Water Walk Reaches Fort Frances

The Mother Earth Water Walk arrives in Fort Frances today.

Heidi Smith of the United Native Friendship Centre says its was first organized by Josephine Mandamin to bring awareness to the state of the world's water supplies.

The walkers will be celebrated at a community feast at Agency One land at noon.

Hydro Out

Some residents in the Rainy River district are without power this morning.

Hydro One says the outages effect about 250 residents in the west end of the district north of Emo.

Another outage near Atikokan has left less than 20 people in the dark.

Hydro One says power should be restored to all areas late this morning.

Access to Cellphone Records Denied

A provincial court has denied a Fort Frances agency access to the cellphone records of one of its employees.

Community Living Fort Frances and District had sought a so-called Norwich order as part of an investigation into whether a female employee had engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a male client last fall.

In a decision released last month, the judge in the ruled the Association had failed to establish a legal right to the order.

The agency declined B-93's request for comment.

College Promotes Trades Programs

Confederation College is looking to entice more students from northwestern Ontario to its Trades and Aviation programs.

The College is visiting regional high schools over the next two weeks.

Recruitment intern Pam Lamba says those fields have many job prospects.

"So it only makes sense if we only promote that," says Lamba, "especially if some of the students want to stay close to home and not willing to move far away. This is a great opportunity to know what programs are even available in this area."

The College was at Fort Frances High School yesterday.

Canada Day Parade Participants Wanted

Registration for the Canada Day parade in Fort Frances is now being accepted.

This year’s theme is “Sing, Dance and March to the Music.” Groups, organizations, businesses and individuals are encouraged to show their Canadian pride through music and dance either as a float or as a demonstration while walking the route. Entrants from the United States are also welcome to participate and show their pride either for Canada or their home country.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three parade participants as selected by a panel of local judges. Judging will take place prior to the start of the parade.

Participants will again gather at AbitibiBowater’s Shevlin woodyard beginning at 10:00 a.m. for judging. They will then be led by the Ontario Provincial Police and Special Olympians down Front Street along Fort Frances’ beautiful waterfront beginning at 11:00 a.m. The parade will head in a westerly direction past LaVerendrye Hospital and ending at the municipal parking lot at Nelson Street behind St. Mary’s Church.

Members of the Canada Day Celebrations Committee will also be walking the route to solicit donations. Money money raised will go towards Canada Day events and the Fireworks display.

Coordinating this year’s parade will be Randy and Sally Thoms. Early registration before 4:00 PM June 30, 2011 is required to be eligible for the prizes. Call 807-274-5634 to register.

MP's Begin Work

Newly elected MP's get to work today with a resumption of Parliament.

They will first elect a new speaker in advance of Monday's budget.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty says there are some changes in store in this fiscal document.

"It's the same sort of budget presented before the election," says Rafferty. "There are some promised cuts. Billions and billions of dollars in cuts. It will be interesting to see where those are."

The session is expected to last only a few weeks.

Bark Fire at Thunder Bay Mill

Firefighters are dealing with a stubborn bark pile fire at the AbitibiBowater mill in Thunder bay.

It started late yesterday afternoon, billowing thick smoke through nearby neighbourhoods.

A Ministry of Natural Resources waterbomber was called in for suppression efforts, but officials say it could be days before the fire is put out.

Injured Workers Concerns

The Ontario Federation of Labour is marking today as Injured Workers Day.

The OFL is using the day to highlight the injured workers who fall through the cracks in Ontario's workers' compensation coverage.

President Sid Ryan says many injured workers not protected through the Workplace Safety Insurance Board have to rely on social assistance.

Boating Accident

No injuries are being reported following the collision of two boats on Rainy Lake on the weekend.

It happened around 11 o'clock Sunday night in Frank's Bay.

Members of the Koochiching County Sheriff's office continue to investigate.

Baudette Likely Out of Running

It appears Baudette's attempts to become America's Ultimate Fishing Town will come up short.

The Minnesota town bordering Rainy River was third going into the final day of the World Fishing Network's on-line contest.

It was still 200,000 votes behind two New York communities yesterday.

The winner will be announced next week.

More Resources Needed to Keep Hospitals Clean

Hospital staff are calling on the health minister to provide more resources for cleaning and infection control in Ontario hospitals.

Studies suggest that hospital-acquired infections are killing up to five thousand Ontarians each year.

Sharon Richer of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says such deaths are preventable.

Curling Club Gets Funds

The Fort Frances Curling Club is getting a quarter of a million dollars from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund towards the installation of a new geothermal energy system.

The system proposes to use the marsh area around the facility to provide clean electricity and operate the club's heating and cooling system.

Cost of the project is estimated at about $560-thousand dollars.

The club has also applied for funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Road Work

There's going to be some road work in the Rainy Rainy River district this summer.

The Ministry of Transportation says 24 kilometres of Highway 11 between Devlin and Emo will receive new pavement as will a section of the Highway between Highway 619 and the Minnesota-Ontario border.

Work on both projects will begin in July.

Work on the Noden Causeway near Fort Frances will also resume with a section of the roadway reduced to one lane of traffic.