Monday, June 29, 2009

Power Outages on Weekend

Some residents in the Rainy River district found themselves in the dark this past weekend.

Hydro One spokesperson Danielle Gauvin says strong winds Saturday night caused a number of outages

"In the Fort Frances, there was 2,000 (customer without power)," says Gauvin, "but it wasn't all at one. It was from about Saturday midnight to about noon yesterday. All of those outages were resolved yesterday."

Gauvin says separate outages were also reported in the Devlin and Nestor Falls areas.

Forest Fire Hazard Drops

The weekend's wet weather has been a help to the forest fire situation in northwestern Ontario.

No new fires were reported in the West Fire Region over the weekend.

Rainfall has reduced the forest fire hazard to low across the region.

There are still 26 fires burning, none in the Rainy River district.

New Police Chief to be Decided

International Falls city council will discuss the appointment of a new police chief tonight.

Both the mayor and the city's human resources committee are recommending Sergeant Mike Musich be promote to chief.

The city had turned administrative control of the department over to Koochiching County's Sheriff Brian Youso earlier this month until the city found a replacement for Chris Raboin who retired at the end of April.

Council is also expected to approve the handing over of responsibilities of the city's animal pound to the Borderland Humane Society.

Learning Centre Funding

The Atikokan Adult Learning Centre will be expanding its services.

The centre received $68 thousand from the province to create 60 new classroom spaces for residents looking to upgrade their skills.

The funding will allow for the purchase of additional desks and new computer workstations.

The centre is also planning a number of upgrades to its Rawn Road facility.

Abattoir Construction Begins

The official start of construction of the Abattoir in Emo will begin today.

An official sod-turning ceremony will occur later this morning with members of the Rainy River District Regional Abattoir and other dignitaries on hand.

Work on the two-million dollar project is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Library Construction Set

A date has been set for the start of construction of the new library and technology centre in Fort Frances.

Crews and equipment with Aurora Construction are expected to be on site a week from today.

The nearly $5 million project is expected to open next spring.

Tibbs Speak About Own Cancer Battle

Fort Frances councillor Sharon Tibbs says it was early detection that has helped with her battle with cancer.

Speaking publicly about her fight during the opening of Relay for Life on Friday, Tibbs said the prognosis for a full recover is very good.

"A further examination on the (June) 22nd involved the area being treated showed no sign of the cancer cells," said Tibbs. "I had responded to the treatment, and I quote the doctor, 'very well."

Tibbs says she will have the last of 25 radiation treatments tomorrow.

Relay for Life a Success

There were fewer teams than in past years, but the amount of money raised was just as significant at this year's Relay for Life.

About 15 teams of walkers strolled or ran the roads around Pither's Point Park for a 12 hour period late Friday night and early Saturday morning to collect over $40 thousand dollars in donations for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Committee member John Homer says it was a great effort.

"The number was quite good for the number of teams we had," says Homer. "I'm pretty excited, pretty proud of every one that raised every penny right down to the head shaving to the $5 luminaries to the single dollar donation."

The Canadian Cancer Society's regional fundraising coordinator Margaret Saville says some of that money will go towards finding a cure.

"We're no longer looking for the needle in the haystack, " says Saville. "We've found the needle. We're just looking how to thread the needle. With stem cell research, we can now locate the mutant genes that cause cancer. Treatments will now become a medication you take on a daily basis. People will live with cancer like they live with diabetes."

The more than $300 thousand raised by Relay for Life events across northwestern Ontario will also be used to fund a variety of programs used by cancer patients in the region.