Mauro Tables Bear Hunt Legislation

Thunder Bay MPP Bill Mauro is tabling his private members bill that looks to expand the province's northern bear hunt.   It was introduced Tuesday afternoon and Mauro says it should reach second reading in December.  The bill aims at reducing the nuisance bear population in the region.

Revera Confirms Death

Revera Home Health is investigating the death of one of its Pinewood Court residents.  They've reported the critical incident to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and are cooperating with their investigation.  The company says it's also going to review the circumstances around the death. For privacy reasons the company says it will not confirm the name or way the resident died but says there thoughts are with the family.

Paramedics Recognized

Three Superior North EMS paramedics are now recognized by the government for their long years of service.   The three were given exemplary service medals at a recent ceremony in southern Ontario.   The three are Robert Corbeil and Ernie Kadikoff of Thunder Bay and Paula Verin of Marathon.

Hate Crime Training

City police are working on getting victims of hate crimes to come forward and report them.  Community members and police took in a Statistics Canada training session on hate crime reporting today.  Trainer Warren Silver says local police are actively trying to get more people to speak up about possible hate crimes.  Silver says to date Thunder Bay hasn't reported a hate crime but that's not to say those types of incidents aren't happening in our community.  Silver says the national training session will help police get a better picture of what is a hate crime and how it should be reported to Statistics Canada.

Stay In The Kitchen When Cooking

It's fire prevention week in the city and Fire Chief John Hay says this year the effort is to encourage cooking safety in the kitchen especially with people being busy preparing Thanksgiving meals this weekend.  Hay says it's timely because over the weekend there was a serious kitchen fire that had the potential to be fatal. 

City Man Charged In Police Dog Death

A 27 year old city man  is facing various charges in Edmonton including animal cruelty after a police dog  was stabbed  and later died.   Police say that the incident took place Monday morning when they were trying to stop a stolen car.   Eventually police got the dog to slow down their suspect which is when the canine was allegedly stabbed.  Charged is Paul Vukmanich of Thunder Bay

Power Deal Signed In City

Project Board Chair Margaret Kenequanash

A First Nation run power company is expanding its transmission line to 5 northern communities.  At a signing ceremony today in Thunder Bay, the communities of Deer Lake, Keewaywin, McDowell Lake, North Spirit Lake and Poplar Hill First Nation joined in on the project.  The communities will now be able to stop using diesel for their power source and have access to a reliable source of electricity.

Year Stays Strong For Housing Starts

2013 continues to be a productive year for housing starts in Thunder Bay.   Government statistics show that so far this year the number of housing starts is up 40 per cent compared to 2012.  But Warren Philp of Canada Mortgage and Housing expects that will even itself out by the end of the year  because starts of multi-family housing units surged in the final months of last year.  Meantime there was a 25 per cent drop in the number of September starts this year compared to 2012.

Children Encouraged To Report Abuse

Two children's organizations in the city are teaming up to help prevent child abuse.   Darcia Borg of Dilico Anishinabek Family Care says that along with the Children's Aid Society they will be trying to encourage school children to report abuse to someone in authority.  She says it's important to get the message to children that there is support for them.  The awareness campaign will be taken to city schools all this month.

Flood Prevention Program For All

Council is offering the Residential Drainage assistance program to all property owners City wide.  They made the decision to open up the flood prevention program at Monday night's meeting.  Councillor Andrew Foulds had concerns low income residents might not be able to afford their share of the cost of flood prevention devices.  Staff will be coming back with a report on whether or not low income residents are using the rebate program.

Pool Issue To Be Discussed Again

The future of the City's outdoor pools will be made in November. Council heard Monday night about the work that needs to be done at Heath Park Pool and Dease.  Meanwhile, a group of supporters of the Heath Park Pool told Councillors how important the pool is to the neighborhood.

Small Crowd Rallies At City Hall

Erin Bottle

Thunder Bay's Idle No More Movement is becoming active again in the community.  Spokesperson Erin Bottle says they've been quiet in the past months but it doesn't mean they've given up their cause. A small turn out rallied at City Hall Monday night and Bottle says it's about quality not quantity.  The Idle No More Movement started over Federal Government legislation that First Nations felt was imposed on them.

Tamarack Trees To Be Removed

The City is going ahead with the chopping down of nuisance Tamarack Trees on Mohawk Crescent. Cutting down 11 trees and replacing them with white spruce will cost the City 8 thousand 500 dollars.  The decision was made Monday night.

Yesno Back To Court Next Week

Its back to court next week for the 32 year old Sheldon Yesno.   Yesno appeared in a Thunder Bay courtroom today on a charge of Second Degree Murder in the death last week of 38 year old cyclist Richard Vrastak.  Police say Vrastak was run down by a minivan on South Algoma in what they allege to be a drug related incident.

Tbaytel Launches For Good Campaign

Tbaytel is reaching out to community groups in their new charity campaign called "for good".  Spokesperson Katie Crowe says they'll be giving up to 15-thousand dollars to local organizations who have ideas that will improve education in the City.   People can send in their ideas by visiting the "for good" website and winners will be selected by a voting process. Another three charity campaigns will be offered throughout the year focusing on different areas that need improvement.  To submit your idea click here.

Habitat Dedicates Two Homes On Mary Street

Mark Rodgers, Owner & Diane Mitchell

Two more Thunder Bay houses are now complete thanks to volunteers from Habitat for Humanity. Organizer Diane Mitchell says both are on  East Mary Street, one is a new home that was recently completed and the other is a being reoccupied by another needy family. Mitchell says they dedicated some rebuilt houses in Marathon today as well.

Virdiramo Wants Support For Heath Pool

Westfort Councillor Joe Virdiramo is hoping his fellow councillors will put 300-thousand dollars towards repairs for the Heath Park Pool.  A report is coming to council tonight that suggests the money is needed to fix a leak in the outdoor pool.  Virdiramo says they won't be making a decision on the matter tonight but hopes when it comes time to a vote they approve the spending in the 2014 budget.

Young Professionals To Vie For Recognition

Thunder Bay's young professionals network, also known as SHIFT,  is looking to create a top  20 list of community leaders under 40 years old in northwestern Ontario.  Spokesperson Keith Anderson says the purpose of the awards is to showcase young professionals in the region.   The deadline to nominate someone for the 2014 Visionary Awards is November 15th.

City Woman In Dryden Custody

Dryden Police have a 25-year-old Thunder Bay woman in custody after a vehicle chase early Sunday morning which started  in Dryden and ended in Ignace. Provincial Police helped by setting up a spike belt to stop the vehicle, and one cruiser almost went off the road during the chase. As a result, Anita Lawson has been charged with several offenses including impaired driving, dangerous driving, assaulting police with a weapon and running from police.

Shipwreck Found

A shipwreck from sixty-years ago has been found.  The Scotiadoc collided with another ship in 1954 and sank near the Sleeping Giant.  Jerry Eliason is one of the members that found the ship and describes some of the steps involved in making the discovery.  The Scotiadoc is the deepest shipwreck ever found in the great lakes.