Thunder Bay’s very own Justin Loesser, the PartSource delivery personnel happily won for himself $5,000 worth of shopping after spending almost $700 shopping on every single one of the shops that participated in the “Shop Local Thunder Bay” contest last Wednesday.

The very much welcomed surprised came to Loesser while he was at work. His attention was brought to his workplace’s frontline and little did he know he was up for the perfect surprise to complement his plans of getting married on January next year. He was then welcomed with balloons complete with greetings of congratulations for winning the shopping local contest.

Loesser never thought it would be possible for him to win the contest and he even kept telling himself that somebody has one it by now. Luckily, the stars have aligned for him and his fiance’, Natasha Chafe because out of 200 entries vying for the price, Loesser’s got picked.

This is the second year the contest has been run by Laura Alexander, the coordinator of the now yearly event that aims to bring in more locals to shop locally instead of having to cross the border or shop online.

With this contest, we all should follow Loesser’s good example of supporting our local businesses because it makes our city what it is today. Congratulations again and we know Loesser’s going to enjoy his shopping spree more than ever!

Ever noticed how most, for sure not all, of our drivers act like they have all the time in the world to be able to stop for an officer of the police department or an ambulance? That’s probably one of the things many of us just ignore while on the road but for an insurance company like Allstate Insurance, this tells them a lot about our drivers who by the way had to drive on snow at least four months in any given year. In fact, according to the same insurance company, our drivers have placed 8^th out of 49 communities around Ontario.

How did the insurance company decide this ranking you might ask? Well, simply put, it means that Thunder Bay’s collision claims in any given year is only around 3.7 out of 100 vehicles. I know others might find it a little too good to be true that only 3.7% of us actually call our insurance companies to avail of our collision claims but keep in mind that this data is from an insurance company and if we follow logic, it should not be too hard to conclude that these companies have no plans of fooling themselves unless they want to get a shocking figure of claims right?

Either way, we should all be proud of our drivers for such an achievement especially given our weather condition.

Good news for soccer fans in the Thunder Bay area – United States Soccer Federation coach Bobby Howe has been asked to come over to Thunder Bay to share his knowledge and experiences by holding sports workshops for young Lakehead Express Soccer Club players. The workshops are schedule to run from the 4^th to the 6^th of December.

Howe arrived from Seattle on Thursday, proceeding to hold the first workshop the next day. The session was open for beginners and experienced players aged 11 to 18 years old.

Asked on why he decided on holding workshops, the former soccer pro explained that he understands how young girls and boys want to belong to a group or clique, often resorting to gangs or whatnot when not under proper guidance. Teaching the sport is his way of giving back to society, not only imparting his knowledge as a coach, but also honing the life skills these kids need to succeed.

Howe was quite impressed with the kids he saw playing on the field when he observed them, complimenting their firm grasp of fundamentals which matched his club’s expectations.

John Rider, Lakehead Express’ coach, hopes that the workshops become an annual thing, with the goal of helping other teens and kids nourish an interest in the sport.

Some disappointing news for Greyhound bus takers in Ontario – the company has announced its plan of reducing bus services for the next year.

The passenger bus company attributed this adjustment to its significant financial losses over the past year, something that’s heavily connected to the current economic crisis the whole country is facing. This along with some other factors has forced them to scale back on some of their services plying the area.

The announcement was made after a deadline set by the company to strike a funding deal with the province’s government expired, with the latter refusing to provide a subsidy to the company, due to their own financial constraints.

According to Nicole Lippa-Gasparro—a representative for the province’s Transportation Department—the local government is more than willing to lend a hand, but with the Ontario government’s $24.7-billion deficit brought about by the recession, subsidizing a private bus company is not as vital as other more pressing interests.

Greyhound Bus Lines is the only public transportation service in most of the province’s many remote areas. One of the factors that caused their decision was the growing trend of rural depopulation, leading to fewer passengers.

The company though, states that as soon as the economy improves, they will certainly review and do something about this development.

If everything goes according to the Superior Renewable Energy Cooperative’s plan, then Thunder Bay will have for itself a man made forest made up of solar panels that are literally structured in a way to look like spruce trees. Naturally, these trees would do more than just offer shade, it will offer an inexhaustible source of power to our homes and businesses.

According to the open house conducted by SREC, the solar forest is planned to be planted on the corner lot on Algoma and Bay Streets during the meeting which was held on the Saturday afternoon at the Finlandia Club. The solar trees are said to be low maintenance and they can easily move to follow the direction of the sun the way the sunflower naturally does. On winter, these solar trees will lay flat to maximize its energy harnessing capacity.

When the estimated $175,000 solar farm project operates, most of its output will be sold to the grid and is estimated to garner around $160,000 in revenues well within the project’s lifespan which is set at 20 years.

On the long run, the think tanks of the project projects more of these solar forest within Thunder Bay which should be a welcome move for a greener future.

As Christmas draws ever so near, more and more Thunder Bay families have listed themselves among the many who want to get a hold of the Christmas Cheer hamper baskets with clothes, toys, and food. This year, Linda Gambee, the Christmas Cheer fund’s chairwoman, got a little bit surprised when calls for interest in the program started pouring in as early as August – months ahead of the norms basing from the previous years. For this reason, the target funding in is naturally being raised from last year’s $100,000 to $130,000.

Facts be told, this is an expected trend especially with the Regional Food Distribution Association’s report that the food bank’s usage for this year has increased by a steep 46% and even the Salvation Army themselves is anticipating a jaw-dropping 750% increase in meal requests. With these in mind, Gambee already had an idea of what to expect although what is happening is a little too much.

Thankfully, donations are looking as active as the need for them has been starting with $1,800 from The Rotary Christmas Carol and $2,250 from the Pinewood Ford. For those who want to join in, cash donations can be deposited in any Bank of Nova Scotia branch in Thunder Bay, or at the Centennial Square’s Quality Market and the Country Fair Plaza.

Let us all congratulate our very own Constable Lance Barenz of Thunder Bay Police for being among the few police officers and fire fighters who were awarded the province’s highest honour for displaying unquestionable bravery and courage in the line of duty today at the Queens Park. The award was given by none other than Lieutenant Governor David Olney himself during the annual award giving celebration.

How did our officer get such a prestigious award? Well, just to remind everyone, Const. Barenz successfully and bravely diffused a hostage situation involving a young man armed with a knife with a woman for a victim on the 9^th of July, 2008. Of course he had help from other officers who were quicker to get to the scene however, it was his quick decision making and not to mention amazing timing in tackling the suspect away from the victim that ultimately led to the flawless arrest of the young criminal. And that fellow locals of Thunder Bay, is more than enough demonstration of bravery and wit in the line of duty.

So, the next time you see our modern day hero on patrol in Thunder Bay, a smile would be a good way to congratulate him for his deserving medal.

As if the Thunder Bay Police’s forensic facilities were not enough to assist our brave men in uniform in their investigations, the department together with the OPP unit once again joined hands in celebrating the opening of the new Thunder Bay Forensic Identification Unit today.

The new forensic laboratory is housed in a 13,500 square foot building just next to where the Northwest OPP’s headquarters is physically located on James Street. Inside the massive facility is nothing but the latest equipments and technologies in crime fighting and investigation – just the kind of thing we normally see on the movies. This includes laboratories for chemicals and biohazard substances, a blood splatter facility, an advance fingerprinting unit, even heating and air-conditioning on the entire estate goes beyond the normal to protect the most important resource, the brave souls themselves that run the place.

The head of our Community Safety and Correctional Services graced the opening of such a landmark in our criminal investigation unit and he wisely noted that the newly opened facility has been built not for the crimes of today, but for the crimes of tomorrow if they become even more sophisticated. How’s that for being a step ahead Thunder Bay?

Local Thunder Bay businesses are now starting to take a stand for themselves against the dreaded Black Friday sale a day after the United State’s Thanksgiving celebration by holding their own Black Friday sale aimed to keep shoppers from crossing the border to look for unbeatable deals.

One of these businesses is our Power Centre, the electronics goods retailer which started adapting the practice a year ago. According to the retailer’s manager, their experience last is was quite overwhelming with all the people lining up to get 40, 50, and even 60% deals on the latest electronic merchandise they can get a hold of from the event. They were able to sell a lot of unopened plasma TVs, camcorders, blu ray players, and whatnot. With such an experience, they would be crazy not to be at the forefront of the same event this year.

This year, more businesses have jumped in on the fight including the Intercity Shopping Centre and the Ski Haus.

So, if you’re planning to make the cross border trip coming Black Friday just to shop in the US, you might as well support the local community and grab a great deal while at it by checking out the Black Friday sale on the businesses of Thunder Bay.

The city of Thunder Bay was formed in 1970 by the merger of the cities of Fort William, Port Arthur and the geographic townships of Neebing and McIntyre. The city takes its name from the immense bay at the head of Lake Superior, known on 18th century French maps as “Baie du Tonnerre”.  Thunder Bay has become the regional services centre for Northwestern Ontario with most provincial departments represented. Lakehead University, established through the lobbying of local businessmen and professionals, has proved to be a major asset, reinforced by Confederation College. The same businessmen and professionals were the driving force behind the amalgamation of Fort William and Port Arthur in 1970.

The city of Thunder Bay was declared a “Cultural Capital of Canada” in 2003. Throughout the city are cultural centres representing the diverse population, such as the Finnish Labour Temple, Scandinavia House, the Italian Cultural Centre, the Polish Legion, and a wide variety of others. Shags, a combination shower and stag held to celebrate the engagement of a couple, and Persians, a cinnamon bun pastry with pink icing, originated in the city. Thunder Bay is served by the Thunder Bay Public Library, which has four branches.