1. Mayor Keith Hobbs comes under fire after statements made about outgoing police chief Robert Herman after Hobbs revealed he’d been temporarily booted off the Police Services Board for allegedly revealing confidential information to an outsider.
Hobbs, along with several media outlets, reporters and news editors, were threatened with a lawsuit as a result of those statements. The mayor later apologized, which ended the lawsuit.
2. Robert Topping became the city’s first murder victim of 2011 on March 19 after trying to stop an alleged break-and-enter at a friend’s Minnesota Street home.
Police charged three teens and a 20-year-old with break-and-enter and first-degree murder.
3. A new Northern Policy Institute was at the heart of the long-awaited Growth Plan for Northern Ontario, a document hailed by the governing Liberals, but described as coming up short by Mayor Keith Hobbs.
The 25-year-plan also called for a multi-modal transportation network, regional economic planning, innovation and entrepreneurship.
MPP Michael Gravelle called it a plan created for Northerners by Northerners that will guide the province’s dealings with the region for the next quarter of a century.
4. The Ring of Fire blockade began on March 3. Leaders from Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations were upset at mining camps being set up near an airstrip and fears of pollution seeping into nearby waterways.
They were also angry about a lack of consultation, and the company’s refusal to respect a cease-and-desist order issued by the bands ordering all mining activity to stop on their lands.
5. Several vocal pro-choice students at St. Patrick High School were sent home for wearing green pieces of tape on their uniform sporting the word ‘CHOICE” in uppercase letters.
The students, led by Alexandria Szeglet, were told their silent protest violated school rules and that they needed permission to alter their uniforms. The protest came on the school’s annual pro-life day.
6. Seven members of the city’s Italian community were shocked to learn they had been tied to the ‘Ndrangheta global mafia network. Seven of eight Canadians named in the international probe, launched by Italian police, hail from Thunder Bay. Rocco Minnella, one of the local suspects with an alleged relationship with the mob, denied any involvement with the mafia, saying his name has been slandered.
7. The inquest into the death of Levi Schaeffer ended with mixed emotions for family members of the man, who was shot by OPP officers while camping near Pickle Lake on June 24, 2009.
He had been questioned by police who were looking for a stolen boat. Nine minutes later was dead from two gunshot wounds after threatening police with a knife and bear spray.
The inquest said police should seek more training about dealing with people with mental-health issues.
8. A lack of potential Aboriginal jury members led a local judge to indefinitely suspend the trial of 32-year-old Andre Wareham.
Wareham was charged with second degree murder in the January 2009 death of 29-year-old William Atikins. Judge Helen Pierce said the lack of Aboriginal jurors did not accurately reflect the community at large.
9. Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute got good news in the federal budget, learning Ottawa had set aside $4 million to help pay for an isotope-producing cyclotron.
The machine is a vital tool in helping oncologists to detect the presence of cancer cells at much earlier stages, allowing doctors to begin treatment sooner, to the benefit of patients suffering from the disease.
10. The city’s top librarian, Gina La Force, lost her job. Citing a need for change, Thunder Bay Public Library board members had little to say about the dismissal of La Force, only that it was a personnel matter. The search for a permanent replacement continues.
