Dryden

With support from the Northwestern Health Unit – the Lake of the Woods District Hospital says their most recent COVID-19 outbreak in Unit 3E has finished.

The COVID-19 outbreak in Unit 3E was first reported on December 22 and was in effect for just over two weeks. It was the hospital’s fifth outbreak of 2022.

Leadership is reminding the public that COVID-19, influenza, gastrointestinal illness and RSV are all continuing to circulate in the region, and residents are reminded to stay home if they’re sick or if they’ve spent time with someone who is unwell.

Officers with the Rainy River OPP and the Treaty Three Police Service have charged a 44-year-old from Dawson, ON with four offences after a search warrant was executed earlier this week.

Police say the search took place at 9:10 a.m. on January 4 at a Couchiching First Nation residence, which resulted in the arrest of one resident and the seizure of a prohibited weapon.

As a result, 44-year-old Robert Gouliquer of Dawson, ON has been arrested and charged with:

Staff with the Kenora and Rainy River Districts’ Alzheimer’s Society are working to end the stigma around dementia across northwestern Ontario.

Staff joined the community and Council members at Dryden City Hall yesterday as the city raised the Alzheimer’s Flag to celebrate January as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in Canada and in the community.

Dryden’s flag-raising ceremony followed similar ceremonies in Kenora, Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, Fort Frances and Ignace – with Sioux Lookout’s ceremony taking place today.

Edit: As of 10:46 p.m. the outage is now down to 148 customers between Savant Lake and Silver Dollar.


Over 1,000 Hydro One customers in northwestern Ontario are without power this afternoon.

Hydro One reports a major power outage between the Ignace area and Savant Lake, located north of Ignace up Highway 599, with 1,073 customers affected.

Canada goes for the gold against Czechia tonight at the world junior hockey championships in Halifax.

The defending champs advanced to the final with a 6-2 win over the United States, while the Czechs dumped Sweden 2-1 in the other semifinal.

Canada dropped a 5-2 decision to Czechia in the tournament opener on Boxing Day.

There are four Canadian teams in action in the NHL tonight.

Residents within Kenora’s Pinecrest Home for the Aged are facing another COVID-19 outbreak.

Assistant Administrator Michelle Spencer says Unit #3 declared an outbreak of the illness after three residents tested positive on January 4, with support from the Northwestern Health Unit.

As a result, visitor restrictions are as follows for Unit #3 residents:

39-year-old Justin Desautels of Dryden has been sentenced to life in a federal penitentiary with eligibility for parole in 13 years after the deaths of two Dryden residents.

Desautels was sentenced in Kenora Court by Justice John Fregeau. He says both second-degree murder charges will be served concurrently as well as the assault charges laid against him.

Back on March 2, 2020, Desautels, in a drug-induced crime spree, killed Mervin Brownlee at the Arbour Jade Trailer Park and Dorothy Brown died from her injuries later that month.

The OPP is looking for the public's assistance in locating an individual who robbed a gas station with a gun. 

On Wednesday, January 4 around 9:30 p.m., members of the Kenora OPP received a report of a Distress alarm at a local business on 17 East. Front line officers responded immediately. Upon Arrival police learned that a robbery with a gun had taken place.

Management with Kenora’s premier waterfront hotel – the Clarion Lakeside Inn – says construction is still on schedule as they hope to reopen the building this summer.

The Clarion’s been closed for three years now after a major fire in January, 2020 which filled Kenora’s downtown core with a blanket of thick, dark smoke.

The Northwestern Health Unit is warning the public about a spike in HIV in the community, mostly due to residents sharing drug equipment and taking part in unprotected sex.

During the City of Kenora’s Emergency Council meeting on Downtown Safety over the holidays, local Physician Johnny Grek warned that Kenora is seeing increasing rates of HIV and AIDS in Kenora’s transient population with 15 cases in the last 9 months, after no cases in the city for over 8 years.