Fire call on Laidlaw

Firefighters had a busy evening with a house fire on Laidlaw Avenue in Timmins just before eight oclock. No one was home at the time, but fire department officials say it appears some house pets may have perished. The matter is still under investigation.

Search continues

As of five oclock Monday afternoon, the search continues for a 79 year old Timmins area man who has been missing since last Tuesday. Ontario Provincial Police say they intend to keep searching for the time being, but admit they have no clues to the where-abouts of Luciano Trinaistich who left home at lunch time on July 24 to go berry picking. The man's vehicle was found and everything appeared normal except for the fact that Trinaistich has disappeared without a trace. Among those involved in the search are OPP Constable Barry Kelly of Sault Ste. Marie and his tracking dog Trooper.

Berry picker missing

A massive air and ground search is underway in the heavy bush north of Timmins for a blueberry picker who has been missing since Tuesday. Ontario Provincial Police are leading the search with the assistance of Timmins Search and Rescue, and Porcupine Area Search and Rescue. The search is also using a canine team and a helicopter provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The weather has been sweltering hot and humid and the mosquitos have been rising in mass swarms in the evenings. Police have not revealed the name of the person except to say he is an elderly male. The man’s jeep was discovered near Murphy Road in a popular berry picking area.

Timmins men survive crash

Two Timmins men and a Kapuskasing man are all recovering in hospital after surviving a helicopter crash near Moosonee Friday.
All three men are employees of Hydro One and were aboard an AS350 company helicopter that hit support cables on a communications tower and then dropped to the ground.
Peter Machete, an investigator with the Canada Transport Safety Board, says it appears the helicopter was approaching a remote hydro substation for a landing. There was a clearing in the bush where the helicopter could land. There was also an Ontario Northland communications tower nearby.
Machete says the helicopter somehow got too close to the tower and the main rotor blade struck a couple of the steel cables that support the tower.
At that point, Machete says, the cables and the rotor became entangled, and the helicopter lost its ability to fly.
The helicopter then dropped roughly one hundred feet to the ground. Machete says the pilot and two passengers suffered a variety of injuries such as lacerations and broken bones. The injuries were considered serious but not life threatening.
One of the men, the one with the least injuries, made his way to the tower maintenance building where he found a telephone and called for help.
An Ontario Ministry of Health air ambulance helicopter was dispatched to rescue the men. See the full story in The Timmins Times.

Mining Death

A Timmins man has died at the Xstrata Copper Kidd mine. The accident happened on the dayshift Monday when the miner fell to the bottom of a 120-foot stope.
According to infromation from the company, the incident was discovered after the miner failed to "tag out" at the end of his shift.
That prompted mine officials to launch a search of the mine throughout the afternoon shift.
The man's body was discovered at the bottom of the stope late Monday. The name of the dead miner is not being released at this time.

Black bear situation continues

Timmins Police Service officers shot and killed another nuisance black bear this morning. The large bear was prowling a residential district along Power Road and continued to act aggressively when police officers tried to shoo it away into the bush. Police have responded to more than 200 nuisance bear calls in Timmins so far this summer.

Blast Incident? Not really ...

Timmins Police and the Ontario Ministry of Labour are investigating an unusual incident where a Timmins public works truck was damaged in a blasting incident this morning. Officials are keeping tight lipped about the incident but it involved a city dump truck that received a flat tire. The driver told police he heard a bang, felt the truck shake and saw flames from the front end of the truck. No one was hurt in the incident.
UPDATE @ 4:30 p.m.- Although city workers described the incident as a blast, police say it now appears the incident was the result of the truck touching overhead hydro wires which resulted in a blowout on the front tire.

Grant and union may begin talks

The Timmins Times has learned there is a possibility that contract talks may be re-instated in the labour dispute between Grant Forest Products and Local 37-X of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
More than 100 unionized employees of the Grant OSB mill in Timmins have been off the job since September 9th , when the employees were locked out by Grant. Contract talks have not been held since that time.
CEP Local 37-X president Rick Racine said he received a phone call from mill manager Bob Cloutier requesting a letter from the union to ask that talks be re-instated.
“That’s about the best news I can get right now,” said Racine.
He said he has sent the letter to the company formally requesting both sides get back to the table. Racine said late Tuesday he had not heard a reply from the company, but that he was hopeful.
“We are sure hoping something good can come out of this and we can all get back to work by late summer or early fall,” said Racine.

Hampton in Timmins

Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton fired some pre-election shots at the McGuinty liberals today when he said Queen’s Park has failed to provide an energy policy that would rescue the ailing forest industry. Hampton spoke at the plant gate of the Grant Forest Products mill in Timmins where more than one hundred workers have been locked out for ten months. Hampton says it's no surprise that forestry mills continue to operate in Manitoba, where the electricity is three cents per kilowatt-hour while in Ontario the rate is more than six cents per kilowatt hour. Hampton also chided the government for not pushing Grant Forest Products to get back to the bargaining table in Timmins.
For more community news about Timmins and area be sure to check your latest copy of the Timmins Times.

Fire on Cherry Street

A two alarm fire on Cherry Street in Timmins has resulted in heavy smoke and water damage to a two-storey home. Neighbors on the quiet residential street in the north end, called the fire department after hearing a smoke alarm and seeing smoke coming out of the windows. Firefighters were on the scene in minutes and had the fire quickly contained. It appears no one was in the house at the time. The fire is under investigation.

River Run

A group of river enthusiasts grabbed the media spotlight in Timmins on the weekend as they took a journey up the Mattagami River to protest the plan to build a new dam north of Timmins. The Friends of Mattagami River set off on an inflatable raft to ride the river from Timmins to Smooth Rock Falls. The group wants to raise awareness of the plan to build a new hydro dam and generating station on the river.

Bear Shot

Timmins Police had to shoot a nuisance black bear this morning after the animal led officers on a two hour chase through backyards and driveways in a residential section of the city. Police said the one-year-old male bear showed no fear of humans or human spaces and was acting aggressively. The bear was shot near the Archie Dillon sportsplex, where a schoolbus loaded with children coming back from summer camp was about to unload. Police also responded to bear calls this morning at the Your Independent Grocer parking lot and at playground in the Bonaventure subdivision. Recent figures released by the Ministry of Natural Resources show that nuisance bear calls in Timmins have increased by more than 400 percent this summer over last summer.

Fire on Dwyer

Fire broke out in an apartment house on Dwyer Avenue in Schumacher shortly before eight oclock this morning. One person was sent to Timmins and District Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire was knocked down and under control within minutes. The cause of the fire has not been revealed at this time. The matter is under investigation.