Have you every awakened and discovered you have to hurry to catch up to the day? The district is much like that. The year 2000 was ushered in with great hope and optimism. We coasted on the good fortune of the paper mill producing jobs and household riches. Then it […]
Editorials
With the dawning of a new year, it’s only natural that we see it as a chance to wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and start fresh; to put the past behind us and look to the future in the hope of better times ahead. Reality doesn’t work that […]
As we get set to close the books on another year, it’s clear 2018 offered plenty of “firsts” here that all helped foster a definite sense of change in the air. Back in October, voters elected June Caul as the first female mayor in our town’s 115-year history–finally breaking a […]
Hats off to the local Valley Adult Learning Association (VALA) for staging a “Newcomers Meet-and-Greet” back on Nov. 30 at the Super 8 Motel. With the aim of welcoming those who recently immigrated here from foreign countries, as well as to help them better connect with fellow immigrants, the event […]
New councils bring new opportunities to communities. Across the district from Rainy River through to Fort Frances, new councils sworn in this week. New councillors, mayors, and reeves bring new insights to their communities and the priority of projects they will pursue. Hoped-for projects that were touted during campaigns often […]
Fort Frances said good-bye this week to a combined 70 years of municipal experience in Mayor Roy Avis, who is closing the book on 21 years at the council table just himself, and Couns. John Albanese, Doug Kitowski, Ken Perry, and Paul Ryan when the current town council held its […]
It’s sad to think that, in 2018, there’s still a need to have an official “Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week.” But given what has been unfolding this past week at the prestigious St. Michael’s College private boys’ school in Toronto, not to mention frequent media reports involving young people committing […]
Has your son raised funds for hurricane relief? Has your nephew helped build awareness for child poverty? Has your daughter earned the highest-grade average within her school? Has your young neighbour volunteered to take out the garbage and shovel the driveway for an elderly couple? If you answered “yes” to […]
“Lest we forget” is as synonymous with Remembrance Day as the poppy. First and foremost, the simple, three-word phrase–which Wikipedia says first was used in a 1897 poem written by Rudyard Kipling entitled “Recessional”–is a poignant reminder to all of us to never forget the brave men and women who […]
Thankfully, we only have to put up with the political ads that have littered U.S. airwaves for months for less than a week more–at least until the next election cycle there rolls around again in two years. The sheer repetitiveness of the ads is annoying enough to send even the […]
When all was said and done here Monday night, just over 51 percent of the eligible voters in Fort Frances cast ballots in the municipal election. A very disappointing number to be sure–especially considering people had a full eight days to vote for their choice for mayor, town council, and […]
The generosity of local residents certainly was front and centre once again over the weekend. On Friday night, about 80 people came out to the 200 block of Scott Street to spend the night on the sidewalk as part in the inaugural “Longest Night of the Year” sleep-out event. Organized […]
