Hospital Concern

Residents of Rainy River are facing not having access to emergency room care at Rainy River Health Centre.

A resignation of one of two contract doctors will leave the hospital with just one physician beginning October 3rd.

Officials says the shortage could force patients to travel to Emo or Fort Frances for care.

Rainy River Mayor Deb Ewald calls the situation serious.

Cottage Fire Kills One

One person is dead and another is recovering in hospital following a fire on Lake of the Woods.

The fire destroyed a cabin on Ward Island Monday.

The names of the victims are not being immediately released, but OPP say both are U.S. citizens.

Wind Blows Over Dump Truck

A burst of wind is blamed for a dump truck rolling over on a road construction project just west of Rainy River First Nations yesterday.

The truck was dumping gravel into a spreading machine on Highway 11 near Nighswander Road when it tipped over.

The driver of the truck sustained minor injuries.

Clean-up Deadline Passes

Owners of a former fish farm in Atikokan have failed to meet a deadline to clean-up the site.

Snow Lake Canadien was court ordered in June to have all remaining buildings and structures at the former Caland Mine site brought down by the end of August.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources says they're now looking at other options in dealing with the matter after the company failed to comply.

Independent School District 361 in International Falls and Rainy River Community College are about to study how they can work closer together.

ISD 361 Superintendent Jeff Peura says they'll explore ideas about shared programming and staff.

Peura says the study could also lead a pilot project for the State to consider.

Caring Dads

Help is coming to area men who may have abused or neglected their children or exposed them to abuse in the family home.

Brad Ricci, a facilitator of the program "Caring Dads," says it's something new to the Rainy River district.

The program is being offered out of Atikokan next month with the hopes of expanding it to other communities in the future.

Solar Project Starts Up

A town of Fort Frances solar project will begin generating power today.

The Public Works building is one of four municipal buildings that will have the panels installed.

McGuinty Still Wanted

There are still some members of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association who think the Premier will show for tomorrow's northern Ontario leaders debate in Thunder Bay.

Vice President Dave Canfield believes Dalton McGuinty will have a change of heart.

McGuinty has said he won't attend because of a scheduling conflict.

Tickets Available for Rachel's Challenge

Plenty of tickets are still available to next week's community presentations of Rachel's Challenge in Fort Frances.

Steve Latimer of the United Native Friendship Centre says the positive-peer pressure campaign is one that parents needs to know about.

Tickets are free and available at Northwoods Gallery Gifts, United Native Friendship Centre and Cloverleaf Grocery in Emo.

Ignace Working with Bending Lake

Ignace town council has agreed to work with the Bending Lake Iron Group to move forward with a mine site southeast of the community.

The company plans to develop an industrial site at Bending Lake and build a rail line connecting the CP's line within two years.

The company is still looking at trucking concentrate to a proposed pig iron plant in Atikokan.