No early drinking in Thunder Bay

You won't be able to celebrate the FIFA World Cup in Thunder Bay by indulging in an early morning alcoholic beverage. Council is opting out of the province's longer bar hours that start at 10 am for the World Cup only. The City will be writing the Alcohol and Gaming Commission telling them their intentions to not allow the earlier drinking time.

Green bike lanes?

What colour should the bike lanes be?  That was one of the main topics of discussion at last night's city council meeting.  Councillor Aldo Ruberto brought the subject up suggesting the bike lanes should be a different colour than the white traffic lanes.  Councillor Iain Angus isn't in favour of changing the colour; he says its a waste of taxpayer money.  Ruberto feels if the bike lanes were green seniors and others would be able to easily identify what lanes you can drive in.

Bottled water vs. tap

The City of Thunder Bay is sticking with the status quo.  A policy limiting the sale of bottled water at muncipal facilities was amended to allow people the choice between drinking municipal water or paying for bottled.  The original policy was written to say you wouldn't be able to buy bottled water or get bottled water at any municipal facilities.  Several councillors were in favour of the original policy and Andrew Faulds voted against the amended version.  Foulds feels the new policy is watered down.  The city will be conducting an education study and will promote the use of municipal tap water.

High props for Power

Thunder Bay's Michael Power is being hailed for his accomplishments. The 38 year old Power has been recognized for his work at the Health Sciences Centre by Caldwell Partners International. The organization has put him on their annual list of the top 40 Canadians who have made great achievements before the age of 40. Power founded the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute

Six arrested in drug raids

City police now have 200 thousand dollars worth of drugs and cash after a buslast week. They say the raids took place at a business on the 200 block of Pearl Street and homes on Bay and South May streets along with homes on Dublin and Carl avenues. They say 6 men were arrested who ranged in age from 19 to 40. Drugs seized in the raids included cocaine and marijuana worth an estimated 140 thousand dollars.

Mac's robbery spree continues

City police are still investigating two unsolved robberies at local Mac's Mart Stores since May 22nd. The latest was early Sunday morning at the North May Street location. Police spokesperson Chris Adams says it's part of a string of robberies at south side Mac's locations.  In the last two weeks there have been 5 separate robberies altogether and Adams say police are trying to look for any links between them.   Meantime,  police have a person in custody who was believed to have been carrying a knife outside the North May Street store early Monday morning.

Mourners gather for Willow

Family and friends said good-bye to Willow Scott-Hannam today at a funeral service at the Everest Wesfort Chapel. The 4 year old girl died last week after an accident at Fort William Historical Park involving a horse drawn wagon. She had been part of a school field trip. There are several investigations taking place into the incident including one by the Lakehead Public School Board, the Coroner's Office and the Ministry of Labour.

Aids organization gets info on drug users

New research shows that the typical chronic drug user in the city isn't what you might expect. The study for AIDS Thunder Bay was conducted over two years at a cost of 50 thousand dollars. Executive Director Lawrence Korhonen says they now have valuable information. He thinks the most important finding gathered from the survey is how well they got a better understanding of the population that uses drugs in the city and how much and how frenquently they are using drugs. Korhonen says they were surprised to learn that many frequent drug users in the city are beween 35 and 54 years old. The findings will help to re-direct priorities within the organization.

Construction delay at Marina effects boaters

Boaters using the marina will have to deal with no water or power for a couple of weeks. The city's parks manager Paul Fayrick says boaters can still use the docks but won't have water or power for about two weeks. Fayrick says he doesn't expect other problems for boaters this year.

A man roller blading across Canada made a stop in Thunder Bay Tuesday. Daniel Cloutier says he's raising money for cancer research. He says he has many family members who were diagnosed with Cancer and lost his uncle last year. Cloutier's goal is to raise one hundred thousand dollars.

Ad campaign attracts tips

A two month ad campaign to help solve a 44 year old double murder appears to be working. It's been a week since police re-opened the probe into the deaths of Doreen Hardy and Jane Bernard. Inspector John Horne of the OPP says the response is encouraging. In the last week he says there have been 13 tips and they appear to be good. Horne says investigators are hopeful the information can be helpful.

Robbery Arrest

A 23-year old city man made a court appearance by video this morning after being arrested in connection with the armed robbery at the Mac's Mart on North Edward Street. Police say he was taken into custody around 10:30 Saturday morning. The emergency task unit and a police dog were involved. The robbery took place on Friday morning. Police say that cash and lottery tickets were taken. No one was injured.

Thunder Bay Firefighter remarks irksome

A Thunder Bay City Councillor is standing up for the municipality's fire fighters and scolding his fellow councillor. 
Councillor Robert Tuchenhagen made public comments about the City's fire fighters saying they were spoiled.  Aldo Ruberto says he doesn't agree with Tuchenhagen's comments.  An arbitrator is going to make a decision on the fire fighters contract with the municipality in the near future.

NOMA President gets honorary diploma

Confederation College honored the President of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.  Dryden Mayor Anne Krassilowski received an honorary diploma for business administration marketing.  Krassilowski says she's grateful for the award.  Confederation College campuses across the region graduated 180 students.  Meanwhile, in Thunder Bay 14 hundred and 40 students received their diplomas on Friday.

Another armed robbery on City's southside

Thunder Bay Police are looking for one man who robbed a Mac's Mart at gun point this morning. Officers say the man entered the store on North Edward Street at around 2 o'clock. They say he produced a handgun. No one was injured and the suspect ran off with cash and lottery tickets.

Tourism organizations set to go

It won't be long now before the provincial government officially announces the formation of 13 new tourism regions. The Regional Tourism Organizations will effectively kill the three regions we now have in the northwest and bundle them into one. Tourism Minister Michael Chan tells Magic 99.9 News it should be announced within a month. Chan says no decision has been made on where the announcement might take place

Students cuts hair for cancer patients

Westmount Public School student Finn MacDonald's head is going to feel a bit breezy for the next while.  The 11 year old got his haircut in his his battle against cancer.  His hair will be donated to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that provides wigs to cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy.

Man fined in easement case

A resident is being fined for building his garage illegally. Don Cooper of Ryerson Crescent was dinged 2 thousand dollars after court was told he ignored information given to him as part of a permit he received from the Building Division. It was found that telephone lines run underneath the garage. Cooper has been ordered to remove that portion above the easement.

820 thousand dollars of pot seized in T-Bay

A Thunder Bay man has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and other drug related offences. Police say a John Street residence was searched by Thunder Bay's combined forces organized crime unit on Thursday. That search resulted in the seizure of 89 pounds of Marihuana, 1 pound of Cannabis resin, and 13 thousand dollars in cash. OPP Detective Sgt. Randy Belluz says they spent three weeks investigating before searching the John Street home. The street value of the druges is 820-thousand dollars. Charged is 50 year old Theodore Bobrowski. Belluz says the illegal drugs will be destroyed at a later date.

Early morning garage fire under investigation

Thunder Bay Fire and rescue dealt with a garage fire this morning. Crews responded to the call on Mountain Road around 4 o'clock his morning. When they arrived the garage was engulfed in flames and crews worked to stop the fire from spreading to other buildings. No one was hurt and the cause is under investigation.