THUNDER BAY -- Here are the top stories from June 2018, as selected by tbnewswatch.com editor Leith Dunick. We'll be rolling out our look back at the year gone throughout the rest of December, culminating with our most read stories of the year on Jan. 1.
- A shakeup of sorts on the local political front saw long-time Liberal MPP and cabinet minister Bill Mauro ousted from the legislature as the Doug Ford-led Conservatives swept the Liberals out of office after 15 years. NDP first-timer Judith Monteith-Farrell edged Mauro out for the seat by 81 votes. West of Thunder Bay, former federal cabinet minister Greg Rickford took over the seat vacated by the NDP’s Sarah Campbell. He was later named minister of natural resources.
- The Ontario Court of Appeals overturned a 2017 Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruling and ordered Canadian National Railway to reopen the James Street Swing Bridge to vehicular traffic. The bridge was closed to cars and trucks after an October 2013 fire, but the Court of Appeal said the railway had breached a 1906 agreement that mandated them to keep the bridge open in perpetuity.
- A preliminary hearing in the extortion case against Mayor Keith Hobbs opened in court on June 25. The hearing was held to determine if there was enough evidence to warrant a trial against the mayor, his wife Marissa and Mary Voss. The court later ruled there was and the accused were committed to stand trial.
- Former Ottawa Gee Gees hockey players Guillaume Donovan and David Foucher were found not guilty of an alleged 2014 sexual assault following a game in Thunder Bay at a local hotel room. In her verdict, Justice Chantal Brochu said that while neither player was a gentleman on the night in questions, she had no reason to question their testimony that the woman had consented.
- Students at Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute bid farewell to their school, which closed its doors after 52 years. Churchill was shuttered after a lengthy closure consultation process, most of its students heading to Westgate in September. Construction of a new elementary school began on the site, the original school scheduled to be demolished.
- Shelter House completed a $50,000 fundraising campaign and finally got its news Street Outreach Service vehicle on the road, ensuring the program would continue. It had been temporarily suspended when the original van broke down. The program provides food, water, clothing, blankets and harm reduction services to the city’s homeless.
- The city and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit launched a rat-prevention campaign after more than 250 reported sightings in less than two years. The campaign was designed to raise awareness on how to keep rats from taking over their yards, how to recognize their presence and how to eliminate the vermin.
- The Thunder Bay and District Humane Society drew fire for staff terminations, which led to a complaint being filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Robin Ratz said she was let go after bringing more than 50 issues related to workplace health and safety to the animal shelter’s board.
- The legal battle between the Sports Dome ownership group and the CLE continued, with the former filing a $2-million counterclaim against the latter. In April the CLE file a $1-million suit for clean-up costs and other damages.
- Police said they had a person of interest in the sudden death of 25-year-old Marlan Chookomolin, whose body was found a year earlier on a north-side recreational trail.
