Mauro Wants To Expand Bear Hunt

Thunder Bay MPP Bill Mauro is trying to expand the province's northern bear hunt.    Mauro says his private members bill at Queens Park is designed to help reduce the nuisance bear population.  He says there has been an increased concern about nuisance bears and the dangers that poses.  Mauro hopes other parties support his proposal so it can pass into law.

NAN Releases Residential School Curriculum

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is out with its school history curriculum which focuses on the residential school experience in Canada.  Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler says they hope that the local school boards decide to teach it to their students.    NAN also hopes to touch base with the Ministry of Education in an effort to have the curriculum taught across the province. Fiddler adds when you teach students the full history of residential schools, you can't go wrong.

Licence Renewal Now Available Online

Motorists in Northwestern Ontario will now be able to renew their drivers licences on the Internet. Now by going to ServiceOntario.ca, you can use your existing photos on your licence for an additional 5-years. Drivers can also get licence plate stickers, driver abstracts and other products in the same transaction. Ontario becomes the first province in Canada to offer the online-service.

Manhunt In Westfort

We have a developing story to report ...Police are searching for a man in the Westfort area following a short car chase this morning.  They say that a driver wanted for questioning about an earlier accident sped off when police spotted his vehicle in westfort.   That resulted in the vehicle crashing at the corner of Mountdale and Gore.   Police are still looking for a suspect.

Students To Sample Local Food

 Public high schools students in Thunder Bay will be getting local food in their cafeterias.  It's a pilot project to allow students the chance to sample the food that is grown and produced at local farms.  The experiment runs four times at each public high school until November 7th.   After that the results will be assessed.

Stabbing In Dryden

A Dryden man has been treated for multiple stab wounds following an attack last night in that city. Police were called to deal with a domestic dispute around 10:15.  They say the 21-year-old woman stabbed her partner four times.  She is being held in custody and no names have been released.

Local Students Score Well On Literacy

Thunder Bay's high school students can hold their own compared to their provincial peers when it comes to reading skills.  The latest literacy test results from the province's Education Accountability Office show the catholic school board students who successfully completed testing scored an average of 88 per cent compared to the province wide standard of 82 per cent.  Public board students scored an average of 80 per cent on testing.

EQAO Math Results Favour Catholic Board

Grade nine students in the catholic school system in Thunder Bay are operating ahead of their public school counterparts in mathematics.  The latest results from the province's Education, Quality and Accountability Office show that in academic math students in the catholic board scored an average of 85 per cent compared to 80 per cent in the public system.    For applied math the catholic students scored an average 52 per cent compared to 38 per cent for the public board.

Tough Night For Police Officers

A 47-year old Thunder Bay man is facing charges of resisting arrest and breach of recognizance following an incident last night that sent a City police officer to hospital with a leg injury.  The arrest took place on May Street just before midnight.  In a second incident, an officer was sent to hospital suffering from facial injuries that required stitches.  He was issuing a ticket to a 30-year old male on Algoma Street just after midnight.  The officer was able to return to duty after being released from hospital.    

Visitor Restrictions On At Roseview

There are visitor restrictions on at Roseview Manor.   Health officials say it's because of a respiratory illness at the seniors care home.  They say that 6 staff and 6 residents are affected.  It's not known how long the visitor sanctions will be in effect.

TCP Consults T.Bay Residents

Mixed reaction to the TransCanada Pipeline's Energy East project. The last stop on their consultation tour of Northwestern Ontario was held Tuesday night at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. Eugene Lefrancois took in the public information session and says he's in favour of the project as long as they do it right and protect the environment.  Several residents who were concerned about the project rallied outside the auditorium.  If approved the project will see Alberta oil sent to the East Coast.

Inmates Safe After Jail Fire

No one is hurt after a dryer fire at the District Jail on McDougall Street Tuesday afternoon.  Platoon Chief Dave Long says it was a small blaze but the inmates had to be taken to a safe place in the institution.  It's thought that dryer lint could have been the cause.

Woman Charged With Stealing Lotto Tickets

The OPP are charging a 56 year old woman with theft under 5-thousand dollars after police say lottery tickets and tobacco products were stolen from a convenience store in Thunder Bay.  OPP say Karen Ruberto was employed as a clerk at the convenience store.  The accused will appear in court on November 29th.

Children's Centre Gets Cash

The Children's Centre of Thunder Bay is getting almost 25-thousand dollars from the Canadian Women's Foundation.  The charity is donating the money to the local organization for their work in supporting teen girls.

Lawyer Says Sewage Plant Shouldn't Have Failed

The lawyer leading a class action lawsuit against the City over the Spring 2012 flood says they're ready for the case to proceed.  Watkins Law's Sandy Zaitzeff says they didn't approach this 300 million dollar lawsuit lightly, they've brought in a panel of experts to review the local sewage plant and the events that lead up to the storm.  The City and Watkins Law will spend the next 12 months reviewing each other's information. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Police Investigating Suspicious Death

Thunder Bay police say they are looking into what they believe is the suspicious death of a female. They say that her body was found in a residence on the 200 block of South Archibald street at around 6:20 this morning.   The police have secured the area and are asking for any public help in their probe.

LU Outpost Offers Pregnancy Tests

Lakehead University's Outpost bar is the first in Canada to offer pregnancy tests in their bathroom dispensers.  The purpose is to help prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.  The initiative starts today and they hope to have more local bars get on board and offer pregnancy tests.  Tests will cost 3 dollars.

Hobson Sentenced For Marion Murder

A Thunder Bay man must spend at least 15 years behind bars for the 2009 murder of Edgar Marion.   In Superior Court this morning Leif Hobson was given life in prison for the beating death of the 65 year old man.    Hobson's lawyer Gil Labine says his client has deep remorse for his actions. Hobson's sentence also includes time for burning Marion's body and for setting his basement apartment on fire.  He will be serving his sentence in a British Columbia prison.

Former Rangers Want Program Back

Alumni with the former Ontario Rangers program are bringing their fight to restore the program directly to Queen's Park today.  They are holding a lobby day in hopes to convincing MPP's to support their cause.  The program ran in Sioux Lookout, Ignace and Quetico Provincial Park.  Spokesperson Martin Dubec says they want MPP's to hear directly from those who've benefited.  The program and camps were axed last fall.

Human Rights Training Wraps Up Today

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is wrapping up a two day training session today.  Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall says during her time in the City she heard several issues around disability rights. Over 100 people are taking part in a full day training session looking at aboriginal issues as well as housing rights.