There likely were plenty of crossed fingers around town this afternoon as Knox United Church waited to learn if it had advanced to the final round of the Aviva Community Challenge Fund—and a shot at the $100,000 grand prize. Ranked in 14th place in its category as of last night, […]
Editorials
The new Fort Frances council for 2014-18 only was sworn in Monday evening but, as Mayor Roy Avis correctly observed, it will have to hit the ground running. Fortunately, with five returning faces to the table, that shouldn’t present much of a problem. And clearly the community has faith that […]
Town council’s decision to maintain term limits on municipal boards and committees, except in cases when there are not enough applicants to fill all the vacancies, was the right one. Given problems in the past of not enough people applying to sit on a particular board or committee, council initially […]
Kudos to those who stepped up Monday night to ensure the Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts will live to see another year. With the previous chair and several long-time members stepping down from the organizing committee, “Festival” (as it is commonly known) was in real danger of […]
A “David-and-Goliath” fight. A “Hail Mary” attempt. Both are apt descriptions of the delegation of district municipal leaders and First Nations’ chiefs that descended on Queen’s Park earlier this week to plead the case to wrest control of the Crossroute Forest from Resolute Forest Products. Time will tell if their […]
In the end, the municipal election here was somewhat anticlimactic. With Coun. Andrew Hallikas vying the mayor’s chair, and Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft opting not to seek re-election, everyone knew the incoming town council would feature at least two new faces. But with three running for mayor, and a whopping 16 […]
As of Monday, the number of returned ballots for the municipal election here in Fort Frances was pegged at 1,939, or about 35 percent of the total eligible voters. That number certainly isn’t anything to cheer about although it was markedly better than the figures as of Friday, when the […]
Take a look around—at school, in the library, at church, or on the field. There are young “stars” everywhere who are making a difference, inspiring others, and building community. Yet many may not even realize the effect they are having on others. As such, it’s time once again to recognize […]
The candidates for Fort Frances mayor and council have made the choice to seek election, and have been pleading their case for office through lawn signs, advertising, pamphlets, submitting profiles, and speaking at last night’s forum sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. Now it’s the voters’ turn to decide […]
Why a high school as large as Fort High is unable to offer its students cafeteria-style food over the lunch hour is hard to fathom—yet that’s precisely the case to start the school year. The issue remains a touchy one three years after what transpired back to 2011. Former operator […]
Despite the hefty price tag of perhaps $100,000, the Fort Frances Lakers have agreed to host the Dudley Hewitt Cup next spring. The benefits are obvious. First and foremost, the Lakers—as host team—get an automatic berth into the tournament, the winner of which advances to the national Junior ‘A’ championship […]
Those who thought the current economic challenges facing Fort Frances would dissuade candidates from seeking election as mayor or councillor were way off base. Four years ago, the current mayor and council all were acclaimed. Talk about a major about-face this time around. There is a three-way race for mayor […]
