City Closes Roads

The heavy rainfall in May caused two large sink holes on portios of Mountain Road and Twin City Crossroads. The City has closed those two roads while repairs are completed. Work on the roads will be done off and on throughout the coming weeks.

NW LHIN Closes T.Bay LTC Facility

A Long Term Care Home in the City is closing.  The Northwest Local Health Integration Network is closing the Interim Long Term Care facility on James Street because the building is old.  The facility's 50 residents are being relocated to other LHIN facilities.

Finn-tastic

Everyone in Thunder Bay is invited to be "Finn" for the weekend of July 27th. Ulla Ahokas, Chair of the organizing committee wants you to come out and celebrate all things Finn as they host the 73rd annual Finnish Festival. The highlight of the festival will be World Record "Nordic Walk" held at Boulevard Lake.

Janzen's Pharmacies Want To Offer Injections

All three Janzen's Pharmacists are ready for the day when it's legal for them to provide injections to their customers.  The Provincial Government is making changes to the Pharmacy Act that will enable pharmacists to administer immunizations and injectible drugs.  Owner Brenda Adams says the move will make patient's lives easier.

Canada Games Complex Numbers Return

City residents are back using the Canada Games Complex once again. They re-opened their doors yesterday at noon. Supervisor of Aquatics and Wellness, Donna Sippila, says the two week shut-down was a good idea to try and help conserve water. Sippila also says the two week shut down allowed them to perform maintenance on the facility.

Wasaya Plane Fire Investigated

The Transportation Safety Board is looking more closely into a fire that destroyed a Wasaya Airways plane. Regional Manager, Peter Hildebrand says the understanding is that the plane was delivering fuel at a Sandy lake airport when the mishap occurred. Hildebrand is looking to speak with the two crew members who were there as part of their investigation.

Flood Benefit Concert Announced

Local artists are coming to the rescue for flood victims in the form of a benefit concert. The Daylin James Inspirational Flood Relief Benefit Concert will take place at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, across from City Hall, on Tuesday, June 19th at 7pm with the doors opening at 6pm. 100% of all donations will go to the Thunder Bay Flood Disaster Relief Fund so provincial dollars can be leveraged. It is a free concert but those who can, are encouraged to donate money at the door, to help local people who were impacted by the flood. Thunder Bay's Daylin James is an international Elvis Presley tribute artist. His special guest will be Thunder Bay's Garth Brooks tribute artist, Garrick Sissons.

Wasaya Plane Destroyed By Fire

A Wasaya airways plane is completely destroyed following a fire on the ground yesterday afternoon. Around 1:45 p.m. the plane was doing a routine fuel trip and received damages during ground operations in Sandy Lake First Nation. There were no passengers, and fortunately the two crew members on board were not injured.

Fort Frances Man Fined

Talk about a pretty penny. A Fort Frances man has been fined $40,000 for charges relating to his deer hunting business. Grant Gustafson pleaded guilty to charges such as hunting swimming deer, unlawfully hunting wolves, using an illegal firearm and many others. He is banned from hunting for the next 10 years and from guiding hunters for the next 2 years. Two of his employees and 5 of his clients were also fined a combined total of $15,500 dollars and 26 years worth of hunting suspensions.

Cats Streak Continues

The Thunder Bay Border Cats are inching their way closer to .500. They picked up a 4-3 win over St. Cloud last night to improve to 5 and 1 at home. They are now 6 and 8 on the season, 4 games back in the North division and wrap-up their series with St. Cloud with an 11:05 start this morning at Subway field.

Grow Me Instead Guide Launched

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is teaming up with the Invasive Plant Council to make sure you plant only native plants in your flower beds and gardens. Spokesperson Hailey Powell says they've launched the "Grow Me Instead" guide that tells people what's native to the area and what's an invasive species. The guides can be found at most local Greenhouses.

"Dynamic Hiring Climate" Predicted

There's good news for job seekers in Thunder Bay.   Manpower's quarterly survey shows that 40 per cent of employers surveyed planned to hire for the upcoming three months and none of them expect to lay off anyone.  The employment services company says another 60 per cent plan to at the least maintain their staff

Province Creates New Energy Incentive Program

The Provincial Government is offering a new industrial electricity program. Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle hopes the incentives will help spur industrial growth in the Northwest.

The cheaper electricity rates will be provided to existing companies who are expanding or new ones that are willing to relocate to Ontario.

CAS Boss Happy With Adoption Subsidy

The head of the local Children's Aid Society is applauding a provincial move to pay eligible parents 950 dollars a month if they adopt children 10 years of age or older. Rob Richardson says it's a shot in the arm for the Society and for those kids whose families don't tend to adopt. The McGuinty government is hoping the cash incentive will boost the adoption rate for these older children.

Vacancy Rate Dips

Renting an apartment in the city is becoming more and more difficult. Canada Mortgage and Housing says there are less than 2 apartments for rent for every 100 people in Thunder Bay. That's down slightly compared to the same time last year. Thunder Bay boasts the 4th lowest available vacancy rate among major centres in Ontario.

Water Restrictions Lifted

Feel free to wash your dishes, flush the toilet, and do some laundry.  The City has lifted the volunteer water restrictions.  Councillor Rebecca Johnson says even though the restrictions are lifted they still want you to use common sense.  The City made the announcement this morning.

Emergency Operations News Conference June 12, 2012 10 AM

Video streaming by Ustream

Young Man Faces 7 Charges

City police have a young man in custody following a pair of motor vehicle collisions near Wendy's restaurant on Red River Road. Police say the accused allegedly took-off from the parking lot after the initial collision and then hit a vehicle head-on at the corner of Junot and Walkover. The female driver of the head-on collision and a female passenger inside the young man's vehicle were both taken to hospital with minor injuries. The youth will appear in court facing 7 charges including impaired driving causing bodily harm, impaired driving, failing to stop at the scene and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. 

Forest Fire Update

Widespread thunder storms and heavy down pours have put a damper on the forest fire hazard across northwestern Ontario. The Fire hazard is now considered "Low" across the Northwest region. A number of fires were called "Out" in the last two days. There are now 15 active fires in the region. No problems are anticipated with any of these fires. All fires have had rainfall in the last 24 hours and are only creeping and smouldering on the forest floor.

Cats Back On Track

The Thunder Bay Border Cats got back on track last night at Subway field. They crushed St. Cloud 10-5. The Cats are now 5 and 1 on home field and 5-and-8 in the first half. The 2 game series concludes tonight.