Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Mayor calls meeting after recent violent downtown incidents:
In light of “recent events in the downtown,” Mayor Brian Bigger said he has called a meeting for Oct. 20 with other local community leaders to discuss a way forward. This includes Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen, medical officer of health Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the Downtown Sudbury BIA, Canadian Mental Health Association Sudbury/Manitoulin, and Greater Sudbury city councillors Fern Cormier, Joscelyne Landry-Altmann and Geoff McCausland. Bigger said he will update the public on the results of the meeting. On Friday, Bigger, Pederson and Sutcliffe issued a combined public statement, pledging to keep community members safe in the downtown. There have been a couple of recent violent incidents downtown, including a fatal stabbing on Elm Street Oct. 14, and another stabbing on Sunday evening in front of the provincial building on Cedar Street that left a man with critical injuries.
Sentencing dates for David Case, Celine Loyer happening in December, January:
Well-known former track coach David Case faces two sentencing dates within the next few months from two different convictions of sexual assault. Case will be sentenced Dec. 15 after being convicted of one count of sexual assault, one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of assault concerning a female athlete in the mid-1980s to early 1990s. Justice Alexander Kurke said Case forcibly had sex with one of his teenage runners at a hotel in the 1980s and physically assaulted her twice after a secret marriage once she turned 18. He was found not guilty of two other alleged sexual assaults against the same woman. Case will also be sentenced for another sexual assault on Jan. 13. Also being sentenced on that date will be Celine Loyer. Case and Loyer were found guilty March 5 of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman at Case's home in 2011. Justice Patricia Hennessy, who presided over the case, found Loyer guilty of sexual assault in the case and Case guilty of sexual assault by aiding and abetting.
Ontario confirms 704 new COVID cases Monday:
Public Health Ontario reported 704 new COVID-19 cases, 607 recoveries, and four deaths on Monday. According to the province's epidemiological summary today, the four deaths include two people between 60 and 79 years old and two people over the age of 80 years old. None of the deaths reported today were identified as residents of long-term care homes. There are 6,047 active, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario. The province reported 26 more hospitalizations (two in intensive care) since Sunday's report. There are at least 252 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus and 69 COVID patients in intensive care, 40 of which are on ventilators. Some hospitals (30) do not update COVID patient numbers on the weekend, so any corrections to the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus will be included in Tuesday's update.
Horwath wants to end three and four-bed long-term care rooms:
There is a call to end the practise of having three and four residents in one room in Ontario's long-term care homes because it increases infection risk of COVID-19. Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath said Ontario Premier Doug Ford should have already taken action to reduce the number of residents in individual rooms. “In order to save money, the Ford government didn’t prepare long-term care homes for the second wave,” said Horwath. “That includes leaving people in four-bed wards, where the virus easily spreads from person to person. If I were premier, I would have started investing in solutions and protections months ago. Instead, nursing homes are now lurching into another crisis without enough infection control in place,” Horwath said in a news release. Horwath has asked the Conservative government to create a plan, provide funding and a timeline for moving residents into safer, one- and two-resident rooms. The release said that as of Thursday last week, there were 65 nursing homes battling new COVID-19 outbreaks. On Oct. 6 in a legislative committee meeting, Minister Merrilee Fullerton and her staff acknowledged that the multi-bed wards were still in place, but said they’re “monitoring” the situation and have not set a date by which all residents need to be safe and protected, said the release. More on this story here.
Home renos in store for Sudbury lotto winners:
Sudbury couple Carolyn Malette and Jacques Martel are $100,000 richer after they matched the last six of seven Encore numbers in the Oct. 3 Lotto 6/49 draw. Carolyn, a 54-year-old nurse, and Jacques, a 55-year-old financial planner, said they are regular players of Lotto Max, Ontario 49 and and Lotto 6/49. “We play the same numbers – usually significant family dates like birthday and anniversaries,” they said while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up their winnings. Carolyn checked their ticket using the ticket checker and that’s when they both were in disbelief. “Carolyn had tears in her eyes when she turned to me and said, ‘I think we won something.’ I couldn’t believe it,” said Jacques. The couple will use some of their winnings towards house renovations they already started and put some on their mortgage. “Carolyn’s brother suggested my half go towards the renovations and Carolyn can enjoy her half as she wishes,” he laughed.
Three Sudbury authors release collection of eerie stories just in time for Halloween:
Three authors who call Sudbury home have collaborated to release a collection of eerie stories perfect for Halloween reading. Sean Costello, Mark Leslie, and Scott Overton announce Strange Sudbury Stories: 6 Speculative Tales by 3 Sudbury Authors, which launches Oct. 30. The stories, which would all fit well into episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits or Black Mirror all draw upon the strange, the supernatural, and the speculative. They involve boogie-men and ghosts, or at least the belief that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies, technology, wonder, and the willingness to explore those dark corners that make us ponder “what if?” and check under the bed. Get the full, spooky, story here.
Meet Carlos Guedes, the leather-suited nonagenarian who donated $400K to Sudbury’s hospice:
Carlos Guedes is a study in contrasts. And though that is a bit cliché, how else would you describe a small, soft-spoken, 91-year-old man, who is currently wearing leather pants? A man who describes his career and business humbly as “body work,” but also just donated $400,000 to the Maison McCulloch Hospice, because they had treated his friends well, and the hospice needed help. A man who has a leopard print blanket on his spare bed, versus a man who came to Canada from Lisbon, Portugal as a stowaway, with only $25 to his name, in order to make his way in Canada before bringing his wife and children. Also, he totally forgot about the interview, and so before changing into his leather – to be specific, his ensemble is entirely leather: shoes, pants, jacket, and topped off with a flat cap – he was wearing the most wry t-shirt imaginable on an elderly man. Grey jersey with red writing, it reads “Not Yet.” It’s that same dry, almost matter-of-fact sense of humour that comes through in all of his stories. And does this man have stories. You can read some of those stories here.
Let’s Eat: Ricky Lee’s and the art of the beautiful burger:
A burger can be a beautiful thing. Ground prime rib beef is certainly not a standard ingredient for your average burger. But then again Ricky Lee’s Da Bomb Diner patties are better, way better, than average. Let’s call them what they truly are: steak hamburgers. Others advertise grass-fed, steroid-free (definitely no bovine growth hormone), however, these here are savory symphonies. “We are not here to compete, and to be honest this is just a comfort food place,” owner Rick McCutcheon said. That said, at just two years old, Ricky Lee’s has already earned the title “Best burger in town”. What was shaping up to be an annual event, the title was awarded in the 2019 cross-town Burger Wars. This is a consumer choice program brought to Sudbury by Mitch Speigel to both honour top performance, but also as a community spirit exercise. More on Ricky Lee's and their delicious burgers can be found here.
Tuesday Weather:
Another cloudy and cool day in the forecast for Tuesday. There's a 30 per cent chance of flurries early in the morning then a mix of sun and cloud. Daytime high will be sitting at around 7. Becoming cloudy in the evening with snow or rain beginning after midnight. Overnight low will get down to 1. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
