Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Tuesday morning.
Video: Neighbours worried after aggressive dog kills puppy
A group of residents in a Flour Mill neighbourhood are upset city bylaw officers and the animal control department appear, in their opinion, to be holding back in responding to a situation where a dog has attacked other dogs in the area and in one case, killed one a puppy. The issue was raised in early September when Kimberly Arsenault was out walking her leashed dog, Shadow, a four-month-old pup. She said the trouble began when she noticed there were two shar pei dogs in the front yard of a nearby home, on St. George Street. She said the two dogs appeared to be tied together. An image of one of the dogs provided by Arsenault shows both dogs wearing collars and those collars are linked by a leash. "They barked at us, but I never thought anything of it on the way,” Arsenault said. As she headed back home from the walk, the black shar pei was still in the yard and barking at her. “I didn't see the tan one," Arsenault said.
$68M Lotto 6/49 jackpot 'guaranteed' to be won Wednesday
If you see people lining up at their local gas station or store checkout this week, this might be the reason. The largest Lotto 6/49 jackpot ever up for grabs will be won under a new format started a year ago that will offer a guaranteed prize of $68 million on Wednesday, Sept. 27. "It’s going to be an exciting few days," Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. spokesperson Tony Bitonti said. Under a format started in the fall of 2022, there are 29 white balls, each representing a $1 million prize, and one gold ball representing a growing jackpot as part of the draw. Each time a white ball is drawn, it is removed from the mix. Each time a gold ball is drawn, it is replaced. For Saturday's draw, in which a white ball was drawn, there was just one white ball and one gold ball left, when the Gold Ball prize would have been a record $66 million.
Franco-Ontarian Day highlights Sudbury’s French university fight
The provincial government’s rejection early this summer of the University of Sudbury’s proposal to create a French-language university came up often at a celebration of Franco-Ontarian Day on Laurentian University’s campus on Sept. 25. The Franco-Ontarian flag was first raised on the Laurentian campus outside of the University of Sudbury, or Université de Sudbury, as the formerly federated university has now rebranded itself, on Sept. 25, 1975. That day is now commemorated across the province each Sept. 25 as Franco-Ontarian Day. On June 30, the province of Ontario said the Université de Sudbury funding request to create a standalone Francophone university in Sudbury “does not reflect the current demand and enrolment trends.” This is especially true, the statement continued, because there is already “existing capacity” in Greater Sudbury and across Ontario to offer French-language programming.
École Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague designated a heritage building
After several years of community work, the Art Deco exterior facade of the century-old École Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague at 162 MacKenzie St. has been designated as a heritage building under the Ontario Heritage Trust. Beginning with a presentation in 2020, city council voted unanimously in favour of directing staff to issue a Notice of Intent to Designate the building under the Ontario Heritage Act, which came to fruition with the unveiling of a plaque at the site. Built in 1914, it is the oldest school still standing in Greater Sudbury, and a ceremony to unveil the plaque was held Sept. 25 to celebrate the annual observance Franco-Ontarien Day. The event was held in the gym of the old school, now home to Sudbury’s Indie Cinema. Originally called Central Roman Catholic School, the school was later renamed in honour of Luigi Gonzaga, (a.k.a. St. Aloysius or St-Louis-de-Gonzague) an Italian Jesuit considered the patron saint of Catholic youth. The majority of its Catholic students were French-speaking and were instructed in French in defiance of Regulation 17, which restricted French-language education after Grade 2 until 1927. Its most famous student is Alex Trebek, the long-time host of “Jeopardy!”.
Robinson Lake trail bridge to be replaced in October
Good news for residents who use the Robinson Lake trail. The pedestrian bridge along the trail, lost to flooding this spring, will be replaced in mid-October 2023. The original bridge was a floating boardwalk. The new bridge will be prefabricated and designed to withstand future flooding and minimize service interruptions. Because the bridge is near water, the city had to work with Conservation Sudbury to ensure the installation was timed properly and that endangered species were not disrupted. Residents are asked to avoid the area while the installation takes place. They will be notified via social media when it begins. Work is expected to take 10 to 15 days. The city asked residents for their patience.
Cubs tear apart Paper Kings in huge win
Seven Greater Sudbury Cubs players picked up multiple points as the team skated to a 9-2 win over the Espanola Paper Kings on Sept. 24. The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League matinee at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex proved to be a feisty affair, the team said in a news release. Unbeaten on the season going into the game, Greater Sudbury drew first blood just past the 12-minute mark into the first. Hudson Chitaroni got the marker, his fifth of the season, off a pass from Brock Houser. Still in the first and on the power play, the Cubs would go up by two goals thanks to Cameron Walker tucking in a Marshall McCharles. If one power play goal is good, two is better, and before the Paper Kings’ penalty was up, the Cubs make it 3-0 after Nolan Newton wheeled out of his corner and cruised up along the blueline. Newton dodged a defender and drove to the net from the left side, then took it wide and slipping the puck past a sprawled Andrew Gaulton in the Espanola net.
