Small drug bust on south side

Thunder Bay Police have made another drug bust.  Officers searched a house on the south side and found over 6 thousand dollars worth of drugs and over 18 hundred dollars in cash.  A 42 year old man was arrested and is facing charges.

Local inflation rate falls

Thunder Bay saw a big drop in its inflation rate last month.  Our rate went from 3 percent in January to 2.4 last month.  That followed the provincial trend where Ontario went from 2.9 to 2.5.  The national rate went from 2.3 to 2.2 in February.

Library board shows La Force the door

The Thunder Bay Public Library is looking for a new Chief Librarian. It's fired Gina La Force, who has been at the post for four years. Board chair Terrance Yahn says the board made its decision to let her go last week but didn't tell staff until Wednesday. Yahn says it had to do with La Force's management style but he didn't go into detail. Until a new Chief Libarian can be found Barbara Philp will take over in an acting capacity.   La Force has not returned our call.

Wood Supply awarded

Long Lake Forest Products in Longlac and Nakina Forest Products are the lastest companies to accept wood supply offers from the province.  The move will create 38 jobs and will bring several hundred people back to work.

Red Cross raises 17 thousand dollars

Thunder Bay's Red Cross branch has raised 17 thousand dollars for its relief efforts in Japan. Ken Widdifield says fundraising is going well. Halfway Motors is collecting money for the Red Cross and will match money raised up to 5-thousand dollars.

Railyard accident sends man to hospital

One man is injured after an industrial accident on the city's south side.   Police say it happened at the CPR maintenance yard around 2 o'clock on Thursday afternoon.  Police say a man sustained a broken leg.  A spokesperson for Superior North Emergency Medical Services says the injury is not considered serious.    The man  had apparently become trapped somehow resulting in the injury.  

Waterfront art will "engage discussion"

Even though the waterfront project is well over budget, the city is spending 100 thousand dollars for art at Prince Arthur's Landing. It's asking for your input on 3 works of art. The city's public art committee chair Bruce Stonehouse believes it will be money well spent that will "engage discussion."  City councillor Mark Bentz, the head of the waterfront committee, also believes the project is good value for the money

Court cases await jury roll decision

A city defence lawyer says there are 4 court cases in Thunder Bay that could be delayed over the issue of jury rolls. Gil Labine says until the province makes a move to include more Aboriginals in the jury selection process, those people will languish in jail.  Labine says he has at least two clients on the waiting list and there are numerous cases in Kenora as well.

Halfway Motors helps Japan

The Red Cross and Half Way Motors are teaming up to raise money for Japan.  Owner John Trevisanutto says they decided to start fundraising because they feel a kinship with the country.  Donations can be made at Halfway Motors; the company will match funds up to 5-thousand dollars.

Outbreak Over

An outbreak at the Grandview LodgeLong Term Care centre is over.  The building was shut down earlier in the week and caused the health unit to cancel visitation.

LU Professor weighs in on Middle East Situation

The situation in the middle east continues to spiral out of control. Lakehead University Political Science expert Laure Paquette says its hard to get an accurate read on the situation in Libya.  The pro democracy forces are becoming organized but not much is known about their situation, while pro Gadhafi forces are claiming to be making gains.  The problem is, many of the reports are coming from Gadhafi forces.  Paquette says the situation in Bahrain is even more frightening were government forces are apparently killing protesters in an attempt to get them to stop.

Women converge on Thunder Bay

First Nation women from across the region are coming together in Thunder Bay Friday.  Spokesperson Norma Fawcett says they'll be discussing child care issues.  Fawcett says men are encouraged to attend since some single parent families are made up of just the Father and there is a stigma attached to it.  A representative of the Minister of Children and Youth Services will be speaking about children in Dilico's care.

Border Cats add 4

The Border Cats have added 4 more players for the upcoming season, First baseman Kevin Taylor, outfielder Eric Aguilera, Pitcher Donnie White and Shortstop Jake MacWilliam.

Man saves dog from fire

No one was hurt in a fire in Westfort.  Fire Crews were called to a house on Christina St just before noon when a neighbour spotted smoke coming from the house in the 100 block of the street.  The neighbour entered the house to retrieve a dog before crews arrived.

100 days of council

Mayor Keith Hobbs has now completed 100 days on the job.  He calls the experience so far challenging and exciting. He says there have been no real surprises to this point.  Hobbs says though he has heard the message loud and clear from fellow councillors that he is only one voice.

Wilson weighs in on cuts

The Chamber of Commerce isn't surprised the Province decided to eliminate the Northern Development Corporation.  President Harold Wilson says he saw the axe dropping for some time now.  Wilson says the corporation hasn't been active for over ten years.  Wilson adds he isn't surprised the northern grow bond program didn't catch on; since the government refused to run it the way the Chamber suggested.

Health Unit may use Facebook to recruit MOH

The District Health Unit is going beyond newspaper ads in it's search for a new Medical Officer of Health. CEO Doug Heath says who knows, they might even try Facebook.  He says they are still at the intitial stages and Facebook is something they may need to look at as a tool.  Heath says they will also be looking a wide variety of Internet options for the recruitment campaign

NAN weighs in on jury rolls

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation feels the provincial government stonewalled them when it came to their concerns about aboriginal representation on jury rolls.  NAN Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose says the government gave them the run around.  The Attorney General is vowing to work on including more aboriginals on jury rolls after the murder trial of Andre Wareham was postponed until November.

Screening program aims at First Nations

A new cancer screening program from the Cancer Centre is now a reality. It's aim is to reach First Nations adults in the northwest and others who don't have access to such services according to Regional Cancer Care CEO Michael Power. The northwest is getting 100 thousand dollars from Cancer Care Ontario for the new program

Texas teen saved by local police

Thunder Bay Police helped save the life of a Texas teen.  A 14 year old teen was playing XBOX online when he read comments from another player saying he was going to hurt himself.  Spokesperson Chris Adams says an officer was sent to the teens house to talk over the XBOX system.  After 2 hours of negotiation the teen agreed to speak with his parents about his intentions.  The American teen's parents were in disbelief and grateful for the intervention.

Bust results in drug seizure

Drug and trafficking charges are facing a man and a woman after a police raid on their home this week.  Police say the bust took place on the 900 block of Athabasca Street and involved the use of a police dog.  Drugs seized included magic mushrooms, pot and prescription pills.

Power back on in Grandview

Power should be back on for about 200 Thunder Bay hydro customers in the Grandview area. A tree falling on two power lines at around 7 this morning caused the outage. It forced the closure of the 55 Plus Centre and also affected the Grandview Arena

Thunder Bay woman finally hears from parents

After five harrowing days of anxiously waiting a Thunder Bay woman has finally heard from her parents who live in Tsunami stricken Northeastern Japan.  Hiroko Bekki Moller finally spoke to her mother just after 2 o'clock this morning.  It was the first time they had spoken since the earthquake and tsunami ravaged Japan Friday.  Moller says she waiting patiently and tried to keep a positive outlook but the wait was very hard.  Moller thanks everyone that supported her, throughout the ordeal. 

SIU investigating sudden death in Sioux Lookout

A sudden death in Sioux Lookout is beng investigated by the province's Special Investigations Unit.  The OPP says a man was arrested for being drunk in public and went into medical distress yesterday afternoon.  He was taken to the Health Centre where he was pronounced dead.

Outbreak closes facility

An outbreak at the Thunder Bay Interim Long Term Care centre has shut down the building.  The Health Unit says all admissions, transfers, visitations and discharges have been cancelled.

Relief for sick animals

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says it's been in contact with the owner of some distressed farm animals. Alison Cross says they are working with the Thunder Bay area resident to give the animals the care they require. She says their agents have been on the property and a compliance order has been issued as part of the probe but no charges have been laid.

AG says its working on First Nations jury rolls

The Ministry of the Attorney General says it is currently working with First Nations in the north to get better representation on jury rolls.    It says to date 15 forums have been held with Grand Council Treaty # 3 and the Anishinabek First Nations.  The ministry says the forums have been well received and says efforts in this area are ongoing.    The issue became a hot button topic this week when a judge dismissed a jury pool in a local murder trial after she deemed there wasn't enough Aboriginal representation from the district.

Judge sets new trail date for Wareham

The second degree murder trial of 33 year old Andre Wareham will now take place November 21st  and is expected to last 2 weeks.   The new date was necessary after Justice Helen Pierce dismissed the jury pool on Monday saying it didn't represent the Aboriginal community in the Thunder Bay District.   Meantime his Toronto lawyer Steven Hinkson is planning to apply for bail.   Wareham is charged in the 2009 death of 29 year old William Atkins.

AbibitiBowater gets taxpayer funding

AbitibiBowater has signed an agreement with the Ontario Power Authority that will see them provide clean energy. The company is increasing its electricity generation capacity by 40 megawatts. Company General Manager Doug Murray says 9.6 million dollars comes from the province and it's Forest Prosperity Fund.
The move will create 56 jobs and is expected to be done by 2013.

Northern agencies being scrapped

The Provincial government is doing away with 11 of its agencies as away of saving cash. NDP Critic Howard Hampton says it's strange that the Liberals heralded these programs just a couple of years ago. The Northern Ontario Development Corporation is being scrapped. The Northern Grow bonds committee and program is also getting the axe.

Hampton reacts to Abitibi Bowater announcement

The NDP's Natural Resources Critic is happy to hear the province has helped AbitibiBowater with its biomass project.  However, Howard Hampton says it's good news for the Thunder Bay employees but the announcement probably offends others whose mills are out of business.  Hampton says no new announcements can change the fact that the Liberals have ignored Northern Ontario and the jobs crisis for the last eight years.

Airport sees increase in passengers

Thunder Bay's Airport continues to set new records for annual passenger traffic.  President Scott McFadden says they saw a 2.4 percent increase in passenger volumes.  McFadded attributes the increase in passengers to tour companies offering trips to warm destinations.

Japanese Disaster will impact us

For the second straight day the Japanese stock market saw a big drop and, according to an Economics Professor at Lakehead University, the instability could spread. Livio Di Matteo says the unfortunate devastation could impact insurance companies depending on how exposed they are in Japan, but gas prices could drop with oil demand in Japan dropping.  In the Long term Di Matteo says a Japanese rebuild could lead to an increase in demand for Canadian natural resources and exports.

Northern Poll unfavourable towards Liberals

The McGuinty Government has few fans in Northern Ontario when it comes to post-secondary education.  That's according to a new poll put on by the province's student federation.  Spokesperson Nora Loreto says the results were not Liberal friendly.  The poll suggests the Liberals have dealt with post secondary education worse than the Harris government.  73 per cent of Northerners want the post-secondary education system to be a priority in the upcoming election.

Hearst wants to pledge

Hearst council wants to change it's municipal pledge of allegiance.  The small mostly french speaking community wants councillors to have a choice between swearing allegiance to the Queen or the Country.  Councillor Andre Rheaume feels the change will be made noting the new oath of office wouldn't do away with the Queen it would just give councillors a choice.  The Ministry f Municipal Affairs is looking into it but has said that it's not a current priority.

AbitibiBowater signs energy deal

The provincial government is providing 9.6 million dollars towards AbitibiBowater's biomass combined heat and power project. The company signed an agreement with the Ontario Power Authority to provide an extra 40 megawatts of power. The move will create 56 permanent jobs, and is expected to be done by 2013.

City is ready to compete for Ring of Fire facility

Mayor Keith Hobbs says the city is working on a plan to cut energy costs to try and bring a Ferrochrome Processing plant to Thunder Bay.

The high cost of energy has been a major roadblock for the city in efforts to convince Cliff's Natural Resources to locate the proposed facility here.

Hobbs says it's too early to go into detail about the plan but he believes it will allow Thunder Bay to seriously compete for the facility.

While Sudbury has been named an early favourite by Cliff's to get the processor, Hobbs says Thunder Bay is still on the mining company's short list and at this point it's going to be a bidding war between interested municipalities.

City Council passed a motion at Monday's meeting to let Cliff's and both levels of government know that Thunder Bay is ready to work with the mining company to try and bring the facility to the city.

L-U class has recipe to encourage local food production

A Lakehead University social work class has some ideas on how city council can support local food production. The class presented to council at Monday's meeting  and says changes like serving local food at city-run facilities and teaching kids in school about gardening would be a boost for food production in the region. The students made the presentation as part of their coursework where they're encouraged to apply their learning to real world situations. The class invited councillors to a roundtable discussion at Lakehead on March 23rd to talk more about the subject.

CNIB to again run program for blind kids

The CNIB is expected to get it's contract renewed with the Health Unit to provide services for blind children in the city. The Health Unit's Cathy Farrell says the 3 year old program helps about a dozen kids.  She says while there number of children affected is small the impact is huge.  The 36 thousand dollar program goes before the board for it's approval Tuesday.

Hepatitis program going national

The Health Unit is joining a Canada wide Hepatitis surveillance program. Information from people with the disease is to be shared with health officials nationally. Program coordinator Maureen Twigg says we'll be one of 11 reporting centres in Canada. She says the information will be compiled to come up with a data base.  Twigg says it's just an extension of a program that is run provincially

Funding for speech program running out

A Health Unit official is hoping the provincial government will again fund a speech language program. Cathy Farrell says one time funding for the program runs out at the end of the month. She says it's proven to be successful for children under 30 months and there is a waiting list for the services.  Farrell makes a presentation to the board Tuesday on the program.

Mauro makes another announcement

Another election spending announcement is expected Tuesday.  Thunder Bay Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro says the announcement is something Abitibi Bowater has been waiting for for sometime.  The press conference gets underway at the mill at 11.

Trial surprise, jury pool dismissed

The murder trial of 33 year old Andre Wareham is on hold indefinitely.   The trial came to sudden and surprising halt Monday after Justice Helen Pierce ruled that the jury pool of over 100 men and women did not properly represent the Aboriginal community in Thunder Bay and told them all they were free to go home.  Defence lawyer Steven Hinkson has no idea how long it will delay the trial.  He says it will be up to the Attorney General's Ministry as to address the issue.   Wareham is charged with second degree murder in the 2009 death of 29 year old William Atkins

OSPCA probing possible animal cruelty

Photos of what we are told are distressed animals in the Thunder Bay area are posted on Facebook.  The series of images depict horses and cows which appear to have various forms of disease.   The sames pictures have been sent to our newsroom by a concerned listener.   The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says that the investigation is ongoing and it's too early to release any information at this time.

Thunder Bay Red Cross collecting donations for Japan

The Thunder Bay Red Cross so far is only collecting donations for Japanese Relief efforts. Red Cross Thunder Bay Spokesperson Ken Widdifield says for the time being no Canadian Red Cross members are headed to the Tsunami and Quake ravaged country.  Right now the Japanese Red Cross is assessing their needs and until they are determined no Canadian Red Cross members will be heading overseas.  Widdifield says you can make a donation at the Red Cross office, over the phone or by going online.

Thunder Bay woman still hasn't heard from parents in Japan

A Thunder Bay woman is still waiting to hear from her parents in Japan. Hiroko Bekki Moller hasn't been able to reach her parents since Friday's Tsunami hit the area of Japan where her parents live. She says all she can do is wait and hope.   Moller says she's trying to keep a positive outlook and hopes with some cellular coverage opening up she'll hear from her parents soon.

Bombardier Contract Extended

Bombardier will see more work come from the McGuinty Government.  125 million dollars in provincial funds will be spent to purchase 50 new bi-level coaches for the GTA's Go Transit.  Go Transit President Gary McNeil says the order expands on their current contract with the Thunder Bay plant.  Production of the coaches is scheduled to begin in June with the first coach being on the ground by the fall.

Tunderwolves win consolation

The LU Thunderwolves men's basketball finished off their season on a high note winning the consolation side of the CIS National Championships.  LU beat Dalhousie University 84-80 to finish 5th in the country.  The team the Wolves lost to in their opening game Trinity Western fell in the final against Carleton 82-59.  It is Carleton's 7th Championship in 9 years.