Morley Has Reeve

The township of Morley has a full council.

Moe Henry, acclaimed as a councillor in October's municipal election, is now serving as Reeve.

Tyler Nordin comes aboard to fill the vacancy created by Henry's move.

The appointments, done earlier this month, were necessary after nobody filed for the position of Reeve prior to the October 25th election.

Safe Schools Grant

The Rainy River District School Board and the Ontario Provincial Police have secured funding for a Safe Schools initiative.

A total of 100-thousand dollars from the Ministry of Community and Correctional Services will help bring training to school staff across the district in the area of threat assessment and trauma response.

An interagency protocol is also to be developed that enable schools to response more quickly to incidents that could pose potential risk to others.

The training is expected to begin this spring.

McTaggart Back as Police Service Board Chair

John McTaggart has been re-elected chair of the Police Services board for Fort Frances.

McTaggart has been with the board several years.

Former Fort France mayor Glenn Witherspoon will again serve as the vice-chair.

Former Bingo Hall Looked At

There appears to be some serious interest in the former Fort Frances Bingo Hall.

Jack Mallon, real estate agent with Royal LePage Lannon Realty, says no offer has yet been submitted, but a group recently went through vacant hall and is now working on the necessary financing.

The name of the group was not disclosed.

Atikokan Mayor Recognized

The mayor of Atikokan has been recognized for his long career in municipal politics.

Dennis Brown has received a 25-year Long-Standing Service Award from the Province of Ontario.

Brown was first elected to Atikokan municipal council in 1980, and has served as mayor for the last 13 years.

Cost of Food Up

The Northwestern Health Unit says the cost for families in the Kenora-Rainy River district to eat healthy each month has risen 11 per cent over the past year.

Nutritionist Julie Slack says the over $916.00 price tag for food is leading many to make unhealthy food choices so they have money for other expenses.

"Food tends to be or often is the one that you will let go," says Slack, "or choose what is cheaper. Often less healthy foods are the cheaper foods so people might be making food chooses that aren't the best so they can pay their rent."

Slack says while food prices continue to rise, incomes have not kept up at the same pace.

Testing Exceeds Provincial Standard

The town of Fort Frances is looking to see if it can still limit the number of water samples it takes to test for lead despite exceeding provincial standards this past summer.

During June and October, adverse lead levels were found in just three samples of 22 sites tested.

That equates to about 13.6 per cent, but the province wants 10 per cent or less before allowing municipalities to reduce their testing.

Operations and Facilities Manager Doug Brown says because the town has been within acceptable levels in the past, it's hoping to still qualify for reduced testing.

Baby Boom?

(Diane Maxey with one of many babies born in 2010)


It's turning out to be a banner year for births at Fort Frances' LaVerendrye Hospital.

Riverside Health Care Facilities says 218 babies have been born to the end of November, exceeding the 190 births born in all of last year.

It's also the highest number of births at the hospital since 1998 when there were 253.

This past November alone brought in 28 babies, compared with the 16 in the same month last year.

Senior Executives Gets Bonuses

Five senior AbitibiBowater executives are splitting nearly $5-million U.S. in cash and stock for their efforts in helping the forest products company restructure its operations and exit creditor protection.

Departing chief executive David Paterson gets about $1.1 million in restructuring recognition awards and profit bonuses.

OPP Cruiser Destroyed

Provincial police are eminding motorists to slow down or move over when passing an emergency vehicle stopped with its lights activated.

The warning comes following an incident near Upsala in which a transport slammed into the back of an empty cruiser, stopped while the officer was investigating a truck fire.

The officer was not hurt.

Failing to slow down or move over for an emergency vehicle can result in a fine of up to $2-thousand.

Drug Arrests

Four people face drug-related charges following three separate incidences in Fort Frances last month.

In one case, six pounds of marijuana, valued at over $57-thousand, a replica handgun and cash were found by OPP after stopping a vehicle December 1st.

Constable Anne McCoy says it's a sizable find.

"It is one of the larger marijuana seizures the police have made," says McCoy. "That's credit to the work and the intelligence work that the Community Drug Action Team has been doing in our area."

Another man was charged when police found $28-hundred worth of Oxycontin pills in a vehicle.

Another man was charged after police discovered 30 grams of marijuana in his possession.

Man Busted at Border

An International Falls Man faces charges after attempting to cross into the U.S. with marijuana taped to his body.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it happened Saturday around 12:30 p.m. as the 24-year-old man was walking to International Falls.

46 grams of marijuana taped to the man's leg was found when Customs officers conducted a secondary examination.

He was later turned over the Koochiching County Sheriffs office for prosecution.

Border Stats Released

A busy November for officers with the Canada Border Services Agency in Fort Frances.

Statistics released show more than 50-thousand people crossed the border, twenty of whom were found to have various criminality issues.

Eight of which were refused entry while the rest were allowed in on temporary visitor permits.

Officers also seized a boat, motor and trailer and a vehicle from Canadians residents who attempted to undervalue their purchases.

In both cases, the owners were forced to pay heft fines to get their property back.

Kenora Trial Underway

The trial of a 39-year-old Grassy Narrows woman involved in a police shooting in downtown Kenora this past summer is underway.

Helen Proulx faces four charges including assaulting a police officer with a weapon and assault with a weapon.

OPP Constable Kathrine Moyer told the court yesterday she told Proulx at least six times to drop the knife she was carrying.

Moyer said she only fired her gun after Proulx came at her, jabbing the knife in the officers direction.

Moyer testified Proulx also repeatedly to shoot her.

Testimony continues today.

Tire Tax Credit Proposed

The Canadian Automobile Association and the Ontario Safety League are behind a coalition asking for a $25-per-tire tax credit to encourage people to buy winter tires.

The CAA says evidence from Quebec, where winter tires are mandatory, shows they do reduce accidents and help save lives.

Premier Dalton McGuinty acknowledges the benefits of snow tires and even recommends drivers use them, but says he has no intention of providing a tax credit or rebate for buying winter tires.

The Ontario Safety League says McGuinty should reconsider his opposition to the tax credit, noting snow tires reduce accidents and cut down the number of people needing care in hospitals.

Early Learning Changes Planned

Published reports suggest the McGuinty government is expected to drop plans for boards to run before-and-after-school care for full-day kindergarten students.

The program is a key piece of its early learning program.

The move comes after lobbying from daycares, which worried about losing business, and from school boards, which didn't want to operate the programs.

A lack of interest led to the Rainy River District School Board opting not to offer the programs at Atikokan's North Star Community School, its first school to offer full-day kindergarten.

Rainy River Presents Bought Deal Offering

Rainy River Resources plans to raise $65-million dollars in a bought deal offering to help advance its gold exploration project north of Barwick.

The company will issue more than 5-million shares at a reduced rate of $12.65 C. each.

Shares of Rainy River have more than doubled in value since it increased its capital budget for the year by 33 percent in August to extend drilling activities at the high mineral grade project.

New Officers In Place

Treaty Three Police Service has added some new officers.

Four constables, three sergeants and a staff sergeant were sworn-in during a ceremony in Kenora yesterday.

Police Chief Conrad DelaRonde feels its important to recognize the officers and the work that they are doing.

"We always recognize or tend to see or hear about the bad things that have occurred in the police universe," says DelaRonde, "but there's a lot of good things happening. It's opportunities like this we should give official recognition for their accomplishments."

Terry Armstrong was also sworn in as the new deputy chief.

More Help Needed

It has enough food, but the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau is still looking for more people for its Community Christmas dinner.

With the dinner just ten days away, only a handful of volunteers have stepped forward while the Fort Frances Legion Ladies Auxiliary is offering to cook some of the turkeys in advance.

The bureau's Karen Mitchell says help is still required in setting up the Knox United Church hall and serving and clean-up at the dinner.

Mitchell says those also wanting a meal delivered to them on Christmas must call the Volunteer Bureau by Monday.

Hampton Expects Campaign Push by Liberals

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton says Ontarians can expect to see campaign-style ads showing up in advance of next fall's provincial election.

Hampton says the McGuinty Government has been under siege in the Legislature and will likely start an active campaign very soon.

"I think the government will use the Christmas break as a period of interuption," says Hampton, "and then they will begin what will amount to an eight or nine month election campaign."

Hampton says the government has been hurt by recent reports by the Ombudsman and the Auditor General.