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Wednesday, September 23, 2009 $1.19 plus 6 GST, $1.25 U.S.Printed in Canada Volume 115 Number 21

www.fortfrances.comemail: info@fortfrances.com ISSN 0834-6283 PAP No. 07429

ISSN 0834-6283

While the number of entrieswas down this year, the weightswere up at the 15th-annual RainyRiver Valley Giant Pumpkin Fes-tival.

Only 16 pumpkins were en-tered, down from last years 28,but that was to be expected afterthe terrible growing season this

year.However, last years winningweight was just 467 pounds,grown by event organizer EltjoWiersema.

LifestylesLifestyles

See story on A7

More than 100 district farm-ers enjoyed an afternoon at theStratton sales yard on Saturdayto celebrate its 50th consecutiveseason.

Operated by the Rainy RiverCattlemens Association, the yardhas been the focus of beef cattlemarketing in Rainy River Districtsince its formation.

Also on hand for the party wasGord Hardy, president of theOntario Cattlemens Association.

DistrictDistrict

See story on A9

The word cant simply isntin the vocabulary for broth-ers Sandy Stalker and GeorgeWalsh.

Stalker and Walsh (both bornto the late Norah Walsh) sharea common bond: their love forathletics.

But unlike the usual sibling

rivalry sports creates in mostfamilies, the pair rely on oneanother for success every step ofthe way.

SportsSports

See story on B1

Pumpkin champa four-time winner

Crowd comes outfor sales yard party

Brothers knowno obstacles

By Heather LatterStaff writer

He was nominated as best co-median at the 2009 North Ameri-can Indigenous Image Awards, washonoured to be a writer, host, andfeatured performer for APTNsbroadcast of 2009 Aboriginal DayLive, and was a featured comedianon season three of Rez Tunez TV(airing this fall).

But on top of all those accom-

plishments, comedian Ryan McMa- hon, who now lives in Winnipeg, has two more projects on thegoand hed like to bring one ofthose back to his home town ofCouchiching First Nation and FortFrances.

Were developing a sitcom se-ries which is loosely based on theFort Frances/Couchiching relation-ship in terms of the geography, butalso the small town situated nextto a rez, noted McMahon, adding

the project stems from a comedy podcast called Life According toClarence Two Toes.

It has exceeded my expecta-tions, he enthused about the pod-cast. Its bigger than the first oneI did, and this is the one where production companies and peoplereally started knocking on my doorand asking if I would be interestedin developing it any further.

Over the last six months, Ivebeen talking with a lot of big-name

production companies that haveties to Los Angeles, he remarked.

In addition to the possible sit-com, McMahon also is looking ata web series based on the LifeAccording to Clarence Two Toes podcast. But its the sitcom thathes most excited about because ofits hometown ties.

I started to take a look at howthe [Pithers] Point Park land claimhas sort of shaken out and how allthe other things that historically go

into the story of Fort Frances andCouchiching, he explained.

Were going to fictionalize itand tell a story of a guy that moveshome to a rez after his mom passesaway and accidently becomes vot-ed chief.

He said the main character thenis faced with the decision on wheth-er to stay or leave. He decides tostay and during his first day on thejob, he opens up an envelope anddiscovers the reserve was awarded

a land claim settlement of $215million.

The story and the series picksup on day one of that journey,McMahon indicated. And whatit really is is a look at smalltownCanada and how it relates to FirstNations and vice-versa.

Its something thats never re-ally been talked about, certainlyin Canadian television but anymedium. . . .

Former resident hoping to shoot sitcom locally

By Peggy RevellStaff writer

There was triumph and tearsas participants reached the endpoint of the 20-mile Walk for Di-alysis here Friday afternoonthefirst time the fundraiser has gonewithout its founder, the late TomBruyere.

Walking in Bruyeres honour,roughly 60 participants raisedmore than $21,000 for the renaldialysis program at La VerendryeHospital.

Its wonderful now that theyredoing it today in honour of Tom,its a great thing, said Deane Cun-ningham, chairman of the River-side Foundation for Health Care.

Its a great day, its a great cause,and were remembering Tom. So

its just a wonderful day, he en-thused.Cunningham noted the walk was

started years ago by Bruyere as ameans to raise money for dialysisin the district, and over the yearsgenerated more than $100,000.

Unfortunately, Tom passed awayearlier this year and we were reallysaddened by his death because hescontributed so much to this dialysisprogram, Cunningham said.

I think because of the walk and because of the publicity that itsgiven to dialysis, now we actuallyhave a dialysis unit at the local hos-pital, which we never had before,he remarked.

People used to have to drive toThunder Bay to have dialysis doneand some of them actually had tomove to Thunder Bay to be wherethat service was.

But now with having dialysislocally at the hospital, its made a big change for people in the areawho have diabetes, Cunninghamadded.

Cheers erupted from the crowd

as Bruyeres widow, Anne, walkedacross the finish line at NorthAmerican Lumber.

He was a good guy, you know,he raised a lot of money, he kneweverybody. Im just happy that ev-erybodys here, thinking about him

today, she said, noting Friday alsowould have been Bruyeres 64thbirthday.

She gave a big thank-you foreveryone who participated, and formaking it a great day.

The first one to cross the fin-ish line was first-time participantMissy Nelson, who ran for sectionsof the 20-mile course along theRiver Road (Highway 602).

I think its a great cause to comeout and support, said Nelson, who has run marathons before, addingshe has a family member on dialy-sis.

The last five miles were a littleharder, but it was good, she con-tinued. When I thought that I wasnot able to make it, I thought abouthow those people feel who have togo on dialysis every other day, so

thats what kept me going.Its a very important cause,said both Elaine Oster and KathyLampi, who also were among thefirst to reach the end of the walk.

The great thing about the walk is

By Heather LatterStaff writer

In conjunction with Phase II ofthe local Heritage Tourism proj-ect, designs have been selectedfor the banners that will be hungto help direct people through thedowntown area and along theLa Verendrye Parkway.

The banners are being estab-lished in areas to provide way-finding, explained Fort FrancesMuseum curator Paw Hawley,

who sits on the project commit-tee.We wanted artists to get in-

volved, so we put out a call forartists to submit their artwork,

By Duane HicksStaff writer

While the turnout may not have

been quite a great as organizers had hoped, those who did comeout to the inaugural Chronic PainManagement and Addiction Pre-vention Symposium on Saturdayat the Townshend Theatre herefound no shortage of information.

About 80 people, including rep-resentatives from various agencies,attended the symposium, whichran from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

In addition to keynote speakerDr. Jackie Gardner-Nix, who spokeon her Mindfulness-Based Chron-ic Pain Management Program, thesymposium sported a full slate ofpresenters.

Deirdre OSullivan-Drombolis, physical therapist for RiversideHealth Care Facilities, Inc., ex- plained the physiology of pain,noting the experience of pain isunique to the individual, and thata persons thoughts, beliefs, history,

and emotions affect the pain theyfeel.But with more knowledge of

ones pain, and self-awareness offactors that may be affecting it,people can do things to better helpmanage their painan idea best

summed up in the motto, Knowpain or no gain.

Pharmacist Renate Winkler ofPharmasave here stressed the im- portance of patients knowing allabout the prescribed pain medi-cations they are taking, and howthey interact with each other andnatural medications.

She encouraged patients to uti-lize dosettes and blister packs tohelp keep track of when and howmany drugs they need to take,as well as medication recorders,which available at the hospital, tokeep track of what drugs they useand let others know what they areusing in the case of an emergency.

Winkler also stressed those whouse pain medications must nevershare them or give them to anyoneelse, and take care to secure themfrom theft.

Jennifer LHirondelle of MossYoga, meanwhile, gave a simpleexplanation of what yoga is, therelationship between the body andthe mind, and how meditation can

By Duane HicksStaff writer

The 2009 OPP community sat-isfaction survey conducted this pastspring indicates nearly 60 percentof respondents are very concernedabout illegal substance abuse inRainy River District.

The OPP has responded by intro-ducing a Community Drug ActionTeam (CDAT) to the area, which isworking with other agencies to en-

hance enforcement and educationhere.Cst. Anne McCoy, the OPPs

community services officer here,explained CDAT consists of one lo-cal drug enforcement officer, whois teamed up with one full-timeofficer from Treaty #3 Police, andtogether they serve as liaisons withthe regional and provincial drugenforcement teams.

They have a local function, she

noted. In the past, if we neededdrug enforcement, we would haveto call in our regional drug enforce-ment team to come in and spe-cifically handle a drug enforcementinvestigation if it was kind of a little bit beyond us from the platoonstandpoint.

So now we have one full-timeofficer thats able to develop infor-mants here and co-ordinate localresources here, and gather infor-mation locally from our platoon

officers that are out on the road.Its specifically for concerns thatrelate to unlawful drug misuse,so were looking at having a localflavour but also liaisoning with theprovincial and regional team, sheadded.

The provincially-funded CDATofficer also assists with drug pre-sentations to the private-sector orto assist Cst. McCoy with her work

Drug abuse

ranks amongtop concernsacross district

Please see Former, A5

Please see Drug, A6

Pain symposiumoffers plenty of info

Onlookers admired the original artwork of Atikokan Mtisartist Kristy Cameron, which was on display Monday at theofficial launch of award-winning author David Bouchardsnewest book, The Seven Sacred Teachings of White BuffaloCalf Woman. Boucharda Mtis writer from B.C.was in-spired to write the book after visiting the district, and enlistedthe help of Cameron to illustrate it, as well as local residents

Jason Jones and Nancy Jones to provide the Ojibwe transla-tion. The launch, held at the Rainy River First Nations newpow-wow grounds, drew representatives from First Nationscommunities and organizations, as well as staff and studentsfrom the Rainy River District School Board. See story A10.

Peggy Revell photo

Artwork admiration

Walk for Dialysis tops $21,000

Please see Dialysis, A5Please see Pain, A5

Bannerdesignschosen

Please see Artists, A5

See related

story A2

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A10 FORT FRANCES TIMES Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Canadian Tire is voluntarily recalling the Patton Utility Heater (Canadian Tire

product number 43-5956). It has been determined that the product may have

a defect where the unit may overheat, causing the outer plastic housing to deform

(melt) and produce smoke.

While we have not been notified of any instance of injury, it is requested that

customers immediately discontinue use of the product and return it to their nearest

Canadian Tire store for a refund. These products were sold at Canadian Tire from

September 2008 through June 2009.

1. The product will have a date code on

the prong of the plug that falls between

A186DH through to A322DH. If the date

code identified does not fall between

A186DH through A322DH the product

is NOT included in the recall and the

customer can continue to use as directed.

2. If the product contains a date code that

falls between A186DH through A322DH,

examine the silver rating label located on

the back of the product. If the product

does NOT have a round green sticker onthe rating label it is included in this recall

and should be returned to Canadian Tire

for a full refund.

Regardless of the date code, those products with a round, green sticker on therating label areNOT included in this recall and the customer can continue to use

as directed.

If you are unsure whether your heater is included in this recall, please call

Jarden Consumer Solutions at 1-800-333-1930.

Patton Utility Heater

Notice: Product Recall

Post until December 15, 2009.

Products included in this recall will have two identifying features:

Product with

round, greensticker is NOT

included in

recall.

Example of Date Code on the plug:

Example of silver rating label:

A305DH

New patients arealways welcome.

Dr. Mike Botsford D.M.D.

Dr. Steve Chown D.M.D.Orthodontics & Family Practice Dentists241-B Second Street EastFort Frances call 274-7131

Were pleased to provide you with extended hours.

The dental team at Dr. Steve Chown and Dr. Mike Botsfords officeis pleased to announce extended hours for the fall/winter season.

Effective immediately our office hours will be:

Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 6:00 pm Friday 8:00 am - 3:00 pm

With todays advances in dentistry, and our commitment to continuallyenhance our skills and services, we are also able to provide patients with

dental treatments that have been traditionally referred out of town.

Call our office if you would like a consultation regarding your dental needs.

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REGULAR CLASSES BEGIN TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH

By Peggy RevellStaff writer

It was a day of celebration Mon-day as award-winning Canadianand Mtis author David Bouchardreturned to Rainy River District forthe launch of his locally-inspiredbook, The Seven Sacred Teachingsof White Buffalo Calf Woman.

This is a real thrill, Bouchardsaid following the ceremony heldat Rainy River First Nations newpow-wow grounds, which saw dig-nitaries from local First Nationorganizations and communitiesgather alongside staff and studentsof the Rainy River District SchoolBoard for the book launch.

[At this point last year] I hadkind of a vision, an overall dream,and I didnt know how it would un-fold, and its unfolded much more beautifully than I ever thought itwould, he remarked.

And now its just going to takeits own journey, its out of ourhands.

Written with the help of Dr. Joseph Martin, The Seven Sa-cred Teachings of White BuffaloCalf Woman is drawn from localOjibwe teachings and also localtalent.

The book features illustrations by Mtis artist Kristy Cameron ofAtikokan, as well as side-by-sidetranslation into Ojibwe by JasonJones and elder Nancy Jones of Ni-gigoonsiminikaaning First Nation.

Its a real significant book I

think, said Brent Tookenay, Ab-original Education Leader for thelocal public school board.

The book is beautiful, its awe-some, he enthused.

Hailing from British Columbia,Tookenay noted Bouchard first vis-ited the district a few years agoto speak to educators on a P.D.Day. Those who heard him speakinsisted that Bouchard return tospeak not just to educators, but toparents, students, and communitiesacross the district.

It kind of snowballed fromthere, Tookenay recalled. We had him in the schools and thekids loved him, the teachers lovedhim.

We did a lot of travels from BigGrassy to Seine River, so we wereall over the place.

From all this sprang the inspira-tion for Bouchard to write a bookon the Seven Sacred Teachings

and enlisting the help of local resi-dents like Kristy Cameron, JasonJones, and Nancy Jones.

It was working with local talenton the book that was the highlightof the project, Bouchard said, ex- pressing admiration for the atten-

tion, caution, and pride that both Jason Jones and Nancy Jones tookwhen translating his words intoOjibwe.

When you see Kristys paint-ings, its pretty spectacular, headded. It was every time shedsend me a picture, and I wouldlook at it and watch it grow, andits like knowing that youve got achild inside of you happening.

Its a bit surreal, Id say, Cam-eron said about the book. Its justa wonderful experiencethe wholecoming together, the ceremony,the blessings helping to realize thereality of the book.

Cameron has returned to teach-

ing full-time in Atikokan but con-tinues to paint and display herwork (her art currently is on ex-hibit at the Pictograph Art Galleryin Atikokan for about the nextweek).

She also recently launched her

own websitewww.kristycameron.caand her next project is paintinga 12-foot long voyageurs canoe.

It was overwhelming at first, Jason Jones said about workingwith Bouchard on the book. Ateacher with the public board, Jones currently is on leave andserving as a councillor for Nigigo-onsiminikaaning First Nation.

I didnt believe anybody, Jones recalled. They said, DavidBouchard came to Fort Francesand was looking for Jason Jones todo a book with him and I told theguys, Yeah, right, I dont believeyou guys.

I just went home that day, until

I got about three different phonecalls asking, Are you going to bethere at 2 oclock, and I was, Oh!You guys are serious?

It didnt really click in that allthis was for real.

The experience of working on

the book was really awesome,added Jones, noting since hecouldnt work on translating it dur-ing his work hours, he constantlywould end up working on it until3 a.m.

[When] we were doing the revi-sions for it, it took me about fivetimes to catch all of it becauseyoure working that late and yourbrain isnt really functioning at 100percent, he laughed.

The good thing about this bookis its one of the rare ones whereOjibwe grammar was the focus,Jones said about the translation.

A lot of modern Ojibwe language

books have grammar errors fromtrying to combine yesterdays lan-guage with todays language, he explained, and spelling errorsfrom combining the phonetic anddouble vowel writing system.

So for this book, Jones trans-lated it using todays languageincluding the newer writing systemwhich is used todaybefore pass-ing it along to Nancy Jones for herinput and incorporating some ofthe older words into the text.

With the translation donestraight out, word for word, any-one who reads it literally willsound like a fluent speaker inOjibwe, Jones said.

Its aspects like this, and the ac-curate grammar, which make the book important for teaching theOjibwe language.

A lot of people are going to bedependent on learning Ojibwe lan-

guage through writing, because itsan oral language and how often do people take the time to speak allthe time in the Ojibwe language? Itdoesnt happen very often, Jonessaid.

So the Plan B is [learning]through writing and if some-one wants to learn the languagethrough writing, this [book] wouldbe a really good start.

You can tell a lot of time wentinto it, and I hope people enjoy it,he added.

Those who read the book eachwill take something different awayfrom it, noted Bouchard, pointingout it isnt a childrens book but acultural book.

Its a book of teachings, so thatwhen you read it, you can almostread one teaching at a time, andinterpret it in your own life and tocome to realize that those teach-ings are all real common sense

ways of living, he explained.For First Nations, Mtis, and

aboriginal children, the book is an

opportunity to learn teachings thattheir elders would have wantedthem to learn, he added.

Bouchard also praised the com-munities across Rainy River Dis-trict for how theyve come togetherfor the book launch.

Ive been on the road for 12 years and Ive been to almostevery reserve in Canada, and Ivenever seen this kind of sharing,where youre getting teachers andcommunity members to say, Yeah,lets value a book, he remarked.

Though its not really the bookthat were celebrating and honour-ing, its really the teachings, the

perspective, and sharing all thoseteachings.

So this is really, really unique.With the release of the book,

Tookenay is planning to make sureevery student in the Rainy RiverDistrict School Board receives acopy.

Thats the goal, so [students]can take it home and share withtheir parents and older brothersand sisters, community membersits like a teaching thing, he said,stressing both aboriginals and non-aboriginals will enjoy the book.

Its a very impressive book, Ithink people will really enjoy it.

As for the future, Bouchard hastwo more books set to be releasedin the upcoming months. But hesunsure as to whether hell ever at-tempt another book like this oneagain.

Will I ever do it again? I doubt

it because its just so, so much workthat goes into something like this,so much work, he stressed, point-ing to the year it took for Cameronto paint all the illustrations, andeven music which accompanies thebook on DVD.

The music was created by nativeflutist and musician, Swampfox,who actually dreamed of and madeseven different flutes in seven dif-ferent keys out of seven differentwoods over a time period of sevenmonths.

This kind of book is so uniquein its purpose and its look, I dontknow if I could ever have theenergy to do it again, Bouchardadmitted.

Funny enough, I dreamt some-thing last night, he added after a pause. I woke up at four in themorning and thought, Oh, gee no,I want to sleep.

But sure enough I turned on my

computer and started writing. Somaybe.

Submitted byBarb MacDonell

The first presentation of the2009/10 tour de Fort season isJakes Gift, a welcome additionof live theatre to round out alineup of mainly musical perfor-mances, which takes to the stage atthe Townshend Theatre tomorrow(Sept. 24) at 7:30 p.m.

A one-person show with two

separate characters, presented by accomplished performer JuliaMackey, Jakes Gift tells the storyof an 80-year-old WWII veteranwho returns to Juno Beach on the60th anniversary of D-Day.

He meets Isabelle, a 10-year-old local girl who challenges himto confront some long-ignoredghosts, especially since one of Jakes plans is to search for thegrave of his brother, Chester, atalented musician who was killedduring the Normandy invasion of1944.

As a dramatic performance,Jakes Gift will play with youremotionslaughter and tears willflowbut there also are lessonsto be learned purely by beingbrought to life.

Some of the shows reviews in-clude:

. . . the script and her twinperformances as a 10-year-old girland an 80-year-old manboth ofwhich, in 60 minutes, speak moreto the heart about Canadas rolein WWII than a six-hour docu-mentary. (John Threlfall, MondayMagazine, Victoria); and

I am a veteran of the SecondWorld War, and this play and itsperformance have made a greaterimpact on me than all the memo-rial services I have ever attended.(Antony Holland).

Jakes Gift is about the beauti-ful moments we can spend withstrangers, the legacy of remem- brance, and the healing power offriendship.

It also is an homage to ordinaryheroism.

As Jake says, I never did nuthinspecial.

tour de Fort season passports areavailable for $110 each (for sevenshows) at Shoppers Drug Mart andthe Fort Frances Public Library.

Theyll also be available at to-morrow nights first performance.

For more information, visit www.tourdefort.com

Kristy Cameron (foreground) and Nancy Jones signed a copy

of The Seven Sacred Teachings of White Buffalo Calf Wom-an during the books official launch Monday at the RainyRiver First Nations. Written by award-winning author DavidBouchard, the book was illustrated by Camerona Mtis art-ist from Atikokanwhile Jones helped with the translationinto Ojibwe along with Jason Jones. Peggy Revell photo

Author returns to launch locally-inspired book Playtoopen tourde Fort