Rainfall Warning Issued for Northwestern Ontario

Don't forget your umbrella tomorrow.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for the Kenora area and much of northwestern Ontario.

Geoff Coulson is a severe weather specialist and says the rain will be with us for at least the next two days.

Coulson says we can expect to see at least 50 millimeters worth of rain Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Thistles unbeaten in weekend exhibition tournament

A promising weekend for the Kenora Triple "a" midget Thistles.

The Thistles were in Beausejour for a pre-season tournament and finished with a record of three wins and a tie on the four games played.

Head Coach Doug Novak says he doesn't want to read too much into the results.

The Thistles allowed just five goals in four games, and recorded two  shutouts.

The Kenora Midgets blanked the Central Plains Capitals 1-0, got by the Winnipeg Thrashers 4-3, then shutout the Pembina Valley Hawks 3-0 and tied the Interlake Lightning 2-2.

Their home opener is September 30th against the Winnipeg Wild.

Knowlege is Power presentation tonight

Understanding and Living with Cancer.

That's the theme of a presentation sponsored by the Kenora Dragon Tamers.

Lorna Haney is a member of the team and says they have lined up a number of guest speakers for tonight's event.

The event is being called "Knowlege is Power" and will be held at the Best Western Lakeside Inn starting at 7:00.

Terry Fox Run A success

The weather wasn't great, but that didn't stop almost 300 people for turning out to the 31st annual Terry Fox Run in Kenora.

Yesterday's event raised just over 10 thousand dollars for cancer research.

Organizers are also thanking the 38 volunteers who help stage the annual run.

Con College Workers set to return to work

The president of Confederation College, Jim Madder says he's ecstatic now that a tentative agreement has been reached to end the strike by support staff.

Madder says it was good news to wake up to.

Madder hopes to have operations back to normal by the end of the week.

Public meeting tonight on City Deer Hunting

Kenora City Council will find out this afternoon how the public feels about

its plan to allow deer hunting south of the Kenora By-Pass.

A second public meeting is being held prior to the open meeting of council this afternoon.

Councillor Sharon Smith says they expect to hear both the pros and the cons of the plan.

The plan would allow bow-hunting on crown land or private property over five hectares in size, with the permission of the property owner.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 4:00 this afternoon.

Bikes for Triple Play

Triple Play will be going into the bicycle business soon.

The OPP are planning to donate 24 bikes to Triple Play this year instead of holding its annual bike auction.

The bikes are either lost or stolen, but remain unclaimed by their owners.

Last year the bikes were donated to a couple of remote first nation communties in northwestern Ontario.

Catholic Board Responds to EQAO results

The Kenora Catholic District School Board says there's still room for improvement.

Staff are still digesting the latest figures from grades three and six, reading, writing and math tests.

Phylis Eikre is the director of Education and says the EQAO results show where they can do better.

Eikre says academic math scores were nine percent higher than than the provincial average.

Officers to receive Accolade Awards

Well deserved recognition for two Northwestern Ontario OPP officers.

Constable Bob Bernie of the Kenora Detachement is going to be named OPP Officer of the Year.

Bernie will receive the award at a special ceremony in Orillia Monday afternoon.

Bernie is being recognized for outstanding service as well as his work with the Kenora Mental Health and Drug Awareness Task Force.

Detective Constable Clarence Pierce from the Fort Frances-Emo area will also pick up an award for enforcement.

The Federal Long-Gun Registry

The Federal Long-Gun Registry is one of the Harper Government's top priorities for today's start of the new session of Parliament.

Kenora MP Greg Rickford says he hopes to have a bill to dismantle the Registry in place sooner rather then later.Rickford notes it all depends on what games the opposition play, noting its an issue that continues to divide the NDP.

ePassports

Canadians could soon be paying a lot more for passports if the first versions of Canada's new electronic passport are any indication.

Since 2009, Ottawa has issued 40-thousand so-called ePassports to senior government officials and diplomats.

The document has a computer chip that stores key personal data. According to an expense claim filed by Prime Minister Harper,they cost 225 dollars each.Currently, adult Canadians pay 87 dollars for a passport

Air Canada

At last word, Air Canada and its flight attendants' union were still talking in Montreal late last night ahead of this week's union-imposed strike deadline.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the airline presented a counter-offer to a proposal that CUPE made Saturday.Two federal mediators are said to be involved in the talks aimed  at heading off a walkout by Air Canada's 68-hundred flight attendants early Wednesday morning

House of Commons

Parliament gets back to business today after the summer recess.


M-P's will return to work in the House of Commons where some will offer tributes to late N-D-P leader Jack Layton, who died of cancer last month.

Although Prime Minister Harper has stressed job creation his top priority, a tough-on-crime agenda will be the first major bill to be introduced this week.

Laws in the omnibus bill are expected to include measures to toughen jail terms for child predators and an end house arrest for violent offenders.

OPSEU

The province's 24 community colleges should be back to normal within days after striking staff reached a tentative deal.

The eight-thousand support workers who were on picket lines since just before school resumed are expected back on the job tomorrow.Negotiators for OPSEU members who handle everything from

cleaning, to food services and registration reached a tentative deal late last night.

Blue Rodeo Ready for Tonight's Concert

The new Harborfront Tent is being prepped for tonight's Blue Rodeo Concert.

Greg Keelor is one of the lead men for the Canadian Super Group and says they still enjoy performing after 30 years on the road.

Fat City is scheduled to open for Blue Rodeo starting at 7:15.

Boys Volleyball Tournament this Weekend

Local senior boys high school volleyball teams will see their first real action this weekend.

The Kenora Invitational Volleyball Tournament will be taking place up at Beaver Brae and Thomas

Aquinas today and tomorrow.

A total of ten teams will be taking part in the two day warm-up to the NorWOSSA season.

Both the Saints and Broncos will open the tournament in their home gyms at noon.

The finals are slated for Beaver Brae Saturday afternoon at 2:00.

Two local Bridges Being Named after Fallen Officers

The province is planning to name a couple of bridges in the Kenora area in honor of two OPP officers who died in line of duty.

The bridges are located along the Kenora By-Pass and will be named after Constable Peter Sebborn and Sergeant Tom Cooper.

Sebborn was killed in a collision on July 1st, 1952, while driving to the scene of an accident.

Cooper was shot while responding to a domestic disturbance on the Grassy Narrows First Nation on July 25th, 1991.

The naming ceremony will take place at the Discovery Center on September 29th.

Aboriginal Education Panel Visits Rat Portage

The National Round-Table on Aboriginal Education has received a list of several recommendations to improve learning in Northern communities.

The 3-member Panel was in Rat Portage First Nation yesterday for the first of 7 stops across Canada.

Jack McMaster is the Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and says the Feds need to bridge the gap between primary and secondary learning.

McMaster says students living on reserves need to have a smooth transition when attending High School in Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Kenora.

October Elections

Advanced poll locations for the October 6^th elections open to the public next Wednesday, September 21st. You have until September 30^th to cast your vote at Kenora’s satellite office:

227 2^nd Street South. 

 

Bombardier

Bombardier says final assembly of its Global seven-thousand and eight-thousand business jets will be done at its manufacturing site in Toronto.

The Montreal-based aerospace giant has not determined how many jobs will be created by the move.Already, about four-thousand people work at the Bombardier site in Toronto.