Cell Phone Companies Ready to Comply with CRTC Ruling

TBaytel believes it can comply with the new CRTC rules on cellphone contracts by the end of the year.

Katie Crowe is a spokesperson for the wireless company and says while complying in some areas may be a challenge the deadline is achievable.

Some phone companies have suggested  that six months may be not be enough time, but Crowe says they will be ready

Crowe says there isn't anything  in the ruling the company isn't working on already.

Thomas Aquinas Set to Host Street Fest

The arts council at Thomas Aquinas are welcoming everyone to have some fun under the sun.

They are hosting the 3rd annual Street Fest tomorrow between 11:00 and 2:00

Director of Music Darcy Ura says everyone is asked to come take in the festivities.

The events include a BBQ, live music, dunk tank, games for kids, face painting, and puppet shows.

Tim Horton's Celebrates Camp Day

Our area will soon be home to a new Tim Horton's Camp.

The camp will be located in the Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba, near the Ontario boundary.

Company spokesperson Aaron Brown says it's an exciting opportunity.

The camp will house more older teens.

Today is Camp Day at Tim Horton's stores in Kenora and elsewhere across the region.

Watershed Board Seeks Industry Reps

A new advisory board for the area's border waters is looking for some bodies.

The new International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board is seeking nominations for its Industry Advisory Group.

The Industry Advisory Group will allow industry on both sides of the border to provide input into the Board's activities related to water management and water quality.

Interested individuals must apply to the end of this month.

FEDNOR Supports Energy Concerns

First Nations in Northwestern Ontario continue to receive support from the Federal Government.

FedNor has announced over 73-thousand-dollars for the Nishinawbe Aski Development Fund, which will enhance the operation of diesel generating stations.

Independent power authorities will receive financial and business management software while will help First Nations communities with cash flow and capital expenses.

Liberals Under Fire for Care Home Inspections

The opposition says the Liberal government is not keeping a promise to give all 600 long term care homes in Ontario a ``resident quality inspection'' at least once a year.

Progressive Conservative health critic Christine Elliott says long term care homes are not being inspected as often as they should be, which she believes puts vulnerable seniors at risk.
 
Health Minister Deb Matthews says every long-term-care home in the province is visited by an inspector at least once a year, but the Tories and N-D-P say that's not the same as a full resident quality inspection.

Lakehead University Holds Summer Health Sciences Camps

A "Crime Scene Investigation" experience for local high school students.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is back with their
Summer Health Sciences Camps, where youth will be able to learn about DNA analysis and much more.

Dean Dr. Roger Strasser says it's open to those going into grade 10 or 11 this year.

The camps are free and run from July 8th to 12th at Lakehead University.

Contact Josee Lalanne at 1-800-461-8777 ext 7260 or jlalanne@nosm.ca.

OPP Community Bear Scam

Provincial police in our area say they've received a number of inquiries from residents asking about police organizations calling to solicit funds for teddy bears.

The O-P-P says it doesn't solicit funds from members of the public for its Community Bear Program or any other O-P-P program.

The O-P-P's bear program provides officers with black and white teddy bears which they give to traumatized children they encounter at incidents such as motor vehicle collisions.

Police say the public should always verify the legitimacy of any organization calls to solicit funds.

OPP Release Name of House Fire Victim

The victim of last week's tragic house fire in Devlin has been identified.

She's been identified as 49-year-old Laureen McKay.

OPP and the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshall continue to determine the cause of the Friday's blaze which completely destroyed the home located just west of the main village on Highway 11-71.

NWOTA Supports New Walleye Proposal

At least one tourism group is in favour of the proposed lower Walleye catch limit.

The MNR is proposing a 2 Walleye catch limit for lakes in northwestern Ontario as early as next year for non-resident anglers.

Lucas Adams is the president of the Northwestern Ontario Tourism Association and says the changes won't affect fishing camps because most tourists don't ask about regulations when booking trips and don't have any issue when learning about them once arriving to the camps.

Adams did say he also wanted to see a regulation to prevent fishers from keeping Walleye over 18 inches.

Kenora Borealis Presents Road Race Cheque

The Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation is a little bit richer thanks to the Mother's Day Road Race.

Today the Foundation was given a cheque of $5,000 dollars by a representative of Kenora Borealis.

Jennifer Findlay is one of the race organizer and says it's great to see the event get even bigger with more families making it an annual tradition along with more corporate support.

Findlay next year they are aiming for over 450 participants.

Ornge Helicopters Cleared for Take-off

Ornge Air helicopters in Kenora and Thunder Bay are back in service.

On Friday, the organization temporarily took its five helicopters offline.

The move follows a fatal accident involving an Ornge air ambulance helicopter in Moosonee.

Four people including two pilots and two paramedics were killed when the Sikorsky S-76 chopper
went down shortly after take-off.  

Beaver Brae Hands Out Academic Awards

Beaver Brae honored its best and brightest at its annual Academic Awards Assembly.

The top students in Math, English, Sciences, and Drama were singled out for their efforts.

This year, a new award was handed out from the Science Department.

The Triple Threat Award goes to a student, or students who excel at Biology, Chemistry
and Physics.

The inaugural honor went to twin sisters Kaitlyn and Stephanie Sparkman.

Teachers and students also paid tribute to a number of staff who are retiring.

Melne Moore and Sylvia Bishop were given a standing ovation after serving in the
Beaver Brae front office for decades.

Teachers Bill Broten and Jim O'Hearn were also given a standing ovation for their years of service
at the high school.

Youth Arrested Following Break-In

A 15 year old youth has been arrested following a break-in to a business on Railway Street.

The OPP say the break-in took place early Monday morning.

Police say they were notified by the business that someone had entered
their store and stole a quantity of cash.

One suspect was identified by a security camera and later arrested.

He was in Kenora Court yesterday for a bail hearing.

Governments Defend Pimachiowin Aki

Manitoba and Ontario are defending the decision to commit more than 15 million dollars to get UNESCO recognition for a large stretch of boreal forest along the inter-provincial boundary.
 
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger says having Pimachiowin Aki
designated a world heritage site will attract tourists to the remote
area.
 
He says it will also make it easy to protect from development.
 
Michelle Nowak of Ontario's Natural Resources Department says the
site could fill a gap in boreal forest representation in the world heritage system.

Teen Killed in Eastern Manitoba

A teenager who was mistaken for a bear outside a tent has been shot and killed in a remote area of northeastern Manitoba.
   
RCMP say four males were camping at Namay Falls on the Bloodvein River over the weekend when one of them was woken up by what he thought was a bear close to the tent.
   
He fired a shot only to discover he had hit one of his camping buddies.
   
RCMP say the victim is a 17-year-old from Steinbach.

Police say they will not release the dead teen's name.

NOMA Raises Energy Concerns

Energy continues to be a major concern for the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.

NOMA President Dave Canfield says a huge issue is the future of the Thunder Bay generating station.

Canfield says NOMA wants the province to commit to keeping the Mission Island Generating Station in Thunder Bay open and convert it to gas.

He adds the province and energy companies are finally starting to realize the large amount of power that will be needed when the mining sector booms.

Water Levels Continue to Rise in Kenora Area

The Lake of the Woods Control Board is continuing it's battle against high water levels.

Rick Cousins with the control board says outflows at the Norman Dam will be increased again this week.

Cousins says that water levels below the damn are expected to rise around 2 feet in Darlington Bay, and Minaki can expect to see an increase around 16 inches.

Cousins is hoping that the wet weather has come to an end as water levels are above normal throughout the region.

Sandy Lake Man Arrested on Murder Charges

A 34-year-old man faces second degree murder charges in the May 12th death of Uriah Kakepetum in Sandy Lake First Nation.

Kakepetum died at the Sandy Lake Nursing Station and a post-mortem exam determined he was the victim of a homicide.

An investigation was launched by Provincial Police and the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service.

Police arrested Leslie Fiddler of Sandy Lake First Nation yesterday.

Fiddler is due in court today.

Firefly Approves New Anti-Bullying Campaign

A new national anti bullying program will focus on young people helping each other.

Details of the new program were announced on Parliament Hill yesterday.

Here in Northwestern Ontario, Firefly CEO Karen Ingebritson says it sounds like a great program.

Ingebritson says it's still too early to know exactly how it will work, but is confident it will promote anti-bullying in the region.