Christmas at the airport=busy

Have patience at the airport if your travelling during the Christmas season. Manager Scott McFadden expects it to be busy.   McFadden says it's a good idea to arrive early and expect to wait in line.  He says being prepared for pre-screening is a good idea by not having your Christmas gifts wrapped.  Arriving early will also save you hassles.

Overjoyed it's out in the open

The Thunder Bay woman who wants to start a class action suit against the RCMP over bullying and harassment says she's glad it's all out in the open. Heli Kijanen  says it's like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders.  She says she's kept her feelings inside for so long she began to doubt whether she would ever be able to tell her side of the story.   Kijanen says she decided to take the legal route against her former employer after watching a news report on the issue

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Dog case back in court next month

The case of an alleged Current River dog mauling will be back in court in the new year. The city has laid charges against the owner of the dog that apparently killed a neighbours dog. The city's Ron Bourret says the court will hear the case next month.  Bourret says the city is not asking that the dog in question be put down

Global Sticks could reopen Jan.16th

The owner of Global Sticks says he's shooting for a reopening of his troubled popsicle stick plant  January 16th.  Reggie Nukovic says a new business plan is in place and says he's working on investor support.   He's hoping to give out more information the first week of the new year.

Government employees raise $

Ontario government employees are revelling in their fundraising success. They showed off how much they raised during this year's United Way drive. 50 offices and 1 thousand donors took part.

Mishap closes Trans Canada

No one is injured and no one is charged following a tractor trailer mishap just west of Schrieber last night.  OPP say that the driver of the truck lost control while climbing a steep snow covered road.  That caused the truck to jackknife and block the highway, closing it for 4 and a half hours

ONWA wants action

The Ontario Native Women's Association is calling for a dialogue to address sexual violence and Aboriginal women. It says there are not enough support services in First Nations communities to deal with the problem. ONWA wants the discussion to talk about what it sees as the root causes from colonization to residential schools.

Tis the season for binge drinking

Tis the season for teenagers to binge drink.  Thunder Bay's drug strategy co-ordinator Patty Hajdu says the Christmas season brings high school drinking parties.  Hajdu is asking parents to pay close attention to their kids and know what's going on in their social circle.

Christmas wrap reminder

The city is out with its yearly reminder not to put Christmas wrapping paper in with your recyclables.   They say that brightly coloured paper and foil gift wrap cannot be recycled due to the extremely high ink content of the paper.

Local lottery winner

An 18 year old city girl is 75 thousand dollars richer after winning in a scratch lottery game called It's a Wonderful Life.   Shyra Bannon-Neault says she plans to buy some nice Christmas gifts for the family and then buy a new car.

Shipping drawing to a close

The 2011 shipping season in the Port of Thunder Bay is winding down. Port Authority CEO Tim Heney says it'll extend a little later than most years. He says locks at the Welland Canal will close on December 30th and the Soo Locks in Sault St. Marie will close around January 7th. Six ships are expected to arrive in port which will spend the winter here being repaired.

Local lawyer involved in proposed harassment suit

A Thunder Bay lawyer is getting involved in a proposed class action lawsuit claiming sexual harassment against the RCMP.  Sandy Zaitzeff says he's part of the process because of a local connection to the case.  He says a Thunder Bay resident who used to work for the RCMP in British Columbia years ago came to him after the first news reports of sexual harassment at the force first surfaced.

Union gas rates going down

A nice gift of savings for Union Gas customers in Northwestern Ontario.  The Ontario Energy Board has approved changes to the price Union Gas charges its customers for natural gas.  Local residential consumers who use 26-hundred cubic meters a year will pay about 28-dollars less per year.  The changes go into effect January 1st.  Lower natural gas prices in North America are credited for the drop in price.

Mayor Brown doesn't like comparison

The Mayor of Atikokan says he's not sure why his community is being used as a comparison with the financial spending of troubled Attawapiskat First Nation.  A published report notes Atikokan's operating budget to be a third of the remote Northern community.  Dennis Brown says it's difficult to compare budgets since Atikokan doesn't have all of the same financial responsibilities as Attawapiskat.

OPP holiday RIDE stats

The number of impaired driving charges are up so far during the seasonal RIDE campaign.  The OPP in Northwestern Ontario say they have laid 31 impaired driving charges in the first three weeks of their holiday blitz.  That's up from 29 for the same period last year.  There were also five three-day suspensions issued, compared to just one in 2010.  There have also been 260 motor vehicle accidents investigated with seven involving alcohol.

3-thousand goes towards hockey tournaments

The Police Services Board is going to be putting some money towards a couple of hockey tournaments this winter.  The board is providing 1-thousand 500 dollars towards the Crime Stoppers hockey game on February 28th.  An additional 1-thousand 500 dollars is being used to put on the Law Enforcement Cub on January 20th.

Police buying Smart Board

Thunder Bay Police are spending 12 thousand dollars in money they seized from proceeds of crime. The money will go towards buying a smart board. The board will be used to improve the police services' crime mapping software.

Seized funds go towards E-ticketing system

City Police are using almost 19 thousand dollars in seized money to purchase an E-ticketing system.  Chief JP Levesque says the project will get underway in the New Year.  The ticket system is more accurate and will help keep officers out of the court room and free them up to do more police work.

Hobbs first meeting back on Police Board

It was Mayor Keith Hobbs first meeting back with the Police Services Board.  Chief JP Levesque says it was a productive meeting.  He adds they have a good working relationship and doesn't see that changing anytime soon.

Man in Motion nixes Thunder Bay visit

Rick Hansen isn't coming to Thunder Bay after all. The Man in Motion's 25th Anniversary relay will not include Hansen himself. City official Doug Henry says they found out about a month ago he wasn't coming due to some scheduling conflicts.  Henry says the city will continue with it's official celebration with a anniversary run through the city January 8th