Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Fire at 40-unit Durham building displaces residents, businesses
The smell of smoke still lingers in the air in Downtown Sudbury, the result of a large fire that broke out in a multi-story building bordered by Durham Street, Larch Street and Old City Hall Lane. The area is still closed to traffic. The building held several businesses on the main floor including Oscar's Grill, Kulta Vintage, BusinessKasual, The Coulson, Diamonds, Monteleone Custom Fashions, and Thrive Health Foods, as well as three stories of residential units. All told, there are 40 units in the building. Much is still unknown about the fire, including the cause and extent of the damages as the Ontario Fire Marshal began their investigation today. Greater Sudbury Fire Services Deputy Chief Craig Lawrence was able to tell Sudbury.com the fire began on the first floor of the building, behind Oscar’s Grill. “That's where our crews responded, and when they made entry, they focused their efforts on the rear of the building,” he said.
Police chief gives provincial training plans a passing grade
A trio of changes to police training requirements and funding have received a favourable response from Greater Sudbury police Chief Paul Pedersen. The post-secondary requirement was flagged by Greater Sudbury police board member Gerry Lougheed during last week’s meeting, at which he expressed disagreement with the province’s change of course. “I think policing should be a university degree because of the Charter, because of DNA, because of vigorous defence lawyers in terms of their approach to courts,” he said. “Having a degree in policing, you’re likely to get a better quality of police officer to deal with the realities of 2023 moving forward.” Although he clarified GSPS is “very thorough” in their screening, he urged Pedersen to advocate in favour of an enhanced post-secondary requirement with provincial officials.
Claude Daoust ‘heart and soul’ of Chelmsford Fire Station
Credited as the “heart and soul” of the Chelmsford Fire Station, volunteer firefighters joined city officials in celebrating Claude Daoust’s 50 years of service on Wednesday evening. “For him, it’s duty first,” Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier said, adding that they were lucky there weren’t any calls for service in the Chelmsford area, because Daoust would have been first out the door. “Captain Claude is the heart and soul of this station,” Capt. Jeff Scarrow told Sudbury.com. “He has kept this place together and built comradery up, and without him we wouldn’t be as strong as we are.” Daoust’s determined nature has rubbed off on those around him, Scarrow said, adding that he has never been one to let his community down. “He’s always there, every chance, whether it’s the middle of the night, day, whether he’s got a fishing tournament to go to, he’s there.”
Reader poll: Largest group doesn't care about passport design
Much like banknotes, passports need to be upgraded with new security features every decade or so, and much like banknotes, governments take the opportunity to freshen up the artwork, for better or worse. What direction that takes seems to reflect the ideas of the decision-maker of the moment. On paper money, some readers will remember scenes of oil refineries and Inuit hunters. A series of bills in the 1980s left the strong impression that avid birdwatchers had been in charge of the design decisions. In due course the birds gave way to smiling children playing hockey on a frozen pond, and the Queen got steadily older. In all cases, notes are redesigned as part of a running arms race with increasingly sophisticated forgers, and the change to the artwork is the fun part. Similarly, passports are tinkered with every decade or so. As a child, I had a passport that stoutly declared that 'a Canadian citizen is a British subject,' a debatable idea at the time (the early '70s) and one that in due course disappeared.
Fuelling an increasingly electric world a challenge for GSU
The push toward green energy is increasing the demand for the electricity distributed by Greater Sudbury Utilities. This is the chief challenge company president and CEO Frank Kallonen highlighted during their recent annual general meeting at Tom Davies Square. Local estimates aren’t available, but Kallonen pointed to the Independent Electricity System Operator’s Pathways to Decarbonization Report, in which it’s estimated Ontario’s electricity system will need to more than double its capacity by 2050. This includes a jump from 42,000 megawatts to 88,000 megawatts, at a total cost of approximately $400 billion. As an electricity distribution company, Greater Sudbury Utilities has been gradually increasing its capacity every time a piece of infrastructure needs to be replaced. Their aim is to scale upgrades to meet needs 50 years in the future.
St. Ben’s science teacher chosen for STEM leadership program
A science teacher at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Sudbury, Erika Weber, has been selected for the Teacher Leader Training Program offered by Let’s Talk Science for the 2023-2024 school year. Candidates participated in three levels of interviews for this unique position. As a teacher leader, Weber hopes to build confidence in her fellow educators who are not familiar with science education and assist them in feeling comfortable with completing hands-on experiments and modelling STEM in their own classrooms. “Through this experience, I will be a permanent member of a community of passionate STEM educators from across Canada. I am hoping to gain new strategies, best practices, and resources that I can share with my colleagues at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board,” stated Weber in the release. “When passion is put to practice, it inspires others; I look forward to learning from this program so that our students can put their best foot forward in a fast-paced and competitive industry.”
Sunny and warm Friday in the forecast
Expect a lovely May day to end the work week. Today’s high is 23 under sunny skies. The UV index today is seven, or high. Tonight the skies will stay clear and the temperature will dip to 8.
