The 2007 Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce executive and board of directors officially were sworn in by deputy mayor Tannis Drysdale at its first regular meeting last Tuesday (Jan. 9) at La Place Rendez-Vous. She brought greetings from Mayor Roy Avis, who was unable to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments.

FORT FRANCES—With news last week that mill union members had approved a tentative agreement with Abitibi-Consolidated in support of the bio-mass boiler project here, local leaders and businesses are hopeful this will mean more stability for the community and commerce.

The nomination period for Volunteer Service Awards will be extended one week from Jan. 15 until Jan. 22, Ontario Citizenship and Immigration minister Mike Colle announced last week.

With January being recognized as “Alzheimer Awareness Month” across Canada, the Alzheimer Society of Kenora-Rainy River District has several special events planned this week.

FORT FRANCES—After agreeing to consider the issue in the 2007 budget process, town council spent a good deal of time talking about crossing guards at Monday’s budget meeting—and the discussion isn’t over.

FORT FRANCES—The town may give the Fort Frances Curling Club a helping hand with its financial struggles after discussing giving the club a tax break at its budget meeting on Monday.

FORT FRANCES—Northwestern Ontario likely will continue to struggle with layoffs and closures in the forestry sector in 2007, but the areas of mining and tourism are full of potential in the coming year if the McGuinty government steps up to the challenge, NDP leader and local MPP Howard Hampton says.

Employees of Abitibi-Consolidated’s Fort Frances Division reached a safe hours milestone, then helped the “Just Imagine” campaign reach a significant milestone.

The Cabin Country Quilt Guild will present the Cori Derksen and Myra Harder lecture and trunk show on Friday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. in the J.W. Walker School gym.

Dan McCormick’s nearly 30 years of work in Emergency Medical Services was rewarded back in the fall when he was awarded the Governor General’s Exemplary Service Medal.

A listening session for those interested in signing in this year’s Easter cantata is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church here.

With renovations on the Fort Frances Museum wrapping up Phase One of the Fort Frances heritage tourism implementation plan, work on Phase Two has been ongoing.

Temperatures are rising as the third-annual VALA variety show to support literacy gets underway.

While a request was made by some Emo residents for a bylaw to cage and padlock rottweilers and pit bulls in the community, the local council disagreed.

The latest funding totals from the Canada-Ontario-Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF) show the Conservative government is using the fund to disproportionately favour Conservative-held ridings, leaders of rural Liberal caucus charged Monday.

The Rainy River District School Board once again is hosting a literacy celebration at schools across the district next week in an effort to partner with parents in their children’s education.

Across Ontario, agriculture has evolved over time to meet various economic, environmental, and social changes.

How much can the district raise in one day? That’s the premise for the “Just Imagine” campaign’s radio-a-thon taking place next Wednesday (Jan. 24).

As the Nestor Falls Curling Club celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, a very important chapter in the club’s history took place back in 1986 when I was appointed president.

Every year, the Northwestern Health Unit calculates the cost of a basic food basket. In 2006, 27 grocery stores across the Kenora-Rainy River districts participated.

The Rainy River District School Board awarded Crossroads School in Devlin with the first Recognition of Excellence for 2007 at its meeting last Tuesday night (Jan. 9) in Fort Frances.

EMO—Kerri Dittaro, community development officer for the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, presented information on a Business Retention and Expansion project to members of the Emo Chamber of Commerce there Monday night.

Construction of nearly 2,940 km of winter roads to connect remote communities in the province’s far north is underway with the help of an Ontario government investment, Northern Development and Mines minister Rick Bartolucci announced yesterday.

EMO—The Emo Thunderbolts hockey team may not win a lot of games, but they’re still winners.

Last year was another year of change for the annual fall fair in Emo, Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society president Emily Watson noted during her report at the group’s annual meeting last Tuesday night.

Given the increase of land-use planning at the municipal level, as well as concern for the environment, local resident David Ogilvie presented Emo council with the idea of striking up an environmental advisory committee (EAC).

The Northwest Catholic District School Board ended the 2005/06 school year in a balanced position, according to audited financial statements presented to trustees at its regular monthly meeting here last night.

Alberton council plans to renew its Municipal Forest Fire Management agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources after hearing from local MNR fire management technician Marney Brown at last Wednesday night’s regular meeting.

The three sheets of ice and coloured rocks make for a different sort of classroom, but the kids are just as eager to learn.

It pays to stick to the plan. The Holmlund Leafs had a game plan going into the all-Fort Frances ‘B’ final of the local Bantam ‘A’ tournament and executed it to perfection en route to a 4-2 victory over the Canadian Tire Sabres on Sunday afternoon at the Ice for Kids Arena.

It’s a long-standing sports adage—defence wins championships. Well, the Fort Frances Canadians struggled with their defensive zone coverage and, as a result, were eliminated in the semi-finals of the consolation bracket at a 16-team tournament in Wayzata, Mn. over the weekend.

The most valuable lessons often are learned from failure. Adam Bolen’s junior men’s rink and Jenna Enge’s junior women’s rink, representing the Fort Frances Curling Club, struggled at the provincial championships last week in Sault Ste. Marie—each winning just one game.

In a battle of first versus worst in NorWOSSA boys’ hockey, the high-flying Muskies trounced the winless Kenora Broncos 9-2 last night at the ’52 Canadians Arena here.

The Fort Frances Sportsmen’s “Get Outdoors” Club hiked through the boreal forest near Wasaw Lake last weekend.

NESTOR FALLS—The Nestor Falls Curling Club is celebrating a golden anniversary.

It’s one of the oldest scenarios in hockey. One team fails to take advantage of a golden opportunity at one end of the ice, only to have the opposition gain possession of the puck and capitalize on a chance at the other end moments later.

Injuries are an inevitable part of tournament hockey. More often than not, the team that manages to avoid being bitten by the injury bug also is the one that hoists the trophy as tournament champion late Sunday afternoon.

The Muskie senior boys’ basketball team began the second half of its season with a third-place finish at the Westwood Collegiate tournament over the weekend in Winnipeg.

The Muskie girls’ hockey team earned a crucial 2-1 victory over the visiting Kenora Broncos Tuesday night at the Ice for Kids Arena.

Former Muskie Luke Judson, now a member of the Thunder Bay Minor Midget Kings, was named the top forward at the Winnipeg ‘AAA’ Hockey City Midget all-star game last weekend.

Vianets (6-1) saw their bid for an undefeated season fall by the wayside Monday night when they lost 73-65 to La Place Rendez-Vous (5-2) in Fort Frances Men’s Basketball League action at Fort High.