Look back: May 2010

1 Tragedy at the Historical Park
Tragedy struck at the Fort William Historical Park after an incident with a horse-drawn carriage led to the death of a four-year-old-girl.
 
Willow Scott-Hannam visited the Historical Park with a junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten class from Hyde Park Public School. During that visit a startled horse collided with the young girl.

Paramedics airlifted Willow to the Winnipeg children's hospital where she died en route. Officials with the Historical Park said it was the first time a fatal incident took place in 30 years at the park.

2 murder charge laid
Police charged a woman with murder in connection to the city's first homicide of 2010.

Thunder Bay Police Service officers charged Thea Debra Gliddy, 28, with second-degree murder in connection to the death of 39-year-old Randy Lawrence Cromarty. Police discovered the body of Cromarty at the Inntowner Motor Hotel and said he appeared to have succumbed to his injuries after a severe beating.
 

3 Taxi bandit strikes
A string of taxicab robberies led police to arrest and charge a 23-year-old-man. Paul Joseph Vukmanuch was charged with armed robbery, theft over $5,000 and breach of probation.

The robberies, which involved a suspect robbing cab drivers of both their cash and cab, led questions about cab-driver security. Taxi companies said barriers between drivers and customers aren't effective and can be too costly to put in. Police said the three incidents were related and the suspect used a knife or machete to threaten the drivers.

4 Protesting HST
An HST protest led by members of the Fort William First Nations forced traffic to a crawl on Thunder Bay’s Expressway for an afternoon.
 
The rally against the then-proposed harmonized sales tax saw nearly 200 people march onto the highway between Arthur Street and the Thunder Bay International Airport. The protesters said they wanted exemption from HST, the merger of the eight per cent provincial sales tax with the federal five per cent goods and services tax.

5 Greyhound is here, for now
Greyhound Canada’s senior vice-president Stuart Kendrick said even though the company did retain its routes in Northwestern Ontario, it’s not a service the company intends to continue permanently unless a federal-provincial task force comes up with viable solutions. 


Greyhound threatened to abandon its Northern Ontario route earlier, stating that it could no longer sustain the costly routes of this region.

A deal was reached at the last minute to save the service, an agreement that allowed Greyhound to reduce the number of trips between some communities during the winter off-season.
 
 
6 Racism findings
According to the Thunder Bay Committee Against Racism and Discrimination, racism is systemic in Thunder Bay and ingrained in the consciousness of far too many people.

The committee gave its 96-page report to council and requested that the city move forward to combat racism. The report made five key recommendations that included an acknowledgement of the harmful effects of racism and discrimination, an agreement to work with community partners to create a welcoming and inclusive community, the creation of a standing committee to develop a plan of action, an equity vision to overcome racism and an annual communiqué with both CCMARD and the community.
 
7 King’s Stereo building comes down
Residents said goodbye to the five-decade-old King's Stereo building to make way for the consolidated courthouse.

Nearly 30 people watched as construction crews began razing the top corner of the building. The demolition started with the YMCA building last year in May.
 
8 Deal reached
Webequie First Nations signed a 10-year air licensing agreement with Webequie Logistics; an agreement that was called a breakthrough.

The deal covered several mining industrial measures including line cutting and staking, exploration equipment rental, exploration camp construction, personnel management for camps and air transportation solutions and exploration logistics.

To fulfill many of these services the company said they will hire local residents and local businesses.
 
9 Bike lanes added
Thunder Bay's roads became a little more cycle friendly with the addition of bike lanes on Court Street. One of the first cycling routes for the city, Court Street was chosen as the pilot project for future bike lanes and because it was a major route from Boulevard Lake stretching to the Intercity area. The city's active transportation co-ordinator said there was a lot of demand for safe cycling lanes within Thunder Bay.
 
10 Police chaplain dies at 76
Members of the Thunder Bay Police Service paid their respects to their long-term chaplain Father Micahel Dunnill. The 76-year-old police force chaplain died on May 8 at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Dunnill became the police forces chaplain in 1988. Dunnill was survived by his wife, Marilyn Revoir, his sons Christopher and Timothy and daughter, Michelle, two grandchildren, two sisters and three brothers.