Border to get Busy

Officials in both Canada and the U.S. are warning of longer than usual lines at the Fort Frances-International Falls border this May long weekend.

They expect the amount of traffic crossing the border to start increasing as early as today.

They say wait times to cross could reach up to 45 minutes long during peak times.

Enforcement Numbers Released

Canada Border Services Agency has released the results of an enforcement blitz conducted during the Easter long weekend at the Fort Frances border.

98 per cent of the 900 vehicles and 18-hundred travellers checked were found complying with border regulations.

Officers did have to seize some undeclared and prohibited goods while refusing entry to four individuals.

Riverside Phone Troubles

Some telephone difficulties for Riverside Health Care Facilities.

Officials say its phone message system is not working properly.

This impacts hospitals in Fort Frances, Rainy River and Emo, Rainycrest Long Term Care Facility and the clinics in Rainy River and Emo.

Officials says if your calling a direct line, after four rings hang up and try again later.

If you are trying to reach the Rainy River or Emo clinics, the LaVerendrye switchboard will direct you to the clinic's main phone line.

More Fires in District

Fire crews from the Rainy River district were called out to two new forest fires yesterday.

One located about 45 kilometres north of Fort Frances required aggressive ground and air attack.

The fire is about four hectares in size and listed as not under control.

The other blaze was spotted five kilometres north of Pinewood, burning in a ditch but was quickly extinguished.

Wasaya Enters Helicopter Business

Five communities with Rainy Lake Tribal Development Corporation are part of a new ownership group involving Wayasa Air and Kelner Helicopters.

Wasaya chair Hez Sakakeep says it's a move which will give Kelner a whole new market to build on.

Sakakeep says in turn Wasaya gets to take advantage of the demand for helicopter services in the Ring of Fire mining development.

Big Bike in Fort Frances

The Heart and Stroke Foundation brings its Big Bike to Fort Frances today.

Area coordinator Cindy Engstrom says the 29-seat bicycle will be at Shopper's for groups, organizations or individuals to participate.

"It's a great fun team building event," says Engstrom. "It's a great opportunity for businesses and employees to increase moral and show their support and visibility in the community."

The Foundation uses the bike to raise awareness and money for heart disease and stroke research.

AbitibiBowater Focuses on Canadian Operations

AbitibiBowater is taking a close look at its Canadian operations to find additional savings.

Chief executive officer Richard Garneau says the company is benchmarking its Canadian mills against one another and looking at staffing levels at some facilities.

Garneau says the company will identify the machines that have the best potential and make tough decisions about the rest.

Library Bids

The town of Fort Frances has received two expressions of interest for the former library building.

Evangelical Fellowship Church in Fort Frances and the Fort Frances Community Clinic submitted separate bids for the now vacant facility.

CAO Mark McCaig says the Salvation Army had also indicated interest, but never submitted a formal bid.

A computer glitch, though, did prevent the town from received bids yesterday by e-mail.

McCaig says bids sent that way would be accepted if it was determined they were sent before yesterday's deadline.

A final decision is not expected for at least another month.

Prescribed Burns Planned

(file photo)


Voyageurs National Park will conduct two prescribed burns today.

The park's fire management officer Scott Bressler says the burns will happen on Sheep and Ram Islands in Lake Kabetogama as part of an effort to maintain fire as a part of the ecosystem.

"It's mainly over growth with brush," says Bressler. "So we'd like to try to reduce the amount of brush and create a seed bed for what pine is left on those islands."

The park is advising boaters to avoid the islands when the fire starts this afternoon.

Border Protection

Canada will contribute to American efforts to better patrol the northern U.S. border.

It will provide information from 22 Canadian radar feeds starting in November.

The information will be passed onto a California organization that examines air traffic along the border.

Relay for Life in Atikokan

Planning for the Relay for Life in Atikokan continues.

Spokesperson Kerri Hensrud says they still have plenty of room for more teams and cancer survivors to take part in the Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser.

"We have thirteen teams so far," says Hensrud. "We also promoting to get our survivors out there. We're celebrating that evening with a dinner in their honour and they will help kick the ceremony off."

The event takes place May 27th at North Star Community School.

Fire Aid to Alberta

The Ministry of Natural Resources is sending help to fight forest fires in Alberta.

Spokesperson Debbie MacLean says personnel and equipment will leave Ontario today.

"There will be four twenty-person fire crews and four strike team leaders working with those fire crews as well as one agency representative," says MacLean.

MacLean says crews will be assigned their specific roles when the arrive in Alberta.

More Forest Fires in NWO

Six new forest fires broke out yesterday in northwestern Ontario including one in the Rainy River district.

Crews responded to a lightning caused fire located about ten kilometres northwest of Atikokan.

The fire is now listed as under control at about one hectare in size.

Custom Changes to Benefit Fort Frances

Canada Border Services says more aircraft could be landing in Fort Frances after airports in Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Red Lake opted not to continue customs services.

Spokesperson Chris Kealey says Fort Frances is now one of two area airports that will provide year-round services.

"We expect that some of those flights that had otherwise gone to those three locations who may now choose Fort Frances as their stop to report to the CBSA, that could increase the numbers certainly in Fort Frances," says Kealey

Kealey says the closeness of the airport to its Fort Frances office makes it easy to service.

Acts of Mischief Investigated

Provincial police are investigating two separate acts of mischief that occurred in the Devlin area.

Police says someone gained entry to an ice rink building behind Crossroads Schools and dispensed caulking material over the walls and floor.

The incident happened sometime between the close of school last Thursday and its opening the next morning.

The previous weekend, doors to buildings at the LaVallee Township ball diamonds on Highway 11 were kicked in.

Impaired Drivers Nabbed

A number of motorists will be paying a visit to a Fort Frances court room after being arrested over the weekend on impaired driving charges

In one case Friday night, a motorist attempted to evade authorities by driving back to his home only to be arrested as he tried to enter his residence.

The next night, police were called to Pither's Point Park where a vehicle had gone into the ditch.

The uninjured driver was found still behind the wheel.

He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and impaired driving.

Officers Recognized

The Chief of Treaty Three Police is among three northwestern Ontario officers being recognized for their contributions to policing.

Chief Conrad DeLaronde, along with OPP Detective Inspector Dennis Olinyk have been appointed members of the Order of Merit of the Police Services by Ontario's Governor General David Johnston.

Thunder Bay police chief Bob Herman has been appointed as an Officer.

Community Television Plans Dropped

The International Falls Cable Commission is dropping plans to establish a community television station.

City councillor Cynthia Jaksa says a lack of support from Koochiching County and the city of Rainer for a fee on cable bills to fund the station played into their decision.

Jaksa says the Commission will now look at how to improve access to city council meetings through initiatives such as webcasting.

AbitibiBowater Improving

AbitibiBowater's operating performance continues to improve.

The newsprint giant reports first quarter earnings of $30-million U.S., reversing a $500-million loss in the same quarter one year ago.

It's the company's strongest operating performance in four years.

Shrine Circus Returns

The Shrine Circus comes back to Fort Frances today.

Harvey Hudson of the Border Shrine Club says tickets are $11.00 in advance and $12.00 at the door, but there's a break this year for those with young children.

"This year children under 4 are free," says Hudson. "That's always been a bit of a question in the past so we thought we'd define that a little better."

There will be two shows at the Memorial Sports Centre, 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

OPP Watching for Distracted Drivers

There is a good reason to pay attention on the roads today -- the OPP are looking for distracted drivers.

Officers are ramping up efforts to prevent drivers from texting or using a cellphone behind the wheel.

Constable Anne McCoy says it's become a big problem in the Rainy River district.

"What we're noticing is that the number of people speaking on a hand-held device, a cellphone, is not going down," says McCoy, "and we're going to have to concentrate on getting the message out to the public that distracted driving is dangerous.

Motorists caught using a device while driving can face a 155-dollar fine.

Police Week

This is Police week across Ontario.

Provincial Police will be using it to promote it's Lock it or Loss it campaign, encouraging motorists to lock their doors when they leave their vehicle.

Just last week, three young people were apprehended after a number of vehicles around the former Huffman School area in Fort Frances had been broken into.

New Trophy Unveiled

The new trophy for the annual Tug of War between the city of International Falls and the town of Fort France has been unveiled.

Fort Frances councillor Rick Wiedenhoeft will present it to Falls city council at their meeting tonight for its win last year.

Meantime, efforts to attract celebrities to participate in this year's event continue with former Minnesota Viking Matt Blair have reportedly joined the American team while the Canadians are believed to be pursuing Loverboy singer Mike Reno.

No Shortage of Cancer Drugs Here

A national shortage of chemotherapy drugs isn't impacting patients in northwestern Ontario.

The Northwestern Ontario Regional Cancer Care Northwest says it has a sufficient supply to meet demand.

Planned treatment is not expected to be impacted in the near term including all patients in hospital, as well as clinic and outreach patients.

Fishing Data Base Available

It may not make catching fish any easier, but the Ministry of Natural Resources is putting all its resources at the finger tips of local anglers.

Spokesperson Matt Garvin says a vast data base of fishing information has been posted on-line.

"We've been collecting the data for some 50 years," says Garvin, "and really never had a single efficient way of communicating it with anglers. This is really a step forward in the way were offering customer services to anglers in the province."

The data base includes, maps, directions to lakes and fishing regulations.

Access to Health Care Improving

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network is painting a rosy health care picture for the region.

CEO Laura Kokocinski says in 2009, 86 percent of residents had a primary care provider.

"The number of people who have a primary care provider has improved since those numbers in 2009," says Kokocinski. "There's certainly been an improvement in the number of primary care providers whether it's not nurse practitioners or physicians."

Kokocinski suggests more people have a health care provider now than they did two years ago.

Nurse Seek Health Care Plan for North

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario is calling on all three parties to unveil a specialized health care plan for northern and rural Ontario.

President David McNeil says the area faces significant challenges related to an aging population and access to care.

"We think nurses that can play a unique contribution in meeting those needs," says McNeil, "whether that be through the expansion of nurse practitioner clinics or through the expansion of roles of registered nurses who are capable of doing much more than the legislative frame work will allow them."

The association is also lobbying the province to move on the planned hiring of 9-thousand additional nurses.

Man Charged with Cost of Fighting Fire

A Quebec man has ordered to pay the cost of putting out a forest fire last year in the Atikokan area after pleading guilty to a charge of failing to keep a fire under control.

The blaze occurred in the area of Raft Lake Road last April.

A fire, started for cooking, was spread by strong winds to the nearby bush.

Two Ministry of Natural Resource fire crews and a waterbomber had to be dispatched.

Along with the five-thousand dollar cost of putting out the fire, the man was also fined 250-dollars.

First Forest Fire in District Reported

The first forest fire of this season in the Rainy River district has been reported to have occurred near Fort Frances.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says it happened Wednesday evening to the east of the town.

The cause was not identified, but the fire was extinguished quickly.

Custom Services Dropped

Airports at Dryden, Red Lake and Sioux Lookout will no longer be offering customs service.

Dryden Airport manager George Friesen says the move was spurred by changes requiring doubling the number of agents, who handle passengers coming from outside Canada.

Kenora and Fort Frances are now the only regional airports currently offering customs, although Kenora is on a seasonal basis.

Housing Improvement Programs Available

The town of Fort Frances is looking for interest in some local housing improvement programs.

The programs were put in place a couple of years ago to help those improve or remove derelict homes.

Spokesperson Tannis Drysdale says there are some incentives.

"We can help walk you through a process where you can receive some tax grants back on your property," says Drysdale, "if you are in one of those situations that the home or property you have has a building that needs to come down. The town will be happy to partner with you if you apply to cover some of the costs to take some of the refuge to the dump."

The program are delivered through the Rainy River Future Development Corporation.

McHappy Day Figures

McDonald's restaurants in Fort Frances raised more than $2-thousand for Ronald McDonald Houses in Canada.

Across Canada, Wednesday's McHappy Day collected over $3-million.

RBC Scam

Provincial Police are warning area residents of an apparent scam that's found its way into the Rainy River district.

Constable Anne McCoy says they were alerted of the scam by a resident who indicated he'd received a call from someone claiming to work for RBC.

"The male that was calling began to ask people about their birthday," says McCoy, "other personal information including their account numbers. We're reminding the public to please not give out any information over the phone. Go right into the banking institution to give that type of information."

McCoy says the resident receiving call altered both the bank and police.

Man Fined for Using False Card

A Minnesota man has been fined $3,000 for using a void Ontario resident Outdoors Card.

John Cawker, of Ely, plead guilty to three counts of possessing a card and associated moose hunting licences.

The court heard that Cawker obtained the card and licences between 2008 and last year by using the address of his parents who lived near Sudbury.

Province Interested in Law School

A plan by Lakehead University to establish a law school in Thunder Bay will get a look by the provincial government.

Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, John Milloy says he'll be looking at how Lakehead's proposal will benefit First Nations communities and the economy.

Tuition will start at about $12-thousand, higher than existing schools.

Youth Justice Program

A new youth justice program is about to be offered across the Kenora and Rainy-River District.

Coordinator of the Dryden and District Youth Justice Bill Hovi says the goal is to deal with youth who commit crimes outside a normal court setting.

"It diverts young people between the ages of 12 and 17 away from a formal court setting," says Hovi, "and into a community-based volunteer-led conference program where victim and offender are encouraged to come together to repair any harm that was done."

The program is facilitated by volunteers who were trained on the weekend in Dryden.

Eagles Nests Identified

Voyageurs National Park has identified 75 bald eagle nests in the park this year.

Park officials say 37 of them were seen with adults incubating eggs, up slightly from last year's count.

The park has restricting public access to areas near the nests while temporarily closing four camping and houseboat sites.

Atikokan Arena Fundraising

The push continues to get a new arena built in Atikokan.

A local fundraising committee is hoping to raise at least $200-thousand towards costs.

Spokesperson Mike McKinnon says it's important to show community support for the project.

"By raising $200-thousand I think we send that message to everyone," says McKinnon, "that, Yes, the community's behind this 100 per cent. The community's wants this and if we're asking others to make a major investment in our community, I think it's only reasonable that we make a major investment in our community."

McKinnon says local dollars raised may also help leverage government support.

Mining Industry Benefits Explored

The Rainy River Future Development Corporation wants to see a bigger role for Fort Frances in the region's blossoming mining industry.

Client Services Manager Geoff Gillon says part of their work is exploring the potential for local businesses.

"It's something we have to look at as a community," says Gillon. "It's something as the Economic Development organizations we'd like to promote and bring more of these opportunities to our local businesses."

Gillon says they're also looking at a conference that would bring business leaders together with industry officials.

Another Sawmill Goes Bankrupt

Another Buchanan sawmill has entered bankruptcy proceedings.

McKenzie Forest Products filed for bankruptcy protection on April 26 after learning the Hudson sawmill had not secured a wood supply from the province.

Meantime, work continues on the proposed purchase of the former Atikokan Forest Products mill.

A scheduled hearing in Toronto will again look at the possible transfer of a forest license to Eacom Timber of Montreal.

Growth Plan Attacked

Provincial NDP are attacking the Liberal Government's Northern Growth Plan.

Northern Development Critic Gilles Bisson believes the Liberals short changed the region with it's plan.

"You tied no money to the plan that you announced a few months ago," says Bisson. "What you’ve essentially done is developed a plan to make a plan. People in northern Ontario are quite specific: What are you going to do when it comes to the investments that are needed to build the infrastructure necessary to support the communities—both on the physical side, in terms of infrastructure, and the social infrastructure that needs to be dealt with?"

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle defends the plan saying there's strong investment behind it.

Triplets Born at Emo Area Farm

(Supplied photo)

A beef cattle farm north of Emo is site of a rare birth in the industry.

A cow gave birth to triplet calves Tuesday night on the farm owned by Wayne Flatt.

Flatt says there was no indication three were on the way after she gave birth to the first calf.

"I went back to the house and wait for an hour or so and I went out again and then I saw two calves out their," says Flatt. "I figured she was going to have two and then I looked around and there was another lump I could see in the distance and there was a third one."

Flatt says all three were born identical markings.

Kings Bay Resumes Exploration

King's Bay Gold Corporation is resuming a drilling program on a potentially gold-bearing property near Nestor Falls.

The Winnipeg-based exploration company says it follows up on work that was stopped last November due to weather.

The company says its also has plans to carry out further exploration at its other sites located near Fort Frances, Sioux Lookout and Ignace.

Trustees to Rethink Contract Decision

Trustees with the Rainy River District School Board are to consider a motion next month that calls for contract amendments made by the former board to be rescinded.

The Atikokan Progress reports LaVallee township trustee Ralph Hill presented notice of the motion at last week's board meeting in Atikokan.

An increase in severance packages for both the board's education and finance directors was approved by the previous board last November.

Hill stated that while they can't unilaterally change the terms of the contract, approval of the motion would send a clear message trustees do not support the previous board's action.

Treat Assessment Training Goes to Atikokan

Educators from Atikokan will be among participants at a threat assessment training session in Atikokan Wednesday.

Mark Allen of the Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response is providing the training and says it's about prevention and keeping schools and communities safe.

"It's about addressing that issue," says Allen, "understanding that while it's rare and that our schools are still very safe here in Ontario, that it's just something that does happen occasionally and a lot can be done to prevent these things if we're looking at the right aspects and working together."

While mostly educators are involved, Allan says the sessions can also be valuable tools in stemming workplace violence.

Strategic Planning

Fort Frances town council is set to embark on the development of a new strategic plan.

CAO Mark McCaig says this year the public will have an opportunity to provide input.

"We're going to ask for either written submissions from the general public with ideas or initiatives that we can consider," says McCaig. "We'd take those in written submission or at the regular council meeting of June 13."

Council will hold its own planning session June 16 at Sunny Cove Camp.

Hydro Rate Protest

Opposition members continue to grill the Premier over soaring hydro bills.

At Queen's Park Tuesday, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says a recent protest in Dryden shows Ontarians are getting fed up.

"The Premier may want to ignore people in communities like Dryden" says Horwath, "but it’s clear that Ontarians will keep telling this government that they reject his hydro policies."

Horwath says the policies have only crippled average citizens and created expensive bonus structure for CEO's.

New Area for State Senator

Koochiching County could lose its long-time State Senator under a proposed redrawing of the district's electoral boundaries.

District 3 Senator Tom Saxhaugh says a redistricting plan would see him representing a much different area.

"I would no longer be representing Koochiching County or Lake of the Woods County," says Saxhaugh. "I would be in southern Itasca and I'd be going already the way down to Benton County which is close to St. Cloud."

Saxhaugh doubts, though, the Governor will accept the plan.

Mom to Mom Sale

A unique sale this weekend in Atikokan will be held to help local families and a youth organization.

Spokesperson Keira Lacosse says the Mom to Mom sale allows residents to sell off their used baby, children or youth items to those who need them.

"So we'll have people just coming and buying whatever they happen to need," says Lacosse, "whether its clothes the next season for their kids or toys for summer or whatever things that interest them they can barter for."

Lacosse says they're using the event as a fundraiser for the local youth centre.

Baudette Advances

Baudette is the only area community that's still in the hunt to be named World Fishing Network's Ultimate Fishing town.

The Minnesota community is among twenty finalists for the American title.

No northwestern Ontario advanced in the Canadian contest.

Rainy River Features on Fishing Program

The town of Rainy River will get a national audience next week.

The town and it's Walleye tournament will be the subject of an episode of the Dimestore Fisherman that will air on Wild TV May 20.

It's host Jim Hoey and a television crew were in the community last fall to film the episode.