Drug Bust on Scramble Avenue

The OPP say they have seized over 123 thousand dollars worth of marijuana and marijuana plants during a bust over the weekend.

Police raided a home on Scramble Avenue this past Friday and seized about nine pounds of pot, 43 marijuana plants and over 16 thousand dollars in cash.

The OPP's Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and members of the Street Crime Unit arrested five male suspects and three women in the residence and a garage located on the property.

45 year old Lorraine Allin, 56 year old Martin Allin, 21 year old Trish Allin, 24 year old Dave Baker, 24 year old Steven Beckworth, and 20 year old Robert Hay have been each charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.

A 17 year old was also arrested, though his name cannot be released under the Youth Criminal

Justice Act.

20 year old Martin Allin Junior also faces an additional charge of production of a controlled substance.

All the people charged have been released and are due to appear in Kenora Court on December 13th.

Copperfin talks Credit Union Merger with Northern Lights

Copperfin Credit Union is considering merging with Northern Lights Credit Union.

The two businesses are in talks with a joint Board of Directors meeting scheduled for the New Year.

Copperfin C.E.O. Dennis Alvestad says they are in the preliminary stages.

Alvestad says if they merge credit union users would have access to their accounts from sites across Northwestern Ontario.

NOSM contract vote on Friday

There's hope the strike at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine may soon be over.

It follows a tentative agreement reached after some overnight bargaining.

OPSEU local president, Tyler England says they'll recommend their membership accept the offer.

The voting takes place Friday

Health Unit Starts up Kenora Flu Clinics Today

The Northwestern Health Unit will be starting up it's flu shot clinics in Kenora today.

Ella Goodman, a doctor-in- training at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and also has an infant son.

She understands there are still skeptics who don't like the flu vaccine.

The Kenora Clinic is by appointment and will take place from 9:00 to 4:00 at the Health Unit Office

on Tunnel Island.

A flu shot clinic will also take place at the Metis Council office from nine til noon tomorrow.

Houston Lake Mining continues Exploration near Sioux Narrows

Houston Lake Mining says it continues to be impressed with the results of its drilling

program on the West Cedertree property southeast of Kenora.

The company recently completed another four hole drilling program in a recently discovered

gold zone.

The company says the results of the drill program show that further exploration is warranted.

Trevor Walker is president of the company and says they are pleased with the results on the

Robertson Gold Zone, which is part of the West Cedartree property.

Crime Stats drop in September

The Kenora Detachment of the OPP say there was a big drop-off in crime in the month of September from August.

Inspector Dave Lucas released the latest statistics to the Kenora Police Service Board last week.

There were about 120 fewer calls for service from the last month of summer to the first month of fall.

While most crime stats were down in September, there was a noticible increase in thefts.

Officers investigated 14 break-ins in September compared to just seven in August.

A Winnipeg man was arrested in connection to a number of those break-ins.

NorWOSSA court sport regular season wraps up

The NorWOSSA regular season is over for both Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas boys volleyball and girls basketball teams.

The Saints boys volleyball teams finished on a winning note, sweeping Ignace three sets to one.

T.A. wrapped up the regular season with perfect 14-0 records.

Thomas Aquinas girls teams also finished with victories. The Saints senior girls upended the

Falcons 62-37, while the T.A. junior girls beat Ignace 43-28.

Beaver Brae's court sports teams managed just one win over Fort Frances.

The Broncos junior boys prevailed three sets to two over the Muskies, while

the Beaver Brae senior boys had their two game winning streak end with a five set

loss to Fort.

The Bronco senior girls lost their final regular season game 47-14, while the junior team

dropped a 2-12 decision.

The Norwossa single and double "a" play-offs begin next week.

Helen Lake Man Identified, and charges laid in incident.

A Winnipeg man has been charged in the fatal hit and run near Nipigon.

The incident occured on or around 6:30 am on October 31st. The OPP were called out to a report that there was a man lying in the middle of Highway 11,17.

The Highway was closed for nearly nine hours while police conducted an investigation.

The 21 year old male has been identified as Miles Fawcett, of Lake Helen, Ontario. Fawcett was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Investigation has resulted in 44 year old Peter Angelkowski from Winnipeg being charged with Failure to Stop at the scene of an accident. He will appear in Kenora Court on November 3rd.

Tentative deal for NOSM employees

A tentative deal has been reached between the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and OPSEU.

The agreement was reached early this morning following nearly 24-hours of Provincially-mediated talks in Thunder Bay.

The deal, which is being recommended by the Union bargaining team, still must be ratified by both parties.

Some 150-support workers have been on strike since mid-August.

NOMA seeking a new president

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is searching for a new President.

The position will become vacant in December, when Anne Krassilowsky officially leaves office.

The outgoing Dryden Mayor has been President of NOMA since 2007.

Executive Director Charla Robinson says it will be up to the organization's membership to fill the vacancy.

Robinson says they will look within for an interim President until their Annual General Meeting in April.

Thunder Bay Councilor Iain Angus is a Vice-President on NOMA's Board of Directors.

African Children's Choir tours NWO

The sounds of Africa resonated through the Knox United Church last week.

Members of the African Children's Choir performed as part of a cross-Canada tour.

Chimera Victor, a team leader, says they're also raising awareness of Africa's orphaned and abandoned children.

It's the sixth year the choir has visited Kenora as part of a tour of northwestern Ontario.

OPP investigate hit and run on Nipigon River Bridge

Police aren't releasing any new information about the death on the Nipigon River Bridge Sunday.

A 21 year old Lake Helen man was pronounced dead there after what police believe to be a hit and run.

OPP Sergeant Ken Mantey won't say if there are any witnesses.

A post mortem has taken place at the Regional Health Sciences Center in Thunder Bay, but the

cause of death has not been released. 

Human Remains Identified

Dryden and Ignace OPP have wrapped up their investigation into human remains found on Highway 17, about 25-kilometres east of Ignace.

The remains were found August 17th by a group of blueberry pickers.

A post-mortem was conducted in Toronto and the individual was identified through the use of medical records.

The remains are that of 55-year-old Steven Raycroft.

Raycroft was a transient who frequently travelled across Canada.

Foul play is not suspected in the case.

Near record temperatures for October

Its been a remarkably warm fall so far in the Kenora area.

The month of October was one of the warmest on record.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says temperatures last

month were well above normal.

Laidlaw adds the precipitation was just below normal, with

48.5 millimeters of rain and snow last month.

The normal is 53 millimeters.

Infrastructure projects face deadline

With winter getting ready to set in, there has been some concern about the status of some of the infrastructure projects funded by the federal and provincial government's.

A recent report by the federal auditor questioned whether all the projects would be complete

by the March 31st deadline imposed by the Harper government.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says so far, the projects in his riding seem to be on schedule for

completion.

A couple of projects in the Kenora area are still underway, including the Discovery Center in

Norman and the new water treatment facility in Redditt.

Both are scheduled to be complete sometime during the winter months.

LHIN's Announces funding for aboriginal elders

The Kenora Chiefs Advisory is getting funding from the Northwest Local Health Integration Network to help aboriginal elders stay in their homes.

The local group is one of seven across the region to get funding.

Just over 140 thousand dollars will go towards a new project that provide home maintenance service and home visits.

The money will also give safety and support services training to 100 elders in four communities near Kenora.

The Northwest LHIN's has doled out over 500 thousand dollars for aborigianal community

support services.

Soldi Ventures to begin Drill Program in Cameron Lake Area

Yet another mining company is planning an exploration program in the Cameron Lake area

in the Township of Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls.

Soldi Ventures is going to embark on a winter drilling project of its recently acquired property.

The Vancouver-based company recently obtained about 76-hectares of land within the emerging gold

zone.

The company says it will be drilling in areas based on a historical and current review of data of the five separate claim holdings.

Jump Start Program helps out northern Communities

Attawapiskat youth will be getting involved in sports thanks to Canadian Tire and the Provincial Government.

The two are sending a youth wellness worker to the community who will help create sports programs.

Canadian Tire Jumpstart President Dan Thompson says they'll also have activity kit.

As part of the program, Olympic Athlete Sami Jo Small will speak to youth in Kashechewan, Attawapiskat and Fort Albany.

Funding available for tourism projects

The Ministry of Tourism is currently reviewing eight projects that could boost tourism in Northwestern Ontario.

Paul Pepe is part of the transition team for the new Northern Ontario Tourism Zone and says the projects include a big-game hunting proposal, motorcycle tours and marketing strategies into Manitoba and the Northern U.S.

Pepe notes other projects are on the go.

A total of 1.54-million dollars is available for tourism related projects in this Region.

Ignatieff tackles border crossing issues

Problems at the border was one of the hot button issues discussed Friday at a Town Hall meeting with Michael Ignatieff.

The Federal Liberal Leader addressed about 80-party faithful at the Dryden Centre.

Ignatieff says he's the only leader that believes this is a major issue.

Ignatieff notes Americans with minor convictions who want to spend a week fishing in the North shouldn't be turned away at the border.