Community Foundation Holds Granting Ceremony Tonight

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation will be handing out just over 50 thousand dollars to a number of lucky community groups.

The fall granding ceremony will take place this evening at the Best Western Lakeside Inn starting at 7:00.

In addition to endowment funds, a number of separate groups, including the CP Rail Employees will be

presenting cheques as part of the granting ceremony.

TA wins double volleyball gold at NORWOSSA

Make it two for two for Thomas Aquinas at the NorWOSSA Single "a" championships.

Both Saints boys volleyball teams have won gold in Rainy River today.

The Thomas Aquinas senior boys lost their first set in league play, but still managed to down Atikokan three games to one to claim the NorWOSSA crown.

The T.A. junior boys managed to get past their nemisis this year, downing the Voyageurs three sets to one.

Atikokan had beaten the Saints in its two previous meetings, and won the first game of the final, but then lost the next three games to give Thomas Aquinas the gold.

T.A.'s senior girls will take to the court for the girls basketball final against the host Owls at 4:00 this
afternoon.

OFAH Upset with New Democrats over Gun Registry

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has come to the rescue of Thunder Bay's NDP MP's.

OFAH Spokesman Greg Farrant says they have sent an open letter to NDP Leader Nycole Turmel in support of Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty who were punished for voting in favour of ending the long gun registry.

Farrant says how can you punish someone for voting for what their constituents wanted when you don't have an official stance on the issue.

K-P Graduation Rates increasing

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is getting closer to the provincial target of an 85 percent graduation rate.

The most recent statistics from the public school board show that 81 percent of their students graduated last year.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says their graduation rate improved five percent compared to last year.

McMaster says the figures show that the longer a student is in their school system, the better their chances of graduation.

Thomas Aquinas battles for NorWOSSA Gold Today

Thomas Aquinas has a shot at three gold medals today at the NorWOSSA finals taking place in Rainy River.

The Saints junior boys won their semi-final yesterday three sets to none against Red Lake.

They are currently on the court against Atikokan.

The T.A. senior boys will also play Atikokan in the gold medal game.

The Thomas Aquinas Senior girls got 26 points from Melissa White yesterday en route to a 52-29 victory over Sioux Lookout in their semi-final.

The Saints will play Rainy River in the final game of the day at 4:00.

Montague back in Kenora Court next week

Four days of hearings have been set aside in Kenora Court starting next Monday in the forfeiture case involving Dryden's Donna Montague.

Donna's husband Bruce was released from jail back in January after serving time for 26-firearm related charges.

Montague has been fighting the civil forfeiture of his Eaton-Rugby home, firearms and other property ever since.

Bruce Montague says he has given up that fight and wants nothing to do with the case anymore.

Crown Attorney Peter Keen says next week's hearing is to do with the forfeiture of firearms only.

The Rural Voices Network

The Rural Voices Network is trying to bridge the communication gap between local residents and municipal leaders.

The Network is hosting 7-community consultations, with open discussions planned for Dryden and Thunder Bay.

Project Manager Manon Germain says your voice will be the key influence in a public survey that will be distributed to over 10-thousand rural Ontario residents.

Manon says they want folks to play a greater role in the growth of a community.

Rainbow Resource Centre

High School students in Northwestern Ontario will be hearing from youth peer-to-peer educators from the Rainbow Resource Centre based out of Winnipeg.


Gillian Lunny is the Manager of Sexual Health with the Northwestern Health Unit and says the students will be learning about the impacts of bullying and discrimination.

The presenters will be in Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Kenora the week of November 21st.

Coventry Resources

The Cameron Lake area southeast of Kenora could be home to a new gold mine as early as 2014.

Coventry Resources has been doing exploration work in the area for the past year.

Company spokesperson Nicholas Walker says the project shows a lot of promise.

Coventry held an open house in Sioux Narrows last week, to update local residents on the gold project.

Library holds first ever Giller Gala tonight

Its a first for the Kenora Public Library.

The Library is holding a special fundraiser tonight in conjuction with the Giller Awards.

Head Librarian Erin Roussin says they have a number of things planned for this evening.

The money from the fundraiser will go towards the purchase of a self check-out system at the Kenora Library.

The gala will take place at the Minis Hall of the Super 8

Kenora Man arrested in Sioux Lookout Robbery

A Kenora man has been arrested in connection to a robbery in downtown Sioux Lookout.

The OPP say a 19 year old man escaped injury after being attacked yesterday in the back alley behind Front Street.

Officers were on patrol when they received information about the assault.

The victim told officers that he was attacked and some property had been taken from him.

Police located the two attackers and 26-year-old Brian Panacheese and 24-year-old Ronald Panacheese of Kenora were both arrested.

Portraits of Honour Finally Confirmed for Kenora

Just in time for Remembrance Day.

Local organizers say they have confirmed that a memorial tribute to fallen Canadian Soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, will be coming to Kenora.

Carol Davis says Portraits of Honour will be arriving in town on December 1st.

Portraits of Honour will be housed in the new Kenora Fire Hall on Barsky's Hill from 11:00 to 5:00 on December 1st.

Deer bowhunt in Kenora ends next week

Its too early to say if the deer hunt in Kenora was a success or not.

The bow hunt south of the Kenora By-Pass officially wraps up next week.

Councillor Sharon Smith says they handed out 25 of the deer hunt packages.

Smith says she would like to hold another public meeting after the 15th, to guage the success of the deer hunt.

Government under Fire for Job Losses

The Provincial Government is under fire over last month's massive job losses.

Northern Ontario Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli says corporate tax rates are on the reason's we lost 75 thousand jobs in October.

Fedeli says hydro rates need to be dropped and red tape needs to be reduced to keep jobs here.

Nine First Nations going to court over Ring of Fire

A group of Northern Ontario First Nations says it doesn't want to get burned by a massive new mining operation in an area known as the Ring of Fire.

The Matawa First Nations wants a beefed up environmental assessment of a proposed chromite mine.

Chief Peter Moonias says they want the Federal Court to review the assessment process.

A year-long environmental study got underway last month, but critics say a more rigorous process

with public hearings is needed.

Hospital Board looking to fill vacancy

Lake of the Woods Hospital Board is hoping to have a new member as early as next month

One of the new appointees for the board resigned before he even started his term.

The Board's nomination committee says ads are being posted this week for the  position.

Ideally they would like an aboriginal candidate.

Chair of the nomination committee Dale Munro says they've already had two people express interest in the position.

He says they will put the name of one candidate forward for board approval at their next open meeting in

December.

NorWOSSA Play-offs start today in Rainy River

Thomas Aquinas court sport teams are getting ready to hit the road for the NorWOSSA Single "a" play-offs in Rainy River.

Only the Saints senior boys volleyball volleyball team has a bye into the gold medal game on Wednesday.

First up today, the T.A. junior boys will face Red Lake in semi-final action at 1:00.

The only other team in action tomorrow from Thomas Aquinas is the Senior girls.

They will take on Sioux Lookout at 4:00 for the right to face Rainy River in the final.

The double "a" play-offs will take place Thursday in Dryden.

Passport Clinic in Kenora this weekend

Need your passport?

Two passport clinics are being hosted by Kenora MP Greg Rickford this week.

The first session is today in Dryden.

The second clinic is Saturday at the Kenora Legion from 10 until 4.

Staff will be on hand to assist those who need to apply or renew their passports.

Hospital falls short in Workwell Audit

Lake of the Woods District Hospital has received a passing grade in its latest Workwell Audit.

The audit is carried out of the WSIB and looks to make sure all institutions are in compliance with current health and safety regulations.

Manager of Patient Care Leslie Brown says they had been hoping to score 75 percent on the audit, which is considered a pass.

Instead, they were given a mark of 56.4 percent.

She adds they now have six months to bring their Workwell grade up.

Tourism Kenora to embark on Winter marketing campaign

Tourism Kenora will be embarking on an ambitious marketing campaign once again this winter.

Tourism Development Officer Heather Paterson says once again the southern Manitoba and Winnipeg markets will be their main focus.

Paterson says their marketing seems to be paying off with not only increased tourist traffic during the summer months, but also during the winter, and spring and fall shoulder seasons.