City works to be more accessible

The City of Thunder Bay continues to work towards making the community more accessible. Council provided 120 thousand dollars towards accessibility improvements set out in the 2011 capital and operating budgets. The accessibility committee provided an update to council last night and released the city's 8th accessibility plan.

Underground Gym no longer requires city funds

The Underground Gym is no longer looking for bridge funding from the City of Thunder Bay.  The gym had asked for 15 thousand dollars from council, but has since received the funds from an anonymous sponsor.  Councillor Rebecca Johnson took the time during the meeting to thank that person for their contribution to the Underground Gym.

Thunder Bay Police review complaints

Thunder Bay Police have released a quarterly review of complaints they've received from July to September of this year. The local police force received 12 complaints over that time period. Only 3 will continue to be investigated, seven were not accepted, and two are awaiting word from the Office of the Independent Police Review Director. The list of complaints range from excessive force, deceit, harassment, conduct, neglect of duty and exercise of authority. The report is being presented Tuesday morning at the Thunder Bay Police Services Board meeting.

OPP Copper Thefts

Thieves continue to target copper wire as a source of easy money. OPP say that three men were arrested in connection with the theft of the metal in the region. They say a probe uncovered 14 hundred pounds of copper wire stolen from the CP Rail line east of the city.

Library launches $ campaign

The Thunder Bay Public Library is trying to raise a quarter of a million dollars in the community. The campaign is in support of the new Mary J-L Black Branch. Chief Librarian Gina La Force is confident residents will step up.  The money raised will be used to help furnish the new branch.  The Friends of the Public Library kicked the campaign off with a donation of 50 thousand dollars.

Retired general says scandal will not taint the forces

A retired Brigadier General in Thunder Bay doesn't think the Williams scandal will shake confidence in the military. Colonel Russell Williams has pleaded guilty in a Belleville court  to killing two women, sexually assaulting two others and a string of break-ins. Thunder Bay's  John Litt admits, there will be a few who see this as a stain on the forces, but others should see the crimes committed by Colonel Williams as ones performed by an individual.   Litt doesn't agree with stories that say the incident has shaken the military to it's core.

Waste Reduction Week kicks off in Thunder Bay

The City is teaming up with EcoSuperior this week for waste reduction week. EcoSuperior Spokesperson Karen Copeland says the week will include a number of events including a bunch of talks with local school students. Copeland says its a great opportunity for people to learn more ways to reduce the amount of waste they produce. One of the highlights is a workshop this Saturday at Intercity Mall.

New Ornge facility

Ornge Ontario unveiled a new air ambulance facility in Thunder Bay yesterday.


Ornge CEO Tom Lepine says the facility brings different parts of the organization together under one roof.

According to Lepine, Thunder Bay is the organization's busiest airport for transporting patients. He says the new facility will help Ornge deliver better patient care and cut down on response time.

The  facility will also serve as an educational hub to train Ornge paramedics around the region.

YPN debate a success

The Young Professionals Network is calling last week's mayoral debate a success.

A straw poll conducted at the beginning and end of the event showed that minds were changed by the candidate's responses. Keith Hobbs had a six percent drop in support among the crowd by the end of the debate while Lynn Peterson had an 85 percent increase from where she started at the beginning of the night.

YPN says around 175 city residents attended the event.

Bruce Hyer heads to China

Bruce Hyer is going to China. The Thunder Bay-Superior North MP leaves today to be part of a joint federal-provincial trade mission to promote Canada as a tourist destination. Hyer calls China a real tourism priority and says the number of potential visitors is huge. 45 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad last year, a number that's expected to increase to 100 million by 2020.

Transit union votes in favour of contract

Last night transit workers voted to accept the contract offered by the city. The vote was 78 percent in favour, according to union president Charlie Brown.


Transit workers retain their current benefits and gain a pay increase under the new three year contract. While transit workers are getting a bump in pay. Brown says city transit workers are still below the provincial average.

The contract also adds protections to prevent bus surveillance cameras from being used to monitor job performance, Brown says the cameras are there for the safety of drivers and passengers and should only be used for criminal matters.

Brown voted against the contract although the union recommended a vote in favour and called the negotiation process the most "dysfunctional" he's ever seen in his time as union president.

Brown says the contract will be up for negotiation again in 18 months.

Strategic plan update

City councillors will hear Monday about how well they're doing to implement the strategic plan.

City Spokesperson Karen Lewis says they'll be giving an outline of their progress and of plans 92 initiatives. Lewis says 75 of the initiatives are either complete or have major aspects complete.

Lewis adds they'll be recommending council put in a corporate review process to look for ways to make the city more efficient.

Monday's council meeting is the last before the municipal election.

Local RN's recognized

 100 select Registered Nurses at the Health Sciences Centre now have their skills recognized. They've been able to obtain a certification from the Canadian Nurses Association. The hospitals Chief Nursing Executive Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott says it's a great achievement.  Crocker-Ellacott says it helps create a higher level of excellence for the hospital.

Local woman to get M.S. Liberation Therapy

A Thunder Bay woman with M.S. is going to Egypt next month for the controversial Liberation Therapy.  39 year old Elizabeth Tambakis has had the disease for several years and is getting progressively worse according to her husband Nick Tambakis.  He's upset the treatment isn't available in Canada.  It involves an operation to unblock blood veins in the neck

Virtual Tour of Waterfront

The City of Thunder Bay is providing a look into the future of the finished Prince Arthur landing.  A virtual tour is available on the city's website .  Waterfront Development Manager Katherine Dugmore says they're also showcasing the video at an open house this afternoon at Pier 3.  Another video is expected to be released at Christmas and looks at the finished public buildings.

Foundation kicks off raffle

The Regional Health Science's Foundation is back with it's yearly raffle. Spokesperson Tracie Smith says it looks to be another good year for the fundraiser. The winner gets 10 thousand dollars as does the foundation. To date the raffle has netted the Foundation 95 thousand dollars. The draw takes place December 23rd

60 year old dies in highway collision

One man is dead after a two vehicle collision near Geraldton.  James O'Brien of Bowmanville died when his pickup truck collided with a commercial vehicle on highway 11 just before 5:30 yesterday afternoon.  The driver of the commercial vehicle is charged with driving without a license and having an expired insurance card.

City police run vehicle safety blitz

Thunder Bay police have taken 18 vehicles off the road after a vehicle safety blitz.  Officers targeted commercial vehicles Tuesday and Wednesday and inspected more than 50.  Officials say 13 charges were handed out two including suspended drivers.  With winter coming officers say they will shift their focus to inspecting "Winter Beaters".

Crime continues to dominate debate talks

Crime continues to dominate discussion in the Mayor's election race. Colin Burridge says the city needs to enforce a curfew in the evening and offer more foot patrols. Frank Pullia feels the city needs to address the social issues and notes having more police doesn't necessarily help stop crime from happening. Meanwhile, Lynn Peterson feels the crime council will help reduce the city's crime rate. Keith Hobbs, and Jeff Irwin also took part in last night's mayoral debate.

YPN Debate tackles doctor recruitment and youth out-migration

Keeping doctors working in the city was one of the questions posed last night at the Young Professional Network's Mayoral debate.  Colin Burridge feels if we improve our tourism industry we'll retain more doctors.  Meanwhile, Frank Pullia says the answer lies in quality of life. Another topic of discussion included how the city can stop youth out migration.  Lynn Peterson, Keith Hobbs and Jeff Irwin also took part in the debate.