Two lanes to remain open during bridge repairs

The repairs to the May Street Bridge will now take longer to complete. City councillors voted to have two lanes open during repairs instead of closing the bridge entirely. It came after a plea from Dairy Queen owner Richard Schutte who said closing the bridge would have had a devistating effect on his business.  He estimated the loss could be as high as 30 per cent.    The change means repairs will take almost all summer to complete instead of only half that time.

TBay Tel dividend to fund Tennis Centre repairs

The TBay Tel dividend is coming through to help the Thunder Bay Tennis Centre at Chapples Park.    City Councillors have voted to dip into the fund and come up with almost 240 thousand dollars to help with the repairs to the centre this year.  Centre president Lori Ruberto came before council to plead for the extra money saying that the tenders for the project came in over a quarter million dollars above the 500 thousand dollars that was budgeted

Wind farm protesters descend on City Hall

The city began hearing concerns of residents in the Nor'Wester Mountain area who are against the proposed wind turbine development.  Prior to the meeting a group of them protested in front of City Hall.

Developer wants city water extension

A Thunder Bay developer wants to have city water piped to a new development he has planned in neighbouring Shuniah Township. He wants to build a luxury gated community that would be located next to the citys' Bare Point water treatment plant. Robert Zanette says he is frustrated because city administration refuses to say yes to his idea. Planning manager Mark Smith says the proposal goes against the citys' Official Plan.

Bombardier eyes more work for TTC

There's the potential for more work for Thunder Bays' Bombardier plant. MPP Bill Mauro says that the company has entered into negotiations with Metrolinx to exercise the option for more TTC streetcars. Mauro says because Bombardier has won the original contract and has the infrastructure, it stands to reason they would have a good chance for success. The Toronto Transit Commission has already ordered 200 streetcars from Bombardier as part of the contract.

Former city man injured in Afghan blast

A Thunder Bay mother is thankful her son is recovering from a weekend roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. Maureen Drewes says her son Chris was with Private Tyler William Todd when he was killed in the Sunday morning explosion. Chris is currently in hospital being treated for shrapnel wounds to his shoulder. Maureen Drewes says her son was about 10 feet ahead of Todd when the blast took place.  She says he first called on Sunday morning to tell the family that he survived the incident.

Neebing fire nomads back at James Street

It's back to the James Street Fire Station for Neebing station fire crews. They had to be relocated to the MNR fire base until mould problems at the Neebing station could be fixed. Deputy fire chief Greg Hankkio says they have now moved back to James Street until the mould issue is fixed. Hankkio says under a best case scenerio, they could be back their home base by the end of this month. The Neebing fire house has been closed since February 10th. Pictured: James St. Fire Station

Man wants credible candidates for mayor

A city man is anxious to have Mayor Lynn Peterson face some challengers this fall. David Polhill is running an ad to help find and support a suitable candidate to run against Peterson in the October municipal election. He says right now there have been special interests groups that have contacted him about getting together for a meeting on the issue. He's hoping this will lead to financial backing for a candidate and people willing to help with the campaign. Polhill says he began his crusade after a personal incident at city hall.

Province make major highway announcement

The highway from Thunder Bay to Nipigon will see some major construction over the next few years. The provincial government has announce three new projects to four lane portions of the highway. Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle says the projects will cost over 770 million dollars and including the Widening of the Nipigon River Bridge, four-laning a 12 kilometre stretch between Red Rock and Nipigon and another 13 kilometres from Mackenzie Station Road to Highway 527. These projects are in addition to four-laning from Hodder Avenue to Highway 527 and from Mackenzie Beach to Birch Beach.

Local Poles saddened by tragedy

There's sadness in the Polish community in Thunder Bay. They're mourning the death of Polands' president over the the weekend in a plane crash. Local spokesperson Donna Wronowski says the president was well loved by many Poles She says he was the first president to recognize the hard work of the Polish people. The Bishop will be saying a special mass Thursday night at St. Cashmir's Church starting at 7 o'clock. Pictured: Flags are lowered to half staff at the Polish Legion on Cumberland to commemorate the death of President Lech Kaczynski

Body found in Goods Road area

Thunder Bay Police have identified the man whose body was found in a drainage ditch over the weekend on Goods Road. They say it's that of 60 year old Kenneth Berg. He was the mental health patient who was reported missing in October after wandering off from the Regional Health Sciences Centre. Police say the body was in a ditch that was filled with water and was discovered after the water was drained Saturday afternoon. Police say foul play is not suspected.

Hydro rate hike approved

Thunder Bay Hydro customers will be seeing a small increase in their energy bill. The city run utility has been given approval by the Ontario Energy Board for an increase of point two per cent. Hydro spokesperson Eileen Dias says that works out to about 20 cents a month for a household using the average amount of electricity.

6 million in contracts to be awarded Monday

City councillors will be making more million dollar decisions Monday night.  City engineering manager Pat Mauro says there'll be decisions on contracts to fix the May Street Bridge, asphalt resurfacing and for sewer and watermain replacement. The bridge contract is worth 800 thousand dollars, the asphalt contract comes in at 3 and a half million while it will cost taxpayers 1.7 million for the sewer and watermain replacement.   Also Monday night, administration will recommend councillors turn down a proposal to introduce a recycling program for low income residents.

Wind Park to take up councillors time

City councillors will be hearing a lot about the proposed Big Thunder Bay Wind Park. Monday, they'll hear from the head of the Nor'Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection committee opposed to the idea of  building wind turbines. However City Clerk John Hannam says a special meeting will be taking place Tuesday on the issue.  There are close to 20 presentations expected then.

EMS boss concerned about patient transfers

Paramedics in Thunder Bay say they're handling too many non emergency cases. Their boss, EMS chief Norm Gale, will be before city councillors Monday night with an operational  update. Gale says something has to be done to deal with the issue of patient transfers possibly handing it to a private company. Gale says in Thunder Bay non emergency transfers make up 20 per cent of paramedic calls.  That number jumps to 35 per cent in the region.

Janzen's owner concerned about fee policy

A local pharmacy owner is upset with a provincial government decision to cut fees they get from drug companies. Brenda Adams of Janzen's Pharmacy says those rebates go back to help their customers, adding they go to pay for all the services within the pharmacy operation and as such are an essential part of their funding. Adams says if nothing changes she may have to impose a hiring freeze but stopped short of saying a planned expansion would have to be scrapped.

Wilson says rising loonie presents challenges

The rising loonie is causing some shoppers to head south of the border. However the president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce is asking them to consider the advantages if they shop here. Harold Wilson says they are considerable from return policies and follow up services. Wilson says it's also up to businesses to become creative to keep shoppers here adding, they've had plenty of time to prepare.

Gravelle promotes entrepreneur program

The Ontario government says its' Northern Entrepreneur Program has helped launch 13 businesses in northwestern Ontario. Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle says it shows a little assistance from the taxpayer is sometimes needed to help the economy. The businesses range from a backhoe service in Thunder Bay, a dental office in Nipigon to a garden shed company in Dryden. The province staged a media event in Thunder Bay to promote the program.

United Way gears up for fundraiser

A top United Way fundraiser is all set to go next month. The Billboard Rescue aims to raise more than 100 thousand dollars. Organizer Shawn Christie says it's always a popular event. It takes place May 20th at the Investors building on Jade Court off of Balmoral.

Unemployment rate is down in Thunder Bay

The Unemployment rate in the city saw a sizable drop last month. Thunder Bay's rate went from February's 7.4 percent to an even 7 last month. That's well below the National average of 8.2 percent and far better than Ontario's rate of 8.8 percent.