Temagami News

Temagami Remembers

Temagami veterans and those gathered at the Royal Canadian Legion cenotaph paused for 2 minutes of silence today to remember those who paid the supreme sacrifice to keep our country free. The ceremony included the traditional O Canada opening, a message and prayer from Mr. Fred Heathcote, our local Anglican minister, laying of the wreaths, and poems and a short story composed by some of the local schoolchildren from Temagami Public School. We would also like to extend our thanks to those who fought for our freedom during such difficult times.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Thursday, November 11, 2004 at 21:39

Lunar Eclipse in Temagami

Temagami was treated to another beautiful night display Wednesday, October 27th when the lunar eclipse took place. Although cloudy during the day, the nighttime sky cleared up and allowed us to view the lunar eclipse in action. Below are two of the photos I took during the event.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Sunday, October 31, 2004 at 15:52

Temagami Wild Game Dinner still a GO!

The annual Wild Game Dinner and Silent Auction, a major fundraiser for the Temagami Chamber of Commerce is planned for November 20, 2004. All the plans are set, and the event will occur at the Temagami Arena. Each year the Temagami Chamber of Commerce puts on a grand event that includes a dazzling array of wild game dishes that delight the visitors to the event. It's a great place for those that enjoy trying new things, and there are plenty of choices for the less adventurous.

Following the dinner, a silent auction is held, where donations made to the Chamber of Commerce are auctioned off to help raise money that the Chamber then uses to promote tourism in the area. Not only is it a fun event that all can enjoy, but it helps the community out by trying to generate more tourist income in the area.

Thanks to the volunteers from the Temagami Chamber of Commerce that help make this event a success each year! For more information on the event, please visit http://www.temagamiinformation.com/wildgamedinner.htm.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Tuesday, October 26, 2004 at 00:21

Temagami's 911 System Active

An official 9-1-1 cutover ceremony of the Temagami 911 system was held today, Friday, September 10, 2004 at 11a.m. at the Temagami Station. Officials attending were Alex Ivanov, Staff Sergeant with the OPP, Claire Smerdon, council representitive for the Municipality of Temagami, Daniel Ranich, 9-1-1 Service Bell Canada, Tricia Marshall, Production Manager from Ontera, MP Anthony Rota, Nipissing/Temiskaming Riding, Debra Smith, 9-1-1 Project Co-ordinator, and Joan Broughton, past councillor who made the inaugural call.

More details from speeches to follow.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Friday, September 10, 2004 at 23:33

Man drowns in Cross Lake

Justin Cooper, 24, from Sundridge drowned Thursday on Cross Lake, which is accessible from Lake Temagami through the south arm. Cooper and another friend, 23, from Sundridge swam after their boat that had floated away from shore. The friend made the swim back to their island campsite and was stranded there until Friday when he hailed a passing boat.

Police marine units, a helicopter, and search and recovery officers arrived at the scene Saturday. The body was recovered around 5 p.m. Sunday by police divers. - Gleaned from the North Bay Nugget

This sober event is a reminder to always respect the water. Don't try to swim distances out of your skill level, and be sure to have safety measures in place if you are swimming a great distance in water depths over your head. Friends nearby with the ability to rescue you, or swimming with a life preserver, can easily save your life if you run into problems like a leg cramp, or are overcome by waves.

As the fall progresses, be sure not to overload your boat or canoe when you travel Lake Temagami and other area lakes. While the water temperature right now isn't too bad, it won't be long before hypothermia will be a risk to face as well, and being stranded in the water for more than a few minutes could be deadly.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Wednesday, September 08, 2004 at 13:12

Peregrine Falcon sightings.

I was lucky enough this weekend to spot a peregrine falcon for the second time in the last two weeks. I got to see the peregrine work it's way towards town along the shoreline above Leisure Island. Alerted by a sharp cry overhead, I looked up to see the falcon making tight circles over the trees. A short while later, I spotted it again working it's way back along the shoreline away from town. The previous sighting involved a falcon with a small bird in it's talons perched in a tree. So if you hear a sharp cry from the skies around Temagami, be sure to look up, you might be in for a treat and spot a falcon.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Tuesday, August 03, 2004 at 23:47

Fire at Camp Wanapitei

A report recieved from a participant that helped with the Wanapitei generator fire last week. It's always great to hear of people working together to help in a time of crisis.

"On Wednesday, July 28th in the mid-morning (I think around 11:00 but I'm not sure) we heard an air horn coming from Camp Wanapitei, we assumed it was the camp calling all of the kids in because we knew that most of them had been arriving from their various treks and that they bring them in, in a certain order... but then we saw the huge cloud of black smoke billowing, so Lou and I and another guy (later identified as Karl Smith) from one of the Leisure Island houseboats went running to the camp to see if we could help.

When we got there, two of the camp counsellors were directing us to the fire which was down by the river... basically what happened is that the camp generator must of overloaded and started on fire, this led to the shed which houses it to catch fire... by the time we got anywhere near the site there were flames reaching between 15 to 20 feet. The camp counsellors first concern was for the kids... once it was confirmed that all of the kids were off camp property (luckily they were all out practising) then all focus was on the fire.

Two young guys were dousing it with a hose and one was even using buckets trying to contain it... there was a great concern because one of the head counsellors informed us that there were gas cans in the shed as well as a large propane tank nearby. Of course, we were very worried about an explosion. Lou later told me that the other Leisure Island guy (who luckily was a volunteer fire person) got there first and was helping to instruct the counsellors what to do... he had heard the gas tanks pop so he figured that the danger from that was over however there was still the matter of the propane tank. So Lou and the other guy started instructing the young adult with the hose to douse the tank because the building was already collapsing onto itself and was a lost cause. It did collapse and luckily that was as far as it went although we all had to stay clear of the power lines.

Meanwhile, I decided that I was no use at the site so I helped another counsellor move as much of the medical supplies up to the dining room cabin which was the designated "safe" zone, the hospital was down by the river - a little too close to the fire - and "Lord forbid" if something did blow, we'd need all the medical supplies we could handle. By then the head counsellor had called in to emergency services. Shortly after, I noticed that the smoke was not black anymore and then we saw all the guys come walking up the path. The fire was controlled, just smouldering and the few counsellors still down there were dousing it to stop it from re-igniting.

End result was a camp without a generator, a large mess to clean up and some very excited people. I am grateful that everything went alright considering... when I first saw those flames all that raced through my mind was a forest fire, I remember the devastation that happened a number of years ago and it terrified me to think that it could happen again so easily.

I can say that most of the counsellors acted with proper speed and were grounded in what they needed to do, some were shaken obviously but I think they handled it really well.

Trish Lima - Leisure Island Houseboat #6"

Posted by Mike Drenth on Tuesday, August 03, 2004 at 23:40

Temagami Fireworks Display

Visitors to the town of Temagami were treated to a beautiful display of fireworks tonight that lit the lake and Caribou Moutain in a variety of colors and left brief fiery patterns in the night sky. The annual event is usually scheduled to mark the grand finale to the Canada Day Celebrations in July, but was postponed to the Civic Holiday weekend due to rain this year. Keep checking back in the photo galleries section for a mini-gallery of some of the highlights of the show. Both the lit up fire tower (on the bottom right) and some of the town lights (on the bottom left) are visible in the photo below.

Posted by Mike Drenth on Sunday, August 01, 2004 at 23:00