Fort Frances Times - March 2023

Fort Frances Times Fort Frances

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2023

Coalition seeks aid from Fort Frances to lobby CN

By Ken Kellar Staff writer kkellar@fortfrances.com

A growing coalition is looking to add Fort Frances to its ranks as it works to

have the region’s voice heard by a multibillion dollar corporation. Rainy Lake Property Owner’s Association (RLPOA) board director Craig McKenzie and City of Ranier mayor Dennis Wagner made a deputation to

the Fort Frances Town Council on Monday night in a bid to add the town’s voice to a growing coalition of RLPOA, Ranier and International Falls as they attempt to engage CN Rail, in its process of repairing and replacing the Ranier lift

bridge. The coalition says it has some concerns about the work being done. “The RLPOA has been looking into this matter for a couple of years now

Black Ash Recovery Strategy put on pause until 2024, economic impacts considered

Still recovering from a serious vehicle collision at the end of 2022, Joey Payeur reflects on his journey, the sport he loves, and what he hopes his experience can teach others about the dangers of driving under the influence.

Local nurse returns from Antigua

Payeur talks accident and recovery Tashina Morgenstern travelled to Guatemala in February as part of a nonprofit surgical team to provide healthcare services to those in need.

By Elisa Nguyen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter enguyen@fortfrances.com

The government is currently considering all input to determine the best way to balance the recovery and protection of Black Ash, said Gary Wheeler from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

Black Ash was classified as endangered in Ontario by The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO), he said, adding that the projected decline in the total number of trees is greater than 70 per cent over the next 100 years. Decisions will be made before the end of January 2024, when the two year temporary pause of protections is scheduled to conclude.

Although the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) allows for temporarily pausing protections for a species for up to three years, the Ministry chose to pause protections for only a two-year period.

By law, a strategy must be put in place, and can employ a wide range of tools to preserve an endangered tree, from seed banks and replanting in identi-

Two Moos2

What do you get when you have two pairs of twins? A whole lotta calf, that’s what. Kim Jo Bliss snapped a photo of her twin pair of twins from this year’s calving season as they snuggled up in their bedding on a chilly late winter day. Keep warm little babies, there’s still a chance of more snow before this week is out. – Submitted photo

Regulation plan launched for Rainy Lake

Staff

The International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board Water Levels Committee (WLC) has established an initial spring regulation plan for Rainy and Namakan Lakes. The plan, launched on March 10, is in accordance with a new Temporary Supplementary Order, and takes into account the previous high flood risk and the

standard rule curves. A rule curve provides an ideal upper and lower limit of water depths, to allow a broad range of water uses, from recreation to industry needs. It guides the International Joint Commission’s dam operation, as it attempts to maintain a standardized and predictable level of water in Rainy and Namakan Lakes.

lower limit of the curve, and guides the Commission to maintain levels in the lower third of the curve. This temporary order provide flexibility to direct dam operations as spring develops without having to employ a different rule curve.

In accordance with the WLC spring regulation plan, the March 31st target water levels for both Rainy and Namakan Lakes will be the lower third of their respective

See “Ministry” A2 See “Stakeholder” A3

Police seeking public assistance on break-in

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is requesting public assistance/information in relation to a break and enter that occurred in the early hours of March 14, 2023. On March 14, 2023, at approximately 8:30 a.m. Fort Frances OPP received a report of a break and enter that occurred overnight. Northwoods Gallery & Gifts was broken into at an unknown time in the early morning of March 14. Currently police are still trying to determine the offence time and any suspects. An OPP Scenes of Crime Officer (SOCO) has taken photos and swabs of the area for potential identification of suspects. Rainy River District Crime Unit is assisting in the investigation. Police request any potential witnesses or anyone with information to contact the OPP at 1-888-3101122. You can also provide information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

The Temporary Supplementary Order, which was launched by the International Joint Commission on March 3, will be in effect until July 15, 2023. It drops the

The International Joint Commission has instated a Temporary Supplementary Order, which will direct them to drop water levels lower than the traditional curve. Stakeholder feedback showed a desire for lower lake levels, to allow for dock and property repairs after last year’s historic flooding. - Supplied image

Ministry seeking stakeholder input to protect ash tree species

More from A1

identified ideal habitats, to insecticides aimed at controlling insect species, to full protection of habitats where one or more trees are found, which could potentially place areas of northern Ontario off limits to forestry activities.

“The Ministry carefully considered and analyzed information received from Indigenous peoples, stakeholders, other ministries and the public as part of its decision,” Wheeler said.

He added that the government will reach out to relevant stakeholders and will provide public notice of any proposed policy and regulatory approaches to address Black Ash and provide the public time to comment prior to making any associated decisions.

In the upcoming months, MECP will continue to take into account the social and economic realities of life in

Northern Ontario, Wheeler said.

“That is why we temporarily suspended protections for Black Ash for a period of two years from the time the species was added to the Species at Risk in Ontario List.”

“We recognize that protecting Black Ash trees, which are currently found throughout Ontario, could have economic impacts on forestry, development, infrastructure, and agriculture industries as this tree species is broadly distributed and may not be easily avoided when undertaking these activities.”

Tanner Kaemingh, general manager at Manitou Forest Products, agreed that protections were needed to protect the endangered Black Ash species but also expressed concern regarding the economic challenges that the proposal could bring to local sawmills and logging operations.

“Bush operations already face enough barriers and challenges. And

this proposal [could] make things significantly harder for them,” he said, adding that things could become significantly less efficient.

“It would cause some wood supply constraints to all surrounding mills. And a lot of the mills directly and also indirectly employ a lot of people in the district. So we just one main thing we’d like to bring to light, it’d be nice to look at the economic impacts of the current proposal and what it would be bringing.”

Manitou Forest Products is predominantly a lumber mill and buys a lot of logs from local contractors, Kaemingh said.

“Where we get a little nervous is if there’s no one to cut logs, then sawmills aren’t going to be able to get logs.”

In the district, the four main sawmills include Manitou Forest Products, Nickel Lake Lumber, West Fraser Timber Co. and Resolute Forest

Products who pay to manage the forest.

Manitou and Nickel Lake are the smaller mills, Kaemingh said, adding that West Fraser and Resolute take the majority of the wood basket and that they all “add up to one giant piece of pie,” working together to manage the forest rather than as competitors.

As a rough estimate, around 75 per cent of the wood goes to Resolute, 20 per cent to West Fraser, and 5 per cent to Nickel Lake and Manitou mills, Kaemingh said.

The policy’s impact on the mills would hinder bush operations from their ability to cut logs efficiently and effectively, thereby causing a potential increase in the cost of logs to offset operation costs.

Kaemingh clarified that the potential impact is only theoretical until the final protection policy is put in place.

Kaemingh added he hopes that the

government will announce a gentler solution on how to help the Black Ash trees rather than a blanket policy.

“I know our geographical area gets lumped into one giant area,” he said. “But it would be worth sectioning off our forest up here to see where they need to concentrate more on which trees to save and which blocks to do.”

“We do have a vast forest here so blanket policy doesn’t work well, because we can still maintain a good healthy amount of Ash trees without slowing down cutting in different areas. So I don’t believe a blanket policy is needed for our whole area, something is still needed, but maybe not as extreme,” he said.

“I don’t really want to make the argument saying we can’t do it because it’s going to cost too much. What we’re hoping is they’re going to relook at it, where if we can find a more accurate strategy to take everything into effect,” he said.

Coalition frustrated with CN Rail; seeks transparency, communication

More from A1 and our interests have been aligned with the City of Ranier, Koochiching County and more recently the city of International Falls,” McKenzie told council.

“The objective here is to form a coalition. We’re all stakeholders around Rainy Lake here and we all have some impact by the CN passing through the area with evermore increasing trains going across the bridge, crossing the upper Rainy River area between Fort and Ranier. We have sought to engage CN at the time of their bridge repair project, which has actually expanded into a bridge replacement project. We have some concerns, both with the legacy bridge as well as the planned bridge.”

McKenzie noted that they have seen the internally approved designs for the new bridge to be installed on the location of the former lift bridge that connects the two countries by rail, and while they have raised their concerns with the railway company, the coalition said it feels like communication has been largely one-sided.

“The engagement to date

CULTURAL HERITAGE KNOWLEDGE SERIES

“Of course they have to raise the bridge and they have been very non-responsive to calls to raise the bridge, sometimes having to wait for hours.”

- Craig McKenzie

by the CN has been minimal at best,” McKenzie claimed.

“We have felt, actually, largely ignored. The concerns we have are with respect to safety, navigation and also the flooding.”

McKenzie alleged that they have tried to raise concerns with CN regarding the remaining rubble from the blasting to install the bridge, which is still on site and creates a weir that causes risks to boaters, as well as the piers that have been added to reinforce the existing bridge, as well as additional piers for the new bridge, which McKenzie alleged will add more restrictions and higher water through the area. He also raised concerns with

AADZOOKAANAN

boaters sometimes forced to wait for the bridge to be lifted for them.

“Of course they have to raise the bridge and they have been very non-responsive to calls to raise the bridge, sometimes having to wait for hours,” he said.

“With respect to the Fort Frances side there has been calls to close the piers with dirt backfilling, which again restricts the piers.”

McKenzie said the coalition takes exception to CN doing this work, which includes increasing train traffic and replacing the bridge, under an original 1906 congressional approval, which they say should not be allowed as too much has changed in the more than 100 years since that approval. McKenzie also said the 1906 approval also doesn’t engage local stakeholders, which they hope will include Fort Frances, St. Louis county, area First Nation communities and Voyageurs Conservancy as members of the coalition. Once formalized, McKenzie said the coalition would have greater impact when submitting official oppositions to CN’s plans, or a greater presence when it came to meeting and delegat-

‘Nenaboozhoo Searches For His Parents’ with Jason Jones

5-8PM MONDAY MARCH 20TH IN THE SHAW ROOM AT THE FORT FRANCES LIBRARY ALL ARE WELCOME ~ SOUP, BANNOCK & DESSERT SERVED REGISTER ONLINE AT https://www.ffpltc.ca or CALL TO REGISTER: FORT FRANCES PUBLIC LIBRARY (807) 274-9879 This series made possible by The Fort Frances Public Library & Technology Centre, The Fort Frances Museum & Cultural Centre, The Rainy River District Right Relations Circle with support from the Moffatt Family Fund & Friends Of The Fort Frances Library.

ing with the railway.

“The present course without this is just a number of opinions and sidebar and back hall conversations and it doesn’t seem to be getting any traction,” McKenzie said.

“We would like to formalize and elevate our voice.”

Upon questions from council, McKenize pushed back on the notion that all the improvements to the bridge are scheduled to be done on the U.S. side of the project, which he clarified was one of the prevailing misconceptions about the project, saying that the plans include improvements to both sides of the bridge.

While the council agreed

that there was room to discuss the town’s participation in the coalition, particularly as the future of the bridge could have significant economic ties for both Fort Frances and Ranier in the form of an additional pedestrian walkway or bike access, ultimately the members felt that they don’t have enough information to make an informed decision one way or another at the moment.

“I think that we’re operating from a bit of a vacuum and I think we need more information,” councillor John McTaggart said.

“We can’t make any decision this evening,” Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas agreed.

“We need to get some more information, do a little research ourselves. We need some information on the technical aspects. We also need some information from the municipal act whether we can actually form a coalition.”

“I know that we certainly have a liability issue in terms of upstream and downstream flooding potential, and it’s something that I think we need to be very aware of and take into account and I’m certainly willing to have more discussions regarding a coalition.”

In MeMory...

Alzheimers Society of Kenora/RR District Box 837, Kenora, ON P9N 4B5 • 800-682-0245 Executive Director Rossana Tomashowski

Arthritis Society 1093 Barton Street Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5N3

Canadian Cancer Society 1093 Barton Street Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5N3

Canadian Mental Health Association -Fort Frances Branch Box 446, 612 Portage Avenue, Fort Frances, ON P9A 3M8 274-2347

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Canadian Mental Health Association - Older Adults Program 414 Scott St, Fort Frances, ON P9A 1H2 • 274-9400

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Canadian Red Cross P.O. Box 1023 Dryden, Ontario P8N 3E3

~ ~ ~

~ Community Living Fort Frances & District 340 Scott St, Fort Frances, ON P9A 1G9 • 274-5556 ext 19

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Diabetes Canada 101-730 Syndicate Avenue South, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7E 1E9 Ph. 807-577-4232 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Emo & District Hospital Auxiliary Box 505, Emo, ON P0W 1E0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fort Frances Community Chest c/o Joelle Blanc-Paull, 822 Williams Avenue Fort Frances, Ontario. P9A 0A5 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Fort Frances Curling Club 300 Eighth Street East, Fort Frances, ON P9A 3M5 274-6667 ~ ~

~ Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre Box 686, 1460 Idylwild Drive, Fort Frances, ON P9A 3M9 274-3131

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Heart and Stroke Foundation 2300 Yonge Street, Suite 1300 P.O. Box 2414 Toronto, ON M4P 1E4

~ ~ ~ Kenora-Rainy River Lung Association 401-18 Winford Drive, Toronto, ON M3C 0K8 • 468-8466

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Kidney Foundation of Canada Northern Superior Chapter P.O. Box 20043 Northwood PO Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 6P2

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Knights of Columbus 209 Victoria Avenue Fort Frances, Ontario, P9A 2B8

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ LaVerendrye

Jason Jones

National Weather Service warns about possible risk for spring flooding

By Elisa Nguyen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter enguyen@fortfrances.com

Most river basins have an above average amount of water in the snowpack, increasing the risk for spring flooding particularly for the Bad River and the St. Louis River.

Spring flooding is highly dependent on weather conditions in March and April.

Ketzel Levens, meteorologist at National Weather Service Duluth, said that a slower snow melt reduces the risk for flooding whereas a faster melt and rainfall events increase the risk for flooding.

“Snow depth is above normal for most basins across our area, except for the Rainy River Basin where there are some areas where snow depth is around or just slightly below normal snow depth,” she said. “This is primarily over Koochiching County, bleeding over the borders into Itasca and St. Louis just a little bit.”

While there are currently no major changes, the next scheduled update will take place on March 23, 2023.

Snow depth remains much above normal except for the Rainy River Basin where the snow depth is only slightly above normal, particularly in Northern Itasca, Koochiching, and northern St. Louis County.

Levens pointed out that the Rainy River Basin currently has a gradient of snow water equivalent (amount of water in the snow pack) going from west to east.

“So on the western edge of the Rainy River Basin parts of Koochiching County, kind of very Northwest St. Louis County, we’ve only got about three to four inches of snow water equivalent,” she said. “But on the far eastern side of the Basin, along the border with the Western Lake Superior Basin, this is where we are getting values of five to eight inches.”

“How does this compare to last year? Generally we’re looking at about one to two inches less SWE (snow water equivalent) than last year,” Levens said, adding that the comparison is unclear due to more observations that were able to be done this year.

Basin areas with much above normal snow water equivalent include the Mississippi Headwaters, St Croix River, Western Lake Superior North Shore (MN), Western Lake Superior South Shore (WI), and Chippewa.

Values upwards to seven to eight inches exceed last year’s numbers by two to four inches.

“This is coming from the fact that we’ve had quite a bit of snow this year and quite a bit of that snow has been very wet snow. We’ve even

“Snow

depth is above normal for most basins across our area, except for the Rainy River Basin where there are some areas where snow depth is around or just slightly below normal snow depth.”

- Ketzel Levens

had some mixed precipitation events that have added water into the snowpack as well,” Levens said.

“Some of that water has flown through the snowpack, but much of it has gotten stuck and frozen within the snowpack. So it is still liquid that is available to run off in the spring.”

Mississippi near Aitkin has the highest risk of flooding, a greater than 95 per cent chance of a minor flood.

In the Western Lake Superior Basin, there is a 47 per cent chance of minor flooding at the St Louis at Scanlon point.

Providing a spring weather outlook, March temperatures are estimated to be slightly below normal with a drier outlook later in the month.

Cooler temperatures will likely delay keeping things fairly frozen, said Levens, therefore having a neutral impact on spring flooding.

Due to a warmer winter, this year’s soil has been less frozen than usual, allowing for snow melt to infiltrate through the soil.

“But that soil can also be completely saturated as well, and then act a little bit more like an impermeable surface,” she said. “we will at this point, just kind of have to wait and see what parts of April and May bring to get a better sense of just how that water’s running off.”

CUPE LOCAL 65 General Meeting

WEDNESDAY

22, 7 pm

helps bring the committee ever closer to their total project goal of $665,000 in order to bring their

space to the Legion Park in the town’s west end.

Stakeholder meetings to be held in April

More from A1

rule curve bands. The WLC will monitor conditions over the coming weeks and provide further direction for lake level regulation prior to the end of March 2023.

The March 31st targets were established based on an evaluation of current conditions including the following factors:

- Above-normal snow water equivalent in the headwaters, with lesser amounts to the west and closer to normal near Rainy River.

- Groundwater supplies in the normal/slightly above normal range for the tributaries upstream of Namakan and Rainy Lakes.

- The potential for above-normal spring flows for the US

tributaries in the Rainy River Basin identified by the National Weather Service- North Central River Forecast Center.

- Warmer than normal winter temperatures to date with lower frost depth below the ground surface.

An information public session was held on February 27, 2023 which provided a summary of basin conditions and seasonal forecast information. Feedback from landowners and stakeholders at that meeting also expressed an interest in lower than average lake levels this spring, to allow for dock and property repairs left over from last year. A follow up public webinar will be hosted by the WLC in early April to provide an update on conditions as part of the spring regulation plan.

Local OPP responded to 274 occurrences last week

Between Monday March 6, 2023, and Sunday, March 12, 2023, The Rainy River OPP responded to:

· eTicket - Vehicle - 46 · Police assistance - 17

GREEN-Born to Anikka McTavish and Mitch Green, of Fort Frances, Ontario, a girl, Emilia Alexandra, weighing 6 lbs 1 oz on March 2, 2023 at LaVerendrye General Hospital, Fort Frances, Ontario.

New Gold makes a Big Splash!

Fort Frances councillor Mike Behan, left, Ethan Andrusco, Becky Andrusco, Elaine Fisher, Sandra Tibbs, New Gold Rainy River GM Gord Simms, New Gold Rainy River community superintendent Alex Bruyere and Kaleb Firth joined for a photo celebrating New Gold’s $20,000 donation to the Make A Big Splash Spray Park committee on Monday, March 13, 2023. The donation

new community

– Ken Kellar photo

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake

Herald, Est. 1895

For business or editorial offices, please phone (807) 274-5373 or 1-800-465-8508

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116 First St. East, Fort Frances, ON. Canada P9A 1K2.

A weekly newspaper devoted to the interests of the Town of Fort Frances and the District of Rainy River.

Subscriptions payable in advance: Local (40-mile radius) $65; Regional (Mine Centre to Rainy River) $65; Balance of Canada $75; United States $175;. All prices include HST except U.S. subscriptions. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. The Fort Frances Times reserves the right to accept or reject any or all material whether editorial or advertising submitted for publication and does maintain the sole right to exercise discretion in these matters. All property rights, including copyright in news and editorial writing and advertisements in this issue, shall be vest in and be the property of the Fort Frances Times Ltd.

Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at the wrong price, goods or services may not be sold.

Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Fort Frances Times is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes.

Letters policy

All newspapers encourage letters to the editor and intend to print the opinions of their readers with as few restrictions as possible. The Fort Frances Times is no exception.

Rules governing letters to the editor in the Fort Frances Times are:

1. All letters must be signed, and the name of the writer will be printed with all letters published.

2. The writer must submit his/ her letter in person and satisfactorily identify themselves, or submit a telephone number to be used to verify that the letter was actually written by the person whose name is included on it, delaying publication if necessary to make the verification.

3. Letters will not be accepted from people outside the local coverage area unless the letters are written on a topic of primarily local interest.

4. If a letter attacks another individual or group, the Times will allow a response in the same edition.

5. Letters should not exceed 300 words and may be edited for length and content.

Lincoln Dunn, General Manager Megan Walchuk, Editor

Opinion A4

Governments save Silicon Valley customers

It began with an announcement that a bank needed to raise $2.5 billion to meet a shortfall. Rumours grew and businesses and depositors rushed to the bank to remove their funds. But the bank by Friday realized that it did not have the cash available to meet the demand for withdrawals and it began limiting or refusing withdrawal. That lead to the banks closing. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed last weekend in the United States. Silicon was the second largest bank failure in the United States. Over the weekend it became apparent that the two failures would have major impacts on smaller banks throughout the United States. Early Monday morning, President Biden reassured the population that the US would step

in to bail out the failed banks and would guarantee depositors funds. Smaller banks in the United States experienced runs by customers looking to withdraw funds on Monday.

Silicon Valley was not a marginal bank and had been around for 40 years with branches in many other countries.

In Canada, banks have caught the flu of mistrust as share prices dropped for all six major Canadian financial institutions. In Canada, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) took control of the Canadian operation of Silicon Valley Bank over the weekend. As the leading lender to technology corporations it is deemed important to Canadian Operations.

It is expected that OSFI will sell off the assets in Canada most likely to Canadian banks.

Similarly in Britain HSBC acquired the Silicon Valley Bank British assets for £1 guaranteeing the continuation of the major funding institution for technology companies in the UK.

It is expected that Silicon Val-

ley bank will be sold to a much larger institution. In Canada both the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario and the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporations guarantee funding on accounts in financial institutions. In addition, Canadian banks have much stricter oversight rules. Following the 2008 financial crash stronger rules were placed on banks under the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the Trump administration in 2018 the rules were relaxed. The changes brought by the Republicans changed the terms of the Dodd-Frank Act, raised the minimum that banks were considered systematically risky to $250 billion from $50 billion. Silicon Valley had $209 billion in assets. Canadian banking regulations have not changed and depositors in Banks and Credit Unions are very well protected. We can rest comfortably, confident in our Canadian Banks and Credit Unions for the second time this century.

Former Publisher Fort Frances Times

The Art of Whimsy

I am a fan of unexpected delight, the kind that makes me stop in my tracks, my mouth dropping open, my hand rushing to my chest to keep my heart from leaping out of it, and a laugh erupts, more than a giggle but not the extreme of a guffaw, somewhere in the middle. That’s another of my favourite run-on sentences. And it just so happens, I recently discovered an extraordinary sort of unexpected delight. His name is David Zinn, and he makes the world, or at least his community in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a cheerier place, so that many unsuspecting people collide with his creations on any given day. It’s not permanent joy, because the next rainfall washes the treasures away until the next sunny day when he starts all over again.

David Zinn, armed with sidewalk chalk, creates wonderful artistic gems using objects he finds in his path – a bit of grass growing up between the seams of sidewalks becomes a friendly green ogre’s mop of hair or the tutu of an introspective dancing

pig who is always at the ready to receive your exalted applause, a mouse emerges from a crumbling brick in a corner wall, a sleepy green dinosaur emerges from a manhole, a street grate becomes a friendly octopus, a burst of white flowered weeds from under the edge of a building becomes a pensive ewe’s woollen coat - to name just a few. These ordinary street objects come to life with his array of characters, some of whom show up regularly. “Sluggo” is the bright green monster who can be counted on to get into mischief. “Philomena” has become a fixture. She is a “phlegmatic flying pig”, says David. I had to look up phlegmatic. Is my vocabulary shrinking? It might be. To put it another way, Philomena is stolidly calm, unemotional, which I am neither, but I think Philomena and I could be friends.

David Zinn’s website claims he has been “sneaking pointless art into the world at large” for more than twenty years. His art is anything but pointless. It is a direct link to spreading joy. I ordered, from his website (www. zinnart.com), a set of postcards with samples of his creations, so that I might have his artwork in my daily life, to keep the unavoidable matters of being alive in perspective. I flip through the cards at any given moment and

A few things to think about for World Down Syndrome Day

By Allan Bradbury Staff Writer abradbury@fortfrances.com

Next Tuesday, March 21, is a day recognized as World Down Syndrome Day. By my recollection this is probably my third time writing about this day. It’s a day close to my heart as my older sister Sheila has Down Syndrome.

If you don’t know what Down Syndrome is, according to the Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS), “Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always existed and is universal across racial, gender, and socio-economic lines. One in every 781 babies born in Canada has Down syndrome. Down syndrome is associated with chromosome 21 and there are three types: Trisomy 21, Translocation, and Mosaicism.”

Trisomy 21 is the reason that March 21, (3/21) has been declared as Down Syndrome Day. There are a few characteristics that can present in people with Down Syndrome. Some people have intellectual disabilities, some have delays in development of speech and motor skills, physical characteristics are probably most obvious like characteristic facial features and short stature.

While Down Syndrome can cause intellectual disabilities there are many people with it who have been very successful. Just last Sunday at the Academy Awards a short film called An Irish Goodbye starring a young man with Down Syndrome won the Oscar for Best Short Film.

Also last week the film Champions starring Woody Harrelson as a disgraced semiprofessional basketball coach under a court order to coach a team of players with intellectual disabilities was released.

The film also stars a Canadian named Madison Tevlin who also has Down Syndrome. Tevlin went viral several years ago with her interpretation of John Legend’s All of Me and has since used her platform to show the world what people with Down Syndrome can do.

bowling at the provincial Special Olympics games back in Newfoundland. It was great to see some pictures of her and her friends. She volunteers with her church and works occasionally at a local social enterprise in St. John’s that offers work for people with intellectual disabilities.

In partnership with business and employment focused social media platform LinkedIn, the CDSS has launched an initiative called “Inployable.”

According to CDSS over 50 per cent of people with Down Syndrome can’t find a paying job. They are attempting to build a network to “increase the visibility of an overlooked and underrepresented workforce that can help to solve the current labour shortage.” Because of the varied ranges of ability that people with Down Syndrome have, there are a wide array of jobs that they can do. This Inployable network is looking to connect people with Down Syndrome with people who need employees.

People with Down Syndrome are smart, creative, athletic and have feelings all in their own way just like everyone else. Many of them can live long fulfilling and successful lives, getting married and going to university or college. Next week there are a few things you can do on Tuesday honour the day. One way that the day is celebrated is the Lots of Socks campaign. People wear odd or brightly coloured socks as a way to raise awareness. Another way to honour the day is to commit to ending the ‘R’ word. Re—ed has long been used as a word to refer to people with intellectual disabilities like Down Syndrome but people often use it as an insult. For several years now the campaign to end the ‘R’ word has been working to show people that there are better words to use.

always feel better than before I gave them a peek. Sluggo and Philomena inspire smiles without fail, and the wee bear on the end of his rescue balloon emerging from a missing cobblestone on the end of his rescue balloon, rescues me, too. David’s art isn’t limited to Ann Arbor. It has graced the streets of Manhattan, Sweden, and as far away as Taiwan and I’m willing to bet the list of occurrences of his whimsical wonders is a long one. His work is literally underfoot. He has 2.7 million followers on TikTok, at last count, so his work is not a secret. He is a self-declared “habitual doodler”. As habits go, that’s a good thing. I, on the other hand, am a habitual baker of cinnamon buns which I devour in too short order. Me thinks I would be better served being a habitual doodler, though maybe not as tasty a habit. David Zinn makes his living crafting art of the serious kind for others, but I’m willing to bet it is his whimsical work that gives his life meaning and a sense of greater purpose. I give you this advice: if you happen to have the good fortune of stumbling upon one of David Zinn’s creations somewhere in the world - enjoy it, take it in, for as his website warns, “it is ephemeral”. wendistewart@live.ca

In 2020 Chris Nikic became the first person with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon. Chris uses his platform to encourage others to get “one per cent better every day.”

Last weekend my sister was

HAVE YOUR SAY – THE TIMES POLL

Do you think the Town of Fort Frances and other Rainy River District municipalities are better prepared to handle flooding if this spring were to be a repeat of last year?

Yes or No?

To take part in our online poll, visit the Times’ website at: www.fftimes.com

Last week’s results

As the seasons start to change are you excited for summer activities or going to miss winter ones? Which outdoor activity is your favourite? A) Boating– 36% B) Snowmobiling–6% C) fishing–46% D) Ice Fishing–4%

E) Skiing or snowshoeing–7%

Total votes 67

SGEI paramedics program to benefit from Learn and Stay Grant

By Ken Kellar Staff writer kkellar@fortfrances.com

New funding available from the provincial government could hopefully help to fill some of the vacant spots in high demand careers across the province, including here in the Rainy River District.

Introduced last year, the Ontario government’s Stay and Learn grant is aimed at students who might be interested in “priority programs in priority communities” across the province. Some of the programs deemed as priority by the government include nursing, and qualified communities stretch across the northern portions of the province and include Timmins, Thunder Bay and Sioux Lookout. Of potential interest to students in the Rainy River District, however, one such program that is eligible for the Stay and Learn grant is the paramedic program at Seven Generations Education Institute (SGEI).

SGEI paramedic program coordinator Malcolm Daley said that the new grant opportunity will allow more students to access the program, and will also hopefully work to address the number of vacancies the field is seeing in the district.

“We’re another year further into the delivery of our paramedics program, of all of our health discipline programs, it’s always expanding and is a huge area of growth,” Daley said.

“There’s new funding opportunities available that affect the Seven Generations paramedics students. Demand for ambulance services hasn’t changed. It’s only increased throughout the past few years because of the pandemic and then into the post-pandemic world. There hasn’t been a change to the service, but the demand has increased.”

Daley notes that in areas like the Rainy River District, that demand is heightened, particularly as a set number of ambulances have to cover much wider distances than those in closer or more densely populated areas. In order to combat this decline in staff for paramedic and other areas of health care, the new Stay and Learn grant, available for those same paramedic students at SGEI, will make the cost of attending the program much more manageable, in exchange for a timecommitment from those students once they have graduated.

“The Ontario government is launching a new funding initiative to incentivize people to enter careers of high demand in underserved communities,” Daley explained.

“That affects SGEI paramedics students very specifically. The focus of the Learn and Stay grant is basically to encourage northwestern Ontario locals to enter the healthcare careers that are in the highest demand. Paramedics students attending SGEI in the fall will be eligible for the grant, and it will provide the full cost of tuition, books, supplies and all compulsory fees.”

Of course, the name of the grant including the word “stay” highlights one of the key requirement for the funding; namely, that the student must remain in the same region they studied in for sixth months per year of study in their program. Therefore, for a student graduating from the two-year SGEI paramedic program, they must agree to remain and work in the district for one full year after graduating, or the province converts that grant funding into a repayable loan. The only other requirements for the grant is that the student be accepted into an eligible program in a priority community, and be an Ontario resident who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person.

According to the SGEI website, the tuition for each year of the two-year paramedic program is $7,711, and does not list the cost of associated textbooks or supplies. With the grant, eligible students will have those costs covered, which removes a significant barrier to entry for those interested in becoming a paramedic, particularly if they are a mature student who might be looking to change careers but might not be able to afford the upfront tuition costs. Even if the student receives the Stay and Learn grant funding, they are still eligible to apply for additional support through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), which can further help to mitigate the financial burden.

“Many people who are in to this program are either second career or mid to older adults who have lives, families, jobs and vehicles,” Daley said.

“How do you come up with an extra ten grand? Those are major traditional barriers to educations that will be eliminated by [this grant]. There’s been processes in place for certain initiatives like this for other healthcare fields, and it’s long been discussed that paramedics could or should be included in that, so the inclusion of these programs is a great step forward for the career as a whole, something I’m really excited about, because I’ve seen the value in this for forever.”

Daley said that in addition to encouraging older individuals to potentially make a career change, the grant

also encourages local young people to choose to stay close to home to pursue further education, which can make a big deal for northern communities in search of these qualified professionals.

“The best way to resolve a labour crisis or shortage like this is to incentivize people into the field,” he said.

“The ones that are most likely to stay here and work long term are the ones who grew up here, who have family ties here, social commitments here. They’re also the ones who bring a sense of community to the career, and that makes such a huge difference in the healthcare field. We are really hoping to get locals. This is open to anybody who attends our school, but we are community-based in our education style.”

With any luck, the ease of access into an otherwise financially heavy program, as well as the commitment to staying in the area if even for a short amount of time upon graduation

will help to address the staffing issues in the area. Daley noted he has seen the situation surrounding supply and demand of paramedics flip completely during his time in the field, and hopes that this funding, and others like it, can help to address the needs of northern community healthcare.

“There didn’t use to be this much demand,” he said.

“There was a time not long ago when there were not enough jobs for the number of graduates. Now it’s the complete opposite. This [grant] really ties a lot into our messaging and our goals. We’re still keeping the same values in the program. We’re still keeping a smaller class size because we want to have low student to teacher ratios. We’re still focusing a lot of our education on regionally specific aspects of the career, cultural awareness and student-centred community-based education. We’re still incorporating the core SGEI values into the program in

More calves and more snow on the way

Happy March Break to many folks out there! It is a great sunny day to start off the week. We could have done without the wind and snow over the weekend but like I was reminded it is better now than a month from now. If nothing else it certainly taught my calves to make use of the calf shelters. Up until now the weather has been pretty decent and they haven’t used the calf huts all that much. The wind and blowing snow changed that.

I am waiting for my last five cows now. Things are much slower. Twins seem to be happening all over this District. A friend that just started calving started off with a set of twins and another friend from Stratton just had his fifth set this morning.

Some of his are off of heifers and that is a lot of work for a first time mom. Funny on a year that our hay quality isn’t that great that these animals can pull this off. A month from now we will be changing gears and should be getting some lambs. A few weeks after that, kids! I am hoping for nice April weather. I am very proud of myself that I have already finished a couple income taxes. I am sure hoping that I can get my own off the list before the weather gets nice. (I know I say this every year.) Every

year I work on improving my book keeping and it does make the tax work go a little smoother.

My list on my desk that I look at everyday still has in capital letters, HOUSEWORK. That is defiantly a job that should be off the list before the warm spring days arrive! I get easily distracted. Like for example a nice couple sold me a beautiful, old hoosier cabinet last week. Naturally I have been busy cleaning it up and trying to decided on where it is going to fit in. I am very excited about it, it is so pretty!

For Christmas my mom and I bought my brother and family tickets to the Boston Bruin game in Winnipeg this week. I surprised my mom by getting her a ticket as well. They will be off cheering for

Boston later this week! I am excited for them to go. It will be exciting here as well as I will have all three dogs. Daisee is pretty chill but Berkley is going to be excited for all the calving season offers and I can bet she is going to have to get in the tub the minute she returns to Fort Frances.

The Rainy River District Vet Services Committee will be hosting their AGM on March 22, 2023. If you have anything you would like to discuss with the committee please reach out to me and I will get you on our agenda. We are very fortunate in the Rainy River District to be serviced by two great clinics. This is not the case in many parts of Ontario and it isn’t just the North the struggles with vet services it is across the entire province!

Shamrock Tea and Bake Sale to support Hospital

There will be a Shamrock Tea and Bake Sale this Friday March 17 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. This enjoyable event offers baking and all kinds of goodies.

The event takes place at the Emo hospital cafeteria. Admission is $5.00. Monies raised will assist the Emo Hospital projects. This event is sponsored by the Emo District Hospital Auxiliary. The Auxiliary thanks all who support this event.

Guthrie United Church will also host their annual Spring Fling Tea and Bake Sale. This takes place April 1 from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Devlin Hall. Admission is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for 6-12 year olds and 5 and under pay no admission.

A large variety of dessert tables, penny tables and a bake table will make for an enjoyable tea.

A sure sign that Easter is just around the corner, is the Emo Legion Good Friday Walleye Fish Fry. This takes place April 7 at the Emo Legion from 5-6:30 p.m.

Advance ticket sales only. Take-out meals will be available and must must be picked up between 4 and 4:45 p.m.

Tickets are available by calling 482-2250. Adults $20, age 10 and under $10, Legion members pay $18.

Tickets are available at the Emo Legion Club Room Wednesday to Saturday from 3-6 p.m. Tompkins Hardware or Tompkins Outdoors.

More information to follow.

There will be a Country Jam presented by George Elliot, along with several musicians performing this Friday (March 17) beginning at 7p.m.

The winners of the meat draw held March 10 we’re Laurie Anderson and Keith Stromstad.

Happy 40th anniversary to Mel and Lucille MacDonald. Their anniversary date was March 12. The district wishes them many more years of a happy marriage.

Happy 70th birthday to Sadie Smith. Here’s wishing you many more years of happiness, from all your family and friends!

A reminder that ”Senior of the Year” nominations must

be received at the LaVallee municipal office no later than Friday March 31. Every year the Township of LaVallee nominates a local individual to receive this award. The person must be 65 or older and someone who has made our community a better place to live through volunteering their time etc. If you would like to nominate someone, send the municipal office a brief description as to why you think this person deserves this award.

Robin’s 2 cents

Two hillbillies were sipping moonshine, when a truck went past loaded with rolls of sod. “I’m a gonna do that when I win that there lottery,” announced hillbilly #1.

“Do what?” asked hillbilly #2.

“Send my lawn out to get mowed.”

every way that we can. We’re really excited about the increased ability for students to access this.”

The paramedics program at SGEI is the only one of their programs to be eligible for the grant, but Confederation College’s practical nursing diploma program is also eligible for Stay and Learn funding, giving potential local students two different streams of healthcare within the region that has seen improved access.

For more information about the Seven Generations Education Institute’s paramedics program, contact Daley at malcolmd@7generations.org, or by calling 807-271-277 ext. 1223. You can also visit the school’s program page at 7generations.org/programs/ paramedic/.

The applications and further information about the Stay and Learn grant from the Ontario Government can be found on their website.

Unifor workers in Barwick approve new four year deal with West Fraser

Press release

About 150 members of Unifor Local 324-99 voted 88% in favor of a new 4 year collective agreement with West Fraser Timber covering its Barwick oriented strand board (OSB) mill near Fort Frances. Stephen Boon, Unifor Northern Area Director, said, “Unifor forestry Locals across Eastern Canada have had an extremely successful year bargaining some of the largest wage increases in the forest industry in almost 40 years. With the ratification of this latest deal at West Fraser Timber, all 9 Unifor forestry local unions representing 1,400 members across Northwestern Ontario, have now successfully achieved Unifor’s Easter Canada Pulp and Paper Pattern Agreement with wage increases ranging from 23% to as high as 36% over the 4 year term.” Katrina Peterson, Unifor Local 324 President, added, “as indicated by the overwhelming ratification results, our Local 324 members in Barwick were very pleased to secure a solid, long-term deal that achieves some of the largest wage increases ever negotiated at this mill. Under the terms of the contract ratified today, our members can look forward to 23% in wage increases, $5,000 in lump sum payments and other key monetary and language improvements. We commend the perseverance of the bargaining committee and great work of our national union in once again successfully coordinat-

ing a historic round of pattern bargaining across Northwestern Ontario’s forest sector.” The new contract is retro-active to August 1, 2022 and remains in place until July 31, 2026. Key terms of the deal include:

- Salary adjustments of $2.50/ hour for all production workers and $3.50/hour for trades over the term; - Additional general wage increases of 3% in 2022, $1.30/ hour in 2023, 3% in 2024 and $1.30/hour in 2025; - Total average wage increase of 23% over term with top production rates of pay reaching $43.79/hour and top trades pay reaching $51.60/hour by the final year of the deal; - $5,000 in lump sum payments over the term; - Increased $500 annual health spending account; - $1.00/hour first responder and $1.00/hour fire team premium; - $250 annual boot allowance; - Improved vision care coverage to $400; - $3,000 orthodontic coverage; - $4 increase in meal tickets to $20 meal; - New maternity leave top-up program; - New Unifor women’s advocate position; - Up to 4.25% in additional wage adjustments for some maintenance positions; - Improved clothing, vacation, apprenticeship and benefit language; - Employer will make annual $4,000 contribution to Unifor Local 324 training fund.

Seven Generations Educational Institute has been selected as an eligible facility for the Learn and Stay Grant for its Paramedic course. It offers hands-on education, and training for a well-paying in demand profession. The grant covers full tuition and school expenses up-front for students who agree to work in the region for a term after graduation. - SGEI Facebook photo

ALLAN ROY KENNETT

Obituaries

August 10, 1940 – March 3, 2023

Michael passed away peacefully on the morning of March 3, 2023, at Seven Oaks Hospital.

Michael will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 58 years, Barbara; daughter Dawn (Chris); son M.G. (Jamie); and grandchildren Joseph (Taya), Jaime and Jesse.

Michael was born on August 10, 1940, in Winnipeg. He grew up in Cochenour, Ontario and attended Red Lake High School and enjoyed spending time with Granny Schiller in Winnipeg. Following high school, he attended Art School at SAIT in Calgary and then settled in Winnipeg where he met the love of his life, Barbara. They were married on August 1, 1964.

Michael worked in advertising, printing and sales in

Winnipeg and later in Fort Frances. He was a long-time member of the “Early Birds” at the St. James Y.

After many family visits to Burditt Lake, One Red Canoe was built in 1987, and provided a summer getaway and

eventual home for Mike and Barb where they spent many great years together with family and friends. Beloved dogs Sugar, Scandi and Cedar were always considered part of the family.

Michael had a great sense of humour and a quick smile. He loved cleaning his cars, puttering at the lake, having a coffee on the dock with his pooch and time spent with his family.

In accordance with Michael’s wishes, cremation has taken place and will be followed by a private family interment at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the charity of one’s choice. Family and friends may sign a Book of Condolence at www. glenedenmemorial.ca.

Sadly, the family announces the sudden passing of Tyson Lauren Johnson-Jourdain, 36, of Fort Frances, Ontario, on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Arrangements pending and a complete announcement to follow.

The family of Paul Eliuk of Fort Frances sadly announce his passing on March 13, 2023, at La Verendrye Hospital. Full obituary to follow.

Arrangements entrusted to Northridge Funeral Home Ltd., Emo, Ontario.

Dixie Lyla Badiuk (Locking), our loving Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother and best friend aged 93 passed away peacefully March 12, 2023.

Dixie was born in Fort Frances November 16, 1929 to Audrey and Wilfred Locking. During high school she worked at Mel Newman Ltd. pumping gas with a hand pump and checking the oil on Model T’s with hoods that opened from the side. She soon became involved in book keeping and met Bill Badiuk who was working in parts. She was married to Bill in 1953 and had 3 sons Rob, Jim and Pete.

While the kids grew up she worked at the Unemployment Office and Fawcet Broadcasting or CFOB, now B-93.

In 1978 Bill and Dixie bought out Melfort Equipment and Badiuk Equipment was born. Together they moved the business to its current highway location and created the foundation for what it is today.

During these years they enjoyed travelling on business/vacation trips all over the world.

Dixie Lyla Badiuk

In the early 60’s she and Bill built a cabin on Rainy Lake where she enjoyed countless hours of enjoyment entertaining, wining and dining her family and friends. During these years she was involved in many activities.

Dixie was an avid golfer for 50 years winning many ladies tournaments. She was an accomplished curler for over 60 years and a heck of a bridge player. She was proud of her golf and curling and spent her later years watching it on TV. In fact, she was watching both the Brier and the TPC golf tournament this past week, mentioning her par 3 when she played the difficult TPC island green on the 17th hole and seeing some of the professionals missing their par.

Dixie enjoyed spending time with her parents and family in Morson, Ontario where fishing, fish frys and family get-togethers created great memories.

Dixie retired in 1993 and has never slowed down. She was very involved in fundraising for the Hospital Auxiliary and was flown to Toronto and was recognized for over 40 years of involvement. During retirement years she spent time golfing, curling, playing bridge and cruising Rainy Lake on her pontoon boat.

In 2015 she moved into the Riverwalk Condo where she enjoyed being with so many of her friends that lived there. The 5pm happy hour was celebrated daily and even during Covid, they would safely get together, space themselves six feet apart in the hallway and enjoy a glass of wine.

Dixie will be lovingly remembered by her sons Rob (Marianne), Jim (Beth), Pete (Susan).

Grandchildren Matt (Kristen) Guerton, Dusty (Nicole) Guerton, Jess Badiuk, Chelsey (Oakley)

Badiuk, Chase (Danielle) Badiuk, David (Kris)

Badiuk, Casey (Josh) Bye. Great grandchildren Callaway, Chloe and Alex Guerton, Orion Bye.

Dixie’s siblings Bob (Vivian) Locking and Myrna (Larry) Armstrong and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Bill, parents Wilfred and Audrey Locking and sister Audrey (Mike) Meunier.

A memorial service will be at Knox United Church in Fort Frances, Saturday March 18th at 11am

On March 8, 2023, Al sadly but peacefully passed away with family by his side. He was born on September 19, 1943, to parents Frank and Tenie Kennett. Growing up in Burris, Al was a country boy.

Upon graduation from Fort High he was employed at C.I.B.C. He then spent the rest of his working years at the local paper mill. He retired from paper-making in 2000.

Al was a sports enthusiast and as a young man played hockey, baseball and golf. He enjoyed, and looked forward to annual hunting and fishing trips with the guys.

Al is survived by his wife Rochelle; son Brad (Kris) and their children Zakary, Tyric

On March 1, 2023, Michael Edwin Langlie, age 71, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Bethel, Alaska. Mike was born in Hillsboro, Ore., on March 5, 1951- the youngest of Helmer and Verna Langlie’s three children. The family moved in 1956 to Bemidji, Minn., to be closer to Nestor Falls, Ontario, where they spent their summers managing Arrowhead Camps and Resort. Mike graduated from Bemidji High School (where he played hockey and baseball) in 1969. He went on to

and Rowan; daughter Kelly and children Jordyn and Lucas and their father Scott. Also surviving are his sisters Dixie and Diane; sisters and brothers-in-law Cheryl Ma -

MICHAEL EDWIN LANGLIE

He moved to Bethel in 1975, and married Maria Carl with whom he had five children.

Mike and his business partner, Gonders Hoffman, built many homes and buildings and then went on to found

The Lumber Yard, which provided building materials to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.

Mike is survived by his children Josi (Rickey) Starr, Thomas (Christina), Michael, Michele, and Anna (Cody); his grandchildren Ulrich, Kennedy. Mierra, Felicia, Tiffany,

as well as many

es and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents; sister and brotherin-law Doreen and Guy Vos; father and mother-in-law Rick and Marvel Ricard. No formal funeral service will be held. May he rest in peace. If desired memorial donations in Al’s name may be made by cheque to Rainycrest Auxiliary, c/o Northridge Funeral Home Ltd. Box 89, Emo, Ont., P0W 1E0. Arrangements entrusted to Northridge Funeral Home Ltd.

MICHAEL JOSEPH BALLNIK

tus, Rick (Heather) Ricard, Rose (Tom) Kantos, Lorne (Maureen) Ricard, Julie (Stan) Tinkess;

niec -

TYSON LAUREN JOHNSON-JOURDAIN

PAUL ELIUK

AROUND TOWN

Friday, March 17th @ 1:00

p.m. Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre. A free afternoon showing of “A Man Called Otto” rated PG13; 2hr 6min. Otto is a grump who’s given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.

Trapping workshop– Hosted by Giishkaandago’Ikwe Health Services (Formerly Tribal Area Health) . At Manitou Mounds. Friday, March 17, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Lunch provided contact Adam 274-2042 ext 4237 for more info, or to register. Join us in a hands on experience, learning about the land, trapping and skinning fur.

Tour De Fort Presents Crown Lands– At the Fort Frances Royal Canadian Legion Br. 29. Join us for an acoustic evening with JUNO Award Winners Crown Lands, Saturday March 18th at the Royal Canadian Legion. Tickets available online at crownlandsfortfrances. eventbrite.ca $22.23 each.

Floral beaded Brooch workshop– hosted by the Fort Frances Museum at the Memorial Sports Complex. Kim Daley and Sarah Marusyk will lead the class. $20. Bring a snack or lunch runs 10 a.m.-4 p.m. See Fort Frances Museum Facebook page for more details.

Legion Ladies Auxiliary– Chicken cordon Bleu dinner Friday, March 31. $25, delivery available within Fort Frances. Doors 4:30, dinner 5:30 50/50 draw. Call Vicki 271-3514 for more info or to pre-order. Narcotics Anonymous meetings will be held Thursdays @ 6:30pm at 140-4th Street W. For more info contact ajhwpg@yahoo.ca.

Kiwanis Easter Egg-Stravaganza– Save the date: Sat. Apr. 8 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Start at Rainy Lake Square. Connect & Create– A free program for older adults at the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre in partnership with the Northwestern Health Unit. Stop by the library for coffee, conversation and crafts! This 4 week program is every Wednesday @ 1:30pm starting March 1st. Please visit www.ffpltc.ca or call (807) 2749879 to register.

Fort Frances Girls And Women’s Hockey Association radio BINGO– Mondays 7 p.m. on 93.1 The Border radio station. BINGO cards available at various locations throughout the district.

Fort Frances Lions Club TV Bingo– Thursdays 6:30 p.m. on Shaw Cable. Bingo cards available at the usual outlets

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

The Rainycrest Tuck Shop is accepting donations– The Tuck Shop is open to residents, family, staff and visitors. Large stuffed bears, men’s and ladies’ slippers, socks, hats, personal care items and items for residents to place on their night stands or wall/door.

Rainycrest Auxiliary Membership –New members are needed and current members are reminded to renew their membership for 2023 dues are $5 per year and can be paid at the Tuck Shop or by calling 274-6954 (Judy) or 271-4114 (Donna)

BESTSELLERS

Genealogy services return to Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre

By Elisa Nguyen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter enguyen@fortfrances.com

The investigation into one’s ancestry can be a fun and challenging process that reconnects people with their roots. Those interested in genealogy services can now book an appointment at the Fort Frances Public Library and Technology Centre.

The services started in Fort Frances this early March and are led by Richard Cluff and his wife Ann Cluff, two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) in Rexburg, Idaho, who are serving a two-year mission in Fort Frances and Winnipeg.

Richard said that he and his wife are happy to help people find their ancestors, and to continue on the work of former missionaries Jim and Erin Curtis who were in town in 2019.

“We heard so much about the Curtis’s and what they were doing and we just knew that we had to continue that,” Ann said. “We’re excited to be here and in doing what we’re doing.”

The decision to embark on a two-year mission was one that took a lot of prayer, she added, noting that her husband was nearing retirement and it seemed like the perfect time.

“I was working at Brigham Young University in Idaho, Chair of the Psychology Department, and we both were listening to our church leaders and their call to older couples to be willing to serve missions. And we both felt it was right,” Richard said.

“It was about almost a year ago,” Ann added. “We were kind of in that time period where my husband was coming up on retirement. And your health, you just don’t know if you’re going to have your health in five years. And so we thought, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it.”

Richard and Ann will spend two weeks in Winnipeg and then two weeks in Fort Frances. “So every two weeks, we

The Fort Frances library is offering genealogy services, thanks to two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The service is open to anyone who is interested in learning about their ancestry. - Facebook photo

are doing the back and forth. And so we were really happy to connect with Joan and at the library. And yeah, we’re just kind of getting our feet wet,” Ann said.

She added that they are also trying to offer help where needed at the senior center.

The church has many resources to help people find their ancestors, Richard said. “It’s an opportunity to really get to know who they were.”

“In genealogy, we’re interested in finding our ancestors and making those connections because it’s our identity, right? Our family, our roots, who we are, it’s a great opportunity to learn about our ancestors, the struggles they had and how they were able to work through those challenges.”

Richard said they will help people successfully navigate through genealogy websites such as ancestry.com and familysearch.org.

“It’s like a major holding tank for information,” Ann explained. “So I mean, you’re talking birth, baptismal confirmation, death, you’ll see military records and employment records and who was registered

to vote, I mean, just any kind of record. And then people will also submit stories.”

Ann said she once discovered old journal entries from her great aunt, which opened her eyes to the hardships faced by a relative from a different time.

“By the time I was done, I was sobbing because I have no idea that her life was as difficult and that she’d been through such difficult trials, losing a husband in the first three or four years of her marriage and just what she went through,” she said.

“So if anything, [genealogy] binds us, it connects us with our families, so that they’re not just a name and a date that they become real. And you can see, oh, they struggled with this. And, you know, you know, we’re not that we’re not different. We just live in a different time. And so, it does give you a connection that helps you kind of navigate your own life in a way.”

Ancestry search often feels like an investigation made difficult when there’s only a limited amount of clues, said Richard. Ann added that sometimes

“clues’’ are found in the least expected places, such as a name or date written down on the back of a photo.

“And sometimes, not everything that’s written down is 100 per cent accurate,” she said.

Sometimes information will be found right away, and other times it may take time, Ann said.

“We hit some brick walls. And so we keep seeing other routes and other methods to see if we can find some clues and help them get that link that will open things up for them,” Richard said.

Ann said it becomes a fun challenge seeing how far back into the records they can go. To avoid misplacing records, Ann recommended everyone to store an extra copy in a “holding tank” such as one of the genealogy resources. Those who book an appointment are encouraged to come prepared with a list of information including names, dates, birthdays, cities, and any other basic information relating to their relatives.

“That could get us a faster start for them to make those connections,” said Richard. Photos can be brought in if the individual would like to learn how to add it to the database.

Joan MacLean, CEO of the Fort Frances Library, said representatives from LDS have volunteered at the library in the past and is glad to continue offering the services at the library.

“I was quite pleased when [Richard and Ann] came to the library and told us that they wanted to do the traditional volunteering,” she said. MacLean added that the library is interested in connecting people with information and is not affiliated with any religious organization. Those interested in booking an appointment for genealogy services are welcome to call at 807-274-9879 or email at ffpltc@gmail.com.

By Terry and Kim Kovel

HOROSCOPES

Aries March 21/April 20

So many things are moving your way, Aries. As the week progresses, your energy level could rise and you will get much more done. Leave time for meaningful encounters.

Taurus April 21/May 21

Taurus, connect with nature this week. Go hiking at a national park or visit a zoo and take in the exotic animals. Fresh outdoor air is just what you need.

Gemini May 22/June 21

Gemini, this week marks a new cycle for you. This means you should focus your energy on your ideas and try to narrow down prospects as much as possible.

Cancer June 22/July 22

You may need a little inspiration to get moving this week, Cancer. While it’s alright to take it easy on Monday or Tuesday, by Wednesday you need to shake away what’s holding you back.

Leo July 23/Augus t 23

Your brain is filled with many thoughts, Leo. With so much buzzing around in your head, it may be challenging to focus. Consult with a friend to help you out.

Virgo Aug 24/Sept 22

Virgo, enjoy the

you

Cabaret dinnerware

To attract western travelers to Japan, the government of Japan commissioned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) to design the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Wright’s all-encompassing designs for his buildings included almost every item, including dinnerware. Known as the Cabaret pattern, this porcelain dinnerware was designed for the Cabaret Dining Room of the Imperial Hotel, which opened in 1923. The circular art-deco-inspired design was Wright’s interpretation of champagne bubbles overflowing across the place settings. The strategically placed red on the cup’s rim has been suggested to conceal lipstick prints from women drinking from the coffee cups. The dinnerware was originally produced by Japan’s Noritake company with reproductions made by Tiffany. The Imperial Hotel was demolished in 1968, but its entrance and lobby have been preserved and can be visited at Japan’s Meiji-mura, an open-air architectural museum and park.

* * * Q: Can I treat my grandmother’s dinner dishes and silverware

Libra Sept 23/Oc t 23

People are drawn to you more so than usual, Libra. All this newfound attention may feel a little overwhelming. Find some quiet time to ground yourself and refocus.

Scorpio Oc t 24/Nov 22

Scorpio, you have many ideas for the future, but you need to get moving. Is something or someone holding you back? Have an honest conversation about what you need.

Sagittarius Nov 23/Dec 21

Exercise caution when you speak about other people at work, Sagittarius. Not everyone will share your views and you need to work peacefully with others.

Capricorn Dec 22/Jan 20

You may want to remain in an easygoing state, Capricorn, but others are not letting you just hang around. You need to get some things accomplished this week.

Aquarius Jan 21/Feb 18

You may be feeling like you are moving a little slow, Aquarius. But if you write down all you have gotten done, then you’re likely to discover you’ve been quite busy.

Pisces Feb 19/March 20

on the lookout for a catalyst that can put you on the path for big changes, Pisces. You can use some

Sudoku

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once.

like my everyday pieces and put them in the microwave and dishwasher if I use them at a holiday dinner?

A: If you have a dishwasher that is less than 10 years old, it probably washes most things safely. Exceptions include vintage, hollow-handled dinner knives, which can be a problem because old ones are sometimes filled with a substance that melts, and the knife blades loosen or turn. This also can happen to knives made with a stainless blade and different material for the handle. Don’t wash your silver plate with any other metal tableware, or you can get a chemical reaction. Any dishes with metallic gold trim (it will spark) or metallic silver (the heat may turn the trim gray and poisonous) should not go in the microwave. Factory- made dishes should be OK; the decoration was put under clear glaze. But hand-painted trim could wash off. Most vintage and antique porcelain is safe. If you are not sure, test a piece. It’s the heat that causes the problems. New dishwashers will clean dishes you haven’t rinsed and save you time, but surface paint that is not under a glaze will come off with repeated use.

TIP: Don’t clean coins. Collectors want coins with the patina unchanged.

CURRENT PRICES: Decoy, swan, wooden head and neck, carved, canvas over wire body, wood base, painted, white, black beak, early 20th century, $250. Game box, opens to checkerboard, backgammon interior, papier-mache, black lacquer, mother-of-pearl inlay, gilt highlights, storage compartment, ivory game pieces, red and white, four dice cups, Victorian, England, c. 1860, 3 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 8 3/4 inches, $563.

dvertising clock, “Chrysler MoPar Parts Accessories,” round, yellow center with red border, Arabic numerals, printed, milk glass, domed glass cover, chrome surround, pressed paper back, electric, 14 3/4 inches, $756.

Looking to declutter, downsize or settle an estate? Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2022 by Terry and Kim Kovel has the resources you’re looking for. (c) 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

A set of six cups of Cabaret dinnerware sold at a Palm Beach Modern auction for $585.

Collegesweethearts

get married on Manitou Island

Kelsey Rose Fuerst and Colin Robert Barton

Elisa Nguyen

August 20, 2022 - Manitou Island, Rainy Lake

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter enguyen@fortfrances.com

It wasn’t love at first sight between Colin Robert Barton and Kelsey Rose Fuerst, who met as 20-yearold college students at Rainy River Community College. Barton having grown up in Fort Frances and Fuerst in Dryden, were unaware of each other and the many mutual friends they shared. Then one day, Fuerst was studying in the cafeteria and Barton approached her to ask if she was studying for a macroeconomics test.

Fuerst was wary of how Barton knew about her test when she didn’t know who he was. To her surprise, Barton was indeed a classmate, and the two became friends.

“I really liked her. I thought she was cute and I thought she was funny, even though we were just friends at first,” said Barton.

They began dating in 2012. Their first date was a boat ride on Rainy Lake where they fished and chatted the day away. The tone was set for the relationship.

“We got married on an island on the lake. And we spend a lot of our downtime fishing and camping together, it’s what we really like to spend our time doing,” Fuerst said.

Throughout their relationship, Barton’s grandfather was a huge supporter of the relationship, often egging his grandson to propose, only to be told that they were waiting for the right time. As a special gift, Barton proposed to Fuerst on his grandfather’s 90th birthday, in a pavilion at Rainycrest.

The date was set for August 20, 2022, and getting married on an island at Manitou Weather Station was the perfect adventure to begin their marriage. Barton, now 31 and working as utility arborist, and Fuerst, also 31 and a lawyer, both agreed that there were many risks involved to an island wedding.

The main camp could only house about 30 people overnight, meaning that many wedding guests had to stay at nearby sites, like Barker Bay. If poor weather had prevented travel across the lake, people would have been stranded at their campsites and unable to attend the wedding. In fact, Fuest and Barton were on separate islands before the wedding. “So, if we had a thunderstorm, I might have been standing up at the altar by myself,” Fuerst said.

“I think both of us were just optimistic that it was

going to work out,” she said, adding they were lucky that everything worked out in their favor.

“It was maybe the nicest evening of the entire summer,” said Barton.

The orchestration of the night was only possible with the help of many hands. Fuerst’s mother was instrumental in bringing the entire creation to life, she said.

“It was beyond my wildest dreams,” Fuerst said, adding that she was astonished that all the vendors were completely on board with the vision.

The couple shared many thanks to the Esselink and Cridland families at Manitou Weather Station Fishing Lodge; the Cridlands at the Flint House; her mom Darlene Fuerst and her partner Garth Wintle, the “coordinator extraordinaire”; photographer Joel Jaszczyszak (@joelsviewphotography); and Carling Comte and Sarah Barton - Barton’s sisters - for emceeing the night.

They both sent a special shout out to Duane Cridland, who went above and beyond, including a flurry of phonecalls to get power, when the stylist discovered she didn’t have enough to run a curling iron.

“It’s amazing that the guy made this happen. All the while he was the one, you know, roasting the pig for our dinner for that night. He was there at like six o’clock in the morning,” Barton said. “I mean, if you didn’t have people going to the lengths that people did for us, we could have ever done this.”

“It’s challenges like that, that you don’t even realize,” said Fuerst, adding that she later learned that the surrounding islands had shut down their power, she could get her hair done.

Over their 10-year relationship, Fuerst said she just knew she wanted to marry Barton.

“I think that just finding somebody that you like to have fun with and laugh with, that’s your best friend and that you want to spend the rest of your life adventuring with was what really made me feel like I was making the right decision,” she said.

When asked about the best piece of relationship advice, Barton said to “to never stop dating,” adding that they had just gone on a date to Flint House the night before. They enjoyed eating food from the place that catered their wedding, added Fuerst, whose best piece of dating advice is to be patient with one another. Photos by Joel Jaszczyszak

Intimateweddingdestination

was a perfect fit Serena and Thomas Caron

April 27, 2022 - La Brelotte Bay, St Lucia

By Darren Darrendorf

Weddings can come in all different shapes, sizes and styles, but all are unique in their own way. Whether it be a large traditional wedding with all the fixings or a simple ceremony on the beach, no matter what the wedding day is, it gives the bride and groom a chance to live out their perfect day. For Newlyweds Serena and Thomas Caron, an intimate destination wedding was a perfect fit.

Straying from the traditional, Thomas and Serena chose to have a small destination wedding at the East Winds Resort in La Brelotte Bay, St Lucia. Nestled on the northwest side of the island, the East Winds Resort is filled with lush tropical flora and is surrounded by a picturesque landscape. St Lucia was the perfect location for their wedding, as much of Serena’s family calls the island home.

Most couples will spend the days and weeks leading up to their wedding day looking after all of the little details, such as decorations, finalizing the catering, flower arrangements, and so much more. A destination wedding gave the Caron’s a helping hand with all of those details as the East Winds Resort has a staff that is prepared to look after every need a bride and groom may have. As Serena said “We liked the idea of a destination wedding because everything about the wedding was taken care of by the resort, also it’s a vacation and wedding all in one!”

Despite the rain that had been falling throughout the week of the wedding in La Brelotte Bay, the sun rose on April 27th with not a drop of rain in sight. “You could not have asked for a better day” noted Serena, “It was such a relief not having to worry about anything.” With much of the day set aside

for family time, all the guests began to gather for the ceremony around 5pm, roughly an hour and a half before sunset. The guests gathered near the edge of the beach perched above a short cliff overlooking the ocean, with the sounds of waves lapping against the shore below, the orchestra of nature playing in the background.

After the ceremony, while family pictures were being taken along the beach and amongst the lush foliage of the island, the rest of the guests were treated to a cocktail hour on the beach before everyone reconvened at a large pergola style building for the reception. To start the evening everyone enjoyed all of the traditional wedding dances with Thomas and Serena’s first dance and a father/daughter and a mother/son dance.

Once the traditional dances were done everyone sat down and enjoyed dinner, and a piece of wedding cake. After dinner, to round out the formal half of the reception, there were speeches, and then everyone had the chance to cut loose as the dance floor opened up again. As the evening continued, the dance floor was put to good use as everyone danced and enjoyed themselves until nearly the wee hours of the next morning.

When asked what their favourite moment from the wedding was Serena was quick to answer “Listening to the waves crashing on shore below during the ceremony.”

Whether your perfect spot to say I do is on the shores of the ocean or on the shores of our own Rainy Lake, with every person you have ever met in attendance or just your close family and friends, I hope that you find all of the joy in your special day that Thomas and Serena found in theirs.

Rely on Lowey’s for florals and advice!

Bridal bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, reception hall and backyard floral designs, table top decorations and so much more!

To book an appointment with Donna, call or text 274-3633 or email donna.k.l@hotmail.com www.loweysgreenhouse.com

Payeur hopes his accident and recovery can serve as warning to keep people from drinking and driving

By Ken Kellar Staff writer kkellar@fortfrances.com

The road conditions were less than perfect, but Joey Payeur took that into account as he began the drive to Thunder Bay on the afternoon of December 29, 2022. He was cautious and careful, and intent on delivering his passenger to their destination.

They never made it to Thunder Bay.

By the end of the day, Payeur, a fixture of the local hockey scene, was hospitalized following a serious collision with an oncoming drunk driver, and while he continues on his road to recovery, he wants the public to really understand the dangers of driving under the influence.

“On December 29, I was contacted by a friend who needed a ride to Thunder Bay,” Payeur recalled.

“I offered to help them out. We headed out east about roughly 4:00 that afternoon. There was a little bit of freezing drizzle, nothing terrible, and driving under the speed limit made it perfectly safe to be out there. We could see a long way in the distance, and a bend in the road. There was another car coming around that bend in the opposite direction.”

Payeur said he thought nothing of the other vehicle, but before they had the chance to pass it by, it was suddenly in their lane, directly in front of them. With no time left to do anything to get out of the way of the oncoming vehicle, they collided.

Payeur remembers yelling, and his passenger yelling, and the airbags going off, and being thankful he had put on his seatbelt. But once the collision was over and he had a chance to take stock of himself, he knew he was in trouble.

“As I started to gather my breath after a couple of minutes, I realized what had happened. My driver side window had caved in. My windshield on my side was almost completely destroyed. I came to the realization I couldn’t move my legs. At first that frightened me because I didn’t know if it was paralysis or what.”

Payeur eventually discovered that his legs had been pinned between his seat and the front dash of his vehicle with no way to remove himself. His passenger, injured but free, was able to get out of the vehicle, check the other driver, and call for emergency services. The nearest ambulance, Payeur said, was more than an hour away, and so he was stuck in his vehicle until they could get there, maybe longer.

“I know they did their best to get out there as soon as possible,” he said.

“Fire and Rescue and the police arrived about 20 minutes after the accident. I was trapped in there for a good solid hour. While I was in there I thought I could smell gas leaking from my truck, so that got me pretty scared because I didn’t know if it was going to be an explosion or something. I had a wonderful police officer, Constable Jeremy Oster, he kept me calm, kept me going throughout the whole time being in there. He kept reassuring me I was going to be ok.”

Emergency services were finally able to pry apart the remains of Payeur’s truck to extricate him from the wreckage, and deliver him to hospital. His pelvis had been broken in the crash, and caused the dislocation of his right hip and leg. The doctors at La Verendrye Hospital were able to reset the leg and keep him stable overnight, and he was sent to Thunder Bay the next day. Unfortunately, the damage done was significant enough that he was soon under the knife once more.

“They were planning to do a test to test the durability of my hip and see if it would remain in place,” Payeur said.

“They never got to do that

“No one deserves to be put in that situation. No one deserves to have a loved one taken away from them in that way.”

- Joey Payeur

test. The third night I was there, I was sitting up in my bed and maneuvered it a little bit to much and ended up redislocating it myself. It was pretty much the worst three hours of my life. They had to take me down to x-ray my hip to make sure that’s what it was, brought me back to my room then had to transport me back down again to the OR to get the hip put back in place. They decided to hold off on doing the full surgery on the pelvis until the next morning because it was a complicated procedure.”

Eventually, and sooner than he had expected, Payeur was released back home, where he continued to follow his recovery plan in order to regain his mobility and independence. Part of that process was returning to the rink as an announcer for local hockey, something Payeur said he had always dreamed of doing since the days of watching Hockey Night in Canada as a child. Having become such a fixture in the local hockey scene over the years, he reflected on a gesture from the Fort Frances Muskie Girls hockey team that left him emotional and aware of just how beloved he is to the sport in Fort Frances.

“I was doing my first game again eight days after my surgery,” Payeur said.

“It just felt right to be back out there, and it was a big boost to my spirits to be back. After the Muskie Girls game on January 11, 2023, I was told by their trainer, Constable Ann McEwen, I thought it was her daughter, who played on the team, I thought she wanted to take a photo with me, but when I got down there, the whole team was waiting for me. They all wanted me to be part of the photo. That absolutely moved me to such gratitude. It was an immeasurable lift to my spirits. This year’s Muskie Girls Hockey team will always be very special to me.”

Payeur has a lot of recovery left ahead of him. He recently got off crutches, and his employer, the Northwest Catholic District School Board had provided him with a wheelchair to use while he was teaching at St. Mary School. He is very thankful to all of the emergency first responders, doctors, nurses and others who have helped him since the accident. He is aiming to be back on his feet as soon as possible, and hopes to be running again come the fall.

But more than anything, Payeur wants his experience to serve as a reminder and a warning to everyone that he believes there is no safe amount of alcohol have in your system when you get behind the wheel, and that no one should be hurt or killed in such a way.

“It frustrates me, it upsets me, that in 2023 people still think it’s OK to drink and then get behind the wheel of a vehicle,” Payeur said.

Joey Payeur, elementary school teacher and Muskie hockey announcer, survived a collision with a drunk driver after Christmas. Although he has a long road of recovery still ahead, he’s been pushing hard to get back to his normal life. He got up the strength to announce a Muskie game just eight days after his surgery, and the team was so overjoyed to see him, they asked him to pose for a photo. - Submitted photo

“I myself in my younger days was guilty of the same action. Thank God I never injured myself or anyone else because of my poor decisions. I never faced legal consequences because of my decisions. But I did do it, and I cannot imagine how I would have felt if I had caused bodily harm to somebody else because of my poor decisions. Now that I’m older, thankfully wiser, that’s not something I can even begin to consider doing. There’s no such thing, to me, as ‘I’ve only had a couple, it’s ok.’ There’s no such thing as too little to drink.”

Payeur said that while it’s tempting to think someone is OK to drive after even a few drinks, there are just too many other, safer alternatives out there these days to take advantage of to keep yourself off the road after drinking.

“I can’t emphasize enough

that if you want to go out and enjoy yourself and alcohol is involved, I’m not saying that’s bad; I’m saying be smart,” he said.

“Make a plan, have a friend or designated driver, call a taxi, sleep over at the house party, whatever you need to do to keep yourself from

climbing behind a steering wheel. Because what happened to me can happen to anybody. It’s not like it’s an unavoidable situation. This is something that every single person has the choice: to get behind the wheel or not get behind the wheel. I was put in a situation where I may have

never seen my wife again, my mother, my brother, my grandchildren, my nephews, my friends and co-workers. I may never have seen any of them again. No one deserves to be put in that situation. No one deserves to have a loved one taken away from them in that way.”

March 27-31, 2023

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Crossroads School

Devlin Hwy 613 North - Phone: 486-3329

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - 2:00-5:00 pm

Donald Young School

Emo, 9024 Hwy 602 - Phone: 482-2271

Thursday, March 30, 2023 - 2:00-5:00 pm

J W Walker School

Fort Frances, 475 Keating Avenue - Phone: 274-3616

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 11:00 am-5:00 pm

McCrosson-Tovell School

Sleeman, Hwy 621 - Phone: 488-5587

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 11:00 am-12:00 pm

Mine Centre School

Mine Centre, 123 Mine Centre Road - Phone: 599-2843

Nigigoonsiminikaaning: Monday, March 27, 20239:30 am-12:00 pm

Seine River: Tuesday, March 28, 20239:30 am-12:00 pm

Nestor Falls School

Nestor Falls School Road - Phone: 484-2101

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - 9:30-11:00 am

Northern Lakes K-12 School

Atikokan, 324 Mercury Ave - Phone: 597-6640

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 3:30-5:00 pm

Riverview School

Rainy River, 11 Mill Avenue - Phone: 852-3561

Monday, March 27, 2023 - 11:30 am-1:30 pm

Robert Moore School

Fort Frances 528 Second Street E - Phone: 274-9818 Thursday, March 30, 2023 - 3:50-5:00 pm

Sturgeon Creek School

Barwick, 1299 Barwick Road - Phone: 487-2180

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - 2:00-5:00 pm

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Guatamala bound

Local nurse volunteers in historic hospital

By Elisa Nguyen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter enguyen@fortfrances.com

In early February, Tashina Morgenstern traveled to Antigua, Guatemala, a city built around preserved ruins and named one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, to provide medical care to the less fortunate. “It was such a humbling experience,” she said.

Morgenstern and a team of surgical staff under the nonprofit organization Medicos en Accion (“doctors in action”) performed 132 surgeries over the course of two weeks at Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro, also known as St. Peter Hospital. “That’s more than we would ever do here,” she said.

In Fort Frances, Morgenstern works full time at La Verendrye Hospital, caring for patients before, during, and after their surgery. She said she already plans to return to Guatemala next year.

Founded in 1981, the hospital is easily recognizable by its 15-foot, mustard-colored walls and intricate colonial architecture. It serves as a medical facility, safe haven for the homeless, church, and tourist attraction.

On her morning walk to the hospital, Morgenstern recalled being greeted with friendly faces and the words buenos días by almost every passing local. Patients were already lined up down the street by the time she arrived, each of them holding a brown envelope that contained all their health records.

“So all of their bloodwork, any X-rays that they had, any doctor’s letters,” Morgenstern said. “These people have the sole responsibility of making sure that they had all their documents and their envelope and didn’t misplace anything so that they could be seen.”

Patients were charged for the surgery based on factors such as the state of their living conditions, she said, adding that those living in a home with dirt floors would pay less for a surgery.

Expenses remain one of the biggest challenges impacting whether someone can receive medical care, Morgenstern said. When some patients didn’t know they required a COVID test before the surgery and didn’t have the extra money to afford one, the Medicos team looked for creative solutions - in many cases offering to pay for the test themselves.

Amongst the many eye opening experiences, Morgenstern said restocking medical supply shelves was one of them. “Here, you have people that do that, and like the shelves are pretty much always full. So you don’t realize how much you actually use.”

Medicos had shipped about three containers filled with medical supplies to the country before the team’s arrival. Once supplies were deleted, which happened quickly, the team shopped for more at the bodega, wracking up a bill for $10,000 by the end of two weeks.

“That’s a lot of money, right? So we’re trying to use what we had. It was really interesting just to see the difference,” Morgenstern said.

She said that hernia repairs, laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgeries for the gallbladder, and hysterectomy surgeries that remove the uterus were the most common surgeries they performed.

“These surgeries were so life changing for people,” Morgenstern said. “Some of these people had traveled six hours down from the mountain.”

Many patients told stories circumstances that were unheard of in Canada, she said.

One woman in her mid-20s, experiencing uncontrollable bleeding, had been housebound for the past two years until she could finally receive a hysterectomy. In another instance, a man had waited 32 years to have his hernia repaired because he couldn’t afford to take time off from work.

“He hadn’t had it repaired because he had to pay to put his kids through school so he couldn’t afford his surgery or to be off for recovery,” Morgenstern said.

“And so he talked about how he would go to work every day, and quite often his hernia would pop out, and he would just pop it back into place and keep working. But now that his kids have finished school, he could afford his surgery and afford to take the time off to recover from it.”

“It was hard to come back. You know, I know what I do is valued here, too, but it was just such a different feeling doing it there where you see these people who just have so little coming for their surgeries.”

“For me, [walking in the operating room with one of my patients] was a really emotional moment because it was an older

lady. And we don’t speak the same language, but she knows that I’m there to help her. And she just so trustingly took my arm and held onto my arm and allowed me to walk her, knowing that I was there to care for her,” she said.

Morgenstern recalled a funny moment when one of the volunteer nurses from Winnipeg, who is originally from the Philippines, discovered a hidden superpower on the second day of the trip: she could speak near-fluent Spanish. “She’s like, ‘yeah, our dialect in the Philippines is very similar and a lot of words are the same. And I didn’t know I could speak Spanish until I got here.’”

When a patient became unresponsive post-surgery, the Medicos team “ran a code,” a process involving CPR to try and bring the patient out of cardiac arrest. At that moment, the language barrier added another level of stress to the situation, Morgenstern said. “We’re trying to speak to the Guatemalan staff whose English isn’t the best and figure things out.”

Before leaving Canada, Morgenstern had a friend in Fort Frances, a Guatemala-native, help translate common phrases that she often used in the operating room. Phrases such as te veo cuando despiertes (“see you when you wake up”) and te vamos a cuidar (“we’ll take good care of you”) were scribbled on a small paper, tucked safely in her back pocket.

“When I would forget, I

from

would just be able to pull it out of my pocket quickly and look at it and say my little phrase to the patients. And I don’t know if I was saying things 100 per cent correctly. But it always seemed like it was appreciated. They were smiling when I would say these things.”

Every second was a learning opportunity, Morgenstern said. She picked up tips and tricks from the volunteer nurses who each had a different way of doing things from their respective hospitals.

During one of their last nights in Antigua, Morgenstern coincidentally reconnected two former colleagues at the team’s goingaway dinner.

While chatting about laparoscopic instruments to Dr. Hardy, one of the volunteer surgeons, Morgenstern mentioned a former colleague and retired surgeon named Dr. Spencer who had first introduced laparoscopic surgery to the Fort Frances area.

“He practiced over 125 times before he did it on a real person,” she said. “And then … [Dr. Hardy] piped up and said, ‘Do you mean Jas Spencer? I did a two week residency with him back in I think it was 1985.’”

“It was like, ‘oh my goodness, small world! So he ended up writing a letter for me to bring to Dr. Spencer. So I was able to reconnect the two of them. That was really neat. And Dr. Spencer was quite pleased to get that and then emailed Dr. Hardy right away.”

At the end of each work day, Morgenstern said she enjoyed sitting by the hotel pool watching through a pair of binoculars the Fuego volcano erupt from not too far away. “Sometimes you could hear them and a couple of times they rattled the windows at the hotel while we were there. And you could see them putting off little poufs throughout the day. That was pretty neat,” she said.

Lately, towns across northwestern Ontario have faced difficulties in retaining healthcare staff. Morgenstern said that the only general surgeon in Fort Frances has been gone since mid-February, around the time when she returned from her trip.

“All last week, we didn’t have a surgeon so if there were any emergencies, they would have had to be flown to Thunder Bay,” she said, adding that she was currently working on-call at the time of the interview and that if her support was needed for an emergency surgery, the hospital would notify her through her big pager “like in the 90s.”

As a temporary solution, locum surgeons stood in for the role one week at a time.

“I think a lot of times we take for granted what we do have for healthcare. I know at times it is frustrating. We have to wait for different tests and procedures and wait times are extra, extra high these days. But you know, more or less when we need something, we’re able to get it.

We’re not waiting 32 years, or, you know, young women being housebound, because they’re having such issues with their reproductive systems, things like that,” she said. “That would never happen here.” Upon hearing that the current locum surgeon was from Whitehorse, Yukon, Morgenstern asked her if the locum knew about the Guatemala trip, mentioning that several volunteer nurses on the trip were also from Whitehorse. “And [the surgeon was] like, ‘oh yeah, I told them about Guatemala. I was there in 2018.”

Morgenstern said she was surprised once again at how small the world seemed at that moment.

“[I give] a big, heartfelt thank you to all who donated towards my mission,” Morgenstern said. She added that she is grateful for sponsorship from the Ontario Nurse Association.

Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro, while founded in 1981, was originally established in the 1600s by Dominican friars. Over the centuries the hospital was destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt many times.

Morgenstern said she plans to brainstorm more fundraising ideas for the Medicos en Accion mission trips and for newer equipment at Obras Sociales hospital, which from the looks of it, will continue to serve the most underprivileged for centuries to come.

While on her mission, Tashina Morgenstern enjoyed the views of the Fuego volcano as it erupted. Upon arrival at the historic Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro, there were patients lined up waiting for care. - Submitted photos

Fort Frances Operating Room nurse Tashina Morgenstern recently returned

a mission to Antigua, Guatemala, with the non-profit group Medicos en Accion (“doctors in action”), above. She helped perform more than 100 surgeries as she overcame language barriers and experienced healthcare in the developing world. - Submitted photo

The

Hockey’s Boy Wonder was never going to grow old. Come Monday, Bobby Orr turns 75.

Orr was 18 when he burst into the National Hockey League to save the Boston Bruins, who the previous season were last in goals, last in goals-against and one point away from last place. Although Orr didn’t make them champions as a teenager, he did the first year he could legally drink champagne from the Stanley Cup.

He’d been on the Bruins’ radar at 12, when his parents signed a ‘C’ form that gave Boston his professional playing rights for life, and Orr did become the heart and lungs of the Bruins. Anybody under 50 has likely only seen how he did it on old highlights, and anybody over 50 is likely to say you don’t know what you missed.

Writing about Bobby Orr isn’t about living in the past; it’s intended — like all Distant Replays — to embrace, remember and respect the past.

Each generation’s fans have a greatest hockey player, with legitimate statistical evidence to validate that opinion. Orr is mine.

For him, it goes beyond statistics, yet the one that is always going to define him: winning the NHL scoring championship. He was, after all, a defenceman, and no other defenceman has won the Art Ross Trophy. Orr did it twice.

The second one was his last “real” season before the knees that had been intimate with a surgeon’s knife too many times finally gave out. The next season, Orr

“Oven

heroically and stoically was the Canada Cup’s MVP, then played in only 10 NHL games. Over the next three years, he played in 26 more.

NHL President Clarence Campbell, who watched every player from 1920 to 1984, said he never saw one with Orr’s skills. The coach in the corner, Don Cherry, always called Orr the greatest ever: “Nobody even close.”

A defence partner, Don Awrey, once said he’d give Orr his knees if it would help him play again.

He’s the greatest player of my generation because of what he did to hockey… what he did for hockey. Until Bobby Orr, defencemen orchestrated attacks to the offensive end. Orr led them. When he was a rookie, NHL experts said he’d have to change how he played. Instead, Orr changed how the game was played. He did it modestly and efficiently, because there was nothing Orr couldn’t do. Nothing he didn’t do. He single-handedly laid the groundwork for all defencemen who followed, while setting records that still stand, for points (139) and assists (102). Paul Coffey, his career twice as long, is the only blueliner to come close in points (138) — without Orr, it’s doubtful he’d have been allowed to be that offensive.

Only four players ever won a scoring title with more than 139 points (Connor McDavid will be the fifth, next month). Among active defencemen, Roman Josi has the modernday assists record, with 73 from last year. This year, only three have more than 50 assists to date.

Bobby Orr’s career lasted nine full seasons, over at age 27. He had always looked young, and then he left young.

Maybe that’s why none of us thought he would ever grow old.

Dried” Tomatoes instead of “Sun Dried”

If you like tomatoes, chances are you also love the taste of robust sun-dried tomatoes. They can be purchased either packed in oil, vacuum packed, or dehydrated; and when buying them from the store, I like the ones packed in oil the best. The ones made from scratch, however, are even tastier. Whatever the process, dried tomatoes are more concentrated in flavour because most of the water content has been removed during the drying process. Although this recipe is called Oven “Dried” Tomatoes, they are not really dried; they are still moist but have just shrunk to approximately onethird to one-quarter of their original size and have intense flavour. We love using these in several recipes such as pasta, pizza, sandwiches, or even just eating them on their own. The downside of this recipe is the length of time they need to be in the oven. Cooking them at a low temperature for a long period of time is the best way to extract moisture, intensify flavours, without burning them in the process. Close attention is needed in the latter part of the cooking process to ensure that they do not get overcooked, dried out, and/or burnt. The cooking time is an approximation and will depend on several factors: the size of the tomatoes, the ripeness of the tomatoes, the correct calibration of your oven, etc. Do not let this scare you however, just pay attention, that’s all. This is a great recipe to make on a day when you are going to be home anyway and want the warm Mediterranean aromas filling your house. Since they are not completely dried

Money saving tips for starting seeds indoors

Believe it or not spring is really just around the corner and it is now time for the gardener to start thinking about starting some seeds indoors. Gardening can be expensive if you need to buy a lot of plants to fill your garden each year. Starting your own plants from seed is an economical way of extending the budget for plants. You can start all kinds of plants from seed including, annual flowers, perennials, herbs, many houseplants and of course vegetables. Starting seeds indoors can really boost your spirits by getting some “early” gardening done and is also a fun project for the kids. You really do not need a lot of fancy equipment to start seeds indoors. Some containers for planting and some windows with adequate light are all that is really required. There are many creative and thrifty solutions for containers and supplies suitable for planting but one thing that you do not want to skimp on is your soil. When purchasing any bagged soil for planting spend the extra money to ensure that you are buying a sterilized product. Whether it is soil for houseplants, starting seeds or

the soil-less mix for seedlings or planters make sure you always purchase a pre-sterilized product. It is not always necessary to go out and spend a lot of money on seedling containers when you may have many items around the home that are suitable. I have listed a few ideas to get you started. • Empty egg cartons make great seed containers. Cut the container apart at the fold. If using a plastic or Styrofoam container punch a small hole in the bottom of each cup; place the lid underneath the cup part to act as a tray to catch the water. If there are any vent holes in the lid seal them with duct tape to make the lid waterproof. Clear produce containers with a hinged lid (like strawberries come in) can be made into little mini greenhouses. Cupcake liners, egg

carton cups, Styrofoam cups, toilet paper or paper towel rolls (cut to size), peat pellets or peat cups can all be placed inside these containers. Plant the seeds, water; close the lid and place in a sunny spot.

Plastic mesh berry baskets are a gardener’s best friend and have many uses in the garden. They are ideal for using as a planting container for seedlings whose roots do not like to be disturbed when transplanting (cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squash). Line the basket with a few layers of newspaper, paper towel or a coffee filter; add potting mix and then the seed. Water and then set in a tray. Once the plant is ready for out planting, snip off the bottom of the mesh basket and then place the basket in a shallow hole, slip off the plastic mesh and firm up in the garden with remaining soil. There is no root disturbance using this method. If you have extra seedlings within the basket just trim them away with scissors, instead of plucking them out, and then you avoid any root disturbance.

• Coffee filters are a great for placing in the bottom of

pots to block drainage holes for your houseplant pots or your container gardens. They can also be inserted into plastic containers (for side support) with drainage holes or the bottoms removed and then the soil added and the seeds planted in the soil. At transplanting time pop the filter “pot” out and into the planting hole.

• Commercial greenhouses use wicking mats to water plants and you can create your own wicking mat, by inserting a synthetic chamois cloth in the bottom of your tray before placing in the pots. Keeping the synthetic chamois cloth moist at all times will ensure a constant moisture supply to your seedlings, making for healthier seedlings. A synthetic chamois cloth can be purchased at most stores in the kitchen or cleaning supply area.

These are just a few ideas to get your thrifty thumb (the one that isn’t green) working and helping you to get the green thumb going a little early. Before you discard an item look at it with an open mind and see of it can assist you in the garden.

A Moment of Record

Quality Bakery begins final phase of renovations

By Ken Johnston

The Quality Bakery has just started the next major step in their renovation of the original bakery and residence in downtown Rainy River.

The Caffyn family purchased the Quality Bakery in March of 1987.

Business was good through the summer and fall with noticeable increases in sales from previous years. But when winter set in the family noticed that it took longer and longer days to produce just the minimum daily required amount of bread.

One more problem was discovered. The roof of the building needed replacing.

In evaluating the situation, Mr. Caffyn decided that it was necessary to do everything over in the bakery and add onto the residence since the building is quite old. Initially he financed renovations from sales in the business and saved a lot of money by doing most of the work himself with the help of his sons.

however, they do not last indefinitely. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 7 days, or freeze up to 9 months. Enjoy!

Oven Dried Tomatoes

10 fresh Roma tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon dried basil leaves (not ground)

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves (not ground) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200°F.

2. Remove and discard any green tops of the tomatoes, slice in half from top to bottom (lengthwise) and place them in a mixing bowl.

3. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and toss to coat. Gently work a small amount of pulp out of tomato halves while working the flavourings into the tomato cavities.

4. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

5. Spoon the remaining liquid from the bowl over the tomatoes and lightly season each one again with salt and pepper.

6. Bake for approximately 5 to 6 hours, until the tomatoes have reduced by approximately two-thirds or three-quarters in size but are still moist. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

7. Use in a number of recipes such as pastas, pizzas, bruscetta, grains, etc… anywhere you want incredible tomato flavour. Makes 20 halves This recipe is included in Chef Dez’s cookbook The Best In Your Kitchen.

Chef Dez is a Chef, Writer, & Culinary Instructor. Visit him at www.chefdez.com

Mr. Caffyn attributed this problem to the building’s lack of good insulation. “The building would not hold its heat very well and had a terrible heating system.

The uncontrollable temperature causes problems when working the dough and letting it rise.

When the Christmas of 1987 approached the enterprising Caffyns decided to try to put out some new products a little fancier for the holiday season. But when attempting to bake such things as Swiss Rolls and Hot Cross Buns their attempts were foiled by the stoves they depend on for survival of their business.

In all actual truth it was not the stoves but the foundation the stoves rested upon; it had split and allowed them to sink five inches at the back of the stoves. When making specialty breads they will not turn out when baked on a slant.

But as time went by he found it necessary to seek other financial resources. He applied for government assistance through the FedNor program and aquired a number of small loans from the bank and credit union.

The recently added portion that the family now lives in comfortably also houses a pool room for kids upstairs and the bakery on the main floor.

With winter of 1988 set in he had to stop work on the building. With the first phase complete he anticipated renovating the front of the bakery in the spring. About mid-winter he received word that he may get approval for assistance from the FedNor program.

Last Wednesday he received the official word that his business would be allocated $47,519 to help pay the costs of the $133,000 renovation and additions he has in the works.

He has now began the next phase of the project by closing off the

Plans for Improvement!

Mr. Graham Caffyn, the owner of Quality Bakery, shows his blueprints for the coffee shop now under construction in the front of the bakery.

front entrance to the bakery for immediate work. Mr. Caffyn says that the family is going to build a coffee shop that will sell his products and give people a chance to sit and enjoy them fresh out of the oven.

In addition to his renovations and addition he hopes for market expansion both here and abroad.

He is currently looking to go into selling mini-loaves to the restaurants in Baudette and possibly bringing sour dough buns into the area in the near future.

Currently the bakery is producing about 1200 loaves per week.

He says that their goal is to be producing around 5000 loaves per week within the next few years.

Mr. Caffyn and his family are self trained bakers with his wife, Lilian

(Julie), having baked bread for the family for a number of years. He and his wife have been working a round bakeshops indirectly for a number of years with his brotherin-law working for a huge shop in Wales, that puts out about 3000 loaves of bread per hour. Hoping to have his shop open by mid-July. Mr. Caffyn is already thinking of new products he would like to make available for the consumers of the area by the summer opening.

Although baking has not always been foremost in his mind he feels that there is potential in the area for large market expansions and will give it his best shot to make it work for the Quality Bakery and the people of the Rainy River area

TAKEN FROM THE PAGES OF THE RAINY RIVER RECORD MARCH 16, 1989

NWOSSA Champs!

Congratulations to the Rainy River High School Senior Girls Volleyball team on their NWOSSA win - Pictured here is back row (left to right) Laura Jensson, Leanne Larson, Trista Lecuyer Bev Moen, Dawn Murray,

Kelly Kilpatrick. Front Row Coach Donna Hanson, Tracy Moore, Donna Marmus, JoLayne Advent Laurie McLean.

March break is a great time to get kids out on the ice to have fun fishing. With some snacks and a sense of adventure, spring is a great time to take advantage of the warm sun and great fishing.

March break is a great time for fishing

When I think back to my days in high school and my March break activities, fun fishing trips come to mind.

Heading south on Lake of the Woods via the ice road to catch walleyes, lake trout fishing north of Kenora or the annual trip to Nestor Falls to catch crappies. I can remember some years with cold weather, but usually we had plenty of sun and great weather for ice fishing.

In the early years, my Dad would take my brother, sister and I out on the ice. We would catch a few fish but usually we’d have more fun cooking hot dogs over a fire, simply enjoying being outside. As I got older, fishing got more serious. I started to get out there with friends who also had an interest in catching fish and exploring new bodies of water.

In my later years of high school I had a few friends who had access to vehicles, which allowed us to fish more places. We never had a snowmobile so usually we’d just drive as close as we could to a fishing spot and then we’d walk. There are so many places I’ve walked out to fish over the years, we didn’t care, we just wanted to catch fish. Every once in a while, we came across access to a snowmobile and if we got one to use for the day we would try to go somewhere that was an adventure and hope for great fishing.

March is a great time for ice fishing because the ice is still safe in most areas as long as you stay away from any moving water. Eventually as the ice starts to melt, it deteriorates quickly so you have to keep an eye on that. The sun starts to kick out the heat and the weather is much more enjoyable than earlier in the winter. For most species, the fishing is as good as any time during the ice season.

If you spend quite a bit of time on the ice you probably have a roster of places to

catch fish but if you’re new to the activity, you gain experience by getting out there. If you simply just want to get out of the house and catching a few fish is a bonus, there are plenty of good spots out there with easy access. You might consider finding a reef or point to fish near an ice road.

If you are interested in adventure and want an opportunity to catch more and bigger fish, you could consider trying to get into more remote waterbodies to fish. Asking

around the local fishing shops can be a good place to find information on lakes to try. I’ll sometimes use aerial mapping to look for possible trails or access points on more remote waters. I love exploring new places to fish. Sometimes these new spots work out and you find some hidden gems. Other times, they’ll be a bust. There are some apps out there that allow you to find mapping for some of the bigger waters in the region right on your phone, so you can get an idea of where to drill holes.

For the parents out there, if your kids show some interest in ice fishing, try to get them out there. If nobody takes them, they will never go. Pick a nice day so everybody doesn’t freeze and remember to keep the focus on having fun; catching fish is a bonus.

and set up an

Chris Bodnar 807-271-5999

Youth Soccer Spring session

By Allan Bradbury Staff Writer abradbury@fortfrances.com

Registration for the 2023 Fort Frances Youth Soccer (FFYS) season is open and organizers are getting ready for another great season.

Alssia Starling, secretary of the board for FFYS says this year should be even better than last.

“Last year was our first real year putting everything together. Compared to last year, this year is a lot calmer,” Starling said. “We know what we’re doing. For the most part, it’s been going really well.”

They are also coming out of successful fall and winter indoor sessions which have seen kids coming out two nights a week at the Robert Moore gymnasium for skills development and scrimmage.

Although last year’s season was delayed slightly by flooding, the outdoor spring session went off pretty well, according to Starling and they are hoping to see things continue to grow. There were nearly 500 players last year, and organizers believe some age divisions will reach capacity this year, so guardians are encouraged to register their children as soon as possible.

Registration is available at ffys.goalline.ca and cost is dependent on age group. The four and five year old age group costs $80 and older age groups are $100. Registration will close March 31 and no one will be admitted after that date. Students trying out for their high school teams can register and seek a refund if they make the high school team, because they are not permitted to play on both.

The hope is for the season to kick off on May 8 and run until the end of June, assuming the weather cooperates.

According to Starling, the board has had interest in the program from all over the area, including across the border where she lives.

Bringing plenty of snacks is always a good idea.

If you are new to ice fishing you could consider hiring a guide to show you the ropes. There are several guides around the region who can provide all of the gear and teach you what you need to know to stay safe and catch a few fish. Some even rent shelters to fish out of, so you can go in any kind of weather.

Ice fishing is fun and March break is a great time to get out on the ice and enjoy Sunset Country.

“I actually live in International Falls, but I’m married to a Canadian. My kids have always done soccer, even when they were really little,” Starling said. “I put out flyers at the schools. There are kids from Little Fork, the Falls, Emo, Mine Centre, everywhere around the area that come to participate with our group.”

The board is also in need of volunteers, including people who can help coach and officiate games. While unsure on numbers, there is always a demand for coaches and referees. In an effort to get more officials trained, the board is bringing in a reffing clinic with Soccer Northwest so those interested in officiating can become certified. Anyone who becomes certified and spends the season officiating with FFYS will have their certification fees reimbursed. Students ages 12 and older can officiate and will only officiate games for younger age groups than their own age. Officials will be paid $15 per game or can use the time for volunteer hours for school credit.

For more information see the Fort Frances Youth Soccer Facebook page.

Legal/Public Notices

Lorelei L. Locker

WANT ADS BUY SELL

The Clinical Lead Registered Nurse is responsible for leading and overseeing SGEI's student clinical placements. Oversee/supervise/manages clinical Instructors for programs in Health Sciences on the course/curriculum delivery, scheduling of sim lab and clinical placements, the evaluation of student progress, student success plans, and maintaining records of student performance.

Duties & Qualifications:

Head to https://www.7generations.org/employment-opportunities/

Please send a cover letter, resume, and three employment-related references (one of which must be from a current/recent supervisor) via one of the following no later than noon (CST), March 31st, 2023

Vivian Kakekapetum Associate Director of Human Resources viviank@7generations.org

•

•

The United Native Friendship Centre has employment opportunities available.

Youth Employment Worker

Combined Court Worker

Cultural Resource Worker

Indigenous Mental Health Worker

Healthy Babies/Healthy Children Worker

For further employment requirements, resume submission instructions, and complete job descriptions, please visit our website at UNFC.org/job-postings. Any postings will be removed from the Website as they are filled.

UNFC o ers a generous benefit/pension package for their FT employees.

Any inquires can be directed to Karen Chowhan: kchowhan@unfc.org or 807-274-8541

LARGE FORMAT

CIRCULATION COORDINATOR

At the Fort Frances Times, we hire great people.

Our newspaper has been published for over 127 years, recording the events of the lives and times of the businesses, organizations, communities and residents of the Rainy River District. We tell the stories of the people of the 10 different communities and 11 First Nations of the District. The Fort Frances Times is seeking a circulation coordinator to join our team! You’ll be responsible for looking after newspaper subscriptions and circulation, including hiring and tracking paper carriers. You’ll also coordinate flyer bookings and billing, assist with booking advertising, answer telephone calls, provide staff support, and other duties as assigned.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• Strong organizational skills;

• A positive attitude and flexible nature;

• Ability to work both independently and as part of the team;

• Computer skills an asset.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU:

The opportunity to be part of an amazing team, and work for a well-established and respected company that is connected to the community. You’ll be part of a company that is committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment, excellent extended health benefits package, good work/life balance and free newspapers!

PLEASE SUBMIT COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO: General Manager Fort Frances Times Ltd. 116 First

East Fort Frances, ON P9A 1K2

Email: jobs@fortfrances.com

Closing date: Friday, March 31st

Do you love home furnishings, decor and design. Then this is the job for you!

Sales & Office Associate

Full time or part time.

We are looking for a highly motivated and personable sales associate to join our team.

Duties include assisting customers, processing sales transactions, performing various administrative tasks, maintaining the showroom displays, and assisting with ordering from our vendors. Training is provided and benet package included. Please drop off your resume in person, or email to: howarths@jam21.net

Leon’s, 288 Scott Street, Fort Frances 274-2944

We appreciate all applicants, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Come grow with us!

West End Motors CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Service and Parts Advisor

West End Motors is seeking a team member who offers:

• Knowledge of the automotive industry

• Relevant technical skills

• Excellent communications skills

• Strong customer and quality focus

• The ability to work well with others

• The ability to multi-task and problem solve We offer:

• Competitive wages

• Benefit package

• Full training program

• Excellent work environment

• Performance bonuses

If you meet these qualifications and would like the opportunity to join our team, please send your resume to:

West End Motors 600 King’s Highway Fort Frances, Ontario P9A 2W9 or email: westendmotors@tbaytel.net

We thank all those who apply, however only those receiving an interview will be contacted.

The Nor thwest Catholic Distric t School Board Position Available

• Principal/Vice Principal Pool All Locations

For details visit our website at www.tncdsb.on.ca and click on Employment.

“Equal Oppor tunit y Employer ” K athy Br yck Jack ie Robinson Board Chair Director of Education

The Rainy River District School Board invites applications for the positions of:

1.0 FTE Information

Elementary Teacher (2) Riverview School

For more information regarding these positions please visit the Employment section of our website at www.rrdsb.com

Heather Campbell Director of Education

DELIVERY/INSERTER POSITION

At the Fort Frances Times, we hire great people.

Our newspaper has been published for over 127 years, recording the events of the lives and times of the businesses, organizations, communities and residents of the Rainy River District. We tell the stories of the people of the 10 different communities and 11 First Nations of the District.

The Fort Frances Times is seeking a part-time inserter/delivery person to join our team! You’ll be part of the team that prints, assembles and delivers the news and flyers all over Fort Frances, as well as delivering commercial printing materials to customers, and other duties as assigned.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• Strong organizational skills;

• A positive attitude and flexible nature;

• Ability to work both independently and as part of the team;

• Computer skills an asset.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU:

The opportunity to be part of an amazing team, and work for a well-established and respected company that is connected to the community. You’ll be part of a company that is committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment, good work/life balance and free newspapers!

PLEASE SUBMIT COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO:

General Manager

Fort Frances Times Ltd.

116 First Street East

Fort Frances, ON P9A 1K2

Email: jobs@fortfrances.com

Closing date: Friday, March 31st

Crown Lands bring acoustic act to Fort Frances Legion

By Allan Bradbury Staff Writer abradbury@fortfrances.com

After years without touring in Canada because of COVID-19 Juno Award winning progressive rock duo Crown Lands are striking out on a crossCanada tour they’re stopping in Fort Frances this Saturday, March 18.

The band comprises singer and drummer Cody Bowles and guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Comeau. The Times connected with Comeau just before the pair were set to begin rehearsals for their new tour which started Monday in Cambridge.

Among their inspirations are famous Canadian rock band Rush.

“Rush is definitely my favourite band, and it’s Cody’s favourite band as well,” Comeau said. “We’ve been lucky enough to get to know (Rush members) Geddy (Lee) and Alex (Lifeson) over the years. They’re very sweet guys as well as just being incredible musicians. They influence us so much not just the way they’ve carried themselves musically, but the way they’ve carried themselves as human beings over the course of 40-plus years.”

“It’s definitely our first time getting back across Canada since before COVID times,” Comeau said. “We were supposed to go out west a number of times, and they just kept getting cancelled and rebooked, and re-cancelled or re-booked over the course of a couple of years.”

While they’re happy to be getting back on the road they’re well aware of some of the issues they face as they head back out on the road.

“It feels nice to see the live music industry slowly coming back to life,” Comeau said. “But obviously there’s a whole other set of challenges with rapid inflation. Hotels are like three times the price they were before and gas is twice as expensive as it was before, food is twice as expensive. It’s definitely eye opening. Live music is finally coming back but it’s just become so prohibitively expensive to really actually do this.”

In an effort to offset some of the costs of long trips, the band has added a few stops to the tour in spots that weren’t planned initially in a slightly different format than usual.

“When we’re up in northern Ontario we have a number of shows that are very unique to what we do,” Comeau said. “Because typically when I say the full band, it’s just the two of us with a slew of equipment to pull off the sound of the four or five piece band, which is two people. That takes a lot of equipment, a lot of production and a lot of crew.”

As they put on their shows in Fort Frances as well as Geraldton before and Red Lake after, the duo will be trying something different that doesn’t require the same equipment and crew as a ‘full band’ show.

“We figured we’d do some kind of experimental shows where we’re doing two sets, where we’re doing two sets. We open up with a very meditative sort of sound that’s influenced by people like (guitarist) Robert Fripp and (British musician) Brian Eno. Cody, the drummer/

singer is actually a really accomplished Native American Flute player, so we incorporate that with percussion and create ambient music that is greatly influenced by traditional indigenous

music as well.”

The second other set will include acoustic versions of songs the band has played for a while and some songs that don’t get played at their shows because

they don’t fit the typical style of their shows.

“The economic impact of a pandemic can completely change a band’s trajectory,” Comeau said. “Honestly, now, I’m

really interested in seeing what we can accomplish with these shows where we’re doing more intimate softer renditions of a lot of our songs and busting out songs that we normally wouldn’t

- Submitted

be playing in a full rock show.” Tickets are $20 each, and are available in advance at Ski’s Variety or RefleXion Studio as well as online at http://crownlandsfortfrances.eventbrite.

Juno Award-winning band Crown Lands will be hitting the stage at the Royal Canadian legion, for an acoustic show, on March 18. The event is hosted by Tour de Fort, and tickets are still available.

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