Polar Plunge Registration

Early registration for this year's Polar Plunge goes this weekend.

Members of the Voyageur Lions Club will be at the Clover Valley Farmer Market in Fort Frances this Saturday to sign up potential jumpers for the January 1 event.

Pledge forms and information packages will also be availble.

Sixty-five participants raised $12-thousand for local charities in last January's event on Rainy Lake.

Teachers Request Conciliator

The union representing elementary teachers in the Rainy River district is requesting conciliation to help negotiate a contract with their employeer.

Trevor Bowles, local president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation, says the legislation forcing teachers to accept a wage freeze and benefit cuts is leaving them no choice but to take this route in its talks with the Rainy River District School Board.

Bowles says they've had one meeting with the local board to exchange proposals with more talks planned for next week.

Portage Avenue Underpass Floods

Motorist may want to use caution when using the Portage Avenue underpass this morning.

A quanity of water has pooled in the area.

Water can also been seen bubbling up from a storm drain.

The road is not closed.

Crews with the town of Fort Frances public works department are on the scene.

User Fees Going Up In Fort Frances

The cost to access a variety of programs and services offered by the town of Fort Frances will go up next year.

Mayor Roy Avis believes the one per cent hike across the board, including for fees at the Memorial Sports Centre, is fair.

The increase does not impact charges to sewer and water rates.

That will be discussed by town councillors at a later date.

No Federal Plans For McGuinty

Dalton McGuinty isn't going to run for the federal Liberal leadership after all.

Instead, the Ontario premier wants to look for challenges outside of politics altogether.

McGuinty says he decided not to run after talking to family and other supporters.

Area Liberals Not Concerned With Timing of Leadership Convention

Northwestern Ontario Liberals don't seem too concerned a leadership convention to select a replacement for outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty is just three months away.

The party's regional vice-president Anthony Leek says the January 25th date allows business at Queens Park to resume quickly.

Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle, who's giving some consideration to running, says the short time frame may favour high profile candidates.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro says the short turnaround will help to get uncertainties about the party's leadership out of the way.

Riding Liberals Meet

Kenora-Rainy River provincial liberals will sit down today in Kenora.

The association is holding its annual general meeting.

Executive elections and discussion on the upcoming leadership convention are among the highlights of the gathering.

Limited Flood Damage At Fort High

Only minimal damage is being reported following a waterline break on the weekend at Fort Frances High School.

School board officials says a coupling let go causing water to spill into a crawl space.

No other parts of the school were effected.

Crews had repairs completed in time for Monday's school opening.

New Panel Examines Health Care

A Fort Frances woman is giving our area a voice in seeking change to Ontario's health care system.

Cathy Emes is one of 32 people selected to an advisory panel created by the not-for-profit group The Change Foundation.

Emes says the group is trying to bring a variety of interests together in trying to redesign the Health Care plan for Ontario that works for both the patient and all of the providers.

The group met for the first time last month where they had a chance to express their concerns to the province's Associate Health Minister.

Resolute Confirms Shutdown

Resolute Forest Products says 345 employees will be impacted when it takes production down at its kraft and paper mills in Fort Frances later this month.

Both mills will be temporarily halted for two weeks beginning October 28th

Resolute cites market conditions as the main reason.

The company says the halting of a contract for pulp with Boise's mill in International Falls is also seen as having an impact.

Fundraiser A Success

Another huge fundraiser for the Rainy River Health Care Committee for the construction of the locum house in that community.

Over $6,500 was raised at an harvest dinner on the weekend held at the Rainy River Evangelical Covenant Church.

The event included a dessert auction.

Resolute Forest Products Halting Production

It appears Resolute Forest Products operations in Fort Frances will be temporarily curtailed.

The Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union says workers were advised Friday that both the kraft and paper mill operations will be shutdown for two weeks beginning October 28.

A lack of orders is being cited as a reason.

More Gold Found

Rainy River Resources says it's made a significant discovery of new gold and silver deposits at its project north of Barwick.

The company says the deposits were found during drilling of an area it's calling the Intrepid Zone, located about one kilometre east of where it proposes an open pit mine.

The company plans to focus much of its exploration efforts the remainder of the year in that area.

NDP Opposing Budget Bill

New Democrats won't be supporting the massive federal budget bill introduced last week.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River's John Rafferty says the Harper government is once again contradicting itself by introducing a bill that includes changes to several act that should be dealt separately.

Rafferty expects limited debate on the bill as the Conservatives push for implementation as quickly as possible.

Leadership Convention Set

The Ontario Liberal party has set a date for its leadership convention to replace outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty.

It will be January 25th.

McGuinty has said his successor will decide when to recall the legislature, which he prorogued when he announced his resignation last Monday.

The opposition accuses McGuinty of trying to avoid more bad publicity.

Former Lieutenant-Governor Lies In State

Former Ontario lieutenant-governor Lincoln Alexander's body is now lying in state at Queen's Park.

Tonight, Alexander's body will be returned to Hamilton, where he'll lie in repose at city hall until a state funeral on Friday.

Alexander was Canada's first black member of Parliament, first black cabinet minister, and he served as Ontario's lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1991.

Help Line Available To Aboriginal Women

The Ontario Native Women's Association is helping remote first nation communities feel more connected to large urban centres.

Coordinator Robin Haliuk says they've opened a new help line called Talk 4 Healing.

It's will be a 24-hour, 7-day a week service to assist aboriginal women in access services through referrals, telephone counselling or just having a friendly voice at the other end of the line.

Haliuk says often first nation women can feel isolated and the help line can offer assistance.

Flu Shots Offered This Week

The Northwestern Health Unit will begin offering flu shots to area residents later this week.

Health Unit's Donna Stanley encourages everyone to attend one of their clinics.

Clinics in Atikokan, Rainy River and Fort Frances begin Thursday.

Times and dates of all clinics can be found by click this link to the Northwestern Health Unit's website.

Walks Earns Dollars for Alzheimers Society

More than 28-hundred dollars was raised in the annual Alzheimer's Walk for Memories held Saturday in Fort Frances.

A total of 21 people took part.

Local Anti-Bullying Efforts Hit National Stage

Local efforts to combat bullying are reaching a national stage.

A video segment, featuring Fort Frances High School student Dexter Fichuk shot back in September, was played before 20-thousand young people attending We Day festivities in Vancouver last Thursday.

Australian pop singer Cody Simpson introduced the feature.

The feature will be played at upcoming We Day events elsewhere in Canada and show on MuchMusic and CTV next month.

Baudette Incident Identified In Boy Scout Documents

Details of an alleged incident in Baudette involving a scout leader from International Falls is among thousands of pages of documents released by the Boy Scouts of America.

They show that for decades, scoutmasters and others accused of molesting children were shielded from prosecution -- by authorities who said they wanted to protect the image of Scouting.

The documents were ordered released by the Oregon Supreme Court.

The incident in Baudette occurred in 1978.

Kraft Mill Shutdown?

Resolute Forest Products isn't commenting on whether there will be a pending shut down of the kraft mill in Fort Frances.

A number of callers to CFOB-News claim the mill will be closed for an undetermined length of time later this month.

Boise in International Falls confirms a contract for pulp it's had with the Fort Frances mill has been stopped and is now receiving material from one of its mills in Washington State.

In a statement to CFOB-News, a Resolute spokesperson says they won't respond to speculation about the Fort mill.

More Causeway Work Announced

Details of the next section of work on the Noden Causeway, east of Fort Frances, has been announced.

The province has awarded contacts to George Armstrong Limited of Fort Frances and Toronto Zenith Contracting.

The work includes the installation of new concrete deck components at the east low level and west low level structures.

Construction will be done by 2014.

Business Women's Network Makes Changes

Some changes for the Fort Frances Business Women's Network.

Chair Inga Friesen says they're reaching out to other sectors as a way of expanding their membership.

Friesen says after being focused on business owners, they're now inviting women who operate a home-based business and professional women to the group.

Friesen says they're also considering a name change, becoming the Professional Women's Network.

MINNDOT Looking At Rumble Strips

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is giving some consideration to International Falls request for rumble strips down sections of some highways in their area.

Councillor Paul Eklund says MinnDOT has informed the city it's actually looking at where such safety features can be placed.

The city says the strips may help keep drivers alert and reduce head-on car crashes.

It made the request after two local residents were killed in a head on collision south of International Falls on Highway 53 last month.

Teachers Asked To Limit Report Card Comments

Parents shouldn't expect to see lots of feedback in the next batch of report cards for their children.

Ontario's Elementary Teacher Federation is telling its members to keep their report card comments short.

It's the latest move in the union's protest over the controversial law that freezes teachers wages, cuts benefits and stop strikes.

A source says elementary teachers have been advised to write only the bare minimum on upcoming report cards, such as a single sentence rather than a paragraph.

Crash Victims Identified

Four men aboard a plane that crashed Tuesday night near Pickle Lake have been identified as being from Quebec.

Provincial Police say 57-year-old Michel Nadeau, 54-year-old Bernard Mailloux and 27-year-old Yanick Fournier were killed after their Lake 250 aircraft went down in a wooded area while trying to land.

A fourth passenger remains in a Winnipeg hospital in stable condition.

Gravelle Eyes Liberal Leadership

A northwestern Ontario MPP is giving some consideration to running for leader of the Ontario Liberal party.

Thunder Bay's Michael Gravelle, who's now Natural Resources Minister, says he wants to see who else enters the race before making a firm commitment.

Gravelle says if no candidate show any passion for the north, he will consider his options.

Meantime, party officials will meet this weekend to decide when they can hold a leadership convention to replace Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The party's rules allow six months to hold a convention, but sources say the executive invoked what's known as an "electoral urgency'' clause to shorten that time frame.

Hats Off To Seniors

It will be "Hats Off To Seniors" next month.

The group, Seniors and Law Enforcement Together will host an event to celebrate seniors living in the Rainy River district.

Spokesperson Nell Laur says everyone is being invited to the November 16th event.

The group has also established a Making A Difference award to recognize individuals.

It's accepting nominations which can be found by click the link to SALT's website.

Water Route Project Gets Funding

More funding for the Path of the Paddle project.

It's a proposed water route linking Kenora, Atikokan and Thunder Bay.

Project manager Vicki Kurz says there's still a lot of work yet before the route is fulling in place.

The 68-thousand dollars from the province will allow the planning group carry out its next round of work.

Hydro Charges Drop Slightly

Starting next month, most electricity prices in the province will drop slightly for the winter months -- except for the highest demand hours.

The Ontario Energy Board says the changes to the off-peak and mid-peak prices means most consumers using the so-called smart meters will see a decrease of just over a dollar on the electricity line of their hydro bill.

Court Hearing On Catholic Education Continues

A hearing regarding the funding of Catholic schools in Ontario continues in Toronto today.

A Toronto woman is asking Ontario's Superior Court to order the government to stop funding Catholic schools because as a taxpayer who doesn't share the church's beliefs.

Ontario government lawyers say because the funding was guaranteed in 1867 in the constitution, it is not subject to charter challenges.

Parade of Lights Coming Soon

There's nine more weeks until Christmas and that means the annual Parade of Lights in Fort Frances is just around the corner.

Causeway Insurance is once again the key organizer and spokesperson Robin Payeur says this year's theme will be "A Christmas Story."

Those wanting to take part or help out for the November 24th event can contact Causeway Insurance or the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce.

Plane Crash Kills Three

Three people are dead and another person is in hospital following a plane crash near Pickle Lake.

Peter Hildebrand of the Transportation Safety Board says it happened Tuesday night as the plane was making a landing at the community's airport.

Hildebrand says the plane went down in a heavily wooded area about 7:30 p.m., but the wreckage wasn't found until 3 a.m. the next morning.

No names has yet been released.

Woman Seeking Money From NWO residents In Winnipeg

Shoppers heading to Winnipeg are being warned of a scam that has a connection to the Rainy River district.

Dryden Police say a woman from Dryden was approached recently at the Polo Park Mall by a woman who claimed to be from Devlin and needing money.

The reasons for the money was not disclosed.

MPP Wants Queen's Park Back In Session

The MPP for Kenora-Rainy River wants her constituents to help get Queen's Park back in business.

Sarah Campbell calls Premier Dalton McGuinty's decision to prorogue the legislature because he's stepping down a "political lock-out."

Campbell is asking residents to write or call the Premier to get him to reconsider his decision to halt business at the legislature.

Meantime, Liberal supporters are still in shock by their leader's sudden resignation.

Vice-president of the party's northern region, Anthony Leek says he found out about the resignation on-line.

Economic Development High On The Candidates Agenda

Economic development top of mind for candidates attending a forum in International Falls.

Falls mayoral candidate Bob Anderson says it starts with creating a climate that helps foster job grown among existing entrepreneurs and businesses.

Councillor Paul Eklund, who's also running for mayor, says the city needs to continue investing in projects as it's now doing.

Candidates running in races in Ranier, Koochiching County and School Board District 361 also participated in the forum held at Rainy River Community College.

Park Clarifies Position On Cell Tower

Voyageurs National Park and its Park Association are clarifying statements made in a letter over AT&T plans to install a cellphone tower near the park.

The Koochiching County Board, which gave approval to the tower in August, took the letter as a threat.

The Association's Jody Tableporter says that wasn't the intent.

She says they support the County decision to limit the height of the tower to 199 feet thus minimizing any impact to the park.

The AT&T is building the tower with the ability to expand higher.

Area CEP Reps Support Union Merger

Northern Ontario members of the Communication Energy and Paperworkers Union are throwing their support being a merger with the Canadian Autoworkers.

CEP gave its blessing at its conference earlier this week.

Local rep Steven Boon believes it will provide strength to the local membership.

Boon says it will still be at least six to 12 month before all the work needed on the new structure is complete.

Catholic Education Funding Challenge

The province is trying to shut down a constitutional challenge to its funding of Catholic schools.

A Toronto woman is arguing in court that funding Catholic school violates the charter and should be stopped.

Men Without Hats Cancels Show

A scheduled performance of the 80's band Men Without Hats in Fort Frances has been cancelled.

The November 2 show at Club 88 is one of several across western Canada the Canadian group has cancelled.

The band cites unforeseen circumstances as the reason.

Foundation Fundraiser Hailed A Success

Riverside Foundation for Health Care's recent fundraiser, "An Evening in Paris," is being hailed a huge success.

Last Saturday's event raised more than $30-thousand for the new digital mammography unit campaign.

Over 200 people attended the sold out event.

Border Numbers Still Up

New numbers from the Fort Frances border.

The Canada Border Services Agency says more than 100-thousand travellers in over 48-thousand vehicles crossed into Canada at Fort Frances in August.

That's a 3.6 per cent increase in the number of travellers and 4.7 per cent increase in vehicles compared to August of last year.

McGuinty Steps Down

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he's stepping down as Liberal leader and is also adjourning the legislature to try and negotiate with the opposition parties.

 Beaten down by a series of scandals involving air ambulances and hundreds of millions of dollars spent to cancel two gas plants, McGuinty decided he's had enough.

He made the surprise announcements to an emergency meeting of the Liberal caucus last night after the
government was hit with a second contempt motion over the cancelled power plants.

Meantime, the Opposition leaders are paying tribute to the Premier for his years of public service.

But P.C. leader Tim Hudak and the NDP's Andrea Horwath are urging McGuinty to reconsider his decision to prorogue the legislature.

Both leaders say there is important work to be done and there's no reason to stop the business in the house.

Candidates Debate

Candidates in four races within Koochiching County will outline their platforms to voters tonight.

Faye Whitbeck of the International Falls Chamber of Commerce says they'll face questions in a forum at Rainy River Community College being put together by the College's Student Senate and students at Falls High School.

Candidates seeking election in International Falls, Rainer, Koochiching County and School District 361 are taking part.

The event begins at 6 p.m.

New State Senator Visits

Koochiching County's new State senator says he's ready to represent the area in the Minnesota legislature.

The area fell within Tom Baak's jurisdiction following a rewrite of the legislative districts earlier this year.

He says it was something he and other Democrats would happen when the courts did its review of the boundaries.

Baak was in the area's to meet with area municipal and school board officials.

Local Government Week

This is local government week and members of Fort Frances council are out in the community promoting how residents can get involved.

C.A.O. Mark McCaig encourages residents to take an active role.

The town is also soliciting for volunteers to sit on future committees.

Area Man Faces Trafficking Charges

A man from Couchiching First Nation is facing numerous drug charges.

The 28-year-old was arrested last Thursday after officers with the OPP's Fort Frances Community Drug Action Team noticed a man retrieving a package containing 230 tablets of hydromorphone from a postal  box.

Value of the drugs is estimated at 20-thousand dollars.

The man will appear in Fort Frances court Friday.

Area Lodge Doubling As Recording Studio

Atikokan Blue Artist Sunday Wilde has started work on her new album.

She's using Branch's Seine River Lodge as a recording studio this week.

Wilde is joined by musicians from across Canada for the recording of her fourth album.

She hopes to have the new CD released by December.

New Children Centre Proceeds

Weechi-it-te-win Family Services is starting construction of a new children's centre.

The Abinoojii Akiin Centre is to be located property on McTavish Road  in LaVallee township.

The Centre will host a variety of health programs for aboriginal children and a 10-bed treatment and healing facility for teens experiencing addictions and behavioural difficulties.

Weechi-it-te-win hopes to have the centre operational by next summer.

Locum Home Fundraising Passes Halfway Mark

Fund raising for the Rainy River locum home has now surpassed the $165-thousand mark.

That's about half of what's needed for the house that will serve as a residence for doctors who provide temporary medical coverage at Rainy River Health Centre and it's emergency department.

The next fundraising event happens this Sunday - a harvest supper at Rainy River Evangelical Covenant Church.

Construction of the home is now into it's sixth week with the roof of the home now complete.