Dryden

The St. Thomas Aquinas Saints couldn't get the sweep yesterday when they hosted the Atikokan Voyageurs in one of their final regular-season games.

The Senior Girls' and Junior Girls' took their basketball games 51-22 and 31-17. The Senior Boys' Volleyball team won their match in three straight sets, but it was the Junior Boys' who fell to Atikokan 2 sets to none.

The Saints will host their final regular season game today when they welcome Pelican Falls for boys' volleyball. Elsewhere, the Sioux North Warriors will host the Dryden Eagles today.

A suspicious death in Wabaseemoong First Nation is now being considered a murder, and a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old are in custody as a result.

On October 27, members of the Treaty Three Police Service and Northwest EMS responded to a Wabaseemoong First Nation residence for a report of an individual facing life-threatening injuries.

42-year-old Raymond Land of Wabaseemoong later passed away while at the hospital. A post-mortem examination was conducted in Toronto to confirm the cause of death.

Leadership with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says despite province-wide strike action on Friday, schools will remain open and students are expected to be in their classrooms that day.

However, if strike action continues past Friday – closures are expected.

Director of Education, Christy Radbourne, says non-union staff members will be deployed to KPDSB schools on Friday to provide additional health and safety support as members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees – including custodians, maintenance and trade staff – take to the picket lines.

The COVID-19 outbreak at Kenora’s Pinecrest Home for the Aged has grown to 20 residents.

Assistant Administrator and Human Resources Manager with Pinecrest, Michelle Spencer, says the majority of residents within the unit are unable to adhere to isolation requirements, and 20 of the 21 residents within the unit have tested positive for the illness.

The outbreak was first reported on October 28. This is Pinecrest’s fifth COVID-19 outbreak this year. Staff are reminding the public to always wear a mask around their residents at all times.

Northwestern Ontario could break an over-40-year weather record today.

Meteorologists say the region hit a record high of 16.1 degrees today in 1978, and today's forecast is calling for a high of up to 18 degrees.

The Kenora area was just shy of breaking a nearly 70-year-old record on November 1, as temperatures reached a high of 13.3 degrees – below 1958’s record of 15 degrees for the day.

In NorWOSSA action, the Dryden Eagles hosted the Fort Frances Muskies, but could only get one win. The Eagles Senior Girls' Basketball team dominated the Muskies 41-14, while the Junior Girls' fell 33-21. Both Senior and Junior Boys' Volleyball were taken down.

The Beaver Brae Broncos hosted the Sioux North Warriors yesterday in Court Sports and the Broncos took 3 out of the 4 games.

Drivers going through the Kenora area are warned of two sets of delays on Highway 17.

The Ministry of Transportation reports that a spill has closed the eastbound lane of Highway 17A about 1.5 km east of Jones Road, and crews are working to clean the area.

A Kenora OPP officer is facing charges following a criminal investigation.

The investigation, conducted by the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, began in November 2021 after allegations were made in October 2021 regarding inappropriate behaviour by an off-duty police officer in relation to an adult person.

As a result of the investigation, 50-year-old Provincial Constable James Clark was charged with offences contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada:

·      Breach of Trust - Section 122

A local gold mine is doing what it can to avoid going into bankruptcy, but employee lay-offs are possible moving forward.

Pure Gold Mining Inc. has announced it has applied for an Initial Order for Creditor Protection from the Supreme Court of British Columbia under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act – to try to avoid going into bankruptcy.

Kenora MP Eric Melillo says the federal government needs to step in and act to address a growing food insecurity crisis across Canada, which goes hand-in-hand with our economy’s inflation crisis.

His comments come after the results of a Canada-wide survey were released on Monday, where nearly 20 per cent of Canadians said they were reducing meal sizes or skipping meals altogether in order to save money to survive Canada’s rising grocery costs.