THUNDER BAY -- it’s the Labour day long weekend, which means a lot of people have already begun to think about the Hymers Fall Fair.

It's been a regional family tradition for more than a century. The 102nd edition of the iconic fair begins Sunday morning and runs through Labour Day Monday, featuring all the farm animals, games and entertainment that the event is known for. 

Traditionally, about 10,000 people pass through the gates every year, making it one of the most well-attended annual events in Northwestern Ontario.

Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and children between the ages of six and 12-years-old. 

Shuttle buses are available on Sunday and Monday from County Fair Plaza, Arthur Street Marketplace and the Community Auditorium for a return cost of $5.

Movie fans hoping to watch Disney’s Frozen on the shores of Lake Superior on Friday night are going to have to let it go for a few weeks.

Rainy weather has forced city officials to postpone the showing until Sept. 26.

Movie Night in the Park will instead resume next Friday with Ant Boy, being screened in conjunction with the Bay Street Film Festival.

Where most fair-goers just see a bench, Jordan Sime sees a point of pride.

The 11-year-old has spent the past three days along with nearly 200 other volunteers getting ready for the 102 nd Hymers Fall Fair. Wrapping hay bales, getting the roasting pit going and hauling benches around a fair ground may not seem like the ideal weekend but for Jordan, it's been an amazing time even after a rainy Thursday that soaked the volunteers.

"I wanted to do it because it's a good cause," he said. "I helped set up a bunch of stuff and now everyone's enjoying it. That just makes me feel really satisfied."

Jordan's been having so much fun he even started recruiting several friends like 12-year-old Matthew Magnuson to come along.

"It's nice to be helpful," Matthew said. "I'm happy to make them happy."

This is the duo's first year volunteering, all thanks to Jordan's grandmother Margaret Duncan. For her, it's great to see the next generation give back.

"It means they want to do something for somebody else," Duncan said.

A heritage of family volunteers is part of what makes the fair what it is Hymers Agricultural Society president Barry Woodbeck said.

Watching Jordan and Matthew put in a hard day's work at the fair, Woodbeck sees that its future is in good hands, as it has been for more than a century.

"I think it's been passed down from generation to generation," he said. "Father to son, mother to daughter and so on."

"We can't run a fair without them."

It's also part of the reason people keep coming back by the thousands every year. With no rides and exhibits that have been there from day one, it's just a grassroots country fair Woodbeck said.

"To younger people it's something new. To older people it's something to reminisce about," he said.

That said, there is a new addition to the fair this year as they expanded the ring to make way for horse jumping, a huge draw Sunday afternoon.

"We're very proud of that," Woodbeck said.

The fair continues Monday.

THUNDER BAY -- The Fort William Fall Street Festival will have a new look and location this year.

Organizers held a news conference Tuesday to promote the seventh annual street fair. 

Victoria Avenue BIA co-ordinator Tina Huk says the festival will have many exciting changes and events. 

With the nearby Riverfest event being cancelled this year, the association decided to tighten up their boundaries and allow some other businesses to be involved in the Festival.  The festival takes place along May Street from Donald to Miles, and Victoria Avenue from Brodie to Simpson Streets.

The decision to move the event prompted a group of about 15 business owners to launch a petition against the changes two weeks ago.  But Huk says the new location will work better for everyone in the downtown south core.

Huk says there will be more than 45 booths, a farmer's market, sidewalk sales, a children's area and food booths with a variety of entertainment. 

The festival will run this Saturday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

 

Jory Zechner would love to be the next Avril Lavigne.

The 15-year-old Nipigon student has sung all her life, but mostly for family and friends. These days she’s found a slightly larger audience and is well on her way to making her musical dreams come true.

The Northern Ontario youngster is one of six contestants left standing in the seventh season of YTV’s The Next Star, an American Idol for teens seeking out the country’s most talented young singers.

“Even before I could talk I was humming and dancing around the house. It’s just always been a passion of mine,” she said recently in an interview in Thunder Bay.

“I started taking lessons when I was six or seven and I’ve always just loved it. I would go in the music festival here in Thunder Bay and different competitions and I just loved it. People started telling me, ‘Hey, you’re pretty good.’ And I was like, ‘Really?’

The awards followed and that’s when Jory, who wowed the judges with a haunting rendition of Serena Ryder’s What I Wouldn’t Do, started thinking she might be on to something.

Regardless of how she does in next month’s live final, Jory, who list songwriter and actress Demi Lovato as her musical hero, says The Next Star has been a great way for her to garner experience in the business, one she hopes to make a career of one day.
It may be a competition, but it’s still a lot of fun, she added.

“We all get along amazingly, because we’re all experiencing the same thing,” she said.

“It’s just amazing making it this far, being able to meet all these people that have worked in the business for so long. Dan Kanter is Justin Bieber’s guitarist. So one of the judges is Justin Bieber’s guitarist, which is crazy. There’s a Canadian Idol contestant and one of the judges works with Avril Lavigne.”

Setting out to be a star isn’t for everyone.

It just seemed natural for Jory, whose hair now has streaks of bright blue woven in, in true pop star fashion, a surprise for friends and family back home. 

The show is also a great way to get noticed, she said.

“It’s really hard getting exposure being from such a small town. Not many people really know about Nipigon or Thunder Bay,” said Jory, a finalist in the 2013 Thunder Bay’s Got Talent competition. “So it’s just amazing getting exposure on the show and having all Canada being able to watch.”

Jory says she’s been watching The Next Star since she was a “young kid,” and has always dreamed of stepping out on stage with the other contestants.

This year she figured what the heck, why not try out?

“I kind of wanted to audition ever since I started watching,” she said.

“The audition process was awesome, going through all the steps and meeting all the judges for the first time. It was nerve-wracking, but at the same time overwhelming. But it was just an amazing process and being able to be a part of it was awesome.”

Jory, set to release her first single, Up to Us, said she’s hoping her background gives her an advantage when the finale airs later this month.

“It’s amazing to have all these people knowing that I’m from a small town and saying, she’s the girl from the small town so let’s back her up and say she can do this, she can win this. It’s just amazing that people know who you are.”

THUNDER BAY -- Kathy Forbes says the public has to be the eyes and the ears in their neighbourhoods.

Over the past year or so the Syndicate Avenue resident has done just that, spearheading a charge to clean up the banks of the McIntyre River, a notorious gathering spot for drug addicts and alcoholics that had lowered a cloak of fear over the area.

Through her persistent efforts with Thunder Bay Police, CN Police and local businesses, lighting has been added and brush cut back to discourage criminal activity and lessen the danger to intoxicated people who wander down by the river or cross a railway bridge with nowhere to run if a train comes along.

Forbes who has lived in the area  for several decades with her husband Brian, a long-time member of the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Zone Watch program, said a chance meeting last September with Const. Curtis Trotz of the CN Police convinced her to speak out and try to make a difference.

“It was unsafe for everyone involved,” Forbes said on Thursday, helping police and the local crime prevention council showcase what can be done in different areas of the city.

Forbes said it was her goal in life to get this done, given what she’s gone through in recent years in her own life.

“I’m a three-time cancer survivor and this being my neighbourhood, this was a mission for me, to get this cleaned up. I’m lucky to be here this year, so I’m really happy looking at this.”

Trotz, who arrived in Thunder Bay last year, said the large number of people congregating in and around the railway bridge were a concern to him, something he too wanted to help eliminate.

Forbes provided the push, her bulldog attitude spreading to everyone she brought the issue up with.

“We were seeing things like property damage, graffiti, all sorts of smaller things happening,” Trotz said.

“Usually when these types of things do occur they can spread into something a little bit larger if you don’t work together to try to solve the problem.”

It was all about partnerships from there.

Lee-Ann Chevrette, the acting crime prevention council co-ordinator, said her group was quick to jump on board.

Cleaning up the city has to start locally, she said, adding the council is focusing this year on crime prevention through environmental design.

“We’re looking at the ways in which we can make improvements to the environment to increase safety,” she said.

That can include anything from improved lighting or clearing out brush to improve natural surveillance, like they did recently in the Field Street area, where two homicides have occurred in recent years.

“These things can make a significant difference,” Chevrette said. “We’re in the process of working with Thunder Bay Police to develop a tool where neighbourhoods can go out, conduct safety audits, identify feature they can improve to increase community safety.”

Sgt. Greg Stein of the Thunder Bay Police Service said it wasn’t their initiative, but it was one they were happy to lend a hand to, especially given the rash of violent deaths in the city this summer.
The police cannot be everywhere, Stein said.

“This is a great community initiative for Zone Watch, which is essentially a community policing initiative. Our partnership with CN Police is also key. The big thing for this is not only reducing calls for service, but also making it safer for all emergency services responders who have to respond to events in this area –which has also been mentioned, have been reduced.”

THUNDER BAY - Abby Brown is happy to see her friends, and play sports again.

The Claude E. Garton Public School student started Grade 8 Wednesday on the first day back to school for Thunder Bay students.

While Abby was excited to see her friends, entering her last year of elementary school felt bittersweet.

“It’s sort of sad to be leaving the school I’ve been going to for 10 years but I’m also excited to have new experiences in high school,” she said.

Fellow student Tanner Little is also entering Grade 8 and is excited for his last year before attending high school next year.

“I’m excited to go to high school afterwards, new experiences and new responsibilities,” Tanner said.
But for now, he was excited to see his friends again on Wednesday.

“Since I live far away, I don’t get to see them throughout the summer,” he said, adding he’s excited to see what new things he can learn this year.

Lakehead Public Schools’ director of education Ian MacRae said he’s optimistic for the school year and the board is especially excited for its new technology initiatives.

“I think students will really appreciate the technology infusion we’re experiencing and will over the next couple of years. We’re right on the cutting edge of that,” he said.

The public board has also had renovations completed over the summer to make room for full-time kindergarten classes.

There have also been infrastructure improvements to some of the board’s schools including boilers, heating systems and ductwork.

Enrollment numbers are slightly down this year compared to last, but MacRae said they have seen a jump in registration over the last week.

The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board has also seen a slight increase in registration over the last week and director of education Pino Tassone said they’ll have concrete numbers next week, but he’s optimistic the numbers will be up.

Tassone said the reason for the increase could be due to a number of factors including the board’s education quality and accountability office standardized test results.

“We also have that infusion of technology, especially in our high schools and just broaden that commitment into our elementary schools,” he said.

While there is a large focus on technology in the city’s Catholic schools, Tassone said their top priority is student well-being.

“We believe that in order for students to be successful academically, they have to feel good about themselves; they have to feel good about coming to school, so we ensure relationships are built there, we care for them, we make them feel welcome, make sure they’re well-nourished when they come to school to be first and foremost a second home for them,” Tassone said.


 

THUNDER BAY - Marcus Santana is fearing his first Canadian winter.

The 25-year-old arrived in Thunder Bay from Sao Paulo, Brazil on Saturday to attend Lakehead University this fall and while he’s only here until December for the university’s English program, he’s a bit wary of the coming weather.

“The infrastructure of the cities and the people and just the weather is so different,” he said Thursday afternoon at LU’s orientation session for international students at the Hangar.

Santana chose to come to Lakehead to improve his English after he completed his engineering undergraduate degree in Brazil. The Thunder Bay school was recommended to him from a friend studying in the city.

He said living in a new country is difficult to describe.

“You meet new people, make new friends and it’s another language,” said Santana. “It’s all so different.”

Lakehead is seeing a record number of international students this year with 300 first-time undergrad students for a total of 700. They’ve come from 44 countries including China, Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia.

Associate director of Lakehead’s international program Nancy Gallo says the program has been growing every year and she believes the university’s smaller class sizes and the area’s natural environment are some of the big draws for students.

And with many coming from large metropolitan cities, they were looking for a smaller city environment when choosing a university.

“They are looking for a more intimate, more nurturing experience,” said Gallo, adding she believes nature is the No. 1 benefit for the students.

“A lot of them have already said they have never felt such clean air or seen such a great natural environment,” she said.

Having international students come to Thunder Bay to study is also beneficial for the community, Gallo said.

“Every time we bring in students from another culture, it enriches us. It brings us new business opportunities. It brings us new employment opportunities,” she said.

The orientation session included a community fair so incoming students could get to know the campus and how to access services in the city from banking to health care.

Lakehead University Student Union president Ian Kaufman said they were on hand to inform students about bus passes, health plans and the food bank amongst other support services.

“International students have some unique issues that they face,” he said. “They face really high tuition. There’s a big cultural shift … we want to make sure they are treated fairly and get the supports they need.”

Orientation for all LU students began Thursday with activities running until Sept. 10.


 

THUNDER BAY -- Conservative estimates say about 1,600 Canadian men and women gave their lives in the Second World War serving the country’s merchant navy.

That’s about one-in-eight of the 12,000 who served, according to Legion magazine.

On Wednesday Thunder Bay’s contingent was honoured a city hall with the annual raising of the Red Duster, the merchant marine flag that the country’s ship sailed under during the six-year global conflict.

Gene Onchulenko, the acting secretary with the local Canadian Merchant Marine Association chapter, said it’s important to remember those who died.

“The merchant navy was a vital service, providing goods and services to England to help them survive the Second World War, the bombardment,” Onchulenko said.

“Food stuffs, lumber, fuel, all kinds of things needed for the war effort were brought by these merchant ships over to England and other Allied (countries).”

Without the merchant navy, the Allies war effort would have been seriously hampered.

Ships were routinely fired upon, as the Germans sought to cut the supply lines and starve the English out.

According to Legion magazine, only half of all sailors on ships that were struck survived.

But they continued to serve, knowing the dangers and knowing their lives were on the line each trek across the Atlantic or whatever waters they were needed.

Mayor Keith Hobbs, who helped raise the flag, had two parents who served in the war, but said the merchant navy had one of the toughest tasks of all.

“They were sitting ducks a lot of times,” said Hobbs, whose middle name is Peter in honour of an uncle who died in the conflict.

“My parents were veterans and they told me some horrific stories of what happened during the war, all for our freedom. You see what’s going on in the Middle East right now and we have to pay tribute to our vets all the time and never forget them.”

Flags at city hall are being flown at half staff this week, in remembrance of former parks and recreation manager Bill Beavis.

The public has the chance to see behind the doors of some of the city’s historical buildings this Saturday.

Doors Open 2014 features 17 historically, architecturally and culturally significant landmarks and buildings throughout Thunder Bay and all of the sites chosen for this year’s event are linked to the First World War era.

Waverley Park’s Cenotaph and Afghanistan monument and St. Paul’s United Church are among some of the stops as well as the Whalen Building, Prince Arthur Hotel, Shuniah Masonic Hall, Mountain View Cemetery and the Mount McKay Monument.

Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau said the community wanted to be a part of the city event this year because it’s a great way to acknowledge First Nations people, especially the veterans who contributed to the First World War.

“I think sometimes we forget about the all of our deceased especially our veterans so I think it’s a good way to acknowledge that and keep the memory of our soldiers alive and to keep their courageous involvement alive within our community,” she said.

The city’s heritage advisory committee chairman Andrew Cotter said they picked sites significant to the First World War to celebrate the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the war.

He said the Doors Open event is about celebrating the community’s heritage.

“We think about learning about the future by looking into the past,” he said.

“These buildings teach us about what was around during the time of the First World War … and where we came from. These buildings have rich cultural heritage. They have architectural heritage,” added Cotter.

In addition to the historical sites, the event also includes renovated spaces like Superior Lofts in the Neelin Building.

Doors Open 2014 runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 6. For more information see www.thunderbay.ca/doorsopen.

THUNDER BAY -- The south downtown core has developed into one of the city’s primary administrative areas over the past decade, especially with the opening of the new consolidated courthouse.

However, the Fort William Business Improvement Area wants to remind people there are still unique, vibrant shops still in the area.

The organization hosted their seventh annual Fort William Fall Street Festival on Saturday, with this year’s edition forming a square block around the Thunder Bay Courthouse.

Vierlyn Lunn, co-ordinator with the Fort William BIA, said the purpose of the festival is to introduce residents to the different businesses and their owners.

“We really want to highlight it and bring people down here,” Lunn said. “We have a lot of really great destination shops in the area and we want people to come down and rediscover it.”

Most of the people who visit the area are there for a specific reason, such as to go to the courthouse or attend an event at the nearby Fort William Gardens, she added.

Sarah Duce attended the fall festival and said she does not regularly visit the business district.

She was pleasantly surprised by the array of businesses in the neighbourhood.

“There are quite a few people here. It’s quite busy,” Duce said.

“There are a few (shops) here I didn’t know existed.”

Lunn said a goal for organizers was to showcase the green space of Patterson Park, adding it is often an overlooked urban park.

In fact, she believes the whole district tends to be underappreciated.

“It’s a really pretty area. We have lots of heritage and buildings in this area,” she said.

In the past the street fair has attracted as many as 5,000 people with their children’s activities, entertainment, food and vendors.

Lunn was optimistic the sunny skies would help this year’s attendance comparable.

THUNDER BAY – As a society we often have a singular gaze upon future development, new buildings and what’s next.

Sometimes this means we lose sight of where we started.

In Thunder Bay that is especially evident at the century-old James Whalen Building.

Rob Hewitson, the lead hand at the Whalen Building, said recent renovations have been extensive and will ensure the unmistakeably historical building will remain functional.

“They’ve replaced 5,500 bricks. You look at it after and you don’t know that and a lot of the things the city has been doing with the building,” Hewitson said of the exterior work.

“It has been extending its life for the future.”

The eight-storey Whalen Building, which officially opened in 1914, was one of more than a dozen landmarks featured Saturday in the Open Doors Thunder Bay 2014 initiative, a biannual program hosted by the Heritage Advisory Committee that allows people to see and learn about historical buildings in the city.

Hewitson, who has more than 20 years of experience at the Whalen Building, provided a guided tour throughout the afternoon highlighting both the history and modern developments.

Within the last decade the building has removed its original heating source, a boiler, and replaced it with a more efficient system. However, there are still elements of the building which date back to its beginnings, such as the original marble floors.

The building was constructed by James Whalen, a former business mogul, with a neo-Gothic terra cotta exterior that was designed to resemble the early 20th century Chicago skyscraper, complementing Whalen’s goal of making the Lakehead the “Chicago of the North.” When it was constructed it was by far the tallest building in the area.

It was purchased in 1931 by the Port Arthur Public Utilities Commission and was the former seat of government for the City of Port Arthur, housing their city hall on the second and third floors. It currently lists the offices of Thunder Bay Hydro as enterprises that call the building home.

Gloria and Megan Bylund were checking out some of the downtown north core landmarks early in the afternoon and made the Whalen Building their first stop.

They weren’t disappointed.

From there they ventured across the street to the Prince Arthur Hotel and Gloria Bylund was fascinated by the history that often is forgotten.

“Even being here my whole life I never realized the history. For example, we were in the (Prince Arthur Hotel) and talked about how the poppy came to be and that campaign was started here,” she said.

“It is stuff you don’t learn in school. You take advantage of these buildings because you have business to conduct but you don’t take a moment to appreciate the beauty of them.”

This year’s featured destinations with an emphasis on the First World War era, whether it be buildings constructed during that time period or memorials to veterans such as the Waverley Park cenotaph, Thunder Bay city hall cenotaph and Mount McKay monument

Other locations included the HMCS Griffon, Shuniah Masonic Hall and St. Paul’s United Church.

But for Hewitson, the day was an opportunity for the public to become acquainted with a building he knows like the back of his hand.

It also shows people why millions of dollars have been spent to ensure the legacy of the building, as well as Whalen himself, continue to live on.

“I’m really surprised. Everybody has been in favour of what the city has been doing with the building. They’ve done a great job of restoring some of the features and it’s nice to see,” Hewitson said.

THUNDER BAY -- Peter Cromarty-Chapman knew from a young age that getting an education would be vital to his future.

Growing up in the Big Trout Lake First Nation, Cromarty-Chapman was always interested in building and determined in high school he wanted to pursue the field of civil engineering.

“Once I figured it out I knew immediately it was exactly what I wanted to do and from that point I became interested in civil engineering,” he said.

He is now about to enter his second year of the three-year civil engineering program at Confederation College and attended the

Maadaadizi post-secondary orientation, a joint session held Saturday at Prince Arthur’s Landing welcoming First Nation students who are attending the city’s institutions.

Cromarty-Chapman welcomed the opportunity to be with hundreds of fellow students.

“It makes me really proud that I see a lot of other students attending college. Coming from the reserve you don’t actually experience people who are educated, coming from the reserve I don’t personally connect with a lot of people in college,” he said.

He enjoyed the first year of the program and knows he is now ready to be of assistance to those who were in his shoes just one year ago.

The keynote speaker of the orientation was former CBC personality Wab Kinew, who stressed the value of education and shared his experiences.

Obtaining an education is the best way to prepare for a desirable career, he said.

“Education is the most consistent way to put yourself on the path to success. Coming here I wanted to spread the message and support everything else going on in Thunder Bay and encourage young First Nations people, and people from all walks of life, to get educated and find a career to make themselves happy and healthy,” Kinew said.

Kinew recognizes that education is something that has cast a dark cloud over First Nations people through history, dating back to residential schools.

However, he firmly believes that it is key for social development.

“A generation ago it was being used to hold us down and today we’re using it to lift ourselves up and do something really positive,” Kinew said.

“I think if we recognize that and we talk about that transformation it’ll help other people realize if they’re skeptical about education they shouldn’t be.”

Lakehead University president Brian Stevenson said the orientation afternoon was the first time Lakehead had partnered with Confederation College and Oshki-Pimache-O-Win for that kind of welcome.

The goal is to extend the sense of community beyond the borders of each respective campus, he said.

“It’s about the students understanding there is a shared experience and that there begins to be a shared community among the Aboriginal educational communities in town,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson estimated the number of First Nation students attending Lakehead will increase between five to eight per cent over last year, bringing the number of students at close to 1,300.

Kinew, as the associate vice-president of indigenous, government and community affairs at the University of Winnipeg, said increasing enrollment is becoming a trend at post-secondary institutions across the country.

Now the focus needs to be ensuring as many of those students as possible emerge with degrees or diplomas, or even pursue professional degrees.

“We’re starting to make inroads with First Nations students, now let’s make sure everybody is successful,” he said.

THUNDER BAY -- Allen Barron admits the past four years have been a struggle.

Originally diagnosed with kidney disease 14 years ago, Barron regularly undergoes dialysis and other treatments while waiting for a transplant as the disease continues to take a toll.

“I have my good days and my bad days,” he said. “Most of the time I am at home sick and don’t get out that often.”

However, he did come out for the local chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada’s annual walk, which was hosted Sunday morning at Prince Arthur’s Landing.

The walk, which is now in its sixth year, raises awareness as well as funds to assist those going through treatments.

His wife, Sherri Barron, said kidney disease is more widespread than most people acknowledge.

“One in 10 people in the country have kidney disease,” she said. “It’s important for people to know what’s going on.”

However, those treatments are mostly only a temporary solution as patients await a kidney transplant for a new lease on life.

Gary Cooper of the Trillium Gift of Life Network said about 45 per cent of city residents are registered as organ donors.

The Kidney Foundation of Canada estimates that nearly 75 per cent of those on organ transplant waiting lists require a kidney. The organization also reports that 37 per cent of those who died in 2012 while awaiting an organ transplant were waiting for a kidney.

Barron is still waiting.

“We all deserve to live. The waiting list kidneys is four to six years and up to 10. I’ve been on it for four years now and I’m still on that list and still waiting for one,” he said.

The local chapter is celebrating its 40th year of existence as the national organization is celebrating 50 years of supporting those suffering from kidney failure.

Organizers of this year’s walk have set a goal of $8,000, with the province wide goal being $850,000.

Barron was unable to walk last year but his wife participated in his place. While he has had challenges, including numerous surgeries to remove calcium deposits in his joints, he wanted to be able to stand up for the cause.

“I figured I would come out this year and do it seeing that I’m a lot better,” he said.

THUNDER BAY -- For most of her life Cassandra Elvish knew something was wrong.

However, doctors were always unable to provide any answers until one day, when she was diagnosed with a brain malformation disorder.

“It was validation finally. For 33 years I went through major symptoms like headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, my whole left side had gone numb, I had trouble speaking, trouble seeing and I was missing more work than I was at,” she said.

She is one of at least 18 people in Thunder Bay who have been diagnosed with Chiari, a rare disorder that the medical community is now just starting to understand.

The cause of the disorder is really quite simple.

“It’s a rare brain disorder in which the brain is too large for the skull and it gets pressed into the spine,” Elvish said.

There is no cure for the disorder and the only treatment is brain decompression surgery, which provides relief.

In contrast to Elvish’s lifelong mystery, Kevin Mason considers himself lucky.

For nearly a year he knew something was not right but nobody was sure what it was. He then took matters into his own hands, leading to a diagnosis of a brain malformation disorder.

“I had about a year where I was trying to get a diagnosis and it was very difficult to do. One day I finally went to the emergency and told them I wasn’t leaving until I get a CAT scan. I was there for eight hours,” he said.

A subsequent MRI confirmed a diagnosis of Chiari. Mason then underwent two brain decompression surgeries, with the first taking place in May 2012. A second one was performed later that summer.

With such a high number of people suffering from the disorder compared to statistics, Chiari is something the local medical community has become quite familiar with.

Mason believes that knowledge was what led to him getting diagnosed relatively quickly.

“One of the blessings of Thunder Bay is the awareness in the medical community. We have radiologists who are catching it on the CT scans and catching it on the MRI. Having neurosurgeons who are on board to help us out and having our support system here is crucial,” Mason said

Those who are afflicted locally have come together to form a local chapter under the Canadian Chiari Association, and organized their first annual walk which was held at Chapples Park on Sunday.

More than 100 people braved weather conditions that seemed more suited for late fall than the first week of September.

For a disorder that does not have a high profile, Elvish considered the turnout to be remarkable.

“It’s been a year in the making. We’ve had wonderful volunteers and supporters out here,” she said.

“I’m amazed at the turnout. I can’t believe how many people are here.”

The profile of Chiari appears to be growing across the country as the CN Tower will be lit purple Sunday evening to raise awareness. September is Chiari Awareness Month.

THUNDER BAY -- Cyclists in this city now have two free bicycle repair stations to use as they traverse area roadways.

The second station opened this past weekend outside the Bay Credit Union on Algoma Street. The city's Active Transportation Coordinator, Adam Krupper, says they were looking for a location in that area. 

So when the credit union offered up space, it was an ideal situation. 

Meanwhile, the first bicycle repair station at the Mary JL Black Library has now been modified and replaced. 

It fell victim to vandals in the spring, just one month after it was first set up.

The new station at the Bay Credit Union was also built using the tamper-proof modifications.  

Krupper says once the pilot program for these units is complete, he'd like to eventually see a dozen repair stations located around the city.

(TBT News)

 

THUNDER BAY – After nearly seven years of planning, Confederation College is officially home to a bio-energy research facility.

The college on Monday during a grand opening ceremony unveiled its new Ontario Power Generation BioEnergy Learning and Research Centre, a more than $6-million project that has wide reaching implications for the school, including serving as the main heating source for their main Shuniah and REACH Building.

“It’s proof of concept. It shows you can use wood power to heat a big building. It’s not just a research facility,” college president Jim Madder said.

“We’re putting our money where the actual technology is and making sure it will work, showing it is cost effective to heat the full building while at the same time doing research so other northern communities can do the same thing.”

The facility includes three boilers. Two of those will be used to provide 80 per cent of the total heat load for the Shuniah and REACH buildings this fall and winter while the third will be used for research purposes.

The cost savings from the heating component of the project will likely exceed $200,000 per year, he added.

Chris Fralick, regional plant manager for Ontario Power Generation’s Northwest operations, said the college facility, as well as the Atikokan generating station’s conversion to biomass, show biomass could play a role in addressing regional energy needs in a renewable manner.

“You can foresee a plethora of possibilities with people trying things here and maybe they work on the big scale power plant and there’s a complementary element to the two initiatives,” Fralick said.

The project also has the potential to have implications for remote northern communities and providing them with homegrown energy solutions.

Rather than importing expensive diesel fuel, biomass burners would allow the communities to meet their energy needs cheaper and more sustainably.

Madder said he knows some communities are paying close attention to the research centre to see if it is feasible for them to explore that route.
 

The Savour Superior Food and Drink Festival is just around the corner.

Keep an eye on tbnewswatch.com for special web episodes of featured participants of this food and drink expo daily. Tuesday’s episode features Cole Snell, of Superior Foods, who cooks us a dry-aged beef steak before making fresh mozzarella.

The Food and Drink Festival takes place September 12 and September 13 at the CLE grounds. To learn more about the festival, including ticket information, visit online here or check out the Facebook page here.



Tune in for Wednesday’s episode: Chef Nikos Mantis gives us a sneak peek of his balsamic infused goat cheese tart with rosemary vanilla marinated cherry tomato and sandy acres pork cheek pancetta.

The Savour Superior Food and Drink Festival starts serving Thunder Bay this Friday.

Keep an eye on tbnewswatch.com for special web episodes of featured participants of this food and drink expo daily. Wednesday’s episode features Chef Nikos Mantis who gives us a sneak peek of his balsamic infused goat cheese tart with rosemary vanilla marinated cherry tomato and sandy acres pork cheek pancetta.

The Food and Drink Festival takes place September 12 and September 13 at the CLE grounds.

To learn more about the festival, including ticket information, visit online here or check out the Facebook page here.

On Thursday’s episode: John Murray of the Red Lion Smokehouse is serving up pulled pork sandwiches.

THUNDER BAY -- Krysta Piaskowski says the United Way saved her life.

Ten years ago, the now 26-year-old Thunder Bay woman was burning herself with a curling iron to deal with her emotional pain.  She eventually reached out to her school guidance counsellor who pointed her in the direction of the Children’s Centre Thunder Bay where she received counselling until she was 18 and then moved on to the Thunder Bay Counselling Centre.

“They gave me great resources on how to help myself cope with my feelings and they taught me that what I was going through – it wasn’t normal – but there’s lots of people who go through that and it’s OK to feel that way. I just have to deal with it in a healthy way,” said Piaskowski.

The counselling centres are two of the 29 agencies funded by the United Way Thunder Bay, which announced their $2,602,824 fundraising goal for 2014 at the annual campaign breakfast at the Valhalla Inn Wednesday morning.

Piaskowski shared her story at the breakfast to a packed room of more than 400 people.

Although she received help in Thunder Bay, when Piaskowski attended university in Toronto, things got tough again for her again in her second year.

“I stopped taking care of myself and stopped doing the things my counsellor suggested for me,” she said.

She was in a depressed state and put on a waiting list at the university’s counselling centre.

A week later, she was sexually assaulted in the laundry room of her residence.

When Piaskowski finally reached out for help, a guidance counsellor directed her to the emergency room where after 20 minutes of questions, she was sent home.

“I went in there wanting to kill myself and they let me leave wanting the same thing,” she said. “A week later I came back to that same ER to get my stomach pumped because I tried to end my life.”

“It was really unfortunate I had to go through something like that because it takes a lot of courage to say ‘I have a problem and I need help right now,’ and they didn’t help me for whatever reason.”

Now that she’s back in Thunder Bay, where she works for the United Way, Piaskowski said knows there is rapid-access walk-in counselling available whenever she needs to talk to someone.

“I’m really lucky there are things like the United Way and all the 29 agencies and that people in Thunder Bay actually want to give and they care about the community. If it wasn’t for the people that give to the United Way, I wouldn’t be here,” she said.

This year’s campaign goal is about $800 more than last year and campaign chair Michael Nitz said in determining the number, they talked to all of the agencies about which programs they were trying to deliver.

“We want to have the most community impact possible and touch as many lives as we can but be realistic in making sure we can deliver those programs,” he said.

Although the campaign fell short of its goal last year, Nitz is confident they can reach this year’s and said everyone can make an impact whether it’s through corporate or individual donations.

The goal was unveiled through the organization’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and Nitz said social media is one of many ways they connect with donors.

“We’re really trying to bring it to the forefront. United Way is going to be on the leading edge of some things we’re trying online and it’s really important to connect with our donors as much as we can,” he said.

RBC Royal Bank is also donating $1 for every ‘like’ the Facebook page receives up to $2,000 until Dec. 31.