Council has voted in favour of the Emergency Services Shared Facility Strategy. The plan will see EMS expand from 3 satellite facilities to 5. Chief Norm Gale says the plan would increase the response time and provide significant improvements on services. Gale says EMS will now have to come back with a study that will take a closer look at the locations for some of the proposed satellite facilities. 
Hockey Northwestern Ontario is hoping to develop a Hockey Breakfast for kids in the city. Spokesperson Pat Sutherby asked council to donate an hour and a half of free ice time once a week. Sutherby says the kids would get instruction and then provide a nutritional breakfast. Council hopes to have a report complete in 3 weeks.
WestJet developing a regional jet service could mean a big opportunity for Confederation College students. Dean of Aviation Joe Vieira says it will benefit both pilots and mechanics by increasing the jobs pool.
The owner of the building which was the scene of a fatal fire in Current River wants to set the record straight. Michael Grona says contrary to the Fire Marshal's Office, the building was never a garage converted into apartments, but has always been the Hodder Ave. Motel. He says the units are rented out by the week and by the month. He says the victim had lived in the motel for about five years. The cause remains under investigation by the Ontario Fire Marshal
The First Degree Murder trial of Michael Kelly is back on in a Thunder Bay courtroom. The second week of testimony kicked off with an hour and a half video of an interview Kelly gave to police in November of 2000 just 3 days after he reported his common law wife Judie Thibault missing. Also on the stand was Detective Constable Don Hurd who followed up on the missing person investigation with interviews of friends and family. He also followed up on several reported sightings of Thibault by the public, one of them in Nipigon, but testified nothing came of them. Kelly is charged in Thibault's death last decade.
Police are asking shoppers to keep an eye on their purses after 3 reports of missing wallets came in over the weekend. Constable Julie Tilbury says in two of the incidents wallets were stolen at Chapters book store. A third incident involved credit cards being used to purchase items from three separate stores in the Intercity area.
One man is dead after a fire on the city's north end. Thunder Bay Fire Rescue responded to a fire at an apartment on Hodder Avenue last night and found a man trapped inside the building. The identity of the man has not been released and the cause of the fire is unknown.
Fresh off being endorsed by NDP heavy hitter Charlie Angus, Paul Dewar will be coming to town. MP Bruce Hyer says Dewar will be in the city next Friday for a couple of meet and greets.
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| John Kusznier's hat |
There is substantial damage to an apartment unit following a fire on the city's south side late yesterday afternoon. District Chief Dave Grant says a kettle caught ablaze and started a kitchen fire. Grant says a woman refused treatment for smoke inhalation.
OPP have released the names of the people who died in the tragic plane crash at North Spirit Lake. The 4 who died are the Pilot 41 year old Fariborz Abasabady, 38 year old Martha Campbell and 39 year old Colette Eisinger of Winnipeg, and 62 year old Ben Van Hoek of Carmen Manitoba. 36 year old Brian Shead of Winnipeg is the only survivor.
The young man who robbed a 90 year old woman in front of the OLG Casino is getting 18 months of probation. The teen was in court on Monday and plead guilty to a charge of theft in relation to the September 2011 incident.
Construction has started on the Country Club's new condo units and club house. Demolition began on the curling club this morning. The project is on target and is set to be complete in May 2013.
Fire crews easily put out an overnight fire at the Northern Wood Preservers property on Maureen Street. The building was in the process of having machinery salvaged. The cause of the 2nd floor fire is believed to be dismantling torches.
The City's top lawyer is settling into her new gig. Nadia Koulton started in January as the city's legal advisor. Koulton is already working on the city's proposed deer feeding by-law. Koulton is replacing Rosalie Evans while Evans is on a year sabbatical.
The Deputy Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation says Ottawa must do something about the teachers living quarters in Pikangikum. Terry Waboose says the teachers need to return to Pikangikum as soon as possible so students don't lose the entire school year. Pikangikum leaders say nearly all of its non-local teachers have left the community because of mould in the teachers' residences. And they say that's jeopardizing the school year for hundreds of students.
Hammarskjold High School students are getting a first hand look at how the court system works. They attended the first two days of court proceedings in the Michael Kelly murder trial. Teacher Rory Bain wants his law class to see the legal system in action. He says a majority of the students have never been exposed to the Canadian justice system, so this was a first for them. Among other things, students saw graphic evidence of the crime scene.
Thunder Bay Police are looking for one person after a break and enter this morning. Police say a surveillance video shows a man with a what looked like a crow bar going behind the counter and stealing a cash box. Officers say the front glass door of the building was smashed open just before 2:30 this morning.
A man is recovering after being the victim of an alleged assault. Thunder Bay Police found the man in a snow bank on the corner of Limbrick Street and University Drive just before 5 this morning. The man was drunk and couldn't give a description of the people who assaulted him but witnesses say a van was spotted near the man and then left the area before police arrived.