Go Electric

A Southern Ontario man is travelling across Canada on an electric bike. Art Burns left Dundas, Ontario at the end of May, and hopes to be in Langley, B.C. by June 22nd.  Burns who was in Thunder Bay today says he's travelling across the nation to promote green transportation.  Burns is driving a bike which is equipped with a small generator to charge its lithium batteries.  Art will be in Dryden late Thursday night and in Kenora on Friday.

New Student Trustee for Public Board

There is a new Student Trustee on the Lakehead Public School Board.    Stephanie Philp is a grade 10 student at Westgate Collegiate.   She replaces outgoing Student Trustee Ann Paterson who happens to attend Westgate as well.   Philp says she looks forward to the challenges and experiences that will come with the position.

Cats player selected in MLB draft

Border Cats third baseman/pitcher A.J. Schugel was selected Tuesday in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. The 21 year old was chosen in the 25th round, 774th overall, by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He just completed his sophomore season at Central Arizona College and is scheduled to transfer this fall to the University ofNew Mexico. Schugel is in his second season with the Border Cats. In 2009, he played in 63 games and batted .261 with four home runs and a team leading 33 runs batted in.

"Nude" Protester at LUSH in Mall

A Thunder Bay woman bared all during a protest at LUSH fresh Cosmetics at the Intercity Mall this morning.  Megan Quinn is an employee of the company and decided to hand out leaflets about the hazardous impacts Alberta's tar sands have on the environment.  Passerby's were greeted by Quinn and other staff members and asked to fill out a postcard to Prime Minister Harper demanding he put an end to the tar sands.  Quinn says she wanted to raise awareness about the cause and adds if it takes getting naked, than she'll pose in a barrel semi nude.

Churchill students paired with the elderly

Some students from Churchill High School are more in tune with our seniors. They've just completed a program that paired them with seniors at Grandview Lodge. Student Tiffany Schebesch says it's taught her about responsibility. She says it's good to give back to the community, noting that many teenagers think only of themselves. The program included trips to concerts, a spa and a family dinner. Pictured: Student Jordan Lovis shown with his senior partner Nellie

Ice Edge stands alone in bid to buy NHL team

Ice Edge Holding is now the sole runner in the race to buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Ice Edge was given exclusive rights with the city of Glendale at Tuesday nights city council meeting. Anthony Leblanc says the next step is to come to a lease agreement and then purchase the team from the NHL. Leblanc says moving the Coyote's farm team to Thunder Bay is still part of their plans for the franchise.

Highway animal collisions are on the rise

Thunder Bay OPP are encouraging everyone to watch out for animals on the highways. Since May 1st, there has been almost 40 collisions reported involving deer, moose and bears in the area. The majority of the accidents involved deer. Officers remind drivers to watch closely in marked areas where animals are commonly sighted.

A salty stuck in Thunder Bay

Delays of wheat shipments from the prairies has forced the ocean going ship Federal Danube, to sit and wait in the Thunder Bay Harbour. Officials at Lakehead shipping say wheat shipments bound for Italy are expected to arrive this weekend. The Federal Danube arrived in Thunder Bay last Monday.

Cost savings for Prince Arthur's Landing identified

Officials with the Waterfront Development office are scrambling to lower costs. They'll be working with Tom Jones Construction trying to find savings for work on Prince Arthur's Landing.Waterfront manager Katherine Dugmore says the bid for the project has come in 2 million dollars over the 12 and 3 quarter million that was originally budgeted. Tom Jones Construction General Manager, John Jones,  says the company has met with waterfront officials to discuss potential savings and that some have been identified and seem reasonable.  Where some of the cost savings have been identified Jones wouldn't say.   He says those talks are continuing.  The Prince Arthur's Landing project includes the splash pad and ice rink, along with the baggage building. The city hopes to award the contract at the June 21st. council meeting.

Foundation and Naturalists to build fund

Two local organizations are teaming up hoping to leave a green legacy. The Community Foundation and the Field Naturalists are working together to build a 60 thousand dollar endowment fund. The Foundation's Paul Wolfe says the money will provide resources to preserve nature sites. He says the Field Naturalists have quite a bit of land in the area and they need the funds to help maintain the land. Wolfe says the money would be used to make sure that things like fences are in good shape and that paths are well taken care of. It's hoped 20 thousand dollars of the fund can be raised from the community.

Treaty 5 ceremonies set to go

Wednesday is an important day for First Nations people in Northwestern Ontario. They're celebrating the 100th anniversary of Treaty 5 with federal government. Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Stan Beardy says it's a day to remember that without treaties there would be no Canada.  He says those treaties were signed to allow settlers to access lands under international law.   Ceremonies are taking place in Sandy Lake and Deer Lake First Nations.  You can get more at the Treaty 5 website.

Triple Nickel owner charged

Charges are being laid against the owner of the former Triple Nickel on Simpson Street.  City of Thunder Bay Licensing and Enforcement Manager Ron Bourret says they filed charges with the Provincial offences court.  The building was completely destroyed in a massive fire in the winter; leaving nothing but a pile of rubble.  Bourret adds that if the owner of the property is found guilty, the city will clean up the site and add the cost of the work to his property taxes.

Thunder Bay's housing starts on the rise

Thunder Bay's housing market continues to see positive signs of recovery. The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation is reporting 24 single-detached starts last month.  Analyst Warren Philp says that's the highest May tally for singles starts since 2003.  The 24 singles started in May were four units higher than the five-year-average for this month.

Beardy optimistic about HST solution

Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Stan Beardy says he is encouraged a solution may be reached in the HST point of sale controversy. Beardy's comment comes in the wake of a meeting held this week between Ontario First Nations and the federal and provincial governments. He says both levels of government have come a long way and is confident the point of sale exemption will continue for Natives when the HST comes into effect July first.

Construction nixes Canada Day Parade

There'll be no Canada Day Parade in Thunder Bay this year. The city's coordinator Melissa Wnuk says the waterfront construction forced them to cancel this year's parade and replace it with a short procession instead.  That will start at Camelot and Cumberland and move into Marina Park where the opening ceremonies will take place.  As well this year Canada Day festivities will be expanded to include Water between Red River Road and Cumberland Streets.

Fort William mill sold for scrap

Thunder Bay's Fort William Paper Mill has been sold for scrap. Abitibi Bowater sold four papermills across Canada to American Iron and Metal Company for 8.4 million dollars. National Representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union Marvin Pupeza says it doesn't come as a shock. Abitibi will also be paid 40 percent of the net proceeds from any sale of papermachines from the four mills.

LU steel bridge team places third

Lakehead University's steel bridge team has taken third place in a National competition.  Zack White says they're bridge faired well against competitors.  White and his team mates are all civil engineering students at Lakehead University.

PETA wants a ban on horse drawn carriages

The animal group PETA is calling on Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson to ban horse drawn carriages in the city.  PETA's request follows a May 31st incident in which 4 year old Willow Scott-Hannam was killed. 
PETA says similar incidents have happened in other city's as well. Director Debbie Leahy says forcing horses to pull heavy loads is cruel and is an accident waiting to happen. Mayor Lynn Peterson has yet to comment.

Students study social issues

Public School students in the city are now more in tune with a number of social issues. It follows a one day conference on diversity in education. Organizer Robin Laye says it's the third year for the program.  This year the topics for discussion were, anti-homophobia, cultural sensitivity, racism, sexism and women's issues.   The purpose of the program is to allow students to learn the skills needed to deal with the problems they face in the system on a regular basis.

No early drinking in Thunder Bay

You won't be able to celebrate the FIFA World Cup in Thunder Bay by indulging in an early morning alcoholic beverage. Council is opting out of the province's longer bar hours that start at 10 am for the World Cup only. The City will be writing the Alcohol and Gaming Commission telling them their intentions to not allow the earlier drinking time.

Green bike lanes?

What colour should the bike lanes be?  That was one of the main topics of discussion at last night's city council meeting.  Councillor Aldo Ruberto brought the subject up suggesting the bike lanes should be a different colour than the white traffic lanes.  Councillor Iain Angus isn't in favour of changing the colour; he says its a waste of taxpayer money.  Ruberto feels if the bike lanes were green seniors and others would be able to easily identify what lanes you can drive in.

Bottled water vs. tap

The City of Thunder Bay is sticking with the status quo.  A policy limiting the sale of bottled water at muncipal facilities was amended to allow people the choice between drinking municipal water or paying for bottled.  The original policy was written to say you wouldn't be able to buy bottled water or get bottled water at any municipal facilities.  Several councillors were in favour of the original policy and Andrew Faulds voted against the amended version.  Foulds feels the new policy is watered down.  The city will be conducting an education study and will promote the use of municipal tap water.

High props for Power

Thunder Bay's Michael Power is being hailed for his accomplishments. The 38 year old Power has been recognized for his work at the Health Sciences Centre by Caldwell Partners International. The organization has put him on their annual list of the top 40 Canadians who have made great achievements before the age of 40. Power founded the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute

Six arrested in drug raids

City police now have 200 thousand dollars worth of drugs and cash after a buslast week. They say the raids took place at a business on the 200 block of Pearl Street and homes on Bay and South May streets along with homes on Dublin and Carl avenues. They say 6 men were arrested who ranged in age from 19 to 40. Drugs seized in the raids included cocaine and marijuana worth an estimated 140 thousand dollars.

Mac's robbery spree continues

City police are still investigating two unsolved robberies at local Mac's Mart Stores since May 22nd. The latest was early Sunday morning at the North May Street location. Police spokesperson Chris Adams says it's part of a string of robberies at south side Mac's locations.  In the last two weeks there have been 5 separate robberies altogether and Adams say police are trying to look for any links between them.   Meantime,  police have a person in custody who was believed to have been carrying a knife outside the North May Street store early Monday morning.

Mourners gather for Willow

Family and friends said good-bye to Willow Scott-Hannam today at a funeral service at the Everest Wesfort Chapel. The 4 year old girl died last week after an accident at Fort William Historical Park involving a horse drawn wagon. She had been part of a school field trip. There are several investigations taking place into the incident including one by the Lakehead Public School Board, the Coroner's Office and the Ministry of Labour.

Aids organization gets info on drug users

New research shows that the typical chronic drug user in the city isn't what you might expect. The study for AIDS Thunder Bay was conducted over two years at a cost of 50 thousand dollars. Executive Director Lawrence Korhonen says they now have valuable information. He thinks the most important finding gathered from the survey is how well they got a better understanding of the population that uses drugs in the city and how much and how frenquently they are using drugs. Korhonen says they were surprised to learn that many frequent drug users in the city are beween 35 and 54 years old. The findings will help to re-direct priorities within the organization.

Construction delay at Marina effects boaters

Boaters using the marina will have to deal with no water or power for a couple of weeks. The city's parks manager Paul Fayrick says boaters can still use the docks but won't have water or power for about two weeks. Fayrick says he doesn't expect other problems for boaters this year.

A man roller blading across Canada made a stop in Thunder Bay Tuesday. Daniel Cloutier says he's raising money for cancer research. He says he has many family members who were diagnosed with Cancer and lost his uncle last year. Cloutier's goal is to raise one hundred thousand dollars.

Ad campaign attracts tips

A two month ad campaign to help solve a 44 year old double murder appears to be working. It's been a week since police re-opened the probe into the deaths of Doreen Hardy and Jane Bernard. Inspector John Horne of the OPP says the response is encouraging. In the last week he says there have been 13 tips and they appear to be good. Horne says investigators are hopeful the information can be helpful.

Robbery Arrest

A 23-year old city man made a court appearance by video this morning after being arrested in connection with the armed robbery at the Mac's Mart on North Edward Street. Police say he was taken into custody around 10:30 Saturday morning. The emergency task unit and a police dog were involved. The robbery took place on Friday morning. Police say that cash and lottery tickets were taken. No one was injured.

Thunder Bay Firefighter remarks irksome

A Thunder Bay City Councillor is standing up for the municipality's fire fighters and scolding his fellow councillor. 
Councillor Robert Tuchenhagen made public comments about the City's fire fighters saying they were spoiled.  Aldo Ruberto says he doesn't agree with Tuchenhagen's comments.  An arbitrator is going to make a decision on the fire fighters contract with the municipality in the near future.

NOMA President gets honorary diploma

Confederation College honored the President of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.  Dryden Mayor Anne Krassilowski received an honorary diploma for business administration marketing.  Krassilowski says she's grateful for the award.  Confederation College campuses across the region graduated 180 students.  Meanwhile, in Thunder Bay 14 hundred and 40 students received their diplomas on Friday.

Another armed robbery on City's southside

Thunder Bay Police are looking for one man who robbed a Mac's Mart at gun point this morning. Officers say the man entered the store on North Edward Street at around 2 o'clock. They say he produced a handgun. No one was injured and the suspect ran off with cash and lottery tickets.

Tourism organizations set to go

It won't be long now before the provincial government officially announces the formation of 13 new tourism regions. The Regional Tourism Organizations will effectively kill the three regions we now have in the northwest and bundle them into one. Tourism Minister Michael Chan tells Magic 99.9 News it should be announced within a month. Chan says no decision has been made on where the announcement might take place

Students cuts hair for cancer patients

Westmount Public School student Finn MacDonald's head is going to feel a bit breezy for the next while.  The 11 year old got his haircut in his his battle against cancer.  His hair will be donated to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that provides wigs to cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy.

Man fined in easement case

A resident is being fined for building his garage illegally. Don Cooper of Ryerson Crescent was dinged 2 thousand dollars after court was told he ignored information given to him as part of a permit he received from the Building Division. It was found that telephone lines run underneath the garage. Cooper has been ordered to remove that portion above the easement.

820 thousand dollars of pot seized in T-Bay

A Thunder Bay man has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and other drug related offences. Police say a John Street residence was searched by Thunder Bay's combined forces organized crime unit on Thursday. That search resulted in the seizure of 89 pounds of Marihuana, 1 pound of Cannabis resin, and 13 thousand dollars in cash. OPP Detective Sgt. Randy Belluz says they spent three weeks investigating before searching the John Street home. The street value of the druges is 820-thousand dollars. Charged is 50 year old Theodore Bobrowski. Belluz says the illegal drugs will be destroyed at a later date.

Early morning garage fire under investigation

Thunder Bay Fire and rescue dealt with a garage fire this morning. Crews responded to the call on Mountain Road around 4 o'clock his morning. When they arrived the garage was engulfed in flames and crews worked to stop the fire from spreading to other buildings. No one was hurt and the cause is under investigation.

Walmart expansion underway

The expansion of Thunder Bay's Walmart store is now underway. Store manager Ryan Holomego  says when it's completed next year the store will be 60 thousand square feet larger.  The renovations will allow the store to provide a wider selection of groceries and other products  He says it'll also mean an expanded staff adding that more employees have already been hired to prepare for expansion and there will be "quite a bit of hiring" taking place as the opening day approaches.    The construction also means the store will not be open 24 hours anymore.  Starting July 2nd store hours will be 7 am until 11 pm.

Thunder Bay has second lowest jobless rate in Canada

For the second month in a row the Jobless rate in Thunder Bay has seen a big drop. Our rate fell from 6.1 percent in April to 5.4 percent in May. That's way below the national average of 8.1 percent and the Provincial average of 8.9. Saskatoon is the only City in Canada with a lower rate.

First Nations history available for viewing

There's a bit of history on display at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. Starting Friday you can view the original Treaty 5 document signed 100 years ago between the government and area First Nations. The Gallery's Allistair MacKay says that the original hand written document and another accompanying one will be well protected in a special case to prevent any accidents or vandalism.  The documents will be on display beginning at noon Friday until June 13th.

A record field to graduate from Con College

It's graduation day  on Friday at Confederation College. A record 14 hundred and 40 students will get their diplomas. President Pat Lang says it's a special day for her as well, one she never gets tired of.  She enjoys seeing how the students have grown since they first arrived. There are a couple of firsts at Friday's ceremonies. 16 grads will get Aboriginal Relations certificates and the first group of Med Lab assistants will graduate. There are 2 ceremonies, at 9 in the morning and then at 2 in the  afternoon.

School field trips not being cancelled

Public schools in the city are not being told to cancel field trips in the wake of this weeks tragic accident. 4 year old Willow Scott-Hannam died after being injured during such an excursion to Fort William Historical Park. Director of Education Cathy Siemieniuk says schools are being asked to review trips to make sure they comply with board policy. As such, she says there's no blanket decision on field trips but schools are taking the extra step to make sure the process is followed. Siemieniuk says it will take several weeks to complete the internal investigation into the accident.

Safety lane nets unsafe vehicles

City Police continue their efforts to get clunkers off the road. Last Wednesday night they were pulliing over vehicles at Water and John Street. Sgt. Andy Clark says they look for private and commercial vehicles that look like they may need some work . Two mechanics on site look over the vehicles and determine if they are safe to drive or not.  Last night they took the licence plates off of at least 20 vehicles.

Great Lakes mayors agree to protect shorelines

Mayor Lynn Peterson is just back from a mayors conference on the Great Lakes. Peterson says 8 Ontario mayors agreed to protect beaches and coastal areas of their lake shorelines.  The mayors are working with the provincial government on six different projects including the testing of beaches and sewage outflows around the Great Lakes.   The deal will also see a new organization created to bring experts together to exchange ideas and practices

4 organ donations performed in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay performed 4 organ donations after cardiac death last year. Those operations helped Ontario lead Canada with the most C-D organ donations. Trillium Gift of Life President Frank Merkel says there's strong support for organ donation in Thunder Bay. Across the province 100 organ donations were made after cardiac death.

Aquatic species invading Lake Superior

The United States and Canadian Governments are taking a stand against the spread of invasive species.  The Lake Superior Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Plan was unveiled on Wednesday in Thunder Bay.  Canadian Chair of the Lake Superior Binational Forum Glen Dale says they want to post tips on invasive species at the border.  To prevent invasive species anglers can power wash their boats and equipment.  Live baits are to be properly disposed of away from streams and water systems.