Post-Mortem Conducted After Incident at Norman Dam

Some more details have been released about the body that was recovered at the Norman Dam last week.

O.P.P confirmed that a male body was found and that a post-mortem was conducted at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The post-mortem did not discover the cause of death but has ruled out foul play in the death.

Police say they are hoping more answers will come from the the results of a toxicology report.

O.P.P say that they have not be able to identify the man but do not believe that he is from the Kenora area.

No Injuries in Oxdrift Fire

No one was injured in an overnight fire in Oxdrift on Sunday.

Last night, Oxdrift Firefighters responded to the blaze on Coates Road.

Captain Andrew Trudgen says the first responders found the home and garage to be completely engulfed.

Firefighters spent the next three-hours putting out the fire.

The cause is unknown at this time.

Local Agencies Form Aboriginal Training Alliance

Employment preparations are being made for the Ring of Fire.

Confederation College, Noront Resources and Matawa First Nations Employment and Training Services have developed an Aboriginal Training Alliance.

Program Manager Morris Wapoose says they hope to encourage more Aboriginal people to get involved in the mining sector.

The three groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which will remain in place for a minimum of five-years.

City Set to Approve 2013 Budget

A decrease in the municipal tax rate is being used to combat the increased MPAC assessments in the city.

Councillor Ron Lunny says the city has worked hard in order to lower the municipal tax rate by 1 percent.

When the rate is combined with the education tax decrease it works out to a reduction of 1.41 percent.

However, Lunny says that because of the increase in MPAC assessments homeowners will see an increase in their taxes.

Lunny says the city has also included a 10 percent rate increase for sewer and water.

Health Unit Releases Drug Action Study

The Northwestern Health Unit has released the results of their Youth Action on Drugs Survey.

Over 2000 students from across the Kenora-Rainy River Districts participated in the study.

Health Promoter Saralyn Semeniuk says one major finding was that majority of them underestimate drug use among their peers.

Semeniuk says more then half of students reported that there aren't enough activities in the community that they can get involved in.

Bob Rae Visits Kenora and Dryden

Interim Federal Liberal Leader Bob Rae is in Kenora and Dryden today as he continues his northern tour.

Rae will start his day in Dryden at a luncheon for local Liberals at the Riverview Lodge at 1 o'clock.

He will then tour the Dryden Native Friendship Centre at 2 o'clock.

Later this afternoon he will be in Kenora for the "Thanks a Million, Bob" fundraiser and reception.

Rae is in the last stretch of his term as the Liberal interim leader.

The party's new leader will be chosen in April.

Impaired Driving Charges in Kenora

Impaired driving continues to be an ongoing issue in the city.

O.P.P say 2 people were charged in separate incidents in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Police say 42 year old Hassan Mohamed of Kenora was charged with exceeding the legal limit, while 50 year old Dennis Halverson of Rat Portage was charged with impaired driving.

Both will answer to the charges on April 11.

MNR Issue Fines for Fishing Violations

A Winnipeg man has been fined for fishing violations on Shoal Lake.

In court last week, the Ministry of Natural Resources say they found Ryan Jeron Smith using live bait which is prohibited on the lake, and that he was in possession of a walleye which is in a closed season.

Smith was also found to be fishing without a licence.

The MNR has fined Smith a total of 950 dollars.

Higher Then Expected Cost to Fix City Hall Roof

Its going to cost a lot of money to keep the mayor's office at City Hall dry.

The cost to replace the heritage roof at city hall has been estimated at over 500 thousand dollars.

Facilities manager John Nabb says there are only a few contractors who are actually capable of doing the project.

City council has agreed to go ahead with the project, even though it will have to come up with the lion's share of the money.

The federal government has agreed to provide 200 thousand dollars in funding.

MPP Sarah Campbell Against Declawing of Cats

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell is supporting a petition to ban the declawing of cats.

The petition has been spearheaded by Camille Cox from the Second Chance Pet Network.

Campbell read the document at Queens Park last week.

Campbell notes declawing a cat takes away their natural defense and leaves them helpless.

The petition has gathered around 600 signatures.

Bob Stewart Million Dollar Draw to the Button Contest

Bob Stewart from Longbow Lake got his chance to be a national curler last night during the Brier final in Edmonton.

Stewart was the selected contestant in the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest.

Unfortunately, Stewart was unable to draw to the button on to win the million dollar prize, but he did walk away with 5-thousand.

Stewart says the contest that saw him compete at the Scotties and the Brier was an unbelievable experience.

Lakehead University Law School Offers New Aboriginal Course

Lakehead University's Law School is hoping they've pleased the students that are staging a sit-in outside the presidents office, as well as the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation.

The school is offering a new course called Aboriginal Perspectives that will be a mandatory half credit component to their first year.

Spokesperson Rod Handley hopes things can move forward in a positive manner.

The course complements the already existing Native Canadian World Views & Law, which was previously approved by Lakehead University Senate.

Paul Elliot to Lead OSSTF

The new leader of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation of Ontario is from Fort Frances.

Paul Elliott was voted to lead the 60-thousand member union in Toronto yesterday.

Elliott, a teacher from Fort Frances High School, was first elected to the Provincial Executive as Executive Officer in 2005, and is a former Vice-President three times.

Sue Doughty-Smith, an Educational Assistant from Thunder Bay, will serve as Executive Officer for the upcoming term.

Senior Thistles Defeat Thunder

Redemption for the Kenora Triple "A" Senior Thistles.

The Thistles overcame a 3-1 deficit to earn their first victory of the year over the Southeast Prairie Thunder.

Ross Johnson scored 2 third period goals giving Kenora the game winner with under 3 minutes remaining.

Coach Brian Olson says he was happy with the play of both his goaltenders.

The Thistles will play a road game against the Thunder next weekend as the final tune up for the Renwick Cup.

Heartbreak for Bantam Thistles

A heartbreaking end for the Kenora Double "A" Bantam Thistles.

The Thistles lost the Eastman Championship last night to the Seine River Snipers 3-0.

Coach Dave Withers says he's proud of the team and the unbelievable season they had.

Withers passed his congratulations on to the Snipers for a very hard fought championship series.

Hospital Expects to File Deficit for Upcoming Year

Funding changes are affecting the Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The province is going away with global funding and changing to a Quality Based Practices model.

The QBP model tracks the amount of procedures performed at hospitals and takes away funding to provide back over time.

As a result the Lake of the Woods District Hospital is expecting to file a deficit for the upcoming year of $887,000.

However, the board says they are not currently expecting to cut any services provided at the hospital.

Dragon Boat Festival Cancelled

Dragon boats won't be plying the waters of Rabbit Lake this
summer.

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation
has announced that it will be cancelling the popular Dragon Boat
Festival.

Chair of the foundation, Don Parfitt says they just don't have enough
volunteers to keep the event running.

Parfitt says the Dragon Boat festival has averaged about 20 thousand
dollars in revenue each year.

Development Commission Appears Before Budget Committee

The Lake of the Woods Development Commission is being grilled
about its spending.

Members of the Commission appeared before the city's budget committee yesterday.

Fred Wright is one of the directors and admits it was a learning year with
both the Whitecap Pavillion and Discovery Center coming on line.

He says their goal going forward is to better match their costs with their
revenues.

Wright says the Discovery Center cost about 30 thousand dollars more to operate than expected, in part because they handed out more tourist brochures due to the closure of the Tourist Information Center at the
Ontario/Manitoba Border.

Health Unit Supports Report on Childhood Obesity

A registered dietician with the Northwestern Health Unit has some healthy eating tips following this week's report on childhood obesity.

Julie Slack says children tend to copy what their parents do.

Slack also recommends keeping healthy foods, like cut-up veggies in fruits, in the fridge at eye level.

Slack says schools have really stepped up their game in promoting healthy food choices and parents
need to follow suit.

Campbell Supports Changes to Gas Tax Revenue

Call it the first step to correct infrastructure funding.

Kenora Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell spoke in the legislature about a new bill that will change how the gas tax is divided.

Campbell says she supports the bill even though it doesn't solve all the issues.

Campbell says the bill is a good step in pressuring the government to set up a dedicated fund for infrastructure maintenance that will benefit rural and Northern Ontario.