Kenora MP Greg Rickford (second from left) and Dryden Mill Manager Jim Blight cut the ribbon on Domtar Dryden's $22.7 million Topping Turbine Generator and Surplus Steam Condensor Project, May 22 at The Centre. They are flanked by Domtar employees Brian Hadley (left) and Luc Petit (right).

By Chris Marchand

Shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s appearance at Dryden’s 2010 Centennial Airshow, the PM was spirited off to Domtar for a $22.7 million announcement that would help Domtar’s Dryden mill achieve a higher energy self-sufficiency

Exactly two years to the day, Domtar officials met with Kenora MP Greg Rickford to announce the completion the Topping Turbine Generator and Surplus Heat Condensor Project. The project found support through the federal government’s Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program.

“Today I’m pleased to be able to say that all of the equipment is up and running and producing technical results beyond our original expectations,” said Dryden Mill Manger Jim Blight. “The recently installed equipment increases the mill’s capacity to use ‘green’ electricity using an existing renewable energy source (black liquor) that is a byproduct of wood we utilize to make pulp.”

Blight says the mill is currently using the energy generated by the project to offset almost all of the mill’s power consumption needs. It amounts to a one per cent savings on the mill’s cost structure, but Blight adds that selling ‘renewable’ sourced power back to the provincial power grid could offer a larger return on the investment. Domtar Dryden has been unsuccessful in obtaining a feed-in-tariff (FIT) contract with the province, but will continue working to pursue a relationship that would allow them to sell power back to the grid.

“While these projects have allowed us to take a step in the right direction, we’re hopeful that our continued efforts with the province of Ontario will allow us to achieve the full economic potential of generating this electricity. Of the renewable electricity sources being sought by the province, this one is the most affordable to the consumer and offers the most economic benefit in terms of employment.”

Blight credited Kenora Member of Parliament Greg Rickford for lobbying hard for the federal government to play a role in creating a more sustainable forest industry.

The Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program emerged in 2009 to counter a U.S. tax loophole that offered pulp and paper producers south of the border tens of million of dollars in tax rebates for mixing the wood byproduct ‘black liquor’ with diesel fuel.

Under the Canadian program, eligible Canadian pulp and paper companies could earn credits at a rate of $0.16 per litre of “black liquor” produced at their mills between January 1 and May 4, 2009. The companies could then invest those credits where doing so made the most sense for their Canadian operations.

“I’ve always felt strongly that this mill had an opportunity to thrive despite markets that are diminishing,” said Rickford. “As caucus members of our government, we recognized that the federal government needed to have a role in the forest sector. There were 28 pulp mills that qualified under the Green Transformation Program and I wanted to be sure that we were going to get it right on the policy development side — that they got what they needed to keep this mill here for production and sustainability.”

Fire crews blocked the entrance to the Comfort Inn last night while they investigated what caused the fire alarm at the hotel to go off. Photo taken by Lindsey Enns.

Story by Lindsey Enns 

Fire alarms went off at the Comfort Inn early last night leaving buildings along Government Street and Hightway 17 on fire watch.

The cause of the alarm to go off was due to smoke coming out of the electrical room. Guests at the Comfort Inn were asked to wait outside until the Dryden Fire Service could assess the situation. Once there was no fire to be found, Hydro One was called in to investigate the cause of the electirical issue that caused problems for several buildings within a two block radius for just over an hour last night.

Fire crews visited other buildings in the area and indicated that they only found minor power issues. Hydro One is still investigating the issue.

“This isn’t something that hasn’t happened before,” fighters on scene last night said.

Fire crews gathered at the fire truck before moving on to check other businesses in the area with power issues. Photo by Lindsey Enns.

A black bear cub hides in a tree. Photo taken by Chris Marchand.

Story by Lindsey Enns 

Over the Long Weekend during the early morning hours of Saturday May 22, two Winnipeg men were camping on Dunbar Lake north of Sioux Lookout when one of them was dragged out of an outhouse and attacked by a black bear.

After being dragged out of the structure by his arm and shoulder the 65-year-old man received multiple bites to the back of his head and neck before his 63-year-old friend heard the commotion and then shot and killed the bear with his rifle. The attack only lasted about one minute.

A media release issued yesterday afternoon stated that the two men then drove towards Sioux Lookout into cell phone reception range and later drove to Meno-Ya-Win Hospital where the man received further treatment including a rabies shot.

The OPP would like to remind the public to take precaution about attracting bears while spending time outdoors and not to approach or attempt to interact with bears in anyway. Further information can be found on the Ministry of Natural Resources website.

Anyone wishing to report a bear sighting is reminded to call the Ministry of Natural Recourses Nuisance Bear hotline at 1-866-514-2327. For issues of public safety contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-888-310-1122.

In a media release issued yesterday afternoon, the OPP reported seven people were killed in seven separate collisions during the long weekend on our roads and highways.

8,000 charges were laid during the Victoria Day weekend, 6,358 of those were charged with speeding, 244 were charged with distracted driving, 108 were charged with impaired driving and 698 were cited for seat belt infractions.

“The number of tragic fatalities could have been much higher had we not increased our visibility and enforcement throughout the province,” Commissioner Chris Lewis said in the release.

“Sadly, even one death on our roads is one too many.”

Also during the long weekend a person drowned in northeastern Ontario and another person is missing and is presumed to have drowned in Lake Erie. OPP would like to remind everyone to use personal flotation devices while in and on the water.

The scene at at public meeting, May 15 as residents crowded the gallery to offer their opinions on an application to rezone the former Pinewood School to allow a boarding school project for youth from remote First Nations. Photo by Chris Marchand

By Chris Marchand

A crowd of approximately 50 people spilled from council chambers into the corridors, May 15 as city officials hosted a public meeting on a controversial application to rezone Pinewood School to accommodate a First Nations boarding school.

Concerned residents, mostly from the neighbourhoods surrounding the former Rourke Ave. school expressed a high degree of unease over the lack of a clear and detailed plan to develop a First Nations High School Transition program, which would house a maximum of 70 Grade 9-aged, male and female students from remote communities. The program aims to close the academic gaps that place those students at a disadvantage when entering mainstream secondary schools and increase the success rate of First Nations students in urban settings.

Wayne Zilkalns spoke on behalf of the neighbourhood group who raised over 650 signatures in opposition to the zoning amendment in just over four days. Zilkalns says a recent public information session — hosted by the Keewatin Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) and partner Keewaytinook Okinakanak (KO) fell short of addressing many issues to the satisfaction of residents. — issues like supervision levels, after-school activities, discipline policies and the facility’s suitability to be converted into a residence.

“Concerns over residents’ properties, the impact of the school on the community as a whole, or the long-term viability of such a school were not answered. We respectfully ask that the city of Dryden deny the zoning request as this is the only chance to have our voices heard and to have a say in what happens in our community.”

Representing the school board at the meeting was Facilities Manager Kim Carlson and Director of Education Jack McMaster who briefly reviewed the project concept for council and those assembled.

Several residents spoke in favour of the project. Former Dryden mayor Roger Valley asked council to consider looking into the potential economic development benefits to hosting the school. Valley also praised proponent KO for their contribution to the community in such projects as The Dryden Regional Cultural and Training Centre.

Dryden Native Friendship Centre’s Sally Ledger and local First Nations resident Louis Simard spoke of their desire to see a greater acceptance of Dryden’s First Nations residents.

Mayor Craig Nuttall says he thinks the petition is a strong indicator of public sentiment towards the school project. He says the petition should be a serious consideration in the weeks to follow as council gathers information on the plan towards deciding whether or not to approve the zoning amendment.

“There’s over 600 names on there,” said Nuttall. “These are taxpayers and these are people I represent. I think some of their concerns are very legitimate and I think the board of education isn’t doing a very good job in selling this project. I’m not in a position to endorse this right now until we get some answers.”

Wary of the site’s ability to house over 70 students, Nuttall adds that a degree of inter-treaty politics is also at play as nearby local Treaty 3 communities like Eagle Lake and Wabigoon Lake First Nations have expressed public concern over KO, which represents Treaty 9, establishing a school in Treaty 3 traditional lands without observing the protocols of consultation.

The issue comes back before council this week whereupon they will decide when a decision is to be made on the rezoning application.

“I want to put it off until July — until the board of education can answer some of these questions,” said Nuttall.

By Lindsey Enns

Due to federal budget cuts to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans programs, the Harper government announced Thursday morning that they will be shutting down world renowned freshwater research facility, The Experimental Lakes Area. The move has shocked researchers and scientists across Canada.

David Schindler, a Professor of Ecology at the University of Alberta, has directed operations at ELA for 22 years and has continued to conduct research there with the help of grad students from various Canadian universities. Some of his ongoing nutrient experiments over the years have helped save taxpayers millions of dollars and he was shocked to learn that this facility will soon no longer be available to researchers and scientists around the world.

“Scientifically speaking this is the biggest blunder they’ve made so far,” Schindler said. “This is the only place that policy relevant research can be done.”

The ELA is a collection of 58 lakes near Kenora, which have been set aside and managed by the Canadian and Ontario governments for research purposes. This area has been used for scientific research since 1968 and has gone on to become the site of worldly known scientific breakthroughs pertaining to the impact of human activities on our rivers and lakes. The news came as a surprise as federal lawmakers continue to debate over a budget bill that eases the protection of fish and wildlife and disregards environmental agencies like the ELA.

For decades this area has been relatively unaffected by human influences and industrial activities making it a perfect natural laboratory for the study of physical, chemical and biological processes. Over the years industrial activity has consumed Canada making it nearly impossible to construct another facility as valuable as this one. In 1980 Schindler explained that they considered moving the facility elsewhere due to the threat of forest fires but that there were no other available sites, leaving him to doubt that there would be anything like it out there today.

“This site has demonstrated time after time that experimentation can’t be done properly if it is not done on an ecological scale,” Schindler said. “They clearly don’t realize what they’ve done.”

Randy Kamp, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, addressed the House of Commons on May 18 saying that will continue to support fresh water research across Canada.

“We’re looking forward to facilitating a transfer of this particular facility to a private organization,” Kamp said.

The Conservative government argues that universities and non-governmental organizations would now be better to carry out this sort of research. But Schindler questions where these institutions will get their funding from.

“This is the fourth or fifth time that they have wanted to close this facility down and this is always their defense,” Schindler said. “But universities can’t get the kind of money to fund projects like this.”

Schindler says that the ELA runs on a $600,000 annual operating budget, which excludes employee salaries. Staff was informed Thursday morning that they would receive affected letters, that no new experiments were to be initiated and that there would be no public announcement regarding ELA’s closing. Right now the ELA employs nearly 17 full time paid positions and collaborates with 115 students from 20 universities across Canada. But recently university involvement has declined due to operating and usage costs.

“Universities are expected to pay user fees,” Schindler said. “It has now got to the point that fewer universities can afford to use the facility and today researchers don’t get enough money to be able to do this kind of thing.”

The lack of funds available to researchers has now forced them into more laboratory scaled experimentation, something that Schindler says is just unrealistic.

“The attitude of our government is that research is an expensive luxury,” Schindler said. “Science to them is just a luxury.”

In recent years millions of dollars have been put into maintaining and upgrading the facility but Schindler still remembers what it was like during his earlier days spent there.

“We used to operate out of a bunch of trailers without insulation,” he said.

Now Schindler wonders why money was put into a facility just for it to be shut down.

“The government is smoking something and it isn’t tobacco,” he said.

Darlene Salter, a local naturist, is concerned that scientists will soon not be able to educate the public without going through politicians that have little to no scientific backgrounds.

“We’re not hearing and accessing the needed and essential information,” she said. “There will now be even less information as they withdrawal funds from these research faculties.”

Salter has visited the facility several times and worries what will happen to it once it’s shut down for good.

“It’s a beautiful facility and I feel it should be funded by our government,” Salter said. “But it is now being closed down because the information that is being provided to the government is not what they want to hear.” Kenora MP Greg Rickford could not be reached for comment on the matter.

The May Long Weekend is fast approaching and Dryden police are hoping that people will use their common sense to have a fun and safe long weekend.

In a news release issued this morning, the OPP want you to know that they will be patrolling road and water ways keeping their eyes open for aggressive, distracted and impaired drivers. OPP wants to remind you to wear your seat belt while in a vehicle and to wear life jackets on the boat and monitor any changes in weather while you are out on the water. They also suggest advising someone of your final boating destination in case of any unexpected events where police may have to conduct a search.

Equipment on board should include life jackets, warning devices such as flares, first aid kit and flashlights. Having a GPS unit and a communication device on board is also a good idea. A Pleasure Craft Operating Certificate is mandatory for everyone operating a vessel.

Smoke alarms are mandatory

The Dryden Fire Service wants to remind campers that it is the law to have a working smoke alarm in their campers, motor homes and other recreational vehicle. In addition these vehicles used for sleeping should also be equipped with a carbon monoxide alarm.

“Smoke alarms can alert you and give you and your family the precious time needed to safely escape a fire,” Reagan Breeze, Emergency/Education officer said in an earlier interview. “Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in any structure where people may be sleeping or living.”

Failure to comply with the applicable Fire Code smoke alarm requirements can result in a ticket for $235 or a fine of up to $100,000. For more information you can contact Dryden Fire Service at 223-1178.

Andrea Ramolo and Cindy Doire together make Scarlett Jane, a dark country pop-harmonizing duo. Shown here performing at Pappy's Cafe in Wabigoon on May 17. Photo taken by Hope Murdick.

Story by Lindsey Enns

Friends for nearly a decade and self-proclaimed road warriors, Andrea Ramolo and Cindy Doire together make Scarlett Jane, a dark country pop-harmonizing duo. Both have had successful careers as solo artists, Ramolo has two previous releases and Doire has three, two of which are in French, but have now joined forces to make Stranger, their debut album that they are taking across Canada.

“So far it’s been amazing sharing this journey and adventure together,” Doire said. “It’s more trying as a solo artist, being together has made the journey more fun and a lot less stressful.”

The girls made a pit stop at Pappy’s Café in Wabigoon on May 17 for an evening show. Almost a year ago the girls stopped in Dryden but are now packing up and heading south with their music in hopes of breaking new ground in the U.S.A.

“We are really proud of this new album and we want to show it off and play for new audiences,” Ramolo said.

Being from Ontario the girls both agree that nothing beats playing for small rural Canadian communities.

“We are able to touch people more deeply because the shows are smaller and more intimate,” Ramolo said.

But the girls are looking forward to venturing into new places and they are looking forward to taking more risks on stage.

“It’s nice to play for a new audience,” Ramolo said. “There is a certain element to our show that’s a little more risky when we play in front of people that we don’t know.”

Ramolo has been performing on stage since she was two years old but says in social situations she can be a bit of an introvert.

“Being on stage feels like home to me, on stage I just come to life,” Ramolo said.

With albums in both French and English, Doire’s career has taken her to Europe and across Canada.

“I am definitely blessed to be able to discover our country through music,” Doire said. “Trekking through northern Ontario grounds me and the drive alone is just gorgeous.”

Scarlett Jane will also be performing at this years Dauphin Countryfest, Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia, Ontario and the South Country Fair in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

“We are so grateful that we are both from a community that supports us and stand behind what we have accomplished,” Doire said.

For more information about Scarlett Jane and to see a full concert listing you can head to their website, scarlettjane.com. So far the tour has been going great and they are looking forward to seeing new faces in the crowd.

“We are so grateful for the nice weather, we got some great new boots and we are hoping that people will send over good vibes to our van,” Doire said.

A young girl from the Watoto choir sings and dances for the crowd at Full Gospel Church last night.

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Story and Photos by Lindsey Enns 

Imagine loosing both of your parents to disease, being forced to go to war or being abandoned and left with nothing. These stories are all too familiar for the women and children of the Watoto African Choir.

Accompanied by team leaders, the choir travels around the world sharing their painful stories through song, dance and video. Watoto is a holistic care program that was initiated to help deal with the overwhelming number of orphaned children and vulnerable women in Uganda. The program helps build potential African leaders through education and religion.

Sam Kimera is one of the choir’s team leaders and has been traveling with Watoto for four years.

“My favorite part is working with the children,” he said. “Seeing them transform from shy individuals to singing with joy and confidence is a great thing to see.”

Children in the choir range from 6 to 14 years of age and train for five months before going on the road.

“The children develop a real sense of confidence being in the choir and seeing the world,” Kimera said.

After spending the weekend in Winnipeg, the choir made a stop in Dryden last night to perform for a packed house at the Full Gospel Church.

“So far we have all been enjoying the weather here,” Kimera told the crowd.

The choir had the crowd on their feet dancing and singing along for most of the show. It was easy to see that people were touched by the stories told by several children in the choir. After the show the audience had a chance to meet and take photographs with the children.

This choir consists of 21 children and will perform 200 shows while on they are on road for 6 months. The performance raises awareness about the plight of orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa while highlighting issues such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, the effects of war and the child solider crisis in northern Uganda. Right now Watoto cares for 2,400 women and children and they hoping to raise that number to 10,000 by 2023. To find out where the choir is headed to next and how you can help you can visit Watoto.com. 

By Observer Staff

Do you have a May Long memory that stands out in your mind as being life changing? Or at least, really, really great? We want to hear about it. Head onto our Facebook page (Dryden Observer) and submit your answers in the comment section below the contest heading. At the end of the week, Friday at noon to be exact, an expert panel of judges will go through the responses and choose a ‘Best May Long Memory’. Your answer can be short and sweet, or long and detailed. Be creative. The winner will receive a $100 gift card to Canadian Tire! Just in time for the weekend.