Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Public health risk: PHSD issues warning after hepatitis A case confirmed at grocery store:
If you've purchased deli meat from the Real Canadian Superstore recently, you're going to want to read on. Public Health Sudbury & Districts is issuing a community notice in the wake of a confirmed case of hepatitis A reported to public health Dec. 15. The individual is an employee of the deli department at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 1485 Lasalle Blvd. in Sudbury. Anyone who consumed clerk-served deli meat or cheese, or meat and cheese from prepared deli trays purchased from the store between Nov. 27 and 1:30 p.m. Dec. 16 could be at risk of hepatitis A infection.
First hep A vaccination clinic held Tuesday night:
The first hepatitis A vaccination clinic was held Tuesday at Public Health Sudbury and Districts for anyone who, in the last 14 days, consumed clerk-served deli meat or cheese, or meat and cheese from prepared deli trays from the Real Canadian Superstore. The vaccination clinics are free for anyone who consumed the meat or cheese between Nov. 27 and 1:30 p.m. Dec. 16. If that's you, it “is strongly recommended to get vaccinated for hepatitis A,” said the health unit in a news release. Other dates are: Wednesday, Dec. 18, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 19, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.l, Friday, Dec. 20, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Individuals who ate the foods more than 14 days ago are advised to contact Public Health, monitor their health for signs and symptoms, and follow up with their health-care provider if symptoms develop.
Property tax hike for 2020 hits 4.8%
City council approved the 2020 budget Monday night, approving a 3.3 per cent property tax increase, plus a special 1.5 per cent levy that will go toward infrastructure repairs. Combined, it works out to a 4.8-per-cent hike, or an extra $144 a year for a home valued at $230,000. The increase is on top of the 4.8-per-cent hike in water and sewer rates approved earlier this month, which works out to about $60 more a year, or $204 when both increases are combined. The real surprise in this year's city budget talks is the approval, by a vote of 8-3, of the special 1.5 per cent levy for infrastructure repair and renewal. That option has been suggested by city staff for successive budgets, but has been rejected by city councillors even as the city's more than $1-billion infrastructure gap grows. Find the full story here.
Man who attacked infant, woman will be sentenced early next year:
The man accused of stabbing a mother and injuring her baby late last spring will plead guilty to three charges Jan. 13. On that day, Alex Stavropoulos, 26, will plead guilty to two charges of attempted murder and one charge of violating parole, the Ontario Court of Justice was told. Stavropoulos came out and sat in the prisoners box as defence lawyer Glenn Sandberg and assistant Crown attorney Leonard Kim searched for a new date for the pleas. The delay, Kim said, was related to the agreed statement of facts, which details exactly what Stavropoulos is admitting. The defence only received the statement from the Crown this week, and the defence wanted time to review it with Stavropoulos. More on this story here.
‘Disturbing’ stats show impaired driving charges in Sudbury nearly double over 2018:
It seems some drivers in the Greater Sudbury area aren’t getting the message about drinking and driving. Greater Sudbury Police released Festive RIDE (Reduced Impaired Driving Everywhere) stats up to the middle of December today and compared them to the stats from December 2018 (full month). In 2019, police charged five people with impaired related offences (either being impaired, refusing a roadside test or over 80) in the first 15 days of December, compared to four charges laid last year. While those statistics show a slight up-tick this year, the opposite is true for alcohol-related licence suspensions. So far this year, police have issued five suspensions, compared to 14 last December. RIDE checks also nabbed drivers for Highway Traffic Act and other provincial offences. This year showed a decrease in those charges as well, with 30 people charged in the first half of December compared to 53 for the entire month in 2018. Beyond the Festive RIDE campaign, GSPS said it is disturbed at the increase in the number of drivers arrested and charged with impaired driving. Between September and December 2018, police laid 48 impaired charges. However, for the same period this year, police were troubled to find that the number of charges laid had almost doubled, to 78. Get the full story here.
A star, a star: Check out the huge 30-foot star hanging from a 300-foot crane on Fielding Road:
If you've driven down Municipal Road 55 between Copper Cliff and Lively outside of daylight hours recently, you may have noticed a large, lit-up star hanging from a huge crane. Thanks to social media connections, we've managed to track down the people responsible for this larger-than-life holiday ornament.The mechanical contractor Anmar fabricated the star, which is 30 feet in diameter, and hung it from a 300-foot-tall crane in the company's crane yard on Fielding Road. The crane was specifically put together for this purpose. The star is secured with the help of guy-wires. The first time the star went up was Christmas 2018, although there have been smaller stars put up over the holidays at the company's projects around the province and at its Mumford Road head office for many years. Full story here.
Discover: The Sudbury tech firm using data to keep miners safe in Industry 4.0:
When the second industrial revolution arrived in the late nineteenth century, it brought sweeping changes. The advent of mass production and electrification was a game-changer for industrial processes. In the mining industry, this wave introduced larger equipment, which facilitated greater mine development. Changes to other aspects of work, such as drilling technologies, dramatically increased productivity. As the mining industry continued to evolve, a third industrial revolution struck in the early 1970s. This phase ushered in new technologies such as electronics and computers, which led to early digitization and automation. While the mining industry is still building off of these developments, a fourth industrial revolution is already underway. This time around, the changes may be less physically pronounced, but it has the power to disrupt industries unlike any industrial revolution we have seen in the past. Find out more here.
Wednesday Weather:
Sunny skies overhead but it is going to be frigid out there today. Mainly sunny Wednesday with some northwestern winds blowing through. Today's high will be -19, feeling likme -32 with the wind chill. There is a risk of frostbite today. A few clouds this evening with the low sitting at -21, feeling more like -29 tonight. There is a risk of frostbite overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
