Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here's some stories to start your day.
Two students, school bus driver injured in Hwy. 69 collision
Two students and a school bus driver were injured in a collision on Highway 69 in Sudbury early Monday morning. On January 20, shortly before 8:30 a.m., members from the Nipissing West (Sudbury) Detachment of the OPP, Fire Services and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded to a collision between a school bus and a commercial motor vehicle in the north bound lane of Highway 69, Sudbury. The collision occurred on the Richard Lake hill in the southern end of the city. The driver and 12 students were on the bus at the time of the collision. Eight people were transported to the local hospital by EMS — five students as a precaution, two students received serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, while the bus driver received serious life-threatening injuries. There were no reported injuries to the other students or the driver of the CMV.
Samaritan law challenge could mean more deaths, say advocates
A recent Supreme Court challenge could mean fewer people seeking help when a friend or community member is having a drug overdose. This in turn could mean a significant increase in deaths in places like Sudbury, which continues to have one of the highest rates of death from overdose in the province. A challenge to the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, R. v. Wilson is calling into question the protections offered under the law, enacted in 2017 as part of the federal government’s approach to substance use. The law provides immunity from prosecution for drug possession and some other offences for people at the scene of a drug-related medical emergency. It is intended to encourage people to stay at the scene of a drug-related medical emergency, provide first aid, and ultimately, save lives and prevent injuries.
HSN had so many patients on Friday, it stopped some regional transfers
Northern Ontario's largest hospital, Health Sciences North (HSN), had to say no to any patient transfers coming in from the wider regional area of Northeastern Ontario this past Friday, Jan. 17. "Last Friday afternoon, our occupancy levels across the hospital were extremely high, more than 121 per cent,” said HSN spokesperson Jason Turnbull. “Our Critical Care teams were caring for 23 patients on ventilators and had zero capacity for more patients.” He said HSN is the regional referral centre for Northeastern Ontario, with 23 other hospitals across the North that rely on HSN for specialized patient care such as critical and traumatic care. But Friday was unusual with the Emergency Department reporting high numbers of patients, with more than 30 admitted to the ED waiting to be admitted for additional care in other parts of the hospital.
Video: If there was a ski loppet for falling, Sudbury.com’s editor would win
Given that it’s the peak of the winter sports season, we decided to send our cold and winter-hating editor, Mark Gentili, out on the ski trails at Walden Cross-Country. Not only did we put him on skis for the first time since he was a kid, we set him up with a lesson in skate-skiing, a more advanced technique of cross-country skiing. Given that he fell a couple dozen times (this is not an exaggeration), as you’ll see in our hilarious video, we’d definitely recommend that people who want to learn cross-country skiing start with the easier-to-master classic technique. If there was a ski loppet for falling, Gentili would definitely win. Walden Cross-Country has given Sudbury.com some day passes. If you’d like to claim a pair, email us at [email protected]. They will be allocated on a first-come basis.
Let’s eat! Turn your wild game into sausage this week
Mama G is in the house at Season’s Pharmacy and Culinaria later this week teaching the fine art of casing wild meat sausages. Gaetanne Larocque, or Mama G as she is known on East Link Community television and at Season’s Pharmacy, is a chef by trade with an extensive background in both Sudbury and previously in the Ottawa region. These days, Larocque likes to share her talents and trade secrets in the best way possible, with her hands and local grub. “No one gets paper literature in my workshops. It’s all hands on deck,” she said. Customers who sign up for the wild game casing sausage workshop can come with deer, bear, beaver or moose meat, and hopefully a grinder, to learn the proper technique this Wednesday, Jan. 22.
YES Theatre offering PA Day Theatre Camps
Exploration and fun are the key words for YES Theatre’s PA Day Theatre Camps for youth ages eight to 12 years old. Four full-day Theatre Camps will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates: Friday, Jan. 31; Friday, March 7; Monday, March 31 and Friday, June 6. The program includes collaborative activities and games designed to build imagination, confidence and creative expression. Students will enjoy learning drama fundamentals such as role-playing, tableaux and stage blocking. Character work and story-telling activities building on the theme of Relationships and Respect will challenge students to think critically and creatively.