Assault Police Incident

An area man remains in custody following an incident in Fort Frances on the weekend.

OPP were called to a downtown establishment Sunday where they learned an intoxicated man involved in a dispute became confrontational when asked to leave.

Police later located the man and placed him under arrest, at which time he became confrontational with police.

The 36-year-old man from Seine River now faces charges of assaulting police and trespassing.

School Bus Accident

A 76-year old man has been charged following an accident yesterday afternoon involving a school bus in Fort Frances.

O-P-P say the driver of a pick-up truck ran a stop sign at the intersection of Minnie Avenue and Second Street East and was struck by the bus that was loaded with children at the time.

None of the children on board, nor the drivers of the two vehicles were injured.

There was no damage to the bus, and only minor damage to the truck.

Young Mayors Speak Out

Young mayor hopefuls had their say at Fort Frances town council last night.

The winners of a Local Government Week essay contest sponsored by the town spoke on what they would do if they were mayor.

St. Francis School Grade 5 student Emma Noga said the town's finances would be focus of her attention.

"When we talk about money, I would make wise choices and spent it on things we need like schools and orphanages, " said Emma. "Also sometimes on parks and playgrounds."

Emma said she'd also promote more environmental-friendly buildings and transportation.

Robert Moore School Grade 5 student Maddison Krikke said one of her goals would be to restore Pither's Point Park.

"I would bring the lifeguards back to work at the beach in the summer," said Maddison. "I clean it up and get people to help because I think they would like it. There's a hotel there now. All that's needed is a beautiful beach like it was before."

Maddison also proposed developing a small zoo and making the community more environmentally friendly.

HST Protest Continues

The premier says he looks forward to seeing the Tories in the legislature today so they can continue their debate over the controversial HST.

Monday, the Progressive Conservatives stormed out of the legislature in a protest over the merged tax after their Leader Tim Hudak tried to unsuccessfully get the premier to hold public hearings on the legislation.

The New Democrats say the Tories should do more than walk out of question period to protest the harmonized sales tax.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the Conservatives should convince their federal cousins in Ottawa to abandon the plan to harmonize sales taxes.

Student Drug and Alcohol Use Studied

Northern Ontario students use cannabis and alcohol more than their provincial counterparts.
That according to the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.

Dr. Robert Mann says students in the region are binge drinking more than the rest of Ontario as well.

"In the north about 32-per cent of students in the grades 7 to 12 reported at least one binge drinking in the past month compared to about 25-per cent in the province." says Dr. Mann.

The study also found 64-per cent of northern students to drink alcohol while 32-per cent used marijuana.

Human Remains Investigated

A post-mortem is to be conducted in Toronto today as an investigation continues into the discovery of human remains in northwestern Ontario.

A hunter came across the remains near Pickle Lake and investigators are trying to determine the person's identity and the cause of death.

Police say there is no evidence at the scene to suggest there was foul play.

Off-Road Vehicle Warnings

Recent complaints about the use of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes within the town of Fort Frances has prompted a warning to users from the OPP.

Constable Anne McCoy says the vehicles are considered for recreational use and not licenced for operation on municipal streets.

"It's a municipal by-law, but there are also provincial regulations under the off-road motor vehicle act," says McCoy, "that regulate where you can ride. The fact that you need to be licensed if your off your personal property. People need to be aware of these legalities."

McCoy says most of the complaints received were about young people riding dirt bikes in the prohibited areas around Fourth Street and near the C-N tracks.

Visitor Restrictions Lifted

Visitor restrictions at all of Riverside Health Care Facilities have been lifted.

The restrictions were put in place at the end of October at hospitals in Emo, Rainy River and Fort Frances as well as Rainycrest in response to the outbreak of the H1N1 flu.

They included children under the age of 18 being prohibited from visiting.

Officials say the number of people with the virus seeking care has eased, allowed them to remove the restrictions.

Visitor Restrictions Lifted

Visitor restrictions at all of Riverside Health Care Facilities have been lifted.

The restrictions were put in place at the end of October at hospitals in Emo, Rainy River and Fort Frances as well as Rainycrest in response to the outbreak of the H1N1 flu.

They included children under the age of 18 being prohibited from visiting.

Officials say the number of people with the virus seeking care has eased and allowed them to remove the restrictions.

Waterfront Projects Nears End

Work on the Fort Frances waterfront landmarks is expected to come to an end this week.

Community Services Manager George Bell says a final site meeting Friday with the contractor responsible for relocating the tugboat Hallet and former fire tower from Pither's Point Park will bring the project to a close.

Bell says costs fell within the budget of almost $1.1 million.

Councillor's Request Denied

Fort Frances councillor Ken Perry was denied by his fellow councillors last night a request for more time in moving a construction trailer from his property.

Perry had sought permission to keep the trailer until next May.

But Chief Building Official Rick Hallam told council that the councillor had been given plenty of opportunity to comply with municipal by-laws in removing the trailer.

"We've had many verbal discussions with respect to this issue," said Hallam. "It finally got to the point that we had to act through the proper challenges being the official the letter to remove the trailer."

Perry had cited work and personal reasons for being unable to meet a most recent removal date of September 15.

Local Sports for November 23

Fort Frances Lakers dropped a pair of games in Thunder Bay on the weekend to the league leading Fort William North Stars.

Saturday, the Lakers were trounced 11-2.

Mike Jourdain and Henry Gutierrrez scored for the Lakers who were outshot 56-17.

Tyler Stevenson with a pair and Colton Kennedy scored in a 5-3 loss to the Stars Friday.

The Lakers are home to the Wisconsin Mustangs tomorrow.


Fort Frances Muskies girls hockey team captured silver at the Miller Aces Hockey Tournament in Altona, Manitoba.

Muskies lost the championship game 4-3 to Pembina.

Jesse Baker scored all of Forts goals.

The Muskies boys hockey team won a pair of games against Red Lake in NORWOSSA action, with wins of 9-0 and 10-0.



Three Fort Frances girls hockey teams battled for medals at tournaments in Kenora.

The Rolling Lake Lightning struck gold with a 5-0 victory in the championship game on the novice side.

The Lightning went undefeated in the tournament.

The pink Novice Timbits lost a nailer-biter in the bronze medal game by 5-4 score in overtime.

The Fort Frances peewee Super 8 girls team also battled for bronze, losing 6-1 in the game.


The Fort Frances Kaemingh Esso Atom girls hockey team earned bronze at a tournament in Thunder Bay with a 2-1 win in a shootout.

Emma Noga scored in regulation time with Chivon MacKintosh notching the winner in the shootout.

And the Pharmasave midget Wildcats girls were beat out for the bronze by Dryden 4-1 in a Thunder Bay tournament.


The Lakewood Tire Eagles girls hockey team took home a gold medal at a tournament in Thunder Bay on the weekend.

The Eagles went undefeated in 6 games, capped by a 5-0 win in the championship game.


The Rainy River Community College women's hockey team has been ranked number two in the west division by the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

The defending ACHA-division two champions are 3-1 on the season and include Brenley Anderson of Rainy River and Katie Stearns of Fort Frances.

Former Officer Charged

More charges have been laid against a retired provincial police officer who once worked in Minaki and Whitedog.

Robert George Lewis was charged last week on two counts of gross indecency and two charges of indecent assault in connection with incidents that took place between 1976 and 1978 when he worked as an officer in the Kenora area.

Lewis now lives in Fenelon Falls and faces a number charges in connection with several sexual-assaults that occurred while he worked with the OPP across the province.

Visitor Restrictions Lifted

Visitor restrictions at all of Riverside Health Care Facilities have been lifted.

The restrictions were put in place at the end of October at hospitals in Emo, Rainy River and Fort Frances as well as Rainycrest in response to the outbreak of the H-1-N-1 flu.

They included children under the age of 18 being prohibited from visiting.

Officials say the number of people with the virus seeking care has eased and allowed them to remove the restrictions.

Robert Moore Memories Collected

The search is on for former students and staff of Robert Moore school.

A meeting at the Fort Frances Library tonight at 7 p.m. will be held to discuss how to celebrate the closing of the nearly 100-year-old school.

Spokesperson Cynthia Donald says the possibilities right now are endless.

"We do have some ideas," says Donald, "like maybe a picture gallery, tour through the school, maybe some t-shirts or some cups."

Robert Moore is being replaced by a new school to open in the fall of 2010.

Tax Bill Looming

A $250-million loan between Canadian and U.S. subsidiaries of AbitibiBowater is forcing the company to juggle its corporate structure to avoid a big tax bill.

The Montreal-based company, which is operating under court protection from creditors, faces a more than $55-million withholding tax in Canada, and potentially more in the United States, unless it is able to repay an inter-company loan this year.

In court documents filed last week, the U.S. holding company AbitibiBowater US Holding LLC says it "does not have sufficient funds" to repay the $200-million loan.

Hamper Requests Collected

The Salvation Army in Fort Frances is giving the opportunity to those who need Christmas hampers this year to register this week.

Captain Angel Sandoval says residents requiring a hamper can pick up forms today and tomorrow at the Citadel.

"We are asking to the families who are going to apply for the Christmas hamper to bring the proper i.d." says Sandoval. "Not only for them, but of their kids as well and the income and expenses they have."

Registration forms must be returned by Wednesday or Thursday of this week

New H1N1 Numbers

The Ministry of Health says there were 20 new cases of the H1N1 flu virus this past week in northwestern Ontario.

Since the second wave of the virus began back in October, there have been 62 cases confirmed in this region.

Overall, the province says the number of cases of H1N1 were actually down this past week.

Bio-Energy Industry Explored

Researchers looking into the future of a bio-energy industry for the town of Atikokan have wrapped up their work, but say its not the end.

Lakehead University and a team of researchers and students spent three years examining the issues surrounding a bio-energy economy.

The university's vice-president of research Rui Wang says the information gathered provides a blueprint for other agencies to take the next step.

"We have all sort of scientific data," says Wang, "and strong recommendations. We need to work together with all stakeholders to make sure that it (the bio-energy industry) will generate a long-term impact to the region."

More than 20 reports and one patent were generated out of the researchers work.

Farmer Market Project Advances

The Clover Valley Farmer's Market and its food box program has entered a third round of voting in an on-line contest.

The market is seeking a share of half-a-million dollars, insurance company Aviva Canada, will dole out to projects across Canada early next year.

The public is being encouraged to vote.

To support the Clover Valley Farmers' Market project, go to http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf3715 and click the 'Cast Your Ballot' button.