Native Language Conference Starts

Educators from across northwestern Ontario, Minnesota and Manitoba are gathering in Fort Frances today for the start of a three day conference focusing on native education.

Aboriginal Education Leader with the Rainy River District School Board Brent Tookenay tells B93 News the conference is in its third year.

"It was usually focused on just native languages," says Tookenay, "but now we've expanded it to native studies and tried to draw in some different areas. Teachers can take these workshops and apply some of the concepts and themes in their classroom."

The conference features a number of guest speakers and workshops.

Students Raise Money for Haiti

Students and staff at St. Francis School in Fort Frances have raised over $1,000 to help a village in Haiti enjoy clean drinking water.

The money was raised over the past six weeks through their Lenten campaign entitled "Buckets of Love."

The money will be turned over to the "Free the Children" organization who will use the money to construct wells and sanitation systems in Haiti.

Conservatives Supporting FedNor

The Harper Conservatives are again committing themselves to FedNor.

Speaking in Thunder Bay, the minister responsible Tony Clement says despite what the other parties may say, the regional development program is not in any danger.

"We are committed to FedNor," says Clement. "We were the first party when we were in government to actually FedNor guaranteed funding for five years and we have improved upon that funding in our proposed budget."

Clement was in the city to help support the area's Conservative candidates.

Advance Polls Busy

It was a busy time at the advance polls for Elections Canada workers in the Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding.

A total of 4,846 people across the riding took advantage of the early voting on the Easter weekend.

That's just short of a 2008 record of 4,900.

Local Town's not so Ultimate

Unless there's a huge stuffing of the ballot box over the next week, Fort Frances, Nestor Falls and International Falls chances of being named the Ultimate Fishing Town look slim.

Both Fort Frances and Nestor Falls are far back of the Canadian leaders in the World Fishing Network's on-line contest

International Falls had received just 20 votes as of this morning in the U.S. version.

First round voting ends Tuesday.

Council Meeting Time Stays the Same

There will be no early start to Fort Frances council meetings any time soon.

Mayor Roy Avis floated the idea of pushing back the start of meetings an extra half-hour to 5 p.m. during the summer months.

Councillor Ken Perry says that will only hurt his attendance.

"The sooner we start these meetings the more time I have to take time off work," says Perry. "It's going to get to a point where I won't take anymore time off work and that means I won't be on council."

Councillor Paul Ryan says if the change couldn't be accommodating to all councillors there was no reason to make a switch.

Council has opted to table to idea until further notice.

Budget Approval Delayed

Fort Frances town council has held off on passing the 2011 budget.

A public meeting was to be held last night before councillors gave their approval.

Mayor Roy Avis says questions that arose during an in-camera meeting and problems with the Shaw television coverage prompted them to delay passage until their next meeting on May 8.

Traffic Light Changes

There will be changes coming to some traffic lights in Fort Frances.

The town's operations and facilities manager Doug Brown says lights at the intersection of King's Highway and Keating Avenue will be adjusted next Monday to allow pedestrians more time to cross Keating.

"The walk signal will be longer for pedestrians going across the road on the south of Keating," says Brown. "It doesn't affect anyone going across the highway."

Advanced flashing greens at three intersections will be also be replaced this summer with a four-light system that includes a turn arrow.

Locum Housing Discussed

An update on plans to create new housing for locums who man the Rainy River Health Centre's emergency room will be discussed in Rainy River tonight.

Jack Elliott, a spokesperson with the Rainy River Health Care Committee says it's needed in the community.

"In the past they would stay at the hotel for a little bit or they'd have to stay in Baudette," says Elliott, "or we would rent a house for a little while. We really need something on a more permanent basis and you want somethings that's a nice attractive facility where they can come and feel at home."

The meeting at the Rainy River Legion begins at 7 p.m.

Adoption Changes

Ontario is making it easier for families to adopt.

Children's Services Minister Laurel Broten says the government is removing a legal barrier that prevented three-quarters of the Crown wards in the province from finding permanent families.

The government also wants adoptive parents to qualify for a monthly subsidy now given to foster parents.

Earthquake Reported

Natural Resources Canada is confirming that a minor earthquake struck near Devlin last month.

The 1.9 magnitude quake happened around 2 a.m. on March 25.

Seismic activity is not uncommon to northwestern Ontario, although most of the minor quakes over the past year have been around the Atikokan area.

Elderly Man Scammed

An elderly man from the International Falls area has been bilked out almost $14,000 after becoming a victim of the so-called grand-kids scam.

Koochiching County Sheriff's office says the 94-year-old man sent the money after receiving a telephone call from someone claiming that his grandson was in need of help and needed to be money.

The man sent the money before realizing he had been conned.

Soup Truck Panned

Advocates for the poor aren't impressed with a "Soup Truck" that's traveling around Minnesota.

A group calling itself the Minnesota Majority is using the truck as a humorous way of expressing opposing to Governor Mark Dayton's proposed tax increase for the wealthy.

Nancy Anderson, executive director of the Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls, doesn't find it so funny.

"It just is one more way that it degrades people who are in a position of having to ask for help," says Anderson. "I think the very least we should do as advocates is to speak up and protect the dignity of people that are in that position."

Food donations are being collected as well, but opponents says that was only done as an after-thought.

Fort Flag to Fly in Kenora

(Thunderhawks in action during the 2011 Allan Cup tournament in Kenora)


The Fort Frances town flag will soon be flying high over the city of Kenora.

Mayor Roy Avis says it's the outcome of a bet he made with Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield during the recent Allan Cup tournament.

"If Fort Frances beat Kenora, Kenora would fly our flag for a week," says Avis. "If it worked the other way, we would been flying Kenora's flag so I have to congratulate the Fort Frances team for the win. I'll be looking forward to presenting (Mayor Canfield) with our flag (this week)."

The Thunderhawks eliminated Kenora from the tournament in a playoff game.

Help for Border Towns Wanted

The NDP's Economic Development Critic is calling on the Province to make border towns more competitive.

Howard Hampton wants the government to reduce the liquor control board's mark up on liquor sold by duty-free stores.

"This has been done in some of the other provinces like B.C.," says Hampton. "They really reduced the mark up on liquor sold at the duty-frees stores there and it made a big difference. It would help to reinvigorate some of the businesses in our border town and help bring back some of the shoppers from Minnesota."

The Kenora-Rainy River MPP says the mark up of 50 per cent should be dropped to 30.

Fort Frances Man Convicted

(An incident involving OPP last November forced the closure of streets around the area)

The man involved in a lengthy stand-off with OPP in Fort Frances last November will be spending a little more time in custody.

Richard Edward Kabatay was sentenced to eight months in jail after being convicted last week on a charge of assault with a weapon.

An initial charge of attempted murder was dropped.

Another man was stabbed during the November 27 incident.

Kabatay has been in Fort Frances jail since.

Final Advance Poll Today

The final day of advance polls is today.

They go from noon until 8 p.m.

Voting can be done at the returning office on 2nd Street East in Fort Frances, the Pioneer Centre in Atikokan and the Rainy River Community Centre.

International Falls "Walk-a-bout"

The city of International Falls is planning a "walk-a-bout" as a means of gathering input from residents on the city's sidewalks and bike paths.

City administrator Rod Otterness says participants will walk a selected route on May 12.

"(It will give) people an opportunity to observe the walk-ability of that area and also learn how to understand and learn some keys that make a community walkable," says Otterness

A workshop will follow the walk.

Fort Frances Relay For Life

(Some of the many participants from the 2011 Relay for Life in Fort Frances)


More than a dozen teams have signed on so far for the Relay for Life event in Fort Frances.

Committee spokesperson Myles Kuharski says, like last year, the June 24 event will have a theme.

"The theme this year is we're doing Relay through the Decades," says Kuharski. "So teams are encouraged to pick a decade. Dress up for that decade. Last year's theme was kind of a similar thing where teams dressed up and it went over quite well."

Groups interested can register by going to the Canadian Cancer Society's website.

Rainy River Relay for Life Update

This year's Relay for Life in Rainy River is planned for June 24.

About six teams have signed up so far.

Last year, the Relay had twenty raising more than $57-thousand.

Sign up can be done through the Canadian Cancer Society's website.