Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Police seeking man who may have witnessed Kingsway fatality:
A pedestrian was killed Wednesday morning after being struck by a vehicle on the Kingsway at around 7:50 a.m. The male pedestrian succumbed to his injuries at the scene, Greater Sudbury Police confirmed in a tweet at 10:18 a.m. Wednesday. Police said they do not have a "confirmed identity" for the victim at this time. The police service's traffic management unit continues to investigate. Greater Sudbury police are looking to speak with a man, about 50 years old, who was driving a light coloured SUV at the time of the incident. He stopped at the scene and may have witnessed the collision, police tweeted Wednesday.
OPP seeking information on series of break and enters in French River area:
The Sudbury (Noelville) OPP detachment is investigating a series of break and enters in the Municipality of French River. The break and enters occurred sometime between Dec. 8 and Dec. 31, 2018. The locations include Weeks Road, Monetville Road and Mayer Road in French River, as well as Hartley Bay Road in the Municipality of Killarney. Items stolen include fishing and hunting gear including a compound bow, hand tools, food and clothing as well as a black 1990 Polaris Indy Classic snowmobile. Any person with information regarding this incident should immediately contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-888-310-1122 or their nearest police authority. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit information online at www.sudburycrimestoppers.com where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
Sudburians busted in Henvey Inlet as OPP raids of First Nations pot dispensaries continue:
Three Greater Sudbury men are facing charges as the OPP continue to raid cannabis dispensaries in First Nations communities. On Jan. 4, police raided two dispensaries in Henvey Inlet First Nation, located south of Greater Sudbury, seizing $33,730 worth of cannabis products from one, as well as $229 in Canadian currency, and $157,230 worth of products from the other, as well as $3,250 in currency. Charged are three men. A 39-year-old from Sudbury and a 20-year-old from Valley East each face a charge of possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling. A 39-year-old Sudbury man faces a charge of allowing property to be used for unlawful sale or distribution. The raid was conducted by the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team (PJFCET) of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) along with the North East Region Community Street Crimes Unit (CSCU), West Parry Sound Crime Unit and the West Parry Sound Detachment. All three were released on promises to appear. All are to appear in court in Parry Sound on Feb. 28.
Climate change a very real issue for Northern Ontario:
Ontario's Environmental Commissioner Diane Saxe visited Sudbury on Jan. 8 for a sobering talk on climate change in Northern Ontario. The picture painted by Saxe during her 45-minute presentation was a rather bleak one at times, as she explained that is too late to be thinking soley about reducing greenhouse gas emissions or about trying to adapt. "We have to do both," said Saxe. "We're already seeing the highest temperatures in human history, we blew away record temperatures in 2016, we also blew away records of how many records we blew away." Saxe explained that Ontario is warming at a faster rate than the global average, and Northern Ontario is warming at a rate faster than the province as a whole. While average temperatures and precipitation numbers have been increasing steadily, average numbers do tend to mask most of what really matters when it comes to climate change. With the changing climate, it's the extreme weather events that increase and become far less predictable, and these are the things that have a very real and close to home effect on everyone. The risk of extreme weather events has increased by four times in comparison to a generation ago. Events like flooding, forest fires, wind storms and droughts are becoming far more prevalent around Ontario. Full story can be found here.
Warm temperatures mean the pothole season now begins in December:
For most people, unusually warm days in winter are a welcome relief from bitterly cold temperatures. But for Greater Sudbury's roads maintenance staff, the yo-yoing temperatures lead to an unhappy phrase: freeze-thaw cycles. When streets thaw and then freeze in winter, the result is potholes. And in a city where complaining about the state of the roads is a municipal pastime, that's bad news. Warmer temperatures in recent years – locally and globally – is generally attributed to climate change. While the average temperature in Greater Sudbury for December is -8 C, it has been warmer than that every year since 2010, except for 2013 and 2017. In 2015, the average was -1 C. January has also been warmer in the same period compared to the -12 C average we normally receive. It's the perfect conditions for potholes and other road damage, said Tony Cecutti, the city's GM of infrastructure, because the pools of water that form during the day on the road seep into the asphalt, then freeze when it gets cold. The asphalt is forced to expand when the water freezing, creating cracks that get worse when the freeze-thaw cycle is repeated again. More on this story can be found here.
Luukkonen back from World Juniors with message for Team Canada: Buy better sticks:
Sudbury Wolves goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen returned from the World Junior Hockey Championships in British Columbia with a gold medal around his neck, after Team Finland defeated the United States in the final. The Pack is surely eager to get their star netminder back between the pipes as they have gone winless in his absence dropping seven straight games while picking up just a single point in an overtime loss to the Windsor Spitfires. Luukkonen met with the media on Wednesday morning at the Sudbury Arena, gold medal in tow and carrying a determination to get back to work with the Wolves. "I'm really excited to get this going back here, we had a great start of the season here and we played some good games so I'm really excited to be back," said Luukkonen. Get the full story and a video of '10 things you might not know about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen' here.
SIU: 'No reasonable grounds' for charges against GSPS officer after man suffers broken jaw:
The SIU has determined there are “no reasonable grounds” to lay criminal charges against a Greater Sudbury Police officer after a 34-year-old man complained of a broken jaw after his arrest on Nov. 23, 2017. According to a report compiled by SIU director of investigations Tony Loparco, the complainant was riding his bicycle at the intersection of Evergreen Street and MacKenzie Street at around 8 p.m. when he slipped on ice and fell off his bicycle. He would tell nearby witnesses that he was struck by a car, but no cars were seen at the time. Witnesses reported that the complainant had a head injury over his right eye that was bleeding. The complainant was initially unconscious, but when he awoke, he became agitated, belligerent, and aggressive toward witnesses who tried to help him. The complainant fled the area as EMS arrived. About eight to 10 minutes later, another witness saw the complainant lying in the middle of Beech Street, with an injury to his head, and the police were contacted. Two police officers, including the Subject Officer (SO), arrived and found the complainant unconscious and in medical distress. Once revived, the complainant became confrontational, combative, and resistant to assistance. The complainant was then arrested for being intoxicated in a public place and handcuffed. Full story and SIU report of this incident can be found here.
Sudbury telecom Sunwire acquires local IT company:
Sunwire Inc., a Sudbury-based telecommunications provider, announced its acquisition of Northern Voice & Data, a Sudbury cloud and information technology (IT) firm. In a Jan. 7 news release, Sunwire said the acquisition enables them to offer a wider array of IT and telecommunication solutions that include web, phone lines, phone systems, cloud services, off-site backups, IT services and video surveillance. Under the terms of the deal, the companies will remain operating as separate entities. No changes in staffing or operations are anticipated but Sunwire said investments will be made in employee education, hiring more staff, upgrading its facilities, and new equipment acquisition.
Thursday Weather:
Mainly sunny skies for Thursday but it's going to be a chilly one. Today's high is only expected to get up to -14, feeling like -25 with the wind chill. There is a risk of frostbite for Thursday. Clear skies into the evening with an overnight low of -22. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
