Fort Frances Times Online Edition - March 28, 2018

The local Kiwanis Club and The Shops on Scott (BIA) are gearing up for the fifth-annual “Egg-Stravaganza” event in downtown Fort Frances.

The event, which sees children come to the Rainy Lake Square, get a map of participating businesses, and then go to each one to collect Easter candy, is slated for this Saturday (March 31) from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Local bars and restaurants will be able to serve alcohol at the Rainy Lake Square this year.

Council endorsed guidelines for usage of the Rainy Lake Square at their meeting here Monday evening.

A lifelong dream has come true for a local poet and writer.

Joelle Barron, who now lives in the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe of Treaty 3 (Kenora), recently had her first collection of poetry, “Ritual Lights,” published by Goose Lane Editions.

“Publishing a collection of poetry has been a goal and dream of mine since I was 13 years old,” Barron told the Times.

The Special Events Committee of Riverside Foundation for Health Care is looking forward to once again hosting its annual spring luncheon.

The event will take place on Sunday, April 29 from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Robert Moore School gymnasium.

Canada's largest indigenous youth writing and arts contest is accepting applications until March 31.

All Canadians age six to 29 who self-identify as aboriginal are eligible to enter their art or written work into the “Indigenous Arts and Stories” contest and win prizes up to $2,000.

The Guthrie United Church will hold its annual “Spring Fling” on April 7 from 2-2:30 p.m.

Adults pay $3 admission, $2 for kids age six-12 years. Children under 5 free.

There will be a penny table, bale table cake walk and a lot of old fashioned fun.

Draws begin at 3 p.m.

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A reminder that Emo's “Spring Fever Days” is April 20-21.

Crystal Lake Mining Corp. is in the early exploration stages of searching for minerals here in Rainy River District.

The company has started an aggressive 2018 exploration program—in search of nickel, cobalt, and copper—at its properties located 35 km east of New Gold's Rainy River project north of Barwick.

Good deeds didn't go unnoticed at the Northwest Catholic District School Board's meeting held last Tuesday night.

Our Lady of the Way School was awarded the board's monthly Recognition of Excellence for its charitable efforts during Lent.

School staff worked with students every day after class to turn pillowcases into dresses.

Virtual reality may be coming to local Catholic schools sooner than some might think.

The technology is becoming increasingly prominent in classrooms and the Northwest Catholic District School Board is taking note of this.

The implementation of virtual reality in the classroom was one of the topics discussed at last Tuesday night's board meeting.

The Northwestern Health Unit is seeking feedback about parent involvement in schools.

In partnership with the Keewatin-Patricia, Kenora Catholic, Northwest Catholic, and Rainy River District School Boards, the health unit is asking parents and caregivers to fill out a short online survey on its website.

Agriculture plays a crucial role here in Rainy River District.

To celebrate this fact, the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture is hosting an “Ag Day” for the second-straight year on Friday, April 13 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Emo Legion.

Its aim is to educate producers, farmers, land stewards, and environmentalists on a variety of relevant topics.

An Emo resident recently won the largest jackpot to date for the district's “Catch the Ace” lottery.

Over the last 23 weeks, the pot has been building and last Friday, Gerry Allan won approximately $16,400.

“Catch the Ace” is a locally operated lottery, where tickets are sold each week and a winner is drawn.

The Fort Frances Lakers may have been the underdog heading into their best-of-five quarter-final playoff series against the English River Miners, but they sure didn't make it look that way.

English River (28-23-1-4) finished the regular season in fourth place, 22 points ahead of the fifth-place Lakers (15-32-3-6).

The local Crow Lake Midget hockey team downed Summer Beaver 2-0 on Sunday to nab the tourney title at the Northern Youth Hockey Championship in Lac Seul.

Coach Gerald Arch-Kelly, who is from Onigaming First Nation, has provided Couchiching First Nation youth with the opportunity to extend their hockey seasons.

A Keewatin woman has been fined $2,600 for fishing-related offences.

Ingrid Parkes pleaded guilty and was fined $1,600 for possessing an over-limit of walleye and $1,000 for packaging the fish in a manner so that the number could not be easily counted.

The fish were forfeited to the Crown.

It was a perfect weekend for Fort Frances' Kathie Jackson and her rink at the Travelers Curling Club provincial championships in Sault Ste. Marie.

The squad, which includes Michelle McFayden, Jacquee Loerzel, and Leanne Eluik, went a perfect 6-0 en route to nabbing the title with a 9-4 triumph over Lisa Wilson (Timmins) in Sunday morning's final.

Members of the Muskie badminton teams kicked off their season today with an exhibition tournament in Atikokan.

Results of those matches weren't known as of press time.

But coach Brian Church was optimistic when it came to his thoughts on some of his key players going into this season.

“I have high hopes for several players this season,” he enthused.

High school curling is alive and well in the Rainy River District.

That's especially true when it comes to both the Muskie and Owl girls curling teams, who had their talents on full display last week at the OFSAA curling championships that were held at the Fort Frances Curling Club.

Vai Lockman of Fort Frances had a “golden” performance on the mat over the weekend for the Mighty Mustang youth wrestling program in International Falls.

The Grade 3 wrestler claimed top spot in the 55- to 60-pound division at a tournament in Virginia, Mn. on Saturday, which assistant coach Jeremy Mann noted drew about 150 wrestlers.

The Muskie girls' hockey team was a force to be reckoned with all season and they proved their talent once again last week at the OFSAA 'A/AA' championships in Timmins.

The inaugural hockey academy program at Fort Frances High School saw 28 Grade 7 and 8 students (10 girls and 18 boys) enrolled for the 2017-18 school year.

It ran from Oct. 3-March 8, allowing registered students to receive structured hockey training during regular school hours in an effort to enhance both academic and athletic achievement.

Fort Frances native Vai Lockman broke his opponent down during a match at a tournament in Virginia, Mn. on Saturday. The Mighty Mustang youth wrestling program member, which is based out of International Falls, finished in top spot in the 55- to 60-pound division.

English River Miners' forward Jacob Siebega fired a backhander on Fort Frances Lakers' goalie Ismael Ralsten as defenceman Jack Dunnell tried to get his stick in the way during the second period of the visitors' 2-1 overtime loss in Game 3 of the best-of-five quarter-final playoff series Saturday night at the Ice For Kids Arena. Ralsten finished with 24 saves to earn the win.

Christy Herr of the Northwestern Health Unit gave a presentation with Katy Esselink regarding the health unit's harm reduction strategies. They discussed all the strategies the health unit uses to reduce harm from drug use, with Herr noting how the health unit uses a non-judgemental approach to build positive relationships and better educate people with a drug dependency.

Bev Sisco, above, was one of the many attendees who turned out to the Cloverbelt Local Food Co-op's “Farm to Fork" event at La Place Rendez-Vous on Friday evening. She and her husband, Gord, enjoyed a three-course dinner featuring ingredients sourced solely from producers across the Rainy River District.

Inga Friesen of “Inga's Kitchen” set up a colourful display of cupcakes for her booth at the annual bridal show presented by Northwood Gallery & Gifts last Wednesday evening. About two dozen brides had registered for the event, which featured a wide variety of vendors offering just about every wedding service or product. See more photos on A3.

Donna Lowey, above, held a booth for her flower services at the annual bridal show presented by Northwood Gallery & Gifts last Wednesday evening. Those who came to her booth had a chance to view her wedding flower displays on an iPad. Below, Linda Plumridge of the Fort Frances Times, left, spoke to many people about the company's wedding invitation services during the bridal show.

Muskie girls' skip Tory Beaudry was locked in on where she wanted to place her shot while Katrina Slomke looked on during their rink's 8-1 win over Bear Creek SS at the OFSAA curling championships last Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Frances Curling Club. Beaudry skipped her squad to the “antique bronze” medal.

Muskies Andrea Schram and Ashley Payne swept their rock towards the house during their squad's 7-5 loss to Timiskaming District SS in the bronze-medal game of the OFSAA curling championships Saturday afternoon at the Fort Frances Curling Club. The black-and-gold settled for “antique bronze” with the loss to cap a strong showing on home ice.

Monika Ruppenstein, above left, proudly showed off her science experiment, “Gender Stereotypes," which earned her first place in the Grade 7/8 Fort Frances High School science fair there Monday afternoon.

Local artist Cher Pruys' painting, “Day Break, along with "Fall Splendour" (seen on A1), has been selected for inclusion in the ASAA 2018 International Aerospace Art Exhibition to be held in Palm Springs, California later this year. "It's such an honour to be included with the best aviation artists in the world," Pruys told the Times.

Muskie boys' skip Chris Silver, who is in Grade 12, bowed his head so he could receive his hard-earned gold medal to cap an excellent high school career. Silver led the black-and-gold to the title at the OFSAA curling championships with a 6-3 win over Widdifield (North Bay) on Saturday afternoon at the Fort Frances Curling Club.

Muskie boys' skip Chris Silver looked on hopefully as teammates Owen Riches and Jason Bazylewski went hard on their brooms to get his stone down the ice during Fort High's 11-4 loss to Aldershot HS at the OFSAA curling championships last Wednesday afternoon at the Fort Frances Curling Club. But the black-and-gold rebounded with seven-straight wins en route to capturing the gold medal.

“Ritual Lights” is the first-ever poetry collection by Fort Frances native Joelle Barron, who now resides in Kenora. —Submitted image

Rainy River Owls' skip Mackenzie Jolicouer was zoned in on where she wanted to put her shot during her rink's 8-3 win over Bill Crothers SS at the OFSAA curling championships Thursday afternoon at the Fort Frances Curling Club.

The Muskie girls' hockey team was welcomed back by their loyal supporters Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of the Memorial Sports Centre here. The black-and-gold had just returned after finishing fourth at the OFSAA 'A/AA' championships in Timmins last week to wrap up an impressive season.

The Fort Frances Enhanced Hearing Centre was decked out in blue and gold to show its support for the Rainy River High School Owls at last week's OFSAA curling championships at the Fort Frances Curling Club. Audiologist Jackie McCormick not only was an Owl herself but remains an competitive curler to this day, claiming silver at the world mixed curling championships back in October.

Mary Martinson eyed up some of the titles available at Revco Carpet during its annual fundraiser book sale on Saturday. The sale, which started last Wednesday and ended up being extended through Monday, raised $1,200 in support of the Borderland Judo Club, the Muskie track-and-field team, and the local Alzheimer's Society. There are quite a few books left over in good condition.

Griffin Garuk, right, and Isaac Strom of the Atikokan Voyageurs looked to sweep a shot down the ice during their rink's 11-3 win over Crestwood Preparatory College at the OFSAA curling championships Thursday afternoon at the Fort Frances Curling Club. The squad went 1-4 in Pool 'A' play to fail to advance to the championship round.

Madi DeGagne, left, accepted a tray of “Go Local" birthday cupcakes from Natasha Gaudio, economic development co-ordinator with the Rainy River Future Development Corp., on Monday at the Times' office. With the "Go Local" program turning five years old, Gaudio was handing out cupcakes at district businesses Monday and today to mark the special occasion.

Local artist Cher Pruys' painting, “Fall Splendour," seen here, as well as a second painting, "Day Break," recently were selected for inclusion in the ASAA 2018 International Aerospace Art Exhibition to be held in Palm Springs, California later this year. The planes depicted in both photos belong to the Northwest Flying Inc. in Nestor Falls.

WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment to allow for significant gun control legislation.

The 97-year-old Stevens says in an essay on The New York Times website that repeal would weaken the National Rifle Association’s ability to “block constructive gun control legislation.”

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is delaying the launch of its next-generation space telescope its highest science priority until at least 2020.

Top officials said Tuesday that more time is needed to assemble and test the James Webb Space Telescope, which is considered a successor to the long-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.

If you are hosting Passover, you may well be making a brisket. And if you are making brisket, you may well have leftovers.

(And if you don’t end up with leftovers, make a note next year to buy a bigger brisket.)