Conservatory Closed Again

The embattled  Thunder Bay Botanical Conservatory is shut down once again because of falling glass.  The city says that late Friday  they discovered that a malfunction of a roof vent resulted in several glass panels to break. They say that caused shards of glass to fall into the safety netting inside the Tropical House viewing area.  The cause of the problem isn't known and no one is hurt.   The city expects the conservatory to open again next week.

Injured Bear Reported To MNR

The Ministry of Natural Resources appears to be confirming a report from a listener that there may be an injured bear in the John Street Road area.  Spokesperson  Michelle Nowak says the report came earlier in the week but their officials didn't respond because no request came from the police.   The listener claimed it was an aggressive bear and that it had only three legs, but Nowak couldn't confirm that. No injuries have been reported.

OPP Say Little About Kenora Incident

Police are saying very little about an incident in Kenora that resulted in a man being taken to The Lake Of The Woods Hospital  in critical condition.  They say the incident occurred in the area of Villeneuve Road in the City of Kenora on Thursday.

NWO Author To Visit Hometown

It will be a special homecoming for Vanessa Ricci-Thode. The young writer returns to Ignace Saturday to unveil her first published book. She says the response to 'Dragon Whisperer' has been positive. She says the book is getting good reviews from those who normally don't read fantasy. Ricci-Thode was at Chapters book store this afternoon for a book signing

Mill Deal In Fort Frances

Resolute Forest Products and Unifor have agreed to keep workers on site at the Fort Frances plant for a little longer. Local and National Unifor President Stephen Boon says they have agreed to extend a July agreement, allowing the number 7 paper machine to run up until December 15th. The original agreement was expected to conclude next week. Boon says after a number of meetings, they decided on the extension due to additional paper orders. The workers have been working on the machine since July.

More Mail For Thunder Bay Plant

There's more mail from the region coming to the Canada Post sorting station in Thunder Bay.  Spokesperson John Caines says the new system, called de-twinning,  is less than a month old and sees mail posted from area communities like Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances sent to our city for sorting and distribution.  Caines says the move is being made to help make the system more efficient.

Expect Border Lineups

Expect some lineups this weekend at border crossings across northwestern Ontario. Border officials are anticipating heavy traffic due to the Thanksgiving long weekend and those looking to head up to do some hunting. If you have to travel through any of the area's points of entry, try doing so at no-peak times. You can check border wait times on both the Canadian Border Services and U.S. Customs and Protection websites.

Jobless Rate Up

The unemployment rate in Thunder Bay for the month of September stands at 6.4 per cent.   According to Statistics Canada that's an increase from the August rate of 6.1 per cent.  Across Canada the rate dropped slightly to 6.9 per cent as fewer young people searched for work.

OPP Launch Operation Impact

Expect to see a few more OPP cruisers on area roads this long weekend. Police are taking part in Operation Impact, a campaign that will crackdown on impaired, distracted, and aggressive driving as well as seatbelt compliance. Provincial Police say the big four driving behaviours are responsible for more than 200 deaths on Ontario roads so far this year.

Ear Falls Mayor Elated

The Mayor of the northwestern Ontario township of Ear Falls is excited that EACOM Timber will be starting up the idled sawmill in the community. Kevin Kahoot says this is welcome news for everyone who lives there. Kahoot says when the Mill was running 5-years ago, it helped local businesses, recreational programs and service clubs. The scheduled start-up date is next Spring.