Jumbo shrimp. Progressive Conservative. Military intelligence. Old news. Temporary tax increase. Act naturally. These are all examples of oxymorons—defined as a figure of speech combining seemingly contradictory expressions. Well, another one can be added to the list: mandatory volunteerism. As everyone surely knows by now, the provincial government has decreed […]
Editorials
As the recent outcry over Ron MacLean’s contract dispute with the CBC showed, decisions can be overturned if enough people raise their voices in protest. That same grassroots “power” now is needed among Northwestern Ontario residents to pressure the provincial government to provide adequate funding to the University of Guelph […]
Unless you were visiting another planet, or stranded on a deserted island here on this one, you know the big controversy gripping Canadians from coast to coast to coast last week was the heart-wrenching saga over whether Ron MacLean would be back as host of Hockey Night in Canada. That’s […]
The Rainy River District School Board deserves high marks for its concerted effort to improve local students’ results on the provincial Grade 10 literacy test, which saw the board jump from the lowest-ranked in Ontario to above the provincial average. All in the space of a year. While the debate […]
Despite mediocre results, at best, with a 49.52 percent return rate, town council on Monday night voted to stick with the mail-in ballot system for the next municipal election in November, 2003. One cannot fault council for trying to generate a better voter turnout for municipal elections, which traditionally ranks […]
It’s been said before, but is worth repeating, that there’s no way Fort Frances and International Falls should have waited 100 years to become “sister cities.” But now that it’s finally official after last Thursday afternoon’s signing ceremonies both here and across the river, there’s no time to waste in […]
As the world marks the first anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States last Sept. 11, most people will remember the utter disbelief they felt while scenes of the destruction and chaos in New York City, Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania unfolded on their TV […]
It’s often difficult to truly grasp what benefits a local service club provides unless the result is standing before you in living colour. Such was the case here Saturday night when first a young family from International Falls, and then a mother of four from Galveston, Texas, stood up to […]
The provincial government has been murmuring aloud of late, including Natural Resources minister Jerry Ouellette, about reinstating the spring bear hunt. Perhaps it’s just a trial balloon, a little pre-election ploy to gauge the level of support or opposition before the impending campaign. But a big voice weighed into the […]
If you spent a good part of June helplessly watching the rising lake flood your property, swamp your dock, or erode your shoreline, then chances are the International Joint Commission and its rule curves (last updated in 1999) were a convenient scapegoat. And much of that pent-up anger was unleashed […]
Five Hundred Volunteers. That’s the number of registered volunteers at the 8th Annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship. The success of the tournament rests on the collective shoulders of that army of people who once again showed the hospitality and warmth of the Rainy River District. From Friday preceding the […]
It’s hard to believe that another year has passed—and the eighth-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship is now upon us. Especially with memories of Steve and Kent Ballan’s dramatic victory over Doug and Zach McBride last July still so fresh in our minds. But, yes, it has been a year, […]
