Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Mill Air Quality Explored

The city of International Falls wants to know what's being done about the air quality at AbitibiBowater's mill in Fort Frances.

Councillor Tim McBride says residents continue to complain about an odour and the city will ask Ontario's Environment Ministry for information on the actions to eliminate the problem.

"Our goal only was that we didn't know what was going on," says McBride, "and that's our goal - to be kept in the loop. We did get some information from both Abitibi and the Ministry so we look forward to more discussion, more dialogue."

McBride says the city feels there have been corrective measures taken, but haven't been keep up to date on what they are.

Lake of the Woods Water Quality


Kenora MP Greg Rickford is looking for more cooperation between Canada and the United States to improve the water quality of Lake of the Woods.

Rickford put forward a resolution last week calling on the International Joint Commission to become involved.

"We believe this is the most important step toward broader inclusion of Lake of the Woods in a international boundary reference question through the International Joint Commission," says Rickford.

The motion is to come back for a vote in the House of Commons this fall.

More Causeway Work This Falls


The next phase of work at the Noden Causeway is to begin this fall.

It includes new concrete decking on a 600 metre section of the Causeway's West Low Level Deck.

The work, to be done by southern-Ontario based Concreate USL Limited, will cost $8.8 million.

Police Shooting in Kenora

A section of Kenora's downtown remains taped off by the OPP following a shooting incident last night.

Reports say a woman armed with a knight was shot by police.

So far, OPP have not released any details of the incident, but eye witnesses suggest a woman lunged at an officer before shots were fired.

Hire a Youth Week

Service Canada's employment centre for Youth in Fort Frances is now open for business.

It's located in the federal government building on Scott Street.

Youth Services Officer Dayna DeBenedet says they're encouraging the district's businesses to consider hiring young people this summer.

"The benefit of hiring a youth is that you get usually a really dependable, reliable and enthusiast young worker," says DeBenedet, "and you also help them find out what kind of work they might be interested in the future and what kind of career they might want to pursue."

As part of Hire-a-Youth week, staff will be in Emo and Rainy River today meeting with prospective employers and holding information booths in Fort Frances later in the week.

Drug Prices to Drop


Ontario consumers will see lower prices for generic drugs as of July 1st.
Health Minister Deb Matthews says the province is moving ahead with a ban on pharmacists from accepting so-called professional allowance fees in order to lower drug prices.
But the Ontario Pharmacists Association warns stores will have to boost dispensing fees and drug prices to offset the loss of that money.

Bring the Cup to Fort, Duncan


There is a local effort to get Duncan Keith to bring the Stanley Cup to Fort Frances - if the Chicago Black Hawks win.

A Facebook site - called "If Duncan Keith wins the cup, bring it to Fort Frances" has been set up to lure Keith and the Cup to the Borderland.

Members of the Stanley Cup winning team get the Cup for a day.

Born in Winnipeg, Keith played minor hockey here, before moving to Penticton.