Festa makes its mark

There's nothing like a spaghetti eating contest at an event that celebrates Italian culture.   In this case it's the Festa Italia which was held at the Italian Cultural Centre on Algoma Street over the weekend.    Hundreds showed up to have some food along with enjoying music and  entertainment.

Early morning robbery

Thunder Bay police say a robbery took place in the area of Dease and Mackienze this morning.


A 50 year old man—who suffered a bloody nose from the incident— told police he was approached by two young males. They starting punching him and then took his wallet.

Police searched the area but no suspects were found

World Junior Baseball Championships are a complete success

The Medals were handed out and the final speeches were said and as the dust settled, Thunder Bay can stand proud after a very successful tournament. Organizer Warren Philp says ticket sales went well beyond what was expected and all the teams and International officials had nothing but good things to say about the tournament and Thunder Bay. Philp says the volunteers did a tremendous job and all the fans should give themselves a pat on the back for showing the world how great Thunder Bay is. Jeff Halverson says he was hoping to sell between 20 to 25 thousand tickets and ended up selling over 45 thousand which was a very pleasant surprise.

Chinese Taipei takes the Gold

It was a story book ending for Chinese Taipei at the World Junior Baseball Championships. They managed to literally weather the storm in rain delayed 8-4 win over Australia to take their country's second Gold medal. Rain forced the start of the game to be pushed back by an hour and a half and Australia came out of the gates scoring 4 runs, including a 3 run homer after 4 innings to take a 4-2 lead but then mother nature stopped the game again for over an hour. When play resumed Taipei regrouped and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th and never looked back capturing the gold.

Australia takes the Silver, which is their country's best ever showing at this event. Prior to this year, they had won 5 Bronze medals. Team Manager Tony Harris says they wanted the Gold but he's very proud of his team.

Canada falls to Cuba for the Bronze

It was a disappointing end for team Canada at the World Junior Baseball Championships.  Canada fell 8-2 to Cuba in the Bronze medal game at Port Arthur stadium this afternoon.  Canadian starting pitcher Rob Thomas kept Cuba off the board for the first 4 innings before giving up a three run homer in the 5th inning which proved to be the winning runs.  Canadian designated hitter Philip Diedrick had another strong day at the plate going 3 for 4 and scored one of the Canadian runs.  Diedrick says Cuba is a great team and he's proud how his teammates performed.  Diedrick hit over 500 for the tournament. 

Canadian Manager Greg Hamilton says they had a chance to play for Gold but just couldn't come up with timely hitting.  Hamilton says they finished ahead of some very good teams so you can't be too disappointed with finishing 4th.  

Elsewhere today Korea beat Italy in the 7th place game 3-1 and the US crushed the Netherlands 18-2 for 5th place.  Australia takes on Chinese Taipei for the Gold.

Man assaulted last night

Thunder Bay Police say a man was assaulted by three men asking for money around 3:30 Sunday morning on West Arthur street.
According to police the man says he was pushed to the ground and beaten after telling the three men that he didn't have any money.
He says he got to his feet and ran to a phone after one of the men pulled out a knife and demanded money again. The three men then fled the scene.The man who was assaulted was treated at Thunder Bay Regional Hospital and released. He says his attackers had their face covered by bandanas and were all around 5'8 and 180 pounds.

No Gold for Canada

Team Canada's quest for Gold at the World Junior Baseball Championship has ended. They fell 3-1 at the hands of Chinese Taipei infront of a packed house at Port Arthur Stadium. The story of the game was the Chinese Pitcher, Lo Kuo Hua, who pitched a complete game three hitter and struck out ten. Canada's designated hitter Philip Diedrick says they had a chance in the 8th inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out but couldn't capitalize. Canada's Manager says its disappointing not to be playing for gold but bronze is still worth playing for.

Chinese Taipei will now take on Australia in tomorrow's gold medal game at 4:30 at Port Arthur Stadium while Canada takes on Cuba in the Bronze Medal game. Game time for Canada is noon at Port Arthur Stadium. Australia punched their ticket to the final by beating Cuba 2-1.

Elsewhere France beat the Czech Republic 8-5 in the 11th place game, Venezuela got past Panama 7-5 in the 9th place game, The Netherlands advanced to the 5th place game with a 8-5 win over Italy and the US is also in the 5th place game after doubling up South Korea 4-2.

Long weekend safety blitz underway

The long weekend has begun, and so has the holiday safety blitz by the Ontario Provincial Police. Officers are on the lookout for impaired and aggressive drivers, unfastened seat belts and drivers talking on cell phones that aren't hands-free.

According to the OPP 16 people died on Ontario highways, trails and waterways over Canada day weekend.

Canada is off to the semi finals

Canada bucked the trend of losing to the underdog in the quarter finals. They beat team Italy 11-1 in 7 innings to advance to the semi finals on the shoulders of a homer night from right fielder Rowan Wick. Canada also got a solid outing from starting pitcher Jonathan Paquet who allowed one run in 6 innings of work and struck out 9. Canada will now take on Chinese Taipei in tomorrow's second semi final. The opening pitch will go at 7:00 at Port Arthur Stadium. Team Canada Manager Greg Hamilton says they got solid pitching and a strong night at the plate and says the added confidence is important moving forward.

In other action today, Cuba knocked off the US 3-2, Australia managed to upend Korea 5-4, Chinese Taipei advanced to the semi finals with a 4-2 win over The Netherlands, France lost to Panama 5-3 and Venezuela topped the Czech Republic 9-6.

Cuba shocks the US

One of the heavy favourites at the World Junior Baseball Championships will be going home without a medal. Cuba downed the US 3-2 on the shoulders of a complete game 9 hitter from their starting pitcher Luis Omar. The US managed to come back and tie the game twice but an RBI single by Cuban third baseman Lazaro Hernandez brought home the winning run. The States managed to get runners in scoring position in the bottom of the inning but to no avail. Cuba will now move on to face the winner of tonight's game between Korea and Australia, while the US will take on the loser. Both of those games will go tomorrow.

Comuzzi-Stehmann to seek Tory nomination

There's a Comuzzi getting back into politics. This time it's Maureen Comuzzi-Stehmann, the niece of former Conservative MP Joe Comuzzi. Comuzzi-Stehmann is seeking the federal Tory nomination for the Thunder Bay-Rainy River Riding. No date has been set for the nomination.

Gilbert bids goodbye

Today is Fred Gilbert's last day as president of Lakehead University. Brian Stevenson officially takes over Sunday.  Gilbert says he has no real regrets to speak of and adds he's had a wonderful 12 years in Thunder Bay. Gilbert says his proudest accomplishment is improving LU's reputation. Where once the institution was considered as a last chance university, he turned it into an school that now attracts top scholars from Thunder Bay and the rest of the province. Vic Krasowski's interview with Dr. Fred Gilbert can be heard on the link below.

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OPP warn of counterfeit cheques

A fake cheque scam has made it's way to the community of Geralton. OPP say it's an old con game that sees you get a cheque in the mail which you are asked to cash. Police say through a series of bank transactions it usually ends up that the person cashing the cheque is left with no money and a hefty bank loan.

Question quota fizzles

It appears getting city councillors to cut down on their questions at meetings could be a challenge. As part of a trial phase they must only ask 3 questions of presenters or administration per round of questioning. It's designed to help shorten meetings, but last Mondays meeting went passed 1 o'clock the next morning.

ER ca$h is here

The Regional Health Sciences Centre is getting 1.9 million dollars from the provincial government to make emergency room improvements. Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott says the hospital must use the money to help reduce ER wait times.  The provincial standard is 8 hours for complicated cases and 4 hours for less serious ones.  Crocker-Ellacott says they manage to hit the targets over 90 per cent of the time. She says where the hospital  has a challenge is getting ER patients admitted to the hospital within the 8 hour goal.

Thunder Bay OPP officer awaiting sentance for harrasment

A Thunder Bay OPP officer will be sentenced in September after harrassing a woman on the internet. Constable Claude Montfort pled guilty in March after a two year investigation.  Both the crown and the defense are calling for a sentance without incarceration.  Montfort received a medal for bravery after he helped rescue people trapped in a burning vehicle near Marathon.

Kenora OPP officer cleared

The SIU has cleared a Kenora police officer who shot a knife wielding woman last month. The officer shot the woman after she started walking towards her with the knife pointed in the officers direction. The SIU says the officers didn't use excessive force in the situation.

Nutritionist praises report on salt

A panel of experts is offering recommendations on how you can take some of the salt out of your diet.The Health Canada report says cutting back on salt can save thousands of lives by reducing heart attack and stroke. Janice Piper, a nutrionist at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit says it's welcome news. She's happy to see how comprehensive the report is by targeting the foods with the most sodium. The report wants Canadians to reduce their salt intake by a third by 2016

Local marathon to offer cash prizes

The first ever Thunder Bay Marathon is going to come with cash awards for the winners. President Barry Streib says it's all thanks to a donation from RBC.  He says there are 12 thousand dollars in cash awards.  It will include 2 thousand dollars for the first male and female finishers and 1 thousand for the first male and female finishers of the half marathon.   There will also be cash awards for the top finishers from Northwestern Ontario. The marathon takes place September 19th

Make way for Festa Italiana

The annual Festa Italiana takes place this weekend. It's a chance to experience that country's culture and food. Organizer Benny Melchiorre says the popularity of the event is evidenced by the number of people who attend. He says the first year attracted about 4 thousand people and now they're expecting close to 20 thousand to attend. Festa Italiana happens Sunday and Monday at the Italian Cultural Centre on Algoma.