Zellers lets employees know their fate

Zellers employees are being told they'll be out of a job in nine months time.  The lay off notices impact the workers at the Arthur Street Zellers, and at County Fair.  Spokesperson Tiffany Bourre says they're offering their employees a comprehensive career transition program.  Bourre believes the employees will be able to find work with the incoming Target stores and Walmart.

Border Cats name new Field Boss

The Thunder Bay Border Cats have a new field manager.  The team has announced Andy Judkins will take over for Mike Steed.  Judkins helped the Rochester Honkers earn the North Division title back in 2010 and is currently an assistant coach at Central Arizona College.

City transit clears up human rights case

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has cleared a 2009 case against Thunder Bay Transit.  Manager Brad Loroff says the complaint had to do with calling out stops for the visually impaired; which they have since dealt with.  Loroff notes they were in the process of implementing the new system before the complaint was made.

Hyer hoping to have his bill revived

A recent report on the cost of inaction on climate change is giving Thunder Bay MP Bruce Hyer hope for a revival of his Climate Change bill.  Hyer says his bill which was scrapped by the Conservative dominated Senate has to be accepted following the release of the Nation Round Table on Economy and Environment report which predicted inaction could cost 5 billion dollars a year by 2020 and up to 43 billion a year by 2050.  Hyer says his bill will be reintroduced by NDP MP Megan Leslie.

Windy weather causing outages

The strong winds are wreaking havoc on Thunder Bay Hydro.  Official says trees and wet leaves on the lines have caused several minor outages in the city, none affecting more than 25 customers.  Officials say these types of outages are common in weather like this and crews will be working hard to restore power.

More needs to be done to stop violence

The Ontario Native Women's Association is calling on the Harper Government to do more for aboriginal women.  Spokesperson Lorene Rego says violence against First Nations women is a growing issue and the current form of anti-violence programs are not working.  The sixth annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil will be held at noon on Tuesday at Hillcrest Park.  There are seventy cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women in Ontario and most of those are from the bigger city centres like Thunder Bay.

Math marks mean more work

The Lakehead Public School Board feels more work needs to be done to improve Grade six math scores. Superintendent of Education Sherri-Lynne Pharand says the latest Education Quality Accountability Office results show room for improvement.  The Catholic School Board is also implementing more programs to help boost scores in Grade nine applied math.  Both boards met the provincial average in math scores.

God's Lake Resources will release statement Monday

The KI First Nation is evicting God's Lake Resources and Ed Ludwig for trespassing.  The band says the company is trespassing on sacred land and must cease all operations by today.  The company President Ed Ludwig says God's Lake Resources will release a statement Monday.

Rafferty isn't putting any stock in a border fence

New talk of building a fence on the Canadian US Border is being called rhetoric by Thunder Bay Rainy River MP John Rafferty.  Rafferty says the call from the US Customs and Border Protection Agency is likely just political rattling. He says it would cost millions of dollars to build and in some areas including most of the border in his riding building a fence isn't even possible.  Rafferty says he doesn't think that is the kind of relationship our countries have.

Dominion Curling Club Championships coming to Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay will be hosting the 2013 Dominion Curling Club Championships.  According to the Dominion Curling website the 24 team national tournament will take place at the Fort William Curling Club and include both men's and women's club teams from across Canada.  Each team will have to qualify at regional tournaments earlier in the season.

Another announcement delay

There is another delay in announcing the name of the new hotel for the Waterfront.  The developers were to have lifted the wraps off by now, but a waterfront official confirms City Manager Tim Commisso's quote that the announcement is now likely in November.  

Canadian Curling Championship coming to town

A national curling championship is coming to Thunder Bay.  The Fort William Curling Club will announce the championship Friday that will take place in 2013 and will see 24 teams converge on Thunder Bay.  We'll have more details Friday. 

Break and Enter on Cornwall Street

A Thunder Bay man is charged with a number of break and enter related offences after being picked up by local police.  A Cornwall Street resident told police she had her apartment broken into just after 2 in the morning Tuesday.  The same man tried to break in again later in the evening when police took him into custody.  29 year old Michael Don Lebar is charged with 2 counts of Break and Enter to Commit an Indictable Offence of Assault with a Weapon.

New School for remote community

The Federal Government has opened a new school in North Spirit Lake.  The community of 400 is now home to a four classroom facility that accommodates 96 students from kindergarten to grade 9.  It took over 14 million dollars to build the school.

Transit Plan October 4th

Thunder Bay Transit is looking for public input on the transit plan. Manager Brad Loroff says they are hosting a pair of meetings at the CLE Coliseum building October 4th to get public input.

Advance Polls at College and University

Confederation College and Lakehead University students don't have far to go to vote in the upcoming provincial election.  Elections Ontario has set up advance polls at both campuses, and Federation of Students of Ontario Spokesperson Sandy Hudson says it's good they're accomodating the youth vote. It's the first time in Ontario's history advance polls will be set up on almost all college and university campuses.

Car crash leads to drug charge

A 31 year old woman travelling from Ottawa to Thunder Bay is in trouble with the law after crashing her car into a rock cut.  Nipigon OPP responded to the crash and found the driver with a large cooler containing just over 8 pounds of marijuana.  The woman was arrested for possession for the purpose of trafficking, she will appear in court in December.

Transit experiencing delays

The construction on several area roads are causing City buses to be behind schedule.  Certain routes are experiencing delays, and the City is asking you to adjust your departure time.

Brown talks Atikokan Forest Products

Any hopes of reopening the shuttered Atikokan Forest Products mill appears to be dashed with an auction underway to sell its equipment. Mayor Dennis Brown says he would have liked to see more support from the province to get the mill restarted. A Montreal company was interested in the mill, but backed out after they failed to secure an adequate wood supply from the province.

CCAC workers could be on strike soon

There could be pickets in front of Northwest Community Care Access Centre sites across northwestern Ontario next week. The 88-members of the Ontario Nurses Association have joined with their counterparts at nine other CCAC's to support strike action October 3 to back contract demands.  The workers provide health and home care services to the seniors in their own home.  Mediated talks are planned for today and tomorrow.