Monday, June 22, 2009

Paved Trail

Work has nearly been completed on a new wheelchair accessible walking trail to Rabbit Lake.

A portion of the trail from Nairn Avenue to Rabbit Lake was paved this week.

A number of groups got together to help fundraise for the project,including the Kenora Association for Community Living, the Lake of theWoods Regional Community Foundation and the Rotary Club.

Canada Day Fireworks

A decision to bump Kenora's famous Canada Day fireworks from July 1 to July 4 has caused a small stir in town.

Some residents are questioning whether Canada Day organizers have forsaken patriotism in the name of a few tourist dollars.

The scheduling change has more to do with economics thandeclaring any U.S. allegiance.

When the city's lavish, $25,000 fireworks celebration has landed on a weekday, attendance has been lacklustre.

Show organizers say they have to do what they can to draw people into the community, even if it means changing the date.

Fata; Crash-update

The OPP have released the name of a person killed in a single vehicle crash on Highway 17-A on Friday morning.

65 year old Archie Wilcott sustained fatal injuries after his motorcycleleft the road and hit a rock cut.

Police say they have have concluded their investigation in to thefatality, but are unsure why the motorcycle left the road.

The crash took place around 6:30 Friday morning.

Increase in Forest Fires

Ministry of Natural Resources Fire Crews are keeping an eye on lightning caused fires in the region.

There are currently 28 active fires in the Northwest.

Many of the lightning caused fires are burning in the far north.

The blazes have been assessed and do not pose a threat to any communities or values.

Area communities may notice smokey conditions depending on the wind direction.

No new fires were reported as of Saturday.

Oil Spill Kenora

All is well on the roadway in front of Kenora City Hall.

OPP and Fire Personel were called out to an oil spil around 3 o'clock Sunday.

Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator Warren Brinkman says some kind of vegetable oil was dumped along a route from the city hall parking lot to the public works area.

Brinkman notes they poured absorb-all on the roadway, and public works crews sanded the area.

The oil spill and road conditions do not pose a threat to the public.

Wallace on Economic Development

The Lake of the Woods Development Commission is working on forming partnerships with area first nations.

The group wants to develop tourism opportunities involving area native communities.

Chair Dennis Wallace says they will play a large role in tourism and future business opportunities.

Wallace notes they also want to develop a tour of the prisoner of war camps on Lake of the Woods.

MPP'S Want Help for Swine Flu

Two northern Ontario New Democrat MPP's are calling on the Province to provide the healthcare resources needed to stop the spread of swine flu in First Nations communities.

Howard Hampton and France Gelinas also want the Liberals to address underlying conditions that are making the communities more vulnerable to the flu.

Hampton and Gelinas say nursing stations at many northern First Nations are already stretched to the limit.

And Gelinas says with several families forced to live together in two bedroom houses because of housing shortages, disease can spread rapidly.

Deer Lake fatality

OPP and Nishnawbe-Aski Police are investigating the death of a 44-year-old man in Deer Lake First Nation, north of Red Lake.

Henry Kakekagumick was found along a roadway in the community and was transported to Hospital in Winnipeg where he was pronounced dead.

A post-mortum is being conducted at the Health Sciences Centre.

Charges have yet to be laid.

Making Kenora Home

It's been over 2 years since the Making Kenora Home Committee was struck.

In that time, the group has made progress on four out of the eight recommendations they created.

Spokesperson Nan Normand says they worked hard to get the emergency shelter operating on a year round basis.

Norman notes they're also working on creating transitional housing for women.

Parliament ends without an election

There was an almost audible sigh on Parliament Hill on Friday.

The opposition decided not to topple the Harper government, forcinga general election.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford no-one was very eager to see a vote thissummer.

Friday was the last day of the current sitting of the House of Commons.

Business won't resume on Parliament Hill again until the fall.

School Board Amalgamation

Staff from the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board plan to travel tothree schools being amalgamated before the end of the current school year.

The public school board will be taking over schools in Pickle Lake,Savant Lake and Upsala in September.

Larry Hope is the director of education and says they don't plan anymajor changes to the way the schools operate.

Chair of the public school board, Dave Penny says they have beenassured by the Ministry of Education that all costs associated with theamalgamation will be covered by the province.