STR getting local snowmobile trails ready

The Sunset Trail Riders Snowmobile Club is hoping to have more of its trails in the Kenora area open soon.

So far, just two trails are officially listed as open.

Shaun Clifford is a spokesperson for STR and says they are working hard to get lake trails ready.

Clifford says crews will be out again this weekend signing trails and hopes they will be able to open a few more once that work is complete.

Mike Richards Charity Golf Tournament back in 2011

The Mike Richards Charity Golf Tournament will be back for another year in 2011.

Organizers announced that the second annual fundraiser will take place on July 14th

at the Kenora Golf and Country Club.

Last year, the Charity Golf tournament attracted 180 golfers, guests and sponsors and raised over 11 thousand dollars, which was shared evenly between the Cancer Society and the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

In a news release, Richards says he's looking forward on building on last year's success and making this year even better.

Last years event sold out quickly.

Ring of Fire Office to open in 2011

An office for the Ring of Fire should be open by February or March.

Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle says they are moving forward on the initiative and will have an office in Thunder Bay. 

He adds that the government will also be creating an advisory council.

The aboriginial consultation stakeholder director will be announced in February or March as well.

Alzheimer Society Targets Baby Boomers

A new survey shows that almost a quarter of baby boomer's can't name any of the early sign's of Alzheimer's Disease.

The Alzheimer's Society of Kenora and Rainy River is trying to raise awareness of the disease this month.

Lynn Moffatt is the executive director of the local Alzheimer's chapter and says the risk of getting the disease increases the older you get.

Moffatt says they have a couple of events planned this month, including a virtual dementia tour, which will take place in Kenora at the end of January.

New Years Baby born

Kenora's new years baby waited just six hours to be born in 2011.

Christine Wiebe was born early Saturday morning at Lake of the Woods

District Hospital to Lyndsay Wiebe and Brendan Orosi.

The baby girl was born at 6:07 A.M. on January 1st.

New Fire Hall almost ready to move into

The count down has begun for Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department.

Fire fighters are expected to move into the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill by the middle of this month.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says they are just putting the finishing touches on the building.

Brinkman says one of the issues that delayed their move was the need to re-paint the floor of the garage.

2010 wetter and milder than normal

2010 will go into the books as a wet and mild year.

Figures compiled by Environment Canada show that the average temperature in Kenora last  year was 4.6 degrees, which was almost two degrees warmer than normal.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says overall it was much warmer than usual.

Last year was also wetter than normal with 909.1 millimeters of precipitation.

That's about 250 millimeters more than normal.

Greyhound Passengers Furious after being stranded in NWO

Greyhound Bus passengers are furious at their treatment after being stranded for 15 hours in White River over the weekend.

Paul Hitchin says they felt simply abandoned by the driver and got no help from the company.

Some passengers are considering a lawsuit.

Greyhound is now apologizing, blaming weather for the delay, and says it is reviewing its protocols.

Passengers say Highway 17 to Thunder Bay was re-opened at 6:00 Sunday morning, but Greyhound
didn't have a driver available until 4:00 in the afternoon. 

Tough Start for the Broncos in 2011

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team has the first blemish on its record in

NorWOSSA league play.

The Broncos lost their first game of the year yesterday afternoon at the
Kenora Rec. Center, after being shut out 2-0 by the Dryden Eagles.

Beaver Brae now has an 8-1 record.

Meanwhile, things weren't any better on the court for Beaver Brae.

The Broncos just managed on win on the road in their first action of 2011.

Beaver Brae's senior boys basekball team held on for a 41-38 decision over the Eagles.

The Broncos junor boys were edged 40-37, while Beaver Brae's junior and senior girls volleyball teams lost in three straight sets to Dryden.

Fighter fighers busy over New Years

The New Year's long weekend proved to be pretty eventful for Kenora's

Fire and Emergency Services Department.

Fire crews had five calls over three days, including a fire to a trailor home

on New Year's Eve.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says the blaze broke out in the crawl space of

the trailor, but crews were responded quickly.

At least one person had to be treated for smoke inhallation, but no other

injuries were reported.

Crews also responded to a multiple vehicle accident on Matheson Street,

and a carbon monoxide alarm at a local home.

Treaty Three Police Set to Open new Detachment

The Treaty Three Police Service is hoping to have a new detachment up and running in the Fort Frances area sometime in the next month or so.

Chief of the aboriginal police service, Conrad Delaronde says they are just putting the finishing touches on a new detachment office on the Couchiching First Nation.

Delaronde says they also want to expand their drug unit and enhance their administrative services in the new year.

More Family Doctors Expected in 2011

Kenora should see some new family doctors in the new year.

The Paterson Medical Clinic is hoping to attract some new recruits in 2011.

Dr. Buzz Pedersen says they are hoping to land one or two family doctors from the first graduating class of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Pedersen says having the students work in Kenora during the course of their schooling is probably one of the best ways of recruiting new doctors to the community.

Five Kenora Skiiers Heading to Canada Winter Games

Five Kenora cross country skiiers will be heading to Halifax next month for the Canada Winter Games.

Eric Lockhart was selected to be part of Manitoba's Bi-Athlon team.

Meanwhile, Amy Matthews, Sammy Burkhart, Jenny Hissa and Maya Boivin will be part of
Manitoba's Cross-country Ski squad.

The Canada Winter Games will take place from February 11 to 27th.

Midget Thistles Win First game of 2011

A good start to the new year for the Kenora Triple A midget Thistles.

The Thistles were in Steinbach on Sunday and edged the Eastman Selects

2-1 in their first game of 2011.

Bowen Alcock and Dustin Taylor scored in the third period to lead the Kenora midgets to victory.

Their next game is this Saturday on the road in Brandon.

Post-Christmas Break-In foiled

The OPP say some observant neighbors managed to spoil a post-Christmas break-in attempt.

Last Tuesday, a 3rd Street South resident contacted police about a

male suspect who had entered a nearby home.

Police were able to locate the would-be thief and after a brief chase,

they managed to arrest him.

26 year old Ryan Parker has been charged with break and enter and

failing to abide the terms of an undertaking.

Suit against Nault dismissed

A lawsuit against former Indian Affairs Minister Bob Nault has been dismissed by
an Ontario Court Judge.

The Pikangikum First Nation brought the suit forward after a third party manager
was imposed on the community back on 2001.

Justice John Wright says Nault didn't actually ask for a third party manager,
instead he had lobbied his own department to discuss a co-management sitution.

The band argued that the imposition of a third party manager held up millions of
dollars worth of projects on Pikangikum, but Justice Wright says dismissed the bands
claims.

He says despite Nault's opposition to a third party manager, the decision to impose
one was appropriate.

Snowfall Warning Issued for Kenora

It looks like Kenora is going to ring in the new year with a big dump of snow.
A snowfall warning has been issued for the area, with as much as 20 centimeters
expected to fall in the next day or so.

Alicia Young is a meteorologist with Environment Canada and says Colorado Low is
heading our way.

Snowfall is expected to start this evening and continue until at least tomorrow morning.

Gravelle supports replacing NWO Emergency Field Officer

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle is backing calls in support of the emergency field officer in northwestern Ontario.


Gravelle says he's against his government's plan not to replace the current officer who retires soon.

Gravelle says he's lobbying Community Safety Minister Jim Bradley to have the decision reversed.

A number of communities across the region, including Kenora has passed resolutions demanding
the government fill the vacancy.

Canfield wants to kick-stat Common Ground Talks

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says he's eager to the see the Common Ground

Initiative on Tunnel Island get back on track in 2011.

The City of Kenora, Treaty Three and three area first nations are the main partners
in Common Ground, but development of a management plan has been on hold
for the past year and a half.

Canfield says its time for all the parties to sit down and get the process moving
again.

Negotiations over a management plan broke down over whether to include a
dispute resolution mechanism or not.

Kakegamic murder Conviction upheld

A man who was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting and strangling a teenage girl in Kenora has had an appeal quashed.

James Kakegamic was convicted in 2005 of the first-degree murder
of 16-year-old Jocelyn McDonald in 2000.

Kakegamic, who was 22 at the time of the killing and is now serving a sentence of life with no chance of parole for 25 years, appealed his conviction.

He argued that the trial judge's private conversations during jury selection with potential jurors to discuss their personal reasons for not being able to serve meant he was improperly excluded from his own trial.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario agrees he was improperly excluded, but in dismissing the appeal, the court says Kakegamic suffered no prejudice because of that.

McDonald was last seen at a party in Kakegamic's apartment in
Kenora in October 2000 and her remains were discovered March 2001 near the apartment complex.