In an effort to investigate the rates of aboriginal mothers who breastfeed their babies, as well as the number of slips and falls by patients in the province of Ontario, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario recently donated more than $250,000 to fund studies aimed at looking in to the problem.

Supporters of the studies say that the findings could have a dramatic effect on the health of residents in the region and could also help physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers provide solutions to prevent the first problem, and then the next.

According to Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s chief nursing executive and VP, the hospital has over 40 falls by patients each month – a number that clearly needs to be addressed.

Some of the measures Ellacott wants to implement at the hospital include using a new strategy when admitting high-risk seniors, checking the environment surrounding the patient, securing their restraints, and instructing nurses to recognize and keep a close eye on patients likely to suffer from falls.

The study on breastfeeding on the other hand, will be done by Karen McQueen of Lakehead University. She and her team of researchers will look into why aboriginal women stop breastfeeding earlier than other mothers in Canada.

This week’s headliners in the City of Thunder Bay tackled health matters and police issues in the city. If you failed to read this week’s newsmakers, don’t fret. Here’s a short recap for you.

Officials from the Heart and Stroke Foundation pointed out that Thunder Bay has a high death rate from illnesses that afflict the heart, such as heart disease and stroke. Apparently, close to 3000 people each year are diagnosed with these diseases, forcing them to be confined in hospitals and undergo treatment. The foundation has promised to organize activities to combat this trend.

Health however, doesn’t seem to be a problem for Mike Link, aged 64, and his wife, Kate Crowley, aged 60. They’re planning to walk around the shoreline of Lake Superior, the 3^rd largest lake in the world by volume. The 5 month journey will prove to be challenging for the couple, something only very few people have done before.

Thunder Bay’s Police Service had their hands full this week. The chief spoke to council and outline their problems and issues. Meanwhile, the city’s police officials took to the streets to apprehend those caught using cell phones while driving. Fortunately, only a few violated the new law.

Anyone in the Thunder Bay area who’s been to Lake Superior will most likely agree that it’s a majestic sight. But two grandparents from the United States want to take that experience even further, this time by hiking around the whole shoreline of Lake Superior on the 29^th of April.

64-year old Mike Link, and his 60-year old wife, Kate Crowley, plan to walk around the Great Lake on April. They estimate the whole journey to last around 5 months. If you’re wondering why, the American couple is doing this in hopes of raising awareness on the fragility of this majestic fresh water lake, the 3^rd largest in the world by volume. According to them, it would be a shame if their grandchildren miss out on Lake Superior’s beauty.

Link pointed out that since Lake Superior is so huge, people forget how fragile it is. More people need to know about how to preserve this body of water for the future, he added.

The 2800-mile journey is expected by the couple to take around 5 months. Link says he wants to take things slow and not rush, seeing as how the weather in the area is known be a bit unstable.

With the distracted driver legislation’s education period ending on the 1^st of February, the City of Thunder Bay’s Police Service is pleased to report that they only issued 8 tickets to violators, while the Ontario Provincial Police handed out seven tickets to drivers caught using their handhelds while on the road.

Thunder Bay Police traffic Sgt. Glenn Porter noted that the education period must have worked, seeing as how few violators have been caught. It’s a clear sign that some people do know better than to use their phones and other similar devices when driving, he said.

However, he also said that some people are still not complying with the law. In fact, Sgt. Porter himself stopped a man who was talking on his phone while waiting for the green light in an intersection. When he asked the drive to pull over, the man simply said that he thought the police were still giving away caution tickets. Sgt. Porter thinks that it’s only a matter of time before word spreads that police are actually laying down charges that will hurt anyone’s wallet.

Another problem Sgt. Porter observed was the high occurrence of speeding vehicles, especially on the stretch of road near Thunder Bay Mall. Police in the area have issued over 80 tickets for speeding.

The kindergarten system is changing in Thunder Bay with the expansion of full-time kindergarten systems. According to Sherri Lynne Pharand, around 5 full-time junior kindergarten programs will be added to the city’s existing roster.

Full-time senior kindergarten programs were first implemented in 2002 by Lakehead Public Schools, but today, the programs are available in 11 of the 23 elementary schools in Thunder Bay that offer kindergarten. The new addition of 5 junior kindergarten full-time programs will be placed in locations that offer full-time SK programs.

The kindergarten registration week for the board was formally launched on Monday. Pharand commented that although many parents take kindergarten for granted, this stage of learning is still very important not only for children, but for their parents as well. She noted many parents will most likely have plenty of questions about the new full-time programs.

And that’s exactly what the information session on the programs that took place on Monday discussed. The meeting was held at the Valhalla Inn at 7 in the evening. Parents and guardians were in attendance, many of whom wanted to make some clarifications on how the system would affect their kids. Aside from that, elementary schools that offer the new full-time kindergarten programs also had open houses on Wednesday, at 6:30 in the evening.

Cooper Rybak’s thought his dogs were nothing but healthy and happy animals, but for some reason that eluded him at the time, both dogs later developed oral cancer that caused their deaths.

The reason why the fatal disease struck both animals escaped him for years, but when he got the chance to work as a tobacco cessation nursing intern with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, he finally understood why.

According to Rybak, his father was a heavy smoker, and he believes the habit was behind the death of his dogs.

At the launch of a campaign that requests smokers to step outside when lighting up organized by the Thunder Bay Health Unit, Rybak said that his experience as a nursing intern has taught him the dangers of second-hand smoke not only to humans, but to pets like dogs as well.

It’s been long known that second-hand smoke is far more dangerous than we think – even more dangerous than lighting one up itself. But no studies have been done on its effect on dogs.

According to Susan Trevisan, smoking cessation coordinator at the Thunder Bay Health Unit, oral and nasal cancer in dogs is likely caused by the habit of these animals to sniff the floors of their homes. The chemical residue left behind by cigarettes is potentially to blame, she said.

One Thunder Bay resident joins the ranks of some of the Province of Ontario’s most elite and distinguished circle of people.

Fraser Dougall recently received the Order of Ontario at a recent ceremony held at Queen’s Park. The Order of Ontario is the highest possible honor given to a person who has made significant contributions to the fields of science, medicine, art, education, philanthropy, politics & law, and media. First started by Lt.-Gov. Lincoln Alexander in 1986, the Order has been awarded to candidates each year since then.

Past winners of the prestigious honor include golfer Mike Weir, former premier David Peterson, astronaut Roberta Bondar, and jazz musician Oscar Peterson.

Dougall’s win makes him the 8th person from the City of Thunder Bay to receive the honor. He commented that’s he didn’t expect to be nominated, much less to actually win the award.

Dougall started out as a technician for his father’s station, CKPR. After the untimely death of his father, he started a television station.

Although broadcasting took up most of his time, that didn’t stop Dougall from putting up the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium by raising funds and calling for support from the community.

He’s done more things for the community, but we’ll leave you to find out more about him.

If you’ve caught yourself using a cell phone—sending a text message or calling—while driving on the road on more than one occasion, then you might want to be more wary of doing it again, as a new and heavier fine will be given to violators caught by Thunder Bay’s Police Force.

According to Sgt. Glenn Porter, the time for discussion when it comes to using a cell phone when driving is over. After hearing the experts debate on whether using a cell phone when driving is safe or not, Ontario’s legislators have passed a new law. Now it’s time for enforcement, Porter said.

Starting on the 1st of February, violators caught using their cell phones when on the road will be fine a $125 penalty.

Back then, all police did was warn drivers about the hazards of using a cell phone when driving. Porter said the force didn’t keep track, but he guessed the warnings given out must have numbered in the hundreds.

Porter added that the new law should have been implemented a long time ago. With the number of drivers getting into collisions due to being distracted with their phones and handhelds, it’s amazing how long Ontario on the problem, he said.

With the Olympic fever in the air, one Thunder Bay restaurant organized a great send-off for the community’s residents who are headed to Vancouver in a few days.

Thunder Bay McDonald’s, located along Arthur Street, set up a send-off party complete with friends, family, cake, and music from a DJ. All this was an idea of Kathy Bukovey, who works with the local McDonald’s public relation team in Thunder Bay. Bukovey is also one of only 14 McDonald’s workers from all across Canada, who will be sent to Vancouver to represent the company.

According to her, she organized the party so that all of those in Thunder Bay heading to Vancouver for the games can have a place to have fun and celebrate before leaving the city. She found out only 2 weeks ago that she would serve as a hospitality ambassador in Vancouver’s downtown district.

She thought it would be a terrific idea to hold a party not just to celebrate her achievement, but for everyone else headed to Vancouver as well.

Talk about unselfish eh?

For Thunder Bay transit operator Stephen Kusznier, he can’t wait to be part of a huge gathering of nationalities from all over the world. He will be one of 13 local bus drivers shuttling people to and from events in Vancouver.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver from February 12 to 18. For details and information on the event, logon to www.vancouver2010.com.

After Haiti was devastated by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean country on January 12, it seemed that all countries around the world banded together to provide help to the victims left without homes and necessities.

Residents from the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, certainly did all they could to pitch in. Local businesses also held special promos to help those in Haiti.

For Terra Nova Salon and Day Spa, cutting hair was their method of lending a helping hand to. On Sunday, the salon and spa offered haircuts for donations going to the nationwide Haiti relief effort. Proceeds of the special event were sent to Thunder Bay’s Canadian Red Cross branch. Normally closed for a break on Sundays, the salon and spa opened at 11 in the morning, cutting hair until 4 in the afternoon.

According to Steve Scaffeo, co-owner of Terra Nova Salon and Day Spa, they raised over $1,500 an hour after opening. And although they stuck to the basics and didn’t dry hair or whatnot, things worked out fine and customers continued to pour in.

He added that it’s only right that he and his team of stylists did all they can to help. Kids out there are throwing in their savings, it’s a must that his business does something as well, he said.