I am writing this column from Calgary. We are with our two grand daughters, aged three and one, who are celebrating birthdays this week. We began our travels on Thursday in the darkness of the early morning unable to see how the crop harvest was proceeding in the western end […]
Jim Cumming – From the Publisher Emeritus’ Pen
Jim is the former publisher of the Fort Frances Times Ltd. He writes a weekly column and can be contacted at jcumming@fortfrances.com
The cabin was closed on Sunday. The leaves on the lone maple in our bay have just begun to turn vibrant red. The white birch near our deck that turns golden in late august is just beginning its transformation. The floor of the island is now a warm brown colour. […]
I have just had installed a new extremely high efficiency gas furnace. It will reduce my greenhouse gas emissions. I teased the installers telling them that in their working careers they will be replacing that furnace with an electrical unit to fully eliminate the natural gas emissions from my household. […]
It is sad to see the “Hog Fuel” generator torn down and being hauled away as scrap metal. The multi-million-dollar investment by both the Province of Ontario and Resolute Forest Products was built to reduce paper manufacturing costs and extend the life of the “Kraft Mill” and paper mills in […]
Since Thursday morning, our television set has been recording every CTV, CBC hour televising the death and funeral pageantry of Queen Elizabeth II. I am not the royalist that my wife is, but I have found it fascinating learning about the bits of history and the protocols leading up the […]
Candidates in this election are looking to grow the population in Fort Frances and the district. Half a century ago, the Fort’s population hovered around 10,000. Canada’s population continues to age, and growing numbers are retiring. Today, we see the shortage of workers to fill jobs in the district and […]
We have spent the last seven days at the cabin. It has been refreshing and very enjoyable. We see the occasional boat and personal watercraft drive through in the distance. It has been a time for relaxing on the deck and watching nature evolve. We can see the damage wrought […]
It is official. Fort Frances will be having an election for mayor and council. There will be at least three new council members and potentially a new mayor who had not served on council in the three previous years. Since 2014 when the mill closure was announced councils have struggled […]
I am sitting in the sunroom of our cabin. As cabin owners on Rainy Lake realize, this has been a very unusual season; one that we will not soon forget. A mother mallard comes into our bay with five small ducklings. She is very protective, and those ducklings heed her […]
Elections bring the opportunity to reinvigorate the community. They bring ideas forward to create new strength in a community to attract new citizens, new businesses, and recognize new opportunities. It is time for a new generation to step forward and begin taking the reins to direct the future of Fort […]
One does not have to look far to see the issues of staff shortages in our health care system. On Friday, the Lake of the Woods District Hospital posted on Facebook a notice that the LWDH Emergency Department was facing staffing shortages over the long weekend. Emergency wait times were […]
Local minor hockey officials were surprised to learn of the cover-ups made by Hockey Canada to pay settlements for alleged sexual assault claims without the knowledge of either their insurance company or with public knowledge. No one knew until the Globe and Mail disclosed that the funds had been created […]
