Murder charge laid in Poplar Hill death

Police say a 19 year old Poplar Hill First Nations resident is facing a charge in connection with a death in the community north of Red Lake on the weekend.  They say Curtis Moose is charged with Second Degree Murder after 20 year old Aaron Strang of Poplar Hill was found on the road with serious injuries and later pronounced dead

More evacuees heading home

Nearly 400 people from two First Nations communities are being allowed to return home in Northwestern Ontario. The all-clear has been given for residents to return to the Sandy Lake and Fort Hope First Nations.

It follows news this week that about 150 people from another Mishkeegogamang First Nation decided on their own to return home. There are still about three thousand evacuees waiting for the smoke to clear so they can return home, as crews battle more than 100 fires in the region.

OPP prepare for weekend blitz

The OPP will be out in force his long weekend to enforce traffic laws. Sgt. Shelley Garr of the Thunder Bay OPP say they are trying to prevent serious accidents on the highway by going after the so called "big 4" causes of collisions;  aggressive driving, impaired driving, seat belts and distracted drivers.  Also police will be making sure drivers slow down when passing emergency vehicles on the shoulder of a road.

Potential phone scam warning

A listener to our radio station is concerned that some local residents could be taken in by a possible phone scam.   He says that a person called him several times saying she was from the  Microsoft computer maintenance department and claimed their computer was getting error messages from him.  Police here say they haven't received any complaints and Microsoft's website says they never make unsolicited calls to help fix your computer

Beckwick appointed acting tourism boss

The city has its interim Tourism Manager to take over while Paul Pepe is handling the waterfront project.   Lisa Beckwick is moving from her position at Human Resources to run the tourism portfolio in an acting capacity.

LU prof weighs in on American debt crisis

Lakehead University economics professor Livio Di Matteo is disturbed a country like the United States is on the brink of a debt default. Di Matteo calls it irresponsible and doesn't believe the worst case scenario will happen.  He thinks that instead of defaulting the government will shut down and programs will be suspended until the politicians work out a deal.   Di Matteo is confident a solution will take place, it's only a matter of when

Police still looking for missing teen

Its been almost a month and there is still no sign of a 14 year old missing teen.  Kelsey Loon was last heard from on Canada Day and was reporting missing by her Guardian June 29.  Police Spokesperson Chris Adams says officers believe she is staying with friends in Thunder Bay.

Thayer gushes over city donation

There's high fives all around at Thunder Bay's RegenMed after city council's decision to award the company half a million dollars. CEO Bob Thayer says it proves the city is behind the company's efforts to develop a human bone and tissue bank.  Thayer says the money is going towards developing freeze dried tissue

Rafferty surprised by Layton revelation

Thunder Bay M-P John Rafferty is expecting to see Jack Layton back in the helm as strong as ever. Rafferty says he was surprised by the news that Layton was stepping down temporarily to be treated for cancer. Rafferty says the NDP Caucus will meet Wednesday to discuss the appointment of an interim leader.

Out of province firefighters "recycled"

Some 116-forest fires continue to burn across Northwestern Ontario. Ministry of Natural Resources Information Officer Carin Glassford says they are starting to see some new blood come in to assist weary firefighters.  600-fires have been reported this season, with over 560-thousand hectares of land consumed. That's the third highest on record since 1917.

Evacuees not returning too soon

The Province isn't going to jump the gun and allow First Nation residents to return home. Over 34-hundred evacuees are staying in 13-communities. Ian Davidson is the Deputy Minister of Community Safety and he says patience is the key right now. Davidson adds that the Government wants to ensure affected communities are fully stocked with food, water and other items before they start sending residents home.

Catholic Board names new superintendent

The Catholic School Board's new Superintendent of Education is coming back home.  Maria Vasanelli is originally from Thunder Bay and attended Lakehead University.  She is going to return to the city after years of holding down various high level education positions within the Ontario Catholic school system in Southern Ontario.   Vasanelli is replacing Joan Powell who is now the Director of Education

Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Centre gets funding

Agriculture in Northwestern Ontario is getting a big boost from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.  MPP Bill Mauro says 621 thousand dollars in funding will go towards research in fertilizer.  Mauro says while agriculture isn't a huge industry in the region, it is becoming more important with the increase in demand for locally grown food.

City donates $ to RegenMed

The city is getting itself into the business of regenerative medicine.   Councillors have agreed to donate half a million dollars towards RegenMed to help it become a human tissue bank for transplant operations.   As well councillors have formally given approval to last weeks decision to build  stylized light sculptures at Port Arthur's Landing as part of the waterfront development project.

City to probe deer problem

City councillors are supporting Linda Rydholm's request to have the city investigate ways of solving the deer problem in Thunder Bay.  She says the time has come to do something about it and hopes as many organizations as possible are consulted so that all options can be debated

Emergency officials now wait

It's a waiting game now for officials in charge of moving forest fire evacuees through the city. Organizer Greg Hankkio says they are just waiting for instructions from the province on how we will handle returning evacuees.  Officials will be meeting Tuesday to discuss the issue.

PA Stadium reaches semi final

The quest to make Port Arthur Stadium the best ballpark in Canada is at the next stage. Local Baseball Association President Larry Hebert says an online poll has pushed Thunder Bay into the semi final round of voting. Voting in the semi's begins August 8th

Subdivision plans cause objections

There's opposition to a proposed subdivision on Tuscany Drive. The developer is asking the city to approve a mix of single and multi family units. The residents in the area object to the possibility of rental houses. The developer will not say if the multi family dwellings would consist of condos or townhouses. City councillors have postponed a decision on approving the plan until the developer can come back with details.

Accident knocks out power

Power for about 400 Thunder Bay Hydro customers in the Dawson Heights section of the city should be back on by 5 o'clock. The outage was the result of traffic accident when a vehicle hit a hydro pole on Dawson Road at around 1:45 pm.  At the height of the blackout about 16 hundred customers were without electricity. 

Jack Layton has new cancer

Jack Layton has been diagnosed with a new cancer, and is taking a leave of absence as leader of the federal N-D-P. Thunder Bay NDP MP Bruce Hyer says the news isn't a huge surprise to him saying he noticed recently that Layton's voice was weak and that he was struggling. Hyer doesn't think the party's effectiveness will be hurt while Layton is away