Sanctions continue

Posted February 2, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Party sanctions against Thunder Bay’s two NDP MPs are still in place, but both area Parliament members assure constituents that there’s still a lot of work for them to do.

John Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay-Rainy River) and Bruce Hyer (NDP, Thunder Bay-Superior North) were punished by the NDP’s interim leader Nycole Turmel in November after the local MPs voted with the government to end the long-gun registry.

The punishment means nether MP can speak or ask questions in the House. They can’t travel for business with the exception of moving between their riding and Ottawa. The y were also stripped of their critic roles and kicked off committees.

Those sanctions were still in place when MPs returned to the House this week after a six-week hiatus.

Rafferty said it will stay that way until the long-gun bill passes third reading. When that happens is anyone’s guess, the MP said.

“I did hear a rumour that they are trying to get finished with the issue this month,” Rafferty said.
Hyer said third reading was originally supposed to come up this week, but was removed.

The timetable change leads Hyer to believe that the Conservatives won’t bring it up until after March so that they can use it to apply pressure to the NDP when it chooses its new leader.

Regardless, they both say the sanctions haven’t kept them from doing their jobs.

Rafferty said he continues to work toward improving rural broadband Internet. He’s also trying to get a one cent increase to the gas tax and change the formula so cities are funded not just by population, but also by geographical area.

The move would bring an extra $500 million to municipal infrastructure he said.

“There’s still lots and lots of work I can do not just in the riding but here in Ottawa,” Rafferty said.

Hyer added that from getting a fire truck for Whitesand First Nation to convincing the Conservatives to extend a federally-funded program for the defunct Terrace Bay Pulp, he’s had no shortage of work. 

“While some of my rights have been taken away, my workload has not,” he said.

They are also still part of the House duty roster, which makes sure there are enough NDP MPs attending various meetings on Parliament.
Although it was the party that sanctioned the two MPs last year, Hyer said he’s still not sure who had the final decision.

“I’m not sure whether the current interim leader drew this up on her own, or whether she is having her strings pulled by somebody in the party,” he said.

Based on the MPs he’s spoken with, Hyer said a majority of the NDP caucus supports Rafferty and him. 
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Winning continues

Posted February 2, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

Lonny Bohonos was a winner in his Superior International Junior Hockey League coaching debut.

Marc Nother made 34 saves and Brandon Warmington notched a pair of goals, leading the Thunder Bay North Stars to a 4-0 win over the powerful Wisconsin Wilderness on Wednesday night, stretching their winning streak to four games, equalling a season high.

"It's a big win for us. We wanted to get the win for Lonny in his first game as a junior coach here. It's huge for our team, a big confidence boost to win against Wisconsin and it looks like it's a turning point for everyone," Nother said.

"That's probably our most complete game from the forwards all the way back to the D. So I think we're all happy with the win."

Warmington, who's lit the lamp five times in nine games since joining the Stars from the Markham Waxers, said the adversity surrounding the SIJHL club, as tough as it's been, may have united the players and willed them to the win.

"We had a great team effort out there. It seemed like we all came together," Warmington said. "We weren't really expecting a coaching change, but it seems like it's been working for us. Everything seems to be working out there, we just got a 4-0 win."

Bohonos, though not completely satisfied with the way his new troops played, nonetheless was happy to start out a winner.

"It's good for our hockey club. Obviously Wisconsin is a very good hockey team. I'm obviously happy, but there are a lot of things we need to work on. Our PK did a very good job and our goaltending was outstanding," Bohonos said.

"But I felt there were too many undisciplined penalties and we have to cut those down. We got lucky. They've got a really good power play and we can't give teams that many chances because eventually they're going to capitalize."

The Stars were a perfect 10-for-10 while shorthanded and caught Wisconsin goalie Tanner Millron, who leads the league with a sparkling 1.46 goals against average, on an off night.

Michael Orosey, whose been hot of late, struck first, stepping across the blueline and ripping a slap shot past Millron at the 5:40 mark of the opening period.

Less than two minutes later Kyle Lapenskie doubled the North Stars lead in similar fashion, ringing it off the post and into the net for a 2-0 lead they'd take into the break.

Warmington jumped on a loose puck in front of Millron late in the second, pounding it home for the only goal of the period, and iced the contest at 3:34 of the third, stealing the puck from Wisconsin defender Christian Belobaba and waltzed in alone on Millron to score the final goal of the game.

"I had a couple of goals tonight, but I had good line-mates who got me the puck. It's great to play with good players," Warmington said.

The Stars and Wilderness play the second of three in a row on Friday at the Gardens, then hit the road for a dozen straight to wrap up regular-season play.

First period
Scoring : 1. Thunder Bay, Orosey 7 (Ma. Fox, Osborne) 5:40. 2. Thunder Bay, Lapenskie 18 (Mi. Fox, Mascarin) 6:56.  Penalties : Lapenskie TB (interference) 10:00, Blacksmith TB (high sticking) 11:48, Ma. Fox (delay of game ) 17:49.

Second period
Scoring : 3. Thunder Bay, Warmington 4 (Rempel, Wolframe) 17:11. Penalties : Dietrich WIS (hooking) 2:45, Osborne TB (high sticking) 18:47, Dubinksy TB (hooking) 19:58.

Third period
Scoring : 4. Thunder Bay, Warmington 5 (Rempel) 3:34. Penalties : Blacksmith TB (tripping) 4:37, Tilley TB (holding) 10:17, Mi. Fox TB (high sticking double minor) 11:18, Osborne TB, Hendrickson WIS (unsportsmanlike conduct) 12:11.

Game Data – SOG – Wisconsin 10-14-10-34, Thunder Bay 8-12-7-27; Power plays (goals-chances) – Wisconsin (0-5), Thunder Bay (0-1); Goaltenders – Wisconsin: Tanner Millron, Thunder Bay: Marc Nother; A : 336.

 
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Search on the river

Posted January 26, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Police say it’s likely someone went through the ice on the Kaministiquia River in the past 24 hours, but it appears whoever it was got out on their own.

Const. Julie Tilbury of the Thunder Bay Police Services is urging anyone who might have been in the area recently to come forward so they can officially close the case.

The call came just before 1 p.m. on Thursday, reporting a hole in the ice with tracks leading to the water’s edge near the Mountdale Road boat launch.

“Apparently some people were down here at lunchtime, observed a hole in the ice and observed what they believe to be tracks. A search of the area has been done by fire rescue, with negative results,” Tilbury said.

“Thunder Bay police are asking if anyone was down here today, or in the last 24 hours and went through the ice, to give us a call so we can clear this incident and make sure there is no other searching we should be doing.”

Tilbury said it’s hard to say how fresh the hole in the thinner-than-usual ice cover on the river is.

“Right now they’ve checked the area and with the weather conditions, it’s hard to tell. However right now they do believe somebody may have walked out on the ice, possibly fallen through and they believe this person has come back out of the area.”

Follow Leith Dunick on Twitter: @LeithDunick
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Stars lose third straight

Posted January 22, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

The Iron Range Ironheads exploded Sunday for three first-period goals and held on to down the Thunder Bay North Stars at the annual SIJHL Showcase in Duluth.

Casey Skolnik, Benjamin Brouillard and Spencer Peratalo scored a pair of power play goals and a shorthanded marker in the first 12:50 of the game to sink the Stars.

Sam Dubinsky and Brennen Dubchak tallied 83 seconds apart in the third, but try as they might, the North Stars could not net the equalizer.

Colton Ishmael made 38 saves to earn the win. Carter McEachern was yanked after just 2:43, allowing goals on his first two shots. However replacement Marc Nother, who allowed the third goal, was tagged with the loss, stopping 25 of 26 shots.
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Michael Power dies

Posted January 19, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Michael Power, the longtime mayor of Greenstone, and before that Geraldton, has died at age 69.

Power, who stepped down before the 2010 municipal election, at the time cited his wife’s help for his decision.

He first moved to Geraldton in 1969 and combined to serve nearly 30 years as mayor of the two communities. He was first elected in 1976. Power also spent three terms at the head of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.

Upon announcing he was leaving municipal politics, Power said it was time to move on, as difficult a decision as it was.

"Would I like to stick around? You always want to stick around, but there is always a time to move on, and you need to realize, I have given, I have done what I can. I’ve worked with a group of people. We’ve achieved a lot together. It’s time for somebody else and put themselves forward to achieve it," Power said.

This is a developing story. More to follow…
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Dealing with pain

Posted January 19, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Robert Sugarhead’s shirt comes complete with a buttoned-up collar. 

“I’m wearing a tie and trying to be professional,” the Fort Hope First Nation’s resident says, with the tie loosely around his neck, featuring a full Windsor knot and perfectly placed dimple. It’s a sure sign he takes time and care with his professional attire. 

Just 88 days ago, Sugarhead didn’t bother with ties. Making sure he appeared professional took a backseat to his then top priority – feeding his prescription drug addiction.

“I use to take anything just to get a fix,” he says, recalling the days not too long ago when the drug dependency ran his life. “It was very small here at first. It was Percocet first.”

The Percocet that once did the trick couldn’t satisfy the addiction anymore.

“I turned to OxyContin when I was older … People were looking to find a bigger high and I was one of those guys.”

Sugarhead says drug use was a way to deal with boredom, and didn’t realize he was using the narcotics to help deal with pain. All his previous attempts to drop his addiction ended in relapse.

The problem became so serious that Sugarhead found himself resorting to theft to help pay for his habits.

But crime is not part of his life anymore.

Today Sugarhead is a role model, a youth outreach worker for his community’s school and one of the success stories from Fort Hope First Nation’s homegrown detox program. 

“It was a good choice for me because I was heading down the wrong way,” he says.

"In Fort Hope, there was no place to deal with your problems. Now there is. This detox thing came into the community and I was on the list and I was on the bottom. By some chance I was bumped up.”

And as a youth outreach worker, his goal is to help students with their own drug dependency problems.

Fort Hope’s detox program was created after the community declared a state of emergency in 2011.

The First Nation hoped they could bring more attention to the community’s prescription drug problems by calling the state of emergency. Since then, Health Canada has provided the community with Suboxone, which helps people addicted to opiates deal with the withdrawal symptoms.

But Suboxone alone can’t cure the community of its problems. The First Nation lacked a facility that could help deal with the mental health aspects of drug addiction.

That problem led Fort Hope to create a solution in August 2011 – a detox clinic that could provide local addicts with the services they needed.

Operating inside a converted home, the clinic started with four community members per session. Demand was too much for the original four, so the clinic expanded to allow 10 people to receive treatment.

There are now plans to expand, and bring the clinic’s capacity to 20.

Elizabeth Atlookan, health manager at Fort Hope, says the program’s waiting list is huge.

The community was supportive of the clinic, but admits that Fort Hope needs more than a house-turned-detox clinic snuff out to its prescription drug use epidemic.

“A lot of members in our community are using OxyContin,” Atlookan says.

“It’s really crippled our community. We renovated this house, but we are going to outgrow it very quickly. We have seen improvements. People have gone back to work and taken care of families.”

She says many turn to drugs to deal with pain, and adds that it isn’t an uncommon problem in remote First Nation communities in the North.

When Health Canada arrived to give Suboxone, she says federal health regulations wouldn’t allow the nurses to administer the drug at the clinic.

Like many social problems, money was also a hurdle in the community’s efforts to create a solution.

“We’re talking about big expenses here,” she says.

“We’re talking probably a lot of money to really fully meet the epidemic proportion of this prescription drug abuse in the North. We’re hoping Health Canada will work with us. Right now they have put in an interim funding for a nurse and we’re going with that. Hopefully, with all the media attention we will get all the help we need.”

 
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Snowarama returns

Posted January 12, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

For eight-year-old Zachary Pylychuk, the annual Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids is all about outdoor fun and fulfilling his need for speed.

For other children with disabilities, it’s an opportunity to enjoy life to its fullest, thanks to the fundraising side of the annual event on the trails surrounding the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino.

“We have a lot of fun,” Zachary said on Thursday, at the launch of this year’s event, set for Feb. 4. “There are two to three snowmobile trails. And last year I got to go on a snowmobile run. It was very fun. We were going very fast and we got to scare our family members.”

Snowarama, which has been taking place for 37 years across Ontario, was designed to help raise money for Easter Seals through pledges collected by local snowmobile clubs.

First started in 1975 by wrestler Whipper Billy Watson, the inaugural Snowarama raised $130,000 at 12 events staged across the province.

Since then it’s raised a combined $16.5 million for Easter Seals.

“Snowarama is very important for Easter Seals. It’s one of the few events that a lot of the kids like, because they get to see the snowmobiles started and they get to look at the snowmobiles from close up,” Zachary said.

Each event is unique, local organizers said.

The Northern Minnesota challenge features a complimentary spaghetti supper and dancing, featuring the music of Bon Jovi tribute band Bed of Roses.

Tony Swader, vice-president of the Grand Portage Trail Riders, said their ninth annual event should be all set to go, the latest drop of snow helping fill out the trails.

“Right now our trails have been dragged and we’ve got some grooming done. Over on the Gunflint they’ve got some grooming done, so I think we’ll be OK, as far as the trails go. There’s a three- to five-inch base in Portage, a six- to seven-inch base over at the Gunflint and about 16 inches of snow in the woods,” Swader said.

“So a couple more shots of snow and we’ll be OK.”

Swader added it’s all about the children, whose families often face enormous financial challenges. It can cost between $10,000 and $40,000 a year to raise a child with a physical disability, something most can afford on their own.

“We want to help the kids like Zach and all the other kids up here in Thunder Bay get the things they need to get on with life and make life a little bit better for them,” he said.

To participate or donate, phone Rhonda Harrison at 345-7622 or visit www.snowarama.org.
 
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Coming down

Posted January 12, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

It was the home of champions, but on Thursday the former Thunder Bay Curling Club was reduced to rubble to make way for an 88-unit condominium unit.

A pair of excavators moved in to begin the work at 9 a.m., to begin the demolition of both the curling club and the adjacent clubhouse, a move that is expected to keep the nine-hole Thunder Bay Country Club viable for another 100 years. The plan also includes a new 10,000 square foot clubhouse.

Club president Bob Swan called it a fantastic day.

“This has been a project that’s been going on for a couple of years and this is the culmination of the first step and I can’t wait to see super structure go up,” he said. “We’ve got a great project going on here.”

Swan, who said the club is still going strong after 102 year of operation, said it was simply time to revitalize the facilities on the Golf Links Road property.

“We haven’t used it as a curling club for about seven years. You know, it was kind of starting to look like a bit of an eyesore.”

Several years ago the club had sought to expand to 18 holes, and had even considered purchasing Centennial Golf Club, building an 18-hole course on that property and shifting locations. But that deal fell through and this more than makes up for it, Swan said.

The members are thrilled to see the development take shape, he added.

“It just shows that we’re committed to being here and we’re happy being in the middle of town,” Swan said.
“We have a real gem right here. And we have a very strong membership. It’s almost full. We don’t have a lot of room for new members.”

The new clubhouse is a bonus too, despite how well the existing one has served the members over the years.
Golfers will have to make do without for a summer, he said.

“There will be one year with a little bit of upheaval, but after that, it’s going to be fantastic.”

Club officials partnered with real estate mogul Robert Zanette on the project, which is expected to be completed by fall 2013, with the clubhouse opening in time for that summer’s golf season.

Zanette, pointing to the new Quality Market store across the street, the proximity to Lakehead University and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, called it a trophy location for condominium development in Thunder Bay.

The demand certainly proves his point.

“We’ve been building condos for 20 years across North America and it’s pretty hard to beat a site like this,” he said.

“We’ve never had a project that was virtually entirely spoken for prior to breaking ground. That doesn’t mean everybody’s going to come on board, but we basically have more names than units and we’ve never been in that position, so we’re pretty happy with that,” said Zanette, noting that the condo market in Thunder Bay has nonetheless likely reached its saturation point, with this and other planned developments in place.

Units are expected to sell for between $275,000 and $600,000.

Thunder Bay Curling Club was home to the Helen Sillman rink, the 1971 and 1972 provincial women's curling champions. Bill Tetley (1972) and Al Hackner (1992) won Northern Ontario crowns on the men's side.
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Mistaken salary

Posted January 5, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

A mistake put the head of troubled Global Sticks Inc. on the province’s last sunshine list.

The list, which discloses public sector workers in Ontario who make more than $100,000 a year, had Global Sticks’ president Reggie Nukovic making nearly $125,000 of public money in 2010. Natural Resources minister Michael Gravelle said it was a mistake.

The company has received nearly $7 million from the province. When Global Sticks received the funding package, Nukovic accidentally filled out a salary disclosure letter that he’s not required to sign as a for-profit company.

“It was a mistake certainly  I was as shocked as anybody else would have been when I was informed that indeed he was on the list,” Gravelle said Wednesday after being informed of the disclosure by Thunder Bay Television.

“(Nukovic’s salary) is certainly not part of taxpayer funded dollars.”

Gravelle has asked the Ministry of Finance to remove Nukovic’s name from the list and wants the government to look into whether the letter is necessary for for-profit company funding packages in the future. He said the disclosure wasn’t fair to Nukovic.

“I feel somewhat embarrassed may I say on our behalf,” Gravelle said.

As for Global Sticks, which has been shut down since November, Gravelle said the province is in communication with the company to see about restarting.

We have certainly made it clear to the company that we’re prepared to look at a potential to defer some of their required payments if they are able to come up with the extra private sector dollars they believe they need to get things restarted,” he said.

“It’s important thought that with all the public dollars that have gone into it that we see some private sector support."

Nukovic said he's not concerned that his name ended up on the list as the company has nothing to hide.

He added that he hopes to have employees back to work as early as Jan. 15.

 
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Repairs needed

Posted January 5, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

A ship in Thunder Bay’s port is in need of repair after a New Year’s Eve incident.

A large boom, used to load and unload cargo, on the ship Sagniaw collapsed onto a dock while the ship was moored at Thunder Bay Terminals.

Thunder Bay Port Authority CEO Tim Heney said this type of incident is a first.

“Fortunately there were no injuries and the ship is currently in a safe position,” Heney said.

Solutions are being worked on right now.

Thunder Bay does have facilities to fix the problem.

Heney said the boom will need to be removed before the ship can move, possibly to the ship yard for repair.

But that could take some time, he added.
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Top 10 sports

Posted January 2, 2012 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

It was a bit of an oddity in Thunder Bay in 2011, with the Stanley Cup coming nowhere near the city, after Jordan Staal and Patrick Sharp won the prestigious trophy in 2009 and 2010.

Uncharacteristically the Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey squad was unceremoniously bounced from the postseason in the first round, a first in team history, a story in its own right. But there was plenty to like about the Thunder Bay sports scene this past year, starting with a hoops squad that showed once and for all it belonged with the big boys. Here is our look back at the top 10 sports stories of 2011.

1. Proving 2010 was no fluke , the Lakehead Thunderwolves men's basketball team returned to nationals, winning an OUA championship in a stunning upset of the No. 1 Carleton Ravens. The trip to Halifax marked the end of the road for guard Jamie Searle, where the Wolves lost their opener, but won their two consolation matches to finish fifth.

2. For the third time in four seasons , the Thunder Bay Chill made their way to the Premier Development League's final four weekend. Led by Brandon Swartzendruber, Gustavo Oliveira, Nolan Intermoia, Wilson Neto and local boy Stephen Paterson, the Chill proved once and for all, even with a semifinal loss, that they're the circuit's model program these days.

3. Michael Somppi, Andy Shields and Erin Tribe showed they belonged on the national stage, earning their way to world ski championships at the national time trials held at Lappe this past January. Somppi and Tribe made the under-23 team, while Shields, with wins in three of four races at the trials, captured a bid on the national junior team. All three ski for the National Training Development Centre Thunder Bay squad.

4. Cold weather aside , Thunder Bay proved an excellent host for some of the province's most underrated athletes. Special Olympians couldn't say enough about the city and its people, as they competed at the Ontario Winter Games in skiing, snowshoeing, curling, figure skating and speed skating at a variety of venues throughout the city.

5. Sault Ste. Marie's Brad Jacobs had all but resigned himself to runner-up status at the Northern Ontario men's curling championship, but got the surprise of his life when Thunder Bay skip Joe Scharf sailed his final 10th-end stone through the house, giving Jacobs a steal of three and a trip to the Brier. Scharf only needed a draw to the eight-foot for the win.

6. Tasia McKenna may or may not be the best basketball player to suit up for the Thunderwolves women's team. But one thing's for sure, she is the most prolific scorer. McKenna, now an assistant under Jon Kreiner, broke Kathy Harrison's two-decade-old career mark of 1,968 in February, against the Brock Badgers in her final regular season contest.

7. Multi-sport athlete Robbi Weldon and partner Lyne Bessette took home four visually impaired tandem cycling gold medals at the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. As a result of their success, the duo were named Canada’s flag bearers in closing ceremonies. Weldon is a former cross country skier who took part in the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

8 Like her brother Joe Scharf , curler Krista McCarville came up one game short in her quest for another trip to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The Thunder Bay skip, who curls out of the Fort William Curling Club, couldn't get past Ottawa's Rachel Homan in the provincial final, denying her foursome a fifth berth at the national championship.

9. After nine years of playoff success , the Lakehead Thunderwolves were ousted by Waterloo in the opening round of the playoffs, bringing to a close what might have been the team's most disappointing season yet. The Wolves also said goodbye to a number of veterans, including captain Jordan Smith, forwards Brock McPherson and Kris Hogg and goalie Kyle Moir, to name just a few, ushering in a new era for the perennial powerhouse.

10 Marc Staal's hockey career appears to be on hold , thanks to a hit from brother Eric. The New York Rangers defenceman finished the 2010-11 season, but recurring headaches and other concussion-like symptoms have shelved the former first-round draft pick for the entire current campaign. The Rangers moved Staal, who got married this summer, to the long-term injured reserve list to clear up cap space, further clouding when he might return. Staal has resumed skating on his own.
 
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Murder charge laid

Posted December 29, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Police have laid murder charges in the city’s fourth homicide of 2011.

Barney Beaver, 53, from Webequie First Nation, was taken to hospital Dec. 17 after an alleged assault at the Victoria Inn.

He passed away Dec. 24.

Kelsey Lance Charles Jacob, 33, from Summer Beaver First Nation was originally charged with aggravated assault after the incident. That charge has now been upgraded to second degree murder.

Criminal Investigation Branch Staff Sgt. Don Lewis couldn’t say much about the case other than the fact that the two men knew each other and that alcohol was a factor.

“They were in the same room in the hotel so they weren’t strangers to one another,” Lewis said.

Although a post-mortem was done, Lewis couldn’t say what the cause of death was or speak to nature of Beaver’s injuries.

Lewis said the investigation is still ongoing. Jacob is in custody.

His next court date is Jan. 5.

 
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Brainerd out of NWL, league announces 2012 schedule

Posted December 23, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

The Northwoods League is a baseball team lighter today.

In a move that surprised no one, the summer collegiate circuit announced it was cutting ties with the Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers, the lowest-drawing team in the league. The move, which also sends the Waterloo Bucks to the North Division, where they’ll play alongside the Thunder Bay Border Cats, was made to accommodate the expansion Lakeshore Chinooks.

For scheduling purposes, the 16-team league cannot operate with an odd number of teams.

The Border Cats also learned their 2012 schedule on Monday, and will open their 10th season May 30 on the road against the Alexandria Beetles, followed by a three-game set in Rochester.

The Cats home opener is scheduled for Monday, June 4 against the Beetles at Port Arthur Stadium. They wrap up regular season play on Aug. 12 against Wilmar, their home finale coming two nights earlier against cross-border rival Duluth.
 
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Steady service

Posted December 22, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Thunder Bay Transits New Year’s wish is to have the mainline express a permanent service.

Transit introduced the additional bus route for the holiday season on Dec. 12. Since then, transit users have taken advantage of the quick bus route that ferries passengers from the two terminals and the Intercity Shopping Centre.

The express bus route, formerly the holiday express, has had success since transit first started the service last year.

Jon Hendel, marketing and planning analyst for the city’s transit department, said ridership has remained about the same as last year with about 20 passengers on average using the express bus every hour. 

He added that the number of riders is what they wanted to see for a new service and felt confident ridership will increase over time.

Transit’s master plan includes the mainline express becoming a regular service for the city. Although, more data is required in order to make a stronger case for the service when transit appears before council in the New Year, he said.

“The transit master plan is going to council in March and then there would be a developmental stage for a year or year and a half until implementation,” Hendel said.

“We are looking at an express bus as a viable option for Thunder Bay. As with any additional service there is an additional cost but then what we would do is build a business case around it of what the return would be and what the appeal would be for ridership.

With full implementation still a year away, Hendel said they had time to work out all the details before bringing a final cost to council.

Hendel said they changed the name because passengers were confused about where the route took them so they simplified it as much as they could by calling it the mainline express.

“This is the second year that we’ve implemented this service,” he said. “We knew there would be a lot of congestion in the downtown area and we know intercity mall is a major destination point for a lot of our riders so we introduced this service as a quick way to get in and out of the intercity area.”

The express bus will run between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. weekdays until Dec. 30.

The special holiday express bus will also run between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
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Christmas Cheerless

Posted December 15, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in News | No comments yet

Christmas Cheer has hit an unfortunate first.

Officials running the annual campaign have been forced to turn people away this year.

The charity is giving hampers to feed 6,600 people this season, an increase of more than 600 hampers compared to 2010. With such a great need, chairwoman Linda Gambee said they implemented a 12 noon cutoff on Monday for those wanting to get a hamper. Those who didn’t make it in time won’t be getting a hamper this year.

“We’ve never had to turn anybody away before,” Gambee said Wednesday with tears welling. “It breaks my heart.”

“The need is so much higher than it’s ever been that we actually had to make a decision that to be able to give a hamper to everyone that had enough food in it for a week we had to do a cutoff.”

Gambee said more than 50 people have been turned away so far and the phone has been ringing off the hook with people still hoping to get a hamper.

“The phones are as busy as when we were taking the registrations and some people are pretty angry and we understand that, we apologize but we just can’t do anything about it,” she said. “We do the best we can with what we’ve got.”

Those who were turned away are directed to local food banks. Gambee said people also have a responsibility to make sure they register for a hamper on time.

The CLE Coliseum was a busy place Wednesday morning as 120 volunteers raced to fill hampers for those lucky enough to have registered.

Gambee said food donations are up this year, but Christmas Cheer is still $60,000 short of its $160,000 financial goal.

People can still donate money by bringing it to the Coliseum by 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Donations can also be made through Scotia Bank or Quality Market.

“Nickels, dimes, pennies, quarters, whatever you’d like to bring in,” Gambee said.

Food donations will also still be accepted.

“We put it right on the table and it goes right out,” Gambee said.
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Pitching in

Posted December 13, 2011 by ThunderBayClassifieds.ca in Sports | No comments yet

The city is still seeing the benefits of a baseball tournament over a year after it was held.

Thunder Bay International Baseball provided city council with a final report on the 20120 World Junior Baseball Championship that was held in Thunder Bay in the summer of 2010.

The 12-team event, which saw over 50,000 people attend, was such a success that Thunder Bay International Baseball has a $278,000 surplus and brought up to $7 million to the region.

On top of creating a reserve fund to bring future events to the city, the group is giving some of the money back to the community through its Baseball Development Fund.

Pro Kids, which helps local aspiring athletes get into sports when they can’t afford it, received $5,000 from Thunder Bay International Baseball Monday night. Pro Kids coordinator Laura Daniele said the money will pay baseball and softball registration for children who need it. While local sporting organizations do provide some free spots, the demand from local children fills those spots up.

“I don’t know where we’d be without the support of the community,” Daniele said.

Daniele said children identify themselves through sports and that getting to play is an important part of growing up.

“We want to make sure that kids who don’t have the funds are able to bring that passion with them as they grow into adulthood,” she said.

Every year a group will be chosen to receive the funding.
 
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