Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Motion to dismiss sexual assault charge against David Case rejected:
The sexual assault charge against former track coach David Case won't be dismisses, Superior Court Justice Patricia Hennessy ruled Thursday. Case is accused of participating in a sexual assault of a Sudbury woman in 2011, along with his co-accused, Celine Loyer, a former runner coached by Case. The woman can't be identified because of a publication ban. Case and Loyer pleaded not guilty on Jan. 27. Case's lawyer, Nicholas Xynnis, filed the motion Jan. 29 to have the charge against his client dismissed. He said Case may have been in close proximity, but the woman has no memory of him ever touching her, and there's no evidence the assault continued after Case told Loyer what to do sexually. In her ruling, Hennessy called the alleged assault a “joint enterprise.” She said according to evidence, Case was involved before the assault took place, during and afterwards. Final submissions will be given Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. Get the full story here.
WHO declares coronavirus a global emergency:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus a global emergency, recommending several temporary steps to contain the spread of the deadly disease. The declaration came after a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Thursday in Geneva. “There are now 7,711 confirmed and 12,167 suspected cases throughout the country,” the WHO said, of the spread of the coronavirus in China. “Of the confirmed cases, 1,370 are severe and 170 people have died. 124 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.” Globally, there are now 82 cases in 18 countries. Of these, only seven had no history of travel in China. There has been human-to-human transmission in three countries outside China, the WHO said, and one of these cases is severe. There have been no deaths.
GSPS: Outdated legislation has tied police hands in online harassment of 2SLGBTQ community members:
Greater Sudbury Police Service has received reports of online harassment from Sudbury's 2SLGBTQ+ community, but their hands are tied in terms of being able to pursue any type of criminal charges, Sudbury.com was told this afternoon. "Online incidents such as these are uniquely complicated. Unkind and even offensive commentary and/or conversations online rarely cross over to the threshold of criminality as outlined in federal legislation," said an email statement to Sudbury.com, provided by GSPS spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn. "The threshold for criminality for both online and in-person hurtful comments is high as legislation was created long before the introduction of social media. The difference between not being able to lay charges and not being willing to lay charges is significant." Full story can be found here.
Watch Sudbury's Noah Carniello transform into 'intergalactic pop princess' Carmen Dior:
Born and raised in Sudbury, drag queen Carmen Dior - a.k.a. Noah Carniello - has spent the last two years performing on stages from New York City to JapanCarniello (personal pronoun: they/them) recently returned to the Nickel City to bring a fun night of music (as well as a few surprises) to the Caruso Club this Saturday. Sudbury.com met up with the "intergalactic pop princess" to learn more about what goes into creating Carmen Dior. Check out the timelapse video above to watch the transformation. It takes a total of four hours to complete the look, which includes makeup, tights, padding, costume, hair and nails. You can watch the transformation here.
Sudbury woman with same rare condition as André the Giant featured on 'The Doctors':
After years of struggle, a Sudbury woman has finally received successful treatment for a rare condition called acromegaly, which caused her hands, face and feet to keep growing. Rebecca Churanova first noticed something was wrong as she entered high school. Acromegaly occurs when someone's pituitary gland (located behind the nose) produces too much growth hormone. In most cases, it is caused by a benign tumour, known as a pituitary adenoma. Usually it affects middle-aged adults, but can occur at any age. For Churanova, she figures the tumour affecting her pituitary gland emerged around Grade 8. An athlete, she broke school sprinting records, something she now attributes to the strength her overactive gland produced. More on this story here.
Wolves back on home ice Friday night:
The Sudbury Wolves are back in action at the Sudbury Arena this Friday night when they host the Guelph Storm for the one and only time this season with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m. The Storm sit fourth in the Midwest Division with a record of 22-18-1-4 through 45 games. The Storm are led by Pavel Gogolev who sits seventh in league scoring with 69 points in 45 games. Montreal Canadiens prospect Cam Hillis sits just behind Gogolev in team scoring with 61 points in 44 games. In net, the Storm roster features Team Canada and top OHL goaltender Nico Daws who leads the league with a 2.42 goals against average and 0.928 save percentage. On Sunday, the Wolves will travel to Mississauga to face-off against the Steelheads at 2 p.m.
It's taking too long to move mines to market, Rickford says:
The provincial government has an ambitious agenda for the mining sector, according to the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines. Greg Rickford was in town this week for the Timmins Chamber of Commerce's State of Mining event. He talked to about 100 people about the industry and what the government is doing to make business easier. The most pressing issue, according to Rickford, is making sure that mines move to market in a timely manner. "We have to make sure that the system from start to finish responds to how the market treats commodities, particularly mines and their minerals and that’s what we’re working on,” he said. An important focus, he said, is also making sure that Indigenous communities and businesses have the chance to compete with businesses supporting or directly involved with mining activities. In 2019, three new Ontario mines went into production, including Newmont Goldcorp's Borden Mine, an all-electric site near Chapleau. More on this story here.
Friday Weather:
Mainly cloudy again today with a 40 per cent chance of flurries in the morning. We could see some flurries this afternoon as well. The low will be sitting at around -3, feeling like -7 with the wind chill. Mostly cloudy tonight with a chance of flurries and risk of freezing drizzle overnight. Low will dip down to -5, feeling like -9. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
