Hospital Gets 2 Million For Research Projects

Local orthopedic surgeons are giving 2 million dollars to the local hospital for a orthopedic research program. The money will go towards a variety of research projects including one that will look at diabetes patients and how many in the Northwest need to have limbs amputated. Officials say this is one of the largest donations in the hospital's history.

Rags Spontaneously Combust

The City's Fire Service is deeming the cause of a house fire on Park Row Friday night as spontaneous combustion.  They say improperly discarded oily rags just caught fire on their own.  Damage to the home is estimated at over 50-thousand dollars.  No one was home at the time of the fire.

Sears Robbed Of Jewelry

City Police are releasing a picture of a man they say is responsible for a break, enter and theft to the Sears store on the weekend.  Officers arrived at the east entrance to the store on Sunday just before 4:30 a.m. to find that two exterior glass doors had been smashed.  Someone had robbed the store of jewelry. The suspect is described as a man with a medium build, wearing a two tone greenish brown jacket and a beige baseball hat. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

OPP Cruiser In Weekend Mishap

A 31 year old Thunder Bay man is charged with impaired driving after police say his vehicle slammed into an OPP cruiser on the weekend.   They say it happened on Highway 61 and Arthur Street just before 3 in the morning Saturday as the cruiser went through a green light when it collided with a  truck making a left turn. There are no injuries to report.

Beardy Helps People Get Screened

Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy is doing his part to help get more people screened for cancer.  His cancer story is in a new cancer awareness video for the Thunder Bay Regional Health Centre.  The moral of the video is that a commitment to cancer screening saved Beardy's life because his cancer was caught early.

Early Detection - The Path to a Good Life from Apple Wagon Films on Vimeo.

War Amps Campaign Underway

War Amps key tags are being mailed out to people in Ontario.    Spokesperson Jamie Lunn says that 3.7 million of them are being distributed throughout the province.  As for northwestern Ontario, we won't receive them until next month.   She says they will begin distribution in the "P" postal code at the end of April.
Money from donations is used to help war amputees in Canada.

Winter Opening Hailed As Success

The experimental winter opening of the Chippewa Park Wildlife Exhibit is being hailed as a success.  City spokesperson Lorraine Lortie-Krawczuk says attendance was more than expected and she hopes it means the exhibit will be open again next winter.  Lortie-Krawczuk says response to the winter opening was fantastic.

Harbour Clean-Up On The Agenda

The Lake Superior Remedial Action Plan group is holding a public meeting this Wednesday to talk about how they plan to get the Mercury contamination out of the Thunder Bay Harbour.  Cole Engineering will present several options for getting the mercury out of the 55 acres of harbour.  RAP Spokesperson Jim Bailey says they'll also discuss who is going to pay for the clean up.

Ice Breaking To Start This Week

The United States Coast Guard Ice breaker "Alder" is expected in the Thunder Bay harbour today.  Ice breaking operations are to start sometime this week but that could change with little or no notice.
The "Alder" will be plowing through the ice to get the port ready for the new shipping season.

Greenstone Expo Is On

Greenstone is looking to expand its mining workforce.  The community is back with its second "Grow Greenstone" Expo at the Victoria Inn today and tomorrow.  Mayor Renald Beaulieu says the expo will provide businesses from across Canada a chance to network with community and mining industry officials.
This year's event will focus heavily on the Ring of Fire project and other mining activities across the Northwest.

Council To Decide Building's Fate

Council will look at a proposal tonight that would see the development of a 6-storey building at the site of the former Cumberland Cineplex.  The site is currently zoned to prevent buildings from being over 3-storeys. Councillor Andrew Foulds thinks amending the by-law would do the area some good and will be supporting it.  A two storey building currently at the location would be demolished.

Water Week Kicks Off

Thunder Bay is taking part in Canada Water Week celebrations this week. The City is holding a launch at the Marina Park Baggage Building. A water offering will be made at the Spirit Garden with Anishinawbe Grandmother Josephine Mandamin.

MP Hyer Wants Your Opinion

Thunder Bay MP Bruce Hyer wants to hear your thoughts on nuclear waste. Hyer took out a full page ad in the local paper to run a survey asking residents whether or not they want nuclear waste held in Northwestern Ontario. Hyer says he will also circulate the survey into the community and bring the responses he gets back to Ottawa.

Professor Aims To Help Elementary Teachers

A Lakehead University professor is looking to offer elementary school math teachers more effective ways of helping their students. Dr. Ann Kajander's new book is based on new theories about teaching and learning. The book is co-written by Tom Boland, another Lakehead graduate.

Library Usage See's Steady Increase

The city's public libraries are seeing a consistent increase in usage. Chief Librarian John Pateman says over the past five years usage has gone up 9.2 percent, a number that jumps to 26.2 percent when looking back twenty years. Pateman adds that they are looking at expanding services in the near future.

Minor House Fire On City's South Side

Thunder Bay Fire officials are investigating a minor house fire that took place Friday evening on Park Row. A resident returned home to find a fire burning in his basement. There was no damage from the blaze itself but smoke damage was extensive. No one was injured.

Outdoor Rinks Closing

The City is closing all of their outdoor rinks with the exception of the rink at Prince Arthur's Landing.  The closures are due to the recent warm weather.

Acadia Broadcasting Growing

Acadia Broadcasting is expanding - the parent company of this station has received approval from the Canadian Radio - Television - and - Telecommunications Commission to purchase Moncton, New Brunswick radio station CKNI-FM from Rogers Broadcasting. Acadia plans to move the station to newly constructed studios and launch its new music and information format later this year. The purchase increases the number of Acadia stations to 13 spanning New Brunswick - Nova Scotia - and - Ontario.

Drugs Seized

Thunder Bay OPP are charging three Thunder Bay residents with drug related offences.  They searched a Home Avenue home and found 2, 482 grams of Marihuana with a street value of 49-thousand dollars and ten grams of Cocaine with a street value of a thousand dollars.  A 45 year old man, a 23 year old man and a 28 year old woman are charged with possession, trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.