Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to get you started this Tuesday.
‘We’re losing a whole generation’: Families mark International Overdose Awareness Day
It was on Sept. 8, 2020 — nearly one year ago now — that 22-year-old Myles Keaney passed away from an accidental drug overdose in front of the fire station in downtown Sudbury. His mother, Denise Sandul, erected a white memorial cross for Keaney in the place where he died. She began inviting others who had experienced similar losses to put up memorial crosses in the same location. As the number of crosses multiplied, the memorial was moved with city permission to a prominent municipally owned site in front of Sudbury Theatre Centre, at the busy Brady-Paris intersection. There are now a total of 209 crosses included in the memorial — known as Crosses for Change — each representing someone’s loved one who has passed away as a result of their struggles with addictions. Many of those bereaved families and friends gathered at the Crosses for Change site Sunday in advance of International Overdose Awareness Day, which is Aug. 31. Sandul said it was the first time she’s been able to hold an event at the site due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Read more here.
Researchers looking to develop a smartphone app to help find missing persons with dementia
Just as we have the Amber Alert system for missing or abducted children, a new smartphone application (app) is being developed at the University of Waterloo to help locate missing people with dementia. The new alert is called Community ASAP. Noelannah Neubauer, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences, is leading the research team. She said Community ASAP can be regarded as a key tool for providing an alert for older adults or persons with dementia who are discovered to be missing. "We have Amber Alerts for missing children, but nothing for this population other than police and civilians circulating information via social media such as Twitter and Facebook,” said Neubauer, who is the lead author of a peer-reviewed study that tested the efficacy and useability of Community ASAP, in the study. "The number of missing person incidents involving persons living with dementia has been on the rise in recent years. The consequences associated with missing persons with dementia include injuries, exposure to extreme temperatures, dehydration and death. If not found within 24 hours, up to half of individuals who get lost succumb to serious injury or death," said the study. This also highlighted the reasoning that response time is critical, with family members, friends, neighbours and even shop owners can join in the search effort. Learn more here.
Sudbury health unit calling for local workplaces to establish vaccination policies for employees
Public Health Sudbury and Districts is recommending that all local employers put a vaccination policy in place. The new initiative was outlined in a news release Monday morning and includes a recommendation that employees provide proof of vaccinations. "As Ontario and the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts enter the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is dominated by the more transmissible and dangerous Delta variant, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Medical Officer of Health with Public Health Sudbury & Districts, is strongly recommending that employers put vaccination policies in place to protect their employees and the public from COVID-19," said the release. In support of the new plan, PHSD has published an online Workplace Toolkit for local employers who wish to step up the level of employee protection. PHSD said employers can choose "to strengthen their COVID-19 workplace protection.” The toolkit document reminds employers that they're required by law to keep workplaces safe. Read the full story here.
Police issue warning: 'Don't touch election signs'
OPP say officers are responding to the theft and vandalizing of election signs across the province. "The OPP would like to remind the public that removing election signs without permission is a criminal offence and those responsible may be charged," reads a news release. Any act of mischief committed in relation to election signs is a criminal offence and the Canada Elections Act also prohibits people from interfering with the transmission of election advertising messages without proper authority. If signs are posted on private property, vandalizing them can also carry trespassing charges. Vandalism is a mischief charge, while stealing signs brings a charge of theft under $5,000. The penalty could be anywhere from 30 days of jail to community service hours if you are convicted.
Scotiabank building new branch in Chelmsford, closing 3 existing area branches
Residents of Chelmsford may be wondering what is being built in the parking lot at the intersection of Highway 144 and Municipal Road 15. There are no signs around the construction site, located near the Jiffy Lube in the parking lot, leaving many wondering exactly what is destined for that spot. Scotiabank is building a new branch there, the bank told Sudbury.com. Scotiabank is closing its current branches in Azilda, Chelmsford and Dowling, and moving into the new location in Chelmsford, with a targeted opening date in 2022. Learn more here.
Let’s Eat: Share some charcuterie with pals at La Fromagerie
If you really want to share in style, La Fromagerie will bring that to a whole other level à la charcuterie. Wine, spirits, imported and local cheeses along with tapenade and spreads, flatbreads and other appetizers can all be split down the middle. It’s that kind of sharing that owner Val Fremlin envisioned when she and friend Kelsey Cutinello took over the restaurant in 2017. The two worked at The Tap House and decided to try their hand at ownership, re-opening La Fromagerie with a name tweak. A Bohemian upscale style was added, along with hanging plants wrapped in macrame, a resituated and beautified bar and expanded patio with an ever changing and expanding menu. Fremlin and Cutinello hope this third ownership change to the downtown restaurant on Elgin Street is a charm. And they certainly are putting many more ideas to the test. Read the full story here.
Tuesday weather:
Tuesday will be mainly sunny, with a high of 21 C. UV index 6 or high. Tuesday night will be clear with a low of 9 C.
