Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Explosion sparks fire affecting three homes in Hanmer
A “very significant” explosion within a house woke up residents in the Park Avenue area of Hanmer at approximately 3:50 a.m. on Dec. 23. The explosion sparked a blaze affecting three houses on Park Avenue. “The main home at the centre and the homes on either side, one more significantly than the other,” Greater Sudbury Fire Services Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell explained to Sudbury.com. On the scene that morning, the house at the centre was seen completely levelled by the explosion and blaze. The home to the left was damaged and uninhabitable, while the home to the right had minimal damage and was deemed habitable by local firefighters.
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Friend sets up fundraiser for victims of Hanmer fire
An online fundraiser has been set up for one of the families affected by the Dec. 23 blaze in Hanmer, which damaged three homes, of which two are considered uninhabitable. As of the writing of this story during the mid afternoon of Dec. 24, the GoFundMe fundraiser had raised $9,180 of its $10,000 goal. The fundraiser can be found by clicking here. It has been set up by family friend MJ Pappin for Kate and Sly Blanchette, whose house was to the immediate left of a Park Avenue house in which an explosion took place at approximately 3:50 a.m. on Dec. 23. The house in which the explosion took place was levelled during the blaze, while the Blanchette house was badly damaged to the point it was deemed uninhabitable by firefighters. The house to the right of the middle house was also damaged, but to a lesser degree and is inhabitable. The Blanchette family, which also includes Fergus, a golden retriever, was at home at the time of the explosion and have since vacated it to stay with friends.
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Lo-Ellen wins Harvard’s Wolves of Wall Street competition
Students from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School have won the prestigious Harvard University International Stock Market Competition. In an impressive display of financial acumen, Grade 12 students Jacob Zhong, Sean Corrigan, and Aaron Bolton captured top honours in the Harvard Student Agencies’ Wolves of Wall Street Challenge. “This remarkable achievement underscores the commitment to excellence within Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School's School of Business, where all three students are enrolled,” said Principal Pamela Potvin, in a press release.
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‘Don’t trust any ice,’ firefighters warn early ice fisherman
Given how mild winter has been thus far, it seems unlikely that anyone would walk out onto thin ice, but that’s exactly what at least two people did on Greater Sudbury lakes on Saturday afternoon. The first was an ice fisherman on McFarlane Lake, near the Cecil Facer Youth Centre east of Sudbury. Firefighters were called when onlookers saw the man out on the lake. “He did not want to be bothered,” Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell told Sudbury.com. “We can’t force him off, but people were watching from shore.” Firefighters with the city's water rescue/ice rescue crew educated the man on the dangers of thin ice, but he declined to stop fishing. The message? “Don’t trust any ice conditions at this time,” Oshell said.
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Last day at Brûlerie Old Rock Roastery café
The Brûlerie Old Rock Roastery building at 212 Minto St. was packed with coffee enthusiasts today for the building’s final day operating as a café. The city is purchasing the building, and gave owners Carole and Luc Roy until the end of June to vacate. The building’s final day as a café came with its “ups and downs” emotionally, Luc told Sudbury.com between conversations with longtime customers during the early afternoon, describing it as a “tremendous day” overall. “The city worked with us, the city adapted to us, so they knew that we needed a transition period. They allowed us six months of a transition period, which is why today’s our last day.”
