Duane Hicks With the Fort Frances Community Clinic having recently acquired the former public library building on Church Street, the Fort Frances Family Health Team will be moving into the new site next year and expand its health-care programming for the community. “We are excited to have this opportunity to […]

Duane Hicks The Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board will be developing its first-ever strategic plan this fall. It has hired SHS Consulting of Richmond Hill, which will be contacting stakeholders from across the district for input starting Sept. 6, CAO Dan McCormick said Monday. Meanwhile, the board will […]

Duane Hicks Communication is key to efficiently managing water levels. That message came up time and again during the annual joint public meeting on the regulation of Rainy and Namakan lakes and the water quality of the Rainy River last Tuesday at La Place Rendez-Vous here. On a day-to-day basis, […]

Duane Hicks A preliminary teleconference regarding an appeal to have the mill property reassessed was held last Wednesday, but a hearing before the provincial Assessment Review Board likely won’t happen until sometime next year. Town treasurer Laurie Witherspoon said the teleconference was held to see where both parties—appellant AbitibiBowater (AbiBow) […]

Staff With the start of a new school year just around the corner, an anti-bullying concert is being planned to celebrate those who have overcome bullying and to reach out to those affected by it. “It’s an important issue to me,” said Dexter Fichuk, head of the Fort Frances Mob(ilizers) […]

Sarah Pruys The annual Emo Fair queen pageant culminated last Thursday evening with 16-year-old Destiny Woolsey of Barwick being crowned. The competition was fierce as the five vying for this year’s crown all had their strengths, as evidenced by how well they placed in the various categories, including banners, the […]

Staff Two new fires were confirmed in the Northwest Region yesterday, with both located here in Fort Frances District. Fort Frances Fire #47, located on Gargoyle Lake, north of Sapawe, was classified as “being held” at 0.1 hectares in size. Fort Frances Fire #46, meanwhile, is located on an island […]

Staff Local delegates are in Ottawa until Wednesday to attend the annual conference of the Association of Ontario Municipalities. Mayor Roy Avis is joined by Couns. Andrew Hallikas and Paul Ryan, as well as Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig. The four will take in three days of panels, discussions, and […]

Press Release NDP MPs John Rafferty (Thunder Bay-Rainy River) and Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) yesterday planted a tree in Birch Point Park in Thunder Bay to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Jack Layton’s passing. “Jack touched so many people in our community,” said Rafferty. “Today’s tree-planting gave Thunder Bay residents […]

Staff One new fire was reported yesterday in the Northwest Region, the Ministry of Natural Resources said. Nipigon Fire #76 was reported Saturday evening and confirmed by early yesterday morning. This 0.1-hectare blaze, located about 10 km southeast of Longlac, and is now “out.” Meanwhile, one new fire was confirmed […]

Duane Hicks The Fort Frances Museum has been having a good year so far, with some locally-focused exhibits proving to be popular draws. Museum curator Sherry George said traffic has been above average for most of the year, only dipping slightly in May and June before rebounding in July. For […]

Sarah Pruys This year, two students from Fort Frances High School participated in the annual Shad Valley program, a month-long university experience focused on engineering and entrepreneurship. Meghan Metke, 17, stayed at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver while Mallory Duffy, also 17, went to Carleton University in […]