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Good morning, Nickel CIty! Here's some stories to start your day

120622_HU_Fox
Sudbury.com associate content editor Heidi Ulrichsen spotted a few foxes on Laurentian University's campus while taking file photos after an assignment Saturday evening. This adorable baby fox is seen peeping out from behind a rock across the road from the Parker Building. Sudbury.com welcomes submissions of local photography for publication with our morning greeting. Send yours to [email protected].

Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Monday morning.

Local home prices jump by 21.6 per cent

With local home sale prices spiking and interest rates on the rise, the dream of owning a home in Greater Sudbury is being pushed even further out of reach. This, Sudbury Real Estate Board chair Tanya Vandenberg said, is why the local organization has joined Ontario Realtors in advocating for various points outlined in their 2022 Platform for a Home for Everyone. “The cost of inaction is having home prices continue to be out of reach for most homeowners and people wanting to own a home,” she told Sudbury.com. “We don’t see the demand slowing down – It might slow down a little bit with increasing interest rates, but it still remains pretty affordable to get a mortgage, so we have to increase the supply to meet that demand.” Since January of this year, the average price of homes sold in Greater Sudbury has hovered around the $500,000 mark, which is 21.6 per cent greater than it was a year ago. Read the full story.

PHSD’s new ‘COVID-19 Risk Index’ puts local risk at ‘moderate’

Public Health Sudbury and Districts has launched its new online COVID-19 Risk Index to help area residents assess the real-time risk of COVID-19 transmission locally and make informed decisions on how to protect themselves. “The COVID-19 Risk Index will be updated weekly and incorporates the most current and relevant data about the status of COVID-19 in our community,” said Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Medical Officer of Health for Sudbury and Districts, in a press release issued Friday. “It is an easy-to-use tool to further help residents understand the overall risk of COVID-19 spread in our service area alongside their own personal risk considerations. We hope that this new tool will help residents more easily navigate living with COVID-19 and make informed decisions about COVID-safe precautions.” The COVID-19 Risk Index is a visual representation of the overall risk of disease transmission in the community. The risk level is determined using seven separate indicators related to community transmission, the impact on our health care system capacity, and severe health outcomes. The Index has four risk levels—low, moderate, high, very high—and each level has corresponding recommended public health guidance for COVID-safe practices. As of Friday, June 10, the current overall risk for our service area is moderate. To determine the risk level at any one time, the current data for each indicator is compared with the levels seen at the height of the local Omicron COVID-19 variant wave in January 2022. Learn more here.

Pandemic has made health care a challenge for LGBTQ+ community

Ontario's LGBTQ+ community was not properly cared for during the pandemic, said the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) during a Zoom news conference last week. The event was chaired by Dr. Rose Zacharias, the new president of the OMA, who said many health challenges experienced by all Ontarians were made worse by the pandemic, but especially so by those in the LGBTQ+ community. "Members of this population have worse health outcomes than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Factors include high rates of stress due to systemic harassment, social stigma and discrimination, and a lack of LGBTQ specific health information, according to Rainbow Health Ontario," Zacharias said. She added that the shortcomings in health care could even be worse in remote parts of Northern Ontario where health services can be difficult to access because of distances, and in areas already facing a shortage of doctors. Zacharias spoke with a panel of other Ontario physicians who specialize in providing care to the LGBTQ+ community and advocating for better services to those members of the population across Ontario. Learn more here.

Photos: Sudbury’s Relay for Life fundraiser returns

Cancer has hit Darla Laframboise and her core group of friends hard recently. In January of this year, one of her besties, Tammie Putinski-Zandbelt, died after a lung cancer diagnosis. Laframboise herself was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in March 2021, but is in remission after receiving treatment at the Northeast Cancer Centre. So Laframboise and her pals, along with family members, got together and attended Sudbury’s Relay for Life in support of the Canadian Cancer Society June 11. Sudbury’s Relay for Life was held in-person Saturday for the first time since 2019 after two years of virtual versions of the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-directors Sonia Del Missier and Tim Whalen said around 120 people signed up for the event this year, and they were hoping to raise up to $30,000. While several participants noted to Sudbury.com that this year’s Relay for Life was more sparsely attended than past events, the organizers said it was great to be able to get people back together. Full coverage here.

Twin Forks Community Garden now boasts weather-hardy cherry tree

Did you know that cherry trees can grow in Northern Ontario? Not all cherry trees can, but Juliet variety cherries can grow and thrive in Sudbury soil. On June 10, one of these trees was planted in the grounds of the Twin Forks Community Garden in partnership with the Sudbury Horticultural Society and support from Sudbury Shared Harvest. The Canadian Garden Council suggested planting a red plant this year as one of the activities for the Sudbury Horticultural Society. Long-time member and volunteer Laura Foreshew suggested planting cherry trees. Foreshew had seen success with growing cherry trees in her own garden and made the generous donation of two cherry trees for communities here in Sudbury. Learn more here.

Canada welcomes 15K Afghan refugees, still over 24.5K to go before 2023 deadline

It has been two years since Canada’s government pledged to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees, and in that time has only been able to welcome slightly over 38 per cent of the target number of nationals in to Canada. According to an announcement from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued on Friday, June 10, 15,475 vulnerable Afghans have made it over to Canada since the government made its pledge to welcome 40,000 refugees in August 2021. “Canada has a proud history of helping the world's most vulnerable. Although there remains more work to do, I applaud the many people and partners who have helped us bring more than 15,000 Afghan nationals to safety in Canada,” Sean Fraser, minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said in a statement. “We are proud of what we have accomplished so far and remain determined to do more to help Afghan refugees." The latest newcomers arrived in Toronto on Wednesday, June 8 on a charter flight with about 300 Afghan nationals on board as part of Canada’s privately sponsored refugee program. Read more here.

Monday weather:

Monday there will be a mix of sun and cloud, with increasing cloudiness. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light late in the morning. High 23. Humidex 25. UV index 7 or high. Monday night will be clear with a low of 14 C.

Current Weather

Light Snow

Light Snow

-1.9°C

Pressure
101.6 falling
Visibility
24.1 km
Dewpoint
-3.1 °C
Humidity
92%
Wind
SSW 15 km/h

Radar Satellite


Hourly Forecast

Today
7 AM
-2°C
Chance of flurries
Today
8 AM
-2°C
Chance of flurries
Today
9 AM
-2°C
Chance of flurries
Today
10 AM
-1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
11 AM
-1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
12 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
1 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
2 PM
1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
3 PM
1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
4 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
5 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
6 PM
-1°C
Chance of flurries

7 Day Forecast

Chance of flurries

Today

1 °C

Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of flurries. Wind southwest 30 km/h. High plus 1. Wind chill minus 9 this morning. UV index 3 or moderate.


Chance of flurries

Tonight

-9 °C

Cloudy. 30 percent chance of flurries early this evening. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 9. Wind chill minus 7 this evening and minus 12 overnight.


Overcast

Friday

3 °C

Overcast. Wind up to 15 km/h. High plus 3. Wind chill minus 14 in the morning. UV index 1 or low.


Clear

Friday night

-6 °C

Clear. Low minus 6.


Chance of flurries

Saturday

4 °C

Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. High plus 4.


Chance of flurries

Saturday night

-4 °C

Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 4.


Sunny

Sunday

6 °C

Sunny. High 6.


Cloudy periods

Sunday night

-4 °C

Cloudy periods. Low minus 4.


Cloudy

Monday

4 °C

Cloudy. High plus 4.


Chance of flurries

Monday night

-2 °C

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 2.


Chance of flurries

Tuesday

5 °C

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of flurries. High plus 5.


Chance of flurries

Tuesday night

-6 °C

Cloudy periods with 40 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 6.


Chance of flurries

Wednesday

5 °C

A mix of sun and cloud with 40 percent chance of flurries. High plus 5.


Yesterday

Low
0 °C
High
0 °C
Precipitation
0.3 mm

Normals

Low
-7.4 °C
High
2.9 °C
Average
-2.3 °C

Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
7:10 AM
Sunset
7:49 PM

Record Values

Type Year Value
Max 1993 15.3 C
Min 1959 -18.3 C
Rainfall 1977 34.3 mm
Snowfall 1971 11.7 cm
Precipitation 1977 34.3 mm
Snow On Ground 1959 99.0 cm

Based on Environment Canada data