Thunder Bay man has messy police stop

Reports out of Timmins say a drunk driver with triple the legal amount of booze in his blood drove the wrong way on a one way street.  When Timmins police pulled him over the Thunder Bay man told the officer he soiled himself.  He was fined over a thousand dollars and is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle for 18 months after pleading guilty on Tuesday.  The man told the police officer he had just moved to town for a job.

Weather impacts bus routes today

City buses will be making a number of detours thanks to the wild weather today.  Many vehicle accidents, drainage issues, and fallen trees have caused the routes to be altered.  There will be delays and stops may be missed on the numbers 9, 11 and 2 routes.

Rafferty on HST warpath

Thunder Bay Rainy River MP John Rafferty is criticizing the Government for not exempting legions from the HST on poppy sales.  Rafferty says its like taking money from veterans.  Legions use the poppies as a way to remember fallen soldiers and as a fundraiser for their local chapters. Rafferty says it robs legions from money, and taxes the public act of showing respect for veterans. A private members bill asking for an exemption is being introduced but if passed won't help until the next Remembrance Day.

Foulds vows to work with Hobbs

Andrew Foulds was one of the 10 councillors to get re-elected in Monday's civic vote. The Current River rep says he's confident he'll be able to work with the new mayor Keith Hobbs and is looking forward to the next four years.   Foulds hopes to continue what he calls,  a relationship of respect with the other councillors

Hobbs still on cloud 9

Keith Hobbs says it still hasn't sunk in yet. He says his first day as mayor-elect has been a whirlwind of news interviews. He says he's already planning to lay the groundwork for his first term.  Hobbs says he's also looking to make some connections within the higher levels of government.

Lines down everywhere

The evidence of today's wind and rain storm is everywhere.  On Balmoral between the Oliver Road and Beverly,  there are several downed power poles. It's forced the closure of that section idefinitely.  At the height of the outage over the noon hour there were 10 thousand Thunder Bay Hydro customers without electricity.

Power outage affects traffic lights

Hydro, Fire and Police crews have been out this afternoon at various intersections in the North Ward.    A power outage has taken grip as the result of the wind and rain storm we're experiencing.   Police have been directing traffic because signal lights are out.

Power outages reported across the City

The wicked weather has caused a number of power outages in the City.  10 thousand Thunder Bay Hydro customers are without power.  Thunder Bay Hydro Spokesperson Eileen Dias says crews are doing the best they can to restore power. Trees have fallen on power lines, and the powers outs are wide spread across the City. 

Great Lakes Cyclone hitting Thunder Bay

Hold on to something heavy today because the Great Lakes Cyclone is paying us a visit. Environment Canada's Geoff Coulson says the very intense system is effecting Thunder Bay.  He says the storm will be strong winds gusting to 70 kilometres an hour and as much as 50 millimetres of rain by tomorrow evening.  Coulson says the temperatures will prevent any snow from hitting the area but Western Manitoba is a different story where Major snowfall warnings are in effect. 

Oliver Paipoonge reelects Klousterhuis

Lucy Klousterhuis earned another term as Oliver Paipoonge's Mayor. Klousterhuis says it was the first election since the two wards merged.  The community elected three new councillors Monday night.
Meanwhile,  the official election results are in in Shuniah.  891 votes meant Maria Harding could keep her job as Mayor.

Johnson finds the new make up of council exciting

Rebecca Johnson was one of 4 Councillor's at large re-elected in last night's election. Johnson says its going to be interesting working with new mayor, Keith Hobbs.  Johnson says it'll definitely be different but having a different view on council is exciting.

Chief says "no comment"

There's lots of reaction to yesterday's election,  but there's at least one person who isn't saying anything.  Police Chief Bob Herman says he won't be commenting on the election results.    Mayor-elect Keith Hobbs has been a vocal opponent of how the Police Service is run.

Peterson proud of accomplishments

Lynn Peterson says she appreciates the time she's spent serving the community as an elected official and that it's been a real honour. The outgoing mayor is proud of the many projects that she has overseen. She says initiatives like the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the waterfront development and the new courthouse are moving the city forward.  Peterson says while she feels she ran a good campaign, clearly the community wanted some change.  While  she has no immediate plans, Peterson says she will stay involved in the community.

Pugh takes McKellar

Paul Pugh showed a strong win in the McKellar Ward and says he's honoured voters have given him their trust.  During his campaign he found the efforts of community groups  in his ward encouraging and wants the city to do more to work with neighbourhood groups. Pugh says his next step is to do further research into the city's issues as he prepares to take his seat on council.

Hobbs wins mayor's race

Thunder Bay is going to get a new mayor. Keith Hobbs pulled off an upset over incumbent Mayor Lynn Peterson. Around 200 people attended his celebration at the Da Vinci Centre. Hobbs says he's looking forward to working with administration and the rest of council. He notes there shouldn't be any hard feelings from the election campaign. In the At Large Race it's Ken Boshcoff, Larry Hebert, Iain Angus and Aldo Ruberto. Other winners, Trevor Giertuga , Andrew Foulds, Joe Virdiramo, Paul Pugh, Mark Bentz, Brian McKinnon and Linda Rydholm. Complete election results available at this link.

Thunder Bay sees slight increase in voter turnout

It wasn't the highest voter turn out for the City of Thunder Bay. Around 40 percent came out to exercise their right to vote which is two percent more than the last election. Voter turnout in the seventies was around fifty percent. Returning Officer John Hannam says they're not overly disappointed. Hannam says they'll have a better idea of how many people voted on Wednesday when they release the official election results.

At Large Councillor Election Round Up

Most of Thunder Bay's at large councillors will be on the job for another term.  Ian Angus, Larry Hebert, Rebecca Johnson, and Aldo Roberto appear to have won their seats back according to unofficial election results.  Hebert says he's going to work towards making council more transparent.  Meanwhile, Angus he's ready to tackle job creation.  Former Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff rounds out the at large council members.   Boshcoff says he's happy to return to municipal politics.  The new council and Mayor will be sworn in December 1st.