Newmarket man dinged for hunting offences

A Toronto area man's bank account is 68 hundred dollars lighter. A judge in Thunder Bay has fined him for illegal hunting offences from last year. It was for firing his gun carelessly, transporting more grouse that he was allowed to and having another person's moose game seal. Conservation officers orginally charged the man after a road check near Schreiber last October.

Heart and Stroke gives money

Atikokan and Thunder Bay will share just over 8-thousand dollars from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  Thunder Bay Heart and Stroke Spokesperson Wendy Savoy says the money will go towards advocating against childhood obesity.  Savoy says statisics show that this generation of kids likely won't outlive their parents.  The Northwestern Ontario Women's Centre received 5 thousand dollars and the Atikokan Youth Initiatives group will be using over 3 thousand dollars.

Accident sents one person to hospital

One person is recovering from an injury following a traffic accident at Highway 61 and Arthur Street this morning. OPP say that the mishap which occured just before 11 o'clock just after it began to rain. Police say that a vehicle was being towed. At the stoplight the victim went out to check on the tow when a third vehicle collided into the rear and pinned him. The extent of the person's injuries aren't known but are not considered life threatening.

Minor injuries in mishap

There are only minor injuries to report after a multi-vehicle accident during the noon hour on Fort William Road at Central Avenue.    Fire and Ambulance personnel attended along with police.  It caused some minor traffic issues for about an hour.  

Morning fire at LU

Lakehead University got a scare this morning, after smoke filled the Braun Building. Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue had to deal with a student experiment gone awry in a science lab, according to District Chief David Grant. He says that some chemicals caught on fire and ignited nearby egg cartons and the room was evacuated. There was plenty of smoke from the incident, otherwise damage is minor, with no injuries to report

Ring of Fire conference killed

Marten Falls First Nation has called off it's Ring of Fire emerging business conference. Companies were told they would have to pay for a meeting with the first nation. 5 thousand dollars gets a meeting with the first nation and 350 dollars would allow interested companies to participate in the opening presentations. Chief Eli Moonias says he doesn't like the way the fees for the conference were being portrayed. Moonias says they have no plans to reschedule the conference and if companies want to meet with them they can schedule a flight into their community.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery has a new curator

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery has a new curator. Nadia Kurd has taken over the post and made it through her first day on the job Monday. The 31 year old has a bachelor degree in fine arts from the University of Ottawa and a Masters from York University.  Kurd says Thunder Bay is a beautiful community and is enjoying her time here.

Housing starts continue to stay strong in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is having a solid year for housing starts. So far this year there has been 101 starts, during the same time last year there was 85 starts. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Warren Philp says July did see a small dip in numbers with 28 single starts last month compared to 2009 which saw 37 starts. Philp says so far this year there has been a total housing start increase of just under 20 percent.

Potts apologizes to Privacy Commissioner

A senior administrator at the Health Sciences Centre is saying sorry to the Privacy Commissioner. Scott Potts says there was no intention on the hospital's part to not tell Ann Cavoukian about the private health records that were found blowing around on a city street last week.   He says if it was the expectation of her office to have been contacted about the situation earlier the hospital apologizes for that.    While there is no legal requirement to tell the Privacy Commissioner, Cavoukian was upset she had to learn about the story through media reports

Police say robberies are similar

City police are wondering whether the same person is responsible for two robberies at the Apple Community Credit Union on North Cumberland Street. The second robbery happened on Friday afternoon, the first on April 29th. Both getaway vehicles were similar in description, a silver or grey minivan, and the robberies took place by one person on a Friday at about the same time of day. Top: surveillance photo from August 6th robbery. Bottom: surveillance photo from April 29th.

Privacy Commissioner to probe health records fiasco

Ontario's Privacy Commissioner has her sights set on the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Ann Cavoukian has launched a formal investigation into how private health records were found littering the street around the old Port Arthur General Hospital. Covoukian tells our newsroom it's unacceptable.
Covoukian is also upset that her office discovered the matter through media reports. Commission spokesperson Bob Spence says the decision to start the investigation came after gathering some preliminary information from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. He says the probe will collect evidence to find out what happened, how it happened and the steps needed to make sure it doesn't happen again. Spence can't say how long the investigation may last.

NAN likes Aboriginal Affairs pick

The Nishinawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief has confidence in the new Aboriginal Affairs Minister.  British Columbia MP John Duncan now heads the portfolio.  Stan Beardy says he looks forward to working with him and notes they had a good working relationship with former minister Chuck Strahl.  Duncan was the parliamentary assistant to Strahl.

Hyer on cabinet shuffle

Thunder Bay Superior North MP Bruce Hyer is pleased the Prime Minister removed John Baird from the Transport Ministry. Hyer says Baird didn't really solve any transportation issues and notes Chuck Strahl might do a better job. He would like to see the new minister help bring back passenger rail service to the Northwest. Hyer will be meeting with Strahl in the near future. Baird adds back bencher John Duncan is the sixth minister of Aboriginal Affairs in the last six years.

Credit Union contest awards thousand dollar RESP

The Northern Credit Union wants to know what the region's future looks like.  The credit union is holding a calendar contest where kids and high school students compete for RESP's.  Thunder Bay Manager Susan Olnyk says the winners will receive a thousand dollar RESP, and the runner ups a 500 dollar RESP contribution.  Submissions can be made up to September 22nd.

Peregrine Falcon population rebounds

Nature enthusiasts are encouraged to keep an eye out for peregrine falcons in the Thunder Bay area.
The once engangered species is making a comeback in the Northwestern Ontario.  MNR Spokesperson Lisa Nyman says they want to hear from anyone who spots the birds.  New nest sites were found in the Thunder Bay area.

Dragster deal sealed in Thunder Bay

People driving on the Harbour Expressway near Memorial were treated to the sight of a top fuel dragster this morning. Jim Fersch of Alberta came to Thunder Bay to meet a Quebec man halfway to buy the racer. He says he purchased it over the internet and arranged to meet the seller here to complete the transaction. Fersch says the 945 horsepower vehicle is worth 35 thousand dollars used and about 60 thousand new.

Car hits house in the south side of town

A house in the 100 block of south court street had it's front steps driven into. City police responded to the call at 4pm yesterday afternoon and have charged a 51 year old with impaired driving. The car left the road smashed through a fence and hedge before hitting the front stairs of the house. The driver and the passenger recieved only minor injuries and were released.

Camp Quality helping kids with cancer

Northwestern Ontario's Camp Quality is up and running again this summer on East Loon Lake.  Spokesperson Jeanna Faykes says they're glad they can offer this camp to kids who are living with cancer.  Faykes says they want to thank their volunteers and people who make the camp possible.

Mac's Mart robbery

There's been another Mac's Mart robbery. According to Thunder Bay Police, a man wearing a disguise and carrying a weapon took cash and other items from the Mac's Mart on Simpson street around midnight last night. No one was hurt. The man was described as over six feet all and between 200 and 220 pounds. He was wearing black jogging pants,a red shirt and had a yellow hood around his face.

Short handed Chill fall to Timbers in championship match 4-2

After a phenomenal season—winning a total of 12 games— the Thunder Bay Chill fell to the Portland Under-23 Timbers in last nights championship match 4-2. The Chill were forced to play a man down when Rafa Heck earned a red card after a foul in the 16th minute. The Timbers didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity; scoring the first goal of the game in the 29th minute. Oliveira Araujo answered for the Chill, scoring Thunder Bay's lone goal before the end of the first half. The two teams hit the field in the second half with a tie game. With the exception of a close call for Thunder Bay on a free kick, the Timbers controlled the field for the remainder of the game putting 3 more up on the board.