http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx News brought to you by Tbnewswatch.com Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:28:43 GMT 5 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/images/tbnewswatchlogo.JPG http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187319 Two pedestrians were hit by a car earlier this evening on May Street. Thunder Bay Police say the two men stepped out in front of traffic and were struck by the vehicle. One man hit the windshield and suffered minor injuries and the other man fled the scene after the accident. Police say no charges are pending against the driver of the vehicle. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:42:00 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187319 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187223 Toni Grann told a courtroom Friday that if any of her superiors had questioned her work, she would have co-operated. The 45-year-old faces four charges of falsifying records between 2005 and 2010 when she was local registrar of the Ontario Sex Offender Registry. During questions from her lawyer, Clay Powell, Grann said she didn’t know she was being investigated until she was charged. If someone had told her, Grann said she would have co-operated with the investigation. “Until I got charged, yes I would have,” she said. The court heard that Grann was falling behind on her work and that fellow officer Jim Mauro had offered to help. He requested to help her in writing, but Grann said no one responded to that request. After brief questioning, court was adjourned until Feb. 24 when final submissions will be made. Outside of court Friday morning, Powell said the trial has gone as he expected and that cases like Grann’s are difficult. “It’s been a thorny issue since the 1700s the crime of breach of trust,” he said. On Thursday, Crown attorney Mark Huneault’s questioning led Grann to admit that some of her record keeping appeared deceitful. But she insisted that dishonesty was never her intent. While Powell said he’ll save his submissions for court, and said he took issue with the fact that Grann was being deceitful. “If you ask me how old I was and I said 70, and in fact I’m 75, which I am, have I deceived you?” he asked. “Or have I misspoken?” He added that Grann has had a fair trial.     Follow Jamie Smith on Twitter: @JSmithReporting   Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:20:27 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187223 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187240 Michael Gravelle says he’s optimistic a buyer for Terrace Bay Pulp will be found. Gravelle, the Minister of Natural Resources and the MPP for Thunder Bay – Superior North, said he's disappointed the troubled mill entered CCAA creditor protection Jan. 25. The province is listed as the mill’s largest creditor, owed more than $24 million. But he’s expecting a lot of interest in the mill, although he couldn’t say who those potential buyers might be. “Obviously that is being done on a very confidential basis and it has to remain that way. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be getting into any more details,” he said Friday afternoon during an interview with Dougall Media reporters. Getting 350 people back to work under new ownership at the mill is the province’s top priority, Gravelle said. That scenario would not only be good for Terrace Bay, but for Ontario’s taxpayers. When Ontario gave the company the money more than a year ago, Gravelle said it wasn’t so much a loan as it was recognition that Terrace Bay Pulp was and is a valuable asset as the only operating pulp mill between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. For that reason, he's confident there will be a number of serious buyers. An eight-page list of creditors was posted by the CCAA monitor Ernst and Young earlier this week. On top of the money owed to the province, another $41.4 million dollars Canadian is owed to companies right across the country. The overwhelming majority of the money owed by Terrace Bay Pulp is to businesses in Thunder Bay and along the north shore. A number of operations in the city are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. The pulp mill also owes another U.S.$1.5-million to companies based in the United States. Not included on the list is the Municipality of Terrace Bay, which is owed more than $500,000 in back taxes.   Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:57:56 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187240 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187242 Nishnawbe Aski Nation chiefs want their communities connected to Ontario’s power grid by 2018. That objective was the result of a three-day energy conference held in Thunder Bay this week. Officials with NAN invited all levels of government and members of industry, the private sector, economic development corporations and area chambers of commerce to the conference to see what the political territory’s vision looks like. Their long-term goal is to see the power grid extended to put all 49 NAN communities on the power grid and allow them to move away from their reliance on diesel fuel. “Diesel is very costly; the fuel goes up every year,” said Grand Chief Stan Beardy. “But also the operations and maintenance of those power plants is very costly and it’s not necessarily environmentally friendly.” “If you have a spill it causes a lot of damage right in the community and your source of drinking water,” he added. With about 26 First Nations dependent on winter ice roads to transport in fuel and other goods, getting the communities on the power grid will save on transportation costs. With increasing mild winters, the winter road season doesn’t always last long enough to transport enough fuel into the communities and they have to resort to flying in the fuel, which can triple in cost. NAN chiefs have determined they need a strategy in place to ensure there is committed funding to supply diesel fuel to the communities. “I think the chiefs need a letter of comfort from the government that if they take that to their supplier, there is assurance that resources will be there to offset the cost of hauling that fuel whether by land or in many cases when they’re forced to use air travel,” Beardy said. Independent Power Authorities deliver about eight million litres of diesel fuel every year at an annual estimated cost of $9 million. Many NAN First Nations have already developed plans and negotiated with private sector industries and the government on connecting to the power grid and Beardy said the long-term objective is look at power generation, transmission and distribution being owned and operated by NAN regional utilities. “Ideally, what the chiefs are saying is that they want to be developers of energy so that it becomes part of our economic base,” said Beardy. Beardy said the next step is to put together a framework with their objectives and the necessary steps to achieving their energy goals, which means negotiating with governments and the private sector so their plan will become a reality by 2018. Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle spoke at the conference and said the province’s goals are similar to NAN’s. “We would like to see as many First Nation communities in the NAN territory that are presently on diesel taken off,” said Gravelle. “We have, as part of our long-term energy plan, a number of priority projects in place.” There are many renewable energy opportunities in Northern Ontario, which Gravelle said are a priority for the province. Many of those projects are being worked on with First Nations, he added. As for NAN’s six-year goal for connecting their communities to the grid, Gravelle said it is realistic to think a number of First Nations will be taken off diesel fuel dependency by then, but wouldn’t commit specifically to NAN’s timeline. “With the projects we have in place, with the priorities being put on it by Nishnawbe Aski Nation themselves, I think we’re going to make some real progress,” he said.   Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch   Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:41:36 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187242 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187272 A significant ruling was handed down earlier week related to a decade old bus crash in Northwestern Ontario. The initial incident took place in December of 2000 when a passenger on a Greyhound bus bound for Thunder Bay from Ignace grabbed the wheel and forced the bus into a ditch. The bus, as a result, rolled over during the crash. A 78-year-old woman died from injuries she suffered during the crash. This week's ruling related to a damage suit brought by the 20 other passengers who were on the bus. They filed a suit against the passenger who caused the crash, Shaun Davis, as well as Greyhound Transportation, the bus driver, the province and the two OPP officers who had placed Davis on the bus. In his ruling, Justice Terrance Platana awarded damages in varying amounts to the plaintiffs. But he also absolved all of the defendants of liability, except for Davis. In the aftermath of the crash, Davis was found to be not criminally responsible for the incident because he was suffering from a psychological disorder.       (Thunder Bay Television)   Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch   Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:09:03 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187272 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187172 After standing vacant for more than two and a half years, new life is being breathed into the former East Side Mario's building on Memorial Avenue. Jointly owned Nortec Computers and Smart Choice Rent to Own are scheduled to open up shop at their new location within two months.  The businesses will move down the street from their current building, near Chapters Book Store. Smart Choice General Manager Peter Carlson is excited about the move that will bring them closer to Intercity Shopping Centre and the Thunder Centre. The sale was finalized on Oct. 1 and renovations to the interior of the building began shortly thereafter.  Carlson said the new, larger facility will give both Nortec and Smart Choice room to expand. (Thunder Bay Television) Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch       Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:11:31 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187172 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187296   Police have opened a single lane on a section of Highway 11 that was closed Friday night following a crash. Officers from the Greenstone detachment of the OPP say they closed a portion of the Highway between Camp 25 Road and Longlac. Police announced the closure around 7:30 p.m. Around 11:15 p.m., police released an update stating that officers were able to open up a single-lane of the roadway to traffic. Few other details have been released, including the nature of the crash, and police are not sure when the road might be fully re-opened. Police say they will provide more information and updates once information becomes available.       Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:35:32 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187296 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187187 There appears to be some positive news on the local jobs front.  While the national jobless rate went up last month, from 7.5-to-7.6 percent, it was a different picture here in the Thunder Bay area.  According to numbers from Statistics Canada, The jobless rate in this city for January was pegged at 6.2 per cent. That’s down from the seven per cent mark recorded in December. More information about the national jobless rate can be found in tbnewswatch.com’s national news section here . (Thunder Bay Television) Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch   Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:31:57 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187187 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187006 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. They 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.  Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:26:09 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187006 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187114 Toni Grann admitted in court Thursday that her Sex Offender Registry records may appear deceitful, but insisted that deception was never her intent. Grann, 45, is facing four charges of falsifying records between 2005 and 2010 in connection with her role as local registrar of the Ontario Sex Offender Registry. On Thursday she took the stand for a second day in a Thunder Bay courtroom in her defence. Grann faced intense questioning from Crown attorney Mark Huneault as he walked the court through several cases where Grann admitted she had re-registered sex offenders without speaking to them or even meeting them face-to-face. Huneault was trying to establish that Grann changed information in the registrations on everything from a person’s hair length to weight so that she could lower what he calls “bad numbers.” The bad numbers he spoke of referred to cases when the offender is non-compliant with re-registering with police on an annual basis or when they change an address. Grann insists that the Crown’s allegations are inaccurate, and that it was just sloppy paperwork on her part. “That’s not sloppy paperwork. That’s lying,” Huneault said. “For you,” Grann said. “For me it’s sloppy paperwork.” Because of a publication ban some details in the record, including the names of offenders, cannot be released. In one instance, Huneault told the court, a man who read his description on his registration said the details were so out of date that it was probably taken from a description of him as a young offender. In another case, the registration filled out by Grann says the man provided his address to her at a place he was not allowed to live in as part of his bail conditions. Huneault told her that a man admitting to police that he was breaking a bail condition would be unusual. “That would be quite an extraordinary occurrence,” he said. Huneault asked if the man had ever been to the police station to re-register and whether he had told her where he lived. “Right now I have no idea if he was in front of me,” Grann said. Huneault went on to dispute what he called Grann’s crux of her defense, that she couldn’t enter information about an offender without having to start a whole new registration on them. He provided her with a registration from 2006 in which Grann did update the information on a person without having to start a new registration. Grann said she didn’t remember doing that. “That’s news to me,” she said. “Well you did it,” Humeault said. Humeault then said he spoke with officers at OPP headquarters in Orillia who told him they had taught Grann how to update information. “This is boggling my mind right now I have to say,” Grann said. The questioning became emotional for Grann, and at times she would begin to sob or cry, rock back and forth or look up to the ceiling as Humeault aggressively hurled questions at her. “I did not do this because I wanted to make numbers,” she said. Grann will be re-examined by her defence lawyer Clay Powell Friday morning before dates are discussed for closing submissions.   Follow Jamie Smith on Twitter: @JsmithReporting Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:18:42 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187114 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187066 MP Bruce Hyer thinks lowering passport fees in Canada and the U.S. will stimulate tourism in both countries. The NDP representative for Thunder Bay-Superior North on Thursday introduced legislation in Parliament, modeled after similar resolutions passed in 11 states and four provinces, including a limited time, two-for-one deal on passport renewal or new application fees. “Cutting passport fees would encourage tourism in Canada from the United States, and would make it easier for Canadians to travel,” Hyer said in a release. “We’ve seen a steep drop in US tourists visiting Canada in recent years: a decline of 20 per cent since 2005. There are many reasons for this, but one is the added cost of mandatory passports.” According to figures supplied by Hyer, 80 per cent of Canadian-bound tourists originate in the United States, but only a third of all Americans own passports, which cost up to $135 in the States. Canadian passports cost between $87 and $105, but must be renewed every five years. “We need to make the existing passport system more accessible. The current fees for passport application and renewal are a barrier for Americans considering travel to Canada, and for Canadians who want to travel abroad,” Hyer said. “Reducing fees and a introducing a two-for-one fee reduction for families would help boost tourism, and benefit both countries’ economies.”     Follow Leith Dunick on Twitter: @LeithDunick   Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:01:02 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187066 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187035 Police have found the rightful owner of an urn that was missing since at least July, 2011. Officials with the Thunder Bay Police Service announced Thursday morning that they were looking for the owner of some cremated remains they had found. The investigation came up with nothing for police, so on Thursday the force asked the public to contact them with any information they may have about the urn and its remains. Police had found the urn at Dutchak’s storage.   Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch   Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:59:43 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187035 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187019 A Thunder Bay couple has an extra $980,000 in the bank. OLG announced Thursday morning that local couple Allan Maki and Darlene Maki snagged $983,016 in the Jan. 221 Lottario draw. “I thought the self-checker was broken when I scanned the ticket,” Darlene is quoted saying in an OLG news release. “I took it to a nearby retailer to check it once more, and that’s when I realized we were big winners.” The couple has been married for 37 years now. They plan to share their winnings with family, pay off bills, take a vacation and put the rest away into their savings. The winning ticket was purchased at Teraz Express on Fort William Road in Thunder Bay.     Follow tbnewswatch on Twitter: @tbnewswatch Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:08:00 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=187019