Scams In The City: How the North Bay Police Service Bust Fraudsters
In this week’s episode of Echo Essentials, host Chris Piekarski sits down with Detective Constable Zack Dagg and Constable Merv Shantz from the North Bay Police Service (NBPS) to dive deep into the frightening world of fraudsters and scammers. From door-to-door “contractors” and impersonation scams, to AI-generated voices pretending to be loved ones, their methods are evolving!
Alisha Audrey on Authenticity, Risk & the Power of Reinvention
In this episode, Alisha Audrey shares her journey from working in healthcare to becoming a full-time content creator. We talk about burnout, identity, and the moment she knew it was time for something new.
Alisha opens up about building a platform based on real connection, how she stays grounded in an online world, and why trusting her instincts led to her most fulfilling work yet.
Why Nature Still Yells at This Northern Ontario Artist
For more than 50 years, Clermont Duval has been painting the North. His work captures the spirit of the land, the wildlife, and the quiet moments most people miss. But for Clermont, nature isn’t quiet. It speaks to him. Sometimes it yells.
In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, Clermont shares stories from a life in art and in nature. He talks about his early years painting wolves and canoes, what it’s like to paint in complete silence, and why he still feels surprised every time someone connects with his work.
Tihana Draves on Winning Gold and Setting a New World Record in Powerlifting
Last week’s Sportscast featured a conversation with Tihana Draves who grew up in North Bay and recently participated and won gold at the 2025 IPF World University Powerlifting Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.
This is the last budget this term of council will debate, discuss, and pass before next fall’s municipal election.
Voters will return to the polls to vote for a mayor and 10 city councillors on Oct. 26, 2026.
Budget discussions will include approval of the water and wastewater operating budget, water and wastewater rates, user fees, general operating budget, capital budget for general, water and wastewater, with 10-Year forecast, and the municipal portion of service partner budgets...
Police seize $200K in cocaine after tip about impaired driver
Credit: BayToday.ca
A routine call about a suspected impaired driver led Ontario Provincial Police to uncover a major drug operation involving two kilograms of cocaine valued at $200,000.
West Parry Sound OPP arrested and charged a person with drug-related offences after a call from a concerned citizen...
Parry Sound parents, trustees left seeking answers over fumbled school construction
Credit: CTVNews.ca/northern-ontario/
A tense meeting of the Near North District School Board saw trustees pass a motion requesting an immediate provincial investigation into the board’s oversight of the severely delayed “Parry Sound build JK-12” school project. The virtual meeting, attended by more than 100 community members, was marked by the notable absence of the board’s director of education and senior staff, a point of significant contention for those in attendance...
Provincial funding to boost construction-related training programs
Credit: MyNorthBayNow.com
The province is looking to strengthen the pipeline of highly skilled construction workers needed to fulfill its plan to build more homes, highways, hospitals and critical infrastructure.
$75 million is being invested to train up to 7,800 additional students for in-demand jobs in construction and urban planning.
“Our government has bold plans to build the Ontario of tomorrow, and it is critical that we have the homegrown, highly skilled workers to get it done,” says Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security...
The Costs of Hospice Care, Advancing Outdoor Education, & the NDA Football Finals is Set! Echo Podcast Roundup Provincial Support and Fundraising with The Nipissing Serenity Hospice This week on Echo Essentials, Chris sits down with Bernadette Lindsay, Fund Development Coordinator at the Nipissing Serenity Hospice, to uncover the financial truths behind hospice care in Ontario. From eye-opening budget gaps to community fundraising efforts, Chris and Bernadette dive into what it really takes...
The Devastating Impact of Food Insecurity in 2025 Echo Podcast Roundup Checking in with The Gathering Place In this week’s episode of Echo Essentials, we go behind the scenes at The Gathering Place—North Bay’s frontline solution to food insecurity. Chris Piekarski visits The Gathering Place to sit down with Board Chair Peter Gregory and Operations Manager Alicia Smith to unpack the truth about who really uses the service, how they’ve slashed costs by 31%, and why sustainable monthly donations...
What's Next for the Trout Lake Watershed Development Study? Echo Podcast Roundup What Froze Development on Trout Lake for 40 Years? In this episode of Echo Essentials, Chris sits down with the City of North Bay’s Planning Manager Beverley Hillier to unpack the long-awaited Trout Lake Watershed policy review. Beverley reveals the reason why lot creation was frozen in the 90s, what 400+ new lots could mean for Trout Lake, and how phosphorus, septic systems, and shoreline buffers are now at the...
