The annual Boxing Day men’s squash tournament attracted 15 competitors this year, with Jason Kabel being crowned the ‘A’ champion. Kabel, originally from Fort Frances but who now lives in Winnipeg, swept Jeromy Wensley 3-0 in his opening best-of-five match, then battled to a 3-1 victory over Steve Krag. Veteran […]

In simultaneous pre-Christmas cover stories, Time and Newsweek magazines sifted with skepticism the narratives of Jesus Christ’s birth in Matthew and Luke—the only accounts we have since no other chroniclers recorded the Nativity of this obscure peasant. It’s far less important than those historical debates, but there’s also a small […]

With residents now able to put out a wider range of materials in their “blue boxes” for pickup, no doubt most will be relieved this Christmas to find out that unlike previous years, wrapping paper is an acceptable recyclable here. Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown confirmed this Monday, adding […]

The Town of Fort Frances received a letter from the City of North Bay regarding the need to reconcile Community Reinvestment Fund dollars, sparking a discussion Monday night about whether or not municipalities will ever get paid by the province. In its fall economic statement, the province committed to a […]

Two local mill unions still haven’t taken a ratification vote on a proposed contract reached late last month. “They’re still reviewing the documents,” said Len Robinson, Human Resources manager and negotiator for Abitibi-Consolidated. “The vote is going to take place in early January,” he added. “We haven’t heard any specific […]

The Ontario government’s proposed new anti-smoking legislation not only would ban smoking in all enclosed public places, but also limit the display of cigarettes in stores—much to the frustration of local merchants. “I’d just as soon they kept their nose out of my business, honestly,” said Craig Sanders, owner of […]

FORT FRANCES—Town council approved a report at its meeting Monday night to give $400 to the Fort Frances Curling Club to help host the Northwestern Ontario ladies’ playdowns here Jan. 5-8. “I support them 100 percent. We should try to give as much support through the public relations budget as […]

FORT FRANCES—Ontario restaurant owners will have the option of allowing patrons to bring store-bought bottles of wine with them beginning sometime in the new year, but some local restaurateurs are less than enthusiastic about the plan. The “Bring Your Own Wine” program will allow consumers to bring store-bought wine into […]

Three out of five proposed new policies suggested by Mayor Dan Onichuk will be discussed at the executive committee level after town council approved a report from the Administration and Finance executive committee during Monday night’s meeting. A specific policy regarding water system agreements, the collection protocol for private customers, […]

The provincial government’s decision last week to scrap the teacher testing program introduced by the Conservatives three years ago is being met with applause here. “The cancellation of the teacher re-certification program was a very positive move,” said Sharon Preston, president of the local chapter of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation […]

While Ontarians may love it or hate it, the new Smoke-Free Ontario Act was announced last Wednesday, which, if passed, will take effect by May, 2006. The Northwestern Health Unit, for one, said the news was a long time coming. “Definitely, it’s a good thing. We’re just disappointed it will […]

What was the main different between tonight’s game and Tuesday’s game? That was the question directed to Muskie boys’ hockey head coach Shane Bliss after his team’s 4-3 loss to host Kenora last Thursday, which had come on the heels of an easy 9-1 victory here two days earlier. “Kenora,” […]