Payne Sentenced To 90 Days

A Thunder Bay man is going to jail after being sentenced for possessing child pornography.  Forty six year old Michael Payne has been sentenced to 90 days in jail and one year probation   In court Monday it was revealed there were almost 18 hundred images on a computer that police seized at the time of his arrest.

More Building Permits For July

 City Hall is reporting a number of new building permits issued in July.  They include a new office and retail space on  Waterloo Street between Cumming Street and the Tim Horton's.   Officials say there will be three buildings on the site but it's not known what businesses they will be including. Work is already underway.  The Fort William Clinic has also received a permit for its new clinic on Golf Links Road.

The Mystery Remains...Who Killed Shannon Hogan?

If police have any leads in their latest murder investigation they remain tight lipped about it.   For now the death of 30 year old Shannon Hogan remains unsolved almost one month after she was found early in the morning, seriously injured behind a Lake Street house.   Police have not released the cause of her death.   It's the second murder of 2013.

Library Out With Strat Plan

The public library is out with its strategic plan for the next three years.   Chief Librarian John Pateman says it's now available online and they are hoping for your input.  He says they are setting up a community action panel which will get the public's views on the plan's objectives.   While not mentioning a new central library by name, Pateman did say that the plan's directions for innovation and change  could provide for some "interesting developments in the future."   You can view the document at this LINK

NAN Chiefs Meet This Week

The 49 chiefs of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation are meeting this week in Kasabonika Lake.   They're holding their annual conference.   Topics to be discussed this year include treaties, justice, education and policing.

Wright To Oversee FedNor

Mark Wright

The transition from MP to Minister of State continues for Kenora's Greg Rickford.
Rickford has been busy being briefed on his new duties as Minister of Science and Technology and Minister responsible for FedNor. Rickford says that includes the hiring of new staff including Thunder Bay's Mark Wright who will oversee Fednor

More ELA Alarm Bells

The transfer of the Experimental Lakes Area east of Vermillion Bay continues to hit road blocks.  The government had plans to keep research uninterrupted this year while it handed the area to private hands. Peter Kirby is with the group Save ELA and says that the delay has halted research at the facility. Kirby also says the science team that ran the ELA is moving onto other jobs and might not be able to come back.

Girls Get Dirty To Fight Cancer

An overwhelming response to a weekend charity event has organizers already planning next year's Dirty Girl Mud Run. It was held in Oliver-Paipoonge to raise money for the local Canadian Cancer Society. The first time event collected 200 thousand dollars with the help of 750 participants.

Tournment Raises Big $

Officials at the George Jeffery Children's Centre are still basking in the glow of a successful golf tournament.   The second Patrick Sharp Tourney raked in an impressive 115 thousand dollars for the organization. 

One Dead In Canoe Accident

One man is dead following a canoe accident on Lake Superior at Pukaskwa National Park. The OPP say two men were canoeing on Saturday when their canoe capsized, resulting in one man drowning. Officials say the other man managed to swim safely to shore.

Another Quiet Day For The MNR

The forest fire hazard in the Northwest Region remains low to moderate.   The Ministry of Natural Resources says there were no new fires reported today but that they were checking into a report of one in the Elsie Lake area.  There are 22 active fires in the region and 20 of those are being monitored. The MNR says the forest fire situation remains relatively quiet.

Hobbs Happy With Economic Prediction

Thunder Bay's mayor is happy about the summer report from the Conference Board of Canada.  The non profit research group says our city is expected to show a 1 per cent growth this year.  Keith Hobbs says it jives with another report from the organization this year which said we were one of the fastest growing cities in Canada.  Hobbs believes there's potential to show even stronger growth than what the Conference Board has predicted.

Swimming Advisory Lifted

It's safe to swim at Chippewa Park again. Earlier this week the Health Unit issued a swimming advisory for the Sandy and Main Beaches because of high E-coli bacteria levels. However after several tests, officials have now lifted that advisory.

RCMP Reopening NWO Cold Case

The RCMP’s historical case unit will conduct a search of the Sakimay First Nation in Saskatchewan looking for remains or evidence in the death of a Kenora area man who vanished 10 years ago. About 25 people, including RCMP officers, civilian employees of the force and volunteers, are combing through a wooded area on the reserve. Robin Cocks, who was in his mid-30s, vanished in 2003 but his skull was found in the area on April 13, 2012. Cocks was born Robin Timothy Jamieson and was originally from the Dalles First Nation, before being adopted. He was believed to be hitchhiking to Vancouver when he vanished.

Ruberto Asking For Pet Limit

Councillor Aldo Ruberto wants to limit the number of pets people can have in their homes.   Ruberto says as it stands now you can have as many pets as you want and in some cases it's causing big problems, such as the hoarding of animals.  Ruberto is asking his fellow councillors to support his proposal to get city staff working on a new pet by-law

Police Update Transport Mishap

A 58 year old transport truck driver from Quebec is injured as the result of yesterdays highway rollover on the Trans Canada near Marathon.  Police say the man was hauling a load of wood chips when his rig hit a rock cut.  They say they have not completed their investigation into the incident.

City Jobless Rate Drops

Only a slight drop for the unemployment rate in Thunder Bay.  Statistics Canada says the jobless rate in the city last month was an even 6 per cent...compared to 6.1 per cent in June.  That's still more than one per cent better that the national unemployment rate of 7.2 per cent. 

Resale Housing Market Offsets New Starts

More new houses and apartments are being build in Thunder Bay this year that last. Warren Philp of Canada Mortgage and Housing says that there has been a 30 per cent increase in the total number of new projects so far this year compared to last, but that isn't enough to fill the void because of a tight resale market. So far this year there has been a 5 per cent drop in the number of single family home starts compared to last year.

Firefighter Injured In Blaze

One firefighter is recovering from minor injuries following a fire at Northwood Park Plaza.  Crews were called to the scene just before 8 o'clock last night with smoke coming from the roof of the building.  Workers had been using torches to melt tar on the roof of the mall earlier in the day.  The firefighter, who fell off a ladder battling the blaze, was treated at hospital and released.   

Still A Slow Fire Season

The Ministry of Natural Ressources is reporting one new fire in the Northwest Region. Nipigon District Fire Number 61 was reported as a grass fire on the side of Highway 17 west of Nipigon. FireRangers from Thunder Bay District responded and put the fire out by the afternoon. Red Lake District Fire Number 24 has also been declared out. This was a lightning-caused fire that started July 02 and burned an area of 300 hectares. It was located about 40 kilometres northwest of Red Lake.