Hospital Continues to wait for future planning approvals

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is still waiting from the Ministry of Health to find out if they will support their plans of building a new health care facility in Kenora.

The Hospital has submitted an application for funding to begin planning for a new hospital.

CEO Marc Belcaen says they know the Ministry of Health has looked at their application because they've had a few calls asking for clarification on some points.

Belcaen is hoping they make the Ministry's short-list so they can resume the long process of planning for a new hospital.

New School For Attawapiskat

Finally some good news for the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation.

The Federal Government has awarded the construction tender for a new school on the Northern reserve to Penn-Co Construction.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence says area children and parents are rejoicing with the announcement.

Spence says it proves that you should never give up, calling it a great accomplishment for the First Nation.

Attawapiskat First Nation was forced to close its elementary school in May 2000 and since that time students have been receiving their elementary education in a series of portables.

The Feds promised action to resolve the problem in 2000.

Saints bow out at OFSAA

It wasn't a good day on the courts for Thomas Aquinas teams at the All-Ontario Single "a" championships.

The Saints senior girls are heading home from the OFSAA volleyball finals without a medal.

T.A. advanced to the quarter-final round yesterday, but were upended by the fourth ranked team in the tournament, Ridley College from St. Catharines, three sets to one.

The loss eliminated the Saints from any further play.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas senior boys basketball team lost its third straight game at the OFSAA championships in St. Catharines.

Last night, T.A. was beaten 66-54 by Runnymede in quarter-final action on the consolation side of the draw.

Patrick Van Bellingham led the Saints in scoring with 22 points.

Water Quality Forum this week

The International Joint Commission is getting kudos for supporting a report on water quality on Lake of the Woods.

The report was submitted to the federal government's in Canada and the United States at the end of January.

Todd Sellars is the executive director of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation and says the report is the culmination of years of work.

The Foundation is hosting its annual water quality forum later this week in International Falls, Minnesota.

Hospital going smoke-free

It's soon going to be hard to find a place to smoke on the grounds of Lake of the Woods District  Hospital.

Starting next month, the hospital will have just one smoking area on its campus.

Chief Executive Officer Marc Belcaen says their goal is to eliminate all smoking in the next year or so.

Belcaen says all hospitals across the region are reducing the number of smoking areas on their property.

Clement defends closure of summer student job centers

FedNor Minister Tony Clement is standing by his government's decision to cut the funding for summer student job centres.

Clement was in Thunder Bay yesterday and says they're offering the same services online.

Clement says they don't need the overhead costs of operating an actual office during the summer months.

Impaired Driver Crashes on Ice Road

A police chase on the ice road on Lake of the Woods was cut short by a snow bank.

The OPP say they were contacted about a possible drunk driver while doing the rounds of the bars in downtown Kenora early Sunday morning.

Police tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver fled to the ice road and started driving towards Treaty Island.

A short time later officers were contacted about a vehicle that had gone off the ice road south of Treaty Island.

Officers arrested a 54 year old Kenora man.

He has been charged with impaired driving and flight from police.

Big Trout Lake to Protest in Toronto

A northwestern Ontario First Nation is holding a protest early this afternoon in Toronto in its fight against mining exploration on what it says are sacred burial grounds.

Big Trout Lake says God's Lake Resources plans to mine for gold on its territory, about 600 kilometres northeast of Kenora.

They plan to rally in downtown Toronto at the Metro Convention Centre to oppose the project.

The First Nation gained national attention in 2008 when six of its leaders were jailed for opposing the Platinex mining company.

Highway 105 due for upgrades

Upgrades are expected to begin shortly on a stretch of Highway near Ear Falls.

The Province is reconstructing 27-kilometres of Highway 105, north of Highway 657.

The project will create about 65-jobs.

Miller Northwest has been awarded the 8.9-million dollar contract.

Saints complete round robin at OFSAA

A bit of a setback for the Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball team at the All-Ontario Championships in Toronto.

The Saints finished the round robin yesterday with a 3-1 record.

Their lone blemish of the day came against Chippewa Secondary School from North Bay.

They lost in straight sets, suffering their first defeat of the season.

T.A. bounced back with a win over Acton High School in their final game last night.

The Saints will advance to the quarter-finals this afternoon.

A win will put them into the medal round once again, a loss will send them home.

Meanwhile, the Thomas Aquinas Senior Boys basketball team started strong, but faded down the stretch losing a 64-47 decision to Ecole Secondaire Lajeunesse from Windsor.

Alex Gamboa led the Saints in scoring with 16 points, while Jake Boutwell added 9 in a losing cause.

T.A.'s next game is this afternoon at 12:45 against Deslauriers from Ottawa.

Igance Re-Instates Kennerd as Mayor

Ignace Council is going back to a familiar face as Mayor.

Council has agreed to appoint Lee Kennard as Mayor, citing the significant cost of a by-election as one of the reasons behind the decision.

A delegation asked Council to put Kennard back in the top position, citing his huge electoral win last October and his strong performance as Mayor.

Kennard resigned on January 27th, but had a change of heart 5-days later.

Council legally deemed the position open, prompting a debate on what should happen next.

He will be sworn back in as Mayor on March 13th.

Province withdraws land from exploration near Big Trout Lake

The Provincial Government is withdrawing over 23-thousand square kilometers of land around the Big Trout Lake First Nation from any new mining activity.

The First Nation recently asked for a moratorium on mineral exploration and

Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci says they have taken action.

Bartollucci says God's Lake Resources mining lease and claim are not affected by the withdrawl.

Saints win first two games at OFSAA

The Thomas Aquinas Girls volleyball team is off to a good start at the All-Ontario Single A championships taking place in downtown Toronto.

The Saints have won their first two games of the round robin, beating two of the host teams.

T.A. just finished off a two set sweep over University of Toronto Schools by scores of 25-22 and 25-17.

Earlier in the day, the Saints started off with a straight sets win over Toronto District Christian School.

Up next for the Saints is the 5th ranked team in the tournament, Chippewa Secondary School from North Bay.

Tonight, T.A. wraps up the round robin against Acton.

OPP Investigate Hit and Run in Lakeside

The OPP are investigating a hit and run collision in the 3rd Street South area of town.

Police say the incident took place around 8:30 Friday night after an older model white pick-up truck lost control and struck a GMC Sierra that was parked on the street.

The white truck left the scene without stopping.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contract the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Winter Carnival Called a Big Success

Organizers of Kenora's Winter Carnival are hoping to build on this year's event.

Tourism Development Officer, Heather Paterson says they were pleased with the turn-out, but would like to expand in the years to come.

Paterson suggests that attendance was up at most events this past weekend and wants to Winter Carnival to be a feature event in the city in the years to come.

Winter Carnival Winners announced

The Kenora Winter Carnival Charity Challenge is going to the dogs.

Its a Dog's Life ran away with the fundraiser for the second year in a row.

It's A Dog's Life sold over 25 hundred of the two dollar buttons.

Triple Play was well back with 800 buttons sold.

In the snow sculpture contest, Laura Cotton's team from KACL won best overall with their Tobagganers, while Lori and Lyn Grey had the best theme with their ice fishing sculpture.

Polar Paddlers win Great Canadian Canoe Race

The Polar Paddlers are return champions of the Great Canadian Canoe Race.

The team braved deep snow, slush and lots of broken ice en route to victory yesterday.

Jordan Charlebois says this year's race was definitely a challenge.

The Flying Trappers finished second.

Only three of the four boats entered actually finished the gruelling race.

Fraser Institute released annual report on Elementary Schools

Mixed results for elementary schools in the Kenora District in terms of academic achievement.

The Fraser Institute is out with its yearly rankings.

Spokesperson Michael Thomas says there are some low with Lakewood and Pope John Paul II getting 3.5 out of 10. 

At the other end of the scale, Ste. Margarite Bourgeoys topped the list in this region with a score of eight out of ten, and King George saw the biggest gain, moving up to 7.2 out of ten, from 4.7 last year.

Bronco Girls beats Dryden to advance to OFSAA Hockey Finals

Beaver Brae's Girls hockey team seems to be peaking at just the right time.

The Broncos knocked off the Dryden Eagles in the best-of-three NorWOSSA final last night at the Kenora Rec. Center 3-0.

Beaver Brae wins the series two games to none.

Rylee Smith, Hannah Rose and Kaitlyn Sparkman each scored for the Broncos, while Aryn Puls was named player of the game with the shutout.

Beaver Brae now travels to Belleville for the OFSAA championships starting March 21st.

Meanwhile, the Bronco boys hockey team were unable to solve the Fort Frances Muskies.

Saints head to OFSAA Volleyball and Basketball championships

The Thomas Aquinas senior girls volleyball and senior boys basketball teams are in southern Ontario today for the start of the All-Ontario Single A championships.

The Saints girls squad has won silver the last two years at OFSAA and are gunning for gold this year.

They are the second ranked team in the tournament and take on the host team, Toronto District Christian School at 8:00 this morning in their first round robin game.

The Saints boys meanwhile are down the QEW in St. Catharines.

T.A. is ranked 13th at the OFSAA basketball championships and play their first game at 7:00 tonight against Ecole Secondaire Lejeunesse.