Julius Remembers Norman LaVoie

Norman LaVoie is being remembered this week as the person who brought sports at Lakehead University to the forefront.   LaVoie, who used to head up the Kinesiology Department at LU, died on the weekend, he was 71.  Former women's basketball coach Stu Julius says LaVoie's death is affecting a lot of people having touched the lives of everyone from students to athletes.   Julius called LaVoie, a big man on a small campus.

Crews Digging Out Fire Hydrants

City crews are out on area streets trying to uncover buried fire hydrants after the recent heavy snowfall. Deputy Fire Chief Greg Hankkio says access to hydrants are vital for fire fighting operations. For those residents or businesses that have hydrants on their property they are asked to help out by removing the snow from them.

Parade Of Lights Doles Out The Cash

On the charity beat, four local organizations are reaping the benefits from the annual Parade of Lights.  The Therapeutic Riding Association, the George Jeffery Children's Centre and the Thunder Bay branches of Autism Ontario and Special Olympics Ontario are splitting the nearly 20 thousand dollars raised in last years parade.  

Counterfeit Items Concern RCMP

The RCMP are warning residents to be careful when buying what they believe to be legally registered products but then turn out to be counterfeit.  Thunder Bay Sgt. Normand Roy says the situation has already come to light here in the city where some counterfeit hockey and football jerseys were seized.     Roy says the bogus items range from T-shirts to extension cords which could post a risk to safety.

More Snow Clearing Improvements Coming

Transportation Minister Glen Murray continues to fight off criticism that snow clearing on northern highways is below standard.  In the legislature Murray said northern municipal leaders he has spoken to are happy with the 50 snowplows that have been added to the fleet and that more changes will be coming next season to improve highway snow clearing.  Murray says municipal leaders tell him winter road maintenance in the north is now "remarkable".

Snow On Roofs A "Concern"

It's a winter to remember for some homeowners.  Many have huge amounts of snow on the roofs of their houses which is cause for concern according to Ron Rost of Triad Roofing.   His advice is to use common sense and examine how much snow has accumulated and to act before a possible collapse.   Rost says the problem is more serious in some parts of the city.  He says his company has been answering up to 20 calls a day for snow removal services.  

Police Investigate Break Ins

Thunder Bay police are investigating two break ins to local businesses. Officers responded to an alarm call from The Wellness Centre in the 400 block of South Vickers at 1 am Tuesday morning, and then responded to a second alarm call shortly after 3 am at a dry cleaning business in the 400 block of South Syndicate. No suspects were present when officers arrived to both scenes, and nothing was taken.

Missing Man Found Safe

The Thunder Bay Police Service is pleased to report that Paul Groulx has been safely located.  The 28-year old man had been reported missing over the weekend.  Police would like to thank the media and public who helped assist in their investigation.  

Bingo Hall Approved

City Council is giving the go ahead to a proposed bingo hall, lounge and gaming centre on Memorial Avenue. Planning Consultant Don Manahan told council that the hall will need less parking spaces than the former Roxy's Bar that once operated on the site. There were some concerns from neighbouring businesses about parking and a meeting will be held to resolve them.

City Council Round Up

City Council is giving by-law officers the right to give a ticket to people found breaking the rules smoking in public places.  Officers will now be able to provide a ticket up to 250 dollars if someone is caught smoking on hospital grounds, or too close to a place of employment.  Developmental Services Manager Mark Smith says they will put signs up in areas where people could be fined.  Meanwhile,  Thunder Bay's animal services are similar to those of other comparable cities.  Staff delivered a report to Council about what other communities are doing about the number of animals a person is allowed to own. The report states that in several cases they found pet limit laws are not that effective since it discourages people from licensing their pets and makes enforcement difficult.

Liberal's Commitment To Mining Questioned

The Progressive Conservatives are questioning the Liberal government's commitment to mining in the province.   In the legislature Vic Fedeli said after the Victor diamond mine was developed, the province imposed a mining tax and he wonders if history could repeat itself in the Ring of Fire with a new chromite tax.   Fedeli says in 2003 Ontario was ranked number one in mining, now we are number 16.  He notes that the Far North Act has cut off half of  northern Ontario from being explored,  causing many companies to move out of the province.

Police Release Footage

City Police are releasing security camera footage of three young men they would like to talk with. Spokesperson Chris Adams says the footage comes after a vehicle was parked outside of the Target store on February 16th and was spray painted.  It is unknown if this occurrence is linked to recent vehicle spray painting incidents in the area.  

High Snow Banks Cause Worry

City Police are warning motorists about kids playing on top of high snow banks on area streets.  The banks are almost covering up stop signs around the City and Traffic Sgt. Glenn Porter says there's a real concern about kids playing on the hills. He adds it only takes a few seconds for a child to slide out in front of your vehicle.  Porter says it's also a good idea for parents to talk to their kids about the safety issues surrounding making tunnels in area snow banks.

Prof Predicts Continued Unrest In Ukraine

Don't expect an early end to the political turmoil in Ukraine.  At the moment their ousted president, Viktor  Yanukovych,  is on the run.  Lakehead University political science professor Laure Paquette says it's anyone guess about what might happen adding, the country is in uncharted waters. She believes there will be more unrest but with different people in charge.  Paquette says the risk is that the tensions will increase between the Russian speaking and Ukrainian speaking people leading to both political and economic problems.

PC's Stay Mum On Johnson

A spokesperson for the Ontario Progressive Conservative party isn't saying much about Tamara Johnson.  Johnson was removed as the PC candidate in Thunder Bay Superior North for the next provincial election.   PC spokesperson Alan Sakach won't comment on the reasons.  He says it's an internal party matter and he will not comment on someone who is no longer a candidate.  Johnson's outster comes a week and a half after she posted controversial comments on Facebook about businesses on the Fort William First Nation.

Power Outage At South Side School

All is back to normal at  St. Martin's School on Mary Street after some excitement this morning.  Omar Belisle of the Catholic School Board says the building was evacuated because of an electrical problem which caused a power outage.  Students were taken to St. Agnes Church  while officials tried to restore power.  Once that was complete the students were let back into school. There were no injuries.

Report Urges Partnerships

Ontario's Advocate for Children and Youth is urging local, provincial, federal and First Nations leadership to partner with them in order to create safer and healthier First Nations communities. In a report released today, 3 recommendations are made, including the joining of provincial, federal, First Nations Leadership and other interested organizations to take immediate action to meet the needs of First Nations youth. 

Walkers Complete Spiritual Journey

A group of First Nations adults and youth are set to arrive in Ottawa this morning, completing their 49-day spiritual journey from Attawapiskat First Nation, located at James Bay. The group of 25 individuals made the journey to draw attention to concerns with broken treaties, land and water protection, and human rights issues. The 1700 km trek will conclude today at 12:30 pm at Parliament Hill, where they will share a message of their journey.

Bingo Hall Request

Council will listen to a proposal tonight that would see the currently closed Roxy's Bar on Memorial Avenue turned into a Bingo and Night Club. The building is currently vacant and is adjacent to the Super 8 Motel. There has been some initial negative feedback towards the proposal from neighbours who are concerned with parking accessibility.

Council Learns About By-Law Officers

Council is also going to learn more about what their by-law officers are in charge of.  A report coming to Council tonight shows that each by-law officer carried a case load of 334 complaint files in 2013. Last year, over a thousand complaints came in including noise infractions, fence issues, business licensing and yard maintenance. 90 percent of those infractions were resolved.