Graffiti Plan approved by council

The City is now required to remove offensive Graffiti within 48 hours.  That's part of the new Graffiti Plan that was approved by our elected officials at Monday nights meeting. The plan has 3 main components prevention, reporting and removal.  It will create time frames for removal and will also include a subsidy to help certain groups in removal.  Councillor Paul Pugh says tackling this issue will take a lot of time and effort but this is a very important first step.

May Street Mac's Mart robbed again

Thunder Bay Police are investigating another robbery at a Mac's Mart store on May Street. Officials say one man robbed the store just before 7:30 Monday Evening armed with a needle and a pen. No one was hurt and the suspect made off with some cash. The K9 unit was brought in to try to find the suspect.

Council sees Event Centre Presentation

The Consulting Team for the proposed Events Centre gave an initial report to City Council Monday night.  Conrad Boychuck of CEI Architecture and Ron Bidulka of Price Waterhouse Coopers gave an overview of where the team is in regards to the feasibility and design process.  Boychuck says during the February 29 open house, they found that the biggest issue for the public seems to be location.  Boychuck says results from a survey done at the meeting showed that the economic impact for the City and Region was the most important aspect for the location.  Bidulka says he is working on developing the business plan for each location and assess potential impacts on the surrounding area.  The team will hold another open house April 11th at the Da Vinci Centre. 

Just call it Subway Field

The Thunder Bay Border Cats wants everyone to get into the habit of calling the former Port Arthur Stadium, Subway Field. The organization is asking the local media to refer to their home ballpark exclusively by that name. The club has had a naming rights agreement with Subway since 2010, but the name hasn't caught on with many of the public. A news release states that the change is no different than Skydome now being called Rogers Centre.

Man hit by train.

A man in his 60's is recovering in hospital after being hit by a train this afternoon on the CPR tracks at the Marina Park Overpass.   CP spokesperson Kevin Hrysak says it appears the man was trying to crawl under a rail car which then began moving and suffered serious injuries that are not a threat to his life.

Rooming house owner speaks out

A dispute is building between a rooming house owner and the city. Officials allege that after a recent fire inspection at 130 South May Street, it was discovered the owner doesn't have a licence to operate. The city plans to go to court tomorrow to charge him. But Robert Silvester says he's working to clear up the problem and says as far as the licencing goes, everything will be in place within the next two days.  Silvester says it's taken him longer than he expected to make the changes necessary to comply with fire regulations.

Local investment advisor sanctioned

The organization that regulates security dealers in Canada is prohibiting a local investment advisor from doing business for seven years.   The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization also fined Terry Norman Dyck 20 thousand dollars following a disciplinary hearing last week relating to complaints that were received in connection with a fund he was recommending to clients.   A spokesperson for IIROC says the allegations against Dyck went unchallenged at the hearing

Rooming house owner to face charge

The owner of a city rooming house is facing a possible charge in provincial offences court tomorrow. The city's by-law enforcement officer, Ron Bourret says it's in connection with some issues involving a recent fire inspection at a south side facility. Bourret says the owner hasn't been able to comply with the requirements of a fire inspection and as a result, no licence has been issued to him to operate the rooming house. The owner has not been available for comment.

Low income tax returns

Low income families can get help with their taxes tomorrow.  Volunteer Chartered Accountants are holding two free tax clinics at the Multicultural Association tomorrow and Wednesday.  To qualify for this free tax return assistance your income must be less than 30-thousand with dependents and less than 20 thousand without kids.

Hit and run on Memorial Avenue

A 48 year old man is in the hospital with non life threatening injuries after he was hit by a car on Memorial Avenue.  Police say the man was lying between the two southbound lanes when a large vehicle ran over his legs.  The vehicle continued to drive towards the Harbour Expressway.  Police are looking for the vehicle which they believe is either a large SUV or pick up truck. Police believe the man was intoxicated.

Police look for Mac's Mart robber

Police are looking for someone who robbed two Mac's Mart stores over the weekend.  Spokesperson Chris Adams says the same person is involved in the May Street and Simpson Street store robberies.  Police are not sure if the suspect is a man or a woman because they were wearing a skull mask.  They're described as being 5' to 5'6" tall with a thin build. 

Wheel Chair Curling this weekend

The upcoming 2012 Wheel Chair Curling Championships will have a large online presence.  The tournament kicks off this weekend and a live blog will provide commentary on the games.  Chair Dave Kawahara says they'll also have live video coverage.  The tournament starts Sunday and wraps up the following Sunday.

Council talks graffiti

Council will examine the City's graffiti problem at tonight's meeting.  They'll be presented a three point strategy to tackle the problem.  It includes a subsidy rebate program for those impacted by graffiti, and tracking policy.

Local teen takes part in biathlon

A Thunder Bay teen is taking part in the National Biathlon Championships.  15 year old Joseph Pascuzzo is on the Ontario biathlon team.  The championships take place in Val Cartier, Quebec this weekend.

T.Bay breaks weather records

We had record breaking temperatures over the weekend.  Here in the City we hit a high of 9.3 on Sunday.  Our Meterologist Bill Laidaw says that beats the old mark of 7.4 in 1996.  Laidlaw adds the warm weather will be with us for the rest of this week.

Two Mac's stores held up

Thunder Bay Police are investigating two late night Mac's robberies. In the first robbery, Police say a masked man entered the North May Street Mac's just after 9 o'clock last night armed with a needle and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect fled the scene on foot and a K-9 unit was called to help with the search. The Mac's on Simpson Street was also robbed early this morning.

RMG comes out swinging

The Responsive Marketing Group is lashing out. The company says any suggestions in the media and in the House of Commons that its Thunder Bay call centre is responsible for misleading robocalls during the last federal election, are "without basis" in fact.  RMG saves its sharpest barbs for the Liberals and the NDP who they say "use Parliamentary Privilege to level false and defamatory claims about RMG" that damage its reputation. The company says it approached Elections Canada and asked for an investigation into the false allegations that have been made against it.

Local Hockey Legend could hit the big screen

A full length feature film could soon be in the works for a Thunder Bay hockey legend. A group headed by another local man Dave Ferguson has finished shooting a 15 minute short film in Saskatchewan and hopes to turn it into a major motion picture.  Ferguson says the movie is about Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe, who was the inspiration for the infamous character Ogie Oglethorpe from the 1977 hit movie Slap Shot. Ferguson says he met with Goldie last year after hearing his story thinks a movie about Goldthorpe is long overdue.

Drug Strategy on three year course

Thunder Bay's Drug Strategy is moving to the next level.   Members  will work on about 20 priorities over the next three years in an effort to help curb the city's drug problem.  Coordinator Patty Hajdu the actions chosen will help to focus on the most critical areas that require immediate attention.  While Hajdu says financing will be required for some of the ideas, she can't put a dollar figure on it.

Thunderwolves lose at CIS Championships

The Lakehead University Men's Basketball team's quest for a national title ended abruptly this afternoon.  The Wolves dropped their first game against Fraser Valley 83-71 to fall out of the Championship side of the tournament.  The Wolves move to the consolation side and will play again tomorrow at noon. 

Kony 2012 sets the Internet on fire

A video calling for awareness about an African Warlord is setting the Internet on fire this week.  The video called Kony 2012 focuses on Ugandan Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.  Lakehead University Political Science Professor Laure Paquette says Kony is notorious for turning children into  soldiers or prostitutes and has been terrorizing Central Africa for over 20 years.  She says he's wanted by the International Criminal Court and has so far eluded capture.  Paquette says currently the U.S. has about 200 advisers in Uganda that are helping the African Country in trying to locate Kony and bring him to justice.

Daylight Savings Time Sunday

Don't forget to change the batteries in your smoke alarm when you set your clocks forward one hour Sunday.  Thunder Bay Fire Prevention Officer Brian Berringer if you don't have a working smoke alarm you could pay a fine up to 250 dollars.  Berringer says it's good to test your smoke alarms.

Heney talks shipping season

The Shipping season on Lake Superior gets underway on March 25th.  But before that happens ice breakers need to be sent in to break up the thin ice.  C.E.O. Tim Heney says they're looking forward to the shipping season.

T.Bay teens honoured

Two Thunder Bay students are being honoured for their essays.  The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is awarding Hammarskjold's Jessica Serson for her essay called "Butterflies and Salt."  Lakehead Alternative School student Lilyanna McKay won for 3rd World Canada: Voices of First Nations need to be heard.

LU Prof pays to build school

A Lakehead University Professor is giving back to his community. Dr. Mohammad Nasir Uddin has helped to build a new school in Bangladesh and LU President Dr. Brian Stevenson says they're more than proud. Uddin's father was a primary school teacher in that community. The school is named after him.

Mark Wright appointed to PA board

There's a new face on the board of the Thunder Bay Port Authority. Mark Wright has been appointed by the federal government to a three year term on the board which takes effect immediatly. Wright is currently employed at Confederation College and is also a trustee of the Thunder Bay Community Foundation, where he chairs the Grants and Scholarships Committee.

CP Rail pays big fine

CP Rail is being fined 100-thousand dollars after they plead guilty to a federal labour charge relating to safety.  It stems from an incident 2 years ago when a man working on an excavator fell down a cliff near Schreiber and later died.  Spokesperson Kevin Hrysak says they've been working on their safety initiatives since the incident occurred.

Mauro on wind farm motion

MPP Bill Mauro says a Progressive Conservative motion calling for a moratorium on wind farms will not impact Horizon Wind's Norwester project. Mauro says the motion calls for the suspension of all wind projects until an independent health study can be done. The debate wrapped up Thursday without a vote being held.

Thunder Bay's Unemployment Rate

Thunder Bay's jobless rate is declining.  We went from 6.2 percent in January to 5.6% in February.  According to Statistics Canada our national unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent last month.

City sunshine list is leaked

The List of city employees who made more than 100 thousand dollars have been released.  224 people made the sunshine list this year with City Manager Tim Commisso topping the list with a 2011 salary of just under 219 thousand dollars.  There was over 100 more people on the list in 2011 compared to 2010 because of the new contract for Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue.  The contract awarded a number of long time firefighters with back pay.  Firefighters made up almost 150 of the people on the list.

Oxycodone bust in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay Police have 3 people in custody after a drug bust this morning.  Officers made the arrest at southside motel just before 1 o'clock this morning.  Almost 35 thousand dollars worth of Oxycodone was seized. 

Rotary Lottery house tickets are on sale

You can get your tickets for the Rotary Lottery house in Thunder Bay.  This year's house up for grabs was the scene of the annual media launch and Chair Bob Hookham says the Rotary Club hasn't decided where all the money raised this year will go, but all the money will stay in Thunder Bay.  There will be 8000 tickets sold for the house that is located in the Sherwood Estates.

Potter out as COO @ ORNGE Aviation

Thunder Bay's Rick Potter is no longer the Chief Operating Officer at ORNGE Aviation.  Staff at the province's scandal plagued air ambulance service were informed of the move via e-mail this week saying Potter was to work exclusively on another project.  The move comes after it was reported that Potter admitted to fibbing about his university credentials.   The opposition Progressive Conservatives have been calling for his firing ever since.

Toy gun causes a scare at a local high school

Thunder Bay police arrested a 15 year old boy at Superior Collegiate at noon today.  Police were called with reports about a boy showing some other students what was believed to be a gun.  It turned out to be a soft air rifle and the boy was charged. 

Outdoor rinks to close

It's that time of year again, time for the city to close the outdoors skating rinks. Spokesperson Paul Fayrick says because of the spring like temperatures, the rinks aren't even fit for skating. Fayrick says as of this weekend the buildings will be closed and the lights turned off

Stevenson leads delegation to Mexico

Lakehead University President Brian Stevenson is going to Mexico, but not for a vacation. He's helping to lead a group of Canadian universities to learn more about how Mexico has evolved higher learning for Aboriginal students and establish possible partnerships.  He hopes this is the beginning of a broad international strategy for L-U. Representatives from both countries will be meeting on Sunday and Monday in Mexico City.

Nolan new PDAC President

There's a Thunder Bay connection to the newly appointed President of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.  Glenn Nolan who is the Aboriginal Liason Officer with Noront Resources is the new head of the organization.  Nolan works out of Thunder Bay.

Manitouwadge drugs seized

26 thousand dollars in drugs are off the streets after Marathon OPP searched a home in Manitouwadge.  A 38 year old woman and 50 year old man are charged with production of a controlled substance and  possession for the purpose of trafficking.  A quantity of marijuana and other drugs were seized.

Hospital not impacted by drug shortage yet

Thunder Bay's hospital has been spared from the nation wide shortage of drugs. Health Sciences Centre Pharmacist Jeff Chan says the shortage hasn't impacted the hospital yet but it might down the road. Hospitals in several provinces are reporting looming supply gaps for dozens of medications used in operating rooms, emergency departments and intensive care units.

Housing starts down last month

Canada Mortgage and Housing is reporting that Thunder Bay had no new housing starts last month.  Analyst Warren Philp says that's not a reason for concern since it's not uncommon for there to be no starts counted in a month like February given the nature of the residential construction industry in the North.  Year to date construction starts are sitting at 3 units down from seven in 2011.

Hyer on pay equity, vets and government by ambush

MP Bruce Hyer is using International Women's Day to call for pay equity reform.  Hyer says there is a long way to go before what he says "true equality" can be achieved between the sexes.    Meantime Hyer and his NDP colleagues are fuming over the government's plans to make cuts to the Veterans Affairs Department. Hyer is upset that the Harper government voted down an NDP motion to stop the cuts.  Hyer says the government mistreats veterans and doesn't give them the support they deserve. Hyer is also disappointed but not surprised by a move by the government to limit debate on the new crime bill saying, it's part of a pattern by the Conservatives on such issues and calls it "government by ambush"

Event Centre location debate continues

The debate over the location for the proposed Event Centre in Thunder Bay still rages.  20 years ago the city of Saint John, New Brunswick went through a similar decision when it built their Harbour Centre.  St John's Tourism Manager Ross Jefferson says the city had just redeveloped its waterfront and  chose the downtown location near the new construction. Jefferson says at the time it was a hotly contested decision but has since lead to a revitalization of their downtown with a great deal of economic spin off.  He says parking was an issue but the construction of some parkades and a pedway system helped alleviate the problem.

Stolen BC car found in Thunder Bay

A vehicle stolen from a B.C. car rental business has turned up in Thunder Bay.  OPP pulled over the car yesterday evening and found the driver had some credit cards and other stolen property.  A 29 year old woman was arrested and charged.

PARO shines during women's week

It's International Women's Week which helps to recognize the advances females have made, and here in Thunder Bay women have made strides in the business community thanks to the efforts of PARO.  Spokesperson Suzanne Tighe says the organization has been able to help three thousand women start up a business in a welcoming atmosphere

Cancer Centre opens up new clinic

Thanks to 150 thousand dollars in funding, Thunder Bay will be home to one of 3 new pilot clinics to help cancer patients transition out of treatment.  Vice President of the Cancer Centre Michael Power says the Transition Clinic will help get patients back to their family doctors and primary care. Power hopes the clinic becomes a permanent fixture.

Only 2 cases of flu in T.Bay

Thunder Bay's Health Unit is reporting only 2 cases of influenza this year. It follows a flu trend that's being reported nationally as well as in Europe and the US. Spokesperson Darlene Binette says they like to think the reason for the quiet flu season is the increase of people getting immunized.

Prospectors conference wraps up

Thunder Bay's contingent at the Prospectors conference in Toronto is coming back with contacts in the mining industry.  Mining Services Manager John Mason says the networking was well worth the price of his plane ticket.  Harold Wilson of the Chamber of Commerce, Lakehead University's President and Mayor Keith Hobbs were also in attendance.

KI chief protects traditional lands

The Big Trout Lake First Nation is taking to YouTube to air its concerns over God's Lake Resources gold mine operation.  Chief Donny Morris released a video this morning showing he's staying at Sherman Lake the site he's guarding from the mining company.  Morris released a video on YouTube this morning asking Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci to hold negotiations between God's Lake and the First Nation.

Watermain closes Central

The City of Thunder Bay is dealing with a water main break in the area of Central Avenue. City employee Peter Viita says they're working on fixing the break.  Central Avenue is closed from Golf Links to Balmoral.  Meanwhile, Lakehead University had planned to close the school due to a lack of water. But water has since been restored to LU and they will reopen their doors.

Group of First Nation Communities band together

A number of Northwestern Ontario First Nation communities are banning together to work towards improving infrastructure.  The group of 5 First Nation communities signed the agreement that will help in the development of an East-West Corridor in the Ring of Fire.  The communities want to work together to capitalize economic benefits from the mining industry.  Officials say the ultimate goal of the agreement will be to develop an infrastructure, transportation and service corridor for the Ring of Fire.  Chief Harry Papah says ownership of this corridor would give his people new opportunities for training jobs and business.

Ring of Fire alliance formed

Area First Nations are still demanding more decision making involvement in the Ring of Fire mining development. That's why the Aroland and the Marten Falls First Nations have formed an alliance. Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon says they don't want to watch from the sidelines anymore, they want to "take ownership, take partnership" over what will happen in the Ring of Fire.  Gagnon calls the alliance a pro-active move.

Mix up could have led to users death

The Regional Coroner says that one person somewhere in Northwestern Ontario is dead in a case related to the end of Oxycontin. Dr. Michael Wilson says the unexpected death may have been the result of a prescription mix-up.  He says the medication had been prescribed to replace the Oxycontin, but it appears it was prescribed at a higher rate than he usually was on, meaning he may have died due to a drug overdose.  As a result, Dr. Wilson says he's recommended there be better communication between doctors and pharmacists.

Fire in group home

No one is hurt after a small fire at a group home on Sequoia  Street.   A fire official says it happened just before eight o'clock this morning after one of the residents accidentally lit a bed sheet ablaze with a lighter.   St. Joseph's Care Group runs the home which has five residents and two staff members.