Founded in 1897
Year 117 No. 27 - DRYDEN, ONTARIO - WEDNESDAY, JulY 9, 2014
Campbell prods province for flood assistance
InSIdE
By Chris Marchand
Kokom’s enjoys newfound foodie fame See pg. 6 Garden showcase coming soon See pg. 8 Kinsmen Dragon Boats Pg. 8
SPORTS
Fireworks explode Wabigoon Lake, July 5. The show was delayed as a result of weather conditions on July 1. Photo by Samantha Hawkins
What a show! Fireworks display exceeds expectations By Samantha Hawkins
Challenger Soccer Camp See pg. 10 Josh Kitt 11th at Manitoba Golf Tournament See pg. 10 Senior Soccer action See pg. 9
After raising a mere $5,000 this year for Dryden’s Canada Day fireworks display, compared to the $12,000 spent last year, event goers may have been unsure as to what to expect, but on July 5 after a slight delay due to weather, the Dryden Fire Services did not disappoint. The amazing display lasted around 20 minutes and thanks to an approximate $2,500 boost by the fireworks supplier the show was full of oohs and ahhs. Dryden Fire Services has been
Food bank manager laments IGA closure
A&E
By Chris Marchand
Colours of Hope 5K run See pg. 11 Teddy Bear Picnic See pg. 12 Northern Lights Quarter Horse Show See pg. 13 Canada Day pics See pg. 13
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putting on the display for local residence for over 30 years and thanks to a dozen or so firefighters spending most of the day and night preparing the show, Dryden and area residents are able to be a part of a spectacle on par or exceeding that of even the larger cities. Fire Chief Ken Kurz says this year’s location, at Government Dock, made set up, clean up and traffic control a lot easier and looks forward to hosting the event at the same location next year, all things permitting.
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While the announced closure of the local IGA Garden Market store has caused a local outcry among shoppers, its closure will also affect another local agency that has come to depend upon a long standing relationship. Dryden Food Bank Manager Doug Robertson says the local store plays an important role in their dayto-day operations helping stretch their annual Moffatt Family Fund grant to keep essentials on their shelves and available to clients. “Along with one of the other grocery stores in the community, IGA has bread products for us to pick up six days a week,” said Robertson. “We have, historically, done all of our purchasing of milk and eggs through IGA as well as anything else we purchase with
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the cash donations that people make. They’ve been very gracious in offering us a discount as well as making a contribution to the food bank every year as well. The way their whole store treats us, we’re going to miss them very much.” Robertson says the relationship goes back to the store’s early beginning in Dryden. “We have so many fantastic donors in the city of Dryden — from small donations to big donations,” said Robertson. “It’s not about who gives the most, it’s that people care enough to share some of their own hardearned money with those who are in need. These are people (IGA) who cared and did good by us. The staff and the management at IGA were fantastic in helping us accomplish our mission of feeding people. I wish them all the best.”
Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell took the plight of flood-ravaged communities in the Northwest to Queen’s Park, Monday. Campbell addressed Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry — Thunder Bay and Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro during Question Period. Campbell told the legislature of her travels within the riding where 10 communities “I’ve toured the area and seen first-hand the devastation,” said Campbell. “Homes overwhelmed by flooding, sections of highway completely washed away, significant erosion of shoreline resulting in lost personal property, a threatened cemetery and evacuations. People in the Northwest have done an amazing job banding together in this difficult time, but it is up to this government to ensure that the funds necessary are available for cleanup and recovery.” Campbell suggested the province seek to improve on their response to May 2012’s flood in Thunder Bay — where she says it took homeowners over a year to receive provincial assistance. “Will the Premier help the people of Kenora Rainy-River today by committing funds from the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program to provide badly needed relief to these 10 hard-hit
communities?” Minister Mauro took exception to Campbell’s assessment of the Thunder Bay example and stated that he was up-to-speed on the flooding situation affecting communities in the region. “I can tell the member that I’ve been in direct contact with the Mayors of the three directly affected communities — Mayor Avis in Fort Frances, Mayor Brown in Atikokan and Mayor Canfield in Kenora. I’ve talked to them and they’ve been very pleased with the outreach and support that has been provided to them by all the appropriate ministries. We continue to monitor the situation and I’ve asked them to contact me at any time if at some point they’re uncertain with the response.” MNR Fire Ranger crews have been deployed to assist sandbagging efforts in the Kenora and Fort Frances districts in recent weeks. Despite a reported rash of sinkholes, the situation in Fort Frances and the neighbouring community of Couchiching appears to be stabilizing somewhat as flood waters have begun to recede and emergency management officials look to a positive forecast. Officials with the Lake of the Woods Control Board were also optimistic last week that the region’s water levels had reached their peak.
Three escape burning cottage By dryden observer Staff A Thunder Lake cottage and outbuildings were lost to fire in the early morning hours, Sunday, while the occupants escaped the blaze. Both Dryden Fire Service halls were called to the lakeshore location at 1:48 am to a small building fire at a three season Thunder Lake Road residence. While responding the incident was upgraded to a fire that had spread to the main residential structure and several small outbuildings. On arrival fire crews found that three persons had awoke and escaped from the burning residence after being alerted by a
neighbour. Firefighters had to extinguish a large area of bush and trees burning, fed by strong south winds between the lake and Thunder Lake Road, before tackling the structure fires consuming the buildings on the property. Twenty-five Dryden Firefighters staffing eight apparatus and support units were assisted by Oxdrift and Wabigoon Fire with a Water Tanker truck each, until a water supply from Thunder Lake could be established by portable pumps. Dryden Fire declared the fire under control at 4 a.m., and released all Mutual Aid fire
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Dryden Chamber of Commerce Chair James Cochrane (left) with Dryden Mayor Photo by Samantha Hawkins Craig Nuttall.
Chamber weighs in on IGA closure Submitted The Board of Directors for the Dryden District Chamber of Commerce is expressing their concern and sadness for the loss of the Dryden IGA as a community business, and valued Chamber member. “IGA has been a leader in the business community, and a tremendous supporter of the Chamber of Commerce for many years. We are saddened by the corporate
closure announcement last week. This is considerable job loss in the community as well as loss of services that customers from around the region have come to depend upon”, States James Cochrane, Chair of the Chamber Board. The Chamber of Commerce will continue to act within its mandate as a business support agency to assist displaced workers and potential entrepreneurs to find opportunity in the face of change.
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