Incredible. Amazing. Inspiring. Any number of superlatives can be used to describe the scene Friday night around the track behind Fort Frances High School as the local “Relay for Life” raised a record $81,000—and counting! The dedication of those involved—from the organizers to the team members who collected pledges, staged […]
Editorials
There are plenty of programs and initiatives in schools these days with lofty goals and good intentions, although it often is difficult to actually measure their ultimate success or effectiveness. The now defunct Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., for instance, aimed to instil in kids the importance […]
The confusion that’s marred planning for Canada Day activities in Fort Frances is a perfect example of the wrong way to go about things. That’s not a dig at those who tried. The Fun in the Sun committee understandably opted to back out when its plea for more volunteers fell […]
Everyone knows the provincial government is cash-strapped—and certainly is leaving no stone unturned in its mission to slay the deficit by its target date. “Downloading” became a dirty word in the 1990s as the powers that be at Queen’s Park sought to save money by shifting programs and services onto […]
Having the local “Relay for Life” join forces with the Riverside Foundation for Health Care is a win-win pairing that’s sure to benefit both organizations. The two groups do an excellent job on their own. The Foundation, thanks to the dedication and creativity of its Special Events committee, has raised […]
There was a smaller turnout this year for the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s annual Home and Leisure Show, down by about 1,000 people over the two days, which understandably left organizers disappointed and scratching their heads. The Chamber certainly deserves kudos for staging the home show for a 24th-straight […]
Sarah Campbell had big shoes to fill in replacing longtime MPP Howard Hampton at Queen’s Park but she’s done just that so far—and barely seven months into the job to boot. As news trickled out that the McGuinty government was closing seven Ontario Travel Information Centres across the province as […]
Area tourist camp operators no doubt are fuming over news that disgraced media baron Conrad Black was granted a one-year temporary resident permit by Citizenship and Immigration so he can return to Canada following his release from a Florida prison on Friday. Mr. Black has been serving time for fraud. […]
It appears local MP John Rafferty has seen the light. His reward? A position in the shadow cabinet of NDP leader Thomas Mulcair as the critic for the Northern Ontario Economic Development Initiative (better known as FedNor)—a key responsibility for our region given the recent Tory cuts to the program […]
Coming up a win short of the SIJHL crown, after having three cracks at it, was a disappointing end to the 2011-12 season for the Fort Frances Lakers. But there’s certainly no reason for anyone to hang their heads. Just three years after the community-owned club was cobbled together at […]
Word that town council is disbanding two committees due to lack of public interest is troubling news, indeed. Despite several calls for residents to fill vacancies on the Children’s Complex and Recreation Advisory committees, no applications came forward and the town was left with little choice but to dissolve them. […]
Without any discussions with tourist operators and cities across Ontario, seven Ontario Travel Information Centre (OTIC) sites will close on April 30. While 181,000 American visitors cross the International Bridge at Fort Frances, they will see that Ontario really doesn’t value their financial contribution to the economy of Northwestern Ontario […]
