OPP Watching for Distracted Drivers

There is a good reason to pay attention on the roads today -- the OPP are looking for distracted drivers.

Officers are ramping up efforts to prevent drivers from texting or using a cellphone behind the wheel.

Constable Anne McCoy says it's become a big problem in the Rainy River district.

"What we're noticing is that the number of people speaking on a hand-held device, a cellphone, is not going down," says McCoy, "and we're going to have to concentrate on getting the message out to the public that distracted driving is dangerous.

Motorists caught using a device while driving can face a 155-dollar fine.

Police Week

This is Police week across Ontario.

Provincial Police will be using it to promote it's Lock it or Loss it campaign, encouraging motorists to lock their doors when they leave their vehicle.

Just last week, three young people were apprehended after a number of vehicles around the former Huffman School area in Fort Frances had been broken into.

New Trophy Unveiled

The new trophy for the annual Tug of War between the city of International Falls and the town of Fort France has been unveiled.

Fort Frances councillor Rick Wiedenhoeft will present it to Falls city council at their meeting tonight for its win last year.

Meantime, efforts to attract celebrities to participate in this year's event continue with former Minnesota Viking Matt Blair have reportedly joined the American team while the Canadians are believed to be pursuing Loverboy singer Mike Reno.

No Shortage of Cancer Drugs Here

A national shortage of chemotherapy drugs isn't impacting patients in northwestern Ontario.

The Northwestern Ontario Regional Cancer Care Northwest says it has a sufficient supply to meet demand.

Planned treatment is not expected to be impacted in the near term including all patients in hospital, as well as clinic and outreach patients.

Fishing Data Base Available

It may not make catching fish any easier, but the Ministry of Natural Resources is putting all its resources at the finger tips of local anglers.

Spokesperson Matt Garvin says a vast data base of fishing information has been posted on-line.

"We've been collecting the data for some 50 years," says Garvin, "and really never had a single efficient way of communicating it with anglers. This is really a step forward in the way were offering customer services to anglers in the province."

The data base includes, maps, directions to lakes and fishing regulations.

Access to Health Care Improving

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network is painting a rosy health care picture for the region.

CEO Laura Kokocinski says in 2009, 86 percent of residents had a primary care provider.

"The number of people who have a primary care provider has improved since those numbers in 2009," says Kokocinski. "There's certainly been an improvement in the number of primary care providers whether it's not nurse practitioners or physicians."

Kokocinski suggests more people have a health care provider now than they did two years ago.

Nurse Seek Health Care Plan for North

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario is calling on all three parties to unveil a specialized health care plan for northern and rural Ontario.

President David McNeil says the area faces significant challenges related to an aging population and access to care.

"We think nurses that can play a unique contribution in meeting those needs," says McNeil, "whether that be through the expansion of nurse practitioner clinics or through the expansion of roles of registered nurses who are capable of doing much more than the legislative frame work will allow them."

The association is also lobbying the province to move on the planned hiring of 9-thousand additional nurses.

Man Charged with Cost of Fighting Fire

A Quebec man has ordered to pay the cost of putting out a forest fire last year in the Atikokan area after pleading guilty to a charge of failing to keep a fire under control.

The blaze occurred in the area of Raft Lake Road last April.

A fire, started for cooking, was spread by strong winds to the nearby bush.

Two Ministry of Natural Resource fire crews and a waterbomber had to be dispatched.

Along with the five-thousand dollar cost of putting out the fire, the man was also fined 250-dollars.

First Forest Fire in District Reported

The first forest fire of this season in the Rainy River district has been reported to have occurred near Fort Frances.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says it happened Wednesday evening to the east of the town.

The cause was not identified, but the fire was extinguished quickly.

Custom Services Dropped

Airports at Dryden, Red Lake and Sioux Lookout will no longer be offering customs service.

Dryden Airport manager George Friesen says the move was spurred by changes requiring doubling the number of agents, who handle passengers coming from outside Canada.

Kenora and Fort Frances are now the only regional airports currently offering customs, although Kenora is on a seasonal basis.

Housing Improvement Programs Available

The town of Fort Frances is looking for interest in some local housing improvement programs.

The programs were put in place a couple of years ago to help those improve or remove derelict homes.

Spokesperson Tannis Drysdale says there are some incentives.

"We can help walk you through a process where you can receive some tax grants back on your property," says Drysdale, "if you are in one of those situations that the home or property you have has a building that needs to come down. The town will be happy to partner with you if you apply to cover some of the costs to take some of the refuge to the dump."

The program are delivered through the Rainy River Future Development Corporation.

McHappy Day Figures

McDonald's restaurants in Fort Frances raised more than $2-thousand for Ronald McDonald Houses in Canada.

Across Canada, Wednesday's McHappy Day collected over $3-million.

RBC Scam

Provincial Police are warning area residents of an apparent scam that's found its way into the Rainy River district.

Constable Anne McCoy says they were alerted of the scam by a resident who indicated he'd received a call from someone claiming to work for RBC.

"The male that was calling began to ask people about their birthday," says McCoy, "other personal information including their account numbers. We're reminding the public to please not give out any information over the phone. Go right into the banking institution to give that type of information."

McCoy says the resident receiving call altered both the bank and police.

Man Fined for Using False Card

A Minnesota man has been fined $3,000 for using a void Ontario resident Outdoors Card.

John Cawker, of Ely, plead guilty to three counts of possessing a card and associated moose hunting licences.

The court heard that Cawker obtained the card and licences between 2008 and last year by using the address of his parents who lived near Sudbury.

Province Interested in Law School

A plan by Lakehead University to establish a law school in Thunder Bay will get a look by the provincial government.

Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, John Milloy says he'll be looking at how Lakehead's proposal will benefit First Nations communities and the economy.

Tuition will start at about $12-thousand, higher than existing schools.

Youth Justice Program

A new youth justice program is about to be offered across the Kenora and Rainy-River District.

Coordinator of the Dryden and District Youth Justice Bill Hovi says the goal is to deal with youth who commit crimes outside a normal court setting.

"It diverts young people between the ages of 12 and 17 away from a formal court setting," says Hovi, "and into a community-based volunteer-led conference program where victim and offender are encouraged to come together to repair any harm that was done."

The program is facilitated by volunteers who were trained on the weekend in Dryden.

Eagles Nests Identified

Voyageurs National Park has identified 75 bald eagle nests in the park this year.

Park officials say 37 of them were seen with adults incubating eggs, up slightly from last year's count.

The park has restricting public access to areas near the nests while temporarily closing four camping and houseboat sites.