Friday, July 30, 2010

Warning! Fake Inspectors


The Northwestern Health unit is warning restaurant owners to be on the watch for fake public health inspectors.

The fake inspectors contact restaurant owners by phone asking for detailed business and personal information and threatening them with fines if they don't comply.

Medical Officer of Health Doctor James Arthurs says two restaurants were recently targets in the Kenora and Rainy River districts.

He says Health Unit inspectors usually arrive unannounced and carry photo ID's.

Drownings to be Reviewed

The province's acting Chief Coroner says there will be a review of all drowning deaths in Ontario that have occurred this summer.

Doctor Bert Lauwers says the purpose is to identify common factors that may have played a role in the deaths.

Once complete, Lauwers says the results of this review will be released to the public later in the year.

There have been three drowning-related deaths in the Rainy River district.

Inquests Planned

The deaths of two men in northwestern Ontario last year will be subjects of coroner's inquests later this fall.

A September inquest in Fort Frances will examine the death of 21-year-old Dylan Wreggitt of Atikokan.

He died while in custody at the Rainy River District Jail last August.

Another inquest into the death of 30-year-old Levi Schaeffer will be held in Thunder Bay in October.

Schaeffer died in an altercation with Provincial Police in the Osnaburgh Lake area last June.

E.R Cash Defended


Health Minister Deb Matthews is defending the decision to spend 100-million dollars this year to help cut wait times in E-R's.

Conservative Lisa MacLeod says the money would be better spent creating long-term care beds to free up space in congested hospitals.

Matthews says she understands the program isn't perfect, but she says it's a good start.

One-point-nine million dollars earmarked for the Northwestern Health Integration Network is all going to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

Atikokan Bass Classic Nears

(CKDR Photo)

Atikokan will be the next stop on this summer's tournament tour for area anglers.

The Atikokan Bass Classic gets under in two weeks time with a full field of 110 angler teams competing.

Chair Jim Johnson says the push right now is for volunteers to help set up a week from today.

"The big tent is going up and everybody knows that's a big job, " says Johnson. "The more hands that are there, the easy it will be to put it up. Then Saturday and Sunday we'll be filling it up with tables and chairs which is a labourious job. Again, the more people that we have out to help will make the job that much smaller."

Person interested in helping out can register at Bass Classic's office, by calling 597-2757 or on its website http://www.atikokanbassclassic.com/.

Boys Scouts 100th Celebrated in International Falls


Boys Scouts in the International Falls area will gather tomorrow to help celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of scouting in the United States.

Troop 145 committee member Tammy Riley says they're invited current and former scouts to watch a Centennial Celebration Show originating from the National Scout Jamboree in Fort A-P Hill in Virginia.

"We're going to gather at Faith United Church for the webcast," says Riley. "We also want to consider it an opportunity for past and present scout to gather so we're going to consider it as a reunion also."

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night.

Interested community members on both sides of the border are invited.