Fire Ban Imposed

(Ministry of Natural Resources Photo)

A ban on burning is being imposed by municipal fire services across the Rainy River district.

Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service's Fire Chief Gerry Armstrong says an early drying trend is pushing up the fire hazard in the district.

"The next few days the prediction for weather is warm, windy and very dry," says Armstrong. "Our recent experience in the last couple of day, from the Fort Frances area west, there's been a number grass and brush fires that we've had to control."

Armstrong says burning permits previously issued are also being temporarily cancelled.

Early Start to Fire Season

(Ministry of Natural Resources Photo)

The official start of the Forest Fire season is Thursday, but fire crews with the Ministry of Natural Resources have already been busy.

There have been four fires in the Rainy River district over the past week.

Fire Information Officer Debbie MacLean says conditions are right for more fires to occur.

"Because we haven't got any new green grass or growth or vegetation," says MacLean, "so its basically dry and dead vegetation. Compound that with the dry winter that we had and that the fact the we have pretty well snow-free conditions right now, we can say any source of open flame can be the potential of a wild fire."

The MNR has not imposed a burning ban of its own, but is recommending people not burn until conditions are more favourable.

Sioux Lookout Youth Dead

A 17-year old youth has been killed in a snowmachine accident in the Sioux Lookout area.

Police say Cody Gale of Sioux Lookout was driving a snowmobile Saturday night on Pelican Lake when his machine broke through the ice.

An OPP Marine Unit and Emergency Response team located his body the next day.

Police say Gale and two other youth were snowmobiling on the lake when two of them decided to enter open waters to try their hand at "water skipping."

Thin Ice

Ice conditions on Lake of the Woods continue to deteriorate.

Conservation officers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources say travel on the lake is becoming increasingly dangerous in places.

They report a number of ATV's breaking through the ice, but no injuries were reported in any incident.

U.S. Man In Custody

A U.S. man is in custody in Thunder Bay after he was stopped in an alleged quest to buy a five-year-old boy.

Thunder Bay police arrested 56-year-old Patrick Molesti of Georgia on Friday at the Greyhound Bus terminal.

Georgia police says they were acting on an anonymous tip that a man was trying to buy a five-year-old boy over the Internet.

Molesti faces one count of sexual exploitation of children.

CCAC Deal

Worker with NorthWest Community Care Access Centre have a new contract.

The members of the Canadian Auto Workers union voted 80 per cent in favour of accepting a new three year deal.

It will see them get a total wage increase of six per cent and improvements in benefits.

Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity in the workplace will be the focus of a workshop today in Fort Frances.

It's being hosted by the Fort Frances Chiefs Secretariat.

Spokesperson Lincoln Dunn says it's an opportunity for participants to discuss how diversity impacts their organizations.

"It's going to be an opportunity for them to explore diversity within their own organizations," says Dunn, "and to increase their awareness how attitudes and believes of other employees have value and worthy of respect."

Dunn says the workshop will also discuss the importance of having a diverse workforce.

Roller Derby Team Planned

A local resident is looking for people interested in being part of a new women's roller derby team in Fort Frances.

Crystal Caul, who skated with a team in Thunder Bay, says it's something that's open to anyone over the age of nineteen.

"There's lots of women in their fifties who play roller derby," says Caul. "Women in their early twenties and all play as a team. You can be 98 pounds or 250 pounds. There's a position for every body type and every age."

An information session for those interested will be held Saturday, April 10 at the Super 8 Motel beginning at 6:30 p.m.

McGuinty Request Wage Freeze

Premier Dalton McGuinty is urging police officers and fire fighters to step up and help the province climb out of the red.

Last week's budget spelled out plans to freeze the wages of more than one-million Ontario public-sector workers.

McGuinty says municipal workers should also have their wages frozen.

But labour experts and municipal leaders say because unionized workers have a right to go to arbitration, a wage freeze is unlikely.

Welfare Rules Change

Ontario's social services minister is tweaking welfare rules in the wake of outrage over the elimination of a Special Diet Allowance in last week's budget.

Madeleine Meilleur says the rule changes are being made ''to show good faith'' and that the government has listened.

In the budget, the Liberal government ended a program that provides up to 250-dollars per month for some people on social assistance.

Passport Compliance

The close proximity to the border may be a factor in many Fort Frances residents heeding the call to get a passport.

A study by the Toronto Star reveals almost 79-per cent of area residents had a passport six months after new U-S passport rules went into effect - the highest among northwestern Ontario communities.

Just 60 per cent of residents living to the west of Fort Frances have passports, while the number falls to 52 per cent in communities east of town.