Budget Cuts affect Con College

Recent budget cuts are going to affect Confederation College's ability to extend service to local communities.

President of Con College, Jim Madder spoke to delegates this morning at the NOMA conference.

He says one of their recent success stories has been a dual credit program offered through local high schools.

Madder says there is increasing demand for trades in the region, and the college will continue to work with local business to meet the need.

Property Tax System needs to be overhauled: Hume

The property tax system is broken and needs to be fixed.

That was the message this morning at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference taking place in Kenora.

Gord Hume was the keynote speaker and says property taxes are simply inadequate to address the infrastructure deficit municipalities are facing.

Hume is suggesting some sort of revenue sharing arrangement with the upper levels of government, either a percentage of the HST for municipalities or a portion of the income tax the federal government collects.

Drug bust in downtown Kenora

A 26 year old Kenora man has been arrested after the OPP's Street Crimes Unit witnessed a drug deal going down.

Police say two men were arrested in the downtown area yesterday and eight grams of marijuana was seized.

Christopher Kitt has been charged with trafficking in a narcotic, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.

He is being held in custody pending a show/cause hearing.

A second man was also charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Update your Immunizations

Northwestern Health Unit says a lot of residents in the Kenora and Rainy River districts don't have their immunization records up to date.

The Health Unit's Donna Stanley says a call to the Health Unit can change that.

Stanley says as adults we're quick to ensure our children receive their shots, but don't keep our own up to date.

Get ready for Culture Days

Getting folks excited about Canadian culture is the focus of a series of information sessions across the region.

The event is in preparation for Culture Days this September across Canada.

Ontario Culture Days Manager Aubrey Reeves says they will be offering free webinars to anyone interested.

Culture Days is a 3-day event that highlights our artists, musicians and cultural groups.

FedNor Critic Concerned with cuts to program

The NDP's new FEDNOR critic is quick to call for its protection.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M.P. John Rafferty says it's too important of a program for communities across northern Ontario.

Rafferty is accusing the federal government of cutting funding for the economic development agency.

Delegates at the NOMA conference in Kenora will get an update on FedNor later today.

NOMA Conference Begins this Morning in Kenora

Physician Recruitment and dealing with drugs in our community.

Those are just two of the topics of discussion today at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference taking place in Kenora.

The conference officially opens at 8:30 this morning with greetings from Kenora mayor Dave Canfield and Treaty Three Grand Chief Diane Kelly.

There will also be presentations today by Jim Madder president of Confederation College and the Northwest Local Health Integration Network.

Police warn against new Phone Scam

Police say that fraudsters are continuing to find new ways to trick you into parting with your money.

Local Police say the latest scam has a caller posing as a Microsoft employee and getting you to remotely give up control of your computer and then offering to fix it.

Constable Julie Tilbury says you need to be careful when dealing over the phone with people you do not know.

Police say they have reports that the caller can be quite agressive.

More Money for Northern Hospitals?

A little bit of financial support to help with an immediate crisis.

NDP Health Critic France Gelinas says her party has secured an additional 20 million dollars in funding for small, rural and Northern Hospitals.

The agreement was a condition in NDP approval of the Provincial budget.

Gelinas says the money is a step in the right direction for some struggling hospitals.

However, she stresses the NDP will continue to press for more money and against the funding model for hospitals.

Second Person Charged in Pikangikum Fatality

A 29 year old woman is in Kenora Court today in connection to the death of a Pikangikum resident.

Florence Dunsford has been charged with Aggravated assault and is the second person who has been arrested in connection with the death of Fitzgerald Owen.

The OPP says an autopsy shows Owen died as a result of foul play on April 14th in the remote first nation community.

Last week, 23 year old Morgan Turtle appeared in Kenora Court on a charge of Assault with a weapon.

PARO Launches on-line classes

The PARO Center for Women's Enterprise in northwestern Ontario is reaching out to remote First Nation women.


Starting in May they'll be offering online learning classes.

Spokesperson Linda McGuire says they want to teach women about forming business "clusters."

McGuire says women have been forming small groups for years but they haven't thought of it as away to form a business.

Impaired Driving charges in Kenora on the Rise

The OPP say they've notice an increase in drinking and driving charges in the Kenora area so far in 2012.

Early this morning, one more person was charged with impaired driving, bringing the number of charges so far this year to 26, that's a 36 percent increase over last year.

The OPP say drivers between the ages of 18 and 35 make up almost 70 percent of those charged.

NOACC Pleased Provincial Budget Passes

The decision by the minority Liberal government to make budget concessions to the NDP is better than an election.

That's the feeling of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce.

Chief operating officer, Harold Wilson says it's more important that Chamber concerns remain on the table.

Wilson says at first glance, the concessions made to the NDP appear to be minor.

NOACC will be holding its annual spring meeting this weekend in Sioux Lookout. 

Local PC's speak out against Provincial Budget

Not everyone is happy that the provincial government was able to pass its budget yesterday.

The Progressive Conservative Riding Association in Kenora-Rainy River is speaking out against the budget.

Local riding president Dennis Butler says the budget includes cuts to tourist centers in the riding as well as MNR offices.

Butler is also disappointed that Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. Sarah Campbell decided to abstain from the budget vote yesterday, rather than vote against it.

66th NOMA Conference Gets Underway today

Delegates will begin arriving in Kenora today for the start of the 66th annual Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference.

Municipal leaders from the Kenora, Thunder Bay and Rainy River Districts will be in town for the next three days.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says the conference was sold out about a week ago.

The main business portion of the conference begins tomorrow, though there is a planning session for municipal councillors taking place today.

NOMA Agenda Finalized

The Agenda for the 66th annual Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association Conference in Kenora has been finalized.

The only real change is the absence of NDP leader Andrea Horwath from the proceedings.

Horwath had been scheduled to speak to delegates Friday morning, but has since given her regrets.

Opposition leader Tim Hudak is still on the schedule, as are Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Kathleen Wynn.

They will be participating in a bear-pit session Friday afternoon.

Delegates will begin arriving in Kenora tomorrow.

Treaty Three Police Continue Investigation of Devil's Gap Fire

The Treaty Three Police aren't saying whether foul play was involved in a fire that destroyed seven cabins at Devil's Gap.

Detective Sergeant Doug McKenzie says they are still conducting interviews and collecting evidence.

He does say they are treating the blaze as a criminal investigation because there was property damage.

An investigator from the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office was brought in over the weekend, but the investigation has since been turned over to the Treaty Three Police.

While no-one was injured, damaged has been estimated at over a half a million dollars.

OPP Wrap up Spring Seatbelt Campaign

The Ontario Provincial Police have wrapped up the Annual Spring 'Seatbelt' campaign.

Police in Northwestern Ontario laid 163-seatbelt releated charges during the 8-day initiative.

OPP across the Province laid a total of over 55-hundred charges.

Beware of Invasive Plants

The Ontario Invasive Plant Council is already counting down to the May long weekend.

The council is launching a 24 day campaign this week to raise awareness of the types of invasive plants we're introducing into our environment.

Rachel Gagnon says the plants might look nice, but they are potentially harmful.

Gagnon says purple loosestrife is the most famous invasive plant, but says there are numerous others plants people don't realize aren't native to Ontario.

Caribou King Searches for Graphite near Kenora

An exploration company has taken an interest in some claims in northwestern Ontario.

Caribou King Resources says it has acquired three separate properties in the region, including one in the Kenora Mining district.

Caribou King says they are looking at graphite deposits in ten separate locations.

The other claims are in the Savant Lake and Garden Lake areas of northwestern Ontario.