Public School Board Worried About Loss of Special Education Funding

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is raising the alarm bell over declining funding for special education.

The Ministry of Education will be increasing the budget of the public school board by about
1.9 million dollars next year.

But Director of Education Sean Monteith says they are concerned by the continued erosion
of their special education budget.

Monteith suggests their budget for special education could decrease by more than a million
dollars over the next couple of years without any changes to the funding forumla.

Dryden Exhausts Snow Removal Budget

Mother nature isn't helping Dryden's finances.

Public Works has exhausted 90-percent of its snow removal budget, leaving officials little to work with for the rest of the year.

Chief Administrative Officer Andre Larabie says the City is coming to their aid.

Larabie says he's allocated an additional 120-thousand dollars.

Catholic School Board Working on Energy Plan

Spending money to save money.

That's the plan of the Kenora Catholic District School Board as it finalizes it's five year energy plan.

Operations manager Andrew Poirier says they have 1.8 million dollars set aside for capital expenditures, but that will save the board money over the long haul.

Poirier says that's a savings of about 25 percent on their annual energy bill.

The board is looking at a number of options including LED lighting at Thomas Aquinas and more energy efficient heating systems.

Progress Being Made on Water Main Breaks

The water pandemic is not over just yet in Kenora.

Operations manager Rick Perchuk says spring weather normally leads to a handful of water main breaks.

On a positive note Perchuck says crews have done a great job handling the rash of breaks and frozen water lines.

He notes the waiting list for pipes to thaw is now down to 15 homes.

NOACC Elects A New President

There's a new person at the helm of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce.  

Nathan Lawrence has been elected as the organization's new president.

Lawrence says he wants to make sure all the chambers are working together on future projects.

Lawrence believes all the chambers should be allowed to voice their concerns and opinions on issues critical to them.

Dryden's Richard Jonasson has been elected Vice-President.

NDP Demand Action on High Natural Gas Prices

The NDP are asking the provincial government to do something about the increasing cost of natural gas.

NDP critic Gilles Bisson says Union Gas rates are going up 28 percent.

The government says natural gas prices are regulated by the Ontario Energy Board  and it's not their policy to interfere with an independant regulatory body.

Ontario Says It's Now A Coal Free Zone

Ontario is now coal free.

The last remaining load of coal has burned at the Thunder Bay Generating Station, Ontario's last remaining coal-fired plant.

The plant is being converted to burn biomass.

Meantime, the conversation of Ontario Power Generation's Atikokan plant continues and is expected to be complete by August.

Another Weather Record Falls In Kenora

Temperature records continue to fall.

For the second day in a row, Kenora has set a record low for this date.

The previous low for April 16 was -10.1 set back in 1989.

Overnight, the thermometer bottomed out at -11.

There is hope however, it looks as if we'll hit near normal conditions starting Easter Sunday with warmer weather moving in early next week.

Thistles Drop High Scoring Affair

The Kenora Triple A Senior Thistles have dropped another high scoring affair at the Allan Cup.

With the Clarenville Caribous up 1-0 to start the third the teams opened the flood gates.

5 goals were scored in 8 and a half minutes.

Unfortunately Kenora only scored 2 of them as Clarenville would also add an empty net goal for a 5-2 win.

The Thistles went 0-2 in the round robin and will play their quarterfinal Thursday.

New Fire Base Opens in Sioux Lookout

The Ministry of Natural Resources is celebrating a new fire base in Sioux Lookout.

The province spent 13.7-million dollars on the facility as well as 5.7-million to upgrade living accommodations for staff.

Construction of the fire management headquarters also created about 25-local jobs during construction.

 The government says the energy-efficient building includes modern firefighting equipment and is strategically located so that water bombers, supplies, and firefighters can get to forest fires quickly.

Kenora Crime Rate Continues to Tumble

There has been a noticible decrease in the crime rate over the past five years in the City of Kenora.

Figures released by the OPP show the number of calls for service has dropped by about 43 hundred
since 2009.

Inspector Dave Lucas says they have adopted a three pronged approach to reducing crime.

Lucas says drug and alcohol addiction also contributes to the city's crime rate, and it's something they've
focused on in recent years.

Green Ousted from MasterChef

Kenora's Mike Green will not be Canada's first Master Chef.

Green was cut from the show last night after failing to perfectly
cook his steak frites.

Green, who now lives in Winnipeg, made it to the final five and says he post-poned his honeymoon to take part in the TV show.

Rickford Announces Funding For Fort Hope Police Station

The federal government is coming on board with funding to construct a new police station in the remote northern community of Fort Hope.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford made the announcement yesterday.

Rickford says the government has committed 1.82-million dollars for the project, while the province is on board with 1.68-million.

He notes since 2009, the Conservative Government has invested in new police stations for 8 First Nations communities in the Kenora riding alone.

Suspect Arrested for Vehicle Break-ins

A 20 year old Kenora man faces theft charges after a number of
vehicles were broken into in the north end of town.

The OPP say they were notified early Sunday morning that someone was breaking into cars in the 11th Street North area.

Police say the suspect was located a short time later along with some of the stolen items.

Brandon Savoyard has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime under five thousand dollars.

He's due to appear in Kenora court next month.

Premier Announces A Major Infrastructure Program

The Wynne government has announced a new infrastructure plan for the province.

Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement yesterday and says she is committing 29 billion
dollars towards the fund.

Wynne stresses that the Moving Ontario Forward fund will not see increase to the Gas Tax, HST, or income taxes.

The plan includes two funds, one for the Greater Toronto Area and the other for the rest of the province.

The money will be spent over 10 years.

Dryden Mayor Scheduled to Return to Work

The Mayor of Dryden is returning to work.

Craig Nuttall is expected to return to City Hall this morning at 9 o'clock after taking a leave of absence.

Nuttall has been off since the start of the month.

Chief Administrative Officer Andre Larabie says he's spoken with Nuttall and he's anxious to return to work.

He adds he's looking forward to his return.

NOSM Launching New Strat Plan

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is continuing to work towards creating their 5 year Strategic Plan.

They've created a 28 person group that will oversee the planning process.

Dr. Roger Strasser says you can also have your say by logging onto their website and follow the links.

NOSM will start to form their plan this year and implement it from 2015 to 2020.

Lakerun Challenge Launched

Promoting a healthy lifestyle.

That's the goal of Clay Hammett and the newly established Lakerun event.

Hammett says the first weekly run is just around the corner.

It will see participants run a five kilometer route from the Harborfront to the Hospital and back.

He says they will be starting April 19th and going right until the Thanksgiving long weekend.

He notes anyone can join Lakerun as there is no competition involved.

Temperature Record Set

Not a record to be proud of.

We've officially smashed the previous record for the coldest April 15th since
Environment began keeping track.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says the thermometer this morning was
five degrees colder than the previous record low.

Back in 1962, the temperture dropped to -12.2.

This morning it hit -17.

Laidlaw says we will be staying unseasonably cold until at least Easter Sunday.

Jets Seeking Input on Re-Location of It's AHL Team

True North Entertainment and Sports is looking to hear from the public on their interest in having the Winnipeg Jets American Hockey League team re-located to Thunder Bay.

They have created a survey with the program Survey Monkey.

The company is looking for support for their venture in the proposed event centre.

The Jets farm team is currently located in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Take the survey here.

Thistles Drop Game 1

Game one at the Allan Cup has ended in confusion for the Kenora Triple A Senior Thistles.

The team has to solve how a 4-1 lead got away from them against the Brantford Blast.

Kenora saw the 3 goal lead disappear in only 2 minutes late in the 1st period.

The Thistles then went behind 5-4 for good as Dave Russell scored the winner for the Blast in the second making it 5-4.

A valiant comeback effort proved unsuccessful for the Thistles.

Kenora needs a quick lesson as they face the Clarenville Caribous tomorrow afternoon at 2:30.

Once again we will provide up to the minute updates on twitter @CJRLnews.

One other game at the Allen Cup last night saw the host Dundas Real McCoys edge the Southeast
Prairie Thunder 4-3 in the night game.  

Drug Charges Laid Following Traffic Stop

A Calgary man is facing drug and weapon charges following a traffic stop in Kenora.

On Friday evening police pulled over 44 year Owen Czech on highway 17-A.

OPP searched the vehicle and found cocaine and methadone inside.

Czech is now facing 2 counts of drug possession and possession of a weapon for a dengerous purpose.

He will answer to the charges in June.

New Gold Named Developer of the Year

New Gold has been named Developer of the Year by the Ontario Prospectors Association.

It was selected for its Rainy River gold project, near Barwick.

The project, acquired in a buy-out of Rainy River Resources, is in the Environmental Assessment Stage with construction projected to start next year.

Rotary Pleased With Auction Results

Going...going...gone.

The annual Rotary Auction is in the books and it proved to be
a good fundraiser.

Rotary officials say they raised over 30 thousand dollars during the
nine day on-line auction of goods and services.

People who have not picked up their winning items yet are urged to do
so this week at the Safeway Customer Service Desk.

A New Judge Appointed In Kenora

The provincial government is appointing a new judge for the Ontario Court of Justice in Kenora.

A managing partner at McAuley and Partners in Dryden has been appointed to the bench.

Sarah Trach has been working at McAuley & Partners for the past 10-years, focusing on family law.

She has also practised general litigation, including small claims court matters, employment, criminal and civil litigation in both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice.

Hockey For Health Another Big Success

Another Successful hockey for heath tournament in Kenora.

Dean Caron started the event in 2009 and says Jess Rheault did a great job taking over as organizer this year.

Caron stepped aside from organizing this y
ear so he could play with his sons in the open division.

Overall hockey for health raised just under 34 thosuand dollars.

Lakehead Expanding It's Virtual Classroom

Lakehead University is trying to reach more students across northwestern Ontario.

President Brian Stevenson says they are currently at work on expanding their vitural classroom.

Stevenson says the technology involved in the new virtual classroom makes it the next best thing to being in the same room as the professor.

He says they are working with Confederation College in Kenora on the project.

Health Unit Warns of Needle Disposal

With the snow melting, there are plenty of reports of old needle
s being found on local streets.

Public Health Nurse Brittni Trudgen with the Northwestern Health Unit is offering tips to protect yourself if you find discarded needles.

She say when disposing of needles include wearing gloves, place it in a hard sided container, and washing your hands immediately after.

Trudgen notes the health unit does provide free pick up kits.

IISD Outlines Research Priorities at ELA

It's going to be a busy spring and summer at the Experimental Lakes area.

Several research projects are planned this year at the facility located between Kenora and Vermillion Bay.

Matt McCandless is with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and says they have a couple of projects ready to roll including simulating the impacts of climate change on lake trout.

Another project is looking at so-called nano-silver particles and their impact on the environment.

Kings Bay Sells Gold Project in Nestor Falls Area

A junior mining company is selling off some of its interests in northwestern Ontario.

King's Bay Gold says it's handing over its 20 per cent stake in two properties in the Nestor Falls area to Cameron Gold Operations, a subsidiary of Australia's Chalice Gold Mines.

King's Bay earns 100-thousand dollars Canadian in the deal.

The sites remaining interests were owned by Coventry Resources which was bought out by Chalice in February.

Nuclear Waste Agency Conducting Flights Over NWO

Don't be alarmed if you see planes flying low to ground in the Ignace area.

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization will be conducting aerial surveys.

Pilot Andre LaFontaine says they are trying to find suitable locations to bury nuclear waste.

LaFontaine says disturbances will be kept down to a minimum.

Ignace is one of three communities across northwestern Ontario being examined for possible use.

Local Cheerleaders Bring Home Medals from the Nationals

The Beaver Brae and Kenora All-Star Cheer teams are bringing back a couple of suitcases full of medals from the National Cheerleading Championships in Niagara Falls.

The Broncos won the bronze medal in the High School, small all-girl division on Saturday.

The Kenora Junior All-Star Cheer and Dance Team were given an outstanding performance award in the Large Junior age group.

That earned them a top ten finish in the country.

The Senior All-Star Dance Team won a silver medal in the Small Pom Dance Division.

A day later, the Dance Team won a silver medal another competition in Brantford.

A total of 50 cheerleaders attended the National Championships and are heading home today.

CRA Re-Opens Tax Return Website

The Canada Revenue Agency has reopened the services section of its website which means you can now file your tax returns online again as well as make payments and access all other e-services on the website.

They include EFILE, NETFILE, My Account, My Business Account and Represent a Client.

The website was taken down for four days amid security concerns with the "Heartbleed" bug.

Blood Donor Clinic Opens This Afternoon At T.A.

The need for blood is never ending.

That's the message from Mike Choi from the Canadian Blood Services as they prepare for a donor clinic in the city.

Choi says donations go a long way.

The clinic runs today and tomorrow at the St. Thomas Aquinas Gym.

Choi says they are hoping for at least 200 people through the door.

Thistles Begin Quest for Allen Cup Today

The Kenora Triple A Senior Thistles begin their quest for an Allan Cup championship today.

The Thistles arrived in Dundas yesterday and will practice this morning before opening the tournament with a game at 3:30 eastern time against the southern Ontario champions, the Brantford Blast.

The Thistles are in a pool that also features the Clarenville Caribous from Newfoundland.

The Caribous won the Allen Cup when Kenora hosted back in 2011
.

JM Judo Club Excels at Weekend Tournament

A good weekend for the Jaffray Melick Judo Club.

It hosted it's annual tournament at Beaver Brae and claimed four gold medals, three silver and four bronze.

Kerwin Klywak, M'otei Demers, Noah Sullivan and Luke Heatherington each won their

respective divisions.

A total 82 fighters representing nine judo clubs from across northwestern Ontario and Manitoba attended the Lake of the Woods Judo Tournament on Saturday.  

Here's a complete list of medal winners from the JM Judo Club:

Austin Brown -Silver in Under 12 under 33kg division

Kerwin Klywak - Gold in U 14 -30/-34kg

M'otei Demers-Gold in U14 +60kg

Parker Stevenson-Bronze in U16  over 66kg division 

Kyle Markham - Bronze in U16 -60kg

Noah Sullivan-Gold in U16 -42/55kg

Lucas Brown-Silver in U16 -42/55kg

Karly Lockhart Bronze in U18 -48/-52 kg

Luke Heatherington - Gold in Sr Mens -73kg

Carl Hensrud - Bronze in Sr Mens -73kg

Robert Marshall - Silver in Masters Open

Last Blast of Winter on the Way?

Here we go again.

The calendar might says it's spring, but Mother Nature still thinks
it's winter.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says we can expect a big
dump of snow Saturday.

He suggests up to four inches could fall between early Saturday morning and late Saturday evening.

Laidlaw says the system will bring with it unseasonably cold weather to start next week.

More Reaction to Flaherty's Passing

A somber day on Parliament Hill.

Flags are flying at half mast after word that former federal  finance minister Jim Flaherty has passed away.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says Flaherty was good not only for
the nation but northwestern Ontario as well.

Flaherty was just 64 and died less than a month after resigning as federal finance minister.

Concern Raised About ORNGE Helicopter Again

Questions are again being raised about the equipment being deployed by
the ORNGE air ambulence service.

Conservative MPP Frank Klees says pilots in Moosenee wrote to him to complain about a Sikorski S-76 that's being sent to that base.

The pilots describe the helicopter as the oldest Sikorski-76 in the world with the least amount of automation.

The helicopter is the same model that crashed almost a year ago near Moosenee killing all four people on board.

Campbell Calls For Review of Winter Road Maitenance

The MPP for Kenora Rainy River has introduced a motion in Queens park.

Sarah Campbell's motion calls for a committee to review winter road maintenance contracts throughout the province.

Campbell stresses on big issue is the clarity and demands of the contracts.

She also notes that contractors have failed to meet requirements of local roadways such as Highway 17, 105, and 502.

NAN Opposes Aboriginal Education Act

There's no question about where the Nishnawbe Aski Nation stands on the Harper government's new First Nation education legislation.  

NAN is flatly rejecting it saying, among other things, it doesn't respect First Nations inherent and treaty rights nor does it respect its jurisdiction over education.

Ultimately NAN is upset that the Aboriginal Affairs minister will have total control over their education while taking none of the blame for any liability.

Common Ground Sells Out Again

It's become an annual story-telling tradition.

The Common Ground forum takes place tomorrow at the Best Western Lakeside Inn.

Lori Nelson is curator at Lake of the Woods  Museum and says they
have another interesting day set aside to talk about the history of Kenora.

 The event has become so popular in recent years it sells out well in advance and this year is no exception.

Common Ground will run from 9 until about 4:00.

NOACC Holds AGM in Geralton

The Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce are holding their annual general meeting in Geraldton for the next three days.

Chamber representitives from across the region will also vote on a number of resolutions that if passed will become NOACC policy for the next two years.

This year's speakers list includes Kenora Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell, a spokesman from the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, Premier Gold Mines, and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

Mount Evergreen Set To Close for the Season

Mount Evergreen is closing with a bang.

This Sunday is the last day for the ski hill as it hosts the Mardi Gras Slush Pit Bash.

Manager Steve Simpson says events are planned throughout the day.

Simpson notes they are offering 10 dollar lift tickets and rentals for the day.

O'Flaherty Selected for Team Northwestern Ontario

Just one player from Kenora has managed to crack the line-up of a regional team
set to play in the OHL Cup.

Kevin O'Flaherty from the Kenora Triple "a" Midget Thistles is one of twenty players named to represent Hockey Northwestern Ontario in Kitchener.

O'Flaherty is a six foot forward for the Thistles.

While O'Flaherty is the only Kenora skated listed on the main roster, three local
high school players have been added as alternates on the team.

Adam Withers from Beaver Brae and Skylar Lentz and Connor Keith from Thomas Aquinas could be
added in case of injury, or if any of the other roster players are unable to participate.

The tournament begins May 8th.

Local MP's Offer Condolences

Local reactions are coming in following the death of MP and former finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

Thunder Bay MP Bruce Hyer says it was sad to see Flaherty's health deteriorate noting he saw him in pain during his last days working in the House of Commons.

Hyer calls Flaherty a one-man institution.

Meanwhile fellow Thunder Bay MP John Rafferty says the news of the former Finance Minister's death came as a complete surprise.

Rafferty noted that Flaherty's career touched a lot of people.

The 64 year old Flaherty stepped down as federal finance minister last month after 7 years in the position.

He had been on steroids to help manage some health concerns.

Another Scam Circulating in NWO

A warning of a scam circulating all of northwestern Ontario.

People are getting phone calls asking for donations for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

Officials say the calls aren't coming from the Health Sciences Foundation and they aren't making phone solicitations.

The Foundation is asking local residents to report such calls to local police.

Union Says Bearskin Restructuring Should See Jobs Restored

A union official is confident Bearskin Airlines will come out stronger after restructuring regional operations.

Michael Corrado of the Machinist and Aerospace Workers Association says the company's re-shuffling of services means all aircraft maintenance work is now taking place in Thunder Bay until further notice.

Corrado hopes the Sioux Lookout operations and the 11 temporarily laid off workers will be brought back online by the end of the year.

School Board Approves King George Renovations

A bit of a make-over for King George School this summer.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is planning to spend
about 1.2 million dollars on a renvoation project.

Director of Education Sean Monteith says that will include some landscaping
work.

Monteith says they plan to take some underutilized change rooms and turn those into
extra classroom space.

Renowned Psychiatrist Visits Public School Board

How love builds brains.

That was a key message last night has Psychiatrist Dr. Jean Clinton spoke to parents, students, and staff of the Keewatin Patricia District School Board.

Clinton says strong relationships are important to learning.

Also during her trip she visited Evergreen school and held a video conference with staff from 16 schools across the board.