News

The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s Business & Community Expo 2013 is being hailed as a success by organizers.
Chamber manager Annely Armstrong said 1,249 paid adults went through the doors at the Memorial Sports Centre on Friday and Saturday, with many more children under 12 and volunteers also in attendance.

In the spirit of Earth Day, the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre last week launched a new program to get adult patrons to “branch out” in their recreational reading.
As a participant in the Ontario Library Association’s annual “Evergreen Award” recreational reading program, the library is encouraging adults to read 10 books between now and October.

Lots in the proposed Huffman subdivision have been available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis as of Monday morning.
But none had been snatched up as of yesterday afternoon.
As reported Friday, the town elected to switch to this method after an attempt to sell them through a lottery draw last Thursday evening resulted in none being purchased.

With the United States looking to explore the option of collecting a fee to enter the country by land, no one involved in business on either side of the border seems to think it’s a good idea.
“We are cautious because we know this is only a proposal for a study, and so we want to acknowledge that,” said Faye Whitbeck, president of the International Falls Chamber of Commerce.

The provincial government has promised to address concerns municipalities have had about the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. following a meeting Monday with members of a coalition consisting of Fort Frances and six other Northwestern Ontario communities.

The 30th-annual Ducks Unlimited fundraising dinner and charity auction is set to take place this Friday (May 3).
The popular event again will take place at La Place Rendez-Vous, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
Don Cumming, who is helping organize prizes for the event, expects the last six tickets will sell fast.

The gastrointestinal outbreak warning has been lifted at the Rainy River Health Centre.
The outbreak was called April 21.
As a result of the outbreak, immediate family members were asked to restrict their visit to the resident’s room and refrain from visiting other residents while at the Rainy River Health Centre.
All group programming now will be reinstated.

Nicholina Youroukos will be the guest speaker at the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s general membership meeting tomorrow night.
Youroukos, who recently completed her Masters in Environmental Studies in Nature-Based Recreation & Tourism at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, will be at the meeting, which runs from 6-7:30 p.m. at La Place Rendez-Vous.

Lots in the proposed Huffman subdivision now will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis after an attempt to sell them through a lottery draw resulted in none being purchased.
A few people showed up for the draw yesterday evening at the Civic Centre, but no one entered their name in it, Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig said this morning.

Shaping up to be bigger and better than ever, the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s Business & Community Expo 2013 is set to go tomorrow and Saturday at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“We are really excited that we have two arenas full, lots of prizes, [and] lots of booths that have a deal you can only get at the expo, or a draw or a giveaway,” enthused Chamber manager Annely Armstrong.