City compiles historical council info

More of Thunder Bay's history can be found on the Internet. This time it's on the City of Thunder Bay website. City Archivist Matt Szybalski  says it's a listing of past mayors and councils. He says the need was there.  He explains that a lot of people, especially students, were asking for the information and there wasn't any one place this basic information was easily available.  You can see the site by following this link

Vigil held to remember missing and murdered

The memories of missing or murder native women are being kept alive. The Ontario Native Women's Association held it's annual Spirit Vigil for those women. The Association's Lorene Rego  says the event helps to draw the spotlight on to a very critical issue.  The vigil took place at Patterson Park Monday afternoon.

Health officials scramble to fix hospital gridlock

The behind the scenes work continues to ease the pressure on the Regional Health Sciences Centre.   An official at the Local Health Integration Network  says the organization is doing what it can to co-ordinate an end to the hospitals gridlock crisis. Susan Pilatzke says  says all groups are meeting constantly help find solutions.  That group involves, the LHIN, the Health Sciences Centre , St. Joseph's Care Group and the North West Community Care Access Centre.

Hearing Society has new home

The Canadian Hearing Society is operating out of it's new digs. The office is now located in the Victoriaville Mall.  The Society has operated in Thunder Bay for 35 years.

September a decent month for port

Numbers at the Port saw a small jump in September but its still been a slower year in Thunder Bay.  The port saw over 541 thousand tonnes of good pass through the city last month up from 525 thousand tonnes in the same month last year.  Year to date numbers have declined however.  This year the port has seen 4.4 million tonnes pass through down over 300 thousand tonnes from last year.

Its a beautiful start for October

Don't put away your golf clubs just yet, its going to be beautiful this week. Environment Canada's Geoff Coulson says a high pressure system will be bringing in some nice weather this week, with temperatures pushing close to the 20 degree mark for most of the week.  Coulson says the rest of October should be closer to seasonal temperatures and we could even see some snow before the end of this month. 

NOSM and OPSEU reach tentative deal

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine strike could be over.  NOSM and OPSEU have reached a tentative contract after another round of negotiations over the weekend.  Support staff have been on strike since August 16th.  The deal still has to be ratified by union members and the NOSM board of Directors.

Run for the Cure a huge success

The Run for the Cure for Breast Cancer Research was a complete success yesterday.  The annual event saw over 900 people take part and 133 thousand dollars was raised.  Organizers say it was an increase of almost 10 thousand dollars from last year. 

Fatal crash near Nipigon

A late afternoon crash near Nipigon claimed the life of a man when his tractor trailer left Highway 17 yesterday around 4 p.m.

It's been reported the man was a 33 year old from Toronto.

Police are still working to notify next of kin.

Mission Terminal expansion

Grain silos at Mission Terminal are currently at capacity but there's relief on the way with the help of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

The terminal will be getting three new storage bins within the next couple of weeks.The provincial government is contributing a million dollars towards the expansion through the fund.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro was on hand for the announcement yesterday and says that Mission Terminal is an asset to the area and the expansion will help provide jobs.

Wind Park Review update on Monday night

The city expert reviewing the wind park project will provide an update to city council Monday night. Dillon Consulting will be speaking about the status of its review of the proposed Big Thunder Wind Farm on city lands.  Council wants to know how much it would cost to move the turbines to a new location.

New chair for LU Board of Governors

Newspaper publisher Collin Bruce is the new Chair of the Lakehead University Board of Governors. Bruce says the board has several challenges facing it in the next year. He says on the top of that list will be meeting and delivering a balanced budget.   Bruce calls the appointment one of the greatest honours he's ever had

LU President plans activities for swearing-in

The new President of Lakehead University is making sure his installation day next month is an event. Brian Stevenson says it will include a series of activities surrounding his swearing in.  One is a conference on the role of the University in the economic development of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario.  The second is a breakfast meeting with Lloyd Axeworthy who will discuss First Nations, Metis and Inuit in higher education.  The so called "24 hours of activities" takes place November 4th and 5th.

LU students to vote on bottled water

Lakehead University Students will be asked to take an environmental stand on bottled water. Student Union President Mike Snodden says a referendum will ask students to recommend that bottled water not be sold on campus.   He says there are two reasons for the move, one is that water is a basic need and we shouldn't have to pay for it, and secondly, we need to break our addiction to plastic.   The referendum will take place next month.

NOMA Wraps up

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association has wrapped up its fall conference in Thunder Bay. President Anne Krassilowski says she was pleased with the Premier's attendance, and feels he heard their concerns about the Far North Act and future economic opportunities in the area.  Krassilowski feels the conference was a success and delegates left with new economic development ideas.

NOMA hears from panelists

How does Northwestern Ontario get their voices heard at Queen's Park?  That was the topic of a panel discussion at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association conference. Director of Ontario Chambers of Commerce Ian McCormick, Columnist Christina Blizzard and Past President of the Ontario Associated Community Futures Development Corporation Bill Spinney were panelists.  All three of them said NOMA needs to focus on one or two issues, solve them and then move on. The 2 day fall conference wrapped up on Friday afternoon.

McGuinty leaves hospital crisis to locals to solve

Premier McGuinty isn't making any promises to help dig the Regional Hospital out of it's gridlock crisis. Speaking in Thunder Bay on the issue, McGuinty is satisfied the situation is under control, with the Local Health Integration Network being "all over this". McGuinty says the government is providing all local agencies with the policies and funding to see the problem through.

Horwath brings HST fight back to the Lakehead

The Provincial government is getting more heat about the HST. NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Thunder Bay today visiting with a local family who is worried about the HST's impact on their living expenses. Horwath met with Fred and Carol St Jean and says its a similar story for many across the province.  Horwath says removing the HST from Hydro will save Ontarians hundreds of dollars each year.

Oganization join to help prevent child abuse

It's Child Abuse Prevention month. The Children's Aid Society is one organization which sees a lot of abused kids. Executive Director Rob Richardson hopes people will be on the watch for children who may be victims. Dilico Anishinabek Family Care is also taking part in this months campaign. Director Susan Verill says its a problem

New hospital prez takes over during crisis

The new president of the Regional Health Sciences Centre has her work cut out for her. Andre Robichaud is dealing with a hospital in gridlock because it can't free up needed beds. She notes most of the work to try to solve the problem is already underway. She says all she can do now is to support the partners and make sure there is a long term plan to address the crisis.   Robichaud says she dealt with similar problems while working in New Brunswick.