Citizens Speak Out Against Events Centre

The seeds of discontent are being sown over the proposed events centre.   About a hundred disgruntled citizens turned out last night at the Mary J-L Black library to tell the city that the proposed arena is too expensive.  Some like Maryann Baarts-Matson don't like the proposed south side down town location. Kim Coreau called for a plebiscite on the issue while John Salamon spoke against the 106 million dollar cost.   Also making an appearance was Mayor Keith Hobbs and Councillor Joe Virdiramo.

Matthews Coming To Thunder Bay

Health Minister Deb Matthews is coming to the city again.   This time it's to help commemorate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.  While there is no indication Matthews will be coming with a cheque book,  some are hoping behind the scenes that she will be able to announce provincial assistance to ease the overcrowding problem at the hospital.

LU Prof Talks More Ukraine

Lakehead University political science professor Laure Paquette says the Russian government continues to control the message on Crimea during the crisis in Ukraine   With people  in the peninsula set to vote in an independence referendum on the weekend comes word that the Kremlin will consider whether or not Crimea should join Russia or remain with Ukraine in legislation to be discussed March 21st.  Paquette says this is a move most likely being made for appearances and they will continue to say and do things the Western world believes are wrong all along claiming a democratic process is taking place in Crimea.

Dementia Strategy Needed Says Director

Thunder Bay is now one of over the one-hundred Ontario communities making a push for the Federal Government to put a national dementia strategy in place. City councillors voted on Monday to support the push.   Allison Denton is Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay and says having a strategy in place would mean a more focused approach when treating those with dementia.   She notes that in a recent survey 83-percent of Canadian said they want a national strategy put in place.

Free Tax Clinic Today

Volunteer Chartered Professional Accountants are holding a free tax clinic for those with low incomes today.  Those with total household incomes of less than 30-thousand dollars, or less then 20-thousand if they have no dependants can file their taxes between 6-9pm at the Multicultural Association. The program helped file nearly 14-thousand tax returns across the province last year.

Infrastructure $ For NWO

The province is committing 14-million dollars to infrastructure in Northwestern Ontario including 2-million dollars to be spent on replacing the Court Street bridge.   Also included the Northern Infrastructure fund are upgrades to the water treatment plant in Nipigon and repairs to water towers in Greenstone.

Overheated Laptop Causes House Fire

 A city fire inspector says it was an overheated laptop that was the cause of a house fire on Ryerson Crescent last week. No one was injured but the damage is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Eric Nordlund says it appears that someone left the portable computer on a couch where  air circulation was a problem.  Meantime,  Nordlund says it's important to keep fire alarms working in your home.   He points to two apartment fires from last week, on Archibald and Simpson Streets, where it was noticed that fire alarms in the dwellings were disabled. In both cases he says careless smoking was the cause of the fires.

TBRHSC Ten Years Later

It's been ten years since the Thunder Bay Regional Health Science's Centre opened for business and the former board chair Keith Jobbitt is still bursting with pride.  Jobbitt says our city is miles ahead in the health care field as a result of it.  He points to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Regional Research Institute as direct spin-offs of the new hospital. Jobbitt believes the current problems with overcrowding are not the result of poor planning when the facility was being conceived.

Airport Authority Celebrates Westjet

The Airport Authority is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the first Westjet flight into Thunder Bay.  Airport manager Scott McFadden says having the airline here has helped to make flying more affordable for many people. He says when inflation is taken into account, the cost of flying is still a fraction of what it was before the air carrier arrived here.    And while Westjet isn't offering the same deals it used to, McFadden says they still contribute to a competitive climate.

Survey Shows Modest Hiring Climate

Thunder Bay area employers expect a modest hiring climate for the second quarter of 2014.  That's according to the latest employment survey by the job consulting firm Manpower.  The survey shows that 13 per cent of employers plan to hire between April and June while 83 per cent are keeping the status quo and only 3 per cent plan cutbacks.

United Way Announces New Chair

United Way Thunder Bay is announcing Michael Nitz and Jim Madder as their Chair and Vice-Chair for 2014. Nitz is the President of the Northwestern Ontario Chambers of Commerce.  Madder is President at Confederation College.

Meeting To Discuss Events Centre

The hotly debated proposed events centre goes up for discussion again this evening.  This time city hall critic Ray Smith is organizing a meeting at the Mary J-L Black Library to give people a chance to voice their concerns about the 106 million dollar project.  Smith says the meeting will involve the site of the proposed arena and whether there should be a plebiscite.

Council Supports Dementia Strategy

Add the city of Thunder Bay to the growing list of communities pushing the Federal Government to have a national dementia strategy put in place. Councillor Andrew Foulds says the issue hits close to home for him since his grandfather was affected by the disease.  Over 100 communities in Ontario are calling on the feds to develop a strategy.

Whelan Building To Get Interior Renos

Both FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Funding Corporation are putting 1-million dollars each towards improvements of the Whalen Building on Cumberland.   It will mean  improvements to the third, fourth and fifth floors of the historic building. Council approved the renovations Monday evening.

Program Gets Glowing Review

City council is encouraged by the results of the managed alcohol program at the Thunder Bay Shelter House.Similar programs are currently taking place in four other cities across the country. Dr. Tim Stockwell is lead researcher and says participants are responding in a positive way and felt they were getting their dignity back.  Stockwell adds that compared to those not in the program there is a significant drop in time spent in police custody.

Young Champs Recognized

The Thunder Bay Chill U-15 boys soccer team are getting some recognition from city council for their provincial championship.  The team beat Western in September of 2013 in Oshawa. It is the only local club to win a provincial championship.

Foul Play Rule Out In Death

Police are ruling out foul play following a death on the Washagamis Bay First Nation near Kenora.   Treaty 3 Police were called to a residence on Saturday where they found a man dead inside. The man has been identified as 39 year old Matthew Charry of Washagamis Bay.  A post mortem was performed yesterday at the Lake of the Wood District Hospital.  The investigation is continuing with assistance from the OPP's Northwest Region Crime Unit and Forensic Identification unit.

Poor Credit

A man is recovering from minor injuries after crashing into a Credit Union store on West Arthur Street earlier this afternoon. The building suffered minor damage to its exterior.

Driver Charged For Failing To Yield

A 71-year old Thunder Bay man is being charged by OPP for failing to yield to traffic. The charge comes following a two vehicle accident Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Chippewa Road and Highway 61. A Ford truck turning on to the highway collided with a Honda headed north. No injuries were reported but the two vehicles were badly damaged.

Snowmobiler Recovering After Collision

A 33 year old man is recovering in hospital after a  snowmobile accident in Shuniah Township.  Police say the man lost control of his sled on the Hydro Line approximately 4 km west of West Loon Road, and it fell down a ten foot ravine.  They say the incident happened Saturday afternoon just before 2 o'clock.  The man sustained injuries that are not considered life threatening.

Missing Woman Found Safe

A Winnipeg woman is back safe are being stranding in the wilderness for several hours in the Dryden area. OPP says the 40-year-old was among a group snowmobilers that had left to attend a cabin Friday in Redvers township when her snow machine got stuck and become separated from the others. A search involving the OPP's Emergency Response Team helped find the woman who was taken to hospital for treatment and released.

Housing Starts Slow In 2014

It appears that it was just too cold and snowy in February for anyone to build a new house. Government figures from Canada Mortgage and Housing show that there were no new housing starts in the city last month.   With just two starts the month before there have been only 2 housing starts in Thunder Bay since the beginning of the year.  

Government Building Open Again

Back to normal at the provincial government building on James Street.  Water service to the building has been restored for today after a rather hectic several days last week.   A water main break late Tuesday afternoon gave crews some troubles and stopped government business for three days.

McArthur Makes The Move

There is a familiar face taking on the role of town Chief Administrator in Schreiber today. Don McArthur is has stepped down as Mayor to fill the vacancy, a position he says he looks forward to taking on.   The opening was made available when former Clerk John Hall left the position for a job in Terrace Bay.

Grim Anniversary Today

It was one of the most infamous crashes in Canadian history and its being recognized today in Dryden.  Twenty five years ago today Air Ontario flight 1363 went down just after trying to take off from the Dryden Airport, killing 24-people including several from Thunder Bay and the north shore of Lake Superior. Fire Chief Ken Kurz was on call that day and says it reinforced the importance of emergency preparedness.  The end result was an inquiry which lead to the conclusion that ice on the wings was the cause of the tragic crash.   The memorial in Dryden has been cleared of snow so people can pay tribute.

March Break Is On

It's March break for elementary and high school students in the city.  It appears to be an ideal start as well with mild temperatures forecast for today and seasonable temperatures for most of the week.   Ski hill operators are expecting big business because of our heavy snowfall this season.  

Councillors To Get Updates

At City Hall tonight councillors will be asked approve almost 3 million dollars towards improvements to the Whalen Building on Cumberland Street.   The money will be coming from the provincial and federal governments.   Also tonight councillors will get an update on the managed alcohol program.  A well there will be an update on a proposed site for a new war memorial.

Elk Adapt To Harsh Winter

The harsh winter conditions aren't expected to affect the elk population in northwestern Ontario. Elk were released into the Cameron Lake area southeast of Kenora about 15 years ago. Murray English is the co-chair of the Elk Restoration Committee and says the animals are pretty well adapted to surviving deep snow. English says the elk population ranges between 40 to 50 animals, but they do see more calves every
year.

Hospital Facing Operating Deficit

The Thunder Bay Hospital is staring at an operating deficit this year. Laura Kokocinski is CEO of the Northwestern Local Health Integration Network and says there are a few contributing factors. One of which is the hospitals current gridlock situation. That is partly caused by the high number of patients requiring services outside of the hospital but not receiving them. There is also a need for long term care space. Kokocinski says they have been in talks with the hospital and the province.