Charge Laid In Valente Death

A 24 year old inmate of Stony Mountain jail in Manitoba is charged with second degree murder in connection with the death of Thunder Bay's Cosmo Valente last month.  RCMP says Valente died June 25 from a single stab wound he received while he was an inmate.  Charged is Bryon Jacob.  He made a brief court appearance in Winnipeg Thursday.

Funding Concerns Heard

A Harper government cabinet minister is going back to Ottawa with funding suggestions from northwestern Ontario municipal leaders. Minister of State Steven Fletcher says his round table meeting in Kenora showed roads for the Ring of Fire, Airports and the Trans Canada Highway were area funding concerns. The government wants to set up a new infrastructure funding program by 2014.

Good Samaritans Now Need Help

One Thunder Bay family is looking for help in the aftermath of the city flood. Jessica Sharpe and her family opened her home up to East End residents in the immediate aftermath of the flood, offering a hot shower, blankets and even hot food.  Now Sharpe says they don't have the $21,000 needed for repairs and is in need of help herself.  As is her nature, she is asking residents to keep in mind all of the people affected by the devastating flood and not just her family.

Goal Set For Disaster Relief

The City's Disaster Relief Committee is setting its fundraising goal at 5 million dollars. Committee chair Wayne Fletcher says they hope to get that amount raised for the May 28th flood victims by November 30th. He says committee members believe it's a necessary goal .  Fletcher is also reminding you that any donation to disaster relief can be claimed on your taxes.

Highway 61 Revisited

There's a move on to get more publicity for the Canadian portion of Highway 61. City Tourism Manager Paul Pepe is in Duluth this week to make the case for our city becoming a part of the tourism promotions south of the border for the iconic highway's route along Lake Superior.  Pepe says as it is now,  American promotions for the highway do not include Thunder Bay. 

Police Chief Celebrates Anniversary

Thunder Bay's Police Force is celebrating a year with a new Chief. J.P. Levesque was sworn into the position on July 13th last year. Levesque says he has a number of goals for the year to come. Levesque says he spent much of last year dealing with contract negotiations and disciplinary actions.

3 Kilograms Of Cocaine Seized

Two Toronto area men are currently in custody pending an investigation into a cocaine bust. Nipigon O.P.P. say a traffic stop yesterday afternoon resulted in the seizure of 3 kilograms of cocaine. The street value of the drugs seized is approximately $300,000.

16 Year Old Charged With First Degree Murder

A 16 year old is in custody and charged with first-degree murder. Treaty Three and O.P.P. made the arrest Tuesday in connection with the death of 61 year old Charles Minshall of Whitefish Bay First nation. The 16 year old, who can't be named because of age, is also from Whitefish Bay First Nation. Police are not releasing the cause of death, but earlier reports had police responding to gun fire being heard at a local store, where the deceased was found. The 16 year old is to appear in a Kenora court today.

O.P.P. Search For A Third Suspect In Attempted Robbery

O.P.P. are still looking for a third suspect in connection with an attempted store robbery in Schreiber. Provincial Police were alerted just before 4:00 o'clock yesterday morning.  They then spotted the suspect's vehicle west of Nipigon but an attempted stop had to be abandoned because of public safety reasons as the vehicle took off. Later police spotted the same vehicle and used a spike belt to halt the vehicle and three men went running into the bush. Two of them were caught. The third remains at-large with O.P.P. K-9 units being used in the pursuit. O.P.P. are warning travellers not to pick up any hitchhikers in the Schreiber area.

7 New Forest Fires Reported

The rain yesterday did relatively nothing to help new forest fires from starting. 7 new fires were reported to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Fire crews are now battling 80 forest fires in the Northwest region. The fire hazard remains high across most of our area.

Border Cats Begin Longest Homestand Of The Season

The Thunder Bay Border Cats are back in action tonight following the All-Star break. They begin a 7 game homestand against the St. Cloud Rox tonight at 7:05 at Subway Field. The first-half champion, Mankato Moondogs, are here for a 5 game series starting Saturday. The Border Cats remain 4 1/2 games back in the North Division with 18 games left in the season.

Thunder Bay Selects In First Place

The two Thunder Bay teams at the Ontario Senior Little League Championships are holding their own against the competition. The Thunder Bay Selects are alone in first place with a 2-0 record after dumping Windsor East 11-1 yesterday. The Thunder Bay All-Stars improved to 2-1 with a 13-3 win over East Nepean. Action continues today starting at 2:00 p.m. at Baseball Central. The Selects are in action at 6:00 o'clock against East Nepean.

Salvation Army Copes With Fire Losses

The Salvation Army is still adding up the losses after a fire this week damaged the goods at its Memorial Avenue Thrift Store. Spokesperson Scott Gilmore says they have basically lost everything. Gilmore says they hope to re-open in a week.

Police Chief Says Bust Will Help

The Chief of the Nishnawbe-Aski Police says the latest Oxycontin bust is going to be a great help in keeping the highly addictive pain killer out of First Nations communities in the northwest.   Claude Chum says the drug sells for up to 600 dollars a pill and is literally crippling some communities.  He says in Cat Lake, for example, about 80 per cent of the reserve is addicted and that keeps its workforce limited.  He says many get money by selling their possessions to feed their addiction,

Sister Cities Meet Again

Another five year sister city agreement with Seinajoki, Finland is being signed this week. City Clerk John Hannam says it happens tomorrow evening at the Prince Arthur Hotel and will allow our two cities to continuing promoting business and cultural opportunities

Project Harrington Results In 95 Charges

Details are being released today about a 6 month joint forces drug investigation entitled "Project Harrington." Members of the Thunder Bay Police, OPP, RCMP, Nishnawbe-Aski Nation and Anishnabek Police were all involved in the investigation that resulted in 9 search warrants being executed in the Greater Toronto Area, Mississauga, Kitchener-Waterloo and Thunder Bay, including at the Thunder Bay District Jail. The joint forces unit were targeting a network that transported Oxycodone and cocaine from southern Ontario to areas here in the northwest. In all, police laid 95 charges against 11 persons, seven of whom are in custody and four others remain at large. Quantities of drugs worth approximately $1.13 million and cash were also seized. The charges include: Directing or Participating in a Criminal Organization; Trafficking and/or Conspiracy to Traffic; and Breach of Probation. One of the individuals, an employee of the Thunder Bay District Jail, is charged with Breach of Trust.

Heavy Rainfall Warning Dropped

The heavy rainfall warning for the city is now ended.  Environment Canada Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says that instead of the 50 millimetres of rain we were supposed to get, we will now get 10 to 20.  He says most of the rain is moving to our south.

Salvation Army Caught On Fire

Firefighters are recovering from what could have been a very dangerous fire. Crews were called to the Salvation Army at 915 Memorial Avenue at approximately 1:30 a.m. this morning. The fire from three B.F.I. bins caused an exposure fire to a gas metre and that allowed the fire to spread to the building. Damage is being described as moderate.

Morrison Signs 4 Year Deal

Lakehead University Men's Basketball Coach Scott Morrison is staying in Thunder Bay for at least 4 more years. He signed a contract extension with the Thunderwolves that will see him take on additional administrative duties. Morrison has taken the men's team into the national spotlight with three straight national championship tournament appearances and an Ontario championship title in 2011. He's coming off an Assistant role for Canada at the world under-18 championships in Brazil.

Little League Update

Both Thunder Bay Teams will be on the field at Baseball Central today in the Ontario Senior Little League Championships. The Selects are tied for first place with East Nepean at 1-0. The All-stars are a half-game back in the standings after dropping a 6-3 decision yesterday to Orleans. Games today are at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. with the All-Stars taking on East Nepean followed by the Selects squaring off against Windsor East.