Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are some stories to start your day.
Sew Local creates sewing kits for Sudbury’s vulnerable population
A family-run business owned by April and Marja Lafreimallman, and operated with help from their children, Sew Local Stitch Lounge is both a fabric store and teaching studio. Based in Copper Cliff, the shop is a safe and friendly space for folks to come together to learn new skills and celebrate creativity. Now they are also supporting Sudbury’s vulnerable populations by offering them a small and incredibly handy donation: a sewing kit. The owners told Sudbury.com via an email interview they were approached by a community member who had recently asked several new friends among the homeless community what they needed to make their life easier. “And very often,” said the owners, “the answer they received was ‘sewing kits so I can mend my clothing.’ They asked us if we could help out, and of course we wanted to. We asked our sewing community to go through their stash of sewing supplies and help us create 100 sewing kits.” Everyone came through. The Sew Local Stitch Lounge team originally came up with a list of what they thought would be most helpful, and asked for hand-sewing needles, good quality thread, safety pins, needle threaders, stick-on waterproof patches, buttons, small scissors, snaps, and small plastic containers to hold them all. Read the full story here.
School pandemic protocols unchanged from June, says RDSB
As the fourth school year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic begins next week, the Rainbow District School Board says parents and students should expect school to be pretty much the way it was this past June, in terms of health and safety protocols.“The (Ministry of Education) confirmed that on the advice of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, for the 2022-23 school year, most health and safety requirements remain unchanged from previous direction provided to school board partners at the end of last school year,” said Bruce Bourget, director of education at the Rainbow District School Board. During the Aug. 30 regular Rainbow board meeting, Bourget gave trustees an update on the upcoming school year, which begins Sept. 6. “This means at the start of the year, there will be no mandatory masking, no mandatory cohorting, distancing, or confirmation of screening,” Bourget said. “However, before leaving home, we do encourage students to screen for COVID-19 daily using the COVID-19 screening tool.” Read the full story on Sudbury.com's home page.
One-Stop Services centre under budget, cuts costs by 250K
A few months into the One-Stop Services centre opening up shop at the main floor of Tom Davies Square, city officials are already considering it a fiscal and operational boon. At a cost of just under $1 million, the federal government put forward $580,000 and the province pledged $150,000, bringing the city well below the $789,000 city council approved in its budget. The One-Stop Services centre is also anticipated to save the city approximately $250,000 in operational expenses, which city council redirected during 2022 budget deliberations toward a transitional housing complex on Lorraine Street. The centre consists of a curved desk at the south side of the main floor of Tom Davies Square, where customer service representatives are lined up at a series of desks to help people navigate municipal bureaucracy. It’s “so people don’t have to wander through the building to get the different transactions they need completed,” city CAO Ed Archer told Sudbury.com prior to a recent tour of the facility courtesy of 311 customer service co-ordinator Cora Babij. Learn more here.
Swimming advisory issued for Northern Water Sports Centre
A swimming advisory has been issued for the Northern Water Sports Centre on Ramsey Lake. As a result of routine water samples exceeding the acceptable bacteriological water quality standards, Public Health Sudbury & Districts has posted swimming advisory signs to inform the public that the beach water quality is not suitable for recreational use at this time. A swimming advisory is a precautionary notice that informs the public about specific risks to health and safety. Going into the water when bacteria are present in high concentrations puts bathers at risk for infections. Illness can occur if swimmers swallow beach water; if water gets into their ears, eyes, or nose; or if it comes in contact with open wounds. “We have enhanced our monitoring and will continue taking water samples,” said Jonathan Groulx, a manager with Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ Health Protection Division, in a press release. Public Health Sudbury & Districts will notify the public when the bacterial levels return to acceptable standards for bathing beaches. For information about beach water quality, visit www.phsd.ca.
One drink a day means higher risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer: report
New analysis suggests the number of daily alcoholic drinks thought to be safe — and perhaps even healthy — is actually the number that individuals should be having per week in order to avoid raising the risk of serious illness. A recent report from the Canadian Centre of Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) highlights the many health risks associated with consuming just one alcoholic drink a day. The national health advisory group’s report recommends a person drink an average of zero to two drinks per week to reduce the possibility of suffering negative outcomes to their health. “Although there are limitations to the modelling strategy, the presented risk estimates provide the most up-to-date knowledge on the risk relationship between alcohol consumption and health loss in Canada,” reads the report. “Alcohol use risk thresholds should ideally be set between 4 and 11 grams per day (28 to 77 grams per week) for males and females in Canada.” In North America, the typical alcoholic beverage (a beer, an average glass of wine, a cocktail) contains approximately 14 grams of alcohol. One drink per day would work out to 98 grams of consumption per week. The report suggests more than six drinks a week (84 grams of alcohol) puts an individual at high risk of developing significant health issues. Learn more here.
Gathering at Morel Park Sept. 5 to honour Labour Day
Every year on Labour Day, Canada’s unions celebrate workers and their contributions. In Sudbury, workers, unions and community leaders will gather at Morel Park Monday, Sept. 5, at 11 a.m. to celebrate working people and to highlight the issues that matter most to them. (From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. the event will be inclusive and sensory friendly). The event includes a solidarity march, games, entertainment, food vendors and information booths. Read the full story.
