The James Street bridge is going to remain closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic until at least next week. Lindsay Fedchyshyn of CN Rail says it's still up to the experts to decide when or if it should open. The bridge caught fire last week and so far only trains are being allowed to cross.
Twitter is now a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Share prices were expected to open at twenty-six dollars, a figure that has jumped to forty-five dollars. Mark Piovesana is Senior Wealth-Advisor at Thunder Bay's ScotiaMcLeod and says the excitement surrounding the announcement is similar to when Facebook went public.
A grain elevator has reopened and is seeing service for the first time in three years. Richardson International bought the elevator from Viterra this past summer. Gerry Heinrichs is the company's Thunder Bay manager and says there is still some work to be done. The elevator loaded its first ship this past Tuesday.
A 22-year old man is in hospital with serious injuries following a stabbing on the south side last night. City Police say at around 8:20 Wednesday evening the man was stabbed in the lower back by a large hunting knife in the 200 block of South May Street. Investigators are looking for a lone male in connection with the incident. The suspect is known to Police.
Thunder Bay Hydro is asking the Ontario Energy Board to decrease its distribution rates. Spokesperson Tim Wilson says if approved, it means customers will pay 56 cents less each month. Wilson adds they're able to lower their rates because they've finished installing their smart meters. The new prices would come into effect on May 1.
The City's Animal Service is kicking off a new two week campaign called "Love and Experienced Cat". The adoption fee for senior and long term shelter cats will be dropped to 50 dollars. Manager Jody Kondrat says older cats make good companions. Love an Experienced Cat starts Friday and runs until Nov. 22.
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| Moonias Family |
Terrace Bay Council is nominating Councillor Jody Davis for Mayor. The nomination will be brought for a final vote at the open meeting on November 18th. It comes after former Mayor Mike King resigned after a dispute over how the town's mill property assessment was being handled. If Davis is voted in as Mayor, Council has sixty days to find a replacement for his former council seat.
Thunder Bay's Hospital Foundation is kicking off its annual 50/50 draw. Spokesperson Amy Silvaggio says money raised this year goes towards their exceptional cancer care campaign. The first ticket was purchased today by last year's 10-thousand dollar winner Wynona Fullum.
The city's homemaker program may have a chance at a second life. Following concerns that the social services board is going to dump the program at the end of the year, board chair Bob Katajamaki says the issue is being brought back to this month's regular board meeting. The board runs the program for the city. It provides home support for those who can't feed or cloth themselves.
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters says the motion to create a bear management committee will do nothing to control the bear population. Dr. Terry Quinney says reinstating the spring hunt is the best solution. Quinney says the hunts brought much needed business to hunting lodges during the slow shoulder seasons.
The head of the local social services board is not about to get involved in the politics over the city's homemaker program, which the board runs for the city. Bill Bradica says to extend the program would require the board to reverse a decision it made earlier this year, something he is not about to comment on. Bradica's comments follow concerns of city councillors of the board's decision to stop delivering the program at the end of the year.
Thunder Bay MP John Rafferty is joining the many others to comment on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's recent confession of smoking crack cocaine. Rafferty says he was shocked and couldn't believe he announced his plans to continue acting as Mayor. Rafferty says it's not good for Toronto to be joked about in world wide coverage of the story and hopes Toronto City Council can take action against Ford. He adds he's glad Thunder Bay and other Northwestern Ontario communities aren't having issues like Toronto is.
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| Coroner Dr. David Eden |
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| Vic Fedeli |
12 First Nation communities are working together to create a economic development plan. The Robinson Superior communities are meeting this week in Thunder Bay to brainstorm. Spokesperson Catherine Banning says it's going to take some time to create the plan over the next six months. A consultant will be visiting all of the communities to get their feedback on what they would like to see in the plan.
The number of people going to the food bank is on decline however those who do use it are needing more food more often. That's one of the findings of Ontario Association of Food Banks "HungerCount 2013" report. The Regional Food Distribution Association is included in the document and Executive Director Volker Kromm says they're following the same provincial trend. Kromm says people who have been able to find employment have been replaced with others who have fallen on hard times.
Lakehead University is getting a new teepee thanks to a generous donation. It was donated after recent damage to the current teepee located on the University's ceremonial grounds. The new teepee will be installed in the spring.
Officials at Habitat for Humanity say the Re-Store is going to be closed today and possibly longer. A major water line is being put through the Squire Street facility and it means an inconvenience for customers until it's complete. They encourage anyone to call ahead of time before making a trip to the store.
The Thunder Bay Police Association subscribes to the old adage "if it isn't broke don't fix it." Their Parade of Lights is going into its 15th year and Parade Coordinator Greg Stephenson says they haven't changed much over the years. Money raised from the event goes towards Autism Ontario, George Jeffery Children's Centre, Special Olympics Ontario and the Thunder Bay Therapeutic Riding Association. The parade is set for December 7th at 7 pm. The route goes from Manitoulin Transport, over the Main Street Bridge, down the Harbour Expressway until it turns to head north on Memorial Avenue to Queen Street. It will then follow Fort William Road to Water Street.
Over a thousand Hydro customers were without power Monday evening following an outage on the south side. Thunder Bay Hydro say a pole was found on fire south of the Harbour Expressway near Innovation Drive causing the large power outage. The outage affected customers in the College Park and Northwood area. Most of Westfort was also without power for parts of Monday night. Power was restored around 11:30.
City Council is going to have to wait two weeks to discuss Councillor Ken Boshcoff's suggestion to move to an At-Large Council system. Boschoff wants a question posed to the voting public asking if they would support having councilors elected at large. The issue is being postponed until the November 18th meeting.
The City is putting money aside in the 2015 budget to maintain the Heath Park and Widnall Pools. A replacement strategy for the Dease Pool is also going to be included in the budget as well. A petition with 48 signatures in support of Dease was presented to Council Monday night. Meanwhile, A public meeting looking into how the City can offer more events where streets are open to people and closed to cars is going to be held Tuesday night. It's part of a partnership between the City, EcoSuperior and 8-80 Cities. An open house being held Tuesday night at the Italian Cultural Centre. Reps from 8-80 cities spoke to Council Monday night.
The City is spending 1.2 million dollars on repairs to the Bare Point Watermain. The work is going to Nadin Contracting. Council approved the contract at it's meeting Monday night.
Council is asking the Social Services Board to keep running a homemaking program for the City. The program helps feed, bath, and dress 34 clients who rely on the extra help in their lives. The board plans to stop providing the program as of December 31st but the City is hoping they'll either change their mind or continue to provide the program for another six months while the City negotiates with the local health authority over who else can help the City run the program.
Common Voice's Energy Task Force is responding to the provincial government's North of Dryden regional electricity plan. Thunder Bay Council is showing their support of the plan. Council will share their feelings on the plan with the CEO of the Ontario Power Authority and Minister of Energy.