Here is a list of some of the top news stories from the Rainy River district in December 2010.
Garry Donald Mathewson was sentenced to 66 months in jail and ordered to register with the Sexual Offenders Information Registry after being found guilty of three counts of Sexual Exploitation and a charge of Sexual Interference. The sentence relates to sexual assaults against three youths that took place in the Rainy River and Thunder Bay districts between 1992 and 1999.
The first ever Acts of Kindness fundraiser collected almost 20-thousand dollars for the Fort Frances Community Chest.
Newly elected municipal councils took office in December. Morley township councilors select Moe Henry as their new reeve, filing a vacant from the October municipal election.
Atikokan trustee Mike Lewis took over as chair of the Rainy River District School Board while Fort Frances trustee Anne-Marie Fitzgerald was re-elected chair of the Northwest Catholic District School Board.
A group of parents whose children ride the bus to school called for changes to the Rainy River District School Board's transportation policies. Parents said existing policies don't meet their student needs.
Pam Cain announced she's stepping down as Fort France Museum curator to become the new executive director of the Thunder Bay-based Community Arts and Heritage Education Program.
Osisko Mining and several area First Nations signed a Resource Sharing agreement pertaining to Osisko's Hammond Reef project.
Nick Beyak, current owner of the GM dealership in Dryden, announced he's taking ownership of Sunset Country Ford in January.
Area residents help stuffed four OPP cruisers, 14 times with food and gifts for five area agencies as part of a Stuff-A-Cruiser campaign.
The town of Fort Frances purchased the former library building for a dollar, although exact plans for the building have not been determined.
The town of Fort Frances called for provincial help in dealing with rising policing costs.
A report from the Northwestern Health Unit suggested the cost for families in the Kenora-Rainy River district to eat healthy each month has risen 11 per cent over the past year.
The Rainy River District School Board and the Ontario Provincial Police secured $100-thousand in funding to train school staff in the area of threat assessment.
Fort Frances town councillors accepted a report in principal aimed at increasing the amount of materials collected for recycling in the town. The report makes nine recommendations.
The city of International Falls brought forth its 2011 budget that sees no levy increase.
Riverview Manor in Rainy River is among three facilities in the Kenora and Rainy River districts that will receive funding to expand home-care services.
Margaret Sedgwick, chief librarian at the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre was identified as the winner of a distinguished award from the Ontario Library Boards' Association.
