Jobless rate drops in the city

Good news on the jobless front in the city. There were fewer people looking for work in Thunder Bay in January. The unemployment rate in the city was 7.6 per cent. Statistics Canada says that was a drop from 8.1 per cent in December. Across the country the rate dropped slightly to 8.3 per cent.

O-P-P Sergeant faces trial

The tragic traffic death of an 18 year old city girl will now be the subject of a criminal trial. Following a four day preliminary hearing OPP Sergeant Darryl Storey has been committed to stand trial in connection with the December 2008 death of Jasime Veneruzzo. The accident took place at the intersection of Highway 11/17 and Twin City Crossroads. Storey is facing charges of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death. The trial will start June 1st.

Poor sales still plague charity raffle

Habitat for Humanity is still struggling to get people to purchase its Family Day lottery tickets. CEO Diane Mitchell says they have now sold just over 6 thousand tickets meaning they are over the halfway mark. Mitchell says tickets for the lottery will be available until just prior to draw time at the Sportsdome on Family Day. The grand prize is 100 thousand dollars.

L-R-C-A to close Cascades for three weeks

The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority is closing the Cascades Conservation Area for at least three weeks. Officials say its to clean up damage caused by last September's wind storm. The closure will take place starting February the 16th. The clean up will involve removing blown down trees and others which are in danger of falling.

Thunder Bay man has Oscar dreams

The students at Confederation Colleges' film class are buzzing these days. A graduate of that class is now basking in the light of an Academy Award nomination. Trent Opaloch was the cinematographer on the sci-fi flick District 9. The movie is up for best picture along with three other awards. The Thunder Bay born Opaloch is hoping it will open up new opportunities

Minister says health care spending a priority

Watch for health care spending to continue trumping many other provincial budget requests. That's essentially the suggestion from Finance Minister Dwight Duncan after he completed another set of pre-budget talks in Thunder Bay Thursday. In addition to health care, the forest industry and social spending were topics discussed behind closed doors with interested parties.

Gull Bay Chief pulls out of talks with O-P-G

The chief of Gull Bay First Nation says an O-P-G offer to compensate for historic flooding damage is so low it's ``morally repugnant.''Wilfred King says he broke off talks with Ontario Power Generation because the offer was less than other Lake Nipigon bands have received from the utility.So far, O-P-G has reached financial settlements with four of the six aboriginal communities located around the lake's shoreline.

Kids playground at Victoriaville forced out due to noise complaints

The city man who operates a business called Fun-Tastic Castles is upset with management at the Victoriaville Centre. Ken Jones had his giant inflatable kids castle set up at the city run mall since November. However noise complaints by some mall merchants got him kicked out. He says he had an agreement with management to run until April.Jones says he had already booked some birthday parties and now he doesn't know what will happen. Mall managment did not return our call.