confidentiality breach

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011$1.19 plus 6¢ HST, $1.25 U.S. Printed in Canada Volume 117 Number 41

INSIDE

Local talent is set to shine later this month for what has been dubbed the “Hometown Heroes” concert. Featuring comedian Ryan McMahon, as well as Wab Kinew, Lac La Croix’s Angus Jourdain, “Mack Sickz,” and Larissa Desrosiers, the con-cert is slated for the evening of Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Couchiching multi-use facil-ity.

Concert to feature local ‘Heroes’

A Fort Frances bush pi-lot said he feels honoured to have witnessed history after an ordinary vacation to Egypt ended up with him caught in the midst of an uprising that has leapt onto the world stage.

Local witnessesEgyptian uprising

If Team Canada is in need of some goaltending prospects for the women’s hockey tour-nament at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, they only had to look as far as the Memorial Sports Centre last weekend to see some of the top netminders of the future.

Girl goalies grab spotlight

See story on B1

See story on A3

See story on A5

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St. Michael’s students Roman and Ander Spuzak, along with Koda Radigan and Hailey Boshey (not pictured), stacked up 100 blocks as high as they could during activities yesterday

morning to mark the 100th day of school.—Peggy Revell photo

100-block tower

By Duane HicksStaff writer

The chief librarian and CEO of the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre was honoured as Public Librarian of the Year for 2011 by the Ontario Library Boards’ Association last week. Margaret Sedgwick was present-ed with the W.J. Robertson Medal-lion for outstanding leadership in the advancement of public library services in Ontario on Thursday in Toronto at the annual public library awards dinner held in con-junction with the OLBA’s annual “Super Conference” (Feb. 2-5). “I am very honoured to receive this prestigious award,” Sedgwick said Monday, having just returned from the conference. Sedgwick was nominated for the award by Arlene Georgeson, vice-chair of the Fort Frances Public Library board, who credited Sedg-wick for her dedication in getting the new Fort Frances Public Li-brary Technology Centre built. “For the past 15 years, Mar-garet’s focus has been a new library building for Fort Frances,” Georgeson wrote in her nomina-tion. “During the past three years, that focus was intensified, begin-

ning with a fundraising campaign that raised over $865,000 in a town with a population of less than 9,000,” she noted. “Then came the grant writing, the planning, the hundreds of hours in meetings, and hurdle af-ter hurdle culminating in the idea of not just a new library building, but a Library Technology Centre, focusing on the new public library as it exists in the 21st century,” Georgeson added. Sedgwick’s contributions to-wards the building of the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre were many, and through-out the project she was “open, adaptable, inviting, and stubborn,” continued Georgeson. “She would stand solidly on topics dear to her heart and the hearts of patrons, but would offer inspiration and encouragement at times when there was doubt and disappointment. “And no one involved in its completion will forget the smile on Margaret’s face at the grand opening, giving heartfelt thanks to everyone involved, praising her staff, the library board, all levels of government and individuals too numerous to remember. “It’s Margaret’s contagious


The Alzheimer Society of Ke-nora-Rainy River District’s sixth-annual “Chefs’ Charitable Dinner and Auction” was a success this past Sunday at the Adventure Inn here, raising $6,500 for the further promotion of Alzheimer awareness and education. Executive director Lynn Moffatt said more than 70 people attended the fundraiser, which she consid-ered a success. “We are grateful for all the com-munity support of those who at-tended the dinner, volunteers and local business and chefs that do-nated towards the menu and prize auctions,” she remarked. “The event was a huge success with proceeds of approximately $6,500, which allows us to raise awareness and provide support to families and make a real differ-ence,” Moffatt added. She noted Alzheimer’s disease is “extremely heartbreaking” for those diagnosed with it, as well as their loved ones, and the lo-cal Alzheimer Society is “working very hard to offer increase support and educational services to support families and the growing number of Alzheimer’s patients.” The menu for the sit-down din-ner was prepared by local chefs and donated by local businesses. It featured starters, like a cheese trey donated by Canada Safeway, whitefish cakes with wild rice salad prepare by Seven Generations Edu-cation Institute the Culinary Arts Program students under the guid-ance of chef Ryan Parisien, Orien-tal Thai salad (Lee Garden), and penne pasta with red sauce (Boston Pizza). This was followed up by the entrée—date-stuffed pork tender-loin (donated by Cloverleaf and prepared by Seven Generations), baked rosemary potatoes (Cater 2 U), carrot and green bean medley (La Flambée), and dinner rolls (The Place and Canada Safeway). A selection of pies, cheesecakes, cookies, and cakes were served up courtesy of the Circle D Family Restaurant, Emo Inn, Iris Gogosha, Subway Sandwiches and Salads, and Rainycrest. Coffee and tea was provided by Tim Hortons, with A&W donating the cream and sugar, and CC Com-plex/Chester Fried Chicken offer-ing assorted juices. The evening also was a chance to showcase the Alzheimer Society, what it does, and the impact of the disease on an increasing number of people.

Annualchefs’ dinner raises $6,500

By Peggy RevellStaff writer

Rainy River District School Board trustee David Kircher has been ac-cused of breaching confidential-ity after information on changes to senior administration severance packages approved by the former board at its final meeting was made public. Concern over a possible breach was raised during last week’s monthly board meeting when for-

mer chair and current trustee Dan Belluz stated that following Janu-ary’s board meeting, he went out for coffee and information dis-cussed during the in-camera ses-sion was the topic of conversation. Belluz noted that when he brought the possible breach to the attention of the director of educa-tion, who then notified board chair Michael Lewis, he did not name any trustee. But when given time by Lewis to state their sides at last week’s

meeting, Kircher stated he had been the one to share the informa-tion, although he disagreed with it being a breach of the Trustee Code of Conduct. “In fact, the activities of the 2010 board are in stark contrast to the defined intent and rationale of the Code of Conduct,” he charged. “The fact of the matter is the 2010 board, by resolution, amend-ed the contracts of senior manage-ment by quadrupling the sever-ance payout for dismissal,” Kircher

noted. “Said amendments created a new potential cost to the current board of about $1.3 million, or three per-cent of the board’s current budget,” he remarked, noting this decision was not reported as required dur-ing the open session of the Nov. 2 meeting. Kircher also said the former board had “the audacity” to do this after the results of the October mu-nicipal election were known and only two of seven trustees would

be returning. “Mr. Belluz, as chair of the 2010 board, does not want this amend-ment out in the public arena, as he may have to explain the activities of the previous board to [his] con-stituents,” Kircher said. “The shroud of secrecy surround-ing the 2010 board has, at least in this matter, been pierced.” The new board first addressed the issue over the amended con-tracts for both Education Director

Trustee accused of confidentiality breach

Please see “Trustee,” A6

Please see “Annual,” A7

Sedgwick salutedas top librarian

Margaret Sedgwick, chief librarian and CEO of the Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre, proudly dis-played her W.J. Robertson Medallion for outstanding leadership in the advancement of public library services in Ontario. —Duane Hicks photoPlease see “Sedgwick,” A6

fof_20110209_A12_01_c.indd 1 2/9/11 11:49:17 AM

A6 FORT FRANCES TIMES Wednesday, February 9, 2011

More from A1Heather Campbell and Superinten-dent of Education Laura Mills dur-ing January’s in-camera session—with the board moving to report in public that the contracts had been amended. Following this meeting, the Fort Frances Times requested more details concerning the amended contracts from Lewis and board administration, who declined com-ment with further information. Currently, the Times has filed a request with the board under the province’s Freedom of Information Act for the contract details, and is awaiting the 30-day time period before the board is required to respond. But following the board’s in-cam-era meeting last month, Kircher stated he believed the new board had decided the information was open to the public, citing the Mu-nicipal Freedom of Information Act which he believes makes this information exempt from privacy and non-disclosure policies. “The 2010 board, by its various actions, demonstrated its desire to keep what the board had enacted out of the public arena and away from the current board for as long as possible, contrary to both the Education Act and the MFIPP Act,” Kircher charged. Belluz refused to make any pub-lic comment on the “letters of intent” (which the contract amend-ments are referred to as) because he said it is unclear whether the exact nature of the information in-cluded in them was public or not. Belluz defended the actions of the old board, however, pointing to the section of the Education Act pertaining to the disclosure of intimate personal or financial infor-mation, and how the he had sought legal advice from a lawyer when the old board was dealing with this matter. “His suggestion was that since it was a personal contract, it falls under this part of the legislation, and we followed his advice,” said Belluz, declining to tell Kircher the

name of the lawyer from whom advice was sought. “My concern is that when we go in-camera and we have a discus-sion, and the next day one trustee decides that it should have not been in-camera and he discusses the in-camera, comes back to this board and we, as a board, decide, ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t have discussed that in-camera because it’s public information’— I guess my question is, why did we even discuss it in-camera period at that time?” Belluz asked. If the majority of the board felt the discussion should be done in public, they should have ceased discussion in-camera and brought it to the public agenda, Belluz ar-gued. “[Chair Lewis], after the meet-ing, had reported quite correctly that we had discussed two letters of intent, and that’s the only infor-mation that [he] disclosed,” Belluz said about what followed the in-camera session. But Kircher said that when Lew-is reporting discussion of the “letter of intent,” alongside the majority of the board feeling the former board’s actions should be public, meant the issue no longer was an in-camera one. Citing Section. 14.1(f) of the Freedom of Information legislation, Kircher stated that disclosure of personal information is permitted if the disclosure does not constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy. To determine if the disclosure of personal information constitutes an justified invasion of privacy, the act states that a “disclosure of personal information is desirable for the purpose of subjecting the activities of the institution to public scru-tiny,” argued Kircher, something that the 2010 board and current board should be subjected to. As well, Kircher pointed to Sec. 14.(4).(a) of the act, which excludes the classifications salary ranges and benefits of employment responsi-bilities of an individual who is, or was, an officer of employee of the

institution from non-disclosure. Kircher also highlighted Section 16 the act, which states that: “If there is compelling public interest in the disclosure of the personal information that clearly outweighs the purpose of the exemptions from disclosure, Section 16 waives the exemptions from disclosure contained in Sections 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14 of the Act.” “The intent being [that] publicly-funded institutions not use ‘person-al information’ to conduct board business, in-camera, particularly when the business involves public fund,” he argued. Kircher said this case also shows the need for “lame duck” legisla-tion, where outgoing boards can-not impose financial burdens on the incoming ones. And with the statements from the trustees being taken over the “breach,” Kircher requested that the board not go in-camera to “dis-cuss his fate.” But Lewis stated that “given the nature of the issue, this is basi-cally the trustees that have to de-cide whether this is a breach, and trustees should decide amongst themselves if there is a breach with people not present first.” Once this is decided, Lewis said they would announce the decision publicly. As per policy when it comes to breaches of the Trustee Code of Conducts, the board met privately following the end of the last week’s regular meeting to discuss whether or not there was a breach. Following this, Lewis reported to the Times that trustees hadn’t been able to reach a decision, and the issue will be held over to be discussed at March’s meeting.

More from A1enthusiasm, her concern for librar-ies as a whole, that makes us most proud,” Georgeson concluded. “The next generation of librar-ians will most certainly have to look to the efforts of our librarian [Margaret] to see how far they can go.” In her acceptance speech, Sedg-wick said the building of the new Fort Frances Public Library Tech-nology Centre “has certainly been the highlight of my career.” “While planning for the new facility, each year for at least the past seven years when we came to the warm south for OLA, my board chair and I would rent a car and visit new or renovated libraries within driving distance of Toronto,” she noted. “Over the years, we visited, and sometimes re-visited, over 55 libraries. The connections and friendships we made with those visits is testimony to the generosity and sharing nature of the library community,” Sedgwick said. Sedgwick graduated from the School of Library and Information Science at the University of West-ern Ontario in 1977 and her first job out of school was chief librarian of the Fort Frances Public Library, where she’s remained ever since. “As we all know, libraries are al-ways changing and evolving,” said Sedgwick. “That’s why it wasn’t difficult to stay in the same position throughout my career. “We all work to make our librar-ies the best they can be and right now, I can honestly say right at this moment, Fort Frances is close to the top of the heap,” she added. “Now comes the challenge to

continue to grow and advance. “I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone planning a trip to Western Canada to stop by and visit our beautiful new facility,” concluded Sedgwick. “It’s worth the trip.” The award is named after Wil-liam John Robertson, a founding member of the OLBA and among the 33 “originals” who established the first constitution at the first an-nual meeting of the association in April, 1901. Robertson became the fourth OLBA president in 1905, and was the first trustee to be elected into the position. Robertson was twice chair of the St. Catharines Free Library Board. The W.J. Robertson Medallion recognizes and honours significant contributions to the library profes-sion. The president of the association always presents the medallion at the annual public library awards dinner held in conjunction with the

annual “Super Conference.” The OLBA receives nominations for the award, with selection of the successful candidate based on significant contributions in at least one of the following criteria: •demonstrated innovation in the advancement of the library profes-sion; •promotion of library services through any means of dissemina-tion of information; •demonstrated creative uses of technology in the delivery of li-brary and information services; and •creation of original work, regard-less of the medium used, which substantially contributes to the im-provement of library services.

Sedgwick saluted as top librarianTrustee accused of confidentiality breach

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INSIDE

She’s been called inspira-tional, genuine, and an amaz-ing speaker, which is why Sandy Skirten, director of ser-vices with the local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, is sure tickets for Margaret Trudeau’s upcoming talk here will sell out quickly.

Trudeau talk likely to sell out

Fort High students are or-ganizing an art auction and dinner to raise money for a trip to the “Big Apple” later this spring. The “Taste of New York” fundraiser is slated for this Monday (March 7) from 6-8 p.m. at the high school cafete-ria.

Auction to benefi t art trip

It wasn’t the results they wanted but the experience of vying for a provincial crown on home ice was something Judy LaBelle and Roz Broman certainly will remember.

Local rinks fall short

See story on B1

See story on A2

See story on A5 By Duane HicksStaff writer

In response to a question from council as to why the Town of Fort Frances seemingly has a higher-than-average number of police of-ficers, the local Police Services Board is suggesting the OPP make a presentation to council address-ing this query and much more. At its monthly meeting Friday, the Police Services Board discussed the question brought up by Coun. Ken Perry at the Feb. 14 council meeting, when he wondered why the national average for police offi-cers in communities is 2.0 officers per 1,000 people, but the ratio here is about 2.5 per 1,000? OPP detachment commander A/Insp. Steve Shouldice said he’s spoken to OPP S/Sgt. Rod Case, senior analyst and case manager, and is not aware of any place in Canada where police staffing is based on a ratio. Rather, it’s based on calls for service—and only after the fact would such a ratio be calculated. He added the OPP is looking at updating its staffing formula further so it better suits the area policed, as it currently fits south-ern Ontario better than Northern

Ontario. For example, it does not include Mental Health Act or Liquor Li-cence Act occurrences, but it does include calls out to alarms going off at residences, which are far more common in the south than in the north. “So it’s kind of skewed,” admit-ted A/Insp. Shouldice. “We’re looking at catering it for a detachment area—let’s get a snapshot of what that detachment should look like in order to be able to adequately and effectively police,” he added. He also noted S/Sgt. Case is willing to come here and talk to council about staffing, as well as contracts, adding S/Sgt. Case went to Atikokan when it renewed its contract with the OPP. With the town looking at re-newing its contract with the OPP, Police Services Board chair John McTaggart said that maybe council should be provided with more in-formation. “Would a presentation on ad-equacy and effectiveness and what that entails for policing, and some of the services that are included in this contract but not paid for as such, to council by Steve [be a

Board suggests OPP talk to town council

By Duane Hicks Staff writer

Those behind the proposed La Verendrye Parkway Village con-dominium here are excited about the renewed interest in the proj-ect, with an open house sched-uled for next Wednesday (March 9) at the Civic Centre. The public is encouraged to drop by from 5-8 p.m. to meet Thunder Bay developer Robert Zanette, as well as builder Wayne Kaun of Ed Kaun & Sons Ltd. and Re/Max sales rep Kathy Judson. They will be on hand to answer questions as well as show floor plans and other drawings of the project, which is proposed to be built on a riverfront lot located at Front Street and Mosher Avenue (to the east of the current River-walk Condominiums). “Basically, we want people to know that, yes, we are here, we are in, we are doing this, so come out and ask any questions you want to,” Judson said in an inter-view Monday. She said all parties involved are looking to get going with the project, which has gained a more local marketing focus with the ad-

dition of her to the team. The project had first been talk-ed about in 2008, with an open house last held in May, 2009. But the project has been some-what slow going until recently. Judson said one of the difficul-ties has been that Zanette has been extremely busy with real estate contracts in Thunder Bay, Phoenix, and Kelowna. Likewise, Re/Max broker Ma-rio Tegola, who was in charge of selling units, also was based in Thunder Bay and busy with mat-ters there. Judson, who’s worked on con-dominium conversions, new con-struction projects and resale units in Vancouver, Winnipeg and the Greater Toronto Area over the past three decades, came into the picture last summer when she returned home to Emo to care for her mother. After her mother’s passing, she decided to move her from To-ronto, reactivate her real estate license and stay in the district. “So, I looked around and de-cided to join Re/Max,” Judson recalled. With a project like this,


Starting in 2008, the province began uploading various programs it previously had downloaded to the Rainy River District Social Ser-vices Administration Board, reduc-ing some of the DSSAB’s pro-gram costs and, theoretically, the levy amount district municipalities should have to pay. But the Town of Fort Frances feels it and other district munici-palities have not been getting the full benefit of the uploading—and is asking the province for answers. According to information con-tained in the 2011 Ontario Munici-pal Partnership Fund (OMPF) allo-cation notice Fort Frances received, the town says it should be realizing $420,400 in savings from upload-ed programs, including a Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) of $57,900, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) administration component ($48,500), ODSP benefits com-ponent ($307,700), and Ontario Works benefits ($6,300). Based on the 2011 allocation notices for other district municipali-ties, the total 2011 uploaded sav-ings for Rainy River District should be more than $887,200 (this total does not include the Town of Rainy River, which had not received its 2011 OMPF notice as of Monday). However, the DSSAB has indi-cated the total uploaded savings for the entire district this year is only $448,238. It says the town is misinterpreting the numbers. Coun. Ken Perry, who is the Fort Frances rep on the DSSAB board, said the allocation notices are “pretty straightforward” and he can’t understand where DSSAB’s administration is coming from. “[The OMPF allocation notice] tells you what is there, and they’ve interpreted them a different way and I have no idea why,” Coun. Perry noted in an interview Mon-day. “The numbers are the numbers and I have presented them at board meetings, I have presented them to other board members, and they’ve been convinced by the DSSAB ad-ministration that the numbers that we got from the province aren’t really correct,” he added. “I don’t know what else I can say. “This is driving me crazy,” Coun.

Board finds Kircher breached codeBy Peggy RevellStaff writer

By a 4-2 vote last night, the Rainy River District School Board found newly-elected trustee David Kircher had breached confidential-ity, but current trustees remain outraged over the outgoing school board’s actions to amend senior administration contracts at its final meeting. “Bottom line, if I’m sanctioned, I certainly think it’s worth the censure to go through that and have this information public as opposed to not,” Kircher said af-ter the vote, which came after he shared with members of the public that the outgoing board had voted

behind closed doors in November to amend the contracts of both the director of education (Heath-er Campbell) and superintendent of business (Laura Mills) so each would receive four years’ salary plus benefits in severance pay if let go by the new board. The new board originally dis-cussed the contract issue in-camera at its meeting in January, and that the two contracts had been changed was noted in the public minutes. The issue arose again in public discussion at February’s meeting when trustee Dan Belluz, chair of the former board, stated more details concerning the contract amendments originally discussed

in-camera had been shared with the public—an action Kircher took responsibility for. The 4-2 vote at last night’s meet-ing—held at Donald Young School in Emo—was in favour of a resolu-tion that Kircher had breached the Trustee Code of Conduct. “I was a little surprised, but not overwhelmed or anything,” Kircher said. “I can appreciate the other trustees thinking that I had breached the Trustee Code of Con-duct and they’re entitled, obvi-ously, to their opinion. “I didn’t breach, as far as I’m concerned, the in-camera portion of anything—I just publicly stated what the amendments were about,” Kircher said, standing by the expla-

nation he gave at February’s board meeting as to why sharing this information wasn’t a breach, in-cluding that the amendments were put into open session and that both the Freedom of Information Act and Education Act “dictate that the substance of the amendments is public information and should have been disclosed.” Kircher now has 14 days to re-spond to trustees. Then at April’s board meeting, trustees will vote to confirm or reject the motion passed last night, explained board chair Michael Lewis. If confirmed, there then will be a recommendation for a conse-quence, Lewis noted, the least of which would be a censure—specifi-

cally, a letter of reprimand. “I don’t know what the board will do,” conceded Lewis, who was joined by trustee Ralph Hill in vot-ing against last night’s resolution. “By April 5, I certainly will make a recommendation as to what I think the consequence will be and then the board can vote on that, yea or nay,” he explained. “I really struggled with [the deci-sion] because I also believe it was information that should have been in the public in the first place,” said board vice-chair Dianne Mc-Cormick, who ultimately voted that there was a breach of confidential-ity. “Basically, whether or not the

Please see “Board,” A6

Town asking where savingswent

Please see “Town,” A7

Carla Harris’ Grade 1 class at St. Michael’s School here was the winner of the “Winter Book Challenge” held there through January and February. The goal was for the stu-dents to read 2,011 books collectively, but they exceed that

amount by reading a total of 2,991. Harris’ class read 448 books, with each student receiving a poster for being the top class.

—Heather Latter photo

Book challenge

Condo open house set for next week

Please see “Condo,” A7 Please see “Board,” A7

fof_20110302_A10_01_c.indd 1 3/2/11 11:51:32 AM

A6 FORT FRANCES TIMES Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Board finds Kircher breached codeMore from A1

issues should have been dealt with in-camera or not, it was still be-ing discussed in-camera,” she rea-soned. “The proper course would have been for it to be publicly released in one form or another before trustees spoke about it—whether or not they believe it should have been,” she added. Belluz, who voted that there was a breach, refused to comment to the media following last night’s meeting. Also voting in favour of the reso-lution was Marg Heyens and Chief Earl Klyne, who represents the area’s First Nations on the board. Kircher did not vote. “I’m very concerned about the process that took place on Nov. 2, 2010,” stressed Lewis. “I believe it was not right. “It was legal, but I don’t think it was ethical,” he added, pointing to how it was known in November that only two trustees from the old board would be returning. Lewis also said “lame duck” legislation —already in place for municipal councils—needs to apply to school boards by 2014. “What [the former board] did was effectively, theoretically, har-ness this board with a possible payout which was considerable,” he argued. “I don’t believe that will ever come to pass,” he added. “It doesn’t matter, though, as in theory it could. “I didn’t accept their reason-ing that somehow or other this nefarious group of trustees who had just been elected were going to come down and do something silly like fire administrators,” Lewis remarked. While Kircher had been vocal

about issues such as the miss-ing funds from Fort Frances High School, he never mentioned any-thing about getting rid of employ-ees, Lewis noted, nor have the other new trustees. Lewis said he wrote to local MPP Howard Hampton as a citizen this past fall concerning “lame duck” legislation after actually hearing rumours “on the street” that such contract amendments were in the works. “Which to me is kind of odd because that would mean that someone on that [former] board breached the code of conduct, or how would I know [through ru-mours] that they were going to do that?” he reasoned. Since the new board learned of the contract amendments in Janu-ary, Lewis said he’s since written to all three provincial party leaders over the issue but has received no response so far. He said he also contacted the Ministry of Education, who told him that it was a Ministry of Mu-nicipal Affairs problem, and was, in turn, told by Municipal Affairs that it was a Ministry of Education problem. Lewis also wrote to the Ministry of Government Services, but has not yet received a response. Meanwhile, the need for “lame duck” legislation for school boards was something Hill brought up this

past weekend when he was in To-ronto for an Ontario Public School Boards Association meeting. As the local board’s rep to the OPSBA, Hill raised the issue with other members, including the OPSBA’s executive director and first vice-president, who will be looking into the issue, getting a legal opinion, and seeing how to proceed. “One of them felt it makes all public school boards look bad to the public, and it also makes them look bad to the Ministry of Educa-tion,” Hill said of the reaction to the former board’s actions here. “I certainly talked with people from Stratton to Emo to Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto and everyone is disgusted with the actions of the old board,” he added. “That’s 100 percent unanimous. “People felt that after an election to make that kind of [decision]—everyone is absolutely disgusted,” he remarked. As for a breach of confidential-ity, Hill agreed with Kircher that the release of this information falls under the Freedom of Information Act. “Public money, as much as possi-ble, should be public,” he stressed. “To me, the crime in no way, shape, or form is the breach of trust, but is the actual act of put-ting us on the hook for $1.3 million after being voted out.”

Date set for‘Bag Lunch’

Wab Kinew entertained a full house Saturday night during the “Hometown Heroes” concert at the Couchiching multi-use facil-ity. Organized by the United Native Friendship Centre’s Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth program as a trip fundraiser, the concert also featured performances by comedian Ryan McMahon, as well as singers Angus Johnson, Larissa Desrosiers, and “Mack Sickz” (with special guest Dustin Davis a.k.a “DUBZ”).


Showcasing talent

Press release

Previously known as the “Old Bags Lunch,” the Riverside Foun-dation for Health Care has sched-uled Saturday, April 16 as the date for this year’s event. To be held once again at the Fort Frances High School cafete-ria, it will include a buffet-style lunch, goodie bags, entertainment, and lots of fun and games. Tickets, as well as more infor-mation, will be available at a later date. Reservations for tables of eight also will be available again this year. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” reasoned new Foundation director Nicke Baird. “So we’re planning a very simi-lar event to previous years, but with a new menu and a new look on the promotional end of things,” she explained. “We’re excited to be planning this event and are going to play a lot of the games that were played in the previous years,” echoed Allison Hyatt, new chair of the Foundation’s special events com-mittee. “We’re also going to put togeth-er some great goodie bags,” Hyatt added. “We’re already receiving bag donations,” noted Baird. “But we are looking for more donations for our different ‘bag’ categories, in-cluding every-day purses, evening purses, kids’ bags, foreign bags, and designer bags. “We would also like to feature local artist bags, and have a table for local business bags to promote artists and businesses in the area,” she added. Donations can be dropped off in the garage at 911 Frenette Ave., at 525 Scott St., or at the Founda-tion office. You also can call Baird or Hyatt for a pick-up at 274-4803 or 276-0029. “We only have 160 tickets avail-able and already have some on hold,” noted Baird.

Submit your photos online at

www.fortfrances.com

“The proper course would have been for it to be publicly released in one form or another before trustees spoke about it—whether or not they believe it should have been.”

—Dianne McCormick

THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ALBERTON

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR CONSENTSection 53(5)(a) of the Planning Act

The following Application for Consent has been received and will be considered by the Committee of Adjustment for The Corporation of the Township of Alberton at a Public Meeting on Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Alberton Municipal Of ce.

APPLICATION NO. C1-2011--Applicants: Marlyce Huitikka (for owners Olavi Huitikka and Marlyce Huitikka) in respect of the property described as Part of PIN 56021-0069 (LT), Parcel 14920, See Rainy River, being Part of Lot 7, River Range, Crozier, as in SLT57134 & SLT57135, Municipality of Alberton. The purpose of the application is to create one new residential lot.

The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the nature of the application, to invite public input, to advise on how to make comments on the application and to inform the public of future noti cation and appeal rights.

Inquiries and written submissions may be made to the Secretary of the Alberton Committee of Adjustment by telephone at (807)274-6053 or by fax at (807)274-8449. Information about the application is available to the public at the Alberton Municipal Of ce during regular of ce hours.

Appeal of a decision of the Township of Alberton Committee of Adjustment in respect of the above application may be made by any person or public body no later than 20 days after notice of the decision is given. If you wish to be noti ed of the decision rendered by the Township of Alberton Committee of Adjustment in respect of the proposed consent, you must make a written request to the Secretary at the address below. If a person or public body who les an appeal in respect of the proposed consent does not submit written comments to the Secretary before the Township of Alberton Committee of Adjustment gives a consent, the Ontario Municipal Board may dismiss the appeal.

DATED this 2nd day of March, 2011.

Dawn Hayes, CMO, Secretary of Alberton Committee of Adjustment

RR#1-B2, #3 Hwy 611 SouthFort Frances, Ontario P9A 3M2

Phone: (807)274-6053Fax: (807)274-8449

SHARI HAS MOVED!Shari Humphrey has moved to

A LITTLE OFF THE TOP A LITTLE OFF THE TOP(Next to McTaggarts)

“I’m lookingI’m looking forward to seeing old friends, forward to seeing old friends,

as well as new ones, in my chair.”as well as new ones, in my chair.”

274-0336Tuesday & Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm

Thursday & Friday 1pm- 9pmSaturday 9am - 3pm

All gift certifi cates and coupons with Shari will be redeemable at A Little Off The Top

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERSthroughout the Rainy River District

TAKE NOTICEThe Rainy River District Women’s Shelter of Hope has received special funding from the Department of Justice

Canada to complete a Needs Assessment Survey of the Rainy River District to compile data to be returned to each of the participants

at the end of March 2011 for your use in your own agency.

Ms. Connie Terlesky is the Research Project Coordinator, and she will be contacting community service providers over the next few weeks for assistance with this. If you work with people, and have

not received a survey by March 15, please phone Connie at (807)597-2425 or complete the survey online at:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/RRCommunityNeedsSurvey

Your input is critical to achieve an accurate idea of the problems facing our district. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. In appreciation of your participation, you will be invited to a

workshop at the end of March which we will host free of charge, which will conclude with amazing entertainment!

Help an extraordinaryOntarian get recognition

Dr. Sher Ali Mirza of Thunder BayAn authority on structural engineering practice2006 Order of Ontario appointee Paid for by the Government of Ontario

Nominate someone from your community for the

Order of Ontario.

orderofontario.ca

Deadline for nominations:

March 16, 2011

March at the MuseumOpening here March 8 until closing April 16….

the ever popular Threadworks!

Yes, you can still register for the

Genealogy Workshop with Janis Higgins

on Saturday, March 121-3 p.m. at the

Fort Frances LibraryThere is a $10 fee.

This year’s theme is Trees. Come see the exceptional creativity and talent expressed through hand-stitching, beadwork and embroidery.

Truly a must-see!

March Break Activities Keeping in mind our

Threadworks exhibit, we’ll be incorporating both textiles and trees!

Mon. Mar 14—Beaded Bracelets Learn how to weave together embroidery thread and beads.

Tues. Mar 15—Fabric Art Using many of the same items as the

artists in our Threadworks exhibit, we’ll make our own masterpieces with fabric,

thread, beads and buttons.

Wed. Mar 16—Rug-hooking & Cross-stitch This is your chance to work on two

heritage crafts: Work on our community “What Hooks You Here” project, or learn

the simple art of cross-stitching.

Thurs. & Fri. Mar 17 & 18—Re-creating Treebeard.

Remember the Ents in Lord of the Rings?

Thursday will be spent making a papier maché mask; on Friday, we’ll complete it

with paint and accessories.

All classes run 1-3 p.m. $3.50 per day per child covers the cost of supplies.

Please call 274-7891 to reserve a spot.

259 Scott Street, Fort Frances 274-7891

FUNDING OPPORTUNITYMoffat Family Fund

Fort Frances has the good fortune of being selected to receive endowment funding of $37,500.00 for 2011 through the Winnipeg Foundation, speci cally the Moffat Family Fund, to

support children, “families and less advantaged communities.”

Organizations from outside of the Town of Fort Frances whose activities do not have a direct bene t to residents of Fort Frances, will not be considered.Individuals and organizations are invited to submit their requests stating the amount requested together with supporting rationale. Submissions should be typewritten and double spaced. In addition, charitable numbers for organizations must be included with their submission. Pease indicate if you have received funding for this project from any other sources. Please le your 2-5 page document on or before:

2:00 p.m. Friday, April 1, 2011addressed and delivered to:

Town of Fort FrancesAttention: M. McCaig, Administrator

320 Portage AvenueFort Frances, Ontario

P9A 3P9Fax: 274-8479

Email: [email protected] information package is available upon request at the above address

or by phoning the information desk at the Civic Centre at 274-5323.

Includes 4 days in class and 13 private in-car lessons. Call 274-1309, please leave your name and mailing address and an information package will be sent to you. www.drivewisesafety.com

NEXT COURSE STARTS IN APRIL

Seats are lling fast--We’re 60% full

already!

An ideal student age is about 3

months prior to their 16th birthday.

Fort Frances Area Forecast-16 / -6

-18 / -5

-19 / -6

-20 / -6

-19 / -6

-18 / -4

-15 / -4

-21 / -5-20 / -5




Thursday, March 3rd ... Cloudy skies.Occasional flurries. Normal termperatures Low near -19°C. High near -6°C.

Friday, March 4th ... A mix of sun andcloud. Normal temperatures. Low near -11°C. High near -3°C.

Saturday, March 5th ... Mostly sunnyskies. Cooler temperatures. Low near -21°C. High near -10°C.

Outlook for Sunday, March 6th to Saturday, March 12th, 2011 ... Mostly sunnyskies on Sunday. Cloudy periods with occasional flurries expected on Monday toWednesday. Mostly sunny skies on Thursday to Saturday. Temperatures will be normalto cool. Lows will be -22 to -17°C. Highs will be -10 to -4°C.

Daylight on March 3rd lasts for 11 Hours and 8 Minutes. Sunrise: 6:52 AM. and Sunset: 6:00 PM.

Fort Frances-18 / -4

International Falls

Rainy River

Baudette

Nestor Falls

SiouxNarrows

Kenora


Upsala

Atikokan

Emo

MAR. 3, 7 to 9.Normal temperatures.

Cloudy periods.Occasional flurries.

MAR. 4 to 6, 10 to 12.Cooler temperatures.Mostly sunny skies.



F 95 86 77 68 59 50 41 32 23 14 5 -4 -13

fof_20110302_A10_06_k.indd 1 3/2/11 11:35:25 AM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2011$1.19 plus 6¢ HST, $1.25 U.S. Printed in Canada Volume 117 Number 49

INSIDE

The NCDS Transition Cen-tre, which opened last April at 242 Scott St., closed its doors Thursday after the province did not renew funding for the one-year pilot project. The Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills program here was one of 33 in Ontario launched last year.

Funding dries upfor pilot project

Grand Rapids will host some of the top young wrestlers in Minnesota as the annual state championship is held there this Saturday. However, there will be a Canadian flavor to the tour-nament again this year as a handful of wrestlers will be taking on their American counterparts.

Wrestlers headingto state tourney

The Border Skating Club’s 39th-annual ice show on the weekend marked the final time two senior members took to the ice to dazzle the audi-ence. Michael Nelson and Sarah DeGagne took part in their last ice show before departing the club at month’s end.

Nelson, DeGagne take final bows

See story on B5

See story on A3

See story on B1

189 HWY 11-71, Fort Frances 274-4444

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Standing room only crowd backs KircherBy Peggy RevellStaff writer

Outrage over the actions of the former Rainy River District School Board made for standing room only at last night’s meeting as members of the public came out to show support for trustee David Kircher, who had been found to have breached the trustee Code of Conduct. More than 60 people packed the boardroom, and spilled out into the hallway, to hear the new board’s decision on punishment for the breach, which occurred when Kircher admitted to sharing details with members of the public about

the outgoing board’s move during the in-camera session of its final meeting in November to amend the contracts of both the director of education and superintendent of business so any severance pay would total four years’ worth of salary and benefits, not one. Kircher has maintained that details concerning the contract amendments were open and avail-able to the public given the new board had publicly noted the con-tracts had been amended at its January meeting. As well, contract information such as this is covered under the Freedom of Information Act. But in a 4-2 vote at last month’s

meeting, the board found a breach had occurred. And since no trustee wished to change their original vote, this decision was confirmed at last night’s meeting. As a result, another resolution was passed to censure Kircher for this breach, with board chairman Mike Lewis to write a letter to that effect. This is basically a letter of rep-rimand, Lewis explained following the meeting, noting it will indicate that according to the vote, Kircher broke the confidentiality part of the Code of Conduct. “It’s the least of all the conse-quences,” he said, with the most significant ones being along the

lines of removing Kircher from committees, for example. “But that wouldn’t serve any-one’s purpose,” Lewis reasoned. “ We’ll move on from here, and we’ll be as open and transparent as we possibly can. “It’s a new board and that’s the dedication that people want to put into it—to have that transparency,” he stressed. Kircher said afterwards that he saw the results as fair, although he still doesn’t regret his actions. “After tonight’s meeting, it’s indi-cated to all trustees that there’s no one above any school board policy. Everybody must adhere,” said for-mer board chair Dan Belluz, who

originally reported these contract amendment details had been made public But this was not a sentiment shared by the crowd that came out to the meeting to show support for Kircher, including local ratepayer Walter Horban, who made a public presentation to trustees last night. Horban asked for answers con-cerning the missing funds at Fort Frances High School several years ago, the amended severance pack-ages for senior administration, and board transparency. “I think, as taxpayers, we are owed that. We’d like to see where our money goes,” said Horban,


Some may call it a miracle. Local resident Samantha “Sam” Pearson, 24, is making a remark-able recovery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute after she experienced heart failure two weeks ago, and could be coming back to Fort Frances in the next couple of days. “She is quite a phenomenon around here,” said Pearson’s mother, Ellen Gagne, who called the Times yesterday from Ot-tawa. “Actually, right now as we speak, we have her out on a day pass. “She may be heading home as early as this Thursday,” Gagne added, noting doctors currently are fine-tuning the heart medica-tions Pearson is on. “We couldn’t be happier,” en-thused Gagne, saying that with the exception of herself and her husband, Peter Gagne, Pearson’s family has left Ottawa in anticipa-tion of her coming home soon.

“We’re all hoping to head home Thursday or Friday,” said Gagne, noting the goal is to be at her father’s place at Reef Point on Sunday, sitting round a fire and looking at the lake. Gagne said her daughter will have to return to Ottawa in three months. In the meantime, she will be followed clinically over the phone or through her doctor here, Dr. Robert Nugent. Gagne gave heartfelt thanks to Dr. Nugent. “That man got her to the right place at the right time. He never gave up, he never stopped,” she stressed. “I am so thankful for him; we all are.” As reported in Friday’s Daily Bulletin, Pearson had been taking the immunosuppressant predni-sone due to a severe allergic reaction to a drug given to her for rheumatoid arthritis. She was being weened off the drug, had another reaction, had her dosage increase, and was

Staff

With news last week that the Town of Fort Frances is reducing the number of full-time firefighters from eight to six, Fort Frances Pro-fessional Fire Fighters Local 1012 is expressing concern for both the reduction of staff and comments made to residents with regards to level of service. “Many residents may not be aware that the corporation has been reducing the amount of full-time firefighters within the com-munity for over 10 years,” the union said in a media release sent to the Times. “As a result of their actions, we have gone from a department con-sisting of a fire chief, deputy chief, and 10 full-time staff to a depart-ment now comprised of a fire chief and seven full-time staff—with the indication that this number is soon to be six through a possible layoff. “Many of these reductions have come after negotiated contracts and our recent arbitration award,” the release noted. “Although verbally supporting staffing levels in the past, council’s actions have proven otherwise,” the union charged. “Will the town’s commitment to a staffing level of six be further reduced to five, four, or three, if or when the opportunity presents itself? “Your taxes are paying for a full-time fire service with the ex-pectation that, when needed, we will provide an acceptable level of service,” the union continued. “The taxpayers can only hope that this time the mayor and coun-cil’s commitment to maintain six firefighters and staff the fire hall with 24-hour coverage is cred-ible.” The Fort Frances Professional Fire Fighters want to reassure resi-dents that although they remain dedicated to the community and serving its residents, “a further reduction of two full-time firefight-ers will provide us with additional challenges that may have an im-pact on our ability to serve you.” “Any way you look at it, a loss of staff at any level equates to a re-duction in responding trained pro-fessionals,” the release concluded. As reported last week, council also opted to strike a new five-year contract with the OPP, which will see the reduction of 1.95 full-time equivalent staff, bringing the com-plement of constables here from 18 to 16. It should be noted policing costs are paid for through multiple sources, including municipal taxes, cost-recovery (i.e., fines and

Staffingcutbackconcernsfiremen

Local Confederation College campus director Anne Renaud maneuvered dirt with a virtual excavator while demonstrat-ing one of the two simulators the college has acquired for its heavy equipment operator program. With foot pedals and

controls hooked up to a computer and large screen, the new equipment allows students to practise different scenarios with different equipment while tracking information on how well they perform these tasks. —Peggy Revell photo

Virtual training


There’s good news for boaters who have had trouble getting un-der the Canadian National Railway lift bridge at Ranier—the bridge will be manned 24 hours a day from May 1-Oct. 15. A U.S. Coast Guard regulation re-ceived federal approval last week, which will ensure that CN man the bridge, which currently is operated remotely, during that period. From Oct. 16-April 30 each year, the bridge would open for vessels if 12 hours’ advance notice is pro-vided. Additionally, the regulation re-quires the bridge owner to post and maintain a clearance gauge to indicate to vessels the water levels and available clearance while the bridge is in the closed-to-navigation position. Currently, there is no regulation for this lift bridge or waterway. It is required to open on signal at all times in accordance with the gen-eral opening requirements. The lift bridge was remotely-

operated for several years with-out explicit approval by the Coast Guard. CNR had requested approval to continue using remote operation equipment and operate the lift bridge with remotely-located draw-tenders. But in the last year, the Coast Guard was informed “the draw-bridge is routinely unresponsive to signals and communications from vessels for bridge openings,” it noted in a report. “In addition, the presence of gov-ernment and public vessels operat-ing between Rainy River and Rainy Lake has magnified the need for the drawbridge to be responsive and reliable for all vessel traffic,” it continued. Back on Dec. 27, the Coast Guard published a notice of pro-posed rule-making (NPRM), enti-tled “Drawbridge Operation Regu-lation; Rainy River, Ranier, Mn.,” in the Federal Register (75 FR 32381). At that time, it received seven positive comments and one

Manning Ranier bridgegood news for boaters

Please see “Standing,” A6

Please see “Staffing,” A7

Woman makingamazing recovery

Please see “Woman,” A6Please see “Bridge,” A6

fof_20110406_A10_01_c.indd 1 4/6/11 11:37:44 AM

A6 FORT FRANCES TIMES Wednesday, April 6, 2011

More from A1being weened off it a second time when she had heart failure on March 21. She went to the intensive care unit at La Verendrye Hospital, was flown to Thunder Bay, and then flown to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. In the first few days, doctors didn’t know if Pearson would make it or not and were looking to give her a heart transplant. She then began to make a re-markable recovery, improving each day through the use of heart

medications. Gagne said doctors have theo-rized that her daughter caught viral myocarditis—an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium), which resembles a heart attack but where the coronary arteries are not blocked. “We still don’t know what caused it in the first place, and I don’t know if we’ll ever know,” she ad-mitted. “But all we know is she’s coming back [home] and she’s just doing great.”

Woman making recovery

More from A1negative comment. The positive comments support-ed the proposed regulation, as written, including letters of support from the City of International Falls, the City of Ranier, and the Koochi-ching County Board of Commis-sioners. Tim “Chopper” McBride, coun-cillor-at-large for the City of In-ternational Falls, said the ruling is welcome news, adding the county board worked hard, with the sup-port of the two cities, to lobby for it. “I think it’s great. I think it’s good,” he enthused. “I think in the end, CN will adapt to it well. “It’s economic development with jobs, and it’s great to make the ability to access the upper Rainy River and Rainy Lake a lot easier,” McBride added. “If CN will be able to operate how it needs to operate, the boat-ing traffic will be able to operate, and you’ll have four or five guys working there. “That’s cool,” he remarked. McBride said he’s fully aware of the issues boaters have been fac-ing. “It’s tough for the Canadians over at the [Sorting Gap] marina . . . If that bridge is down, you’re about a foot-and-a-half from your head sometimes,” he noted. The negative comment was sub-mitted by the CNR, which ques-tioned the justification to require

drawtenders due to infrequent bridge openings for vessels in re-cent years. CNR also requested that the Coast Guard alter the proposed dates and times that drawtenders would be required to be at the lift bridge. CNR reported no bridge open-ing requests were received until June 20 last year, and that be-tween Memorial Day and Labour Day last year, the bridge was re-quired to be opened a total of 31 times, resulting in an average of 2.2 bridge openings per week. But based on the information provided by other comments re-ceived in response to the NPRM, the Coast Guard was concerned about the lift bridge being re-sponsive to requests for bridge openings—and not being operated in accordance with federal draw-bridge regulations. The new rule is “expected to provide for the reasonable balance of all modes of transportation and effectively accomplish the request-ed goal of improving bridge open-ings and communications between vessel operators and the [CNR] drawtender[s],” the Coast Guard stated. The Coast Guard believes the Ranier lift bridge has not been operated in accordance with the drawbridge regulations, and “this rule is expected to bring the draw-bridge into full compliance with the federal drawbridge regulations.”

Bridge to be mannedMore from A1

outlining what facts are publicly known about all of these issues. “This comes down as a matter of interpretation. I feel that Mr. Kirch-er was right and the Freedom of Information Act confirms it, what do you think?” Horban said to the crowd, which broke in applause in response. “Was Mr. Kircher fulfilling his obligation to the 1,570 people who voted for him? I think so,” he said to another round of applause. “All the business of was he right or was he not in the revelation of the severance amendment ob-scures one really important point—and that is why was the amend-ment even considered and brought up?” Horban remarked. Addressing questions especially towards Belluz, Horban listed those the public has been asking, includ-ing whether it was administration or the board that brought forward the changes, research and com-parisons of the changes compared to other administrations across the province, as well as the impact such changes would have on ne-gotiations at other boards and, ultimately, the effect on education. He also asked about a possible link between this amendment and the new board investigating the missing funds at Fort High, or making it “costly” should the new board want to make changes in administration. Having the severance packages returned to their former status is “the morally correct thing to do,” Horban told the new board. As well, “many people in Fort Frances are waiting for answers, answers to questions that have been on our mind for several years now,” he said about the Fort High funds, in which hundreds of thou-sands of dollars went missing over a 38-month period. Fawn Lindberg faces charges in the matter, which is still before the courts. Horban questioned how the missing funds could have gone on for such a time period without be-ing discovered. “Didn’t somebody have the re-sponsibility to look after these funds? Wasn’t anyone accountable? Who was minding our finances at the school?” he asked. “Didn’t annual reviews point out that something was seriously wrong with the numbers? Whose job is it to notice this and request an audit? “This could have been solved much sooner,” Horban argued, re-calling that when Kircher began

asking questions as a ratepayer, he was “stonewalled”—having to re-sort to the Freedom of Information Act to obtain facts pertinent to the issue at the cost of $400. Horban asked that the public be given the final figures when it comes to what the matter has cost the board, and wondered how the current court case has to do with why the board hasn’t answered these sort of questions yet. “We the public, to this day, have no assurance that anything has been done to implement and moni-tor sound financial accounting pro-cedures at all employment levels, although I suspect that it has,” he remarked. “There’s been no formal recog-nition of the [missing funds] from the board, to date it has not been publicly acknowledged,” he added, asking the new board “what has been done, and what more can be done, to secure and ensure proper financial procedures are followed?” The actions of the former board over the severance pay amend-ments also “begs the question, whether or not there has been any other financial transaction which has not been revealed, which we don’t know about,” Horban ques-

tioned. “Does this indicate the need for a forensic audit? “The amendment to senior ad-ministration contracts and the method by which it was done, in my, our, opinion, I hope, is a violation of the public trust that the previous board was charged to protect,” argued Horban, placing a share of the responsibility for these actions on both Belluz and Marg Heyens—the only two trustees who returned to the board following the last fall’s election. “It’s my opinion, and I’m hoping that you will agree, that these two members would do us all a favour if they resigned from the board,” Horban said to more applause from the crowd. With the severance issue having been discussed in-camera by the board in January, then in public session in February, as well as in the local media, Lewis replied that “at this time this board can say about the issue that’s not already been said.” But the board did pass a resolu-tion last night authorizing the chair

to contact the board’s legal counsel on labour relations to determine what discussion took place with him that led to the November, 2010 in-camera resolutions. As to the missing funds, Lewis reiterated that because the case is still in front of the courts, the board “cannot comment further on what is already known in public until that court case has been con-cluded.” But he added current trustees are “as anxious as any citizen to know the complete details of this ongoing case.” “This board cannot account for any lack of transparency for any previous board, it can only be held accountable for its own actions,” Lewis told the crowd. “And I can tell you that this cur-rent board will be open and trans-parent,” he vowed. “It will also protect the privacy of individuals when it is required to do under the Education Act and or the Freedom of Information/Protection of Privacy Act,” Lewis stressed.

Standing room only crowd backs Kircher

Walter Horban addressed the Rainy River District School Board last night over public con-cerns with the former board’s amendments to senior administration severance packages, the missing funds at Fort High, and board transparency, It was standing room only at the meet-ing as more than 60 people came out to show support for trustee David Kircher, who was found by the new board to have breached the trustee Code of Conduct after sharing details of the contract amendments. —Peggy Revell photo

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NOTICE OF STUDY COMMENCEMENT

Culvert ReplacementsHighway 11 and Highway 602

THE PROJECT

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has retained Hatch Mott MacDonald Ltd. to undertake a structural design study to replace the culverts at:

Highway 602, 3.5 km east of the junction of Highway 11 at Emo

Highway 602, 4.0 km west of the junction of Highway 11 at Fort Frances

Highway 11, 6.7 km west of Highway 502

Culvert replacement options using prefabricated elements will be considered to accelerate construction and minimize disruption. A single lane will remain open to signalized traffic during construction.

THE PROCESS

This study will follow the Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Transportation Facilities process for a Group 'B' project, with the opportunity for public input throughout. Based on the information collected during the study, an environmental screening will determine whether any of the proposed works pose any significant environmental effects, which may require the preparation of a Transportation Environmental Study Report. This report would be made available for public review and comment.

If there are no significant issues, the study may be ‘stepped-down’ and follow the process for a Group ‘C’ project. If the project is 'stepped-down', a report will not be made available for public review. A notice advising of this decision will be published and there will be opportunity for public comment.

COMMENTS

We are interested in any comments or concerns you may have. Please submit your comments to:

Philip Murray, M.Eng., P.Eng.Manager BridgesHatch Mott MacDonald

Mississauga, ON L5K 2R7 tel: 905-403-4265 (call collect) fax: 905-855-2607 e-mail: [email protected]

Information will be collected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. With the exception of personal information, all comments will become part of the public record.

Fort Frances Area Forecast-5 / +5

-6 / +6

-7 / +6

-7 / +6

-7 / +6

-6 / +7

-5 / +7

-8 / +5-8 / +6




Thursday, April 7th ... Mostly sunny skies.Mild termperatures Low near -5°C. High near +12°C.

Friday, April 8th ... A mix of sun and cloud.Mild temperatures. Low near -1°C. High near +10°C.

Saturday, April 9th ... Cloudy periods.Mild temperatures. Low near -3°C. High near +9°C.

Outlook for Sunday, April 10th to Saturday, April 15th, 2011 ... Mostly sunny skieson Sunday. Cloudy perios with occasional showers expected on Monday and Tuesday.A mix of sun and cloud on Wednesday to Saturday. Temperatures will be mild tonormal. Lows will be -6 to -1C. Highs will be +1 to 10°C.

Daylight on April 7th lasts for 13 Hours and 14 Minutes. Sunrise: 6:39 AM. and Sunset: 7:53 PM.

Fort Frances-6 / +7

International Falls

Rainy River

Baudette

Nestor Falls

SiouxNarrows

Kenora


Upsala

Atikokan

Emo

APR. 11 + 12.Normal temperatures.

Cloudy periods.Occasional showers.

APR. 13 + 14.Normal temperatures.


APR. 7 to 10, 15.Mild temperatures.




F 95 86 77 68 59 50 41 32 23 14 5 -4 -13

NOTIFICATIONNotice of CompletionMine Centre Waste Disposal Site (WDS) – Closure Plan

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Fort Frances District, has completed a Closure Plan for the Mine Centre WDS, located on the north side of Highway 11 in the hamlet of Mine Centre. The MNR proposes to close this WDS in 2012 as it has reached its maximum capacity. The MNR does not intend to close this site until a new location or alternative method of managing the community’s household waste is identified.

A review and assessment of the current condition of the WDS was carried out. The Closure Plan meets all Ministry of the Environment (MOE) requirements to successfully close this site in 2012. The Plan includes barriers to accessing the site, capping and returning the site to a green area and a monitoring program for both ground and surface water quality. A first public notice was issued on November 24, 2010.

The proposal and consultation process was carried out according to the Category ‘B’ requirements of the Class Environmental Assessment for MNR Resource Stewardship and Facility Development Projects. A copy of the Closure Plan is available at the MNR Fort Frances District office during normal business hours.

If at the end of this notice period the MNR considers that there are no significant outstanding concerns, it may proceed to implement the project without further public notice.

Where concerns remain about this project that cannot be resolved with the MNR, concerned parties may request a Part II Order requiring an individual environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act. As this decision rests with the MOE, please direct your inquiries to the Minister of the Environment, Ferguson Block, 77 Wellesley Street West, 11th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M7A 2T5 by May 12, 2011, with a copy to the MNR at the address noted below. However, prior to making such a request, concerned parties are encouraged to consult the MNR to seek a resolution of their concerns.

Comments and personal information regarding this proposal are collected under the authority of the Environmental Assessment Act, Environmental Protection Act, and Public Lands Act to assist the MNR in making decisions. Comments not constituting personal information as defined by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act will be shared among the MNR and others as appropriate, and may be included in documentation available for public review. Personal information will remain confidential unless prior consent to disclose is obtained. This information may be used by the MNR to seek public input on other projects.

For further information on the project, to inspect the project file during normal business hours or to submit comments, please contact:

Cheryl Gartley, IRM Technical SpecialistMinistry of Natural Resources 922 Scott StreetFort Frances, ON P9A 1J4tel: 807-274-8626fax: 807-274-4438 e-mail: [email protected]

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2011 $1.19 plus 6¢ HST, $1.25 U.S. Printed in Canada Volume 118 Number 6

INSIDE

After spending more than two years concerned about the level of contamination in their backyards, Couchiching residents who live on the site of the former J.A. Mathieu sawmill will move into new homes beginning this sum-mer.

Families movingoff soiled site

She’s been compared to the likes of Bessie Smith, Ma Rain-ey, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, but blues singer Sunday Wilde says she’s just a small-town girl working hard to share her music with the world.

Area woman sings ‘the blues’

Following two consecutive rain-outs, the 2011 racing sea-son kicked into high gear un-der clear skies Saturday eve-ning at the Emo Speedway.

Racing seasonstarts in Emo

See story on B1

See story on A3

See story on A6


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By Heather LatterStaff writer

To help address the need of pro-viding safe, affordable housing to aboriginal people living off-reserve, Wahkaihganun Futures Corp. yes-terday held the “ground-breaking” for a 10-unit apartment complex, which will be located at 237 Eighth St. W. “We have long recognized that the urban aboriginal population is growing,” noted Peggy Loyie, sec-retary/treasurer of Wahkaihganun Futures Corp. “And we are very excited over the current development.” The board has been working for several years towards developing aboriginal housing in Fort Frances. Funding for the new rental apart-ment is provided through the First Nation, Inuit, Métis Urban and Ru-ral Housing program being admin-istered by the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS). OAHS was allocated funds by the Ontario government. Several dignitaries were on hand

By Peggy RevellStaff writer

Rainy River District School Board voted 5-2 last night to re-scind the changes made—behind closed doors—to severance pack-ages of senior administration by the former board. While actual conditions of the contracts could not be reversed unilaterally, the motion was brought forward by trustee Ralph Hill so the public would know the current board was not in favour of the previous board’s actions. The controversy surrounding the severance packages first arose when the new board discovered in January that the outgoing one had amended the contracts in-camera at its final meeting back in Novem-ber. These amendments saw the sev-erance package of both Education Director Heather Campbell and Superintendent of Business Laura Mills increased to four years’ worth of pay and benefits (instead of one and two years, respectively) if let go. Voting in favour of the motion at last night’s regular board meet-ing were Hill, Michael Lewis, Earl Klyne, Dianne McCormack, and David Kircher. Voting against the motion were Dan Belluz and Marg Heyens—the only two trustees to return to the board following last fall’s mu-nicipal election (with Belluz being the former chair of the board, as well). During the meeting, Belluz ob-jected to the motion, citing Rob-ert’s Rules of Order and arguing that it was not present on the given agenda for June’s meeting. But chairman Michael Lewis ruled against this objection, saying Hill gave notice of the motion at the May meeting and all trustees were informed of it. While Belluz said he accepted Lewis’ ruling on this aspect, he also asked if “the motion is in order,” pointing to Robert’s Rules of Order whereby “the motion to rescind can only be applied to votes on nay motions, with the following excep-tions: votes cannot be rescinded on something has been done as a re-sult of that vote that the assembly cannot undo; or where it is in the nature of a contract and the other party is informed of the fact.” “It’s a motion that you’re mak-ing, and possibly passing or reject-ing, that can have no value,” Belluz said, arguing that if the board wanted to make a statement, then

By Zoey DuncanSummer reporter

“My mom is going to die in Rainycrest. There’s no doubt about it.” June Caul is heartbroken when she speaks about her mother. At 87, Mary Caul lives at the local long-term care facility after a series of strokes prompted her family to move her there three years ago. But Caul has watched her moth-er fall into depression in those years spent living in a facility that is not equipped to support people who are well enough to clothe

and feed themselves, enjoy taking walks on the lake, have strong, healthy memories, and who simply crave more independence. “I’m really frustrated,” said Caul, who tries to take her mother out of Rainycrest at least three times a week for visits. “And just really sad to think that this is what her life has to be. “She’s depressed all the time and she is able to do more than what goes on there, and it breaks my heart to see her so sad and she hates it in there.” Wayne Woods, CEO of River-side Health Care Facilities, Inc.,

acknowledged that Rainycrest and other local health services cur-rently can’t meet all the needs of the aging community. “Obviously, there is definitely a need in the community. I think people are recognizing that,” he re-marked. “Right now, your options are the hospital long-term care or try and do some home care. “But there has to be a different level for people that just need a little bit of assistance,” Woods con-ceded. Locally, 18.9 percent of the population is over age 65, com-pared to 13.7 percent of Canada’s

population, according to the 2006 census. And 37 percent of the popula-tion here—3,035 individuals as of 2006—is over 50. Many local seniors and their families will, at some point, have to face the decision of what kind of care they need to live healthy and happy lives as they age and their needs change. Provincially, the government has encouraged programs that keep people living in their own homes longer, such as the billion-dollar “Aging At Home Strategy,” which, according to the Ministry of Health

and Long-Term care, aims to en-sure that “seniors’ homes support them, that seniors have supportive social environments, that senior-centered care is easy to access, and identifying innovative solutions to keep seniors healthy.” The local Assisted Living Action Group is hoping to make a new option available here—a place for people like Mary Caul who no longer can live safely alone in their homes but who are capable of many independent activities. “People have left Fort Frances and the district because there is

With prayers and thanks, participants in the annual “Mother Earth Water Walk” offered tobacco last Wednesday afternoon to the waters at the Ranier rapids, where Rainy Lake fl ows into the Rainy River. The walk—which has seen a copper pail fi lled with water from the Hudson Bay travelling by foot southwards—

passed through the district on its way to Bad River, Wis., where walkers carrying water from the Pacifi c, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico will meet up on the shores of Lake Superior. See story, more photos on A2.

—Peggy Revell photo

Celebrating water

Scott Jolicoeur tried out the pilot seat of Pat-rick Langevin’s Grumman Tiger four-seater plane Saturday during the 12th-annual “Fly-in, Drive-in BBQ” at the Fort Frances Airport. The event—designed to showcase the local

airport by having private pilots fl y in here for the day—featured a number of planes as well as antique cars and motorcycles.


At the controls

Elderly in need of more care here

School board rescinds contract changes

Nativehousing projectlaunched

Please see “Elderly,” A5

Please see “Native,” A5 Please see “Trustees,” A5

fof_20110608_A12_01_c.indd 1 6/8/11 12:25:11 PM

no facility like that,” said Robert Schulz, co-chair of the Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (S.A.L.T.), which oversees the ALAG. “We’re looking at the private sector to get involved here. But we have to show a contractor that it’s a valuable project to get into,” he noted. The group has asked town coun-cil to support its effort by provid-ing future considerations in the town’s strategic plan. Fellow S.A.L.T. co-chair Bob Ar-mit questions the existence of a long-term plan for the town’s ag-ing population. “We build our cemeteries along the river and we build our long-term care facilities in a swamp,” he noted. “If a long-term plan was in place, would that have happened? “We’re not pointing fingers at this [town] administration,” Armit stressed. “It’s just that they didn’t always plan long-term back then. “All our group is looking for in this is that we would like to have the seniors retiring in a healthy, enjoyable retirement setting,” he reasoned. Assisted living facilities vary in design across the country, but Schulz said he’d like to see a facil-ity in Fort Frances provide meals and a 24-hour nurse. Wendy Derendorf is a case man-ager with the North West Commu-nity Care Access Centre, where she assesses the service needs of elderly clients. She noted health care ideally should be holistic—a goal assisted living can meet. Derendorf has a positive impres-sion of assisted living after visiting a family member in a Ranier, Mn. residence a few years ago. “You walked in, it had a huge sunroom, it had a huge living room, the dining room,” she re-called. “And then it had a huge kitchen, and then the bedrooms were separated, men and women, sort of on a wing.” Assistance there included medi-cation reminders, shower assis-tance, and meals, added Deren-dorf, though it was not meant to support individuals with severe health issues.

Adapting Since there is no equivalent locally, seniors and their families are adapting—or at least trying to adapt—in other ways. “My husband, he’s hurt himself and he’s got a bad heart [but] as

long as I’m around, I can help him,” noted Joyce LaFreniere. “But if something should happen to me, I know he wouldn’t want to head for Rainycrest, whereas as-sisted living would be something that certainly would be much more conducive for him. “As we get older, we’re all won-dering and I don’t want to go with family,” LaFreniere added. “That is not an option for me.” Other seniors have looked to Meals on Wheels for help when concerns such as arthritis or fail-ing vision impairs their ability to prepare their own meals. “There’s lots of elderly people in this community who should be on Meals on Wheels and they’re not because there’s no room for them and that’s a tragedy,” said local program co-ordinator Gaby Hanzuk. “That is absolutely a terrible, terrible thing.” Fort Frances resident Kate Meadwell said she previously had wanted to use Meals on Wheels because arthritis in her hands makes meal preparation difficult. She is one of the lucky ones, though, with family support avail-able to balance her otherwise healthy life. “My daughter’s being very nice, she’s bringing meals over for me once in a while,” Meadwell noted. “There are quite a few people I know that would like Meals on Wheels, but they can’t: there are no volunteers,” she stressed. Meadwell has looked into as-sisted living facilities in Thun-der Bay, which she said sounded wonderful, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave her family here in Fort Frances. Hanzuk said for some people, getting help from their children simply is not an option—even if a son or daughter lives locally. “I don’t care what anybody says, if your relationship with your par-ents was rocky, they are elderly and vulnerable, do you really want to put people in that situa-tion?” she asked. Hanzuk warned that creating that pressure between parents and children can lead to elder abuse, financial or otherwise. “I know of people who do take advantage of that situation be-cause they disliked their parents all their lives for one reason or another, and now all of a sudden, mom and dad have to depend on them,” she noted. “And sometimes it’s not a good

situation and I think that to keep elderly people not just happy, but safe and make them happy in their own home at the end of their life, they should have that choice.” June Caul’s aunt, Betty Martin-son, 90, made a difficult choice to move from here, where she’s lived since age 16, into assisted living in Winnipeg. She has family in her new city, but left behind a lifetime of friendships. “I know she would have stayed here if there would have been something,” Caul said. “She talks about her friends. And my mom is her only sister living now and they’ll probably never, ever see one another again. “That was hard for her and hard for us.” “It’s hard to make good friends,” agreed Derendorf, who has seen many people move away from town for health reasons. “And I think the older we get, the harder it is to make those connections. “So it’s a shame somebody would have to leave a place they’ve lived for the last 40, 50 years.” The next step for the Assisted Living Action Group is to identify exactly what the public wants from

such a facility, and to bring com-munity groups together to make assisted living a reality. “Hopefully, the community can come together to do something about that,” Armit said. “It’s a challenge, actually,” he admitted. “All the organizations and the general public, what do they want?” For his part, Riverside CEO Wayne Woods said he thinks cur-rent services could be integrated into a future plan. “We’ve got the infrastructure and things to at least help the group,” he reasoned. “We’ve got a lot of resources we can rely on. “We’re going to be in there and try and see what we can do to help out the group, push it along and see what happens.” As for June Caul, her worries are shifting from just her mother’s well-being to include her own. “Us ‘baby-boomers’ are soon going to be ready to move into a place like that—a place where we need a little bit more assistance,” she noted. “And what are we going to do?”

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 FORT FRANCES TIMES A5

It was the stupidest bet I’ve ever made—just plain stupid. A week ago Tuesday (May 31), a crew of us from work had nothing better to do during the noon hour than invent a contest that would have each of us give up something for 30 days. I plumped up my feathers and said, “I’ll give up eating choco-late.” I’m not even sure what the win-ner gets. All I know is that besides the five bucks I forked out to be in the stupid contest, I’ve already had to cough up two penalty pay-ments. And the farm rooster hadn’t even crowed yet when I mindlessly shoved two homemade chocolate brownies in my face and washed them down with “Caldwell Coffee” before I realized I’d cheated. And it was 7 a.m. on June 1—Day One. I’m about to close the door on Day Eight and my willpower already has had to be duct-taped to the wall three times to keep it together. It would appear I have an infatu-ation with chocolate, or perhaps I’m in denial and I’m addicted. I’ve come to the sobering conclusion that the next 22 days are going to be the bane of my existence. And I may be going crazy but I think “Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory” has stepped off the big screen and into my shadow as part of an elaborate Universal plot to sabotage the single greatest chal-lenge of my entire life. By comparison, I quit drinking alcohol three-and-a-half years ago. I drank a lot before that (more than anyone who knows me might have realized) but choosing to quit was, by far, easier for me than lay-ing a wager that I could give up chocolate for a month. “That was the stupidest bet I’ve ever made—just plain stupid” is my new mantra as I jump up and down in tantrum fits, kicking and screaming against the insanity of it all. So as one can imagine, chocolate is on my mind a lot these days. And how many sleeps is there until I can sink my teeth into the solid chocolate bunny from Easter that I found still untouched in the kitchen cupboard when I was spring cleaning this past weekend? Again, I reiterate the Universal conspiracy theory. The last time I found “surprise chocolate” was when I was smart enough not to be in the middle of a 30-day famine. I was cleaning my closet out and found a box of “Pot of Gold” chocolates I’d forgot-ten to give as a gift. It was all over in under 15 min-utes. The little morsels never knew what hit them. Hence everywhere I turn during this month-long fiasco, there it is. Choco-awareness is unrelenting. If it’s not in the candy bars dancing at me on the shelf at the grocery

till, it’s the wafer covering on the bottom of nutrition bars, in cook-ies and muffins, flavored in coffee, and in the ice cream. Can’t have that, can’t have that. I swear at this moment, I can hear the bag of milk chocolate chips calling my name from the pantry. I can feel my age spots returning and my crow’s feet elon-gating with each passing day I’m separated from my sublime choco-late experience. I’ve always believed that those of us who eat chocolate will live lon-ger than those who don’t. I knew it long before the scientific studies claimed it so. My plan always has been to become a super centenarian us-ing chocolate as my life preserver. Frankly, I want to follow in the footsteps of Jeanne Calment, who was born in 1875. She lived to be 122 years old and ate two pounds of chocolate of week until the age of 119. Regular consumption of choco-late has been thought to have circulatory benefits, aid in muscle recovery, be a cough preventer, anti-cancer agent, brain stimulator, and a migraine prophylactic. Well, I’ve abstained for eight days and my cognitive abilities have wavered, I have a cough, my feet are cold, I have a headache, and a backache. In a word, I’m a wreck! However, I am not among the 50 percent of women who sup-posedly prefer chocolate to sex—or at least not lately—although I do agree with the following wise words of a fellow connoisseur: “I am a serious chocoholic. For the serious chocoholic, chocolate is better than sex. If you believe that, you REALLY need to meet that special someone who can change your mind. “If you HAVE met that special someone and still believe that, I REALLY NEED to know where you get your chocolate!!!” I also would now agree with the sage who figured out that if you eat a chocolate bar before each meal, it takes the edge off your ap-petite and you’ll eat less. In the past eight days, I’m sure I’ve gained five pounds. All I know for sure is that I’d rather pull stewed raisins out of a baby’s nostril and deal with poopy diapers than go without chocolate for the next 22 days. And no, my children, this is not a shout out to you about my baby-sitting services. Unless, of course, you arrive bearing lots of chocolate—for Day 31.

Trustees rescindcontract changesit simply could take a show of hands and issue a press release. “I believe that the motion is in order, [and] there are people who believe it does have value in mak-ing a statement,” countered Lewis. “If the assumption is that it’s not going to do any good, what is going to prevent the other two par-ties from doing the right thing and rescinding [the contract changes], as well?” added Hill. “It could actually be very use-ful—the ball is back in their court to do the right thing. “It does not have to be a useless exercise,” Hill stressed. Campbell declined to comment on the matter while Mills was not available to comment following the meeting. As noted and approved in the minutes of May’s meeting, Lewis had reported that he had been in contact with the board’s labour

relations’ legal counsel regarding the details of the discussion on the two senior administrators’ contract amendments that were presented to the board in November. Lewis noted the discussion with legal counsel was mainly about procedure and had little to do with the proposed content of the amendments being proposed. Procedurally, the counsel con-firmed the regular practice of the board was to pass motions in-camera and then approve the in-camera minutes by motion in the public session—although counsel confirmed this “may be in con-trast to the fact that motions or agreements made in-camera are supposed to be passed in public session.” It also was noted that two of the five trustees on the former board did not vote in favour of the sever-ance package amendments.

Native housing project launchedfor yesterday’s “ground-breaking,” including Janet Hope (assistant deputy minister of Municipal Af-fairs and Housing), Don McBain (executive director with OAHS), Sheila McMahon (board member of OAHS), Connie Calder (presi-dent of Wahkaihganun Futures Corp.), and Fort Frances Mayor Roy Avis. The ceremony originally was scheduled to take place at the

site but was moved to the United Native Friendship Centre due to inclement weather. “We look forward to celebrat-ing the opening of these units together,” Hope said on behalf of Municipal Affairs and Housing minister Rick Bartolucci. “Together with our aboriginal partners, we are improving ac-cess to adequate, suitable, and affordable housing for off-reserve aboriginal people,” he noted in a

press release. “As part of our ‘Open Ontario’ plan, construction of these 10 units will stimulate the local economy by providing jobs and supporting local businesses.” “These 10 units won’t solve the problem,” conceded McBain. “But it is a step in the right direction. “And we look forward to build on this new development.” Construction on the apartment complex is expected to begin in

early July and be completed in November. Wahkaihganun Futures Corp. is a related company to Fort Fran-ces Native Urban Wahkaihganun Corp., with the same board of directors. The Fort Frances Native Urban Wahkaihganun Corp. was founded in 1986 as non-profit organization, which works to provide affordable housing for families and individu-als of native ancestry.

Elderly in need of more

care here

June Caul feels her mother, Mary, pictured in the framed photo with her late husband, Stephen, could fl ourish in an assisted living facility—if one was available in Fort Frances.

—Zoey Duncan photo

Janet Hope, assistant deputy minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, presented a certifi cate to Connie Calder, president of Wahkaihganun Futures Corp., during yesterday morning’s “ground-breaking” ceremony for a 10-unit apartment complex on Eighth Street to house aboriginal people living off-reserve. —Heather Latter photo

It will be mostly cloudy tonight, then gradually become clear. Look for an overnight low of four C (39 F) and north winds at five-10 m.p.h., becoming calm later. Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 21 (70) and low around three (38). Friday will be partly sunny, with a 40 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. Expect a high of 18 (65) and low dipping to four (40). Saturday will see mostly cloudy skies, with a high again of 18 (65) and low around eight (46). Then

Sunday should be mostly sunny, along with a high of 22 (72) and low near 12 (53). The extended outlook calls for a chance of showers and thunder-storms both Monday and Tuesday, with highs of 22 (71) and 23 (74), respectively, and lows around 13 (55) and 15 (59). The record high for today is 27 (81) set in 1996 while the record low is minus-two (28) set in 1995. Normals are 21 (70) and seven (45). Sunset today is at 9:13 p.m., with sunrise tomorrow at 5:11 a.m.

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