Timmins parade

It was a great day for a parade. Downtown Timmins came alive to the sound of the Timmins Police Pipes and Drums this afternoon as scores of police officers took part in a ceremonial march from the old police building on Algonquin Boulevard to the brand new police building on Spruce Street South. Hundreds of citizens stood on the sidewalks to watch, snap photos, smile and applaud.

Airport Emergency Call

Timmins firefighters responded to an emergency call at the Timmins Victor Power Airport this morning when a pilot radioed in that he didn't think the landing gear on his aircraft was funtioning properly. As the plane, a 1982 twin-engine Piper Chieftan registered to Commercial Aviation, approached the airport, the pilot did a low flyover (top photo) so the landing gear could be inspected. Once it was apparent that the landing gear was down, the pilot made a safe landing(bottom photo) on Runway-03.

Transit discounts story.

There is a Timmins group seeking to get a discount on transit passes. So far, Timmins city council has not granted a discount, but the lobbying effort continues. One of the key proponents of the discount, Jon Sigurdson, has produced a brief video on You Tube explaining his concerns.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DfI4GrsXdY4

It's NOT a joke.

It's not a joke, it's for real. The City of Timmins is considering amendments to it's property standards bylaw. We ran the story on Wednesday and we have been swamped with calls from home owners who wonder if it's a joke. It's not a joke. The bylaw has some demands in it that have caused concern for homeowners. You can see the full text of the bylaw here:
BYLAW 6489

Drilling for gold

Normally you don't see anything bigger than a fishing boat on Porcupine Lake, but this week there is a 50-foot barge complete with a diamond-drilling rig aboard. It was indeed a bit of surprise for local residents. It's there as part of an exploration drilling program by a Toronto-based exploration company. See the full details in The Timmins Times this week.

Quick response

Emergency workers responded quickly this morning when a collision involving a car and a cyclist occurred on Brunette Road near the Food Basics store. A young woman was tended to by firefighters and paramedics. The mishap is under investigation.

Fire in the bush

Timmins fire fighters responded to a large brush fire early morning south on Highway 144. Units from Timmins, Mountjoy and Whitney responded and kept the blaze from turning into a forest fire. Flames were contained to several large slash piles, located about 4 kilometres south of the Tatachikapika River.

Teacher Dies

Timmins Police Service has confirmed that Wednesday's death at Northern College was that of a faculty member and not a student. Police officers have been guarding the scene of what they say appears to be an accidental death in the industrial shops area of the college. An autopsy on the dead person was scheduled to be performed in Sudbury today. For more details of the incident, be sure to read the next edition of the Timmins Times.

Death at Northern College

A post-mortem is to be held in Sudbury Friday for a person who died at Northern College in Timmins on Wednesday.
Timmins Police Service was tight-lipped about details of the death, at press time.
Police officers had cordoned off an area of the college Wenesday afternoon and were restricting access in the southeast area of the campus, which contains some industrial shops.
A Timmins Police Service spokesperson would only say the death was “definitely a tragedy” and that no information would be released with respect to the identity of the deceased person.
Police confirmed that the death scene was investigated and then turned over to the coroner, Dr. K.C. Lim, once it was confirmed that no foul play was involved.
Police did admit that the Ministry of Labour might become involved in the investigation.
College president Michael Hill could not comment on whether the matter involved a student or staff member. He referred all inquiries to Timmins Police Service.

Shania Fans 'on their way'

Dozens of ardent supporters of Timmins’ best-known entertainer are making tracks back to this city. It’s all because the fifth annual worldwide Shania Twain Centre fan convention is about to kick off in Timmins.
Some fans are already in Timmins. Many more will be arriving today via the “Twain Train”, which departed Toronto this morning.
Tracy Hautanen, manager of the Shania Twain Centre, is aboard the Northlander train with more than two dozen fans. Hautanen told The Times that the fan convention has become a significant summer event in Timmins.
“We’re very excited, actually some of them have already arrived in town and we’ve had a few sneak through the centre, but we don’t let them see all the exhibits just yet,” she said.
Hautanen is referring to the fact that improvements and additions are made to the centre’s exhibits each year.
The “Twain Train” is a new twist on the fan convention, Hautanen explains.
“We’ve brought fans up twice now by bus. Shania talks often in her interviews about taking the train to Toronto to go to appear on the Tommy Hunter Show, so we thought we’d take them on that same route. So they’re all very excited about it.”
The train arrives in Matheson later this evening and the fans will be transferred by Ontario Northland highway-coach to Timmins.
Hautanen adds the fan convention makes a significant contribution to the tourism industry in Timmins and Northeastern Ontario.
She says it’s not just the fact they come back year after year, but also the fact some fans have come to enjoy the area and now stay longer.
“We have several fans who arrived early. These fans are making their visit a week-long thing, instead of a long weekend,” she said.
She adds the fans has spread the good news about the fresh air and wilderness setting by word of mouth and through the fan website.
She says some fans return to the event year after year.
“We do have several people coming back for their fifth time. We have a gentleman coming from Sweden for the third time. We have a couple coming from Hawaii for their third time,” said Hautanen.
Aside from visiting the centre and seeing the newest Shania displays, the fans usually enjoy local attractions, restaurants and shopping.
Another local benefit is the fact the fans have picked up on Twain’s preferred charity, which is to provide food for the hungry.
Since the Shania Twain fan conventions began five years ago, the fans have donated more than $35 hundred to the South Porcupine Food Bank.
The group says it intends to make another donation this year.

Search suspended

Ontario Provincial Police today officially declared the search for 79-year old Luciano Trinaistich is suspended until further notice. The man was last seen on July 24 when he left home to go berry picking in Murphy Township. That's were police found his Jeep Grand Cherokee. Despite a massive ground and air search, police admit they found no other clues to the man's disappearance.
See the full story of the final search effort in the Wednesday edition of The Timmins Times.

Bears in the news again

Timmins Police Service shot another bear this weekend. The animal was prowling backyards in a neighborhood in the heart of the city, between Montgomery and Wende Avenues, on Saturday morning. Police tried to shoo the animal away or up into a tree where it could be tranquilized. With roughly 20 children playing nearby, police decided to take no chances and killed the animal.
In another part of the city, a mother bear with her two cubs were seen in a bush area off Gold Mine Road that was thick with fresh berries. Click on any picture to see the full size photo.