Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Monday morning.
Greater Sudbury signs letter of intent with Peruvian region
The mining city of Greater Sudbury has signed a letter of intent signaling co-operation with the mining region of Moquegua in Peru. The region’s vice governor, Luis Trigoso, signed the letter with Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre. “This is an important step as we continue to foster international municipal cooperation between Greater Sudbury and Moquegua,” Lefebvre said in a media release. “With a range of interests, including mining research, education and innovation, I am confident this agreement will serve both regions. Greater Sudbury is a global leader in the mining sector, with decades-long experience in regreening and rehabilitation, and this agreement will provide new opportunities for collaboration with our Peruvian partners.” According to the media release, the letter is intended to “strengthen the relationship” between Greater Sudbury and Moquegua, to help “foster innovation and give both regions a competitive edge in the global market.”
Sleep disturbances could be an indicator of stroke, study hints
A new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has found that people who suffer the effects of stroke have a much greater prevalence of having suffered from sleep disturbances. The report published Tuesday said the issue has not been studied enough in Canada, but there is sufficient evidence that sleep disturbances could be used as a screening tool during routine medical visits so that family doctors know that their patient might possibly suffer a stroke. The report is authored by Matthew S. Jeffers, Alison C. Pittman, Tetyana Kendzerska, Dale Corbett, Kathryn S. Hayward and Yue Chen, representing a group of physicians and scientists at the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Melbourne in Australia. The study used data from people aged 18 and older who responded to sleep and chronic disease concerns in the 2017-2018 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). "We measured sleep disturbances by self-reports of having trouble staying awake most or all of the time; either short (< 5 h) or long (> 9 h) nightly sleep duration; having trouble going to or staying asleep most or all of the time; and never, rarely or sometimes having refreshing sleep," said the study.
Smelter pollution forcing relocation of 200 Rouyn-Noranda families
An announcement this week that some 200 families would be relocated from a Rouyn-Noranda neighbourhood contaminated by smelter pollution was met with anxiety and concern for those who will be moved out. While some residents of the Notre-Dame neighbourhood, in the city about 630 kilometres north of Montreal, see it as a chance to leave a sector where arsenic emissions from the Horne copper smelter are associated to a higher risk of cancer, others greet the impending move with sadness and anguish. Ginette Bédard has felt the full range of emotions in recent days. Since learning this week she will have to move from the neighbourhood she's called home for 30 years, she progressed from anxiety to tears to fear. "This doesn't work for me at all, where am I going to go? At my age? Retired?" said Bédard, a former orderly.
GSPS hosting Elimination of Racial Discrimination event
Greater Sudbury Police Service is hosting an International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination event on March 21, beginning at 12 p.m. The event is being held virtually, and registration information for the free event can be found by clicking here. The event will include a singing of O Canada by Kalyani Krishnaa Nair, followed by greetings from police Chief Paul Pedersen, reflections on diversity, inclusion and equity and a round table discussion with members of the police service’s Diversity Advisory Committee. The event offers police a “unique opportunity for us to reach out,” Insp. Robert Norman said during this week’s police board meeting, adding that last year’s event allowed police to make contact with more than 200 people. Collaborations such as these “truly enhance cultural competence within our organization, and builds community trust and confidence.” During this week’s police board meeting, Norman presented an annual report (see Page 8 of the March 15 agenda) on GSPS equity, diversity and inclusion efforts. In it, Norman notes that GSPS “acknowledges that racial bias exists in Ontario society and in its institutions including police organizations, and that it is imperative that the members of police services guard against its harmful influence.”
Five put the brakes on the Express, 127-109
The Sudbury Five added another to the win column after defeating the Windsor Express by a score of 127-109 in National Basketball League of Canada action from Friday. A.J. Mosby Jr. led the charge for Sudbury, draining a season high (for him) 35 points over the four quarters. The Sudbury guard went 12 for 16 from the field, six for seven from three-point range, while adding five rebounds and three assists. Jeremy Harris and JD Miller both had double-doubles on the night for Sudbury (14-4, 8-4). Harris had 24 points on 10 for 19 shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds, his second double-double in as many games. Miller made nine of his 15 field goal attempts en route to 20 points, bringing down 13 rebounds, 11 of them on the defensive end. Sudbury led the way in field goals (57.3 per cent to 47.7) and dominated in three-pointers (54.5 per cent to 27), while Windsor outperformed in rebounds (45 to 39) and turnovers (18 to 10).
Curiosity spurred her to write a Ring of Fire book
"Keep the faith." It was an oft-used phrase by Richard "Dick" Nemis, a Sudbury native and colourful mining promoter whose company, Noront Resources, secured one of the largest land positions in the mineral-rich area of the James Bay known as the Ring of Fire. Nemis clung to that motto even as he was being ousted by shareholders as the president of the junior mining company he helped establish in October 2008. It was a personal blow since the exploration outfit was named after his father’s industrial fabrication company, started in the Nickel City in 1945, and still in operation today. The Canadian mining hall-of-famer raised financing for many mineral plays but his hand in one of the biggest chromite discoveries in the world, in the Ring of Fire, remains his legacy. He had always been intrigued by the lure of a treasure hunt. And so is Virginia Heffernan, a veteran mining writer and now the author of a forthcoming book entitled: Ring of Fire; High-Stakes Mining in a Lowlands Wilderness. Sadly, Nemis died in March 2019, months before Heffernan started her book project.
High of zero, flurries possible today
Expect a high of 0 today with a 40-per-cent chance of flurries. The wind will be at 15 km/h, bringing a wind chill of -14 in the morning. The UV index is two, or low. Tonight, expect cloudy periods with a 40-per-cent chance of flurries and an overnight low of -12.
