Roller Derby League Looking to Expand

Looking to expand the Kenora Roller Derby League.

That is the goal on Thursday according to Spokesperson Bayley Zilinski when the league hosts the Fresh Meat Recruitment event.

Zilinski says they are hoping for more players before the host a bout later this year.

She invites any interested players out to the meeting at 7 at the OLV Gym on valley Drive.

More Medals For Kenora Skiers At Manitoba Winter Games

More medals for members of the Kenora Nordic and Biathlon Club at the Manitoba Winter Games.

August Hummelbrunner, Sadie McCallum and Jesse Bachinski all medalled in cross-country  ski events for a second day in a row.

They each won silver medals in their respective events.

Meanwhile, Shayna Hensrud, Dustin Scheibler and Elise Hummelbrunner won bronze medals in
their races on Tuesday.

Galusha Wins Second Medal At OFSAA Swimming Championships

A Thomas Aquinas student has medalled at the All-Ontario High School Swimming championships
for a second day in a row.

Socorro Galusha picked up a silver medal yesterday in the girls 14 and under 100 meter Individual medley.

A day earlier, Galusha won bronze in the 50 meter breast stroke.

Thomas Aquinas finished the OFSAA championships in 97th place in the team standings.

Police Charge Man in Viral Video

An accident caught on camera has led to charges against a Manitoba man.

Kenora OPP say the accident happened Saturday afternoon on the West By-pass when a truck pulling a trailor turned to head west and failed to notice an oncoming  Eastbound vehicle.

The Eastbound vehicle was unable to stop and hit the truck.

Police say all 3 people involved in the crash only suffered minor injuries.

The 36 year driver of the pick up truck has been charged with failure to yield.

View our Facebook page here to see the video.

Lakeview Drive Open to Traffic

The traffic snarl on lakeview drive has been cleared up.

OPP say the transport that got stuck at the Norman Husky has been cleared.

As a result both lanes of traffic are open once again.

The hold up caused a big back up in traffic for around an hour.

No End In Sight for Boil Water Advisory

Don't expect a quick end to the boil water advisory.

City crews are still repairing broken water lines and Operations manager
Rick Perchuck says until that work is complete they can't start testing
the water system.

He adds that it's no co-incidence all the water main breaks took place in the same are of the city.

Perchuck says a phenomenon called a "water hammer" is likely to blame for all the problems in the Central area of the city.

He adds Kenora isn't alone in this epidemic of broken water main breaks.

He says Calgary, Winnipeg, Atikokan and Dryden have all experienced significant damage to their water systems due to the extremely cold conditions.  

Valleyview Promotes French Immersion to Trustees

A french immersion program at Valleyview Public School seems to be taking off.

French Immersion Teacher, Kelly Ogilvie says the kids, who are in JK and SK are catching on quickly.  
Ogilvie says the inquiry-based program has been very sucessful so far and both parents and students seem happy with the results.

The program is expected to move up to grade one next year, for students graduating from the senior kindergarten class.

Energy East Consultations Coming to Kenora

The Ontario Energy Board is releasing information about it's next steps in consultation with Ontarians regarding the proposed Energy East Pipeline.

The 12 billion project will transport crude oil from from Western Canada through Northern Ontario to Quebec and New Brunswick.

The board will hold a series of public meetings to discuss the proposed pipeline route.

They will be in Kenora on March 25th.

Seperate meetings will be held during the same period  with First Nation's and Metis communities to seek their views on the project.

Anglican Church Closing Keewatin Diosese

Some administrative changes are being made to the Anglican Church in
the region.

The Keewatin Diosese will be closing it's doors by the end of the year.

Archbishop David Ashdown says they will be merging their operations with the church
southern Manitoba.

Ashdown says a new aboriginal diocese is being created for communities in northern
Ontario and Northern Manitoba.

Premier Says Hydro One Addressing Billing Errors

Hydro One is continuing to address some of the billing issues affecting some of it's residential customers across the province.

Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli says the utility has hired extra staff to deal with some of the problems that have arisen over the past several months.

Premier Kathleen Wynne says they knew about the billing issues well before Ontario's Ombudsman decided to launch an investigation and had already started working on those
problems.

Olympic Gold Medalist To Attend Winter Carnival

The Whitecap Pavillion is going to be transformed this weekend.

Crystal Stokes is the city's special events co-ordinator and says they will
be making over the skating rink under the tent and putting in a curling rink.

Stokes says the change over is in honor of Olympic Gold medalist Jill Officer coming to town.

Officer will be on hand for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Carnival Friday night.

Saints Medal At OFSAA Swimming Championships

Just one medal so far for Thomas Aquinas at the All-Ontario High School Swimming championships.

Socorro Galusha earned a bronze medal yesterday in the 14 and under
girls 50 meter breast stroke.

The Saints sit in 89th place in the team competition with 56 points after day one of the two day OFSAA championships in Brantford.

Kenora Skiers Medal At Manitoba Winter Games

Some medals for members of the Kenora Nordic Trails Ski and Biathlon Club at the Manitoba Winter Games.

August Hummelbrunner won gold in the Pee Wee Girls 2.5km Classic race, while Jesse Bachinsky claimed the silver medal in the Juvenile Boys 7.5 km Classic

Sadie McCallum earned a bronze medal in the Midget Girls 5 km Classic.

The Kenora skiiers are competing for Team Eastman at the games in Morden and Winkler.

Saints Eliminated from OFSAA Championships

It's the end of the line for the Thomas Aquinas Senior Girls volleyball team at the All-Ontario
championships in Richmond Hill.

The Saints bowed out in the quarter-finals yesterday,  losing three sets to one to the number one ranked team in the tournament from West Elgin.

T.A. will head home from OFSAA without a medal this year.

The Saints finished the provincial championships with a 3-2 record.

3 Drugs Busts in 4 Days in Kenora

It's the 3rd marijuana bust in 4 days for Kenora OPP.

Last night police seized 750 grams of pot during a traffic stop on Highway 17.

The value of the drugs is $8,000.

As a result 47 year old Michael Lambert from British Columbia has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of marijuana.

He will answer to the charges in Kenora court next month.

Police also seized 725 grams of pot on Friday during a search warrant and 24 grams on Sunday along with 23 Oxycocet pills during another traffic stop.

Deer Population Expected To Decline This Winter

People aren't the only ones struggling through this winter.

Deer are also having a problem getting through the deep snow and frigid temperatures.

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Mark Ryckman says it's having an impact on the deer's movements.

Ryckman says it is possible that a number of animals could die off as a result.

Fraser Institute Releases Secondary School Report Card

It's a poor grade for local high schools.

In the latest report card by the Fraser institute local secondary schools had an average rating of 4.2.

Author Peter Cowley says that's not the worst part.

Cowley says the provincial average is 6.0.

Only Thomas Aquinas, Atikokan, and Rainy River High Schools surpassed that mark.

Thomas Aquinas was the highest rated school in the region at 7.6
out of 10.

First Nations Sign Onto New Land Management Regime

Nearly twenty First Nations communities are signing on with a program that will allow them greater control of their land according to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.

Valcourt says the First Nation Land Management Regime already has a proven track record with the over one-hundred communities involved.

Three of the nineteen communities that joined yesterday are from Ontario.

Former Price Is Right Host Speaks Out Against Spring Bear Hunt

The former host of The Price Is Right is hoping local municipalities will reverse it's decision on allowing the province to conduct a spring bear hunt in the region.

Bob Barker calls the hunt a slaughter and agrees that any councillor who voted for it should be voted out in the next election.

The spring bear hunt is scheduled to resume this year for Ontario residents, after being banned in the province for the past 15 years.

Saints Gunning For OFSAA Quarter-Finals

The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team is still well positioned for a run at the
medals at the All-Ontario Single A championships in Richmond Hill.

The Saints have a 2-1 record in round robin play after the first day.

Their lone defeat came in their final game of the day, when they dropped a straight sets decision to Toronto District Christian High School, the top ranked team in their pool.

T.A. actually had a 21-16 lead in the second set, but ended up losing 26-24.

Thomas Aquinas finishes up the round robin at noon against Bloor Collegiate.

Busy Weekend for Kenora OPP

A busy weekend for the Kenora Provincial Police.

On Friday 52 year old Donald Pencoff of Kenora was arrested after police executed a search warrant in the North End of the City.

Police seized 725 grams of marijuana, cash, and a shotgun and charged Pencoff with 4 drug related offences.

Meanwhile on Sunday police seized 24 grams of marijuana and 23 Oxycocet pills during a traffic stop.

27 year old Gary Osmond and 22 year Brandon old Power of Newfoundland were both charged with possession.

All 3 men will answer to the charges in court next month.

Also on Sunday OPP arrested 18 year old James Kratochvil of Kenora after he was found downtown with an unloaded .303 caliber rifle.

He will answer to the charge in court today.

Osisko Settles Lawsuit Against Goldcorp

Osisko says it has settled a lawsuit against Goldcorp out of court.

The two sides were supposed to appear before a Quebec Superior Court judge later this week.

Under the settlement, the offer from Goldcorp has been extended from March 10 to April 15th.

Osisko had argued that Goldcorp misused private information it received last year to make it's 2.6 billion dollar takeover bid. 

Manitoba and Ontario Collaborate on New Energy Deal

Ontario and Manitoba are working together to find new clean, renewable power for both provinces.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the Canadian Energy Innovation Summit.

The agreement will enable Ontario and Manitoba to collaborate on growing the energy sector in a number of key areas, including conservation, efficiency, security and reliability.

New Event for Winter Carnival

There will be no shortage of snow this year for the Kenora Winter Carnival.

The annual festival takes place this weekend on the Kenora Harborfront.

Tourism Development Officer Heather Gropp says they are introducing
a new event this year, the Silly Sled Race.

Gropp adds that they are also looking for teams to compete in the annual Great Canadian Canoe Race, the Sunday of the winter carnival.

New Gold Ramping Up For Rainy River Project

More evidence that a gold mine south of Kenora is closer to becoming a reality.

New Gold says plans to submit purchase orders next month for some of the equipment it needs.

Meantime, executive chairman Randall Oliphant says their time table remains unchanged.

New Gold is hoping to secure permitting by the end of the year to start construction in 2015.

OPP Trying Crack Down on False Alarms

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP says it has to respond to between 700 and
800 false alarms each year.

Inspector Dave Lucas says that's too much.

As a result, Lucas says he's developed a new protocol for dealing with false alarms.

Starting June 1st, Lucas says he will send out letters to building owners who have
frequent false alarms and if the problem persists officers could refuse to respond
to future alarms.

A Couple of New Water Main Breaks Over the Weekend

At least two more water main breaks in Kenora over the weekend.

One was reported on River Street near Luby's and the other by Sunset Strip Husky yesterday.

All the broken water lines have forced the City of Kenora to impose a boil water advisory.

The city says the advisory will allow it's sewer and water crews better deal with the rash frozen and broken lines.

No word as to how long the boil water advisory will have to remain in place.

Snow Poses Risks for Your Roof

You shovelled the driveway and the sidewalk, now it's time to shovel your roof.

Rob Emond with REMR Roofing says it's very important to clear snow of the top of your house.

Emond says all the snow can create ice dams, mould, or in a worst case scenario, even collapse.

An example of the damage snow can cause is the collapsed roof at Debbie's Greenhouse.

Emond says it's very important to have a licensed contractor perform the work.

Canfield Takes In Mining Conference

Opening doors for Northwestern Ontario.

That's the goal for Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield as the Prospectors and Developers Association of canada Convention gets under way in Toronto.

Canfield says it's a huge opportunity.

This is the first time the City of Kenora has sent any representatives.

Canfield will be sharing a booth with Red Lake mayor Phil Vinet.

Making Kenora Home Joins National Lobby Group

Improving Kenora's homeless plan.

That's a goal for Making Kenora now that they have joined the Street Level campaign.

Spokesperson Nan Normand says the campaign will bring in fresh new ideas.

Normand adds that the move will create a larger voice with all levels of the government.

MNR Levies Fines For Illegal Hunting

Fines have been slapped against three hunters for infractions in separate cases.

Eugenio Berardi of Thunder Bay was fined 15-hundred dollars after pleading guilty to illegally shooting a gun while on a road.

He was charged last November in connection with a deer he shot near Kaministiquia, northwest of Thunder Bay.

And 28-hundred dollars in fines were levelled against Mikulus Huttner of Thunder Bay and Eduard Jendek of Slovakia in a separate case.

Court heard that last year, Huttner posed as Jendek in an effort to obtain an Ontario hunting licence and validation tags for the Slovakian.

NDP Call on Federal Government For Lower Propane Prices

The NDP are calling on the Federal Government to cut the cost of propane.

The request comes during one of the coldest winters in recent memory.

NDP MP Claude Gravelle raised the issue in the House of Commons recently.

The NDP are calling for an oil and gas ombudsman to ensure fairness for consumers being squeezed by high prices.

Saints Senior Girls Volleyball Team Open OFSAA This Morning

The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team will be gunning for a medal today at the All-Ontario Single A championships in Richmond Hill.

The Saints play their first of three games today at 9:30 against Durham Christian High School.

T.A. goes into the OFSAA finals as the eighth ranked team of 20 entered in the tournament.

Sharks Medal In Manitoba Provincials

Seven members of the Kenora Sharks Swim Club were in Winnipeg over the weekend for the Manitoba Under 10 and Junior  short course championships.

The Sharks finished in 7th place out of 16 teams competing.

10 year old Amelia Illman led the way with a pair of first place finishes, a second and and a third, while 16 year old Jarrett Weedon had a pair of gold and two bronze.

PeeWee Thistles Lose Semi-Final Opener

A tough loss for the KMTS Double "a" PeeWee Thistles.

The Thistles were beaten 5-4 in double overtime by Iles Des Chenes
in the first game of the best-of-three semi-final series.

The Kenora PeeWees will be in a must win situation Thursday when they
travel to Ile Des Chenes for game two.

Black Widows Win Gold in Emo

An all Kenora Final at a girls
hockey tournament in Emo over the weekend.

The Black Widows and the Hat Tricks had the best records in the PeeWee division and met in the A-side final.

Mariah White scored a hat trick to lead the Black Widows to a 4-2 win for their second tournament win this season.

In the Bantam Division, the Chaos made it into the B-side final, but were upended 3-1 by Dryden.

Bronco Boys Lose to Muskies In NorWOSSA Final

Fort Frances proved to be the dominant team in the NorWOSSA boys hockey league this season.

The Muskies won another championship by beating Beaver Brae in two straight games in the best-of-three final.

Fort capped the series with a 7-3 win last night at the Kenora Rec. Center.

Logan Ginn scored a pair of power play goals, while Jed Rattai had a single in a losing cause
for Beaver Brae.

Tyler VanUden led the Muskies scoring attack with a pair of goals.

Fort now advances to the All-Ontario championships at the end of the month.

City Wide Boil Water Advisory in Kenora

Due to this winters epidemic of water main breaks the water and sewer department has put all of Kenora under a boil water advisory.

The department says the extreme temperatures and level of frost in the ground is causing breaks in water mains faster then they can be repaired.

Because of this operation crews are having issues opening valves again after mains are broken.

During the water advisory the city can open all the valves to broken mains and ensure they are prepared and that system pressure can be re-established.

Any water used for human consumption  must be boiled for at least 60 seconds.

In the past week the city has dealt with large water main breaks on First Street South, Second Street South, Fifth Avenue North, and River Drive.

Snowmobiler Dies Near Ear Falls

The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal accident near Ear Falls.

Police say 3 snowmobilers were travelling along a hydro trail when one of the riders hit a guide wire.

The Northwest Emerhency Medical Services found a man, 43 year old Robert Boucha of Ear Falls, dead at the scene.

The Ear Falls OPP along with the Technical Collision Investigator are looking into the accident.

City Delays Load Restrictions

No need to lighten the load just yet.

The City of Kenora says it has decided to post-pone weight restrictions on
local roads due to the extremely cold weather.

Load limitations usually go into effect for the spring starting March 1st.

However, the city says it will bag the signage until roads start to thaw and
conditions worsen.

Kenora Endures Coldest Winter in almost a Century

It's been a miserable winter across northwestern Ontario, but it's not
the coldest on record.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says historical records show
the winter of 1916/1917 was actually much worse.

He says back then, the average temperature during December, January and February was -22 celcius.

This year, the average winter temperature in Kenora has been about -18.

There's not a lot of relief in sight.

Environment Canada says Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec can all expect colder than normal conditions during the month of March.

Another Day, Another Water Main Break

It's starting to sound like a broken record.

Yet another water main break...this time on 1st Street South by the Kenora curling club.

A large pool of water is covering the road there and also on 7th Avenue
South over towards Park Street.

Meanwhile, Second Street South between 7th and 8th Avenues remains closed to traffic this morning.

That section of the Trans-Canada through town has been affected by a water main
break.

Fort Frances Explosion Under Investigation

An investigator with the Ministry of Labour is expected to be in Fort Frances today looking into yesterday's accident at Resolute Forest Products.

A dust explosion and subsequent fire at the company's biomass boiler sent an unnamed worker to hospital with serious burn injuries.

The man was last listed in critical condition.

A company spokesperson says they're also trying to determine the cause of the accident and that their main focus is with the employee and his family.

Operations at biomass have since resumed.

Councillors Enjoy Positvie Meetings with Cabinet Ministers

The effort continues to twin Highway 17 to the Manitoba Border.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says that was a main message they sent across at the Ontario Good Roads Conference.

He says they told the minister that they want the project to start this summer if at all possible.

Canfield says the meeting with Transportation meeting Glenn Murray was very productive.

He notes another big issue they discussed was getting government support for infrastructure projects.

Odor of Marijuana Takes over OPP Detachment

That's not skunk you smell at the OPP detachment in Kenora.

A strong odor of marijuana has permeated the building in recent days.

Inspector Dave Lucas says they have a large amount of marijuna in their
storage lockers as a result of recent drug busts.

He says ideally they'd like to store the smelly evidence outside their offices.

Lucas says some of the pot is evidence in on-going court cases.

He adds that they also need the green light from Health Canada before they can dispose
of the marijuana.

St. James Church In Keewatin Set To Close

An end of an era for a century-old church in Keewatin.

St. James will be closing it's doors at the end of April.

Archbishop of the Keewatin Diocese, David Ashdown says
the small congregation can no longer keep the church running.

Ashdown says the congregation will become part of St. Alban's in Kenora.

He says no decision has been made as to what to do with the actual building.

Greenstone Customers Lose Natural Gas Supply

The heat is slowly coming back on in homes and businesses in the Longlac Area.

As many as 800 Union Gas customers were without heat yesterday and the municipality declared a state of emergency.

Greenstone Mayor Ron Beaulieu says a warming centre has been opened at the Geraldton High School with transportation being provided.

Union Gas' regulating station in the Greenstone area failed most likely because of the severe cold weather.

Spokesperson Dave Sword says they're still working on fixing the problem.

Province Drafts Legislation To Tackle Invasive Species

Ontario is getting tough on invasive species.

Natural Minister David Orazietti says if passed, Ontario would become the first in Canada to have its own legislation to better deal with things such as zebra mussels, Asian carp and mountain pine beetles.

He suggests the will  make it easier for Ontario to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to invasive species.

Orazietti says the province currently relies on a patchwork of federal and provincial laws that don't have enough teeth.

Bronco Boys Lose Game One of NorWOSSA Final

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team is in must-win territory.

The Broncos came out flat in game one of the NorWOSSA finals
last night in Fort Frances, dropping a 7-1 decision to the Muskies.

Fort leads the best-of-three series 1-0.

Game two is back home Sunday night at 7:30 at the Kenora Rec. Center.