No Furniture Please

The Salvation Army in Fort Frances wants people to stop bringing it furniture.

It says it doesn't have the space for such donations.

Lieutenant Dennis Maybury says it's an ongoing problem and encourages the public to respect its request.

Maybury admits there's a need to handle such donations and would be willing to work with another group on how furniture donations could be collected.

MP Welcomes Early Break

Thunder Bay Rainy River MP John Rafferty is welcoming the summer break.

MPs adjourned Parliament Tuesday night.

Rafferty says it was good news for Conservative MPs who were dogged by spending scandals.

Rafferty say he'll use his summer break to go door to door and listen to his constituents concerns.

Air Gun Used At Dryden school

No one was injured after a student brought an air-soft gun to a Dryden elementary school and started shooting in the school yard.

A few students were hit by small plastic bb's.

School board officials say staff were not aware the student had the air gun and confiscated it immediately.

According to a RCMP fact sheet,the type of gun the student had is classified as a child's toy and isn't powerful enough to cause injuries.

Tuition Fee At Minnesota Universities And Colleges

The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has approved a budget that freezes tuition.

The freezes includes tuition paid by students attending Rainy River Community College in International Falls.

MnSCU is using a state funding boost to hold next year's tuition to this year's rate.

FFHS Graduation Tonight

Graduation ceremonies for students at Fort Frances High School takes place tonight.

Approximately 175 students will received their diplomas during a ceremony at the Memorial Sports Centre beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Mallory Duffy is this year's valedictorian.

Traffic Detour Tomorrow

A traffic detour for motorists traveling in the Littlefork area.

Beginning tomorrow, a section of Highway 65 near Littlefork will be closed until August 9 so work crews can replace four bridges with box-culverts.

Traffic will be rerouted to Koochiching County Road 8 during the closure.

Relays Getting Ready

Preparations are in the final stages for two fundraisers for the Canadian Cancer Society, running simultaneously this weekend.

Relays for Life go Friday in Rainy River and Fort Frances.

Committee member with the Fort Frances event Christine Denby says luminaries lit at night to honour those stricken with cancer and survivors can still be purchased.

The $5.00 bags are still on sale at Pharmasave, Fort Frances Clinic Dispensary, Gillon's Insurance, RBC, LaVerendrye Hospital tuck shop and on site the day of the Relay.


Luminaries are also being sold at the Post office in Rainy River for the event in Rainy River.

Meantime organizers of the Rainy River event will get a jump on set up today.

The event is taking place at Riverview School.

Committee member Georgia Kreger says volunteers will help get the track ready.

Ten teams have registered for this year's 12 hour event.

New Members to RRFDC

A new face to the Rainy River District Future Development Corporation Board.

Anne Renaud was elected to the board at the Corporation's annual meeting in Rainy River Tuesday.

She's the manager of Confederation College's Rainy River District campus in Fort Frances.

Two current board members, Martin Dufresne of Rainy River and Ken McKinnon of LaVallee township, had their appointments renewed.

The full board will meet in July.

Leiws Responds To Policing Costs Concerns

The Commissioner of the OPP is defending the cost of his police service.

Chris Lewis acknowledges the concerns of municipalities, but insists the OPP remain one of the lowest cost police services in Ontario.

Lewis adds an
8.5 per cent wage increase expected for officers next year comes after a two year wage freeze, something he says some other forces did not take.


Fort Frances council recently drafted a resolution calling on the province for help to small communities struggling to cover rising policing costs.

Marketing I. Falls Water Being Explored

International Falls wants to explore the potential of marketing its drinking water.

Councillor Gail Rogenrud says with good showings at recently taste-testing competitions, the city will seek out funding to determine how they might be able to capitalize on that success.

International Falls recently finished in a tie for second at a national event, after taking top honours in Minnesota earlier this year.

Sewer Project Deemed A Priority

Koochiching County is putting forward a sewer project as a priority in hopes of securing funding through a State bonding bill next year.

Commissioner Wade Pavleck says completing the Island View sewer project provides the best benefits to the County.

The nearly $8-million project narrowly missed out getting on this year's bonding bill.