Changes For Local Hair Salon Space?

The City is going to be clearing up some property and planning issues at it's Monday night meeting.  Staff are recommending changing a hair salon on the east side of Junot Avenue South into an apartment.  The building already houses two apartments with a parking area.

T.Bay Inflation Rate Up

Thunder Bay's inflation rate is on the rise.  Statistics Canada is reporting the City saw it jump from 1.2 percent in June to 1.6 percent in July.  Meanwhile, the national inflation rate edged up one-tenth of a point to 1.3 percent last month.

Rally For Ranger Program

Former members of the province's Ontario Ranger program will gather tomorrow as part of a lobby effort to bring back the program.  The province axed its camps last fall.  Spokesperson Emily Kerton says a rally tomorrow in Huntsville is being held to generate more public support.  Kerton says they'll hoping to gain a meeting with government to discuss ways of bringing back the program.

300 Kenora Residents Without Power

Day three without electricity for about 300 Hydro One customers in the Kenora area.  Hydro One says its hoping to restore power by 4:00 this afternoon.  A vicious thunderstorm which blew through the area Tuesday night is responsible for the outage.

MNR Reports More Fires

Lightning caused fires continue to crop up across northwestern Ontario.  Four new forest fires were reported yesterday.  So far this week, there have been 17 fires reported across the region.

Weldon Hopes To Return Home Soon

A setback for Thunder Bay's Robbi Weldon following an accident in Matane, Quebec.  Weldon is in hospital after being involved in a collision with a vehicle while training for the 2013 UCI Para-Cycling World Cup Finals.  Her pilot was also injured in the accident.  Cycling Canada says both are doing o-k, but have mulitple fractures.  Weldon hopes to return home this weekend despite suffering a concussion.       

Search Still On

The search is on for a prisoner who has escaped from the lock-up at the Kenora Court House.  The Ontario Provincial Police say 53-year-old Harvey Smith managed to escape custody just after 11:00 yesterday morning.  Constable Bob Bernie says there's a large search taking place.  Smith is described as being six feet tall, wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, glasses and blue and white jail issued shoes.

Date Set For Moonias Inquest

An inquest into the death of a 27 year old man will be held October 21st.  Bruce Moonias died on December 11th, 2006 at the Thuner Bay hospital after being involved with the Nishnawbe Aski Police and OPP.  The inquest is expected to last three weeks and will hear from 22 witnesses.

Ribfest Is Here

Ribfest is back for its second year and will be taking up space on Court Street and Park Avenue this weekend.  The Waterfront District BIA event will feature four out of town ribbers as well as a local "best rib" competition.  Money raised from the beer tent sales will go towards Our Kids Count and the Dew Drop Inn.

Weldon Injured In Accident

Thunder Bay's Robbi Weldon is injured but doing ok after being involved in a collision with a vehicle in Matane, Quebec.  A Cycling Canada official says she hit by a vehicle yesterday while training and is in hospital.  She was set to compete in the 2013 UCI Para-Cycling World Cup Finals on Friday.  Weldon tweeted to her followers that she's alive and thanked everyone for their messages of support. 

Inquest Date Set

An inquest into the death of a 27 year old man will be held October 21st.   Bruce Moonias died on December 11th, 2006 at the Thuner Bay hospital after being involved with the Nishnawbe Aski Police and OPP.   The inquest is expected to last three weeks and will hear from 22 witnesses.

Big Coke Seizure In T.Bay

A 37 year old Brampton man is charged with trafficking cocaine in Thunder Bay.  Staff Sergeant Murray Brown says they arrested the man on Wednesday while he was in possession of a package holding almost 3 kilograms of cocaine.  Brown says the man had flown into Thunder Bay from Toronto earlier in the day and was staying at a local hotel.  He was arrested walking along Mountdale Avenue.  The street value of the drugs is 292-thousand dollars.

Province Gets It

The Provincial Government finally gets it.  That's the message from the City after they met with nine Cabinet Ministers this week in Ottawa.  Councillor Joe Virdiramo says they spoke with Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli about the future of our coal fired generating station.  Virdiramo says the Minister reminded them that all coal plants will be closed after 2014, but hinted at alternative fuel sources for some of those plants.  Virdiramo says they also took away from a variety of ministers that there may be Provincial dollars for the proposed event centre.

Collision At Arthur & Brown Streets

A 23 year old woman is charged with making an improper turn after a collision this morning at the intersection of Arthur and Brown Streets.  Traffic Sgt. Glenn Porter says the woman hit a 27 year old man who was lawfully crossing in the cross walk.  Porter adds the man was taken to hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Yes Says Goodbye To Summer Students

Yes Employment Services is saying farewell to its summer students.  Spokesperson Thomas Kelly says they've placed over 240 young people in summer jobs this year.  Kelly says it's great to help give students their first work experience.

New Fires In Region

Some more action for Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters.  Six new forest fires have been confirmed in Northwestern Ontario, specifically in the Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, Kenora and Nipigon Districts.  Lightning was the main cause, however human-caused fires are also part of the total.  Many of the fires did require an air and ground attack as they were in areas that could threaten people or property, but now they are listed as under control.  Meantime, the fire hazard is moderate but is expected to reach high by this weekend.

Prisoner Escapes

A prisoner has managed to escape police custody in Kenora.  Provincial Police say the prisoner escaped Tuesday morning when he was being moved from the Kenora Court House.  53-year-old Harvey Smith of White Dog First Nation is now on the run.  He's described as 6 feet tall and was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, glasses and blue and white jail issue shoes.  An arrest warrant has been issued and police are now searching for Smith.

Ontario's Energy Plan Funding

The Province is promoting conservation and clean energy in smaller sized and Aboriginal communities.  The new Municipal Energy Plans and Aboriginal Community Energy Plans will allow the communities to assess its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and consider the impact of future growth and options.  Small and medium sized as well as Aboriginal communities will be eligible for up to 90-thousand-dollars to develop a plan, while remote First Nations can receive up to 95-thousand.

Northern Priorities Presented

Northern Ontario Mayors are giving the Provincial Government a piece of their mind.  They presented seven Ministers a document called Northern Priorities.  Acting Mayor Joe Virdiramo says they got a good response from them.  The Mayors hope the document will provide a more strategic relationship between Ontario and the five largest Northern Ontario Cities. 

Bisson Stops In T.Bay

NDP Critic Gilles Bisson is taking up the cause of the Thunder Bay's generating station.  Bisson is calling on the Provincial Government to get to work on converting the coal generating station to natural gas.  Bisson says he intends to bring up the coal plant conversion as soon as the Legislature resumes in September.  Bisson paid a visit to Thunder Bay yesterday to talk about the Liberal Government's inaction on the local coal plant.