More Pullers Needed

Fort Frances is feeling a little "man" power shortage.

The Pulling For Peace tug of war with International Falls takes place July 2.

Fort town councillor Rick Wiedenhoeft says ten strong men are still needed to fill out the Canadian side's roster in the main power pull event.

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

Local Teacher Talks To Resume

With acceptance of the provincial deal, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is free to resume negotiations at the local level.

Chair of the Rainy River District School Board Mike Lewis expects those talks to take place in the very near future.

Lewis says discussions will focus solely on local issues as the provincial agreement can't be changed.

Last week, the board ratified an agreement with its high school teachers after their union accepted the province's deal in April.

Decision Held Over

An OPP officer in Kenora will find out next month whether he will have to stand trial on a charge of dangerous driving causing death.

A three day preliminary hearing wrapped up last week in Kenora for Constable Roy Bender.

He was charged by the Ontario Special Investigations Unit last fall in the death of 42 year old Gloria Assin.

The Grassy Narrows resident was riding in the back of an OPP cruiser when
it was involved in an accident with a transport.

The judge in the case to decide if the matter should go to trial July 12th. 

Area Aboriginal Leaders Named To Provincial Panel

A top northwestern Ontario aboriginal leader will co-chair a panel that will oversee tackling the crisis facing First Nations in Ontario's justice and jury system.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief Alvin Fiddler hopes his first hand experience will be able to contribute significantly to the discussion.

Fiddler will head the committee along with Irwin Glasberg, an assistant deputy minister.

Relay Fort Frances Nets Over $82,000

A huge success for Relay for Life in Fort Frances.

Seventeen teams involved in the 12 hour event combined to raise $82,900 with more money yet to come in  support of the Canadian Cancer Society.

The Society's Maria Cabral says some of that money will stay with Riverside Health Care in a partnership with CCS.

Jon Glueheisen of Snow White and the Survivors, the top fundraising team, says it's the cause that drives them.



A Relay for Life event also took place in Rainy River, but so far no fundraising total has yet been passed to CFOB-News.

Teachers Accept New Deal

Members of Ontario's largest public school teachers union have ratified a new deal with the province following months of labour strife.

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario says 91 per cent of its members who voted accepted the deal.

The agreement freezes wages, but guarantees a two per cent raise starting next year.

Former Education Minister Steps Down

Former Ontario education minister Laurel Broten, who was at the centre of the bitter battle with teachers over a wage-freeze legislation, is leaving provincial politics.

Broten says she`s told Premier Kathleen Wynne she`ll be stepping July 2nd.

She currently holds the intergovernmental affairs portfolio.

Moffat Funding Presented Tonight

File photo

Several groups in Fort Frances are benefiting from funding from the Moffat Foundation.

A total of $37,500 will be handed out at tonight's meeting of council.

A large chunk, $9,800, will be given to the Sunny Cove Camp Advisory Committee to upgrade appliances and playground equipment at the town owned park.

New Strategic Plan In Place

The Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board has a new strategic plan in place.

It's a first for the board.

Chief Administrative Officer Dan McCormick says it will help the board of directors with its decision making.

The plan covers a five-year period that will be reviewed on an annual basis.

More Republican Candidates In Race For Governor

Former House Speaker Kurt Zellers is joining the race for governor in Minnesota.

Zellers kicked off his campaign yesterday, saying he would bring a middle-class family man's sensibility to the job.

Businessman Scott Honour and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson are also running with  State Senator Dave Thompson planning to file as a candidate today.

Sunset To Be Celebrated

An event to celebrate the sunset in the Borderland is being set up in Rainer.

Rainer-Rainy Lake Sunset will take place every weekend with the aim of drawing in vendors, entertainers and people to enjoy the sunset.

Organizer Mary Ann Kasich says she got the idea from similar gatherings in Key West, Florida.

The first event will take place this Friday and Saturday at Spruce Street Dock

OPP Ask Boaters To Wear Life Jackets

A pair of recent drownings in the Rainy River district have prompted OPP to issue an advisory about the importance of wearing a life jacket.

Constable Jim Davis says while the law only requires life jackets to be readily accessible to each person on aboard a vessel, they should take the step to wear it.

Davis says in the recent drownings, victims were either not wearing a life jacket or wearing it incorrectly.


The fine for not having a life jacket or a personal flotation device is $200.

Fort Business To Stop Selling Gas

There will be one less location to get gasoline in Fort Frances  in the near future.

Rainy Lake Sports intends to remove its pumps in early July.

Owner Mark Fontana says new costly rules pertaining mostly to underground gasoline tanks are to blame.

Fontana says he will look at installing above-ground tanks and resume selling gas once their contract with their existing supplier ends in January.

Hospital Negotiations Continue In International Falls

Rainy Lake Medical Center has given Essentia Health East a year's notice of its intent to terminate existing professional and management services agreements between the organizations.

Duluth-based Essentia is interested in taking over full control of the International Falls hospital.

Hospital officials says the notice is intended so negotiations can progress and does not impact operations or hospital care.

Essentia presented its proposal in April.

Rainy Lake has since presented a counter proposal.

Relays Set To Go

Relays for Life are set to go in Rainy River and Fort Frances tonight.

Twenty teams in Fort Frances will walk the track at Fort Frances High School for 12 hours in support of the Canadian Cancer Society.

Chair Jennifer Anderson says the public is invited to participate.

This year's theme is around the game Monopoly.

The event begins with cancer survivors gathering for a dinner at 4:30 p.m.

Opening ceremonies will take place at 6:30 p.m. before the open lap at 7 p.m.



Rainy River's Relay For Life is at Riverview School.

It begins with a survivors' dinner at 5 p.m. before the ten teams involved take to the track at 7 p.m..

Committee member Georgia Kreger says this theme is "Decades of Hope" with team dressing up to celebrate their favourite decade of time.

The fundraising goal has been set at $55-thousand.

Luminary ceremonies are planned at both events at around 10 p.m.

Atikokan High School Graduation

The final high school graduation in the Rainy River district takes place today in Atikokan.

Fifty graduating students will received their diplomas at a ceremony scheduled for Grayson Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Kayla Goranson will make the valedictorian address.

Aboriginal Day Celebrated

This is National Aboriginal Day in Canada and First Nations across northwestern Ontario will be recognizing the day.

Couchiching First Nation stages its annual pow wow.

A princess and brave pageant is also scheduled.

University Pub To Offer Pregnancy Tests

A student pub at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay will be offering pregnancy tests in its bathroom dispensers.

Healthy Brains for Children Thunder Bay is behind the initiative.

Spokesperson Marilyn Leiterman says they hope the move will help prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

The tests will costs 3 dollars and be in place before this September.

Coventry Resumes Drilling

Conventry Resources has resumed drilling in the Nestor Falls area.

The mining company is focusing on its West Cedartree Gold project, an area of a much large exploration project near Cameron Lake.

The work will be to determine the extent of potential mineral deposits.

Science North Celebrates

Science North is celebrating its three year anniversary in northwestern Ontario.

Spokesperson Emily Kerton says it means a lot for them to be able to reach out to the small communities.

Science North will bring its annual science summer camps to Atikokan next week and to Fort Frances in early July.

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.

New Fires In Northwestern Ontario

Five new forest fires have sparked in northwestern Ontario.

None are burning in the Rainy River district.

Some rain is in the forecast, but the Ministry of Natural Resources says the fire hazard remains moderate to high.

New Catholic Priest For Fort Frances

The new priest for St. Mary's Church in Fort Frances is looking forward to coming home.

Father Victor Degagne will take over in August.

Father Victor says he's excited about coming back to where he grew up.

He's been the associate pastor at St. Dominic Church in Thunder Bay for the past three years.

Rainy River H.S. Graduation

The first of three high school graduations in the Rainy River district goes today.

Twenty-seven graduates of Rainy River High School will receive diplomas during a ceremony at the High School at 7:30 p.m.

Jessica Haw and Emily Whetzel will deliver the valedictorian address.

New Gold Begins Take-Over Proceedings

New Gold has started formal proceedings in its take-over bid of Rainy River Resources and its signature gold project north of Barwick.

The Vancouver-based mining company is offering $3.83 cents a share for Rainy River with the deal valued at about $310-million in total.

Rainy River shareholders can also opt to take a half a share in New Gold for each share they now own.

Rainy River's board of directors has already supported the offer which closes July 24.

No Area Roads Make List

No roads in northwestern Ontario have been identified as some of the worst in Ontario.

CAA has released its annual list of the Top 10 Worst Roads.

All are located in southern Ontario.

The list is compiled based on nominations from the public.

Atikokan Hunter Fined

An Atikokan man has been ordered to pay $1,700 for hunting a deer illegally.

Michael Fogg was also banned from hunting in Ontario for a year after pleading to several charges in court recently.

He was charged in December after Ministry of Natural Resource conservation officers determined he had shot a deer without a license and using a .22 calibre rifle

College Graduation Held In Fort Frances

A day of celebration for Confederation College and students at its Rainy River district campus in Fort Frances.

Two separate ceremonies were held Monday for graduating students, including one for 16 who earned high school diplomas through the School within a college program

President Jim Madder says the dual credit program proved very successful.

Another 51 students enrolled in college programs received diplomas or certificates during a second ceremony at the Townshend Theatre.

International Falls Bicycles

International Falls is being viewed as a bike-able.

City officials participated last week in a workshop and a bike ride aimed at improving the ability to bicycle around the city.

Event organizer Nancy Lee says the group identified the community does well in promoting cycling and police do a good job enforcing the rules.
community.

Lee says the group did identify a need for some improvements along designated routes.

Garden Could Become Permanent

The community garden in Fort Frances could become a permanent fixture.

Organizers are asking the town to rezone the property off Lillie Avenue that would make the garden  permanent.

The group had been given temporary approval to use the area for the past three years.

A public meeting on the rezoning will take place July 8th.

Docs Want Liquor Sales Profits Directed To Helping Those With Alcoholism

The province's doctors wants liquor sale profits pumped back into alcohol harm reduction programs.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced record sales yesterday, with $1.7 billion dollars going into the province's coffers before taxes.

Ontario Medical Association president Doctor Scott Wooder says there should be programs targeted to both adults and youth.

Tories Launch TV Ads

The Progressive Conservatives have launched T-V ads linking Premier Kathleen Wynne with the costly cancellation of gas plants and equating her to Dalton McGuinty.

With three provincial byelections to be called this summer, the Tories say voters need to know Wynne is directly tied to the $585-million decisions.

BizKids Returns

Bizkids is coming back to Fort Frances this summer.

It's promoted by the Northwest Business Centre.

It promotes entrepreneurship to young campers aged 9 to 12 through a variety of events including visits to local businesses and a chance to develop their own products they'll sell at Market Thursdays.

Youth Business Coordinator Cameron Chambers says the camp will run for a week in late August.

The camp was first introduced to the Fort Frances area last year and was met with tremendous success.

New Website For Riverside

Riverside Health Care Facilities has given its website a makeover.

Spokesperson Nicke Baird says the upgrades to www.riversidehealthcare.ca improves access by computer users to hospital and health information.

The new website includes a "what’s new” section, the ability to donate to the Riverside Foundation for Health Care and a physician recruitment section.

Hydro Outage Planned

A lengthy hydro outage in the Rainy River district is planned by Hydro One.

It will occur Sunday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Hydro One customers  between Fort Frances to Rainy River will be impacted.

The town of Fort Frances is not.

Hydro One says the outage is needed so crews can perform maintenance and equipment upgrades.

First Nation Community Taking On Solar Farms

Three large solar farms planned for the Rainy River district are being taken over by Rainy River First Nations.

The combined 25 megawatt projects in the Pinewood area were started by Ontario Solar P.V. Fields

Chief Jim Leonard says the band pursued a purchase agreement after being unable to get approval for a project of their own.

Leonard says all of the permitting and financing should be in place by the fall allowing construction to begin next summer.

As many as four hundred jobs are expected to be created by the work.

Huffman Prepares To Go Down

The demolition of the former Huffman School in Fort Frances is expected to begin today.

It's removal is to make way for a new 16-lot housing subdivision.

The elementary school opened in 1955 and closed in 2010 with the construction of the new Robert Moore School and subsequently purchased by the town of Fort Frances..

College Graduations Today

Confederation College recognizes its graduates in the Rainy River district today.

About 50 students ,who completed programs, will be awarded certificates or diplomas at a ceremony at the Townshend Theatre, beginning at 5 p.m. tonight.

This afternoon, students participating in the School Within A College initiative will be recognized.

The dual credit program allowed students to earn credits to finish high school and toward a College program.

Sewer Pipes Being Examined

The sewer pipes in Fort Frances are getting a look over beginning today.

Roto-Rooter has been hired to clean and making recordings of the pipe over the next three years to help identify defects.

As the air pressure may push water up, residents are being asked to keep the seats on toilets down, insert plugs in drains not in use and cover all basement floor drains as a precaution.

If there's an odour, it's suggested to pour water down drains and open windows to alleviate the smell

Rule Change Made In Dragon Boat Festival

Organizers of the upcoming Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Festival wants to see more teams.

To help, they've reduced the requirement for females on a team from eight to five.

Registration to enter is made by contacting NCDS

Quest For The Best Seeking Talent

Contestants are now being sought for Quest for the Best.

The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce's annual singing competition will again be a signature event at the upcoming Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championships.

Manager Anneley Armstrong says this year's performers will be judged by former winner Brittany Hayes and Atikokan blues singer Sunday Wilde.

Thirty-six hundred dollars in prizes are up for grabs.

Call the chamber office or visit its website to register.