Local Family Honour In Louisiana

A Thunder Bay family are now honourary citizens of Thibidaux, Louisiana.   Andrea Weiss says it was to recognize them for billeting two of their baseball players while  they played with the Border Cats.   For two years the Weiss's hosted Philip Lyons and Tyler Duplantis and they were invited to the community for a visit.  She says out of the blue they were given the citizenry recognition.

Ice Cover Nearly Unprecidented

An environmental scientist from Michigan says the Great Lakes haven't been this frozen over since 1994.  George Leshkavich of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab says, while it's nothing to be concerned about there will be both positive and negative affects to the ice cover adding,  the situation is likely going to affect shipping on the Great Lakes when the locks open on March 25th and may also mean a cooler summer.

No Concerns Expressed From Horizon

It's business as usual for Horizon Wind and its plans to build the Big Thunder Wind Park.   Spokesperson Kathleen MacKenzie says that a judicial review filed by the Fort William First Nation against two government ministries has no direct effect on the company or its wind turbine project. While not publicly expressing any concern,  MacKenzie says company officials don't believe the review will affect any ministry actions against their application.

City Jobless Rate Up

The latest figures from Stats Canada says the unemployment rate in the country  for the month of February stood steady at 7 per cent.  Thunder Bay's jobless rate for last month stood at 5.8 per cent up from 5.7 per cent.  

Remember The Time

It's a sure sign spring is coming. Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday. It means you will have to push your clock ahead an hour when you go to bed Saturday night. Cell phones, laptops, computers will automatically update. However, don't forget to change your oven, microwave, automatic timer light or car clocks.  The Thunder Bay Fire Service also encourages you to change the batteries in your smoke alarm.

Government Building Still Closed

For the third day in a row the provincial government building on James Street is closed. There was a water main break earlier this week that has caused problems for crews. As result the building remains closed and government business will have to wait until Monday at the earliest. 

New Trial Date To Be Set For Vantroba

A new trial date is going to be set for a city man who is charged in connection with a dog attack on a child in Tarbutt Park in 2012.   Frank Vantroba appeared in court yesterday to answer to why he didn't show up for his trial this week.  He told the court that it was because he was confused about the starting date.   The process will start again March 26th when Vantroba's new court date will be determined.

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.

House Fire On Ryerson Crescent

Thunder Bay Fire officials are investigating a morning house fire at 436 Ryerson Crescent. Crews responded at 8am and began to fight the blaze in the basement. The fire made it into the wall and extended into the attic causing significant damages to the buildings roof and interior. No one was home at the time and nobody was injured.

Video Shows NWO Crash

A Sioux Lookout man and his wife are glad to have come out of a traffic mishap on the Trans Canada Highway near Kenora recent.  Ralph Ireland posted the dramatic video on his Facebook page

College Tight Lipped About Excursion

Confederation College says it will not confirm a report that some students in  a winter survival training course on the weekend suffered from frostbite.   The course is supervised by the Lakehead Search and Rescue Unit.   The College will only say that the staff along with members of  Lakehead Search and Rescue will review current protocols-ensuring that the health and safety of students and instructors will continue to be a priority.

Municipal Leaders Meet

Beginning today, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Board of Directors is meeting in Thunder Bay. The 75 member Board will meet to discuss important questions of how the federal government's New Building Canada Fund will help to meet local needs, and will also talk about the growing housing crisis facing Canadians. The meetings will continue from March 5-7.

Thunder Bay Man Charged

A Thunder Bay man is pleading guilty to hunting-related charges. The man is being fined $625 for hunting a furbearing mammal without a license. He is also being fined $1250 for making a false statement to an MNR conservation officer after telling officers he did not have a gun in his vehicle on November 16, 2013.