Raw Sewage By-Passes Plant

The town of Fort Frances says it was forced to send more than 9-thousand cubic meters of untreated sewage into the Rainy River earlier this month.

The by-pass of the sewage treatment plant happened during two large rainfalls on July 1 and July 4.

Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown says sump pumps still tied into the system were also a factor.

"We got a little scare here, but we have very little control," says Brown. "If we keep dumping our sump pumps from our ground water weeping tile systems for our foundations into the sanitary sewer system, we're still going to create these problems."

Brown says it was the first time the town has by-passed the plant since March 2006.

Abitibi Fined

Abitibi-Consolidated has been fined $125-thousand for a violation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

It relates to an August 2008 incident at the Fort Frances mill in which three people, including a student worker, were injured by an arc flash while they were working on a paper machine.

The two electricians suffered first, second and third-degree burns while the student suffered first degree burns.

The company has since implemented a number of initiatives to prevent a similar occurrence.

Smoke Free Parks Promoted

The Northwestern Health Unit is asking area municipalities to help make its parks and playgrounds smoke free.

Chair, and Fort Frances Councillor John Albanese says they're calling for signs to be erected that asks people not to smoke in areas frequented by young people.

"(It's) to discourage people from lighting up a cigarette," says Albanese. "It's not enforceable. It's just a caution for people to respect the healthy lungs these young kids have."

Albanese says several communities including Fort Frances, Emo and Dryden are supporting the voluntary initiative.

The Health Unit is paying for the signs while participating communities cover the cost of installing them.

Third Street Repairs Continue

It's going to take another two days before repairs to a sink hole on Third Street East in Fort Frances are completed.

The hole was due to a break in a sanitary sewer pipe that was discovered Saturday.

Town officials says repairs, which have led to a closure of the road between Portage and Mowatt Avenues, should be finished by tomorrow night.

College Camps for Youngsters

Confederation College's campus in Fort Frances is providing a number of educational camps for young people this summer.

The first, a beginner culinary camp, began yesterday.

Program officer Kathy Egan says it expands on a program offered last year.

"I did culinary ones last year, "says Egan, "and they were so popular that I decided to open the selection up to this age group, 11 to 15 age-group, because there appears to be a need."

Egan says some, like the sports camp, are full, but others still have some spaces available.

Mining Deal Signed

Ontario has signed a memorandum of understanding with India's Ministry of Mines.

Minister Michael Gravelle says the agreement shows that the two can work together on a broad range of mineral projects.

"We have extra-ordinary high class technological expertise which is of great interest to the mining industry in India as they begin to develop and grow that industry," says Gravelle. "We see some opportunities certainly from our perspective in terms of job creation in our mining supply and services sector."

Gravelle says the agreement will also benefit the northwest by bringing more jobs to the region.

More Ticks in Thunder Bay

Another lyme disease positive tick has been turned in to the Thunder Bay Health Unit.

The tick was plucked off of a human who picked up the tick within Thunder Bay's city limits.

It's the second positive test for Lyme disease in a tick since the health unit started monitoring and testing in 2005.

Broadband Expansion

More homes in the remote northwest will be getting high speed internet.

Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says the project will be completed by the end of next year by three companies, TBay Tel, Spectrum Telecom Group, and Galaxy Broadband Communications.

There are about 45 hundred households that will benefit.

The over $8-million cost is being split between the federal and provincial governments.

Small Forest Fires Reported

Another relatively quiet weekend for forest fires in northwestern Ontario.

Just three new blazes were reported over the past three days.

One of the fires was located on an island on Lake of the Woods just north of Morson.

Life Jacket Use Promoted

The OPP Marine Unit has launched a new campaign on Lake of the Woods promoting life jacket use.

Members of the Marine Unit handed out red t-shirts over the weekend to kids proclaiming, "I got caught wearing my life jacket".

The OPP says while most of the t-shirts were handed out to youth, some adults were also rewarded.

Castin' For Cash Winners

Strong catches on both days of the tournament helped the team of Jon Evans and Gus McFaddin win Lake Despair Lodge's Castin' for Cash bass fishing tournament over the weekend.

The pair combined for a two-day weigh of 29.35 pounds of bass.

That was almost a pound more than the team of Kevin Caul and Ted Heyens who placed second.

A total of 68 teams competed.

Julian Austin to Judge Quest

One of the artists playing at this year Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship will also be a judge for the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce's Quest for the Best.

Julian Austin will join John McEvoy, B-93's own Adam Armit and a presently unnamed individual in determining the best vocalist in the Borderland July 22st

Austin's will then perform the next night with George Canyon.

Swimming Advisories Issued

The Northwestern Health Unit has issued swimming advisories at two beaches in the Rainy River district.

Warning signs were posted at Emo beach and Rainy River beach late yesterday after higher than expected levels of E-coli bacteria were discovered during routine water testing.

High e-coli levels can pose a number of health issues for swimmers, including skin, eye, nose and throat infections and gastrointestinal illness.

The advisories will remain in effect until further testing reveals more satisfactory results.

Pither's Point Park Position Outlined

The town of Fort Frances has used a high-gloss pamphlet to outline its position regarding the issues around Pither's Point Park and surrounding lands.

The pamphlet was mailed to residents this week.

It says the town has made many attempts to settle disputes with area First Nations, including offering what it claims to be a financial proposal based on fair market value, but all of its proposals have been rejected.

The town recently won a court motion to continue operating the park which First Nations are attempting to appeal.

Bears Spotted

Officials in Fort Frances say the number of bear sightings in the town are in the "normal range'' this year.

There have been 20 reported sightings since the first one back on April 30.

Garbage is a big draw for the bruins.

Officials says people can help minimize the problem by putting out their garbage on the morning of collection.

Miss Northwestern Ontario heads to Toronto

(Photo Courtesy http://feliciaschmutz.onsugar.com/)

Felicia Schmutz heads to Toronto today where she's taking part in this year's Miss Teen Canada-World Pageant.

The representative for northwestern Ontario says she's received tremendous local support in her bid for the title and is looking forward to meeting the over 60 other young women who are taking part.

"I'm just so excited because of things I've hearing about the event," says Schmutz. "On Sunday night it's going to be a whole night about Free the Children. And also meeting these girls. I've been reading their blogs and got to know them."

Schmutz says she received tremendous support from the area and sponsors who helped her make the trip.

Area residents can show they're support for Schmutz by voting for her in the people choice category by going to http://www.missteencanadaworld.com/this_year/contestants

Teaching Jobs Limited

A federal agency is suggesting the prospects of finding a teaching job in an elementary school in northwestern Ontario over the next few years will be limited.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada says the profession currently is relatively young with only about a quarter of all teachers now employed over the age of fifty.

Declining enrolments and school closures are also cited as having on impact on job prospects.

The agency says prospects are better for teachers who willing to relocate to remote or First Nation communities or work casual or on-call.

Castin' For Cash Starts

Lake Despair Lodge, north of Devlin, kicks off its tenth annual Casting for Cash this weekend with over sixty angler teams competing in the annual bass fishing tournament.

Nellie Godin says there will be plenty of events around the two day tournament.

"After the weigh-ins on Friday evening there's a big fish-fry supper," says Godin. "There are food booths here who don't care for fish. Then there will be little music afterward. On Saturday after the weigh-ins and presentations we have some more music and dancing."

Fishing gets underway at 8 a.m. with the weigh-ins scheduled for 4 p.m. both today and tomorrow.

Access Roads in Rough Shape

The Ministry of Natural resources is advising people to use caution while travelling on resource access roads.

They say not all roads receive regular maintenance and could be a danger to travellers.

The risks include washouts, water over the road, and heavy rutting.

The advisory comes following last weekend's heavy rainfall across northwestern Ontario.

Fire Hazard Remains Low

High humidity levels are helping to control the forest fire hazard in northwestern Ontario.

Jeff Antoszek of the Ministry of Natural Resources says there is enough moisture in the air to keep forest from getting tinder dry.

"Even though it is hot and muggy out, the fire hazard isn't increasing at the same rate," says Antoszek. "In the spring time when it is very warm and dry, the fire hazard escalates very quickly."

The fire hazard in the Rainy River district is currently low.