Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Saturday morning.
Sudburians gather to honour Orange Shirt Day
The day began at sunrise with the building of a sacred fire, and continued with a walk of remembrance from N’Swakamok Friendship Centre to the Bell Park Amphitheatre, where hundreds of school children and those who wish to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation came together. It was a day for healing, said Jim Eshkawkogan, elder and knowledge keeper from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. He spoke at the opening ceremonies and ensured that those watching understood the importance of the seven grandfather teachings, (Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility & Wisdom) especially on a day to remember those who attended the residential schools, and those who never came home. “We need understanding,” said Eshkawkogan. “Because the things we don’t understand, we try to destroy.” He told the audience that there is the need to be humble, to practice humility, and see that “we are all human beings.” Eshkawkogan said it was important to remember that the seven grandfather teachings are not only for Indigenous people.
Saturday rally to support women’s rights in Iran
A group of Canadian-Iranian citizens in Sudbury will be coming together on Saturday, Oct. 1 to stand in solidarity with the women’s movement in Iran, and they are asking for support from the community. Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in protest since the death last week of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was apprehended in Tehran and taken to a “re-education centre,” apparently for “not wearing her hijab properly.” Over the last week, demonstrations have taken place nationwide, including the capital Tehran, with protesters demanding an end to violence and discrimination against women as well as an end to compulsory wearing of the hijab. The Solidarity Rally will be held along Paris Street near Bell Park at 1:30 p.m.
Suspect on the run after pinning woman with U-Haul: GSPS
Greater Sudbury Police are asking for the public’s assistance to locate a 23-year-old man they believe was involved in a hit-and-run that injured a woman earlier this month. Just before 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17, police received a call in regard to a disturbance at a residential area on Nesbitt Drive in Greater Sudbury. Police received information that a verbal dispute had ensued and that an individual may have been injured after being struck by a U-Haul truck. Upon arrival, police located a woman with serious but non-life threatening injuries as a result of being pinned between the U-Haul Cube Van and a cement pillar. The driver of the U-Haul had fled the scene prior to police arrival and had subsequently abandoned the vehicle. The woman was transported to Health Sciences North to be treated for her injuries and remains in hospital in stable condition. Upon investigation, the driver of the U-Haul was identified as 23-year old Cole Johnson-Whitfield. The suspect is believed to have fled the City of Greater Sudbury and his whereabouts are currently unknown. There is a warrant for his arrest for numerous ofences, including dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm, failure to stop after accident causing bodily harm, three counts of operation of a vehicle while prohibited, failure to comply with a release order and breach of probation.
Bold: Adventures in pike with tournament angler Marc Pitre
Talk to anyone who has done any type of fishing in Northern Ontario and you're going to hear a pike story. Talk to Marc Pitre of Sudbury and you will hear some of the best pike stories ever told. The northern pike is a large carnivorous fish whose scientific name is ‘esox lucius’, but there are a lot of other names well known to Northern Ontario residents, usually heard in a sentence like "that slimy monster stole my hook!" Hang around any marina or shoreline along the lakes and rivers of the North and you will hear plenty of adventure stories about catching that first pike, about catching a huge pike or even stories about hauling in a nice walleye only to have it ripped off the hook at the last minute by a thieving razor-toothed slimy fish. Pitre, a Sudbury tournament fisher, has heard most of those stories but he said it's all about getting outdoors and catching those massive fish. We spoke to Pitre earlier this week, just as he got home after a day on Trout Lake in North Bay. He was out with a friend and between the two of them, they "saw" one fish and that was it. But Pitre said the fun of fishing for pike is the anticipation and the excitement builds from there.
Apartment units in ‘huge demand’ approved in Hanmer
Divided into three buildings off of Cote Boulevard in Hanmer, 30 one- and two-bedroom apartment units were cleared for construction during this week’s planning committee meeting. “This is a really good, important development, especially in my neck of the woods,” Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre said upon approving the development’s required zoning changes. “I have a lot of residents that are asking for apartments because they want to stay in the Hanmer area.” Although there are housing opportunities elsewhere in Greater Sudbury, he said, “they want to stay where they grew up.” “I’m sure when the developer gets going, they will be rented in a heartbeat, because the demand is there,” he added. Backing up this sentiment, meeting chair and Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan said one- and two-bedroom units are particularly attractive to older adults in the Valley looking to downsize but who don’t want to miss out on the ample green space available in the area. “Please, ask your client if he could have a few more of these properties ready to go before too much time, because there is a huge demand in the Valley for this type of property,” he told Kevin Jarus of Tulloch Engineering, who served as agent for the applicant.
Read the full story on the Sudbury.com homepage.
Nickel City Hockey Association puts $50K grant to work
The Nickel City Hockey Association has put a $50,000 grant they received last year to work, with the funds credited with helping navigate the impacts brought about by the pandemic. A media release was issued by the organization this week in which they outline how they used the Community Building Fund-Operating stream grant from the province and Ontario Trillium Foundation. “The volunteers involved in the Nickel City Hockey Association deserve our thanks for the joy and thrills hockey brings to so many children each season. This grant will help make it possible for their good work to continue,” Nickel Belt NDP MPP France Gélinas said in a media release. Funds from the Community Building Fund grant were used to help cover key organizational operating costs, ice time rentals and website maintenance costs. “This grant has helped the Nickel City Hockey Association maintain high-level hockey programming for hundreds of kids in the community,” according to the media release, which notes its volunteers “have spent years fundraising to have the resources in place to begin each hockey season.”
Read the full story on the Sudbury.com homepage.
Pretty nice weekend weather-wise in the forecast
Expect a pretty nice weekend weather-wise according to the forecast. Today will start out cloudy but clear for the afternoon, then expect sunny skies and a high of 14. The wind will be northeasterly at 20 km/h, gusting to 40. The UV index today is three, or moderate. For tonight, the skies will stay clear and the temperature will dip to zero. For Sunday, expect sunny skies and a high of 13. For Sunday night, the skies will stay clear and the temperature will fall to zero.
