DSSAB Cuts

The Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board is not anticipating any reduction in service from a recent round of job cuts.

Six full time equivalent positions have been eliminated.

Interim CAO Dan McCormick says the cuts were almost inevitable with the province having frozen funding for Social Housing at 2002 levels and financial pressures faced by municipalities to pick up the slack.

Most of the cuts were within the Board's Social Housing portfolio.

Dragon Boats to Float Rainy River

Dragon Boats could make an appearance on the Rainy River this summer.

Jenny Greenhalgh of NCDS has secured a boat from Dragon Boat Canada.

She's hoping to include it in an event as part of Canada Day festivities in Fort Frances.

Greenhalgh says a number of organizations have already expressed interest in participating.

Man Found

A happy ending to an OPP search for a missing Winnipeg man in the Kenora area.

Police had initiated the search for 28-year-old Steven Suche after failing to return from a snowmobile ride on Lake of the Woods the Tuesday night.

OPP says he was found safe and sound yesterday afternoon.

Question of the Day - February 3

There's a mixed feeling on whether the town of the Fort Frances should issue fines when Police respond to false alarms.

55 per cent of respondents to our poll question don't think it's necessary while 45 per cent support the idea.

The Fort Frances Police Services Board is asking town council to consider a by-law to reduce the number of false alarms.

Today's question, do you believe the Premier when he says there are no tax increases planned to help lower the deficit.

Let us know on our website, www.931TheBorder. ca

Infrastructure Help Proposed

Northern Ontario's New Democrats want to see FEDNOR used to help fund municipal infrastructure projects.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty says a separate pot of money could be set aside through the regional economic development agency for northern Ontario municipalities to access.

Rafferty says financial help for infrastructure upgrades is a major need among municipalities, but doubts there will be any coming in the upcoming budget.

Child Porn Charges

No one from Northwestern Ontario has been charged in a massive child pornography sweep in Ontario.

Sixty men face a total of 213 charges in what police described as one of the largest child pornography investigations in the province's history.

OPP Detective-Sergeant Frank Goldschmidt says at 22 victims were identified during the probe.

The suspects, aged 16 to 64, are described as being from all walks of life, including one who is a child care worker.

Warm January

January was the warmest it's been in almost ten years in International Falls.

The National Weather Service says the month's average temperature 14 F, or minus 10 Celsius was the fourth warmest on record.

That's also the same average as experienced in 2001.

The normal for the month is 4.4 F.

A total of 15 inches of snow also fell in January, four inches below normal.