Truck Stop Gets New Life

The old Pass Lake Truck stop on the Trans Canada Highway in Shuniah Township is getting some new life.  Reeve Maria Harding confirms it will be converted to a Shell-Flying J Truck Stop, hopefully by the end of the year. Harding calls it a good thing.  The business  has sat vacant for about a year and a half.

Payne Sentenced To 90 Days

A Thunder Bay man is going to jail after being sentenced for possessing child pornography.  Forty six year old Michael Payne has been sentenced to 90 days in jail and one year probation   In court Monday it was revealed there were almost 18 hundred images on a computer that police seized at the time of his arrest.

More Building Permits For July

 City Hall is reporting a number of new building permits issued in July.  They include a new office and retail space on  Waterloo Street between Cumming Street and the Tim Horton's.   Officials say there will be three buildings on the site but it's not known what businesses they will be including. Work is already underway.  The Fort William Clinic has also received a permit for its new clinic on Golf Links Road.

The Mystery Remains...Who Killed Shannon Hogan?

If police have any leads in their latest murder investigation they remain tight lipped about it.   For now the death of 30 year old Shannon Hogan remains unsolved almost one month after she was found early in the morning, seriously injured behind a Lake Street house.   Police have not released the cause of her death.   It's the second murder of 2013.

Library Out With Strat Plan

The public library is out with its strategic plan for the next three years.   Chief Librarian John Pateman says it's now available online and they are hoping for your input.  He says they are setting up a community action panel which will get the public's views on the plan's objectives.   While not mentioning a new central library by name, Pateman did say that the plan's directions for innovation and change  could provide for some "interesting developments in the future."   You can view the document at this LINK

NAN Chiefs Meeting This Week

The 49 chiefs of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation are meeting this week in Kasabonika Lake.   They're holding their annual conference.   Topics to be discussed this year include treaties, justice, education and policing.

Wright To Oversee FedNor

Mark Wright

The transition from MP to Minister of State continues for Kenora's Greg Rickford.
Rickford has been busy being briefed on his new duties as Minister of Science and Technology and Minister responsible for FedNor. Rickford says that includes the hiring of new staff including Thunder Bay's Mark Wright who will oversee Fednor

More ELA Alarm Bells

The transfer of the Experimental Lakes Area east of Vermillion Bay continues to hit road blocks. The government had plans to keep research uninterrupted this year while it handed the area to private hands. Peter Kirby is with the group Save ELA and says that the delay has halted research at the facility. Kirby also says the science team that ran the ELA is moving onto other jobs and might not be able to come back.

Girls Get Dirty To Fight Cancer

An overwhelming response to a weekend charity event has organizers already planning next year's Dirty Girl Mud Run.   It was held in Oliver-Paipoonge to raise money for the local Canadian Cancer Society.   The first time event collected 200 thousand dollars with the help of 750 participants.

Tournament Raises Big $

Officials at the George Jeffery Children's Centre are still basking in the glow of a successful golf tournament. The second Patrick Sharp Tourney raked in an impressive 115 thousand dollars for the organization.