Police Block Valley Drive as Fire Crews Battle Blaze

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department has been hopping dealing with brush fires.

For the third time in three days, crews had to deal with a blaze in the Valley Drive area of town.

The fire broke out just before noon, but crews managed to bring it under control fairly quickly.

A small section of Valley Drive was actually blocked off this afternoon to protect a hose that was connected to a fire hydrant on the other side of the road.

OPP Release Name of Keewatin Fatality

The OPP have released the name of a 22 year old Kenora man who died in Keewatin over the Weekend.

He's been identified as Justen Kroeker.

Kroeker's body was found near the C.P. Train tracks Sunday morning.

Police are still waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam conducted on Monday.

Foul play is not suspected.

Visitor Traffic Up early in 2012

The closure of the Tourist Information Center at the Ontario/Manitoba Boundary is partly being credited for an increase in visitor numbers in Kenora.

The Lake of the Woods Development Commission says there has been a 74 percent increase in traffic in the first three months of the year.

Don Denver is a member of the commission and says special events also play a role in increased tourist numbers.

The commission presented its first quarter report to city council this week.

More Fire Activity in the Kenora District

(File Photo)

Things are starting to heat up for local fire ranger crews.

Another five wild fires were reported in the northwest region yesterday, four of those in the Kenora District.

The MNR says all of the new blazes were the result of lightning strikes, but were fairly small in size and have all been extinguished.

Currently there are 15 forest fires that are considered active in the region.

Property and Planning Approves Outdoor Patios

Outdoor eating could be a growth industry in Kenora this summer.

The Property and Planning Committee has paved the way for more outdoor patios, by approving a new policy.

Councillor Ron Lunny says they will be allowing local bars and restaurants to set up outdoor patios on municipal property and hopes local businesses take advantage.

A detailed application form should be available as early as next week, if city council adopts the new Outdoor Patio Policy.

NAPS Investigate Death of an 18 month old Pikangikum toddler

A 33 year year old woman has been charged in the death of an 18 month old child from the Pikangikum First Nation.

The Nishinabe-Aski Police say they were called in to investigate the death of Isaac Keeper last week on the Poplar Hill First Nation.

His caregiver, Shannon Moose has been charged with aggravated assault.

She's currently in custody and is due to appear in Kenora Court on Friday.

Harborfest Concert Line-up Finalized

(Buckcherry)

Harborfest has finalized its nightly entertainment for this August Long weekend.

The Saturday night show will feature Treble Charger and Buckcherry.

Director of Entertainment, Dave Blake admits they are targeting a younger crowd with their Saturday night concert.

Tickets for the Saturday night show will go on sale this Friday.

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.