Damaged vehicles at airport removed

All the vehicles that were heavily damaged in last month's wind storm in the Thunder Bay Airport parking lot are accounted for and removed. Airport Manager Scott McFadden says for the most part owners were understanding, except in one instance where an owner's vehicle had to be towed away for safety reasons.  When the owner returned,  the car wasn't there which McFadden called a "difficult situation". As for repairs to the roof of the terminal building, McFadden hopes that can be completed by the end of the month.

Jobless rate falls

It appears to have been a good July for hiring in Thunder Bay.  Our jobless rate went from 6.7 percent in June to 6.2 percent last month.  That followed the trends nationally and provincially which fell to 7.2 and 7.5 respectively.

Ministry allows bridge work to resume

Work has now resumed at the site of the MacKenzie Bridge, the first time that's happened since the death of a worker at the construction site in June. Matt Blajer of the Ministry of Labour says that Ministry officials are giving the company the green light.  He says that means the company involved has complied with all the work orders it was given.

Advisory back up at Boulevard Lake

The hot weather is causing problems for people who want to cool off at the local beaches.  The Health Unit already has a swimming advisory up at the main beach at Chippewa Park and has now posted one at Sunnyside Beach at Boulevard Lake due to high bacteria levels.

High price of gold affects jewellery demand

The talk at next week's jewellery show in Toronto will be the price of gold which is over 16 hundred dollars an ounce. Thunder Bay's Dave Douglas says that price is causing many consumers to buy products made of something else adding that silver has taken the place of gold as far as jewellery goes.  Douglas says with the price of gold predicted to go higher, buying gold now is the wise choice

Weather not cooperating with MNR

The heat is on as firefighters in Northwestern Ontario continue to battle over a hundred wildfires in the region. Annemarie Piscopo of the Ministry of Natural Resource says mother nature isn't helping as there has been a minimal amount of rain this week.  Piscopo adds, the fire hazard is high to extreme at the west end of the region and moderate closer to Thunder Bay.

Syrian people won't get help from the West

Despite widespread violence in Syria, western powers are unlikely to intervene.  That's the feeling of Lakehead University Political Science Expert Laure Paquette who says there is no economic benefit for Western Powers to intervene which means the people in Syria are on their own.  There has been an increase in reports about violence, torture and imprisonment in the country over the last few days.

Environment Canada cuts could affect local weather services

Proposed personnel cuts at Environment Canada could impact local weather predicting.  The Federal Government wants to layoff 700 people at the crown agency and our Meteorologist Bill Laidlaw says cuts to radar or weather modelling services will make predicting weather in Northwestern Ontario far more difficult.

Sharp cements relationship with Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks and Patrick Sharp will be partners for the next 5 years.    The Thunder Bay native has received a nearly 30 million dollar contract extension from the NHL club.  General manager Stan Bowman calls the 29 year old Sharp one of the hockey's elite players as well as a fixture in Chicago

RFDA gets 150 K

The organization which makes sure 28 food banks in Northwestern Ontario are stocked is getting 150 thousand dollars from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Regional Food Distribution Association will use the money over one year to make necessary roof repairs and add insulation at it's Thunder Bay headquarters. The foundation says it will help to ensure the RFDA is able to continue its work.

Liberals in Kenora-Rainy River choose Leek

Liberals in Kenora-Rainy River have their candidate the October provincial election.  Emo township councillor Anthony Leek says he's ready to begin the campaign.  Leek was unopposed at last night's nomination meeting in Fort Frances

Americans here to help fight fires

The Americans are now helping us fight our forest fires in Northwestern Ontario. Ministry of Natural Resources spokesperson Paul McBay says there about 50 of them arriving in Thunder Bay and they will be deployed to areas that need them the most.

Number of forest fires now at 120

The number of forest fires in Northern Ontario sits at 120. Stephanie Pagnucco  of the Ministry of Natural Resources says a number of fires remain of concern.  They include fires near Red  Lake, Pickle Lake and Sioux Lookout.  Pagnucco says a couple of new fires also broke out in Wabakimi Provincial Park in the Thunder Bay District

Beady wants taxpayer support for Sandy Lake family

..The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation is calling for financial support for a family of the forest fire evacuees.  This week a Sandy Lake First Nation family returned home to find their house completely destroyed by fire.  Grand Chief Stan Beardy says immediate Provincial and Federal support is needed to replace the loss.

Two candidates vie for NDP nod in Kenora-RR

There's officially a race for the Provincial NDP in the Kenora-Rainy River Riding. Kenora's Robert Sinding has announced that he's seeking the nomination. He's the second person to announce an intention after Howard Hampton said he was retiring from politics

Evacuees could all be home today

If all goes as planned, the remaining forest fire evacuees in Northwestern Ontario could be home today.  About one-thousand people were still waiting to return as of yesterday afternoon. Officials hope to complete the task by the end of the day.

Our economy no longer relies soley on the US

Trade with China is keeping our economy from slipping backwards with our US neighbours.  Thunder Bay Market Expert Keith McCullough says our economy no longer relies on our southern neighbours but is surging ahead thanks to ties to China.  McCullough says our connections with China are helping post better unemployment numbers than the US. 

Tragic collision grips Thunder Bay family

A Thunder Bay family is trying to cope with an untimely loss of their little girl.  Police Spokesperson Chris Adams say the tragic irony is that a family member was behind the wheel of the SUV that ran over 2 year old Kylie McKay yesterday afternoon on North Vickers Street.  Adams says he drove home and was arrested but after further investigation it appears the driver didn't know he had hit Kylie.

ATV accident results in death

A 16 year old girl from Southern Ontario is dead following an ATV accident in Greenstone on the weekend. OPP Constable Shona Camirand says the girl was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident on Saturday evening and was unresponsive when police arrived.  The victim is identified as Arlynne Holyer of St. Catherines.  Police say she was thrown from the vehicle she was driving after it struck a fallen tree.

Hospital looking at wi-fi

The Regional Hospital says plans are in the works to have wi-fi set up by sometime in the fall.  However spokesperson Bruce Sutton says the decisions that need to be made are:  where should it be located and whether to charge for the service or not.