Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Tuchenhagen will not seek re-election

There's no turning back for Councillor Robert Tuchenhagen. He has decided not to run for another term as McKellar Ward representative. Tuchenhagen says he's had enough of the antics of some of his fellow councillors who he says help to drag meetings on much too long. He says multi million dollar decisions are being made at 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning which isn't right. Tuchenhagen will try to bring about changes to help shorten meetings as one of his last acts as councillor

Local student vies for spot at the G8 and g20

A Thunder Bay student has a chance to become a part of history. Melissa Courte is one of 100 finalists who have the opportunity to be a student rep for their province at the G-8 and G-20 conferences in southern Ontario next month. The LU political science students calls it an honour just to be a finalist. The preliminary gathering of the group takes place this weekend in Ottawa.

Cabbies welcome news of arrest

There is relief among cab drivers in Thunder Bay. News that a suspect has been arrested in connection with a string of taxi cab robberies is welcome news to cabbies. For Dianne Sheparski it's a week she never wants to re-live.   She says everyone was concerned their lives were in danger not knowing what would happen next.  Sheparski says the robberies caused her to have many sleepless nights.

Students stand up against racism

Students at Hammarskjold High School are standing up for racial equality. They organized an anti-racism day. Jesalynn Beebe spearheaded the event because she's sick of racist attitudes saying she has seen so much racism in the school and the community that she felt someone had to stand up and do something about it. As part of the event students stamped painted images of their hands on a large mural.

Councillor lives like a paraplegic for a day

A number of city leaders now know what it's like to live as a paraplegic would. They volunteered to live in a wheelchair for a day. For Councillor Rebecca Johnson it was an eye opener. She has a better handle on what obstacles people in a wheelchair have to face everyday from getting through doors to getting in a taxi. Johnson admits that even some parts of City Hall can be difficult for the disabled.

Host says take stock and stay out of "debt hell"

The host of a reality TV show says many of us are heading for "debt hell". Gail Vaz Ox-lade of Till Debt Do Us Part says since she started the program she has been amazed at how many people aren't aware of how much money they spend or what they're spending it on. She says it's important to take stock of where your finances are going if you're concerned you're going over your head in debt. Vaz Ox-lade was in Thunder Bay to be the featured speaker at a woman's conference on money.

Robbery suspect arrested

City Police have a suspect in custody in connection with the recent rash of taxi driver robberies. They say he was arrested yesterday evening. Over the last two weeks three Roach's taxi cabs were stolen in armed robberies. In all cases the driver was not hurt. Charged is Paul Joseph Vukmanich of Thunder Bay. The 23 year old is facing a number of charges and will be in court today.