Vermillion Bay Woman Succumbs To Injuries

The Vermillion Bay woman whose vehicle collided with two horses on Highway 17 near Dryden has passed away from her injuries.  The 38 year old was sent on the weekend to Thunder Bay hospital for treatment but OPP say she succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday night.

New Laker Loading Grain In T.Bay

The first newly built Canadian Laker is expected to load grain tomorrow morning at the Viterra A elevator. The ship is arriving in our local port this afternoon.  The MV Baie St. Paul is the first new built ship for seaway use in 27 years.

Police Property Auction Thursday

Thunder Bay Police are auctioning off unclaimed property Thursday night.  2 large screen tvs, a chainsaw, a motorized golf cart, and 125 bikes are up for grabs.  The event kicks off at 6:30 at the police station on Balmoral.

New Fees For Cancer Patients

New fees for some cancer patients in northwestern Ontario next month. The Canadian Cancer Society is implementing a 100-dollar one-time registration fee for patients who use its transportation services.  Regional Director Barbara Spencer says not all patients will be impacted. Spencer says the fees are necessary to offset the rising costs of the program and increased demand.

Orzietti Says NDP Misleading North

The Minister of Natural Resources says the NDP is misleading Northerners on MNR transformation. Minister David Orazietti is responding to a recent media release from an NDP member that MNR internal reorganization will hurt Northern Ontario by downsizing staff.  He notes the province returned 40-million dollars to the MNR base funding.  He notes that during the 1990's the NDP government hacked more than 107-million dollars from the MNR budget and 23-projects and offices were closed across the province.

City Hoping LU Will Visit Jiaozou

The City is hoping a delegation from Lakehead University will stop by our sister city Jiaozou when it pays a visit to China this fall.  Councillor Aldo Ruberto was part of a delegation that took a trip recently and says there's an opportunity for Confederation College and Lakehead University to partner with that City's University. Ruberto adds the two communities share a strong mining industry and the City will be exploring partnerships in that area as well.

Plane Crash In Kenora

Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a plane crash in the Kenora area.  Police say the Osprey Float plane went down in Black Sturgeon Lake around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.  Witnesses say the pilot was practicing touch and go takeoffs and landings, but ended up losing control of the aircraft and made contact with the water.  The OPP say the pilot sustained minor injuries and the plane received some damage.

Fire Hall Construction Underway

Work is  underway to build a new fire hall on West Frederica Street to replace the  Brown Street station.   Fire Chief John Hay says when it's complete the area will be better served with six minute response times. Today's groundbreaking for the Westfort firehall also signalled the start of construction on a new Neebing station.  

Kemp Back At Christmas Cheer

The board of the Christmas Cheer  campaign is reaching back into the past for its new chair.   Joleene Kemp was elected on Monday to head this year's campaign following Linda Gambee's resignation last week.

Cliffs Is Optimistic

With one roadblock now removed, Cliffs Natural Resources is looking forward to continuing its quest to open a chromite mine in the Ring of Fire mining development.   Company spokesperson Jason Aagenes says with the Matawa First Nations dropping its environmental legal challenges there is more room for optimism. The company says it still has some land issues to settle and environmental approval from the provincial government.

Bedbug Rumours Quashed

A health official says there's no truth to the urban legend making the social media rounds that bedbugs have been found at Silver City.   According to public health inspector Etrick Blackburn , the movie theatre complex has been inspected.  He says the company is working with a licenced pest control operator to make sure everything is pest free.  Meantime Blackburn also says that the apartment building on Court Street in the news this week that's been invaded by bedbugs, is not the only  apartment complex in the city hit with an infestation.

Matawa Pulls Out Of Judicial Review Too

First it was Marten Falls First Nation, now it's the entire Matawa First Nations that has decided to end it's court review of Cliff's Natural Resources Chromite Project.  The case was set to be heard by the Federal Court in mid-September.  The organization says they never wanted a judge to decide their future.

T.Bay Man Charged In Rainy River Area

A Thunder Bay man is in trouble with the law after Fort Frances OPP stopped him on Highway 11 in Couchiching First Nation.  Police learned that he was travelling to the Rainy River District to sell drugs and seized 126 grams of marihuana and drug paraphernalia.   He's charged with trafficking, possession of drugs, and possession of a prohibited weapon when police seized a butterfly knife.

Collision On Highway 11/17

OPP are charging a 22 year old with following too closely after a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 11/17 this morning.  The driver of a south bound vehicle struck another that was stopped at a traffic light.   The southbound vehicle sustained heavy front end damage.

Children's Aid Talked About At Q.P.

The opposition parties are bringing up recent funding cuts to the Children's Aid Society across the Province and in Thunder Bay.  Minister Children and Youth Services Teresa Piruzza defended her party and says there haven't been any cuts.  Piruzza says the funding formula was based on historical figures but now it will be based on community factors.

Marten Falls Withdraws From Court Review

Marten Falls First Nation is withdrawing from the Matawa Tribal Council's court review of the Cliffs Chorimite Project.  The community officially withdrew from the review on August 27th.  A community official says the project could be a tremendous opportunity for first nation communities.  The community says it's looking forward to working with the business to create a community based environmental assessment.

Pickle Lake Get Fed $

Federal funding for the Township of Pickle Lake. Minister of State for FedNor Greg Rickford announced nearly 300-thousand dollars in funding during a stop in Pickle Lake this morning. 242-thousand dollars will help the community replace an existing line to the local water tower, ensuring the community has access to clean and safe drinking water. The rest of the money will help Pickle Lake increase its bandwidth service to 100-megabytes per second. Rickford says the work will result in faster, more secure and reliable broadband services.

Energy Retailer Issues Raised At Queen's Park

Kenora Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell is declaring war on door to door energy retailers.  Campbell brought the issue up during Question Period and asked the Provincial Government to take action against companies that sign residents up for higher electricity rates.  The Minister of Consumer Services says she's been in discussions on how they can better inform the public about what they are purchasing when they sign a contract with the retailer.

Driver Died Of Natural Causes

An autopsy has confirmed that Vermilion Bay stock car driver Bill Reimer died of natural causes. Provincial Police were called to the Emo Speedway around 8 o'clock last Saturday night. Police say Reimer was pronounced dead after his race car left the travelled portion of the raceway. No other details are being released.

No Booze For CLE?

A city council member of the CLE board of directors thinks it may be time to rethink having alcohol available during board meeting nights.   Speaking on Giant Mornings with John Ongaro, Ken Boshcoff reaffirmed his stand that alcohol is not served during actual meetings, but admitted, there's merit to discussing removing it altogether.  He says in changing times it's something that should be considered and he was planning on raising it.