Grand Chief Stan Beardy announces candidacy Regional Chief of Ontario

THUNDER BAY,ON  –- May 13, 2012 ----   Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy has formally announced his candidacy for Regional Chief of Ontario, giving incumbent Angus Toulouse his first challenger.

In his efforts to advocate on behalf of the 49 chiefs in NAN, Stan Beardy has a long list of achievements that span over 20 years in political office, both as NAN Grand Chief and as Chief of Muskrat Dam, his home community. These achievements include:

        • Reaching out to the Ontario, Canadian and international communities
        • Partnering with Lieutenant Governor of Ontario on establishing literacy programs in First Nations
        • Initiated Project Beyshick
        • Creating Youth, Elders’ and Women’s councils to advise the Executive
        • Enhancing the Junior Rangers program
        • Incorporating NAN First Nations as an intrical part in the planning for affordable electrical energy, generation and transmission as economic engines and establishing potential for all weather roads

As Ontario Regional Chief, Beardy will continue to forge meaningful relationships with governments, industry and commerce on First Nation terms, and to First Nation benefits. Beardy will continue to fight for Ontario First Nations’ fair share of the great wealth in timber, energy, minerals, and water that exist in First Nation lands throughout Ontario. In the office of Regional Chief, Beardy will continue to work with First Nations in Ontario to see the communities and people become key actors in the protection and management and development of those resources and equitable participants in the wealth created from them.  

Speed-Networking with SHIFT

THUNDER BAY, ON  ------   May 14, 2012 ----  Many young-minded professionals really understand the power of networking. This was proven true as nearly 90 guests attended SHIFT’s Annual General Meeting and Speed-Networking event on Thursday May 10th at the Travelodge Hotel Airlane.

This exciting event presented by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. drew in an array of various attendees including business owners and entrepreneurs, health care professionals, artists, doctors, lawyers, financial advisors, insurance brokers, real estate agents, students and much more.

The idea of gaining new social and business contacts in a time efficient manner really appealed to this diverse group of guests. Even Greg Sanders, a 17 year old entrepreneur and business owner made the trip from Atikokan to gain new contacts while promoting his beef jerky production company “What’s Your Beef?”.

More and more individuals as well as employers are recognizing the importance of attending networking events and SHIFT Thunder Bay’s Young Professionals Network is thrilled to offer unique networking opportunities in our community. While email and social networking tools are great, people still see the value in making those face to face connections, even if it is only for two and a half minutes at a time during the speed-networking shuffle.  

Greenstone and Longlac launch Historical project

Greenstone,  On  -----  May 13, 2012  ----  Two local historical societies have launched a project to digitize the Greenstone region's historical photos.  The consultant performing the work is Karmin Temple-Milne of KTM Media Services.

 Greenstone Historical Photo Project is a joint undertaking of Longlac Historical Society and the new Greenstone Historical Society.  The community newspaper, Times Star, has donated office space at its Geraldton address.

 The project has purchased a laptop and specialized scanner so that images of archival quality can be produced and stored as digital files.  The consultant follows strict protocols in recording the donors of print photos and obtaining permissions to copy.  Prints are returned to donors in short order.   

New Music North Music My delight

THUNDER BAY, ON   -------    May 12, 2012  ----    As I am writing this I am listening to some superbly performed Bach Motets. For me the music of J.S. Bach clearly puts all things musical quickly into perspective. His music was written two and a half centuries ago, and the focus of this review is the superb May Day concert produced by Thunder Bay’s New Music North.

Held at the Jean McNulty Recital hall on the campus of Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, New Music North concert that evening was refined, varied, full of creative music ideas and best of all enjoyable.

Some musicians have always gravitated towards the music of their time. For composers this must be so and they need musicians to come together to play their music and share their ideas. It is natural then that such a group would form on the campus of a University where people study music and composition.  

dulcisono All Creatures Great and Small

THUNDER BAY,  ON   ------  May 12, 2012   ------  This is the time for spring concerts and in the choral field there are a few to watch for, dulcisono (that’s right they spell it without a capital) is one of our City’s fine vocal groups. Being involved with music means being creative in some way and this choir has always come up with something new to celebrate for their concerts.

If you live in our city, Thunder Bay,  for any length of time, especially if you have come from some place other than Thunder Bay the beauty of nature will sooner or later capture a piece of your heart. This concert celebrated the creatures of the great outdoors. The choir invited outdoorsman Gord Ellis to share in this concert. As it turns out Gord is a pretty good guitarist and has a great love of the outdoors. He also has a great sense of humour. In the photo above the women of the choir are all smiling after he commented on the decor of Hilldale Lutheran Church as “being like a big sauna” No disrespect for the church intended.

One thing I like about this choir is they are always about  more than the music and also more than being about themselves. This choir supports certain causes important to the women in the choirThis concert the celebrated the richness of nature that we share amongst us all. That is why having Gord Ellis on board is such a good fit for this concert. The choir supports women in music as well.  Irina Medvedeva  has won the choir’s scholarship for voice training at the Lakehead Festival of Music and the Arts in the past. Currently studying voice at the University of Western Ontario, Irina also studied voice at La Musica Lirica in Italy last summer. I heard her sing at last year’s concert and was impressed. After hearing her at this year’s concert I am amazed! 

The Artists of Algonquin

Bracebridge On   ----   May 10, 2012  ---  The Artists of Algonquin: Contemporary Artists Wild with Passion, by Elke Scholz, MA, EXAT Andrea Hillo , publisher of The Artists of Algonquin, a beautiful 11” x 12” hardcover book featuring 31 area artists, 71 pages, had a Bracebridge book launch at Elke Scholz's Studio, featuring  local artists, Carole Ann Thur, David Dawson, Elke Scholz, and Wendy Wallace and their art pieces from the book.

 Andrea was inspired by the McMichael Collection and realized that there are many artists that are alive that love and paint the beauty of Algonquin Park.
All the artists represented live within one hour of the park.
 
Here are some pictures of Saturday’s book Launch! We didn’t get all our gardening done, ( is it ever done?) however I was so happy to host this great event on this sunny, almost bug free day.
It was a wonderful success.  

NORTH BAY -- WINDSOR SOLAR PLANT CLOSURE   Another renewable energy company has discovered how fatally flawed Dalton McGuinty’s energy plan actually is, PC Energy Critic and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli charged today.

Solar firm Siliken Canada has announced it is closing it’s Windsor operation, just more than a week after laying off 40 workers.  Today, Siliken laid off its final 53 employees.

At peak production last year, Siliken had 120 workers on three shifts producing 1,200 solar panel modules.

“Dalton McGuinty gave false hope to the renewable industry, especially those in the solar sector, with overly rich Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) subsidies,” Fedeli said.

TBay ABORIGINAL PROGRAM CLOSURE PUTS CHILDREN AT RISK

THUNDER B AY, ON  ----  May 11, 2012 -------  Today, Shkoday Abinojiiwak Obimiwedoon announced the end of its BIWAASE’AA Program which, for the last eight years, has provided much-needed educational, nutritional, emotional and spiritual support to hundreds of children in need in Thunder Bay.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, the main program funder, ended funding for the BIWAASE’AA program on March 31st 2012.

Tammy Bobyk, Executive Director of Shkoday Abinojiiwak Obimiwedoon said that children who need the program the most will be put in jeopardy.

 “This is very bad news for children in Thunder Bay. Our programming currently supports close to 500 children a day in seven local schools. Without this funding, we are forced to discontinue the program and leave these children in a vulnerable position. We are deeply saddened that it has come to this and particularly because these children depend on us but we feel that we will have no other option”, she said.    

Sudbury gets Cromite Processing Facility

THUNDER BAY, ON  ---  May 10, 2012  --- Cliffs Natural Resources has announced a $3.3-billion investment to build a chromite mine, transportation corridor and processing facility in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire that would lead to a new generation of prosperity in the north, with thousands of jobs and new infrastructure.

The Ring of Fire represents one of the most significant mineral regions in the province, and
includes the largest deposit of chromite ever discovered in North America. The chromite found
in this area, 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, is a key ingredient used to create
stainless steel.

Cliffs Natural Resources has announced it intends to build a $1.8-billion chromite processing
facility in Capreol, near Sudbury. This would employ 450 people during construction, and as
many as 450 people when the facility is in operation. Mine and mill development, as well as the
construction and operation of transportation infrastructure, could create an additional 750 jobs,
plus hundreds of indirect employment opportunities for Northern Ontarians and First Nations’
communities.  read more.....>

NOMA WORKING TO ENSURE FULL BENEFITS FROM MINING DEVELOPMENTS

THUNDER BAY – May 10, 2012  --  The announcement that Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is advancing its proposed chromite project in the Ring of Fire from pre-feasibility to the feasibility study phase is a step forward.  However, the decision to locate the ferrochrome processing facility near Sudbury is a disappointment to NOMA’s 37 municipalities who were supportive of the Greenstone location. 

“The decision to locate the ferrochrome processor in Sudbury represents a loss of 450 future jobs in Northwestern Ontario,” said Ron Nelson, NOMA President and Mayor of O’Connor Township.  “We are disappointed that we were not successful in our efforts to locate the processor in Northwestern Ontario.  However, we must not lose sight of the positive news that the Cliff’s project is moving forward to the next phase.  Preliminary estimates indicate the creation of 450 jobs at the mine site and an additional 300 jobs through construction and operation of an all-season road. It is essential that training and recruitment in the region is a priority to ensure that local communities maximize the benefit from this local resource.”

“The decision on the north-south corridor for an all-season road will have a positive economic impact on Greenstone and the surrounding area; however, it could also have significant negative impacts on the municipalities of Pickle Lake, Ignace and Sioux Lookout by re-routing supply lines to the Far North.  The government must work with these communities and others to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by the north-south decision.”   

Sault Ste Marie Canal National Historic Site is celebrating "Swing into Spring"

SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, May 7, 2012 – Everyone is invited to visit the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site on Saturday, May 12, 2012 to celebrate the launch of a new season.  Activities will begin at 11:00 am as the site’s largest artifact, the Emergency Swing Dam, is swung into its spring position alongside the canal. Parks Canada Heritage Interpreters will present interesting facts and history about this fascinating one-of-a-kind dam.

Following the swing, enjoy a variety of activities and demonstrations onsite until 3pm.  Check out the classic cars, listen to music at the Superintendent’s Residence, get gardening advice from the Horticultural Society in the Greenhouse, see camping and fly fishing demos, and get creative in the craft tent. Fort St. Joseph will be on hand with a fur trade encampment and the Sault Naturalists and Voyageur Trail Association will be leading guided hikes of the Attikamek Trail. Parka, the Parks Canada beaver mascot will make a special appearance during the afternoon.   

OUTREACH WORKERS “THE REAL DEAL” Biwaase’aa Outreach

THUNDER BAY, ON   ---  May 5, 2012  ----   Biwaase’aa Youth Outreach Worker Kelvin Redsky can sum up himself and his fellow workers in just a few words.  “We are”, he says, “the real deal”.

In photo Biwaase’aa Youth Outreach Worker Kelvin Redsky – sharing Sweat Lodge teachings with St.Ann students
 
What Redsky means is that he and the # other outreach workers who work with children in need in seven Thunder Bay schools are not only trained to help them with their school work but are also able to support their cultural and spiritual needs. They are able to do this, says Redsky, because they all are steeped in and, in many ways, living the Aboriginal traditions.  Among their ranks are pipe carriers and drum carriers who are all, he says, mindful of the responsibilities that go with the positions.

“We can’t teach what we know from books”, he said.  “Our ancestors did not write things down so now it is our job to pass the teachings down, sharing our knowledge about prayer, the pipe, language, medicine, regalia making and music.”   

Greenstone Mayor Questions Chairman of Cliffs Natural Resources

THUNDER BAY, ON  ---  May 5, 2012  ---  I am writing to you today as Mayor of Greenstone to ask some questions that are unresolved following your presentation to the Aboriginal Business Council's luncheon event in Thunder Bay, Ontario earlier this week.

As the Mayor of Greenstone,Renald Beaulieu and several members of my Council attended the event with the expectation that we would  earn something about the company's approach to matters that remain unaddressed. We left disappointed by the sheer lack of information.

I am writing to you today to ask some questions that are unresolved following your presentation to the Aboriginal Business Council's luncheon event in Thunder Bay, Ontario earlier this week.

Accordingly, since the matters are of such great urgency I am writing today to request your answers to the following questions.  read more.....>

Special shipment heading to Calgary

Duluth, Minn. (USA) – May, 4, 2012  ----  In the wee hours of Saturday (May 5) – most likely before sunrise – a newly christened oceangoing vessel, the Clipper Gemini, is expected to sail into the Port of Duluth-Superior.  It’s not often that Duluth ends up being a port of call on a ship’s maiden voyage from Hong Kong!

The 393-foot Bahamian-flag vessel was loaded in and left Kobe, Japan, on Feb. 23, 2012. En route to Duluth, she wound her way around the globe via Xingang, China; Songkhla, Thailand; Singapore; the Suez Canal; Gibralter; Poole, UK; and Hamburg and Rostok, Germany, before entering the St. Lawrence Seaway on April 28. She made one last stop in Valleyfield (Quebec) before arriving in the Twin Ports.
Over the weekend, crews from Lake Superior Warehousing Co. will discharge its breakbulk cargo of gas and steam turbine/generator components for a large electricity generation project (including six heavy-lift units) at the Clure Public Marine Terminal, the port’s only breakbulk terminal. From Duluth, the cargo will move its final leg via specialized railcar and truck to the ENMAX Shepard Energy Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Remembering the Titan

THUNDER BAY, ON   ---   May 4, 2012  Some concerts are more memorable than others, and the closing concert of the TBSO season titled “Titans” in reference to Mahler’s symphony by that name. Mahler struggled a great deal in writing all of his orchestral works, in the end he wanted his composition to achieve his very own high expectations. After all in music composers are competing against the giants from the past as well as their contemporaries.

Mahler wrote for large orchestral forces, his orchestra had more musicians than we will ever see on stage in Thunder Bay. There were 41 musicians on stage for this performance, there were two extra cellos, an additional French horn player, and the full single reed family of instruments were heard but one musician played more than one instrument. Bartholomew Poyser showed he is a multi-talent many by playing the tuba. There was a harp on stage as well as extra percussion and violin players.

Arthur Post has managed to pull a rabbit from a hat in that he has produced a convincing Mahler sound from our normally Mozart sized TBSO. The addition of a single French horn may not sound like a big deal but the horn section contributes a disproportionately large percentage of the sound you hear from the orchestra. I am sure that 4-5 horns could easily balance the rest of the orchestra. We have had an excellent string section for many years , the woodwinds have always been brilliant and in recent years equally brilliant brass players have rounded out the orchestra.  So with a little imagination and the talent we have in this orchestra, Arthur Post has managed to do justice to Mahler’s Titan Symphony. I might add that the excellent venue, Thunder Bay’s Community Auditorium was a silent star in the programme.  

Paul Huttner at North House Boreal Birding & Northern Landscapes Festival

Grand Marais, MN – May 2, 2012 - North House welcomes Paul Huttner, chief meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio, as the featured speaker at the Boreal Birding and Northern Landscapes Festival, May 30-June 3, 2012. Huttner will give the Saturday featured presentation, entitled “Minnesota’s Changing Climate: Is this the New Normal?” The presentation begins at 7 p.m. and costs $5.

“You don’t need to be a climate expert to see our climate and weather changing,” Huttner said. “It’s happening in your backyard. Lilacs blooming earlier. Lakes freezing up later and thawing earlier in spring. Black flies in March? More numerous “blow down” type storm events, followed by massive, drought-fueled forest fires. It’s all happening right before our eyes. We’re living witnesses to a changing climate in Minnesota.”

THUNDER BAY BOWLER OFF TO NATIONALS AGAIN

THUNDER BAY, ON - May 1, 2012 – For the second year in a row, 11-year-old Thunder Bay native Kelsey DeGrazia will be representing Northern Ontario at the 2012 Youth Bowling Canada 5 Pin National Championships. This year’s event is in St. John`s, Newfoundland, May 5 to 7.

DeGrazia, who bowls at Galaxy Lanes, has competed at the Provincials for four years in a row and last year represented Galaxy Lanes, at the Nationals held in Regina – coming in 9th with an average of 157. Kelsey, a grade 5 student at St. Francis School, has a current bowling average of 177 and hopes to become the first Bantam girls national winner from Thunder Bay.

Thunder Bay, ON – April 29, 2012  ---  Thunder Bay Hydro customers will see several changes in their electricity rates effective May 1, 2012. The most important information for consumers is that Time-of-Use (TOU) periods do a flip for the summer months. This means that the ON peak period migrates to the ‘afternoon’ time of 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and ‘mealtimes’ (7:00 am to 11:00 am and 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm) now become MID peak  periods.

On the “Distribution” line of bills, rates are scheduled to drop by 27.3 % for residential customers and 20.1% for small business customers. This is due to a drop in charges that are passed on to provincial entities and a Smart Meter charge which is being removed temporarily. The Smart Meter
charge will be resumed once the Ontario Energy Board provides a decision on the final approved amount. This decision is expected to diminish the decrease to about 10%.   

“Tried & True” Fort William Male Choir

THUNDER BAY, ON  ----   April 29, 2012  ---- When something is working well for you why change? This weekend the Fort William Male Choir celebrated its 47th annual Spaghetti dinner Sing-a-long. This year the choir made the change from the Da Vinci Centre to the Slovak Legion in the City’s East end. Judging by the sold out crowd it is fair to say all of their audience managed the change in venue just fine. Judging by the comments from the audience, most think that this is a positive move on behalf of the choir. The manager spoke with each table to make certain that everyone was well catered to.

While the venue is new, the choir’s formula for a successful evening of food, wine and song is not. The very first sing-a-long dinner was held at the Ortona Hall, which I believe was torn down some years ago. The popularity of the event eventually required a larger venue and for many years the event was associated with the Da Vinci Centre. Costs at the centre continued to climb each season; I think the move to the Slovak was overdue. Saturday’s event was like all the other “Smorgs” I have attended. The choir relies on good food, good company, bad jokes, and a lot of old school songs to create a merry evening. Then there are the skits! This has been a recipe for continued success for the choir and they performed to sell out crowds on Friday and Saturday nights.   

New scientist focuses on fMRI to target stroke rehabilitation

Thunder Bay, ON  ------  April 29, 2012  —, At a full meeting of its Board of Directors, the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute (TBRRI) welcomed new fMRI scientist Dr. Jane Lawrence-Dewar.

Neuroscientists like Jane Lawrence are gaining a deeper understanding of the brain through fMRI to the extent that each day approximately 10 new publications appear in medical and scientific journals around the world. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is nothing short of revolutionary and is influencing the practice of medicine at many hospitals, especially in neurology and neurosurgery.

Dr. Lawrence-Dewar gained expertise in fMRI of the brain and spinal cord at the University of Manitoba where she earned her PhD in Physiology. Her spinal fMRI experience led to a graduate training opportunity at the Institute of Neuroradiology at University Hospital Zürich. Dr. Lawrence-Dewar joined Stanford University as a Postdoctoral Fellow where she conducted brain fMRI studies related to cognitive modulation of acute and chronic pain.

In 2008, she returned home to Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba where she conducted behavioural and fMRI studies of visuomotor control and adaptation, and visual perception in healthy individuals and in cases of stroke injury and degenerative disease.   

Bighead caught in St. Croix underscores urgency around Asian carp

DULUTH, MN ----  April 24, 2012 ----  The discovery late last week of another Asian carp at the mouth of the St. Croix River underscores the need to move ahead with efforts to stop their spread, according to officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

On Thursday, April 19, commercial fishermen working near Prescott, Wis., netted a 30-pound bighead carp from the St. Croix River where it flows into the Mississippi. One of several nonnative species of Asian carp that can cause serious ecological problems, bighead carp have been working their way north in the Mississippi River.

Thursday's catch was the second time this year Asian carp have been found by commercial fishermen in Minnesota waters. In March, a bighead and a silver carp were netted on the Mississippi River near Winona. Last April, another bighead was taken from the St. Croix near Prescott. While no established populations of bighead or silver carp are known to exist in Minnesota, environmental DNA (eDNA) testing last year suggests the fish may be more common in Twin Cities segments of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers than either agency or commercial netting have been able to confirm.