Council Meeting Time Stays the Same

There will be no early start to Fort Frances council meetings any time soon.

Mayor Roy Avis floated the idea of pushing back the start of meetings an extra half-hour to 5 p.m. during the summer months.

Councillor Ken Perry says that will only hurt his attendance.

"The sooner we start these meetings the more time I have to take time off work," says Perry. "It's going to get to a point where I won't take anymore time off work and that means I won't be on council."

Councillor Paul Ryan says if the change couldn't be accommodating to all councillors there was no reason to make a switch.

Council has opted to table to idea until further notice.

Budget Approval Delayed

Fort Frances town council has held off on passing the 2011 budget.

A public meeting was to be held last night before councillors gave their approval.

Mayor Roy Avis says questions that arose during an in-camera meeting and problems with the Shaw television coverage prompted them to delay passage until their next meeting on May 8.

Traffic Light Changes

There will be changes coming to some traffic lights in Fort Frances.

The town's operations and facilities manager Doug Brown says lights at the intersection of King's Highway and Keating Avenue will be adjusted next Monday to allow pedestrians more time to cross Keating.

"The walk signal will be longer for pedestrians going across the road on the south of Keating," says Brown. "It doesn't affect anyone going across the highway."

Advanced flashing greens at three intersections will be also be replaced this summer with a four-light system that includes a turn arrow.

Locum Housing Discussed

An update on plans to create new housing for locums who man the Rainy River Health Centre's emergency room will be discussed in Rainy River tonight.

Jack Elliott, a spokesperson with the Rainy River Health Care Committee says it's needed in the community.

"In the past they would stay at the hotel for a little bit or they'd have to stay in Baudette," says Elliott, "or we would rent a house for a little while. We really need something on a more permanent basis and you want somethings that's a nice attractive facility where they can come and feel at home."

The meeting at the Rainy River Legion begins at 7 p.m.

Adoption Changes

Ontario is making it easier for families to adopt.

Children's Services Minister Laurel Broten says the government is removing a legal barrier that prevented three-quarters of the Crown wards in the province from finding permanent families.

The government also wants adoptive parents to qualify for a monthly subsidy now given to foster parents.

Earthquake Reported

Natural Resources Canada is confirming that a minor earthquake struck near Devlin last month.

The 1.9 magnitude quake happened around 2 a.m. on March 25.

Seismic activity is not uncommon to northwestern Ontario, although most of the minor quakes over the past year have been around the Atikokan area.

Elderly Man Scammed

An elderly man from the International Falls area has been bilked out almost $14,000 after becoming a victim of the so-called grand-kids scam.

Koochiching County Sheriff's office says the 94-year-old man sent the money after receiving a telephone call from someone claiming that his grandson was in need of help and needed to be money.

The man sent the money before realizing he had been conned.

Soup Truck Panned

Advocates for the poor aren't impressed with a "Soup Truck" that's traveling around Minnesota.

A group calling itself the Minnesota Majority is using the truck as a humorous way of expressing opposing to Governor Mark Dayton's proposed tax increase for the wealthy.

Nancy Anderson, executive director of the Falls Hunger Coalition in International Falls, doesn't find it so funny.

"It just is one more way that it degrades people who are in a position of having to ask for help," says Anderson. "I think the very least we should do as advocates is to speak up and protect the dignity of people that are in that position."

Food donations are being collected as well, but opponents says that was only done as an after-thought.

Fort Flag to Fly in Kenora

(Thunderhawks in action during the 2011 Allan Cup tournament in Kenora)


The Fort Frances town flag will soon be flying high over the city of Kenora.

Mayor Roy Avis says it's the outcome of a bet he made with Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield during the recent Allan Cup tournament.

"If Fort Frances beat Kenora, Kenora would fly our flag for a week," says Avis. "If it worked the other way, we would been flying Kenora's flag so I have to congratulate the Fort Frances team for the win. I'll be looking forward to presenting (Mayor Canfield) with our flag (this week)."

The Thunderhawks eliminated Kenora from the tournament in a playoff game.