Canadians Take I. Falls Bass Championship

A northwestern Ontario team has become the first two-time winner of the International Falls Bass Championship.

Jeff Gustafson of Kenora, along with his fishing partner Scott Dingwall of Dingwell, won this year's title by weighing in just over 30-pounds of bass over the weekend.

"It feels pretty good," says Gustafson. "It's so hard to win any of these big tournaments. We enjoy it and we're going to enjoy it until next year."

Gustafson and Dingwall won the inaugural tournament in 2005 by beating Travis Peterson and Scott Mattson of Bemidji who also finished second this year.

Here's exclusive video of their weigh-in on the final day of the championship.

Morson Bass International Winners

(Morson Bass International Photo)


Terry Gill of Morson and Chad Hansen of Fort Frances were reported as the winners of the Morson Bass International.

No weights were provided.

Conversion Set for 2012

Ontario Power Generation is looking at 2012 as a possible start of work to convert its coal-fired generating station to burn biomass fuel.

The province gave approval to the plan last week.

Station manager Ed Enge says they hope to use of as much of the existing infrastructure as possible.

"The conversion will leave the boiler and most of the infrastructure fairly well intact," says Enge, "but the coal receiving, handling and storage facilities will be abandoned. We will need new system for receiving wood pellets and storing them."

Enge says the project must also still be approved by OPG's board of directors.

Hydro Deal Reached

A strike in Ontario's electricity transmission sector that was set to begin today has been averted.

The Labourers' International Union of North America and the Electrical Power Systems Construction Association struck a deal late Friday.

The association represents the owners of Hydro One and other electricity system contractors.

More Names on the Ballot

Three more incumbents have entered the race in this October's civic elections.

Councillors Ken Perry and Andrew Hallikas will again seek new terms to Fort Frances town council.

Chair of the Northwest Catholic District School Board Anne Marie Fitzgerald is running again as catholic trustee for the Fort Frances area.

King's Bay Adds New Claims

King's Bay Gold has optioned six unpatented mining claims in the Rainy River district.

They're located in Menary and Claxton townships, northwest of Emo.

King's Bay is currently conducting an gold exploration program in the area.

Test Results Revealed

Ontario students continue to make steady gains in reading, writing and math, but are still not meeting the provincial target for test scores.

That's according to the latest round of provincial testing, obtained by the Toronto Star in advance of their release this morning.

Overall, 68 per cent of students in Grades 3 and 6 are meeting the standards in reading, writing and math, but that's far from the provincial target of 75 per cent it hoped for in 2008.

WEEE Roundup Coming

Residents across the Rainy River district will get a chance to toss out all of that old electronic equipment in an environmentally safe way this month.

Ontario Electronic Stewardship will be hosting a collection day at the Fort Frances Public Works yard on September 18.

Executive Director Carol Hochu says its something they're doing across northwestern Ontario.

"There's good accessibility in the more major metro areas and big cities in Ontario," says Hochu, "but always a challenge in the north and in the more rural areas to get out there and get this stuff so we're doing bit of a northern Ontario sweep."

A list of all the items accepted can be found on the website http://www.dowhatyoucan.ca.