Dramatic video of Clelia 2 in rough seas

The Clelia ll cruise ship is safe right now, but it had some scary moments when it hit very high waves in the Arctic Ocean north of Great Britian earlier this week. It's all captured on video

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Ready, set....skate

Break out the hockey sticks and figure skates, the city's outdoor rinks are about to open.  Parks Division Manager Paul Fayrick says most will be ready for Sunday. He says this would be one of the earlier starts to the skating season.

Forbes to testify in Ottawa

A Lakehead University sports injury researcher is testifying before the House of Commons.  Susan Forbes will be speaking to the standing committee on Health next Tuesday.  Forbes says she'll be sharing her experience with sports injuries.  Forbes says she's eager to testify on the subject.

Vacancy Rate declines

More people are renting in Thunder Bay.  The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is reporting the City's vacancy rate decreasing. Spokesperson Warren Philp says the rate went from 2.3 to 2.2 percent.  Philp describes the renting situation as good for both renters and landlords.

Habitat's future hangs on success of raffle

There's worry on the faces of the local Habitat for Humanity officials.   They are lacking money and land.  CEO Diane Mitchell says they need to sell out the upcoming Cash Raffle so they can buy land to build homes.  She calls it the key and the cornerstone to everything they do.    Officials say it's a make or break year for the organization.

Cold weather draws more homeless to shelter

Thunder Bay's Shelter House is so far keeping on top of the cold weather. Director Cal Rankin says the cold weather is hard on the city's homeless.  Rankin says they have seen an increase in the number of people seeking shelter but they do have a few beds open.  He says if they run out of space they will make arrangements to make sure everyone has a warm place to sleep.

Westjet does good deeds

Westjet is doing a good deed today.  The airline is delivering toys to kids at the Thunder Bay Health Science Centre.  Each child in the pediatric ward will receive a toy and a stocking stuffer.

Skypower to set up shop in Thunder Bay

A solar energy company is going to build a solar park in Thunder Bay.  The Toronto based company recently secured funds to start an 8.5 megawatt park in the city.  Construction of the park is expected to wrap up in 2011.

Clelia II hit by rogue wave

The cruise ship which has visited Thunder Bay a number of times over the last few years was hit with a near tragedy this week. Reports say that it ran into a rogue wave near the Shetland Islands in the Arctic north of Great Britain. The ship was slammed repeatedly by massive waves, when finally a 30-foot wave knocked out one of the ship's engines, disabled the ship's communication system and shattered her windows. There were 88 tourists on board, plus 77 crew. The ship made it's final stop in Thunder Bay over the summer.

Tuchenhagen banned from running for council

Robert Tuchenhagen has been banned from running for city council for 4 years.  Yesterday a court ruled against the former councillor in a conflict of interest case stemming from the purchase of a building in 2008.   Tuchenhagen chose not to run in the last election and his McKellar ward seat now belongs to Paul Pugh. 

No injuries in a suspicious fire

No one was hurt after a small fire in an abandoned building. Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue responded to the call of smoke from the building on Grenville Avenue just after 7:30 last night. Crews quickly put out the small fire and officials say since the building was abandoned, the cause is suspicious.

Kettle drive on track

On the Christmas charity beat...the Salvation Army is 8 thousand dollars ahead of where they were last year in their annual kettle drive. So far they have collected over 52 thousand dollars towards the 130 thousand dollar objective.

Community Foundation doles out dollars

The Thunder Bay Foundation is making it's generosity known again.   The institution's latest grant recipients are getting a total of 87 thousand dollars.   The organization has been a part of the city for almost 40 years.   It operates from the endowments of various citizens past and present.  

United Way campaign chugs along

The clock is counting down on the United Way Campaign. With just a few more weeks to go there's about another million dollars to raise to reach the 2.4 million dollar goal. Chair Wayne Fletcher says the larger donations are starting to come in as employee campaigns come to a close. Fletcher says he's confident the goal can be reached.

Neebing gets help with economic development

Neebing wants to develop new marketing strategies to attract investment and economic development. The provincial government is providing just over 5-thousand dollars to the community so they can design a marketing strategy. Thunder Bay Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro announced the funds today.

Housing Starts slowed in November

Thunder Bay is having a solid year for housing starts.  There was a slight slowdown in November, but so far this year there have been 191 single family starts.  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Market Analyst Warren Philp says only ten single detached units broke ground last month.  Philp says tighter resale market conditions have meant higher levels of new home construction.

Pugh, Boshcoff sit on committees

Thunder Bay's two new councillors are keeping busy by sitting on a number of community committees. Paul Pugh will take part in the District Social Services Board, Economic Development Commission,anti-racism and Waterfront and Simpson street business improvement boards. Meanwhile, Ken Boshcoff is taking part in many committees, such as the Audit committee, Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, Parking Authority, and the Hydro Recruitment Committee.

Massaro once again

Long time trustee Deborah Massaro was acclaimed as the Chair for her 4th consecutive term.  Trustee Karen Wilson was appointed as Vice Chair for the second straight term.  Massaro says she honoured to once again lead the board.

Hobbs not meeting with Premier or Ford Wednesday

Members of Thunder Bay City Council won't be travelling to Toronto today to speak with Dalton McGuinty about the Bombardier TTC contract.  Toronto Mayor Rob Ford came out of a meeting with the Premier yesterday saying he still plans to nix the streetcar contract.  Mayor Keith Hobbs says if that's the case they'll have to take more serious action.  Hobbs says they've yet to nail down a meeting with Ford, and notes he would like to invite the Toronto Mayor to tour the Bombardier plant.  Councillor Paul Pugh feels Ford is trying to influence council into thinking it's not a matter that requires their votes.

Meeting delay explained

Citizen and Councillor appointments to community boards delayed Tuesday night's council meeting by almost two hours.  Mayor Keith Hobbs campaigned on the idea of transparent council meetings and says Tuesday night's closed door meeting was warranted.  Hobbs says they needed to approve the citizens and councillors last night because the committees are starting immediately.  Hobbs says he doesn't like to make people wait and wants to see if there's something they can do to improve the flow of the meeting.  3 or more in camera sessions were held during a five hour meeting.