The curling spotlight is on Fort Frances this week as the local club is hosting the NOCA men’s provincial playdowns—providing district residents a chance to watch some top-notch action on the sheets while also showcasing our facilities and hospitality to the rest of Northern Ontario. Mother Nature tried to throw […]
Editorials
Conundrum: A problem or puzzle which is difficult or impossible to solve. That’s precisely what town council faces as it debates whether to remain in the fuel business at the Sorting Gap Marina. On the one hand is Coun. Ken Perry’s argument that it doesn’t make sense to spend roughly […]
Ask four economic “experts” what they thought of yesterday’s federal budget tabled by Finance minister Jim Flaherty and you’ll likely get four different responses. Depending on your point of view, the budget either was a great compromise designed to rescue Canada from the clutches of recession, a stunning capitulation by […]
The euphoria and pomp of inauguration day now gone, U.S. President Barack Obama awoke this morning to the sober reality of an American economy in tatters amid unprecedented—and unrealistic—expectations that somehow he single-handedly will turn things around merely by occupying the White House. He can’t, of course. Mr. Obama, himself, […]
Staff District residents, enduring yet another bone-chilling cold snap this winter, can be forgiven for perhaps not noticing the thaw in relations between Canada and the United States, but it’s clear our relationship definitely will warm up under incoming president Barack Obama. First, Mr. Obama announced over the weekend that […]
John Rafferty, our newly-minted MP here in Thunder Bay-Rainy River, has invited district residents to attend a series of pre-budget consultation sessions across the riding this week, including one at Our Lady of the Way School in Stratton tonight and then another at the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau here tomorrow […]
The year opened with the surprisingly bitter byelection campaign (eventually won by Ken Perry over former town councillor Todd Hamilton), which then spawned a heated—and at times nasty—debate over whether a “succession” bylaw should be adopted to fill future council vacancies. And it ends with residents facing a municipal tax […]
Fort Frances has long considered itself a hockey town—and certainly we’ve had a number of players excel at the national and collegiate levels over the years. They now serve as tremendous role models for local youngsters suiting up in minor hockey knowing they, too, can succeed through hard work and […]
Town council was right to agree Monday night to pursue naming the soccer pitches at the St. Francis Sportsfields after the late Coun. Struchan Gilson. The only real question is what took so long? Not only is Mr. Gilson well-remembered for his tireless efforts to maintain the soccer pitches—on his […]
It’s no secret that alcohol and drug abuse is a serious problem here in Rainy River District—and every effort aimed at combating it is needed. That includes the Rainy River District Substance Abuse Prevention Team, which will have to fold up its tent come March 31, 2009 unless the provincial […]
It’s a scene that plays out every day. Your teen hops into a vehicle with their friends to head off to school or, say, return home from work. Or perhaps it’s your son or daughter who picks up their friends to go to a hockey game, band practice, fast food […]
Yesterday, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, marked the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. Known at the time as the “War to end all wars,” we know today that wasn’t the case, of course. The Second World War began just […]
