Sniff . . . sniff. Smell that? Yes, spring finally is in the air but what’s really wafting about these days is the distinct odour of an impending provincial election. Fort Frances Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft said he definitely picked up that vibe at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association’s annual meeting […]
Editorials
The issue of bullying remains front and centre as Canadians wrestle with yet another tragic circumstance of a young woman taking her own life after months of torment—both online and otherwise—by her peers. Lost in all the hand-wringing and calls for tougher laws, however, is the equally disturbing matter of […]
And the winner for least shocking news story of the year is . . . Justin Trudeau capturing the Liberal leadership. The federal Liberal party was adamant its search for a new leader would not be a coronation, but that is precisely what it was. And in fact, despite all […]
We all knew the day was coming—it was just a matter of when. After years of wrestling with the issue, peppered with plenty of whiny references to how lucky we all were to have a “free” bag of garbage picked up each week, town council finally decided yesterday to dump […]
With our population aging year by year, there’s no question the need to provide seniors’ activities and services in Fort Frances will grow, too. That said, the request to put off demolishing the former Huffman School so it can be used as an extension of the Sister Kennedy Centre—even in […]
It is great that there is now a full council at the table in Fort Frances. We congratulate Doug Kitowski for stepping forward to fill the vacancy left with the death of Sharon Tibbs. Fort Frances’ council is now on unfamiliar grounds. They face a major decline in tax revenue, […]
The calendar may say it’s the first day of spring but Mother Nature certainly is playing an early April Fool’s Day prank on us. Except for daylight extending well into the evening hours, one would have thought it was the middle of January here yesterday given the frigid temperatures and […]
We know that four people have applied to fill the vacancy on town council following the passing of Coun. Sharon Tibbs back in early January. What we don’t know—and may never know, at least officially—is who those four are. Town clerk Glenn Treftlin would not reveal the identities of the […]
Town council certainly has the unenviable task of creating a budget that will have as minimal an impact as possible on local taxpayers. Lost in all the talk of higher user fees and reduced services, however, is the option of dipping into reserves to ease the budgetary crunch. It may […]
It is encouraging news that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has agreed to “suspend political action” against the Liberal government of new premier Kathleen Wynne, with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario possibly following suit by week’s end. But let’s hold off on wild applause just yet. The OSSTF, […]
After sparing us his full wrath the past few years, Ol’ Man Winter certainly has returned with a vengeance this season—with storm after storm dumping plenty of the white stuff across Borderland. And we’re still barely three-quarters of the way through February. But while we all may grumble about having […]
When MPPs finally return to Queen’s Park this coming Monday, it will have been just over four months since then premier Dalton McGuinty announced his sudden resignation and shocking decision to prorogue the legislature while the provincial Liberals chose their new leader. Facing a series of scandals and a battle […]
