Thunder Bay M.P. Joins Green Party

It's a brand new day for the Green Party in Canada.

Thunder Bay MP Bruce Hyer has announced that he is joining the Green's after sitting as an Independent for over a year and a half.

The Green Party has now doubled it's presence in Parliament, with two sitting M.P.'s. 

Party leader Elizabeth May says Hyer is free to vote in the House of Commons the way his constituents want him to.

May says she's impressed with Hyer's community values.

LOW Development Commission Holds AGM

According to the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission,
2013 was a good year for business in Kenora.

The Commission held its annual general meeting last night at the Discovery
Center.

Fred Wright is one of the board members and says there were a lot of new
business start-ups in the past 12 months.

Looking forward to 2014, Wright is also predicting good things, but suggests
most of the business developments are still under wraps.

Canfield Angry Over Proposed Gas Tax Increase

The provincial government is being urged to find an alternative to increasing the gas tax, to pay for rapid transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.

Yesterday a panel appointed by premier Kathleen Wynne recommend an increase of anywhere between three and 10 cents a liter.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says such as tax will be a job killer for Ontario.

He says our gas taxes are already 11 cents a liter higher than Manitoba and feels higher gas
taxes will make Ontario less competitive.

Canfield says communities in southern Ontario have other tools at their disposal to fund rapid transit, and they should be looked at first.

Council Considering Property Tax Exemptions

The City of Kenora could see a 50 thousand dollar reduction in property taxes
if it goes ahead with exemptions for a couple of community groups.

The Kenora Airport Authority, as well as the Kenora and Keewatin Legions have requested the exemptions.

Councillor Ron Lunny heads up the finance committee and says as far as
the airport goes, if they don't provide some help, the city might be forced to take over operations.

Lunny says waiving the airport's property taxes would be a 42 thousand dollar hit to their budget, while the legion's tax hit is about eight thousand dollars between Kenora and Keewatin.

Over five thousand for the Kenora Legion and three thousand for Keewatin.

Canada Post Says Community Mailboxes Coming To Kenora within Five Years

Kenora will be among communities Canada Post intends to establish neighbourhood community mailboxes to take the place of door-to-door mail delivery.

It's part of cost-saving measures announced earlier this week.

Spokesperson Anick Losier doesn't see access a being problem for seniors or the disabled in our community.

Losier says an exact date for setting up the mailboxes hasn't been made, but will take place sometime in the next five years.

Spring Bear Hunt Bill Passes Second Reading

The return of the spring bear hunt in Ontario is one step closer to reality.
Thunder Bay MPP Bill Mauro brought forward his Private Members Bill and it passed its second reading at Queen's Park.

Bill -114 was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy which would see an open season from April 15th to June 15th.

The purpose of the bill includes reducing the number of aggressive bear attacks while also boosting the Province's moose population by low
ering the number of calves killed by bears.  

Saints Boys Hockey Team Wins Battle of Kenora

A real barn-burner at the Kenora Rec. Center last night.

The Thomas Aquinas Saints boys hockey team won the battle of Kenora with
a 4-3 overtime win over Beaver Brae.

Blaine Vanderkrabben scored the game winner for the Saints.

The loss snapped the Broncos four game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's girls hockey team continues to struggle.

The Broncos were beaten 8-1 last night by the Fort Frances Muskies.

Beaver Brae doesn't have a lot of time to re-group.

The Broncos are hosting an eight team tournament this weekend.

Action begins at 11:30 this morning with the T.A. Saints taking on Fort Frances.

The finals will take place on Sunday.

Mount Evergreen Opens for the Season

It's time to bust out the ski's

Mount Evergreen General Manager Steve Simpson says the hill opens for the season tomorrow.

Simpson says they have moved the terrain park for a better view from the chateau.

He also says the hill will be open throughout the holiday season except for Christmas.

The hill is opening tomorrow night from 6:00-9:00 and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00-4:00

Health Unit Searches For New MOH

The Northwestern Health Unit has started the process of hiring a new Medical Officer of Health.

Dr. Jim Arthurs announced he will be retiring next year.

Mark Perreault is the Health Unit's CEO and says they hope introduce their new MOH at a conference taking place in May.

Perreault says the are currently in the final stages of the hiring process for their new Medical Officer of Health.

Fire Officials Continue to Look Into Wednesday Morning Fire

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman has provided an update on yesterday mornings fire on Second Street South.

Brinkman says the fire started in the basement apartment of a multi-unit home.

He says it's a reminder for everyone to have the proper safety measures in place.

Brinkman says all 6 residents of the building made it out safely and they are working on temporary living arrangements.

He adds that the are close to confirming the cause of the blaze.

Penny Returned As Public School Board Chair

Ignace Trustee Dave Penny may want to look into getting a life time membership with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

Penny has been re-elected Chair of the Board for an 11th consecutive year.

He will once again be joined by Cecile Marcino who ran unopposed for the Vice-Chair position.

The public board has appointed Shelly Boucha to the position of First Nations trustee.

School To Start After Labor Day in 2014?

If the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has it's way, the new school year will begin after the Labor Day weekend in 2014.

The public school board approved the new school calendar this week.

Keewatin-Patricia decided to make the move after conducting an on-line survey of parents, students and staff.

It calls for classes to begin after the September long weekend, with classes to run a few days later in June.

While the KP Trustees have approved the new school calendar, it also needs to have the other board's
in the region approve it, in order to co-ordinate school bus service.

New Vision for Twin Rinks In Kenora

An alternate vision has been floated for a twin ice surface in Kenora.

Frank Bastone made a presentation to City Council this week, proposing
an all-new development on the lands currently occupied by Kenora Forest Products.

He says such as development would have a number of advantages over twinning the ice pad at the Rec. Center.

Bastone's vision includes a hotel complex next to the new arena facility and a marina.

He adds that he doesn't have any dollar figures attached to such a project, but wanted to
add it into the work being carried out by the Event Center committee.

Sudbury Area Man Fined For Illegal Moose Hunt

A hunting trip south of Lac Seul has ended up costing a northeastern Ontario man 1-thousand dollars.

Cory Bernas of Sundridge has been fined for illegal moose hunting.

Court heard that conservation officers approached a hunting party near Williams Bay in October and found that Bernas harvested a moose.

The man was more than 5-kilometres away from the member of his party who held the bull moose game seal.

In addition, he only had a moose calf game seal.

OPP Targeting Suspended Drivers

The OPP have a new tool at their disposal to keep suspended drivers off
the road.

The Enhanced Licence Plate Recognition program is a camera/computer system that automatically logs licence
plates.

Sergeant Brian Humber says it can tell within seconds if the driver is suspended.

The OPP say the LPR program now has access to the MTO database which contains a
list of all drivers in the province who are suspended.

Deep Freeze to Be With Us Through the Weekend

Our bitterly cold weather is going to stay with us into the weekend at least.

Environment Canada's Jeff Coulsen says not only will the temperatures remain well below normal, but there will be no break from the high wind chills.

Coulsen says we might see a break from the deep freeze early next week but expect another cold snap in the week leading up to Christmas.

The normal high for this time of year is -10, the normal low -19.

Winter Carnival Buttons Available

The Kenora Winter Carnival is still about three months away, but organizers
have kicked things off with the sale of carnival buttons.

This year, a couple of new organizations are taking part in the button
sale.

They include Women's Place Kenora, Aboriginal Head Start, Triple Play, and the Kenora Arts Project.

The buttons are two dollars each.

All four can be purchased at the Discovery Center, or you can buy individual buttons
at retail outlets throughout the city.

Winter Court Sport Season Launched At Beaver Brae

The winter court sport season is officially underway at Beaver Brae.

Yesterday, the Bronco boys basketball and girls volleyball teams entertained
the Dryden Eagles.

The lone win of the day came from Beaver Brae's junior boys, who ousted the
Eagles 62-42.

Dylan Andrews led the offense with 23 points.

In senior boys action, the Broncos dropped a 58-34 decision to Dryden.

In girls volleyball, the Beaver Brae junior squad lost in three straight sets, while
the Bronco senior team lost three sets to one.

Thistles Shut Down by Thrashers

The Kenora Triple "a" Midget Thistles have dropped back to the .500 mark on the season.

The Thistles were blanked 3-0 last night by the Winnipeg Thrashers at the Kenora Rec. Center.

The loss puts the Kenora Midgets record at 11 and 11.

The Thistles are back in action Friday night at home against the Southwest Cougars.

House Fire on Second Street South

A chilly wake-up call for Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department.

A fire broke out to a multi-unit home on Second Street South in the 500
block just before 8:00 this morning.

It appears the fire started in the basement and then spread to the back of
the building.

Fire crews have the blaze under control and everyone inside the house managed to make it out unharmed.

Because of the fire, Second Street South has been blocked off all the way from 8th Avenue South to 5th Avenue.