LU Wrestling Coach Back From Romania

Lakehead University Wrestling Coach Brock Curtis is back from a tournament trip to Romania.  He took the Canadian U24 Women's Wrestling Team to the Country fora Memorial Tournament and the week-long training camp that was after it.  Curtis was the team's assistant coach for the trip.

Greenstone Launches Citizen Survey

Greenstone is embarking on a strategic plan for their community. They've hired a consultant that will help them define the town's priorities. You can help shape the plan by taking part in their online citizen survey which is available from now until July 31st. To have your say click here.

Sister Margaret Smith Demolition Underway

St. Joseph's Care Group is in the final stages of demolition at the former Sister Margaret Smith Centre.  President Tracy Buckler says the 2 million dollars worth of demolition should be complete by the fall.  Once demolition is complete, the site on Algoma Street will house a new mental health wing for St. Joseph's Care.

Province Provides Cash To 3 Local Groups

The Provincial Government is giving money to three Northwestern Ontario organizations.  Thunder Bay's Big Brother Big Sisters is getting just over 20 thousand dollars for their "Game On" mentoring program.  It's a school based program that helps mentor teens.  Atikokan will see 30 thousand dollars for a youth program. Meanwhile, 24 thousand dollars is going towards a Wasaya Wee-Chee-Way-Win program that promotes physical activity, injury prevention and healthy eating for aboriginal youth.

NOSM LU Welcome Physician Assistant Program

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine now boasts a Canadian Medical Association approved Physician Assistant program.  Some of those PA's are going to work in Thunder Bay at the hospital and in the community according to Spokesperson Gordon Porter.  The student doctors are coming from the University of Toronto and NOSM.

Tassone & Belisle Named Superintendents

Two new Superintendents of Education are going to make their presence felt in the boardroom for the Thunder Bay District Catholic School Board. Pino Tassone and Omer Belisle have each been named as new Superintendents of Education. Tassone has been involved with the education system here in Thunder Bay for 24 years and was the Principal at St. Ignatius High School, while Belisle has fifteen years of educational experience and was the Principal at Our Lady of Charity.

18 Year Old Woman Faces Drunk & Stunt Driving Charges

An 18 year old woman is in trouble with the law. O.P.P. were tipped off about a possible drunk driver just after 11:00 O'clock yesterday morning. The Thunder Bay Driver was caught speeding at more than 150 km/h west of Upsala. She's facing a number of charges including, impaired driving, stunt driving and underage drinking.

Staal & Pyatt Brothers Happy To Give Back

Local N.H.L.'ers are gathered for a number of fundraising events in the city this week. The Easter Seals Skate with Kids happens today. Last night six N.H.L.'ers helped raise money for cancer research by playing in the fifth annual Thunder Bay Kings Alumni game. New Carolina Hurricanes Centre Jordan Staal says he's always willing to help out the team that began his hockey career. Tomorrow the N.H.L.'ers are going to play golf in support of the Northern Cancer Fund at Whitewater Golf Course.

5 New Forest Fires

5 new forest fires are being reported by the Ministry of Natural Resources, bringing the region's total up to 11. 2 were discovered in the Nipigon district. 1 of them is just 3 kilometres west of Terrace Bay, the other is burning near the Webequie First Nation landfill. 3 new fires were reported in the Fort Frances district. Firefighters remain on high alert with conditions at "High" to "Extreme" across the region. 

Grand Slam Helps Cats Win On Road

A grand slam home run helped the Thunder Bay Border Cats to a 10-6 win on the road last night in Waterloo. The win over the Bucks improves Thunder Bay's second half record to 2-4. Game two of that 5-game series goes tonight in Iowa.

Training At Airport

If you noticed a plane circling Thunder Bay's Airport, don't be alarmed.  The Canadian Forces are training today and could be seen flying over the airport as well as having people parachute out of planes.  Airport President Scott McFadden says training takes place periodically over the summer at least once or twice a month.

United Airways Service To Chicago Comes To T.Bay

Thunder Bay's Airport is gearing up to offer service with United Airways to Chicago.  President Scott McFadden says they've wanted to offer this new daily service for sometime.  The daily run into Chicago's O'Hare Airport will start in February 2013.  The flight leaves Thunder Bay at six in the morning and comes back into the city at 8:40 at night.

Swimming Advisory For Sunnyside Beach

Bad news for swimmers.  The Health Unit has placed Boulevard Lake's Sunnyside beach under a swimming advisory.  The advisory doesn't close the beach or stop people from swimming it's just a warning the beach water has high levels of E-coli.  High levels of that bacteria can lead to skin, eye, nose and throat infections.

Drinking & Driving Incidents

Thunder Bay Police are dealing with a rash of drinking and driving incidents recently.  Police says they charged a 45 year old man with driving his scooter intoxicated.  It stems from a report that he fell off his scooter on Waverly Street after traveling the wrong way on the street.  In the other incident, a 58 year old man was charged after an early morning stop on Red River Road and Junot Avenue.   The final call was for a 75 year old woman who hit a guard rail at the Hospital. The woman was at the hospital to pick up a patient who wasn't involved in the accident.  She was charged with drinking and driving as well.

CMHC Releases Housing Stats

Thunder Bay's experiencing a boom in it's second quarter housing starts.  Canada Mortgage and Housing Analyst Warren Philp says the 39 single detached housing starts in June is 13 higher than the 10-year average.  In contrast, housing construction of semi-detached, row and apartment construction is still negligible, leaving total starts off 12 percent from 2011.

Province Invests In LU Researcher

The Provincial Government is investing more than 2-hundred thousand dollars in the Thunder Bay Research institute. The Government is making the investment in research being conducted by Lakehead University's Dr. Rudip Rakshit who is researching the production of biofuels and renewable chemicals from organic materials.  The research project aims to overcome our dependance on petro-based products.

Police Services Act Begins Today

All three officers charged under the Police Service act are pleading not guilty.  The Thunder Bay officers are involved in a Police Service Hearing this week at the Valhalla Inn. The charges stem from an accusation of the unlawful arrest of a 44 year old man last fall. All three officers are charged with misconduct, unlawful use of authority and discreditable conduct.  The hearing is expected to last throughout the week.

Teddy Bear Picnic

This year's Teddy Bear Picnic is being deemed a success.  The 29th annual event was enjoyed by parents and kids this afternoon at Vicker's Park.  City Festival and Events Coordinator Meghan Shanks says they want to educate parents as well as provide a free fun family event.  One of the educational highlights included a group of parents showing others how to properly wear a baby carrier.

Forest Fire Update

A total of nine forest fires are burning in the Northwest region. Dryden, Fort Frances and Sioux Lookout each have one in their districts. The fire in Dryden is the only one classed as "not under control". Three fires are burning in the Kenora district, two of them are deemed "not under control." Three fires are also burning in the Red Lake district with two of them classed as being "not under control." There are no fires currently burning in the Thunder Bay, Nipigon and Geraldton districts.

Highway 11 Near Atikokan Re-opened

Motorists can once again use Highway 11 West of Atikokan. Provincial Police had to shut it down yesterday to deal with an incident involving tractor-trailor carrying a wide-load. Highway 11, five kilometres west of Atikokan has since re-opened.