Fort Frances Times Online Edition - January 17, 2018

The “Go Local” program is off to a strong start in 2018, and now is sporting a new Premium Members Club to reward its most active and loyal members.

“The program continues to go like gangbusters,” economic development consultant Tannis Drysdale told council at its regular meeting last Monday.

The school boards of Northwestern Ontario have teamed up to offer families a regional kindergarten registration week for 2018.

During this special week (Feb. 26-March 2), schools across Northwestern Ontario will be hosting open house events and activities to support families with registering their child for school for September.

The Alzheimer Society of Kenora/Rainy River Districts announced Jan. 8 that while awareness about dementia has increased, stigma and negative attitudes around it continue to persist.

Unifor is supporting the federal government's new complaint to the World Trade Organization over the United States' unfair trade tariffs on the forestry sector.

“The U.S. is trying to bully us and we're not going to stand for it,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor national president.

How much do you really know about child car seats and proper car seat use?

If you have any questions about how to use them and whether yours is safe, drop by a public car seat clinic tomorrow (Jan. 18) from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Rainy River District EMS ambulance garage (801 Scott St.)

Local delegates will continue to lobby for the province to address the dire need for access to justice in Rainy River District, among other demands, when they attend the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference Jan. 21-23 in Toronto.

There's not enough affordable housing for singles in parts of Rainy River District.

“We know there's a real need for singles' housing in the communities,” Dan McCormick, CAO of the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB), told the Times on Monday.

Ever thought of taking part in the annual Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts?

The festival committee is holding its first-ever open house and registration night on Tuesday, Jan. 30 from 6-8 p.m. at the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre.

Couchiching Chief Brian Perrault has been appointed to the Rainy River District School Board.

He took his oath of office during the board's regular monthly meeting last Tuesday (Jan. 9).

Chief Perrault replaces Chief William Windigo, who resigned last month, as the First Nation trustee on the board.

Riverside, in conjunction with the Northwestern Health Unit, has declared an influenza outbreak at Rainycrest Long-Term Care Home, effective Jan. 6.

This outbreak is still in effect as of Jan. 16.

All admissions, transfers, discharges, and social activities have been cancelled until further notice.

Visitors are restricted to family members and caregivers only.

The next men's fellowship breakfast will be held this Saturday (Jan. 20) at 8 a.m. at the Emo Legion.

Come for a delicious breakfast while enjoying fellowship with old and new friends.

Charles Friesen from Emo will be the guest speaker.

Men and boys of all ages are welcome, with the cost being $12/person.

For more information, call Larry at 482-3104.

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Gordon Cornell celebrated his 89th birthday last week but anyone who knows this “fit as a fiddle” man would never guess his age.

Gordon still feeds the cattle every morning at Cornell Farms and always has a smile on this face (especially after one of his many jokes or funny stories).

Happy birthday, Gordon, from your family, friends, and district!

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The local OPP detachment has a new Community Safety Officer (CSO).

Cst. Yenta Davidson has taken over the role from Cst. Guy Beaudry, who now is the court officer here as of Monday.

Cst. Davidson has been an OPP officer here since March, 2003 and most recently was court officer.

One more bowler from Fort Frances will join the Sunset Country contingent competing at the P.O.A. (pins over average) provincial championships Feb. 22-24 in North Bay.

Mike Behan advanced after capturing top spot in the President Division of the Executive portion of the tournament at the zone roll-offs held over the weekend in Balmertown.

A Thunder Bay area man has been fined $1,000 for offences under the Forest Fires Prevention Act and ordered to pay the $5,940 cost to extinguish several fires.

Stephan Schmidt pleaded guilty and was fined $500 for starting a fire and failing to leave a person in charge, and $500 for failing to keep a fire under control.

The Muskie Nordic ski team competed in its second meet of the NorWOSSA season last Tuesday in Atikokan that was highlighted by three podium finishes.

Tori Toriseva claimed top spot in junior girls' 3.7-km division, clocking a time of 14:29.

Angie Redford placed third (16:02) while the other Muskies finishers included Alacea Yerxa (seventh) and Joanna Empey (eighth).

The Fort Frances Legion Ladies' Auxiliary to Br. #29 met last Wednesday (Jan. 10), with 26 members in attendance.

President Alfreda Easton called the meeting to order.

The charter was draped in memory of Winnie Rousseau, who had 29 years of service, and Mildred Lockman, who transferred to our branch and had 16 years of service.

It looks like the Muskie curling teams will be hurrying hard all the way to Sioux Lookout.

The boys', girls', and mixed rinks all won their NorWOSSA qualifiers that were held in Atikokan on Monday and Tuesday.

What a difference a week makes.

After not winning a game for two months, the Fort Frances Lakers now have won three-straight within a span of just four days last week.

It all started out so well for the Fort Frances Canadians.

Noah McPherson scored on a clear-cut breakaway just 3:47 into the opening period to put the Canadians up 1-0 on the Neebing Hawks in Sunday's final of the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association's annual PeeWee 'AA' tournament.

But there was just one little problem—the Hawks are a pretty good team, too.

A bulletin board at the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre shows many of the postcards “Tween Club" members have received from around the world. The young women have been using the website "Postcrossing” to find penpals and then fill out postcards to send.

The town's trackless sidewalk plow cleared a path along King's Highway last week. A dumping of white stuff was followed by some cold days, but there's good news—it will be warming up here. The short-term forecast is calling for the mercury to rise as high as four C (39 F) on Friday before dipping to the minus-four (25) to minus-12 (10) range for the next two weeks.

The lounge area at the women's resource centre has a big, comfy sectional couch perfect for kicking back. Once the centre is open in March, women of all ages and walks of life are urged to drop by when they're downtown.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Don Rusnak visited Fort Frances High School on Friday to meet with Grade 10 students. They discussed regional issues that are important to youth, youth involvement in politics, and life as an MP.

The dining area at the women's resource centre will be used for “lunch and learn” workshops, as well as a spot to relax, have a coffee or tea, and socialize. The eclectic mix of tables and chairs gives it a quirky and fun yet homey feel.

Former volunteer firefighter Dale Gill collected a tree from the curb in the west end of town during the Fort Frances Fire Brigade's annual Christmas tree pick-up Saturday. Teams spent the afternoon collecting the trees, of which there seems to be fewer and fewer each year. The trees then were taken to the wood chipper at Daryl's Custom Landscapes Ltd.

Outreach worker Heather Johnson, seen here behind the counter of the coffee nook area, is eager to open door at the Rainy River District Women's Shelter of Hope's first women's resource centre.

After three years as the local OPP Community Safety Officer, Cst. Guy Beaudry has passed the torch to Cst. Yenta Davidson. She has been on the force here for nearly 15 years.

Cst. Beth Chevalier used a plush dog to demonstrate how to properly strap a child into a car seat yesterday upstairs at the Rainy River District EMS ambulance garage on Scott Street.

Muskie forward Cole Magill looked to make a play around the outstretched stick of Dryden Eagles' defender Ben Silander during a second-period power play last Wednesday night at “The Duke” (Couchiching Arena).

Neebing Hawks' defenceman Keaton Cristofaro tried his best to knock the puck away from Noah McPherson of the Fort Frances Canadians during his team's 3-1 win in Sunday's final of the annual PeeWee 'AA' tournament held here. McPherson scored the Canadians' lone goal as they settled for a silver medal.

Jace Dittaro of the Fort Frances Bantam 'AA' Canadians, right, handed a signed jersey to the captain of the Swedish Tullinge TP hockey club as a keepsake for their recent trip to Canada. The Canadians, who were in Winnipeg competing in a tournament, were provided the chance to play the Swedish team, which had travelled to Winnipeg to play a series of exhibition games with area teams.

Payton Boyko of the Dryden Eagles looked to capitalize on this clear-cut chance on Muskie goalie Kamryn Sandelovich during Fort High's 1-0 win in NorWOSSA action last Wednesday at “The Duke” (Couchiching Arena). Sandelovich made the save—and also stopped every other shot she faced to earn the shutout.

Senior Muskie Cole Kowalski looked to drive his way to the hoop during Fort High's 78-69 loss to the visiting Dryden Eagles in NorWOSSA action Monday afternoon. Kowalski poured in 14 points for the black-and-gold but it wasn't enough as they saw their league record fall to 2-3. The junior squad had much better success, though, routing the Eagles 61-15 to improve to 4-1 in league play.

Junior Muskie Grace Petsnick looked to tip the ball over the net during Fort High's straight-sets victory (26-24, 25-15, and 25-23) versus the visiting Dryden Eagles in NorWOSSA action Monday afternoon. The squad improved their league record to 4-1 with the win.

Jeff Gustafson with a six-and-a-half pound bass he caught in Florida earlier this week.

WASHINGTON — The descriptions are haunting.

Some victims felt fine in the morning and were dead by night. Faces turned blue as patients coughed up blood. Stacked bodies outnumbered coffins.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — A 16th century book that belonged to Prague’s Jewish community before World War II and surfaced at a New York City auction last year was brought back to the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

This year I’m looking to shake up the Super Bowl gathering a bit. Normally, a pot of chili anchors our party, but this year I’m thinking fajitas. They are customizable, have lots of visual appeal, and will definitely fuel the armchair athletes as they offer their unsolicited advice to the television.

I’m not really sure why, but when sports fans assemble in front of their TVs to watch the Super Bowl, major sustenance seems to be required. The big game clearly inspires its viewers to go big.

Look for increasing cloudiness tonight, with an overnight low of minus-eight C (17 F) and west-southwest winds gusting up to 15 km/h.

Tomorrow will see cloudy but mild conditions, with a high of minus-one (30) and low around minus-seven (19).

Winds again will be west-southwest at 15 km/h.