Gagnon debut cancelled over visa troubles

Posted by Marc Roberge on Jan 27, 2012 in Local News | 0 comments

By STAR STAFF

Mitch Gagnon won’t be making his mark in the UFC yet. The Sturgeon Falls native and Sudbury resident, who trains with Team Shredder in Sudbury, was to face Johnny Bedford in a bantamweight fight on the undercard of Saturday’s UFC on Fox 2 event in Chicago, but was pulled from the fight Wednesday after he was unable to secure a work visa in time.

However, Gagnon, 27, will get on a UFC card in the near future once he works out his visa problems. “What happened is that when they called me originally to sign up for the fight (in December) they told me from the beginning it was a long shot to get the visa,” Gagnon said Thursday. “They called me during the holidays and visas are not processed during the holidays. On top of that, the athletic commission in Chicago needs you there early to licence you the week of and wanted me there by Tuesday and the visa hadn’t come in yet and probably will next week. We did everything we could, we talked to senators in the States and everything, but it was out of our hands and that is what happened. We knew it was a long shot and the UFC knew it was a long shot. It takes 20 days to process (a visa) and there was not enough time, I guess.”

Dad jailed two months for sex abuse

Posted by Marc Roberge on Jan 27, 2012 in Local News | 0 comments

By RON GRECH, QMI AGENCY

TIMMINS — A 61-year-old man tearfully apologized to his daughter in a Timmins court Wednesday after admitting he had sexually abused her as a child. The victim was 11 years old at the time.

The man was sentenced to two months in jail, six months of house arrest and two years of probation after pleading guilty in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Timmins to invitation to sexual touching, indecent exposure and voyeurism. The subject of the father’s voyeurism was a young friend of his daughter who stayed at the house for a sleepover. The offences occurred over a period of a few months in 1990 when the family lived in the West Nipissing area.

The family moved to Timmins not long after those offenses occurred. The daughter’s victim impact statement was read aloud to the court. ”A father is someone who is supposed to protect” their child from abuse.

Health Unit passes 2.2% tax levy increase

Posted by Marc Roberge on Jan 27, 2012 in Local News | 0 comments

By JENNIFER HAMILTON-MCCHARLES The Nugget

The health unit’s budget sends the wrong message to the taxpayer, says Derek Shogren. Shogren, chairman of the health unit’s finance committeee, voted last week to send the proposed budget back to senior staff to find some cost savings.

Shogren, along with board chairman Daryl Vaillancourt, Dr. Jim Chirico, the city’s medical officer of health and senior staff went through the budget line-by-line. The revised budget was presented at tonight’s meeting with a cost savings of $70,000. It was presented as a budget with many compromises and was expected to pass the vote.

Sturgeon Falls man faces charges of sexual assault

Posted by Admin on Jan 26, 2012 in Local News, Society & Politics | 0 comments

A thirty year old Sturgeon Falls man faces charges of sexual assault and sexual interference as a result of an investigation conducted by the West Nipissing Police Service.

Through their investigation police have learned that the offences have occurred over the past 24 months.

Three victims have been identified and have all been found to be under the age to consent to any sexual act. Police will not name the accused to protect the identity of the victims.

Police continue their investigation into this matter.

Slip sliding away – Motorists asked to report bad roads

Posted by TJ Quesnel on Jan 26, 2012 in Local News, Society & Politics | 0 comments

Tanja Ingram-Paquette with files
Posted with permission of the copyright owner, Sun Media Corporation.

Ontario’s New Democrats are asking drivers in Northern Ontario to help put together a record of all the provincial highways that they believe are poorly maintained this winter.

The new NDP Northern Road Report, spearheaded by John Vanthof, Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP, will compile the reports from the people who use the roads day in and day out, and who suffer the consequences when things go wrong.

“I launched the program myself and then it was launched provincially and more members came on board to help me push for safety,” said MPP Vanthof. “This is an important issue and we take the responses we receive right to the Minister of Transportation so that he can see how the people feel.”

Sturgeon Falls and North Bay Blood Donor Clinics

Posted by Marc Roberge on Jan 26, 2012 in Bulletin Board | 0 comments

Here are the scheduled dates for blood donor clinics in Sturgeon Falls in 2012. Please bookmark this page for future reference!

Sturgeon Falls Blood Donor Clinic – Collect de sang

Dates:

March 20, 2012 – le 20 mars, 2012
May 29, 2012 – le 29 mai, 2012
July 31, 2012 – le 31 juin, 2012
October 2, 2012 – le 2 octobre, 2012
December 4, 2012 – le 4 décembre, 2012
February 5, 2013 – le 5 février, 2013

Where: / Où:

Sturgeon Falls Recreation Centre, 219 O’Hara Street, Sturgeon Falls, ON

Hours: 4 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Heures: 16 h a 20 h