Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Greater Sudbury ranked 23rd best metro area in Canada to live
Greater Sudbury is the 23rd best metropolitan area in Canada to live, according to the latest rankings by Rentola.ca. Min-max normalization was used to index the data from a score of one to 10, with one the lowest/worst value and 10 the highest/best value. Of the 35 metropolitan areas ranked, Greater Sudbury’s overall ranking was 5.5. Greater Sudbury ranked the best at environment (7.88) and housing (6.87), followed by equality (6.71), labour (6.55), crime (5.77), income (3.93), health (3.69) and education. The city’s rankings based on these variables are as follows: housing (8), environmental (11), equality (24), income (13), education (30), crime (27), health (31), labour (16).
Sudbury man wins $1M Lotto 6/49 prize
Sudbury’s James Armstrong is a $1 million richer after winning a guaranteed Lotto 6/49 prize draw on July 27. “My favourite games are Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max,” said the 57-year-old father. “I’ve been playing the same numbers for 30 years.” He was on his way home from work when he stopped at a store to check his tickets. “I saw ‘Big Winner $1 million’. I never had something like that happen before – I scanned it again and again then brought it to the clerk and said, ‘I think I won a million dollars.’ I felt dizzy,” he said.
Then & Now: Idylwylde gets ready to celebrate its 100th birthday
Sudbury’s Idylwylde Golf & Country Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an all-day party Aug. 26. The modern history of the golf course, which was established in 1922 between the present site of Laurentian University and lakes Ramsey and Nepahwin, began with a fire. Shortly before 9 p.m. on July 8 ,1962, member John DeMarco was changing his clothes in the locker room of the clubhouse when he started to smell smoke. About the same time club manager Lew Spracklin saw fire and ran into the clubhouse. When he tried to call the fire department, he found the telephone wasn't working. Groundskeeper Frank Ladouceur then drove across the course in a tractor to the nearest home to phone in the alarm. Pro shop "boy" Steve Yawney helped Spracklin remove two television sets, some records, and golf shoes before heavy smoke caused them to vacate the building, contemporaneous reporting in the daily newspaper stated.
Health-care stability plan unveiled as pandemic impacts linger
As Ontario anticipates a rise in respiratory diseases — including variants of COVID-19 — in the next several months, the health minister released an updated "Plan to Stay Open" on Thursday. Health Minister and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones said the new plan will key in on "health system stability and recovery" with a promise to hire up to 6,000 additional health-care workers along with freeing up 2,500 more hospital beds. The plan would also temporarily cover the costs of examination, application and registration fees for retired and internationally trained nurses, said a news release from the health ministry. She said this includes giving Ontario nurses a $5,000 retention bonus along with the opening of new medical schools in Southern Ontario. Jones was speaking during an online news conference from the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. “When we released our first Plan to Stay Open in March 2022, we made a promise to build an Ontario that is ready for the challenges of tomorrow because we can no longer accept the status quo,” Jones told reporters.
City reaffirms front-lawn parking ban with new bylaw
As part of an ongoing effort to end the practice of people parking on front and side yards, city council unanimously approved a bylaw to that effect last week. “We’re hoping that it makes an impact,” Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann told Sudbury.com. “The policy will be very clear, so you can’t say you didn’t know.” The new bylaw (Bylaw 2022-133), known as the Unauthorized Area Parking Bylaw, prohibits people from parking, standing or stopping a motor vehicle in an unauthorized area, which includes front and side yards. Although the new bylaw pretty much echoes the existing zoning bylaws, it adds teeth when it comes to enforcement. So described city bylaw manager Stefany Mussen, who noted enforcement for the current zoning bylaw requires a summons to court to answer to charges, which can be a “long, drawn-out process.”
Health Sciences North unaffected so far by shortage of pain meds
As things stand currently, there are no concerns at the hospital in Sudbury over any shortages of pain relief drugs or specialized devices for relieving pain. This follows several reports from other parts of Ontario where concerns arose over shortages of pain-relieving medications. Both the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto reported steps are being taken to secure the supplies of liquid Tylenol and Advil for their patients. Also at this time, there is a concern about the availability of epidural catheters. This follows news of an Ontario Health memo sent out last week to hospital executives advising that roughly 14 per cent of hospitals have less than a week's supply of the devices. In Sudbury, neither concern has been a problem according to Health Sciences North communications manager Jason Turnbull. "From what I have heard with our teams, these aren’t issues of concern with HSN at the moment and our supplies remain stable," Turnbull said in an email response.
Humid day with risk of a thunderstorm
Expect a mix of sun and cloud today with a 40-per-cent chance of showers in the afternoon and the risk of a thunderstorm. Fog patches will dissipate over the morning. The wind will be out of the southwest at 20 km/h, gusting to 40 late in the morning. Today’s high is 27 with a humidex value of 32. Tonight, expect mainly cloudy skies with a 40-per-cent chance of showers early in the evening and, again, the risk of a thunderstorm. Southwest winds at 20n km/h will become light in the evening. The overnight low is 15.
