Avis decries centre closures

The Mayor of Fort Frances is trying to arrange a meeting with Ontario's Tourism Minister to talk about the pending closure of the region's tourist information centres. Roy Avis understands the government's need to save money, but wants to know if there's other options to keep the centres open. A resolution calling for the centres in Fort Frances, Kenora and Rainy River to remain open will also be discussed at the upcoming meeting of area Mayors in Kenora.

Event Centre open house round 2

Residents have another chance to learn more about the proposed Events Centre.  The consulting team behind the facility is hosting its second Open House Wednesday afternoon and will present a more in depth business plan for each of the 3 locations.  Lead Consultant Conrad Boychuk says the economic impact study is starting to come together but still needs to look at a lot of different components.  The meeting gets underway at 3 o'clock at the DaVinci Centre and will have 2 presentations from the consultants at 4 and again at 7.

Police arrest 2 during bust

Two people are behind bars after a drug bust last week.  Police seized about 28 hundred dollars worth of cocaine and also took in about 40 thousand dollars worth of assests from the pair last Thursday.  A 32 year old woman and a 48 year old man are facing several charges each.

RBC rewards innovation

The RBC Innovation Awards are honouring Northwestern Ontario businesses. The 4th annual RBC Innovation Awards were handed out this afternoon and Spokesperson Judy Sanders says there was stiff competition this year. Barb Courte is the award recipient in the Innovation Hero of the Year category. The Meaglow Semiconductor Research Reactor is the award recipient in the Innovative Project of the Year category and Global Hydration is the award recipient in the Innovative Company of the Year category.

Car dealer embarks on fundraiser

When you buy a vehicle at Badanai Motors over the next year you'll be helping build the new Ronald McDonald House in Toronto. George Badanai says the fundraiser is the result of a request from officials at the facility which houses out of town families whose children need extended care at Sick Children's Hospital. He says they committed to raising 50 thousand dollars.   Badanai says 100 dollars from every vehicle sold will go toward the cause.

Hair Cuts for Cancer

Cops for Cancer is encouraging more people to participate in this year's fundraising event. Volunteer Jesse Pyatt was more than happy to cut his hair for Cancer Research. The event will be held at Intercity Mall on May 12th.

Inspectors at fatality scene

The investigation into a fatal industrial accident yesterday afternoon remains in the early stages. Matt Blajer of the Ministry of Labour says a worker was killed after he was run over by a dump truck that was backing up at a construction site.  He says the worker was employed by L-T-L Contracting. Blajer says there are at least two inspectors at the scene of the accident at Oliver Road and Golf Links Road.

Michael Chan wanted in NWO

Ontario's Tourism Minister is a much wanted man. The mayor of Fort Frances is the latest to seek a meeting with Michael Chan to discuss ways of keeping the region's tourist information centre open. Roy Avis says that meeting should happen with other municipal leaders. Avis also says there might be an opportunity to strike a business venture with the province that keeps the doors open at centres in Fort Frances, Kenora and Rainy River.

Attawapiskat update

The remote Northern First Nation of Attawapiskat is going back to co-management status.  The Federal Government says its pulling the third-party manager who had been handling the finances of the troubled reserve.  The Aboriginal Affairs office says Jacques Marion is being withdrawn because of progress in reserve management.  A transition of power will take place over the next two weeks.

3 young men in police custody

Police have three young men in custody this morning after an alarm sounded for a break and enter to a County Boulevard home last night. Officers used a K9 unit to track the suspects and located some of the stolen property. The three young men are being charged with break, enter and commit theft, and breach of probation.