First Nations Community Evacuated

A raging wildfire has prompted the Chief of Mishkeegogaming First Nation to order the evacuation of the entire community near Pickle Lake.

About 150 residents are now in Geraldton, 195 in Sioux Lookout and 105 in Ignace.

The fire is burning 15 kilometres east of New Osnaburgh, and has grown to 300 square kilometres.

Drownings Report Released

A team looking at last summer's drowning deaths in Ontario has made 12 recommendations to try to prevent such needless tragedies.

Topping the list -- learning to swim, avoiding alcohol while swimming and boating, wearing a life-jacket and closely supervising children around water.

Two drownings involving Fort Frances area men were part of incidents reviewed.

Relay for Life - Fort Frances

Almost twenty teams will participate in a Relay for Life event at Fort Frances High School tonight.

Committee member John Homer says the public can also come out to help support the teams or take in the festivities.

"Everybody is invited, you don't have to be from Fort Frances," says Homer. "Come on down and get out for this event. Bring a little bit of cash. We're going to have pulled-pork sandwiches and all kinds of stuff going on. The teams are selling bracelets and all kinds of other things so come on down."

Homer is also encouraged by the number of young people taking part this year.

Relay for Life - Rainy River

Relay for Life is also taking place Friday night at Riverview School in Rainy River.

Organizer Andrew Hartnell says they have twelve teams signed up.

"We have different team competitions," says Hartnell. "We give each other points and whoever gets the most points at the end of the night gets a prize. We have a bunch of entertainment. We have karaoke. We have different singers, belly dancers and different kinds of competitions throughout the night to keep everyone busy."

A Cuts for Cancers event is also planned.

Community Garden Underway

Planting is well underway at a community garden in Fort Frances.

Becky Holden of the Northwestern Health Unit says all plots are spoken for, but they are still taking names.

"We are bringing a couple of raised beds out," says Holden, "and just in case anyone changes their mind. People have until the end of June to plant their beds before we take them off our list. If anyone is interested, we encourage them to contact me."

An official opening for the town's first-ever garden happen Thursday night.

Back-to-Work Debate On

Debate on the back to work legislation is underway in the House of Commons.

MP's were to head home Friday, but debate on the bill to end Canada Post's lock-out of its workers isn't likely to come to an end sometime Saturday.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty says he can't support the bill.

"We have a government that believes it's okay to look into collective agreements," says Rafferty, "get rid of collective bargaining, lock workers out and then to bring forward back-to-work legislation, that if you read it, is disastrous for postal workers and good for Canada Post."

Rafferty says he won't have his say on the bill until today or early Saturday morning.

Wood Supply Alloted

AbiBow Canada's mill in Fort Frances has secured a new wood supply from the province.

General Manager for its Ontario operations Roger Barber says they'll receive 317-thousand cubic metres of wood annually.

"It includes merchantable softwood fibre for our pulp and paper facility," says Barber, "as well as unmerchantable fibre that will become biomass as a feed stock for our biomass boiler."

Barber says the supply provides the mill with more long term security and a better fibre cost structure.

Enforcement Blitz

Nineteen charges and 18 warnings were made during an enforcement blitz earlier this month by the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Fort Frances area.

Nearly 800 people were checked during the June 11 inspection conducted on Highway 11 in Couchiching First Nations.

Most of them were out-of-town residents.

The charges and warnings were for such things as over-limits, improperly packaged fish and fish that could not be easily identified.