Ontario Opens Trade Office

Ontario is looking to increase trade in western Canada.

It's set up a new trade office in Calgary aimed giving the province's businesses an in to a lucrative gas and oil industry.

Economic Development Minister Eric Hoskins says Alberta is poised to buy billions of dollars in Ontario-made goods in the coming years, and the province is committed to seizing on that opportunity.

Alberta is currently Ontario's second-largest domestic trading partner with Goods and services trade between the two provinces topping out at 44 billion five years ago.

Community Foundation Moves Forward

Fort Frances council is endorsing in principle the idea of a community foundation.

The Foundation would help raise money for various projects and organizations.

Consultant Tannis Drysdale sees its being a benefit to the community.

The town's economic development advisory committee will now be asked to determine community's interest.

User Fees Going Up

The cost to access most services in Fort Frances next year is going up.

Town councillors approved Monday night a one per hike in most user fees.

Mayor Roy Avis says he would have like to see the increase a little higher

The increase does not apply to water and sewer rates.

Fee Change To Building Permits

It may cost more to build in Fort Frances next year.

The town is considering changing the way it charges for building permits by charging a fee bases on a cost per square footage instead of on the value of the project.

Chief Building Inspector Travis Rob says it treats everyone equal.

But councillor Ken Perry, a local contractor, says the fees for home builders could increase substantially and wants the numbers to be reconsidered.

Citizens Of The Year Named

Two sisters have been named citizens of the year in Fort Frances.

Jane McLeod and Florence Hill were cited for their involvement in several organizations such as the Laverendrye and Rainycrest Auxiliary, Royal Canadian Legion Ladies auxiliary and with their churches.

A formal presentation of their award will be made at a later date.

CN Rail Line Open

File photo

All appears back to normal in Fort Frances following a weekend train derailment near the community.

CN Rail spokesperson Louis-Antoine Paquin says the track was reopened yesterday afternoon, but the cause of the accident is still a mystery.

About 40 carloads of grain parted with the track late Sunday afternoon.

No one was injured.

Internet Access Back In Fort Frances

Shaw and Vianet customers in Fort Frances can again access Internet and email accounts today.

Officials are blaming the derailment of a CN train on the weekend for an outage that last nearly 24 hours.

They say a fibre line was cut as a result, but repaired late last night.

Plane Crash Investigation Continues

Early indications suggest some kind of a problem on board the Bearskin Airlines plane involved in Sunday's fatal crash in Red Lake.

Peter Hildebrand of the Transportation Safety Board says that's the word from speaking with survivors and from the pilot just prior to the crash who indicated some type of emergency.

Hildebrand says they're still investigating what that was.

The plane crashed about 2 miles short of the runway, killing five of seven people one board.

Woman Charged In Kenora Accident

OPP are charging a 59 year old woman with failing to yield to a pedestrian after a fatal collision in Kenora on Monday.

Two women crossing First Street South were struck by a vehicle turning onto the street.

79 year old Marlyn Lowes died from injuries sustained in the accident.

The other woman, an 83 year old Kenora resident, was treated and released from hospital.

Crimestoppers Seek Assistance in Bank Threat

Crimestoppers in Fort Frances are still trying solve a bank threat in the community.

The incident occurred on September 12th after someone left a duffle bag outside the back door of the Northern Lights Credit Union.

A note was left that threatened retaliation to area banks, schools, and businesses until the bag was filled.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crimestoppers at 800-222-8477.

Deer Hunting Season Opens Tomorrow in Minnesota

The Minnesota firearms deer hunting season begins this Saturday morning.

And it should be another good year for hunters according to Department of Natural Resources Big game program leader Leslie McKinley.

McKinley says she expects Minnesota hunters to harvest about 185 thousand deer this year.

Special Recognition for Kiss and Ride

The Rainy River District School Board is paying tribute to the local “Kiss ’n Ride” program by presenting a “Recognition of Excellence” award.

The program was put into place at the beginning of this school year here in Fort Frances.

Kiss ’n Ride is meant to keep school buses separate from the traffic of other vehicles.

It also makes drop off and pick up safer and more efficient for students and their families.

The Fort Frances Traffic Safety Committee has worked with volunteers and partners here in the community to implemented the program.

Beyak Supports Senator Suspensions

The only senator from northwestern Ontario says she approves of the suspension of three senators
this week.

Lynn Beyak believes Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau got exactly what they deserved.

Beyak voted in favour of suspending the three because she says it was the right thing to do.

Beyak added the gross negligence with taxpayers' dollars is a serious issue and stressed if you claim an expense you have not incurred then you are robbing the taxpayer.

Grassy Narrows Concerns Heard At Queen's Park

The Grassy Narrows First Nation claims the Minister of Natural Resources is making false
statements about plans for clear cut logging in the Whiskey Jack Forest.

This morning in the Ontario Legislature, David Orazietti says there are no wood harvesting blocks in Grassy's Traditional Land Use Territory.

However, Kenora-Rainy River M.P.P. urged the government continues to interfere.

Grassy maintains that the government has plans to carry out clear cut logging activity within the next decade.

NAN Chiefs Adopt Education Treaty

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is making a call to the Federal Government, demanding that they control education on their own NAN territory.

Over two hundred delegates met to create the Right to Education treaty.

Grand Chief Harvey Yesno says it's too bad that communities must deal with legislation put in place by the feds.

Yesno added that his role is to engage other Grand Chiefs across the country.

Horwath Disappointed With Fall Economic Statement

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is less than impressed with the Provincial Government's Fall Economic Statement.

The speech was made Thursday by Finance Minister Charles Sousa.

Horwath says what's really disappointing is how Northern Ontario is neglected.

Horwath adds the bad policies in the economic statement will be felt first in the North.

NorWOSSA Finals in Dryden Today

The Fort Frances Muskies girls basketball teams have guaranteed themselves at least a silver medal today at the NorWOSSA finals.

The Musky girls have byes into the gold medal games this afternoon in Dryden.

They will play the winner of today's semis between Beaver Brae from Kenora and Dryden.

Both the Fort Frances boys volleyball teams will have to take the long way to the
finals, as they play Beaver Brae in the semis this morning.

The Junior games get underway at 10:00, while the seniors hit the court at 11:30.

OPP Warn of More Delays on Highway 17

The OPP say it could take days for the wreckage to be cleared away from a
multi-vehicle accident between Kenora and Dryden.

Last night, police closed both lanes again for about an hour in order to clean
up some debris.

Today however, traffic is moving normally again.

The Trans-Canada was closed for almost nine hours yesterday following an
early morning accident near Nelson Granite.

A total of 14 transports were involved in the collision.

NorWOSSA "A" Championships Taking Place in Rainy River

Rainy River High School is playing host to the NorWOSSA championships today and tomorrow.

The host Owls have a bye into tomorrow's gold medal game for the Senior Girls Basketball and Junior Girls Basketball.

Today, the semi-finals are taking place, with the junior and senior boys volleyball semi-finals taking place first, following by the girls basketball semis.

First up is Sioux Lookout versus Atikokan in junior boys volleyball, while the final game of the
day will feature Atikokan against Sioux Lookout for the right to face Rainy River in the senior
girls final.

OPP Warn About Passing School Buses

A reminder to motorists to stop for school buses when they have their lights flashing.

The OPP in Red Lake says they have received a number of complaints in recent days
about vehicles passing buses with their lights activated.

Officers have also managed to charged several violators in the past couple of weeks.

You can be fined almost 500 dollars and lose 6 demerit points for passing a school bus
which is loading and unloading students.

Rafferty Comments on Senate Suspensions

The Senate is suspending Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau

They're cutting their salaries as well.

Thunder Bay MP John Rafferty says the fact that they get to keep their health, dental and life insurance shows that we need Senate reform.

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The senators will also be barred from the upper chamber for the duration of the parliamentary session.

Tories Refuse To Endorse Nuisance Bear Committee

Kenora-Rainy River Conservative candidate Randy Nickle is standing behind several members of his party who voted against an NDP motion to establish a nuisance bear committee.

The motion passed in the Ontario Legislature 31-24 last week, and the Conservatives note that all three former Ministers of Natural Resources stood and voted against it.

Randy Nickle says we've already had a committee to study the issue and they made their recommendations to the government.

He says the conservatives have already been looking at consulting northerners on the wildlife issues facing the region and that their northern policy has given northerners a voice and let them determine what's best for them.

Nickle says it's another form of duplication and a waste of taxpayer money.

Forest Fire Season Wraps Up in NWO

An unusually quiet fire season in northwestern Ontario.

The official fire season wrapped up last week.

Fire information officer Heather Pridham says not only were the number of fires down, the number of forest land burned was also much less than normal.

Pridham says there were 357 fires this summer, almost half as much as last year.

Health Unit Encourages Testing For Radon

A simple test in your home could prevent lung cancer.

The Northwestern Health Unit is encouraging home owners to test for Radon, which is a naturally occurring radio active gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium that is found in rocks and soil.

Public Health Inspector Rick Pascoe says you can't see it, smell it or taste it.

Test kits range from 15 to 30-dollars and are available at local home household stores.

Another Challenge For Snowmobile Industry

A Conservative MPP is accusing the Liberal government is trying to kill the snowmobile industry in Ontario.

Jim Wilson says a new regulation would require snowmobile clubs to pay for the use of hydro right-of-ways.

He says that's just not financially feasible for most clubs.

Wilson says the new regulations would require the snowmobile clubs to not only pay for use of the hydro right-of ways, but also to pay for fencing along the trails.

Fort Resident Charged With Auto Theft

A 26 year old Fort Frances resident faces a long list of charges after police
in Rainy River District stopped a stolen vehicle.

The vehicle was reported stolen early Monday morning from a home in Fort Frances, and a half hour later the OPP had located it.

The vehicle was pulled over and the driver, Bobby Morrison was arrested.

He faces two counts of breach of probation, impaired driving, theft of a
vehicle, driving while under suspension and possession of marijuana.

Gravelle to Update Northern Growth Plan

An update on the Northern Growth Plan.

A forum is slated for next month in Timmins featuring mayors, aboriginal and community leaders.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle says he promised such a meeting to the northern mayors back in August.

The meeting is scheduled to take place December 6th.

Heart of the Continent Progressing

A new tourist idea is being discussed for our region, and both sides of the border would be part of the plan

A group called the Heart of the Continent Partnership, wants to create a new travel destination by connecting the dots between International Falls and Duluth in Minnesota and Fort Frances and Thunder Bay in Ontario.

The idea comes in the form of an interactive map that would highlight the area’s natural features and it's historic sites.

 Restaurants, Hotels and bars would also be featured.

The hope is to create new jobs and tourism.

The group is on the verge of raising $200,000 that would fund the project.

I Am Awesome Retreat in the Running for Aviva Funding

A local event, may be well on it's way to receiving additional funding for next year. .

The I Am Awesome! (And I Know It!,) retreat is currently ranked 1st in this round of voting for the Aviva Community Fund contest.

The retreat is meant to help boost the confidence of young women in our area.

The organizer of this retreat, Renée Martin-Brown is grateful to those who have voted so far.

Voting for this round ends today.

 The winning project is provided with funding for next year.

A link to the contest is available on the 93-1 The Border facebook page.

Atikokan Experience Building Boom

A brand new saw mill being built just outside of Atikokan could bring 90 more job to the area.

The 50 million dollar project is being constructed on the property of the former Buchanan Mill.

It should start operations in 2015.

On the other side of town, Ren-tech is building into a new wood pellet facility.

With the hope of creating 20 new jobs.

The plan is to supply the Atikokan Generating Station.

They are spending $22 million in an effort open in April of next year.

The Bargain! Shop Is Number One

A fundraising campaign for Easter Seals has earned number one honours for a Fort Frances department store.

Local staff at The Bargain! Shop raised $4,100, topping all stores in Ontario and Manitoba.

Manager Darcy Banman says it had been something they had been striving for after placing second for so many years.

The Fort Frances total was almost 25 per cent of money raised by all The Bargain! Shops in Ontario.

NDP Upset At Lack of Government Help for Mining

NDP Critic Michael Mantha, continues to attack the Ontario Liberal government's treatment of the mining sector.

He believes the electricity supply is not sufficient enough to support new mining developments.

Mantha says if the government doesn't take action, thousands of potential new jobs could be affected.

Mantha adds that 30 to 50% of operating costs for the Mining sector is in the price of electricity. And the threshold for the Global Adjustment program still stands at 1 megawatt, which penalizes mid-sized producers.

Crash Victims Identified

Provincial Police have identified the four other men killed in Saturday's crash on Highway 17, near English River.

26-year-old Brady Ostell, 27-year-old Andrew Ostell, both of Kitchener, 42-year-old Kyle Prince from Waterloo and 44-year-old James Jackson from Fort Erie were in a pick-up truck that collided with a transport.

The driver of the transport, a 43-year-old man from Cambridge, was also killed.

More Drug Charges Laid

OPP have have laid more charges in connection with that massive drug bust last week in Kenora.

Eight more people have been arrested and face a variety of charges, including of possession and trafficking of both cocaine and marijuana.

A total of 38 people were rounded up last week following a year-long investigation.

Quarry Issue Sent Back To Planning Commission

Plans for a rock quarry are drawing the ire of some residents in Koochiching County.

Wagner Construction wants the develop the quarry at the end of County Road 144, southeast of International Falls.

The application was denied by a planning committee, but residents living nearby, such as Cindy Black were back before the County board to convince it of their opposition.

The County is sending the issue back to the planning commission for a re-look.

Land Auction Today

Several state lands in northeastern Minnesota are about to be sold off.

A public action for the 23 parcels of land takes place today.

Many of the properties are located with Cook, Itasca, Lake and St. Louis Counties, with minimum bids ranging from 27-thousand dollars to has high as 650-thousand.

Blood Donor Clinic Closes To Target

They came close.

The Canadian Blood Services collected 231 units of blood following clinics held earlier this week in Fort Frances.

They were hoping for at least 240 units, but are still happy with the outcome.

Almost 300 people turned out.

The next clinics won't take place until next August.

Best Chili Named

FFCC photo

The people have spoken.

Gillon's Insurance's "Bewitchin Broker's Brew" was named the top tasting chili in a public vote at the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce's Great Canadian Chili Cook Off.

That differed from the judges selection of the dish "Socket To You" from the staff at Acklands-Grainger.

The Fort Frances Dental Centre won the award for the best costumes.

Regions Drug Overdoses Now Number 1 Killer

It's now become more deadly then motor vehicle collisions.

The Northwestern Health Unit has revealed some sobering statistics about drug use in our region.

Public Health Nurse Kim Elke says opiate overdoses have become the leading cause of deaths in the region.

Elke says Oxycodone is the leading cause of opiate addiction in the region even though it has been pulled of the health units drug list.

Winter Road Maintenance Questioned

OPP photo

A brief dusting of snow in some parts of the Rainy River district yesterday morning has our MPP wondering how well our highways will be plowed this winter.

Kenora-Rainy River's Sarah Campbell says over the past couple of years, her office has fielded several complaints about the condition of roads in the winter.

Campbell says government needs to step up and ensure our roads are maintained to a high standard this winter.

NDP Support Ranger Program's Return

NDP are standing with former alumni in calling for a reinstatement of the Ontario Park Ranger program.

At Queen's Park Wednesday, Michael Mantha, a former Ranger himself, questioned Natural Resources Minister David Oriazetti on the decision.

Mantha says it provided unique opportunities for young people.

But Oriazetti says by moving the program to a day-based one, they've been been able to add more locations and provide more opportunities for youth.

County Offers Loan

Koochiching County is agreeing to offer up a loan to help get a new animal shelter built in International Falls.

Commissioner Wade Pavleck says the facility is needed and a loan of up to $30 thousand is the best solution.

The city of International is also offering up a loan of up to 30 thousand to the Borderland Humane Society.

Falls Groups Get Funding

Two International Falls organizations are receiving funding from the Minnesota Power Foundation.

Five thousand dollar cheques have been doled out to the Falls Hunger Coalition and to Backus Community Center.

The coalition is using its money to keep its food bank shelves stocked while Backus will uses its gift to support a variety of its programs.

Safeway Store Not Being Sold

The Safeway store in Fort Frances will not be sold off as part of Sobey's takeover of Canada Safeway.

Sobey's spokesperson Andrew Walker says a government regulator has approved the takeover, but ordered Sobey's to sell 23 stores across the country.

None of the stores in northwestern Ontario are impacted.

The $5.8 billion dollar deal is expected to be finalized in early November.

Festival Of Frost Coming Together

A new version of the annual Christmas Parade in Fort Frances is coming together.

The event, renamed the Festival of Frost, and will include a static display of Christmas floats, events with Santa Claus and a food and toy drive.

One of the organizers Robin Payeur says they are getting interest from groups wanting to decorate a float that will be placed in the downtown core.

Payeur says they're also working on a number of other events to coincide with the Festival.

It will take place at the end of November.

Hire A Hitter

Members of the Rainy River Voyageurs men's baseball team are offering up their services.

The "Hire A Hitter" program allows residents in the International Falls area to hire a team member to do work around the house or office.

Money raised offsets travel costs to Florida in the spring.

Call Shelly at 283-3380 if you can help.

Seniors Recognized

A number of senior citizens have been recognized by the Sister Kennedy Centre in Fort Frances

Appreciation awards were presented to 25 individuals during a dinner Wednesday night as part of the Centre's 30th anniversary.

They were recognized for their contributions to the centre.

The honourees are Donna Law, Diane Martin, Shirley Nault, Mildred Bedard, Marg Benjamin, Gordon Calder, Ethel Lowey, Cindy Nobel, Ann Wihnan, Bill Krukoski, Joan Krukoski, Mary Clinker, Mavis Dick, Ralph Longmuir, Ann Longmuir, Alvin 'Buzz' Wickstrom, Bonnie Watson, Metro "Svet" Wowchuk, Henry Miller, John Albanese, Gerry Martin, Ella Desserre, Lawrence Desserre and Ben Benjamin.

The town's five mayors over the past 30th years were also honoured for council's support of the area's seniors and the Centre.