Overheated Laptop Causes House Fire

 A city fire inspector says it was an overheated laptop that was the cause of a house fire on Ryerson Crescent last week. No one was injured but the damage is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Eric Nordlund says it appears that someone left the portable computer on a couch where  air circulation was a problem.  Meantime,  Nordlund says it's important to keep fire alarms working in your home.   He points to two apartment fires from last week, on Archibald and Simpson Streets, where it was noticed that fire alarms in the dwellings were disabled. In both cases he says careless smoking was the cause of the fires.

TBRHSC Ten Years Later

It's been ten years since the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science's Centre opened for business and the former board chair Keith Jobbitt is still bursting with pride.  Jobbitt says our city is miles ahead in the health care field as a result of it.  He points to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Regional Research Institute as direct spin-offs of the new hospital. Jobbitt believes the current problems with overcrowding are not the result of poor planning when the facility was being conceived.

Airport Authority Celebrates Westjet

The Airport Authority is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the first Westjet flight into Thunder Bay.  Airport manager Scott McFadden says having the airline here has helped to make flying more affordable for many people. He says when inflation is taken into account, the cost of flying is still a fraction of what it was before the air carrier arrived here.    And while Westjet isn't offering the same deals it used to, McFadden says they still contribute to a competitive climate.

Survey Shows Modest Hiring Climate

Thunder Bay area employers expect a modest hiring climate for the second quarter of 2014.  That's according to the latest employment survey by the job consulting firm Manpower.  The survey shows that 13 per cent of employers plan to hire between April and June while 83 per cent are keeping the status quo and only 3 per cent plan cutbacks.

United Way Announces New Chair

United Way Thunder Bay is announcing Michael Nitz and Jim Madder as their Chair and Vice-Chair for 2014. Nitz is the President of the Northwestern Ontario Chambers of Commerce.  Madder is President at Confederation College.

Meeting To Discuss Events Centre

The hotly debated proposed events centre goes up for discussion again this evening.  This time city hall critic Ray Smith is organizing a meeting at the Mary J-L Black Library to give people a chance to voice their concerns about the 106 million dollar project.  Smith says the meeting will involve the site of the proposed arena and whether there should be a plebiscite.

Council Supports Dementia Strategy

Add the city of Thunder Bay to the growing list of communities pushing the Federal Government to have a national dementia strategy put in place. Councillor Andrew Foulds says the issue hits close to home for him since his grandfather was affected by the disease.  Over 100 communities in Ontario are calling on the feds to develop a strategy.

Whelan Building To Get Interior Renos

Both FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Funding Corporation are putting 1-million dollars each towards improvements of the Whalen Building on Cumberland.   It will mean  improvements to the third, fourth and fifth floors of the historic building. Council approved the renovations Monday evening.

Program Gets Glowing Review

City council is encouraged by the results of the managed alcohol program at the Thunder Bay Shelter House.Similar programs are currently taking place in four other cities across the country. Dr. Tim Stockwell is lead researcher and says participants are responding in a positive way and felt they were getting their dignity back.  Stockwell adds that compared to those not in the program there is a significant drop in time spent in police custody.

Young Champs Recognized

The Thunder Bay Chill U-15 boys soccer team are getting some recognition from city council for their provincial championship.  The team beat Western in September of 2013 in Oshawa. It is the only local club to win a provincial championship.

Foul Play Ruled Out In Death

Police are ruling out foul play following a death on the Washagamis Bay First Nation near Kenora.   Treaty 3 Police were called to a residence on Saturday where they found a man dead inside. The man has been identified as 39 year old Matthew Charry of Washagamis Bay.  A post mortem was performed yesterday at the Lake of the Wood District Hospital.  The investigation is continuing with assistance from the OPP's Northwest Region Crime Unit and Forensic Identification unit.