Local Projects Promoted in England

A mining project in the Rainy River district will be get some international attention next week.

Rainy River Resources will be among companies scheduled to make a presentation about their projects at a conference in London, England.

The conference allows companies to meet with potential overseas investors.

Rainy River Resources is proposing a gold mine north of Barwick.

Soldi Ventures Exploration Plans

Soldi Ventures has revealed further details of its exploration plans in the Rainy River district.

The Vancouver-based company plans to drill up to 25-hundred meters in the first phase of a drilling program on its properties located in the Cameron Lake and Rainy River areas.

Its main focus will be around a potential gold deposit near Cameron Lake.

New Board of Health

The Northwestern Health Unit has sworn in a new Board of Directors.

Fort Frances councillor John Albanese, who's appointed to the board by the province, returns as its chair.

Also on the board from the Rainy River district are LaVallee township councillor Jim Belluz, Atikokan Mayor Dennis Brown, Fort Frances councillor Paul Ryan and Russ Fortier of Emo who is one of three public appointees.

I. Falls Wants LGA Left Untouched

International Falls City council is calling on the State to maintain an aid program that helps Minnesota cities keeps taxes down.

Councillor Cynthia Jacksa says a resolution supported by council last night asks the Legislature to keep funding levels the same for the next two years.

"We've received an unfair proportion of the cut in the past," says Jacksa, "and we're going to deliver the message that further cuts to LGA is unfair and damaging to rural Minnesota."

The city is to receive about $4-million dollars this year.

Mural Project in International Falls

Another mural is set to go up in International Falls.

The city is receiving a $6-thousand dollar grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council for the project.

It will be painted along side the Bob Walls Memorial Union Hall on Third Street.

The mural, to be painted this summer, will depict the city's various trade unions.

Town Eyes Solar Projects

The town of Fort Frances is eyeing the possibility to installing solar panels on some of its buildings.

It's part of a larger study that's exploring the town's energy consumption.

Sustainability coordinator Travis Rob says a feasibility study on installing the solar generating systems is now complete.

"We're now just looking at which buildings would give us the best return," says Rob, "and trying to decide how many buildings we want to invest in, which buildings we want to invest in."

Rob says he's also looking at other projects that can help the town reduce its energy costs.

Energy Pamphlet Panned

The Opposition accuse Ontario's Liberal government of wasting $1 million to mail out pamphlets explaining why electricity rates are rising so high.

The government is sending out a six-page pamphlet to every Ontario home as part of its pre-election campaign to defuse vote ranger over soaring hydro bills.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak calls it a $1 million propaganda exercise that won't fool voters for provide peace of mind.

Energy Minister Brad Duguid says the government brochures explain to voters that hydro rates are rising to pay for badly needed repairs and upgrades to Ontario's electricity system.

Sedgwick named Librarian of the Year

(Supplied photo)

Fort Frances' head librarian is back home after receiving an award as the Ontario Library Boards' Association's librarian of the year.

Margaret Sedgwick says she's honoured to have received the W.J. Robertson Medallion.

"It's probably the highest honour a librarian in the province can get so it means great deal to me," says Segdwick. "As you know, I've had quite an exciting past few years and certainly with the building of the new library and technology has been the highlight of my career and this kind of puts the icing on the cake."

Sedgwick has been the head librarian in Fort Frances since 1977.

Hometown Heroes Celebrated

(Angus Jourdain from Lac La Croix First Nation will be in Couchinching First Nation this month)


Three professional aboriginal performers will share the stage with a couple of local youth at an event at Couchiching First Nation later this month.

Mandi Olson of the United Native Friendship Centre says the Hometown Heroes concert will help showcase local talent.

"We just wanted to tie some of our younger youth and their performance with older adults just to show them that we support them," says Olson, "and that if they want to do a career in the industry it's possible."



Among those performing include comedian Ryan McMahon and musicians Angus Jourdain and Wab Kinew.

Local Man Found

The body of a man who broke through the ice while in a trail groomer at a lake north of Fort Frances last Wednesday has been found.

74-year-old Edwin (Ted) Davis of Fort Frances was recovered by an OPP dive team early Saturday afternoon from the depths of the Lower Manitou.

Davis was working for Manitou Gold, a mining company doing exploration work in the area, and in the process of building a winter road when the accident happened.

The Coroner has ordered a Post Mortem examination to be conducted in Kenora today.

The Ministry of Labour is also investigating.

Strategic Plan Moving Forward

Municipalities across the Rainy River District are being asked to back the development a district-wide strategic plan.

Rainy River councillor Gord Armstrong says the first step is to form a working committee.

"They'll be a letter going out to all of the councils asking them to appoint a person," says Armstrong. "We have people from all across the district serving as volunteers on this committee. We're hoping to go step-by-step over the summer and get a vision statement, a mission statement and goals and objectives in place."

Armstrong is hoping to have a document for review by the end of the year.

Kindergarten Registration This Week

Schools with the Northwest Catholic District School Board will hold registration for their kindergarten programs this week.

Education Director Mary-Catherine Kelly says it includes the new all-day early-learning programs at St. Michael's School in Fort Frances.

"First phase of the pilot was at St. Patrick's in Atikokan and it's been a highly successful program," says Kelly, "with great opportunities for the children because the teachers are getting support from the early-childhood educator as well. So we're very proud to bring it to St. Michael's."

Registration for programs are at area schools during normal school hours.

McGuinty Election Talk

Premier Dalton McGuinty says there's still room in his election platform for new ideas, even though the Liberals haven't ticked off everything on their lengthy to-do list.

He wouldn't say what suggestions were floated behind closed doors during the Liberal policy conference, which is expected to get the ball rolling for the October 6 election campaign.

McGuinty says many of the ideas that emerged at the Ottawa meeting focused on the economy, health care and education.

He's already challenged the Opposition Conservatives to reveal their plans for the province, warning that they'll slash services just like former premier Mike Harris.

He says the Tories will take billions of dollars out of health care and education to meet their promise to cut taxes.

Conservative critic Lisa MacLeod says McGuinty is so busy fighting an election from 15 years ago that he's lost touch with what voters want now - tax relief.

Police Search Underway

Provincial police are searching for a Fort Frances man, presumed drowned, at a lake north of Fort Frances.

Police says the man was operating a trail groomer late Wednesday night when it broke through the ice on Manitou Lake.

Manitou Gold, a mining exploration company doing work in the area, says the man was working as a service provider to the company and the incident took place near its exploration project.

His name has not been officially released.

An OPP dive team is expected to arrive on scene today.

Ontario's Ministry of Labour has also been called to investigate.

Fort Frances Man Tells Story of Egypt Visit.

A Fort Frances man is back home after experiencing first hand the situation in Cairo.

Tristin Hutton was visiting his sister who works at the Canadian Embassy there when anti-government protests began outside his hotel last week.

Hutton says they didn't appear to be very concerning early on.

"They were just gathering and police were kind of holding their distance," says Hutton. "The odd tear gas was sent, but nothing too rough for the next two days. I didn't really feel scared or worried that things were going to escalate. It looked like things were going to taper down."

Hutton says a flight home he booked when the situation escalated got cancelled and eventually took advantage of a flight set up for the Canadian government Monday.

He was initially told by Canadian authorities he'd have to find his own way of the country before the government set up evacuation flights.

He says given the ever-evolving situation, the Canadian Embassy was doing the best it could.

Hutton does have to pay 400-dollars back to the Canadian government for the flight that took him to Germany before he was able to continue home.

OPP Wage Increase Concerning

A five-per-cent pay increase for the OPP has local politicians across the province upset with the McGuinty government.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the OPP contract shows that the Liberal talk about wage restraint is "nothing but a joke.''

But the Premier insists his plan to curb salaries is still on track.

Fort Frances councillors voiced concerns about the OPP contract and the impact it will have on the town's policing costs back in December.

Wage Freeze Proposed

The head of the Ontario Hospital Association is advocating a need for a freeze on hospital union salaries.

Tom Closson was in Thunder Bay yesterday to speak with Hospital Board Chairs and C.E.O.'s from the northwest.

Closson says a wage freeze bring fairness between union and non-union workers.

"We have 20 per cent of front line staff that are not unionized," says Closson. "You can have a nurse that's non-unionized in an organization and another nurse that is unionized. So in the same organization, you can have some of them that are frozen and some of them that are not."

Closson will be bringing the region's concerns back to the provincial government.

Health Care Becomes Election Issue

It looks like health care is going to be a key battleground until the Ontario election this fall.

Health Minister Deb Matthews has come out fighting, saying voters have a real choice between Progressive Conservatives who closed hospitals and fired nurses and Liberals who built hospitals and hired nurses.

Outfitters Angry over Fee Increase

Some tourist lodge owners in northwestern Ontario are accusing the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association of being a lap dog for the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Paul Boucher says he's angry because the outfitters association negotiated an 800 percent increase in land use permit fees for camp owners.

"There was talk of something as far back as the mid-9o's," says Boucher, "but nobody knew what it was. No one saw it coming. There were no questionnaires sent out or solicitation of any kind. In the end, they did ask for proposals. I gave them one and they didn't like it."

NOTO's executive director Doug Reynolds says there was extensive consultation with camp owners and feels it negotiated the best deal possible.

Rafferty Opposes Internet Cap

John Rafferty is adding his voice to those upset over a CRTC decision to allow Internet service providers the right to cap data downloads.

The Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP says it's going to allow the ISP's to charge more and consumers will suffer.

"What it means for people in northern Ontario who rely on broadband services and the Internet for their livelihood or for their entertainment, it will be disastrous," says Rafferty.

Internet users are being driven to an on-line petition to oppose the ruling.

CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein is to appear before a Commons committee on the issue today.