained briefly in Kenora and his partner Meagan Duhamel have been named to the Canadian Figure Skating team.

The pair defended their title and won the pairs competition at the Canadian nationals over the weekend in Ottawa.

Radford says it's a dream come true.

The pairs short program is set for February 11th, with the free skate taking place the next day.

OPP Investigate Break and Enters

The Kenora OPP are investigating 2 break and enters in the city.

Police say both incidents occurred yesterday morning.

The first incident occurred Sunday morning around 9:00 in a garage in the Lakeside area.

Some small items were taken from the garage and the vehicle located inside.

About 2 hours alter police responded to an office building on Main Street.

The suspects in that incident made off with a digital camera.

Anyone with information is asked to call the OPP 807-548-4004 or Crimestoppers 888-222-8477.

KPDSB Fined $12,000

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has been hit with a hefty fine for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The public school board has been fined $12,000 for drinking water issues at the schools in Upsala and Savant Lake.

The Ministry of the Environment says the school board failed to ensure water treatment equipment was used when water was being supplied to the school in Upsala.

The board also was cited for failing to ensure the drinking water system was operated by trained, certified personnel.

In Savant Lake the MOE says the school board failed to immediately report an adverse water test.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has been given 30 days to pay the fines, which includes a three thousand dollar victim surcharge fee.

MNR Issue Large Fine at Local Lodge

11-people have pleaded guilty to a total of 68-charges and fined $72,500 for offences that took place at Andy Myers Lodge, on Eagle Lake, west of Dryden.

The charges stem from a two-year convert investigation in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, United States Fish and Wildlife Services, the departments of Natural Resources for Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Minnesota as well as the New Zealand Commission of Wildlife.

Conservation officers discovered that Steve Herbeck, a former owner and operator of Andy Myers, and his staff encouraged clients to hunt wolves without a licence.

Court heard that staff then used their own resident licences to validate the wolf or arranged for guests to buy licences afterward.

He also allowed guests to fish without a licence and use more than the allowable amount of fishing rods.

Herbeck was fined $7,500 and his business was fined $27,000 for 22-offences.
He's not allowed to hunt in Ontario for ten years.

Six lodge employees have also been fined.

Danny Herbeck and Chris Federman were fined $7,000 each and can't hunt for the next four and eight years respectively.

The other employees charged were Andy Bouchard of Waldhof, Calum Rutchie of Waldhof, Tammy Pelletier of Waldhof and Scott Munford of Vermilion Bay.

Three lodge guests from Wisconsin, New York and New Zealand were also charged for various offences. (George Lindsay, Travis Runde and Don Rabideau Jr.)

Kenora Rinks Heading Provincial Bantam Championships

A Kenora boys curling team has earned a berth to the Tim Horton's Ontario Bantam championships in Sault Ste. Marie.

The Jarron Hoppe foursome was one of two teams added to the provincials championships taking place at the end of this month.

Hoppe beat Jory King from Sioux Lookout 10-3 in the final of three games played in Stratton over the weekend.

The teams split their first two games against each
other, with Hoppe taking the third and deciding  game.

Downtown Businesses Complain About Snow Removal

Some business owners in Kenora are complaining about the size of snow banks in the downtown area.

The issue of snow removal came up at the Kenora Business Improvement Zone meeting this week.

Some businesses on Second Street South say it takes far too long for the snow banks to be removed.

While snow removal has been fairly timely on Main Street, other areas tend to lag behind.

A city spokesperson says with all the snow this year, it's been difficult to do very much snow removal.

Most of the city resources these days have been put towards plowing city streets, and road crews can
only get to the snow banks, once all the roads are cleared.

Health Unit Launches Choose Wise

A new way to pick where to eat in Northwestern Ontario.

Public Health Inspector with the Northwestern Health Unit Stephanie Snow says they have launched the ChooseWise website.

Snow says it allows people to easily find food inspection reports.

She notes the reports include a list of all infractions and corrections.

Cisit the site at http://choosewise.nwhu.on.ca/

Goldcorp to Acquire Osisko

Mining company Goldcorp is making an offer to purchase Osisko Mining.

The deal is reported to be worth two-point-6 million dollars in cash and stock.

Osisko is currently working on a mining project in the Atikokan area.

Hospital Monitoring Flu Season

There is still time to get your flu shot.

That's the message from Lake of the Woods District Hospital CEO Mark Balcaen.

Balcaen says so far it's has been a normal flu season in Kenora.

However he does note the outbreak in Thunder Bay which could have an impact here at home.

So far at least five people have died as a result complications of H1N1.

Event Center Committee Draft Report To Be Unveiled This Month

Plans for the future development of the Kenora Rec. Center will be unveiled later this month.

The Event Center Committee is expected to make it's final report to city council at it's open meeting on January 21st.

The Committee has been given the task of coming up with a concept for the expansion of the Rec. Center.

That's expected to include plans to twin the rink as well as some sort of a performing arts
center.

Councillor Ron Lunny says once the report is tabled to council, there will be a public meeting to get input on the proposal.

He says the expansion of the Rec. Center could cost about 20 million dollars.

Winter Tourism Marketing Campaign Being Launched

Now that the weather is starting to warm up a little, there's a new tourism marketing campaign trying to entice visitors to northwestern Ontario.

Heather Gropp is Kenora's Tourism Development Officer and says they will be featuring a number of communities in the Escape to Ontario ad campaign.

Gropp says each community will get to feature three winter events in the campaign.

She says they will be mainly targeting the southern Manitoba and Winnipeg markets.

Northwest Student Services Consortium Gathering Winter Road Feedback

The Northwest Student Services Consortium wants to hear from you.

Recently the consortium has been receiving lots of feedback about area highways.

General Manager Judi Green says they hope more people will send feedback, both good and bad.

Green notes they will bring the feedback to the Ministry of Transportation to help track local conditions.

Blood Donor Clinic Starts Today

The Canadian Blood Services is back in Kenora today.

Spokesperson Colleen Hrabi says they are looking for a lot of donations.

She says there is the need for more blood, because they had to cancel a number of clinics earlier this month due to frigid weather conditions.

The clinic in Kenora is in the Thomas Aquinas gym starting at 4:00 this afternoon and
will run until 9:00

The clinic will go again tomorrow morning from 9:30 to 12:30

Atom Canucks Win C-Side in Minnesota Tourney

Some hardware for the Lake of the Woods Atom Canucks girls hockey team.

The Canucks were in Bemidji for a 10 and Under tournament.

The local atom squad took the c-side championship by beating Bemidji
4-1 on Sunday.

Senior Thistles Win Season Opener

A great start to the season for the Kenora Triple A Thistles.

Saturday night the Thistles skated to a 7-4 victory of the Manito
ba Pirates.

Coach Brian Olson says the team came together after a sloppy start.

Leading the way for Kenora was Matt Miller and Kyle Turgeon who each scored a pair of goals.

The next game for the senior team is January 25th against the Lac Du Bonnet Blues.

Midget Thistle Split Again

Another split for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles.

After dropping a 4-1 decision to the Yellowhead Chief Saturday night
in Neepawa, the Thistles bounced back yesterday with a 3-1 win over
over the Pembina Valley Hawks in Morden.

Tristan Salesse led the team in scoring with a goal and an assist.

Salesse also had the lone goal for the Thistles in Saturday night's game.

Saints Senior Girls Win Winter Blast Tournament

A golden weekend for the Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team.

The Saints went through the annual Kenora Invitational Winter Blast tournament without dropping a set.

After beating Dryden in the semi-finals Saturday afternoon, the T.A. played St. Ignatius from Thunder Bay in the tournament final.

The Saints also won that game in two straight sets to claim first.

Winter Bites To Promote Local Eateries

Winter Bites.

That not only sums up the frigid weather of late, but also is the name of
a new promotion in Kenora next month.

Heather Gropp is Kenora's Tourism Development Officer and says a total of
10 restaurants have agreed to participate in the culinary event.

Gropp says each restaurant will be providing a three course meal for a
set price of 25 dollars starting February 1st.

Man Sentenced in Mandamin's Death

One of the men arrested for the death of Eli Mandamin Jr has been sentenced to 4 years in Jail.

Raymond Baker was sentenced this week for his involvement in the death of the man from Shoal Lake #39.

Baker, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, could be released in just over 2 years due to time already served.

Mandamin Jr, who is the son of chief Eli Mandamin, was killed in an altercation outside the Canad Inns Polo Park hotel in Winnipeg in February of 2012.

The case of the other man facing charges for stabbing Mandamin in the altercation is still in the court system.

STR Starting to Open Snowmobile Trails

Snowmobilers can now hit trails operated by Sunset Trail Riders.

President Richard Wilkening says 4 trails have been opened for the season.

Wilkening says more should be opened this weekend.

He notes that more volunteers are needed to open the remaining trails sooner rather then later.

visit www.sunsettrailriders.ca/trails/ for a full report on trail conditions.

Kindergarten Registration Now Open

Full-day kindergarten registration is now underway.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is encouraging folks to take advantage of Kindergarten Registration Week from January 27th to January 31st.

However, parents can register their kids at any time.

The program for four and five year-old children will be offered at all elementary schools in the area this year.

The Ministry of Education says families can save up to 65-hundred dollars per year in child care costs by enrolling their child in full-day kindergarten.

Big Trout Lake Opposes MNR Moose Survey

The chief of a remote First Nation says the province needs its permission to do an aerial moose survey.

Big Trout Lake First Nation
Chief Donny Morris says he opposes a survey the Ministry of Natural Resources expects to conduct around K-I this weekend, including on the community's traditional territory.

Morris says he doesn't trust how the MNR will use the results.

He fears the government will use the survey to inform residents that there's not enough moose to hunt.

Influenza Death Toll Rises In Thunder Bay

The death toll from the H1N1 virus continues to climb in the Thunder Bay District.

As many as five people have died in the influenza outbreak.

Diana Gowanlock of the Thunder Bay Health Unit says four of the flu deaths were adults under the age of 65 and one was a senior citizen.  

She says the number of confirmed cases in the district is now up to 81 and Gowanlock believes we have peaked.

The Health Unit says it's not possible to know exactly how many cases there are in the district since most people don't report when they have the flu

Funeral Services for Couchiching Chief Tomorrow

Some high profile people will be attending the funeral for Couchiching First Nations Chief Chuck McPherson.

The funeral is being held Saturday at the Couchiching First Nations Arena.

Ontario's Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Zimmer and Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy will be present.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, though won't be in attendance.

McPherson's death, meantime, has prompted a delay in the band's nomination meeting for this year's elections.

A notice issued by the band's electoral officer says it will now take place January 23rd.

Elections for the chief and six councillor positions are slated for March 6th.

Broncos Bounced in Fort Frances

A tough road trip for Beaver Brae's court sport teams.

The Broncos were swept by the Muskies yesterday in NorWOSSA double
A action.

The Beaver Brae junior girls took the Muskies to five games, but lost three
sets to two, while the Bronco seniors were swept in three straight.

In boys basketball, the Beaver Brae junior team was edged 43-39, while
the Bronco senior squad was downed 61-37.

Saints Dominate Owls At Home

It was a good day on the court for T.A. boys basketball and
girls volleyball teams.

The Saints senior boys beat the Rainy River Owls 42-31 yesterday afternoon.

That followed up on a straight sets win by the Saints senior girls volleyball
team.

The T.A. junior girls were also victorious, winning three sets to one.