Hernandez Verdict Postponed Again

The verdict in the Christian Hernandez case is still another month away.    The 28 year old is charged in connection with the 2010 city traffic death of 45 year old pedestrian Richard Carmichael.   Hernandez faces two impaired driving related charges along with failing to remain at the scene of an accident following a death.  The judge in the case was supposed to deliver the verdict today, but that has now been moved to June 19th.

Green Praises Letter Of Intent

A top player in the local event centre project says the process is unfolding as it should.   Gary Green of the entertainment consortium Thunder Bay Live, says the signing of a letter of intent with the city is a key development, but only a small part of a bigger picture.  He says it's now up to his group to come back with a plan that will help to leverage funding from the provincial and federal governments. An update on the project will be presented at an open house May 27th at the Italian Cultural Centre.

Gambee Case Back June 10th

A court date has yet to be set for the former chair of the Christmas Cheer fund. Linda Gambee's trial date is expected to be decided on June 10th. She is charged with defrauding the Christmas Cheer fund of about 22-thousand dollars.

Superintendent's Daughter Charged

A Red Lake OPP officer is in some hot water. The Ontario Provincial Police say they were conducting a RIDE Check stop on the weekend.  They pulled over a vehicle and discovered the driver had been drinking.
Constable Caitlyn Van Straalen, a 6-year member of the police force and the daughter of OPP superintendent Ron Van Straalen, is charged.  The OPP say she will be restricted to non-operational duties until her first court appearance on June 5th.

Fort Frances To Run Tourism Centre

Ontario's former tourist centre in Fort Frances will be reopening, for at least year anyway.  The town will operate the centre on a one-year lease with the province.  Mayor Roy Avis says they're also receiving some money through Ontario Sunset Country Travel Association to help operate the facility.   The provincial government had stopped running the centre due to budget cuts.

Youth Centre Requests Funding

The Thunder Bay Youth Centre is looking for more funding. The Centre has been operating as a pilot project in the Victoriaville Mall for the past year. The centre wants to keep their current location, but need more money to operate it.

Water Delivery Phased Out

City council is eliminating water delivery in the city come July 31st. With the resolution, residents who use well water will have to pay private haulers to deliver their water. Councillor Trevor Giertuga is against the decision, suggesting that the city should continue delivery to residents who need water. Council has asked for a report in a year’s time to see the impact that privatization of delivery has on residents.

College Looks To Cheaper Housing

Confederation College President Jim Madder wants more affordable on-campus housing for its students. At city council on Monday night, Madder says improved housing would improve student life on campus. Madder adds that the four building project would cost around 35 million dollars.

Karate Expo This Weekend

Martial Arts enthusiasts in the city are pumped about the first ever Isshinryu Karate Expo to be held here.   It's being held at the West Thunder Community Centre starting on Friday and running until Sunday.  There will be participants from  Canada, Germany and the United States.    The weekend will include seminars, instruction and testing .

Improvement For Chapples Park

Three local sports organizations are calling on city council for a revitalization of Chapples Park: Soccer Northwest says potential developments could see a new indoor soccer facility created, along with several new all-weather fields created in the park. The Thunder Bay Chill say that conditions are not adequate for their PDL team. President Tony Colistro says there are many issues with their current home field, including drainage and lighting problems. The Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre are also looking to build indoor facilities to accommodate their growing membership. The city will look at the feasibility of these projects in 2015.

Ideas Brought To Council

City council listened to several presentations on Monday night: The revitalization of Chapples Park was discussed, including the construction of an indoor tennis facility, a new indoor soccer field, along with several all-weather fields. Confederation College President Jim Madder proposed his idea to build four building for student housing on campus, which would cost around 35 million dollars. The city is also discontinuing delivery of water to residents with water tanks; nearly 200 people will now have to rely on private haulers to get water to their homes.

Indoor Tennis Courts Considered

The Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre is looking to build indoor tennis facilities. Tennis Centre pro Jamie Grieve told city council on Monday night that the centre needs indoor courts. Grieve adds that Confederation College holds two tennis courts, but won’t use them any longer once the facility’s use becomes exhausted.

Another Step for Event Centre

The City of Thunder Bay is another step closer to seeing a new event centre built.   A letter of intent between the city and Thunder Bay Live is now in place.  If all the conditions are met, including financial help from the provincial and federal governments, the new arena complex could be built by the fall of 2017.  Blurry eyed councillors voted to accept the agreement just after one o'clock this morning.

Candidate Forum Planned

The Lakehead Social Planning Council and the Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring an educational forum for prospective municipal election candidates.  It's taking place on Saturday May 24th at the Lake Superior Art Gallery.   This forum is targeted to people across Northwestern Ontario who are considering running for the positions of Municipal Councillor, School Board Trustee or to become a member of a Local Service Board.

Marina To Open Thursday

The city run marina is set to open to local boaters  on Thursday.   Parks Manager Paul Fayrick says inspite of some ice that's still in the habour he's confident there will be some activity.  He says the serious boaters will start getting active early with the majority putting their boats in next month.  Fayrick doesn't expect the condo and hotel construction to pose any problems this year. About 260 boaters have space rented in the marina

Hudak Makes Energy Promises

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak is promising to bring in lower energy rates if elected premier. Hudak is out with a five-point plant that includes ending subsidies for wind and solar projects and a restructuring of Ontario hydro agencies. Hudak also want to import more energy from outside the province and spend more to strength existing nuclear, natural gas and hydro sources in the province.   It follows on the heels of NDP leader Andrea Horwath's promise to axe the HST on hydro bill starting in 2016.   Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne's budget promised hydro price breaks for poorer families and industrial electricity customers.  

Kenora Death Probed

A death in the North End of Kenora is being investigated.  The OPP say they were called at 7:00 this morning to the report of a deceased man. The investigation is being assisted by the Kenora Crime Unit and the Forensic Identification Unit.  The man's identity won't be released until the next of kin have been notified.

NAN Demands Inquiry

 Members from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Women's Council are in Ottawa today. They're taking part in a ceremony to honour missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. They were on Parliament hill for a ceremony that began yesterday and wraps up tonight. They were joined by NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, representatives of women’s organizations, First Nation and other political leaders at a press conference this morning

Police Awards Being Given Out

It's a special evening for several local law enforcement agencies.  The Kiwanis Club of Westfort is handing out its annual police appreciation awards.   The recipients this year are, Normand Roy of the RCMP, Carol Michtics of the OPP, Jeff Saunders of the city police and Jackie George of the Nishnawbe Aski Police.

Letter Carrier Duties Change

You may notice some changes to the way your mail is being delivered in Thunder Bay.   Starting today,  John Caines of Canada Post says the letter carrier making those deliveries has more responsibilities including sorting their mail along the route.   He says the carriers are now driving vehicles and performing several duties like delivering and collecting mail and parcels.  Caines says it will enable letter carriers to stay on the road longer.