Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Sudbury not as immune from car thefts as you might think
The rise and fall of car theft numbers in Sudbury seem to point to a cat and mouse game between vehicle manufacturers and thieves. The data, when graphed, is essentially a roller coaster. The number of vehicles stolen in Sudbury (meaning the owner has given up the vehicle as permanently gone — not just a joyride) comes from data obtained by Sudbury.com’s parent company, Village Media. In combination with data earlier obtained by Village, it allows for a portrait of auto theft in Ontario, with all its ups and downs, from 2004 to 2023. The data shows that in almost two decades, 1,637 passenger vehicles in Sudbury are considered gone for good.
Foul play officially ruled out in death of Michael Vagnini
Greater Sudbury Police have officially reported that there was no foul play involved in the death of city councillor Michael Vagnini. A media release issued by GSPS on Feb. 21 stated the postmortem was conducted on Tuesday, Feb. 20, “confirming that his death was attributed to medical causes, the details of which will remain private in consultation with his family.” A search and rescue effort that lasted a little more than two weeks ended on Feb. 13 when the Ward 2 councillor’s remains were found at a seasonal residence on Reserve Camp Road on Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation. Sudbury.com reported yesterday that Vagnini’s cause of death wouldn’t be made public, according to the chief coroner's office in Sudbury.
Wolves put a bounty on opposing player, report alleges
The Sudbury Wolves are being investigated by the Ontario Hockey League over allegations a bounty was placed on an opposing player, states a report from Jeff Marek over at SportsNet. The story says the issue began at a Jan. 18 game between the Barrie Colts and the Wolves. Marek writes that Colts defender Kashawn Aitcheson hit Sudbury forward Nathan Villeneuve with a hard body check. Although the hit was legal, Marek stated, and no penalty was called, the check didn’t sit well with Wolves defencemen Nolan Collins, who fought with Aitcheson later the same game. Three days later when the two teams met again, Barrie didn’t dress Aitcheson for the game, Marek reports. “According to those sources, word reached the Colts about the possibility of a bounty being placed on Aitcheson, so the organization made a decision not to play him,” Marek writes.
Laurentian University recovering from a ‘cyber incident’
A “cyber incident” that has affected multiple IT services at Laurentian University since Sunday has been reported to law enforcement. This includes the university’s website, which is still mostly down, except for its main page, and is currently only displaying information about the IT outage. Sudbury.com reached out to Laurentian University’s communications department Feb. 21, asking for an interview with the most appropriate administrator. A spokesperson for Laurentian said “unfortunately all of our leaders are focused on the problem at hand and would not be available to provide an interview.” The university spokesperson added that “we are updating Laurentian.ca (now functional) with the latest updates and have recently added an FAQ with 21 questions on the cyber issue. We will be updating it as often as possible and our teams are doing everything they can to bring the systems back online.”
Memory Lane: When the slag pour lit up Sudbury’s nights
Let’s take a train ride to the past and talk about the INCO slag pour. What was once a familiar sight to residents of the Nickel Capital, and attracted tourists from far and wide, were those long fiery rivers of lava surging forth from a train of pots and cascading down the manmade mountainside of the slag dump, lighting up the night sky with its vermilion glow. For those of us lucky enough to have lived here during those times, this was one of the perks of living in a mining town. Slag is what remains after most of the precious metals (nickel, copper, silver, zinc and gold) are removed. Slag is the waste. Thin pieces of slag are not nearly as hard as rock, and break up quickly and easily, almost like glass. In fact, on a rainy evening, black chunks of slag are known to sparkle like diamonds.
From rocket science to food science at J&M Indian Cuisine
Anvesh Pallabhatla and his wife, Shikha Bhanwala, got so busy with their new restaurant, J and M Indian Cuisine, that they forgot to have a grand opening. For an entire year. So on Feb. 20, they hosted a dinner for friends and family, and Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefevbre. The two owners, Pallabhatia and Bhanwala, were clearly thrilled, and honoured to feed him, as well as all those who had supported them throughout their journey to Sudbury. That journey isn’t just one that brought the two from India — him from the north, her from the south — but also, the one that turned them from their education, to the work they love. You see, they are both aerospace engineers. Yes, actual rocket scientists.
