Province Asked To Protest ELA Closure

The McGuinty Government says it supports local efforts to keep the Experimental Lakes Area west of Dryden open. In the Ontairo Legislature, MPP Sarah Campbell asked the Minister of the Environment to take action. Jim Bradley says he's already spoken to his counterpart in Manitoba on the issue.

Dryden Protesters Target Rickford

About 90-people converged on Kenora MP Greg Rickford's Dryden office yesterday in a noisy and supportive protest. Dale MacKenzie was on hand and she explained  they were there to protest the Harper governments plans to make changes to environmental laws. MacKenzie says she is especially concerned over the proposal to relinquish responsibility for the Lake of the Woods Experimental Lake Area .  She calls it a world class research facility and says the Feds can afford 600-thousand dollars to keep the facility running.   Rickford was in Ottawa.

Bentz Hears Constituents' Concerns

Councillor Mark Bentz is promising to move forward with potential solutions. He held a ward meeting at Grandview Lodge that was completely full last night. Bentz says emotions were high but everyone was civil and he understands where they are coming from. Bentz says they are at the beginning stages of collecting data and involving city engineers to develop a better drainage system in the Northwood Ward.

Cats Streak Snapped

The Thunder Bay Border Cats 3-game winning streak was snapped last night on the road against Willmar. The Cats lost 3-2, dropping their record to 7 and 9. The Cats have just 1 win away from Subway field this season. Game 2 of the 3 game series goes tonight.

Chill Face Winnipeg On The Road

The Thunder Bay Chill are on the road this weekend. The Chill who are 5 and 1, will play a pair of games against Winnipeg who have 1 win in 12 games. Games are Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

District Pro-Am Set To Tee Off

The Thunder Bay District Golf Association's first major is this weekend. The Mallon's Play-It-Again-Sports Pro-Am takes place Saturday and Sunday at Strathcona and Fort William Country Club. 40 teams of two are entered. The tournament starts at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow at Strathcona Golf Course.

Missing Teen Found

Thunder Bay police says missing teen is safe and sound.  They had issued a missing persons alert earlier in the day for 16 year old Chris Kwandibens.  They say Kwandibens was with relatives all along.

Local Vocalist Looks For Support

A young Thunder Bay woman is looking for your help in getting to the next level of a contest to play the role of Dorothy in the professional stage presentation of the Wizard of Oz. Jordan Wyllie is a finalist in the online portion of the competition. If she wins this leg she will be flown to Toronto to become one of 100 finalists. You can cast your vote for Jordan here. http://www.cbc.ca/overtherainbow/

Sports Celebs In Town

Frank Mir

The eleventh annual Tbaytel Sports Celebrity Dinner takes place tonight at the Valhalla Inn. Celebrity guests include Canadian ski-cross Olympic gold medalist Ashleigh McIvor and former Ultimate Fighting Champion Frank Mir. 

Back To Normal...Sort Of

It is an indication the city is slowly returning to normal following the flood disaster. The City's, Kerri Marshall says garbage collection will return to normal next week with a 3-bag limit. They are still going to be available to help flood victims with larger items. Marshall also says the Mapleward Dump will again open this weekend from 8 to 4:30 p.m.

Relief Efforts Cut Back

The city is scaling back immediate relief efforts and now focusing on recovery in the wake of the flood. Of the 520 homes that requested clean-up help, they have 73 homes left needing assistance. David St. Georges with the Red Cross, says they only received 35 calls for their assistance yesterday.

Lightning Strike Co$tly

The figures are in.   Last months lightning strike on the Whalen Building caused an estimated quarter million dollars in damage. The city says the majority of this will be covered by insurance with 25 thousand coming from money they already set aside for the current restoration project.

When You're Hot You're Hot

The resale housing market in Thunder Bay appears to be hot and getting hotter. Warren Philp of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says that their spring housing market outlook shows the price of existing houses should go up nine per cent this year and seven per cent in 2013. He says that the average price at the end of this year will be 184 thousand dollars. Philp says up to fifty per cent of houses sell for at or above the list price.

High Emotions Expected At Ward Meeting

Northwood residents affected by basement flooding get a chance to speak up tonight.   Councillor Mark Bentz is holding a ward meeting which takes place at 7 o'clock at the Grandview Lodge Auditorium.  Bentz admits there will likely be some high emotions, but hopes it will be a productive meeting.  He says city staff will be on hand to answer questions.

Cats Win At Home

Don't look now but the Thunder Bay Border Cats are just a game under .500. They completed a 3 game sweep of the St. Cloud Rox yesterday afternoon with an 8-4 win at Subway field, improving their record to 7 and 8 on the season and an impressive 6 and 1 at home. They're on the road tonight to start a 3 game series against the Willmar Stingers.

Lawsuit List Grows And Grows

The list of people joining a class action lawsuit against the city is growing at a rapid pace. Lawyer Chris Watkins says his office has at least 150 people signed on who want to sue the city over the recent flooding of their basements. Watkins says they are gathering experts from across the country to back their claims which have not yet been proven in court

Fiddling For Flood Victims

Thunder Bay's Carly Ross is making her mark as a young fundraiser.  The ten year old entertained shoppers at the Thunder Bay Mall with her fiddle playing.  She was there raising money for flood victims in the city. 

Hyer Settles In For Marathon Session

Thunder Bay MP Bruce Hyer is preparing for a marathon sitting in the House of Commons. He promises to be there along with fellow MP's to vote on about 800 proposed changes to the huge budget bill that has been put together by the Harper Conservatives and that changes over 70 laws. The voting is expected to continue for over 24 hours and possibly longer.

Dragonboat Festival Ready To Roar

The dragonboat festival is moving a new beat this year. Along with the races, Organizer Volker Kromm says there will be many new features. The Dragon boat festival is being held July 20th and 21st and will raise money for three charities.

OSSLT Results Are In

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test results are in.  The Lakehead Public School Board's score dropped from the year before.  The Public Board went from 82 percent to 79 which is below the Provincial average.  Meanwhile, the Catholic District School Board saw an improvement from the previous year going from 81 to 84 percent.