Health & Wellness

    Rick Hallam recently took over as chairman of the local Ducks Unlimited chapter from long-time head Barney Maher and now is trying to figure out his game plan for the group.
    “Barney left me with some big shoes to fill and it’s not going to be easy,” said Hallam. “If I can come close to filling his shoes, I will consider my tenor as chairperson successful.”
    Hallam has been a member of the local DU committee for the past five years helping to see through many successful fundraising events.

 This past Wednesday, the Métis Hall at 714 Armit Ave. resembled a factory assembly line as volunteers put together some 300 boxes of fruits and vegetables as part of the monthly “Healthy Living Food Box” program.
    In a quick and orderly fashion, the 30 volunteers on hand filled the boxes with fresh produce, from a local distributor, and got them ready for pick-up from the public.

 George Christopoulos fitted the spare room on the second storey of his home with a home-made, child-proof gate so his granddaughter could visit without him worrying about the three year-old falling out of a window.
    As a retired window repairman, he knows how easy it is for inquisitive toddlers to tumble out of windows.
    “You kidding?” he said. “From second storey? It’s three meters down. Even on grass, never mind cement, even on grass. Anything can happen.”

 Winnipeg’s night life nearly turned deadly early yesterday morning when a man shot and wounded four patrons outside a downtown nightclub at closing time.
    Just before 3 a.m., a gunman on foot fired at least seven shots and hit three women and a man in front of Metro Nitelife hip-hop club.
    Winnipeg has seen a spate of shootings recently—in the last 10 days, nine people have been shot, including two by police.
    “It’s scary to the public and it’s scary to the police service,” police spokesman Sgt. Kelly Dennison said yesterday.

    A local resident is praising boot camp for helping him to discover his full-potential and helping to shape his life into what he had hope for, but couldn’t necessarily achieve on his own.
    James Ring, 22, enlisted in the Canadian Navy about a year ago. Once he got his clearance he was shipped out to their training facilities in St. Johns, for basic soldier training.
    After spending several weeks there, he started to see significant changes in his organizational skills and how he assessed certain life situations.     

    For Nick and Mary Andrusco of Fort  Frances, humor and patience are two simple qualities they believe are crucial to a successful marriage.
    And they should know.
    Tomorrow (July 19th) the couple will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary.
    They met here 70 years ago, purely by chance. It’s a moment that Mary Andrusco remembers as if it was yesterday. She was just shy of her 16th birthday and Nick was all of 19.

    Well-known community volunteer and cancer activist Nadine Johnson recently received recognition for her extensive efforts towards the fight against cancer.
    Johnson was nominated for the local employee recognition award by her fellow co-workers at the Fort Frances Jail, where she is a well respected cook.  
Both Johnson and jail guard Lauren McCoy received recognition at the local level and then were nominated at the regional level as well.

    The Northwestern Health Unit is excited about the long-awaited arrival of their new staff audiologist here.
    Jackie McCormick and her family moved to Stratton a month ago so she could assume her new job with the health unit, who hasn’t had an audiologist on staff for close to a year.
    Since her arrival, McCormick has been busy setting-up her equipment and scheduling appointments with clients who have been patiently waiting for a new ear doctor to-come-to town.

    Canada’s New Government is enhancing measures to more quickly eliminate bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from Canadian cattle and to protect producers from the potential consequences of receiving contaminated feed.
    Effective July 12, 2007, certain cattle tissues that are capable of transmitting BSE, known as specified risk material (SRM), are being banned from all animal feed, pet food and fertilizer. Under the enhanced feed ban, there are new regulations for anyone handling, transporting or disposing of SRM.

    With two excellent events behind them, organizers of the third-annual Treaty #3 Bicycle Rodeo wanted to ensure this year’s event was just as good—if not better.
    And despite Saturday’s hot, sticky temperatures, they got their wish.
    “It was the best yet—even better then last year,” noted Treaty #3 Police Cst. Armand Jourdain, who co-organized the event with Alana Fyfe.