Investment update and arena consultation highlight meeting

City councillors get the low down Monday on how your tax dollars are being invested. Accounting manager Lynne Martin says investment advisors and managers will be there to make a presentation. Martin says councillors will hear results of how those investments performed last year.  Also Monday,  City Manager Tim Commisso will brief councillors on public consultations for a proposed new arena

Monday council agenda shortened

Monday nights meeting at City Hall won't be as long as some councillors may have feared. Because of the overwhelming agenda, the city clerks office has moved some items to next week. They include reports from the citys' Aboriginal liaison and on the low voter turnout for the last municipal election with suggestions on how it could be improved for this falls vote. That would include the possibility of online voting. Normally councillors would have had next Monday off.

Copper wire theft solved

Five men are charged after the theft of some copper wire recently.   OPP say the theft took place from a business site in the city.   Police made the arrest after they were tipped off that some copper wire was being burned by a group at the Squaw Bay Road dump on the Fort William First Nation.   About 300 pounds of the wire was recovered.   The five will be appearing in court next month to answer to charges of possession of stolen property. 

Truck goes through the ice on Lac Des Milles Lac

There's a 2008 GMC truck sitting at the bottom of Lac Des Milles Lac . OPP say that the vehicle went through the ice there. They say the driver was trying to help another person whose truck was going through the ice. As the good Samaritan tried to get closer to the stranded truck, his own went through. There were no injuries. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have been alerted.

Drug raid nets $190,000 of pot

Police now have close to 200 thousand dollars worth of marijuana out of circulation.   They raided two homes this week, located on Robertson and Heron streets.   The search resulted in the seizure of about 21 pounds of pot.   No one is in custody in connection with the bust, however police say that warrants are being sought for a 39 year old man and 37 year old woman.  Both of them are from Thunder Bay. 

Gravelle helps kick off Summer Jobs for Youth

The provincial government is telling employers now's the time to apply for subsidies to hire summer students. The provinces Summer Jobs for Youth program is back. Northern Development minister Michael Gravelle says the goal this year is to have more students hired. He says last year there were 59 hundred young people employed under the program and this year the objective is 62 hundred. Employers have until April the 30 to apply for subsidies.

City being eyed as home for a new call centre

A new call centre may be about to open up in the city. On-Line Support is a Canadian based firm and it's vice-president is John Hooper. He says a career fair at the end of the month will assess potential employees. He says they're looking to confirm that there is an available labour force here and to look for potential bilingual workers who'll be required to fill some spots. The job fair will take place at the former StarTek site in VictoriaVille Mall. There's the potential for 200 to 300 jobs.

Risley set to break harbour ice

Watch for the icebreaker Samuel Risley in the harbour starting on Friday. It will be plowing through the ice to get the port ready for the new shipping season. Andy Maillet of the Canadian Coast Guard says the Risley replaces the two American cutters that were supposed to come here. He says after they reviewed the ice conditions in the port they felt that it would be better handled by the more powerful Samuel Risley. The two American icebreakers will instead be smashing ice in Whitefish Bay.

Border Cats sign three

The Thunder Bay Border Cats have signed three players from the 2009 roster. Infielder A.J. Schugel and pitchers Garrett Yount and Drew Erwin will be returning to Thunder Bay for the upcoming Northwoods League season. The Border Cats open the season at Port Arthur Stadium June 2nd against the Duluth Huskies.

Skateboard/BMX Plaza wins provincial award

The city's Skateboard/BMX Plaza at Marina Park is now an award winner. The facility has been given the Excellence in Design award from the Ontario government. Beverly Ball of the citys' Recreation and Cultural Division calls it a huge honour. She says she's thrilled for the skateboarding community who have worked so hard to develop the park for young people. The award will be presented next month at a conference in Niagara Falls.

Warm weather trend ending

All good things must come to an end. The great weather we've experienced over the last couple weeks ends Friday when the high temperature will only reach 3 degrees. Environment Canada's Jim Prime says that cooling trend will extend into next week.  The cold spell ends a warming trend that saw a string of record temperatures that began on March 12th.

Grass fires on the rise

With the warm dry weather, Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue has had to deal with some grass fires in the city. Deputy Chief Greg Hankkio says since the beginning of March a number of fires have been started. He says in some cases it's kids setting the fires and in others it's private property owners burning grass, which is against the law. Hankkio says any burning done in the city must be in compliance with a burning permit.

Proposals now being taken for Atikokan GS

The Atikokan Generating Station is one step closer to getting itself a new lease on life. MPP Bill Mauro says a call has gone out for proposals to convert the coal fired plant to green fuel. Mauro calls it a positive economic step for the community, adding it will be the development of another industry creating employment in northwestern Ontario. The call for proposals will close in mid-May

Leon's Furniture is coming back to the city

The city is getting a new furniture store. City building supervisor Des Stolz says construction is now underway for a Leon's Furniture building and warehouse.   He says the 70 thousand square foot facility will be located at 799 Fort William Road.  Total worth of the project is estimated at 8 million dollars.  Stolz says an application was made to the city to construct the store about a month ago. No word on when it will be completed.

May Street Bridge in line for repairs

The May Street Bridge may be closed this spring and summer for repairs. That could create a major headache for city drivers. City engineering manager Pat Mauro says total closure of the bridge is being seriously considered for a couple of reasons. First, to speed up repairs and secondly,to avoid a traffic bottleneck if the construction were to take place in stages. The proposal goes to city council April 12th.

Keith Hobbs likely running for Mayor

After 33 years of service to Thunder Bay, Staff Sergeant Keith Hobbs has officially called it a career. Hobbs is officially retired from the Thunder Bay police and says his next step is running in this year's municipal election, most likely for mayor. Hobbs, who also headed the local police association, says he's confident he can make a quick transition from policing to public service.

No one hurt in Current River fire

No one is hurt following a fire in Current River Wednesday evening. The blaze was in a building that houses a day care centre at 313 Grenville. Fire Platoon Chief Manfred Rohr says the fire started in between the floors of the two story building and appears to have been accidental. He says it appears it started when a lit cigarette started a joist on fire. The owner of the day care says the business was closed at the time the fire was discovered just after 5:30.  Fire damage is confined to one small corner of the building. 

Warmer weather helps waterfront work

The warmer weather is making work easier on the city's waterfront development at Prince Arthur's Landing. Construction Supervisor Gary Wood says the unseasonable temperatures have helped workers catch up a bit on the 40 million dollar project. He says some lost time was made up, adding they're doing work now that was not scheduled to begin for a few more weeks. Wood says to watch for the contract to be awarded shortly for Pier Two landscaping.

MNR has an early bear warning

A warning from the Ministry of Natural Resources. Linda Wall of the Bear Wise program says because of the unseasonably warm weather, bears are likely to come out earlier than usual. She says they'll be scavenging for food and that could mean encountering a bruin in the city. She says it would be a wise decision to take down any bird feeders to avoid a bear coming onto your property. Wall anticipates most of the bears will be younger ones, about two years old.

Joint forces seize more drugs

Two people are in custody following a drug bust Tuesday on Rowand Street. OPP Detective Staff Sergeant Chris Lawrence says they seized about 30 thousand dollars worth of Oxycodone pills. They then went to a bank and  found 50 thousand dollars in a safety deposit box.   Lawrence says the amount of drugs seized is just a small portion of the prescription pills available illegally in the city.