Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this December Monday morning.
Trial postponed again for man charged with human trafficking
A man charged with human trafficking in Sudbury has his case adjourned yet again, and in the words of Justice Pierre Bradley, “it is entirely the defendant’s fault.”
Paul Castonguay appeared in Sudbury court on Dec. 15 (Friday), facing charges including trafficking in persons under 18, material benefit from sexual services, and several counts of assault.
Castonguay had not contacted his lawyer in three weeks, said his attorney Dennis Michel, despite repeated attempts to contact him through family members. Castonguay does not have a phone, Michel told the court.
Castonguay had also applied for legal aid, but as he had not met with his lawyer, his legal aid was cancelled. His lawyer told the court he was unwilling to bear the costs of the case without further information from his client.
Castonguay had reinstated his legal aid just before he entered the court Friday.
Michel told the judge he was shocked when his client arrived for court. He told the judge he mentioned his predicament to the Crown attorney, Mathieu Ansell, just minutes before. Michel asked for an adjournment as he was unprepared for the case.
Richelieu Club continues Christmas tradition
A longstanding community tradition in Sudbury was continued Saturday when members of the Club Richelieu Les Patriotes, along with their family members and friends, volunteered to create and deliver scores of Christmas food baskets to families in Greater Sudbury.
The day began in the gymnasium at École Ste-Marie in Azilda where the volunteer workers were busy packing up the food parcels; meat, vegetables, coffee, peanut butter, milk, butter, Tourtière, pasta, rice, cereal, dry goods, canned foods. The list went on.
"This is something that is done every year so that families have food at Christmas, so they could celebrate Christmas with their family and have the opportunity to share a good meal with their family members," said Richelieu spokesperson Paul de la Riva.
"Richelieu has been doing this for over 35 years. At first, it may have been smaller amounts but for the last dozen years or so we've been doing this for 110 to 140 family baskets per year," he said.
Little Montreal bar holds tribute to Northern bluesman Dwayne Trudeau
A special music event was held in Sudbury Sunday to honour and commemorate the legacy of Northern Ontario bluesman Dwayne Trudeau.
Trudeau, who was a much-admired and popular musician and blues singer in the North, died just over a month ago, on November 13 at the age of 48.
Sunday's event was held before a packed house at the Little Montreal Bar and Deli on Elgin Street.
Being as Trudeau was so well-known in the music community, friends decided to hold a tribute event for Trudeau said fellow musician Rylan Stolar.
"Well, Duane passed away quite suddenly and unexpectedly. And he was one of the best blues players Northern Ontario was gifted to ever have. And a big chunk of blues passed along with Dwayne right," said Stolar.
He said he didn't want to see Trudeau's blues legacy die and it was decided to hold the one-day event as a tribute. Stolar said he hopes it will become an annual event in some way. Stolar said he wasn't being sentimental. He said Trudeau had a unique talent and a big following, and not just in Sudbury.
North Bay Police use 'Bait bike' -- Thief caught on the first try
Stolen bikes are a big problem in North Bay.
There is even a Facebook page dedicated to it with 1,500 members.
So it comes as good news that police are now targetting thieves with "bait bikes."
Prior to the snow falling, and with bikes still being used in the city, the North Bay Police Service launched a new project to deter bike thefts and catch offenders in the act of stealing them.
“Bikes are and will be strategically deployed throughout the city. Our bikes can be tracked, and if you’re caught taking one, you will be arrested and charged accordingly”, said Inspector of Operations Jeff Warner.
“Despite the initiative being launched later than anticipated, we immediately saw results with the bait bike being stolen and one person being charged with theft and breach of probation."
Bike thefts occur year-round, and this initiative will be ongoing throughout the year, making offenders think twice about taking a bike, not knowing if the police are tracking it.
Over 100 bikes have been reported stolen so far in North Bay in 2023.
Cambrian College's Giving Tuesday event raises $65,000
People from across Greater Sudbury and Ontario pledged more than $65,000 to Cambrian College during the college’s Giving Tuesday initiative in late November.
In total, $65,769 were raised during Giving Tuesday, well beyond Cambrian’s goal of $50,000.
“Once again this year, our many donors and supporters demonstrated their incredible generosity by contributing to several initiatives to support our students,” said Melanie Cacciotti, Cambrian’s Executive Director of Alumni and Development. “The donations we saw this week are going to make a very real difference in benefitting and helping our students succeed and prosper.”
Donors who supported Cambrian College during Giving Tuesday had several options to choose from, including program-specific bursaries, hardship bursaries, the student food bank and a special focus on mental health support.
Cambrian, in partnership with Cambrian Student Council, will be developing a new student services hub, where students can access many of these supports in one location.
École Alliance St-Joseph’s Stéphane Robillard is a chess champ
We don't know if he used the Queen's Gambit opening but Stéphane Robillard of Sudbury was really on his game recently when scores of young chessmasters descended on Collège Notre-Dame Dec. 4 for the school’s chess tournament.
The following students stood out in the tournament: 1st, Stéphane Robillard, École Alliance St-Joseph (Chelmsford); 2nd Sébastien Joly, École Ste-Thérèse (Val Thérèse); and 3rd, Luca Chartrand, École Ste-Marie (Azilda).
More than 100 Grade 7 and 8 students took part in the tournament, which took place in the Sudbury high school’s gymnasium.
Students from these Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon elementary schools participate in the event: École Ste Marie (Azilda), École Alliance St-Joseph (Chelmsford), École catholique La Renaissance (Espanola), École Notre-Dame (Hanmer), École St-Paul (Lively), École catholique Félix-Ricard (Sudbury), École St-Pierre (Sudbury), École St-Denis (Sudbury), École Jean-Paul II (Val Caron), École Ste-Thérèse (Val Thérèse) and École St-Thomas (Warren).
Each player had the opportunity to play five matches.
Organized by Collège Notre-Dame teacher André Maillet, the tournament was a great success thanks to the strategic and valuable support of student members of the CND Chess Club.
