Friday, October 24, 2008

Three vehicle crash on Highway 101 in Porcupine


Traffic was halted for more than an hour on Highway 101 in Porcupine Friday after a three-vehicle crash. Ontario provincial police say the crash occurred just before 8:00 a.m. The crash involved a compact car, a van and a pickup truck which was flipped over on its roof. Few details are available, but police say three persons were removed from the vehicles and brought to Timmins and District Hospita
l.

Friday, October 17, 2008

CAW Local 599 slows down Xstrata traffic


Local 599 CAW in Timmins held a secondary picket line at the Xstrata parking lot at Highway 655 and Laforest Road early this morning, to slow down the effort where management workers and relief workers gather at the parking lot each morning and board buses that take them across the picket line at the Xstrata Met Site. The slow down began at about 4:30 a.m. and continued for two hours. After that, the picketers staged a motorized picket by driving nearly 200 vehicles along highway 655 to the Xstrata Kidd Mine Site where traffic was slowed to a crawl for more than an hour.

"Sylvia" will leave your ears buzzing!

Rehearsals are in full swing for the bizarre dinner-theatre comedy treat “Sylvia” to be presented by Take Two Theatre of Timmins on October 23, 24 and 25 at the Porcupine Dante Club. The play is about a stray dog, Sylvia, portrayed by Natalie Geddes who comes between a middle-aged couple portrayed by Graham Reid and Liliane Lachance. The cast is rounded out by players Rick Lemieux, Lindley Morrison and Jessica Bonhomme. This is no Disneyesque-type production featuring the soft-eyed pooches from Lady and The Tramp. Once you've heard the gnashing, growling and panting from Syvlia, your ears will be buzzing and your jaw muscles will be sore from laughter. Tickets are available only the Dante Club. Incidentally, this is an adult comedy that includes adult language.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Charlie Angus Wins Again

New Democrat Charlie Angus is once again the MP for Timmins-James Bay. Voters across the riding returned Angus with a strong mandate as he handily defeated Liberal challenger Paul Taillefer, Conservative Bill Greenberg and Green Party hopeful Larry Vernier. Speaking at the Porcupine Dante Club Wednesday night, shortly after being declared the winner, Angus told reporters he had a good feeling about the campaign from the beginning.
“We were confident going into this because we built a great team across Timmins-Bay and we represented all the little communities,” said Angus.
“When the writ was called I did a tour right through the riding and it felt strong right then,” he added.
By winning a third consecutive term Angus moves to an unofficial new status as a Member of Parliament who will enjoy some sense of seniority over many other MPs and caucus members.
The 46-year old writer and musician was first elected in 2004 and then re-elected in 2006.
Angus told reporters he believes his record as a hard-working MP has paid off.
“People in the north want someone who stands up, and shows up and fights for them. That’s what we’ve been doing in Timmins-James Bay. We won over more and more people in each election,” he said.
“I mean, in my first election, I won by six hundred votes,” Angus recalled. Two years later, Angus won by more than six thousand votes.
The numbers for Tuesday’s vote were not yet available, but by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, it was clear that Angus was ahead by several thousand ballots.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sunday morning gun call in Schumacher


Traffic was blocked for several hours on Croatia Avenue this morning as Timmins Police responded to a domestic dispute involving a man with a weapon. Police were told by a witness that the weapon was a pellet gun, but police took no chances and responded with a negotiator and the Emergency Response Team. A woman was escorted from the scene. The man remained inside the home at the back of 92 Croatia Ave. No further details were available at noon. Police will be issuing a formal statement later today.

Friday, October 10, 2008

A great moment in sport... for these guys!

It may not go down as one of the great moments in sports, but it was certainly a special time for a handful of amateur hockey players who like to kick the puck around on their lunch hour at the McIntyre Arena in Timmins. They didn't know that on this Friday, Canadian hockey great and goaltending legend Ken Dryden was right next door having lunch at the McIntyre Coffee Shop. Dryden was happy to drop by and watch the guys in action and then stepped on the ice to shake hands with the players and pose for an impromptu team photo. It will be a game to remember for this group.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Museum consultants announce short list

Consultants for the Diamond and Schmitt architectural firm have come up with a short list for five locations for a new $12 million Timmins Arts and Heritage Centre, which is the building being suggested as the replacement for the old Timmins Museum and National Exhibition Centre.
The old museum building on Legion Drive in South Porcupine had to be closed in 2006 due to water and mould problems in the 25 year old building.
The locations on the short list for a new building include: 1 - Highway 101 by snow dump beside the Whitney Arena, 2 - on Highway 101 between the Whitney Arena and Northern College, 3 - Bruce Avenue across from the Spruce Hill Lodge, 4 - on highway 101 beside the McIntyre Arena and 5 - on Algonquin Boulevard at the old Doran’s Brewery site.
In terms of scoring the best site location by the consulting team, the McIntyre site topped the list with 36 out of a total of 40 points. Next on the list was the Doran’s site with 35 points, the Whitney snow dump with 30 points, the Whitney arena site near the college at 30 points and the Bruce Avenue site, near Spruce Hill Lodge at 25 points.
The architects have laid out plans for a 28,000 square foot building that will include room for the museum and exhibition centre, room the Timmins Symphony Orchestra as well as community spaces for numerous other arts and culture groups.
Regardless of what site council eventually chooses, the final decision on the project will be whether enough money can be raised to pay for it. As a publicly funded city-owned building, the new Timmins Arts and Heritage Centre at $12 million will likely be the most expensive City project ever undertaken.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The strike is on.

Members of CAW Local 599 begin passing out the picket signs at about 20 seconds after midnight, early Wednesday morning, upon getting confirmation that no new agreement was reached between the union and Xstrata Copper Canada. Despite reaching an impasse in talks on Monday, both sides worked with a conciliator all day Tuesday, but were not able to come to an agreement.
"There wasn’t one final thing." said bargaining committee chair Ben Lefebvre when he arrived at the picket line around 1:00 a.m. (see photo below, centre-right, wearing blue jacket).
"It’s wages, benefits and basically contract language – seniority rights, skilled trades issues. They didn’t want to come very close to what our membership needs.
It’s as simple as that." he said.
"They’re adamant," Lefebvre suggested of Xstrata's corporate position.
"They want to attack the union. That’s what they’re all about," he accused.
"We hung in there right to the bitter end. We were hoping they were going to change their position, but obviously here we are," he told fellow union members.
“Three out of four, gentlemen. Three strikes out of four contracts. A very reasonable company we’re working for here,” Lefebvre said with a hint of sarcasm.