Here are our top 10 stories for the month of October 2016. We'll be presenting our annual Year in Review feature between now and Jan. 1.
- Prisoner Adam Capay’s four-year placement in solitary confinement at the Thunder Bay District Jail made national news after it was revealed the murder suspect was suffering from memory loss and had tried to physically harm himself. Capay is charged with the June 2012 death of 35-year-old Sherman Quisses, who died while the two were prisoners at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.
- Lakehead Public School Board trustees went against the advice of administration and elected to keep Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute open. Earlier in the year it had been recommended the facility be closed and turned into an elementary school, amalgamating three schools into once. Trustees did vote to close Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, a move later delayed until 2018.
- A prisoner who escaped from the Thunder Bay District Jail was recaptured in Leduc, Alta., after two weeks on the run. Philip Robert Crosby, 48, walked out a service door at the jail on Oct. 11 and faced a litany of charges after police took him back into custody after he was spotted in a bank in the Edmonton suburbs.
- A Thunder Bay Police officer was suspended for alleged racist postings to his personal Facebook page. Four others were placed on administrative duties after the post, which suggested Aboriginals were the cause of their own problems and it was not “the white man’s fault.”
- Two Thunder Bay residents were charged in the death of a dog found earlier in the month. The death was deemed suspicious. After a month-long investigation a couple was charged with the Criminal Code office of killing an animal. A 57-year-old male was remanded into custody, while a 40-year-old females was released with a promise to appear at a future court date.
- A Thunder Bay couple faced four counts of animal cruelty, the aftermath of 23 cats found abandoned in Wilson Street Park earlier in the year. OSPCA investigator Jeremy Gardiner said he had a hard time locating the suspects, who had moved from their last known location.
- Thunder Bay Police turned to the public for help locating a suspect in a violent early morning sexual assault that took place in the Cumberland Street area. Police said a man grabbed a female victim and attacked her for about half-an-hour.
- Toronto-based Metrolinx made waves in Thunder Bay, announcing they planned to look for competitors to provide light-rail trains for its Hurontario Light Rail Transit project between Mississauga and Brampton. However, MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay-Atikokan) said the local Bombardier plant had nothing to worry about.
- A comprehensive recreation master plan made a number of recommendations, including the closure and repurposing of Neebing Arena. The plan including adding twin ice pads at Delaney Arena and Port Arthur Arena. Dease Pool was also placed on the chopping block.
- Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board elementary teachers ramped up their work-to-rule campaign at a testy rally outside the board’s Victoria Avenue offices. Union officials said they planned to disrupt the report-card process in their struggle to have more input on internal teacher hiring, the biggest stumbling block during negotiations.
