Another Forest Fire in Rainy River District

Yet another forest fire in the Rainy River district.

Ministry of Natural Resources FireRangers, training near Hope Lake, in the area of Northwest Bay First Nation, identified smoke nearby Friday.

The fire burned 0.2 of a hectare.

It the third first in the district this season.

Osisko Focused on E.I.A.

Focus for Osisko Mining at its Hammond Reef gold project near Atikokan is on an environment impact assessment.

It's been submitted to both the federal and provincial governments for their input.

President Sean Roosen expects a final report to come back some time late this year or early next.

Roosen says about 500 comments were received, but none the company couldn't address.

Meantime, the company will spend just $7-million dollars on the project this year.

Medical Students Happy In Fort Frances

Fort Frances is benefiting from the presence of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

The school's board of directors was in the community last week for its monthly meeting.

Dean Dr. Roger Strasser says Fort Frances is getting positive reviews from students who are doing part of their studies here.

Strasser says that can help in attracting the same students back to the community when they complete their studies.

Strasser says the community may soon see a graduate in the near future here to set up a practice.

Jail Or Bail Success

Voyageur Lions Club's first ever Jail or Bail is being called a huge success.

Twenty-one celebrity criminals help raised nearly $8,500 with more pledges yet to come in.

President Bill Michl says few came in with the minimum and those that did were happy to sit in jail and raise the bail they needed to get out of jail.

The club also attracted four new members as a result of the event.

It's now planning to make it an annual one.

Cold April

April is going down as one of the coldest months in the Fort Frances area in several years.

Environment Canada's Peter Kimbell says temperatures were about four degrees lower than normal.

Just 36 millimeters of precipitation fell during the month with most of any big storms passing by with little impact here.

Cold Fishing Opener

It was a cold fishing opener in Minnesota.

Anglers flocking to lake's in northern Minnesota were greeted by mostly icy conditions.

Governor Mark Dayton kicked things off Saturday by catching and releasing a walleye near Park Rapids.