Lenny Carpenter — Wawatay News

In a part of the country where few talent agents go, James Wilkinson felt he should bring one to Thunder Bay.
Wilkinson organized a concert on March 10 at Confederation College as a fundraiser to bring vocal coach Diana Yampolsky of 4 A.M. Talent Development and Artist Managerment Group Inc. to Thunder Bay to hold workshops and auditions for aspiring singers. Yampolsky also founded Royans Universe Records.
Wilkinson said he wanted to give people in northwestern Ontario an opportunity to demonstrate their skills to talent agencies.

When the green Ford F-150 hits the ‘ice road’ some 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, the six bodies crammed inside the truck rattle and bobble.
The keychain of the ignition continually smacks against the wheel and everything on the dashboard falls the floor.
“This is (expletive) crazy,” says Sarah Furlotte, a 30-year-old from Thunder Bay, as she laughs and hangs on to the dash. The truck continues to rumble on, skidding from time to time. “This is nuts.”

After years of placing medical service clients in Thunder Bay hotels due to a lack of lodgings, Wequedong Lodge has opened a new facility in the city that can accommodate up to 110 people.
The non-profit boarding home organization admitted its first client on Mar. 20 into its new 52-room, 110-bed facility located at 435 Balmoral St.
Wequedong Lodge Executive Director Charles Morris said the new facility grew out of a need to accommodate a growing number of clients that usually had to be placed in a hotel or motel.

Kasabonika Lake First Nation Chief Eno Anderson says his community is still waiting on funding to upgrade their sewage treatment and diesel generation station.
Since 2004, the sewage treatment plant has been at nearly double capacity, resulting in sewage overflow into the lake and constant backups that endangers the health of the residents. Meanwhile, the diesel generation station has reached its peak generation limit on several occasions, and since 2008, the community has been on an “aggressive” conservation program where new connections can be made.

While the James Bay winter road officially closed on Mar. 16, all 22 modular homes arrived in Attawapiskat well ahead of schedule last month.
Wayne Turner, the community’s executive director, said that they are planning on placing the last two trailer homes on their foundations within the next couple days.
No families have yet moved into any of the modular homes.