The Chrysler Town and Country minivan built in Windsor has been honoured for quality.

The Town and Country has been ranked ahead of all other minivans for quality in the 2013 Best Total Quality rankings.

The annual listings from Strategic Vision use responses from owners of vehicles to assess their quality.

The Town and Country was one of 4 Dodge and Chrysler vehicles that earned top place in their category in the Total Quality Index.

The post office in Olde Sandwich Towne is up for sale.

The building is listed for 250-thousand dollars.

Ward 2 Councillor Ron Jones calls it a sad sign and says he's shocked at the sorry condition of the building.

Jones says he's aware of one private investor who wanted to take over the old post office but backed away when he saw the poor condition of the building.

Canada Post closed the building last month.

The headliner for this year's Shores of Erie International Wine Festival has been announced.

Canada's own, "The Sheepdogs" will hit the stage on Thursday September 5th.

Festival Director Kelly O'Rourke says the Saskatoon band is awesome.

Tickets are now on sale for the show.

They can be purchased by visiting www.soewinefest.com.

The Amherstburg wine festival runs from September 5th until the 8th.

No charges will be laid against police from a pursuit in Tecumseh that led to a fatal crash.

The province's Special Investigations Unit was called in to look at the April 18th crash because it involved a police pursuit.

The final report from the SIU details what happened leading up to the rollover.

Shortly after midnight an officer began following a car near Manning Road and County Road 46.

The car sped away and the officer followed, activating his lights to pull the vehicle over.

The car reached speeds of 155-kilometres an hour during the pursuit.

Just north of the 401 overpass the driver of the car lost control, it rolled several times and the driver was partially ejected.

The 39-year-old man was pronounced dead at hospital.

SIU Director Ian Scott has concluded there are no reasonable grounds to lay charges against the officer from the incident.

Damage is pegged at 15-thousand dollars following a garage fire in Tecumseh.

Crews were called to the 12-thousand 900 block of Lemire Street around 3:15 this morning.

No one was hurt and the cause is being listed as "undetermined."

The New Democrats will be holding a nomination meeting this Thursday in Windsor-Tecumseh.

The meeting is taking place, to determine the provincial NDP candidate in the riding.

Windsor councilor Percy Hatfield and Laurie Komon, a 20 year member for the NDP are the two candidates vying for the position.

The meeting is being held at the Serbian Centre starting at 7pm.

With swimming pool season around the corner, the city is reminding the public about it's "Pool Bylaw."

Manager of Inspections Rob Vani says the bylaw helps ensure a safe environment around the pool and says it's in compliance with the law.

He says both in ground and above ground pools need to be fenced in and the enclosure around the pool needs to be a minimum of 1.2 metres or four feet.

Delegates to the provincial Town and Gown Symposium in Windsor have been told about the transformation taking place in the city's downtown.

Representatives from municipalities across Ontario are meeting at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts to discuss issues related to hosting a post secondary institution.

The opening panel discussion included Mayor Eddie Francis, College President Dr. John Strasser and University President Dr. Alan Wildeman.

The 3 detailed the development of downtown campuses for both the college and the university.

Dr. Wildeman says putting a large number of students in the core area daily makes a huge difference.

Francis says a decade ago the core area was dominated by kiddie bars...now its entirely different....and the total investment is close to a billion dollars.

Dr. Strasser explained how the college made use of the former Cleary and has since added the Mediaplex.

Dr. Wildeman told the audience about taking over 3 different buildings in the downtown and the process of re-developing them to university programs.

Once the university students begin taking classes in the core there will be about 3000 students in the downtown.

The search for a cause continues after a garage fire in Tecumseh.

Firefighters were called to the 12-thousand 900 block of Lemire Street about 3:30 this morning.

No one was hurt and damage is still being assessed.

An investigator will be on scene later this morning.

Chrysler is recalling roughly 475-thousand vehicles because they can shift without warning into neutral.

Three separate recalls have been issued for 2006-2010 Jeep Commanders and 2005-2010 Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Chrysler has received 26 reports of crashes and 2 injuries blamed on the problem.

Owners are be notified next month.

 

First Alberta, now Nova Scotia.

Minor hockey leagues in both provinces have voted to ban body checking at the peewee level saying it'll help to prevent injuries.

But the President of the Windsor Minor Hockey Association hopes it doesn't happen here. Dean LaPierre believes it's important to teach the proper way to check and be checked at an early age.

The provincial Minor Hockey Association meets to discuss the issue in July.

The future of the labour movement. That was at the centre of the first-ever solidarity conference held in Windsor over the weekend.

More than 300 delegates talked about the issues facing working people today, their families and the community.

Windsor and District Labour Council President, Dino Chiodo, says it's important that workers come together for a common cause. He says more often than not, workers are under appreciated by corporations.

The conference involved 39 area union locals.

This is 'Canada Road Safety Week',  part of a national strategy to make Canada's roads the safest in the world by 2015.

Windsor Police Sergeant Matt D'Asti says officers will be cracking down on all forms of unsafe driving from aggressive, distracted and impaired driving to failing to wear a seatbelt.

There have been 12 crash-related deaths in Windsor over the past 3 years.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis has fired off a letter to the Canadian Transit Company over its latest move to twin the Ambassador Bridge.

Francis writes the city will not be used to accomplish another Bridge agenda or will it forfeit the rights of its residents.

Francis agreed to meet with Bridge President Dan Stamper back in the winter and was left with impressions that the city and bridge company could work together to improve the westend neighbourhoods owned by the bridge....so long as discussions of a possible second span are off the table.

With the Bridge's latest efforts to complete the environmental assessment approval for the twinned bridge, Francis says that introduces a new element and flavour to talks that would not be conducive to reaching a solution with the empty homes on Indian Road, Rosedale, Felix Edison, Bloomfield and Mill Streets.

Francis says he is willing to continue talks that do not involve or help the bridge with its twinned span proposal.

A grade 12 student from Assumption Catholic High School has won a national scholarship.

Quinn Conlon is one of 30 recipients in Canada to received the "Loran Scholarship."

The scholarship is the largest and most unconventional undergraduate merit award in the country.

Conlon says she comes from a family of five and the scholarship will help.

Over 3700 graduating students applied for the scholarship.

Criteria includes character, service and leadership.

Conlon plans to attend the University of Toronto and study nutritional sciences. 

The 17th annual Life Walk for Hospice has come to an end.

On Saturday, roughly 300 people participated in the five kilometre walk along the Ganatchio Trial near the Riverside Sportsmen's Club.

Communications Co-ordinator Laura Lemmon says over $46 000.00 was raised - last year around $20 000.00 was raised.

She says the local organization assists between 1500 to 2000 patients per year.

Forest Glade Arena is getting a face lift thanks to Lowe's.

On Saturday, Lowe's presented the city with a 50 thousand dollar cheque for upgrades to the complex.

It's the 5th year Lowe's has given out grants to cities, to help them with their arena improvements.

Along with the cheque presentation, former NHL Goalie Curtis Joseph was on hand, to meet fans and sign autographs.

The funding was provided by Lowe's Community Rink Renovation Program.  Windsor and London were the two grant winners this year.

The city along with its Accessibility Committee are both also chipping in $50,000.00 to the renovation project.

Renovations will begin in June and should wrap up by September.

Damage is pegged at $1,000.00 dollars following a fire in a downtown Windsor apartment building.

Crews were called to 920 Ouellette Avenue around 9 last night for a fire on the 17th floor.

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Lee Tome says the fire was caused by someone igniting a blanket in the hallway.

No one was injured.

The fourth annual "Science Rendezvous" event takes place today at the University of Windsor.

The six hour long event will showcase all areas of science.

Outreach Program Co-ordinator at the Faculty of Science Michelle Bondy says there are exercises for all ages

The event runs from 10am until 4pm.

Bondy says most of the events will take place at the CAW Student Centre.

There is no admission fee.

A boost for the International Children's Games.

The province has announced it will provide $250'000.00 towards the games.

Windsor-West MPP Teresa Piruzza made the announcement yesterday at a special ceremony at Notre Dame Catholic School.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis along with County Warden Tom Bain were on hand for the announcment.

The funding is from the province's "Celebrate Ontario Blockbuster Fund."

Two million dollars has been budgeted for the games.

The Windsor Fire and Rescue Service has closed out this year's Emergency Preparedness Week with a focus on seniors.

Members of the service met with about 30 seniors Friday at the South Windsor Salvation Army to talk fire safety and getting ready for an emergency.

Fire Chief Bruce Montone says seniors are more vulnerable in an emergency.

Montone says it is best, especially with seniors, to make a plan, build an emergency kit and be informed.

A proposal to impose a fee to cross the Canada-U.S. border is all but dead.

Homeland Security included the fee in its 2014 budget and wanted Congress to authorize the study of a fee to be collected from everyone entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.

However, the Senate judiciary committee voted Thursday to ban such a fee.

Canadian Government house Leader Peter Van Loan calls it a relief because he says it would have been damaging to the economies of both countries.

A proposal to lift a ban on some hazardous goods crossing the Ambassador Bridge has provided lots of controversy on both sides of the border.

Now those opposing the contentious proposal have more time to make their case.

Currently - there's a ban on anything explosive, radioactive or corrosive but there's a proposal being studied that would allow transporting some dangerous goods over the bridge.

M-DOT spokesperson Rob Morosi says Canadians have a right to voice their opinions.

The public comment period has been extended until May 27th and a final decision is expected by June of 2014.

Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital is taking some precautions after a recent increase in C difficile cases and significant patient overcapacity.

Even though less than five C difficile cases have been confirmed in the hospital, it is experiencing higher than expected numbers on the hospital's seventh floor due to patients being admitted with the infection.

At the same time,the hospital is operating with patient volume at 105 per cent as of this morning.

More than a dozen patients in the emergency room were waiting to be admitted to in-patient beds.

The hospital is limiting visitation to two visitors per patient, using alcohol-based hand sanitizer when entering the hospital and when exiting and visit a loved one only.

For most healthy people, C difficile does not pose a  health risk.

Symptoms are usually mild but can range from mile or severe diarrhea to high fever, cramping, abdominal pain or dehydration.

St. Clair College has purchased Woodland Hills Golf Club in Lakeshore.

The college says the course will serve as a training centre, creating summer jobs for students in hospitality, event management, horticulture, landscaping and culinary arts.

The nine-hole executive par-3 course will also be used by the golf teams at St. Clair.

President Dr. John Strasser says the college will continue to look for opportunities in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent to provide new benefits to students.

Windsor Police have released a video following an arson at Holy Rosary Church on Riverside Drive East.

On May 3rd around 7 o'clock in the morning, several molotov cocktails were found at the scene.

A westside basement window was smashed and one of the cocktails was thrown into the basement where it ignited.

Even though the damage was minimal, it could have been much worse had a citizen not spotted the fire.

Police says two hours before the fire started, a man was seen on video on the church property acting suspiciously.

He's a white man, five-foot-ten to 6 feet tall, wearing a dark coloured hooded sweatshirt with basketball type shorts with a light colour stripes on the side.

He appears to be bald or wearing some type of tight fitting mask.

To watch the video, click on the link:

http://youtu.be/_n8QUaVgR1E

A slight increase in Windsor's jobless rate.

It's up to 9.2 per cent last month compared to 9.0 in March.

Two other cities have higher unemployment rates including London at 9.9 and Peterborough at 11.7.

Canada's employment picture seems to have improved a bit following the net loss of almost 55-thousand jobs in March.

Statistics Canada reports a net gain of 12-thousand-500 jobs in April, enough to hold the national jobless rate steady at 7.2 per cent.
 

If you're looking to get into the housing market, there's no better place than Windsor.

Phil Dorner, a local realtor and the President of the Ontario Real Estate Association, says with an average selling price of $165,000, Windsor-Essex is one of the most attractive housing markets in the country right now.

He says sales are up slightly and with mortgages now in the 3% range,  more first time buyers are getting into the market.

There's a new person in charge at Victim Services of Windsor and Essex County.

Tracey Bellaire, who joined the organization in 2005, has been appointed to the post.

Before becoming Executive Director, Bellaire was the organization's co-ordinator of the Victim Quick Response and Supportlink Programs.

A composite sketch of a man who attacked and sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman on the front lawn of Kennedy High School last week is being circulated by police.

The man, who was armed with a knife, punched the victim in the face and then sexually assaulted her after she fell to the ground.

He's described as First Nations, in his mid-20's, 5'11" tall with an average build, collar length, shiny jet black hair, which was slicked back and tucked behind his ears.

The suspect also has thick dark eyebrows, slightly pock-marked, clean shaven face.

Police have set up a 24-hour hotline at the Special Victims Unit at 519-255-6700 extension 4309 for those with information on the case to call.

There aren't many empty spaces in the Point Pelee parking lot these days. Thousands of bird watchers have flocked to the area for the annual spring migration.

The Director of Community Outreach at the Essex Region Conservation Authority, Danielle Breault-Steubing, says many make it a family affair with birders ranging in age from pre-teens to 80-somethings.

ERCA has events planned both Saturday and Sunday at the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area as part of its 'Shore and Songbird Celebration'.

 More information is posted at www.erca.org.

Charges have been laid against a City of Windsor employee after some police clothing was allegedly stolen.

Investigators conducted a probe into the matter and recovered the clothing.

Police officials say public safety was never at risk.

The woman is a city employee working as a custodian at police headquarters and is charged with theft and possession of stolen property.

Child pornography charges have been laid against a 26-year-old Windsor man.

The bust came after a 3 week investigation.

Officers seized a laptop and several digital storage devices.

Kyle Temblay faces several child porn charges.

A 31-year-old Chatham-Kent man is facing a long list of charges after he allegedly beat up his mother.

Police say the woman was attacked in her home early Wednesday morning.

She was choked and punched in the face several times and then head-butted.

Police say the man also made threats to kill her.

The woman eventually escaped and called police after the man fell asleep.

Police arrested the man Wednesday around noon and charged with numerous offences, including breach of probation, choking, uttering threats, assault causing bodily harm and forcible confinement.

It's official.

Former Windsor-West MPP Sandra Pupatello has been named the new CEO of the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation.

She made the decision yesterday morning saying the goal is to retain jobs, expand those jobs and attract new businesses to the region.

She officially takes over the post June 1st.

After losing her leadership bid for the Ontario Liberals in January, she says she was relentlessly pursued by Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis to take the job.

She admits the economy is very different from the days when she was a Liberal Cabinet Minister and so the region will have to be more clever than ever.

She says so far, everyone has supported her decision in taking the job.

"I had a good response from the business community and my colleagues in government across all party lines about doing this for Windsor-Essex and it has all be very positive," says Pupatello.

She will also maintain her current position at PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

Essex County Warden Tom Bain says the Corporation needed someone who can hit the ground running.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis says Pupatello is someone who knows what it takes to attract businesses to the region.

Below from left to right, WEEDC Chair Joseph Byrne, Warden Tom Bain, Sandra Pupatello and Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis.

Alert citizens get the credit for nabbing a suspected drunk driver in Tecumseh.

Provincial police say drivers noticed a black Dodge Charger being driven erratically on Walker Road near Highway 3 Wednesday morning around 11:30.

Police say the drivers approached the vehicle at the intersection and witnessed what they believed were signs of impairment.

They removed the keys from the ignition and called police.

30-year-old Jason Pare of Windsor was arrested and charged with impaired driving.

He's scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Leamington Mayor John Paterson is expressing disappointment and anger over the hiring of Sandra Pupatello as the new CEO of the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation.

Paterson says he learned of Pupatello's appointment through the media.  He says as a member of Essex County Council which contributes $1-million dollars to the corporation councillors should have been notified.

He calls Pupatello a woman of "great integrity" and believes she will be good for the area.

But, Paterson says a month ago county council was told the new head of the organization would be Rakesh Naidu, who's been promoted to chief operating officer.

Paterson says there's political involvement in the economic development corporation that should not be there, adding it should be autonomous.

Paterson says he will be keeping a very close eye on what level of services Leamington receives because he feels the organization is too focused on the City of Windsor.

When questioned about it during this morning's news conference, Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis said "any criticism that it is city centric is just a crock".

"It does us no good for us to harbour this perception and trying to fuel the fire to propagate this perception because I am not competing with the county and the city wants them to succeed."

Francis noted he speaks to Warden Tom Bain everyday and they have a good relationship.

The Windsor Spitfires have announced the addition of three new members to the team's ownership group.

At a news conference Thursday morning, Stephen and John Savage and Brian Schwab, the owners of Cypher Systems Group, were introduced to the media.

The group's holdings include the LaSalle Vipers and Belle River Canadiens.

They join Bob Boughner and Warren Rychel as part of the new ownership team.

Boughner, Rychel and Peter Dobrich bought the Spitfires from Steve Riolo back in April 2006.

As part of the change, Dobrich is no longer part of the ownership group.

Remembered as... "the man in the bow tie who was loved by his peers"..... a special tribute has been paid in the Ontario Legislature to the late Essex Liberal M.P.P. Bruce Crozier.

The riding's current M.P.P. Taras Natyshak, says Crozier's tenure from 1993 to 2011 shows he must have been doing something right. Natyshak, says Crozier will always be remembered as the 'consummate gentleman' who got things done.

Windsor-West M.P.P. Teresa Piruzza says, while she never had the pleasure of working with him, she knew what Crozier was all about, describing him as 'genuine'. 

Crozier died of an aneurysm in June of 2011 at the age of 73.

A 12 year old Windsor girl and recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, Sarah Lewis, has been honoured at a special dinner.

Sarah started the 'Sarah's Socks' campaign in support of Windsor's homeless and Street Help Unit 7.

Street Help Administrator Christine Wilson-Furlonger says Sarah deserves the recognition.

Sarah started collecting socks when she was in grade 2 and since then, has donated an estimated 7,000 pair and raised $50,000 for Street Help.

Essex Town Council is looking for a new place to meet. The current town hall is crowded and there's no room to expand.

Talks are now underway to use the council chambers at the Essex Civic Centre instead.

Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche says they've been recently renovated and are available, affordable and accessible. They are used roughly three nights a month by County Council and the Essex Region Conservation Authority and sit empty on Monday nights when Essex Council meets.

If the move is approved, the council chambers in town hall would be turned into office space.

The appointment of former Windsor M.P.P. Sandra Pupatello as the new C.E.O. of the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation is being called a 'coup'.

Tecumseh Mayor Gary MacNamara says her experience as Minister of Economic Development and Trade under the McGuinty government brings real credibility to the post. MacNamara says she is well-respected within those circles and has made numerous connections around the world.

Pupatello replaces Ron Gaudet who resigned as C.E.O. last fall.

Rakesh Naidu has been appointed Chief Operating Officer after leading the corporation for the past several months.

The trial of a Windsor man charged with attempted murder will proceed without some evidence.

74 year old Bernie Bulat is charged with criminal harassment, dangerous operation of a vehicle and failing to remain after a man was struck by a car in March of 2012 at Howard and Highway 3.

It's alleged Bulat became obsessed with his former girlfriend and is accused of attempting to murder her new partner with his car.

Before the trial started, Superior Court Justice Christopher Bondy ruled that Bulat's right to counsel was breached because of a lack of communication by the arresting OPP officers and their recklessness.

As a result, a video statement and some utterances by Bulat while in police custody will not be admissible in the trial.

A pot left unattended on the stove caused a house fire in Leamington.

Crews were called to a house in the 400-block of Road 8 between Albuna Town Line and Highway 77 around 2 Wednesday afternoon for careless cooking.

Damage is estimated at 150-thousand dollars.

Provincial police officials say nobody was hurt.

Careless cooking gets the blame for a house fire in west Windsor.

A pot was left unattended on the stove in the 900 block of Campbell Avenue around 3 Wednesday afternoon.

Nobody was home at the time and 2 dogs were rescued safely.

AM800 News has learned former Windsor West MPP Sandra Pupatello has been named CEO of the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corporation.

She'll be introduced Thursday at a news conference at the Hiram Walker Brand Centre at 10 a.m.

Pupatello, a former cabinet minister in the McGuinty government, takes over from Ron Gaudet who stepped down last fall.

During her time in cabinet, Pupatello was minister of Economic Development and Trade.

She spent 16 years at Queen's Park before leaving politics in the spring of 2011.

Pupatello made an unsuccessful bid to become leader of the Ontario Liberals and premier back in January.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath wants Ontario to have a financial accountability office, much like the parliamentary budget office in Ottawa.

It's her latest demand for supporting the minority Liberal government's budget.

Horwath says the Liberals need to be held to account for their spending plans, like the $585-million dollars spent to cancel gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.

Premier Kathleen Wynne calls Horwath's proposal "an interesting idea,'' but says she needs to have a meeting with the NDP leader.

PC Leader Tim Hudak says the province doesn't need more bureaucrats -- it needs a new government.

The U-S Coast Guard says a freighter that was stuck in the Detroit River near Grosse Pointe, Michigan, has now been freed.

The "Spruce Glen" became stuck and lost power last night around 6 p.m.

Tugs had been working to free the ship, which has 22 people on board.

A spokesperson for the U-S Coast Guard says the vessel has now been refloated and ungrounded and it's now resumed its trip.

No injuries were reported during the incident.

A Chatham man faces child pornography charges after a month-long police investigation.

Police say the Internet Child Exploitation Unit began investigating the accessing and possessing of child porn in April.

Officers executed a search warrant at a home in Chatham yesterday and seized three computers and numerous external storage devices.

73-year-old Robert James Peckham has been charged with accessing and possessing child pornography.

Damage is estimated at $100,000 following a house fire in Kingsville.

Crews were called to a home on Mill Street around 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.

Chief Bob Kissner says a five-year-old child sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from hospital in Leamington.

Kissner says the third floor of the house sustained heavy fire damage, while the rest of the house suffered smoke and water damage.

The cause remains under investigation.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the pace of housing starts in the Windsor area remained slow in April.

The agency says there were 57 starts last month, down slightly from last April.

For the first four months of this year, starts total 120, off about 60 for the same period last year.

But there is a bright spot, CMHC says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts remains higher at 650.

A Windsor man reported missing has now contacted his family.

28 year old Brian Bedal contacted his family and police and he is o.k.

Meanwhile Police continue their search for 44 year old Christopher Magro. He didn't return to the Marentette Rest Home after leaving Sunday afternoon.  

He reportedly took a cab to the area of Riverside Drive East and Eastlawn.

Magro is described as white, 5 foot 5 inches tall and 130 pounds.

Anyone with information on these two men are asked to call Windsor Police.

Here's a photo of Christopher Magro.

Striking elevator workers are picketing the Family Aquatic Centre construction site in downtown Windsor today.

14,000 members of the International Union of Elevator Constructors walked off the job last week across the province to press their case for a new collective agreement.

They are staging rolling strikes across Ontario and have set up an information picket at the aquatic centre site.

Project Manager for the City of Windsor Don Sadler says other unionized trades who are working at the construction site have decided to honour the picket line and have gone home.

Sadler says the one-day strike should not impact on the project's deadlines.  But he admits it could become a problem if the strike drags on.

The contract for the elevator workers expired in early May.

The wait continues for construction to begin on a new $10 million public elementary school on Campbell Avenue in Windsor.

The drawings are complete and a contractor has been chosen. Superintendent, John Howitt says all that's left is a work permit from the city.

The new school is going up on the site of the existing H-D Taylor School and will accommodate students from both Taylor and J-E Benson.

Completion is slated for September of 2014.

Declining enrollment is among the key issues facing public school board trustees as budget talks continue.

Superintendent of Business Penny Allen says its having a definite impact. Some teachers may have to be transferred but no layoffs are expected.

Other major factors in the $400 million budget are staff salaries and benefits.

The document has to be finalized and submitted to the Ministry of Education by the end of June.

An investigation continues into an early-morning fire in east Windsor.

Shortly after 3:30, firefighters were called to 1593 Lauzon Road and found fire on the exterior of an automotive shop and neighbouring storage locker.

It was declared out about an hour later.

No information yet on the cause of the fire or a damage estimate.

No one was hurt.

Windsor Police are searching for a missing man.

44 year old Christopher Magro did not return to his rest home in the 1700 block of Marentette Avenue since leaving Sunday at approximately 4:00 p.m

He took a cab to the area of Riverside Drive East and Eastlawn Avenue.

Magro is described as being a white male, 5’5” and 130 lbs.
If you have any information regarding his location, please notify Windsor police.
 

A joint investigation has nabbed 4 men including 3 from Toronto for guns and drugs found in Windsor.

Last Thursday, officers with the PAVIS unit from Windsor, Lasalle and Amherstburg executed a search warrant at an apartment in the 31-hundred block of Peter Street.

Police seized 2 Smith and Wesson handguns with loaded magazines, 42 grams of crack and 74 Ecstasy pills.

The drugs are worth about $5000.

A man returning to the apartment was arrested without incident and a vehicle was pulled over near Wyandotte East and Marentette Avenue and 3 men inside were arrested.

25 year old Jordan Wilson of Windsor and 3 young Toronto men are facing several gun and drugs charges.

A child and mother have been taken to hospital from a house fire in Kingsville.

Both were taken to Leamington District Memorial Hospital with what's believed to be smoke inhalation.

The fire in a home on Mill Street West broke out shortly before 2:30 this afternoon.

Provincial Police say Mill Street is closed from Queen Street to Prince Albert Street.

The fire has been contained, but firefighters remain at the scene.

A Windsor dad and his two sons will be among the fans taking in tomorrow night's Toronto Maple Leafs game, thanks to some students at St. John Vianney School in East Windsor.

The grade 8 class decided to raise enough money to get tickets for two of their classmates who have a genetic disorder.

Grade 7 brothers Aiden and Connor McCandless are always full of school spirit and enthusiasm.

They were presented with the tickets  during an assembly this morning and they screamed and jumped for joy.

One grade 8 student called the McCandless brothers a "blessing" at the school.

Their dad Chris McCandless says it's amazing.

"A little overwhelmed, impressed and full of emotions because this is such a big deal," says McCandless.

He says his sons are huge fans.

"They are the biggest.  To talk to them, almost any conversation will be interjected with some reference to the leafs and they are probably the biggest fans I know."

 More than $2000 was raised in 3 days to buy three tickets and two Leafs jerseys.

The grade 8 class decided to do something for the McCandless brothers because they are always happy and make everyone around them happy as well.

They were a popular item this year.

Windsor's spay-neuter voucher program is sold out.

In one month, the 3-1-1 Call Centre took requests for all one-thousand vouchers.

500 vouchers went to feral cat care providers and 500 went to lower-income families.

The 75-thousand dollar program helps to address the problem of homeless cats and the number of cats being euthanized.

This Thursday a special event takes place at the Tilston Armoury to honour the end of the Russian front of the European war in 1945.

A special medal is being presented by the Russian Federation Vice Consul to the Russian Veterans living in Windsor-Essex.

It recognizes the service of the Russian naval personnel to ensure the supply lien through the war.

Among those who will accept the medal is 87 year old Mihail Mendelaev, a veteran of the war who served as a scouting commander in Siberia.

Among the many medals he wears is one for courage earned by firing a machine gun at the Japanese planes when the rest of his soldiers ran for cover.

Windsor Fire investigators are listing the cause of a fire in an east end clothing store as undetermined.

Crews were called to a commercial building at 1646 Tecumseh Road East just before 1 AM.

The fire had started on the outside of the building in some garbage.

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Lee Tome says they haven't been able to determine of the fire was deliberately set or if it was accidental.

Damage was set at 30-thousand dollars, and the fire did not penetrate the interior of the building.

Tome says if anyone has additional information, they can call the fire department or Crimestoppers.

Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty says it was his decision to close gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga, which he testified were too close to schools and homes.

Testifying under oath at the legislature's justice committee, McGuinty said the people in the two communities were right to oppose the gas plants and that the Liberal government was wrong.

He said the Liberals had introduced legislation to require industrial wind turbines be located at least 550 metres from homes, but had no such rules governing gas plants.

McGuinty admitted the $585-million cost of cancelling the two projects was more than anyone had expected, but said at least no children will be going to classes beside a giant gas-fired generating station.

Progressive Conservative energy critic Vic Fedeli opened the questioning by accusing McGuinty of planning the crime, but said the former premier's henchmen committed the deeds and drove the getaway car.

McGuinty had blamed the heated debate over the gas plant cancellations last fall when he suddenly prorogued the legislature and announced his resignation as premier.

 

Expect to see law enforcement officials from across Windsor-Essex on the run today.

The annual Torch Run starts in Tecumseh and makes its way around the county, wrapping up this afternoon in Windsor.

Event Coordinator and Windsor Police Constable, Geoff Stotts, says it's something officers look forward to every year.

Since the Torch Run started in 1987, more than $26 million has been raised for Special Olympics Ontario.

History is repeating itself on the Windsor waterfront.

The new operator of 'The Bistro at the River' is the same one who walked away from the previous agreement with the city last fall.

That's the only bid that came in when a Request For Proposals was issued and Mayor Eddie Francis admits he's a little disappointed.

A new, 5-year agreement has been reached that Francis says has a more flexible menu than the old one. It's also a revenue-sharing agreement, not a lease agreement like the old one.

Once the Bistro re-opens, it'll operate on a reduced schedule and will be closed from January to March.

Hoping to attract new business ventures across Windsor, city council is moving ahead with plans for a Retail Development Corporation.

The city's Business Improvement Associations will be asked for input.

The next step, says Ward 3 councillor Fulvio Valentinis, is a provincially mandated business case study which he expects to take several months to complete.

The estimated start-up costs of the Corporation are between $250,000 and $800,000.

No injuries are reported after an early morning fire on Windsor's east side.

Fire crews were called to a commercial building at 1646 Tecumseh Road East shortly before 1 o'clock this morning. The fire was declared out about one hour later.

No word yet on the cause or a damage estimate.

An organization that arranged a contract with a company that supplied diluted chemotherapy drugs to cancer patients says the labels on the drugs didn't accurately describe their contents.

Officials from Medbuy, which arranged the contract between Marchese Hospital Solutions and 4 Ontario hospitals including Windsor Regional, say the company should have provided exact specifications on its labels.

Emergency Preparedness Week is underway in Ontario.

This year Emergency Management Ontario says the focus will be on seniors.

Lee Tome is Windsor's Chief Fire Prevention Officer and he says they've chosen to focus on seniors this time because they could be at greater risk than others.

More information is available at www.ontario.ca/beprepared or you can call 877-314-3723.

Local CAW leaders have had an opportunity to review the process and details of the merger with the Communication Energy and Paperworkers Union.

The meeting at the CAW Hall on Turner Road is one of about 16 taking place in communities across the country.

The session detailed the steps taken so far to create a new constitution and the other elements of the merged union.

CAW National President Ken Lewenza says one of the innovative aspects will be the creation of Community Chapters, because Canada has the most educated population in history but its harder to find a job.

6 working groups will continue to finalize details of different aspects of the merge up to the end of May.

The new name of the merged union is to be revealed along with the new logo at the end of the month.

Lewenza agrees this merger is not just about getting bigger, its about becoming a stronger voice for workers.

The 2 will officially complete the joining process with separate, then unified conventions over the Labour Day weekend.

Three nursing awards have been handed out at Leamington District Memorial Hospital this morning.

It's part of the celebration of Nurses Week.

Two of the recipients have been presented with a Daisy Award to recognize nurses who are responsible for a remarkable patient experience, the third award is a Nursing Excellence Award.

Michelle (Shelly) White-Lavadan is a Daisy Award winner, she works in the Emergency department and feels her co-workers also deserve the honour.

Mary Ann Baldwin is a nurse in the Operating Room...she was only told about the Daisy award this morning.

Cathy Morrison is a Registered Practical Nurse at the hospital..she's currently taking courses to continue upgrading her skills.

A charge of impaired driving has been laid after a cyclist was struck in Leamington.

Provincial Police were called to Road 4 just before 8 last night for a report that a man on a bike had been hit by a car, which fled the scene.

Officers found a 48-year-old man lying on the road suffering from serious injuries.

He was taken to Hotel Dieu-Grace hospital and remains in critical condition.

A 24-year old suspect turned himself in to police.

Matthew Quiring of Leamington is charged with impaired driving, exceeding 80 milligrams of blood alcohol and failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm.

A 30 year old Windsor man has been charged following a home invasion last night.

Police were called around 10 o'clock to the 700 block of Tuscarora for a report of a man and woman screaming.

Police says a 61 year old man and 61 year old woman were in their home watching TV when suddenly a man appeared in the living room.

The suspect and male homeowner began to fight.

The homeowner managed to push the suspect outside where the homeowner grabbed a stick and hit the suspect.

The suspect left in a car.

Neighbours heard the screams and provided police with a detailed description of the suspect and vehicle.

The suspect was found in a parking lot in the 600 block of Aylmer Avenue.

He had a small cut on his forehead.

Ravi Seecharan is charged with break and enter, assault with a weapon and assault.

The Windsor Police Service has marked the anniversary of the death of Constable John Atkinson.

The 14 year veteran died on May 5th, 2006 while investigating a drug deal at Pillette and Seminole.

Police held a ceremony in the lobby of Windsor Police Headquarters that included the laying of a wreath in his honour.

Atkinson joined the Windsor Police Service in 1991 and was nicknamed "smiley" for his love of life.

Widow Shelley Atkinson says its hard to believe it was 7 years ago.

"7 years ago yesterday we were planning the birthday of Nicole and now she is 14. The 7 years blows me away because she is longer without him, than with him" says Shelley Atkinson.

Nikkolas Brennan was found guilty of first degree murder in the case and was sentenced to life in prison with no change of parole for 25 years.

Below is widow Shelley Atkinson and daughter Nicole Atkinson.

116 teams have taken part in the 'Smiles for Miles' soccer tournament in Windsor.

The annual event pays tribute to  Zachery D'Souza, a 17-year-old L'Essor student who lost his life to Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2010.

Tournament organizer Cathleen Mulvey says this year's event raised $38,000.

Over the past 3 years, the tournament has raised nearly $110,000 for the Sick Kids Foundation.

At Essex town council tonight, guns are on the agenda.

Councillors review a bylaw prohibiting the discharge of firearms within 300 meters of a residential area.

Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche says there have been several complaints along the 4th concession about that bylaw being broken.

Meloche says much of the area in question is divided into 10 and 20 acre lots with shared areas of bush that are popular with hunters.

Charges have been laid after a stabbing in Windsor on Saturday night.

Police were called to a home at 822 Campbell Avenue about 10 o'clock and arrived to find what  they describe as a 'chaotic' scene.

A 47-year-old woman had several stab wounds to her stomach and hand was was bleeding profusely. She was taken to hospital in serious condition.

She is now listed in fair condition.

 Police says she was stabbed 6 times in the abdomen, hip, buttock and back.

A 13 year old boy living in the home that the victim was visiting, heard the altercation and went outside.  He pulled the suspect off the victim.

A male suspect was taken into custody after a brief foot chase.

48 year old Vincent Herlehy has been arraigned  on a charge of attempted murder. 

A bloodied kitchen knife was found in the 900 block of Campbell Avenue.

If you're a woman with a closet full of clothes you don't wear there's a local organization that could use your help.

For the month of May the 'Ready for Work - Clothing Exchange Program' is taking donations of new or gently used professional attire for women in need who are looking for work.

Owner of 'Anne's on the Avenue', Anne Waters, heads up the program  and says it continues to grow every year.

Donations can be dropped of at Anne's on the Avenue, any IXL Cleaners location or the WEST office. Donors will receive a 20-percent off coupon for Anne's.

The Unemployed Help Centre is looking for the public's help today as it kicks off the 'Extra Helping - Spring National Food Drive'.

With food reserves running low after the holiday season local food banks are looking to restock their shelves.

Donations of non-perishables can be made at Zehrs on Lauzon Parkway between 9am and 1pm.

Customers are encouraged to add a few extra items to their grocery cart and donate them on the way out.

The event coincides with 'Hunger Awareness Week' which goes May 6th to the 10th.

The new Southwest Detention Centre will be done this summer.

Windsor-West MPP Teresa Piruzza says construction will wrap up in August, staff members will then be trained and inmates will be transferred next year.

The new detention centre cost 247-million dollars and includes 315 jail cells.

The 2nd annual "Petapalooza Pet Expo" goes today in Windsor.

The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society will bring in 30 vendors to Roseland Golf Club.

Vendors include pet groomers, pet sitters, waste clean-up and pet stores.

It runs from 10am until 5pm.

A Windsor man has been charged after a minivan slammed into a parked car on the west side.

It happened last night around 6pm on Tecumseh Road West near Matchette Road.

Both vehicles were totalled.

Police say the 34-year old driver was impaired by drugs.

The city will get 7-million dollars in provincial funding to clean-up the former Grace Hospital site.

The money will cover the cost of the demolition and the cost of purchasing the land on Crawford Avenue.

The site should be cleared by the summer.

The issue comes up at city council on Monday.

Bring your energy and enthusiasm...but leave home the shovels.

There's a tree planting taking place at Lakeshore Woods.

Its near Banwell Road and Little River Boulevard and was hit hard a few years back by the Emerald Ash Borer.

City of Windsor Forester Bill Roessel says they'll have all the necessary tools on hand to do the planting

 The planting starts at 10 AM.

  The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce is looking for support on three resolutions at this weekend's Ontario Chamber of Commerce meeting.

 The Annual General Meeting is taking place in Chatham starting Saturday.

 Speaking on AM800's the Afternoon News, Local Chamber President Matt Marchand says says the arbitration system in the province needs to be fixed.

The local chamber also wants better enforcement on duty and taxes for cross border purchases and more transparency in power costs.

Provincial police are investigating a robbery.

A 16-year old male was attacked by a group of teens on Thursday morning while walking on Armstrong Drive near Brown Street.

The victim told police the suspects demanded his wallet and when he didn't comply, he was attacked.

The victim was able to fend off some of the attackers and three suspects were injured.

The first suspect is black, chubby, with shoulder length curly hair, 16-years old with a diamond stud in his upper left ear and yellow teeth.

Other suspect is white, with dyed blonde hair and a black 'soul patch' on his chin.

Another is white, muscular, 15-years old, with Chinese symbols tattooed on his inside forearm.

Another suspect is white, 17-years old, with blonde hair and dyed black sideburns and a raspy voice.

The Windsor Parade Corporation is once again hosting its Riverfront Fireworks Party.

Executive Director Maggie Durocher says the party is directly centre stage for the 55th annual Target Fireworks....which takes place on Monday June 24th.

The party includes VIP parking, wine tasting, a sit down dinner and live entertainment.

Tickets are 100 dollars.

A 24 hour tip line has been established to try and get some information on a sexual assault near Kennedy High School.

The Windsor Police Special Victims Unit set up the line at 519-255-6700 ext 4305.

Wednesday night, an 18 year old woman was walking home from work around 10:30.

As she crossed the front lawn at Kennedy High School, she was confronted by a man armed with a knife.

He punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground. 

He sexually assaulted her and then fled.

Police says two joggers may have witnessed the incident.

The suspect is a man, possibly first nations or hispanic, in his mid 20's, five-foot-eleven, average build.  He had black hair slicked back and tucked behind the ears.  He has thick dark eyebrows and slightly pock-marked, clean shaven face.

Amherstburg Police have now released the name of the man killed in a crash this morning.

A vehicle lost control and crashed on County Road 8 between Howard Avenue and Walker Road around 12:30.

One person died. 

He's been identified as 33 year old Matthew McGuire.

The Windsor Essex County Humane Society is investigating a serious case of animal cruelty and is asking for the public's help.

Executive Director Melanie Coulter says the Humane Society received a call early last Friday morning about a dog chained to a fence.

She says a Humane Society officer attended the scene and found an extremely emaciated dog.

The dog was freed and taken to the Humane Society for treatment.

Coulter says the lab-chow mix named "Wilson" was dangerously underweight and was probably fed little to no food in the weeks prior to being found.

The dog was left tied to a fence near Lauzon Animal Hospital at Lauzon and Tranby.

It's believed the dog was left between midnight and 1:30am on Friday April 26th.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Humane Society.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has issued an interim alcohol suspension to a downtown Windsor nightclub in connection with a Windsor Spitfire hockey player being charged with sexual assault.

The order was issued to Mynt nightclub at 100 University Avenue West which means it can not sell or serve alcohol.

There is also a proposal to revoke its liquor licence.

The AGCO says in March, it is alleged the nightclub allowed intoxicated minors in the club and did not ask for I.D.

Other alleged alcohol incidents took place last month which prompted the AGCO to be concerned about the safety of patrons.

18 year old Ben Johnson of the Windsor Spitfies was later charged with sexually assaulting a 16 year old in the women's washroom.

An investigation continues into a fatal crash in Essex County.

Police say at about 12:30 this morning, a vehicle went out of control and crashed on County Road 8 between Walker Road and Howard Avenue.

The driver of the vehicle - the lone occupant - was killed but no name has been released.

A 70 year old Windsor man faces  impaired driving charges after a pick-up truck crashed through two store fronts on McDougall Street overnight.

It happened about 9 o'clock. First, the Fresh Co store at McDougall and Tecumseh was hit. The truck then backed out and was driving around the parking lot when it plowed through the front of the Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital satellite dialysis clinic.

No one was hurt but damage is extensive -- $15,000 to the clinic,  $10,000 to Fresh Co.

The clinic is asking anyone scheduled for dialysis today to use the rear entrance to the building.

The driver of the truck has not been identified but police say a breathalyzer showed a blood alcohol level more than 2 times over the legal limit.

Enwin customers should notice a slight decrease in their monthly bill.

Vice-President Michael Duben says it adds up to about 67 cents a month and reflects a reduction in distribution rates, the only part of your electricity bill that Enwin has control over.

Duben admits the decrease is small but says it comes at a time when the Ontario Energy Board is hiking electricity costs.

Ontario's minority Liberals introduced a 127.6-billion-dollar budget that the government says ticks off every item on the N-D-P wish list.

The budget promises motorists an average 15 percent break on their auto insurance premiums, provides more money for home care services and increases benefits for people on welfare and disability supports.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa says the budget more than meets the N-D-P's demands while taking a balanced approach to limiting spending growth and eliminating the deficit.

Sousa says the deficit will grow to 11.7 billion dollars this year from 9.8 billion in 2012-13 but the province remains on track to rebalance the books in 2017-18.

ENWIN is announcing a rate reduction for residential electricity customers.

The average monthly bill is predicted to be 67-cents lower.

It comes as the Ontario Energy Board is hiking 2 electricity related costs provincially.

The commodity rate for electricity went up May 1st and the O-E-B has introduced a 79-cent monthly charge to cover the cost of the smart metre data management system.

A large, metre-wide turtle is getting the blame for causing a crash in Amherstburg this morning.

It happened in the 2200 block of Front Road around 9 AM when a mid-size SUV stopped to avoid hitting the reptile.

That vehicle was rear-ended by a transport truck and a 3rd vehicle was also involved.

Amherstburg police say a charge has been laid and one person suffered minor injuries.

The incident doesn't surprise Naturalist Paul Pratt with the City of Windsor.

He says turtles are on the move this time of year, and especially the big turtles because these are the females that are looking for a place to lay their eggs and they end up crossing roads.

Pratt says animals like rabbits and squirrels have their young roaming around this time of year and they can end up on the road.

He says motorists should also be aware there is a lot of deer activity and even wild turkeys on area roads.

The former President of the Rotary Club of Windsor has been found not guilty of harassing her husband and his new girlfriend.

Kay Curtis had been on trial on two counts of criminal harassment following some e-mails, phone calls she made and handing out inappropriate flyers.

The conduct took place in late 2009 to August 2010.

After their 20 year marriage broke down, Curtis believed her husband had been having an affair with a younger woman.  The husband, author Christopher Paul Curtis denied the affair.

She admitted on trial her behaviour was inappropriate.

The judge found even though her behaviour was childish, foolish and petty, it wasn't a crime.

Defence lawyer Andrew Bradie says it was a well reasoned verdict.

"My client a number of years ago, acted inappropriately.  She was at a bad time but her conduct did not amount to criminal conduct as found by the judge," said Bradie outside the provincial courthouse.

The judge called the case depressing, tawdry and regrettable .

In his verdict, Justice Mitch Hoffman said her conduct was deplorable not worthy of what she had accomplished. 

The judge issued a 9 month peace bond against Curtis so she can not communicate with her now ex-husband or his new wife.

Kay Curtis was also involved with the multi-cultural council, St. Clair College and promotion of child literacy.

A fire at Holy Rosary Church on Riverside Drive in Ford City this morning is being investigated as an arson.

Fire crews were called to the west side of the building just after 7 AM where a basement window was in flames.

Crews had the fire out quickly and damage is set at $5000.

Windsor Chief Fire Prevention Officer Lee Tome says the investigation is now in the hands of Windsor Police.

He says crews quickly extinguished the fire, there was smoke throughout the church, which has been vacant a number of years.  Damage is set at 5-thousand dollars.

 Windsor Police Arson investigator, Detective Glenn Gervais, says they're hoping there were witnesses to the incident, Riverside Drive is a busy road that time of day.

Father Christopher Gevaert of Precious Blood Parish is responsible for the vacant church and is upset this has happened, calling the incident troubling.

Det. Gervais says it appears the fire was started with the use of several molotov cocktails, samples have been collected for analysis.

He adds there is an indication of video surveillance on the building, but he is still investigating if it is active.

The church building is for sale and Father Gaevert indicates there is a prospective buyer.

Police are hoping to speak with two potential witnesses to a terrifying attack in Windsor.

It happened around 10:30 Wednesday night on the front lawn of Kennedy Collegiate near Jackson Park.

Police say an 18-year-old woman was walking home from work when she was attacked by a man with a knife.

Police say the victim was punched in the face, knocked to the ground and then sexually assaulted.

The woman was taken to hospital where police say she was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Officers searched the area and found the knife, but the suspect is still at large.

He's described as a male, possibly First Nations or Hispanic, 23 to 25 years old, 5'11" tall, average build with long, jet black shiny hair possibly pulled back into a ponytail or slicked back with thick dark eyebrows, wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt and light-coloured shorts.

Police are hoping two joggers in the area at the time of the attack will contact investigators so they can provide further information.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call the Special Victims Unit at 519-255-6700 ext. 4305 or Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477.

Two people are in hospital with serious injuries after a single-vehcile crash in Amherstburg overnight

It happened at Thomas Road and Alma Street.

Police say the car left the roadway and crashed into the back yard of a home, then burst into flames.

The two people inside were pulled from the vehicle just as the fire started.

Police say alcohol is believed to be a factor.

No names have been released.

A new financial institution will soon call downtown Windsor home.

The Windsor Family Credit Union is moving into the Palace Theatre building at Ouellette and University Avenues.

Vice-President of External Affairs Susan Stockwell-Andrews says they hope to be open for business next spring. It's the Credit Union's ninth branch but first in the downtown core.

The space is currently occupied by CTV Windsor which is moving into the historic Bell building at 1149 Goyeau Street at the end of the year.

County of Essex employees have new rules to follow when it comes to using social media. Council has approved a new policy dealing with what employees can and can't  text, tweet or type on-line.

Director of Human Resources, Greg Schlosser says several things are included including derogatory remarks about the employer or minorities.

Employees who ignore the rules face disciplinary action. Schlosser says there have been no incidents so far. This is a precautionary step only.

When two new restaurants open at Caesar's Windsor this summer, the CAW will be watching closely.

As AM800 News reported yesterday, Johnny Rockets and Trattoria Uno are opening in July but instead of hiring their own employees, the union is hoping laid-off casino workers will be called back.

Local 444 President Dino Chiodo admits the owners are under no obligation to do so but he says the union will do all it can to look after the interests of its members and laid off workers.

The Windsor Police Service has received several calls about someone asking for donations on their behalf.

The culprit is asking for funds for teddy bears for police use.

Police officials says they're not soliciting.

Windsor Fire also says it's not soliciting.

Someone is also calling pretending to be from Windsor Fire.

A 35 year old Kingsville man has been arrested for drunk driving after blowing more than 3.5 times the legal limit.

OPP officers received a call Saturday afternoon about a red pickup driving erratically on Essex County Road 20.

They found the vehicle just west of Union Avenue on County Road 20 and the driver was showing signs of impairment with empty alcohol bottles inside the truck.

Robert Jackson of Kingsville has been charged with impaired driving and exceeding 80 milligrams of blood alcohol.

He'll appear in court May 8th.

Two Windsor men have been charged after some vehicle break-ins in Essex.

On Sunday, OPP officers were called about 2 men entering cars in the area of Shawondasee Boulevard and Wabasso Drive.

When they arrived both men fled the scene on foot but were arrested by police.

Officers found a Cavalier was stolen in Windsor.

22 year old Kamil Stoj and 26 year old Nathan Bilek have been charged with theft under five-thousand dollars and possession of property obtained by crime.

An Alberta man has been charged after a chase with the OPP in Lakeshore over the weekend.

OPP officers tried to stop a speeding westbound vehicle on Essex County Road 42 Sunday morning but the vehicle didn't stop.

A spike belt was used causing the front tires to deflate.

The vehicle stopped near Elmstead Road but the driver ran off into a field.

Officers chased him but lost him.

A man turned himself in Sunday night and admitted to being the driver.

23 year old Zachary Campeau of Red Deer, Alberta has been charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, racing and flight from police.

Chrysler is reporting the highest April sales since 1989 which translates to 41 consecutive months of year over year sales growth.

That's the longest growth streak in the company's history and the longest current streak in Canada.

The automaker reported a 5 percent hike in sales from a year ago.

The Windsor built Chrysler Town & Country also set an all time record in April with 980 sold compared to 900 sold a year ago.

The Town & Country was also named a Top Safety Pick  by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2013.

The University of Windsor is giving US students a break.

The Board of Governors has approved a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees compared to other international students.

University Spokesperson Holly Ward says it is a significant saving, with the university cutting the fees so it will be $5000 a semester instead of the international student fees they used to pay.

Ward says this is definitely a move to be more competitive, she says Wayne State University already offers reduced fees to Canadian students.

The reduced fee applies to all undergraduate programs except law.

The closure of two Windsor catholic elementary schools is being delayed as the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board waits for the city to rezone some property.

St. Bernard and Our Lady of Lourdes Schools were suppose to close in June 2013 but that's now been delayed until June 2014.

The Board also needs time to complete negotiations with the city to purchase property near the current St. Bernard site where the new consolidated school will be built.

Board Superintendent Mario Iatonna says St. Bernard is very old and in need of major repair while Our Lady of Lourdes School has seen declining enrollment.

Iatonna says the process is taking some time.

"The rezoning process has taken longer than we thought and we are trying to work out a  mutual land exchange and I think we are coming to that conclusion," says Iatonna

The province is funding the new school at 8.6 million dollars.

The Windsor Police Service has received several calls about a phone scam targeting the elderly in the area.

In this scam, the victims are told they have won $250 000 in an online lottery and that they only have a short amount of time to act.

An investigation has revealed that the suspects are simply "cold calling" Windsor and Essex County phone numbers until they hear an elderly person on the phone.

The victims are told to go to a Western Union office and wire an amount of under $200.

The scammers also tell the senior not to notify family because it will ruin the surprise.

Police says this is a scam and legitimate lotteries do not contact people over the phone. 

A newly-released audit on the Windsor Public Library points to significant improvements made over the past year.

The Library has been in turmoil since the Al Maghnieh credit card scandal and the departure of CEO Barry Holmes.

Board member Joanne Gignac is pleased with the progress and says important changes have been made including the elimination of credit cards for board members. The Library has also aligned its policies with those of the city.

Construction begins soon on a downtown campus for the University of Windsor.

Tenders are going out for development of the old Windsor Star building at Pitt and Ferry Streets.

University President Dr. Alan Wildeman says the plan is to preserve the area's historic features.

Construction is expected to begin in June with completion slated for December of next year.

Total cost of the project is $32 million.

Faced with an $800,000 deficit, the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is eliminating 9 administrative positions.

All cuts will be done through attrition and are expected to save the board $1.1 million.

Director of Education, Paul Picard, says services will not be affected. Cuts include Human Resources, Facilities Services and Business Development.

Workforce Windsor-Essex has created a video to highlight opportunities for young people in the local manufacturing sector.

It looks at various programs available to train youth to fill hundreds of local job vacancies.

Electrical apprentice Katherine Masse was in the video and says she's found her niche.

A recent survey finds 350 available positions in manufacturing in Windsor-Essex, most of which have been vacant 4 to 6 months.

The survey estimates more than 43-million dollars is lost by local businesses because the work can't be done due to a lack of skilled workers.

The demolition of 49 Talbot Street North in Essex Centre is complete.

The building and neighbouring buildings were closed 2 weeks ago after parts of 49 Talbot began crumbling.

A written order restricting access to the adjoining building at 51 Talbot has also been lifted.

Repairs to the adjoining building at 47 Talbot are required and an order restricting access continues to be in effect.

All businesses affected by the demolition are now open.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says she wasn't involved in the Liberal government's decisions to cancel gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.

Wynne says even though she was Liberal campaign co-chair in 2011, she learned about the decision to cancel the Mississauga plant just days before the election through the media.

Testifying under oath at the legislature's justice committee, Wynne admitted she signed a cabinet document to allow negotiations to proceed on the Oakville plant, but said that was eight months after the project was cancelled in 2010.

Earlier today, the Ontario Power Authority told the committee the cost of cancelling the Oakville plant and moving it to Napanee will be about $310 million, many times the Liberal government's estimate of $40 million.

Wynne said the changing numbers from the provincial agency support her decision to ask the auditor general to determine the final cost of scrapping the Oakville plant.

The auditor general recently reported that the cost of halting the Mississauga gas plant in mid-construction just days before the 2011 election was $275 million, $85 million more than the Liberals were admitting.

 

The new ownership group taking over the Chevy dealership in Amherstburg is not planning big changes in personnel.

Drew Clarke has agreed to sell Clarke Chevrolet, Buick, GMC to the Rafih Auto Group.

As of tomorrow the dealership will be known as Amherstburg Chevrolet, Buick, GMC Corvette.

Vice President Zeyad Rafih says they'll bring the qualities of their other stores to the new dealership.

He says customers will get the same experience they do at any of the dealerships where customer service is their number one goal.

Rafih says they've already held sessions to acclimatize the staff to the change, because every time a new owner comes in they're nervous but the transition has been smooth.

This makes the 19th auto dealership in the Rafih Auto Group.

The firm operates one other General Motors dealership in Leamington, which they acquired in the past year.

One man was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation after a small cooking fire in Windsor.

Fire crews were called around 1:30 this afternoon to the multi-unit building in the 1000 block of Windsor Avenue.

Captain Bruno Bertucci says a man was cooking when it caught on fire generating a lot of smoke.

Fire crews arrived on scene and took the man outside.

"Whatever he was cooking started to overcook, created a lot of smoke, he took some smoke, EMS arrived on scene to give him some oxygen," says Bertucci.

Bertucci says a small fire can be deadly.

"It can generate a lot of smoke. Even though there isn't fire, you can still have a lot of fire that could be fatal."

Damage was minimal and everyone else in the building got out safely.

The MPP for Essex admits the NDP has a big task ahead of it.

Heading into Thursday's Budget, the Ontario Power Authority says the cost of cancelling the Oakville gas plant was 310-million dollars, not the 40 million the Liberal government had been saying

MPP Taras Natyshak admits these figures on the eve of the budget makes the party's position even more important in whether it supports or defeats the budget.

Natyshak says he's grateful for a minority and not a majority government at Queen's Park.

"You gotta wonder if any of these answers would have been given or compelled had the Liberal government had a majority government, they would have had control in committee and denied testimony," says Natyshak.

Natyshak says the opposition has a crucial role to play in light of information this week on the gas plant cancellations.

"It is an important position and one I take seriously."

Natyshak says the taxpayers are baring the brunt of these costs and they deserve answers.

Windsor Police have 2 men in custody after the theft of a minivan.

But they're still investigating where the contents of the van came from.

Early this morning officers on patrol spotted a brown minivan going through the parking lot of a closed building supply store off Sydney Avenue.

A similar van had been reported stolen and the officers began to pursue.

Two men bailed out and ran across the Devonshire Mall parking lot, both were soon arrested without incident following a foot pursuit.

Inside the van police found several bundles of shingles.

The owner of the minivan explained the vehicle had been taken by 2 men the previous night, but he did not own the shingles.

A 27 and 20 year old male have been arrested and are charged with theft of a motor vehicle, break enter and theft as well as possession of stolen property.

Police are still investigating the origin of the shingles.

A 22-year-old Leamington man is facing a stunt driving charge.

About 8:00 Monday night, Chatham-Kent Police saw a car travelling at a high rate of speed westbound on Talbot Trail in Port Alma.

An officer clocked the car as going 127 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.

In addition to the stunt driving charge, Franz Wiebe's licence has been suspoended and his car impounded for seven days.

The local chapter of Canadian Blood Services is asking you to roll up your sleeve at one of several upcoming clinics. There's one tomorrow in Leamington, Thursday in LaSalle and 5 more in May.

Spokesperson Joan Hannah says all blood types are needed, especially O-negative. Appointments are recommended but walk-ins are welcome.

There's more information at www.blood.ca.

There's a request this morning from the local chapter of MADD as outdoor patio season approaches at area bars and restaurants. Plan ahead for a ride home if you're drinking.

MADD President Chaouki Hamka is urging partiers to make smart decisions by having a designated driver, taking a taxi or public transportation.

MADD Canada reports, on average, four Canadians are killed everyday and more than 174 injured in alcohol and drug-related crashes.

Restaurant goers in Ontario may soon have a new weapon in the battle against obesity --  the number of calories in a dish posted right next to the price on the menu.

A new bill called 'Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating' has been re-introduced by Ontario's NDP Critic for Health and Long-Term Care, France Gelinas.

When the bill was first tabled in 2004, Gelinas says there was quite a bit of push back from the restaurant industry but most now realize it's inevitable.

She hopes to see it become law by September making Ontario the first province in the country with mandatory calorie counts.

There is growing support for single sports betting in Canada.

The latest is from the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. It has teamed up with the chambers in Quebec and Atlantic Canada in support of Bill C-290. That's the single sports betting bill that's been passed unanimously in the House of Commons but stalled in the Senate for more than a year.

Windsor Chamber President Matt Marchand calls that 'mind boggling' and hopes this joint-support helps to move the bill forward.

The bill, first introduced by Windsor-Tecumseh M.P. Joe Comartin, has been stalled in the Senate since March of 2012.

This is the start of national Public-Rail Safety Week.

Ontario has the worst record in the country for pedestrians being struck by trains.

Constable Cynthia Stotz is with CN Police and says this week there will be CN and CP police officers working with local police to spread the word.

She says technology has created problems with people listening on headphones or focussed in on a smart-phone.

She says they've had fatalities because they don't hear the train coming and they're not even paying attention because they're looking at their smart-phones.

In Ontario, compared to last year, accidents increased 10-percent, fatalities went up 11-percent and serious injuries jumped 23-percent higher.

The rates of injuries and fatalities were both higher than the 5-year average up to 2011.

More foot dragging from the provincial government over a lawsuit claiming the Ministry of Community Safety and Correction was negligent.

It concerns the placement of a convicted sex offender in a halfway house in Leamington.

The case of Sarah Dahle being put in a halfway house next to an elementary school drew national attention.

The owner of the facility, Kathy Edwards says she was never informed of Dahle's criminal record in advance.

The halfway house was at the centre of several protests by parents whose children attended the school and Edwards is suing for 300-thosuand dollars for loss of business and damage to her reputation.

Her lawyer - Adam Paglione - says the province has indicated it will file a second motion to have the suit dismissed...delaying the process even longer with the first available Superior Court dates in the fall.

Paglione says the case hits the 2-year mark in November and is not any closer to dates for the actual court deliberation.

A former Kingsville father has been sentenced to 3 years and 6 months for sexually abusing his daughter and her friend.

The man was scheduled to be sentenced today for sexually assaulting the daughter's friend, when he decided to plead guilty to sexual exploitation against his daughter.

 The offences against the daughter happened over 4 years, about 1  to 4 times a week and took place while he was on trial for sexually assaulting the daughter's friend.

"You abused terribly one of the most sacred trusts," said Justice Guy DiMarco in handing down his sentence referring to the abuse against the daughter.

The daughter's friend came forward first and became the target of bullying at school because of it.

She says she would have regretted coming forward if the daughter had spoken out about her abuse too.

As for the sentence, she says she wants him to be gone forever because in 3.5 years she will have to be scared again.

In a letter to the judge, the man wrote that he was not a monster and he prays that the victims forgive him.

The man's name can not be released because of a publication ban.

The Ministry of Community and Social Services has had some technical difficulties processing the May 2013 payments which affects some recipients in Windsor-Essex.

The error affects only the recipients who automatically deduct their rent and utilities as the deduction didn't happen.

About 2600 people are affected in Windsor-Essex.

Executive Director of Employment and Social Services Bruno Ierullo says the Ontario Works recipients will have to be responsible for paying their rent and bills for May.

He says these automatic payments for rent and utilities are convenient and sometimes necessary for the Ontario Works clients.

"It helps them to better budget their funds over the month and some have accessibility issues and they can't get around to pay their bills," says Ierullo

The Ministry is working to address the problem. 

Anyone with concerns should contact their caseworker directly or 2-1-1.

Leamington OPP have laid charges against 4 men as the result of an investigation into a beating in the town in mid-March.

On March 14th there was an altercation at a Wigle Street address where a man was seriously injured in a beating that involved a baseball bat and broom stick.

A second man suffered some minor injuries in the attack.

Two Leamington residents are among those charged...20-year-old Joel Sim is charged with assault and 18-year-old Ryan Fyfield is charged with 2 counts of assault with a weapon and breach of an undertaking.

Also facing similar charges are a 20 and 21 year old pair of men from the Sarnia area.

It's going to be a busy few days at the Heinz grading station in Leamington.

The annual meat canner starts today.

Spokesperson Tina Quiring says 600 volunteers will can 30,000 pounds of chicken to be shipped overseas to needy countries.

Last year, cans were set to Bosnia, Haiti and North Korea.

Provincial New Democrats are calling for change within Ontario's healthcare system.

With some seniors waiting as long as 260 days to get home health care, the NDP is calling for a cap on the salaries of hospital CEO's and the money re-directed to reducing wait times.

Essex MPP Taras Natyshak says homecare is a win-win for both seniors and the healthcare system.

The NDP is calling for a salary cap for hospital CEO's of $450K which it says would save as much as $30 million a year.

Those big black mounds of petroleum coke are still piled up on the U.S. side of the Detroit River and they are still raising environmental concerns on the Windsor side.

Windsor West M.P. Brian Masse believes precautions should be taken to make sure the material isn't leeching into the water.

Massey says other ports have spent millions of dollars to build storage facilities for the material and he's pressing the federal government to get involved.

Staying safe in the workplace -- the focus of the 'International Day of Mourning' sponsored by the Windsor District Labour Council on the weekend

It's a day set aside to remember those who have been injured or killed on the job.

Labour Council Vice-President Chris Taylor say many of the victims are young people who don't know they have a right to refuse unsafe work and it's the responsibility of their employers to educate them.
 

Police in Chatham are investigating a possible arson.

Both Police and Fire responded to Mylen Custom Kitchens at 33 Park Street in Chatham just before 9:00 last night.

Crews extinguished a blaze at the back of the building.

There was about $4'000.00 in  damage.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Chatham-Kent Police Service or Crime Stoppers.

Luke Willson's decision to concentrate on football paid off Saturday.

The Seattle Seahawks selected the Rice Owls tight end in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft, 158th overall.

The six-foot-four, 250-pound Willson, a native of La Salle, played first base for the Canadian national baseball team in 2008 and in 2011 was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The left-handed hitter had 33 catches with Rice for a team-high 425 yards and three TDs in 2010.

He began the 2012 campaign on the Mackey Award watch list as one of the NCAA's top tight ends to watch but injuries limited him to nine catches for 126 yards and two TDs over six games.

However, Willson performed well during Rice's pro day, posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.46 seconds and a 38-inch vertical jump.

A planned tunnel closure for this morning has been cancelled.

The closure was to accomodate a scheduled training exercise for emergency officials on both sides of the border.

There is no word on when the excercise will be re scheduled.

The Vollmer Centre in LaSalle is offering a free recreational swim today.

It will take place from 1:30 until 3:30pm.

Supervisor of Programming Patti Funaro says a large turn out is expected, so she suggests calling the Vollmer to make a reservation.

A second free swim will take place on May 26th - both are sponsored by Essex Power.

A final goodbye of sorts, for former doctors, nurses and staff of Grace Hospital.

Dozens gathered outside the construction fences yesterday for a 'community farewell' as demolition continues at the old Grace site.

Donna Robinson was a nurse at the hospital for 37 and a half years and now serves as the President of the Grace Nurses Alumni.

She says the event brought closure for many. 

Established by the Salvation Army in 1918, Grace Hospital amalgamated with Hotel Dieu in 1994 to create Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital.

The building at the corner of Crawford and University Ave is expected to be completely removed by the end of the summer.

Boston Pizza on Walker Road will be buzzing with activity this afternoon.

There will be a fundraiser for the family of Gabi Greenwood.

nine year old Gabi was tragically killed in the I-75 pile up in January.

All the money raised at today's event will go towards helping her family with hospital and legal costs.

The event will feature live bands, children's entertainment and plenty of raffle prizes including an autographed Patrick Roy jersey. 

Things get underway at noon and go until 9pm at the Boston Pizza on Walker Road.

Tickets are $10.00.

The Jiiman ferry is one step closer to returning to service.

After a number of refits and inspections, the ferry is now ready for a few more days of work and sea trials.

Owen Sound Transportation Company CEO Susan Schremp says the ferry is no longer being dry docked.

If everything goes according to plan, the ferry should be back in service next Friday.

The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel will be closed Sunday from 7am until 10am for an annual training exercise.

Police, fire, paramedics and customs from both sides of the border will be involved in a mock scenario.

Tunnel President Neal Belitsky says he can't release details of the scenario until after the exercise.

Belitsky says that time period is picked to close the tunnel  because it tends to be lighter traffic volume.

A fire in Ford City Friday night has destroyed the entire first floor of a house.

Damage is estimated at 100-thousand dollars and the cause was unattended cooking.

The blaze erupted just before 9:00 last night at 1257 Westcott Road.

Crews arrived to flames shooting through the roof.

Nobody was hurt.

A motorcycle rider injured on the eastbound expressway has been charged.

He lost control of his bike and crashed near Howard around 6:30 Friday night.

The 20-year-old was thrown 75 feet from his motorcycle and suffered road rash to his head, hands and chin.

His injuries are not life threatening but he's been charged for violating his licence conditions.

He's not allowed on highways with a speed limit of 100-kilometres an hour.

A fire in Ford City Friday night has destroyed the entire first floor of a house.

The blaze erupted just before 9-pm at 1257 Westcott Road.

Crews arrived to flames shooting through the roof.

The investigation continues to determine the cause and damage.

Nobody was hurt.

The eastbound expressway has re-opened after a man crashed his motorcycle near Howard around 6:30 Friday night.

The man is in hospital with serious injuries.

The expressway was closed for about 90 minutes while Windsor Police officers investigated.

Meanwhile,

A 20-year-old cyclist could face charges after he was hit by a car in the 1700 block of Foster Avenue just before 6-pm on Friday.

He darted out into traffic and suferred minor injuries.

The Essex Fire Department needs new volunteer firefighters.

Chief Ed Pillon says the fire service is looking to hire as many as 16 auxiliary firefighters.

Pillon says the Essex fire service is recruiting for the first time since 2008.

Firefighters are needed at all three stations in Essex Centre, Gesto and Harrow.

The deadline to apply is May 23rd.

For more information visit 'essex dot ca'.

More detailed work is underway to change water levels in the Great Lakes.

The International Joint Commission has advised the Canadian and American governments that it's going to implement an improved plan for regulating Lake Superior outflows at Sault Ste. Marie.

The IJC is also going to investigate building a structure on the St. Clair River that would restore levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron by 5 to 10 inches.

That would alter water levels in Lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario and IJC Spokesperson John Nevin says the commission has been clear the structure needs to be flexible

Nevin says there has been some improvement in lake levels because heavy rain this month brought up the level of Lakes Michigan and Huron by 8 inches.

There are 9 new paramedics in the Essex Windsor EMS Service today.

They were welcomed to the job by EMS and county officials at a ceremony in the Essex Civic Centre this afternoon.

The 8 males and one female will now join the rest of the service on the region's ambulances.

EMS Chief Randy Mellow is pleased with the new hires, he says they were put through a rigorous selection process to whittle the candidates down from over 150.

The new hires replace a number of retirements and take the complement up to 164 full time and 100 part time paramedics.

The 9 new recruits pose on the Civic Centre steps with Dr. Paul Bradford and EMS Chief Randy Mellow

A nurse at Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital is the latest winner of the Lois A Fairley Nursing Award.

35 year old Shauna Carter is a Windsor nurse in the outreach program and goes to the Village of Aspen Lakes to help with long-term care residents.

She's been a nurse for 11 years and called Lois Fairley a trailblazer in the nursing field.

Carter says the best part of her job is the connection with people.

"There are not too many careers that allow you to step in their personal lives and see them at vulnerable points.  It lets you into their life in a way that no other profession could allow you to," says Carter.

Carter is also a VON nurse on Pelee Island.

The Lois Fairley Award recognizes a local nurse who shows a commitment to serving the community through patient care.

Final approval from the province is expectly shortly to fully fund the demolition of the former Grace Hospital site.

Back in February, the province announced it was paying for the demolition and to cover the city's cost to buy the land, a total of nearly 7 million dollars.

But since then, the city hasn't received the money.

Windsor-West MPP Teresa Piruzza says the city should be hearing from the province within a week.

"Something will be sent to the Mayor's office and council and to administration, so the final approval and review will be done at the community level," says Piruzza.

Piruzza says she has driven by the Crawford and University Avenue site, and is pleased with the progress of demolition.

The land should be cleared by August.

Tall Ships are going to be at 4 locations in Windsor-Essex over the Labour Day weekend.

At least 8 and possibly 9 ships will be docked at Windsor, Amherstburg, Kingsville and Pelee Island from August 30th to September 2.

It's being billed as the "Coastal Trains, Sails to See Festival"

A website www.coastaltrails.ca has been created to offer information about the ships, the events of the weekend and a way to purchase a pass to get on board all the vessels.

Lynette Bain, the Vice President of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, says the Tall Ships will be in all 4 ports at the same time.

At the announcement of the weekend of Tall Ships, held on the riverfront on board the Macassa Bay, Windsor West MPP Teresa Piruzza announced 100-thousand dollars in provincial funding.

Bain says the money will be used to help market the event so people from across Ontario, from Michigan and Ohio and even farther away will be drawn to the area.

Provincial police have issued a warning about the latest scam to separate you from your money.

A Leamington resident placed an ad on Kijiji earlier this month looking for a house to rent.

The woman got a reply from a man who said he had a home for rent but was out of town.

Provincial police say he promised to hold the house for her but wanted proof that she had the deposit and first month's rent.

The woman was told to send a money transfer to someone she trusted and send him a copy of the receipt.

Police say two days later the woman noticed $4,000 missing from her account.

Police believe the fraudster used fake ID to pose as the woman's family member and cashed the money transfer at a Western Union in Mississauga.

Police warn the public to be wary of such scams, and to do your homework when it involves large amounts of money.

A string of copper thefts from hydro poles in the Comber area has the OPP asking for the public's help.

Since the beginning of September last year there have been 43 thefts of copper ground wire from poles.

The wires are on poles associated with the wind farm in that area.

OPP Constable Stephanie Moniz says the way the wire was taken has given police some clues.

The wire was taken up to 25 feet from the ground and they believe a pickup truck with a ladder in the bed was used.

Constable Moniiz says the loss is set at $10,000, but there's the additional loss of the wind farm company having to replace the stolen ground wires.

Anyone who spots a suspicious truck in the area of the wind farm near Comber is asked to contact Constable Ian Stibbard with the Essex County Crime Unit or Crimestoppers.

This Sunday is the 'International Day of Mourning',  a day set aside to remember workers and their families who have been affected by workplace tragedy.

It takes place at St. Augustine's Church at Wyandotte Street East and Westminster Boulevard.

The organizer and the CAW's  Human Rights Committee Chair, Rolly Marantette, says the day includes first-hand accounts of accidents on the job from survivors and the families of those who have been killed.

The event starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday and is followed by a ceremony at the Workers Memorial Monument in Coventry Gardens on Riverside Drive.

The search for a suspect is underway after an early morning robbery.

Police say at about 1:30, a woman confronted the clerk at a convenience store at Walker Road and Ottawa Street and made off with some cash. No weapon was seen and the clerk wasn't hurt.

The suspect is described as white, in her early 20's, about 5 foot 6 and 110 pounds. She was wearing red pajama pants, a black winter jacket, a black toque and had a black scarf over her face.

Anyone with information is asked to call Windsor Police or Crimestoppers.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority is celebrating 40 years worth of accomplishments.

Founded in 1973, ERCA has planted more than 6 million trees boosting natural cover in Windsor-Essex from 3.5% to 8.5%.

General Manager Richard Wyma says the authority has also come in contact with more than 300 thousand students, giving them their first taste of conservation and the environment.

Also on the list of accomplishments is the Chrysler Canada Greenway and the Hillman Marsh covering 1,000 acres of wetland.

Accucaps workers in Windsor have a new deal.

They have voted 68% in favour of a 3-year contract that includes a 0% wage increase. It does, however, include $1,600 in signing bonuses over the life of the agreement

Also included are improved health benefits, tool and clothing allowances.

The company will also pay 100% of long-term disability benefits.

Provincial Police are issuing a warning after 2 officers were overcome while attempting to assist a person who had gone unconscious.

The Oxford County officers ended up breathing in hydrogen sulphide gas earlier this week while intervening to aid a victim.

The officers were taken ot hospital after the incident and are expected to make a full recovery.

Essex County OPP Spokesperson Stephanie Moniz says the incident may not have occurred here, but they wanted to issue a caution to the public.

Moniz says there are specific indicators the gas may have been involved, hydrogen sulphide gas smells like rotten eggs, it's not typically used in any vehicle so that's a sign.

She says you shouldn't touch the vehicle and wait for emergency responders.

Moniz says another indicator to look for is a note that the person using the gas.

In low levels it can produce irritated eyes, sore throat, nausea or fluid in the lungs.  At higher dosages it can lead to convulsions, respiratory paralysis or death by asphyxiation.

The Windsor Utilities Commission hasn't received any complaints now that fluoride has been removed from Windsor's drinking water.

Vice President of Operations John Stuart says it has about 450 gallons left of the chemical to dispose of.

He says some of the fluoride equipment has already been sold for about a thousand dollars.

Stuart says people haven't noticed any difference.

"Most folks won't notice this, the fluoride didn't impact any taste to the water or any colour to the water,"says Stuart.

Fluoride was removed a month ago after many public consultations and debates.

One of the best known personalities in the environmental movement has told students in Windsor-Essex they need to get their parents involved to make a difference.

More than 8000 students from schools across the area filled the main bowl of the WFCU Centre for the speech this morning.

In a wide-ranging presentation Suzuki spoke about warning signs of environmental problems not being heeded and the impact of the massive growth of the worlds population over the last century.

Suzuki says in Canada 80-percent of the population lives in an urban setting like Windsor and isn't connected to the natural world.

He says there's more concern about the economy than the environment.

Suzuki says the Windsor-Essex area has seen the impact of pollution and poor land management and asked if anyone would drink the water from the Detroit River.

Suzuki is in the area for a number of other events, including the Grand Opening of the "Canvas Campus" in Tecumseh this afternoon.

Windsor Police are releasing more information about a home invasion early Wednesday morning in the 13-hundred block of Elm Street.

Just before 6 AM officers were called out to the residence.

A 34-year-old male victim indicated he awoke in his living room and found 2 men there.

Windsor Police says the victim was punched several times and suffered facial and other injuries...all non-life threatening .

When interviewed by officers the victim indicated the attack could have been in retaliation to text messages sent the previous evening

He believed he knew the attackers.

Police have located and arrested a 21 and 23 year old male for questioning.

No charges have been laid.

Police have one suspect in custody and are searching for two more following a drug bust in West Windsor.

Officers with the Windsor Police Drugs and Guns Unit raided two apartment units at a building in the 3200 block of Peter Street around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Police seized 74.5 grams of crack cocaine worth nearly $7,500.

30-year-old Andrew Clarke from the Toronto area is in custody.

Police are searching for 30-year-old Damion Pryce and 33-year-old Steve Atkinson, both of Windsor, in connection with the drug investigation.

Police say all three men are facing charges of possession of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

A 19-year old Leamington man now faces charges after a fatal crash in Chatham-Kent.

It happened in February of last year. A car crashed into a ditch killing 18-year old Jake Fast and 17 year old Frank Weibe.

The driver, 19-year old Johan Bergen, has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and two of impaired driving causing death.

He appears in court June 19th.

The town of Essex is gearing up for a spay-neuter voucher program.

Director of Corporate Services Donna Hunter says the program works on a first-come, first-served basis. There are 250 vouchers available - half  for feral cats and half for the dogs or cats of low-income families. 

Applications forms are available at Essex town hall starting May 6th. Applicants must be Essex residents, show proof of low-income status and use the voucher within 90 days.

Seventeen veterinarians are taking part .

Which Windsor intersections have the most accidents?

That's among the questions to be answered in a city engineering report aimed at improving traffic safety. A detailed study is underway to help determine which roads and intersections may need  improvements.

Director of Operations, Mike Palanacki, says the report should be ready by early summer and he hopes it becomes an annual event.

Damage is set at $100,000 after an early-morning fire at 1000 Drouillard Road.

Firefighters were called to the 2-storey building shortly before 2:30 and found fire in a residential unit on the upper floor. The first floor is vacant commercial space.

Investigators say the cause may be electrical but that has not been confirmed. More details are expected later today.

A total of 11 individuals and organizations have been honoured at the 23rd annual Business Excellence Awards presented last night at the Ciociaro Club.

The awards celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to business success.

And the winners are:

Small Company of the Year– The Job Shoppe Inc.
Rising Star of the Year – Fabio Costante
Start Up of the Year – Sweetheart Baby Boutique
Professional of the Year – Mary Brannagan
Tourism & Hospitality – Kingsville Golf & Country Club
Innovation Award – Windsor Cardiac Centre
International Business Award – JemD Farms
Large Company of the Year – Tepperman’s
Entrepreneur of the Year – Kim Lewis
ATHENA Award – Dr. Michelle Prince
Believe Windsor Essex Award – Jim Scott, Ground Effects Ltd.
 

Congratulations to all finalists and award winners.
 

Windsor Police officers have a man in custody after they executed a drug search at a home in the west end.

Details are scarce right now but investigators tell AM-800 News the search warrant was executed in the 3200 block of Peter Street around 8-pm Wednesday night.

The investigation continues.

The province says the air quality in Windsor is improving eventhough it's still among the worst in Ontario.

The 41st annual air quality report by the Ministry of Environment found annual averages of fine particular matter for the city were down by almost 18 percent in the last decade.

Particulate matter includes aerosols, fumes, dust, smoke, fly ash and pollen.

Ministry Spokesperson Kate Jordan says the information is gathered through air monitoring sites operating 24-7.

Jordan credits several provincial initiatives like stronger regulations to reduce greenhouse gases, closing coal plants and the drive clean program for the air quality improvements.

Zehrs Markets and 'Recycling Makes Cents' have teamed up to collect recyclable items over the next few Saturdays.

Recycling Consultant Craig Whittaker says this is an opportunity to get rid of unwanted items like old tires or electronics.

Whittaker says collectors will be at the Real Canadian Superstore on Walker Road by about 8-am this Saturday.

He says the next location will be at the Zehrs on Manning Road Saturday May 4th.

Nineteen firearms charges have been laid against a Lasalle woman stopped at the Ambassador Bridge this weekend.

The weapons charges are on top of those already laid by Canadian customs officers on Sunday after they seized three 9 millimetre handguns and 2 high capacity ammunition magazines from her car in secondary.

Windsor officers went to the bridge early Monday morning and took the 34-year-old woman into custody.

The woman's name is not being released pending further investigation.

A Windsor Police officer has now been charged in connection with a theft.

Constable Timothy Kettlewell is charged with theft under five-thousand dollars, possession of stolen property and two counts of uttering a forged document.

The charges stem from an incident involving found property that was turned over to police.

He has been suspended with pay.

Constable Kettlewell is a 14 year veteran with the police force.

Constable Kettlewell was arrested last week, but was arraigned on the charges yesterday in court.

A number of charges have been laid against a Lasalle woman after several loaded guns were found in a vehicle that was stopped at Canada Customs at the Ambassador Bridge.

On Sunday, April 21, the vehicle was sent to secondary for detailed examination.

Canada Border Services Agency officers discovered 3 undeclared, loaded 9 millimetre prohibited firearms.

They also found 2 high capacity ammunition magazines.

The woman has been charged under the Customs Act for making a false statement, possessing unlawfully imported  goods and smuggling.

She has also been charged with a number of criminal offences by Windsor Police.

Some changes could be in store at Canada Post.

An analysis sponsored by Canada Post is warning by the end of the decade, it will be losing a billion dollars a year.

The Conference Board of Canada says the postal service is being hit by a dramatic reduction in volume because of digital communication.

It gave Canada Post a few options to reduce costs including delivering mail on alternate days and moving away from door-to-door service to community mailboxes.

Speaking on the Lynn Martin Show, Canada Post Spokesperson Jon Hamilton says there is some hope.

"The number of people who are buying on-line is increasing that is a bright light that is going against a grain for us for parcel delivery so that's something to be positive about," says Hamilton.

It is estimated the number of bills, invoices and advertising being mailed will drop by more then 25 per cent by 2020.

Two Windsor teens face charges after a series of vehicle breakins and thefts.

At about 2:30 this morning  officers were called to the parking lot of an apartment building in the 12-hundred block of Riverside Drive West.

A pair of suspicious males were seen entering vehicles and a witness provided detailed descriptions.

Officers later spotted 2 males walking in the 500 block of Wellington Avenue.

When approaching the officer saw them pulling on door handles of vehicles.

The pair were arrested without incident and items in their backpacks had been taken from the vehicles in the Riverside Dr parking lot.

The 16 year olds are each charged with theft under 5-thousand dollars and possession of stolen property.

One of the youths also had several outstanding warrants.

A tentative agreement has been reached for the 300 CAW member working at Accucaps.

The tentative deal avoids a potential walkout of the unionized workers tomorrow.

Local 195 President Gerry Farnham says they were able to get a deal in place just yesterday at the pharmaceuticals manufacturer.

Farnham says the workers were in a legal strike position as of tomorrow at midnight.

The ratification meeting for the Accucaps workers will be Thursday at 3 PM at the Fogolar Furlan Club.

Budget deliberations are over in the Town of Essex.

Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche says residents overall can expect a tax increase of about 2% but that will vary slightly from ward to ward. Residents in wards 2 and 3 will pay slightly less and those in wards 1 and 4 will pay slightly more.

A number of capital projects are planned for this year including $400,000 for new docks in Colchester Harbour.

The budget should be finalized at the next town council meeting May 6th.

Fundraising starts soon for Lakeshore's new Multi-Use Recreational Facility.

Director of Community and Development Services, Steve Salmons says details will be rolled out over the next few weeks.

The fundraising goal is $2.5 million and Salmons is confident  it'll be achieved.

Stephanie and Barry Zekelman, who are chairing the capital fundraising committee, have announced a $250,000 donation for naming rights to the pool.

Contract talks are underway between the Town of LaSalle and its police service.

Proposals have been exchanged  but Mayor Ken Antaya says it's too soon to tell how smoothly talks will go.

He admits he's worried about recent arbitration rulings in Ontario that have not favoured municipalities, including Windsor.

LaSalle Police have been without a contract since December 31st.

Nearby residents are being told not to worry about a 24-7 noise exemption that's been granted for a section of the Herb Gray Parkway project.

Spokesperson Cindy Prince says while much of the work will be done at night, she describes it as 'quiet' work at the bottom of a 30-foot trench that should have little impact on surrounding neighbourhoods.

The exemption has been granted from June 1st to October 31st and involves a section of road from Howard Avenue to Huron Church Line.

Two men have been charged after a weapons and drugs bust in Leamington.

OPP officers searched a home on Road 5 Monday and recovered 14 grams of cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone and a revolver.

49-year old Jeff Hall is charged with drug possession and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

46-year old Marc Quick is also charged.

Both men will appear in court next week.

Two music groups from Assumption College Catholic High School have arrived home winners from a major competition in New York City.

The Jazz Band won its category and the Concert band placed 2nd in its group.

Brian Zanier teaches music at the school and says the 42 students are very excited with their success.

He says they were competing against schools from across North America, some of which had huge contingents there, one arrived in 5 busses and had brand new instruments and tuxedos.

He says there were 3 university professors who judged the competition, and their comments made the event worth attending.

Zanier says the award ceremony the next day was held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square and was just like being part of the Oscars or Grammies.

A Windsor woman has been charged with 22 fraud-related charges following a complaint by the Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation.

Police officials accuse an on-site manager employed by two property management companies of making subsidy requests on behalf of tenants and keeping payments from the Community Housing Corporation even after the tenants moved out.

Authorities believe the alledged $130,000 fraud happened between January 2010 and this month.

Sergeant Matt D'Asti says this crime affects vulnerable people in the community.

54 year old Isabel Pato was arrested Monday. 

She has been charged with 11 counts of fraud and 11 counts of uttering a forged document.

Lasalle Police are investigating a suspicious vehicle fire.

Police and fire were called just before 11 o'clock last night  to a parking lot behind a condominium building at 5995 Ellis Street in Lasalle.

They found a black BMW on fire which was quickly brought under control.

An investigation found the fire was deliberately set.

Witnesses reported seeing a suspicious man in a light coloured SUV near the fire scene moments before the fire.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lasalle Police or crimestoppers.

The town of Leamington has delayed making a decision on a smoking ban.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit was hoping the town would implement a ban in all outdoor sports and recreation facilities.

But an administration report, also suggested a smoking ban on all municipal property including the marina.

Some councillors were concerned about the extended ban and voted to defer the issue.

Leamington Mayor John Paterson says the delay was the right move.

"My point of view was we are hearing from this one group of people stating their opinion and council shouldn't make a decision based on one side of the story and Councillor Atkin jumped on that and made a motion to defer," said Paterson.

Paterson says a decision will be delayed until the town's new website is up..or until there is a public meeting for input.

Auto racing fans should circle the weekend of May 31st to June 2nd on their calendar.

That's when the Belle Isle Grand Prix takes place.

The City of Windsor is sponsoring Grandstand number 2 and the media centre for a cost of 85-thousand dollars.

Mayor Eddie Francis says the funds will go to making sure there is dedicated Canadian access to the race.

There are packages for Canadian fans of the race in grandstand number 2...for a one day pass its 70 dollars for upper seats and 55 for lower seats.  A 2-day pass is 125-dollars for upper seats and 105 for the lower seats.

Information on the packages will be available through the city's customer care centre, through 3-1-1 and the city website and you can start making purchases this Friday.

An advocate for Canada's national rail service says increased security on via rail is not necessary.

This despite two arrests yesterday that halted an alleged terrorist attack on a via rail train between Canada and the U.S.

Speaking on the Lynn Martin Show, Greg Gormick, a consultant with the National Dream Renewed Campaign says there is a temptation for society to over-react to these situations.

But he says this was a random act and trains continue to be a very secure safe way to travel.

He says trains continue to be a very secure safe way to travel.

"You are not in any real danger riding a train. Trains are not the same animals as planes, you are not going to wreak the kind of havoc on society by attacking a train," says Gormick.

Gormick admits because of the alleged terrorist plot, there may be a little bit tighter security at train stations and a better co-operation between railway police and local police departments, but he says security like in airports is not necessary.

A local family is behind a 10 minute video to help promote organ and tissue donation.

Gunther and Judith Funkenhauser funded the video titled "We Can Be Heroes" which highlights local stories about the importance of registering to donate.

They lost their son Trevor in 2006 from a rare heart infection and donated his organs.

Only 18 per cent of local residents have registered to be an organ donor which is below the provincial average.

There are 1500 people on the transplant waiting list in Ontario.

Judith Funkenhauser says she tries to focus on the fact that three people are alive because of her son.

"The grieving was tough and it took me a long time and I have come to the point in my life and I'm so thankful I had him for 35 years and three people are alive because of his organs," says Judith.

This is National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week from April 21-28.

The video will be used as an educational tool in schools and local community groups to encourage people to register.

People can register online at www.beadonor.ca.

There'll be at least two names on the ballot when the New Democrats choose a candidate for the upcoming provincial by-election in Windsor-Tecumseh.

City councillor Percy Hatfield plans to seek the nod and now, 20-year party member Laurie Komon has announced that she will seek the nomination as well. She admits she's the underdog but says she will not allow Hatfield's nomination to be 'a coronation'.

She describes herself as a 'doggedly determined'  person who will fight hard for the people of Windsor-Tecumseh.

The party chooses its candidate May 16th.

Windsor will soon have a larger, more modern community museum.

By a vote of 9-2, city councillors have agreed to convert the ground floor of the Art Gallery of Windsor.

City administration will now put together a detailed business plan. The move also makes possible government funding which is available for cultural spending.

With construction slated to start this summer, Amherstburg residents are getting a chance to review a $6 million improvement project for Texas Road.

The project includes a new road, sidewalks, lighting and a bicycle lane.

Phase one starts in July.

A public meeting has been called for May 7th at the United Communities Credit Union Centre from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m.

An audit of Enwin Utilities is over.

After phase one (at a cost of $32,000) failed to uncover any irregularities, Windsor city council has decided phase 2 (at a cost of $330,000) is unnecessary .

Phase one looked at executive and board compensation, attendance, dividend payment and credit card use.

Phase two would have examined such things as inter-company loans, travel and corporate gifts.

An Essex father found guilty in a crash that claimed the life of his teenage son is appealing his verdict.

The jury found 51 year old David McLennan guilty Monday of dangerous driving causing death but NOT guilty of impaired driving causing death after the 2008 Amhertsburgh crash that killed his 16-year-old son Dylan.

McLennan admitted he drank before the crash but wasn't impaired.

Assistant Crown Tom Meehan gives credit to the jurors and says they had a tough job.

A sentencing "hearing" takes place in June for McLennan.

Charges have been laid against a Windsor grandfather after Monday morning's crash that injured three of his grandkids.

Officers say a Jeep hit a tree at Milloy and Malta around 8:30-am.

A 12-year old girl broke her jaw while an 8 and 4-year old suffered minor injuries.

The 62-year old is charged with careless driving and failing to ensure the four-year old was properly secured in a child seat.

Red flags are going up at the local chamber of commerce.

The chamber is concerned about a new border fee being considered by Homeland Security in the U-S.

The U-S is reviewing the viability of a fee for crossing into the states on top of the existing tolls at the bridge and tunnel.

Windsor Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce President Matt Marchand says any new fee would restrict cross-border trade and hurt the economy.

The U-S Department of Homeland Security argues it needs the money to off set the increasing cost of security.

 

One elderly woman has been taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries after a car crashed through a store window.

Just before noon a Chrysler convertible crashed into the front glass of the Giant Tiger store on Tecumseh Road East at Ellrose.

There is damage to the store, and one older woman was struck by the vehicle but suffered only slight injuries.

Windsor Police say no charges will be laid.

No one inside the store was hurt and the manager says they'll remain open for business.

A push to allow servers at restaurants and bars to keep their tip money has come to Windsor.

The provincial NDP Finance critic is taking another crack at getting his private members bill enacted.

Toronto area MPP Michael Prue says his Bill 49 has just one line...to ban any employer from taking any portion of an employees tips or gratuities.

Speaking at Elias Deli on Ouellette Avenue...Prue says its a common practice they want to end.

Prue says these are workers who earn below the minimum wage based on an expectation they'll make up the difference through tips.

Prue says the restaurant and bar industry is the most visible place this happens, but he says it is also a problem for casino parking attendants, taxi drivers, hair dressers and other workers who are required to pay a share of their tips to the employer in order to keep their job.

The private members bill is expected to come back for 2nd reading in the legislature in mid-May.

The owner of Elias Deli says they don't take any portion of the servers tips.

A large amount of  cash found in a parking lot has now been returned to the rightful owner.

A good samaritan found the package containing the money Saturday night in the parking lot of a business in the 31-hundred block of Dougall Avenue.

Police were asking anyone who could describe the packaging and amount of currency to give them a call.

Police now say the cash has been claimed.

A 66 year old Wallaceburg man is dead following a single vehicle crash this morning in Chatham Kent.

Around 9:45 this morning, emergency crews were called to Stewart Line, just north of Wallaceburg where a Dodge Ram truck was submerged in the water.

The driver was taken to the hospital with no vital signs.

He was later pronounced dead.

The Ontario government will table its budget May 2nd.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa made the announcement in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada today.

He's also revised the provincial deficit to $9.8-billion, down from the $12-billion announced earlier this year.

Sousa told the legislature this morning that the government will not take a slash-and-burn approach, which he feels would hurt Ontario's economic recovery.

Sousa says the Liberals will take a "balanced approach" to the budget.

An Essex man has been found not guilty of impaired driving causing death in the 2008 crash in Amherstburg that claimed the life of his son.

But the jury at his trial has found 51-year-old David McLennan guilty of dangerous driving causing death.

The jury reached its verdict on the fourth day of deliberations.

Outside of the courthouse, McLennan maintained he's innocent and says he will appeal the guilty verdict.

No word on injuries after two vehicles crashed on the front lawn of a home at Meighen Road and Ypres Boulevard in East Windsor this morning.

A pickup truck  landed on its roof while a second vehicle sustained heavy damage to the passenger side.

Police are investigating.

A proposal to allow hazardous materials to be trucked across the Ambassador Bridge has raised some concerns at Windsor city hall.

The recommendation from the Michigan Department of Transportation is on tonight's city council agenda.

Ward 2's Ron Jones says Windsor doesn't have the resources to deal with a potential problem. He says a spill could potentially affect 75,000 people on the Windsor side of the bridge.

M-DOT is holding an open house this week to gather public input. Officials from Windsor will be there to express their concerns.

Right now, most hazardous materials are shipped by barge across the river.

Windsor Police are thanking a good Samaritan for turning in some cash.

A large amount of money was found in a parking lot in the 3100 block of Dougall Avenue Saturday night. 

Whoever lost it and can describe the package it was found in and the amount should call Windsor police.

If it's not claimed in 6 months, it goes to the good Samaritan.

Two hundred and twenty workers at Jamieson Laboratories in Windsor have voted 77% in favour of a new contract.

It's a 4-year deal calling for a $2 an hour wage increase, more vacation time and life insurance for spouses and children.

CAW Local 195 President Gerry Farnham believes its a good agreement given the current economic climate.

The contract follows roughly 4 months of negotiations.

Demolition is underway on an unsafe building in the Town of Essex.

The three-storey vacant structure at 49 Talbot Street North began crumbling earlier this month and the town has stepped in the interest of public safety.

Neighbouring businesses have been forced to close because of the unsafe conditions and will remain closed until the demo is finished. The majority of the work is expected to be completed later this afternoon.

The total cost of the tear down is $152-thousand.

For the 8th straight year, AM 800 has won the Byron MacGregor Award for top radio newscast in central Canada.

AM800 News was honoured yesterday by the Radio-Television Digital News Directors Association.

It's also the ninth time in the last 10-years the radio station has won the prestigious award.

AM800 is now up for the national award, which will be announced in June.

The jury will go back at it today in Windsor and try to decide the fate of an Essex father.

51-year old David McLennan is charged with impaired and dangerous driving causing death.

The charges stem from a crash in Amherstburg in July of 2008 which claimed the life of his 16-year old son Dylan, who was in the back seat.

McLennan admitted he drank four beer and one shot of alcohol the day of the collision, but maintains that he wasn't drunk.

The jury of five men and seven women began deliberations on Friday afternoon and has yet to reach a verdict.

A female driver has been charged after a roll-over on the Expressway.

A vehicle flipped on the eastbound on-ramp at Dougall Avenue around 9:20 last night.

The ramp was closed for a few hours but has re-opened.

A 20-year old is charged with failing to turn left and avoid a collision.

An update on a bad crash in downtown Windsor.

A stolen Chevy Impala smashed into a stop sign, two parked cars and a house in the 14-hundred block of Dougall Avenue early yesterday morning.

Damage is 50-thousand dollars.

A 17-year old from LaSalle is charged with breaching bail conditions and other criminal charges.

The driver, 20-year old John Thomas of Windsor, is charged with theft, possession of property under five-thousand dollars, dangerous driving and others.

Both have been remanded in custody.

A dangerous speeding car ended up crashing into parked cars on Dougall Avenue early this morning.

Windsor Police first spotted the car at Ouellette and Tecumseh just before 1:30.

5 people in the car slouched down as it passed the squad car.The 2000 Chevy Impala had been reported stolen yesterday. Additional police units were called in to try to stop the car.

The Impala sped off on snowy roads, down Dougall Avenue, at a high rate of speed. Police backed off as the pursuit became dangerous. Moments later - police were alerted to a crash in the 1400 block of Dougall.

The Impala had hit a stop sign then some parked cars, pushing one into a house.Damage is estimated at 50 thousand dollars. 3 people in the car were taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries.

Police say two males fled but were tracked down to a home on Hanna Street, where they were found hiding under piles of clothing and bedding.

A 20 year old has been arrested for dangerous driving and possession of stolen property. A 17 year old from Lasalle was arrested for breaching outstanding court imposed conditions.

(courtesy of Ron Uprichard)

A Windsor jury continues deliberating this morning to decide the fate of an Essex father who is charged with the death of his son.

51 year old David McLennan is charged with impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

His 16 year old son Dylan was in the car when it went out of control in July of 2008 on a road in Amherstburg.

McLennan admitted he had 4 beers and a shot the day of the crash but maintains he wasn't impaired.

In his charge to the jury yesterday the Judge told them to show no sympathy, prejudice or fear.

Some hope for the Lakeshore Horse racing group. The Ontario Racing Commission has told them that it will help with a business plan.

Essex County Warden Tom Bain, himself a horseman, says they're looking for 11 racing dates to start in June.

And they're trying to get some of the 7 million dollars in stranded funds left behind when the Slots were cancelled at race tracks across Ontario.

A deal is in place between the Woodslee Community Association Steering Committee and the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board.

Committee Chair Steve Chevalier says the group would enter into a $50-thousand a year, five year lease agreement with the board to use St. John the Evangelist school:

The deal would see the group use part of the school as a community centre.

It would also postpone the school's closure until at least June 2019.

Police officials say the 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings exchanged gunfire with law enforcement for an hour while holed up in a boat before being captured.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis says the suspect was hospitalized late Friday night in serious condition.

His 26-year-old brother was killed earlier in a furious attempt to escape police.

The brothers are suspects in Monday's marathon bombings, which killed 3 people and wounded more than 180 others.

The men are also suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer in his vehicle late Thursday.

 

A suspicious package in downtown Windsor Friday afternoon turned out to be illegal drugs...possibly cocaine.

The call came in just before 4-pm.

A bank in the 300 block of Ouellelte was closed for about 4 hours.

Everyone inside got out safely.

A fire in south Windsor caused 60-thousand dollars damage.

Crews were called to 1117 Holburn around 4:45 Friday afternoon for flames in the kitchen.

The fire was out quickly and everyone inside got out safely.

A pot left on the stove gets the blame.

The city of Windsor has received its fourth quarter (Jan to March 2013) payment from the OLG.

The OLG issued a $385 000 dollar cheque to the city, an installment as part of the transitional year for hosting the slots at the Raceway.

To date, the city has received over 29.5 million dollars from the OLG in non tax gaming revenue.

Windsor's "downspout disconnection" program is getting popular.

It is the most requested Windsor service for the first quarter of the year.

The free service was started to try and keep rain water away from foundations and reducing basement flooding.

The city budgeted $2 million for the program.

Last year, 11-hundred residents called 3-1-1 to set up an appointment and from January to March of this year, more than 700 requests have been called in.

Manager of Contracts and Field Services Mark Winterton says the price is right for residents, its free.

"One of the cheapest ways to alleviate basement flooding.  The program is set up so there is no cost to the residents, it is fully funded through the budget," says Winterton.

"By disconnecting the downspout, the water will run overland and it will take longer to get to the sewers".

Winterton says people who are interested should call 3-1-1 to book an appointment to see if they are eligible.

Other calls to 3-1-1 included unlicensed dogs, tax statement requests and dirty yard complaints.

A Windsor jury is now deciding the fate of an Essex father charged in the death of his son.

51 year old David McLennan is charged with impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death in a fatal crash in Amherstburg in July 2008.

McLennan's 16 year old son Dylyn was in the back seat of a car driven by McLennan who lost control of the vehicle on Creek Road.

McLennan admitted during the trial that he had four beers and one shot the day of the crash, but that his driving wasn't impaired.

In his charge to the jury this morning, the judge told the jury to reach a unanimous verdict and show no sympathy, prejudice or fear.

The jury of 5 men and 7 women began deliberating around 12:30 this afternoon.

Amherstburg Police officers will be testing out "body worn" audio-video recorders in a pilot project starting next week.

7 officers have been trained and will be trying out the devices for a month initially, and if that's successful, for a year.

Police Chief Tim Berthiaume says he learned about the devices from a study done a couple of years ago by Victoria, BC Police.

Chief Berthiaume says they believe there will be a number of benefits from the cameras, including more accountability and transparency, more powerful evidence in court, opportunities to identify training needs and reducing the time spent investigating public complaints.

Berthiaume says each camera costs 600-dollars, but other costs will have to be determined as they figure out how much data they're collecting and how big a server they'll need.

He says there will be one officer per shift wearing the cameras during the initial pilot, and eventually 2 officers per shift.

Berthiaume says police in Thunder Bay are also testing similar cameras, but Amherstburg is the first community with a large rural area to test them in Ontario.

He says he's been contacted by several other police chiefs who are interested in following the pilot project.

It's a deal. Ontario's public high school teachers have voted 84% in favour of an amended collective agreement with the province.

It reduces the number of unpaid days off for teachers from 3 to 1 while support staff won't have to take any and can't be laid off unless enrollment declines.

The new deal also includes improvements to maternity leave and sick day benefits.

The agreement changes elements of the contract imposed on teachers under Bill 115.

One of two suspects in the shooting death of an MIT campus  police officer is dead and a massive manhunt is underway for the second.  Both are believed to be suspects the Boston marathon bombing.

The suspect still at large is the man pictured wearing a white cap in photographs released by police yesterday.

The MIT shooting was followed by reports of gunfire and explosions in nearby Watertown, just west of Boston.

Residents have been told to lock their doors and not let anyone in. Schools, public transit and businesses in the area have been shut down.

Parents looking for a head start on keeping their kids busy this summer can now do so on-line. The City of Windsor Activity Guide has been posted at www.reconnectwindsor.ca.

Marketing and Communication Officer, Pat Lewis, says there are 33 programs available for a range of fees.

A printed version of the guide will be distributed to Windsor homes early next month.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is asking the province for help to fund its Nicotine Replacement Therapy program.

Right now, it's available to those who want to quit smoking at a low cost but the Health Unit thinks even more people might kick the habit if it were free.

That means more staff and Director of Health Promotions, Liz Haugh, says that's where the extra funding comes in.

The Health Unit is waiting for a reply from the Ministry of Health.

The search is on for a male suspect in Chatham Kent after a man approached children twice in just a few days.

A 9-year-old girl was walking home from school in the Orchard Heights area Monday when a man in a car yelled at her.

Then this morning officers were called to the area of Indian Creek Public School where a 12-year-old boy was asked by a man in a vehicle if he wanted a ride to school.

In the first incident the man was described as being in his 30's with short dark hair.

In the second incident there was no description of the man.

The vehicle in both cases was an older, white 4-door sedan with a lot of scratches, mainly on the driver's side.

The FBI has released photos of 2 men they say are suspects in the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Below is a picture of the 2 suspects that are wanted.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/updates-on-investigation-into-multiple-explosions-in-boston/updates-on-investigation-into-multiple-explosions-in-boston

 A dryer fire in Amherstburg has caused about $40-thousand damage.

Crews from 2 stations were called out to Front Road near the boundary with Lasalle just after noon.

They were able to mostly contain the flames to the utility room where the dryer is located, but some fire got up into the walls and ceiling.

Deputy Fire Chief Jim Ouellette says the cause of the fire appears to be an overheated dryer with too much lint.

No charges will be laid against two Windsor Police officers following an internal investigation.

The investigation was prompted by a judge's comments.

A Windsor judge dismissed charges against a man accused of impaired driving late last year.

During his submissions, the judge questioned the testimony and evidence given by Constable Jim Sonier and Dave Polachuk, accusing the two arresting officers of assaulting the man.

Because of those comments, Police Chief Al Frederick initiated a criminal and police services act investigation for misconduct.

No wrong doing was found and no criminal charges will be laid.

"There was no evidence of excessive force and there was additional evidence that was not presented originally at trial and there was a lack of a complainant, the gentleman who was arrested for impaired driving did not pursue any type of complaint," says Frederick.

Chief Frederick says the entire investigation was reviewed by the crown's office which agreed with the findings from the investigation.

Frederick says it is unusual for a judge's comments to spark this type of investigation.

The internal investigation took about two months.

Windsor's fire chief wants to reassure residents there's no threat here like the fertilizer factory in West, Texas that blew up overnight killing up to 15 people and levelling several blocks.

Chief Bruce Montone says there are locations in the city that have been identified as containing materials which can combust or explode, but nothing on the scale of the plant that caused the massive overnight blast.

Montone says that doesn't mean there's no potential for an explosion at all.

He says there are manufacturing plants with paint facilities, large fuel storage areas near the river and even grain storage sites which can become explosive under the right conditions.   

Montone stresses that the fire department monitors all facilities with hazardous, flammable or explosive materials.

And he adds there are a number of provincial and federal agencies also responsible for safety of those items.

Provincial Police are asking the public for assistance to identify suspects from a break, enter and theft at a property in Tecumseh.

At about 9 PM on Friday April 12th two men are seen in video footage entering a business property in the 1600 block of County Road 8.

The OPP says both men are between 20 and 30 years old.

One has a partial beard, stocky build and was wearing a work jacket and a multi-coloured baseball cap. 

The other appears slightly older than the first suspect and was wearing a dark coat, a hoodie and had a dark beard or goatee.

A $2,700 compact tamper was taken by the pair, who left in a small car.

If you have any information you're asked to contact the Essex County OPP Crime Unit or Crimestoppers.

The birthing centre at Windsor Regional Hospital has been recognized as the best in North America.

It has been presented with the first ever "More-O-B" Patient Safety and Recognition Award.

The award looked at best practices among all birthing centres and selected the one at Windsor Regional as being a leader and innovator.

Dr. John Tomc is the head of Obstetrics at the hospital and says they've come up with ways to make the birthing process work better.

He says the physicians and nurses have a huddle several times a day to share patient information.

One other procedure that was highlighted as being innovative is drills that are done to go through the techniques for complicated and difficult births.

The award is presented by Salus Global, which operates the "MOREob" program used at 90-percent of birthing centres in Canada.

The cause of a garage fire in East Windsor is being listed as undetermined, not suspicious.

It happened around 7:30 last night in the 9800 block of Riverside Drive East.

Damage is pegged at $60 000 to the garage and contents.

There is a possibility that lightning caused the fire, but because of the extent of damage, that's hard to determine.

An investigation continues into a fatal, single-vehicle crash in Essex County.

It happened at Manning Road and County Road 46 shortly before 12:30 this morning.

Police say they were trying to stop a vehicle that was northbound on Manning when it  crashed into a ditch.

The driver, a 39 year old man was ejected. He was taken to  hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

No name has been released. He's identified only as being from Essex County.

Manning Road between County Road 46 and County Road 42 was closed until about 11 o'clock this morning for the investigation.

Because the crash happened during a police operation, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has been called in.

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent.

Environment Canada says scattered thunderstorms from northern Indiana and lower Michigan are expected to track into our region during the mid to late afternoon hours.

These storms could contain large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall.

Demolition has been ordered for a vacant building in downtown Essex.

As AM800 News first reported yesterday, it's a 3-storey structure at 49 Talbot Street and it's falling apart. Earlier this month, a large piece of stucco collapsed onto the roof of a building next door.

It's owned by the town and Mayor Ron McDermott says it's a safety hazard.

Businesses on either side of the building -- the Deluxe Restaurant and 2 Waves Day Spa --remain closed until demolition is complete in about 2 weeks.

Essex County EMS is getting 6 new ambulances.

The purchases approved by Essex County council at a cost of $900,000.

EMS Chief Randy Mellow says the vehicles being replaced have racked up a combined 1.7 million kilometers.

They are part of a 36 ambulance fleet.

The parents of a gay-activist in Windsor are leading a nation-wide push to allow organ donation from all healthy Canadians, regardless of sexual orientation.

Rocky Campana died last summer at the age of 23. His parents' request to donate his organs was denied and they believe it's because Rocky was gay.

But Nancy Campana says times have changed. There's no reason gay Canadians shouldn't be allowed to donate and she's urging everyone to sign an on-line petition by May 15th.

The petition is available at www.allhealthycanadiansshouldbeabletodonate.com.' Windsor West M.P. Brian Masse has agreed to present it in the House of Commons.

A U-S law enforcement official now says investigators have an image of a potential suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings but do not have his name.

The official says investigators made the discovery while going over photos and video.

The news came with Boston in a state of high excitement over a possible breakthrough in the case.

The bombings killed 3 people and wounded about 170.

Student satisfaction at St. Clair College is improving.

New figures from the province show the satisfaction rate at just under 80 percent - which is more than 2 points higher than the provincial average.

The college also received its highest ratings ever in Knowledge and Skills and Learning Experience and college spokesperson Ann Hetherington says its proof the college is on the right track.

Students are also pleased with the resources and new facilities and services provided at the college.

The Windsor Spitfires have made their pitch to host the 2014 Memorial Cup.

The club made the presentation earlier this afternoon in Toronto before the Site Selection Committee.

The Spits are one of three OHL teams hoping to land the event.

Spits Director of Business Development Steve Horne says the presentation focused on the entire region, it included a lot of information about engaging with the community.

He says its not just about the tournament itself and anytime you have a chance to sell your region its a positive.

He says the team made a 45 minute presentation and then there was 15 minutes of questions.

London and Barrie also want to host the Memorial Cup next year.

The Site Selection Committee will announce its decision the first week of May.

The former catholic school board trustee who was the voice of budget restraint is saying "I told you so."

Richard Knaziew left the board several years ago after becoming a lightning rod for his views.

Knaziew says he was always opposed to the idea of the post retirement benefits for staff, and he's glad the Supervisor has seen it the same way he did.

He says he was the only trustee who opposed building the Catholic Education Centre as part of Assumption High School.

Knaziew believes the big problem was trustees who voted with their hearts and not their minds.

Knaziew was elected to the Essex county board before amalgamation and sat as a trustee for close to 10 years through to 2003.

Boston Police say despite multiple reports to the contrary, there has not been an arrest in the Boston Marathon explosions.

Earlier today, a law enforcement official said a suspect had been arrested in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 170.

 A news briefing has been for scheduled for later today at 5pm. 

AM 800 will carry that news conference live.

A rift between the city and St. Clair College has cost the downtown an infusion of more students.

The new Fashion Design program being implemented this fall by the college is going to be set up at the main campus.

Originally, the college wanted to locate the program in the core and looked at several storefront locations, including one owned by the City of Windsor.

College President Dr. John Strasser says space was one consideration, but the fact the university has received a $10-million boost from the city and they've gotten nothing made the decision more clear.

Strasser points out the college has put about a thousand students into the core in the past five years, not to mention saving the city millions it was losing on the old Cleary convention space...that's now the St. Clair Centre for the Arts.

A Windsor Police officer has been arrested.

The 14 year veteran of the police force is facing charges of theft under $5000, possession of stolen property and two counts of uttering a forged document. 

The charges stem from an incident involving found property that was turned over to police.

The officer was arrested within hours of learning his identity. 

He has been suspended with pay.

His name is being withheld until he is arraigned in court.

A third candidate has come forward to seek the Liberal nomination in the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh.

Real Estate and Mortgage Broker Jeewen Gill has announced he wants to be the party's standard bearer.

Gill says family is one of his main interests, but he's also concerned about the economy and is worried children aren't getting the skills they need to find good employment.

The two other candidates who have already declared are Rose City Islamic Cultural Centre Executive Director Remy Boulbol and Enwin Vice President Michael Duben.

The seat is currently vacant in the wake of Dwight Duncan stepping down.

There's no word on when the Premier plans to call a by-election to fill the spot.

Funding has been secured for two schools at the Greater Essex County District School Board.

$17.5 million has been approved for construction of the new Essex District High School and $3.2 million for the purchase of property for the new Leamington High School.

Director of Education Warren Kennedy says the schools won't be completed until 2015 and beyond.

"We're looking forward to Essex, probably 2015-2016 is when we'll be done there. Leamington is probably a little farther out just because we still have some work to do with the municipality," Kennedy says.

Essex District High School will be built on the existing site and Leamington High School will be built  over 19-acres at 5480 Oak Street West.

The union representing local Catholic high school teachers believes the board has an enrollment problem.

Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association local President Brian Hogan is reacting to the latest report by the board's supervisor showing a 15 million dollar capital deficit and 2.3 million dollar operating deficit.

Hogan says what the board needs to do is increase its enrollment to get more funding from the province.

He's not surprised by the figures saying the province appointed a supervisor because of financial problems at the board.

Hogan says he's worried the supervisor hasn't addressed the enrollment problem.

"He didn't deal with the strategies to increase enrollment, you can't just look at cuts but how do you draw more students," says Hogan.

Hogan says some of the cuts the board has made have pushed people away from the board.

"It cut social workers and libraries. I think it has to rethink the cuts and even though it helped the bottom line, did it draw parents and students away from the catholic school system".

The board currently has a shortfall of nearly 800-thousand dollars in the current budget year.

An Amherstburg man has been charged following a fiery crash last night.

It happened around 8:30 near 2023 Front Road North near Malden Roads in Amherstburg.

Police say two vehicles were involved and one caught on fire.

One driver suffered minor injuries.

A 45 year old Amherstburg man has been charged with following too close.

A Tecumseh man is facing charges in connection with threats made to court officials.

The OPP say 49-year-old Phillip Laforet is charged with two counts of criminal harassment and two counts of intimidation of court officials.

Provincial police say threatening letters were sent to a judge and a Crown Attorney in Windsor.  City police notified the OPP about the alleged incidents in late March.

The investigation was conducted by the OPP in conjunction with the Justice Security Office of Ontario.

The "Help Wanted" sign is out in west Windsor.

A group called "Our West End" has teamed up with "Centres for Seniors" to hire a part-time community coordinator on a 2-year contract.

Spokesperson Fabio Costante says the job includes a number of responsibilities including the development of a roundtable comprised of business leaders, labour leaders, community activists and west end residents to support community initiatives.

Also key is the development of a Parks Committee.

The deadline to apply is April 26th. Go to www.ourwestend.blogspot.ca.  for more information.

The position is funded by the United Way.

The Director of Education at the Greater Essex County District School Board is hoping that legal action can be avoided.

As AM800 News first reported yesterday, retiree benefits for hundreds of former employees are being cancelled as of August 31st, 2014.

Warren Kennedy admits those affected aren't happy about it but, so far, seem to understand the benefits are in contravention of the Education Act even though they've been included in collective agreements for years.

The board will save $29 million by not having to pay benefits through the end of the current contract.

So far, Kennedy has heard of no threat of legal action. If that happens, he believes the province will impose new legislation or regulations to end it.

It's going to be a while yet before the Colchester Harbour Restaurant opens for business.

Originally slated to open last summer, there's been a series of delays and at least one Essex town councillor has had enough. Randy Voakes says the time for talk is over and he's calling for legal action.

His fellow councillors disagree, though, and have opted to give the operators a little more time.  A meeting is set for May 6th.

The town owns the building and leased it to the current tenants in May of 2010.

The CAW has reached an agreement with National Auto Radiator in Windsor to end a 6-day lockout of its workers and to begin negotiations toward a closure agreement.

As part of the agreement, the company will resume payment of employee and retiree benefits.

The agreement will stay in place for 30 days. During that time,  the company won't manufacture or ship any products.

The union has agreed to stop picketing the plant.

The agreement also includes consultation with the union, should the company be able to sell any existing equipment from the facility.

Seniors in Windsor are being targeted by another scam.

Seniors are receiving fake phone calls from relatives in Europe claiming they're in Canada and urgently need money.

The suspects actually go to the victim's home to pickup money instead of asking for a money wire.

In February, Windsor families were defrauded of more than 20-thousand dollars.

In both cases, a man described as East Indian or Pakistani, about 30 years old with a thin build and about 5-foot-10 showed up at their home.

An investigation found the scammers got information off Facebook.

The supervisor at the local catholic school board says solving its financial woes won't be quick or simple.

A report from Norbert Hartmann identifies multiple deficits and shows ways to get rid of them .

The capital deficit alone is nearly 15-million dollars.

It was racked up by projects like the new St. Anne's and the reconstruction of Assumption.

Both were approved without funding to fully pay for them.

Hartmann says he'll change by-laws to create flexibility, which doesn't currently exist.

The current shortfall at the catholic board is nearly 800 thousand dollars and must be eliminated by April 30th.

A campaign to further develop a Greenway from Essex to Amherstburg is getting a big boost.

Richard Peddie -- the former President of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment along with his wife Colleen -- have pledged 10 thousand dollars to match each 50 dollar donation.

Peddie says he came up with the idea after giving a speech a few months ago at the Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce about embracing the bicycle.

The 'Trail On' campaign still needs 750 thousand dollars to finish the 22 kilometre trail.

The Windsor Spitfires will be in Toronto tomorrow to make their presentation to host the 2014 Memorial Cup.

The Spits are one of three O-H-L teams hoping to land junior hockey's marquee event.

 The London Knights and Barrie Colts will also be making presentations to the Site Selection Committee.

Mayor Eddie Francis told AM 800 listeners on "The Morning Drive", he will be in Toronto to support the Spitfires.

"I have a role to play and I'm very grateful to the Spitfires for affording myself and the community a role to play," says Francis.

The Site Selection Committee will announce the winning city early next month.

The 2014 Memorial Cup will be held May 16th to the 25th.

A date has now been set for the NDP to pick its candidate in the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh.

It is scheduled for May 16th at the Serbian Centre.

Last month, Ward 7 Windsor city councillor Percy Hatfield announced he is seeking the NDP nomination.  There is one other candidate in the race.

The seat became vacant after long-time Liberal MPP Dwight Duncan stepped down.

The Premier has not announced the date of the by-election.

The Road Captain for the 3rd annual Bob Probert Memorial Ride has been announced.

Close family friend and former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Tony Amonte will lead the motorcycles from in front of Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital.

The event has already raised more than $200,000 for the Cardiac Angioplasty Program at the hospital with about 1000 riders each year.

Helping to announce the details were Probert's widow Dani, his children and his mom Theresa.

The key sponsors for the ride this year are CAW Locals 444 and 2458.

There's pre-registration at Dirty Jersey's the evening of June 21st, the run itself starts at 10 AM Sunday June 23rd on Ouellette Avenue and makes its way to the Riverside Sportsmen's Club.

To encourage more participants the registration has been dropped from $30 to $20, and each rider is now $10.

AM800's Steve Bell is the emcee for the wrapup event at the Riverside Sportsmen's Club.

The crash that claimed the lives of two local children on I75 was caused by  more than just the snowy weather.

Lawyers for the family say driver error and the poor condition of the 1996 tractor trailer that slammed into the local vehicle are to blame.

They say based on the information from the investigation so far, the crash was avoidable.

Four of the 8 brakes on the tractor trailer were inoperable and the truck driver had 5 safety violations in the past few years. 

Windsor Lawyer Greg Monforton says the bottom line is the crash was avoidable.

"The information that we have learned so far has led us to the unavoidable conclusion that this tragedy occurred as a result of a deadly combination of driver error and deficient equipment," says Monforton.

Michigan Lawyer Bob Darling says other vehicles were able to stop in the snowy conditions except the tractor trailer that hit the local vehicle.

7 year old Aidan Hicks and 9 year old Gabrielle Greenwood died in the crash back in January.

Aidan's mother Kimberly Barrett is now at home recovering.

About 40 vehicles were involved in the crash.

Photo is Windsor lawyer Greg Monforton (on the left) and Michigan lawyer Bob Darling.

The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is hoping to attract more people downtown this summer.

BIA Chair Larry Horwitz has met with merchants and  the organizers of Windsor's many festivals about forming partnerships to cross-promote events. He believes both would benefit.

Planning is in the early stages and Horwitz says more meetings are expected.

No major surprises. The results are in from the first phase of an audit at the Enwin Group.

It was ordered in February amid concerns by Councillor Alan Halberstadt about the use of money that hydro customers pay.

It looked into Executive and Board compensation, Board attendance, credit card usage and dividend payment.

It has found that Enwin's Dividend policy and payment amount are consistent with other local distribution companies. It has also found that incentive pay for executives is less than what it should be.

There are no credit cards and the board takes attendance.

Mayor Eddie Francis has said all along that there's nothing to hide. The Mayor told AM800 News that "...Councillor Halberstadt has made a career of not letting the facts get in the way of a good accusation."

Halberstadt says he is disappointed with the results because there's not enough detail. He says if a planned phase 2 of the audit is the same, there's not much point in proceeding.

Phase one of the audit cost $32,000 which will be recovered from the Enwin Group.

Changes are coming to the benefit plans of hundreds of retirees of both the public and catholic school boards in Windsor-Essex.

Benefits will no longer be funded for employees over the age of 65.

The public board's Director of Education, Warren Kennedy, says life-long benefits have been part of the collective agreement since the late 1960's but both boards have been told by the Ministry of Education that they are not in compliance with the Education Act and must be stopped.

Those affected include employees from the maintenance group, custodians, skilled trades and senior administration.

The benefits will end August 31st of 2014.

There's a heightened alert at the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor-Detroit Tunnel in the wake of yesterday's Boston Marathon bombings.

Tunnel President Neal Belitsky says that ``all staff are sensitive to the incident in Boston.''

While security measures aren't being discussed, officials say they're closely following events.

Detroit Police Chief Chester Logan says the city's Homeland Security office is "prepared to respond appropriately to any concerns....".

Tens of thousands of vehicles a day use the bridge and the tunnel.

Police in Boston say at least 3 people have been killed in Monday's explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The explosions also injured more than 130 people, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet.

Some of the victims lost arms and legs.

Other injuries include broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums.

U-S President Barack Obama is vowing to bring those responsible for the explosions to justice.

The FBI is leading the terrorist investigation but no suspects are in custody.

Windsor-Detroit Tunnel officials wouldn't confirm if they're on alert but tell AM-800 News they're working under increased awareness.

A meeting between the CAW and National Auto Radiator in Windsor will be held Tuesday morning.

Last week, the company locked out 17 workers at the plant and cut benefits to 200 retirees.

Since then, police officers have twice been called to the picket line as the company tries to get inside the plant.

CAW Local 195 President Gerry Farnham maintains the company is trying to shutdown the plant without a proper closure agreement

As you heard on AM-800 Monday morning, the union has stepped in to make sure benefits are covered for its retirees.

During contract talks, the company was demanding a 9 dollar an hour pay cut.

A local runner participating in today's Boston Marathon is shocked at the blasts at the event.

Rich St. Louis is from Essex and says he had returned to his hotel room and was beginning to celebrate when he found out.

He says his wife was on the subway headed to the finish line when police came on board, he now realizes they were doung a bomb sweep.

St. Louis finished with a time of 3:09 and has qualified to participate again...but now he's not sure he will.

The contractor for the Centre for Engineering Excellence at the University of Windsor says the subcontractor putting up the steel at the site is responsible for several beams collapsing.

Workers arriving at the site Friday morning discovered a number of beams had come down in the overnight period.

Newton Parking Structures is the contractor.

Sales and Marketing Manager Joanne Bertrand says they have had a 3rd party engineering firm analyze what happened.

According to the steel erection code, bracing or guy wires must be used during the actual erection to secure the columns and beams, to make sure they stand up and Bertrand says that temporary bracing was not put in place.

Bertrand says weather conditions also contributed to the collapse with stroing gusty winds.

She says they need to have a procedure laid out for removing the damaged beams and they can't take any action until that's in place.

Bertrand says Carlissimo Steel, the subcontractor to Newton, was responsible for putting up the beams.

She says Newton is reconstructing the damaged parts of the structure to shorten the time to get the beams back in place faster.

She expects the overall project will only be held up a week, time they can make up.

The Ministry of Labour was notified of the incident even though there were no injuries.

   Windsor Police are looking for a suspect after shots were fired at a home on Langlois Avenue early Saturday morning.

   Officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Langlois just before 2 AM.

   There was a report of a man walking down the street firing a handgun at the residence.

   A witness reports hearing the shots and seeing the muzzle flash.

   Shots did penetrate the front door and walls, but no-one inside was hit.

   The suspect is described as a white male wearing a baseball cap and a dark coat.

   Anyone with information is asked to contact Windsor Police or Crimestoppers.

The shovel is in the ground to start construction of a new 2.5-million dollar home for the Amherstburg Family Health Team.

For the past several years the team of 3 physicians, a nurse practitioner and 2 nurses has been operating out of 1800 square feet in the Season's Retirement Home.

Once the new facility opens in September 2013, the team will occupy about 2-thirds of the 10-thousand square foot building on Front Road South.

Dr. Tim O'Callaghan is the Lead Physician for the health team.

He says they'll settle in to the new facility before looking at expansion, but hope to attract additional team members. 

Dr. O'Callaghan says the new building right on Front Road will improve their visibility in the community and bring in new patients.

He says once they do add new staff, the team will be able to accommodate more patients.

Amicone Construction is building the new facility.

There are plans for a second phase of the project when needed in the future.

An expert on cross border issues is calling the issuance of the Presidential Permit Friday a "starting gun" to the process.

Dr. Bill Anderson is the Ontario Research Chair in Cross-Border Transportation Policy at the University of Windsor.

He says the assembly of land on the U.S. side was on hold until this stage was in place.

Anderson says without the permit, there was no way to leverage the sale of the properties, because the process requires there be a necessity to take the land, and the Presidential Permit creates that necessity.

Anderson says there is no doubt some of the expropriations will end up in front of a judge, mainly because at least one tract of land is owned by the Ambassador Bridge company which opposes the new span.

He says there is a long process ahead to create the P-3 (public private partnership) group for construction of the span, which could be 2 years away.

He believes the projected opening date of 2020 is quite conservative and the bridge may open sooner.

An Essex father charged in a crash that killed his son has testified it was an accident.

 51 year old David McLennan is charged with impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing death in the crash on Creek Road in Amherstburg in July 2008.

McLennan took the stand in his own defence today and said the crash was his fault, but he wasn't impaired.

He admitted he had four beers and one shot that day but that alcohol wasn't a factor.

McLennan's 16 year old son Dylyn was seated in the back seat of the car when McLennan testified the  tires hit the shoulder, he fought to get on the road and he lost control.

Dylyn died.

McLennan began to cry as he recalled having to call his wife and tell her "I think Dylyn is dead."

McLennan told the judge and jury the road especially at night at that curve is deceiving.

The crown suggested McLennan knew that road because he had just waved at people at a house just before the crash.

A 36 year old Windsor man has been identified as the victim of a fatal crash on the weekend.

Provincial police say Michael Abbott was the lone occupant in a minivan that crashed into a tree on Road 3 in Essex just west of the Arner Town Line.

It happened about 6:30 Saturday evening. Abbortt was pronounced dead at the scene.

OPP say an autopsy is scheduled for later today.

Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash.
 

Nearly 200 teenage girls in Windsor-Essex have once again  said 'yes to the dress'.

For a 4th straight year, those who are headed to their high school prom have had hundreds of donated dresses to choose from.

The event is sponsored by New Beginnings Children and Youth Services

As many as 500 people have helped to raise $40,000 for Gay-Straight Alliances at local high schools.

That's how many took part in the first-ever 'Run for Rocky' on the weekend.

Rocky Campana was an openly gay Windsor man who died last year at the age of 23.

His father, Rob Campana, says the run is meant to carry on his son's outlook on life: treat others as you would want to be treated.

The second annual run is already planned for next April 13th.

National Auto Radiator retirees are getting some help from their union.

After the Windsor company locked out employees last week, it announced it's cutting benefits to more than 200 retirees.

CAW Local 195 President Gerry Farnham says the union will step in and make sure benefits are covered, then take the company to court to recover all costs involved.

As AM800 News first reported last week, the company locked out employees Thursday morning after a breakdown in contract talks.

It's demanding major concessions including cuts to wages, benefits, pensions and vacation pay.

A busy stretch of road in Tecumseh is closed as of today and will stay that way for the next 6 weeks or so.

Phase 1 of the Manning Road reconstruction project means Manning is closed at Riverside Drive and Riverside is closed from Grace Road to Christy Lane.

Director of Public Works, Dan Piescic says the project includes reconstruction of a storm water pumping station and the installation of a roundabout.

The $12 million price tag is being split between the province and municipality.

Essex OPP are investigating a fatal single vehicle crash.

It happened around 6:30 last night on County Road 3, just west of Arner Townline.

Witnesses report a white Montana van struck a tree.

OPP, along with Essex Fire Service and EMS arrived on scene and found the single occupant of the vehicle deceased.

The road has since re opened, but the OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigators were called in and the road was closed for several hours overnight.

The name of the deceased will not been released until family has been notified.

Olde Sandwich Towne got a spring cleaning as members of the HMCS Hunter took part in the Windsor Clean Sweep initiative.

The more than 100 naval reserves hit the streets yesterday afternoon in the area around Mill Street filling dozens of bags with waste.

Navy Commodore, Dave Craig, says the clean up gives the community a chance to see the Navy at work.

The Windsor Port Authority and the New Beginnings Youth Outreach Program also took part in the event.

The HMCS Hunter is planning another clean up next week along the waterfront.

A local citizen believes the Anna Grayson House on Ouellette Ave needs to be saved.

Anna Grayson was a world-renowned violinist who ran a music school out of the home for more than 30 years.

Because the house is on the Heritage Registry, the owner has submitted a request for demolition to council to make room for a parking lot.

Long-time Windsor resident, Mary Hasam, says the home should be converted to a music museum and school.

City council has decided to defer its decision on the demolition while more information is gathered by administration. 

Police were called in after a lockout scene got a little out of hand.

Police were called to National Auto Radiator on Airport Road for a report of an on going dispute where workers were reportedly not allowing a van to enter the premises.

Police say an investigation revealed that the van attempting to enter, was carrying a manager and a electrician.

After talking with police, the driver of the van agreed to leave the scene.

17 workers at the plant are locked out., CAW Local 195 says the company was asking for wage cuts of nine dollars an hour.

Windsor Police are investigating after several shots were fired at a home early this morning.

Officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Langlois around 2:00.

When they got there, officers found several casings on the roadway in front of a home.

Staff Sgt. Cox tells AM800 News there was one male inside the home at the time, he was uninjured.

Sgt. Cox says it is too soon to tell if this was a targeted incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call Windsor Police or CrimeStoppers.

The acquisition of land on the American side for a new bridge between Windsor and Detroit can begin now that a Presidential Permit has been issued.

Construction should start in about two years and the one billion dollar span should be finished in 2020.

President of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce Matt Marchand tells AM800 News the Presidential Permit is a huge milestone and yesterday is a very important day for Windsor-Essex and Canada.

Marchand says the new bridge will create thousands of jobs and will get products to market faster.

The Canadian government is loaning the U.S. $550'000'000.00 so no Michigan taxpayer money is used for the bridge.

Canada will get its money back through bridge tolls.
 

Devonshire Mall is holding its 5th annual Ewaste Collection Event today.

Assistant Marketing Director Tina Asprakis says a wide range of items can be dropped off including televisions, computers, cameras, cell phones and video game consoles.

It will be located in the parking lot between Target and the Keg between 9am and 5pm.

For more information visit www.devonshiremall.com (triple w dot devonshire mall dot com)

Transit Windsor will be providing service for two major events in Detroit this summer.

Special events busses will go directly from the downtown Transit Windsor terminal to Belle Isle for the Grand Prix and the Orion Music Festibal.

Transit Windsor Operations Manager Pat Delmore says no cars are allowed on the island.

The acquisition of land on the American side for a new bridge between Windsor and Detroit can begin now that a Presidential Permit has been issued.

Construction should start in about 2 years and the one billion dollar span should be finished in 2020.

The Canadian government is loaning the U-S 550-million dollars so no Michigan taxpayer money is used for the bridge.

Canada will get its money back through bridge tolls.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held Friday for Lakeshore's new multi-use recreational facility.

Mayor Tom Bain says the goal is to have the rinks opened first.

The 57 million project will be located on Renaud Line and will feature 3 ice pads, a gym, an aquatic centre and a library.

The new arena should be complete in about 2 years.

Windsor West MP Brian Masse welcomes the news of the U-S federal government's approval to build the new international crossing between Windsor and Detroit.

The Department of State issued a Presidential Permit earlier today for the construction of the bridge.

Masse says the new span will add "meaningful and necessary border capacity" through our region.

He says the government must ensure Canada's investment develops into a signature infrastructure project yielding economic benefits for the host communities as well as the North American economy.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is looking into an incident involving both Windsor and Amherstburg police services.

SIU spokesperson Jaz Brar says Windsor Police were called for an intoxicated man on a bike in the 3900 block of Sandwich Street on Wednesday.

Brar says the officer arrived to find the complainant lying on the ground.  She says an Amherstburg police officer was also present.

The complainant was arrested for public intoxication.

Brar says it was later determined the man had suffered a fractured shoulder.

She adds the SIU was contacted by Windsor Police Service about the incident.

Police are looking for two suspects after a home invasion in West Windsor.

It happened around 5:30 Friday morning in the 3300 block of Sandwich Street.

Police say an 80-year-old woman was awakened by a noise and found a man standing in her apartment.

Police say the man threatened the woman and demanded her purse.

The victim got up and ran from her apartment and the suspects fled.

A navy blue Acer laptop and light brown guitar in a hard black case were stolen.

Police say the suspects got into the woman's apartment through a bedroom window.

The first suspect is white, 5'8" tall with a skinny build and was wearing a dark ski mask and a dark coat.

The second suspect is also white, about 40 years old and was wearing all dark clothing.

Anyone with information on the break and enter and robbery is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.

The local horseracing proposal is now formally in the premier's hands.

Windsor West MPP Teresa Piruzza was given the documents by the Essex County horseracing group to take to Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Piruzza says the request has been handed to all the impacted government ministers, including the minister of finance and minister of rural affairs.

She says the presentation of the request is just the initial stage and there' still a process that has to be followed to work with the transition panel and to work with racing commission.

The Lakeshore Horseracing Group is looking to have several dates for racing at Leamington this summer with a permanent track to be build eventually in Lakeshore.

The group is also hoping to gain access to the stranded funds that should have been purse money for Windsor Raceway, which was never distributed because of the track's closure.

Washington has formally approved the building of a new Bridge from Windsor to Detroit.

It's the last piece of the puzzle needed to start the process of finding a company to design, build and maintain the new crossing.

The Department of State issued a Presidential Permit today for the construction, connection, operation and maintenance of the bridge.

The department says, in a release, that after a thorough review of the application for the bridge, and taking into account public and inter-agency comments received on the matter, that the issuance of the permit would serve the national interest.

The State department says the permit contributes to ensuring that the border infrastructure supports increased competitiveness job creation and broad-based prosperity in the U.S. and Canada.

It goes to say that the bridge will help to meet future capacity requirements in a critical travel corridor, promote cross border trade and commerce and advance a vital bi-lateral relationship with Canada.

Ontario's Finance Minister is listening to input from across the province as he prepares his first ever budget.

Charles Sousa sat behind closed doors at Windsor's downtown Hilton Hotel as a series of people put their requests and contributions to him.

Among those in the room are representatives of sectors such as municipal government, education, business and labour.

Sousa says they're on track to eliminate the deficit, which has always been targeted to the 2017-18 fiscal year.

He says he wants the budget to be sensitive to people in tough economic circumstances and give them an incentive to get out of poverty.

After the Windsor sessions he's off to London to continue consultations.

A wanted sex offender from Wisconsin who was spotted in Chatham-Kent this week has been arrested in northern Ontario.

Chatham-Kent Police say 66-year-old Britton McKenzie was apprehended in Sudbury.

McKenzie is a wanted sex offender, who Wisconsin Department of Corrections officials say cut off his GPS locating bracelet on April 1st.

He is wanted for lewd and lascivious behaviour.

The Amherstburg Police Service has notified the province's Special Investigations Unit of an incident.

No other details are being released, but the police service says the S-I-U is conducting an investigation.

AM800 News has a call out to the S-I-U for comment.

There's been a structure collapse at the University of Windsor.

Part of the school's new Innovation Centre at California Avenue and Wyandotte Street West has come down. Several steel girders have fallen in on each other.

Foreman Roger Rainville believes the collapse was caused by the failure of anchor bolts but a formal investigation is underway.

The area has been cordoned off and no injuries are reported.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority has approved this year's budget.

It comes in at $7.6 million, an increase of $44,000 over last year.

A long list of projects is planned this year, including a new washroom at the Holiday Beach Conservation Area, upgrades to the John R. Park Homestead and improved accessibility to the Chrysler Greenway.

'Put down the phone and leave it alone'.

That's the slogan for a new campaign being launched by Provincial Police next week.

Officers will target distracted drivers, especially those who are talking or texting while behind the wheel.

Sergeant Dave Rektor  says, despite 16,000 distracted driving charges laid across Ontario last year, people still aren't getting the message that distracted driving kills.

The crackdown starts on Monday and runs through April 22nd.

It's now too late to submit a bid for naming rights at Windsor's new $78 million Aquatic Centre. The deadline was yesterday.

The city's Deputy Solicitor of Purchasing and Risk Management, Shelby Askin-Hager, says several bids have come in but she won't say exactly how many have been submitted or from where.

The bids will now be reviewed and a report submitted to city council.

The naming rights are for the overall facility, indoor water park, competitive pool area, fitness area and program rooms.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis confirms he will be in the southwest Detroit neighbourhood of Delray this afternoon for a major announcement by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

It's expected Snyder will announce that a long-awaited Presidential Permit has been granted for the new DRIC bridge linking Windsor's Brighton Beach and Detroit's Delray neighbourhood.

Today's announcement is at 2 o'clock.

The permit is the last major political hurdle for the multi-billion dollar bridge. Construction is expected to take up to 5 years.

A sexual assault suspect is being sought in Windsor.

The same man is believed to have been involved in 2 separate incidents Monday morning.

The first incident occurred on Felix Avenue where an 18 year old was grabbed by the shoulders and kissed.

The second incident occurred near College and Bridge Avenues where a 37 year old was grabbed by the shoulders and was nearly kissed.

The suspect is described as a white man, around 6-feet-tall with short brown hair, between 25 and 30 years old and wearing blue jeans and a royal blue winter jacket with a hood.

Anyone with information is asked to call Windsor Police or Crime Stoppers.

Five people have been arrested after a witness spotted illegal activity in a fenced auto storage compound in Ford City.

Windsor Police were called to the area of Henry Ford Centre Drive and Franklin Street shortly after 1-AM.

A witness spotted a break and enter and theft underway in the fenced yard.

Windsor Police say 5 people cut through a fence and were inside the compound of a business stripping parts from vehicles and tossing them over the fence.

Officers found the suspects in 2 parked vehicles nearby along with a number of auto parts.

Five males ages 18 to 22 face charges.

The investigation continues.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority is issuing a flood watch for the area.

Flood and Erosion Control Manager Tim Byrne says it covers their full region and is in effect until 9 tomorrow morning.

He says some parts of the southern region of Essex County have received more rain than the northern part.

Byrne says areas south of County Road 8 are the most impacted right now.

Byrne reminds people to stay away from fast moving waterways like streams and ditches...and especially keep an eye on children.

CAW local 195 is calling it shameful and beyond ridiculous.

The union represents workers at National Auto Radiator in Windsor who were locked out this morning.

The company informed the union yesterday that along with the lock-out, it was cutting benefits for more than 200 retirees.

Union President Gerry Farnham believes the company just wants to close the facility and get out of a closure agreement by locking out the workers.

 Farnham says this is shameful.

"It is not appropriate what they are doing, it is ridiculous, it goes beyond ridiculous. Could you imagine if we allowed for this to happen how many other employers would follow along on the same line," says Farnham.

 Farnham says the company was asking for wage cuts of about 9 dollars an hour. 

The 17 workers left at the plant tied work boots along the fence at the facility to signify the employees who are no longer working.

Windsor Police are looking for the female driver of a newer model black car following a hit and run that injured a 13-year-old girl.

The collision happened at 2:40 PM yesterday at the intersection of Bernard Road and Seminole Street.

Police says the young cyclist was going west on Seminole and was struck by a southbound car at Bernard.

The girl landed on the hood of the car and saw the driver looking at her before it took off.

The girl was taken to hospital complaining of back, knee and ankle pain.

The suspect car is a newer black vehicle with tinted windows, the driver is described as a black female in her mid-30's.

A new report from the Fraser Institute says the Green Energy Act is costing Ontarians 5.2-billion dollars each year.

The report is highly critical of the direction of the energy legislation and says many of the costs are locked in over the long term.

Fraser Institute Senior Fellow Dr. Ross McKitrick says the cost of electricity in Ontario is nearly the highest on the continent, where it used to be among the cheapest.

McKitrick says the act has made Ontario uncompetitive...and it won't be getting better because the Feed In Tariff contracts for alternative energy are locked in for 20 years.

McKitrick says the Auditor General asked if the number of jobs promised under the legislation would ever be created and the province told him the 50,000 promised jobs were mainly temporary construction positions.

McKitrick says most of the electricity generated by wind turbines comes when the grid is in surplus, so it's sold on the wholesale market for 4-cents per kilowatt hour when it costs 13 cents. That alone costs 200-million dollars a year.

McKitrick says the numbers used in his report are based on figures supplied by the Auditor General of Ontario and the electricity industry.

A wanted sex offender from Wisconsin appears to be in southwestern Ontario.

Chatham-Kent Police say the man showed up at a Chatham business Wednesday for an oil change.

He spoke to several employees, claiming to be a former football player.

Police say one of the employees got suspicious and checked into the man's background later at home.

In a news release, police say the man is a wanted sex offender from Wisconsin, and the state's department of corrections says he cut off his G-P-S locating bracelet on April 1st.

Police say he could be driving a red Jeep with "Pack 26" Wisconsin plates.

Britton McKenzie, 66, is described as white, 5'10" and 165 pounds with gray hair, blue eyes.  McKenzie's probation/parole warrant is for lewd and lascivious behaviour.

Police are asking you to call them if you spot the vehicle.

Another busy weekend is planned for this year's 'Art in the Park'.

It includes everything from a karaoke competition to a 'Kids Zone' as well as hundreds of vendors.

Event Chair Renee Pare says the headliner on Friday night is country singer Dallas Smith -- an effort to bring bigger names to the event.

The event at Willistead Park runs May 31st to June 2nd.

Advance tickets are on sale now and available at: www.artintheparkwindsor.com 

Launch Party tickets are 20-dollars in advance, 25-dollars at the door. General admission in advance is $4 and,  at the door, $5. Children 12 and under are free.

Workers at National Auto Radiator in Windsor have been locked out.

CAW Local 195 President, Jerry Farnham tells AM800 News, the lockout started overnight and that contract talks between the union and the employer remain at an impasse.

As AM800 News reported earlier this week, the employer is looking for heavy concessions, including cuts to wages, pensions, benefits and vacation pay.

The union has called a news conference for later this morning to provide more information.

Ontario consumers may soon have more protection against the high-pressure tactics of aggressive door-to-door salespeople, especially those pushing water heater rentals.

New legislation being prepared by the Liberals would double the current 10-day cooling off period to 20 days.

Companies would also be required to make scripted and recorded telephone calls to the customer disclosing key terms of the contract in clear, easy-to-understand language.

The government received more than 3200 complaints about water heater rentals last year.

 

The police service in Amherstburg is asking for help as it develops a new, three-year business plan.

Residents are being asked to fill out an online survey on everything from parking and traffic enforcement to the crime rate and policing in general.

The survey is available on the town's web site - www.amherstburg.ca - or at police headquarters on Sandwich Street South.

Windsor's Downtown Mission wants you to know it is not soliciting donations door to door.

Director of Development and Community Relations, Ron Dunn, says he's had calls recently about someone asking for cash on the Mission's behalf.

The person was wearing something that appeared to be a Mission badge but is acting without Mission authority.

Dunn says donations are always appreciated and can be made by calling the Mission or on-line at www.downtownmission.com.

There's been a shake-up at the Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre.

CEO Lynda Monik is out and a new CEO has been appointed on a temporary basis.

The Centre's Interim Board President, Dr. Rajeev Sinha, says Monik's departure is by mutual agreement. He says organizations need different leadership at different times and this is one of those times.

Monik's replacement is Dr. Glen Bartlett, the Executive Director of the Community Health Centre in Grand Bend.

The Windsor centre was rocked last year by a series of controversial firings and reports of disgruntled staff.

Two people are charged in connection with 5 purse snatchings in the city's east end over a couple of weeks.

The muggings happened in several parking lots between March 25th and April 5th.

A 16 year old was arrested at police headquarters Tuesday and is charged with 4 counts of robbery, theft, aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm.

A second suspect was also arrested Tuesday after a brief foot pursuit in the 1400 block of Pelissier.

18 year old Seti Rizok of Windsor is facing similar charges.

The MPP for Essex is happy the Auditor General is probing modernization plans at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

The investigation by the A-G could take 6 months and will look at whether there are any secret or special deals regarding casino payments to hosting municipalities.

Taras Natyshak has been pushing for the probe over the last few weeks because there hasn't been much information available about OLG deals.

Natyshak wants the investigation to include the costs of advertising the sale of casino licenses and whether any members of the OLG administration are in conflict of interest.

Windsor Airport is receiving 828-thousand dollars from the federal government for safety upgrades.

The funding was announced by Essex MP Jeff Watson Wednesday afternoon.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis says the upgrades to several pieces of equipment is important for the airport's economic success and the new runway monitoring system is state of the art.

The federal funds will go toward purchasing a new fire truck to serve larger aircraft, replacement of snow plow blades and new electronic monitoring equipment to make runways safer for pilots.

CTV Windsor is on the move.

Bellmedia has announced the TV station will move from its current location at Ouellette and University into the historic Bell building at 1149 Goyeau.

Speaking on the Afternoon News, CTV Windsor News Director Dan Appleby says talks were under way to try and stay in the city core, but it didn't work out.

The move will take place by the end of the year.

The change is a multi-million dollar investment by Bellmedia into the local t.v station.

Appleby says it will be a bigger location.

"We are kinda cramped and we could use more room.  This facility on Goyeau will provide some added abilities and we are excited about that," says Appleby.

Speaking on the Afternoon News, CTV Windsor News Director Dan Appleby says its unfortunate, the station is leaving the downtown.

CTV Windsor has been at Ouellette and University for 14 years.  

No positions will be affected.

Windsor Regional Hospital has decided to stop using all drugs from a supplier involved in a watered-down chemotheraphy drug.

The hospital stopped using the chemo drug immediately after being notified of a possible issue.

But the hospital has now stopped all purchases from the supplier "Marchese" and is either mixing in house or found another supplier.

290 patients were notified that they had received the diluted chemo medication since February of last year.

Yesterday. the hospital held its second patient-family town hall meeting.  The meeting is reported to have been very emotional as 50 to 60 people attended to have their questions answered.

Windsor West MPP Brian Masse says the lawsuit launched by the Ambassador Bridge to halt the process to build a new crossing is no surprise.

Masse says the rapid response from the bridge after a vote in the Michigan legislature speaks volumes.

Among the parties named in the lawsuit filed in Washington is Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder and Canadian Transport Minister Denis Lebel. Both signed an agreement last June to build the international crossing.

The bridge claims it has an exclusive and perpetual right to operate without competition from another bridge based on an agreement signed between Canada and the US in the 1920's.

Masse says Canada will stay at arms length, but will respect the legal process.

He says the bridge company is acting strictly to protect its own interests and is not respecting the wishes of the community.

Masse says Canada needs to stay above board and maintain a responsible principled approach to building a new border crossing.

Police have recovered a stolen minivan believed to have been used in a rash of break-ins at summer cottages in Colchester South.

A citizen in central Windsor saw the 2009 beige Dodge Caravan and then called police after seeing it in the media.

The OPP believe suspects stole the vehicle with licence plate "BOUDY" and then used it to help in the break-ins along County Road 50 over the weekend.

Police says several cottages were entered, items stolen and a lot of damage was done.

The investigation into the stolen van and break-ins continue.

Ridership is down at Transit Windsor but officials aren't overly concerned.

2200 fewer students took advantage of the $1 fare program during March Break compared to last year but General Manager Penny Williams says ridership may have been lower because students had already purchased tickets.

Overall ridership is down by about 82,000 or just over 5% over the same period a year ago.

The town of Tecumseh wants you to know it is not doing a telephone survey of residents.

Several councillors say they've heard from constituents about calls from someone giving the impression it's a municipal survey.

Mayor Gary MacNamara says it's not and he suspects the calls might be related to the upcoming by-election in Windsor-Tecumseh.

MacNamara says the town is planning to do a resident satisfaction survey but that won't take place until the fall.

Coco Paving gets the contract for the Notre Dame Street reconstruction project in Lakeshore.

Council has decided to go underground when it comes to hydro wires along First Street.

Instead of staying overhead, they'll be buried between Notre Dame Street and the Via Rail corridor for an additional cost of $680,000.

Mayor Tom Bain voted against it saying it's too much money just to make something look better.

The town has set aside $5.8 million for the entire Notre Dame Project.

Damage is estimated at $65,000 after an apartment fire in downtown Windsor. It started about 6 o'clock last night in a unit on the 21st floor of 920 Ouellette Avenue.

Careless cooking is listed as the cause. There was a pot left on the stove.

One person was sent to hospital with minor smoke inhalation.

A fire near downtown Windsor is under investigation.

The blaze broke out on the 21st floor of an apartment building at 920 Ouellette around 6-pm Tuesday.

Careless cooking gets the blame for the fire and it caused 65-thousand dollars in damage.

One person went to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The blaze was out quickly but it took a while to clear heavy smoke from the building.

Two people have been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries following a crash on Huron Church Road at Dorchester Tuesday afternoon.

Windsor Police officers say charges are pending after a vehicle flipped over.

Windsor City Council is hoping to save the "snow angel program".

The program matches seniors and people with disabilities with someone to shovel snow off their driveways and sidewalks.

Administration recommended cancelling the program because of a lack of volunteers and liability issues but city council deferred a decision to try and save the program.

Councillor Percy Hatfield agrees and says the program costs very little.

The program only gets one-third of the volunteers needed.

Hatfield hopes the Children's Safety Village can step in to keep the program going.

A rainfall warning has been issued for Windsor-Essex and Chatham Kent.

Environment Canada says a series of low pressure systems will bring periods of rain to the region beginning Tuesday evening and into Friday. 

The rain will be heavy at times with isolated thunderstorms.

50 to 80 millimetres of rain are expected by Friday night.

 An update to a story AM800 news told you yesterday about a rash of break and enters at cottages in Colchester South.

 The OPP believe the suspects stole a vehicle and used that vehicle to help commit the crimes along County Road 50 in Essex.

The break-ins happened early Saturday morning.

The vehicle is a beige 2009 Dodge Caravan with personalized Ontario licence plate "BOUDY".

The OPP are asking for the public's help to find the van.

The low levels in the Great Lakes and algae remain the top concernes for the International Joint Commission.

The IJC hosted a seminar at the University of Windsor to share information today.

Spokesperson John Nevin says there are ways to raise the levels in the upper lakes.

But Nevin says those would require an investment in the range of 200-million dollars and would also lower levels in Lakes St. Clair and Erie.

He says the algae problem in Lake Erie is under the microscope.

Nevin says high levels of phosphorous in the water are the cause and a study of the sources is coming out next monthy.

An electric bus manufacturing plant in California could mean good news for Windsor.

That's according to Steven Lukich,  the Eastern Director of Sales for BYD Canada

The Chinese company is setting up a U.S operation in Lancaster, California but it is also looking for a Canadian operation which Mayor Eddie Francis has been working to bring to Windsor.

Lukich says the California plant won't affect Windsor.

"It actually helps Windsor in the long run. We are establishing a manufacturing facility in the U.S for our continental U.S market and South American market and it has no impact on the Canadian or Windsor market whatsoever," says Lukich.

"We believe the Canadian market is a large market and the northwest market of the US. We will need to facilitate that, a facility in Canada would suffice," he says.

BYD is in the process of finalizing its Canadian Manufacturing Vehicle Safety Standards. 

Lukich hopes to have that before Transport Canada by the end of May.  

BYD needs that approval before a plant opens in Canada.

The Diocese of London is apologizing to the parishioners at St. Anne's Church in Tecumseh.

In 2011, the Diocese called the OPP after an audit found financial irregularities.

Father Robert Couture left the church in 2010 and as part of the diocese's regular financial policies, an audit was done of the parish's finances.

The auditors found a number of expenses charged to the parish and an unknown bank account in the parish's name.  As a result of that, an independent forensic audit was done by KPMG.

KPMG found about $170 000 missing.

49 year old Father Robert Couture is charged with theft over five-thousand dollars.

Diocese Spokesperson Mark Adkinson says the initial audit was done because of financial controls in the diocese.

 "What we do any time there is a change in leadership, a pastor normally serves a 6-year term when they go from one parish to the  next, we do a financial audit, the auditors went in and did that and they raised a number of questions," says Adkinson.

He says the initial audit found some irregularities.

"Some expenses that were charged to the parish that shouldn't have been charged to the parish, and a bank account that no one knew about, so what we did then, we went to KPMG and requested an independent forensic audit," says Adkinson.

"We are very sorry that this happened, they care so much about the parish, the building and the community and for something like this to happen, it is a breach of trust."

The parish has recovered the money through an insurance claim. 

Father Couture left the parish in 2010 and requested a leave of absence.

He will appear appear in court May 14th.

A 40 year old Lasalle man has been arrested for child porn.

After a month long investigation, members of the Windsor Police Service Internet Child Exploitation Unit and Lasalle Police executed a search warrant in the 1600 block of Hearthwood Place in Lasalle.

A number of computers and storage media were seized.

John Trajcevski has been charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Essex County OPP have wrapped up a lengthy investigation with a theft charge against a local priest.

Provincial police say Father Robert Couture of Windsor is charged with one count of theft over $5,000.

Officials at St. Anne's Parish in Tecumseh notified police in August 2011 regarding an internal theft that occurred between 2002 and 2010.

A financial audit of the parish's accounts showed more than $180,000 in irregularities.

The 49-year-old Couture will appear in court May 14th.

Still no decision on if China's BYD electric bus company will set up shop in Windsor.

An article in a California automotive publication recently printed that BYD would be setting up its U.S. operation in Lancaster, California.

There's still no word on when an announcement will take place for the company's Canadian operations.

Mayor Eddie Francis tells AM800 News he was recently in California, continuing to discuss a deal but still isn't sure when he will hear back.

Mayor Francis has been trying to negotiate a deal for over a year.

If it is determined BYD buses meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Standards, the city has already set aside 1.5 million dollars to purchase two of them.

Voting starts this week on a new tentative agreement reached between public high school teachers and the Ontario government.

Local members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation have now gone over details at an information meeting.

District 9 President Jeff Brosseau says reaction has been mixed. Many teachers are upset over the way they've been treated while others view the new deal as a way to make a bad agreement 'less bad'.

Details have not been released to the public. Voting starts on Friday and wraps up April 18th.

If you're in the market for some office space, there may be something available soon in downtown Windsor.

The Federal government has served notice it wants out of the Paul Martin Senior building at 185 Ouellette Avenue.

Mayor Eddie Francis isn't surprised. He says the building needs work but the city has no interest in buying it.

It's 11,000 square meters of office space but, so far, no asking price has been listed.

E-bike owners will have to find someplace other than multi-use trails in Windsor to ride their vehicles. By a vote of 6 to 4, they've been banned by city council.

Ward 6's Joanne Gignac says e-bikes pose a safety hazard to pedestrians and belong on the street with other motorized vehicles. 

Councillor Percy Hatfield disagrees with the ban. He says he wouldn't feel safe riding an e-bike on the street and wouldn't ask others to do it.

E-bike owners are not happy. Elizabeth Beaugrand says forcing them onto the street is dangerous.

The ban is expected to take effect by the end of the month.

A crash at Highway 3 and Cabana Monday caused major chaos on the roads.

A southbound car turned into a northbound tractor trailer around 4:10 and caused the big rig to jack-knife and strike 3 cars.

The driver of the turning vehicle suffered minor injuries and was taken to hopsital.

All roads are now open.

Charges are pending.

Two separate crashes in Essex County over the weekend have ended with drunk driving charges.

OPP officers were called about an erratic driver east of Kingsville Sunday morning and saw a speeding car and stopped it at County Road 20 and McCain Sideroad.

32-year-old Mladen Stojkovich of Kingsville was arrested and faces several charges including drunk driving.

Meantime,

A speeding car crashed into a tree Sunday morning at Mersea Road 19 and Fox Run Road in Leamington.

Two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries

The 16 year old driver faces several charges including impaired driving.

OPP officers in Essex are investigating a string of break and enters.

Provincial Police officers say several seasonal cottages along County Road 50 in Colchester were broken into early Saturday morning and a lot of property damage and several items were stolen.

Anyone with information should call police.

Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital has a new palliative care team.

It's made up of a physician, social worker, chaplain and nurse practitioner to help patients and their families deal with a life-threatening or life-altering illness.

Speaking on the Afternoon News Monday, Project Manager Kathy Quinlan says the key is to help patients and their families have the best quality of life possible regardless of the disease.

Quinlan says palliative care can apply to patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and end stage liver, kidney or heart diseases like stroke, M-S or cancer.

Essex MPP Taras Natyshak is calling attention to the dangers of privatizing casinos in Ontario.

Using Caesar's Windsor as a backdrop, New Democrat MPP Taras Natyshak is raising the alarm that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has not stopped it's work to open new, private casinos.

His motion calling for the OLG to stop its modernization was passed, but is not binding.

He says a new casino in Hamilton or Toronto would hurt the revenue stream in Windsor.

And he says the process is worrying because it's all taking place behind closed doors.

Natyshak says the provincial government seems to have washed its hands of oversight on the process.

He says if new Premier Kathleen Wynne wants to show her government is different than Dalton McGuinty's...this is the time.

A sexually transmitted infection is on the rise in Windsor Essex.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit reports a 9 per cent rise in chlamydia cases last year compared to 2011.

There were 956 cases in 2012, up from  877 cases in 2011.

Clinical Services Manager Judy Archer says there could be two factors in the rise.

She says some people may be getting tested more or people are being less careful.

Archer says the key  message in this is for people to get tested either through their family doctor or at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

 A 21 year old woman remains in the serious condition following a crash involving an alleged drunk driver.

Sunday morning (2:20am), Police were called to the 300 block of Church Street after a pick-up truck struck a parked car, left the roadway and hit a building.

A 33 year old male passenger suffered a cut to his forehead, a broken shoulder and possible concussion.  

A 21 year old woman seated in the back seat was found to have serious internal injuries and admitted to the ICU.

23 year old Joseph Recinos-Solorzano is charged with two counts of impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm, two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm, two counts of exceeded 80 milligrams of alcohol.

The Family Aquatic Complex Steering Committee is dipping into its contingency fund to pay for some upgrades.

It has agreed to spend $600 thousand to add some upgraded treatment to the inside walls where the 71 metre pool will be.

The money is part of a fund set aside as part of the overall $78 million budget.

Committtee Chair Drew Dilkens says it will improve the look inside the facility.

"The addition of some wall treatments inside the 71 metre pool area to enhance the experience, for TV, for people watching, attending or even in the pool.  It's a much nicer, cleaner, crisp look that reflects the quality and caliber of the facility we are building," says Dilkens.

There is still $250 thousand left in the contingency fund.

Dilkens says the project is on time and on budget.

The competitive pool will be open for the International Children's Games in August.

No progress is reported in contract talks between the CAW and National Auto Radiator in east Windsor.

The company is demanding major concessions, including a wage cut for current employees, a lower starting wage for new hires and cuts to pensions, benefits and vacation pay.

Union local 195 President, Jerry Farnham says the company is refusing to budge on its demands.

A deadline of midnight Thursday has been set to reach an agreement.

Record crowds are reported at the 31st annual Windsor Home and Garden Show on the weekend.

For the first time this year, it included the Boat and Power Sports Show and the RV and Recreation Show all under one roof.

Producer, Stuart Galloway says feedback has been extremely positive.

The show featured more than 300 exhibitors and attracted people from as far away as London and Ohio.

This year's Easter Seals Telethon in Windsor-Essex has topped last year's fundraising total by more than $10,000.

$213,000 has been raised and spokesperson David Lenz is thanking both donors and volunteers. More than 100 volunteers helped out, answering phones and collecting donations.

The money goes toward camp programs and the purchase of equipment for children with physical disabilities.

The on-going debate over e-bikes continues tonight at Windsor city council.

Administration is recommending the vehicles be banned from multi-use trails or that a speed limit be imposed to protect pedestrians.

Ward 7 councillor Percy Hatfield says the problem is that e-bikes are much heavier than bicycles and pose a safety risk.

The vehicles have been banned from multi-use trails in other Ontario communities including Sarnia, Kitchener, Toronto and Ottawa.

A 23 year old Windsor man is charged with impaired driving after an early  morning crash.

Around 3 o'clock, a pick up truck was northbound on Church Street from Park Street.

The driver lost control and hit a parked car, went through a fence and hit a building at 350 Church Street.

One male and one female passenger were transported to Hotel Dieu.

Windsor Police say the extent of their injuries is unknown.

Both vehicles were demolished in the crash.

The MPP for Essex is sharing in the County Warden's optimism about the future of horseracing in this area.

During his State of the County address on Friday, Warden Tom Bain said he hopes to have an announcement in two to three weeks on the horseracing industry back in this area.

MPP Taras Natyshak  says things are looking good.

Hesays the work has been done in this area to prove that the horseracing industry can be viable.

Pamela Malott  has been on leave since 2012 and believes her continued leave as CAO will hurt the town's progress.

She's been employed with the town in various roles since 1999 and is uncertain of her return.

Malott will remain an employee on leave of absence with Amherstburg.

Under her leadership, Amherstburg has attracted $50'000'000.00 in provincial and federal grants and completed two of the largest capital projects ever in the town.

The new arena was finished in 2011 and the urban renewal project was done in 2010.

The Windsor Spitfires have selected Ryan Moore of Troy, Michigan in the 2013 OHL Entry Draft.

The 5'8" 150  pound centreman plays for Belle Tire.

The Spits picked 35th overall in the second round.

Also going in the draft was Noah Bushnell of Maidstone and the Sun County Panthers.

From the OHL Entry Draft, THE Ottawa 67s picked first overall and chose Travis Konecny of Mt Brydges.

Erie chose second and went with Dylan Strome of Mississauga.

With the third pick. Peterborough slected Matthew Spencer of Oakville.

Windsor Doesn't select until the second round - 35th overall

The lawyer for the Windsor Public Library Board is disappointed with the latest turn of events regarding city councillor Al Maghnieh.

As AM800 News told you first on Friday morning, the Ward 10 councillor has filed for bankruptcy.

It cites total liabilities of $298'000.00 and total assets of $186'000.00.

Maghnieh had promised to pay back the library for its audit at about $20'000.00, but that hasn't happened.

Library Board lawyer George King says the bankruptcy is Maghnieh's personal business.

A year ago, Maghnieh admitted to misusing a Windsor Public Library corporate credit card by putting about $13'000.00 in personal and business expenses on the card which he did pay back.

Calls to Maghnieh have not been returned.

The investigation is over, for now at Plains-Midstream facility in west Windsor.

Windsor Fire says investigators will returned to the scene in a few weeks, once the underground equipment is removed.

At this time, there is no cause or damage estimate.

On Thursday, an explosion and a fire occurred at the plant in the 43 hundred block of Matchette Road.

It happened around 7:30am and no one was injured.

The Ontario Fire Marshal and the Technical Safety Standards Association were called in to investigate.

The first of a series of forums to address cancer patient concerns regarding diluted chemo drugs at Windsor Regional Hospital attracted 40 patients and family members.

Hospital officials say the meeting was emotional but patients left with most, if not all of their questions answered.

There will be at least five more meetings over the next two weeks.

20 of the 290 cancer patients at Windsor Regional have died.

Windsor Regional Hospital gave diluted chemotherapy drugs to some cancer patients since February of last year.

A grieving Forest Glade mother is asking for your help.

Katelyn Smith says someone broke into her vehicle overnight Friday in the 32-hundred block of Wildwood and stole some personal items including a Cannon Digital Camera.

She just wants the memory cards inside the camera and case back because they have pictures of her daughter who recently died.

The camera was in a blue Roots case.

She says she won't press any charges.

The Essex County Warden hopes to have a positive horse racing announcement from the province in the next 2 or 3 weers.

Tom Bain revealed the news at his annual "State of the County" address Friday.

Bain says says momentum is building and he's hopeful horse racing will return to Windsor-Essex soon.

Bain remains optimistic about our region's economic future because growth has been steady but adds there are no quick fixes and it's going to take some time for the region to get back on its feet.

The jobless rate in Windsor has slipped again.

It's at 9 percent in March ... down from 9.2 percent in February.

Former university of Windsor Business Professor Alphie Morgan says the economy isn't doing too bad but the number doesn't reflect those who have stopped looking for work.

London and Peterborough have higher unemployment rates than Windsor.

We won't find out how much Windsor's former auditor received in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit settlement.

Todd Langlois sued the city for 2.4 million dollars after being fired last year but both sides are keeping tight lipped about it.

Mayor Eddie Francis says there's a confidentiality clause but it's not at the city's request.

The lawsuit was settled last month.

Windsor city councillors are reacting with surprise and disappointment to news that fellow councillor Al Maghnieh has filed for bankruptcy.

As AM800 News reported first Friday morning, the Ward 10 councillor has listed total liabilities of just under $300,000 and assets of $186,000.

Ward 6 Councillor Jo-Anne Gignac says she's disappointed.  But, the member of the Windsor Public Library Board says there are outstanding issues to be settled with Maghnieh, including his promise to pay $20,000 for an audit.

Ward 7 Councillor Percy Hatfield says he was surprised to hear that Maghnieh had filed for bankruptcy.

"I feel bad for the guy.  He's had a bright future, and he has more than paid the price for what he has done," says Hatfield.

In April 2012, Maghnieh admitted to misusing a Windsor Public Library corporate credit card by putting about $13,000 in personal and business expenses on the card, which has since been paid back.

The president of the Ontario Hospital Association is applauding the four hospitals involved in the under-dosing chemotherapy drug controversy.

Pat Campbell says she's glad the hospitals have kept the focus on the patients.

During a media event Friday morning at Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, Campbell says she supports Premier Kathleen Wynne's move to launch a third party, independent investigation.

1,100 cancer patients at four hospitals, including 290 at Windsor Regional Hospital, were given diluted chemotherapy drugs dating back to February 2012.

Five youths have been arrested and charged with mischief in connection with a series of graffiti and tagging in Amherstburg.

As AM 800 News told you last month, police raised concerns about an increasing number of graffiti in the town.

Police say more arrests are possible.

A settlement has been reached between the City of Windsor and its former auditor.

Lawyer Michael Wills at McTague Law Firm says the two sides resolved Todd Langlois' $2.4-million dollar wrongful dismissal lawsuit in March through mediation and the legal action was discontinued yesterday.

Langlois launched his lawsuit last April after he was fired in January 2012.

Because of a confidentiality clause, Wills says he won't make any further comment.

Another drop in Windsor's unemployment rate.

It stood at 9.0 per cent last month, down from 9.2 percent in February.

Saint John New Brunswick, Peterborough and London all have higher jobless rates.

Statistics Canada says more than 54-thousand jobs disappeared from the Canadian economy last month.

The March unemployment rate climbed two-tenths of a point to 7.2 per cent.

The loonie has slipped eight-tenths of a cent to 97.9-8 cents U-S.

The surprisingly weak employment report takes back all of the gains of February and then some.

Union leaders representing Ontario's high school teachers have endorsed contract changes reached with the provincial government. 96% have voted in favour.

Teachers will vote over the next couple of weeks with results expected by April 18th.

The agreement makes changes to conditions imposed on teachers under Bill 115 but both sides say the overall cost of the contract is the same.

It's the Tiger's home-opener today at Comerica Park and that means a busy day at Transit Windsor.

Director of Operations, Pat Delmore, is encouraging fans to use the 'Special Events' bus to get to the park because the tunnel bus doesn't go to Comerica.

Last year, just under 900 fans used Transit Windsor and Delmore is expecting to top that this year. He reminds customers to have all documentation necessary to cross the border.

The first of several townhall-style information meetings takes place today for local cancer patients who received watered-down chemotherapy drugs.

Windsor Regional Hospital CEO, David Musyj, says it's a chance for patients and their families to ask questions.

He says the meetings have been kept small, about 15 patients at each, so greater attention can be paid to individual concerns.

As of yesterday afternoon, all of the patients affected had been contacted.

Windsor city councillor Al Maghnieh has filed for bankruptcy.

In documents obtained by AM800 News from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada,  the Ward 10 councillor lists total liabilities of just under $300,000 and total assets of $186,000.

It was a year ago that Maghnieh admitted to misusing a Windsor Public Library corporate credit card by racking up about $13,000 in personal and business expenses which have since been paid back.

Maghnieh also promised to repay the Windsor Public Library about $20,000 for the cost of an audit. According to Library Board Chair, Peter Friese, that amount has not been paid off.

As a result of the credit card abuse, Windsor City Council voted to suspend Maghnieh's pay for the maximum 90 days allowed and banned him from sitting on city committees, boards or agencies for the rest of his term.

Calls to Maghnieh by AM800 News have not been returned.

Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says the government is appointing an independent, 3rd party to investigate how watered down chemotherapy drugs were given to nearly 1 thousand patients in Ontario.

Matthews says she wants to make sure cancer patients have confidence in the healthcare system and wants to determine if it's a system issue or an isolated issue.

Cancer Care Ontario, the College of Pharmacists and Health Canada are also investigating the diluting of the cancer medications.

The CAW is outraged that Navistar is appealing a decision aimed at protecting the pension rights of more than 800 former employees.

Union president Ken Lewenza calls it 'shameful' that Navistar continues to fight its former workers and calls it inhumane to wait the full 30 days to announce the appeal.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario decision issued in March supported pensions for Navistar workers.

The plant in Chatham was shut-down nearly 4 years ago.

A huge boost for a local fundraising campaign to raise money for a Regional Men's Health Program.

The Windsor Essex County Cancer Centre Foundation President Norma Brockenshire (photo below) announced the campaign has received an anonymous $1 million donation.

That puts the campaign total at $3.2 million of its $4 million goal.

The program is aimed at helping men fight cancer including prostate cancer plus purchasing a da Vinci Surgical Machine .

1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with cancer.  

The money from the "Its In Your Jeans Campaign" will be used for the health centre, lab equipment and the daVinci Surgical machine.

About 70 per cent of the local 290 patients affected by a watered-down chemotherapy drug have been contacted by Windsor Regional Hospital.

Hospital CEO David Musyj (below in photo) says the hospital has left telephone messages with all of them, but has made direct contact with about two-thirds of them.

"A lot of them have agreed to say we are just going to wait for our next appointment with our oncologist instead of having a special appointment so that has worked out very nicely," says Musyj

He says the patients have been great about the situation.

"They have been beyond reasonable in response to this and it is amazing. They have as a group recognized that enormity of the situation in Windsor," he says

Four hospitals in Ontario including Windsor Regional Hospital gave a diluted chemotherapy drug to some cancer patients since February of last year.

An explosion and fire at the Plains-Midstream facility in west Windsor is being investigated.

A release of hydrocarbons such as propane and butane this morning around 7:30 was caused by a failure of a pipe in an underground storage cavern at the site off Matchette Road.

It was vented to a "burn pit" area where it was ignited, causing the explosion which was felt across the west part of the city, including at Fire Station 4 on College Avenue.

Windsor Chief Fire Prevention Officer Lee Tome says the burn off happened as it was supposed to and firefighters stood by as a precaution for a couple of hours.

The Ontario Fire Marshall will send an investigator and engineer to attend, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority is on the scene with a Windsor fire investigator.

The plant is shut down and there are no safety issues. 

Tome says the event was startling and spectacular, but not dangerous to area residents.

Happy 5th Anniversary  to Caesars Windsor and the Colosseum.

It has announced a summer line up to help celebrate.

The Casino became Caesars Windsor in 2008 and since then, there have been 300 acts at the Colosseum and on stage kicking off with Billy Joel.

Caesars Spokesperson Jhoan Baluyot says almost every weekend in June and July, there is an act on stage.

This summer, the Colosseum welcomes BB King, Peter Frampton performing with Robert Cray, Journey, BB King, Jeff Foxworthy and Alice Cooper. and Journey.

 Tickets for the June acts go on sale April 12th.  Tickets for the July acts go on sale April 20th.

Budget cutting is underway in Leamington.

Right now, residents are looking at a 2.8% tax increase for this year but Mayor John Paterson is hoping to trim that to less than 1%.

He admits that may mean service cuts but which services hasn't been decided.

Deliberations continue today with final budget approval expected before the end of the month.

Much of west Windsor has been rocked by an explosion and fire at the former BP plant on Matchette Road.

It's now owned by Plains-Midstream Canada and company officials say what thousands of people heard, saw and felt shortly after 7:30 this morning was a safety feature doing what it was designed to do - release a build-up of pressure from the piping system.

Witnesses report a loud explosion and rumbling followed by a massive fireball and plume of thick black smoke.

The explosion sparked calls to AM800 from across Windsor, LaSalle and as far away as Texas Road in Amherstburg.

(Photo courtesy of AM800 listener Erin King)

A Ruthven company gets the contract to build a new EMS Station in Tecumseh.

The $1.6 million project has been awarded to Marcovecchio Construction with completion expected by December.

EMS Chief Randy Mellow says it'll be nice to get out of their current, leased facility on Tecumseh Road.

The new location is 975 Lesperance Road, the site of the old Tecumseh Child Care Centre.

The cause of a house fire in LaSalle is under investigation.

Crews were called to the 1900 block of Lepain Crescent in Heritage Estates around 4:00 this morning.

They found flames shooting from the home and were on scene for several hours.

No injuries are reported, and there's no word on damage.

A pharmaceutical expert says the lower chemo drug doses administered to cancer patients at Windsor Regional Hospital are not likely to affect their cancer or their outcome.

290 local cancer patients received a lower dosage of the drug since February of last year.

Christine Donaldson is the Regional Director of Pharmacy and says the drug is vital but a 10 percent drop in dosage likely won't affect the outcome of the cancer.

The chemo drug is now being prepared in-house at Windsor Regional Hospital.

Work is underway to file a class action lawsuit against the drug company.

The Windsor Police Arson Squad is now investigating a house fire on Bridge Avenue early Sunday morning.

The fire broke out around 3-am in a house in the 500-block of Bridge and caused 150-thousand dollars damage.

The owner of the home was issued at 235 dollar ticket for failing to have a working smoke alarm on the lower level.

Windsor Police officers are interviewing witnesses but are calling on the public to help.

You can call the Windsor Police Arson Squad or Crimestoppers.

A couple of break-ins in Windsor this week have led to several charges.

A female resident on the ground floor of a building in the 16-hundred block of Ouellette Avenue reported that a man was trying to use a barbecue to break open her patio door late Tuesday night.

The 54 year old woman confronted the man and a fight broke out.

37 year old Billy Bergeron of Windsor is charged.

The other incident happened early Wednesday morning when officers attended a call in the 500 block of Janette Avenue after a woman reported a man entering her home.

Officers arrived and spotted a man leaving through the rear of the house.

A 17 year old is facing several charges after resisting arrest and trying to flee.

One of the cancer patients who received lower than intended doses of chemotherapy drugs is angry and frustrated with the health care system.

Gary called AM800's "The Lynn Martin Show" this morning to say he spoke with an official at Windsor Regional Hospital and learned he's one of the 290 cases.

He says he was given a brief explanation as to what happened...

"The bags were 3 to 13% replaced with saline instead of the drug we were supposed to take. The hospital says there are information meetings for patients, but I'm choosing to see my oncologist shortly," he says

He says he is angry with this chemo mix up and says it adds to his frustration with getting a cancer diagnosis.

"I first went to my family doctor in August, had a lump on my neck. He sent me to a specialist who ordered an ultrasound which took from August to January 2nd to get diagnosed almost five months"

 A total of 990 patients treated or being treated at four Ontario hospitals, including Windsor Regional Hospital, are affected.

The two medications in question were purchased by the hospitals from a supplier..and Cancer Care Ontario and the hospitals are working with the supplier to find the cause of the error.

When the problem was discovered in late March, the hospitals immediately removed the medications and informed the manufacturer of the error.

A class-action lawsuit is being prepared for patients affected by the chemotherapy drug mix-up.

Nearly 1200 patients across Ontario and in New Brunswick including 290 in Windsor were given a lower, diluted dosage dating back to January of last year.

The law firm Sutts-Strosberg has created a website for families to learn more about the possible lawsuit.

The drug supplier, Marchese Healthcare, is named as the defendant.

The chemotherapy drug was watered down by 3 to 20 per cent.

Lawyer Sharon Strosberg says a judge will decide in a few months whether this can proceed.

"The question will be, is this company, did they act appropriately?Were they negligent when they delivered the solution that was used in the treatment and the court will say yes or no, and if we're successful the court will ask what's it worth to each person?" says Strosberg.

Lawyer Sharon Strosberg says right now, the hospital isn't being blamed.

"We do not intend to sue the hospitals, just to deal with the supplier because the hospital was depending on the supplier." she says

The class action website is www.cancerdrugclassaction.com.

Windsor Regional Hospital is getting new beds.

The Local Health Integration Network and Windsor West MPP Teresa Piruzza have announced 60 new beds.

20 of them are for "short stay medical" at the Met Campus and will be in place by this summer.  There are also 30 inpatient beds and 10 rehabilitation beds at the Tayfour Campus.

Chief of Staff Dr. Gary Ing says the 20 new beds in the "Short Stay Medical" Unit should have an impact in future health care too.

"We are going to have an affiliation with the Windsor Family Health Team, So for those patients who don't have a doctor, we will make sure they have a family doctor before they leave the hospital," says Dr. Ing.

CEO of the Erie-St.Clair Local Health Integration Network Gary Switzer says the new beds will help realign local health care needs.

"We realize there are a lot of patients who are going into the acute care centre that only need a short term stay and it is blocking the system so we were able to come up with investments to come up with a strategy for these short term beds to come into the hospital for 24 to 72 hours, " says Switzer

Because of the new beds, previously announced layoffs of 34 nurses have been avoided.  In fact, the hospital will have to hire about 40 new nurses.

Windsor Regional Hospital is making progress in contacting affected patients who received a diluted chemotherapy drug.

As of 10:30 this morning, of the 290 local cancer patients 100 of them have been contacted and they have booked an appointment with their oncologist.

Hospital CEO David Musyj says it's important for these patients to meet with the oncologist to answer questions and go over their individual case.

Oncologists have extended their hours to meet with these patients.

17 local patients who were treated with the drug have died.

Musyj says the focus is on patients and getting them to meet with their oncologist.

"This is all hands on deck and stepping forward and our oncologists in addition to taking care of their existing patients, they have extended their hours and have booked extra clinics on the weekend," says Musyj.

The chemotherapy solution was manufactured outside of Windsor.

"We don't re-engineer the drugs we get," says Musyj. "We don't have the ability to re-engineering the exact dosage, that's the system and the system has to be trusted and that's not the Windsor system, that's a national system that an international system."

Patients are being asked to call 519-255-8698.

Musyj says for now, the chemotheraphy drug is being mixed in-house. 

A research scientists at the University of Windsor is getting a major grant from the Canadian Cancer Society.

Dr. Lisa Porter has received 185-thousand dollars in an Innovation Grant to further her research into brain cancer.

It was presented by the Canadian Cancer Society's Ontario CEO Martin Kabat

She says the research her lab is doing will isolate specific types of cancer cells to find ways to treat them.

She says they want to determine root causes of the different types of brain cancer using mice.

Dr. Porter says by understanding the origin of specific subsets of brain cancer more effectively, they will be able to target and treat them.

She says this grant will allow them to determine if they are on the right track and could lead to a larger grant in the future to develop more effective treatment.

One person has been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries from a 2-vehicle crash at Highway 3 at Malden Road.

The crash about mid-morning involved one pickup truck t-boning another in the intersection.

AIrbags deployed in both vehicles and there is severe damage.

The driver of the pickup truck southbound on Malden has been charged with failing to yield to traffic on a through highway.

The crash scene has been cleared.

The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board is hoping to look 15 years into the future.

Business Superintendent Mario Iatonna says a consultant has been hired to make long-term projections about enrollment.

The information will help the board put together a long-term vision when it comes to schools, students and employment levels.

The cost of the report is $35,000.

Pet owners in Essex will soon get some help to have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered. The town is adopting a pet voucher program for low-income families.

Two hundred and fifty vouchers worth $75 each will be made available to low-income families in Essex.

The Executive Director of the Windsor-Essex Humane Society, Melanie Coulter,  says the program started in Windsor 2 years ago and has seen a significant drop in the number of feral cats.

Damage is still being assessed after a fire at a Windsor church.

Windsor Fire and Rescue was called to Grace Baptist Church about 8:45 last night and found fire in the rear of the building. The flames were out a few minutes later and no one was hurt.

No word yet on the cause of the fire.

Leamington Provincial Police officers have arrested and charged a man in connection to a stolen taxi.

Officers were called to the 100 block of Elliott Street around 3-am last Wednesday and found a taxi driver who was assaulted by a person dodging a fare.

The victim had money and the cab stolen.

The driver was treated and released from hospital and the cab was found a short time later.

35-year-old Jimmy Elias of Leamington was arrested Monday and is charged with assault causing bodily harm, robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

Windsor Regional Hospital has sent letters to 290 cancer patients after learning that chemotherapy drugs were prepared incorrectly.

Patients treated since February of last year may have received a lower dosage than prescribed by their oncologist.

Windsor Regional President and CEO David Musyj says each patient will be impacted differently and an appointment will be made with an oncologist to assess individual cases.

Musyj says they have stopped using the drugs involved which were supplied by an outside company and are now doing preparation 'in house'.

Anyone who has received chemotherapy recently and thinks they could be impacted can call 519-255-8698 or visit the hospital's web site at www.wrh.on.ca.

Windsor Police continue to investigate a fatal crash on the Expressway that claimed the life of a Windsor man.

43 year old Stacy Laporte died after he lost control of the pickup truck he was driving at the Dougall off-ramp Friday night (March 29) around 8 o'clock.

The vehicle left the roadway and rolled over coming to rest on a grassy area near the roadway.

Laporte was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

Police are still investigating the cause and are asking any witnesses to give them a call.

Enwin Vice President Michael Duben has made his run for the provincial Liberal nomination in Windsor-Tecumseh official.

He spoke to a packed crowd of family -- including his wife Shelly -- supporters and media at the Downtown Windsor Business Accelerator to make the formal announcement.

Duben spoke about his support for local small business and his respect for the way it keeps the community together.

He also referred to his multicultural family background, saying he is the best person to take advantage of the Windsor area's high level of diversity.

And he pointed out his charitable work through Rotary to help people in Haiti and Africa.

Duben says there should be no issue with the fact he hasn't run for office before, because he has gained a lot of experience in politics while working for the city.

Duben says he won't take a leave from his Enwin job while contesting the party nomination, but would need to if he is selected as the Liberal candidate.

A man is facing eight charges including attempted murder after Toronto police made an arrest in the alleged kidnapping and beating of a 25-year-old man.

It's alleged that the suspect kidnapped the man and beat him repeatedly over a period of time before releasing him.

Police say the man sustained numerous serious injuries and required hospitalization.

A 28-year-old man wanted in connection with the case was arrested in Windsor on Saturday.

He is charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a prohibited weapon, robbery and break and enter.

The man's name cannot be published due to a publication ban ordered by the judge.

 

 No charges will be laid after a sexual assault investigation at the University of Windsor.

Windsor Police were contacted by Campus Police last month regarding an off-campus function on March 17th involving some Lancer football players.

Police conducted an investigation and have concluded no charges will be laid.

Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis thinks city council should wait a couple of weeks before making a decision on the closing ceremony for the Barn.

Council is being asked to consider a "closing event" for the 89 year old arena and the item is on Monday's city council agenda.

 But speaking on the Morning Drive, Mayor Francis says the city should make sure there aren't any other groups interested in using the ice.

This was the last ice season for the arena which ended this past weekend (March 31).

Francis says this may feel like deja vu.

"I am going to ask people to be patient to make sure it is a real good-bye.  Right now we are targeting removal of the ice and closure of Windsor Arena, last year that was the plan until the Windsor Lancers came forward," says Francis.

"This year there is no other group that has come forward that wants to use the ice that makes it cost feasible so before we plan the final send-off, let's wait a couple of weeks to make sure it is the right send off.

If Council decides to wait to do a closing event, there would be an additional cost of $41-hundred to put the ice back in.

The Windsor Arena was built in 1924 and was home to the Windsor Spitfires from 1975 to 2008.

Chrysler Canada has recorded its best March sales in 13 years.

The company reports more than 24,000 vehicles were sold last month -- a six per cent increase over March last year -- and the 40th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth.

Sales of the Windsor-built Town and Country minivan more than doubled from a year ago, setting a March sales record.

The Windsor-built Dodge Grand Caravan is fifth in Canada for sales.

A veteran Windsor Police constable will be sentenced next month after being found guilty of a Police Act charge.

Constable Mark Stock, a 27 year veteran, has been found guilty of discreditable conduct following a two-day hearing last month.

The hearing was told Constable Stock sent an email to his estranged wife that was thought to be intimidating and threatening.

Three weeks before the email, Stock had pleaded guilty to misusing police equipment by sending a fax to his ex-wife's lawyer on police letterhead.  For that, he was docked nine days pay. 

Stock then sent an email to his ex-wife that read.."thanks for costing me nine days pay. This will not be forgotten!!!"  It was that comment that Stock was found guilty of discreditable conduct.

Hearing officer Superintendent Michael Langlois ruled Stock was not getting the point and "this is troubling."

 Inspector Bob Labute says it was the right decision.

"These things are never easy when it deals with our officers and their personal life but our officers do realize that they are held to higher standards," says Labute.

Defence Lawyer Maria Carroccia says this was a minor incident and disagreed with the verdict.

"The ex-spouse indicated that she felt it was intimidating and bullying but not threatening," says Carroccia.

"An angry e-mail between spouses that is forwarded on to the one spouse's lawyer, I don't know how that brings discredit.   To me, it seems it will open up a hole can of worms."

Constable Stock testified he didn't intend for the e-mail to be threatening.

A sentencing hearing takes place May 14th.

An announcement of new beds at Windsor Regional Hospital is being made tomorrow.

The Erie-St. Clair Local Health Integration Network has called a news conference.

It's to announce 60 new patient beds coming to the hospital.

The announcement is to be made at the west end Tayfour Campus.

The Bronze Baby championship is coming back to Windsor.

Canadian Interuniversity Sports has announced the 2014 women's basketball championship will be held at the University of Windsor March 14 to 16.

Windsor is the defending national champion, having won the top prize for the past 3 years straight.

And Windsor is the only team to have claimed the Bronze Baby on home court since the inaugural tournament in 1972.

A man gunned down in a Toronto mall parking lot on the weekend was convicted of a home invasion in Windsor 8 years ago.

23 year old Michael Nguyen was shot and killed Saturday night. A second person was wounded.

Nguyen was 17 when he was involved in a home invasion on Alexis Road in Windsor in 2005. He served 2 and a half years behind bars before being released.

A second person involved in the home invasion was shot and killed in Toronto in November of last year.

Herb Gray Parkway officials will try again tonight to implement a traffic shift onto the new Highway 3.

Postponed after the original announcement last week, they say a series of lane closures will take place starting at 6 o'clock tonight between Howard Avenue and Huron Line.

The shift should be complete by about 6 o'clock tomorrow morning.

With the future of the annual fireworks display on the Detroit River in jeopardy, Windsor-Essex residents are once again being asked to help out.

The Downtown Windsor BIA is collecting donations to help Detroit pay for traffic control and security for the event which is slated to take place June 24th.

It costs Detroit an estimated $800,000 a year for security and traffic control.

Donations can be made at the Downtown BIA Office. BIA Chair Larry Horwitz says donations of any amount are appreciated.

Add a second name to the list of candidates seeking the Liberal nomination in the upcoming Windsor-Tecumseh provincial by-election .

Michael Duben, a married father of 2 and Vice-President at Enwin, will officially enter the race today.

He says running feels like a natural progression after serving on a number of local boards and with the Rotary Club.

Also seeking the Liberal Party nod is Remy Boulbol, the Executive Director of the Rose City Islamic Centre.

Extra curricular activities could soon resume at local public elementary schools.

The Superintendent of Education for the Greater Essex County District School Board says he's optimistic because he's heard from several principals before the weekend saying teachers are ready to get back to after school clubs and activities.

Paul Antaya believes progress is being made and it's not too late for extra curriculars.

Last week, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario lifted its ban on teachers participating in extra curricular activities.

Essex Town Councillors have some questions about Lakeshore Dog Pound's relationship with the Vet Tech program at St. Clair College.

However, the pound has rejected an invitation to explain at a council meeting.

Instead, the pound's Chair Dave Monk is calling for council representatives from Essex, Lakeshore, Tecumseh and Lasalle -- the communities it serves -- to attend one of their meetings.

Essex Councillor Sherry Bondy sits on the pound board and encourages her Essex Council colleagues to attend a meeting.

Bondy wants to know how many dogs the St. Clair College vets program euthanizes.

Windsor City Council will be looking at how to say good-bye to the Barn.

The Windsor Arena, built in 1924 is one of the oldest arenas of its type in North America and was home to the Windsor Spitfires from 1975 to 2008.

This was the last ice season for the arena which ended March 31.

If Council decides to wait to do a closing event, there would be an added cost of 41-hundred dollars to put the ice back in.

Ward 3 Councillor Fulvio Valentinis says the building has earned a closing celebration.

"There is a lot of history in that building and for those who grew up in Windsor and those over the age of 50, there are some long-term and fond memories and I think it is only fitting that we retire it in a proper fashion," says Valentinis.

The issue comes up at City Council next Monday (April 8th).

Plans to put a farmer's market in the Windsor Arena are on hold.

The Lakeshore Horseracing Committee is optimistic over an upcoming meeting between a local MPP and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Windsor-West MPP Teresa Piruzza will be meeting with the Premier this week and on the agenda is the future of horseracing in Windsor-Essex.

Committee Spokesperson Dr. Paul Branton says things are looking better every day.

"At the end of the day, the Liberal government is the one who holds the power and we have to negotiate with and the fact that we are getting the ear of the two most powerful people the Premier and Minister of Rural Affairs Jeff Leal is very good for us," he says

He says the Lakeshore Horseracing Group needs to know what options are on the table.

"In simple terms, what do we want. We need to know like all the different options and once we have those we can design our program and then we need them to fast track everything," says Dr. Branton

Ontario Minister of Rural Affairs Jeff Leal also stated in the Ontario Legislature that he was willing to work with local horsemen.

The Lakeshore Horseracing Group wants to have race dates in Leamington approved this summer.  In the long-term term, it wants a Lakeshore Raceway.

There is relief from the Greater Essex County District School Board now that a tentative deal has been reached with public high school teachers.

 Education Minister Liz Sandals says it resolves implementation concerns on issues such as sick leave, maternity leave, retirement gratuity, unpaid days and local bargaining.

Details of the agreement will be shared with members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation over the coming days.

 Local Public School Board Chair Helga Bailey is glad things are getting back to normal for the sake of the students.

 She says it was difficult being stuck in the middle of the dispute between the province and teacher's union.

"I'm extremely happy to hear the news that the provincial government and OSSTF have reached an agreement and I'm extremely delighted for our students, its a wonderful thing,"says Bailey.

The teachers stopped taking part in extra curricular activities for a while to protest a move by the province that imposed contracts.

Talks continue with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario.

The Windsor Police Service is entering into its final year of its Human Rights Project.

The project was launched in February 2011 to address policing and human rights issues.

 The goal was to identify and prevent any possible discrimination in the Windsor Police Service.

Windsor Police Inspector Rick Facciolo says so far the police service has done a census of its members, had community consultations and implemented telephone interpreters to help in police investigations.

Facciolo says the key is to keep the project going after it wraps up

"We will put in place directives, policies, procedures and programs to make sure this continues on.  This will continue for my lifetime and for the lifetime of the Windsor Police Service and we will continue to look at human rights and address that every year," says Facciolo.

The Windsor Human Rights Project is modeled after the Toronto project which began in May 2007.

Police in LaSalle are asking for your help to find a stolen trailer.

It was taken sometime between 9:30 last Monday night and about 7 Tuesday morning from a home under construction at 2895 Bridgeway Blvd.

It's a 12 foot trailer that police say was dragged across the property to a roadway where it was hooked to a vehicle and driven away.

It's a KARG brand trailer, License number C7552P.

Anyone with information is asked to call LaSalle Police or Crimestoppers.

Two Windsor high school students have a bright future ahead in scientific research.

Melanie Grondin and Shawn Liu, both grade 12 students at Massey, have taken first place at the Southwestern Region Bio-GENEius Competition in Hamilton for a project on expanding bone marrow stem cells for transplant.

Grondin and Liu now move on to the National competition in Ottawa April 8th and 9th.

Hotel Dieu Grace hospital is taking steps to improve the quality of care.

Teams have been set up to look at a number of areas including stroke treatment, kidney dialysis and hospital acquired infections.

The Vice-President of Clinical Programs, Janice Kaffer, says it's all part of a 'Quality Improvement Plan'.

Kaffer says the teams will come up with specific recommendations on how to improve patient care in their areas.

Damage is pegged at $150,000 after a house fire in the 500 block of Bridge Avenue early Sunday morning.

The cause is  listed by fire investigators as 'suspicious but undetermined'.

No one was hurt but the owner of the home has been issued a $235 fine for not having a smoke alarm in the lower level.