Community Leader Ernie White has passed away Thursday after a lengthly battle with cancer .


A longtime member of Tisdale and Timmins City Council. White was an Alderman and part of the first council after almalgamation in 1972.


White was also a longtime member of the Timmins business commuinty. Ernie White was 79.


As per his request, a private funeral will be held at Stinson Funeral Home in South Porcupine.

By: Jessica Castonguay

The city is in their first stages of transforming MacLean drive, from Victoria to J. V. Bonhomme, into a four lane road with sidewalks and a possible bike lane.

Although, construction won’t begin until next year, City Engineer Luc Duval said, presently they’re looking into the design of the road.

Duval said, the reason why they’ve taken a look at MacLean drive is because of the increase in traffic and pedestrians on the street.

He added there is a possibility of bike lanes because of near by bike trails on the road.

The motion is currently being considered by city council and public works.

An early morning collision involving a Brinks armoured tractor trailer on Hwy 11 south of Ramore spilled millions of dollars worth of toonies and loonies across the highway.

Both occupants of the armoured vehicle were seriously injured and were taken to hospital in life threatening condition.

The original collision led to a series of chain reaction collisions involving two separate tractor trailers and a mini van. One of the tractor trailers was carrying a large shipment of candies, which also added to the “debris field.”

The passenger of the mini van was not injured and the drivers of the other two trucks suffered minor injuries.

Large magnets are being brought onto the scene to help with collecting the coins and officers are standing guard over the scene to keep coin scavengers away.

The OPP expects Hwy 11 will remain closed for a number of hours.

Hwy 101 remains open for east-west traffic.

It is recommended that south bound or cross country traffic use Hwy 655 to Timmins and then continue south to Sudbury on Hwy 144.

The opposite route is recommended for north bound traffic or west bound cross country traffic.

By Jessica Castonguay

Timmins city council is looking at putting a four-way stop at the Preston and Commercial Ave. intersection because of safety concerns.

In the past year, there were two major accidents at the intersection that had Ward 5, Councillor Steven Black concerned about students crossing the street to get to school, and for motorists passing through.

The four-way stop will increase safety for both students and drivers passing by, councillor Black said.

Public workers and city engineers are currently assessing the viability of the four-way stop. The motion is coming back to council at the next committee meeting on Monday.

By Tom Parisi

With new of the divestment of the ONTC, northern mayors are perparing for a long battle wit the McGuinty government.

Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren is one of the mayors belonging to FONOM who will look to change the governments mind.

“We feel there need sto be a lot of lobbying in an effort to try and rectifiy this tragedy the government as commited.”

Councillor Michael Doody gave an inspired speech saying, he feels the government has abandoned Northern Ontario.

“Almost 1000 jobs will be lost in the northeast alone, I’ll be backing this council and the mayor in any endeavor we take on to try and get this essential service back on track.”

Doody added, it’s not just big businesses who will lose money but the small ones who depend on rails to get the job done.

“The Ring of Fire is one thing but what about the small businesses depending on rail exports, what are they gonna do. I can’t imagine this news will sit well with the company looking to settle in nortehrn Ontario for the Ring of Fire and the new Ferrochrom plant, this is an ill advised move.”

Laughren aggreed and said we need to take action.

“I’ll be meeting with the other mayors shortly and hope to resolve this issue sooner than later, because it’s not going away and this should’ve never happened.”

The mood around the council table echoed the mayor’s sentiments with all of them in agreement to take further action.

By: Christina Hajjar

It’s that time of year when wildlife starts making their way onto and next to area highways, especially during dusk and dawn.

Ontario Provincial Police Constable Marc Depatie told EZ Rock it’s mostly bear and moose that emerge, but any wildlife can emerge as the melt begins.

“You have to slow down and another recommendation we make is to enlist the help of your passengers, have them be your spotters while you are driving.” He said.

“When approached by a motor vehicle their reactions can’t be predicted so you should slow down, come to a complete stop if you aniticipate the animal is going to cross your path.”

He added it’s always a good idea to put your four ways on to alert motorists behind you and those coming towards you.

The Ontario Government has announced they will begin the divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci made the announcement in Sudbury, says the government has tried to make it viable entity since 2003, but it is no longer affordable.

A new commission has been assembled to look at acquiring some or all of the business lines with the ONTC. The new board has been given a mandate to ensure ongoing operation of the Polar Bear Express, cosolidate the Ferry service between Moosonee and Moose Factory.
They will also begin to teder bus services for existing bus routes.

Train Service between Cochrane and Toronto will also be replaced by an enhanced Bus Service. The announcement did come with a guarentee that it will be business as usual, as the government looks at redeployment options.

By Tom Parisi

The De Beers Victor Mine is donating a 1.14 carat diamond to the TDH Foundation for their upcoming Spring Ball.

The nearly $13,000 diamond is only one of the many prizes available at this year’s event, ranging from weekend getaways from Porter Airlines to cash donations.

Along with the diamond, Cousineau Fine Jewellery is donating a $1,200 setting for the stone.

Owner Mike Cousineau said he’s always happy to help the Foundation.

“It’s my third year participating in the event and it’s a great way to give back to the community.”

The proceeds from the Spring Ball will help purchase two new xray machines for the Timmins and District Hospital which provide nearly 36,000 xray per year in Timmins alone.

The draw for the diamond ring or pendant will be May 5th at the Spring Ball at the Days Inn.

By Jessica Castonguay

The upper mattagami river water management committee is issuing a flood watch for the mattagami and porcupine watersheds.

the committee says, due to the unseasonable warmth the snow is melting faster than normal increasing the risk of flooding.

the city is reminding you to have a plan in case a flood occures and to not let children play near rivers and lakes because of poor ice conditions.

The TDH fundraiser Face Off For Funds is looking for more teams.

Currently, just over half of the 48 required teams have entered to playing the 24 hour hockey extravagenza.

Executive Director of the TDH Foundation Jean Pierre Nadon says they want to try and turn this inagural event into a fundraiser like the success of the Road Runner Relay borught in so many years in a row.

To register for the event, teams or captains can contact the TDH Auxillary office at 705-360-6039, or visit their website at tadhfoundation.com

All funds raised in the Face Off For Funds Campaign will go directly into the TDH Emergency room.