Habitat for Humanity is in a major bind this year, and needs one last push to make it to its goal.

The charitable group, which has provided help to the community by constructing homes for less fortunate families in the City of Thunder Bay, as well as other parts around the globe, is short of its goal of selling 12,000 tickets for its yearly $100,000 cash lottery fundraiser. This development has caused some worry for Habitat for Humanity’s regional CEO.

According to Diane Mitchell, they still have to break even. If they can’t make the 12,000-ticket goal, then the number of houses they can build this year will also be affected. The need to build homes has never been more important than now, she added. She points out that Thunder Bay has a long waiting list of families that needs homes from Habitat for Humanity.

But as other charitable groups in Thunder Bay have learned, the city’s residents have a tendency of pitching in at the last minute. Mitchell hopes that the same thing happens for her organization’s cause

If you want to help them out, you can score your tickets at Habitat for Humanity’s head office for only $20 apiece.

Shelter House Thunder Bay, an organization that provides the city’s less fortunate with a temporary roof over their heads, as well as other necessities like food and clothes, recently released its final figures of donations collected from its fundraising drive which took place on Christmas last year.

In spite of the organization’s worries about not making the 2009 target, officials from Shelter House Thunder Bay said that the fundraising campaign was largely successful – their collections exceeded the $145,000 mark significantly.

According to Shelter House Executive Director Cal Rankin, the donations will help them meet the annual overall goal of $400,000. A large chunk of the donations will be used in maintaining operations, he added.

Aside from monetary donations, Shelter House Thunder Bay also amassed plenty of other donated items, such as canned goods and other non-perishable food items, as well as clothes, both new and used. The food items will go a long way in keeping their shelves stocked, Rankin said.

Shelter House Thunder Bay depends largely on donations from the community to provide services needed by the cities less fortunate families. The shelter is especially needed by many during the winter, as most of the city’s homeless can’t find a place to get warm.

Thunder Bay might not be the biggest or the fastest growing city in Ontario, but residents in the area certainly didn’t care one bit, giving over $20,000 to Thunder Bay’s Red Cross branch in just one day. This by far is the biggest amount collected by the organization’s branch in the city in the span of one day.

The donations will be sent to the earthquake victims in Haiti.

Aside from money, thousands of residents dropped by the Thunder Bay Red Cross branch to deliver supplies needed by the victims ranging from canned and other non-perishable food items, to clothes, to shelter, to medicine, and other necessities.

Since efforts began to raise funds for Haiti, Red Cross Canada has so far collected close to $40 million in donations from all regions across the country.

Indeed, Thunder Bay residents are doing all they can to pitch in that the local Red Cross was forced to extend its operating hours this week, due to the number of people willing to make a donation.

However, the Red Cross isn’t alone in its efforts to raise funds for Haiti. The local Salvation Army has raised another $4000 this week, and they look to be sending even more funds to Haiti as the days go by.

Despite the lack of an outdoor ice rink to practice on, the Thunder Bay Christian School has arguably produced more hockey players who’ve gone on to go pro at the NHL than most other communities in all of Canada.

That void was certainly filled yesterday, as a new outdoor rink opened for the first time thanks to four kind alumni siblings who donated supplies for its construction. Over 100 students flocked to the rink to test the ice, with many marveling at the new rink that’s estimated to have cost around $40,000 to build.

Indeed, it was a sight to behold, with many skating confidently around the rink, while first-timers took their time to get their balance right.

For Julia Himanen, a 12-year old 7th Grade student at the school, the long wait was well worth it. Apparently she and her classmates would watch workers construct the rink for hours, anxiously waiting for its completion.

When that day finally came, her classmates—even her teachers—rushed to the ice in excitement.

The great news is that the outdoor rink isn’t just exclusive to the students; the school will also be accepting bookings from local groups and community members.

In the wake of the massive 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday, almost every country in the world is doing what they can to pitch in and help the country. Already, Canada has been organizing a national relief for the earthquake’s victims, pooling donations such as food items, clothes, and money.

The City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has also been amassing relief goods as well as cash donations. Residents in the area are flocking to the city branch of the Canadian Red Cross to do what they can to help. Hundred of people have dropped by with various supplies ranging from canned goods, clothes, and more.

According to Thunder Bay Red Cross branch manager Rob Kilgour, they have so far received $12,000 in cash donations for the Haiti victims as of Thursday afternoon. Their team of volunteers have also been taking calls non-stop from people asking how they can help. Residents both rich and poor are making efforts to do what they can, Kilgour observed.

Thunder Bay’s Salvation Army is also accepting donations for the Haiti victims. The national non-profit group has already sent an amount of $100,000 in cash less than 48 hours after the quake. Those with mobile phones subscribed to Rogers and Bell are encouraged to text the word HAITI to immediately donate $5.

Our prayers go out to those affect by this disaster.

Some people just have the best luck.

A resident from the City of Thunder Bay recently received a set of keys to his brand new car this week, after his ballot was selected to win the grand prize in a nationwide promotional contest.

Blain Boyd, a native of Thunder Bay, was awarded a brand new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, for being the lucky winner of Mr. Lube’s Change Oil, Win Big, Freak Out contest, which took place from September to November last year. For availing of Mr. Lube’s wide range of services, customers received scratch cards giving them the chance to win amazing instant prizes.

While Boyd may not have won a nice instant prize, his new Ford Fusion certainly compensated for that. His ballot was one of only two selected from all of Canada to be drawn for the top prize.

The other winner, a resident from Scarborough, Ontario, will be presented with his new car tomorrow.

But that’s not all! Along with a brand new set of wheels, Mr. Lube is tossing in free oil changes and selected services for years.

Indeed, it’s a terrific start for this lucky Thunder Bay resident. We just hope he didn’t freak out too much.

AbitibiBowater, one of the leading producers of newsprint and market pulp, groundwood papers, groundwood specialty papers, directory paper and lumber in the world today, will be restarting one of its paper machines in its plant in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Due to the recession and low demand from the market, AbitibiBowater was forced to shut down a few machines last year, laying-off over 300 workers as a result.

Even if this means that the company’s Thunder Bay plant is slowly getting back on its feet with the paper machine’s restart, AbitibiBowater executives were quick to point out that the plant needs to use a more cost-effective energy strategy. If things remain as they are, more paper machines are expected to only shutdown once more – and maybe this time, for good, they added.

Canada’s Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union were largely responsible for negotiating on behalf of the workers on issues like labor fees and the like. The company’s Thunder Bay facility was also able to amass savings of up to $15 million, brought about by more effective energy and water usage.

The paper machine will resume operations next month, and around 100 more workers are expected to return to work at the Thunder Bay plant.

The City of Thunder Bay greets the New Year by bringing in a new medical doctor.

David Kisselgoff, hailing all the way from the mountainous Ural region of Russia, has just recently arrived at the city and has found himself handling three positions; that of research, teacher, and physician.

Kisselfgoff is the first scientist hired by the three big medical research institutions in Thunder Bay; the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute. According to the Russian native, he is more than honored to be selected and considers himself privileged to represent his country. Indeed, it’s a position rarely given to those in the medical field.

Kisselgoff will be doing three things, running diagnostics like all physicians do, teaching medical students, and doing research to help spur the development of better medical technology. He will be working extensively with imaging equipment, like MRI and PET scans which are mainly used to detect cancer cells in patients.

Kisselgoff admits that his new designation will be immensely daunting. For the next few months, it will be a balancing game for the doctor, as he juggles time for his three jobs, as well as for his family.

After taking a good 3-week break to rest for the holidays, Thunder Bay’s city council is scheduled to hold its first meeting for the New Year, taking place on Monday night next week.

One of the main issues expected by many to be discussed during the meeting is the performance of the city’s golfing services last year. Thunder Bay’s director of golf services has been openly vocal about his desire for the council to pass a resolution to implement a new scheme to run golf services in the city.

If director Tom Forsythe has his way, the current breakeven model for the city’s golf services will be replaced by a tax-based model. Forsythe points out that the golf services in the city have come close to a break even point in the past. However, last year’s economic crisis has caused the deficits to balloon, which has lead officials to consider shutting down Thunder Bay’s golf services for good.

Forsythe believes a tax-supported scheme is the only way city golf can be self sustaining.

Aside from his proposal, other city officials are recommending to add $316,000 to the 2010 budget to be used for golf operation costs as well as for equipment upgrades.

While cities all over Canada are making a mad rush to install body scanners in their respective airports, things in the City of Thunder Bay are a little different, as officials have yet to receive word if the city’s airport will get one as well.

According to John Baird, Canada’s transportation minister, all major airports in the country are set to have X-ray scanners installed before March ends. Another 36 scanners will also be distributed after that period. However, Scott McFaden, current president of the Thunder Bay International Airport, says that he has received no updates or news on whether or not Thunder Baby would be one of those 36 airports.

In spite of the fact that there’s so far been no communication between Thunder Bay’s local airport officials and Transportation Canada, it’s still too early to tell if Thunder Bay airport won’t receive an X-ray scanner. After all, March is still a number of weeks away.

And if Thunder Bay’s airport has one installed, it would mean a lot of adjustments and work for the facility’s staff. Furthermore, travelers will also have to get used to the airport’s new restrictions that coincide with the X-ray scanner’s installation.

Transportation Canada’s campaign to install scanners and other security devices all over Canada’s airports were in response to the foiled terrorist plot aboard a Northwest Airlines plane in Detroit. A Nigerian nation with alleged links to terrorist group Al-Qaeda was apprehended.