Jim Cumming – From the Publisher Emeritus’ Pen

I believe the whole country is talking about the cold and length of this winter. In fact, I would suggest that most of North America has experienced more cold this year than in the previous 35. Historically, one of the coldest days recorded across Ontario happened on March 3, 2003, […]

I spent the weekend reading through the decision of Mr. Justice J.S. Fregeau, who presided over the trial of Couchiching FN et al v. AG Canada et al. I didn’t attend any of the court hearings, which ran here from Feb. 19 through March 28 last year, and now I’m […]

The garden seeds are in the stores. So, too, are the starter kits for flowers, tomatoes, and other plants that will be transplanted later this year. The days are growing longer and there still is light after six p.m. In the mornings, I almost can see daylight now as I […]

There wasn’t a dry eye in our household when we watched the Dufour-Lapointe sisters receive their gold and silver medals as the Canadian flags rose above their heads. On Saturday, we watched how excited 19-year-old Justine was when she nudged out her sister, Chloe, to capture the gold. And when […]

Give a child a mountain of dirt or snow and a group of children can be amused for months. In climbing to the top of a dirt pile, the only one disappointed is the washerwoman who has to clean ground-in dirt. When climbing to the top of snow piles, even […]

My childhood home was the second one built on the 800 block of Third Street East in Fort Frances. Art Debenedet had built the first home, which stood at the corner of Third and Frenette Avenue. There was another home at the corner of Third and Shevlin without any between. […]

The steam continues to rise from the Resolute kraft mill in Fort Frances. The steam still pours through the vents above the paper machines today. But most workers still employed in the Resolute mill at Fort Frances have received termination notices. The company has committed to keeping the heat in […]

I sometimes wonder where the world of computers is headed. In high school in my day for math and physics, we had to learn to master the slide rule. We had to be able to multiply, divide, find square roots, and many other functions on either that straight stick or […]

This past week, I was called upon to drive into Winnipeg for medical tests. We left early Friday morning and travelled along Highway 11 to Rainy River, then across northern Minnesota from Baudette to Warroad, and then north on Highway 12 to the Trans-Canada. The area was under a severe […]

2014 is on the horizon, only a few hours away. New Years is always the appropriate time to commit to make changes in one’s life. We like to make resolutions focusing on health issues. Our most common resolutions include losing weight, exercising more and complaining less. I have in the […]

In this edition of the Fort Frances Times, we will publish the “Message of Glad Tidings” taken from the New Testament Book of Luke, Chapter 2 verses 8-11. Published for the 80th time with this Christmas edition, it is a tradition that was begun by my grandfather and his partner […]

Sometimes success creates failure. Here in Fort Frances, as more people have turned to filling blue boxes, the volume of garbage at the landfill site declined. Revenue, in turn, declined. In order to maintain the site, Fort Frances has had to increase tipping fees. The success of the blue box […]