Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Computer virus grounds multiple services at HSN:
Health Sciences North had their IT systems downed on Wednesday due to a computer virus. Hospital officials are unsure as to how their system became infected with the virus, and several IT experts, including McAfee, are working to rectify the problem as soon as possible. The virus impacted several internal software systems at the hospital. "The quality of patient care is not impacted," said a news release from HSN. "This disruption may cause delays with some of our programs, longer wait times in the Emergency Department." Certain elective procedures and surgeries in the next 24-48 hours may be rescheduled. Patients are in the process of being rescheduled for treatement later this week and into the weekend. Those patients impacted will be notified. In addition, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments have been cancelled today and tomorrow at the North East Cancer Centre and satellite clinics. Health Sciences North remains open to the public at this time.
Giroux's sweetheart deal from Laurentian revealed in court documents:
Health Sciences North CEO Dominic Giroux got a pretty sweet deal when he left his job at Laurentian University to lead the hospital. Sudbury.com tracked down court documents from a grievance filed by the university's faculty assocation. Among the details made public through the grievance process, Giroux is considered to be on unpaid leave from the school indefinitely. Should he return to Laurentian, Giroux has the right to return as a full professor, and immediately becomes a member of the faculty association. As well, he is immediately entitled to one year of paid leave. Giroux negotiated a lucrative contract when he became head of Greater Sudbury's hospital. His base salary at HSN is $314,407, plus a 15-per-cent bonus for hitting performance targets. He also is paid about $78,000 a year to lead the Health Sciences North Research Institute. After five years, his combined salaries and bonuses could put him close to $500,000 a year. More on this story can be found here.
KGHM cuts 87 jobs at Sudbury mine:
KGHM, a Polish-owned nickel and copper mining company, announced Wednesday it's cutting 87 jobs this spring from its Morrison Mine in Sudbury. Low nickel prices are being blamed. The announcement from United Steelworkers Local 2020 comes just a week after the mining company announced 22 jobs were being eliminated at the mine on the north end of the Sudbury basin. The union said the job cuts mean the mine will be going into care and maintenance mode. A skeleton crew will remain on site, dewatering and doing necessary repairs to the shaft until the mine reopens. No timeframe for the shutdown has been given. Morrison Mine is located in Levack. Get the full story here.
Two people injured, one critically, after overnight Val Caron collision:
One person is in critical condition and another has serious but non-life-threatening injuries after a two-vehicle collision in Val Caron late Tuesday night, say Greater Sudbury Police. The collision occurred at around 11:55 p.m. Jan. 15 south of the intersection of Municipal Road 80 and Valleyview Road. Just prior to the collision, a silver two-door Audi was travelling southbound towards Lasalle Boulvard on MR 80 when it crossed over the centre line and collided with a vehicle travelling northbound. Both vehicles were extensively damaged as a result of the collision and both drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles. Both drivers were transported to hospital by Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services. The 29-year-old man who was driving the Audi at the time of the collision remains in critical condition and the second driver sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Officers with the Greater Sudbury Police Service Traffic Management Unit are conducting an investigation. The roadway was closed several hours overnight. The Greater Sudbury Police Service is requesting the public’s assistance in locating any witnesses that may have been in the area at the time and have information about this collision. In particular, police are seeking any witnesses that may have seen the silver Audi being operated in an erratic manner in the area prior to the collision. Anyone with information is asked to contact Greater Sudbury Police at 705-675-9171 or Crime Stoppers at 705-222-TIPS (8477) or www.sudburycrimestoppers.com.
Likely several months before a decision in Sudbury officer's discreditable conduct hearing:
The verdict in the disciplinary hearing of a Sudbury police officer accused for attacking the integrity of members of the police department will take a few months. Const. Robert Rheaume pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. He is charged with one count of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act for breaching the provisions of the GSPS corporate communications and social media policy, as well as the workplace discrimination and harassment policy. On March 24, 2017, an article was posted on a local news website about the annual Sunshine list, released each year by the province that shows the salaries of all public sector employees earning $100,000 or more in the previous year. On that same day, Rheaume posted comments on the comment thread under that article, in which he highlights the salary of the police service CAO Sharon Baiden, whose salary he said increased from $130,000 to $205,000 in four years. He called out several members of the police service in his post by name, all women, some of whom received raises of more than $30,000 over a one-year period, asking “How do you f***ing justify that?” David Migicovsky, lawyer for Greater Sudbury Police Service, said during the hearing on Tuesday Rheaume violated a few policies, in particular, the service's workplace harassment and social media policies. GSPS confirmed that on March 28 an investigation was launched into Rheaume's conduct, as a result of concerns brought to Police Chief Paul Pedersen. The investigation was undertaken by the GSPS Professional Standards Bureau. Get the full story here.
Kingsway Entertainment District won't be completed on schedule:
Greater Sudbury City Council heard Tuesday night that the legal fight over the Kingsway Entertainment District means the project won't open on schedule in spring 2021. Depending on when the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal makes decisions on the numerous challenges to the project opponents have launched, the Kingsway Entertainment District will open in late 2021 or early 2022, said Ian Wood, the city's interim GM of community development. The most likely date for a decision is sometime this fall. Also on Tuesday, the city finalized a cost-sharing agreement for preparing the project site with its partners Gateway Casinos and land owner Dario Zulich. The city has exercised its option to buy land from Zulich for the arena at a cost of $10. However, all parties have agreed not to begin preparing the site, expected to cost about $8.5 million, “until we have clarity from LPAT.”
Vagnini motion formally ends fire optimization process:
Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini said Tuesday he hopes this is the end of all talk about the city's failed fire optimization plan. Vagnini convinced the rest of city council to formally pass a motion to close the books on the plan, which would have seen a reduction in volunteer firefighters and would have seen dozens of career firefighters hired to replace them. Introduced in early 2017, the plan sparked a strong public reaction, particularly in areas with a long history of volunteer firefighters protecting their communities. Vagnini and Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier were most vocal in opposing the plan, which would have increased firefighting costs by $6 million a year over seven to 10 years. More on this story can be found here.
Vale and the Steelworkers raise $468,000 for United Way:
Vale and the United Steelworkers announced on Jan. 16 that together with Vale's match to employee contributions, they raised $468,290 for United Way Centraide North East Ontario. The fundraising campaign has been an annual initiative for 37 years, and has raised more than $18 million for the community. Vale matches 50 cents to every dollar that employees donate to the United Way Centraide North East. Employees can contribute via a payroll deduction program or in lump sum payments. "United Steelworkers Local 6500 are proud to continue supporting the United Way's 37th annual fundraising campaign," said Nick Larochelle, USW Local 6500 president. "This year's effors are once again inspirational to all parties involved. As you can see, it's very lucrative, people really are benefitting from this campaign. Looking around the room I had a chance to talk with a couple of our canvassers, people who have been here for a long time. Thank you all for all the work you did this year."
Thursday Weather:
It's going to be a little warmer today with some snow in the forecast. Cloudy today with periods of light snow beginning near noon. Thursday's high will be -10, but it's going to be frigid this morning, feeling like -31 with the wind chill. Periods of snow expected this evening, with up to 4 cm falling tonight. Overnight low is -11, feeling like -18 with the wind. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
