Fibre Optic Link Completed

The Rainy River District School Board has completed the first phase of a board wide project to connect its schools with fibre optic cable.

Manager of Information Services Stephen Danielson says the first phase of the Wide Area Network infrastructure saw the installation of a cable between the new Robert Moore School and the board office.

"Fibre optic connections allow for very high speeds of data that the radios we currently use are just not capable of," says Danielson. "They also can't be interfered with. It's the next evolution in technology that we need to take."

Danielson says other schools, including local catholic schools, will be connected in the near future.

Special Ed. Teachers Reduced

The Rainy River District School Board is starting the school year with fewer special education teachers.

Board chair Dan Belluz says there are nine fewer teachers on staff because of cuts in provincial funding.

Belluz says while the board had been made aware of the government 's reduction plans a while ago, the number of students needing special ed has not decreased.

New Student Trustee

An Atikokan High School student is the newest trustee to the Rainy River District School Board.

Tamara Degagne will serve on the board for a year as a voice for the district's students.

Degagne attended last night's meeting through video-conferencing.

Mine Centre School Work Started

Construction has started on a new school in Mine Centre.

Manager of Operations and Maintenance for the Rainy River District School Board Raymond Roy says footings for the nearly $6-million project were poured recently.

The school is to open by the fall of 2011.

Portage Paving

A paving of Portage Avenue in Fort Frances today will mean a closure of the underpass.

Intersections at Third and Fifth will be blocked to traffic from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Travel to the North End will only be through McIrvine Road during this time.

Sixth and Portage will be closed for about two hours this morning beginning at 7 a.m.

Optomism Renewed in Atikokan

The mayor of Atikokan feels like fresh air has blown through his community.

Dennis Brown says government approval for Ontario Power Generation to move head with the switch of its coal-fired plant to biofuel is giving the community renewed hope.

"This certainly has been a big relief in our community," says Brown. "It's something we've been waiting for close to a year. We now have an opportunity to create more certainty in the community for investment and local residents,"

The conversion is expected start in 2012 and create over 200-jobs.

Warm August

There were few records, but Environment Canada says August was a little warmer than usual in the Fort Frances

Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says the average temperature for the month reached 18.6 degrees, putting it a full degree about the norm.

"Of note this was the warmest August since 2003," says Coulson. "So temperature was the biggest story for the month of August in the Fort Frances area."

A total of 87 millimetres of precipitation was also recorded, about 10 millimetres below the average.

Medicine Walk Planned

A medicine walk through the Rocky Inlet Ski Area is planned for next week.

Kerry Zub of the United Native Friendship Centre says participants can learn about the cultural and healing properties of the area's floral and fauna.

"What we have is a few elders come in from around the local area," says Zub, "and we walk in through the bush and they teach us about the healing properties about the medicines found in the area."

Zub says because a lunch is provided for the September 15 walk, registration by calling the Friendship Centre at 274-3207, Albert Calder, Couchiching NNADAP worker at 274-0441 or Josphine Potson at the Health Access Centre at 274-3131 is needed by Friday.