Water Walk Reaches Fort Frances

The Mother Earth Water Walk arrives in Fort Frances today.

Heidi Smith of the United Native Friendship Centre says its was first organized by Josephine Mandamin to bring awareness to the state of the world's water supplies.

The walkers will be celebrated at a community feast at Agency One land at noon.

Hydro Out

Some residents in the Rainy River district are without power this morning.

Hydro One says the outages effect about 250 residents in the west end of the district north of Emo.

Another outage near Atikokan has left less than 20 people in the dark.

Hydro One says power should be restored to all areas late this morning.

Access to Cellphone Records Denied

A provincial court has denied a Fort Frances agency access to the cellphone records of one of its employees.

Community Living Fort Frances and District had sought a so-called Norwich order as part of an investigation into whether a female employee had engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a male client last fall.

In a decision released last month, the judge in the ruled the Association had failed to establish a legal right to the order.

The agency declined B-93's request for comment.

College Promotes Trades Programs

Confederation College is looking to entice more students from northwestern Ontario to its Trades and Aviation programs.

The College is visiting regional high schools over the next two weeks.

Recruitment intern Pam Lamba says those fields have many job prospects.

"So it only makes sense if we only promote that," says Lamba, "especially if some of the students want to stay close to home and not willing to move far away. This is a great opportunity to know what programs are even available in this area."

The College was at Fort Frances High School yesterday.

Canada Day Parade Participants Wanted

Registration for the Canada Day parade in Fort Frances is now being accepted.

This year’s theme is “Sing, Dance and March to the Music.” Groups, organizations, businesses and individuals are encouraged to show their Canadian pride through music and dance either as a float or as a demonstration while walking the route. Entrants from the United States are also welcome to participate and show their pride either for Canada or their home country.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three parade participants as selected by a panel of local judges. Judging will take place prior to the start of the parade.

Participants will again gather at AbitibiBowater’s Shevlin woodyard beginning at 10:00 a.m. for judging. They will then be led by the Ontario Provincial Police and Special Olympians down Front Street along Fort Frances’ beautiful waterfront beginning at 11:00 a.m. The parade will head in a westerly direction past LaVerendrye Hospital and ending at the municipal parking lot at Nelson Street behind St. Mary’s Church.

Members of the Canada Day Celebrations Committee will also be walking the route to solicit donations. Money money raised will go towards Canada Day events and the Fireworks display.

Coordinating this year’s parade will be Randy and Sally Thoms. Early registration before 4:00 PM June 30, 2011 is required to be eligible for the prizes. Call 807-274-5634 to register.

MP's Begin Work

Newly elected MP's get to work today with a resumption of Parliament.

They will first elect a new speaker in advance of Monday's budget.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty says there are some changes in store in this fiscal document.

"It's the same sort of budget presented before the election," says Rafferty. "There are some promised cuts. Billions and billions of dollars in cuts. It will be interesting to see where those are."

The session is expected to last only a few weeks.

Bark Fire at Thunder Bay Mill

Firefighters are dealing with a stubborn bark pile fire at the AbitibiBowater mill in Thunder bay.

It started late yesterday afternoon, billowing thick smoke through nearby neighbourhoods.

A Ministry of Natural Resources waterbomber was called in for suppression efforts, but officials say it could be days before the fire is put out.

Injured Workers Concerns

The Ontario Federation of Labour is marking today as Injured Workers Day.

The OFL is using the day to highlight the injured workers who fall through the cracks in Ontario's workers' compensation coverage.

President Sid Ryan says many injured workers not protected through the Workplace Safety Insurance Board have to rely on social assistance.

Boating Accident

No injuries are being reported following the collision of two boats on Rainy Lake on the weekend.

It happened around 11 o'clock Sunday night in Frank's Bay.

Members of the Koochiching County Sheriff's office continue to investigate.

Baudette Likely Out of Running

It appears Baudette's attempts to become America's Ultimate Fishing Town will come up short.

The Minnesota town bordering Rainy River was third going into the final day of the World Fishing Network's on-line contest.

It was still 200,000 votes behind two New York communities yesterday.

The winner will be announced next week.

More Resources Needed to Keep Hospitals Clean

Hospital staff are calling on the health minister to provide more resources for cleaning and infection control in Ontario hospitals.

Studies suggest that hospital-acquired infections are killing up to five thousand Ontarians each year.

Sharon Richer of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says such deaths are preventable.

Curling Club Gets Funds

The Fort Frances Curling Club is getting a quarter of a million dollars from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund towards the installation of a new geothermal energy system.

The system proposes to use the marsh area around the facility to provide clean electricity and operate the club's heating and cooling system.

Cost of the project is estimated at about $560-thousand dollars.

The club has also applied for funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Road Work

There's going to be some road work in the Rainy Rainy River district this summer.

The Ministry of Transportation says 24 kilometres of Highway 11 between Devlin and Emo will receive new pavement as will a section of the Highway between Highway 619 and the Minnesota-Ontario border.

Work on both projects will begin in July.

Work on the Noden Causeway near Fort Frances will also resume with a section of the roadway reduced to one lane of traffic.

More Help to Alberta

The Ministry of Natural Resources is send more personnel to the forest fire fight in Alberta.

Another one-hundred and two fire staff are expected to leave Ontario tomorrow, replacing some of those who have been in the western province for the past two weeks.

Eight-five of the 190 Ontario personnel now in Alberta are expected to return later this week.

Search Continues

A search for a missing American angler continues near Morson.

Provincial Police were back in Lake of the Woods yesterday looking for 69-year-old Richard Herman.

The Illinois man was with another fishing on the lake last Monday.

Their capsized boat and the body of a 73-year-old man were found by police the next day.

NAN Upset with Awards

The head of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation says a decision to reward some OPP officers last week sends a wrong message to First Nations.

Grand Chief Stan Beardy says the commendations are glorified and unnecessary

One award was given to an officer involved the shooting of a First Nations woman brandishing a knife in Kenora.

More Officiers Wanted

The help wanted sign is up at Ontario Provincial Police.

Commissioner Chris Lewis says staffing levels are a concern for him and the OPP are looking to fill expected vacancies.

"We're losing about 400 people to retirement this year," says Lewis, "so we're recruiting actively. We've hired a number of experienced officers from other police departments. We're also recruiting new recruits. We have a number of good applicants."

Lewis says part of the emphasis is encouraging more people from northern Ontario to consider the OPP as a career.

MSA Golf Tournament Coming

Golfers are being sought for the Muskies Sports Association's upcoming golf tournament.

Shane Bliss, one of the event's organizers says it will happen June 4 at Kitchen Creek Golf Course.

People can call myself 274-0502 or Kitchen Creek 274-4653 to sign up for the golf tournament," says Bliss

Part of the $100-dollar entry fee is used to fund Fort Frances High School sports teams except hockey and football.

Motorists Charged

Two motorists face charges following separate incidents over the weekend in the Rainy River district.

One was charged Friday for failing to stop for a school bus in Atikokan.

Police says the charge stemmed from a complaint that a vehicle had driving through the flashing red lights while students were boarding.

And Sunday, OPP charged a driver with being impaired after he was found asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle that was stopped on the road near the overpass in Fort Frances.

Blue's Artist Hit's Number 1

More recognition for Atikokan blue's artist Sunday Wilde.

Her self-titled album has hit the number spot on the Global Blues Charts on AirplayDirect.

The chart is based on downloads by radio stations around the world.

Wilde performs in her hometown Wednesday.