More Positive Findings From Rainy River Resources

Rainy River Resources continues to build on the potential of its gold mine north of Barwick.

It's out with the latest findings from a drill program conducted in an area identified as the Intrepid zone.

The company says the results continue to support the belief that the zone is similar to a main deposit found in the heart of its project.

It hopes to better define the size of the zone by the middle of this year.

Go Local Cards Out March 6

Proponents of the Go Local campaign in the Fort Frances area are ready to distribute the cards required to participate in a customer rewards program.

A message on the campaign's twitter account says the cards will be out March 6th.

Users of the cards will earn points at participating businesses towards gift cards to be used at those stores.

Funding To Help Women Entrepreneurs

More assistance will be soon be available to women in business.

Thunder Bay's PARO Centre for Women's Enterprise is receiving $1.5 million dollars in funding from FedNor.

The money will help the centre offer workshops, training, coaching and mentoring activities to women entrepreneurs across northwestern Ontario.

Thin Ice Warnings

It's been a tragic winter on the ice across Minnesota.

So far five people have died after falling through the ice, with a sixth person missing and presumed drowned.

Kara Owens of the Department of Natural Resources says they're on pace to have the deadliest year on ice in six years.

The DNR notes that ice seldom freezes uniformly so while it may be a foot in one location, the ice may be only a couple inches just a few feet away.

Preliminary Operational Budget Released

The town of Fort Frances has a huge financial hole to dig out of.

A draft operating budget, released Tuesday night, has the town in a deficit position of over $2.2 million dollars.

Treasurer Laurie Witherspoon says left untouched, it would mean a 22 per cent tax increase.

CAO Mark McCaig says council and administration will be working hard over the next few weeks to bring that number down.

The deficit does includes the money the town has to rebate resulting from a lowering of Resolute Forest Products assessment, but not the town's share of costs toward the district's social services programs or its capital requirements.

Council will review the operating budget at a meeting March 4.

Water Rates Going up

Water and sewer costs in Fort Frances are going up.

Fort Frances council has approved a 4.5 per cent increase for residential users.

Mayor Roy Avis says it helps offsets a loss of revenue caused by the idling of Resolute Forest Products operations.


Avis says Resolute, one of the town's biggest water users, saw its consumption of water drop drastically.

Changes have also been made to the metered rate to the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors.

Court Case Underway

Opening arguments have been laid out in the court case regarding a stretch of shoreline property along Rainy Lake, known as the two-chain shore allowance.

Four area bands are seeking a declaration that the land was initially intended to be part of a reserve more than 125 years ago.

Lawyers representing the bands, the province, Canada, the town, and residents living in the area, also introduced several pages of documents to be used as evidence in Tuesday's opening.

The testimony in the hearing is expected to continue until late March.