Rezoning Objections Reach OMB

Residents objections to the town of Fort Frances turning a neighbourhood park into housing lots are headed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

An appeal over the rezoning of Nelson Street Park has been filled with the board.

No hearing has been set as of yet.

The town must first complete a report on the issue for the OMB by January 24th.

Crash Victims Names Released

Provincial Police have released the names of those killed in Tuesday's plane crash at North Spirit Lake.

62-year-old Ben Van Hoek, 39-year-old Colette Eisinger, and 38-year-old Martha Campbell, and the pilot 41-year-old Fariborz Abasabady were all from Manitoba.

Reports says the passengers were with Aboriginal Strategies, a Winnipeg-based company which provides financial management services to First Nations.

Van Hoek was its president.

Ontario Wood First Promoter

The Provincial Government has signed up its first organization for its new Ontario Wood logo.

Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle says the Ontario Forest Industries Association is now licensed to carry the logo.


Association President Jamie Lim says it's the best way to raise consumer awareness.

Gravelle hopes the logo proves to be as popular as the Ontario Food logo.

Relay for Life Planning Underway

The call is now out for participants and volunteers for this year's Relay for Life in Fort Frances.

Organizers kicked off the planning with an event last night.

Co-chair Jennifer Anderson says many more meetings will be held in case people were unable to attend.

A Facebook page has also been set up to keep people informed.

The fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society will likely be held again at Fort Frances High School.

Here is some video from last year's event.

Question of the Day - January 13

Virtually no public support on our on-line poll to Atikokan town council's call for a one per cent hike in the HST for infrastructure improvements.

All of the respondents said they would not support such an hike.

Atikokan is taking its idea to area municipal leaders later this month.

In our weekend question,  today is Friday the 13th.

Do you put any belief into the superstitions surrounding the day?

Let us know on our Facebook page or website 931TheBorder.ca

Minnesota Investigates Infrastructure Payments

Governor Mark Dayton is creating a task force to come up with new ways to pay for Minnesota's roads, bridges and public transit.

Dayton says the panel will make its recommendations by December.

Christmas Kettle Program in Falls Totals

The last of the donations to the Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle campaign in International Falls has been counted.

More than $23-thousand dollars was raised in last month's campaign.

That's a 12 per cent increase over 2010.

Just over $15-thousand was raised by the Salvation Army's campaign in Fort Frances.

Town Looking to Help Charities

The town of Fort France is looking to help local charities with their lottery license reporting.

Any organization that obtains a license through the town must follow certain guidelines as set out by the province.

Town clerk Glenn Treflin says that isn't always happening.

Treflin says now he's looking to set up a future training session.