Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your weekend.
‘Kraken’ COVID variant detected in Sudbury health unit area
The newest sub-variant of the COVID-19 virus, the Omicron XBB (which includes XBB 1.5) has been detected in the service area of Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD). The health unit said the new XBB variant is the most transmissible variant detected to date and projections for this week are that it will make up over 20 per cent of all strains detected in Ontario. The new variant is also nicknamed the Kraken variant. With that in mind, PHSD is reminding everyone of the importance of continuing to practice personal protective measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission, including staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and getting a bivalent booster when they're eligible. Learn more here.
Settlement requires ‘Laurentian.org’ couple to cease publicity
The Sudbury couple at the centre of a longstanding property dispute with Laurentian University will be required to deactivate their website, remove advertising from public benches and stop selling mugs featuring photos of former LU president Robert Haché. Laurentian University, in turn, is selling the small piece of university property at the heart of the dispute to the couple in question, Dominique Ansell and James Crispo, for $20,000. That’s according to court documents made public this week which reveal details of Laurentian University’s settlement of the dispute. A court hearing has been set for Jan. 25 to tie up final loose ends and make the settlement official. The property dispute involves encroachment onto university land at 2115 South Bay Rd. The owners of the South Bay Road property, Ansell and Crispo, have been trying to have the issue resolved for years, and even have a website called Laurentian.org dedicated to the property matter, along with news related to Laurentian’s insolvency. Read the full story.
Two of 49 formal complaints against GSPS in 2022 acted on
Greater Sudbury Police Service received 49 complaints from the public in 2022, which resulted in police taking action on two of them. Police acted on one conduct complaint considered “less serious” regarding a member, and one complaint about GSPS service/policy. Nine of the complaints are still under investigation, to be completed this year. At 49, the 2022 total was a two-complaint increase from the previous year. Chief Paul Pedersen gave these numbers some context during the Jan. 18 police board meeting. “We do about 56,000 calls for service per year, we issue about 4,500 traffic tickets a year, we arrest almost 6,000 people per year, so not all those situations are situations where we’re seeing the public under great circumstances,” he said. “To finish off all of those contacts with the public with just this amount of complaints — less than ... 0.1 per cent of our contacts results in public complaints — I think really shows the professionalism of our people and their ability to work forward with the community.” Read the full story.
Bold: Pond Hockey on the Rock returns Feb. 3-4
Pond hockey, that popular homespun version of Canada's national game, returns to Sudbury in the first week of February. Already, 30 teams have signed up to play, meaning registration is currently maxed out, said Dan DeNoble, one of the organizers. Imagine how cool that will be (no pun intended) to see it, let alone consider the possibility of playing in it. Pond Hockey on the Rock is a charity event with proceeds directed towards Camp Quality Northern Ontario, a camp for Northern Ontario children affected by cancer and Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer. The tournament is a chance for those who love the game to lace up the blades and gulp in barrels of fresh air to chase that evasive frozen tennis ball back and forth on frozen lake ice. The only difference this year is that organizers said they cannot have the event take part on Ramsey Lake, partly because of weather and partly due to logistics.“Sadly due to factors beyond our control we will not be able to return to Ramsey Lake this winter,” said the Pond Hockey webpage. Read the full story.
Bell Let’s Talk donates $75K to Sudbury hospital foundation
The Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund has donated $75,000 to the Health Sciences North (HSN) Foundation. The funding is to enhance opportunities at Mshkikii Gamik (Medicine Lodge), located at the main hospital site, to focus on the holistic health needs of Indigenous patients and their families through traditional health practices and hospital-based health care. The Indigenous Health team at Health Sciences North said it is grateful for the generous funding from the Bell Let’s Talk Diversity Fund to help revitalize Mshkikii Gamik. The Medicine Lodge is crucial to support holistic health, healing, and wellness for Indigenous Peoples, said a news release from the HSN Foundation. Mshkikii Gamik is a collaborative space for helping people, and the Indigenous Health team said it is grateful for a gift that will facilitate the inclusion of spirit, enhance connections, foster understanding, and build our capacity for delivering culturally relevant and safe healthcare for Indigenous Peoples at Health Sciences North. Read the full story on Sudbury.com's home page.
Massey couple rakes in $1M on Instant Ultimate lottery ticket
A Massey couple is $1 million richer after beating the odds for a second time by winning the Instant Ultimate lottery. Adrianne Agawa and Reagan Toulouse have been regular lottery players since Agawa won $250,000 on an Instant Silver Stacks in May 2022. “I bought this ticket because I knew it was the best odds of winning $1 million,” she said in a media release issued by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. “I checked our ticket on New Year’s Day and when I saw we won, I said ‘We did it again!’” “I was in complete disbelief,” Toulouse said in the media release. “My mind went blank – I couldn’t believe it was happening again! What a wonderful way to start the year.” The married couple plans on sharing their win with family, will plan a family vacation and invest in their business. In the 2021/22 fiscal year, OLG generated $4.5 billion (before deductions of casino operator fees) in revenues from its various lines of business and provided approximately $1.5 billion in net profit to the province. Lottery revenue alone totalled $1.9 billion. The Ontario Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-888-230-3505. People can also phone the 211 helpline to connect with various social and community services.
Cloudy with a chance of flurries all weekend
Saturday will be cloudy. Forty per cent chance of flurries in the afternoon. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h late in the morning. High of -5 C. Wind chill of -15 C in the morning and -9 C in the afternoon. Saturday night will be cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of flurries. Low of -7 C. Sunday will be cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of flurries. High of -2 C. Sunday night there will be cloudy periods with a 40 per cent chance of flurries. Low of -10 C.
