Monday, December 14

Christmas Bird Count, 597-2008

Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Council meets, 4 pm

Silent Night, Glee Club show, 6:30 pm, Riverview United (free; food bank collection)

Tuesday, December 15

Toddler Story Time, 10:30 am, SunDog

Pole walking, 1:15 pm, Little Falls Rec Centre

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Legion Ladies Auxiliary Christmas Dinner, 6 pm

Wednesday. December 16

NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Moms’ Club, 11 am, SunDog

St. Pat’s School Christmas concert, 6:30 pm

Badminton (ages 15+), 7-9 pm, AHS

Thursday, December 17

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

St. Pat’s School gift craft day, 9 am

Court sports: Red Lake at AHS, 10 am

Market in the Mall, 11 am – 4 pm

Christmas party, noon, SunDog (register 597-1481)

Rhyme Thyme, 1 pm, Health unit

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Women for Sobriety, 6 pm, Shelter of Hope

Friday, December 18

Music & Movement for pre-schoolers, 10:30 am, SunDog

North Star Christmas Concert. 1 pm

Legion Ladies Auxiliary Community Turkey Dinner, 4-6 pm

St. Pat’s Theatre: Hotel Transylvania 2, 6:30 pm

Saturday, December 19

Snowmachine driver training (age 12+), register 929-2245

Sunday, December 20

Cribbage, 1-5 pm, Legion

Monday, December 21

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Dec. 23 – Family Night Movie, Polar Express, SunDog, 5 pm (597-1481)

Dec. 28 – Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Jan. 4 – Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Jan. 7: Court sports: QE II at AHS, 10 am

Jan. 11 – NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

Jan. 15 – NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

Outers winter day trip

Jan. 20 – ACES: History of Jazz, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, 6:30 pm, AHS

Jan. 22 – Outers winter day trip 2

Jan. 27 – AES: MTC’s Hound of the Baskervilles, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Jan. 29 – PD Day

Jan. 30 – Snowarama Ride for Easter Seals

Feb. 2 – Court sports: Rainy River at AHS, 11 am

Feb. 3 – Court sports: St. Thomas Aquinas at AHS, noon

Feb. 4-5 – Outers overnight

Feb 5 – Candlelight Ski, Little Falls

Feb. 6 – Chocolate Cup, Beaten Path Nordic trails

Feb. 9 – Court sports: Whitefish Bay at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 10 – Court sports: Ignace at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 11-12 – Outers overnight 2

Feb. 13 – SnoHo Club Rally weekend

Feb. 25-26 – Outers overnight walk

Mar. 2 – ACES: Everybody Loves Pirates, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, 6:30 pm, AHS

Mar. 12 – 20 – Schools March break

Mar. 25 – Good Friday

Apr. 6 – AES: Tom Allen’s Judgement of Paris, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Apr. 16 – Conservation Club dinner/auction, Legion

Apr. 25 – PD Day, all schools

Apr. 27 – ACES: Queen of Colours, Compagnie Les Voisins, 6:30 pm, AHS

May 3 – Rainy River DSB meets, AHS

May 23 – Victoria Day

June 10 – PD Day

June 24 – Last day of school

The post Community events December 14 forward appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Junior Choir (Christmas Joy, Deck the Roof Top)

Early years-grade 1 (The Happiest Christmas Tree)

Grade 6 )Christmas Curmudgeon)

Early Years (Snowflake, Snowflake, and Instruments at Christmas Time)

Grade 2 (Christmas Lights, O Christmas Tree)

Alex Sampson (Santa Claus is Coming to Town)

Grade 3 (’13’ Days of Christmas)

Grade 4-5 (Christmas Mix)

Primary Choir (One Small Voice, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree)

Full Choir (Just one Candle)

The post North Star School Christmas Concert appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Once powered the Sapawe – Upper Seine gold mine here

“I’m a big collector of antique engines and tractors – that’s my thing,” said Lynn Tessier, an engineer based in Eckville, Alberta.

A few years ago, he got wind of a very large, oil-fired engine in the bush northeast of Atikokan, at the old Sawbill – Upper Seine gold mine site.

“Even before we saw it, we started researching,” said Tessier.

It’s an Imperial Keighley two-cylinder engine, likely rated in the 200 to 220 horsepower range. It was manufactured in England by the Keighley Oil and Gas Engine Co., which operated in southern England from 1908 to 1928. In 1914 it began production of horizontal engines of this type, and produced them in 1, 2, and 4 cylinder versions ranging in power from 100 hp to 480 hp. Imperial Keighley advertised these engines as being able to operate on refined, semi-refined, crude, or residual fuel oils.

“There are [very] few in existence, especially in Canada. I believe it is unique…”

His research indicates the engine was probably first installed at a cotton mill in the southern U.S. He’s also found evidence of a Keighley dealer in Toronto in the late 1930s – years after the original company in England had closed – suggesting there was a huge market for them in used condition. That’s likely where the proprietors of the old gold mine found it.

A gold mine operated at Sawbill during the original gold rush here just before the turn of the 20^th century. It was revived for several years in 1938, and that’s when this Imperial Keighley was installed; likely to power the draw works to lift ore out of the mine and transfer it to the mill.

“Three years ago, a couple of friends canoed in and found it, and sent me pictures. Pretty soon we were talking about how to get it out,” said Tessier.

He got to the site in March of this year, and found that “a number of smaller components were missing, there was significant corrosion damage to many of the components, and the crankshaft was broken. Despite these issues, the engine was sufficiently complete and in good enough condition that it can be repaired and brought back to operating condition.”

The broken crankshaft, on which a crude repair was attempted, is probably why the engine was not removed with the rest of the major mining equipment.

Working with Lanny Cross and Bud Dickson, Tessier started making plans. (Osisko had identified the engine as an historic and cultural resource during archeological studies that were part of the environmental assessment for the modern mine.)

Canadian Malartic finally agreed to let Tessier take the engine, when he developed a plan to move the 30-ton unit to Alberta, where it would be restored and displayed at the Central Alberta Antique and Model Club grounds in Leslieville.

That move took place in August. Cross upgraded several kilometres of bush road so a crane could be brought in for the three heavy lifts (flywheel, crankshaft, cylinders) involved. Tessier and his ‘crew’ – his brother Adrian Tessier, his Thunder Bay friend Bill Mersereau, Ron Johnson (Exshaw, AB), and Lynn’s wife Rhonda – fashioned a range of cradles and other elements to ensure the engine parts would make the 2,000 km trip safely.

After some adventures in transportation, and about $20,000 in expenses, the old engine arrived successfully, and is now stored in a warehouse in Didsbury, Alberta.

“We took thousands of pictures as we disassembled it,” said Tessier. They’ll serve as a guide to its re-assembly.

Still searching

“The engine has generated a tremendous amount of interest, that’s for sure,” he said. But so far, not much in the way of detail on its provenance. Imperial Keighley engines are popular with collectors and clubs in the U.S., but “they’re all small engines, less than 10 hp. You don’t see much anywhere on these bigger ones,” said Tessier.

“We have no technical data, and the name and data plates [usually fashioned of brass] have been removed. Somebody must have those – they would be nice collectibles. We’d like to buy them back, or at least get pictures so we could replicate them.”

“Drawings would be nice, or even old photographs of the engine in operation… Someone must have them stored away.”

He’s posted pictures of the disassembly and move on SmokeStak.com, a bulletin board site for old engine fanciers. If you can help with old photos, or know where this engine’s name plate might be (there’s also a cast iron cover for the governor; someone may have snapped that up as a collectible), or would like to make a donation to the cause (he estimates the final bill for rescuing the engine will be in the range of $100,000), Tessier would love to hear about it. Contact him at his business, moose.engineering@gmail.com

The post Century old engine finds a new home in Alberta appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Tourism Atikokan has adopted a new logo: Atikokan, Naturally wild.

But that doesn’t mean the end of the line for the Canoeing Capital of Canada, tourism intern Katie Hannon told Council Monday.

“The Canoeing Capital is still a part of who we are; we will still use that,” she said. But that tag line, and the Atikokan-Quetico ‘portal’ logo developed in 2004, never gained broad acceptance with the tourism industry here.

“That tagline was just too specific; highlighting a niche sport like canoeing made it difficult to market hunting and fishing,” she said. They remain the core product of the tourism industry here.

Hannon, along with AEDC community development officer Gord Knowles, and Thunder Bay’s Shout! Media, developed the new branding image.

They aimed to re-design the tagline with something generic enough to be used by all organizations. Of course, it still had to speak to the community’s identity, and be ‘clean’ and modern enough to tie-in well with the Tourism Atikokan website and other promotional efforts.

Most importantly, they wanted to leave the ultimate decision on logo design and tagline to local outfitters and businesses (“They are the ones who use it,” said Hannon.). The AEDC’s role was to act as facilitator, bringing together the professional design company and the end users.

Shout! Media came well recommended by Thunder Bay Tourism and Tourism Northern Ontario, and made an affordable proposal ($2,000) that included developing six concepts, a dozen possible taglines, and imaging strategies to go with them. The firm reviewed over 50 examples of current and past Atikokan promotional efforts to determine the message the community wanted to convey.

The AEDC took the concepts and taglines developed by Shout! Media to stakeholders – local and regional outfitters, business owners, tourism officers, Town, Quetico Park and MNR officials, the AEDC board, Chamber of Commerce members – and asked them to rate the logos, designs and colours, and to rank the taglines. As a group, they chose the final product.

All were satisfied with the basic logo; over 70% were satisfied (and fewer than 5% dissatisfied) with the colours (dark blue and a dark orange-gold); and almost 70% had ‘Naturally wild’ as their first choice of tagline (94% had it as their first or second choice).

The new branding image is already in use at the Tourism Atikokan FaceBook page.

It comprises one of five components (and the first to be completed) of a $40,000 program to refresh and refocus tourism promotion efforts here. The Town and the AEDC are each backing the effort with $15,000; Tourism Northern Ontario has provided the remaining $10,000.

The other elements are:

1. A training package for front-line staff in the accommodation and service sectors, so that they are knowledgeable about all Atikokan has to offer.
2. Start work on a ‘Visit Atikokan’ tourism-based website
3. Print a 30-page ‘Welcome to Atikokan’ booklet for visitors and potential residents and investors
4. Keep all tourism partners up-to-date with what is happening here, and work with them to develop new promotional opportunities for Atikokan.

CAO Angela Sharbot asked about highway signs, and particularly the Town’s significant investment in the portal logo and the Canoeing Capital theme.

While ‘Canoeing Capital of Canada’ is not part of the new tagline, it will still be featured prominently (as will ‘Gateway to Quetico Provincial Park’) in advertising materials and on websites, said Hannon. That’s similar to what Muskoka does; it’s known as ‘Cottage Country’, but uses a tagline: ‘Once discovered, Never forgotten’.

There are no plans being made to replace highway signs – as Hannon said, Canoeing Capital is not being abandoned – but when the time comes to replace signs, the new brand can be made part of the mix.

The post Tourism project produces a new ‘tagline’ for Atikokan appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

AHS Band covers K-OS in CBC contest

The Atikokan High School band was one of 250 from across the country to enter Canada’s Greatest Music Class, a unique contest sponsored by CBC Radio and Music Counts, Canada’s music education charity.

They performed a funky, bluesy instrumental rendition of K-OS’s 2004 hit, Crabbuckit.

“I’d heard about it on CBC Radio, and then one of the other teachers sent me a link,” said music teacher Eric Arner, who leads the revival of the band, now in its second year.

The contest had rights to 11 songs by Canadian artists, ranging from the Barenaked Ladies’ If I Had a Million Dollars to Feist’s 1,2,3,4.

The AHS band settled on Crabbuckit (“We have the instruments to do it now”) and went to work.

“This was our main focus for a whole month,” said Arner, who is working with 16 students this year. “Luckily, young people are very good at learning quickly, especially when they spend a little time outside of class on it.”

“We did things a little differently… I encouraged them to try learning at least some of the parts by ear. I don’t want them to fall into the trap of always having to have music in front of them to play. Musicians have to be able to play in a variety of situations.”

In the video they submitted, the class plays the music while walking the halls of the school, an homage to the original video, in which K-OS walks the city streets.

And while the band didn’t win the contest – Ottawa’s Hillcrest High School won with an elaborate, and very creative, production of Serena Ryder’s Stompa – they show some serious chops in their low-budget (videoed on teacher’s cel phone) production.

“They really enjoyed themselves doing this, and I think that showed,” said Arner.

The video of their performance is up at CBC Music’s You Tube site. Go there and look for Canada’s Greatest Music Class 2015; AHS is number 59 in the line-up. (We’ll also link directly to it on the Progress web site.)

Arner has been very pleased with the response to the music program revival.

“I’ve had parents tell me that music has helped improve [their teen’s] attendance and overall interest in school,” he said. “I know that for a lot of students, music is what gets them fired up about school. It’s their chance to shine, to express themselves.”

The band, which played in the Kiwanis Santa Claus Parade, will do a short selection at the school’s Christmas assembly this week.

The post No time to get down cause I’m moving up appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

2015: Full employment for Atikokan

This was a year of consolidation in Atikokan, as the gains – or more precisely, the revival – made over 2013-14 settled in.

It had us at the Progress hearing several times, from several different sources, that Atikokan had reached a state of essentially full employment. Who’d have believed that would ever be the case here seven years ago?

Resolute Forest Products got Canada’s newest sawmill up and running in Sapawe, and spent the second half of the year working out the bugs and steadily ramping up production.

There were a series of challenges at the new Rentech wood pellet operation in Atikokan, too. Some electrical problems and issues with the conveyor system left it behind schedule, though it had produced over 42,000 metric tons of pellets by mid-November. The plant was designed to produce up to 110,000 metric tons per year.

The most expensive of the troika of revivals had the smoothest year – at least until the Auditor-General weighed in.

OPG’s Atikokan Generating Station produced 140,000 megawatt-hours of renewably-sourced power through the first ten months of 2015, including several stretches when its contribution to the grid was vital to ensuring stable service in the region. The plant, converted from coal-fuelled to wood biomass-fuelled in 2013-14, operated safely and reliably, and met all the company’s expectations.

But that wasn’t good enough for Ontario’s auditor-general, whose annual report (released November 30) contained a blistering critique of the governing Liberals’ handling of the electricity system. Her major criticisms centred on the cancelled natural gas-fuelled plants in the south, and the Green Energy Act, which continues to provide generous long-term contracts for solar and wind power producers.

She also decried a breakdown in the overall planning process, and claimed that neither of the coal plant conversions here in the Northwest were needed. (The Thunder Bay GS was converted to advanced wood biomass earlier this year.) The latter point was hotly disputed by the energy task force of Common Voice Northwest.

That was the ‘big picture’ in our town in 2015, but the real stuff – Atikokanites being Atikokanites – are what kept us hopping at the Progress.

Nobody paddled across the country (Mike Ranta aims to do it again in 2016), but we did have an Atikokanite who pedalled across the country (John Hosick).

Several others were recognized as genuine heroes, a few were caught doing stupid things, and many did just plain interesting things.

There were a ton of volunteers, terrific success raising funds for worthy causes, a lot of firsts, a few retirements, and much more… read on, and never say not much happens in Atikokan!

Here, prepared by Jessica Smith from the Progress archives, is a month-by-month look at Atikokan in 2015:

January

• Fort Frances Mayor Roy Avis asks Natural Resources Minister Bill Mauro to put a hold on Resolute’s wood supply until the future of the pulp mill there is determined.
• About 300 hockey fans came out to watch the Old Time Voyageurs alumni players play in what turns out to be a shoot-out, December 27.
• For most of the previous year, the AGH chronic continuing care unit was at record occupancy, at 90% or higher. Only one month (October) saw the unit at lower than 87% (at 74%) occupancy, meaning that on average, the unit only had one of the eight beds open. Between 2008 and 2013, the continuing care unit’s annual occupancy rate ranged from 39% to 76%.
• Following a nine-day inspection of the AGH Extended Care in May, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care issued a year-end report, highlighting about a dozen cases of non-compliance by the unit and its staff, in terms of how care was provided under the Long-term Care Act. The Ministry also issued a compliance order due to a failure to ensure all staff had convenient access to each resident’s plan of care.

“The order and all other suggestions [outlined in the Ministry’s review] were rectified, and reviewed by staff over the summer [2014],” AGH CEO Doug Moynihan told the hospital board.

• Paramedics across the district will begin providing more front-line care, with the launch of a ParaMedicine program. The RR District Social Services Board has received one-time funding of $165,000 from the Ministry of Health to train district paramedics in providing extra services primarily to seniors in terms of identifying their specific health care needs and making referrals to other agencies.
• Matt and Trish Warren are the new owners of Lone Pine Market.
• Cross-country paddler Mike Ranta has decided to forgo his application for the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest solo canoe trip, after learning he would have to give up ownership of his story for that recognition.
• The Christmas Cheer Committee received $12,500 and handed out 117 hampers (40 families and 77 individuals) this past Christmas season. The community also donates items through various organizations in town. The hampers are topped up with non-perishable food items donated through the Stuff A Cruiser event, which is run by a number of local agencies, while the Bargain Shop hosted a toy drive and TD Canada Trust organized donations of knitted hats, socks and mitts for the hampers. Christmas Cheer Committee members and other volunteers wrap all the gifts donated to children at the Mall’s Christmas tree. All-in-all, “it really is a combined effort of everyone in Atikokan,” said the committee’s Evelyn Veran.
• Ian Legaree has earned a humanitarian award from the World Leisure Organization for 30 years of leadership in the development of sport, recreation and leadership in Canada’s North, and internationally.
• Atikokan’s Air Cadet Squadron hosted 57 cadets from across the region for the Northwestern Ontario biathlon competition, held for the first time at the Little Falls golf course.
• The Town’s after-school program is keeping about 35 children from both schools active through healthy living programming at North Star School under the direction of coordinator Ruby Hall, and two high school assistants. The program has been running here since 2008 with funding from the Ministry of Health Promotion.
• New Gold has received the go-ahead for its Rainy River Gold project from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
• More accessible transportation services, supported housing, and home care would make Atikokan a healthier place, according to a dozen healthcare agencies that came together to create a list of top barriers to good health here.
• The new community food bank, which will take over from the ANFC in providing the service here, is set to open April 1, at which time, incorporation, charitable status and a location will be in place.

February

• The Library received an Advocacy in Action: Outstanding Services Award for the Jennifer Garrett Summer Music Program, which it runs in partnership with ACES.
• Atikokan’s Community Care Access Centre site closed as part of an Ontario Nurses Assoc. strike affecting CCAC offices across the province. Atikokan has only one employee, the in-home and palliative care coordinator. Client calls were being handled from the CCAC headquarters in Thunder Bay during the closure here.
• As founder and supervisor of the Rainbow Centre for 25 years, Susan Halasz has retired. Kristi Langner takes over as supervisor.
• Local shopper Eva Shields urges online shoppers to beware of counterfeit websites after being scammed. Her order what was supposed to be a Canada Goose parka for a Christmas gift turned out to be a counterfeit.
• A cross-country skier who fell and injured her leg was rescued by members of Atikokan Fire Rescue, who used the department’s snowmobile and special bush rescue sleigh.
• Seventy-five riders raised $22,842 at the 37^th annual Atikokan Snowarama.
• The first-ever charge for feeding deer in town was laid; the offense drew a $300 fine, and like a traffic ticket, the accused has the right to plead guilty or not guilty in court. Municipal By-law officer Kitirna Jacobson said most residents (about a dozen or so) have stopped the practice after being warned by the Town.
• The MNR has contracted a consultant to create a long-term rehabilitation plan for the Steep Rock site. The plan is due March 2016.
• In response to the fitness centre closure here, Atikokan High School has re-opened its fitness room to the public at a higher cost than in previous years; it is now $400 per year per user, compared to $50 in the past.
• The Lions Club annual sliding and bonfire party added a new activity: canoe-bogganing. Mike Ranta and others tried (with some success) to navigate canoes down the Bunnell Park hill.
• Resolute’s Sapawe mill received its first incoming load of rough lumber from the Ignace mill. The mill here will be dressing and kiln-drying Ignace lumber while planning to begin its own lumber production in the Spring.
• Six additional assisted living spaces are being offered to make 24/7 support available to more seniors here who are living in their homes, but are at-risk for admission to hospital or long-term care. Currently seven seniors receive the service through Assisted Living.
• The MNR plans to restrict moose hunting here, due to a declining moose population. The Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters calls plans to limit the calf season (in the past, any hunter with a valid tag could take a calf at anytime during moose hunting season) to two weeks and shorten the moose hunting season by one week “overly restrictive.”
• Resolute Forest Products has signed a memorandum of understanding with six First Nations that sets out a framework for negotiating business agreements related to the company’s sawmills in NWO.
• Ninety-five people enjoyed an early evening ski and snowshoe over the trails on the Little Falls golf course.
• MNR conservation officer Joseph Burroughs received the OPP Commissioner’s Citation for Lifesaving for his role in an ice rescue of two stranded snowmobilers from Eltrut Lake during a snow storm. The fishermen, both in their 60s, were suffering from severe hypothermia after the snowmobile had broken down.
• Cst. Trevor Lind, whose hometown is Atikokan, received commendation from the Thunder Bay Police Services Board for saving the life of a suicidal woman who was attempting to jump from the rooftop of an apartment building. The New Year’s Eve rescue involved him scaling a fire escape to gain access to the rooftop, where the woman then jumped, taking a 12 foot drop to the next level. Lind jumped down after her, reaching her as she attempted to plunge to the pavement 25 feet below. He then escorted her to safety and EMS.
• The Wilderness Education Assoc. awarded Voyageur Wilderness program founder Guy Savoie with a leadership award for his 55 year contribution to wilderness education at the Savoies’ wilderness program camp on Nym Lake.
• The Economic Developers Council of Ontario recognized the AEDC for its role in the Heart of the Continent Tourism project with the 2014 Marketing Award for cross-border collaboration.
• The Sno Ho Club crowns its first Sno Ho King, Zandre DeGagne at the club’s pageant, which opened this year to both genders. The Sno Ho Prince was (also a first) was Jesse Morden. Fellow participants were Stephanie Cornell and Brooklyn Fredrickson.

March

• Pay and travel expenses for Atikokan Councillors totalled just over $81,000 in 2014, which was an increase of about $5,000 from 2013.
• Mike Ranta has agreed to shave his beard (for the first time in a year) and don skates to make an appearance at the annual ice-skating show to support the local figure skating club.
• The 50^th Outers winter program wrapped up with a chilly (-30°C) overnight walk from Niobe Lake to Quetico North. The twelve boys arrived at 7 am, followed by the 15 girls about an hour later.
• The Heart of the Continent Partnership tourism project is now headquartered in Atikokan, with the hiring of the project coordinator Chris Stromberg. The partnership includes communities and 5.5 million acres of public lands stretching from Sleeping Giant to Fort Frances and International Falls, MN; south to Duluth, and all of Minnesota’s Superior Forests. Over 100 organizations (about a quarter of them are Canadian), including municipalities, First Nations, parks, non-profits and businesses are members.

To date, the partnership’s most visible undertaking is the National Geographic geo-tourism website, which when launched later this year, will offer a vast resource of information on the places and activities that give each region its unique character designed to make trip planning easier.

• Aging water pipes are the main reason drinking water usage here is much higher than typical for a town this size. Water loss is due to leaking underground lines, and the fact that the Town encourages residents to run their taps when freezing lines, are concerns. It is cheaper to use the extra water than it is to repair frozen lines. However, the end result is additional costs to the municipality of $100,000 per year for chemical treatment and electricity.
• Capt. Colin Lindsay was commended by Atikokan Council upon his retirement from the 600 Starfighter Air Cadet Squadron, for his 26 years of service, including as trainer and educator.
• The province will contribute $4 million to the launch of Rentech’s Canadian wood pellet operations in Atikokan (which will receive $1 million) and Wawa. The cost of these two facilities is estimated at $130 million.
• A $91,586 provincial grant will expand transportation services for seniors, those with disabilities, and people needing to for training or education, and those on a low income. The services will be shared between the nine organizations and agencies which identified the need for the expanded service here.
• Mayor Dennis Brown asked the federal government to promote the forest industry’s practices and “correct misinformation from misguided special interest groups” like Greenpeace, which has launched aggressive boycotting campaigns against Resolute Forest Products. Brown spoke at the Natural resources standing committee and also said that unfair and untrue public attacks by these organizations, whose influence could also affect new endangered species legislation, could have “devastating effects on fibre supply.”
• February was Atikokan’s coldest since 1936, according to Environment Canada.
• Atikokan still has seven working payphones, all indoors.
• For the first time in almost a decade an AHS band performance was put on by 30 students of the for-credit, extracurricular course.
• Crime in Atikokan rose from 2013 to 2014, with both an increase in calls for service and double the number (237) of charges laid.
• Kaden Jay Wood is Atikokan’s first baby of the year. He was born March 3 to parents Jared and Stacey, and big brother Kolby.
• North Star School hosts its first Festival du Voyageur, a celebration of Métis culture.
• Resolute Forest products accuses the Forest Stewardship Council of being biased in favour of special interest groups like Greenpeace, after the FSC suspended or terminated its certification in four of the forestry giant’s cutting areas in Ontario.

April

• This year’s Relay for Life is marking some changes, both to venue (returning to the pool parking lot) and schedule (it will run from noon to midnight, instead of the traditional 7 pm to 7 am).
• Lightning Fried, Atikokan musician Reno Jack’s new CD, is released by Hwy 11 Records, a first record for Jack’s new recording company.
• A committee has been formed to plan the Outers 50^th celebrations. The event will be much more low-key than the 40^th celebration, but will honour alumni, students and staff of the wilderness education program.
• Council is considering hiring trapper Albert Clement to trap and relocate bears here. Two years ago the MNR stopped providing nuisance wildlife control, which has meant nuisance bear complaints are handled by OPP officers. If police determine the bear is a public safety risk, it is shot and killed. That has led to an informal citizens’ group calling for Council to resume its bear relocation program.

Historically, the Town employed Clement as a wild animal control officer to provide all manner of nuisance bear deterrent strategies, including the use of bangers and bean bags to scare them away, as well as relocation, and if necessary, dispatching the animal.

• Two Seine River youth are working to re-establish the rare and endangered Lac La Croix pony, through a non-profit corporation called Grey Raven Ranch.
• FedNor rejected an application for $1 million toward the arena and pool redevelopment project, saying it did not meet its criteria of community economic development, business growth and competitiveness, or innovation. It relented a few weeks later when protests from the Town led to a review of the application, which was designed to meet all FedNor criteria.
• The Sapawe mill has dressed, trimmed, and graded its first piece of lumber at the planning mill.
• AGH has earned ‘Exemplary Standing’, the highest level possible, from Accreditation Canada.
• The province is cutting the number of moose tags for the 2015 hunting season by another 15%. However, the only wildlife management unit locally that will see a reduction in gun tags is 12A, which will have 10% fewer tags.
• Five Atikokan Air Cadets competed at a provincial marksmanship championship in Trenton. Amy Pitura placed 11^th overall, and Claire Poulin placed 11^th among the 53 seniors.
• The Path of the Paddle proposes to create a dozen new campsites, and create or reroute 14 portages from Quetico Park to Clearwater West Lake.
• The Museum opens By the seat of your pants!, a travelling exhibit on bush plane history, which includes lots of information collected from local pilots.
• CN is building a new rail crossing and reload yard on Mackenzie Ave. for Resolute Forest Products’ lumber shipments. In the interim, lumber from the Ignace mill is being trucked over to the CN yard in Highland Park.
• The Sportsmen’s Club unveils its new website (www.atikokansportsmen.ca) and a 20 minute video which features footage of the work of the club during a previous hatching season. The video was produced by Patricia Lambkin.
• Council approved $4,000 for bear management for the summer.
• Singer Chantal Kreviazuk wraps up another successful Atikokan Entertainment Series.
• Author Mackenzi Fisk, a former Atikokanite, has just released Burning Intuition, the second in a murder mystery series.

May

• The Town unveiled a ‘proud home of Mike Ranta and Spitzii’ sign at a special evening celebrating the solo cross- Canada paddler’s journey, hosted by the youth centre and legion.
• Nine individuals, seven organizations and four businesses were nominated for the Chamber Business Awards.
• Long-time Atikokanite Anastasia O’Neill celebrated her 100^th birthday in Kenora.
• “We have a lot of work to do,” says the Minister of Transportation in response to the Auditor General’s winter highway maintenance report which revealed that the safety of motorists had decreased since 2009. That’s when the province began tendering road maintenance contracts to the lowest bidder.
• The AEDC signed off on 20 loans totalling over $642,000 in 2014, up nearly 50% from the year before, and evidence that there is renewed faith in Atikokan’s economy, said executive director Garry McKinnon.
• Declining enrolment and decreased funding is forcing the RR district school board to consider creating one facility to house Kindergarten through Grade 12 students in Atikokan.
• AHS student Kory Coulson is the first student here to complete the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, as a truck and coach technician apprentice with Rainy Lake Tribal Contracting.
• Five Atikokan firefighters braved the icy Nym Lake waters for a day of water rescue training, the third such session here in recent years.
• Since the Atikokan Generating Station was converted to wood biomass a year ago, it has produced over 82,000 megawatt hours of electricity.
• The 2015 Atikokan Chamber of Commerce business award winners were: Brittany Savoie (Customer Service), Atikokan Foodland (Business Excellence), Sportsmen’s Conservation Club (Not-for-profit excellence) and AHS Outers (Health & Safety).
• Barb Kwasinica is Atikokan Community Counselling’s new manager, replacing the retiring Susan Girard.

June

• Sapawe-based prospecting sisters Jessica, Ruth, and Veronique were named the tradeswomen of the year at the Influential Women of Northern Ontario awards gala in Thunder bay.
• As part of a North American tree planting blitz which set a new world record for most trees planted in one hour (over 200,000 planted by 1,100 across the continent), 118 Resolute Forest Products tree planters in northwestern Ontario planted 39,000 tree seedlings.
• Atikokan’s Legion Branch 145 is celebrating its 75^th year this summer.
• The family of Florent Trottier, a 89-year-old Eva Lake man who went missing from his home May 11, continue to search for him and thank the communities of Eva lake and Atikokan for their outpouring of help and support.
• Gail Barry rescues an orphaned baby bear cub on the highway near Brown’s Clearwater West Resort.
• Path of the Paddle Assoc. general manager Carrie Nolan and husband Jon are paddling from Thunder Bay’s Fort William Historical Park to Whiteshell, MB to research, document and conduct trail maintenance along the 1,100 km route that is being developed as a tourism attraction. The trip will likely take 10 weeks.
• Heavy rain didn’t dampen the generosity of Relay for Life volunteers who raised $28,200 for the Cancer Society.
• Fifty years since it ended production, the Sapawe Gold Mine has dissolved.
• Atikokan Fire Rescue tackled two garage fires in May and June.
• A dog is diagnosed with the first confirmed case of Canine Heart worm in Atikokan.
• Despite major concerns expressed by the MNR in the final environmental assessment document related to the agency’s perception that Canadian Malartic is downplaying the actual ecological impact of a Hammond Reef gold mine, the mining company is clear in its written response that it will push ahead in seeking both provincial and federal environmental approvals.
• Council has put off replacing the street lights here, given the cost of replacing 163 wooden poles would be between $80,000 and $200,000.
• New technology for heart monitoring and telemedicine are improving patient outcomes for emergency situations. A regional critical care response program, which uses telemedicine technology, allows ER staff access to Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre specialists within six to seven minutes, said AGH chief nursing officer Esther Richards.
• An Atikokan man who was charged by the Town for feeding deer has agreed to plead guilty to a lesser fine. It is the first charge laid here for the offense. The Town by-law specifies fines of up to $400 for failing to remove deer attractants from property and up to $300 for intentionally feeding wildlife.
• 130 Air Cadets from across the region tested their mettle in the first Survivair training camp hosted by Atikokan, and held in the Charleson Rec Area. Local Squadron 600 took the overall Survivair title for the weekend, as well as winning three of the 11 events.
• Council approved a balanced 2015 budget, which will include a 3.5% property tax hike for most residents.
• Quetico College School hopes to introduce hands-on, real world skills through ‘project-based learning’ at its private boarding school. Owner Michael Heaton continues to market the facility in hopes of attracting at least six students to gain Ministry of Education recognition.
• Thirty-three students graduated Grade 8 this year, 24 from AHS Junior and nine from St. Patrick’s.
• The 50^th Outers ended their 12-day canoe trip to a welcome canoe of Outers from past decades, including Mike Ranta and Spitzii.

July

• Sweet StellaZ’s (formerly Voyageur Books & Gifts) opened its new O’Brien St. location, with a greatly expanded sweet shop.
• Outers past and present gathered to reunite, remember and celebrate the 50^th year of the program.
• Both joy and sadness marked this year’s AHS graduation, with celebration for the 38 graduates, tempered by the memory of two students who didn’t see this day, Jessica Johnson who passed away in 2014 and Samara Hayes (2004). Brette Warren was valedictorian and 1999 alumni Trevor Johnson gave the address.
• In response to the Auditor General’s winter road maintenance report, the MTO details how it will “continue to improve” winter roads by educating drivers to conditions and increasing the safety of roads through more oversight of contractors and investments in new equipment.
• The arena/pool fundraising campaign is confident it will reach its goal of $500,000.
• Jeff Klimpton and Jennifer Comins have taken over ownership of PJ’s from Pat Winters.
• Cousins Ryan and Steve Bryk teamed up to win this year’s Lac La Croix bass tournament.
• Six motor vehicle collisions with moose between Atikokan and Shabaqua have prompted the OPP to remind motorists to exercise caution and avoid driving at night if possible.
• Angela Asselin is the new Aboriginal Health Outreach Worker at the ANFC.
• Twenty-one year old equestrian Katelyn Stromgren visits Atikokan on her journey across Canada on horseback.
• Canadian Malartic aims to wrap up the EA process by May 2016, and hopes for a rebound in gold prices to make mine-building possible here. At $1,100 per ounce, prices are too low.
• Cross-Canada cyclist John Hosick rolled into his hometown, July 10, for a week of rest before continuing his journey.

August

• The federal and provincial governments have committed $4.2 million (about two-thirds of the cost) to upgrade the town’s sewage plant.
• A dozen years in the planning, the shovels finally hit the ground for the $11.3 million hospital renovation and expansion.
• Fifteen year old Bryan Ribey was runner-up in the Fort frances Quest for the Best musical competition, taking home $700 in prizes for his performance of Don’t Stop Believing.
• Forty Atikokan youngsters took part in a Town-funded three-day gymnastics workshop here, taught by Thunder Bay’s Giant Gymnastics.
• OPP are searching for an ‘extreme survivalist’ in Quetico Park. The 26 year-old US resident was seen walking barefoot and police are concerned he doesn’t have the resources to support himself in the challenging environment.
• The prestigious international paddling publication, Canoe Kayak Magazine, recognizes Mike Ranta with its Expedition of the Year award for his 2014 cross-country canoe trek.
• Council agrees to support the AEDC’s Tourism Atikokan promotion project.
• The AHS will get a new entrance, foods classroom, and adjacent cafeteria this summer.
• The Chamber of Commerce welcomes its new manager Ange Sponchia.
• Ivan Karst – who divides his time between Turkey (where he is a university music teacher), and the Ukraine (where he is a music director) – returned to his Atikokan summer home, and helped some youngsters learn the basics of stage performance through the Library’s summer children’s programming. The workshop wrapped up with a production of the classic Robert Service tale, The Cremation of Sam McGee.
• The ‘extreme survivalist’ in Quetico Park was located safely by the OPP after a US outfitter spotted him and contacted authorities with a satellite phone. The man, who was most recently living in Ely, was found on Sturgeon Lake, 10 days after paddlers spotted him wandering shoeless near Bent Lake.
• Author of the One Our Father, Sophie Fogg recounts a harrowing childhood growing up in the Rainy River district and holds book signings in Atikokan and Fort Frances.
• Atikokan Bass Classic 2015 champs are past winners Trevor Zimak and Glenn Leroux of Thunder Bay, with a two-day weight of 41.51 lbs.
• After a hiatus of several years, the Mudfling makes a solid comeback with over 40 trucks participating.
• Cst. Kevin Maggrah joins the Atikokan OPP detachment.
• Quetico Park hosted the graduation ceremonies for 54 First Nation youth who graduated from the 7 week Summer Employment program, hosted at two training camps, the park’s Mink Lake camp and Ignace’s Sandbar Provincial park camp.
• Quetico College School drew riders from across the region to its BMX Camp.
• The Family Health Team is searching for a new location, citing privacy concerns, shortage of space, and heating and cooling issues with its current clinic location.
• The Family Health Team is launching a same-day urgent care clinic, with a goal to reduce wait times and waiting room congestion.
• Due to a lack of qualified staff and low enrolment, the 2-3-4 Playgroup will not run this fall, after over 30 years of providing activities for pre-school children here.
• Six Toronto high school students visited Atikokan before a Quetico canoe trip as part of the Quetico Foundation’s annual Ridley Wilderness Youth Program.

September

• Equipment challenges for the AGH this summer included the temporary failure of a walk-in freezer, some downtime on electronic medical records system, and the need to replace its main X-ray machine.
• CIBC employees Crystal Lafond and Candice Zalizniak put their best faces forward for the’Whip Cancer in the Face’ fundraiser, which raised $637 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
• The Silver Bullets take the 2015 Atikokan SloPitch title.
• The Alan Williams Memorial Golf tourney raised $4,300 which will be split between the AGH and the pool-arena redevelopment fund.
• Thunder Bay Hydro is encouraging Atikokan, Fort Frances, Kenora, and Sioux Lookout to consider merging to form one northwestern Ontario utility.
• Lyme Disease has infected several dogs in Atikokan and the district due to the increasing deer tick population.
• The ANFC hosts a wooden bow-making workshop here.
• Thunder Bay-Rainy River candidates are in place for the upcoming federal election: Liberal Don Rusnak, Conservative Moe Comuzzi, and the Green Party’s Christy Radbourne, will challenge New Democrat incumbent MP John Rafferty.
• Yurts – canvassed-covered structures with heat and power at the Dawson Trail campground have reached the end of their life and are now being converted into rustic cabins for users.
• Five Atikokan men were fined a total of $10,500 for an illegally shot moose.
• To ensure public safety, the MNR is working to secure all the former mine shaft and tunnel openings at the former Steep Rock Mine site.
• Steve Bryk and Arla Smitsnuk win the Perch Lake Bass Challenge.
• The MTO has refused the Town’s request to pave Highway 622, saying it is still a low-volume roadway, despite more traffic from Resolute and Rentech trucking.
• MX racer Jimmy White capped off a successful 2015 season with top racing honours as the Superior Dirt Riders’ School Boy and MX3 Junior champion.
• Eighty-one machines driven by riders from town, Thunder Bay, Fort Frances, Red Lake and Winnipeg made the first-ever 65 km ATV poker ride here a big success for the Legion.
• The AEDC’s Tourism Atikokan project is asking local shutterbugs to help promote the town by sharing their pictures.
• Atikokan’s Sno Ho Club has received the OFSC Ted Day Memorial Award for its outstanding snowmobile promotion.

October

• The Family Health Team offices will relocate from the clinic building into the former Tramin offices on Zuke Rd at Mackenzie Ave.
• Cloey Brigham has participated in the Amethyst Junior Curling Camp in Sudbury for the second consecutive summer. The camp helps young curlers (ages 13-18) hone their skills.
• The province is contributing $1 million to the arena-pool project. The fundraising committee is hopeful of receiving a similar amount from the feds, along with $3.4 million from the town and $600,000 from donors, to fund the $6.2 million project.
• The Emo area New Gold project is on schedule to begin production in 2017.
• Hospital CEO Doug Moynihan asks Council to consider aligning Atikokan’s time with either Fort Frances or Thunder Bay to be make it easier for patients here dealing with an evermore regionalized health care service.
• The Town has expanded accessible transportation to include a low-cost contracted service for those with low income or disabilities.
• Grade 5 North Star student Caryss Kehl won the 2 km race at Dryden’s Turkey Trot, and followed it up by taking the cross-country district title for grade five students.
• After 18 months of disruption, Willow Rd. residents can now enjoy the smoothest ride in town with the completion of a road rebuild.
• After the Kiwanis Santa Claus Parade was almost cancelled due to a lack of participation, 12 organizations have stepped up to save it.
• Four young women are competing in this year’s SnoHo pageant: Ashley Nash, Payton McMullen, Kaitlyn Gouliquer and Marla Larson.
• A local committee is seeking to raise approximately $24,000 to bring a Syrian refugee family to Atikokan.
• Construction of the $65 million Sapawe mill is 98% complete, says Resolute.
• Joe Lecuyer claimed the Canadian Powerlifting Federation’s Ontario Amateur Championships in Newmarket, by setting national records for combined squat, bench press and dead lift.
• Jen Wiens is the new CEO at Atikokan Hydro, replacing Wilf Thorburn who has headed the company since 1990.

November

• The spring bear hunt is returning across northern Ontario with a two-year pilot project.
• Atikokan has lost a Main Street business pioneer, with the passing of Walt Beyak, age 90.
• Once again, Council has decided to leave’Atikokan time’ unchanged.
• Grade 11 exchange student Juliette Champsaur – from southwestern France – is being immersed in Atikokan culture for three months, while staying with the Vos-Marohnic family. Reisha Vos will head to France to live Juliette for three months in 2016.
• Rentech aims for full production at its Atikokan wood pellet plant by the end of February.
• A large, oil-fired engine used to power the old Sapawe-Upper Seine gold mine has been relocated to Alberta, where it will be restored and displayed at the Central Alberta Antique and Model Club.
• For the first time in its 75 year history, there wasn’t a WWII veteran able to attend the Legion’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
• Atikokan will likely switch to a single public school to house Kindergarten to Grade 12 students, the RR School Board advises.
• Successful Liberal candidate Don Rusnak was sworn in as the new MP.
• Four St. Pat’s students (Courtney Mason, Kendra Pfeifer, Emily Warburton and Mackenzie Cairns) joined 1,600 youth for the annual We Day (humanitarian organization) event in Winnipeg.
• It was a hectic and thrilling few weeks for the AHS senior boys volleyball squad, who were eliminated by the eventual gold medalist team from Belleville at the OFSAA tournament in Toronto.
• The AGH Foundation is donating $100,000 toward the purchase of a new X-ray suite.
• Quetico North opens Main St. Christmas gift shop, Candy Cane Corner.
• St. Pat’s volleyball team took the grade 8 boys title at the Gord Savoy Memorial tournament here, and then went on to win the Thunder Bay Catholic Elementary championship title.
• AHS Junior girls volleyball teams won both the grade 7 and 8 girls titles at the Savoy Tournament.

The post So long, 2015! That was the year that was… appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Monday, January 4

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Council meets, 4 pm

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Tuesday, January 5

Toddler Story Time, 10:30 am, SunDog

Pole walking, 1:15 pm, Little Falls Rec Centre

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Wednesday, January 6

Moms’ Club, 11 am, SunDog

Badminton (ages 15+), 7-9 pm, AHS

Thursday, January 7

Court sports: QE II at AHS, 10 am

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Women for Sobriety, 6 pm, Shelter of Hope

Friday, January 8

Music & Movement for pre-schoolers, 10:30 am, SunDog

Saturday, January 9

NWO Cadet Biathlon, 11 am, 1:30 pm, Little Falls Golf Course

Pictograph Gallery opening: Jamie Young’s Foamtastic Creations, 1- 3 pm

Sunday, January 10

NWO Cadet Biathlon, 10:15 am, Little Falls GC

Cribbage, 1-5 pm, Legion

Monday, January 11

NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Council meets, 4 pm

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Jan. 12 – Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Artists’ drop-in, 7-9 pm, ANFC

Jan. 14 – Community Glee Club, 4 pm, Riverview

Jan. 15 – NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

Outers winter day trip

Jan 16 & 23 – Pine Needle Basketry with Val Fraser, 10 am – 4 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Jan. 19 – Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Jan. 20 – ACES: History of Jazz, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, 6:30 pm, AHS

Jan. 21 – Lego Night at the Library, 6-8 pm, register 597-4406

Jan. 22 – Outers winter day trip 2

Jan. 23 – Literacy Day pancake breakfast, 10 am, Community Fellowship, Front St.

Jan. 25-28 – AHS exams

Jan. 26 – Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Jan. 27 – AES: MTC’s Hound of the Baskervilles, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Jan. 29 – PD Day

Jan. 30 – Snowarama Ride for Easter Seals

Feb 1 – NorWOSSA Nordic Ski championship, Nordic Lake

Feb. 2 – Court sports: Rainy River at AHS, 11 am

Feb. 3 – Court sports: St. Thomas Aquinas at AHS, noon

Feb. 4-5 – Outers overnight

Feb 5 – Candlelight Ski, Little Falls

Feb. 6 – Chocolate Cup, Beaten Path Nordic trails

Feb. 9 – Court sports: Whitefish Bay at AHS, 10 am

AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Feb. 10 – Court sports: Ignace at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 11-12 – Outers overnight 2

Feb. 13 – SnoHo Club Rally weekend

Feb. 25-26 – Outers overnight walk

Mar. 2 – ACES: Everybody Loves Pirates, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, 6:30 pm, AHS

Mar. 12 – 20 – Schools March break

Mar. 25 – Good Friday

Apr. 6 – AES: Tom Allen’s Judgement of Paris, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Apr. 12 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Apr. 16 – Conservation Club dinner/auction, Legion

Apr. 25 – PD Day, all schools

Apr. 27 – ACES: Queen of Colours, Compagnie Les Voisins, 6:30 pm, AHS

May 3 – Rainy River DSB meets, AHS

May 10 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

May 23 – Victoria Day

June 10 – PD Day

June 14 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

June 24 – Last day of school

The post Community events January 4 forward appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Meet the artist January 9, 1-3 pm

By Janice Matichuk

Janice Matichuk

On March 11, 1988 the gallery opened for the first time. It must have been crazy exciting! This is our 28^th year and we open this Saturday (January 9) at 1 pm with local creator Jamie Young’s Foamtastic Creations.

With a title like that, how you can you not be curious? Jamie found his way to Atikokan in 2000, directly from Chippenham-Wiltshire, England where he was born. As a kid Jamie was always building and experimenting. He brings to us his fascination with the sci-fi world with his re-creations of characters and contraptions from sci-fi movies, magazines and comics. Not until 2010 did he really bring to form, his skill at carving E.V.A. foam.

So I asked…what’s EVA? We’ve all seen it, the large foam squares that link together like Lego and are used on floors for kids to play on or for keeping your feet happy while standing all day at work. The foam is pliable, carve-able, paintable, and apparently often used to create costumes in the movie world. The show will have life size replicas among the other creations.

This will definitely be a show that the young generation might have fun at, so bring the kids down. OR… kids, bring your parents down to the gallery and explain to them the world of sci-fi characters!

Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 3 pm. www.AtikokanPictographGallery.com

The post Foamtastic Creations opens Saturday at the Pictograph appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

By Carol Stanley

Skiing and shooting. Speed and accuracy. These are the four important components of biathlon, a winter sport that will test 100 cadet competitors in Atikokan Saturday and Sunday, January 9 and 10 during the NWO Biathlon Stage 1 competition.

Air, Sea, and Army cadets from units across Northwestern Ontario, spanning the distance from Marathon to Kenora, will be competing at Little Falls golf course. This exciting event is open to the public, and anyone who would like to come out as a spectator is more than welcome to cheer on the cadets.

“We have certainly done outstanding work growing the biathlon program in Northwestern Ontario over the last couple of years,” said Captain Christopher Johnston-Brown, the Area Cadet Officer from Thunder Bay. “When we started two years ago, we only had about 35 competitors. Last year we had slightly doubled it to 76, and this year we are looking at 100 cadet participants.”

The biathlon competition the cadets will take part in is the same event as seen during winter Olympics; however, cadets do not carry their rifles on their backs. The rifles stay on the firing range, and are placed in the shooting lane by the coach as the cadet skis onto the shooting ramp. Two years ago, the event was held at the Charleson Recreation Area, but was moved to the golf course last year. Atikokan has been chosen as the competition site due to its more central location, allowing cadets and their staff to easily travel from their home units.

“It is in no small part reflective of the fantastic welcome and support we receive from the people and businesses from the Town of Atikokan with whom we have been able to form excellent working relationships,” said Captain Johnston-Brown.

Races will be held on the Saturday from 11 am to noon and 1:30 to 2:30 pm. On Sunday, there will be one race running from 10:15 am to noon. Those cadets who advance to the next level will compete in Sault Ste. Marie at the end of January in the Northern Ontario Area Stage 2 competition.

The post Northwestern Ontario cadets to compete in biathlon here appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Joe Walton won $1,000 in gas cards ($500 Voyageur Bait & Tackle, $500 Johnson’s ESSO) in the Atikokan Lions Club draw held December 22.

Monday, January 11

NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

AquaFit, lengths, free courtesy ANFC, 11 am, pool

Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Council meets, 4 pm

Tuesday, January 12

Diabetes Café, 9:30 am, Family Health Team (Zuke Rd.)

Mom & Me, 10:30 am, Library

Toddler Story Time, 10:30 am, SunDog

Pole walking, 1:15 pm, Little Falls Rec Centre

Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Artists’ drop-in, 7-9 pm, ANFC

North Star School Council, 7 pm

Wednesday, January 13

Length swim, free courtesy ANFC, 8 am, pool

Moms’ Club, 11 am, SunDog

Beginner TaiChi, 11 am, Pioneer Centre

Bedtime Storytime, 6;30 pm, Library

Conservation club meets, election of officers, 7 pm, hatchery

Badminton (ages 15+), 7-9 pm, AHS

Thursday, January 14

Resistance bands work-out, 1 pm, Riverview United

Community Glee Club, 4 pm, Riverview

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Women for Sobriety, 6 pm, Shelter of Hope

Friday, January 15

NorWest Animal Clinic visits, 274-7393

Outers winter day trip

Music & Movement for pre-schoolers, 10:30 am, SunDog

Saturday, January 16

Jan 16 & 23 – Pine Needle Basketry with Val Fraser, 10 am – 4 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Snowman Crafts (ages 5+). 1-3 pm, Library (register 597-4406)

Sunday, January 17

Cribbage, 1-5 pm, Legion

Monday, January 18

AquaFit, lengths, free courtesy ANFC, 11 am, pool

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Council meets 4 pm

Jan. 18 – Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Jan. 19 – Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Jan. 20 – Length swim, free courtesy ANFC, 8 am, pool

Beginner Zumba, 11 am, Pioneer Centre

ACES: History of Jazz, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, 6:30 pm, AHS

Jan. 21 – Resistance bands work-out, 1 pm, Riverview United

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Lego Night at the Library, 6-8 pm, register 597-4406

Jan. 22 – Outers winter day trip 2

Jan. 23 – Literacy Day pancake breakfast, 10 am, Community Fellowship, Front St.

Jan. 25 – AquaFit, lengths, free courtesy ANFC, 11 am, pool

Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Jan. 25-28 – AHS exams

Jan. 26 – Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Jan. 27 – Length swim, free courtesy ANFC, 8 am, pool

AES: MTC’s Hound of the Baskervilles, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Beginner Zumba, 11 am, Pioneer Centre

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Jan. 28 – Resistance bands work-out, 1 pm, Riverview United

Jan. 29 – PD Day

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Snowarama registration, 7-9 pm, SnoHo chalet

Jan. 30 – Snowarama Ride for Easter Seals, register 9-11 am, chalet

Snowarama dance, open to public 9 pm, Legion

Feb 1 – NorWOSSA Nordic Ski championship, Nordic Lake

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Feb. 2 – Court sports: Rainy River at AHS, 11 am

Feb. 3 – Court sports: St. Thomas Aquinas at AHS, noon

North Star Early Years registration, 3:30 – 5 pm

Feb. 4-5 – Outers overnight

Feb 5 – Candlelight Ski, Little Falls

Feb. 6 – Chocolate Cup, Beaten Path Nordic trails

Feb. 9 – Court sports: Whitefish Bay at AHS, 10 am

AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Feb. 10 – Court sports: Ignace at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 11-12 – Outers overnight 2

Feb. 13 – SnoHo Club Rally weekend

Feb. 18 – Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Feb. 19 – Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Feb. 25-26 – Outers overnight walk

Mar. 2 – ACES: Everybody Loves Pirates, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, 6:30 pm, AHS

Mar. 12 – 20 – Schools March break

Mar. 25 – Good Friday

Apr. 6 – AES: Tom Allen’s Judgement of Paris, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Apr. 12 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Apr. 16 – Conservation Club dinner/auction, Legion

Apr. 25 – PD Day, all schools

Apr. 27 – ACES: Queen of Colours, Compagnie Les Voisins, 6:30 pm, AHS

May 3 – Rainy River DSB meets, AHS

May 10 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

May 23 – Victoria Day

June 10 – PD Day

June 14 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

June 24 – Last day of school

The post Community events January 11 forward appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

It’s a little addictive.

The stories in All I Can Give You is Me that is, written by the ALPers, the students in Joe Marohnic’s alternate learning program class.

When Marohnic took early retirement in 1990 after a dozen years leading the ALP at Atikokan High, he asked his students to write stories for him. They could write about anything they wanted; the only stipulation: what they wrote had to be true. He also reached out to some of the students from earlier years, and invited them to write.

The resulting stories are compelling missives from the front lines of teenagehood.

“I found myself often thanking the students, both individually and collectively, for their candidness and courage,” he writes, 25 years later. “No small accomplishment for them to get out of the trenches, step out of the bushes, and tell it like it is.”

“This openness is something I’ve always admired (and sometimes envied) in young people. And it seems even more evident in ‘problem’ students, children who for some reason or another, are constantly bucking the system. They often tell the truth…”

Collected in the book are 178 stories by 27 different students. Most of them are short – a paragraph or two – and recount some particular personal adventure, or misadventure. The subject matter ranges far and wide, both inside and outside the classroom.

Many are incredibly raw.

I certainly can’t testify to their truth the way Marohnic can, but they do convey the emotional reality of teenage years in a way rarely seen.

See if you can read just one or two of these stories….

All I Can Give You is Me

By ALP students, 1980-90

Edited by Joe Marohnic

110 pgs, Soleil Publishing

$20, available in Atikokan at Sweet Stella Z’s

The post All I Can Give You is Me appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Monday, January 18

AquaFit, lengths, free courtesy ANFC, 11 am, pool

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Council meets 1 pm (Steep Rock Rehab) and 4 pm (committee of the whole)

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Tuesday, January 19

Mom & Me, 10:30 am, Library

Toddler Story Time, 10:30 am, SunDog

Pole walking, 1:15 pm, Little Falls Rec Centre

Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Artists’ drop-in, 7-9 pm, ANFC

Wednesday, January 20

Length swim, free courtesy ANFC, 8 am, pool

Moms’ Club, 11 am, SunDog

Beginner Zumba, 11 am, Pioneer Centre

Bedtime Storytime, 6:30 pm, Library

Badminton (ages 15+), 7-9 pm, AHS

Legion general meeting, 7 pm

Thursday, January 21

Resistance bands work-out, 1 pm, Riverview United

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Community Glee Club, 4 pm, Riverview

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Lego Night at the Library, 6-8 pm, register 597-4406

Women for Sobriety, 6 pm, Shelter of Hope

Friday, January 22

Outers winter day trip 2

Music & Movement for pre-schoolers, 10:30 am (lunch follows), SunDog

ACES: The Great Jazz History Mystery, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, 6:30 pm, AHS

Saturday, January 23

Literacy Day pancake breakfast, 10 am, Community Fellowship, Front St.

Popcorn and movie, 1 pm, Library

Pine Needle Basketry with Val Fraser, 10 am – 4 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Sunday, January 24

Cribbage, 1-5 pm, Legion

Monday, January 25

AquaFit, lengths, free courtesy ANFC, 11 am, pool

Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Council meets 4 pm

Jan. 25-28 – AHS exams

Jan. 26 – Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Jan. 27 – Length swim, free courtesy ANFC, 8 am, pool

AES: MTC’s Hound of the Baskervilles, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Beginner Zumba, 11 am, Pioneer Centre

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Jan. 28 – Resistance bands work-out, 1 pm, Riverview United

Jan. 29 – PD Day

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Snowarama registration, 7-9 pm, SnoHo chalet

Jan. 30 – Snowarama Ride for Easter Seals, register 9-11 am, chalet

Snowarama dance, open to public 9 pm, Legion

Feb. 1 -5 – Early Learning registration, St. Patrick’s School

Feb 1 – NorWOSSA Nordic Ski championship, Nordic Lake

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Feb. 2 – Court sports: Rainy River at AHS, 11 am

Feb. 3 – Court sports: St. Thomas Aquinas at AHS, noon

North Star Early Years registration, 3:30 – 5 pm

Feb. 4-5 – Outers overnight

Feb 5 – Candlelight Ski, Little Falls

Feb. 6 – Chocolate Cup, Beaten Path Nordic trails

Feb. 9 – Court sports: Whitefish Bay at AHS, 10 am

AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Feb. 10 – Court sports: Ignace at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 11-12 – Outers overnight 2

Feb. 12 – Court sports: Red Lake at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 13 – SnoHo Club Rally weekend

Feb. 15 – Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Feb. 18 – Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Feb. 19 – Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Feb. 25-26 – Outers overnight walk

Mar. 2 – ACES: Everybody Loves Pirates, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, 6:30 pm, AHS

Mar. 12 – 20 – Schools March break

Mar. 24 – Regional Employment Expo, 1-7 pm, Grayson Hall

Mar. 25 – Good Friday

Apr. 6 – AES: Tom Allen’s Judgement of Paris, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Apr. 12 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Apr. 16 – Conservation Club dinner/auction, Legion

Apr. 25 – PD Day, all schools

Apr. 27 – ACES: Queen of Colours, Compagnie Les Voisins, 6:30 pm, AHS

May 3 – Rainy River DSB meets, AHS

May 10 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

May 23 – Victoria Day

June 10 – PD Day

June 14 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

June 24 – Last day of school

The post Community events January 18 forward appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

KEY MARKETS

For the three weeks ending January 15, the Canadian dollar was down 3½¢ to $0.6882 US (one US dollar equals $1.453 Canadian.). The Random Lengths framing lumber composite index price was down $5 at $315 (US). It was at $383 a year ago. Resolute Forest Products was down 23¢ at $10.27. Rentech Inc. (RTK on Nasdaq) was down $1.31 at $2.21 US. Gold was up $31 to $1091 (US) per ounce.

Iron ore was down 14.2% during December, according to IndexMundi.com, which put it at $39.60 per tonne, down $6.56 from November. It was at $68.80 in December of 2015.

The post Key Markets at Jan. 15 close: Twelve-year low for loonie appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Monday, January 25

Jan. 25-28 – AHS exams

AquaFit, lengths, free courtesy ANFC, 11 am, pool

Faith Lutheran Food Bank open, 1-2 pm

Council meets 4 pm

Tuesday, January 26

Mom & Me, 10:30 am, Library

Toddler Story Time, 10:30 am, SunDog

Pole walking, 1:15 pm, Little Falls Rec Centre

Intro to Technology, 2-3 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Artists’ drop-in, 7-9 pm, ANFC

Wednesday, January 27

Length swim, free courtesy ANFC, 8 am, pool

Moms’ Club, 11 am, SunDog

Beginner Zumba, 11 am, Pioneer Centre

ESSO Family Math, 6:30 pm, Library (register 597-4406)

Badminton (ages 15+), 7-9 pm, AHS

AES: MTC’s Hound of the Baskervilles, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Thursday, January 28

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Resistance bands work-out, 1 pm, Riverview United

Community Glee Club, 4 pm, Riverview

Hall walking, 5:30-6:30 pm, AHS

Girls Night (ages 7-14), 6 pm, Library, register 597-4406

Women for Sobriety, 6 pm, Shelter of Hope

Friday, January 29

PD Day

Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Music & Movement for pre-schoolers, 10:30 am (lunch follows), SunDog

Snowarama registration, 7-9 pm, SnoHo chalet

Saturday, January 30

Snowarama Ride for Easter Seals, register 9-11 am, chalet

Snowarama dance, open to public 9 pm, Legion

Sunday, January 31

Cribbage, 1-5 pm, Legion

Monday, February 1

Feb. 1-5 – Early Learning registration, St. Patrick’s School

NorWOSSA Nordic Ski championship, Nordic Lake

Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Council meets, 4 pm

Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Feb. 2 – Court sports: Rainy River at AHS, 11 am

Feb. 3 – Court sports: St. Thomas Aquinas at AHS, noon

North Star Early Years registration, 3:30 – 5 pm

Feb. 4-5 – Outers overnight

Feb. 4 – Community Food bank open, 1 – 2:30 pm

Feb 5 – Candlelight Ski, Little Falls

Feb. 6 – Chocolate Cup, Beaten Path Nordic trails

Women’s Bonspiel, Little Falls

Feb. 9 – Court sports: Whitefish Bay at AHS, 10 am

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, 5-7 pm, Church of the Good Shepherd

AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Feb. 10 – Court sports: Ignace at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 11-12 – Outers overnight 2

Feb. 12 – Court sports: Red Lake at AHS, 10 am

Feb. 13 – SnoHo Club Rally weekend

Feb. 15 – Legion Ladies bingo night, doors open 5:30 pm

Feb. 18 – Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Feb. 19 – Optometrist visits, 1-800-560-8752

Feb. 19-20 – Men’s Bonspiel, Little Falls

Feb. 25-26 – Outers overnight walk

Mar. 2 – ACES: Everybody Loves Pirates, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, 6:30 pm, AHS

Mar. 12 – 20 – Schools March break

Mar. 24 – Regional Employment Expo, 1-7 pm, Grayson Hall

Mar. 25 – Good Friday

Apr. 6 – AES: Tom Allen’s Judgement of Paris, 7:30 pm, St. Pat’s School

Apr. 12 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

Apr. 16 – Conservation Club dinner/auction, Legion

Apr. 25 – PD Day, all schools

Apr. 27 – ACES: Queen of Colours, Compagnie Les Voisins, 6:30 pm, AHS

May 3 – Rainy River DSB meets, AHS

May 10 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

May 23 – Victoria Day

June 10 – PD Day

June 14 – AHS parent council meets, 7 pm, resource Crt

June 24 – Last day of school

The post Community events January 25 forward appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

An effort to revitalize the Friends of White Otter Castle is underway.

“Within the next four weeks, we are planning to hold a public information session and what would be an annual general meeting,” said AEDC director Garry McKinnon last week. “The question is: Is there enough interest to carry on with the Friends?”

He and Mayor Brown met with Friends board members Dennis Fredrickson (Atikokan), Fred Stille (Thunder Bay), and Jackie Smyk (Ignace/Thunder Bay) in October to start the revival process. The organization has remained solvent ($3,700 in its bank account), but has been inactive for several years, and several directors have dropped out.

At least part of the motivation for the meeting has been an indication the province will finally proceed with making the Turtle River – White Otter Waterway Park operational. (A preliminary plan went to public consultation in 2010, but has yet to move forward.) The Castle is one of the prime features in the park, and Ontario Parks has been spending about $5,000 a year doing minor maintenance on it.

And that support goes right to the top of the Ministry.

“My ministry appreciates the cultural value and historic relevance of the White Otter Castle Castle,” wrote Minister Bill Mauro in a December letter to Council. “Since its last restoration, the Ministry of Natural resources and Forestry [has] invested in repairs and upgrades, including dock replacement, roof shingles, and deck board replacement. We also do annual cleaning with the help of MNRF stewardship rangers.”

“I am committed to the future of White Otter Castle, and support the renewed interest in a volunteer program, as we work together for the preservation of this building.”

The Friends would be able to tap into resources that might be out of reach of Ontario Parks, and would also play an important role in consultations for the Park operating plan.

“The Friends need to keep the profile of the organization in the public eye and on the government radar,” said McKinnon. “Right now there just doesn’t seem to be the capacity to do that in Ignace [alone].”

“The Castle is part of our heritage, culture, and social fabric, and has a special place [in our hearts], even in those of people who may have only ever been there once. We don’t want to lose it.”

“I may be dead wrong, but it is my sense there are quite a few Atikokanites who are very passionate about White Otter Lake, and the Castle. I hope enough of them come forward and commit some time to the Castle.”

The post Friends of White Otter Castle push for renewal appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

PHOTO:It wasn’t unusual to see six or more shooters at once in at the range. Competitors skied 4.5 kilometres, with two stops at the range where they took five shots at targets 50 metres away. For each miss, the skiers were assessed a 40 second time penalty – a little more manageable system than at the Olympics, where each miss requires the competitor to ski an extra loop on the course. That’s Atikokan’s Claire Polin (#55) in lane 8. PROGRESS PHOTO

By Carol Stanley

All six of the cadets from Atikokan’s 600 Starfighter Squadron who competed in the Northwestern Ontario Stage 1 biathlon competition, held here Saturday, January 9 will be advancing to the Stage 2 competition in Sault Ste Marie at the end of this month.

The squadron entered three teams. Claire Poulin and Adam Poulin competed in the Cadet Mixed Open race; Emlyn Cameron and Keira Cameron in the Cadet Unit Junior Female race; and Kelyn Vos and Casey Rogoza competed in the Cadet Mixed Junior category. Their combined skiing times and shooting scores for each team meant a first-place finish for each, and automatic advancement to the next level.

As well as their excellent team placements, there were also some medal-worthy individual performances that were recognized. Claire Poulin placed second in the Senior Girls category and Keira Cameron was second for the Junior Girls. Earning first place honours as Kelyn Vos for the Junior Boys, and Emlyn Cameron for Junior Girls.

The cadets will next compete in Sault Ste Marie against other biathletes from across Ontario in a bid to win a spot at the National competition in March.

The post Six Atikokan air cadets advance to provincial biathlon competition appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Steep Rock Lake M-shape to return by 2070

An engineering firm has developed six different proposals for the long-term management of the Steep Rock mine site. The MNRF will take those proposals to the public in an open house here, likely in early March.

Engineers estimate the pits will fill by about 2070, and start spilling water back into the Seine River system. Essentially, Steep Rock Lake will regain the ‘M’ shape it had before diversion efforts began in the 1940s. That means a number of areas important to Atikokanites – including Mount Fairweather ski hill and part of Highway 622 – will end up under water, likely long before 2070. No specific plans for either have yet been proposed; but, as was made clear by Mayor Brown in an MNRF presentation here Monday, Council will be pressing for those plans. (More on this in a separate story, page 6.)

Studies suggest that by 2070 the water that will be spilled will be of good enough quality that it won’t harm the Seine River system. (See separate story, page 6)

There is concern about the sediment deposits in the West Arm of Steep Rock. They caused major problems when the original diversion plan sent them into the Seine River in the early 1950s. The engineers from the multi-national firm of AMEC Foster Wheeler recommend a detailed study of those sediments; a couple of the proposals are to direct the spilling waters through the West Arm, the route the water took before the diversion.

The six proposals range from one with minimal intervention (and little cost), to increasingly active and costly alternatives.

The least active would have the pit waters flow (downhill) via a channel to Strawhat Creek and on to the Atikokan River. This may require some flow management (to avoid flooding), and would only be workable if the pit waters are of an acceptable quality.

Later discussion put the amount of water at about 10 million cubic metres a year. District resource management supervisor Dave New said that in terms of a natural flow, that volume of water was not terribly large; it would add about 0.5 to 1.0 cubic metres per second (m³/s) to the flow of the Atikokan River. It typically flows at about 2 m³/s with a spring peak of over 20 m³/s.

Another lower-cost option would involve lowering water levels in Highland Lake by about four metres, and then directing the pit waters through it and on to the Atikokan River.

The more expensive options involve pumping the overflow into lower Steep Rock where it would flow into the Seine River, sending the overflow through the West Arm (its route before the diversion), and handling the mine wastes (which are creating some acid run-off at the site now).

Using lower Steep Rock would necessarily involve pumping, forever, which will be expensive (though no costing has been done). The problem with using the West Arm is the risk of stirring up the sediments that caused so many problems 65 years ago.

The mine wastes could be consolidated and capped, or completely removed. That acid run-off is being neutralized once it reaches one of the three pits (the carbonate rock in the area keeps them all at a pH of 8, which is on the basic side). And once the wastes are under water, the oxidation that causes the acid run-off ceases. So it may be difficult to make a case for justifying the expense of re-handling the mine wastes.

The post Proposed: Six alternative futures for old mine site appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

KEY MARKETS

For the two weeks ending January 29, the Canadian dollar was up 2½¢ to $0.714 US (one US dollar equals $1.40 Canadian.). The Random Lengths framing lumber composite index price was down $10 at $305 (US). It was at $367 a year ago. Resolute Forest Products was down $2.43 at $7.84. Rentech Inc. (RTK on Nasdaq) was down 26¢ at $1.95 US. Gold was up $25 to $1116 (US) per ounce, its highest level since November 3.

The post Key Markets at Jan. 29: Gold rebounds appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Special one-time funding for staff professionalization allowed a dozen Shelter of Hope staff and board members to attend national and international conferences this past year.

“They returned with some renewed enthusiasm for their work, and some really unique ideas,” said Shelter director Donna Kroocmo.

The biggest event was the World Conference of Women’s Shelters in The Hague, Belgium in early November, which drew over 1,000 advocates from 115 countries. Staffers Corrine Colvin and Sue Asselin went one step beyond attending the event – they presented on court advocacy, in one of the one hundred or so workshops that complemented a lively program of big-name plenary (all attendees) sessions.

Other events included a three-day domestic violence and sexual assault training session held by the U.S. National Institute of Crime Prevention, the Canadian domestic violence conference, and the Ontario sexual assault summit.

On January 20, the participants shared what they experienced in an all-day staff meeting and strategic planning session downtown. The Progress was invited to sit in on that session, and got to hear from four of the first-hand attendees.

What struck us about these conferences was their similarity in format to the Ontario Hospital Assoc.’s annual conference, which attracts thousands of health care professionals, including a contingent of board members and staff from Atikokan General Hospital. These conferences help attendees reinforce the use of best practices in their fields, to build vital connections between services, and share their experience and awareness.

Fun in the Sun? No.

Board member Colleen Eager and staffers Shirley Mosley and Sabrina DeGagne attended the domestic violence and sexual assault training session conducted by two retired senior police officers from Florida. It was held in Las Vegas over 3½ days in early December.

The agenda alone was intense, even grisly: Child sexual abuse, Drug-facilitated rape, Strangulation, Women who use violence, Cyber-stalking, Do orders of protection work?, Helping the children, Keys to a successful rape investigation, Forensic experiential trauma interviewing, Difficulties prosecuting domestic violence, Understanding victim and abuser behaviors, Effective domestic violence intervention, Elder abuse, Predominant aggressor, Typologies of abusers….

As awful as that list sounds – think about spending three and a half days exploring those topics in detail – it does get at the day-to-day reality of what everyone, staff included, has to deal with at the Shelter of Hope.

World Conference

Phyllis Angus, Sue Asselin, and Sandra Brouwer each reported on a plenary session from the world conference.

Angus heard Linor Abargil, Miss Israel 1997, who was abducted and raped at knifepoint in Milan, Italy two months before being crowned Miss World in 1998. She was 18 at the time, and her abductor was a travel agent from Israel she knew; he’d offered her a lift back to the hotel. Her mother encouraged her to go to the police, and she did – eventually her attacker was convicted in Israel and sentenced to 16 years in jail.

Abargil went many steps beyond ‘just’ facing her assailant in court. She became a lawyer and activist, and through a movie (Brave Miss World) and speaking engagements around the world, has been reaching out to women with her story since 2008.

“I wish we could get this movie for the shelter,” said Angus. (It was produced by Cecilia Peck, Gregory Peck’s daughter, and was nominated for an Emmy.) Staff are working now to secure a copy.

How exceptional is Abargil’s story? Kroocmo noted that at the Sexual Assault Summit, she learned the best estimates are that only three of every 1,000 sexual assaults by men actually reach court.

Sandra Brouwer detailed the work of the Nor For Sale Campaign in the Netherlands, which is aiming to help women being exploited in the sex industry. The Netherlands legalized prostitution in 2000 – the red light district in Amsterdam has since become something of a tourist attraction – but that has failed to end the exploitation of women as ‘sex workers’. Most of them in the Netherlands are from eastern Europe and are being exploited economically as well as sexually.

Brouwer characterized her experience at the conference as “uplifting, informative, and regenerative”.

Sue Asselin reviewed the call for action, the statement/manifesto that ended the conference. At its heart, it calls for urgent and effective action to prevent violence against women and children.

She noted there are now over 2,500 women’s shelters in 56 countries. Part of the action plan was a call for women to do what was necessary to keep them open and funded, and to expand the network of shelters. Despite their efforts, over 7,300 women and 4,000 children are being turned away from facilities that have reached their maximum capacities. (“That’s the documented number; it’s probably more. We don’t know for sure how many women and children have been turned away,” said Asselin.)

“We have never, ever turned anyone away,” said Kroocmo. “That’s in part because the board has allowed us to use the Second Stage for overflow when we’ve needed it.”

Trauma-informed services

Tammy Keeash and Sue Hanson reported on the Canadian domestic violence conference in Toronto. Their presentations dovetailed nicely in the way they focussed on the impacts on trauma on the women and children the Shelter serves, and how the Shelter takes that into account.

Increasingly, research shows that people subjected to abuse over the long-term undergo changes that affect their brains, bodies, and responses. The good news is that proper care – and an end to the abuse – can undo those changes.

“Survivors are often misunderstood and re-traumatized” once they reach out for help and enter the legal system, said Keeash. Shelters have been long aware of this, of course, and have responded with a variety of advocacy and support services for women victimized by abusers.

The key is to provide services in a trauma-informed manner. Shelters have adopted a “strengths-based framework [helping women see their personal strength] grounded in an understanding of, and responsiveness to, the impact of trauma, that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors, and that creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment”.

Conference speakers went over a myriad of ways shelters can achieve this, and the reports by Keeash and Hanson sparked some lively discussion about how the Rainy River District Shelter of Hope operates.

Finally, Bev O’Flaherty attended the annual conference of the Ontario Non-profit Housing Assoc., the largest social housing conference in Canada, bringing more than 1,100 non-profit housing professionals, board members, tenants, and policy makers together for a weekend of learning and networking.

The post Sheltering victims of abuse: Learning from the experiences of others around the world appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.

Review: AES hosts Manitoba Theatre Centre

How many costume changes can three actors jam into a two-hour show?

Manitoba Theatre Centre probably approached the high end limit in an hilarious spoof of the Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles, presented here Wednesday as part of the Atikokan Entertainment Series.

You see, Arne MacPherson, Toby Hughes, and Aaron Pridham were playing a script (by British playwrights Steven Canny and John Nicholson) that called for about 17 characters. It also had to cover an awful lot of ground (the original is a 60,000 word novel), so included dozens of lightning-fast scene changes. Most often it was the actors on stage turning the foggy moor into Baskerville Hall or Sherlock’s study, as they wrapped up one scene and segued to the next.

There was nothing terribly sophisticated about the humour – think Airplane! or Naked Gun – but everything was done at that lightning-fast pace. The relentless action and rapid-fire humour drew the audience in – drift off for even a few seconds and you’d miss something – and the three players rewarded that attention handsomely.

Hughes, whose principal role was as Watson (have to mention his singular turn as a clarinet soloist), also served as host, stepping out of character several times to directly address the audience. In that role, he soon became something of a nursemaid to the rather high-strung Pridham, who played the whole Baskerville clan, principally Sir Henry.

Pridham was over-the-top expressive, especially when afraid or in love, and used that cartoonish quality to drive a number of set pieces with Hughes and/or MacPherson into laugh out loud funny territory. Scenes in a steam room, on a train, in a bed, and in one of the highlights, a tango, come to mind.

If there was anything subtle in the show, it came from MacPherson. He brought great craft to his multiple roles, using posture, facial mien, voice, accent, and gait, to create clearly distinguishable characters: servant Barrymore, Barrymore’s wife, naturalist Jack Stapleton, and his sister Cecilia. MacPherson also played Holmes, in which role he several times appeared in disguise (straight out of the book), which caused no end of consternation for poor Watson.

Everything was up for spoofing in this show – even all the costume changes and multiple role playing. In one scene, Watson is questioning Barrymore about some events, and demands to speak to Mrs. Barrymore. So MacPherson, as Barrymore, does one of his subtle changes and pretends to be Mrs. Barrymore. Watson sees right through it. MacPherson, as Barrymore, tries some different little changes. Still no dice – Watson wants Mrs. Barrymore. And repeat again.

Amazingly, when the real Mrs. Barrymore (still MacPherson, of course) finally does show up, we buy it.

As fast-paced as the show was, the actors proved they have another gear. Act two opened with a repeat of every scene from act one, done in hyper-drive – amazingly, hilariously, well. It was worth the price of admission by itself.

And so was that tango mentioned earlier. At intermission, I noticed a choreographer credited in the program, and wondered what that was about. Well, Cecilia (MacPherson, Lord have mercy, redefining ugly) and the besotted Baskerville (Pridham), showed us, tripping the light fantastic with grace and verve, as they were serenaded by Watson the clarinet soloist.

Finally, a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tale with a happy ending!

PHOTO: The cast of MTC’s Hound of the Baskervilles – Toby Hughes (Watson, clarinetist extraordinaire. local yokel), Arne Macpherson (Holmes, Barrymore and his wife, Jack Stapleton, Cecilia Stapleton), and Aaron Pridham (Sir Henry Baskerville, a whole slew of his dead relatives, local yokel) – engage in a little clowning with Atikokan Entertainment Series organizers Judy Eluik, Annie Otto, and Alana Rechlin. The Atikokan performance was sponsored by Brookfield Power – Valerie Falls LP, and Larry Eustace.

The post Fear not the Hound of the Baskervilles! appeared first on Atikokan Progress and Printing.