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Look back: September

Everyday, for 12 days, tbnewswatch.com will be taking a look back at the news stories that had our attention throughout 2012.
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(tbnewswatch.com)

Everyday, for 12 days, tbnewswatch.com will be taking a look back at the news stories that had our attention throughout 2012. Here are some of the top stories published in September:

 

The city’s worst kept secret was finally revealed -- Delta Hotels and Resorts was announced to be the waterfront hotelier. Ken Greene, president and CEO of Delta, said the level of speculation goes to show how much people cared that a four-star hotel was coming into Prince Arthur’s Landing.

City police did not believe a news release dubbing a murder suspect as Fresh Breath Killer was racist. A Thunder Bay Police Service officer in error sent the news release that stated police had captured the Fresh Breath Killer. Deputy Chief Andy Hay said they expected the public to have an unfavourable reaction toward the email, but added that he didn’t consider it to be a racial issue. 

The city saw its third homicide case of the year as the victim of a daytime robbery died from his injuries. Officers with the Thunder Bay Police Service responded to the reported robbery behind a building in the 200 block of North Syndicate Street just after 12:30 p.m. Police say a 29-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 50-year-old man during the robbery. The accused was arrested by police a short distance away from the scene of the crime.

Jennifer Lunn says she’s lucky to be alive after her 25-year-old-son nearly died saving her life. The incident happened in the early morning near the top of Mount McKay in the Fort William First Nation community. Paramedics rushed both Lunn’s son and a 40-year-old-man to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with what was reported as undetermined injuries. Lunn said her son was stabbed three times and received injuries to his neck and arm. Lunn said she was offered a ride by a man she knew to the scenic lookout but upon reaching the top, the man then attacked her and her son.

Two of three city police officers charged with misconduct were found guilty under the Police Services Act. Det. William Wowchuck and Det.-Const. Brad Bernst were each found guilty of a count of misconduct by unlawful or unnecessary authority, which stem from an arrest last year outside of a Money Mart on Memorial Avenue.

Council voted 8-3 in favour of closing the Municipal Golf Course in April with councillors Andrew Foulds, Joe Virdiramo and Iain Angus voting to keep the golf course open. The main reason for the closure was that it would save the city millions of dollars. But the decision left golfers teed off. Supporters of the gold course rallied outside city hall in protest and presented council with a petition with more than 1,500 signatures. City council later stayed the execution of the Municipal Golf Course for a year.

The court battle for OPP Sgt. Darryl Storey came to an unexpected end at the Superior Court of Justice. Storey faced criminal negligence causing death and was charged after being involved in a December 2008 collision with 18-year-old Jasmine Veneruzzo near Twin City Crossroads and Highway 11/17. The trial was expected to last for several weeks but Storey admitted his driving caused Veneruzzo’s death and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. Storey’s sentencing is expected to take place next year.

An independent report on the impact of mining in the province suggests nine projects already underway could result in up to 13,149 jobs in Northwestern Ontario. With combined mineral assets of $135 billion in the ground, the value to government coffers could be staggering. The study says it will cost about $1.7 billion in transportation, energy and communications infrastructure to score the estimated $16 billion in taxes the mines will generate, say the authors of Mining in Northwestern Ontario: Opportunities and Challenges, commissioned by Ambassadors Northwest.

Krystyna Dolasinski tearfully apologized to the court during her sentencing hearing for her theft conviction. Dolasinski, the Port Arthur Polish Hall office manager from 2000 until September 2006, was found guilty in May of theft and fraud under $5,000 and falsifying documents. The charge of fraud under $5,000 was later stayed.

The city hosted a number of public meetings on the Mining Readiness Strategy in order to get feedback from residents. The main topic was how the city will handle the expected economic boom created by the mining development in the Ring of Fire area.
 





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