Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Police open tip line as search for missing city councillor continues
Greater Sudbury Police continue to ask the public's assistance in locating Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini and have established a dedicated phone line for any information about his whereabouts. Anyone with information related to the whereabouts of Michael Vagnini or the vehicle is asked to contact police at 705-675-9171 extension 2320, the dedicated line, and police state it "will be checked regularly by detectives in our Criminal Investigation Division." However, if you have immediate and actionable information related to the whereabouts of Vagnini or his vehicle, please call 9-1-1. In addition to reiterating the known details, GSPS spoke to the use of the OPP helicopter. "We continue to liaise with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in relation to the use of the helicopter," reads the statement. "Due to the current weather conditions, it is not safe to fly, however, that is regularly re-evaluated throughout each day.
Pre-budget consultations: City’s vulnerable need supports, MPPs told
Funding for the supervised consumption site, transitional housing complex, affordable housing and various other services for Sudbury’s most vulnerable appear to be top local priorities. These topics dominated the discussion during Tuesday’s pre-budget consultation meeting by the province’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs at the Radisson Hotel in Sudbury on Tuesday. Top of mind for many is The Spot, the city’s only sanctioned supervised consumption site, which is slated to close at the end of February due to a lack of funding. The Spot manager Amber Fritz (of Réseau ACCESS Network) delivered a presentation in which she requested the province step in to begin funding the site, noting they’ve had an application in since 2021. Since it opened in September 2022, Fritz reports that 24 overdoses were reversed at The Spot, which were all dealt with on-site without the need for emergency responders or hospital stays.
Medical association says the need for family doctors is urgent
Ontario's medical doctors are again speaking out on the urgency of the shortage of physicians. The Ontario Medical Association put out a news release Monday warning that the health care crisis in Ontario is only going to get worse if the shortage of family doctors is not addressed immediately. The OMA said the shortage of family physicians has hit every region of the province, including Sudbury, which is facing a shortage of 33 doctors, said the OMA release. "Far too many Ontarians, a staggering 2.3 million people, are already without a family doctor and that number is expected to nearly double in only two years," said the release. "According to HealthForceOntario, which posts job openings for physicians, there are more than 2,500 physicians needed in the province," the release continued.
Manslaughter sentence still up in the air for Dowling man
A Dowling man charged in the death of his elderly neighbour will have to wait even longer for his sentencing hearing as his lawyer, Robert Beckett, is in the hospital. Though Jean Lavoie pleaded guilty in Sudbury court Aug. 8 to manslaughter in relation to the death of Gabriel Paul Richards, 72, at a Sturgeon Street building in Dowling on May 11, 2022, he still has not heard how much time he will serve. He has been remanded since he was arrested. Beckett’s representative in court told Justice Julie Lefevbre the lawyer had been in hospital since Jan. 26. Lefevbre said the court was already aware of the issue, and was prepared to adjournment the matter until defense counsel was ready.
Magna Mining drills to expand nickel resources at former INCO mine
The global nickel price is slumping but Magna Mining isn’t breaking stride in making progress to bring two former Sudbury mines back into production. Magna Mining will be running two winter drilling programs at its Crean Hill and Shakespeare properties at the outset of what the local company anticipates will be an exciting year to make new discoveries on these brownfield properties. With more than $15 million banked, Magna plans to do 25,000 metres of drilling this year, most of it at Crean Hill, a former INCO mine property containing nickel, copper and platinum group metals that the company acquired in November 2022. Like its neighbour, SPC Nickel, Magna is a Sudbury-focussed exploration and development company situated on the southwest lip of the Sudbury basin. Crean Hill is in an active mining and exploration corridor, 35 kilometres from Sudbury, just off the Trans-Canada Highway. Shakespeare is 70 kilometres west of the city, near the village of McKerrow.
Housing project by downtown water tower moving forward
Originally expected to open last summer, it appears a 38-unit affordable housing complex in the shadow of Sudbury’s landmark water tower is finally moving forward. A rezoning and land severance application to accommodate the 38-unit affordable housing complex to the immediate east of the water tower was unanimously approved by the planning committee of city council on Jan. 29. Project lead Tim Laderoute attended the meeting. He declined comment with Sudbury.com afterward, but pledged to share updates on the project as soon as he has more to share. Grading is currently taking place on site, just east of the Sudbury water tower, which owner Dario Zulich re-named the Sudbury Peace Tower in memory of local pastor Jeremy Mahood. The five-storey residential building will consist of one-bedroom units marked below market rent, and the project will be undertaken by the not-for-profit Sudbury Peace Tower Housing Inc. on land Zulich has donated.
