Local RN's recognized

100 select Registered Nurses at the Health Sciences Centre now have their skills recognized. They've been able to obtain a certification from the Canadian Nurses Association. The hospitals Chief Nursing Executive Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott says it's a great achievement.  Crocker-Ellacott says it helps create a higher level of excellence for the hospital.

Local woman to get M.S. Liberation Therapy

A Thunder Bay woman with M.S. is going to Egypt next month for the controversial Liberation Therapy.  39 year old Elizabeth Tambakis has had the disease for several years and is getting progressively worse according to her husband Nick Tambakis.  He's upset the treatment isn't available in Canada.  It involves an operation to unblock blood veins in the neck

Virtual Tour of Waterfront

The City of Thunder Bay is providing a look into the future of the finished Prince Arthur landing.  A virtual tour is available on the city's website .  Waterfront Development Manager Katherine Dugmore says they're also showcasing the video at an open house this afternoon at Pier 3.  Another video is expected to be released at Christmas and looks at the finished public buildings.

Foundation kicks off raffle

The Regional Health Science's Foundation is back with it's yearly raffle. Spokesperson Tracie Smith says it looks to be another good year for the fundraiser. The winner gets 10 thousand dollars as does the foundation. To date the raffle has netted the Foundation 95 thousand dollars. The draw takes place December 23rd

60 year old dies in highway collision

One man is dead after a two vehicle collision near Geraldton.  James O'Brien of Bowmanville died when his pickup truck collided with a commercial vehicle on highway 11 just before 5:30 yesterday afternoon.  The driver of the commercial vehicle is charged with driving without a license and having an expired insurance card.

City police run vehicle safety blitz

Thunder Bay police have taken 18 vehicles off the road after a vehicle safety blitz.  Officers targeted commercial vehicles Tuesday and Wednesday and inspected more than 50.  Officials say 13 charges were handed out two including suspended drivers.  With winter coming officers say they will shift their focus to inspecting "Winter Beaters".

Crime dominates talks in mayoral debate

Crime continues to dominate discussion in the Mayor's election race.  Colin Burridge says the city needs to enforce a curfew in the evening and offer more foot patrols.  Frank Pullia feels the city needs to address the social issues and notes having more police doesn't necessarily help stop crime from happening.  Meanwhile, Lynn Peterson feels the crime council will help reduce the city's crime rate. Keith Hobbs, and Jeff Irwin also took part in last night's mayoral debate. 

YPN Debate tackles doctor recruitment and youth out migration

Keeping doctors working in the city was one of the questions posed last night at the Young Professional Network's Mayoral debate.  Colin Burridge feels if we improve our tourism industry we'll retain more doctors.  Meanwhile, Frank Pullia says the answer lies in quality of life. Another topic of discussion included how the city can stop youth out migration.  Lynn Peterson, Keith Hobbs and Jeff Irwin also took part in the debate.

YPN Mayoral Debate welcomes young and old

The Young Professional Network's Mayoral Debate saw a mix of young and old in attendance. Jeff Irwin, Colin Burridge, Lynn Peterson, and Keith Hobbs took part in one of the last debates before the municipal election.  A pundits table discussion of how each candidate responded was held after the debate.

Bombardier unveils "The Rocket"

The public got a glimpse of the new Toronto Transit Commission subway cars known at "The Rocket". They were built by Bombardier in Thunder Bay. Company General Manager Claude Gingras says this contract has meant security for the plant and for the local economy. The unveiling took place at the Downsview subway station in Toronto.

Chamber is election ready

The Chamber of Commerce is helping you stay informed about the municipal election.   It's posted the results of it's candidate survey on the Chamber website.   President Harold Wilson says neither he nor the chamber will be endorsing any candidate.   He says however, he is disappointed some candidates didn't participate.

NOSM strikes back

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is making it's offer to it's striking employees public. School officials say that they are disappointed the OPSEU staff voted to reject a tentative agreement this week. Dean Roger Strasser says the negotiating team is confused about the reason the members had for turning thumbs down to the deal.  NOSM has posted the offer made to the workers on the school's website NOSM.ca

City may regulate student room rental

The first steps are being taken to start licencing home owners who rent rooms to students.  The city's By-Law Enforcement Manager Ron Bourret says they want to have some sort of regulations placed on the practice.    Bourret says in addition to a licence fee, there would also be surprise inspections.  He hopes to have a draft by-law before council by the spring.

College welcomes Chinese educators

Confederation College is getting a stamp of approval from a school in China it's partnering with. Con College is offering it's Hospitality program to 400 students there. President Pat Lang says as part of the process they are hosting a couple of Chinese school officials.  Lang says it's a chance for them to examine the program where it originates.

Transit vote will go tomorrow

We'll find out tomorrow if the Amalgamated Transit Union will accept the city's tentative contract.  Two ratification votes will be held at the CEP Hall at 10 o'clock and again at 7 Friday.  Union Spokesperson Charlie Brown says they are recommending members accept the deal. 

Lac Des Iles Mine reopens

Almost 200 people are happily back at work at the Lac Des Iles mine.  After sitting idle since October 2008 the operation was recently restarted and the miners and various other contractors are back at work.  North American Palladium held a grand reopening event yesterday.

McFadden takes a shot at the MTO

Thunder Bay's airport manager is complaining about the road construction around the airport entrance. There will be some intensive work taking place there this week during daytime hours. However Scott McFadden says he would have preferred that the Ministry of Transport conduct the work when the airport isn't so busy. As it stands, the current construction means travellers will be facing delays getting to the terminal

Province loans local developer 1.8 million

The province is providing a 1.8 million dollar loan towards converting the old McKellar Hospital.   MPP Bill Mauro says the new 100 unit McKellar Place seniors home is designed to ease the pressure on other facilities in the city including the Regional Health Sciences Centre.  He says the demand for long term space is so great that  75 of the 100 beds at the future McKellar Place are already spoken for.Thunder Bay's Habib Enterprises is doing the work on the project.

Horizon to move quickly on wind farm

Work could start as early as 6 months from now to erect the new wind turbines on the Nor' Wester Mountains. Horizon spokesperson Nhung Nguyen says now that the city has approved the lease agreement they are confident the provincial approval process will move rapidly

Council votes in favour of lease with Horizon

City Council has decided to sign a lease option with Horizon Wind.
The final vote was seven to five in favour of the wind farm project.
Councillor Rebecca Johnson voted for the project and says it's about the City's future. Neebing Ward Councillor Linda Rydholm says it's in the Provincial Government's hands, and notes no work can occur on the mountain until the Provincial government gives its approval. Linda Rydholm, Frank Pullia, Aldo Roberto, Joe Virdiramo and Mark Bentz voted against signing the lease. Norwester Escarpment Protection Committee President Irene Bond says they're disappointed, but they're not giving up the fight.  Meanwhile MPP Bill Mauro is taking a hands off approach when it comes to the project. While he says he has never fully agreed with the site for the proposed farm, he says his hands are tied because it was a private deal made by the city with city land.  Mauro says the environmental process is the next step and has to be honoured.  He adds that the process won't be politically interfered with.