Police release woman's name

Thunder bay police have released the name of a woman who was found dead Friday at the Travelodge Hotel on West Arthur.

She's been identified as Verna Patricia Sturgeon of Big Trout Lake.

Police have arrested Joanee Vivier and Michele Morris in connection with the death. The two women have been charged with first degree murder.

Police airport arrest/ George Burke vandalized

Police arrested a man at the Thunder Bay Airport around 9:30 last night. They say it was in connection with a domestic dispute. They needed to use four officers in the arrest in case he refused to cooperate. The man was handcuffed at the top of the escalator without incident.

Also, police recovered a stolen, fire damaged vehicle at the George Burke baseball diamond yesterday. The vehicle was used to damage the ball field early Saturday morning before it was set on fire. Police are looking for information regarding the incident.

Anti-tobacco industry activist visits city

Errol Povah has been running and walking his way across Canada since he left Victoria, B.C . on May 31st. Povah says he's been traveling 42 kilometers a day on foot to raise money and create awareness about the dangers of smoking.

His eventual destination is Montreal and possibly New York where he plans to visit the offices of tobacco companies. Povah says someday he'd like to see the tobacco industry gone altogether.

Thunder Bay group Youth Engaged in Tobacco Free Initiatives welcomed Povah to the city Saturday morning at Marina Park. YETI brought their nine foot high puppet "Big Tobacco" to the event.

Traveling alone, Povah moves his van (which serves as his shelter) up the highway as he goes and doubles back so he can cover the distance on foot. He expects to reach Montreal by October.

 http://www.tobaccofreeworld.ca/

Police investigate murder at Travelodge

The Criminal Investigations Branch is investigating a homicide at the Travel Lodge. The murder investigation began just after 10 Friday morning, when staff discovered a 30 year old woman dead in one of the rooms. The room is being held as a crime scene and evidence at the location indicates the woman's death was related to foul play. The exact cause of death is still to be determined pending a postmortem exam. A 33 year old woman is in custody and charges are pending. The name of the victim will be held until the next of kin are notified. 

Local man takes part in Sears National Kids Cancer Ride

A Thunder Bay Man is riding his bike across Canada. Harry Fediuk is taking on the cross country trek in honour of his 2 year old son, Braeden who has cancer. He leaves Monday for Vancouver where he will join 41 other cyclists as they ride across Canada to raise money and awareness for kids with cancer. Fediuk is taking part in the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride, his profile can be viewed by googling the cause.

Sudbury company awarded construction contract

A Sudbury company is the winner of a 41.9 million dollar contract with the Ontario Government. Teranorth Construction and Engineering will be improving a six kilometer stretch of highway from Hodder Avenue to east of Highway 527. Other highway improvements will include the construction of a new interchange at Hodder Avenue, and the realignment of the Terry Fox access road.

Two more file for nomination in municipal election

There is now a two horse race in the Current River ward. Andy Wolff filed his nomination forms yesterday and will be taking on incumbent Andrew Foulds in Current River. Wolff says he thinks crime will be the number one issue in the Municipal election.  In the Neebing ward its being a crowded ring with a fourth candidate filing their papers today.  Henry Wojak is up against current councillor Linda Rydholm, former councillor Gary Shchepanik and Don Sinclair.

NOSM and OPSEU will continue negotiations

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine and OPSEU are heading back to the bargaining table. NOSM staff have been on strike since August 16th and are still picketing at the university. The talks will be taking place September 14th to 17th.

Strike date set by transit union

Bus services in Thunder Bay could halt in two weeks. The amalgamated transit union has announced a firm strike date of September 17th. Members voted 96 percent in favour of strike action Sunday. There is no word on whether more talks have scheduled.

Shipments down at Thunder Bay port

Coal and Potash shipments are on the rebound according to the Thunder Bay Port Authority. Overall the port has seen a drop of 8 percent so far this year mainly due to a decrease in grain shipments. CEO Tim Heney adds they're gearing up for a busy fall with project cargo being shipped starting this weekend.

HST Exemption at till

The Union of Ontario Indians is making calls to companies informing them they need to provide HST point of sale exemptions. Companies are now required to provide the tax exemption at the till for first nation residents.  Judy Currie is with the local Union of Indians Office and says they've received only one complaint from this region.

Accident on Fort William Road and Harbour Expressway

Thunder Bay Police are on the scene of a motor vehicle collission this afternoon. Two vehicles are involved, and some injuries were reported. It happened around the intersection of the Fort William Road and the Harbour Expressway

Conmee EMS station closed

The Conmee EMS Station is closed temporarily because of mould. Deputy Chief Don Stokes says they've moved their operations into the Kakabeka Falls fire station. Stokes says they're old facility is a trailer, and they think it may be cheaper to just replace the trailer than repair it.

Diabetes DVD released on Friday

The Dilico Anishinabek Family Care group wants to help put an end to diabetes. The group created an educational video that aims to prevent the disease from overtaking Northern Superior First Nations. The dvd provides information about Type 2 Diabetes and will be made public on Friday. 94 percent of first nations people living in the Robinson-Superior Treaty area have type 2 diabetes, which is preventable.

Rural broadband expanded

Rural communities around Thunder Bay will see improvements made to their high speed internet connections. The money was set aside by large telecommunication companies after the CRTC made them allocate some of their money to rural broadband services.  Dorion, Pass Lake, MacDiarmid, Armstrong, Nakina and Marathon are slated for upgrades this year.

NAPS seizes drugs

Nishnawbe Aski Police executed a search warrant of the Fort Hope First Nation. Police seized a street value of approximately 14-thousand dollars worth of OxyContin prescription drugs. 32 year old Linda Josephine Wabano and 32 year old Normand Sidney Shawinimash have each been charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking. Wabano and Shawinimash have both been released on conditions and will appear in court on November 4th.

It's coffee break month

Thunder Bay's Alzheimer Society is celebrating 15 years of "coffee breaks". The fundraiser is being held throughout the month of September. Spokesperson Jason Paul Rasevych says anyone interested in holding a coffee break can pick up a kit from the Alzheimer Society office.

Global Sticks targetting an October start up

Global Sticks is now targeting October for its grand opening. The wooden stick manufacturing factory was originally slated to start up in July but spokesperson Hans-Erik Aamand says there were some issues that slowed up work but the facility should be up and running sometime next month.  The company will build sticks for ice cream bars, popsicles and paint stirring.  When in full operation the facility will employ around 80 people.

Summer Company comes to an end

Thunder Bay's entrepreneur centre is heralding the benefits of the Summer Company program.  Director of the Community Economic Development Commisssion Rebecca Johnson says youth that take part in the program could help guide the city's future.  Johnson notes if they can run a successful business in Thunder Bay now, they'll be more likely to do it again when they've completed their schooling.  A wrap up ceremony was held on Thursday for the local students who took part in this summer's program.

Federal funding rolled out

The Federal Government is helping employ disabled people in the Thunder Bay area. Parliamentry Secretary for Official Languages Greg Rickford was in town yesterday and announced over 200 thousand dollars for the Independent Living Resource Centre. The organization will use the money to provide their program to an additional 90 people. The program helps people living with disabilities gain the skills they need to obtain jobs, prepare for self-employment or return to school.