Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Thundersnow? Yesterday's storm includes unusual phenomenon
A rare phenomenon that initially had scientists puzzled, thundersnow, lightning and thunder during a snowstorm, is quite real. In fact, it happened in Sudbury yesterday morning. You may have seen the sky light up, or heard the rumbling of thunder through the city, and if you somehow managed to catch a photo of it or (the more likely scenario perhaps) a video clip of the atmospheric phenomenon, we’d love to see it and share it. Send it to [email protected] and we might feature it on our site. Thunderstorms occur when an air mass becomes so unstable that it overturns, sometimes violently. This usually happens when drastically different temperatures meet, such as when the air closer to the ground is unusually warm and humid and the air above it is unusually cool. Because the lower layers of air are colder — and have a lower dew point — in the wintertime, these kinds of atmospheric clashes are very unusual during colder months. Still, thundersnow does happen.
Fedeli: Sudbury at the 'epicentre' of the electric vehicle boom
There’s a window of opportunity for Ontario to be part of the electrical vehicle revolution, said Vic Fedeli, the province’s economic development minister, and Ontario needs to move fast to secure its global position. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and Northern Ontario’s place in the global transition to clean energy technologies took up much of Fedeli’s speech before a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce crowd on Feb. 6. “We think the window is only open for a short period of time,” said Fedeli, as BEV and international battery manufacturers are looking for safe and secure places to park their capital investment dollars today. In his travels as Ontario’s lead salesman, Fedeli said many multi-national executives widely regard this province as a “sea of calm” in being a stable and safe jurisdiction and a reliable business partner in a very turbulent world. The Nipissing MPP believes Northern Ontario will be the “sleeper story of 2023 ” in stepping up to supply the mineral raw materials needed to support the $16 billion in investments made by the automotive sector in Ontario over the last 24 months, “with much, much more to come.”
No charges against Greater Sudbury officer after investigation
The Special Investigations Unit has cleared Greater Sudbury police of sexual assault allegations and injuring a man following an Oct. 2, 2022, arrest. “There are no reasonable grounds to believe that the (supervising officer) comported himself other than lawfully in his dealings with the complainant,” according to the SIU report. “There is no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. The file is closed.” The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is a civil law enforcement agency that investigates incidents involving an officer where there has been a death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm at a person or an alleged sexual assault. In this case, the complainant alleged he was sexually assaulted and that police officers injured his hand. The SIU report concluded that the injury to the 23-year-old man’s hand predated his interaction with police, and that police were justified in strip-searching him.
Pursuit: ‘Amazing’ Alliance Lynx girls go undefeated
Bringing together ten teenage(ish) girls, few if any of whom have more than one year of volleyball experience to lean upon, all of whom had seen their outlet for competitive sport severely curtailed thanks to Covid-19, perfection would be far too lofty a goal to target. To a player, the collection of talent that comprised the 2022-2023 Alliance St-Joseph Lynx Grade 7/8 girls volleyball team would suggest that there is still incredible growth to be made in a sport that they have embraced as a unit. Yet in terms of results, perfection it was. The team did not drop a single set all season, taking on challengers from all four school boards in the city and capturing five tournament/league banners in all, including the CSCNO (Conseil Scolaire Catholique Nouvelon) crown. “I’ve never had 10 girls so eager to learn and get better,” said Coach Francine Bélanger St-Jean. “This team had an amazing chemistry and work ethic. They encouraged each other like I’ve never seen before.”
The Soapbox: Angered that outfitters get so many moose tags
This is going to be a short article. I doubt that it will be very sweet to most hunters. If you thought I might be upset by the current practices and history of moose management, this one makes me just plain incensed. In previous articles, I have focussed on the resident moose hunt. That is because it clearly illustrated mismanagement in the simplest possible way. This one has to do with the allocation of hunting opportunities to the tourism industry. When I joined the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in 1976, there was animosity between resident hunters and non-residents. One hunter association in the Northwestern region, where non-residents were most abundant, had bumper stickers printed with “Do a moose a favour. Shoot an American” and “ We miss Americans: by Inches.” The opportunity to resolve this conflict came with the introduction of Selective Harvest. Because the harvest and tags were limited, it required a decision on how to allocate those opportunities between these sectors. At the time, the objective of MNR was “to provide social and economic benefits to the people of Ontario.” I expect that objective has been “modernized” with the current bureaucratic lexicon, but I think the principle remains.
Sudbury Sec presents ‘The Pirates of Penzance’
Sudbury Secondary School stages a production of “The Pirates of Penzance” Feb. 11-12. This musical extravaganza — with its cast of mischievous pirates, space-faring daughters and errant noblemen — is their first full-scale musical since the pandemic, an event that thrill-seekers, operetta buffs, and particularly high schoolers, are chomping at the bit to witness. “It’s been a huge undertaking for both staff and students, but our school was ready to take on the challenge,” said Jessica Crowe, Sudbury Secondary’s Administrator of Arts Education. “This is a milestone for many high school students looking to share their artistic talents and celebrate their hard work with an audience, and they finally get to do it.” After an unprecedented pause in public performances due to the ongoing global pandemic, Vanessa Chevrette, Sudbury Secondary’s Theatre Arts teacher is helping steer the ship.
High of 1 today, mix of sun and cloud
Expect a mix of sun and cloud today and a high of 1. The wind will be southwesterly at 20 km/h in the morning, so anticipate a wind chill of around -15 in the morning. The UV index today is two, or low. Tonight, the skies will be clear in the evening with increasing cloudiness after midnight. The wind will blow at 15 km/h, while the mercury will dip to -6. A wind chill of -5 is expected in the morning and -10 overnight.
