Safety must guide us at all times.
Whether we are on a ladder changing a light bulb in our home, painting a ceiling, or operating a power tool, one must always be vigilant to danger.
Bright yellow school buses began rolling down streets, backroads and highways today. A stopped bus with flashing lights and wings out that say, “Stop,” means just that. The buses will either be picking up students in the morning or dropping them off at night.
It may delay you for a moment or two, but the safety and protection of those students is most important.
Nothing upsets one more than watching parents put life jackets on their children and then failing to wear similar jackets as operators of the watercraft. Similarly, parents demand that their children wear head protection riding their bikes yet choose not to wear helmets when riding along with their children. What message of safety are they passing on?
The death of a woman on Rainy Lake this past Sunday from a black bear attack again reminds us that we must exhibit caution around bears.
With a shortage of berries this year in the Rainy River District, we are seeing more bears wandering around Fort Frances.
Several have been seen with cubs. They are on the hunt for food needing to almost double their weight to survive through the hibernation season.
Residents can make it difficult for bears to remain in the area by closing off their food sources.
It is as simple as removing fallen apples, storing garbage where bears can’t get at it, cleaning barbecues and storing garbage in basements and garages until morning pickup.
And if a nuisance bear remains in a yard, or appears aggressive, call the OPP. Let the officers make a decision about what to do about a bear.
–Jim Cumming
