Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Twenty-four applicants vying for single police board position
The city has received a collection of 24 applicants to fill one city council-appointed “citizen’s representative” position on the Greater Sudbury police board. On Jan. 30, the city’s elected officials will vote on which one of the applicants will serve the five-member board for a term ending Nov. 14, 2026. The following applicants are running against incumbent board member Frances Caldarelli: Eddie Astgen, Robert Barclay, Dana Carbone, Rita Crisafi-Mwimba, Amanda Denis, Harold Duff, Mary Lou Hussak, Robert Johnston, Joshua Lilley, Joshua Linklater-Wong, Gerry M. Lougheed Jr., Abdullah Masood, Colin McKerral, Cynthia Mellaney, Jhonel Morvan, Michelle Murray, Pooja Pabla, Karen Pappin, Andrew Slater, Russ Thompson, Thomas Trainor, Timothy W. Burtt and James Tregonning. The inclusion of Gerry Lougheed Jr. is notable because he last sought the position in 2019, when he ran an unsuccessful bid against Caldarelli in a 10-candidate race. It was a close vote in which Caldarelli and Lougheed found themselves tied. A subsequent vote had at least one elected official change their vote, resulting in Caldarelli winning. Failing that, it would have gone down to one of their two names being drawn from a hat at random.
Aging downtown arena falls short on accessibility, says advocate
Navigating the Sudbury Community Arena can be a lot of work for those with accessibility challenges. After walking into the building’s Minto Street entrance closest to its accessible parking spots, accessibility advocate Nadine Law found herself facing two sets of stairs and no ramps. Law, a regional client services co-ordinator for Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, was touring the facility with Sudbury.com to determine how accessible the building, which opened in 1951, actually is. Using a walker due to a spinal injury, stairs were out of the question for Law, so this reporter went inside to open a locked door where a switchback wheelchair ramp allowed her access. “An ideal facility would be a venue where anyone can enter the same door and exit the same door,” Law reflected later in the tour. “It’s all about being inclusive.”
Sudbury police using fat bikes to expand downtown patrols
As cool as fat bikes are among avid cyclists everywhere, they have become a hot commodity in a lot of winter cities where the attraction is that riders can still do their thing despite the challenging weather. Experts say that with the stronger frames, the larger and fatter tires provide better grip and a more comfortable ride in snowy and icy road conditions. Disc brakes are also regarded as better in wet conditions. Those are some of the reasons why the Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) has expanded its bicycle patrol program in downtown Sudbury to include winter bicycle patrols, using fat bikes. GSPS Sgt. Matt Hall of the Community Mobilization Section said it was a good fit considering the success of the conventional bicycle program.
'Freezin' for reason': Police chief ready for the Polar Plunge
They're ready to be "freezin' for a reason". That's how Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) Chief Paul Pedersen described his plan to take part in the annual Sudbury Polar Plunge in support of the Special Olympics. The event is planned to take place on March 4 at the Northern Water Sports Centre beside the Ramsey Lake boat launch. A promotional news conference to raise awareness of the event was held at the centre Tuesday morning to explain how organizers are preparing to cut a hole in the ice so people can come and jump in the lake. The Sudbury Polar Plunge is one of several such fun events taking place this spring in cities and towns across Canada. Pedersen explained the event is held to benefit Special Olympics Ontario, which is the charity of choice for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. Pedersen said the plunge is a popular annual event that requires a lot of work from the organizers and volunteers to actually prepare the site at Ramsey Lake and cut a big hole in the ice to accommodate all the participants.
Rainbow board puts brakes on drag event
After putting the brakes on a drag event that was set to take place at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in February, the Rainbow District School Board says it is gathering more information on the proposed show. The show in question is called the Courage Across Canada Tour, and features Icesis Couture, winner of Canada’s Drag Race, along with other drag performers. It is presented by the International Day of Pink. The tour will be visiting 10 communities, sharing drag and stories at local schools by day, and celebrating with free performances at local venues by night. The Sudbury stop is on Feb. 10, with a show set to take place at Zig’s that evening. The Courage Tour was also supposed to put on a show at Lo-Ellen on Feb. 10, but as of this point, the Rainbow board says the performance does not have their approval. An online petition started by a Lo-Ellen student that demands that the Rainbow board reinstate the event had nearly 1,200 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
Windy Lake park reopened after moose calf relocated
A male moose calf in Windy Lake Provincial Park that had behaved aggressively toward park staff was relocated last week to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Muskoka. The park had been partly closed due to the situation. However, the yurts, ski chalet and snowshoe and cross-country ski trail in the park were reopened on Jan. 20. An email from park superintendent Erika Poupore said that after consulting with veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitation specialists and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the moose was safely immobilized and relocated to the wildlife centre Jan. 19. There he can be “observed and treated for any health issues and he will have little to no interactions with humans,” said Poupore.
Snow in the forecast today
Expect a cloudy day with a high of -4 and a 30-per-cent chance of flurries in the morning. Periods of light snow will begin near noon and drop about two centimetres of the white stuff. The wind will blow at around 15 km/h, so anticipate a wind chill of -13 in the morning and -6 in the afternoon. For tonight, expect more periods of light snow, which should end before morning, and drop about another two centimetres of snow. The wind will become northerly at 20 km/h, gusting to 40, after midnight. The overnight low is -9 with a wind chill of -9 in the evening and -18 overnight.
