Thursday, October 29, 2009

Pages Needed

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty is putting out a call to graduating high school students in the riding interested in being a Page at the House of Common.

Each year, the House of Commons Page Program offers paid employment to 40 students, selected from high schools across Canada.

The deadline to apply for the 2010-11 session is December 7.

Greyhound Still to Run in Manitoba

Bus service in Manitoba is safe, but Greyhound's future in northwestern Ontario remains cloudy.

The Manitoba government says it will subsidize Greyhound to keep the company's buses on the road in the province.

The company had threatened to stop service November 1 because it was losing too much money.

The company is still planning to stop service in northwestern Ontario December 2, but talks with provincial officials continue

OPG Warns Hunters

Ontario Power Generation says it will proceed with trespass charges if hunters are found on its property.

The warning comes following recent incidents at hydro facilities in the Terrace Bay area where O.P.G. says hunters ignored barriers and signs and entered lands near its dams.

O.P.G. says water levels near hydro facilities can change dramatically, which puts the hunters at risk.

It's also concerned about the safety of employees who may be working at the stations and don't expect hunters to be around.

Marijuana Concerns Fantino

Ontario's top cop says marijuana cultivation isreaching epidemic proportions in the province and across Canada.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino noted that Canada has beennamed as a "source country" for marijuana by the United States -- something he says is a black eye for the country.

Marijuana is exported south and traded for crystal meth and crackcocaine, which are then brought back into Canada.

He says the two are interconnected so shutting down exports ofmarijuana should drive down imports of crystal meth and crack.

Fantino says the OPP destroyed marijuana plants at 220 growoperations, charging 56 people during its annual MarijuanaEradication Program.

A number of marijuana grow ops were also discovered recently by police in the Rainy River district.

Safey Requests Move Ahead

A call for a number of safety initiatives in the west end of Fort Frances will be getting further consideration by the town of Fort Frances.

Members of the town's Active Transportation Committee are calling on the town to designated an area around J-W Walker School a school safety zone and a community safety zone.

They are also requesting the town hire a crossing guard at the intersection of Keating Avenue and Kings Highway.

Monday, town council voted to include the requests as part of its 2010 budget discussions.

Sewer Plant Upgrades

Work to replacement a grit removal system at the Fort Frances sewage treatment plant is underway.

Town council approved a tender with Venshore Mechanical of Thunder Bay to do the work for 775-thousand dollars, which includes the cost of equipment pre-purchased by the town.

The town says grit flowing into the plant is causing damage to chains that move materials in the plant and lasting only a few years.

It's hoped the installation of new equipment will extend the life of those chains