I am being tasked with explaining what is the role of a newspaper in a community. I have given this a great deal of thought and this past Friday night the incoming president of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association explained it most eloquently by showcasing a series of front pages […]
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
With Easter being as late as possible, “Emo Spring Fever Days” are jumping a week ahead this year. Across the district from Atikokan to Rainy River and north to Sioux Narrows this marks the first big event of the year, a tradition that goes back more than 50 years. Even […]
It is often difficult to keep up with the heartbeat of the district. Even catching up at a Tim’s or McDonald’s with friends, we miss out on lots of activities that are taking place across our communities that enhance or have some effect on our lives and those of our […]
Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the calendar spring. Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day and the wearing of green really marked the beginning of spring. My mother was dressed in green at her Rainycrest home and she could feel the heat of the sun blazing through her south-facing window on […]
I am a diabetic with Type 2 diabetes. I was first diagnosed more than 25 years ago and over the course of time, I have moved from controlling diabetes with diet, then to pills, and now finally with pills and insulin. Every quarter, I dread the A1C test that my […]
Even though the temperatures haven’t risen above the freezing mark, and the wind still chills the body through to the bones, I’m ready to begin making plans for the cabin. Each year, we look at potential projects to make the cabin more enjoyable. One year it was all new insulated […]
The sun is shining, making it look like a perfect day, but the wind is continuing to blow from the northwest, making it feel like a frigid mid-January day when, in fact, we are nearing the end of February. The talk in the coffee shops now is focusing on when […]
Do we elect governments or toss out governments at the federal level? Since the 1930s, governments have fallen on scandals that have included potential bribery, potential collusion with Russian spies, and misappropriations of federal sums. I remember when the Fort Frances Times acquired its first offset press in the mid-1960s. […]
It is surprising how the accumulation of snow is deceiving. Through to Christmas, we had very little snow on the ground. And even through to the last week of January, the depth of the snow was not huge. The deer regularly waltzed through the yard and often bedded down either […]
Sometime after 4 in the morning on Monday, I became aware of a grader rumbling by my house. Sometime later, the sound of the sidewalk plow made an impression on me. When I finally was ready to go out shortly after 6:30 a.m., I was not wrong. Both had been […]
Early Sunday morning, the street light at the corner of our yard had a halo around it. And as the sun was rising in the east, it seemed like a fog had descended across the community as I looked out from a second-floor bedroom window. In reality, it was just […]
My hands are sore today (Monday) as I spent the weekend in my wood shop beginning a new project which is made almost entirely of red oak. Beginning Saturday, on the coldest day of the year, I began planing the four oak boards and two ash boards to thickness. My […]
