Wintle wins Dryden By-Election

A former Mayor and Councilor has been elected in Dryden's by-election for one vacant Council seat.

Sid Wintle received 997-votes yesterday to win the vote by a wide margain.

Shayne MacKinnon came in second, while Chuck Schmitt finished third.

A total of 29-hundred ballots were cast and voter turnout was 52.45-percent.

Thunder Bay follows Kenora's Lead on Deer

The City of Thunder Bay is following Kenora's lead.

A legal deer hunt within Thunder Bay city limits will start this fall.

Their City Council passed the bow hunting by-law last night and Councillor Ken Boshcoff says he's heard positive feedback.

Boshcoff says they can't afford to hide their heads in the sand anymore, because the over population of deer needs to be addressed.

Canfield Critical of Bear Wise Cuts

Kenora City council is asking the provincial government to reconsider cuts being made to the Bear Wise program.

The MNR has announced it will no longer be relocating nuisence bears.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says the policy doesn't make any financial sense.

Canfield says he plans to bring the issue up next month when he'll get a chance to meet with the Minister of Natural Resources.

Proposals for Rec. Center Floated to City Council

The tennis and basketball courts at the Kenora Rec. Center could be due for some upgrades.

Kenora City council is being asked to support re-locating both the tennis and basketball courts this summer.

Recreational Services manager Colleen Neil says they also want to move the outside washroom facilities closer to the docks on Laurenson's Creek.

Neil says there is money in the capital budget for the changes, but city council says it wants to hold a special meeting before approving any of the projects.

Fire Crews Deal with Blaze behind Thomas Aquinas

Some excitement for residents in the Minto area last night.

A wild fire broke out in the bush behind Thomas Aquinas.

An MNR fire crew actually spotted the blaze and helped municipal fire crews bring the blaze under control.

It was the second time yesterday, fire crews were dispatched to that area and Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department is trying to find out if last night's blaze was sparked again by high winds or some other cause.

Sioux Narrows Faces Shortfall on Infrastructure projects

The Town of Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls is being forced to dig a little deeper into its reserves to fund a couple of major infrastructure projects.

Mayor Bill Thompson says they came up about 500 thousand dollars short in their funding from the federal and provincial levels of government.

Thompson says they had appealed to the federal government for help, but without any success.

Sioux Narrows got funding for a new tourist information center and also a new runway for the Nestor Falls Airport.

Foul Play Ruled Out in Keewatin Fatality

Police say they don't believe there was any foul play in the death of a 22 year old man in Keewatin over the weekend.

The body of the man was found around 5:30 Sunday morning near the C.P. rail crossing on Government Road.

A post-mortem exam was conducted yesterday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital, but the cause of death hasn't been released.

In the meantime, the OPP say Northwest Criminal Investigations branch is continuing to look into the fatality.

The name of the deceased isn't being released until next of kin have been contacted.

Unicycle Ride Ends prematurely

Derrick Ferguson's cross-province tour on a unicycle has ended a lot earlier than expected.

Ferguson set out from Kenora last weekend, but had to call off his marathon just 80 kilometers in.

Ferguson says he developed bursitis in both of his knees and was sent to hospital for treatment.

He had planned to ride his unicycle across Ontario in a month to raise money for the Rick Hanson

Foundation.

OPP Investigate Fatality in Keewatin

The OPP haven't released any details yet of a fatality in Keewatin over the weekend.

A body was found on the railway tracks near Portage Bay early Sunday morning.

The Northwest Mobile Command Unit was on site yesterday, along with a number of investigators.

More information is expected to be released later today.

Northwest CCAC Hiring more Nurses

The Northwest Community Care Centre is hiring 11 new mental health nurses.

CEO of the CCAC Tuija Puiras says the nurses will be working in area high schools.

The Provincial Government has provided the cash to the CCAC to offer the positions.

KDSB upset about double dipping

Child care centres will likely close!

That's the warning from the Kenora District Services Board.

The KDSB is growing more frustrated with paying rent to School Boards to operate child care facilities in Provincialy funded schools.

Chair Phil Vinet says it's a classic case of double and triple dipping and he's already expressed his concern with the Province.

Vinet says the KDSB will send a letter of concern as well to the respective School Board's.

Habitat Closes in on Fundraising Goal for Kenora Build

Habitat for Humanity is inching closer to its fundraising goal for its first ever build in Kenora.

Ralph Page is a member of the local committee and says they are 8 to 10 thousand dollars away.

He says they continue to get support from unexpected places as well.

Page says they still have a few fundraisers in the works and is hoping to turn sod on their project by the end of this month or early in June.

Mauro Raises concerns about NDP Auto Insurance Bill

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro calls a private members bill from the NDP on auto insurance short sighted.

Mauro says the bill would drive up our premiums to subsidize the rates paid by Southern Ontario drivers.

Mauro is calling on Northern Ontario NDP MPP's to vote against the proposal and call for auto insurance reforms that will help all drivers in the province.

Mothers Day Road Race Results

Ideal weather conditions for the annual 10 K Mothers Day Run.

Cory Gallagher once again topped the field.

The Winnipeg Runner finished the loop in a time of 33 mintues 35 seconds.

Ben Gustafson was the top local male finisher, about seven mintues behind.

Janet Findlay topped the podium in the women's event, in a time of 41 mintues 53 seconds.

Saints Boys, Bronco Girls place Second in Weekend tournament

The Miles MacDonnell Buckeyes spoiled an otherwise splendid weekend for local high school soccer teams.

The Buckeyes won both the boys and girls divisions at the Broncos Invitational Soccer tournament over the weekend at the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex.

Miles Mac blanked the Thomas Aquinas Saints 1-0 in the boys final.

T.A. had a perfect 3-0 record heading into the final, including a 3-0 win over their cross-town rivals from Beaver Brae Sunday morning.

In the girls final, it was a battle between two undefeated teams as the Buckeyes prevailed 1-0 in overtime to beat the host Broncos.

The Thomas Aquinas girls squad finished with a 2-2 record in the tournament. 

 In the third place game on the boys side of the tournament, Dryden got by Springs Christian from Winnipeg 5-2, while Fort Frances won the 5th place game, with a 1-0 win over Beaver Brae.

Northwest Communities Flounder in Ultimate Fishing Town Contest

Northwestern Ontario communities have some work to do if they want to be declared Canada's Ultimate Fishing Town.

With 19 days left in the voting, only Ignace sits in the top ten.

Ignace has just over 18 hundred votes and sits in 9th.

Nestor Falls is a thousand votes back in 12th.

Kenora, Fort Frances and Sioux Narrows are all well back of the pack.

Voting ends on May 31st.

Winnipeg Man Arrested in Downtown Drug Bust

A 24 year old Winnipeg man has been arrested following a drug bust in downtown Kenora.

Last night around 11:30, the OPP Street Crimes Unit came across a suspect on Matheson Street who was believed to be involved in drug activity.

Police say they seized about 22 grams of cocaine.

Kevin Huber has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime and failing to comply with a probation order.

Broncos host weekend soccer Tournament

Local high school soccer teams will be strutting their stuff this weekend at the Tom Nabb Complex.

A two day tournament will start tomorrow and wrap up Sunday afternoon.

A total of seven boys teams and five girls teams are entered.

In addition to squads from Beaver Brae, Thomas Aquinas, Dryden and Fort Frances, out of town teams will also be coming from Winnipeg and Brandon.

This is the fifth year in a row Beaver Brae has hosted the boys tournament, but the first time girls teams have also been invited.

Gravelle Says the Northwest can still benefit from the Ring of Fire

Understanding the bigger picture, that's what Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle is asking from northwestern Ontario aboriginal and municipal leaders.

Gravelle says he understands local residents are disappointed in a decision by Cliffs Natural Resources to locate a billion dollar smelter near Sudbury.

But he is reminding people that this project is massive, there will be jobs and money coming into Northwestern Ontario.

Gravelle adds that the entire project is worth 3-point-3 Billion Dollars and is expected to create more than 9-hundred jobs, along with further secondary jobs associated with the Ring of Fire Development project.

Emergency Preparedness Expo this Weekend

Emergency Preparedness week in Kenora is going to be wrapping up with a special event at the Kenora Fire Hall.

The first ever Emergency Expo will take place tomorrow.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says they want local residents to know what kinds of support there is in the community in the case of an emergency.

The Emergency Service Expo will take place from 10:00 to 2:00 at the new fire hall on Barsky's Hill and will also feature a charity barbeque.