T.Bay teens honoured

Two Thunder Bay students are being honoured for their essays.  The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is awarding Hammarskjold's Jessica Serson for her essay called "Butterflies and Salt."  Lakehead Alternative School student Lilyanna McKay won for 3rd World Canada: Voices of First Nations need to be heard.

LU Prof pays to build school

A Lakehead University Professor is giving back to his community. Dr. Mohammad Nasir Uddin has helped to build a new school in Bangladesh and LU President Dr. Brian Stevenson says they're more than proud. Uddin's father was a primary school teacher in that community. The school is named after him.

Mark Wright appointed to PA board

There's a new face on the board of the Thunder Bay Port Authority. Mark Wright has been appointed by the federal government to a three year term on the board which takes effect immediatly. Wright is currently employed at Confederation College and is also a trustee of the Thunder Bay Community Foundation, where he chairs the Grants and Scholarships Committee.

CP Rail pays big fine

CP Rail is being fined 100-thousand dollars after they plead guilty to a federal labour charge relating to safety.  It stems from an incident 2 years ago when a man working on an excavator fell down a cliff near Schreiber and later died.  Spokesperson Kevin Hrysak says they've been working on their safety initiatives since the incident occurred.

Mauro on wind farm motion

MPP Bill Mauro says a Progressive Conservative motion calling for a moratorium on wind farms will not impact Horizon Wind's Norwester project. Mauro says the motion calls for the suspension of all wind projects until an independent health study can be done. The debate wrapped up Thursday without a vote being held.

Thunder Bay's Unemployment Rate

Thunder Bay's jobless rate is declining.  We went from 6.2 percent in January to 5.6% in February.  According to Statistics Canada our national unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent last month.

City sunshine list is leaked

The List of city employees who made more than 100 thousand dollars have been released.  224 people made the sunshine list this year with City Manager Tim Commisso topping the list with a 2011 salary of just under 219 thousand dollars.  There was over 100 more people on the list in 2011 compared to 2010 because of the new contract for Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue.  The contract awarded a number of long time firefighters with back pay.  Firefighters made up almost 150 of the people on the list.

Oxycodone bust in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay Police have 3 people in custody after a drug bust this morning.  Officers made the arrest at southside motel just before 1 o'clock this morning.  Almost 35 thousand dollars worth of Oxycodone was seized. 

Rotary Lottery house tickets are on sale

You can get your tickets for the Rotary Lottery house in Thunder Bay.  This year's house up for grabs was the scene of the annual media launch and Chair Bob Hookham says the Rotary Club hasn't decided where all the money raised this year will go, but all the money will stay in Thunder Bay.  There will be 8000 tickets sold for the house that is located in the Sherwood Estates.

Potter out as COO @ ORNGE Aviation

Thunder Bay's Rick Potter is no longer the Chief Operating Officer at ORNGE Aviation.  Staff at the province's scandal plagued air ambulance service were informed of the move via e-mail this week saying Potter was to work exclusively on another project.  The move comes after it was reported that Potter admitted to fibbing about his university credentials.   The opposition Progressive Conservatives have been calling for his firing ever since.

Toy gun causes a scare at a local high school

Thunder Bay police arrested a 15 year old boy at Superior Collegiate at noon today.  Police were called with reports about a boy showing some other students what was believed to be a gun.  It turned out to be a soft air rifle and the boy was charged. 

Outdoor rinks to close

It's that time of year again, time for the city to close the outdoors skating rinks. Spokesperson Paul Fayrick says because of the spring like temperatures, the rinks aren't even fit for skating. Fayrick says as of this weekend the buildings will be closed and the lights turned off

Stevenson leads delegation to Mexico

Lakehead University President Brian Stevenson is going to Mexico, but not for a vacation. He's helping to lead a group of Canadian universities to learn more about how Mexico has evolved higher learning for Aboriginal students and establish possible partnerships.  He hopes this is the beginning of a broad international strategy for L-U. Representatives from both countries will be meeting on Sunday and Monday in Mexico City.

Nolan new PDAC President

There's a Thunder Bay connection to the newly appointed President of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.  Glenn Nolan who is the Aboriginal Liason Officer with Noront Resources is the new head of the organization.  Nolan works out of Thunder Bay.

Manitouwadge drugs seized

26 thousand dollars in drugs are off the streets after Marathon OPP searched a home in Manitouwadge.  A 38 year old woman and 50 year old man are charged with production of a controlled substance and  possession for the purpose of trafficking.  A quantity of marijuana and other drugs were seized.

Hospital not impacted by drug shortage yet

Thunder Bay's hospital has been spared from the nation wide shortage of drugs. Health Sciences Centre Pharmacist Jeff Chan says the shortage hasn't impacted the hospital yet but it might down the road. Hospitals in several provinces are reporting looming supply gaps for dozens of medications used in operating rooms, emergency departments and intensive care units.

Housing starts down last month

Canada Mortgage and Housing is reporting that Thunder Bay had no new housing starts last month.  Analyst Warren Philp says that's not a reason for concern since it's not uncommon for there to be no starts counted in a month like February given the nature of the residential construction industry in the North.  Year to date construction starts are sitting at 3 units down from seven in 2011.

Hyer on pay equity, vets and government by ambush

MP Bruce Hyer is using International Women's Day to call for pay equity reform.  Hyer says there is a long way to go before what he says "true equality" can be achieved between the sexes.    Meantime Hyer and his NDP colleagues are fuming over the government's plans to make cuts to the Veterans Affairs Department. Hyer is upset that the Harper government voted down an NDP motion to stop the cuts.  Hyer says the government mistreats veterans and doesn't give them the support they deserve. Hyer is also disappointed but not surprised by a move by the government to limit debate on the new crime bill saying, it's part of a pattern by the Conservatives on such issues and calls it "government by ambush"

Event Centre location debate continues

The debate over the location for the proposed Event Centre in Thunder Bay still rages.  20 years ago the city of Saint John, New Brunswick went through a similar decision when it built their Harbour Centre.  St John's Tourism Manager Ross Jefferson says the city had just redeveloped its waterfront and  chose the downtown location near the new construction. Jefferson says at the time it was a hotly contested decision but has since lead to a revitalization of their downtown with a great deal of economic spin off.  He says parking was an issue but the construction of some parkades and a pedway system helped alleviate the problem.

Stolen BC car found in Thunder Bay

A vehicle stolen from a B.C. car rental business has turned up in Thunder Bay.  OPP pulled over the car yesterday evening and found the driver had some credit cards and other stolen property.  A 29 year old woman was arrested and charged.