Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
12 Days of Kindness: Illness sapped their Christmas spirit, so we delivered a houseful of joy:
Patsy St. Martin and her 12-year-old daughter Alexandria are having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit this year. At the age of 47, Patsy has had more than her share of medical issues lately. Among the challenges she has faced, Patsy recently had surgery to remove part of a pituitary tumour and is now awaiting surgery to have a bone tumour removed from her skull. Patsy’s sister Tammy reached out to us because she worries her sister and her niece have lost hope. Her dream is to lift their spirits by giving them a worry-free Christmas. With help from our good friends at Canadian Tire, we are sneaking into Pasty and Alexandria’s home to deliver some much needed holiday cheer. Check out our final installment of 12 Days of Kindness here.
Police seize nearly $25,000 worth of drugs during traffic stop:
Greater Sudbury Police arrested and charged two people during a traffic stop on Saturday, Dec. 21. Shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, an officer saw a vehicle being driven by a man who was believed to be a suspended driver. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle finding the man in the driver’s seat and a woman in the passenger seat. Upon receiving information from the Emergency Communications Centre, it was confirmed that the man had three driving suspensions in relation to various incidents including; prohibited drive, fail to stop, dangerous driving and unpaid fines. The man was placed under arrest for two counts of driving while disqualified and driving while under suspension. While searching the vehicle, officers also located a substantial amount of drugs including: 131.8g of crack cocaine with a street value of more than $13,000, 97.4g of powder cocaine with a street value of close to $9,800, 230.2g or 115 tablets of speed with a street value of $575. As a result, a 45-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman were both charged.
Dec. 22 head-on crash claims life of motorcyclist:
A motorcycle driver has died after a fatal head-on crash on Highway 17 near Long Lake Road last night. The crash occurred at around 9 p.m. Dec. 22, just east of Long Lake Road, and involved the eastbound motorcycle crossing the centre line and colliding head-on with a westbound pick-up truck. The motorcycle driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. The lone occupant in the pick-up truck was not injured. The identity of the deceased has not been confirmed. The investigation is continuing with the assistance of an OPP Collision Reconstructionist and an OPP Technical Collision Investigator (TCI). Highway 17 between Regional Road 55 and Highway 69 was closed for around five hours.
LU engineering student one of two teens killed in Parry Sound crash:
A Laurentian University engineering student was one of two teens killed in a crash in Parry Sound Dec. 17. According to a press release from the OPP, emergency services responded to the crash on Parry Sound Drive, which involved a dump truck with a trailer and a passenger vehicle, at around 9 p.m. that evening. The occupants of the passenger vehicle, Mukonda Chizelu, 19, of Toronto, and Jaidyn Phillis, 19, of McDougall Township (Parry Sound), were fatally injured. Their obituaries indicate the teens were a couple. The driver of the dump truck was not injured. The collision remains under investigation by the West Parry Sound OPP Detachment and the OPP North East Region Technical Traffic Collision Unit. An obituary for Chizelu said he was a second year chemical engineering student at Laurentian University. His LinkedIn account said he was due to graduate in 2022. Chizelu is survived by parents Gideon and Colly Chizelu, sister Mununga Chizelu and brother Mulunda Chizelu.
HSN Foundation chair honoured with national union award:
When Alex Patterson's son, Carson, was born in 2000, he had issues with breathing and needed urgent care that wasn't available in Sudbury at the time. The Pattersons had to travel to the Children's Pediatric Critical Care Unit in London, and they experienced what it was like to be away from family, including Carson's older brother (three years old). That's when Patterson decided to take matters into his own hands and start raising funds to help the hospital here purchase medical equipment for young children. He wanted other families going through similar experiences to stay together during treatment. Patterson joined the hospital foundation's board of directors in 2004 in order to do so, and has spent the past 15 years raising money for its many projects. While the foundation has evolved over the years, he's still as passionate about raising funds for medical needs in Greater Sudbury. He is currently chair of the board, serving his second term in that position, and it's his commitment to public service that has garnered him a District 6 Jefferson Award. Full story here.
'This is absolutely another blow to the downtown': North Bay dealing with major fire's aftermath:
There is another gaping hole in North Bay’s downtown. Crews are working to clean up piles of rubble from buildings destroyed in what is being called a suspicious fire from early Friday morning. “The fire involved six occupancies. What I mean by occupancies is different businesses,” explained North Bay Fire Chief Jason Whiteley. Literacy Nipissing, and two unoccupied businesses, one a former sushi restaurant, and the other, the former location of Hair Bizarre, are a total loss. The Nurse Practitioners Led Clinic sustained a considerable amount of damage, as did Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli’s constituency office. Some of the buildings housed residential units. The local office of the Canadian Red Cross has been assisting those displaced by the fire. Full story here.
Massey farmer fails in bid to evade agricultural group fees on religious grounds:
An agricultural tribunal has rejected an application from a Massey farmer who wants a religious exemption from paying fees to a farming organization. James Morin, 36, owns a 160-acre farm in the Massey area, where he lives with his wife and four children. He has cleared 100 acres of the property, growing hay and other cash crops, as well as breeding cows. Morin also rents about 100 acres to other farmers. He is also a contract miner, working two weeks straight and then is off two weeks. As a contractor, he is not part of a union, and the tribunal transcript says he was unhappy paying union dues in previous years when he was a member. That's because he does not want to pay toward an organization who supports and fights for issues he doesn't believe in. More on this story here.
Tuesday Weather:
Sunny start to the day with increasing cloudiness early in the morning. Tuesday's high will be around -5, feeling like -19 this morning with the wind chill. Mainly cloudy into the evening with a 40 per cent chance of flurries and a risk of freezing drizzle. Overnight low will be -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.
