Snow wipes out NorWOSSA Hockey Play-off games

All the snow in northwestern Ontario is playing havoc with high school sport schedules.

The weather has wiped out the entire hockey schedule this evening.

The Boys Quarter-Finals have been postponed.

Red Lake was supposed to go up against the Beaver Brae Broncos tonight, but that game

will have to be re-scheduled.

No make-up date for that play-off game has been scheduled yet.

Campbell Calls for provincial strategy on Prescription Pill Addiction

More needs to be done to help people addicted to prescription pills.

That was the challenge this today from Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell in the Ontario Legislature.

Campbell says even though Oxycontin will no longer be manufactured, the addiction will still exhist for hundreds of local residents.

Campbell says a strategy needs to be created by the McGuinty Governent to deal with prescription drug addiction.

Police Charge Grassy Narrows Man following stand-off

A Grassy Narrows man is due to appear in Kenora Court today following a prolonged stand-off with police.

Treaty Three Police say they were called to a home in the community north of Kenora last Thursday.

Police says the man barricaded himself in the house for 24 hours before an OPP Tactical Response Unit was able to remove him.

Vince Loon has been charged with assault, and uttering threats.

CBS Looking for New Donors

The Canadian Blood Services is putting out a call for new donors from Northwestern Ontario.


Spokesperson Harvey Heather says they're looking for at least 100,000 new donors across the country each year for the next 5-years.

Heather says the need for new donors is precipitated by an increase demand for blood of all types across the country.

Heather notes an aging donor base is problematic right now.

Service Ontario

Ontario's Government workers union is sounding the alarm over a Liberal plan to privatize Service Ontario.


Melissa Pearson, a rep for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, says such a move could lead to a consolidation of services and a potential closure of small Northern Ontario offices.

Pearson says area residents rely on SeviceOntario offices to renew health cards and drivers licences.

School Buses Cancelled

It's a 4 day weekend for the kids.

School Buses aren't running for a good chunk of Northwestern Ontario today.

School buses have been cancelled for Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Vermilion Bay, Ear Falls and Red Lake today.

Heavy snow is to blame.

Schools remain open today.

Ontario Legislature

Its back to work at Queen's Park..

They've been off for over two months.

Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell says she's spent that time talking to her constituents about the issues they want raised in the Ontario Legislature.

Campbell expects the Drummond Report will dominate debate in the weeks ahead, as the McGuinty Government gets ready to deliver its next budget.

Solid Waste Collection

You won’t have to run after the garbage truck today.


The City of Kenora’s Solid Waste Department has cancelled residential garbage and recycling collection.

Solid Waste Supervisor, Mike Mostow says today’s regular pick ups for Lakeside and Jaffray Mellick is cancelled but will resume on schedule next Tuesday.

Andre Wareham: Not Guilty

Andre Wareham is a free man. A jury found him not guilty in the death of William Atkins in 2009.

Wareham calls the verdict overwhelming and just wants to put it all behind him saying it's been hard but "you have to walk through it all..stand strong, and just see it to the end".

When the verdict was read Wareham  had  an expression of great relief.

Fort Frances Shooting

A Fort Frances teenager is facing several charges including attempted murder following an incident last night at a Trailer Park in that community.

 OPP were initially called to the area around 6 last night about a missing boy. Family members later informed police he had been located, but was in possession of a gun.

 It was later determined that a family member was shot at, but was not injured.

The 14-year-old was eventually located inside a home at the park and taken into custody without incident.

Stan Beardy Calling For Help

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy says a catastrophe is looming with the decision to stop manufacturing the drug OxyContin.


Beardy says thousands of residents of Northern Ontario reserves are addicted to the drug, which is up to twice as strong as morphine.

Health Canada says when the pill is chewed or crushed, then injected or inhaled, it produces a ``heroin-like euphoria.''

The company that produces OxyContin will stop manufacturing the drug in Canada at the end of the month.

Purdue Pharma Canada will replace OxyContin with a new formulation called OxyNEO, which is formulated to make abuse more difficult.

Beardy says addicts will go into withdrawal, and says it's something that scares him.

He says without treatment to help deal with the addiction, a public health catastrophe is imminent.

Aboriginal Education

The Harper Government is signalling its intention to pour more money into aboriginal education, even as it prepares to slash spending on almost everything else.


The governing Conservatives have thrown their support behind an NDP motion calling on the government to provide the necessary funding to ensure First Nations children receive an education of equal quality to that received by kids in provincial school systems.

Moreover, the NDP says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has indicated a personal interest in the issue during private pre-budget consultations.

The Feds currently spends $1.4-billion annually on aboriginal education; the Assembly of First Nations has calculated that an additional $500-million a year is needed.

Conservative MP Thanking Two NDP Members

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is condeming NDP Interm leader Nycole Turmel for punishing two Thunder Bay MP's for breaking party ranks and joining the Conservatives to scrap the long gun registry.


Rickford says Bruce Hyer and John Rafferty were voting for their constituents.

He says appreciates and respects the two for standing their ground.

The Kenora Midget Triple "A" Thistles

The Kenora Midget Triple "A" Thistles kick off their best of three playoff series with the Nor-Man Northstars tonight.  All three games of the series will be played in Thompson.  Game 2 is tomorrow night with Kenora acting as the home team and game three if necessary will be held Sunday.  The Thistles finished the regular season with 32 points, good for 5th spot in the Eastern Conference.

Aboriginal Student Success

The principal at Beaver Brae says he's noticing a better atmosphere at his school for aboriginal students.

Clinton Bruetsch made a presentation on aboriginal student success to trustees this week.

He says he's been working with the Aboriginal Advisor on strategies to help engage aboriginal students in their day to day classes.

Bruetsch says overall aboriginal students have lower marks, higher absentee rates and lower graduation rates.

He says they are working to change that, but its not going to happen overnight.

Affordable Housing in Kenora

Affordable housing support is on its way for the Kenora District Services Board.


The Board has inked an agreement to access 1.4-million dollars over 10-years in Federal and Provincial dollars.

CAO Dan McNeil says the money will go towards projects which include a rent supplement program for the working poor and Ontario Works clients.

$50,000 is being earmarked for Habitat for Humanity in Kenora

Break & Enter: St. Thomas Aquinas High School

A 15 year old male from Kenora was caught red handed yesterday.


Ontario Provincial Police charged the youth with break and enter after responding to an alarm at St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Further investigation revealed that earlier last night the same 15 year old was responsible for a theft from a vehicle.

Break & Enter: Jaffray-Melick Community Centre

Over $20,000 worth of damage has been reported at the Jaffray-Melick Community Centre.


Ontario Provincial Police were called out to a break and enter at the building on February 13th after staff members came in to find a significant amount of damage to windows, doors, the concession stand and a number of lights used to illuminate the ice surface.

Two male youth from Kenora ages 15 and 17 have been arrested and charged with mischief over $5,000 and break and enter

Mental Health

Mental health issues have been identified as a growing problem for local educators.


The Keewatin-Patricia District School Boards used Provincial funding to hire a Mental Health Leader.

Lisa Doerksen started her job last month and says one of her jobs is to work with teachers and raise awareness of mental health issues.

Doerksen says one in five students have a mental health or emotional disorder, but only 50 percent will talk to anyone about their depression or anxiety.

Ambulance Services

A comprehensive review of the land ambulance service in the Kenora District is now underway.


The Services Board is looking at the entire operation to ensure staff and resources are being used in an efficient and effective manner.

CAO Dan McNeil outlines one area they are looking at.
 
McNeil says the study will also look into a call for a land ambulance base in the Vermilion Bay area.