Here's a look back at this year's top 10 news stories from June, as composed by tbnewswatch.com editor Leith Dunick:
1. Deputy Chief Sylvie Hauth was named acting police chief, taking over the role from the suspended J.P. Levesque. Insp. Don Lewis was named acting deputy chief of police after Levesque was charged on May 23 with obstruction of justice and breach of trust.
2. Marlan Patrick Chookmolin was taken off life support and died as the result of injuries suffered on a pathway in the County Fair area. The 25-year-old was found unresponsive after the attack, which to date has not resulted in any arrests being made.
3. Acting Thunder Bay Police Chief Sylvie Hauth announced Thunder Bay Police Service is not in crisis and is acting as it’s business as usual during a news conference called to address as an investigation into alleged systemic racism and growing mistrust from Indigenous chiefs brought the situation to national attention. The remarks drew swift condemnation from Indigenous leaders and national media.
4. A memorial prayer walk held in honour of 17-year-old Tammy Keeash of North Caribou First Nation drew about 200 people, including community members, Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Mayor Keith Hobbs. Keeash died on May 6, her body found face down in the McIntyre River near Chapples Park. The walk also honoured 14-year-old Josiah Begg, whose body was pulled from the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway on May 19. He disappeared the same night as Keeash.
5. Thunder Bay Police investigated graffiti stating “I killed those kids” on the side of a Via Rail car at the Kamview Overlook Park. The message was quickly covered over, but not before it gained national attention for the city all over again.
6. City council awarded a $2.1-million contract to begin reconstruction of a retaining wall on High Street, a project that saw a section of the busy roadway closed to traffic for several months while the work was conducted.
7. City council voted to spend $125,000 to bring the former Coast Guard icebreaker Alexander Henry home to Thunder Bay. The decommissioned vessel had been a tourist attraction in Kingston, Ont. for nearly three decades before losing its berth on the southern Ontario city’s waterfront. Demolition was another option.
8. OPP identification Sgt. Mark Maltais, 47, was sentenced on child-pornography charges after being caught with more than 250 images and two dozen videos of child pornography on his computer. The court heard Maltais used deliberate and sophisticated measures to conceal his online identity, including multiple proxy servers and encryption.
9. John Rafferty announced his return to politics, taking the provincial NDP nomination for Thunder Bay-Atikokan. Rafferty spent seven years as the NDP’s representative at the House of Commons for Thunder Bay-Rainy River, before losing out to Liberal Don Rusnak in 2015.
10. After backlash from the community, city officials decided to back off plans to charge for parking at Prince Arthur’s Landing. The public balked at the idea of paying to park in the publicly owned park, which was redeveloped a decade ago and has become a hot spot year-round.
