Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are some stories to start your day.
Paramedic responses for suspected opioid incidents up by 51% in Sudbury
Newly released numbers from Public Health Sudbury and Districts show that the opioid overdose situation in the City of Greater Sudbury does not appear to be improving. So far this year, from January to July 2021, Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services has responded to 492 suspected opioid-related incidents. This is a significant increase compared to the 324 suspected opioid incidents the paramedics responded to in the same period last year. It is an increase of 51 per cent. The new figures that were released on August 4, 2021 also revealed that from January to July of this year, there were 310 visits to the emergency department at Health Sciences North for suspected accidental overdoses. For the same period last year, there were 302 visits to the HSN emergency department. Read our full story here.
Growing memorial at site of Timmins tragedy where 2 kids, man died
Teddy bears, children's toys and flowers are being dropped off near the scene of a crash that happened last week. Few details are known about the incident that happened Friday, Aug. 6 around 2:30 p.m. when a vehicle drove into Little Pearl Lake north of Algonquin Boulevard in Schumacher. An OPP dive team recovered three bodies the next day — a 42-year-old man, an 11-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl. All were from Timmins. Over the weekend, people started dropping off memorial items, some with messages written on them, near the scene of the crash. Timmins Police are expected to provide an update on the investigation later this week. See a photo of the memorial from our sister site TimminsToday.com here.
Man invades West End residence, stabs one occupant and injures another
Greater Sudbury Police are searching for a man accused in a violent home invasion in Greater Sudbury’s West End Sunday morning. Police say they were called out to the incident on Ontario Street at 7:45 a.m. Aug. 8. Officers arrived on scene and located a 34-year-old man who had sustained what is believed to be a serious stab wound. A second man, a 31-year-old man, was also located inside that residence with a minor injury as a result of the altercation. Both men were transported to hospital by City of Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services. Officers were told a lone man unlawfully entered the residence and assaulted the two men inside. The man fled the scene prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as being white with medium length brown hair. Police do not have any further descriptors at this time. Read more here.
Alleged drunk driver rammed three cruisers with RV in his flight from police
A 36-year-old man rammed multiple police cruisers with an RV while fleeing from police officers who had tried to stop the vehicle after they were told the man was driving after “consuming numerous alcoholic beverages.” Greater Sudbury Police said around 6 p.m. on Aug. 8, officers responded to a call of an impaired driver. The RV was last seen on MR 80 in Val Caron heading toward New Sudbury. Ten minutes later, officers found the RV and pulled it over. While speaking with the driver, officers smelled alcohol on his breath. They asked the driver to exit the vehicle. He refused, backed the RV into one of the police cruisers, then drove over the curb, almost hitting an officer, to flee. The officers pursued the vehicle due to the aggressive actions of the driver and out of concern for the public’s safety. They followed the RV and performed a “rolling block” in order to stop the vehicle. The driver again rammed two more police cruisers before continuing west on Morin Avenue. The driver eventually rammed into a concrete barrier and officers were able to block the vehicle. The man exited the RV and tried to flee from police, but officers caught him a short distance from the vehicle. Read our full story.
Canadian business community largely supportive of vaccine passport system
The Canadian business community appears to be largely supportive of the Quebec government's move to impose the country's first vaccine passport system. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says vaccine passports or digital vaccination certificates would help to prevent future waves of the pandemic from forcing a resurgence of financially disastrous lockdowns by enabling those with low risk to participate in events, move freely and go about their daily lives. "Absent that, what you have is people being held hostage," chamber president Perrin Beatty said in an interview before the province announced the new system to curb the spread of COVID-19. He noted that 80 per cent of Canadians over the age of 12 have already demonstrated their willingness to get vaccinated, but that's too low to achieve herd immunity. Head to Sudbury.com to read more on this story.
Let's Eat! Traditional Japanese bento boxes now available in Sudbury
Ask Takako Boyle how her mother in Tokyo feels about the recent launch of her home bento box business and she’ll tell you that she is over the moon. For two months now, Boyle has been preparing tasty, handcrafted bento boxes in her home-based professional kitchen space. She uses recipes that her mother taught her. They include her love of pickling and simmering foods for each box made. Takako arrived from Japan in 2011, eager to learn English. She met her husband and has settled in the South End with her three small children. After cooking traditional Japanese food for her family and friends, she decided to take it a step further with a professional space that required Public Health Sudbury approval. Read more here.
Tuesday weather:
Tuesday will be cloudy with a 70 per cent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm. Temperature steady near 21 C. Humidex 30 C. UV index 5 or moderate. Tuesday night there will be showers with a low of 18 C.