Mine Centre School Tender Discussed

The start of construction of a new school in Mine Centre could get the green light today.

Trustees with the Rainy River District School Board have called a special meeting for this morning to discuss a proposed tender.

The Ministry of Education previously announced it would provide 4.8 million dollars towards construction, but the board said back in February that final costs could come almost two million higher.

Water Restrictions Lifted

Water restrictions put in place at the end of June for Fort Frances and Couchiching First Nation have been lifted.

The removal of the ban on such things as filling swimming pools and washing vehicles at home comes following an inspection of a paint job inside the water tower.

Operations and Facilities Manager Doug Brown says the inspection showed no major problems.
Homeowners are still limited to watering the lawns on an odd-even basis until September 15.

Boyle Ends Career with City

(Retiring City Attorney Joe Boyle with International Falls Mayor Shawn Mason)


International Falls City council gave thanks last night to its retiring city attorney.

Joe Boyle attended his last council meeting in his official capacity, ending a more career with the that began in 1973.

"The city has allowed me to practice law as the part-time city attorney," says Boyle, "appearing in hundreds of cases, both civil and criminal and to go to seminars. I retire with great gratitude."

Mayor Shawn Mason and other councillors issued their thanks for the job performed over the many years.

Mason credited Boyle for helping the city begin to realize its dream of a developed waterfront.

While Boyle retires as the city's attorney August 1, he'll continue practicing law privately.

Busy Weekend for Fire Department

It was a busy weekend for the Fort Frances Fire and Rescue Service who responded to no fewer than five calls.

Saturday morning about 10 a.m., the department was called to a home on Kaitlyn Drive to deal with a kitchen fire.

The owners of the home had the blaze extinguished by the time firefighters arrived, but not before it caused some fire and smoke damage to the kitchen.

Early Sunday morning at about 5 a.m., the department responded to a call of smoke filling an apartment on 6th Street East.

The problem was pinpointed to a burned out furnace fan.

An hour later, crews rushed to a home in the 400 block of Church Street where an elderly woman was taken to hospital for treatment after fire started in a sofa and filled the home with smoke.

Within fifteen minutes of arriving, firefighters were dispatched to a smoke alarm in the 1100 block of Scott Street which turned out to a false alarm.

And last night at round 8:30 p.m., Fort Frances Fire was sent to Gillon's Insurance on Church Street where a burned out roof fan sent smoke into the building.

Damage was considered miminal.

Vikings Asked to Participate

The city of International Falls is hoping to enlist the help of the Minnesota Vikings in next year's tug of war between it and the town of Fort Frances.

City Administrator Rod Otterness says the invite to members of the football club is part of an effort to make the friendly competition between the two sister communities bigger and better.

International Falls won this year's event following two straight wins by Fort Frances.

Anglers Prep for Tournament

If prefishing is any indication, this year's Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship could be a struggle for many anglers.

The field of more than one hundred teams begin its hunt for this year's title Thursday.

Two-time champion James Lindner says part of the key to winning is figuring out what works and what doesn't.

"A lot of times you can fish right through a lot of fish and not catch them, "says Lindner. "and then change baits, get the right bait on, and it's like magic. That's part of the whole deal with these guys here just trying to find the art of angling. It's the weirdest thing in the world. It changes every year."

Devlin's Bill Godin, who's fished the tournament since its inception and enjoyed four top ten finishes along the way, says it could be a struggle to find the big ones this year.

"We've been doing a lot of prefishing and it's been tough for us," says Godin. "We can catch a lot of fish, but we can't figure out where the big ones are."

Anglers gather tonight for the official rules meeting.

Changes to Moose Tag Transfers Considered

Ontario residents have until Thursday to comment on a proposed change that could impact the transfer of moose tags among hunters.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is looking to prohibit hunters from passing their tags onto another in consecutive years.

Wildlife Management Coordinator Tosh Gierek says its based on input received at public meetings last year.

"The way it works right now is that they can transfer a tag as often as they wish," says Gierek. "What we heard from hunters was they had some concerns with that."

If approved, the new regulation could be in place for the 2011 hunting season.

Wage Freeze Talks Today

The Ontario government today begins the difficult task of preparing its public sector unions and employers for a wage freeze.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan will meet union leaders and employers who run institutions such as hospitals, schools and universities to talk about capping salaries.

About 350,000 non-unionized public-sector workers had their wages frozen in the March budget.