Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Heat warning issued in Greater Sudbury area as mercury soars
Expect hot, humid weather for the next few days, with Environment and Climate Change Canada issuing a heat warning within Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ service area beginning Thursday. The affected areas include Greater Sudbury and vicinity, West-Nipissing, French River, Markstay-Warren, St. Charles, and Espanola and vicinity. Greater Sudbury’s seven-day forecast peaks at 32 C on Friday, with daytime highs expected to drop to 24 C on Monday.
Faulty plug-in A/C unit likely cause of John Street fire
Two families were displaced today from a fire that caught in the second storey apartment of a rowhouse on John Street in Chelmsford on Wednesday afternoon. “Quick action by fire crews contained the attic fire to two units. Paramedics on standby. No civilian injuries,” the fire service tweeted around 2 p.m. Platoon Chief André Groulx said the cause of the fire seems to be a faulty plug-in air-conditioning unit, which caught fire. The family in the second-storey residence, a husband, wife and two children, got out safely. One neighbouring unit was also impacted by the fire and had to be evacuated as well, displacing a family of six. The families won’t be able to return to their residences. Groulx estimated the fire damage to be in the neighbourhood of $100,000.
Years in the works, six red light cameras slated for Greater Sudbury
Red light cameras will become a reality in Greater Sudbury sometime this fall, city councillors decided during Tuesday’s meeting. Six red light cameras are expected to be installed by Traffipax, LLC, which will enter a four-year initial contract with the city with two additional option years. “We have an epidemic of people running red lights in Sudbury,” Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan said during Tuesday’s meeting. “These (cameras) are going to be very beneficial in making our intersections safe.” The cameras will only issue tickets for running red lights and will not target speeders. Since there’s no way to determine who is driving, demerit points will not be issued. Fines will be $325, of which $265 goes to the city and $60 goes to the province for a victim surcharge fine.
Two Daily Keno tickets earn Sudbury’s Nicole Forget more than $100K
Nicole Forget of Sudbury knows how to pick ‘em. Her Daily Keno Pick on two separate tickets both resulted in $50,000 wins in the May 22 evening draw. Forget also won $2,000 her other Daily Keno, and $2 on her Encore selection on both tickets, bringing her total winnings to $104,004! The winning ticket was purchased at Pioneer Snack Express on Falconbridge Road in Sudbury.
Driver clocked going 174 km/h on Hwy. 69
A Sudbury driver is facing several charges after being clocked driving 174 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 69 in Sudbury. Ontario Provincial Police stopped the vehicle at approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday, at which time they discovered the driver was suspended from driving. The accused is charged with race a motor vehicle and driving while under suspension. The driver was issued a seven-day driver’s licence suspension and their vehicle was impounded for 14 days.
Sudbury entrepreneur John Maslack dies
John Maslack, a prominent Sudbury businessman and founder of Maslack Supply in Sudbury, died at his Long Lake home on Aug. 12. He was 95. Described in his obituary as a "successful, yet humble, businessman," Maslack started the company, an automotive and industrial supplier, in 1959 with three employees and a 500-square-foot facility on Barrydowne Road in Sudbury. It has since expanded to 200 employees and 13 locations across Ontario, including a 70,000-square-foot warehouse and training centre on Falconbridge Road in the Nickel City. Born in 1926, Maslack came to Canada during his childhood, settling with his family in Vermilion Bay in northwestern Ontario. He moved to Sudbury as young man where he met and married his wife Leona, who died in 2018. He was father to two children, grandfather to five and a great-grandfather to six.
Public Health Sudbury reports four new COVID-19 cases for Aug. 18, Ontario reports 485
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) has reported four new cases of COVID-19 in the local jurisdiction for Aug. 18. The health unit is also reporting there are now 26 active cases being monitored. Also, since the PHSD began tracking COVID-19 cases just over 17 months ago, there have been 2,231 total COVID-19 cases confirmed locally. PHSD also said 2,205 of those cases are now resolved. There are also now 1,031 cases that are "confirmed or presumed to be" positive for variants of concern. This shows no change in the past 24 hours. The details were outlined on the PHSD website. As for the possible location of new cases, four cases were reported to have occurred in Greater Sudbury. Public Health Ontario reported 485 new COVID cases in today's update (Aug. 18). Today's update noted 345 recoveries and three deaths. The deaths reported today include one person between 60 and 79 years old, and two people over 79 years old.
Today is going to be blistering
Today is going to be a blistering day, Greater Sudbury. Expect a high of 29 under cloudless skies, with the humidity making it feel more like 36. Fog patches will dissipate in the morning. Tonight, the mercury will drop to 18, so the heat will stick around. The sky will be clear, but expect some foggy patches overnight. Friday is shaping up to be even hotter, with an expected high of 32.
