Thursday, November 26, 2009

Local Sports for Thursday November 26

Fort Frances Lakers travel to Thunder Bay today for a game against the K & A Wolverines.

The Lakers trail the Wolverines by three points for fourth place in the SIJHL.


The top two teams go head-to-head tonight in the Fort Frances Women's Volleyball League.

2nd-place Gillions insurance is 3-points back of league leading A Buck or Two as both teams have pulled away from the rest of the field in the standings.

Third place has turned into a battle before the Wildcats, the Wenbergs, Scared Hitless and Lac La Croix.

Air Service Plan Put Forward

An early morning departure and an evening return flight to Falls International Airport have been included in a new proposal from Mesaba Airlines.

The new proposal comes after Mesaba’s initial offer for air passenger service was rejected by the U-S Department of Transportation in October.

City and airport officials had expressed concerns with its scheduled that offered flights during the mid-afternoon.

Mesaba, which was acquired by Delta as part of its merger with Northwest Airlines, was the only carrier to submit a proposal for the Falls airport.

Sid Ryan Heads OFL

Sid Ryan is to be named president of the Ontario Federal of Labour at a convention in Toronto today.

The longtime CUPE Ontario president replaces Wayne Samuelson who, after 12 years in office, decided not to seek re-election.

Elk Plan Drafted

An elk management plan has been drafted to deal with the population of the animals in the province.

Elk numbers have exploded in the Bancroft area, but have dropped off in the Cameron Lake area near Nestor Falls.

Christie Curly of the Ministry of Natural Resources says while there are no plans to import more elk to Ontario, there has been some discussion of moving elk from one area to another.

"The plan doesn't have the answer in it," says Curly. "What it does say is that trans-location, that relocation of animals from one location to another, is often suggested as a potential management tool. We really need to review the risks and benefits associated on a case-by-case basis."

The MNR began importing elk into Ontario from Alberta about a decade ago with mixed results.

Drivers Getting the Message - Not to Text

Ontario's cellphone ban is one month old today and police say most people seem to be getting the hang of it.

But a lot of drivers are having a hard time giving up the dangerous habit of talking or texting while driving.

So far, OPP have given out more than 1,100 warnings and about two dozen tickets.

None of the tickets have been issued by police in the Rainy River district.

Human Remains Identified

Human remains found north of Pickle Lake are those of a 51-year-old Kitchener man.

Jeffery Boyd had been reported missing to Waterloo Regional Police on November 8th.

His body was discovered by a hunter on Saturday, 65 kilometres north of Pickle Lake.

Police are not releasing the cause of death although they say an investigation continues into why Boyd was in a remote part of northwestern Ontario.

New Centre Name

The Atikokan Crisis Centre has come up with a new name.

It's to be called the Rainy River District Women's Shelter of Hope.

Executive Director Donna Kroocmo says the name was selected by the board out of several offered by an Atikokan resident.

"That one stuck with them," says Kroocmo. "and they liked that word 'hope.' They tried to incorporate into the new idea of the Rainy River district versus Atikokan. I know it's wordy and length but they way they've done it with the logo and the umbrella over the top of name it looks very nice and works very well."

Kroomo says it could be up to a year before they can incorporate the name because of the legal process necessary for a name-change.