Haley Irwin receives heroes welcome

Thunder Bays' Haley Irwin is back home. The Olympic gold medal winning member of the Canadian womens' hockey team arrived to the cheers of over 100 people at the Thunder Bay Airport on Friday. Irwin says she was overwhelmed by the support of her fans. She says she expected family and media to greet her, but instead she was given a heroes welcome by all sorts of local supporters, and in some cases school children who skipped classes to be there. Irwin says she'll be taking a few months to rest before playing competitive hockey again.

Stadium repairs on the council agenda for Monday

City councillors will be asked to approve 2.7 million dollars worth of rehab work for Fort William Stadium on Monday night. Parks Division manager Paul Fayrick says the upgrading includes putting in artificial turf and replacing the track. Work will begin in June after the school track season ends and be ready in time for the SSSAA football season. Also Monday night councillors get the update on the recruitment of health care professionals to the city. Norine Howardson, the citys' Family Physician recruiter, says 2009 was a good year with 25 professionals settling here. Thunder Bay Tourism will also present it's year end report.

The province announces new doctor recruitment programs

There are two new government programs to recruit doctors to northern Ontario. The first , The Northern and Rural Recuritment and Retention Initiative, will be providing grants to doctors and new medical grads who agree to practice in the north or highly rural communities. In making the announcement in Thunder Bay Health Minister Deb Matthews says it replaces the Underserviced Areas Program which she says wasn't working anymore.   As well Matthews announced a program that allows graduates to pratice for five years in any Ontario community except Toronto and Ottawa. In return they get postraduate training opportunities

North of Superior Film Festival will go on

Good news for film buffs, the North of Superior film festival will be a go this year. After the closure of its pervious home the Cumberland Theatre caused concerns the event would have to be cancelled. Organizer Marty Mascarin says Silver City will host this year's festival on consecutive Sunday's, March 21st and 28th. Mascarin says there will be about a dozen titles featured in this year's festival.

LU has new VP

There's a new Vice President at Lakehead University. Lee Gould takes over one of four VP positions at the institution. Starting Monday he becomes the new Vice President of University Advancement. Gould says he knows his immediate priority will be the Orillia campus and giving it a presence in central Ontario. In the longer term Gould says he will build the programs and meet the vision of the university.

Lakehead's Men's basketball team members earn OUA honours

This year's outstanding season from the Lakehead University men's basketball team has led to OUA West honours for four of the players and Coach Scott Morrison. Morrison was named Coach of the year, Guard Jamie Searle was named to the first team all-star squad and is also the West nomination for the CIS Ken Shields Award.  Yoosrie Salhia was named to the second team all-star squad, Greg Carter is this year's defensive player of the year and Ryan Thomson was named to the all rookie team.

Lakehead men's basketball team goes for glory

The Lakehead University men's Basketball team will look to continue their Cinderella story tomorrow when they visit Windsor in the West Division final.  Lakehead earned their spot in the final by winning their first ever home playoff game last weekend.  Coach Scott Morrison says improved team play and tough defence has led to this year's outstanding season. 

Thunderwolves could be forced to make a goalie change

There could be some changes to the lineup for the Thunderwolves this weekend when they travel to London for game two of the OUA Western Conference final against the Western Mustangs. Starting Goalie Alex Dupius could be staying home after waking up with a sore leg yesterday. Dupius has led the Wolves to 5 straight wins in the playoffs and made 34 saves to lead Lakehead to a 4-1 game one win over the Mustangs Wednesday. If Dupius can't make the trip Kyle Moir will step back into the crease as the starter.

LCRA re-opens the Cascades

The cleanup is complete. The Cascades Conservation area is now re-opened to the public.  The recreation area at the end of Balsam Street was closed last month to allow the for the clean up of damage caused by a windstorm last September.

Police uncover city grow op

Three city residents are facing charges after a marijuana grow op bust. Police say they executed a search warrant at a residence on the 100 block of Rowand Street this week. 20 pot plants were seized with an estimated street value of 20 thousand dollars. Two women were arrested at the scene and a man surrendered to police later.

Chamber prez has concerns about EI premiums

The president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce says he has some concerns about the federal budget. Harold Wilson notes there is expected to be an increase in Employment Insurance premiums. He believes it can have a negative effect on job growth. Wilson says he is pleased the feds will be looking at government spending practices

Water issues pass the budget test

There is relief coming for Current River residents who have had trouble with their water pressure. Councillor Andrew Foulds says money have been set aside in the budget to take care of their problem.   Foulds says then in 2011 and 2012 there will be a new watermain to improve fire safety for Claude Garton School and the Current River Rec Centre.

Handicapped group upset over accessible taxis

The handicapped community in Thunder Bay has had enough. They say there aren't enough accessible taxis in the city and went to the Police Services Board to get some satisfaction. Ron Ross is the head of the handicapped lobby group PUSH. He says the current situation is unacceptable especially for wait times.   The Board has agreed to look into the problem, but in the meantime, Ron Bourett of the city will be meeting with PUSH officials to try to find some immediate solutions.

Herman says Community Police model outdated

Community policing in the city is undergoing changes. Police Chief Bob Herman presented an update on his three year business plan to the Police Services Board. Chief Herman says his forces' priorities have changed dramatically and the old neighbourhood model isn't effective anymore and is being modified.  He says it's been replaced by the community response team, and that the beat officer program may be expanded because the public response to it has been tremendous.  Chief Herman says the force is always looking at ways to make the best use of it's police officers and resources.

Long term care beds announced

The provincial government is redeveloping over 100 long term care beds in Thunder Bay. MPP Bill Mauro says its part of a larger plan that will see 35 thousand beds redeveloped across Ontario. He says the location of the beds hasn't been decided.    Some of the redeveloped beds could be in the Bethammi Nursing home.

Taj Mahal headlines this years Blues Fest

The line-up is all set for this years Blues Festival. Organizer Trevor Hurtig says the headliner this year is Taj Mahal. In addition there will be Blues Traveler and Robert Randolph. Hurtig calls it incredible,exciting and the best line-up in the history of the event.  This years festival takes place July 9th, 10th and 11th.

Award winning author visits city

An award winning Canadian author is calling his trip to Thunder Bay a rewarding experience. Nino Ricci  is to give a reading and speak at the University tonight.  He says it's his first time in the city adding he enjoys meeting those who read Canadian literature and make it meaningful for him to write his books.   Ricci received the Governor Generals fiction award for his book The Origin of Species

Thunder Bay's Tai Chi Chef faces the Dragons

Peng You's hopes of getting the backing of the Dragons was ended last night. Thunder Bay's Tai Chi Chef was on last night's episode of CBC's the Dragons Den and had his business idea of teaching chinese cooking with tai chi turned down. You says although its too bad his idea wasn't accepted it was a good experience all the same.

Alex Dupuis leads Thunderwolves to a 4-1 win over Western

The chants of Doooooo! were filling the Fort William Gardens last night as the home town crowd really got behind Thunderwolves rookie goalie sensation. Dupuis made 34 saves in the 4-1 win over the Western Mustangs to lead the Wolves to 1-0 series lead in the OUA western final. Head Coach Joel Scherban says Dupuis has really given the team the goaltending the team needs in the playoffs. Game two goes Saturday night in London with game three if necessary going Sunday again in London.

New hockey franchise for the city still not a sure thing

The former Thunder Bay resident who is trying to bring an AHL or OHL hockey franchise to the city isn't having any early success. Anthony LeBlanc wants to make the local franchise a farm team for the Phoenix Coyotes when his group Ice Edge Holdings buys them. He says however, it's slow going so far. He says they're looking for franchises that are for sale or able to relocate, but nothing is available right now. Meantime LeBlanc is hopeful that his group will be able to have a deal in place soon to lease the Jobbing.com Arena in Glendale Arizona.