Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your weekend.
Wolves owner: Events centre will spark downtown’s rejuvenation
In the 1984 movie, “Star Trek III: The Search For Spock,” a powerful terraforming device called Genesis is dropped on a desolate planet, causing it to explode with life. City council’s unanimous decision earlier this week to proceed with a new $200-million arena/events centre will have a similar effect on Downtown Sudbury. So described Sudbury Wolves Sports and Entertainment CEO Dario Zulich in conversation with Sudbury.com this week. “It’s going to make such a splash downtown that it will create a tidal wave of cleanup all the way down Elgin Street, Durham, Cedar, Larch — everywhere,” he said. Anticipating an influx of hundreds of thousands of additional people downtown, Zulich said the city’s historic core will become “that vibrant social hub that everyone wants to see,” and the project will spark a “rejuvenation of our downtown.” Zulich’s company owns the Sudbury Wolves hockey team and Sudbury Five basketball team, which are poised to become anchor tenants of the upcoming arena/events centre.
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Speed cameras prove effective, tickets being mailed out
Motorists have begun receiving tickets in the mail after automated speed-enforcement cameras caught them exceeding posted speed limits. In one image posted to social media this week, a ticket recorded the vehicle going 52 km/h in a 40 km/h zone, which resulted in a total fine of $80. In addition to the vehicle’s speed, the ticket includes two images of the offending vehicle, including a close-up of its licence plate, and the time the photo was taken. The city has declined to share their threshold for issuing tickets, but did offer three examples of fines issued, including $40 for 5 km/h exceedance, $95 for 15 km/h and $170 for 25 km/h. Meanwhile, it appears every single one of the city’s six automated speed-enforcement cameras have successfully slowed traffic, with significantly more motorists obeying posted speed limits.
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Box of dead puppies found in landfill
Police are investigating after several deceased puppies were found abandoned in a blue recycle box at a landfill site on Reserve Road at Atikameksheng First Nation.The Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Police Service, along with the Nipissing West Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), have begun a cruelty to animals investigation. Officers are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the individual(s) involved in abandoning these animals. If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit information online at www.ontariocrimestoppers.ca where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
RIDE spot checks get better at nabbing impaired drivers
Impaired drivers have become even more likely to be caught during Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) spot checks, which Greater Sudbury Police are ramping up this year. In 2022, 7,010 vehicles were checked as part of the RIDE program, resulting in 37 impaired driving charges laid. Last year, 7,870 vehicles were checked, resulting in a disproportionate 72 impaired charges laid. During Wednesday’s police board meeting, Deputy Chief Natalie Hiltz said it’s difficult to say why there was such a difference in impaired driving charges between the two years, and it’s unclear whether it’s a sign there were more impaired drivers on the streets.
Journeys: Jim Gordon, Uncle Willie and a life in politics
As a child, Jim Gordon adored his Great Uncle Willie and wanted to grow up to be a politician just like him. There are few Ontario politicians who have served their community for as long or with as much dedication as Gordon. A key player in the foresighted rescue plan known as Sudbury 2001 that transformed Sudbury from a mining town to a regional capital of health care and education, and a tourist destination, Gordon played leaderships roles in efforts to convince the provincial government to fund a cancer treatment centre in northeastern Ontario and, several decades later, to establish the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (now called NOSM University). "From the time I was 14, I began to think about what I wanted to be. I want to be a politician like my Great Uncle Willie because he did things. He loved life. I thought that was great," said Gordon. His great uncle, a veteran of the Boer War and the First World War, and an adventurer to boot, was the reeve of Coleman Township in Timiskaming District.
Season over for Wolves after 5-0 shutout by Troops
The Sudbury Wolves’ season ended Thursday evening. The Pack were at home April 18 for game four of round two in a must-win situation against the North Bay Battalion. Unfortunately for the Wolves and the fans, it wasn’t meant to be, as the Battalion eliminated Sudbury to advance to the Ontario Hockey League Eastern Conference Finals. The loss sees the Sudbury Wolves’ 2023-2024 Ontario Hockey League season come to an end as the team looks ahead to the off season and the 2024-2025 season.
‘Thrilled’: Sudbury Symphony welcomes its new director to town
In town to lead his first concert as Sudbury Symphony Orchestra’s new artistic and executive director, William (who actually goes by Bill) Rowson said he and his family intend to move to Greater Sudbury. It will be the first time in a long while the SSO director has actually lived in town. Currently residing in Vancouver, Rowson said he and his wife, Yvanna, have two young daughters, and can’t afford the housing prices there. He said he’s already house hunting in Sudbury, and they plan to move here once they wrap up their projects in British Columbia.“Now we're going to have an exciting change in our lives,” said Rowson, who added that he has family connections in Northern Ontario, with his father having grown up in Kapuskasing and relatives residing in Thunder Bay. He said he was “thrilled” when he learned he’d gotten the job. Rowson was one of several candidates vying for the SSO director’s chair over the past few seasons, presenting a concert in Sudbury in October.
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