Council lauded the Rainy Lake Gymnastic Academy’s grand opening that was held last Wednesday at the Memorial Sports Centre Auditorium.
The sport has been absent from the community for a long time, and Mayor June Caul said during Tuesday evening’s council meeting she was thrilled to see it return in full force.
“Congratulations to the organizers and the sponsors. It’s quite exciting to see the mats down and the apparatuses all in use by some young people at the arena,” she enthused.
Coun. Michael Behan also attended the grand opening and offered his compliments to the program and 250 some youngsters who are registered with the club for its inaugural season.
“It’s very obvious that this effort has been a real labour of love for all those involved and I wish the club much success for many years to come,” he remarked.
Also at last night’s meeting Mayor Caul invited the public to attend the Salvation Army’s Christmas kettle campaign kick off at Walmart this Friday at 11 a.m.
As well, she told council she was honoured to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph on Monday and lay a wreath on behalf of the town.
Mayor Caul said she also attended an evening ceremony held at the Couchiching Cultural Centre and ate with Chief Brian Perrault.
“I was honoured to meet a couple of veterans that are there . . . and it was a beautiful ceremony to watch and see these people honoured in the Anishinaabe way.”
Mayor Caul also announced at last night’s meeting that the selection committee’s recommendation for “Citizen of the Year 2020” has been approved by council and will be publicly announced shortly.
THINK Hub
Meanwhile, Coun. Andrew Hallikas lauded the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre’s (FFPLTC) launch of its THINK Hub earlier this month.
“Science North in partnership with the Ontario government has selected six libraries, across Northern Ontario with which to partner, and in which to permanently locate a THINK Hub,” he explained.
“Although the other host communities are much larger centre’s the FFPLTC was chosen for its strong reputation across the province for innovative programming and also for the large percentage of its community that are library users.”
While most libraries do an excellent job providing appropriate programming services for patrons, they tend to lean towards the arts and recreational programming while science, technology, engineering, and math are often left out, Coun. Hallikas noted.
“Thanks to Science North, the FFPLTC will be able to address this gap in library programming,” he remarked.
“The THINK Hub is going to provide hands on . . . entertaining and fun STEM education for patrons of any age. It’s not just for students, it’s not just for kids–it’s for all of us.
“Patrons can stop in anytime at the library to tinker, to experiment, try, play and have fun with the equipment and tools provided, the emphasis is on learning and experimentation,” Coun. Hallikas added.
He urged councillors, town staff, and library patrons to stop into the library and utilize the THINK Hub.
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
- heard a presentation from the Ontario Clean Water Agency who gave a wastewater facilities overview and update;
- approved a recommendation to appoint Cody Vangel as chief building official and re-appoint of Travis Rob as deputy chief building official;
- approved a recommendation re: a geospatial data share agreement with Telecon;
- approved a recommendation re: 2020 Planning & Development user fees and charges;
- approved a bylaw to approve an automatic aid agreement with Township of Alberton, Township of Chapple, Township of Emo, and Township of La Vallee to provide and/or receive fire protection services;
- approved a bylaw to approve an agreement with Asselin Transportation and Storage Ltd. for the collection of garbage and recyclables in the Town of Fort Frances pursuant to a public tender process; and
- approved a bylaw to approve a service agreement with Royal Bank of Canada for the provision of Paytickets Services.
