Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
$500,000 donation kick starts HSN's journey to new MRI equipment:
Health Sciences North received a generous $500,000 donation from Carman and Sandy Fielding on Nov. 7 that will be used to purchase new MRI equipment for the hospital. The timing for the announcement of the donation could not have been more seredipitous, as the hospital's current MRI equipment is nearing the end of its life cycle and was actually down on the day that the Fielding's made their donation. Health Sciences North's current MRI equipment is roughly 10 years old and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every year, approximately 13,000 MRI tests are performed at HSN to support the treatment of 600,000 Northern Ontario residents. For patients who require MRI scans, the wait time at HSN is nearly triple that of the provincial target. Nine out 10 adult HSN patients needing an MRI wait as long as 93 days for their scan, compared to the provincial target of 28 days. "Thank you very much Carman and Sandy for this very generous gift, you obviously worked very hard to create that wealth and deciding to re-invest that wealth to the benefit of our patients means a lot to our staff and to the patients who will benefit from this gift," said Dominic Giroux, HSN president and CEO. "The support of donors like you is critical in HSN's ability to ensure patients have access to advanced medical equipment in a timely manner in order to diagnose disease or injury, or monitor how well they're doing with treatment." Health Sciences North is planning on purchasing two MRI scanners in the coming years with the first expected to be up and running sometime in the 2019-20 fiscal year. The second MRI scanner will be brought in during the 2020-21 fiscal year, at which point HSN will be able to run two scanners for 16 hours a day and increase their capacity by 33 per cent and operate at more patient-friendly hours.
Greater Sudbury in top third of Maclean's list of most dangerous Canadian cities:
The Maclean's Magazine list of the most dangerous places to live in Canada ranked Greater Sudbury 75th out of 237 cities that were reported. Sudbury ranks in the top third nationwide, and among Ontario cities on the list, Greater Sudbury is 12th out of 87 cities. The report ranks communities according to the Crime Severity Index (CSI), a Statistics Canada measure of all police-reported crime, which takes into consideration both the volume and seriousness of offences. The 2017 data, the most current available, was released July 23, 2018. Get a full breakdown of Greater Sudbury's crime numbers here.
Sudbury MPP holding opioid town hall meeting Thursday:
Sudbury MPP Jamie West will be hosting a town hall to discuss the opioid crisis and Public Health Sudbury and Districts is inviting Sudbury residents to attend. The event will run from 5:30 - 8 p.m. with speakers beginning at 6 p.m. The event will be held at the United Way at 957 Cambrian Heights, unit 271. Speakers will include Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas (NDP Health Critic), Dr. Ariella Zbar (Public Health Sudbury and District), Marion Quigley (Canadian Mental Health Association), and Julie Gorman (Sudbury Action Centre for Youth).
Sudbury Five to unveil team's inaugural roster tonight:
The Sudbury Five basketball team will unveil the team’s opening night roster on Thursday at the New Sudbury Centre. All players and coaches will be introduced to the public in the centre court of the mall beginning at 6:30 p.m. “Fans and member of the public who are interested in meeting players, getting autographs, learning about the team and league are encouraged to come out and have a great time with music and giveaways,” the team said in a release Tuesday. Check back with Sudbury.com for the full roster reveal.
Sudbury musician shares powerful song to honour Canadian veterans:
Bill Wylie plays guitar, writes the odd song and is retired from the railroad after a 30-year career. Like many Canadians, he wears a poppy and some of his family served in world wars. But Wylie remembers his late family members and all veterans year-round. Two years ago, he wrote a song encouraging other Canadians to do the same. Today, he’s sharing that song called “These Volunteers” with the world. “These Volunteers” captures the Canadian experience of going to war with breadth and feeling that will resonate with families near and far. In it, Wylie captures veterans taking a train to Petawawa before leaving "our rocky shore," then, they continue onward to Korea, Dieppe, Hong Kong, Sicily and Afghanistan where they "gave their youthful innocence so people could be free.” Check out the song here.
Wanted Wednesday: Woman allegedly stole from South End store twice in September:
Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of 34-year-old Jessica Trottier, who is wanted for theft. Trottier allegedly stole items from a retail store on Regent Street at around 9 p.m. Sept. 6 and at around 8 p.m. Sept. 27. She was under court-ordered conditions at the time. Trottier is wanted for two counts of theft under $5,000, four counts of breach of probation and additional charges on file. Greater Sudbury Police have an outstanding warrant for her arrest. Trottier is believed to be in Greater Sudbury. The woman is described as about 5-4, 120 pounds, with dyed auburn hair (natural colour is brown) and brown eyes. If you know this person and where she is presently located, you are urged to call the Crime Stoppers tip line toll-free at 705-222-TIPS (8477) or if long distance: 1-800-222-TIPS. You must call this number to be eligible for a cash reward. Tips can also be submitted online at www.sudburycrimestoppers.com.
Cecutti: City staff looks forward to next steps in LPAT appeal:
A Greater Sudbury city manager says staff looks forward to the next steps in the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) for the Official Plan amendment and rezoning of land for the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED) project. The first step in that process, the case management conference, took place Tuesday in Sudbury. The three members of the tribunal pressed “pause” on that timeline, admitting there are several issues to be dealt with before they will have an idea of how long the process will take. LPAT has agreed to hear motions from the parties on procedural and jurisdictional matters. The motions will be submitted to LPAT in the next two weeks for its consideration. A date has not yet been set for the next case management conference or hearing, and no decisions were rendered on the appeals. Full story can be found here.
Thursday Weather:
A cold snap is headed our way as temperatures are going to dip this evening. Mainly cloudy on Thursday with a 40 per cent chance of flurries. Today's high will be plus-1. Chances of flurries this evening with the overnight low falling to -7, feeling like -12 with the wind chill. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
