Police Arrest 38 people in Project Ghost

A six month undercover investigation involving four police agencies has resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals and 153 drug related offences.

Raids were carried out yesterday morning in Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Ignace.

Officers seized over two thousand oxycodone tablets, 185 grams of cocaine and 14 pounds of marihuana worth an estimated 245 thousand dollars.

Inspector Tom Dirling is the Program Manager of the OPP Drug Enforcement Unit and says they are being proactive in keeping drugs off the street.

The suspects arrested during Project Ghost include residents of Dryden, Eagle Lake, Wabigoon,
Fort Frances, Ignace and Sioux Lookout.

More Snow on the Way

Northern Ontario is going to be getting all kinds of precipitation over the next few days.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the region, stretching from the Manitoba border to North Bay.

North and west of Lake Superior and east of Kenora will get more than 10 centimetres of snow.

But ice pellets and wet snow are expected to hit Atikokan to Geraldton.

Thunder Bay and the north shore of Superior will see some wet snow changing to rain and eventually a change back to snow tomorrow.

Stand-Off in Fort Frances ends Peacefully

One man in is custody while another taken to hospital following a stand-off with police in Fort Frances that lasted nearly 12 hours.

The OPP were initially called to an assault involving two men about 4:30 Saturday morning.

One man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

His condition is not immediately known.

The other man barricaded himself inside a home on Scott Street, forcing police to close a section of the road to traffic and evacuate some nearby homes.

The Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service was also called to the scene.

The man eventually surrendered to police without incident.

Official Opening for Kenora's New Fire Hall Today

Its been more than a year in the making, but Kenora's new fire hall on Barsky's Hill will finally be opened up to the public today.

A grand opening ceremony will take place this afternoon at 1:30.

The fire hall cost the city about six million dollars, with one million of that coming from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

The new fire hall will replace the old 100 year old facility on Second Street South.

Later in the afternoon, Kenora City council will hold a special meeting to look at the request for proposals for the heritage fire hall.

Broncos and Thistles win Weekend Games

Beaver Brae's boys hockey team fired a lot of rubber at the Red Lake Rams this weekend and won both games on the road.

The Broncos had 60 shots in Saturday's game against the Rams, but the game was still tied at 1-1 after regulation.

The Broncos won the game scoring three times in the shootout.

Friday night, Colt German had a pair of goals and an assist as Beaver Brae downed Red Lake 6-1.

Meanwhile, the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles had a good weekend winning both of its

homes games.

Saturday, the Thistles blanked the Pembina Valley Hawks 4-0.

Matt Benson turned aside 18 shots for the shutout.

 On Friday night, the Thistles beat up Pembina Valley 3-1.

Saints win Silver Medal at OFSAAA

The Saints two year reign atop the OFSAA Single "A" senior boys division has come an end.

Thomas Aquinas had to settle for a silver medal this year after losing the final in three straight sets to Quinte Christian High School from Belleville.

T.A. head Coach Joanna Krisko says they just didn't have their "a" game on Saturday.

The Saints had won the gold medal at the All-Ontario Championships the previous two years.

Local Health Unit Gains Accreditation

The Northwestern Health Unit says its the first one in the region to be accredited by the Ontario Council on Community Health Accreditation.

The Health Unit showed of its newly minted certificate last week.

Alex Berry was the team lead for the accreditation process and says it took about three years to complete all the work.

Berry says of the 36 health units across the province, only 14 are currently accredited.

Another Good Year for the Miracle Marathon

It was a good weekend for the Salvation Army's Christmas Cheer Campaign.

The CJRL Miracle Marathon raked in thousands of dollars in cash donations, toys and non-perishable food items.

Captain Debbie Gosse says the community certainly responded in a big way this year.

Gosse says they managed to collect a lot more this year during the Miracle Marathon than last year.

That's good because she feels there is going to be a bigger need this christmas for hampers in the community.

Saints through to the Quater-Finals

The Thomas Aquinas Saints have finished the round robin without a loss.

The Saints played their fourth game this morning and beat London District Chrisitan in two straight sets, by scores of 25-17 and 25-20.

The Saints will finish first in their pool with a perfect 4-0 record and have yet to drop a set.

T.A. will play in the quarter-finals this afternoon at 3:00.

Their opponant still has to be determined.

Drug Bust in Fort Albany

Two people face charges after Nishnawbe-Aski Police executed a search warrant at a Fort Albany First Nation home.

Police seized 25-hundred dollars worth of marijuana, 33-hundred dollars cash, 2-firearms and various packages of ammunition.

Police say 29-year-old Ross Loone and 28-year-old Angie Lagasse have been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a firearm and unauthorized use of a firearm.

Police to release details of undercover operation

Police Agency's from across Northwestern Ontario will take the wraps off a major 6-month undercover investigation tomorrow morning.

A press conference is taking place in Dryden involving the OPP, Treaty 3 and the Anishinabek Police Services.

Police say the probe led to significant cash, drug and property seizures.

The announcement is expected to coincide with a report relased yesterday highlighting the escalated prescription drug problem.

Miracle Marathon turns 20

The Salvation Army and CJRL is celebrating a special milestone today.

The 20th annual Miracle Marathon is being broadcast over the next two days to raise money to help support the Christmas Cheer Fund.

Captain Debbie Gosse says its a special time of year for her.

Over the past 19 years almost 1.5 million dollars in cash, non-perishable food items and toys have been donated to the Salvation Army through the Miracle Marathon.

The Miracle Marathon will run until 2:00 Saturday afternoon.

Bell Canada under fire for PST refunds

Bell Canada is being accused of failing its First Nation customers.

The Union of Ontario Indians says its members have had a hard time getting their PST refunds.

Spokesperson Maurice Switzer says some people have had to wait on the phone for over 4 hours.

All phone, cable and satelite bills were expected to be PST free as of two months ago.

OPP Launch seasonal RIDE campaign

Police in the region are gearing up for another Festive RIDE campaign.

Sergeant Ken Manti of the OPP says this year there are stricter rules in force.

The seasonal RIDE campaign begins today and will wrap up on January 2nd.

School Buses Running

Its business as usual at local schools this morning.

Local school buses and the city transit buses are running once again after being shut down yesterday due to all the snow.

Road crews have been out plowing, salting and sanding local

roads overnight.

The Kenora area received a lot less snow yesterday than

predicted.

Only about six centimeters has fallen, less than the 10 to 15 that had been predicted.

Road conditions on the main highways are described as partially snow-covered with some bare and dry sections.

Saints Unbeaten so far at OFSAA

The Thomas Aquinas Saints have a perfect record after the first day at the All-Ontario Single "a" championships.

The Saints won all three round-robin games they played yesterday.

Last night they got by Ecole Secondaire Lajeunesse by scores of 25-21 and 25-9.

Saints Coach Joanna Krisko says so far they have had a pretty easy schedule.

The Saints wrap up the round robin this morning against London District Christian, which is also unbeaten in the round-robin.

Kenora Hydro proposes rate increase

Kenora Hydro is proposing a 10 percent increase in its rates next year.

Hydro has submitted a request to the Ontario Energy Board for an increase in rates effective May 1st, 2011.

The new rates would help Kenora Hydro off-set some of the costs of a couple of major capital projects, including the installation of smart meters.

Hydro says the rate hike will also help pay for the re-build of their  sub-station on Mellick Avenue.

For the average consumer, rates would increase about nine dollars and 45 cents a month.

Road Closure near Wabigoon

It looks as if we'll be getting at least another 24 hours of snow.

So far about 10 centimeters has fallen, and its expected to snow

all day today and tonight.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says things won't start to

improve until Friday.

Meanwhile, there is one road closure to report this morning.

The Trans-Canada in Wabigoon has been shut down because of a collision involving two semi tractor trailor units.

The OPP say small vehicles and trucks are able to detour through the town.

Saints go for OFSAA gold

The Thomas Aquinas Senior Boys Volleyball team is gunning for its third straight provincial title.

The Saints are in Missasauga for the All-Ontario Single "a" championships.

Their first game is this morning at 11:30 against the lowest ranked team in the tournament, Bloor Collegiate from Toronto.

The number one ranked Saints' next game is at 2:30 against Brampton Christian High School.

T.A. wraps up the day with a game at 5:15 against Lajeunesse from Southwestern Ontario.

Broncos win league gridiron awards

Some hardware for Beaver Brae's Football team.

The Winnipeg High School Football League held its award ceremonies last night and the the Broncos took home two major awards.

Dannon Saunders was named the lineman of the year in the Vidruk East Division.

The Beaver Brae Football Club also received kudos for having the top coaching

staff in the Vidruk East Division.