Fire on the Redditt Road

Fire has caused extensive damage to a building on the Redditt Road.

The blaze broke out just before 7:00 last night in a workshop/studio about a
kilometer north of the Kenora By-Pass intersection.

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services department was called out and a

number of pumper trucks were dispatched to shuttle water from a hydrant
about two kilometers away on Veteran's Drive.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and no one was injured.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says at this time is looks as though the fire may

have been caused by an electrical malfunction in the workshop area.

Warm Weather Records Set

The unseasonably warm weather is expected to continue for at least three more days.

Yesterday, Kenora hit a record high for November 7th, topping out at 13.5 degrees, which was just a shade warmer than the previous record of 13.3 in 1969.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says there is the possibility of more records this week.

Laidlaw says both Ear Falls and Atikokan also set temperature records yesterday.

Atikokan was the hot spot in the region at 14 degrees.

Crime Prevention Week

The Kenora OPP have a busy schedule for Crime Prevention Week.

There will be a community presentation tomorrow night.

Constable Dave Cain Says that it is going to be called "Women Traveling Alone."

Cain also says that there will be a Community Awareness open house on Wednesday at the Lakewood School Cafeteria, as well as a variety of school programs all week long.

Medical School Strike nearing an end

Administrative, clerical and technical staff at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine have ratified a tentative contract agreement.

Their union says 78 per cent of members of OPSEU Local 677 who voted approved the deal.

The tentative contract now goes to the medical school's board of directors tomorrow.

If approved by the board it will bring to an end a strike that began August 16 at the school's campuses at Laurentian University in Sudbury and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Details of the agreement will be released pending approval by the medical school's board.

Rosehart comments on Northern Growth Plan

Bob Rosehart says he's pleased to see the provincial government taking action on

some of his recommendations aimed at improving the economy of the region.

The former Lakehead University president was hired by the McGuinty government to advise what could be done for the Northwestern Ontario economy.

Rosehart says he's pleased with the progress with his recommendations

Rosehart says he'd still like to see action on getting improvements made to elementary education in the far north.

Hospital looking for a new facilities

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is trying to keep alive its dream of creating a new health care campus in Kenora.

The Hospital Board says it has applied for funding from the Ministry of Health for a Pre-Capital Health Service Improvement Proposal.

Board Chair, Debbie Baldwin says they would like to hire a consultant to get the ball rolling.

She adds that they are in this for the long haul and the project isn't going to happen overnight.

No injuries in Hospital Bridge Accident

The OPP say no-one was injured in a single vehicle accident this morning on the Hospital Bridge.

A pick-up truck lost control shortly after 9:00 and ended up on its side.

The OPP and Kenora's Fire and emergency services department were called out.

Traffic was closed to one lane for over an hour while emergency crews worked to clear the wreckage.

Hospital says "no" to Lobbyists

Administration at Lake of the Woods District Hospital says its never employed lobbyists

and never intends to do so in the future.

A recent report suggests that as many as 14 Ontario Hospitals have used lobbyists to gain

access to the McGuinty Government.

Chief Executive Officer of the local hospital, Marc Belcaen says if they need to get a message

to the provincial government or the Ministry of Health, they have a board chair and vice-chair

to do the job.

Belcaen says the Ontario Hospital Association is now encouraging hospitals to avoid using

lobbyist altogether.

Opposition parties are concerned that money is being diverted from front-line health services

to pay lobbyists.

Support shown for Fort Hope First Nation

Leaders of a northwestern Ontario first Nation in crisis say they're now confident their calls for help aren't falling on deaf ears.

Sharon Johnston, wife of Governor Gen. David Johnston, and Ruth Ann Onley, wife of Ontario Lieutentant-Governor David Onley, visited Fort Hope First Nation yesterday.

Johnston and Onley toured the fly-in community, that recently declared a state of emergency due to increasing murders, gang fights, arsons and animal cruelty.

Band leaders have put out repeated calls for help from all levels of government as they attempt to deal with the problems.

Stan Beardy, grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, also visited yesterday and said it was important that the First Nation has attracted the attention of the Governor General and Lieutenant-Governor.

New President for Lakehead

The new era for Lakehead University officially todaqy.  

Brian Stevenson officially gets installed as university president. 

Stevenson says the day is about celebrating a new phase in the university's history and a new direction they'll be taking with the rest of the community.

Hospital in the Black

Even though Lake of the Woods District Hospital has a surplus half-way through this fiscal year, its been a struggle to balance their books.

The hospital is 264 thousand dollars in the black after six months of the the 2010/2011 fiscal year.

Despite the black in, Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen says its been tough making ends meet.

Belcaen says they cut the volunteer co-ordinator position as a cost-saving measure and will also

not be replacing two managers, who will be retiring later this year.

Vote to End Strike at NOSM today

It's voting day for employees of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Thunder Bay and Sudbury.

They'll be voting on whether to accept their first contract with the school.

Dean Roger Strasser says, if accepted, the process begins to get the workers back on the job.

The workers went on strike August 16th.

Funding Sought for Orpheus Project

The OPP and a number of other community partners have applied for funding for a new program to help out local youth.

The Orpheus Project is being supported by the Kenora Metis Council and Making Kenora Home.

The groups have applied for 20 thousand dollar grant from the Safer and Vital Communities Fund.

The money would be used to set up a music resource room equipped with instruments for a music drop-in center.

The goal of the project is to use music to create and safe environment for youth.

The groups are still waiting to hear if their application is successful.

Doer Weighs in on Cross Border Issues

Canadian officials are working to ease problems encountered by American hunters and fishermen as they try to cross into our country.

Northern Ontario tourism operators say they're losing money because the Americans are being turned away over previous convictions like driving under the influence, but our Ambassador to the U-S Gary Doer says first we have to educate U-S visitors about the seriousness of drinking and driving convictions:

Doer made the comments during a stop in Saint John, New Brunswick where he was addressing an economic development conference.

Tobacco-Free Video Contest launched

The Northwestern Health Unit is looking for youth to 'Play, Live and be Tobacco-Free.'

Youth Coordinator Roberta Lappage says they are accepting video submissions until November 15th from anyone aged 14-to-24.

The contest runs until November 15th and entrants have a chance to win an IPad prize package.

Police to crack down on drug smuggling on airplanes

Police and airline officials are concerned about the amount of illicit drugs being transported on small airplanes heading to isolated First Nations.

The OPP say they are determined to fix the problem by heightening security at smaller airports.

OPP Detective Sergeant Chris Lawrence says over 50 people have been charged and thousands of dollars worth of prescription drugs have been confiscated at regional airports.

The most common drug being smuggled is the heavily addictive Oxycodone.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton says the provincial or federal government should be taking action, and funding more small airport security.

Airline officials are trying to develop methods of tracking illegal drugs to First Nations.

Minaki on the River and Wincrief sign construction deal

Wincrief Forest Products has reached a construction agreement with the project known as

Minaki on the River.

Wincrief would build ready-to-move units for the development which is being planned for the former Minaki Lodge property.

Bob Banman is one of the investors in the project and says the units would be placed on what are being called lands in common.

The ready-to-move units would be in addition to the condos which are being proposed

for the former hotel facility.

Development is expected to begin in the next year.

Another Quiet Fire Season in NWO

The forest fire season is officially over.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says there were 370 fires in Northwestern Ontario this year compared to just under 200 last year.

However, there were over 3 thousand fewer hectares that were burned this year .

NDP demand HST be taken off hydro bills

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath insists her party won't give up the fight to help Northern Ontario families deal with skyrocketing hydro bills.

Horwath Tuesday brought up the concerns of Dryden resident Eliana Wittwer and Kenora resident Jim Irish.

She says they want to hear from more Northerners.

Horwath stresses that instead of making life more affordable for people, the McGuinty Liberals are making everything more expensive.

NOHFC re-focuses

The new Executive Director of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is targeting the tourism sector.

Bruce Strapp says that he's looking to get the word out on what kind of grants are available to local tourist outfitters and other tourist based businesses.

Strapp hopes to put some efficiency into the process of getting the corporation's goals known.