Impaired Driving Charge Laid on Ice Road

Yes you can be charged with impaired driving on an ice road.

The OPP say they charged a 40 year old Kenora man over the weekend
on Lake of the Woods.

Police say they stopped a vehicle near Billygoat Island around 1:30 Saturday
afternoon after they noticed it being driven very slowly.

Officers determined the driver had been drinking alcohol and transported him for further testing.

Raymond Iverson is due to appear in Kenora Court March 13th on the charge.

SIU Investigates Red Lake Shooting

The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has been called in to look into a
shooting incident in Red Lake over the weekend.

The OPP say they were called to a home twice on Saturday night to deal with a noise complaint.

The second time they responded, officers were refused entry.

The woman inside told police she had consumed a quantity of medication.

The OPP say the officers forced their way inside, where an altercation took place and a firearm was discharged.

The woman was taken to hospital for treatment of an injury.

The two officers were also checked out at the hospital and later released.

Rickford Applauds New First Nations Education Act

Nishnawbe-Aski Nation and Treaty 3 could soon have greater control over their education.

Details of the First Nations Education Control Act were revealed last week.

The act gives First Nation Communities greater resources and authority.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says administrators of academic programs will soon have greater
leeway in how they deliver programs.

Rickford says the act is a call for students to stay in school and study hard, for administrators to ensure they are getting the standards that are widely accepted in their province.

Tories to Use FOI On Winter Maintenance Fines

The Ontario Conservatives say they are trying to find out how much winter
road maintenance contractors have been fined.

Tory Finance Critic Vic Fedeli says it's one thing for the province to say contractors have been hit with financial penalties for poor winter road maintenance.

But he says the devil is in the details.

Fedeli says the state of highways this winter has been one of the biggest issues raised in his pre-budget consultations in the past month.

Food Vendors To Return to Harbourfront

Food vendors will be back on the Kenora Harborfront this summer.

The City of Kenora launched a pilot project two years ago to see how the food trucks would be received.

Councillor Rory McMillan has confirmed the initiative has gone from being a pilot project to becoming an annual summer tradition.

A request for proposals has been sent out to potential food vendors.

The city says it will licence up to three food trucks for the Kenora Harborfront
and one for the Discovery Center out in Norman.

They can set up shop starting June 1st and must be open seven days a week from 11 until 4:00.

The deadline to submit a proposal is February 27th.

Fatal Snowmachine Crash in Manitoba

A fatal snowmachine accident in Manitoba over the weekend.

The RCMP from Beausejour say they were called out Saturday night around 6:30 to a collision in the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead.

Police say four riders were traveling on a trail near Tyndall, when a 32 year old man from Winnipeg was involved in a single vehicle collision.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Mounties says speed and drugs are believed to be factors in the
accident.

Campbell Offers Support for Increase in Minimum Wage

A mixed reaction to the minimum wage increase by Kenora Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell.

Campbell says the increase will be good to help citizens, but businesses are also facing financial challenges.

Campbell does note that business owners at a recent pre-budget meeting in Thunder Bay were in support of the annual minimum wage increase.

The annual increase was proposed when the Ontario government announced the minimum wage would be increasing to 11 dollars an hour earlier this month.

Horwath Optimistic About NDP's Chances in Northwestern Ontario

Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is optimistic with where the NDP stand in Northwestern Ontario.

Horwath was in Thunder Bay yesterday for the NDP Nomination in Thunder Bay-Atikokan.

She says the region needs better representation.

Mary Kozorys won yesterdays nomination to represent the Thunder Bay-Atikokan for the NDP over Madge Richardson.

New Gold Looks to Expand Rainy River Project

More exploration at New Gold's Rainy River project.

Part of the work will explore the potential of expanding the footprint of its planned open pit mine.

Vice-president of exploration Mark Peterson says areas to the west of the original site will be looked at.

The company says it's also moving to complete the environment assessment process and obtain the necesary permitting to begin construction next year.

Senior Thistles Sweep Southeast Thunder

The Kenora Triple "a" Senior Thistles remain perfect so far in 2014.

The Thistles won a pair of games against the Southeast Prairie Thunder
over the weekend, including a 4-2 decision yesterday at the Rec. Center.

Sean McAslan netted a pair of goals in the game and says the team seems to be building for a run at the Allan Cup.

Marlon Gardner and Jeff Richards also added singles yesterday.

The Thistles also beat the Prairie Thunder 4-3 on Saturday night.

Midget Thistles Make Play-Offs

A pair of wins in the final two games of the regular season have ensured the Kenora Triple "a" Midget
Thistles will make the play-offs.

The Thistles capped the season yesterday with a 2-1 win over the Central Plain Capitals.

That followed up on a 3-1 win Saturday night against the Yellowhead Chiefs.

Tristan Salesse scored goals both Saturday and Sunday for the Thistles.

The Thistles three-game road trip didn't start out well, as they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Southwest Cougars Friday.

The Kenora Midgets finished one game above .500 which is good enough for 6th place.

The play-off match-ups have yet to be announced.

Saints/PeeWee All-Stars Runners Up at Weekend Tournaments

A couple of second place finishes for Kenora teams over the weekend.

The Thomas Aquinas Saints boys hockey team was in Grand Rapids, Minnesota for the Star of the North Tournament.

The Saints went through the round-robin undefeated and met up with Elk River from Minneapolis in the tournament final.

Elk River Edged T.A. 3-2, giving the Saints the Silver medal for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile, the Northwest Triple "a" PeeWee All-Stars skated into Brandon for the Tournament of
Champions.

The All-Stars also went through the round-robin undefeated, but played the host Brandon Wheat Kings
in the A-side final.

The Wheat Kings scored four quick goals to start the third period and went on to a 6-2 victory.

Nick Hakala and Mason Desautels scored for the Northwest All-Stars, which is a team made up of
players from Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances and Sioux Lookout.

Winter Farmer's Market Returns to Discovery Center

No shortage of activities this weekend in the Kenora area.

In addition to winter carnivals in Redditt and Falcon Lake, the Winter Farmer's Market returns to the Discovery Center.

This is the second of four that are being planned.

Tomorrow's market is set to coincide with Valentine's Day.

The market will run from 10:00 to 2:30.

Midget Thistles Wrap Up Regular Season This Weekend

The Kenora Triple "A" Midgets wrap up the regular season this weekend.

The Thistles hit the road tonight to face the Southwest Cougars in Souris.

Tomorrow night the Kenora Midgets then head to Shoal Lake to face off with the Yellowhead Chiefs.

Sunday night marks the end of the season as the thistles then enter Portage La Prairie to play the Central Plains Capitals.

Senior Thistles Set to Host Southeast Prairie Thunder

A familiar face is back with the Kenora Triple "A" Senior Thistles as they hit the ice this weekend.

Goaltender Ryan Person has re-joined the Thistles.

Person played against Kenora earlier this year when he brought the Manitoba Pirates to town.

He'll share the net along with Tyler Gordon as the Southeast prairie Thunder come to town for a pair of games.

The first match up is tomorrow night at 7:00 with the rematch Sunday at 2:00 both at the Thistles Arena.

Dryden Chooses Kenora Ambulance and Fire Dispatch Service

Chalk another one up for the Kenora Central Ambulance & Fire Communications Center

Dryden Council  finally approved fire dispatching service to the Norman-based operation.

Wabigoon and Oxdrift fire will be contributing towards one third of the price.

Fire Chief Ken Kurz both fire halls really helped with the approval.

Kurz says the next step will be installing the equipment before March 31st.

Dryden council has approved a five year deal with the Kenora Ambulance and Fire Dispatch Center.

Gravelle Adds Voice to Winter Highway Maintenance Concerns

A member of Premier Wynne's cabinet is expressing his concern with the condition of highways in northwestern Ontario.

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle says he doesn't feel winter road maintenance has been up to what it has been in the past and addressed his concerns to Transportation Minister Glen Murray last week.

Gravelle says if things don't improve, changes may have to be made.

He says the fact fines have been given out to contractors shows Murray is taking the issue very seriously.

Highway Safety Message Heads into Schools

High school drivers will be targeted by the OPP's Highway Safety and Education Committee.

They'd heading to area schools to talk about their winter driving initiatives.

Constable Anne McCoy says it includes a contest that encourages students to produce their own public service announcement, which will air on local Acadia Broadcasting radio stations including 89.5 The Lake.

The first of the presentations took place this week in Kenora high schools.

Other presentations are being made in Dryden and Fort Frances, Thunder Bay and Red Lake.

Winter Carnivals Take Place North and West of Town

A couple of annual traditions are back again this weekend.

The 40th Annual Beaver Days gets underway at the Whiteshell Community Centre starting this evening.

Organizer Marcie Woods says they have lots of new events, including snowmobile radar races.

She adds that they also have one of the biggest silent auctions in the region.

Tonight, the annual Redditt Winter Carnival also gets underway north of
Kenora.

It will feature a curling bonspiel, community supper tonight and the crowning
of the carnival queen.

Eagles Dominate Broncos On the Court and On the Ice

Not the way Beaver Brae wanted to finish the NorWOSSA regular season.

The Broncos were in Dryden to take on the Eagles in boys basketball and
girls volleyball and it was a clean sweep for the home teams.

The Beaver Brae junior and senior girls squads were swept in straight sets.

In boys basketball, the Eagles were finally able to solve the Bronco junior boys edging them 44-38.

Beaver Brae's senior boys dropped a 61-33 decision to Dryden.

The NorWOSSA Double "a" play-offs will take place next Thursday in Fort Frances.

Meanwhile, the Eagles continued their domination on the ice as well last night.

Dryden got by Beaver Brae's girls hockey team 5-2.

The Broncos next game is Tuesday at Red Lake.