Fort Frances Times Online Edition - May 10, 2017

The town wants to remove the faded banners from the “Lap” building at the border, but first must find out if the mill's owner will allow it.

“Those banners on the side of the mill are dilapidated, they're falling down,” Mayor Roy Avis said during Monday night's council meeting, at which time council directed administration to contact Resolute.

In the spirit of “Canada 150,” town council gave its blessing Monday night to a new coffee table book dedicated to the work of pioneer photographer William Hampden Tener.

Council agreed to a $5,000 expenditure from the museum reserve fund to get 300 letter-sized books published, with the intention that the funding be recovered by sales.

Town council will see minor increases to its meal and mileage rates to keep pace with the cost of living.

After comparing figures with neighbouring municipalities, the Council Remuneration Committee recommended amending the “inside Northwestern Ontario” meal rates in the town's travel policy as follows:

The Rainy River District School Board is pleased to congratulate Fort Frances High School student Angeline Redford, who was appointed to the 2017-18 Minister's Student Advisory Council.

Rainy River District lawyer Douglas Judson on Monday announced his intention to seek the Ontario Progressive Conservative party's nomination in Kenora-Rainy River riding.

The PC nominee will run as the party's candidate in the province's next general election, which is scheduled for June, 2018.

The Town of Fort Frances will be recognizing Canada's 150th anniversary—and celebrating volunteerism at the same time—with special “Canada 150” pins.

Economic development consultant Tannis Drysdale told council Monday night that the town's Economic Development Advisory Committee has been exploring ways to mark Canada's sesquicentennial throughout the summer.

Local MP Don Rusnak is pleased with the recent announcement regarding FedNor.

Northern Ontarians will benefit from an increase of FedNor funding, worth $25 million over five years, that will create new jobs and business opportunities that diversify and strengthen the region's economy.

Ready, set, grow!

The Fort Frances Community Garden Kids' Garden Club is gearing up for another season, with a kick-off planned for Monday, May 15 from 5-7 p.m. at the Métis Hall (714 Armit Ave.)

There will be interactive booths, crafts, gardening information, sign painting, special guests, prizes, and a meal, which will be served at 5:30 p.m.

The Rainy River Recreation Centre, Métis Nation of Ontario, and the Rainy River “Best Start” Hub partnered to run a kids' cooking program after school for three weeks.

The community loved the idea and the class quickly filled up to maximum capacity.

Work on the Rainy Lake Square will begin as soon as possible, with equipment expected on-site sometime next week.

­The Riverside Foundation for Health Care celebrated its 20th anniversary in an extra special way here Sunday.

Its annual spring luncheon, held at the Robert Moore School gymnasium, raised a whopping $10,248.38 towards the purchase of a new Moleculite device here.

The Rainy River District School Board received a report on the Early Developmental Instrument (EDI) and other support for early learners at its monthly meeting held May 2 at the Atikokan High School.

Town council has endorsed the establishment of a new committee to review the Fort Frances Fire & Rescue Services.

The idea for the new Fire & Rescue Services Steering Committee came up during the 2017 budget process, when council directed that one be established.

The Shops on Scott (BIA) are inviting businesses and organizations to participate in its downtown community event set for the end of June.

Formerly known as “Mall Days,” this year's event is being revamped in celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary.

The event will take place Thursday, June 29, with a back-up date of Friday, June 30 in case of bad weather.

Local hunters are disappointed after the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry decided to decrease the number of moose tags it provides in the province for 2017.

The availability of moose tags has been reduced gradually over the past few years due to declining moose populations.

Turn empties into a cure on Saturday, May 27.

The Beer Store and its affiliated union, the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 12R24, are asking Ontarians to donate their empty beer, wine, and liquor containers during the 12th-annual “Returns for Leukemia Bottle Drive” at all 450 Beer Store locations across Ontario from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. that day.

Our district might be small but every spring, several fun-filled events take place here—giving residents of all interests things to do.

The annual Emo Walleye Classic takes place May 25-27 and it's always a time of excitement as anglers from near and far aim for the biggest weigh-in.

There's always excellent food to enjoy, along with refreshments and entertainment.

Science classes at St. Michael's School here have been growing tomatoes.

One might hesitate to call them “local food,” however, because of the distance those seeds have travelled.

Half the seeds have spent time aboard the International Space Station and now are grown to test the effects of zero gravity on plant germination.

The “Farmers' Fling,” which was scheduled for this Saturday (May 13) in Barwick unfortunately had to be cancelled.

Those who already have purchased tickets may get their money back from the location where the ticket was bought.

Tickets-holders also can use them instead at the Emo and District Lions Club's fish fry that will take place in June.

The “Spring into your career” hiring fair, held last Tuesday at the Copper River Inn here, is being deemed a success.

“Overall, I was happy with how everything turned out,” said Sarah Marusyk, marketing co-ordinator at NCDS, which hosted the 3-7 p.m. event in partnership with the Rainy River Future Development Corp. (RRFDC) and the Northwest Training and Adjustment Board.

The Rainy River Recreation Centre started its soccer season with 125 children ranging in age from three-14.

The youngsters were divided up by age groups, and assisted by a coach to learn various skills before participating in a fun game against one another.

Parents gathered around the fields to watch their children and many also joined in to help with the soccer drills.

The “Beast," played by Kennah LeBlanc, and "Belle," played by Denae Mose, had a heart-to-heart moment during Sturgeon Creek School's presentation of "Beauty and the Beast Jr." Meanwhile, Sullivan Spiers portrayed "Cogsworth" while Danica Mose portrayed "Lumiere” as the pair enacted a scene. The musical ran there May 1-2 before a full house.

—Photos courtesy of the RRDSB

“Canada 150" pins such as this will be given out to town residents who have made contributions to their community. The multi-coloured emblem is the official one being used everywhere for "Canada 150" celebrations, with the words "Fort Frances” added below it.

Victoria (Tori) Bragg was among the many youths eager to start the Rainy River youth soccer season this past week.

In conjunction with “Mental Health Week," a display of a half-dozen compelling images from Onigaming First Nation was put up last week at the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre. The "Photovoice” project, facilitated by Nancy Daley Fulton of the local Canadian Mental Health Association branch, focuses on depression and suicide. The display will be up through the end of this month.

Linda Logan-Jones browsed the racks at the “Birthday Boutique” during the Riverside Foundation for Health Care's annual spring luncheon.

There was plenty of jewelry for sale at the Riverside Foundation for Health Care's annual spring ladies' luncheon here Sunday. All of the proceeds went towards a new Moleculite device for the local hospital that will help visualize bacteria in and around wounds.

No fishing rod? No problem. Thanks to the “TackleShare” program, fishing rods and tackle boxes are available to sign out for free from the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre with a valid library card. Participating anglers simply sign out a rod and reel, as well as an assortment of tackle, in the same way they would borrow library material.

Robert Moore student Rowan Donaldson stared down Crossroads student Rex Tolten as he contemplated his next move at the regional chess tournament held last Wednesday in the Devlin school's gym. Some 58 students in four age divisions from across the district competed in the five-round tournament.

St. Michael's Grade 1 students took time Friday morning to check on their tomato plants under the light and timer system in the school gym. Half of the seeds grown visited space as part of a project testing the effects of zero gravity on plant germination.

Kim Lindstrom of McDonald's handed Laura Bailey her Big Mac meal last Wednesday during this year's “McHappy Day.” McDonald's donated $1 for every Big Mac, hot beverage, and Happy Meal purchased that day to the Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton. The local franchise raised $2,455 in all.

Yvonne Chambers placed a clothes pin on the date she bet would win at the Riverside Health Care Foundation's annual spring ladies' luncheon. This year the theme was “Birthday Bash” in celebration of the Foundation's 20th anniversary. As such, all the games at the lunch held Sunday at the Robert Moore School gym were birthday-themed.

Carmen Hebert and Christian Wiedenhoeft (above) played the Banks' siblings, “Jane" and "Michael," who wished for the perfect nanny to come along in the Fort High production of "Mary Poppins” held last Wednesday through Saturday at the Townshend Theatre.

At right, Brianna Eldridge, portraying Winifred Banks, sang “Let's Hope She Will Stay.”

—Photos courtesy

of the RRDSB

Local hunter Hannah Mueller bagged this moose on gun-season opener this past fall. She shot it in Wildlife Management Unit 9A, north of Fort Frances towards Dryden, using her Winchester .270 rifle.

Mayor Roy Avis helped Angie Fraiser and Jill Pernsky hold the Community Living Fort Frances and District flag with other staff and service users. The flag was raised at the Civic Centre last week to mark May as “Community Living Month” in town.

Bob Bird of the local Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry office showed off some of the equipment firefighters with the MNFR use at the “Spring into your career” hiring fair last Tuesday at the Copper River Inn. Bird was on hand looking for potential firefighting prospects for next year's season.

Fort Frances Fire Chief/CEMC Tyler Moffitt, left, and John Pierce of the Fort Frances Times promoted the #PrepareYourSelfie campaign in conjunction with Emergency Preparedness Week (May 8-13). The public is urged to make a 72-hour survival kit, take a “selfie” and post it to social media, and show how you're prepared for an emergency.

Emma Dykstra (Mary Poppins) and Brenden Laur (Bert) performed “Jolly Holiday" during the Fort Frances High School's production of "Mary Poppins.” The show ran last Wednesday through Saturday at the Townshend Theatre. See more photos A10.

Danny Rea from Devlin inspected a rifle Saturday during the 10th-annual Gun and Hobby Show held at the Fort Frances Curling Club. The gun is fairly old, dating back to the 1940s. The day-long event drew quite a large crowd, with many people travelling in from out of town.

It will be mainly clear tonight, with an overnight low of two C (36 F).

Look for increasing cloudiness tomorrow, with a high of 14 (57) and low around one (34).

Mostly sunny skies are forecast for Friday, along with a high of 15 (59) and low dipping to three (37).

Then Saturday will see increasing cloudiness, with a high of 18 (64) and low near five (41).