Pilot Dead following plane crash near Sioux Lookout

A Minnesota man is dead following a plane crash near Sioux Lookout.

The OPP say a small aircrash went down in Abram Lake yesterday afternoon around 4:00.

The only occupants were the pilot and a dog.

Police say the pilot was taken to hospital but was pronounced  dead.

He was a resident of Sunfish Lake, Minnesota, but no name has been released.

A post-mortem exam will be conducted today at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

Woman in Sprague charged with attempted murder

A woman in southern Manitoba has been charged with attempted murder after she allegedly tried to use a gas stove to kill her common law husband.

R.C.M.P at Sprague say a 51-year-old man awoke to the smell of propane gas in his rural residence late Friday morning.

He noticed it was coming from the stove and while trying to dissipate the fumes a small explosion occurred that left him with minor injuries.

The man also noticed that his wife and all their pets were not in the home and one of the family vehicles was gone.

A 47-year-old woman appeared in a Winnipeg Court yesterday to face the charge. 

Fire Department Investigates Cause of Early Morning Blaze

The Ontario Fire Marshall's Office has been contacted about an early morning fire in downtown Kenora.

The blaze broke out just before 3:00 in a large house, that contained a number of apartment units.

Fire chief Warren Brinkman says he believes he knows where the fire originated, but wants to be able to access the interior of the building before confirming the cause.

Brinkman also credits the use of working smoke alarms for getting all ten people inside the building out safe and sound.

The fire has caused extensive damage to the structure of the building, including the roof area, which has been completely destroyed.

Northwest LHIN's Receives Funding for Seniors

The North West Local Health Integration Network is getting 1.23-million dollars in Provincial funds to help local seniors.

The money will improve services for seniors who are dealing with complex mental health, dementia and other neurological conditions.

The cash will allow health care providers to hire new nurses, personnel and support workers.

Ignace Sawmill Scheduled to Re-Start

After sitting idle for 5-years, the AbitibiBowater Sawmill in Ignace is set to re-open.

AbitibiBowater says it plans to spend 32-million dollars in capital investments over 24 months to reopen and upgrade the facility.

Construction will take place over the next two years and it is expected the mill will be operational in 2014.

Ignace Mayor Lee Kennard says the project is expected to create 90 jobs in the Mill and 80 harvesting jobs.

All Day Kindergarten Programs Proving Popular

All-Day junior and senior kindergarten program are proving to be very popular this fall.

The Kenora Cathlic District School Board is adding two new classes this fall to meet rising demand.

Director of Education Phylis Eikre says initially they had planned to offer three classes at Pope John Paul but have ended up with four and a half classes. 

Eikre says overall, their board is projecting an increase in enrolment.

Another school years starts up

Summer break is over and classes are back in session for Elementary and High School students in the Keewatin-Patricia School District.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says improving literacy, numeracy and behavioural skills will be the focus this year.

McMaster says fine tuning their strategic plan will be the priority at a Board level.

McMaster says the plan focuses on better communication between teachers as well as more classroom interaction with students.

Tennis Throwdown results

A total of 26-competitors from Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Vancouver and Australia competed in the Kenora Patricia Tennis Throwdown Tournament in Kenora over the weekend.

Lindsay Lunny of Thunder Bay was a force in the women's events.

She took top honors in the women's single, and teams up with Gillian Lunny from Kenora for the Women's Doubles and paired with

Brian Lunny for the mixed doubles title.

Sioux Lookout's John Libler won the Men's Singles title.

Libler also won the Men's Doubles event with partner Brian Legros.

The two beat Dryden's Stephen Cortens and Kenora's Patrick Lessard in the Final.

Australian Patick Cooper was the Junior Champion.

Local Anglers win I-Falls Bass Tournament

Make it two in a row for Kenora's Jeff Gustafson and Dryden's Scott Dingwall.

The two captured the International Falls Bass Tournament in Minnesota over the weekend.

Dingwall and Gustafson had a 2-day total of 31.44-pounds, about 3-pounds more then the second place team from the United States.

Dingwall and Gustafson take home 10-thousand dollars as a result.

Early morning fire in Kenora

Fire crews have brought a blaze in downtown Kenora under control.

The fire broke out just before 3:00 this morning to an older home on 3rd Street
South.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says it didn't take long for the fire to take hold and make its
way quickly into the attic area.

All available fire trucks are on the scene, and Brinkman says they are just dealing with a couple of
hot spots.
The house had a number of rental units inside, but Brinkman says its unclear at this time where
the fire might have started.

All 10 people living inside the building managed to escape.

OPP Search for Missing Man near Morson

The OPP's Marine Unit is searching for a missing 68 year old man on Lake of the Woods.

Police say the man was reported missing on Saturday evenung after going out for a boat ride on Obabikon Bay.

When he failed to show back up at his camp, friends and family went looking for him.

His clothes were found on a rock and his boat was found floating in the water a short distance away.

Police believe his boat may have drifted away and he went swimming after it.

Bill Amason is from Summerfield, Florida, but is a seasonal resident of Morson.

The OPP's underwater search and recovery unit is en route to help out with the search.

Catholic School Board Gets a New Logo

The Kenora Catholic District School Board is updating its image.

The separate school board released its new logo to its staff today.

Director of Education Phylis Eikre says it was time for a bit of a make over.

Eikre says the board had a consulting firm help design the new logo.

New Northern Ontario Tourism Plan released

A consultant's report on the new Northern Ontario tourism plan is out.

Members of various tourism organizations are taking time to review the document.

Tourism representitives will be meeting for two days starting today in Sudbury.

Busters Featured on the Food Network

The Food Network is coming to Vermilion Bay.

Busters Barbeque is being featured on the show "You've Gotta Eat Here".

Filming begins on Thursday and the Restaurant will be closed.

However, the doors will open on Friday when patrons have an opportunity to be on-air.

The Busters Barbeque episode is scheduled to air in January.

OPP Seize Ecstasy Tablets in Traffic Stop

The OPP say they have taken over 40 thousand dollars in drugs off the streets in two separate busts on the Trans-Canada Highway in the Kenora area.

Last week, officers pulled over a westbound SUV at the intersection of the Redditt Road and the Kenora By-Pass.

Police say one of the men in the vehicle was in breach of a probation order.

Further investigation uncovered a quantity of marijuana and about one thousand ecstasy tablets.

The street value of the drugs is estimated at about 20 thousand dollars.

Two Winnipeg men have been charged with possession of ecstasy for the purpose of trafficking.

They appeared in Kenora Court last week.

OPP Seize Marijuana in Traffic Stop

The OPP say they have stopped a couple of shipments of drugs passing

through the Kenora area.

Late last week, officers stopped an eastbound transport on Highway 17 west.

While speaking with the driver, police noticed the smell of marijuana.

The driver was arrested and the vehicle was searched resulting in the seizure of a half a pound of marihuana and a large amount of Canadian currency with a total street value of approximately 20 thousand dollars.

51 year old Robert Steenson of British Columbia has been charged with possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of property obtained by crime.

Missing Anglers Located on Lac Seul

Two Illinois men are in fine health after getting lost on Lac Seul.

OPP were notified that the men had left Williams Lake Lodge to explore the lake.

The OPP Emergency Response Team and the Ministry of Natural Resources were dispatched.

The owner of the camp located the two men safe and unharmed.

OPP say the tourists were unable to locate the camp.

Summer Literacy Camp wraps up

It was a different kind of Summer Camp for kids in Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Red Lake.

They have finished the Summer Literacy Camp.

Lisa Closs was one of the instructors and says the 4-week initiative is a fun and interactive approach to improve reading and writing skills.

Closs says the program is geared towards students going into Grades 2,3 and 4.

The program was introduced last year in Sioux Lookout and was expanded to Evergreen in Kenora this year.

Fires continue to burn across NWO

The Ministry of Natural Resources continues to make excellant progress on raging forest fires in Northwestern Ontario.

33 fires were declared out over the weekend.

175 personnel from five provinces and Minnesota remain in the region.

There were 11new forest fires reported yesterday.

A total of 57fires continue to burn.

Voting by Mail

For the first time in Ontario's history voters will get a chance to vote by mail. Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa says there will be 10 advanced voting days, 15 days of assited voting and the October 6th election day. Essensa says he thinks the changes will give voters more opportunities to choose when they want to vote.