Friday, March 9, 2012

Local Hockey Legend could hit the big screen

A full length feature film could soon be in the works for a Thunder Bay hockey legend. A group headed by another local man Dave Ferguson has finished shooting a 15 minute short film in Saskatchewan and hopes to turn it into a major motion picture.  Ferguson says the movie is about Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe, who was the inspiration for the infamous character Ogie Oglethorpe from the 1977 hit movie Slap Shot. Ferguson says he met with Goldie last year after hearing his story thinks a movie about Goldthorpe is long overdue.

Drug Strategy on three year course

Thunder Bay's Drug Strategy is moving to the next level.   Members  will work on about 20 priorities over the next three years in an effort to help curb the city's drug problem.  Coordinator Patty Hajdu the actions chosen will help to focus on the most critical areas that require immediate attention.  While Hajdu says financing will be required for some of the ideas, she can't put a dollar figure on it.

Thunderwolves lose at CIS Championships

The Lakehead University Men's Basketball team's quest for a national title ended abruptly this afternoon.  The Wolves dropped their first game against Fraser Valley 83-71 to fall out of the Championship side of the tournament.  The Wolves move to the consolation side and will play again tomorrow at noon. 

Kony 2012 sets the Internet on fire

A video calling for awareness about an African Warlord is setting the Internet on fire this week.  The video called Kony 2012 focuses on Ugandan Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.  Lakehead University Political Science Professor Laure Paquette says Kony is notorious for turning children into  soldiers or prostitutes and has been terrorizing Central Africa for over 20 years.  She says he's wanted by the International Criminal Court and has so far eluded capture.  Paquette says currently the U.S. has about 200 advisers in Uganda that are helping the African Country in trying to locate Kony and bring him to justice.

Daylight Savings Time Sunday

Don't forget to change the batteries in your smoke alarm when you set your clocks forward one hour Sunday.  Thunder Bay Fire Prevention Officer Brian Berringer if you don't have a working smoke alarm you could pay a fine up to 250 dollars.  Berringer says it's good to test your smoke alarms.

Heney talks shipping season

The Shipping season on Lake Superior gets underway on March 25th.  But before that happens ice breakers need to be sent in to break up the thin ice.  C.E.O. Tim Heney says they're looking forward to the shipping season.

T.Bay teens honoured

Two Thunder Bay students are being honoured for their essays.  The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation is awarding Hammarskjold's Jessica Serson for her essay called "Butterflies and Salt."  Lakehead Alternative School student Lilyanna McKay won for 3rd World Canada: Voices of First Nations need to be heard.

LU Prof pays to build school

A Lakehead University Professor is giving back to his community. Dr. Mohammad Nasir Uddin has helped to build a new school in Bangladesh and LU President Dr. Brian Stevenson says they're more than proud. Uddin's father was a primary school teacher in that community. The school is named after him.

Mark Wright appointed to PA board

There's a new face on the board of the Thunder Bay Port Authority. Mark Wright has been appointed by the federal government to a three year term on the board which takes effect immediatly. Wright is currently employed at Confederation College and is also a trustee of the Thunder Bay Community Foundation, where he chairs the Grants and Scholarships Committee.

CP Rail pays big fine

CP Rail is being fined 100-thousand dollars after they plead guilty to a federal labour charge relating to safety.  It stems from an incident 2 years ago when a man working on an excavator fell down a cliff near Schreiber and later died.  Spokesperson Kevin Hrysak says they've been working on their safety initiatives since the incident occurred.

Mauro on wind farm motion

MPP Bill Mauro says a Progressive Conservative motion calling for a moratorium on wind farms will not impact Horizon Wind's Norwester project. Mauro says the motion calls for the suspension of all wind projects until an independent health study can be done. The debate wrapped up Thursday without a vote being held.

Thunder Bay's Unemployment Rate

Thunder Bay's jobless rate is declining.  We went from 6.2 percent in January to 5.6% in February.  According to Statistics Canada our national unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent last month.