Friday, August 14, 2009

Storm Warning Cancelled

A severe thunderstorm watch issued by Environment Canada for Sioux Narrrow-Nestor Falls and Morson has now been lifted.

The threat of strong winds, torrential rain and frequent intense lightning lead to warnings being issue for much of this morning.

NWO Connection to 2010 Olympics

There's a strong northwestern Ontario connection to the upcoming Winter Olympics in British Columbia.

Lindsay Durno, operations manager of Whistler Olympic Park, managed Big Thunder Ski Park in Thunder Bay before its closure in 1995.

Durno says the two sites are very comparable.

"The jumps are very similar, steel structure," says Durno. "The cross country trails are a lot less than at Big Thunder. It's comparable, but at a much grander scale at W.O.P."

Durno was in Fort Frances recently to compete in the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

Bass Fishing This Weekend

Bass fishing happens on two fronts this weekend.

Today, 110 angler teams will take to the water for the start of the Atikokan Bass Classic on Marmion Lake.

Laverne Haney and Mark Warren of Atikokan are the defending title holders.

While in Morson, over thirty teams will compete in the 5th annual Morson Bass Invitational with Terry Gill and Chad Hanson looking to defend their 2008 crown on Lake of the Woods.

Fishing in that tournament starts tomorrow.

Fall Fair Schedule

It's a busy day at the Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society's Fall Fair in Emo.

The Borderland Racing Association kicks it off with a pancake breakfast begin at 7:00 a.m.

The logging competition in front of the grandstand begins at 9:30 a.m.

There will be plenty of farm animals to see with the miniature, draft and light horse shows and the beef and dairy cattle show getting underway this morning as well.

The midway opens at noon.

New Life Jacket Legislation Sought

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino says he'd like to see all boaters be required to wear life jackets or personal floatation devices at all times.

Twenty-three people died in 2008 while boating on waterways policed by the OPP and this year 20 people have perished.

Only two of this season's casualties were wearing life jackets.

Fantino says it's been a summer filled with needless tragedy and many of the deaths would have been prevented by life jacket use.

AbitibiBowater Reports More Losses

AbitibiBowater, which has been under bankruptcy protection since April, says its second-quarter losses have doubled to more than half-a-billion dollars U-S.

The loss compares with a $251 million shortfall a year ago.

A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week indicates second-quarter revenues plunged nearly 39 per cent to just over one billion dollars.

While the losses affected all areas of the business, newsprint -- AbitibiBowater's specialty -- was particularly affected with revenues tumbling 44 per cent over the past year.

Truck Route Open

Key parts of the truck route through the town of Fort Frances are now open.

The completion of paving of Victoria Avenue and Nelson Street has allowed the town to reopen both streets to truck traffic.

Town officials say this should help alleviate some of the congestion experienced in the downtown and central areas of the community.

Fort Frances Delegation Heads to AMO

Connecting link funding and Pither's Point Park will be some of the topics to come up as members of Fort Frances town council head to Ottawa for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario meeting.

Along with the conference's regular business, Mayor Roy Avis says private meeting have been set up with Transportation Ministry's Parliamentary assistant Linda Jeffery, Labour Minister Peter Fonseca and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Brad Duguid.

Councillors Ken Perry, Andrew Hallikas and John Albanese are also attending the meeting which begins Monday.

Rezoning Application Denied

The township of Alberton has turned down a rezoning application that would have led to Weechi-it-te-win Family Services moving its Training and Learning Centre to property on Highway 11 at Ducharme Road.

In a unanimous decision, council Wednesday night refused the application put forward by Gayle Arpin, feeling the property should be left designed a business park.

Concerns with the centre would be to the highway, nearby rail lines and an aggregate pit were also cited.

Clint Calder, lawyer for Weechi-it-te-win says the agency is disappointed by the decision and will take some time before determining its next step.

"Right now everybody just kind of considering the options," says Calder, "whether to file an appeal, to file a new application, or move on and look for a new location."

Gayle Arpin, who submitted the rezoning application, can appeal the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board within the next twenty days.

Storm Warning Issue

Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Sioux Narrows-Nestor Fall and Morson areas.

A severe thunderstorm is affecting communities along the northern and western parts of the Rainy River district this morning.

Large hail, strong damaging wind gusts, torrential rain and frequent intense lightning are being associated with this severe storm.