Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Tribute to a bluesman: Sudbury's Dwayne Trudeau passes away at 48
It feels like a gift, given to you and immediately snatched away. One fateful chance to hear a monster Sudbury bluesman, a master of the slide guitar, and then a week later, he’s gone. Sudbury.com had just featured that monster bluesman, Dwayne Trudeau, and shared some of his music when we learned that he unexpectedly passed away a week after our story came out. Trudeau died on Nov. 13 at the age of 48. He leaves behind family, four children, and the eternal respect of Sudbury’s music community. Born April 29, 1975, Trudeau was originally from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, and moved to Sudbury in 1987. He told Sudbury.com in early November he began playing on the streets just to make a few bucks for diapers, and ended up playing just about every stage in Sudbury. Trudeau, however, never quite made it big. Not the fame that would match his talent, anyway, because if anything, Trudeau had chops. After his death, musicians across the city took to social media to express their sadness.
MPP West continues pushing to reinstate Ontario anti-scab laws
At a virtual press conference Nov. 23 regarding the NDP push for anti-scab legislation, Sudbury MPP Jamie West spoke of his time on the picket line in Sudbury, saying that after a strike featuring scab workers, the community suffers. “In 2010, I was a smelter worker on strike and scabs crossed our picket lines on a regular basis,” said West. “We fought hard in 2009 when the strike began, and in 2010, the NDP brought forward anti-scab legislation.” West said he was at the legislature for the vote, sitting in the members’ gallery and said he watched the Liberal members count the number of Conservatives in the room and “collude” so that they could cancel their votes so the legislation wouldn't pass. “I watched as my MPP (Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci) scurried off into the back lobby, so he wouldn't have to be on record about voting. I watched his Liberals and Conservatives collude to turn their backs on workers. And I'll never forget that.”
Pets & Animals: Bunny rescue needs fosters as winter approaches
Ten abandoned pet bunnies have been rescued by a group of volunteers from an uncertain life outdoors since Sudbury Bunny Rescue Room started its operations this past June. Those rabbits include a mother bunny called Sweet Pea who was pregnant and gave birth to eight surviving kits while in foster care, meaning that a total of 18 rabbits have actually been saved. Most of those bunnies have now been adopted out, but they have two currently ready for adoption, Chip and Poppy. Another rabbit, Cricket, who has undergone leg amputation surgery, will be going up for adoption soon. She will require an experienced adopter, as she has special needs. Cricket was found on the side of the road in July, and she couldn’t really hop. After a lot of very expensive vet care defrayed in part by fundraisers, it was determined that she had osteomyelitis, and had her right back leg amputated.
Incident at Chelmsford store leads to school lockdown
An mid-morning incident at a Chelmsford store led to a brief lockdown at Chelmsford Valley District Composite School (CVDCS) on Nov. 22. Greater Sudbury Police said officers were dispatched to a store on Highway 144 in Chelmsford at around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. “Information provided was that an individual entered the store and got into a verbal disagreement with an employee, leading to the individual throwing items around the store,” GSPS spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn told Sudbury.com. “When exiting the store, the individual displayed a knife and threatened the employee with it.” Police searched for the individual and report finding the person on Edward Street in Chelmsford at around 11 a.m. “Upon searching the individual, officers located the knife believed to have been used during the incident,” Dunn said.
New street designs debuting with Larch Street project
The asphalt work on Larch Street isn’t just a status-quo operation, with the end result slated to usher in a new potential vision for how roads will look in the city’s downtown core. Although crews have left the scene (Larch Street, from Elgin to Lisgar) for the season, they’re not done yet, with surface-layer asphalt slated to be installed early next year. The one-way street is being narrowed to a single lane, with parking on the north and a loading zone lane on the south. A bike lane is being added south of the loading zone, with a painted barrier separating it from vehicles. Three ground-level tree planters (one with one tree and two with two trees) have already been installed along the north side, and depressed curbs have been built. Both the tree planters and depressed curbs (a ramped curb rather than a step up) are both pilot projects.
Laurentian gets new spots to train nurse practitioners
The provincial government has opened up additional training spots for nurse practitioners at Ontario universities, including Laurentian University in Sudbury. This week, the province announced 121 additional training positions have been added to the Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program this year. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced university education that can provide primary care in nurse practitioner-led clinics, long-term care homes, hospitals, and other community settings. “Expanding training opportunities to become a nurse practitioner will grow this important profession, ensuring more Ontarians can connect to high-quality care, when and where they need it,” said Health Minister and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones.
