Machin Fire Chief Resigns

The volunteer Fire Chief in Machin is calling it quits.

Rob Wisneski is retiring after 12-years of helping the community.

In an e-mail to our newsroom this week
, Wisneski says family and business have to come before any volunteer position.

Musuem Fined By Ministry of Labor

A hefty fine for the Lake of the Woods Museum,

The Ministry of Labor has slapped the museum with a 44 thousand dollar fine after a workplace injury back in 2012.

Kenora City Council however will not be taking the money out of the museums operating budget.

Instead it will be coverinf the cost through the municipal reserves.

The fine of 37 thousand dollars inlcuding a victim surchage fee of 7 thousand.

Supreme Court To Hear Grassy Narrows Appeal This Morning

Logging rights in the Whiskey Jack Forest near Grassy Narrows will be under the microscope tomorrow.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments about the legality of clear-cut logging in the Grassy Narrows Traditional Land Use Territory.

Grassy argues that the sustainable forest licence for the Whiskey Jack violate the rights of it's members to harvest wildlife, established under Treaty Three.

The court will decide whether the province has the right to take up lands for forestry and limit
the rights of Grassy Narrows residents to fish and trap.

A live webcast from the Supreme Court is scheduled to start at 8 A.M.

Highway 671 Open To One Lane Today

The Ministry of Transportation says Highway 671 to Grassy Narrows should be open to one lane today.

The road was washed out earlier this week due to high water levels.

The MTO says it will have to wait until water levels subside before they are able to repair the road and open it again to two lanes.

Meanwhile, Highway 605 about nine kilometers north of Dryden is closed at the second baily bridge due to high water levels.

Control Board Increasing Outflow From Norman Dam

For the second time this week, there will be an increase in outflow from the Norman Dam into the Winnipeg River.

The recent wet weather is playing havoc with water levels in the Lake of the Woods basin.

Executive Engineer at the Lake of the Woods Control Board Matt DeWolf  Winnipeg River residents can expect to see their waters rise.

DeWolf notes more increases are likely and is recommending residents keep an
on water levels as they are made.

City Insurance Premiums Going Down

Not often you can say this.

Insurance costs in the City of Kenora are going down.

The City has approved a bid from Lake of the Woods Insurance for it's
municipal insurance needs in 2014.

Councillor Ron Lunny says it was significant savings over last year.

The total insurance package will total almost 288 thousand dollars this year.

Coney Bridge To Be Removed Today

You should be able to circumnavigate Coney Island later today.

The city's Parks Supervisor Barb Manson says the bridge will be taken out later today.

The 15th is the target date every year to remove the bridge.

It will match last year as the lastest date for the bridge to be removed.

Green Party Releases Platform

The Green candidate in Kenora-Rainy River is supporting his party's platform.

There are nine main highlights of the plan including an emphasis on electricity.

Tim McKillop says he would like to see a move to clean energy.

McKillop says creating alternative, renewable sources of electricity to help northern Ontario is essential.

Hockey For Health Makes Donation To Event Center Project

Every little bit helps.

The City of Kenora is getting a three thousand dollar donation to help
twin the Rec. Center ice surface.

Jess Rheault is the organizer of the Hockey For Health Tournament and says
the money is a portion of the funds they raised last month.

The remainder of the funds raised will go to the Lake of the Woods
Hospital Foundation.

Thomas Aquinas Soccer Teams On A Roll

Thomas Aquinas soccer teams remain perfect to start the NorWOSSA Single "A" season.

The Saints boys and girls teams played a pair of games yesterday and won both.

The T.A. boys have yet to surrender a goal, as they blanked Red Lake 3-0 and followed that up with a 1-0 win over Sioux Lookout.

A similar story for the Saints girls, who shut out the Rams 3-0 and followed that up with a
2-1 win over the Warriors.

One more game for both teams today with the T.A. boys playing Red Lake at 1:00 and
the girls on the field at 3:00 to take on the Rams.

Police Find Body of Missing Man

A sad ending to a missing persons case in Kenora.

Provincial Police say they have found the body of 47 year old Hughie Whiskeyjack.

OPP say a search was conducted near the Separation Rapid's Camp where Whiskeyjack was last seen on Saturday.

His body was found in the area.

A post mortem will be conducted today at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

OPP Investigating A Pair of Theft Complaints

The OPP are searching for a suspect involved in a pair of theft complaints over the weekend.

Police say they initially responded to a report of a stolen vehicle from the Lakeside area Saturday afternoon.

The vehicle was recovered a short time later, but then officers received another theft complaint from a nearby business.

In both incidents, the suspect was described in a similar way:  about six feet tall, with short red hair wearing a light colored plaid shirt.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to contact the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Road Closed To Grassy Narrows

The Grassy Narrows First Nation is cut off this morning due to flooding.

The OPP say Highway 671, about 25 kilometers south of the community  has been closed due to a road wash-out.

Police say due to the strong current, work to repair the road won't take
place until later today.

Over the past two days the Kenora area has seen over 36 millimeters of
rain swelling local lakes and rivers.

Kasechewan Evacuated

Only a handful of community members and band leaders are now in the remote community of Kashechewan.

Nearly 16-hundred residents are now being housed elsewhere, including Thunder Bay, to wait out rising waters near their community.

Meantime, Pic Mobert First Nation near White River has declared a state of emergency as its watch water levels on the White River.

Flood Watch Issued For Dryden Area

The Ministry of Natural Resources has issued a flood watch in the Dryden area.

The MNR says the Wabigoon Chain of Lakes and Eagle Lake are experiencing increased water levels.

Officials say anyone living close too or downstream from the lakes may be hit with flooding.

Residents should take steps to protect their property.

The forecast is calling for more precipitation.

Council Asked To Reject Energy East

The Energy East Pipeline continues to be a divisive issue locally.

Yesterday, Kenora City Council was taken to take for allowing the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association to endorse the project.

Teika Newton is with the Kenora Environmental Committee and feels the project won't reduce the transport of dangerous material via rail through the community.

Mayor Dave Canfield took exception to Newton's comments saying NOMA has done it's homework and they have to look at both sides of an issue in order to make the right decision.

Big Spruce 2nd To Start June 2nd

It's being call the Big Spruce Two.

Phase Three of Downtown Revitalization is set to begin in June.

Expect a lot of construction and detours in downtown Kenora this summer
as work on Phase Three is scheduled to begin on June 2nd.

Work will start at the corner of Main and Second Street South where pavement will be removed and excavatin will begin.

All of Second Street South will be dug up during the summer with final paving slated for the end of September.

Moncrief Construction had the winning bid at just over 4.7 million dollars.

Kenora BIZ says it's working on an Open For Business campaign during construction.

Northern Policy Institute Appoints Advisory Panel

The pieces of the government's new Northern Policy Insitutute are slowly coming into focus.  

President Charles Cirtwill says he's  chosen six members for the advisory committe and is looking for some more candidates.

Cirtwill says the advisory members were selected for their experience, knowledge and connections in key sectors across the entire Northern Ontario region.

He adds that he's still looking for people who are leaders in their communties and policy field to sit on
the advisory panel.

Fort Frances Set To Re-Open Tourist Info Center

Ontario's former tourist centre in Fort Frances will be reopening, for at least year anyway.

The town will operate the centre on a one-year lease with the province.

Mayor Roy Avis says they're also receiving some money through Ontario Sunset Country Travel Association to help operate the facility.

The provincial government had stopped operating the centre due to budget cuts.

NorWOSSA Soccer Games Scrubbed Today

The weather continues to play havoc with the NorWOSSA soccer season.

Beaver Brae was supposed to host both Fort Frances and Dryden today at
the Tom Nabb Soccer Complex.

But the damp conditions and snow flurries means today's games will be post-poned.

The new date for the games is Friday May 23rd.