Shelter House still needs food

Once again Shelter House needs your help.   Officials with the homeless facility say there's still a need for food donations.    They say priority items remain canned and dry goods.    Shelter House normally experiences a lull in donations during the summer months.

Bear frees itself from plastic trap

Thunder Bay's Rob Paterson is relieved it's over. Paterson helped to bring the publics attention to the plight of the bear with the plastic jug on his head on Lambert Island. The Ministry of Natural Resources is confirming that a jug found floating in Lake Superior, near the island, Wednesday night by canoeists, was indeed the one the bear was wearing. His fate is not known.   Paterson says that the bruins plight attracted international attention with the BBC picking up the story.

The Shad kids say goodbye

Another Shad Valley program at Lakehead University has come and gone. Students from across Canada are leaving after spending the last month in the program. Anika Smithson says she's going back to Orangeville a changed person.  She says it opened her eyes to new ideas and taught her how much stress she's able to cope with.  Smithson adds it gave her an idea of which direction she wants to take in university.  This years program attracted 65 students

Mauro hasn't given up hope for Big Thunder

The Ministry of Tourism has rejected six proposals to reopen the Big Thunder National Ski Training Centre.
Thunder Bay – Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro says it all comes down to one thing and that's money.  In the end none of the people behind the proposals had enough money to run and operate the Big Thunder ski area.  Mauro says he hasn't given up the fight yet, and notes he has one last proposal left that he hopes will be accepted.

New Consolidated Court House Update

The Attorney General paid a visit to Thunder Bay today.  Chris Bentley says he doesn't have any firm times as to when the construction contract will be announced for the new consolidated court house.  Currently, demolition work is being completed to clear the area for the new building which will house both the Ontario court of justice and the Superior court of justice.  The new court house will be located between Brodie and Archibald streets, south of Miles Street.

Ring of Fire co-ordinator position still not filled

There's not much known about the provincial government's "Ring of Fire" co-ordinator position. Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle says the candidate selected for the position could be announced sometime in the fall. Gravelle adds they're not sure where that job will be based. The Minister says it could be in Toronto, Thunder Bay or both.

Bentley visits Thunder Bay

Northern Ontario residents who want to train for a new job can say thanks to the McGuinty Government.  A partnership program between the government, training facilities, and business was announced in Thunder Bay today.  Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chris Bentley says the money will help train people for resource based jobs.  Bentley adds its a 45 million dollar three year project.

City closes park bridge

The Trowbridge Falls pedestrian bridge is closed. The city is making the move because of safety concerns. Parks Manager Paul Fayrick says they hope to have it fixed before next summer. The closure will mostly affect hikers and cross country skiiers.

Thunder Bay Hydro wants dibs on solar projects

Thunder Bay Hydro is asking city council to make them the exclusive developer of solar power.  Council will decide the matter at Monday night's meeting.  The agreement would mean Thunder Bay Hydro would be given first dibs on city owned buildings that could host solar panels on their rooftops.

Police cruiser in a smash up

A city police cruiser is out of commission after being involved in a traffic accident. Police say that the cruiser collided with a car at the corner of Tupper and Peter at around 11:30 Tuesday night. Police were responding to an emergency call at the time. A woman and a baby were taken to the Health Sciences Centre as a precaution. The officer driving the vehicle was not hurt, but has been charged.

OPG updates workers on plant's future

Ontario Power Generation is being tight lipped about the immediate future of its coal powered station in Thunder Bay. Spokesperson Ted Gruetzner says employees were given a wide range of scenerios this week, on how the plant will be winding down its coal operations. Gruetzner wouldn't say if possible layoffs were discussed with the workers, but stresses no decisions have been made.

Habitat cashes in with celebrity shoes

Habitat for Humanity is back with a new fundraising event. It's called Champagne and Shoes and it's a both a designer shoe sale and an auction of celebrity shoes according to CEO Dianne Mitchell. She says that includes shoes from Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Jessica Simpson and Mike Weir. The event takes place October 6th.

Jack Irving dies in New Brunswick

A sad note to pass on about the parent company of Northwoods Broadcasting today, its chairman Jack Irving passed away in Saint John New Brunswick after a short illness. He was 78. Among other accomplishments, Jack Irving was a member of the Order of Canada. In 1952 he joined his father's businesses and worked all his life, along-side his brother Arthur in Irving Oil. In addition, he was a Director of all Irving businesses and was responsible for and managed a number of the companies within the varied Irving enterprises.

Highway Improvements on the way

The McGuinty Government has increased the funding for the Northern Highway program.  An extra 125 million dollars was added to this year's budget.  Minister of Northern Development Michael Gravelle says four laning the highway will help our economy and our safety.  Highway 61 between Broadway Avenue and the Neebing River, and Highway 11/17 between Balsam Street and the Current River are next to be improved.  Bruno Contracting won the 9.9 million dollar tender.

New scoreboard highlights stadium improvements

Preparations continue at Port Arthur Stadium for the World Junior Baseball Championship. The tournament begins on Friday with games at the stadium and at Baseball Central. The new stadium scoreboard has now been installed and there are other numerous preparations that are taking place to get both locations looking good for the event.

Bad news for an unfortunate bear

Residents on Lambert Island are on the lookout for an unfortunate Black Bear. The bear was seen yesterday wandering around with some sort of container stuffed over his head. Rob Peterson says the MNR has been called in to rescue him but he's proving to be rather illusive. The MNR has set up  traps in the area in an attempt to capture the Bruin.

City ranks number 2 for murder rate

The latest crime study from Statistics Canada has Thunder Bay with the second highest homicide rate in the country. Deputy Police Chief J.P. Levesque says it's a result of the 6 murders last year which was very unusual. He says the way the Stats Can survey is done it tends to put heavier weight on more violent crimes.
The study shows an increase of 17 per cent in violent crime.

Terrace Bay Pulp close to starting up again

Terrace Bay Pulp could be out of creditor protection by next Tuesday. That's the day the company will have a hearing on the matter. Lawyer Yves Fricot says they've been allowed to prepare the mill for restart. The company is also purchasing material that is needed for the start up of the mill.

City get 594-thousand dollar payment from OLG

The latest payment to the city of Thunder Bay from the provincial government casino is 594 thousand dollars.  That's 22 thousand dollars more than the last quarterly payout.  The money represents 5 per cent of the slot machine revenue from the facility. It was the cash collected from April to June.

Province scraps eco-fee

The province is scrapping the controversial eco-fee. The McGuinty government admits consumers and businesses were not properly informed about the fee. The province says it's re-evaluating the program that's designed to fund waste diversion.  Thunder Bay's Ellen Mortfield of EcoSuperior calls it a surprising move and hopes it can be re-introduced in the near future.