10. About 31,000 residents learned in June they would be converted to the community mailbox system. Canada Post confirmed residents in four postal codes would make the switch in 2016. However, following the federal election, the governing Liberals put a halt to the plan.
9. City police were cleared by the province’s special investigations unit following the death of an inmate in custody. The resulting report showed the 44-year-old man’s death was linked to his diabetes. He was arrested after being found drunk and unconscious in August 2014.
8. Stan Beardy announced he was stepping down as Ontario Regional Chief. The former Nishnawbe Aski Nation grand chief said he wasn’t planning to seek another term, but added this didn’t mean he was planning to retire. Beardy said he was leaving his options open, though he chose not to put his name forward for his former post at NAN.
7. In filing a claim against CN over the closed-to-vehicles James Street Swing Bridge, city officials said a consulting firm hired by the railroad found damages to be limited after a Oct. 29, 2013 fire. The city’s suit maintains CN has a responsibility to maintain a combined railway and highway bridge in perpetuity, according to a 1905 agreement.
6. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the province would spend $47.8 million to fund a new mental-health wing in Thunder Bay to help deal with local hospital gridlock. Wynne appeared at the groundbreaking ceremony at St. Joseph’s Hospital. The expansion is expected to create a 100,000 square foot facility and cost $52 million.
5. A trio of suspects was arrested following a police manhunt after a car chase and pursuit. Police had been tracking the suspects, whose vehicle was later found abandoned on the city’s north side.
4. City manager Tim Commisso made it official, announcing his retirement from the city’s top unelected post. Commisso was instrumental in the push for an event and convention centre in Thunder Bay and the transformation of the city’s waterfront.
3. Larissa Charlie-Stillaway became the city’s first and only homicide victim of the year after the City Road woman died of injuries following a vicious assault. An 18-year-old man, Cruz Pelletier now faces second-degree murder charges in the case. Following the assault, witnesses called police and reported the victim was unconscious and covered in blood.
2. A 27-year-old man was arrested following a manhunt that prompted the evacuation of Intercity Shopping Centre. The suspect was arrested in the area of Dease and McMurray streets, where police say they recovered brass knuckles, a knife, an airsoft gun and a variety of narcotics. Earlier in the day the suspect had an confrontation with a Nishnawbe Aski Police Service officer. The mall was closed for a little over an hour.
1. A fire at the former Great West Timber mill on the city waterfront lit up the night sky in spectacular fashion. No one was injured in the blaze, which was still smoldering days later and drew hundreds of curious onlookers. The mill, shuttered several years ago, was at one time owned by the Buchanan Group.
