It was announced on Thursday that an agreement in principle was reached to keep the Huron Central Railway line operating between the Sault and Sudbury beyond this summer. While an agreement in principle has been made involving the city, Essar Steel Algoma and Domtar, HCR president Mario Brault told EZ Rock News any use for tourism would still be a long way off. Brault adds, however, that if a long-term agreement is realized and once subsequent upgrades to the rail line are made, the line could be used for the tourism sector in about three to four years. Brault says an investment of about 30 million dollars in grant money from the senior levels of government is needed to ensure the rail line’s long-term sustainability. The agreement also included a plan to have discussions with line owner Canadian Pacific about the situation. It’s not immediately known when formal negotiations would begin.

Improving snowmobile safety. That’s the main goal behind the Trail Safe 2010 Enforcement Weekend Saturday and Sunday. The OPP is leading the intiative, along with STOP special constables, the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs and the Ministry of Natural Resources, as well as municipal and First Nation police services. The officers will be out in force to improve snowmobile safety through strict enforcement and education. In 2009, Superior East O-P-P investigated two fatal snowmobile accidents in the area.

The International Lake Superior Board of Control is out with their figures for Lakes Michigan-Huron and Superior for January. Lake Superior is about 10 centimetres below where it should be at this time of year — levels here fell by 8 centimetres last month. Lakes Michigan-Huron levels are about 16 centimetres below where they should be for the end of January — these levels dropped by 4 centimetres last month. The three lakes usually experience an average drop of four and a half centimetres in January. The board says Superior’s levels are expected to fall while Michigan-Huron levels will drop or remain stable in February.

Federal New Democrats are urging the Harper government to extend the home renovation tax credit. Sault M-P Tony Martin says the measure should continue for another year so the economy can grow as homeowners improve on their investment, while helping the building and construction industries. N-D-P Deputy Leader and Finance Critic Thomas Mulcair says if renovations that enhance energy efficiency were included in the tax credit they would make the program more effective.

Two major highlights from Friday’s LSSU Board of Directors meeting. University trustees were encouraged by a letter from Michigan State Representative Joan Bauer that said that she intends to push for higher education — so that there are only little to no more budget cuts for the next fiscal year. Michigan State Representative Gary McDowell read the letter — Bauer also wrote that Lake State fulfills an important part in Michigan’s higher education system. McDowell acknowledged that flat funding is not the best news, but it beats an alternative where funding would have been cut by as much as 20 percent. It was also announced that the university has 120 more applications than they had at this time in 2009 and that LSSU has more than 100 additional accepted students. Interest from incoming students is highest in the science programs, especially in nursing and other health-related fields, such as athletic training. There is also high interest in the physical sciences.

The Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act takes full effect on Monday. That’s the law where drivers in Ontario can face fines of up to 500 dollars if they are caught using a prohibited hand-held device while they are behind the wheel. Drivers can face heavier fines, a charge of careless driving, six demerit points and a suspended licence if they place others at risk. If convicted of dangerous driving, affected motorists face a fine of two thousand dollars and a maximum sentence of five years in jail. Since the law was first announced last October, there was a grace period to educate motorists about the new legislation — there have been 64 charges laid and more than 32 hundred warnings issued by the O-P-P.

The Sault Star is reporting that a Superior Court judge has thrown out a multi-million lawsuit against the City of Sault Ste. Marie. Former Gateway project developer Phillip Garforth alleged in the statement that the city did not fulfill its obligation under the contractual agreement duly signed by all parties, suing the city and parties associated with the failed Gateway project for 60 million dollars. The judge had accepted arguments from the defence that a statement of claim filed in November did not have a factual background to it, adding that Garforth needed to go through a process of issuing a statement and serving everybody. In his decision, the judge awarded 25 hundred to each defendant, including all 12 city councillors, city C-A-O Joe Fratesi and assistant city solicitor Nuala Kenny. City Council passed a resolution two years ago to end an agreement with Garforth to develop a tourist destination on 15 acres of waterfront property — nothing has been done since a ceremony involving Garforth and municipal representatives in the spring of 2006.

The city’s largest employer launched their new blog today. ‘Steel Spot’ is intended to keep in touch with Essar Steel Algoma employees and the broader community. The blog is being used for daily reports of five local Essar families during their trip to India — they will learn more about India and Essar Global during the next two weeks.

Sault M-P-P David Orazietti added his two cents in reaction to yesterday’s announcement of an ‘agreement in principle’ to keep the Huron Central rail line between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury operating beyond this summer. Orazietti says he has been working for two years with provincial ministers of energy, infrastructure and transportation, as well as their staff and local officials on resolving the matter and will continue to do so. Orazietti made the announcement last September that the McGuinty government would support the city and local industry with a 1.5 million dollar investment to upgrade commercial rail service between the Sault and Sudbury.

There are a few leadup events for curling fans prior to tomorrow’s opening ceremonies for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. A skills competition involving all of the Scotties competitors will be held this afternoon at the Essar Centre as the event is free to the public. For those looking for entertainment, the Heart Stop Lounge will be opening tonight at 7 at the Sault Curlinng Club. Sandra Randa is the chair of the host commitee and she says the event will be reaching out to our young people as school kids will be attending morning draws during the week. Randa says counting all the ticket packages sold for the event they have sold about 45-thousand seats. Capacity at the Essar Centre for each draw is around 39-hundred and there are 3 draws per day.