A proposal by Stratton Equipment to tear down and renovate sections of the old Fort Frances High School on First Street East answers the needs of both the Rainy River District School Board and the Town of Fort Frances. As the derelict school falls into greater disrepair, the cost of […]
Editorials
One hundred years ago, the town council of the day, in incorporating Fort Frances, felt great optimism for the community and the region that surrounded it. They saw the potential of the forests, the rivers, the lakes, and the minerals. And that first council realized that with the wealth of […]
The new electoral boundary report came too soon to be an April Fool’s joke. In fact, both local MP Robert Nault and MPP Howard Hampton can agree the proposed re-drawing of the riding is not good for Rainy River District. Historically, the Kenora-Rainy River riding was created because the communities […]
It is commendable that Fort Frances is participating in next month’s “Pitch-In Canada” week to clean up the town. Just last May, Fort Frances and Rainy River District were recognized as a “safe community” by the World Health Organization—a fact Maclean’s magazine noted in a recent article about safe places […]
The front page of Tuesday’s National Post declared “48 Hours.” At the bottom of the same page, the newspaper announced “Chrétien says Canada won’t fight.” The Chrétien plan always has been to play the role of building a coalition to bring about change in Iraq—change being forced through the consensus […]
A few months ago, when the Fort Frances Nursery School was looking for a new home after the local public school board voted to proceed with the closure of Alexander MacKenzie, the option that seemed like a perfect fit was to incorporate it with the local library. Now, another perfect […]
It’s amazing how quickly life can change in the blink of an eye. One minute, you’re cruising across a frozen lake on a snowmachine with a group of friends; the next, you’re in frigid water fighting for your life. That’s precisely what happened to five snowmobilers from the Twin Cities […]
Fort Frances and district residents, businesses, and service clubs once again have shown their overwhelming generosity—donating almost $35,000 towards three causes in less than a week. A week ago Sunday, the annual “Community Chest” benefit dinner at La Place Rendez-Vous raised just over $14,000 to help local families facing medical […]
Government ministers and MPs were lining up to praise it. Opposition members and special interest groups were quick to slam it. Ahh, yes, it’s federal budget time. Rookie Finance minister John Manley yesterday afternoon unveiled the largest increase in spending (11.1 percent) in more than 20 years and, as expected, […]
Given the uproar surrounding Dr. Pete Sarsfield’s determination to take district businesses to court—using taxpayers’ money—to force them to comply with his ban on smoking in all enclosed public places, this isn’t the best time for the Northwestern Health Unit to be going to district municipalities seeking a five percent […]
The contrails from the fiery demise of space shuttle Columbia in the clear blue sky over Texas on Saturday morning had barely faded away when the chorus began of the need to keep the space program going despite the tragedy. That’s very true, of course. After all, we don’t stop […]
Fur is what brought the first voyageurs to this area some 300 years ago, but it was the lure of the forest—and the seemingly boundless timber resources—that laid the foundation for this town to be officially born in 1903. It is very fitting, then, as Fort Frances celebrates its centennial […]
