Town To Take Over Former Hotel

The former Rainy Lake Hotel will become property of the town of Fort Frances.

Town councillors agreed last night to vest the shuttered hotel.

CAO Mark McCaig says since no one came forward to buy it in a recent tax sale, a decision by the town had to be made.

The decision is also seen as a first step towards developing the site into a proposed market square, but those discussions won't happen until next year's budget talks.

Arena Fix Approved

Fort Frances town council has approved spending more than $95-thousand to get ice back in the Ice for Kids Arena by mid-September.

It to replace a key part of the rink's ice plant that experienced an ammonia leak last week.

Community Service Manager Jason Kabel says the upside is the problem was identified soon enough to avoid a major disruption.

Users who booked the rink later this summer will be moved to the 52 Canadians Arena.

Fort Frances Gets Helping Hands

Some helping hands for the town of Fort Frances.

Union Gas is providing the town with four thousand dollars to be used on improvement projects identified by the company's employees.

Utility Services and Construction manager Luke Skaarup says it's part of a company initiative known as Helping Hands.

Three projects are at the Memorial Sports Centre with the other funding flowers for the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce's annual beautification project known as Project Petunia.

No Fires Burning

All forest fires burning in the Rainy River district are now out.

The most recent was a human caused fire near Manion Lake, about 15 kilometres east of Mine Centre.

There have been 27 fires in the district since the start of this year's forest fire season,

Highway Open Again

Highway 11 near Atikokan is back open to traffic.

Provincial Police were dealing with a big rig carrying a wide load that got stuck at a construction site, just west of the community yesterday afternoon.

It forced that closure of a section of the highway to be temporarily shut down.

Local Board Not All That Happy With Teachers Deal

Last week's deal between the Province and Elementary Catholic teachers is getting a luke-warm response from the Northwest District Catholic School Board.

Education Director Mary Catherine Kelly says the deal came as a surprise to her, noting that the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association, which represents Catholic Board, wasn't even consulted on the deal.

Report suggest the Association withdrew from negotiations the night before the deal was reached.

Kelly says they'll move forward on the contract they maybe didn't want, but wants to see more details.

Police Get Help Stopping Stolen Vehicle

A little assistance from the public and General Motors helped police nab a young driver and a vehicle reported stolen from Seine River First Nation Sunday night.

Provincial Police were altered first by Treaty Three Police, then tracked the vehicle down based on information from the public who complained of it operating in an erratic manner.

Constable Anne McCoy says when the 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche failed to stop for police, officers turned to General Motors OnStar service who safely shut the truck ignition off.

The driver, who is under the age of 18, faces several charges. 

Boating Accident

Police are investigating a boating accident on Lake of the Woods near Morson.

Provincial Police say two boats collided with one ending up on the shore.

A 69-year-old Winnipeg man was transported to hospital in Winnipeg with serious injuries.

The driver of the other boat wasn't injured.

Population Sign To Be Changed

The Ministry of Transportation is poised to make a change to the town of Fort Frances population sign.

It's to better reflect the town's true population.

Statistics Canada has it at just under 8-thousand people.

The sign reads 85-hundred.

The MTO plans to change it to 8-thousand.

Some Anglers Not Following the Law

A recent enforcement blitz by the Ministry of Natural Resources has found some anglers not obeying area fishing regulations.

Sixteen charges and 25 warnings were issued in the blitz that saw Conservation officers visit 25 fishing lodges and one provincial park at the end of June.

More Mosquitos In Minnesota

Recent hot weather in Minnesota is helping to increase the mosquito population in the state.

The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says some of its traps are counting twice the typical  population normally found.

The last few months have been good for mosquitoes: moist breeding grounds plus warm temperatures.