Police Bogged Down With Background Checks

Background checks are starting to become a headache for the city police.   Chief J-P Levesque notes that at today's board meeting members heard police are dealing with a large number of them and it's causing delays.  He says the delays are causing complaints from people who say they are losing chances at employment. A report on the problem will be presented to the board at a later date.

Chamber Pans Power Plant Announcement

The Chamber of Commerce is panning the Provincial Government's announcement to convert the local power plant into a biomass burning operation. President Charla Robinson says it does little to address the uncertainty of energy supply for the business community in the region. Robinson notes that keeping the plant operational for the next five years will however retain jobs at the plant.

Con College Alumni Gets Award

A former Confederation College student is the winner of a Premier's Award. Ramesh Ferris is a Social Service Worker program graduate and was honoured for his work in eradicating polio worldwide.

NAN Talks Legal Issues

Celina Reitberger

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is spending the next three days discussing First Nation legal issues.  Executive Director for NAN Legal Services Celina Reitberger says they'll be talking about bringing back traditional aboriginal justice systems.  Other issues up for discussion include First Nation Representation on Juries, legal representation in the North and fly-in courts for remote communities.

Police Service Looks At Legal Costs

The Police Services Board is concerned about how much money it's paying in legal fees.  Board Chair Joe Virdiramo says at today's meeting there was even a suggestion that the board hire its own lawyer down the road.  For this year Police Chief J-P Levesque says the board is staring at legal fees of 300 thousand dollars.

Dryden Loses Millions

The City of Dryden lost roughly 13.3-million dollars in 2012.  The audited financial statements were presented to Council last night. It also  showed  Dryden recorded 34-million dollars in revenue in 2012, down from 45-million. Expenditures went from 40-million to 48-million dollars.

More Kiddie Porn Charges Laid

City police are reporting the second arrest on kiddie porn charges in a week.   Police say that a probe that began in August culminated with a raid on a North Edward Street home last month.   They say that a computer, an Xbox and flash drives were seized and that child pornography images were found.  Charged is 47 year old Peter Williamson of Thunder Bay.

Wedding Ring Found

Thunder Bay Police are looking for the owner of a wedding ring.  It was found in the McIntyre Centre sometime before August 3rd and Police Chief JP Levesque says they're looking to find out who it belongs to. Police say the ring has an inscription that only the owner would know. If this is your ring, call the Thunder Bay Police Service – Property and Stores at 684-1312. The incident number is P13058283.

Council Calls For VA Office To Stay Open

City Council is putting pressure on the Federal Government to keep Thunder Bay's Veterans Affairs Office open.  The Harper Government plans to close the office in 2014 and Council wants them to reconsider that decision.  Councillor Ken Boshcoff says people deserve to speak to people and not an automated phone line.  Council voted Monday night to write Minister Julian Fantino saying they are opposed to the closures of VA offices across Canada.

Voting Method Sticks With Status Quo

It wasn't a surprise to Councillor Ken Boshcoff that his call for electing all council members at large failed. At the beginning of his bid he started off by saying he suspected how the vote would turn out but urged his fellow members to have an earnest discussion about changing the way the public votes. Councillor Brian McKinnon felt the current system is working well.  Several of the ward councillors argued against the idea of getting rid of the ward system.