Nomination Meetings Begin

NDP in Kenora-Rainy River kick off a series of nomination meetings in Sioux Lookout tonight in the selection of their candidate for the October provincial election.

There are two nominees.

Sarah Campbell, a constituency assistant in Dryden and Kenora lawyer Robert Sinding.

Nomination meetings will also be held in Kenora and Dryden this weekend with the final balloting coming in Fort Frances where the winner will be announced Monday night.

Service Guarantee Proposed

The Liberals want to make it easier and faster to renew your driver's licence or health card if the party wins the October election.

They're proposing a service guarantee to refund any provincial fees if people have to wait more than 20 minutes at a Service Ontario outlet.

Solar Panels Now Up

(Solar panel atop the Memorial Sports Centre - town of Fort Frances photo)

Solar panels on four municipal buildings in Fort Frances have now been installed.

They're located on the roofs of the Memorial Sports Centre, water treatment plant, Public Works garage, and day care centre.

It's expected they'll be connected to the grid as early as next week.

A 20-year deal to sell the power back will see the town earn about $12-thousand annually over the next decade and $49-thousand in each of the final ten years.

Warp 9 to Open?

It appears the former Warp 9 bar in Fort Frances has been sold.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is considering an application for a liquor license for the facility to be known as Club 88.

The facility, which is in a former theatre, has been closed for the past five years and put up for sale.

No official word yet on who the new operators will be.

Jury Review

A former Supreme Court of Canada justice is going to look at why aboriginals are being shut out from juries in Ontario.

First Nations who live on reserves in the province say they have been excluded from juries for years.

The province has asked former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to look at the issue and come up with ways to fix the problem.

Atikokan Bass Classic Underway

(Atikokan Bass Classic photo)


Fishing at the Atikokan Bass Classic gets underway today.

One hundred and seven angling teams are competing for a share of the nearly 48-thousand dollars in cash being offered with a top prize of 10-thousand.

Darwin King of Atikokan and Guy Lagarrie of Thunder Bay are the defending champions.

Weigh-ins are at 3 p.m. today under the big tent at the Atikokan arena.

Go-Karting Club on the Rise

(Kim Williamson photo)


Go-karting in the Rainy River district is growing in popularity.

The Borderland Racing Go-Kart Club races each Friday night at Emo Speedway.

One of the organizers, Kim Williamson says they're getting close to 20 drivers a night.

"Our novice groups starts out at about age 6," says Williamson. "The advance is for the most skilled seniors drivers up the 16, but we also have one adult now. But interest is growing so we might be able to introduce more classes as people get their karts ready."

Williamson says a new club in International Falls is also attracting some Americans to Emo.