Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Violent crime still up despite last year’s 4.9% drop
Despite Greater Sudbury’s violent crime incidents dropping by 4.9 per cent last year, the rate still remains higher than multi-year averages. The five-year (to 2022) violent crime incident average for Greater Sudbury is 2,489, which is 26.6 per cent greater than the 20-year average (to 2021) of 1,966. Last year’s 2,865 violent crime incidents exceeded the five-year average by 15.1 per cent and the 20-year average by 45.7 per cent. This past year was also notable for seeing 12 homicides take place in Greater Sudbury, which is the highest number for any year on record (Statistics Canada goes back to 1981). Of these incidents, 11 resulted in suspects being arrested and charged. “There is gun violence that we haven’t traditionally had in the past,” GSPS Sgt. Matt Hall told Sudbury.com, adding the increase is in keeping with what’s being seen throughout Northern Ontario. The proposed 2023 police budget, which includes the creation of a four-member homicide unit, is part of their reaction to this. Police also remain committed to partnering with other agencies, such as Downtown Sudbury and Community Action Networks, to help determine where crime is coming from so they can better work to prevent it.
Special weather statement: Heavy snowfall possible this week
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Greater Sudbury and the vicinity warning of a significant snowfall event starting Thursday and into Friday morning. Issued this morning at 5:44 a.m., the statement warns of snow accumulations of between 10 and 15 centimetres are possible by Friday morning. The statement also warns of reduced visibility during the event due to heavy snow. “A low pressure system is expected to bring snowfall to northeastern Ontario beginning Thursday afternoon,” Environment Canada states. “Snowfall accumulations of 10 to 15 cm will be possible. Snow may mix with ice pellets at times, which could reduce the accumulations. The heavy snow will weaken by Friday morning.” The snow will make surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.
Azilda boy’s Ski-Doo reveal goes viral on TikTok
A video posted by a local mom of her eight-year-old son’s joy at receiving a snowmobile, sized just right for him, has been liked more than 21,000 times on TikTok. Baileigh Sirman said her son, Jaxson Andryechen, started sledding on his own when he was four or five years old. Incidentally, his first sled was the 25-year-old tiny 50cc “Kitty Cat” machine that had belonged to his dad, Mitch Andryechen, as a child. Last year, Mitch fixed up an old adult sled for Jaxson to use, but it was rather big for him. So the Azilda family ordered the boy a 200cc Ski-Doo MXZ 200 that’s the right size for a child his age. The new sled was supposed to arrive on Jan. 31, and Jaxson was anxiously awaiting that day. But when it arrived a few days early last month, Baileigh pulled out her phone to film Jaxson’s reaction. She then posted it to TikTok, preferring that social media platform because she could add music, and, she jokes, remove the audio of her yelling at her husband.
Black History Month: A week of Black Futures starts Feb. 26
In the continuation of Black History Month and look beyond the past, Black Lives Matter Sudbury (BLM-S) will be hosting Black Futures Week from Feb. 26 to March 4, a combination of virtual and in person events. Throughout the week, there will be three online panel discussions, a film screening and an open mic night, as well as an in-person keynote featuring El Jones, a journalist, professor, activist and Halifax’s former poet laureate. The panel discussions will have ASL interpreters provided by Interprétation signes et paroles. Participants who register via Zoom Webinar will have the opportunity to use the moderated Q&A feature. There will be translated subtitles available in French. Panelist and moderator bios can be found here. Beginning on Sunday Feb. 26 is the Free Our Minds: Policing Free Schools virtual panel, from 2-3:30 p.m. An examination of policing in schools in Sudbury and across Ontario, the discussion will be framed around the data collection that has been carried out by the group over the last year and a half. “As more research is done on the school-to-prison nexus, where Black, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQ+ youth find themselves surveilled and over-policed from grade school onwards, we do a deep dive into the idea of what ‘safety’ really means for our school communities,” reads a release from Black Lives Matter Sudbury. The moderator for this panel will be BLM-S co-founder Isak Vaillancourt and panelists are Andrea Vasquez, Maya Basudde & Tamba Baba. You can register for the free webinar here.
Sudbury seed provider expanding across Canada
A new line of farmer-grown fruit and vegetable seeds developed by a Sudbury company is gaining in popularity across eastern Canada. Cutleaf Seeds, introduced last year by Northern Wildflowers, is a line of fruit and vegetable seeds grown in Canada and geared toward Canadian climates. Amy Bouillon, the company’s marketing and sales specialist, said Northern Wildflowers has received interest from garden flowers across the country. “Our products are now in over 50 garden centres across Canada,” she said in a Feb. 6 news release. “Last year we had great growth across Ontario. This year we are seeing explosive growth across Quebec, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. Our retailers are really excited to provide a Canadian product to their customers.” Over the course of two years, Northern Wildflowers contracted farmers across the country to propagate seeds for the company, including short-season and heirloom varieties.
New ice stations set up on Lake Ramsey by architecture students
A temporary rest stop. Shelter from the wind. An easy place to sit and tighten the laces on your skates. Those are some of the reasons "ice stations" have become so popular on Sudbury's Ramsey Lake skating path.It's that time of year again when the first year undergraduate students from Laurentian University's McEwen School of Architecture show off their ice station designs and structures which will be out on the ice until mid-March. Dozens of the students took part in the unveiling event held Tuesday afternoon, out skating on the lake with friends, family members and enjoying the mild temperatures. For close to 10 years, it has become something of a tradition for the architecture students to create unique wooden structures to be used as resting stations for the skaters. Community members are invited to get out and visit the new ice stations for themselves, which are accessible until March 15, said a news release from the university. There are four ice stations on the ice path this year.
Cloudy day with snowstorm in the forecast
Expect today to start with clouds and fog patches that will dissipate over the morning. Today’s high is 0. The wind will be easterly at 20 km/h, bringing a -10 wind chill in the morning. Beginning early in the afternoon, snow mixed with ice pellets will mark the beginning of what could be heavy snowfall. Environment Canada issued a special weather statement on Wednesday warning a storm beginning this afternoon and lasting into Friday morning will bring 10 to 15 cm of snow and heavy snowfall that will impede visibility and make travelling by vehicle or on foot difficult. “A low pressure system is expected to bring snowfall to northeastern Ontario beginning Thursday afternoon,” Environment Canada states. “Snowfall accumulations of 10 to 15 cm will be possible. Snow may mix with ice pellets at times, which could reduce the accumulations. The heavy snow will weaken by Friday morning.” The UV index today is 1, or low. Tonight, expect periods of snow and a low of -5.
