Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Look at those smiles: Couple separated by the long-term care system reunited:
A year after being separated by the long-term care system, Bertha and Rhéal Levesque are finally together again. The Sudbury couple were reunited at Finlandia Village on Feb. 26 after more than a year apart, and a week after Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas made their plight public. After falling out of bed in December 2018, 87-year-old Mrs. Levesque ended up in hospital. A few weeks later, Mr. Levesque, 88, was hospitalized for severe pneumonia. Mrs. Levesque developed dementia and needed 24/7 care. Not being able to care for their mother themselves, their children, siblings Lucille Ouellette and Rick Levesque, agreed long-term care was the best option. The sibling's preference was for Mrs. Levesque to move to Finlandia Village, but a bed opened at Extendicare Falconbridge first. "She needed 24/7 care and we aren’t trained for that," Ouellette said. "We couldn't take care of her ourselves." So, Bertha was placed at Extendicare in January 2019. The next month, Mr. Levesque was placed at Finlandia Village. The Levesques' 13-month ordeal is over, but France Gélinas said despite provincial regulation, there are still 37 couples in the Sudbury area at risk of never being reunited because they don't fall under the current "in crisis" criteria. Get the full story here.
'We feel like we now belong to this great nation': Canada's newest citizens sworn in (video):
It's official – the Qarqouz family is now Canadian. Hussein Qarqouz and his three sons, Mohammad, Ousama and Nabil, were among the 122 new Canadians to take the oath on Feb. 28 at a special citizenship ceremony at Lasalle Secondary School. Qarqouz and his family are from Syria. They came to Sudbury in December 2015 and have since opened up their own restaurant, Damascus Cafe and Bakery, in the downtown area. He became emotional when speaking about what it means to him and his family to now be Canadian citizens. “I'm very happy,” Qarqouz said, after he signed papers declaring him a Canadian citizen. “Before I came here, I was in jail in a country at war, and now I'm a Canadian citizen. Thank you God, thank you Canada and thank you Sudbury. The people here are so friendly, and they like my food. Business is doing well, and because so many people helped me when we first got here, I now provide free food to people in need as a way to give back.” Full story and video can be found here.
Someone in Sudbury District is holding a $1 million MaxMillions ticket:
Someone in the Sudbury District is holding a winning $1 million Lotto Max ticket. It's one of three winning MaxMillions tickets sold in Ontario. Others were sold in Hamilton and Oxford County. A Quebec resident won the $70-million Lotto Max jackpot on Feb. 25. Two more MaxMillions tickets, worth $500,000 each, were sold in Burlington and Unionville, and three Encore tickets, worth $100,000 each, were sold in Oxford County, Simcoe County and Woodbridge. Lottery players can check their numbers on the OLG Lottery App or on the Winning Numbers page on OLG.ca. The next LOTTO MAX jackpot is estimated at $19 million. Players can purchase tickets at authorized OLG retailers or buy online at PlayOLG.ca until 10:30 p.m. tonight (Friday, Feb. 28).
Double murderer gets OK from parole board to visit his dying mother:
A convicted double-murderer, who is currently living at a halfway house in Sudbury, has been given permission to visit his dying mother, said the Parole Board of Canada. George Harding Lovie, 61, was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Donna and Arnold Edwards in March 1991, as well as the attempted murder of their daughter, Michele, with whom Lovie had a brief relationship. Lovie was out on bail on charges of sexually assaulting her and forcible confinement when the murders took place. Michele Edwards walked out of her home to find Lovie hidden under her porch, where he had waited overnight to attack her. Armed with a knife and a gun, he chased her across the street to where her parents lived. Lovie shot and killed Donna Edwards, and stabbed Arnold Edwards to death, shouting “how d'you like me now?” as he inflicted the fatal wounds. Lovie was granted day parole on Aug. 27, 2019, and was released to a halfway house in Sudbury. His release was subject to a number of special conditions, many of which prevented him from entering or being in the areas of a number of cities in southern Ontario. Lovie had applied for a change of conditions in December to visit his dying mother. That request was denied, as there were significant concern by the victims that Lovie would be returning, unsupervised, to the area where his mother lives. More on this story here.
Fallen rock closes portion of westbound lane on Maley Drive:
Fallen rock has closed the westbound right lane of Maley Drive, approximately one kilometre west of the Barry Downe Road roundabout. The lane will be closed until March 4. The closure is required to provide adequate space for the removal of fallen rock, said the city in a news release. Newly blasted rock faces often experience falling rock, especially during freeze/thaw weather cycles, such as the one experienced over the last week. There is no rock on the roadway. The fallen rock is contained in the catchment area, which is built specifically for this type of event. Drivers are asked to slow down through the construction zone and pay attention to posted signage.
Go Brianna! Local high schooler competing at Special Olympics nationals:
École secondaire catholique l'Horizon student Brianna Giguère is representing Ontario at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Thunder Bay. During this national event, which started Feb. 25 and runs until Feb. 29, Giguère competes as a member of Ontario's bowling team.
Blind River deals Canadians their first regulation loss of 2020:
Backed by an impressive 45-save shutout by goaltender Dominic Boily, the Blind River Beavers defeated the Rayside-Balfour Canadians 3-0 in NOJHL action Thursday night at Chelmsford Arena, in front of a season-high home crowd of 550 spectators. The Canadians played the contest sporting special Super Mario themed jerseys that were being auctioned off to help raise funds for Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer, a volunteer-based organization that supports local families who have a child with cancer. All of the Canadians’ jerseys were auctioned-off to the delight of the NOFCC and with donations still being made, it is expected that the donation amount will be over the $7,000 mark once all of the numbers are in.