SUV Driver Charged

Thunder Bay Police are charging the 53 year old driver of an SUV with a turning violation after a collision on Golf Links Road this morning. The SUV hit a school bus this morning sending the woman driving the SUV to the hospital with minor injuries. Nobody on the bus was injured.

Classic Tournament Gets Sponsors

The Thunder Bay's PGA Canada Classic is taking shape with two new sponsors being announced. Executive Director Scott Smith says the Valhalla Inn has come on board to help with this summer's event as a sponsor and as the tournament's official hotel.  The Chamber of Commerce has also come on board as a sponsor pledging 12-thousand dollars.

Passenger Volumes Increased

Thunder Bay's Airport is reporting higher passenger volumes in 2013.  President Scott McFadden says last year over 779-thousand passengers flew in and out of the City. McFadden attributes the 2.4 percent increase to the arrival of United Airlines and new flights offered by Wasaya.

HWY 17 Open

Highway 17 at Breezy point road East of Ignace is now open to both lanes of traffic.  It was closed for part of today due to multiple motor vehicle collisions. No injuries have been reported.

HWY 61 Open

Highway 61 just South of Riverdale Road is now open to traffic after it was closed following an accident this morning. A 71 year old man was sent to the hospital with serious injuries after the driver of a Toyota Corolla slid into him.  OPP Constable Diana Cole says it's a situation of wrong place at the wrong time. The driver of the vehicle wasn't injured and the vehicle sustained extensive damage.  The investigation is continuing.

Airport Premium Parking

Thunder Bay's Airport is introducing a new long term parking system.  It includes spaces in the short term parking area for the price of 20 bucks a day. President Scott McFadden says the most recent expansion of the parking lot increased the number of spaces available to the door.

LU Gets Cash

Lakehead University is getting 132 thousand dollars from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The money will be used to purchase equipment that researchers will use to take waste from the forest industry and create environmentally friendly chemicals for mine rehabilitation.

ATU Negotiations On Today

Talks are scheduled today and tomorrow with the Amalgamated Transit Union and the City.  President Sheila Kivisto says she's optimistic a deal can be reached.   If an agreement isn't reached by January 20th the local transit workers will be in a legal strike position.

Health Unit Board New Chair

There's a new Chair and Vice Chair at the Board of Health. Norm Gale is heading up the Health Unit's board and Joe Virdiramo will act as his second. The board elections took place on Wednesday.

Highway Safety Site Launched

The OPP's new Highway Safety Education Committee is launching a Safe Winter Driving Campaign. The group was formed last year and is launching a website courtesy of funding from the Ministry of Transportation.  Sgt. Dave Bel says they've identified road user safety issues. The MTO funding also allowed the group to develop a safe winter driving strategy for the region which they'll promote through the new website.

Sexting Leads To Child Porn Charges

A sixteen year old Kenora boy is charged with distributing child pornography after what police say was a case of sexting.   They say it follows the discovery of sexually explicit photographs of a 17-year-old girl on an electronic device.  They say the pic had been distributed by a youth.  

Cause Of Garage Fire "Undetermined"

There's nothing to indicate what may have started a  garage fire at 19 Empress Avenue this morning.   Fire inspector Kevin Anderson says about all he can say for certain is that the fire started on the outside of the structure  and the cause will remain a mystery and will go in the books as undetermined.   No one was hurt in the blaze and the garage was heavily damaged.

Witnesses Sought In Hit & Run

Police are searching for the driver of a pick up truck they say was involved in a hit and run accident early Sunday morning at around 3 o'clock.  Sgt. Glenn Porter says the pick up rammed into the back of a car that was stopped for a red light on Memorial Avenue at the Harbour Expressway.   They say the driver of the pick up truck left the scene without checking on the condition of anyone in the car.  Police want your assistance in identifying who the driver of the pick up was.

Kidnapping Suspect Makes Court Appearance

The man arrested in Dryden for allegedly kidnapping his two sons will have his case heard in Alberta. 29-year-old Illhami Butin  was stopped Monday afternoon by Provincial Police on a Canada-wide warrant. The man was wanted for abducting his 3-year-old and 4-year-old sons in Edmonton and attempting to bring them to Toronto. Butin made a brief court appearance this morning and was told that Edmonton Police would be coming to pick him up. He will remain in Dryden custody for a maximum of six days as he may be out earlier depending on when the transfer will be completed.

Committee Meeting In T.Bay

A provincial government committee is meeting in Thunder Bay today to discuss the needs of children and adults living with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities. The group has been touring Ontario talking to stakeholders about how the Province can better coordinate the delivery of developmental programs and services across many provincial ministries.

NOSM Hosting International Conference

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is hosting an international recruitment conference tomorrow. Dean Dr. Roger Strasser says northern European countries are coming to Thunder Bay to learn from Canada's strategies to attract health care professionals to under-serviced areas. Strasser says later in the afternoon they'll listen to the delegates from Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Scotland and Northern Ireland on what they're doing to attract Doctors.

Chamber Talks With Finance Minister

The Chamber of Commerce was just one of many local groups that were recently given 3 minutes to talk with the Finance Minister about the upcoming Ontario budget. President Charla Robinson says they tried to jam as much information and concerns into those fleeting moments. A pre-budget consultation hearing for the broader public will be held next Tuesday at the Valhalla Inn.

OPP Nab Alleged Kidnapper

A Toronto man who police say kidnapped his 3 year old and 4 year old sons from Alberta has been arrested in Dryden. The Edmonton Police Service alerted OPP and the man was spotted driving through Dryden around 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon. Police arrested 29 year old Ilhami Butin. He faces 2 counts of child abduction, 2 counts of kidnapping and 1 count of uttering threats. He remains in custody and is due in Dryden court today. The two young boys were unharmed.

Lawsuit Filed

Keystone Air Service and the estate of the dead pilot are both named in a lawsuit filed by the lone survivor of a plane crash in northwestern Ontario. Three passengers and the pilot were killed when the plane crashed at North Spirit Lake in January, 2012. Brian Shead survived the crash and he has now just filed the lawsuit in Winnipeg court. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

Giving It Another Go

Another attempt is going to be made to have a vast area spanning the border of Ontario and Manitoba declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Ontario and Manitoba want to have an area of boreal forest recognized by the United Nations. Last year the World Heritage Committee deferred its decision and now the Manitoba government says its re-working its application. The deadline is February 1st, but if they can't make that they will have to wait until 2016.

Chamber Launching New Site

The Chamber of Commerce website is getting a face lift. The organization is launching a new site tonight at www.tbchamber.ca. The site boasts better navigation and a responsive layout on all devices including cell phones and tablets.

NAN Likes Court Decision

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is pleased the Superior Court has ordered the Federal Government to release documents relating to abuse at a residential school in Fort Albany. Survivors of that school have called for the documents since they first found out they existed in 2003. The Superior Court's decision came down in December of last year.

Two Byelections Called

There will be two byelections in Ontario next month.   Premier Kathleen Wynne announced today that voters in the southern Ontario ridings of Niagara Falls and Thornhill will go to the polls on February 13th.   The byelections will fill vacancies created in the provincial legislature.

Overnight Blaze

City fire crews battled a garage fire on Empress Avenue near the corner of Red River Road.  A second alarm was called in around 4:45 this morning and it took firefighters close to a half an hour to bring the blaze under control.  A total of five units were on the scene.  Two cars were inside the garage, but was there no damage to any other buildings in the area and there were no injuries.      

Kidnapping Suspect Arrested In Dryden

A Toronto man who police say kidnapped his 3 year old and 4 year old sons from Alberta has been arrested in Dryden.   The Edmonton Police Service alerted OPP and the man was spotted driving through Dryden around 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon.   Police arrested 29 year old Ilhami Butin.  He faces 2 counts of child abduction, 2 counts of kidnapping and 1 count of uttering threats.  He remains in custody and is due in court Wednesday.  The two young boys were unharmed.

Resort Responds To Accusations

Click to enlarge image

The Dominican Republic resort that is the centre of some local accusations denies news reports that its employees tried to sexually assault and shot at two Thunder Bay women.  The unnamed women, who have not spoken to our newsroom, claim in other news reports, that the incidents happened a couple of weeks ago at the Bahia Principe San Juan hotel.   According to a news release from the company an investigation by police shows the allegations are totally false and unsubstantiated and that there is no evidence that the events actually occurred.

Officials Zero In On Fire Cause

The fireplace and chimney assembly are being looked at as the likely cause of Monday's house fire on the 11 hundred block of Mountain Road.   City fire inspector Eric Nordlund says preliminary indications are the blaze was accidental, but because of the extent of the damage they want to talk with the owner before confirming a causeS.  The house was under construction at the time.

Shipping Season OVER

Thunder Bay's shipping season is in the books.  CEO Tim Heney says the season officially wrapped up on Monday night with the MV Saginaw departing with 13-thousand tonnes of canola.  Meanwhile, two vessels are staying in the Port for the winter, the MV Capt. Henry Jackman and the MV CSL Tadoussac.

NWO's Radford Olympic Bound

A dream come true for Northwestern Ontario's Eric Radford. The figure skater from Balmertown and partner Meagan Duhamel have been named to the Canadian Olympic skating team.  Radford and Duhamel defended their title and won the pairs competition at the Canadian nationals over the weekend in Ottawa. The pairs short program is set for February 11th, with the free skate taking place the next day.

Funeral Services For Deputy Chief Today

Funeral services are being held this afternoon for Deputy Chief Norman Brown, the former Chief of Wapekeka First Nation. Brown passed away unexpectedly at the Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre on January 9th. The 63-year-old served 21-years in non-consecutive terms as Chief of Wapekeka, about 450-kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout. Brown is described as a true advocate for the protection of his community and their environment.

NAPS Seizes Weapons

Nishnawbe-Aski Police continue their crackdown on illegal weapons. Officers searched a Mattagami First Nations home last Friday and seized two sawed-off rifles, one sawed-off shotgun and several types of ammunition.  Police are still investigating and more information will be released once charges have been laid.

Civic Election Action On FB

A Thunder Bay man is taking this year's civic election to Facebook.   James Murray, who operates the website Netnewsledger, says he has set up a page on the popular social media site to allow candidates to discuss the issues and be in control of the commentary.   Murray said he hopes the page will help change the dynamic of the election race.  You can access the Facebook page HERE

Snowarama Goes Into 11th Year

Easter Seals is hoping to raise more money for their programs with it's upcoming Snowarama fundraiser. Spokesperson Rhonda Harrison says to date they've brought in 250-thousand dollars for kids with physical disabilities across Ontario. The snowmobile event is taking place on February 8th at Grand Portage Lodge and Casino.

City Day Care Sees Decline

City run child care centres are losing money because of a decline in enrollment.  Council heard that there has been a 20 percent decline since full day kindergarten was introduced at local elementary schools.  By 2015 the centres could lose up to 900 thousand dollars.  Council will discuss what they should do at their February 10th meeting.

Youth Plan Approved

The City's Youth Services Plan is getting Council's seal of approval. Lawmakers approved it at Monday night's meeting. The plan calls for 50 thousand dollars in funding for the Boys and Girls Club, and money to set up youth centre satellite sites across Thunder Bay.

Youth Centre Gets OK

Opponents

The Indian Friendship Centre's new youth centre is a go!  City Council approved the centre at their meeting Monday night after people both for and against the project spoke out. Councillor Ken Boshcoff questioned opponent Michael Lemesani's concerns over teens using the Youth Centre late at night noting the former High Street Prosvita used to hold parties.  Lemesani says there's a huge difference. The City is helping fund part of the 8 million dollar project.

Transit Renos Going Ahead

City lawmakers are approving just over 2 million dollars to renovate Transit's administration building. Councillors Linda Rydholm and Joe Virdiramo had concerns over the public art component of the project with both taking a shot at the morose code poles located on the waterfront. Virdiramo called them to bent sticks.  The construction contract was awarded last night to Man-Shield Construction.

City Requests Made

City Council is sending several requests to the Provincial Government. They're asking for permission to take over control of EMS dispatch services. Meanwhile, Council is also sending a letter to the Minister of Natural Resources saying they would like to take part in the proposed Spring Bear Hunt Pilot Project.

Contract Ratified For Home For The Aged Workers

A 3 year collective agreement between the City and Unifor is now ratified.  The deal represents more than 655 employees in the City's three Homes for the Aged.  The agreement includes pay increases from July of 2013 to June 30th of 2015.

House Fire On Mountain Road

A two-alarm fire is responsible for significant damages to a home that was under construction on the eleven-hundred block of Mountain Road. Platoon Chief David Long says the building was fully involved when they arrived and that the fire spread quickly, destroying the second floor. No one was injured.

Online Learning Receiving A Boost

The province is looking at making online learning more flexible by the 2015-2016 school year through the creation of the Centre of Excellence for Online Learning. Ontario Online will give college and university students the chance to take more of the same online courses making it easier to transfer credits, it will also encourage schools to share their research. The province is investing 42-million dollars over three years into the program.

Emergency Room Changes Defended

A top official at the Regional Health Science's Centre denies that patient care will suffer as the result of changes to the Emergency Department.  Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott says 5 positions in the department are being eliminated, but there are no job losses.   She says the number of staff in the will not change.   Crocker-Ellacott says the move is being made to put the nurses where they are more effective.

Over 72-Thousand Dollars In Hunting Fines

Eleven people are facing a combined sixty-eight charges for offences that happened at an Eagle Lake hunting and fishing lodge west of Dryden. The offences include unlawfully hunting wolf and using a hunting licence belonging to another person. Those pleading guilty include Steve Herbeck, fined a total of $7 500 while his business was fined $27 000 for 22 offences. Herbeck can't hunt in Ontario for ten years. Both Danny Herbeck and Chris Federman face $7 000 fines and are unable to hunt in the province for four and eight years. Andy Bouchard was fined $4 000, Scott Munford faces $7 000 in fines, Calum Ritchie has been fined $2 000, Tammy Pelletier will pay $2 500 for two charges, George Lindsay of New Zealand must pay $3 000, Travis Runde will pay $1 000, Don Rabideau of New York was fined $3 000 and Ron Jaeger was fined $500. The fines total $72 500.

Virdiramo Wants One Last Term

Joe Virdiramo is giving it one last shot.   The Westfort Councillor says he is seeking re-election in his ward one last time in this fall's municipal election.    He says he wants to go one more term and then someone new can take over.  Virdiramo says he wants to see certain projects to their competition, including the courthouse and the proposed events centre.  There is no indication whether anyone plans to challenge him.

Transit Negotiations To Be Held Later This Week

Thunder Bay transit workers are receiving support from fellow union members from the GTA. Negotiations between the city and the transit union are scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday with job action a possibility on Monday January 20th. Bob Kinnear is the President of ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union) Ontario and described current working conditions for the city's transit operators as "second class".

Goldcorp Eyes Osisko

Goldcorp is making a  bid to acquire Osisko Mining.   Oskiko's key asset is the Malartic, Quebec gold mine.  The deal would also include Osisko's development projects in Kirkland Lake, and the Hammond Reef project near Atikokan, but president Chuck Jeannes  says right now those two are not their focus. Goldcorp is giving Osisko until February 19th to decide on the offer.

Mace Appointed To Electrical Safety Authority

Some added responsibilities for Thunder Bay Hydro boss Rob Mace.  He has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the province's Electrical Safety Authority .  Mace says it doesn't mean he will give up his current job as hydro president, it will simply mean more trips to southern Ontario for board meetings.

PCs Launch "Million Jobs Plan"

The Progressive Conservatives in Ontario are launching an ambitious plan.   Leader Tim Hudak says it's a promise to create 1 million jobs in the province in the next 8 years.   Hudak says the key component is to lower business taxes to 10 per cent to encourage businesses to hire more people.   Hudak adds the plan includes promises to reduce debt,  establish better energy rates and reduce regulations.

Outbreak Warning Expanded

The Health Unit is expanding its respiratory outbreak warning at Lakehead Manor to include the whole facility.    It means all admissions, transfers, discharges and social activities are now  cancelled until further notice.   The first warning for the North Vickers Street seniors complex came on Friday, but was only restricted to the fourth floor.

Council Preview

Superior North EMS wants City Council to ask the Province for permission to take over EMS dispatch services.  The Province currently funds the service but keeps dispatch operations at arms length from EMS operations.  Councillors will hear about the proposal at their first meeting of the new year tonight.    Meanwhile, A group of residents who are opposed to a new youth centre on High Street will be at City Council tonight. They're presenting a 95 signature petition against the Indian Friendship Centre's project with the City. Council will vote on the youth centre partnership tonight.  The City is considering putting an end to a pilot project at the Grace Remus Child Care Centre.  Council approved evening hours at the centre but is now considering bringing them to a close at the end of June.  City lawmakers will vote on the matter at its meeting tonight.