Collision On South Side

No injuries to report following a two vehicle collision at the corner of Arthur and James Streets just before 5 o'clock this afternoon.  One person was shaken up and police say that person was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Elementary Teachers Ink Tentative Pact

The province now has labour peace with the union representing public elementary teachers after protests that saw teachers withdraw from extra-curricular activities last fall.   Ellen Chambers of the local Elementary Teachers Federation says it's a testament to the determination of the membership. Teachers will vote on the new tentative agreement with the government later this month.

Repair Work Will Force Power Outage

Some businesses and residents in the central part of the city should prepare for a power outage.   Thunder Bay Hydro says an excavation crew damaged an underground electrical cable today.   Repair work is going to take place starting at 6 o'clock so utility officials say power will be out in that area until midnight. The section affected is John Street, High Street and Fort William Road.

Tsekouras Faces New Charges

City police say new accusations are facing  a city man who's already going through the court system on major drug charges.   Thirty nine year old John Tsekouras is now looking at more drug charges as well as conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to kidnap. That means he's back in custody and is due to appear in court June 17th.  

Premier Not Pressured By Cliffs Decision

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she wants to get it right.   Wynne says the decision by Cliffs Natural Resources to put their Ring of Fire project on hold is simply part of the process to making sure all the sensitive issues are settled up front, especially those involving First Nations.   Wynne doesn't see it as a pressure tactic by the mining giant. Wynne says the government remains willing to talk to Cliff's about its concerns.

City Hires Aboriginal Liaison

The  City has a new Aboriginal Liaison.  It's Ann Magiskan who is currently the chair of the city's anti racism Advisory committee.  She comes from the catholic school board where she was an aboriginal outreach worker.

Bluefin Fire Thought To Be Accidental

A preliminary investigation is focusing on a wood-burning fireplace and chimney as the possible cause of a weekend fire at a popular resort along Lake Superior on Highway 61 in Minnesota.  Saturday's fire at the Bluefin Bay resort damaged five of the resort's 70 vacation rental units. No one was hurt.  The resort is hoping to repair the fire damage by the end of summer.

Sobeys Buys Safeway

The parent company of Sobeys is buying the Canadian assets of Safeway. The 5.8-billion-dollar deal involves 213 Safeway stores from Thunder Bay to British Columbia. Some local shoppers said they were stunned and were loyal Safeway shoppers. Sobey's hasn't decided if the Safeway name will disappear.  

  
  

   

Boor Defends Decision

A top executive at Cliff's Natural Resources is defending a controversial company decision. Bill Boor says the move to suspend work on environmental assessments on the Ring of Fire chromite project is necessary because of government and court delays in the process.  Boor can't say if the move will end up delaying the start up of the mine, but hopes the issues can be resolved soon.

Horizon Wind Saga Continues

As the proposed wind farm project on the Nor' Wester Escarpment makes its way through the provincial approval process City Hall is getting involved. Development Services Manager Mark Smith says the city has hired a consultant to go over Horizon Wind's renewal energy submission to the provincial government. Smith says the consultant will make sure the city's interest are being met.

Treaty Three Labour Problems

More labour troubles at the Treaty Three Police Service. Union rep Judith Monteith-Farrell says it's unfair that management is imposing harsh cutbacks to save a service not being supported by the Federal Government.  Monteith-Farrell says before the union goes to court she's hoping there can be talks to resolve the problems.