Tim Davidson has more than 30 years of experience in radio news. He is based in Kenora and covers stories in northwestern Ontario. Contact Tim at davidson.tim@radioabl.ca.
The Treaty #3 Police say they have arrested four people in two different drug investigations on local First Nations.
Police say they have seized $24,000 worth of illegal drugs and related property on the Wabigoon Ojibway Nation.
A search warrant was carried out on Tuesday on a residence in that community.
Two people, a 51-year-old man from Wabigoon and a 30-year-old woman from Dryden have been charged in connection to the investigation.
The second drug bust was on Shoal Lake #39 earlier this month, where a quantity of cocaine and crack cocaine was seized during a vehicle stop on Highway 673 into the community.
A 36-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man, both from the First Nation have been arrested for drug trafficking.
Three people have been arrested following a drug investigation by the Dryden OPP.
Police say they executed a search warrant with the help of the Dryden OPP’s Street Crimes Unit and the Treaty #3 Police Service around 10 pm Tuesday night on St. Charles Street.
Officers seized a quanity of cocaine, Canadian currency and other evidence of drug trafficking.
A 28-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, both from Dryden have been charged with trafficking.
A 25-year-old man from Brampton has been charged with possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
He’s been remanded into custody and will appear in court Friday.
The other two have been released and are scheduled to appear in court on November 17th.
The Kenora OPP say they have recovered over $11,000 worth of stolen goods following a break and enter in Keewatin.
On October 7th, around 8 pm, police were dispatched to a Keewatin residence after a report of the break-in.
A number of items were reported stolen from the garage.
CCTV footage of the incident was provided.
As a result, a 25-year-old man from Keewatin has been charged with three counts of theft over $5,000 mischief, trafficking in stolen goods, break and enter and failing to comply with a probation order.
He has been remanded into custody pending a future court date.
A 51-year-old woman from Longbow Lake has also been charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
She has been released and is scheduled to appear in Kenora Court at a later date.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has released conceptual plans on what its Center of Expertise might look like.
A couple of open houses were held Tuesday for the proposed 65,000 square foot building in Ignace.
NWMO spokesperson Vince Ponka says they want public input into the building.
“To show people what we’re thinking, but also to get their feedback, because really we want Ignace to be excited and proud of this building, as much as we are,” says Ponka.
“We want to make sure they see themselves reflected, and we’ve already incorporated a lot of previous ideas we’ve gotten over the past couple of years in these drawings.”
Ponka adds that the building will be used for a couple of different purposes.
“We’re committed to move our entire operations to the Ignace area, so we need a place for staffers like me to work. But the other half is for the public. Places like our Learn More center in Ignace, will be transferred to that space, where people can learn more about Deep Geological Repositories, and responsible nuclear waste management.”
The NWMO says the building will be an architectural gem and the Centre of Expertise will be a tourist attraction and a hub for economic development in the area.
The specific location of the Centre of Expertise is expected to be announced later this year, with construction beginning in 2026.
The official grand opening is scheduled for 2028.
(Photos provided by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization)
It’s going to take a little longer to open up the Portage Bay Bridge to traffic.
Initially it was hoped it would be open by Christmas.
But Director of Engineering and Infrastructure Greg Breen says it looks like the early part of 2026 is more realistic.
“In the Portage Bay Bridge’s current state, with some steel members, having some severe corrosion, they (engineers) weren’t able to approve a scaffolding plan to get started in October, like we thought.”
Now the engineers will have to draft a new scaffolding plan.
Breen adds it will cost a bit more to do the rehabilitation work on the bridge.
“We had a $600,000 approval to complete the interim repairs on the Portage Bay Bridge. When did finally get the pricing back on that, it came in at just over a million (dollars). So, the steelwork itself was more expensive than we anticipated.”
He says the company that’s doing work on the Keewatin Channel Bridge is also work on the Portage Bay Bridge project.
Breen suggest the budget for the Keewatin Channel Bridge is pretty robust at over $9 million dollars, so he’s confident any overages on the Portage Bay Bridge should be able to come out of the contingency fees on that Keewatin Channel Bridge project.
Lots of complaints about the taste and smell of Kenora’s tap water over the past couple of weeks.
The algae flavour has been prominent.
Teika Newton from the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation says she not suprised by the complaints.
“The blooms historically have happened more in the peak of the summer, but in recent years, like in the last decade or so, the bloom is shifting later and later in the season and so now we’re seeing the peak, generally, at the end of September and into early October,” says Newton.
Newton adds that the algae taste and smell in recent weeks is not that unusual.
“It’s not really all that surprising that people are noticing the problem now. About 15 or 20 years ago, this is something you would have noticed in your drinking water in July and August, and the reason for the shift is of course climate change. The water is warming…the air is warming. We have less ice cover.”
Newton adds the water is safe to drink because the city has an excellent treatment facility and if there are any toxins before treatment, the level is very low to non-existent.
Teachers across the region are getting a crash course in mental health training for their students.
Triple Play in Kenora has been involved with Project 11, which is a mental health program launched by the Winnipeg Jets and supported by the Jets alumni.
Over the weekend, the Jets alumni were involved in a charity hockey game and other activities around Kenora.
Christy Radbourne is the Director of Education for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, and she says they dedicated their Professional Development Day around children’s mental health.
“It really is a lingering effect coming out of COVID,” explains Radbourne.
“There was a significant increase in anxiety amongst young people. We know that cellphones, the digital world, is really increasing the kinds of mental health issues, including anxiety, allowing for cyberbullying,”
Radbourne adds that studies have shown the mental health of their students is getting worse, but teachers can help.
“All these pieces can really be impacted by positive relationships with educators, and staff and attending to the mental health issues at our schools. So, we actually think its foundational to learning about children without good mental health.”
Radbourne says the mental health training continued on Tuesday in Sioux Lookout.
