Huffman School Sold

The town of Fort Frances is in the process of purchasing the former F.H. Huffman School.

It's paying about $155-thousand for the school which has been vacant since June.

C.A.O. Mark McCaig says the town sees a lot of strategic possibilities for the property, including the potential of new building lots, but no firm decisions have yet been made.

The deal is expected to close by the end of November.

Town Looks at Group Volunteer Recognition

(J.W. Walkers students in recent Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up)

A Fort Frances councillor's request to recognize J.W. Walker School for its contributions to the community has lead to some debate on how the town honours volunteer groups and organizations.

Ken Perry says the school can't be nominated for the town's Citizen of the Year Award, but is deserving of some kind of recognition.

"The Citizen of the Year is still Citizen of the Year," says Perry. "I'm not trying to change that, but I think the school is a good citizen in the town of Fort Frances, but it is a group."

A council committee will look at how to honour the school, but councillor Andrew Hallikas says he'd like to see some kind of mechanism that gives other groups a chance to be recognized in the future.

Chronic Wasting Disease Studied

The Ministry of Natural Resources is conducting a study in northwestern Ontario this fall to see if there is any of Chronic Wasting Disease among deer.

Spokesperson Tore Buchanan says they're asking hunters to bring deer heads to select locations for testing.

"We're trying to collect about 460 samples from the northwest," says Buchanan. "That will give us a degree of confidence that the disease is not there if we don't detect it in any of those animals.

Depot have been set up in Nestor Falls, Emo and Fort Frances and will collect deer heads until the middle of December.

Wildlife on Roads

Police are warning motorists in northern Ontario that more wildlife are now on the roads.

October, November and December are one of the peak times for wildlife collisions since it is the mating and migration seasons.

School Dental Program Expands

A statewide preventative dental program is being expanded to several school in northern Minnesota.

Smiles Across Minnesota is being made available to young children attending schools in International Falls, South Koochiching-Rainy River and Littlefork-Big Falls.

The program allows them to access dental services, such as cleanings, fluoride treatments and sealants – within the schools at no cost to the schools.

Rockin' for a Reason

Some International Falls area residents will be Rockin' for a Reason in the fight against breast cancer.

Event coordinator Susie Best says more than fifty people have already taken up the challenge in the event that happens tomorrow at Ballan Furniture.

"They go out, raise pledges and then contact me to set up an hour," says Best. "They just rock for one hour in the comfort or a rocking chair at Ballan Furniture while sipping on gourmet coffee. It's not that torturous."

Over 23-thousand dollars have been raised since the event started five years ago with proceeds going to the Rainy Lake Medical Centre.

Drilling Program Expanded

A mining company doing exploration work north of Barwick is expanding its drilling program.

Bayfield Ventures will drill 50-thousand metres on land adjacent to Rainy River Resources gold project.

That more than doubles the program it started back in May.

The company says the drilling will continue year-round.

Healthy Workplaces

The Northwestern Health Unit is recognizing national Healthy Workplace Month.

Spokesperson Jessica Brown says they're encouraging workplaces to get involved in workplace health promotion.

"When employees are supported at work to make health choices, it not only saves our health care system resources, but also increases job satisfaction, reduces absenteeism and improves efficiencies," says Brown.

Brown says business owners can access a number of services through the Health Unit.

Chamber Joins Food Bank Campaign

The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce has new sponsor for its Chili Cook-Off.

Manager Anthony Mason says Shaw Communication will contribute to the event while the Chamber aids in the cable company's and Campbell Canada's "Fill the Food Banks" Campaign

"This is the first time that we've had anyone donate money," says Mason. "It will go towards advertising so we can get the word out that Shaw and Campbell's are going to be helping us out to raise food for the food banks."

Mason says they'll have bins at next Wednesday's event and at its Scott Street office for people to bring non-perishable food items.

Rafferty Town Halls

Another series of town hall meetings for Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty.

Rafferty says he's using part of the meetings to help people access to a federal tax credit.

"The first hour, 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. , is going to be a workshop," says Rafferty, "a federal disability tax credit workshop. If they are interested and think they might qualify for that, I will guide them through the application process."

Rafferty has sessions planned Thursday night at the Emo Legion, Friday night at Atikokan Pioneer Centre and Saturday in Thunder Bay.

Precribed Burn Planned

The Ministry of Natural Resources is planning to conduct a prescribed burn Friday northwest of Atikokan.

The 112 hectare burn will be in an area of blowdown forest within the Turtle River-White Otter Provincial Park.

The area is part of a large swath of forest damaged by huge winds in 2007.

Ministry officials says the burn is part of a research project to determine how fire reacts in the blowdown.

Breath Health Program Celebrated

A program that helps women in the Rainy River district with early detection of breast cancer is celebrating a milestone.

The Riverside Breast Health Program was the first of its kind when it started in 1985.

Eva Thornton, one of the program's founders, feels it has saved many lives since.

"Before 25 years ago, most women died of breast cancer," says Thornton. "By learning the methods of early detection of breast cancer, women now do survive far more than they did 25 years ago."

Thornton says the LaVerendrye Hospital Auxiliary was among those that helped with its fundraising efforts for operations early on and a new mammography unit in 1987.

Emergency Response Strategies Reviewed

Emergency officials from the Fort Frances and International Falls areas are looking at the issues that could impair their ability to provide cross-border aid in the future.

Fort France Fire Chief Gerry Armstrong says they want to ensure that help they now provide continues in the unlikely event an emergency restricts travel across the border.

"There could be a flu epidemic of some sort where border issues may become a concern," says Armstrong, "to the point where the border could be closed. The intent of the committee is to address some of these things where we still have the opportunity to share resources if we have to."

Armstrong says a steering committee has been formed, but it could be several months before their work is completed.

Seniors Honoured

Two Rainy River district seniors are being honoured today at Queen's Park for their contributions to the area.

Anthony Kadikoff of Fort Frances and Vic Prokopchuk of Atikokan are among twenty seniors from across the province receiving Ontario Senior Achievement Awards from Lieutenant-Governor David Onley.

The Awards are the province's highest recognition for seniors and are given annually to residents over the age of 65 who have made significant contributions to their communities through voluntary or professional activities.