Has divisive politics entered into our municipal and school board elections? Until Monday morning, when I was confronted by a posting from a mother questioning the bullying on Facebook of a school board candidate, I would have said that it was impossible. The posting by the mother has shaken me. […]
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 Northern Policy Institute recently released a paper entitled “Exploring the Need for a Northern Newcomer Strategy.” It may have come to many as a shock but having watched census databases over the past two decades of the numbers and the reduction of population in the Rainy River District, it […]
One of the candidates at last Tuesday night’s forum made a statement that what is good in the district is good for Fort Frances. All too often we forget the value that district businesses contribute not only to the economy of the host community but also to the economy of […]
Will we make the selling of cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana or pot) legal in Fort Frances? Beginning on Oct. 17, Ontario residents aged 19 and over will be able to purchase cannabis online across the province and then in retail outlets beginning in April. Municipalities have until Jan. 22, 2019 to […]
For three days, my wife and I are living in an assisted living complex as we visit my mother-in-law. It is a beautiful building with a huge dining room. An activities co-ordinator plans group activities daily and the residents are given lots of advance notice. Monday could begin with an […]
Toronto, July 8, 2019–Today Rob Ford, the premier of Ontario, announced he now will move beyond the council of Toronto to reduce government costs. Having successfully reduced that council by almost 50 percent, Ford now plans to reduce council sizes across Ontario by amalgamating municipal councils into regional governments. Believing […]
A recent article in The Guardian has had me questioning how I read and my understanding of what I read. I’ve always enjoyed reading and for several decades on my birthday and at Christmas, my wife would buy me several hard-cover books to read. I eventually succumbed and acquired a […]
Labour Day now is behind us. The yellow school buses are on the road and students are lining up on boulevards waiting for them to arrive. The sun is setting earlier each day and climbing out of bed later in the morning. Daytime temperatures are still warm but the evenings […]
Two storms roared through the district this past weekend. The first on Saturday night brought lots of rain and gusts of wind, something that we needed. Then, early Monday morning with weather warnings out, Fort Frances and east of the town had trees toppled across power lines and streets and […]
Having had no rain for more than two weeks, the birch trees already are turning their leaves golden. The maples along the shorelines also have begun turning their green leaves to red. Even the ash trees seem to be changing colours. It is much earlier than normal and yet it’s […]
At the Fort Frances council meeting on Monday night, we saw the first decisions of Resolute to begin divesting themselves of property here in town. The town, in acquiring the old Dr. Boyle property on Mowat Avenue, now will have a means of connecting the back alley that runs behind […]
One has to wonder how the Rusty Crayfish entered the waters of Rainy Lake. One also has to wonder at how fast the crayfish moved out across the lake. One also must wonder at how the smelt entered Rainy Lake and how it spread across the north basin until it […]
