Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
GSU advises to prep for outages
It's a holiday weekend. It's winter. And a punishing winter storm is in the forecast. Are you prepared if the power goes out? That's the question of the day from Greater Sudbury Hydro. "With a significant winter storm looming and expected to continue into the holiday weekend, there is no time like the present to prepare, just in case the weather causes a power outage," said a news release from the hydro office. "These storms are unpredictable when it comes to power interruptions,” said Wendy Watson, director of communications for Greater Sudbury Hydro. High winds or heavy wet snow could easily cause tree branches to fall across hydro lines in a remote area, creating an outage that is not only difficult to access, but also difficult to repair in a stormy situation.
Travellers: Flight delays, cancellations likely due to storm
With a massive oncoming storm just in time for the holidays, there could be some cancellled flights at Sudbury Airport, but Jean-Mathieu Chenier, director of marketing, airport excellence & innovation for the Sudbury Airport, told Sudbury.com, it’s likely issues won't be here, but in the other parts of the province. He said it is all down to a ripple effect. “We're expecting snow and a lot of it, but we are well equipped to handle snow,” said Chenier. “Our biggest concern is the freezing rain that's going to hit southern Ontario, where a lot of our flights are connecting through. Any delay that interrupts the larger airports, whether it's Pearson (International), or even Billy Bishop Airport, has a ripple effect across the network.” Toronto's Pearson International Airport has already warned the storm could affect operations. Environment Canada states there could be extensive power outages and dangerous travel conditions. The relative ease of weather management is because the runways in Sudbury aren’t “spoken for” on a continual basis, said Chenier. Unlike the larger airports, there is time to clear the runway.
Man dies in snowmobile collision north of Hanmer
Greater Sudbury police, fire and EMS responded to a crash involving a single snowmobile north of Hanmer on Dec. 21. Greater Sudbury Police say the 47-year-old driver of the snowmobile was transported to Health Sciences North, where he was pronounced deceased as a result of his injuries. A female passenger suffered minor injuries in the collision. Out of respect for the family the name will not be released at this time, said police in a tweet.
August overdose death leads to manslaughter charges
A Sudbury man’s death from a drug overdose in August has led to manslaughter charges for two men, one of whom is from Greater Sudbury. In a news release, Greater Sudbury Police report that on Dec. 15 detectives from the GSPS Major Crime Section teamed up with Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) officers to arrest a 34-year-old Waterloo resident, who is now charged with manslaughter and trafficking a Schedule 1 substance. “As a result of the ongoing investigation, GSPS Detectives and members of WRPS conducted a search warrant at the man’s residence in Waterloo seizing over $200,000 in cash and an additional $300,000 in property that is believed to be proceeds of crime,” GSPS reports. Then, on Dec. 17, GSPS detectives and officers with Patrol Operations arrested a 30-year-old Sudbury man on Keith Avenue in Chelmsford. Both men were charged with manslaughter for the death of a 48-year-old man from Greater Sudbury, who died of an overdose on Aug. 17, police said in a news release. According to a published report, the Sudbury man will appear in local bail court on Dec. 23.
Victims of Dec. 20 double homicide were from Sudbury, police say
The two victims of what police are calling a double homicide at a Sudbury hotel this week were both from Sudbury, said a statement today from Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS). Three other people were arrested and taken into custody Dec. 20 after gunshots were heard at the Travelodge Hotel at 1401 Paris Street where the two victims were discovered. Greater Sudbury Police Service reported Thursday that the two victims were a 38-year-old man and a 27-year-old man, both from Greater Sudbury. Police said the younger man was transported to the hospital by City of Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The older man was pronounced dead at the scene, said police.
OCP Construction Supplies’ NEO Kids donation total tops $1M
Sudbury’s Cousineau family and their Northeastern Ontario-based company, OCP Construction Supplies, made a recent donation of $500,000 to the NEO Kids Foundation to support the future of health care for children and youth across Northeastern Ontario. "This generous donation, which brings their total giving since 2020 to over $1 million, will help ensure that children across our region get the quality care they need closer to home and help the NEO Kids and Family Program at Health Sciences North (HSN)," said a news release from the foundation office. Rick Cousineau, co-owner of OCP Construction Supplies, said he knows the importance of community support from the business sector and added there was no greater return on investment than the health of youngsters. “We know how vital NEO Kids programs and services are to communities across Northeastern Ontario to ensure that children get the care they need as close to home as possible,” said Cousineau.
The forecast today is … snow
The forecast for Friday is, basically, snow, and heavy snow at that at times. The storm that was expected to hit yesterday evening is expected to continue today, bringing at least 10 cm of snow. The winds will be northerly at 30 km/h, so blowing snow is also likely. The temperature will stay steady at -1 with a -9 wind chill. For tonight, expect more snow and local blowing snow. The overnight low is -13.
