Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Tuesday morning.
Sheguiandah shooting is now a murder
An arrest warrant for second-degree murder has been issued for a 20-year-old Sheguiandah First Nation man following a June 24 shooting that left a man dead. The shooting occurred Friday night just before midnight. At the time, the victim was still alive, while the suspect remained at large. The suspect remains at large, but the Manitoulin OPP detachment issued a news release today (June 27) that the victim died in hospital. The victim has been identified as 32-year-old Cheyenne Malcom Roy of Sheguiandah First Nation. Police continue to try to locate the man they allege is responsible for the shooting, a 20-year-old Hamilton man.** He is described as standing between 5-8 and 5-10 with a slim build, dark complexion and long dreadlocked hair. “Investigators believe this was a targeted incident and there is no public safety risk,” OPP said in a news release.
Nairn Centre resident dies in Sunday Hwy. 17 crash
A collision in between Sudbury and Espanola that closed Highway 17 for much of Sunday was fatal, the OPP has announced. The two-vehicle collision occurred at around 1 p.m. June 26 at Sand Bay Road. A preliminary investigation revealed that two vehicles collided. One of the drivers was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition, and later succumbed to those injuries. The driver has been identified 66-year-old Fern Belanger of Nairn Centre. The passenger of the vehicle was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the other vehicle sustained minor injuries.
Wiikwemkoong man drowns at Chutes
The first weekend of the summer season turned tragic at Chutes Provincial Park this past weekend. A 35-year-old man from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island was swimming with friends at the popular swimming area on the Aux Sables River near Massey on June 25 when he failed to surface, the OPP reported this morning. Emergency services were dispatched shortly after 4:30 p.m. and an extensive search involving the OPP’s North East Region Canine Unit, OPP Aviation Services and North Shore Search and Rescue, as well as Manitoulin-Sudbury Paramedic Services, was dispatched. Eventually, the OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit attended the scene and located the man, who was identified as Corey Assiniwe, 35, of Wiikwemkoong. The Office of Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (OCC-OCFPS) is assisting and a post-mortem examination will take place in Sudbury.
Laurentian senators ask why profs who quit aren’t being replaced
Laurentian University’s president was questioned during the June 21 senate meeting as to why the university has failed to take action to replace tenure or tenure-track faculty members who have left LU over the past year. In April 2021, 116 full-time faculty positions were cut at Laurentian as part of its insolvency restructuring after its Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) filing, along with 41 unionized staff and 37 non-union jobs, for a total of 194 full-time jobs lost. However, the senate members were not referring to faculty members who lost their jobs as a result of the April 2021 cuts. They wanted to know why Laurentian has not replaced professors who have left the university since these cuts. Laurentian University Faculty Association president Fabrice Colin told those at the meeting that “post-termination,” Laurentian has lost an additional 20 faculty members. The union has filed a grievance about the university failing to replace these professors.
City’s homelessness efforts ‘a great success story’
The City of Greater Sudbury’s community services committee is pleased with city staff's handling of the homelessness crisis in Sudbury over the past year. At a June 20 meeting, the committee not only praised the work of city staff, but voted to continue funding for the service providers that supported the city with shelter beds and housing support. The committee meeting featured a progress report regarding service enhancements for persons experiencing homelessness and a presentation of that report by Tyler Campbell, director of children and social services. Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland called the additional shelter beds recently created a success story and commended staff for their work. “The team has been able to expand shelter services and create more low-barrier spaces – after many years of under utilization of existing high-barrier shelters – and so I think this is a really great success story,” said McCausland. “And amongst all the other things that are outlined in this report, it really has been a transformative change over the last year and kudos to everyone on the team,” he said.
NLFB @ 50: A truly northern festival that defies definition
The Northern Lights Festival Boréal is turning 50. For half a century, a dedicated group of volunteers and small staff have put together a big summer festival and events through the year that continue to give a glimpse of the possibilities of our cultural community. I have been privileged to work for the festival for many of those years as a volunteer, including 17 years as the artistic director. The festival was an ambitious collective dream of a few dedicated people who said, “We need music in our community. We need a gathering of artistic expression that will represent the cultural fabric of the Near North. We need to challenge our community to grow a mighty tree of music and art, paintings and poetry, traditions and futures.” When you grow a mighty tree, you care for the roots in addition to caring for the top to encourage healthy growth.
Read the full story by former NLFB artistic director Paul Loewenberg here.
Sunny day, showers this evening
It’s going to be a mainly sunny day, but showers are expected to drop 10 to 15 mm of rain this evening. Expected a high of 23 day with increasing cloudiness late in the afternoon. The wind will be out of the southwest at 40 km/h, gusting to 60 in the morning. The UV index today is seven, or high. Tonight, the skies will be cloudy with showers beginning in the evening. There is a risk of a thunderstorm as well. Between 10 and 15 mm of rain is expected. The wind will remain from the southwest at 40 km/h, with some 60 km/h gusting, before lightening to 20 in the evening before becoming light after midnight. The overnight low is 14.
