Getting the Soccer Fields Ready for Upcoming Season

North Bay maintenance workers readying one of the many soccer fields throughout North Bay. This one is by the overpass and the ONR (Ontario Northland Railroad) car shops in the background.

Fixing the Lights @ Ferguson & Oak St

Fixing the lights at Ferguson & Oak St.

Laurentian Ski Hill (right in the middle of town)

The Laurentian Ski Hill is right in the middle of town. Although it is not a large ski hill (veritcal of 350 feet), it serves it the community quite well. They have night skiing as well as a terrain park for snowboarders. It is convenient since it is just down the road from Widdifield High School and it on the city bus route.

Garden Brothers Circus @ Memorial Gardens

The Garden Bros. Circus came to town yesterday for 2 shows at North Bay's Memorial Gardens. Prior to the show, patrons could ride on 1 of 2 elephants as well as have their picture taken with a Burmese python or if you were young enough, to go down the big inflatable slide!!

St-Vincent-de-Paul Roman Catholic Church

There is a large Francophone population in the North Bay area and quite a few beautiful Roman Catholic Churches. St. Vincent de Paul is a fine example. It is located at 1265 Wyld St. The church was completed in 1932.

It sits atop a hill and has a fantastic view of the city.

View from 2nd Floor of CPR Station

This picture was taken during Doors Open North Bay day on Saturday May 12, 2007.

It was taken from the 2nd floor of the old CPR train station. The station has been turned into Discovery North Bay (an interactive museum - great place for kids - young and old!!).

You are looking north east up Ferguson St from south of Oak Street.

North Bay Psych Hospital (Northeast Mental Health Centre)

Another Doors Open North Bay site (Saturday May 12, 2007).
The Northeast Mental Health Centre or North Bay Psychiatric Hospital as most people know it is located at 4700 Hwy 11 North.

It is a very large complex that was built in 1956 and opened in 1957. The picture shows the administration building. All the buildings on the campus are connected by a series of hallways/tunnels. When the facility was built it was quite modern in its approaches. There are no bars on any of the patients windows but rather very sturdy screens (similar in look to normal windows screens on your average home but obviously they are reinforced). The buildings will become obsolete once the new North Bay Regional Hospital is built.

At one time there were over 1100 patients at this facility in the 1960s. Today there is a little over 200 patients (on a long-term basis). When the new Regional Hospital is built there will only be 113 beds available. Where do the other patients go? Supposedly they will be transferred to Sudbury and Thunder Bay.

It's good that the patients are being rehabilitated into society (which should be the ultimate goal of any treatment facility) but there are some in the community who are questioning the speed at which certain patients are being transferred to either group homes or on their own into the community. Some patients are being put into situations where they are not ready for independent living and would be served better in a monitored situation. But with everything, sometimes medical decisions are not made solely upon medical reasons but rather financial. A balancing act that is not inherently wrong but should be acknowledged by the community. (i.e. if we are concerned that some patients should receive more treatment then we need to realize that it comes at a financial cost).