Tuesday, August 3, 2010

JM Judoists Medal at International Tournament

Two members of the Jaffray Melick Judo Club medalled at a huge tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

over the weekend.

Kaitie Dennis won a silver medal, after advancing to the gold medal match in the 57 kilo
division.

Ben Dennis took home a bronze medal after losing to the eventual gold medal winner
in the boys 44 kilo division.

Over one thousand fighters from 100 countries took part in the weekend tournament.

Council Race Heats Up

Another person has thrown his hat into the ring for the race for Kenora City Council.


Gregary Potvin is the fifth person to submit nomination papers for the October 25th
municipal elections.

A total of six council seats are up for grabs, along with the mayoralty.

The deadline to submit nomination papers is September 10th.

A wet July confirmed

If you thought July was a wet month in the Kenora area you'd be right.


CJRL meteorologist, Bill Laidlaw says we were drenched by 198 millimeters
of rain last month, which is about double the average for July.

Temperatures were also slightly above normal for this time of year.

The average daily mean temperature last month was about a degree
higher than usual.

Water Levels continue to rise


Water levels on Lake of the Woods are starting to stabilize after rising steadily over over the past few weeks.

The Lake of the Woods Control board says water levels rose just a half an inch in the
past week and are expected to remain stable or decrease slightly over the next seven
days.

To cope with the higher water levels, the Control board has authorized yet another
increase in outflow from the Norman Dam into the Winnipeg River today.

Outflow will go from 730 to 800 cubic meters per second.

Water levels below the dam and downstream at Minaki are expected to rise
about six inches as a result of the increase in outflow.

Fire Rangers heading west


Ontario is sending more help to western Canada ravaged by forest fires.


Over one hundred Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters and support personnel were sent to northern Saskatchewan and British Columbia on Sunday.

Another twenty firefighters have been in Manitoba since early last week.

The M-N-R expects to be called on for more assistance, especially in B-C where the fire situation is worsening.

Two Coronor's inquests in Northwestern Ontario

The deaths of two men in northwestern Ontario last year will be subjects of coroner's inquests later this fall.


A September inquest in Fort Frances will examine the death of 21-year-old Dylan Wreggitt of Atikokan.

He died while in custody at the Rainy River District Jail last August.

Another inquest into the death of 30-year-old Levi Schaeffer will be held in Thunder Bay in October.

Schaeffer died in an altercation with Provincial Police in the Osnaburgh Lake area last June.

Anicinabe beach still closed


Just one beach remains closed in the Kenora area after heavy rains last week.


Anicinabe Beach is still listed as off limits to swimmers due to high e-coli levels in the water.

Advisories for Ottawa Street Beach and Darlington Beach in Keewatin were lifted over the weekend, as was the closure notice for Rabbit Lake Beach.

The health unit says it will continue its beach monitoring program for the rest of the summer.

Beach closure notices

The Northwestern Health Unit is changing how it will inform swimmers of potential bacteria in area beaches.


Instead of issuing warnings following water sampling, Medical Officer of Health Dr. James Arthurs says there will now be permanent signs posted at popular swimming areas.

Arthurs says the current warning does not always tell an accurate picture since samples are sent away and the situation often changes by the time results are known.

SIU issues correction in downtown Shooting


The Ontario Special Investigations Unit has clarified one of the claims made in its report on a June 7th shooting incident in downtown Kenora.

Last week, the SIU issued a release saying it took two hours for the OPP in Kenora to notify them of the incident in which a 39 year old woman was shot by an officer on 1st Street South.

The SIU says the Kenora Detachment actually notified them 51 minutes after the shooting.

Despite the correction, the SIU says it would have liked to have been contacted as
soon after the incident as possible in order to mobilize its staff to begin their
investigation.