First All Candidates Forum in Dryden

It got a little testy at times during last night's All-Candidates forum for the Federal Candidates in the Kenora Riding.

It was a packed house at the Dryden Legion.

Liberal Roger Valley closed the night by asking NDP and undecided voters to vote red.

Conservate Greg Rickford steered away from the remark and instead wanted to

focus on his party's track record over the past three years. 

Tania Cameron of the NDP took exception to the Valley comment and suggest that Valley was

actually supportive of her party's policies. 

Independent candidate Kelvin Chicago-Boucher decided to stay out of the name-calling and instead

called for more accountability on First Nation Communities.

Green candidate Mike Schwindt was unable to attend the debate.

The next all-candidates forum will take place in Kenora on Monday, April 25th.

OPP Focus on Missing Children

The OPP say they've made some headway in reducing the number of children who are reported missing each year in the Kenora area.

Local police say they get over a thousand reports of missing kids annually.

Inspector Dave Lucas of the Kenora OPP says they've been working with local child care agencies to reduce those numbers.

Lucas says the success of other programs such as Opening Doors, an after school program for youth at risk, also helps out.

Digital Billboard up for Debate Again

The social media is being used once again to lobby Kenora City Council.

Once again the issue of contention is the proposed digital billboard on Lakeview Drive.

Councillor Rory McMillan says he's received over 40 facebook messages since Tuesday's Property and Planning meeting.

At that meeting, council members refused to turn down the request for a digital billboard.

The Property and Planning Committee is scheduled to meet once again this morning to deal with the issue.

MNR Wraps up Training for local Fire Crews

The Ministry of Natural Resources has wrapped up a comprehensive training program for some its key members.

Response and Operations Manager Dave Cleavely says the forum was geared towards staff from across Northwestern Ontario.

Cleavely says a lot of the information was a refresher, however he notes new safety guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of workers before they do any task.

Thistles ousted from Allan Cup

The Kenora Thistles dream of Allan Cup glory are over.

The Thistles were ousted from the tournament last night in the quarter-finals with a 5-3 loss to Fort Frances.

Thistles coach Ryan Raynard says the team came out flat in their biggest game of the year.

Myles Kuharski scored a hat trick for the Thunderhawks, while Chris Medicine was strong in net for Fort.

Mike Garrow, Sean McAslan and Jon Johnson scored Kenora's goals. 

The Thunderhawks will meet the Bentley Generals in one semi-final this evening, while Dundas will take on the well-rested Clarenville Caribous this afternoon.

Dundas advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-0 shutout against the Southeast Prairie Thunder yesterday afternoon.