Police probing East End attack

Police are asking for your help in finding the person responsible for an attack on a woman Wednesday morning in the East End. They say the woman told them she was walking on McKenzie near Robertson around 10:30 when she was approached by a man driving a silver car. She refused to get in and was later attacked from behind, but managed to escape. The man is described as about 5' 9" with dark hair and a dark complexion. The vehicle was a shiny silver mid-sized 4 door passenger car

Provincial parks open for season

Provincial Parks in Ontario will be full of activity this May long weekend. It's the opening weekend for camping, and an alcohol ban is in place at most of the provincial sites in the region. Parks Spokesperson Barb Rees says there are a number of other rules in place. The alcohol ban is in place at Blue Lake, Rushing River, Sleeping Giant, Aero Lake and Silver Falls until May 24th.

MNR gets new fire truck

The Ministry of Natural Resources is getting a brand new forest fire engine. Thunder Bay Fire Management Headquarters will house one of two new machines. Spokesperson Bob Gardam says it was built in Kakebeka Falls by Holland Enterprises. The machine holds a thousand gallons of water.

Local company buys state of the art chopper

A local aircraft company has a new chopper in it's fleet. Kelner Helicopter has purchased the French built A-Star from Eurocopter Canada. President Frank Kelner says the purchase is part of a long term plan to expand his fleet of aircraft. Kelner says the cost of the A-Star is about 3 million dollars. He says they're already leasing one of the choppers and plan to buy two more. The company leases aircraft to governments and mineral exploration companies.

Plant it and they will come

The Salvation Army's garden program is underway. It's called the Field of Greens and is a project run by the Port Arthur Rotary Club. Major Mervyn Halvorsen says the food grown in the garden is put to good use.  It will be fed to the residents at the Booth Centre and served through the soup van and the Food Bank.  The garden is located at the Salvation Army property on Cumberland Street.

Soap boxer's get set to race for charity

The 7th annual Soap Box Derby is set for June 5th. Organizers hope to raise 30 thousand dollars for the George Jeffery Children's Centre. Participating this year will be Nancy Rissanen and her 8 year old sonTyler. She says the centre has worked wonders for Tyler.   He's been going there since he was 5 weeks old and he has been receiving physio and occupational therapy and is able to function as any normal child.  The money raised will go toward building a playground at the Brock Street location.

Earthroots still not happy

More still needs to be done to protect Northern Ontario's boreal forest.  The enivronmental group Earthroots doesn't feel the forest companies pledge to halt logging in 29 million hecatres of forest is enough.  Spokesperson David Sone says it's not time to take it easy on the forest companies.  Meanwhile, Abitibi Bowater says the deal to halt logging will have a huge impact on its ability to access fibre in the region.

Teachers learn to teach green

A group of Thunder Bay teachers are a bit wiser about green learning today. They are part of a local workshop that is teaching them to merge environmental content into the school curriculum. Overseeing it all is Christy Radbourne of the Ministry of Education who says its a work in progress.  She says they're hoping to get the teachers to eventually expand the concept into the entire curriculum and make it more meaningful for them and their schools.  About 40 educators are taking part in the two day workshop.

Industry doesn't like government plan

There doesn't seem to be much support for the provincial government's new forest tenure system. A public consultation session was held last night in Thunder Bay, and many forestry stakeholders voiced their concerns about the process. Ontario Forest Industry Association President Jamie Lim says the government isn't listening to the industry. The government is proposing an open bidding process for wood fibre, and a new board that would oversee wood supply licences.

Engineering students show off software

A couple of engineering students at Lakehead University have come up with some innovative software. The three programs focus on sharing health records, monitoring patients and teaching. Rachid Benlamri is the head of the Engineering Department at LU. He says he's proud of the students accomplishments adding, that it shows that even at a small university like Lakehead technological advances can be made that will improve our lives. The students hope to get some local business people to invest in their programs

New four way stop near City Hall is getting police attention

Keep your eyes open for the new four way stop at intersection of Brodie and Donald street. Thunder Bay police traffic Sergeant Glen Porter says officers are out in full force looking for drivers blowing the stop signs that were installed because of the new bus terminal at city hall. Porter says the fine for blowing a stop sign is 110 dollars and three demerit points.

Water Bomber used to fight house fire

A water bomber was called in to fight a house fire in Kaministiquia. The house was completely destroyed along with a nearby shed in the blaze that started yesterday afternoon around 3 o'clock on Hill Road. Luckily there were no injuries as the home owner was able to get out of the home safely. Fire crews from the Lappe, East Gorham and the MNR battled the inferno.

More mining activity in the region

A Toronto based mining company is setting up shop near Thunder Bay. Pele Mountain Resources is drilling at its Pigeon River site sixty kilometres west of the city. President Al Shefsky says it's a promising nickle and copper site. The company is currently drilling five holes in search of platinmum, magnetic targets as well as copper and nickle.

Association slams tenure changes

The Ontario Forest Industry Association is critical of the Province's changes to the forest tenure system. Manager of Forest Policy Scott Jackson says the changes will undermine the government's recent good work. Jackson says an open auction for wood supply will impact all forestry businesses from big to small. Jacksons adds the changes will undermine all the previous good work the government has done and jeopardize the future of the industry.

World Hepatitis Day observed

AIDS Thunder Bay is offering an outreach program to people living with Hepatitis C.  Hepatitis Nurse Sara Ticholiz says they will be offering the program in Thunder Bay and across the region through tele health.  The federal government recently provided the funding for a treatment program as well.

New 9-1-1 technology on the way

It will soon be easier for emergency crews to track the location of a 9-1-1 call from a cell phone. Inspector Andy Hay of the city police says they're upgrading the system as we speak, adding it will close a loophole in the technology.   He says right now if someone calls 9-1-1 from a cell phone they don't have any way to track their location, but with the upgraded system they will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the phone.  Hay expects the new system to be up and running by the summer.  The update on the system was presented at Tuesday's Police Services Board meeting.

Fire hits Winslow Road home

No one was hurt in a house fire in O'Connor Township Tuesday afternoon. Conmee Fire Chief Aime Spencer says his crews were first at the fire scene on Winslow Road. He says the owner of the house was walking his dog and came home to find smoke coming from the eaves. He says crews were able to enter the house and put it out. Spencer says fire damage is confined to the bedroom area, and the cause is not known.

LRCA boss says rain is needed and lots of it

The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority remains on alert as low water levels continue. Chair Bill Bartley says there's no immediate end in site and even the rain we got recently is nowhere near enough to ease the problem.  He says a substantial rainfall is needed over a longer period of time.  Residents are still being asked to reduce their water consumption by 20 per cent to help ease the situation.

Fire forces evacuation of I-C-R Discoveries

No one is injured after a small lab fire in the Munro Street building that houses Genesis Genomics, among other tenants. The Fire Service's Val LaFontaine says they were called to the I-C-R Discoveries building at around 1 o'clock Tuesday afternoon and put out a small fire.   He says they evacuated the building as a precaution.   LaFontaine says the lab was unattended at the time of the fire which has been attributed to a chemical reaction.

Chamber Prez wary of forest changes

Forest Industry groups and business leaders are meeting today to discuss proposed changes to the forest tenure process.  Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle consulted the public last night on the issue.  Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce President Harold Wilson says they're not sure what to make of the changes.  The changes mean the big forest companies would have their current licences scrapped and they'd have to start over.