Here's a look back at this year's top 10 news stories from March, as composed by tbnewswatch.com editor Leith Dunick:
1. The city and Canadian National Railway headed to court to begin proceedings surrounding the James Street Swing Bridge. The city claimed the railway was responsible for maintain the span over the Kaministiquia River indefinitely, while CN countered it should not be held accountable for an agreement signed in 1906. The bridge caught fire in 2013 and has been closed to vehicular traffic since that time.
2. Shelter House announced on March 14 it was suspending its Shelter Outreach Service program, citing a lack of funding. Originally launched in December 2014 as a four-month pilot project, he SOS program was designed to help the homeless, the publicly intoxicated and those living in homeless encampments through outreach, support and transportation. Shelter House officials said they were short $200,00 0 needed to keep the program going.
3. A ghost plane crashed in the woods near Marathon, baffling investigators. The pilot, 27-year-old Xin Rong, was not on board when the single-engine Cessna, rented from an Ann Arbor, Mich. airfield, went down. It’s believed he jumped from the plane and committed suicide at some point during the flight. He was later declared dead by investigators.
4. A suspect in a child killing was arrested in Kenora after his 2009 Pontiac Montana was spotted in a parking lot in the Northwestern Ontario community. Julian Kuijer allegedly killed seven-year-old Nathan Dumas and was also sought for the attempted murder of a St. Catharines, Ont. bank employee. He was the subject of a Canada-wide search warrant issued by the Niagara Regional Police Service.
5, Kakabeka Crystal was the subject of a voluntary recall, after the Thunder Bay District Health Unit advised the public not to drink the company’s bottled water because of evidence pointing toward bacterial contamination.
6. The family of Sherman Quisses came together for a memorial to remember him, five years after he was killed at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. Members of his family and Neskantaga First Nation also said they planned to oppose a motion to stay first-degree murder charges laid against his accused killer, Adam Capay.
7. City council declared all options remained on the table when it came to the future of Victoriaville Mall. Those options included demolition. Coun. Iain Angus conceded the structure had suffered years of neglect, but added he saw plenty of potential in the south-side structure. The city also said it would conduct a 12- to 18-month environmental assessment of the facility, at a cost of $150,000.
8. A Ginoogaming First Nation couple were charged after 15 dogs were found in immediate distress near Longlac in February 2017. Three of the dogs died, the remainder transported to the Thunder Bay District Humane Society. Another 16 dogs owned by the couple were later surrendered.
9. Police confirmed the body of a man found on a trail off Pass Lake Road East was that of missing man Grant Tiboni, who disappeared on Sept. 8, 2016.
10. The discovery of a frozen cougar carcass near Boreal Road may finally put an end to the debate as to whether or not the large feline predators do indeed call Northwestern Ontario home.
