Youth Centre Proposed

Officials of the Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre want the city's help to build a new youth centre.   Executive director Bernice Dubec made the pitch to city lawmakers last night saying the centre is needed so they can help a wider variety of young people.  They are requesting 2 and a half million dollars to purchase and renovate the Prosvita Hall on High Street and 300 thousand dollars a year for operating costs.  City Hall staff will now work with the Centre to come up with a game plan for the new facility.

Union Boss Pitches Bus Museum

The head of the city transit union is spearheading a move to open a transit museum.  Charlie Brown announced his campaign at City Hall  this evening as part of his efforts to find a home for some refurbished local Brill trolley buses. He is asking the community for support and ideas.  Brown says his organization is also asking for donations to make the dream a reality.

It's A Boy For William And Kate

It's a boy.  Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to a 8 pound 6 ounce boy who automatically becomes the Prince of Cambridge.   The royal birth was announced this afternoon after the birth at St. Mary's Hospital in London.  No name as been announced.

Fire Victims Identified

The cause of a fatal fire on the weekend west of Nipigon remains unknown.   Police say that 66 year old  Fern Marquardt died in her Lyon Township home  Friday night .  Her cause of death is still being determined as is the cause of the blaze itself.

No Leads In Murder Case

If city police are making any progress on the city's second murder of the year, they aren't saying.  Spokesperson Chris Adams says that so far there is no new information to report and that there have been no leads called in from the public in the case.  Thirty year old Shannon Hogan died last week after being found seriously injured behind a Lake Street house.

Fire Hazard Expected To Drop

The forest fire hazard is expected to drop because rain is forecast for much of the Northwest Region.  There are no fires reported in the Thunder Bay District but there were 3 new fires reported yesterday in the Kenora and Sioux Lookout areas.  Meantime crews from the Northwest  are helping fight blazes in the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and Quebec.

Tall Ship Attracts Hundreds

The Norwegian tall ship  Sorlandet is still in port at the Pool 6 dock next to the marina.   It will be open for public tours again today from 10 until 4.  Yesterday hundreds turned out to get a tour of the ship which arrived here on the weekend to help celebrate Lake Superior Day.

Dryden Clean Up Continues

Clean up efforts continue in Dryden following last weeks major storm. A city official says  trees in the cemetery and around city hall were ripped right out of the ground Thursday night. Crews hope to have everything looking back to normal sometime this week.

Survey Shows Happy Citizens

It appears Thunder Bay citizens are more than satisfied with how city services are provided.   The latest citizen survey shows that almost 90 per cent of us are happy with the way we are served by the city.  That's up slightly from the survey in 2011.   The number one issue facing citizens is roads followed by the economy and crime.   Ninety two per cent say quality of life is good or very good.   Some of the top reasons are the size of the city, safety and cost of living.

Councillors To Hear Request For Youth Centre

 The Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre is looking for a new home.    Officials are coming to City Hall tonight to plead their case for a new building to house a proposed youth centre.  Also tonight, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery's bid to move to a new waterfront location is expected to take another step forward tonight. The next phase of a process will likely be given approval by city lawmakers.  As well, councillors are being asked how they would like to see the Katherine Dugmore remembered.   She managed the waterfront development until she died from cancer.

Con College Enrollments

Confederation College is forecasting strong enrollment figures this fall at its Lake of the Woods Campus. Jim Madder is president of the college and says they still have space in a number of the programs they offer.

Victoria Avenue Macs Held Up

Police have a 20  year old man in custody following another Mac's store robbery. They say that at around 1 am this morning a man entered the store on East Victoria Avenue and put a knife to the throat of the clerk. The man took cigarettes and ran off.  Police say he was located in a yard a short distance away.

Sorlandet Docks At The Marina

The Norwegian tall ship the Sorlandet is in port. It is at the Pool six dock  next to the marina and will be there today and tomorrow for public tours. The tours begin at 10 am both days.  The ship is here to help celebrate Lake Superior Day today.  Activities take place all day on the waterfront.

Fire Hits City Duplex

No one is injured following a fire on the city's north side early Saturday afternoon.   It happened in a duplex at 178 Shipley.  Chen Chekki lives in the unit adjacent to it and called the fire service after he heard the smoke alarm go off.  No one was home at the time of the fire.    The cause isn't known and fire damage is heaviest in a back bedroom.

Woman Dead After House Fire

A 66 year old woman is dead in Lyon Township, west of Nipigon. The death was the result of a house fire which  was reported to the OPP at 9:04 p.m. The victim is not being identified until her family is notified.  The coroners office is investigating the cause.

Dryden Finances Update

An update on City of Dryden finances has been provided. The City is posting a 99-thousand dollar deficit in Municipal operations for the 6 months ending June 30th. Waterworks operations are reporting a 361-thousand dollar surplus.

New Dryden Sewage Plant

Construction of the new Dryden Sewage Treatment Plant is nearing completion. Manager of Public Works Blake Poole says they expect to start testing in late August. Poole stresses that the project is on budget this year. He adds that some minor work continues and the next step is getting power to the plant.

Charity Rider Leaves Town

A University of Victoria cyclist on a charity ride is back on the road after spending a couple of days in the city.  Anas Cheema  was here to help draw attention to SOS Children's Villages  an international child charity, providing long- term care for orphans and children.

Striking Workers Get Support

The blame games continues in the Dilico Anishnabek Family Care workers strike. Today members of CUPE joined the striking workers on the picket line in Thunder Bay to sound an alarm bell about what they say are the impacts of provincial underfunding of child welfare. No talks are scheduled in the dispute which began June 8th.

Dryden Hit By Storm

The clean up begins in some areas in the Dryden area following a wicked early morning storm. Hydro One is reporting 7-different power outages in the area with snapped power lines. Nearly 14-hundred customers were impacted.  The area was hit with lightning , heavy rain and severe wind with  several reports of trees snapped in half and tossed around property and roads. There have been reports of twisters but Environment Canada hasn't confirmed any of the reports as of yet.