Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Tuesday morning.
Bittersweet Christmas present for ‘Letterkenny’ fans
Fans of the Sudbury-shot television show “Letterkenny” are getting a Christmas present this year, although perhaps a bittersweet one. “Letterkenny” drops its twelfth and final season on Crave on Monday, Dec. 25. If you quickly blow through the new episodes, don’t despair — there’s still the “Letterkenny” spinoff “Shoresy” to enjoy, which is also shot in Sudbury by New Metric Media. And Crave and New Metric Media recently inked a new deal to expand the Letterkenny universe. The multi-year deal was announced Dec. 6 and will see 49 new episodes created for Crave, including Letterkenny spin-offs, and the development of all-new series with “Letterkenny” creator, Jared Keeso.
Espanola resident killed in fatal ATV crash at Nairn Centre
The Manitoulin Ontario Provincial Police detachment continues to investigate a fatal ATV crash that occurred in Nairn Centre on Dec. 15. Police said officers were dispatched to the scene of a single-vehicle ATV crash on Perivale Road at around 2 p.m. that day. A 28-year-old resident of Espanola was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported, police said. The investigation is ongoing with the assistance of the OPP Traffic Incident Management Enforcement (T.I.M.E.) team.
City hits milestone in tackling $130M annual infrastructure gap.
Previously ambiguous, Greater Sudbury’s annual infrastructure spending gap has been laid bare in the city’s most in-depth report on the subject thus far. Sitting at $130 million annually, city general manager of corporate services Kevin Fowke walked the city’s elected officials through the spending gap in council chambers last week during a presentation of the city’s latest Enterprise Asset Management Plan update. This annual spending gap, he explained, is the “capital funding gap between the average annual requirement and the five-year historical average that we’ve invested.” “It’s not a deficit that’s some kind of loss or a debt that needs to be repaid immediately,” he added. “It’s the gap between investments required and average investments made.” Perhaps the most immediately apparent funding gap in Greater Sudbury is roads, with the ceaseless presence of potholes offering motorists a regular reminder of their middling quality.
City replacing Nelson Street pedestrian bridge next year
With the Nelson Street pedestrian bridge having seen better days, it’s slated to be replaced by a new prefabricated structure next year. The new bridge is scheduled to go up between May and August, and come at a total cost of approximately $3 million, though the final total won’t be known until the tender is awarded early next year. The bridge has been a topic of discussion for years, and was part of the Elgin Greenway project proposed several years ago. At the time, it was contemplated to be renovated. Now, it’s facing a complete replacement. “It’s definitely less expensive in the long term to replace the bridge,” city project manager Stephen Holmes told Sudbury.com.
Foundation makes ‘extraordinary’ donation to Women’s Centre
Sudbury Women’s Centre received a carload of needed donations this month from the JF Extraordinaire Foundation. The foundation is the brainchild of Tashoy McKenzie-Pearson, a Laurentian University nursing student. It is named in honour of her mother, Janet Frazer, who passed away when McKenzie-Pearson was a teenager. “This year, my foundation partnered with Laurentian University Student Nursing councils and other businesses in the community to do a donation drive for the Women’s Centre,” she told Sudbury.com. The donation, which filled a minivan with diapers and other items for those who need the Women’s Centre’s services, was dropped off on Dec. 6. The foundation is also making donations to support initiatives for homeless people and new Canadian immigrants outside the Sudbury region.
Ontario woman uses her nose to get into Guinness Book of World Records
Growing up, LuLu Lotus loved to read the Guinness World Record book and learn about all the different accomplishments uniquely talented people around the world had achieved. One day, Lotus, a former Newmarket resident who now lives in Aurora, decided that she wanted to get her name in the record books. The idea was sparked when she was watching DJ Steve Aoki’s documentary I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead on Netflix. Aoki was awarded with the world record of “Most Travelled Musician in One Year,” which inspired Lotus to look into the different records to see if she could achieve one herself. Lotus knew right away which type of record she’d be looking for, one involving nose whistling, as it had always been her hidden talent.
