Problem Gambling Prevention Week

The Responsible Gambling Council is in Thunder Bay for problem gambling prevention week.  They'll be handing out pamphlets on how to manage your addiction at the local casino and community bingo. Spokesperson Heather Ly says gambling addiction runs rampant in the province, including Thunder Bay. Members of RGC will be at both bingo and the casino up until Saturday night.

Sawmill Deal In Place

A new contract is in place between the UNIFOR union and the owner of the Ear Falls Sawmill, EACOM. 300 mill and woodlands jobs will be created with the announced start-up of the Ear Falls Sawmill in the spring of 2014. Key terms of the deal include a 20 percent general wage increase over 8 years.

73 Year Old Charged After Collision

A 73 year old man is charged with careless driving after a rear end collision at the Walsh Street rail crossing yesterday morning. A school bus came to a stop and another vehicle stopped safely behind but was hit from behind by a third vehicle. No one was injured.

Gale Back At Paramedic Association Helm

Superior North EMS Chief Norm Gale is back at the helm of the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs.  He was given a second three year term as the group's President.  The re-election was held recently at their annual conference in York Region.

Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite

Lakehead University says they've sprayed and cleared up seven cases of bed bugs in their Pretie residence. Director of Residence Service David Hare says they sprayed last week and it looks like they are pest free. Hare says the bugs are brought in from all over the province and notes students might have picked them up while they're travelling in airports and bus terminals.

Edgewater School Closed Due To Watermain Break

A water main break in the James Street area has forced Edgewater Public School to be closed for the day. The closure is due to the school being left without water while repair work is done today. The school will re-open once the water main is repaired and the water is turned on in the school.  9 homes are also impacted by the break.

Robbery Attempt At Robin's

A robber got away empty handed following a hold up at the Robin's Donuts location on South May Street. City Police say around 4 o'clock this morning a man entered the coffee shop brandishing a knife and demanding money, but fled the scene when he noticed the alarm had been activated.  No one was injured. The suspect is described as a native Canadian male, between 30-40 years old, who was wearing a black hooded sweater.    

Mauro Tables Bear Hunt Legislation

Thunder Bay MPP Bill Mauro is tabling his private members bill that looks to expand the province's northern bear hunt.   It was introduced Tuesday afternoon and Mauro says it should reach second reading in December.  The bill aims at reducing the nuisance bear population in the region.

Revera Confirms Death

Revera Home Health is investigating the death of one of its Pinewood Court residents.  They've reported the critical incident to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and are cooperating with their investigation.  The company says it's also going to review the circumstances around the death. For privacy reasons the company says it will not confirm the name or way the resident died but says there thoughts are with the family.

Paramedics Recognized

Three Superior North EMS paramedics are now recognized by the government for their long years of service.   The three were given exemplary service medals at a recent ceremony in southern Ontario.   The three are Robert Corbeil and Ernie Kadikoff of Thunder Bay and Paula Verin of Marathon.

Hate Crime Training

City police are working on getting victims of hate crimes to come forward and report them.  Community members and police took in a Statistics Canada training session on hate crime reporting today.  Trainer Warren Silver says local police are actively trying to get more people to speak up about possible hate crimes.  Silver says to date Thunder Bay hasn't reported a hate crime but that's not to say those types of incidents aren't happening in our community.  Silver says the national training session will help police get a better picture of what is a hate crime and how it should be reported to Statistics Canada.

Stay In The Kitchen When Cooking

It's fire prevention week in the city and Fire Chief John Hay says this year the effort is to encourage cooking safety in the kitchen especially with people being busy preparing Thanksgiving meals this weekend.  Hay says it's timely because over the weekend there was a serious kitchen fire that had the potential to be fatal. 

City Man Charged In Police Dog Death

A 27 year old city man  is facing various charges in Edmonton including animal cruelty after a police dog  was stabbed  and later died.   Police say that the incident took place Monday morning when they were trying to stop a stolen car.   Eventually police got the dog to slow down their suspect which is when the canine was allegedly stabbed.  Charged is Paul Vukmanich of Thunder Bay

Power Deal Signed In City

Project Board Chair Margaret Kenequanash

A First Nation run power company is expanding its transmission line to 5 northern communities.  At a signing ceremony today in Thunder Bay, the communities of Deer Lake, Keewaywin, McDowell Lake, North Spirit Lake and Poplar Hill First Nation joined in on the project.  The communities will now be able to stop using diesel for their power source and have access to a reliable source of electricity.

Year Stays Strong For Housing Starts

2013 continues to be a productive year for housing starts in Thunder Bay.   Government statistics show that so far this year the number of housing starts is up 40 per cent compared to 2012.  But Warren Philp of Canada Mortgage and Housing expects that will even itself out by the end of the year  because starts of multi-family housing units surged in the final months of last year.  Meantime there was a 25 per cent drop in the number of September starts this year compared to 2012.

Children Encouraged To Report Abuse

Two children's organizations in the city are teaming up to help prevent child abuse.   Darcia Borg of Dilico Anishinabek Family Care says that along with the Children's Aid Society they will be trying to encourage school children to report abuse to someone in authority.  She says it's important to get the message to children that there is support for them.  The awareness campaign will be taken to city schools all this month.

Flood Prevention Program For All

Council is offering the Residential Drainage assistance program to all property owners City wide.  They made the decision to open up the flood prevention program at Monday night's meeting.  Councillor Andrew Foulds had concerns low income residents might not be able to afford their share of the cost of flood prevention devices.  Staff will be coming back with a report on whether or not low income residents are using the rebate program.

Pool Issue To Be Discussed Again

The future of the City's outdoor pools will be made in November. Council heard Monday night about the work that needs to be done at Heath Park Pool and Dease.  Meanwhile, a group of supporters of the Heath Park Pool told Councillors how important the pool is to the neighborhood.

Small Crowd Rallies At City Hall

Erin Bottle

Thunder Bay's Idle No More Movement is becoming active again in the community.  Spokesperson Erin Bottle says they've been quiet in the past months but it doesn't mean they've given up their cause. A small turn out rallied at City Hall Monday night and Bottle says it's about quality not quantity.  The Idle No More Movement started over Federal Government legislation that First Nations felt was imposed on them.

Tamarack Trees To Be Removed

The City is going ahead with the chopping down of nuisance Tamarack Trees on Mohawk Crescent. Cutting down 11 trees and replacing them with white spruce will cost the City 8 thousand 500 dollars.  The decision was made Monday night.