Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Constable Not Guilty Of Assault

Thunder Bay Police Constable Andrew Johnstone is not guilty of assault.  A judge has ruled Johnstone didn't use excessive force in helping control a suspect at the Balmoral police station one year ago.   Police Association spokesperson Jim Glena blasted the province's civilian police watchdog for bringing up the charge in the first place.  He says the Special Investigations Unit has once again overstepped its grounds.   Meantime city police say an internal review of the incident will be conducted to go over procedures

No Cause To Fire Yet


There isn't a cause yet for an early morning fire Monday on Merril Street. Fire Spokesperson Marty Patterson says the Ontario Fire Marshall's office concluded their examination of the fire scene.  Samples were sent away for further study and should be back in six to eight weeks.  Patterson can't say if the fire is suspicious in nature.

LU Student Gives Gym Cash

Lakehead University student Jordan Cash is giving a thousand dollars in cash to the Underground Gym. Cash is a Master of Business Administration student and wanted to volunteer at the gym but couldn't due to his busy school schedule. Instead he decided to raise the money from his classmates and teachers.

Missing Man

Police are asking for assistance as they search for a missing man from Windsor.  It's believed that 30-year-old Brandon Wheeler may be in the Dryden-Kenora area as reports say he may be travelling west to Alberta.  Windsor Police say Wheeler may be under distress and they are concerned about his safety. Wheeler is driving a green 2010 Jeep Wrangler, with Ontario plates ALPD512. Anyone with information is asked to contact local police or Crime Stoppers.

NOMA President Pans Road Plan

The President of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is urging caution about any plan to hand winter road maintenance over to municipalities in the region.  Dave Canfield says it's an idea he's heard before, but thinks most councils would be hesitant to enter into such an agreement with the province. Ontario's Transportation Minister Glen Murray says it's one idea he wants to discuss further when he attends NOMA's meeting this week in Fort Frances.

Tbaytel Net Is Back

Tbaytel's high speed internet service is back to normal after 15 hours of downtime.  Officials say a significant increase in network traffic resulted in a capacity issue and caused malfunctions in various components.  They say everyone should be back to normal but any business customers who are still experiencing issues should contact their technical support.

Child Porn Charges Laid


Police are charging a 52 year old man with possessing child pornography.  It comes after a tip advised police that a local man was uploading improper images to Twitter.  A search warrant was conducted on Jeffrey Miro's home on Chilton Avenue and a number of electronic devices were seized.  Miro will appear in court on May 16th.

Airport Shows Record Figures

Thunder Bay International Airport is showing record numbers of passenger volumes for 2013, according to an annual report. Airport President and CEO Scott McFadden believes there is a correlation between these figures and our region's mining activity.  McFadden adds that a slow year for mining has lead to a decrease in passenger volumes for the early part of 2014.



Three Collisions In Minutes


Police are charging a 47 year old man with drinking and driving after a witness saw him get into three collisions minutes apart.  The Gorham Township man driving a grey ford pick-up was involved in a collision at the intersection of Picton Avenue and Red River Road. Shortly after the first crash the man proceeded onto Red River Road and rear ended a GMC pick-up truck twice.  Police are charging the man with failing to remain at the scene of a collision twice, failing to stop for a stop sign and driving while suspended.

South Side Robbery

Thunder Bay Police are looking for two males who robbed the Shell Gas Station on West Arthur Street.  Around 11:30 last night, the two thieves threatened the clerk with a hatchet and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.  No one was injured.

Constables To Be Honoured

Five city police constables are getting the medal of bravery from the governor general on Thursday.   Chief J-P Levesque says  the five, Kevin Carroll, James Arthur Elvish, Clark McKever, Kenneth Ogima and Jason Rybak ,  rescued a woman when her car went into Lake Superior  back in May of 2010.   He says the force is proud of their accomplishment. Also being honoured in Thursday's ceremony will be  Daniel Morrison, for his actions as a Ministry of Natural Resources worker when he saved a woman from an attacking bear.