Other Contributors

Boom! Hardly had my jib touched the water before it was attacked ferociously. “Can’t be a walleye,” I hollered as I strained against the fish, “he hit too hard.” Ross let his jig sink while he reached for the net. Unexpectedly, his line also tightened and we had a double, […]

This is one time of the year when the fish are close to shore and accessible to anglers who prefer to fish from shore. Sure there are plenty of opportunities for trolling, but the action that can be experienced while wading or standing on the bank is very enjoyable. In […]

One of the very first places I look and concentrate my efforts is on the flats. Flats are the least interesting types of structure in a lake. There are no breaks, holes, edges, and just flat bottom. But seemingly featureless flats hold most of the active walleyes during most yearly […]

It’s funny sometimes how myths are born. And how hard–or even impossible–it is to dispel them, even when faced with the facts. For example, the myths surrounding the older driver. Once again last week, our national bias on this topic surfaced in an Associated Press article titled “How Old Is […]

The concept is old. The label dates from the ’80s. But the scope and relationships of “outsourcing” are changing as the trend is growing. Another term is “contracting out.” That has negative overtones for some people but the practice supports the growth of new businesses and greater specialization. Activities that […]

I have always admired these working giants, and I am glad they are making a comeback on the farm. I suppose my feelings are, at least in part, nostalgia. I quite easily can recall, as can many of you, when the really heavy work was done by a horse, or […]

The Thunder Bay Regional Hospital is required to have a plan for providing French language service. It does, and the board recently expressed its support. But is that what we need to serve our future population best? In Canada, according to the 1996 census, 59.2 percent of the population cited […]

The Trends Research Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y., regularly examines over 300 trend categories. Each year, it picks the 10 biggest changes in social, economic, and political structures. This year’s group is: Several of these have moved up in rank from previous years; others are new. Personally, I would like to […]

In the midst of rampant concerns about our health care system, here is some good news experience. First, I’ve had a chance to facilitate planning for the Northwest Health Network, a regional association of care facilities’ boards and staff. They are working hard to ensure high-quality, “seamless” care in Northwestern […]

Each new year reminds us to look back, and ahead, to get a sense of “the bigger picture.” The dilemma is always whether to try predicting the long term, which becomes an exercise of wild imagination; or the short term, which is an extension of what already exists. Here are […]

The “mood” of the fish–aggressive, neutral, negative–is a major consideration in successful ice fishing. Good ice fishermen will find a way to trigger neutral fish into biting, and the best of them can trigger some negative fish into doing so. Jigging walleyes is the most deadly method of all, if […]

It recently has come to our attention that the Northwestern Ontario Recycling Program is in danger of cancellation, and this concerns us greatly. The information we have received is that the Ontario government, under Mike Harris, had made a commitment to fund 50 percent of the cost of operating the […]