Here’s a look at the stories that received the most attention on tbnewswatch.com during February, 2011.
1. Jordan Wabasse, a Webequie First Nations teen, goes missing on Feb. 7. Police and members of the community immediately begin to focus on the area surrounding the Kaministiquia River, but to no avail.
After months of searching and holding out hope, the 15-year-old’s body is found in May, floating in the river.
2. Marten Falls First Nation announces a blockade of a landing strip in the Ring of Fire is ready to be put in place.
The community had issued a cease-and-desist order in January to Noront Resources Inc., ordering them out of their traditional territory until true consultations were held.
3. City council approved an $8.6 million hike to cover increased costs of construction on Thunder Bay’s waterfront. The added money will be used to pay for site remediation, estimated at $1 million, and $3.7 million to Brook McIlroy for consulting fees.
4. Then Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle remained cautiously optimistic the province will eventually house a proposed ferrochrome processing facility needed for the Ring of Fire development.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said Thunder Bay, Timmins and Greenstone were all under consideration, as well as their base-case location, Sudbury. Mayor Keith Hobbs still held out hope Thunder Bay would win out.
5. Then Natural Resources Minister Linda Jeffrey promised to look into the possibility deadly herbicide Agent Orange was used on Northern Ontario forests between 1950 and 107. In February a Toronto newspaper reported the province began experimentations with Agent Orange in 1957. The chemical was later used to strip jungles during the Vietnam War.
6. Firefighters finally inked a new contract that gave them a retroactive raise of 3.79 per cent between 2004 and 2010. They had been without a new deal for more than seven years. The base salary for a Class 1 firefighter jumped to $87,400.
7. Premier Dalton McGuinty visited Thunder Bay and promised to work closely with Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and other Ring of Fire companies to ensure jobs stay in Ontario.
McGuinty said he would discuss the province’s much-maligned industrial energy policy, but made no guarantees that he’d lower rates to ensure the company would build its ferrochrome processing plant in Northern Ontario.
8. A premature leak of an artist’s concept for the proposed hotel at Prince Arthur’s landing indicated that Delta Hotels is the company the city has been negotiating with the operate the controversial facility.
City officials refused comment, and have yet to release a name, despite repeated promises to do so. The developers later said the delay was because of changes to plans made necessary because of a waterline that cut across a planned parking lot and garden.
The hotelier has yet to be named.
9. City council approved a study on Thunder Bay’s substantial substance abuse problem, and how best to deal with the growing problem.
An official with the Balmoral Centre said the detox facility has seen a 20 per cent annual increase in demand, though city manager Tim Commisso said the study is not just about trying to gain more detox beds.
10. Mayor Keith Hobbs called for a plebiscite to decide the fate of Thunder Bay’s proposed events centre.
Hobbs was reacting to news that FedNor was providing $250,000 to cover the costs of an economic impact study and business plan for the multipurpose centre. Later in the year he resinded the request, saying the facility is needed.
Hobbs, though in favour of the facility, said it has to be fiscally responsible and it’s not a project the city can consider taking on by itself.
