Tuesday, March 23, 2010

One Teen Still Missing

Two of three teens from the Training and Learning Centre in Watten Township who disappeared during an outing in Fort Frances have been found.

Police say they're still searching 14-year-old Sarah Kaityn Smith.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact police.

Duncan Keith Recognized


The Winter Olympics are long over, but former Fort Frances resident Duncan Keith’s contributions to Canada’s gold-medal winning hockey team are still be recognized.

Deputy Mayor Sharon Tibbs says Keith proved to be an ideal role model during a recent television interview.

"He's a product of our minor hockey," says Tibbs, " and he spoke very highly of this community and the hockey opportunities that he had here."

Council will forward a letter congratulating Keith and thanking him for portraying such a positive image.

Missing Snowmobiler

An American man is missing and presumed drowned after a snowmobile broke through the ice on Lake of the Woods north of Morson.

OPP say two men were travelling on snowmobiles in the area of Goose Neck Narrows on Sunday when one of the machines broke through the ice.

Sixty-eight-year-old Fred Bisel of Eagle Bend, Minnesota, is missing.

Brett Resources Take Over

A Quebec mining company is looking at taking over Vancouver-based gold explorer Brett Resources.

Osisko Mining is offering an all-share deal worth about 372-million dollars.

Brett is currently conducting explorations activities in the Hammond Reef area north of Atikokan.

The deal must still be approved by its shareholders, but the company's board of directors is recommending acceptance.

Missing Teens Sought


OPP are looking for three missing teens from the Training and Learning Centre in Watten Township.

Police says 15-year-old Reeva Chiefson, 14-year-old Tia Raylene Medicine and 14-year-old Sarah Kaityn Smith were on a Centre visit to Lions Park in Fort Frances Sunday when the three ran away from staff.

All three girls have ties to the Fort Frances area.

Anyone with information about the missing girls is urged to contact police.

Extra Employee Added

There will be an additional employee working at the Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre when it opens this June.

Library Board Chair Joyce Cunningham says a $109-thousand grant is allowing for the hiring of a technology coordinator on a two-year contract.

"It will enable us to hire a person with the expertise and skills to fully develop the technology centre," says Cunningham.

The individual, yet to be hired, will also work with the library in Rainy River.

The funding comes from Ontario Library Service North and Southern Ontario Library Service.

Library Project Nears an End

(Fort Frances Public Library Photo)

Construction of the new Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre is about 87 per cent complete.

Community Services Manager George Bell says the project is also on budget even with about 26 change orders.

"We had $232,150 in our contingency," says Bell. "This leaves us with $126,739 remaining to complete the project."

Bell expects much of the project to be complete by the end of April with the exception of landscaping.

Limited Number of Weddings Permited

Only a few weddings will be permitted this year at Sunny Cove Camp.

Four weddings, booked after council voted to allow such events, will proceed.

Councillor Andrew Hallikas would have liked more.

"We can't evaluate the impact on local business without having some data," says Hallikas, "and trying it for a year and looking at it at the end of the year would allow us to do that."

The owners of La Place Rendez-Vous had said catered weddings at the camp placed the town in direct competition with the private sector.

Council Walks Out on Council

Fort Frances councillor Ken Perry walked out of last night's council meeting after being refused a reimbursement of expenses incurred during at a recent meeting in Toronto.

No reason for the decision was publicly stated, but Perry later told CFOB-News it related to a return air flight from last month's Ontario Good Roads Conference.

Perry left from Toronto for a vacation in Las Vegas after the conference, instead of returning back to Winnipeg.

Perry says he was simply seeking the money the town saved by the change in flight, but was told he was not eligible because he did not incur any one-of-pocket expenses.