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Some local high school students have been honoured for their volunteer spirit.
The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon says a lunch conference celebration was held for all Grade 12 students from Wawa's Ecole secondaire Saint-Joseph who've already completed their 40 hours of community volunteer hours.
Community service hours are required to graduate high school in Ontario.
Efforts to make Wawa's Legion Hall more accessible are progressing.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 429 President Mary Anne Pearson has confirmed to JJAM FM News that the Legion has awarded the contract for installation of the elevator to Michael Moore Construction of Sault Ste. Marie, with plans for the project itself to commence "when the permits are in place".
Intended to improve the ability of those with mobility issues to move between the upper and lower floors of the building, the lift follows other efforts to improve accessibility of the Legion Hall: a barrier-free washroom and a ramp in the downstairs area.
Wawa Municipal Council has a fairly light night ahead, despite back-to-back meetings.
First up will be a Corporate Planning Commitee meeting, with items to be discussed including: a logo and marketing plan to be presented by Community Services and Tourism Assistant Director Brian Lachine; a regional strategic plan from the Superior East Community Futures Development Corporation; and requests to waive the Community Centre rental fee, arena ice fee, and rental fee for space at 3 Maple Street.
That will be followed by a regular meeting of Council, with items including a by-law for an agreement with the Township of White River, providing the neighbouring community with Building Code Act management, inspection, and enforcement services - essentially renewing a previous agreement.
There are also two "in-camera" items: a deputation about a legal issue regarding a sewer back-up; and an educational item about a procedural item.
Aside from the "in-camera" portion, tonight's meeting is open to the public, starting at 6:30 pm in Council Chambers.
Police are asking for help finding out who's behind multiple suspicious brush fires in Wawa.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say the Wawa Volunteer Fire Department - and local OPP officers - responded to four suspicious brush fires over September, two in wooded areas between Golf Course Road and Highway 17 on September 11th and 12th and two near Winston Road on the 21st and yesterday.
No injuries were reported nor any property damage, though police are looking to find out who was behind the fires.
Currently there are no suspects.
Anyone with information is urged to call the OPP or Crime Stoppers.
Wawa's Lady Dunn Health Centre Foundation is reminding time is running out for a major fundraiser: the annual Dream Vacation Lottery.
Offering a prize of a return trip for two anywhere WestJet flies plus $2000 cash, the lottery kicks off a campaign to raise $125,000 for a new washer, disinfector, and sterilizer for the Medical Device Reprocessing Department at the local hospital.
Patricia Lalonde - a director with the Foundation - notes it's just the latest fundraising effort since the Foundation was formed more than ten years ago.
Lalonde reminds the Foundation is a small committee of volunteers focused on helping the hospital to address equipment needs.
Tickets are available at several places in the community - including the hospital admitting desk - with the draw October 9th.
Local police are warning everyone to "protect your assets" after a break-and-enter in Chapleau.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say the incident happened last Thursday, September 19th, with an unknown suspect entering the residence through an insecure patio door - several items were taken from a purse near the door.
While police say this was "seemingly minor in nature", they emphasize such incidents "have potential to be far more serious depending on the motive of the suspect or suspects".
Though they acknowledge it is very common in smaller towns for people to leave their homes and vehicles insecure at night, Superior East OPP warn they respond to many property crimes that could have easily been prevented by ensuring: vehicle and home windows and doors are shut and locked; garages and outbuildings are closed and secured; outside lights are on at night; valuables - including keys, wallets, cash, and garage door openers - are removed from vehicles.
Police also advise against hiding keys in secret places - recommending instead leaving a duplicate with a friend or neighbour - and suggest recording or taking photos of the serial numbers of your property.
With the federal election just over three weeks away, Elections Canada's set up a local office to help voters.
Rejean Grenier - Regional Media Advisor with Elections Canada - explains a "special service office" is open in Wawa, offering a few services.
Grenier warns - while you can cast a special ballot now - ballots aren't yet available - as the close of nominations is this Monday - which could pose an issue casting a ballot.
The Elections Canada website does have a list of the current candidates for the riding - updated daily - though the final list won't be available until Wednesday, October 2nd.
Currently, the list for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing shows: NDP candidate Carol Hughes, who is seeking her fourth straight term; Northeastern Manitoulin and Islands CAO Dave Williamson for the Conservatives; Espanola financial controller and former candidate Heather Wilson for the Liberals; university student Max Chapman for the Greens; Dave De Lisle for the People's Party of Canada; and even a candidate for the satirical "Rhinoceros Party" who is using the name "Le Marquis de Marmalade".
Voter information cards should be arriving in early October, indicating where to vote during advance polls Thanksgiving weekend - Friday, October 11th to Monday, October 14th - and on the Monday, October 21st election day.
A few local high school graduates are being recognized with scholarships.
The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon has released the list of recipients for its Vision Scholarship, a $500 scholarship awarded each year to two students at each of the board's secondary schools.
At Wawa's Ecole Saint-Joseph, the recipients were Bradley Proulx and Hunter Schumacher, while the recipients from Ecole secondaire catholique Trillium in Chapleau were Kendra Schuurman and Alex Turcotte.
Recipients are chosen for reflecting the board's vision of "thriving French-language Catholic students, proud and ready to take their place in society".
Local police are reporting more copper wire thefts in the area.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say members of the local detachment and the East Algoma detachment responded on Tuesday to reports of thefts from two Bell tower sites along Highway 129.
The thefts at towers near Flame Lake and Aubrey Falls happened sometime Saturday afternoon, with the thieves taking about $20,000 worth of copper from each site, while about $80,000 in damage was done to the Flame Lake site.
In addition, Superior East OPP say security guards at the Alamos Gold Mine near Dubreuilville saw two roughly 30-year-old Caucasian men running away from the mine's scrap metal heap around 8 o'clock Sunday morning - it's estimated they took $50,000 to $60,000 worth of copper before leaving in a white Toyota pickup truck towing a utility trailer.
Though they aren't confirming the incidents are linked, Superior East OPP note there have been at least six "significant" copper thefts from remote locations in the area since mid-June, with some areas even struck more than once.
Last month, Superior East OPP noted a copper wire theft from a Bell tower construction site near Montreal River Harbour, and noted there had been recent thefts from the Bell tower site near Flame Lake and another near Wangoon Lake.
Anyone with information about any of these incidents is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers.
Enrolment's higher than expected at the local English public school board.
The Algoma District School Board says the number of students enrolled in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 as of September 7th was up 272 from the forecast by the board director's report in April, with 189 more Junior or Senior Kindergarten students and 83 more in elementary grades.
That's also up 138 students from the previous September.
There were also more secondary students than expected - up 176 students from the April projection, which means an increase of 101 students since September 2018.
The Township of Chapleau is looking for someone to run the arena canteen.
Mayor Michael Levesque says the issue was discussed during Monday night's Council meeting, with Council agreeing a search is necessary.
Mayor Levesque says it is open until October 4th, with the hope a canteen operator is in place soon.
Chapleau Town Council has approved an Economic Development Work Plan for the community.
Mayor Michael Levesque says the now-approved plan includes a few major projects outlined for the next few years, one of which has already been started.
Mayor Levesque highlights a few other aspects of the work plan.
While the plan does suggest efforts to bring back the Nature Festival, Mayor Levesque says Council will look into "what's possible" based on funds available - though he does emphasize it is a commitment to "look at it seriously".
Wawa residents march to "Take Back The Night" this evening.
Dawn Charbonneau - a frontline worker with CHADWIC Home - emphasizes everyone is welcome to join the march to show opposition to violence against women.
Charbonneau adds there will be some important information at the Community Centre.
While Charbonneau emphasizes the event is a show of opposition to violence against women - and support for victims - she notes this year highlights a few aspects of the issue.
Charbonneau encourages people to learn more and share survivors' stories through the Take Back the Night website.
Everyone's encouraged to show up for the Take Back the Night march, which forms up in front of the post office at 6 pm.
Preparations for Chapleau's annual Santa Claus Parade seem to be underway.
Mayor Michael Levesque says Council discussed a letter from the Chapleau Volunteer Firefighters Association during Monday's Council meeting - the association's taking over organization of the annual event, and the mayor says the letter's something of a "call to the community" to submit floats.
Local students are marking an important cultural day today.
Michel Lavergne - the Vice Principal of École St-Joseph in Wawa - says the school has several things planned to celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day.
Other schools will also be celebrating or otherwise marking Franco-Ontarian Day, which officially recognizes the contribution of the Franco-Ontarian community to the province's cultural, historical, social, economic and political life.
Franco-Ontarian Day's also being marked in Chapleau, with a ceremony behind the Civic Centre, where the Franco-Ontarian flag is flown.
That ceremony starts at 2:00 pm this afternoon.
Chapleau's mayor is welcoming the officially opening of a new mine in the area.
Newmont Goldcorp held the grand opening of its Borden Gold Project on Monday, and Mayor Michael Levesque was among the dignitaries attending the event.
As ore from the operation will be processed by the mill at Newmont Goldcorp's Porcupine Gold Mines in Timmins, Mayor Levesque notes this opening means an increase of traffic between the two communities.
Touted as the world's first all-electric underground mine, Borden is expected to achieve commercial production in the fourth quarter of the year.
Secondary students with a Wawa school are being touted for their canoe skills.
The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon says all Grade 9 to 12 students at Ecole Saint-Joseph in Wawa recently completed the "Basic Tandem Canoe Skills" program from Paddle Canada - a certification program that was offered over two years.
It means the students - and teachers - are qualified to paddle many rivers and lakes in Northern Ontario.
This news comes as the school held its Terry Fox Run event earlier this afternoon, as explained by Vice Principal Michel Lavergne.
Plans were to hold the run tomorrow - as part of Franco-Ontarian Day celebrations - but it was moved up, due to the weather forecast.
The school will still be celebrating Franco-Ontarian Day tomorrow, with various activities in the morning, a concert, and a free barbecure for the students.
A Toronto-area man is facing drug-related charges after being stopped for speeding near Wawa.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say an officer observed a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed on Highway 17 near Wawa around 1:30 this morning - the officer stopped the vehicle, but - while speaking with the driver - detected an odour of cannabis emanating from the vehicle.
The driver voluntarily surrendered a small quantity of cannabis, but the officer searched the vehicle for additional cannabis, finding one kilogram of what's believed to be cocaine.
That led to the arrest of the 22-year-old from Scarborough on charges of: possession of schedule I substance - cocaine - for the purpose of trafficking; drive vehicle with cannabis readily available; and speeding.
He's been released from custody, scheduled to appear in court in Wawa in early December.
Chapleau's new mine has officially opened.
Joined by Greg Rickford, Ontario's Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Indigenous Affairs, Newmont Goldcorp officially cut the ribbon for the grand opening of the Borden Gold Project on Monday.
Other dignitaries at the even included Chapleau Mayor Michael Levesque, Timmins Mayor George Pirie, Timmins NDP MPP Gilles Bisson, Chapleau Cree First Nation Chief Keeter Corston, Chapleau Ojibwe First Nation Chief Anita Stephens, Brunswick House First Nation Chief Cheryl St. Denis, and Michipicoten First Nation Chief Pat Tangie.
According to Newmont Goldcorp, Borden will be the world's first all-electric underground mine, using state-of-the-art health and safety controls, digital mining technologies and processes, and low-carbon energy vehicles intended to eliminate diesel particulate matter from the underground environment, lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy costs, protect employee health, and minimize environmental impacts.
It also says Borden's 1000 square kilometre land package represents additional exploration upside, as the Borden deposit remains open at depth.
Borden is expected to achieve commercial production in the fourth quarter of the year, with the ore to be processed by the mill at Newmont Goldcorp's Porcupine Gold Mines in Timmins.
The Municipality of Wawa's touting the start of fall by reminding fall fitness classes are now underway.
Brian Lachine - the Assistant Director of Community Services and Tourism - emphasizes there are multiple options to start getting fit.
Lachine notes gym memberships can help, but aren't required.
Anyone wanting more information about Wawa's fitness options can contact the Pro Shop by calling 705-856-2244, extension 240.
