Open House For Cooperative Program At College

Confederation College is hosting an open house this afternoon from 4-6pm for its Community Integration Program that provides students with special needs supervised field placements. Program Coordinator Karen Kemp says there was a learning curve for staff involved in the programs first class, but that the program was a success.

Government Building Remains Closed

The government building on James Street remains closed because of a water main break this week.  A spokesperson for Infrastructure Ontario says the problem is closer to getting fixed after the leak was found and isolated.   He expects that water service to the building will be restored later today and that government offices will be back in business tomorrow.

Johnson Ponders Mayor's Job

A veteran Thunder Bay politician is considering a run at council's top job.  Rebecca Johnson tells our newsroom  she hasn't finalized her political plans for this election yet but running for mayor is not out of the question.  However.  she says that she wants to weigh all her options before deciding on exactly what she will do.  Johnson says many people have asked her to take a shot at the mayor's chair.

Police Chief Favors New Law

The Conservative Government is considering more lenient laws against the possession of marijuana. The new law looks to allow police to ticket anyone caught with small amounts of marijuana rather than charging them criminally. Thunder Bay Police Chief JP Levesque is in favor of the proposed law, but says it is too early to comment on specifics. Levesque says loosening the law would make for less resource-intensive punishment and keep police budgets in toll.

Facebook Page Addresses Civic Election

There's more and more movement on the civic election front these days.  Former Shuniah councillor J-P Fraser is hosting a Facebook page that allows candidates new and old to have a voice on the Internet.  It is set up to allow candidates to state their platform and get their information out to a wider audience.   Fraser says you can also get politically active on Twitter with the hashtag #nwoelections.

Anti-Hudak Campaign Coming Here

The Ontario Federation of Labour's  Rights At Work drive is coming to Thunder Bay next month.  It's a campaign that is designed to draw attention to what they believe is a plan by Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak to dismantle the union movement in the province. The gathering is happening Tuesday, April the first at the Lakehead Labour Centre form 7 until 9 pm.  

Vantroba Shows Up

The search is over.  A city man who didn't show up for his court case this week has turned himself into police.  Frank Vantroba was charged in connection with a dog attack in Tarbutt Park in 2012 that seriously injured an 11 year old boy.    When he didn't appear for his trial,  a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.  The 59 year old will be in court this morning.

Wirkkila Sentenced

A quick end to a city court case.   Only 4 months ago Eric Wirkkila was charged with numerous count of uttering threats, and now he finds himself staring at 18 months behind bars.    Wirkkila was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to 16 of those charges.  The incidents spanned a period from July 2012 to October of last year involving letters written and sent by the 46 year old to police, businesses, media outlets and politicians.