Several area agencies will benefit from a Christmas fundraiser being put on by the Ontario Provincial Police.
Details of the Stuff-a-Cruiser initiative were released today.
Constable Anne McCoy says area residents are being asked to purchase items to be stuff into four police cruisers placed around Fort Frances and Emo.
Items collected with be shared among the Salvation Army, the United Native Friendship Centre, the Sunset Country Metis Association, the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau for its Community Dinner and a food bank in Emo run by the Anglican Church.
Preferred items include canned soup, canned vegetables, canned fruit, baked beans, canned meat, turkey, ham, Kraft dinner, pasta, spaghetti sauce, instant potatoes, cereal, peanut butter, jam, tea, coffee, packets of sugar, canned pasta, cranberry sauce, Stove Top stuffing, pancake mix and syrup, powered milk and packets of salt and pepper.
OPP are now confirming the identified of a man involved in an assault and lengthy stand-off with police that occurred Saturday in Fort Frances.
30-year-old Richard Edward Kabatay has been charged with attempted murder and remains in custody at the Fort Frances District Jail.
As B-93 first reported, Kabatay made his first court appearance Monday and will return next Monday.
Police also say the man injured in the assault was stabbed and remain in hospital with serious injuries.
Ontario Power Generation says it's work to convert the coal-fire plant in Atikokan is well underway.
It's to burn biomass fuel by 2013.
C.E.O. Don Mitchell says part of the work includes developing an energy supply agreement and seeking pricing bids for fuel.
"We are excited about the conversion project in Atikokan," says Mitchell. "What we need to do is to establish a solid business case and then negotiate the agreement to proceed."
Mitchell says a number of bids were received in their call from suppliers.
Inauguration ceremonies for Atikokan's newly elected municipal council takes place tonight.
Mayor Dennis Brown, councillors Bud Dickson, Bob Gosselin, Mary Makarenko, Marj Lambkin, Marlene Davidson and newcomer Jerry Duhamel will be officially sworn into office.
It happens at the Atikokan town hall beginning at 5 p.m.
(A section of Scott Street was blocked off due to Saturday's a lengthy stand-off between a man and police)
The new Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre has been the target of vandals.
Chief Librarian Margaret Sedgwick says some small trees and an outdoor chess table were broken while a letter was taken from its sign in recent months.
"We have such a beautiful building," says Sedgwick. "It's really disheartening to think that people have broken off some of our small birch trees and jumped on one of the chess tables."
Sedgwick says they are now looking at installing surveillance cameras in hopes of determining further acts.
They're also appealing to resident to watch over the building, especially on weekends.
Northwestern Ontario is going to be getting all kinds of precipitation over the next few days.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the region
Areas north and west of Lake Superior to the Manitoba border will get more than 10 centimetres of snow.
Ice pellets and wet snow are expected to hit Atikokan to Geraldton.
(Act of Kindness being offered by Fort Frances General Supply - www.acts-of-kindness.ca photo)
(International Falls Chamber photo)
A Fort Frances woman is $25-thousand richer after playing McDonald's Monopoly.
Harriett Wagner uncovered the instant win prize during a recent visit to the McDonald's restaurant at the Fort Frances' Walmart.
"I looked at it, showed my husband and asked him to ask the manager to see if it was true," says Wagner, a mother of four with another on the way. "He did and the manager said it was a sure ticket."
It's believed to be the first time a person from northwestern Ontario has won a major prize playing the the McDonald's contest.
The town of Fort Frances is calling on the Ottawa and the province for help dealing with lineups of vehicles waiting to cross into the United States.
Officials says taxpayers have been footing the entire bill for policing and managing the lines at the border, and believe the senior levels of government have a financial and operation obligation to make sure border traffic is safe and orderly.
They say the federal government's Intelligent Transportation System strategy _ meant to facilitate efficient border traffic flow using technology _ has never been deployed at the Fort Frances border crossing.
Company officials expect AbitibiBowater to be reborn as a profitable and less indebted company in early December.
Yesterday, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court endorsed its restructuring plan, overruling creditor objections to sanction the company's plan that sheds about five-and-a-half billion dollars in unsecured debt.
The company also hopes its efforts to reduce costs and improving market conditions will help it to generate steady operating profits.
C.E.O. David Paterson says they plan to address declining paper demand by converting some production to undisclosed other product, which should prevent the need for further plant closures or layoffs.
Another successful year for Safe Communities Rainy River District.
The organization outlined its accomplishments during its annual meeting held yesterday in Fort Frances.
Chair Bob Swing says being able to secure funding for the Substance Abuse Prevention Team was among its biggest achievements.
"It makes a big difference," says Swing. "It's why we get looked at nationally and internationally as a district how we leverage so much work out of so many different programs. That's why."
The group also scored perfect marks in a national report card done by Safe Communities Canada.
The fees paid on most programs and services in the town of Fort Frances are going up January 1.
Last night, council approved the increases to user fees, which Treasurer Laurie Witherspoon says will go up an average of about one-point-seven per cent.
"Every division took a thorough look at user fees," says Witherspoon. "I know in my area it was 1.7 per cent. There was a few things that we felt - staff time - that the user fee covered it without raising it. There was just a few exceptions where it wasn't."
The changes do not include water and sewer rates which will be passed at a future date.
(Geoff Gillon of Rainy River Futures Development Corp. speaking recently to Fort Frances town council)
Ontario is expected to release its long-term energy plan today.
Parts of it, including changing when less expensive off-peak hours kick in, have already been reported.
Specific announcements for northwestern Ontario are being made this morning in Thunder Bay.
OPP are looking to stuff-a-cruiser.
Constable Anne McCoy says the aim is to fill cruisers placed throughout the district with food or clothes that would be distributed to needy families across the Rainy River district.
"The concept of stuff-a-cruiser is to heighten awareness that there is people in need in our community," says McCoy, "especially with the economic times that we're all facing. We want to make sure that we not only heighten the awareness, but also bring to the attention that there's things that people can do in the community to help people in need."
An information meeting is planned for 10 a.m. today at the Fort Frances Library and Technology Centre.
(Gerry Armstrong (l) receives plaque from C.A.O Mark McCaigThe town of Fort Frances is losing its fire chief.
Gerry Armstrong is retiring at the end of this year after five years at the helm.
"It's something I've been thinking about now for the last number of months," says Armstrong. "I guess my return to Fort Frances as fire chief was one of those things that really was not probably going to be a long term situation."
Armstrong joined the fire department in 1976, leaving in 1986 to take a position with the Ontario Fire Marshall's office before returning as fire chief.
(Committee Chair Bill Gushalak (l) with Mark Kowalchuk who accepted award for Joyce Cunningham on her behalf)
(Sherri Loveday of Suds and Tubs is donating laundry services for the Act of Kindness Community Chest fundraiser - photo courtesy http://www.acts-of-kindness.ca/)
(Left to Right - Nick Lawrence, Partner Representative, Van Houtte Inc.; Adair Ireland-Smith, Director, Ontario Parks; Theresa McDonald, bursary recipient; John Winters, Bursary Chair; and Virginia West, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources - supplied photo)
Electricity consumers in Ontario will get 10 per cent rebates on their bills starting in January to offset a projected 46per cent hike in hydro rates over the next five years.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says the rebates should help keep increases in electricity rates to about 3.6 per cent a year as Ontario moves to green energy sources.
Duncan admits the switch to renewable energy is responsible for more than half of the projected increase.
But he says there are financial and human savings to getting out of coal-fired generation.
He asks if it's worth three billion dollars a year in health costs to the province just to keep burning coal to generate electricity.
The Tories and New Democrats say the rebates are clearly designed to help the Liberals overcome voter anger over skyrocketing hydro bills in advance of next fall's election.
Wind power opponents say the so-called Clean Energy Benefit is an attempt to hide the true cost of green energy.
They say it "won't stem the anger, solve the problem or spare the Liberals in 2011.''
