Tug Of War Celebrities Expected

There some key political figures expected for this year's Pulling For Peace Tug of War between Fort Frances and International Falls.

Fort Frances councillor Rick Wiedenhoeft says the U.S. Consulate General of Canada has confirmed his attendance to both the Tug of War and Canada Day festivities.

Ontario's Lieutenant Governor David Onley has also expressed interested in visiting, but Wiedenhoeft says arrangements his visit are still to be confirmed.

Meantime, Fort Frances is calling out to residents interested in taking part in the tug of war.

Forty-four pullers, consisting of 28 men and 16 women, are needed for the "Power Pull," the event that will decide who takes home the trophy.

Call Jackie Lampi-Hughes at Energy Fitness if you are interested.

Road Work To Begin Next Month

Google Earth

Planned road improvements to a section of 2nd Street East in Fort Frances will start at the end of the month.

The project includes sewer and water upgrades and paving along 2nd between Mowat and Central Avenues, and Mowat between 2nd and 3rd Streets East.

The work was to begin in May, but Operations and Facilities Manager Doug Brown says rain during the month changed those plans.

Brown says a move to July will also minimize the impact on traffic.

The nearly $1.3 million project is scheduled to be done by September.

MNR Watching For Lightning Fires

MNR file photo

A good and bad weather forecast for the Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews.

Information Officer Debbie McLean says the rain was good but came with a lot of lightning that could translate into new fire starts.

To date over 38-hundred hectares of forest have been burnt this season with just seven of the 139 fires occurring the Rainy River district.

B.C. Artist Seeks Residential School Artifacts

An artist from British Columbia is hoping to collect 25-thousand residential schools artifacts so he can help ensure that the stories of survivors aren't lost.

Carey Newman wants to assemble the pieces onto a cedar base to create a "witness blanket.''

He says his ``must-have'' pieces include something from each of the nearly 150 residential and day schools that once existed in Canada.