Fibre Optic Link Completed

The Rainy River District School Board has completed the first phase of a board wide project to connect its schools with fibre optic cable.

Manager of Information Services Stephen Danielson says the first phase of the Wide Area Network infrastructure saw the installation of a cable between the new Robert Moore School and the board office.

"Fibre optic connections allow for very high speeds of data that the radios we currently use are just not capable of," says Danielson. "They also can't be interfered with. It's the next evolution in technology that we need to take."

Danielson says other schools, including local catholic schools, will be connected in the near future.

Special Ed. Teachers Reduced

The Rainy River District School Board is starting the school year with fewer special education teachers.

Board chair Dan Belluz says there are nine fewer teachers on staff because of cuts in provincial funding.

Belluz says while the board had been made aware of the government 's reduction plans a while ago, the number of students needing special ed has not decreased.

New Student Trustee

An Atikokan High School student is the newest trustee to the Rainy River District School Board.

Tamara Degagne will serve on the board for a year as a voice for the district's students.

Degagne attended last night's meeting through video-conferencing.

Mine Centre School Work Started

Construction has started on a new school in Mine Centre.

Manager of Operations and Maintenance for the Rainy River District School Board Raymond Roy says footings for the nearly $6-million project were poured recently.

The school is to open by the fall of 2011.

Portage Paving

A paving of Portage Avenue in Fort Frances today will mean a closure of the underpass.

Intersections at Third and Fifth will be blocked to traffic from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Travel to the North End will only be through McIrvine Road during this time.

Sixth and Portage will be closed for about two hours this morning beginning at 7 a.m.

Optomism Renewed in Atikokan

The mayor of Atikokan feels like fresh air has blown through his community.

Dennis Brown says government approval for Ontario Power Generation to move head with the switch of its coal-fired plant to biofuel is giving the community renewed hope.

"This certainly has been a big relief in our community," says Brown. "It's something we've been waiting for close to a year. We now have an opportunity to create more certainty in the community for investment and local residents,"

The conversion is expected start in 2012 and create over 200-jobs.

Warm August

There were few records, but Environment Canada says August was a little warmer than usual in the Fort Frances

Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says the average temperature for the month reached 18.6 degrees, putting it a full degree about the norm.

"Of note this was the warmest August since 2003," says Coulson. "So temperature was the biggest story for the month of August in the Fort Frances area."

A total of 87 millimetres of precipitation was also recorded, about 10 millimetres below the average.

Medicine Walk Planned

A medicine walk through the Rocky Inlet Ski Area is planned for next week.

Kerry Zub of the United Native Friendship Centre says participants can learn about the cultural and healing properties of the area's floral and fauna.

"What we have is a few elders come in from around the local area," says Zub, "and we walk in through the bush and they teach us about the healing properties about the medicines found in the area."

Zub says because a lunch is provided for the September 15 walk, registration by calling the Friendship Centre at 274-3207, Albert Calder, Couchiching NNADAP worker at 274-0441 or Josphine Potson at the Health Access Centre at 274-3131 is needed by Friday.

Enrollment Up Again at Confederation College

Enrolment at Confederation College's Rainy River campus in Fort Frances is expected to break the hundred mark for a third straight year.

Classes resume for another year today.

Campus manager Anne Renaud says a variety of individuals are heading to college.

"We get students who are directly out of high school that want to take one year and move onto something else at a college or university in a bigger centre," says Renaud. "We have lots of mature returning students who have been out of school for a while and we have student enrolled through the province's Second-Career program."

Renaud says this year's numbers could come close to the 137 that attended classes last year.

Full-Day Kindergarten Concerns

Full-day kindergarten is up and running across Ontario, but critics says the government still hasn't figured out the A-B-Cs of running the program.

Only 10 to 15 per cent of schools will offer after-hours child care that was a key component of the original plan.

Conservative critic Elizabeth Witmer says some school boards are siphoning money from other areas in the scramble to fund full-day kindergarten.

The program is currently being offered in Atikokan at North Star Community School and St. Patrick School.

Bill 168 Workshops

The Rainy River District Women's Shelter of Hope is giving employers and their workers an opportunity to learn more about new legislation that protects workers from workplace violence and harassment.

Bill 168 went into effect July 15.

The Shelter's executive director Donna Kroocmo says it outlines specific duties employers must follow.

"First of all they have to take a risk assessment of their place of employment," says Kroocmo. "Once the risk has been assessed and all employees are queried about that, then they have to create a plan and policy to address any risks that the employees have identified."

The agency will hold separate workshops on September 16 for employers and the public.

Employers must register by Friday.

Rafferty Staying Firm Against Long-Gun Registry

The MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River is standing firm on his commitment to scrap the long gun registry.

Some New Democrats, who supposed a Conservative private members bill to scrap the registry in second reading, are planning to change their votes when it comes back to the house later this month.

John Rafferty says he won't be standing with them.

"My opinion has not changed," says Rafferty. "I, of course, welcome all kinds of discussion on the issue. I think listening is important and discussing it to the fullest extend. But I've heard loud and clear from the people of my riding and I have not changed the way I intend to vote.

The NDP Caucus is meeting in Regina this week to discuss possible changes to the legislation.

Vermilion Bay Business Burns Down

(CKDR photo)


Fire has destroyed a business in Vermilion Bay.

Firefighters with the Machin, Dryden, Wabigoon and Oxdrift Fire Departments responded to the blaze at Village Corner just before 6 a.m. yesterday.

The convenience store and gas station were destroyed.

No one was injured in the fire, but the cause is still under investigation

PC's Take Aim at Area Liberal

The Progressive Conservatives are taking aim at Thunder Bay Aikokan MPP Bill Mauro.

The PC party claims some of the 143 prisoners wrongfully released could be hiding in Mauro's northwestern Ontario riding.

Critic Garfield Dunlop says there's really no way of knowing where those prisoners are living.

"People in these communities, no matter where they are, should have been notified that someone had been mistakenly released from one of our provincial facilities," says Dunlop. "They (McGuinty Liberals) don't even release the names of the people who have been released into our communities and therefore causing a problem with community safety and an awareness of the public in general."

Dunlop says now up to the McGuinty government to take action in preventing more prisoners being mistakenly released.

Activity Credit Proposed

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is a proposing a children's activity tax credit.

The proposed tax credit would provide families with up to 50-dollars per child under 16 years of age.

The tax credit would be different from the federal children's fitness tax credit, because it would be refundable, and would include non-fitness activities such as instruction in visual arts, music and language instruction.

Rafferty Responds

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty is brushing aside comments made about him by Industry Minister Tony Clement as simply politicing.

During a visit to Fort Frances Tuesday, Clement told a group of area leaders the local MP's decisions in Ottawa are not consistent with the values and principals of the riding.

Rafferty says it's just a desperate attempt to take a riding they know then can't win.

"There numbers are not going anywhere in the polls," says Rafferty. "The prospect of an election in the spring continues to loom and quite frankly they're running a little scared."

Rafferty adds he's been pretty true to the wishes of his constituents.

Full Candidate Slate in Atikokan

There's been a rush of candidates stepping forward in Atikokan.

Former mayor Bob Davidson has filed his nomination papers and will challenge incumbent Dennis Brown for the mayor's chair

Seven have filed for the six council seats up for grabs.

Incumbents Marlene Davidson, Bud Dickson, Sherwin Durand, Marj Lambkin and Bob Gosselin join fellow incumbent Mary Makarenko and Gayle Green on the October 25 ballot.

And Teresa Larson has filed for the new trustee position for Atikokan opening on the Northwest Catholic District School Board.

Hazel Says Goodbye

(Teresa Hazel (l.) with Dr. Cynthia Saliba)

The outgoing director of Riverside Foundation for Health Care says she's leaves with no regrets.

Teresa Hazel takes on her new position as CEO of Good Life for Young People Foundation next week.

She says she's looking forward to the new challenges after eleven years with Riverside.

"I'm exciting about where I'm going," says Hazel. "I'm excited to be taking on a new challenge. I look back at those eleven years with a lot of pride and gratitude for what this community has accomplished working together."

Hazel will remain with the Riverside Foundation in a part-time capacity for the next few weeks to assist in the transition of a yet to be selected new director.

New Parliamentary Assistants Named

There's are a number of new Parliamentary Assistants to Ministers on the McGuinty Cabinet.

The premier has given eleven MPP's new responsibilities.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro keeps his duties as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Government Services.

Donors Needed

Canadian Blood Services is looking forward to another strong turnout of donors at its Fort Frances clinics next week.

Spokesperson Harvey Heather says they're hoping for over 300 donors to clinics at the Fort Frances High School as the demand for blood continues to grow.

"We need about 1,200 donations of blood each week," says Heather, "to look after patients in about 90 hospitals in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario including the hospitals in the Rainy River district."

Heather says they're also hoping to see at least forty new donors to clinics that happen next Wednesday night and Thursday.

Some walk-in spots are available, but Heather says it's best to book an appointment in advance by calling 1-888-2-DONATE - that's 1-888-236-6283.