Other Contributors

This is a good news/bad news story. No matter where you live in Northwestern Ontario, the forest product industry is important to the local company (as the biggest earner of foreign exchange, it’s a big part of the national economy, too). A basic change has happened in the industry–recycling old […]

“Watermelons are like people. They’re all good but some are better than others.” He says that line almost every time I try to choose a watermelon at the farmers’ market. And Eli Bontrager should know a thing or two about watermelons–he’s been growing them for years. Every autumn Saturday, Bontrager’s […]

One can accept “The National” broadcasting from Ottawa to cover a federal election. One can accept it coming to us from the dark streets of Montreal during the height of the ice-storm aftermath. But Peter Mansbridge in Washington, D.C. to anchor the coverage of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s alleged misdeeds […]

Here in Northwestern Ontario, we have quite a few hawks, which fall into four different categories. The Accipiters are called “bird” hawks because a good part of their regular diet is made up of smaller birds. So these are the very few hawks which really give all of the others […]

It’s been almost a year now since I started My Book of Daily Gifts. To begin with, I found a handy reporter’s notebook in the stationery cupboard and requisitioned it. Four inches by eight inches in size, the pad is perfect for keeping on my desktop. I start every new […]

It’s minus-40 but the wind chill makes it feel even colder. Still, a group of students, bundled up as best they can, are out at 7:15 a.m. gamely trying to shovel snow away from the school entrances that had piled up from the blizzard the night before. It’s a losing […]

Here are two message toward your personal success in the New Year. The first comes from “Managing your Mind,” by Gillian Butler and Tony Hope, Soundview, 1995. “Don’t worry, be happy” may be a naive and foolish slogan. But to be needlessly concerned can be very stressful. How to decide? […]

Recently, Quetico Foundation reps made a presentation before the Boreal West Regional Round Table. Quetico Foundation has a 40-year history of concern for the well-being of Quetico Wilderness Park and over the years, this concern has extended to developing a working relationship with the communities most directly connected to the […]

Okay, okay. So yours truly didn’t exact have a crystal clear crystal ball last year in trying to predict what lay ahead for 1997. No, Conrad Black did not seek–and win–the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative party, nor did Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard get appointed as Canada’s new ambassador […]

Here is something to ponder for New Year’s resolutions. When to say “yes” and when to say “no.” In general, “yes” is considered “positive” and “no” is “negative.” But whether either is true really depends on the consequences. In fact, the outcomes can be very different in corporate and family […]

“Rosie the Riveter” is gone. She died earlier this year at age 77 in Clarksville, Ind. I am both saddened and surprised. Saddened because Rosie stood for so much. And surprised because I didn’t know there was a real Rosie. To begin with, Rose Will Monroe was just a riveter […]

The Snowy, or Arctic Owl, is not a native of our part of Northern Ontario but is a fairly regular visitor, about every four years or so. This is a big bird, as large as the Horned Owl, with a wingspan of five feet or more. The male bird, smaller […]