Fort Frances Times Online Edition - June 27, 2017

One new fire was confirmed in the Northwest Region by yesterday evening.

Nipigon Fire #8, located about 18 km east of Terrace Bay, is a 0.1-hectare blaze.

The only other active fire in the region is Nipigon Fire #7, a 5.5-ha blaze northeast of Thunder Bay.

It currently is listed as “under control.”

Connor Keith's debut season with the Fort Frances Lakers was so good, he's getting an encore.

The SIJHL squad announced yesterday the 18-year-old defenceman from Kenora has committed to return for the upcoming season.

Keith was named the team's top rookie last season after posting 18 points in 45 games.

He added another three assists in six playoff games.

In the spirit of James Naismith, the Canadian who invented basketball in 1891, the “Fun in the Sun” committee is hosting a 3-on-3 tournament for students in Grades 6-8 on Canada Day.

But those with hoop dreams had better act fast if they want to play—the deadline to register is Thursday at the latest.

Jolene Richert, left, Joyce McCormick, and Cynthia Donald of the “Fun in the Sun” committee gladfully accepted a cheque for $8,900 from Mayor Roy Avis during last night's council meeting. FITS was among the 12 recipients of the town's $55,000 pot of Moffat Family Fund dollars this year.

Helicopters were back this morning ferrying workers to the tops of the hydro towers along the Noden Causeway to conduct maintenance work. One of them can be seen on the right side of the top arm of the background tower—a precarious perch hundreds of feet above Rainy Lake. ­­

STAND OFF, Alta.—The organization that delivers health programs for the Alberta government has fired two employees over a racial slur made against an indigenous educator.

Last week, Alberta Health Services apologized for a text message that was sent between two workers that referred to a member of the Kainai Board of Education as a “rabid squaw.”

WINNIPEG—The federal government is extending its Nutrition North food subsidy program to Churchill until the Manitoba town's only land link to the outside world is restored.

The sub-Arctic community of 900 on the western shore of Hudson Bay has been looking for help since the rail line into town was damaged severely by spring flooding.

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his Liberal government will continue to work with the U.S. administration to find a resolution to the latest chapter of the long-running dispute over softwood lumber.

Trudeau says Canada repeatedly has emerged triumphant each time the U.S.-Canada softwood dispute lands in the courts—and expects the same outcome again.

FORT McMURRAY, Alta.—RCMP in northern Alberta stepped in when some ducklings ran afoul of a Fort McMurray sewer over the weekend.

Police say they got a call about the stuck ducks early Sunday morning.

When officers arrived, they saw a mother on the road and could hear the ducklings in the sewer below, so they got quacking on a rescue.

OTTAWA—Security officials say they're ready for the throngs set to descend on Parliament Hill for Canada's 150th birthday celebration on Saturday.

But that doesn't mean federal researchers are done thinking about how to better protect the country's seat of democracy in the months and years ahead.

WOODSTOCK, Ont.—One after another, family and friends of a serial killer's victims described overwhelming guilt, anger, and profound sadness when they learned their loved ones had been murdered by an Ontario nurse who was supposed to care for them.

FRESNO, Calif. — Regulators in California took a pivotal step on Monday toward becoming the first state to require the popular weed killer Roundup to come with a label warning that it’s known to cause cancer.

It was perhaps fitting that Paul Kariya learned of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame from Teemu Selanne.

Selanne called his former teammate before chairman Lanny McDonald could deliver the news—and even was hoping Kariya might pick up the tab for a private plane north to Toronto for the fall ceremony.

Marc Methot could go from playing with Erik Karlsson to pairing up with another young Swedish defenceman after a trade to the Dallas Stars.

Dallas acquired the 32-year-old Methot from the Vegas Golden Knights yesterday for goaltending prospect Dylan Ferguson and a 2020 second-round pick.

LINCOLN, Neb.—A Lincoln mail carrier faced a difficult task earlier this month when he found a letter sent more than 100 years ago in his pile.

The letter, with a two-cent stamp, showed up in the pile of mail Larry Schultz was sorting for his route in the area June 14, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

LINCOLN, Neb. — A Lincoln mail carrier faced a difficult task earlier this month when he found a letter sent more than 100 years ago in his pile.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch appeals court has ruled that the government was partially liable in the deaths of some 300 Muslim men murdered by Bosnian Serb forces in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision to partially reinstate President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban has left the effort to keep some foreigners out of the United States in a murky middle ground, with unanswered questions and possibly more litigation ahead.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favour of same-sex couples who complained that an Arkansas birth certificate law discriminated against them, reversing a state court’s ruling that married lesbian couples must get a court order to have both spouses listed on their children’s birth certificates.

Three Melon Soup, a real showstopper, is as much fun to look at as it is refreshing to eat. The key, though, is to start with the ripest and most fragrant fruits available. In the case of cantaloupes and honeydews, the first move is to smell the stem end to make sure it smells strongly of melon.