Forest Fires Hazard Low

Rain continues to be a friend to Ministry of Natural Resources fire fighters.

Just one new forest fire was reported yesterday in the West Fire Region - a small grass fire north of the community of Perrault Falls.

Recent wet weather has pushed the forest fire hazard across the region down to low.

Meantime three lightning caused fires continue to burn in Quetico Provincial Park and are being monitored by the MNR.

Be Aware of Animals on Road

OPP are encouraging motorists to be on the watch for animals on the highways - especially if your travelling to Thunder Bay.

Constable Diane Cole says since May 1 there have been almost 40 collisions in the Thunder Bay involving moose, bears and deer.

Cole adds the deer are very unpredictable so be vigilant and keep an eye out for them in nearby ditches.

Fish Surveys Underway

(Ministry of Natural Resources photo)

The Ministry of Natural Resources will be conducting lake surveys in the Kenora, Fort Frances and Dryden areas over the next couple of months.

Spokesperson Bill Towill says they're collecting a wide variety of information.

"We're sampling the fish to understand the fish population in that lake," says Towill, "the structure of that lake and the overall health of the population."

Towill says the data is shared with the Ministry of the Environment for its annual guide for eating sports fish and used to make changes to local fishing regulations.

Anglers Checked

The Ministry of Natural Resources says most anglers fishing the Fort Frances area are following the rules.

A recent check of anglers by MNR Conservation officers found 95 per cent in compliance with fishing regulations.

Most were non-residents.

The MNR did lay five charges and issued another fifteen warnings during the May 28 check for such things as having more than the legal limit of fish, packaging fish so they could not be easily identified or failing to produce a valid fishing license.

Shelter of Hope to Hold Camp

The Rainy River District Women's Shelter of Hope is giving children who have witnessed woman abuse in their home a chance to go to camp.

Child Witness program coordinator Susan Hanson says the five-day retreat will be held at a Kenora camp at the end of this month and is open to both children and their mothers.

"They're going to learn that the abuse in their home isn't their fault," says Hanson. "They're going to learn how to safety plan. There is lots of self-esteem building throughout the week. We're also going to have time to have lots of family time with mom."

The free camp is open to those in the Kenora and Rainy River districts.

Registration can be made by the calling the Shelter of Hope's office in Atikokan.

Check Twitter for Border Wait Times

The Canada Border Services Agency is now using Twitter to inform motorists of the estimated wait times at its border crossings.

It part of a three-month pilot project being tried this summer.

It's being used at selected border crossings, including Fort Frances, before Agency considers expanding it to include other ports of entry.

Point-of-Sale Debate Continues

There's optimism from some native leaders regarding the HST.

Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Stan Beardy says he's encouraged a solution could be reached on continuing a point-of-sale tax exemption for native people following meetings this week with both the provincial and federal governments.


"We still have a lot of work to do," says Beardy, "but I guess the fact that their willing to sit down and talk to us is an a positive indication perhaps they're trying to work with us.

First Nations have been asking the governments to continue the point of sale tax exemption when HST comes into effect July 1.

Mill Air Quality Explored

The city of International Falls wants to know what's being done about the air quality at AbitibiBowater's mill in Fort Frances.

Councillor Tim McBride says residents continue to complain about an odour and the city will ask Ontario's Environment Ministry for information on the actions to eliminate the problem.

"Our goal only was that we didn't know what was going on," says McBride, "and that's our goal - to be kept in the loop. We did get some information from both Abitibi and the Ministry so we look forward to more discussion, more dialogue."

McBride says the city feels there have been corrective measures taken, but haven't been keep up to date on what they are.

Lake of the Woods Water Quality

Kenora MP Greg Rickford is looking for more cooperation between Canada and the United States to improve the water quality of Lake of the Woods.

Rickford put forward a resolution last week calling on the International Joint Commission to become involved.

"We believe this is the most important step toward broader inclusion of Lake of the Woods in a international boundary reference question through the International Joint Commission," says Rickford.

The motion is to come back for a vote in the House of Commons this fall.

More Causeway Work This Falls

The next phase of work at the Noden Causeway is to begin this fall.

It includes new concrete decking on a 600 metre section of the Causeway's West Low Level Deck.

The work, to be done by southern-Ontario based Concreate USL Limited, will cost $8.8 million.

Police Shooting in Kenora

A section of Kenora's downtown remains taped off by the OPP following a shooting incident last night.

Reports say a woman armed with a knight was shot by police.

So far, OPP have not released any details of the incident, but eye witnesses suggest a woman lunged at an officer before shots were fired.

Hire a Youth Week

Service Canada's employment centre for Youth in Fort Frances is now open for business.

It's located in the federal government building on Scott Street.

Youth Services Officer Dayna DeBenedet says they're encouraging the district's businesses to consider hiring young people this summer.

"The benefit of hiring a youth is that you get usually a really dependable, reliable and enthusiast young worker," says DeBenedet, "and you also help them find out what kind of work they might be interested in the future and what kind of career they might want to pursue."

As part of Hire-a-Youth week, staff will be in Emo and Rainy River today meeting with prospective employers and holding information booths in Fort Frances later in the week.

Drug Prices to Drop

Ontario consumers will see lower prices for generic drugs as of July 1st.

Health Minister Deb Matthews says the province is moving ahead with a ban on pharmacists from accepting so-called professional allowance fees in order to lower drug prices.

But the Ontario Pharmacists Association warns stores will have to boost dispensing fees and drug prices to offset the loss of that money.

Bring the Cup to Fort, Duncan

There is a local effort to get Duncan Keith to bring the Stanley Cup to Fort Frances - if the Chicago Black Hawks win.

A Facebook site - called "If Duncan Keith wins the cup, bring it to Fort Frances" has been set up to lure Keith and the Cup to the Borderland.

Members of the Stanley Cup winning team get the Cup for a day.

Born in Winnipeg, Keith played minor hockey here, before moving to Penticton.

Fort Frances Soldier Receives Medal

A soldier from the Fort Frances area has finally received his Medal of Military Valour.

Sergeant Russell Gregoire was presented the award from Governor-General Michelle Jean Friday at ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

The award recognizes his actions on June 2008 in which he helped lead a group of soldiers, who were ambushed and under heavy fire, to safety.

Gregoire had been cited for the award back in October, but was still in Afghanistan at the time.

Liberal Campaign HST

The political fight to sell the HST which kicks in July 1st is starting to resemble an election campaign.

The Liberal government is taking to the road pushing back hard against opposition claims that it is a "greedy tax grab.''

Premier Dalton McGuinty says Liberals will visit opposition-held ridings all month to tout the benefits of the tax.

Tower and Hallet Officially Open

Rain forced Friday's official opening ceremonies of the tower and tugboat Hallet to be held indoors.

Dignitaries gathered at the Ontario Travel tourism centre to cut the ribbon for the two landmarks.

Mayor Roy Avis feels any opposition there was to their move to the Fort Frances waterfront is now gone.

"There was a lot of scepticism at that time," says Avis, "and it's disappeared now. It's a great project and it's really gone forward. I think we're very proud of the museum and waterfront and will attract tourists to our area."

Avis says the landmarks enhance the waterfront area.

Artists Recognized

(Left: Artists Cher Pruys and Burton Penner)

The artists involved in the banner programme part of the Heritage project were recognized at ceremonies held to recognized the completion of the projects second phase.

The banners hang along the downtown and parkway areas of Fort Frances.

Burton Penner, whose banner illustrates the area's Voyageur life, is pleased to see his work on display.

"I'm honoured that they picked that," says Penner, "and glad they could use it. My interest has always been in history and the fur trade and I like to depict that in my art."

Chery Pruys had three designs chosen for the project.

"It's very exciting," says Pruys, "I'm really proud to be a citizen of this area and its great to see my artwork and help promote it and hopefully be a part of something that people enjoy looking at down at the waterfront."

Her work includes fishing along the waterfront, the Noden Causeway and the Rainy Lake mermaid.

Studio8 Design artist David Bodnarchuk and Iann Legge were also involved.

Gun-Bill Vote Expected

A private member’s bill to scrap the Federal long-gun registry has hit a snag.

A Commons Committee voted last week not to proceed with the bill.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty it now comes down to a vote in the House.

"Well the bill isn't dead," says Rafferty. "What the committee is recommending is that it be dead but there is a procedural vote that will come probably this week on whether the bill can be killed or not."

The bill to scrap the registry passed second reading in the Commons when eight Liberals and 12 NDP MPs joined with the Conservatives to support the bill.

Heritage Events Re:Scheduled

Weather has won out over today's events planned in conjunction with the official opening of the tower and tugboat Hallet on the Fort Frances waterfront.

An official ribbon cutting was planned for noon, but officials instead held an indoor event this morning at the Ontario Travel tourism centre.

The tug-of-war between the town of Fort Frances and the city of International Falls, scheduled for 12:30 p.m., has now been cancelled.

It will now be held July 2.

Other events planned for the waterfront have been moved indoors to the Memorial Sports Centre including the lumberjack show and arts activities.

A BBQ for the Fun in the Sun committee has also been cancelled, but there will be an similar one later today for the Muskies Sports Association at the Sports Centre.