Business

“Who can you trust to do the things that make a positive difference in the average person’s life?”
That’s the question Ontario NDP leader and Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton is asking voters to think about when they go to the polls Oct. 10.
“For people all across Northern Ontario, this is going to be a very important election. For the last four years under the McGuinty government, Northern Ontario’s been devastated,” said Hampton, who’s represented the riding since 1987 and been party leader since 1996.

“I am running for one reason and one reason only . . . because I care.”
That’s the message Mike Wood, Liberal candidate for the Kenora-Rainy River riding, has been sending as he’s toured the two districts to meet constituents in the weeks since he was nominated.
“I’ve been from Ignace to Kenora. I’ve been to the far north, I’ve been to Big Trout, I’ve been to Fort Severn on Hudson Bay,” he noted.
“In the end, people are fed up,” added Wood, a Dryden city councillor and sales rep for Pacific Regeneration Technologies Inc., a forest nursery company.

While few would argue the environment shouldn’t be a concern, Jo Jo (Janis) Holiday, Green Party candidate for the Kenora-Rainy River riding, is hoping voters will realize they can makes changes for the betterment of the planet when they cast their ballots Oct. 10.
“After studying for my doctorate in Homeopathy and through my studies at the metaphysical level, I knew I needed to start advocating for the Great Mother Earth,” said the 43-year-old homeopathic healer with her own private practice in Kenora.

Fort Frances will see about 50 delegates, dignitaries, and guest speakers come into town this week when the local Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual fall general meeting of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce (NOACC).
“We’re looking forward to it,” Chamber president Christine Denby said of the Sept. 27-29 meeting. “It’s a great thing to have, especially with the delegates coming to see the museum and all the good things going on here in Fort Frances.

FRANCES—With election day coming up Oct. 10, and advance polls open as of Tuesday, district voters will have two decisions to make when checking off their ballots—who to elect to represent Kenora-Rainy River at Queen’s Park and whether or not to change the current electoral system.
Voters will have to decide between the existing system (the so-called “First Past the Post”) or the proposed Mixed Member Proportional one—in which parties would be assigned extra seats in the legislature based on the percentage of the popular vote they garnered.

Students from several district schools participated in the TD Great Canadian Shoreline clean-up over the past week by collecting garbage from along the banks of the Rainy River.
“It really builds community involvement,” said Susanne Brielmann, project officer of the Rainy River Watershed Program who helped organize the clean-ups for several years.
“And it brings awareness to environmental education—that every little bit makes a difference,” she stressed.

The City of International Falls and Voyageurs National Park are looking at developing property on the riverfront in the future, namely a $9-million Voyageur Heritage Center, a new VNP headquarters, and the Irvin N. Anderson Amphitheater.
The city owns 21 acres on the waterfront, including 11 purchased only a year or so ago, International Falls Mayor Shawn Mason noted Monday, adding this is land located directly across the river from the La Verendrye Parkway.

FORT FRANCES—With election day coming up Oct. 10, and advance polls open as of Tuesday, district voters will have two decisions to make when checking off their ballots—who to elect to represent Kenora-Rainy River at Queen’s Park and whether or not to change the current electoral system.
Voters will have to decide between the existing system (the so-called “First Past the Post”) or the proposed Mixed Member Proportional one—in which parties would be assigned extra seats in the legislature based on the percentage of the popular vote they garnered.

FORT FRANCES—In the wake of Tannis Drysdale’s sudden resignation back on Sept. 17, Fort Frances town council officially declared a vacancy Tuesday and will begin the process to fill her seat.
During a special committee of the whole meeting at noon, the mayor and council passed a resolution to fill the seat by appointment.
They will be chosen from the candidates who ran for council that were not successful in the 2006 election.

The Rainy River District School Board has received a grant of more than $80,000, through the School College Work Initiative, to support the creation and continuation of dual credit programs for 2007-08 school year.
Dual credit programs, which allow high school students to study courses that count toward both their high school diploma and a college or apprenticeship program, recently were introduced by the provincial government in an effort to help cut in half the 30 percent dropout rate at Ontario’s high schools.