Shrine Circus A Success

2009-05-14

14:46:25

High-flying aerialists, jugglers and fire jumping dobermans were among several acts at this year's Shrine Circus held at the Memorial Sports Centre.

For the second year in a row, performers with the Cindy Mingly Circus from Sarasota Florida were on hand to thrill the hundreds who attended.

Ringermaster Timothy Tegge says they happy to help the Shriners raise money.

"The Shriner's use the circus as one of the major fundraising events out of the year," says Tegge. "They use the circus to raise funds to keep their operations going, and their operations are what feeds the money into the children's hospitals and burns centres around the country. Around the world, they do an outstanding job."

The Shrine Circus began its tour of northwestern Ontario in Thunder Bay last week with shows in Dryden Tuesday and Kenora today.

Forestry Protests Continue

2009-05-14

14:22:35

A group of forestry workers in northern Ontario say the only way they will stop protesting at a Thunder Bay provincial politician's office is when they get to work again.

Dozens of workers were back in front of the office of local M-P-P Michael Gravelle yesterday.

Protesters say many contractors haven't been paid for deliveries made to mills across the region because of the economic downturn, and they want the province to provide short-term funding.

A similar demonstration was held two weeks ago.

Rainy River Maintain EDO

2009-05-14

14:18:41

The Mayor of Rainy River says her town is seeing the benefits of having its own economic development officer.

Earlier this week, town councillors agreed to extend the contract of Community Coordinator and Economic Development Officer Anthony Mason until the end of the year.

Mayor Debbie Ewald says Mason has been a valuable asset since hired last year.

"With the economic development committee, any idea's that come up from that group, he does the research and the leg work and brings reports back to the group on what the viability of what we're working on is," says Ewald, "so it's been working good, I think." 

Ewald says the town's also seen vast improvements to its Railway Daze festival and the home show because of Mason's work.

More Youth Involvement Planned

2009-05-14

14:14:49

A northwestern Ontario lobby group is looking to include a youth voice to its organization.

The so-called Common Voice Northwest Initiative currently has municipal and First Nations representatives who help examine several key areas impacting northern Ontario. Chair and Thunder Bay Councillor Iain Angus says including a youth component is something other groups now do.

"Certainly we're seeing a lot of first nation's activity around consulting from youth and getting direction from them," says Angus, "so we can learn from their experience. We also want to learn from all young people in the region, not just those who call their municipalities home."

Angus says they're hoping to hold a series of youth forums across the region sometime in the fall.

Local Student Appointed to Provincial Body

2009-05-14

14:11:41

A Fort Frances student has been selected to sit on a provincial advisory committee that will provide advice into Ontario's education system.

Sydnee McLeod is one of sixty students across the province selected to the new Minister's Student Advisory Council. The grade 7 student at St. Francis School is excited being able to speak for students at her school.

"I wanted to make a difference because not every one gets to heard in the school," says McLeod. "Not every voice and I wanted to speak for my school about what they wanted different."

Sydnee and the other students held their first meeting in Toronto this week with Education Minister Kathleen Wynne. She is confident the Minister will listen to what the students have to say.

Phone Service Disrupted

2009-05-14

14:09:00

A severed line caused by road crews working in Fort Frances was to blame for yesterday's loss of telephone services at Riverside Health Care Facilities across the district

The incident happened yesterday afternoon to a line located near LaVerendrye hospital. But officials says because of recent changes to Riverside's phone system, the incident also impacted phone services at hospitals in Emo, Rainy River and Rainycrest, as well as LaVerendrye.

Phone services to all facilities were fully restored late last night.

Rail Crossing Repairs

2009-05-13

12:47:18

C-N Rail will be spending more than $250 thousand to upgrade a crossing in the town of Rainy River

The upgrades to the Government Road crossing include the installations of gates and new warning devices.

The funding for the work is provided from the federal government

Programs Kept through Reserve Funds

2009-05-13

12:44:00

Four educational programs, officials say are improving student achievement, will now be funding through the Rainy River District School Board's reserve fund.

Almost $300 thousand will be drawn each year for three years for programs initially started through one-time funding from the province. Education Director Jack McMaster says the programs have proven to be successful.

"Our government has been good at providing one-time over the last three or four years," says McMaster, "but we knew that would be slowing down because of the economy. We have some programs that have been supported over the last three or four years through this one-time funding, and we wanted to keep them going."

Trustees will still have the opportunity to review the results of each program at the end of every year before committing further funding.

CBC Meeting

2009-05-13

12:42:55

Representatives with the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association joined with two northwestern M-P's met with CBC brass officials yesterday to state their opposition to recently announced service and staffing cuts to the crown corporation.

NOMA President Anne Krassilowsky called its a good meeting She says the CBC is seen as an essential service and should be protected.

The meeting was arranged with help from area's NDP members John Rafferty and Bruce Hyer.

Economic Asset Study Planned

2009-05-13

12:40:14

An economic asset analysis of what Fort Frances has to offer is being planned for this year.

The study will examine such things the costs of doing business and available lots, and compare them with communities of similar size. Development advisor for the Rainy River Future Development Corporation Geoff Gillon says there are some things they know that stand-out above other the rest already.

"Our power is one of the things that's cheaper than other parts of Ontario," says Gillon, "but we'll look at tax rates, natural gas prices and other things and come back with an analysis. It'll help us guide our marketing."

Gillon says is hoping the work will take place this summer with a report completed by the fall.

Boston Pizza Construction

2009-05-13

12:39:31

Construction on the new Boston Pizza in Fort Frances will officially kick off next week.

A company official says a sod-turning ceremony for the new restaurant will take place next Thursday. Site preparation for the work is currently underway.

The restaurant is expected to be open this fall.

Immigrant Study

2009-05-13

12:36:29

A study examining immigration trends in Ontario says growth in the larger urban centres could have a devastating impact on northwestern Ontario.

The reports says while many of area communities would welcome new immigrants, only a small handful of the province's new citizens are settling in the Rainy River district.

Co-author John Shields of Ryerson University says encouraging immigrants to choose the district and other smaller communities to live could help stem the tide of declining populations.

"Many of these communities which are generally smaller, rural and northern communities, could in fact benefit greatly from more immigrants coming to their communities," says Shields. "Certainly it's not the only solution for them, but immigrants could offer a lot of human capital value to these communities."

Shields says all levels of government need to come up with strategies that help direct  more immigrants the region.

Marketing Plans Continue

2009-05-12

07:51:11

Efforts to promote Fort Frances as a destination to visitors continue.

Early this year, the Rainy River Future Development Corporation helped two members of the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship to Louisianna to promote the tournament and the community.

Development Advisor Geoff Gillon says they're looking at similar junket to Birmingham, Alabama next year.

"It was loud and clear that we need to send at least two more people to work the businesses in the US that are associated with fishing to meet them, go to the receptions and to promote Fort Frances, says Gillon. "That's our goal, everything considered equal, we will be there." 

Gillon admits only time will tell exactly how successful they're are in attracting residents from those areas to the district.

Kiwanis Auction Successful

2009-05-12

07:46:11

The move from television to the world-wide web has been a good one for the Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances.

The local service club posted eighty-two items on E-Bay in its first ever on-line auction.

Event Chair Shanda Degagne says they managed to raised four-thousand dollars from the more than one-thousand bids received.

"I think we're quite excited," says Degagne. "It was a new venture for us going onto E-Bay and something most of us that weren't familiar with, so we were glad with the response we got from the community."

The auction, just 82 items, was about a third of the size of past events, but Degagne says limited overhead costs helped a larger percentage of the funds raised going to club activities. Degagne says the on-line auction also opened the event to people who had never seen the television version.

The auction had previously been run on Shaw-TV Channel 10, airing only to to cable customers in Fort Frances and Couchiching.

 

New Recreational Funding Available

2009-05-12

07:45:24

Another infrastructure program involving both the federal and provincial governments has been announced.

This time the focus will be on upgrading recreational facilities. Half-a-billion dollars is being set aside in a new Recreational Infrastructure Canada program in Ontario and the Ontario Recreation program.

Municipalities who submit applications before May 29 will be immediately reviewed.

Stimulus Website

2009-05-12

07:28:57

The provincial government is setting up a website to let people track how its spending the $24 billion to stimulate the economy.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says the site -- which won't be up for at least another month, -- will have details on where the money is going.

The different government departments will also show how much remains and its impact.

 

Tax Ratios Approved

2009-05-12

07:28:08

Another step toward finalizing the 2009 budget was reached at last night's Fort Frances town council meeting.

Councillors approved the ratios used to determine how tax rates are calculated. Council has yet to decide on any tax levies at this time.

Another budget meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Transportation Key Stimulator

2009-05-12

07:24:32

Transportation will be a key component of economic development in the town of Fort Frances.

Speaking to town council last night, Development Advisor with the Rainy River Future Development Corporation Geoff Gillon says he hopes to bring a more detailed strategy aimed at making the town as transportation hub.

"We have already a significant number of company's running trucks out of Fort Frances back and forth," says Gillon. "We see the wind turbine parts sitting outside of town and our American friends will be blessing us with in the next few years with a four-lane highway to International Falls. So I think we as a community have to take a serious look at that.

Gillon says as part of the planning, the town has been represented at key transportation conferences in Washington and Edmonton and will be at another in Quebec this June.

Detachment Commander On the Job

2009-05-12

07:23:16

The new Detachment Commander for the Ontario Provincial Police in the Rainy River District was formally introduced to Fort Frances town council last night.

Inspector John Kendrick began his new role yesterday, and says he's looking forward to working with the town.

Kendrick comes to the area's detachment having most recently served as the OPP's regional traffic manager in Thunder Bay.

Fort Frances Crime Stats

2009-05-12

07:19:13

There has been a drop in the number of incidents of crime in Fort Frances this year.

In a report to town council last night, OPP acting Inspector Steve Shouldice said officers responded to 833 calls from January to March, down 80 over the same period last year. And that's translated to a decline in several areas.

"Assaults were down 31 per cent," says Shouldice. "Break and enters were down 43 per cent. Theft unders were down 38 per cent. Drug charges are down 63 per cent. Traffic charges are up 11 per cent and we've had no substantiated public complaints."

Shouldice adds the town also saw eight break and enters, two robberies and 32 assaults which was down from 47 in 2008.