Hospital Closes Unit Because Of Stomach Illness

Thunder Bay's Hospital is closing down one of its units as a result of a stomach infection outbreak.  Unit 2A is closed to new admissions and transfers. Visitors for patients on 2A are being restricted to one per patient.

Colli Says Bergoglio Will Be A Good Pope

Thunder Bay Bishop Fred Colli says he was surprised by the election of Argentine's Jorge Bergoglio.  Colli says the Cardinals of the Church surprised Catholics around the world.  Colli says he will probably meet the new Pope in a years time when he goes to Rome.

Dryden Musician Enters Much Music Competition

A great opportunity for a Dryden musician!  David Huffman is in the running in the Much Music "Covers" competition.  Huffman covers the Phillip Phillips song Home and he now needs your votes.
The winner of the competition will be featured in a commercial and a music video as well as earn a singles deal with Sony.  To check out his video click here.

PARO Gets Cash

The Provincial Government is rolling out funding to PARO Women's Enterprise Center.  Executive Director Rosalind Lockyer says 180 thousand dollars is going towards business training initiatives.  The programs will be offered in Thunder Bay and across the Northwest region.

Excavator Joyride Racks Up Damage

OPP are looking for someone who took an excavator for a joy ride over the weekend.  They were called last weekend to the gravel pit in Gorham Township where they found the gate was forced open. Someone drove the heavy machinery towards the scale shack and demolished it and tore it off its mounting.  The person then drove the excavator to a 60 foot conveyor where they proceeded to damage the frame work of the conveyor.  Damage is estimated to exceed 25-thousand dollars.

Another Lottery Winner In The City

Thunder Bay's Wayne Olson is the latest big lottery winner in the city.  Olson won 100 thousand dollars in the December 29th Lottario draw.   He plans to use the money to buy a new car.

Hospital Gridlock Is Over

It might be a band-aid solution but so far it seems to be working.   President and C.E.O. of the Regional Health Sciences Centre, Andree Robichaud says they're out of gridlock at the hospital and have been since the end of January.  Robichaud says they will fall into gridlock again in the future and the lack of long term care beds is not just a problem in northwestern Ontario but all of Canada. 

Mirabelli Calls Garneau Drop Out Shocking

Liberal MP Marc Garneau is pulling the plug on his campaign to lead the Federal Liberals.  President of the Superior North Liberal Riding Association Vince Mirabelli says its shocking.  Garneau is throwing his support behind front-runner Justin Trudeau.

New Virtual Leadership Convention

Leaders from across Northern Ontario are expected to take part in a virtual conference discussing how they can improve the region.  Frank Roch is the creator of the conference and says there will be representatives from many sectors taking part.  There will be no meeting location for the April 3rd and 4th event; registrants will be given video and teleconferencing instructions.

Wild Medicine Movie Scouting Talent

A Toronto filmmaker is going to be in the City this weekend scouting actors for his movie Wild Medicine.  Director Adam Garnet Jones says the film will be shot this summer in Wabigoon Lake and Fort William First Nations.  Garnet Jones says they're going to be at Lakehead University this weekend looking for young First Nations people to audition for the film. 

Resolute Moving To Re-start Ignace Sawmill

Resolute Forest Products says things are moving along in re-starting sawmill operations in Ignace.  The company says site construction is set to begin next month, with an end date of March 2014.  The site will include a planer and 2-kilns and will be able to turn raw logs into 9-foot, stud lumber.  Resolute says the construction phase will employ roughly 200 and 115 will be employed once the mill is operating.  There could also be 150 in-direct jobs created.

T.Bay Broker Appointed To OREA

A Thunder Bay real estate broker has been appointed director of the Ontario Real Estate Association.  Diane Erickson will represent Northern Ontario on the board for a two-year term.  Erickson has 22-years of experience in real estate, and currently works at Team 100 Realty.  The OREA represents over 55-thousand brokers and salespeople.

Armstrong Jersey Still A Symbol Of Hope

The patients are having their say.  The jersey of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is going to remain on display at the Regional Cancer Centre.  Dawn Powell speaks for the patients and says they were very understanding of Lance Armstrong and the doping scandal.  Most patients felt the jersey was still a symbol of hope and inspiration. The Regional Cancer Centre spoke with cancer patients, community members and staff and based their decision on the feedback they received.

TBRRI Gets Million Dollars For MRI

Thunder Bay's Regional Research Institute is getting a million dollars from the Provincial Government.  CEO Dr. Michael Wood says the money from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund will go towards a new state of the art MRI which will be used to research brain diseases.  The MRI will replace an older model and will cost 5 million dollars in total.

Plowing To Resume Overnight

The city's road crews are going to be back at it overnight clearing up our unexpected dump of snow.   Roads manager Brad Adams says they'll be out in full force while you are sleeping. He says at 2 a.m. snowplowing will begin with the big graters hitting the main streets. Adams says they will also continue plowing the sidewalks at around 3 a.m.   At 7 o'clock they will make a decision on whether the side streets need to be plowed as well.

Habitat Looking For Volunteers

Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers for their demolition projects in April. They'll be tearing down three cabins. Spokesperson Keith MacMillan says they need six to eight volunteers per day. Recovered material from the projects will then be sold in the Habitat For Humanity ReStore.

City Mourns Elder

The City is mourning the loss of Elder Agnes Hardy.  Hardy was a member of the City's Elders Advisory Council.  A funeral will be held on Thursday at 1pm at the Harbourview Funeral Centre.

White-Out Conditions On Area Highways

Today's snowfall is creating hazardous road conditions in the Thunder Bay and Nipigon areas.  Traffic Staff Sergeant Ken Mantey says blowing snow has created white out conditions on area highways.  The Ministry of Transportation is sending snow removal crews but it may take some time to improve driving conditions on area highways.

Foul Play Ruled Out

OPP are ruling out foul play on a person found in the water at the Norman Dam in Kenora.  The post-mortem exam shows the body may have been in the water for a number of months.  Last Thursday workers found a body floating at the intake to the dam.  Police continue to work with the Coroner to confirm the identity of the deceased; they do not believe he is from the Kenora area.

More Mediation Requested

 No agreement yet.  A spokesperson for the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal is reporting the dispute between City Police and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation hasn't been resolved. The two parties have requested another mediation date, and the tribunal is considering it. The dispute stems from NAN's complaint a spoof Thunder Bay Police e-mail entitled "Fresh Breath Killer Captured" was made public. The matter will either be resolved through mediation or a human rights hearing.