A new year and a new decade is upon us at last! We hope that everyone in Thunder Bay had a blast welcoming 2010 and that we can now start to forget about the challenges that have marked the previous year to give way to a guaranteed more eventful year especially with the upcoming Winter Olympics drawing right at our doorsteps.

After all the New Year’s party hang-over is done, after we have continued our annual traditions and superstitions to welcome the New Year, it is once again time to contemplate on all the great things that is in store for Thunder Bay for the coming year.

To start with, the Olympic torch will be passing by on Thunder Bay tomorrow and it would be best to show the world what our city is all about by showing our support the best way we can.

Again, Happy New Year Thunder Bay and let’s all show some Canadian love in the passing of the Olympic Torch tomorrow!

Thunder Bay is once again on the edge of its seat as the challenging 2009 ends and the more promising 2010 approaches. Everyone is more than ready to blow what this year brought with whatever fireworks they can get a hold of and it is for this reason that one of our local fireworks seller is giving us a friendly reminder to be extra careful come the new year.

Regardless of the fact that the risk of accidental fire setting off from a fireworks display is at its lowest during the winter, with more of Thunder Bay getting ready to light the fuses of their own fireworks, it is always a good idea to be extra careful especially with the new year’s party pouring in the drinks.

It is strongly advised that fireworks users carefully read the instructions of whatever fireworks they have prepared to welcome the New Year before lighting the fuse. Doing so should be more than enough to assist consumers in properly setting these sky beauties without bringing in unwanted surprises.

Hold on tight Thunder Bay! Let’s all welcome 2010 with a blast – safely!

This is just in from the officers at Environment Canada themselves! Everyone in Thunder Bay, and the entire Northwestern Ontario, should expect a much colder than usual 1^st day of the year for 2010.

Rather than the usual -9 degrees Celcius seasonal temperature, temperatures will drop to around -18 degrees Celcius will should be more than enough reason to wear an extra piece of to keep us warm enough to greet the blue moon or the passing Olympic torch whichever tickles your fancy to greet the year.

Luckily for us, Mr. sun will be there to give us plenty of sunshine during the day regardless of what the temperature has in store for us.

All this unusual cold are said to be from the movement of the arctic air and that normal seasonal temperatures should be out and about around the middle of next week – just in time for work to resume.

Many might not find this news all that welcoming however, others are more than happy to be reminded of where we are all living, a little below the north pole.

Everyone knows that terrorism almost scored another hit on Christmas Day itself thanks to the efforts of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 24 year old Nigerian man who attempted to use destroy the Detroit bound Northwest Airlines plane he was onboard. For all of us traveling through Thunder Bay airport, these most recent of terror activity will not affect us much in terms of security measures and the overall use of the facility.

In fact, with the event, Thunder Bay airport officials’ only change notice is for those who are bound for the United States. The said the said passengers-to-be will have to adjust to a few more measures that will likely make the flights take around 20 minutes more. Such a delay is a low price to pay for the benefit of added security in these challenging air transportation times according to airport officers.

Another measure to take note for the flights to the US is the fact that carry-on luggage is no longer permitted.

These measures are more likely not to change anytime soon so if you (or someone you know) is planning a trip to the states, spread to word to avoid being surprised.

Thunder Bay’s very own Michael Somppi found himself, among with many other notable Canadian athletes, etched in a popular lottery ticket appropriately dubbed “Quest for Gold”. Everybody is invited to check him out on the new lotto tickets the next time you purchase one.

It has been said that Somppi was among the athletes picked to be on the ticket due to his apparent love for competing in cross-country skiing. He knew of the move to have himself part of the lotto ticket just a couple of months ago and he was ecstatic to know about it. He even thinks of it as a dream come true. His parents are just as welcoming with the turn of event and to show their appreciation, they even framed one of the tickets to form part of their son’s memorabilia.

The Mechanical Engineering student from Lakehead University started skiing when he was only 14 years old after being a competitive hockey player. Since the shift, Somppi has earned a few notable medals including silver and a bronze from the Ski Nationals in 2006.

Wherever the slopes may take Somppi for the coming year, Thunder Bay is assured he will make everyone proud.

When Thunder Bay mayor, Lynn Peterson, took the time to look back to the year 2009, she happily recognizes it as the year when infrastructural development got its spark back thanks to a long list of construction projects that had been announced, started, and or completed during the year. She also added that the next year would mean more clean and green projects for the city and that she aims to make Thunder Bay an even more diverse city all in all.

Among the many infrastructure projects mentioned by Mayor Peterson include the completion of Thunder Bay’s Protective and Emergency Services Training Centre, the City Hall, the new city land fill, and the Margaret Smith building, the waterfront development project, the joining of the Centre for Excellence for Senior Services and the courthouse just to name a few.

These are just some of the words from Thunder Bay’s very own mayor and judging by the optimism in these words, everyone in the community will surely be up for another great year for 2010 amidst these challenging times.

Recession notwithstanding, hordes of bargain hunters braved the cold Saturday morning to flock to the shopping centers of Thunder Bay where they expect deep post-holiday discounts to meet them. In Intercity Shopping Centre alone, the shoppers were already crowding the mall well before it opened. These early shoppers were no doubt ready to rumble with the thought of being able to make the best of every bargain they can get their hands on by being on the location well before others can even think about it.

When the centre did finally open, the expected shopping frenzy from locals and even out-of-towners shifted to high gear with arm-to-arm shopping action.

Although the entire day can be considered a success, it didn’t go by without its own challenges. Shoppers noted that the drive to the centre could have been a lot better especially for those who have come from out of town. These shoppers had to go through unplowed roads forcing them to get stuck for some time. When they luckily reached the shopping centre, parking is nowhere to be found – as expected for many locals.

However, with no physical injuries reported from the event, this year’s Thunder Bay Boxing Day is no doubt something to be remembered especially for everyone that got a hold of their bargains.

Thunder Bay residents are advised to prepare for more snow from this point until Christmas Eve as Environment Canada predicts more than the normal volume of snow to hit the city. How much more snow exactly? Around 20 centimetres according to the Environment Canada’s prediction.

This unusual amount of snow is mostly because of a winter storm that is currently hitting Northeastern Texas and is set to make its way to the Great Lakes. In fact, more snow has already been pouring along the Minnesota borders due to the storm. It will head to Thunder Bay by today.

Luckily, even though the weather could definitely be better, predictions from Environment Canada do not expect the snow fall volume to be enough to reach the warning standard of 15 cm within 12 hours. However, everyone should always be cautious especially if driving can not be avoided on the snow.

For the most part, we can all just make the best of our whiter Christmas this year by spending time with our love ones during this joyful holiday regardless of the weather condition brought about by this unwelcome storm.

Regardless of the challenges brought about by the year 2009, the Tots for Toys campaign that the Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue department has been spearheading has had a shockingly generous year. How bountiful were the donations exactly for this year? $12,000 more than the previous year to be specific.

Everybody who witnessed the closing event for this year’s campaign at the Intercity Shopping Centre was ecstatic to know the figures. Even 4 year old Lucas Foekens knew the significance of the check he held on to in the event.

According to Bob Vander Ploeg, the chair from the firefighters committee on Toys for Tots, the outcome of this year’s campaign just goes to show that even more people have no intentions of letting down our underprivileged children on Christmas day itself. No sir.

Ploeg also added that he admits to being not surprised at how generous people can be regardless of the challenging year that 2009 has been especially for charities. With this in mind, he is asking others who still wanted to donate to Toys for Tots to donate to other charities instead because this year’s campaign has officially come to a close.

Thunder Bay’s Haley Irwin is all smiles after being named as one of the chosen few to join Canada’s formidable Olympic women’s hockey team.

Even more astounding is the fact that she joins the distinguished team at the age of 21 making here one of only two women on the team to have been unborn during the last time the winter Olympics happened in Canada.

Irwin’s background includes being the first female to be able to join a AAA rated boys hockey team in her hometown Thunder Bay. She then started to make a name for herself at the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team – Duluth Bulldogs. She then did more than enough to earn the rookie of the year title after leading WCHA in scores with 23 goals in total as a freshman.

From then on, Irwin was on her way to becoming an overall player as she worked on her defense to compete with her unquestionable offensive prowess.

Up to this moment, Irwin is still at awe at such a dream come true. She said she is honoured for being given the opportunity to be able to represent the country in such a huge event and that she will bring forth her best during the games.