Tuesday, May 25, 2010

More Exploration Underway

TerraX Minerals says it's begun a drilling program on potential gold-bearing property near Atikokan.

The Vancouver-based company is exploring an area known as the Blackfly zone, about 10 kilometres northwest of the community.

The company says it's similar to the nearby Hammond Reef deposit.

Toll Latest

Provincial police they'll continue to maintain a strong presence at the toll booth on Couchiching First Nation.

The band has been asking motorists on highway 11 to pay a dollar fee since Friday.

OPP Inspector John Kendrick says its created a unique situation for police.

"We're in a unique situation where we have officers on scene and have been on scene for some time," says Kendrick. "This is a complex issue that's under review by many involved provincial authorities. The OPP are currently in a situation where they're trying to mediate a difficult situation."

Police have issued notices to those manning the toll to "discontinue their interference with traffic," but Kendrick says no arrests have been made at this time.

Still, OPP say motorists should feel safe when passing through the toll.

Constable Anne McCoy says they're making sure traffic moves smoothly through the site.

"We are their primarily to keep the peace and to protect the public," says McCoy, "but also to ensure there is an orderly flow of traffic which we do have with minimal wait times."

McCoy says police can't say if motorists should or should not be pay the toll being asked.

The discussion of the toll on Facebook is also being closely monitored.

Police say there have been more than 700 threats of violence found online against Couchiching First Nations.

Couchiching Chief Chuck McPherson says many of the threats were anonymous, although some people did use their names.

He says none of the threats originated from Couchiching.

Meantime, efforts to hold a public meeting in Fort Frances regarding Couchiching First Nations' toll.

Band leaders say they would like the opportunity to explain the reasons behind their actions to others in the district.

The band says they've been in contact with Mayor Roy Avis about a possible meeting, but so far no arrangements have been announced.

Power Outage

A storm knocked out power in parts of the Rainy River district overnight.

About 240 Hydro One customers were without power for about three hours beginning at 11 p.m.

About twenty homes are still in the dark and Hydro One expects to have power restored to them by 9:30 a.m. today.

Some Fort Frances residents were also affected by an power outage yesterday.

Parts of the north end and the downtown area lost power at around 10:30 a.m.

Crews with Fort Frances Power Corporation had power restored to all areas by about 1 p.m.

Forest Fire in District

Another forest fires in the Rainy River district over the weekend.

A lightning caused fire, about 35-kilometres northeast of Fort Frances, is still listed as active.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says it be on the watch for more lightning caused fires today as yesterday's storm moves out of the region.

Fun in the Sun Committee Meets Tonight

Members of the Fun in the Sun Committee will meet tonight to discuss this year's events.

The group says it's committed to carrying out the Canada Day parade and fireworks, but is hoping others will come forward to help stage other events planned.

Tonight's meeting is at the 52 Canadians meeting room at 6:30 p.m..

Bass Championship Entertainment Released

Four acts will highlight the entertainment at this year's Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship in July.

Entertainment director Anthony Mason says it starts with two well-known Canadian country artists.

"We have George Canyon coming to town and Julian Austin," says Mason. "We have Pushing Daisies from Winnipeg and A is A coming back."

Advance tickets are expected to go on sale this Friday costing 50-dollars which is good for both the Friday and Saturday night performances."