Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Pickle Lake Mayor Concerned

A proposed corridor for the Ring of Fire has the Mayor of Pickle Lake concerned.  The development of a North-South Road to Nakina is in the early assessment stage.  Roy Hoffman says this would impact the transportation of goods to the north, and that an east-west road seems more appropriate. Hoffman brought the issue up to government, and doesn't think they were aware of it before.

Storey Trial Takes A Break

The trial of a Thunder Bay OPP officer is taking a break until Monday. Sgt. Darryl Storey is charged with Criminal Negligence in connection with the 2008 traffic death of 18 year old Jasmine Veneruzzo. On Wednesday the first two paramedics at the accident scene testified. They both told court that Sgt. Storey told them shortly after the incident that his vehicle collided with a car that had pulled out in front of him as he was travelling what was termed "highway speed" down Highway 11-17. When court resumes next week one of the two paramedics will resume his testimony.

AGS Burns Last Piece Of Coal


It's the end of an era.  Atikokan's Generating Station burned its last piece of coal on Tuesday.  The plant is being converted from coal to biomass and the project is already underway.

Mauro Congratulates Robbi Weldon

More praise is coming in for Thunder Bay's Robbi Weldon after she won the gold medal for Canada at last week's Paralympic Games.  Thunder Bay Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro shared Weldon's story in the Ontario Legislature today.  Mauro congratulated Weldon and shared some of her exploits with his fellow politicians.

EQAO Grade 3 & 6 Test Results

The results are in for students with the Lakehead Public and Catholic School Boards.  Grade 3 and 6 test results in the province wide standardized reading, writing and math tests were released Wednesday.  The public board's grade 3 students saw improvement in reading, stayed the same in writing and saw a small decrease in math scores.  In Grade 6, reading, writing and math scores all slightly went down.  The Catholic Board saw their grade 3 students' reading and writing marks significantly increase, however math scores fell by one percentage point.  Grade 6 Catholic Students saw their reading and writing scores stay the same and their math jump from 62 percent to 65.

True Grit Golf Tournament Thursday

True Grit is hosting a golf tournament at Whitewater Thursday in support of the Disaster Relief Fund.President Eric Zakrewski says the field is full with 34-teams entered and they now expect to raise more than 100-thousand dollars to help with flood funding after the May 28th disaster.  Zakrewski says the general public can also participate in a live auction for a 2012 Fiat sports car which takes place at 8:00 o'clock Thursday night at Whitewater.

Hearing Judge Finds Detectives Guilty

Deputy Chief Andy Hay
A surprise verdict at a Police Services Act hearing. Two Thunder Bay police detectives have been found guilty of Unlawful Use Of Authority in connection with the way they handled a drug arrest a year ago. The adjudicator handed down his verdicts in the cases of Detectives William Wowchuck and Brad Bernst. A third Detective, Ron Popowich was found not guilty. Deputy Police Chief Andy Hay says the force accepts the decision. The sentencing will take place October 10th. 

Tbay Tel Luncheon Of Hope 20th Year

The 20th annual TBay Tel Luncheon of Hope is scheduled for next month. Organizers say ticket sales are going well.  Barb Midgeley has been with the luncheon for the past 19 years and says she's surprised they've been able to carry on over the years.  This year's special guest speaker is cancer survivor and Canadian Journalist Libby Znaimer.

Delta Is The Waterfront Hotel

It's no longer a secret. Delta Hotels and Resorts is officially the hotelier for the waterfront development project. Mayor Keith Hobbs and Delta officials made the announcement at a news conference this morning.  Delta President and CEO Ken Greene says the hotel will be a 4-star hotel with 150 rooms and 18 penthouse suites. Officials say the hotel will open in 2014 and the result for the city is a million dollars in property taxes.
Design Illustration of Hotel

Man & Woman Charged In Assault

Thunder Bay Police are continuing to hold a crime scene in a bush area behind Wentworth Crescent.  Police were called just before 11:30 last night to investigate the assault of a 15 year old girl.  A 23 year old woman and 36 year old man are charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault, and the woman is also charged with Breach of Probation.  Police are still investigating the incident that sent three people to the hospital.