Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Transport mishap on Oliver Road

No one is hurt after a transport truck somehow landed in the ditch on Oliver Road just metres from the Thunder Bay Expressway Tuesday evening. Oliver Road wasn't closed but police were directing traffic around the mishap.

New industry for our waterfront.

A mining executive, who has a company in Thunder Bay, is going to build a multi million dollar plant to process iron ore on property at the end of Maureen Street. Pierre Gagne of Rockex Mining, hopes to use the facility to process what his company mines in the northwest and to ship it to eastern and western Canada as well as south to the United States.  Gagne says clean up work on the property is underway and he hopes to be shipping ore in a couple of years.

Syrian situation still tense

The bloodshed in Syria could be tailing off but it's still unclear if a UN proposed ceasefire will stop the fighting.  Lakehead University Political Science Professor Laure Paquette says the Bashar Assad regime is still keeping forces near troubled areas but has sent troops in calm areas back to base.  She says that could be a move to rotate fresh resupplied forces into the troubles areas like Homs.  Paquette says Assad is running out of time and at best will have to accept Democratic reforms or become a wealthy ex-pat in exile.

Agency's demise, "no surprise"

The federal government is scrapping an agency called Rights and Democracy. MP Bruce Hyer's advisor Andy Blair has followed the organization for years and says he's not surprised by the move,  saying the Harper government has "had it in" for the agency for years.  He says that included appointing board members that weren't supported by the rest of the board or the staff,  creating a lot of "bad blood" in the institution.   The agency was created by Parliament in 1988 to promote human rights and support  democracy in other countries.

MPP tries to save tourist centres

The campaign to keep three tourist information centres in Northwestern Ontario open has been brought to Queen's Park. Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell appealed to Premier Dalton McGuinty to have a change of heart and reverse what she calls an "erroneous and misguided decision."

Changes for Chippewa

Some changes are coming to Chippewa Park this year. City Parks Manager Paul Fayrick says for starters, the roller coaster ride will be removed for safety reasons. He says it stems from an incident they had with one of the cars which needed to be repaired last season.  As well, Fayrick says they plan to demolish some of the older cabins in the tourist camp and increase the size of the RV park.

Northern Cancer Fund Golf Tournament

30 hockey players will be taking part in the annual Freedom 55 Hockey Celebrity Golf Classic at the Whitewater Golf Course this summer.  Northern Cancer Care Fund Spokesperson Glenn Craig says it's one of their biggest fundraisers.  The Staal brothers, Alex Auld, Taylor Pyatt and Mike Richards have all been invited to attend.

Lock it or lose it

If you are leaving your vehicle or house don't forget to lock it up. That's the message from Thunder Bay Police. Chief JP Levesque says it's no longer safe to leave your personal property unlocked. The reminder is a joint project from the Crime Prevention Council, Northwestern Ontario Insurance Brokers and local police.


Neebing doesn't like wind farm project

Neebing Council has issues with the proposed Horizon Wind Farm project. Mayor Ziggy Polkowski says they recently passed a resolution saying on the record that they're not in favour of the project. Polkowski notes they're concerned about the Neebing watershed.


Police deal with man on railway tracks

Thunder Bay Police say an intoxicated man is safe after he laid down in between the CP Train Tracks on Simpson Street.  The man passed out this morning and when he woke up realized a train had driven over him.  Police say he crawled away after the train passed by and noted the man had 10 inches of clearance from the front of the train.  The man was sent to the hospital as a precaution.