Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Delayed ‘Lasalle Elementary School’ jumps in price by millions
Construction on a new 387-space junior kindergarten to Grade 6 Rainbow District School Board elementary school under construction on the same site as Lasalle Secondary School has run into delays as well as cost escalations that have added millions to its original price tag. The school is now expected to open in September 2023, a year later than originally planned. It will accommodate students from Ernie Checkeris Public School, Carl A. Nesbitt Public School and Westmount Avenue Public School. The original funding approved by the Ministry of Education in August 2017 was $12.6 million. However, the cost has now escalated to approximately $17.1 million. The Rainbow board said the economic environment has changed significantly over the past five years, and the board applied for more funding from the ministry as the project progressed due to increased costs for materials, unique site work and COVID-19. The Ministry of Education has since increased its funding contribution to $14.1 million, and the board has put in a request for another $908,475 to help defray increased project costs due to COVID-19. These costs include increases for materials, PPE, additional supervision and social distancing. The board has yet to receive any confirmation on this possible source of funding. Construction on the school also ran into a snag due to soil instability issues in the fall of 2021, which is responsible for the construction delay, as well as tacking another $2.1 million onto the project’s costs. The board is dipping into its own proceeds of disposition fund to cover these costs. When schools are declared surplus and subsequently sold, the revenue generated by the sale goes into a reserve, which can be used to offset the costs of new construction. Read the full story here.
Future of fire halls called to question in upcoming report
A municipal report is currently being drafted to help city council map out the future of the city’s emergency services system, which might include the potential consolidation of certain services. After catching wind of some of the report’s contents, Beaver Lake Fire and Services Committee chair Ralph Prentice expressed concern in recent correspondence with city council. Given his organization’s work to “enhance the western entrance to Greater Sudbury,” which includes welcoming tourists, access to emergency services and showcasing the area’s history, he wrote that “much, if not all” of what they’ve been working toward might now be at risk. That is, he clarified, “if the information now being revealed is true.” Learn more here.
Sudbury high school students welcomed at mining conference
At a mining conference that put an emphasis on the importance of attracting more young people to the mining industry, one local high school took the initiative to bring several students out to see what mining has to offer. The event at Science North was the Mine Operators and Maintenance Engineers conference, hosted by the Sudbury branch of CIM (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum). It was held Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Teacher Christopher Dinnes of Lively District Secondary School said he was pleased to see how welcoming it was for the young people, especially at the trade show where the students met scores of representatives from technical companies and mining supply firms. Learn more here.
Mayoral candidates go digital with campaign websites
If you’re looking for information on Greater Sudbury mayoral candidates, you can check out their websites, with most candidates now having launched web pages. Among this year’s lesser-known candidates is Devin Labranche. His campaign website has been accompanied by a social media presence on which he posts videos of himself sharing campaign points at Greater Sudbury landmarks. His most recent video was filmed at the site of the old St. Joseph’s Health Centre building on Paris Street, which has been long-vacant and covered in a rainbow-coloured mural. In the video, he pledges to “work toward a synergy” between the city and Panoramic Properties, which owns the building, to get rolling on something the community can be proud of. “I think branding and marketing has been done a certain way, especially in politics and in Sudbury for some time, and no one’s really leveraged a certain means of getting out to people,” he said, adding that a strength in his campaign is reaching out to people online. A weakness in his campaign, he admitted, is reaching out to seniors, which he aspires to do during the Oct. 1 “Meet the Mayoral Candidates” event being hosted by the local chapter of the Canadian Association for Retired Persons and Sudbury Arts Council. Read the full story.
SSO brings Symphony Crawl to Science North Oct. 1
Sudbury Symphony Orchestra brings back its popular Symphony Crawl Oct. 1. The crawl takes place this year from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. indoors at Science North. The event will introduce people to each of its concerts in its 2022-23 season, “Fired Up!” Throughout the building there will be eight different posts, at which one of Science North’s Bluecoats will demonstrate the link between science and music with the help of a number of different live music performances by SSO musicians. You can bring the whole family to get a taste of SSO’s upcoming concerts, get involved in some interactive activities, and learn a bit about the science behind the sounds. All these musical experiences are included in the admission to Science North.
Friday weather:
Friday there will be a mix of sun and cloud. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light late in the morning. After a rather chilly day on Thursday, the temperature returns to a more seasonal high of 16 C Friday. UV index 5 or moderate. Friday night will be clear with a low of 6 C.
