Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Seventh annual Polar Plunge hits Ramsey Lake today:
Police chief Paul Pedersen and members of the Greater Sudbury Police Service will be saying "Beam me up, Scotty" after taking the Polar Plunge into the frozen waters of Ramsey Lake. The chief announced he will be dressing up as Star Trek's Captain Jean-Luc Picard for this year's Polar Plunge in support of Special Olympics Ontario. The event, now in its seventh year, will take place at the Ramsey Lake Boat Launch on March 7. Presented by the Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run, the Polar Plunge is a fun opportunity to support Special Olympics Ontario athletes by taking a flying leap – a leap into very cold water. Last year, 76 plungers took part locally and raised $22,000 for Special Olympics Ontario. This year's goal is to raise $30,000.
Truck at the bottom of Wanapitei prompts notice for those with private water intakes:
A pickup truck that's been sitting on the bottom of a bay in Lake Wanapitei has prompted officials to deliver notices to residents in the area with private water intakes. A resident of the area informed Sudbury.com last week about the truck, which went through the ice 40 feet from the Skead Bay shoreline sometime around Jan. 30. The truck, which may also have a snowplow and trailer attached, isn't considered to pose a risk to the environment or human health, officials told Sudbury.com this week. Gary Wheeler, a spokeperson with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), said the owner of the vehicle is making arrangments to have the vehicle removed. "Ministry staff advised the owner that he is responsible for cleaning up any spill that might originate from the truck," said Wheeler in an email. "The owner is making arrangements through his insurance company to remove the truck. The ministry has confirmed that Public Health Sudbury & Districts is aware of the incident and considers the risk to any local private water intakes to be low." Get the full story here.
Ben is still missing: Two years after he was stolen, the black lab's story goes viral:
Verner resident Carmelle Girouard hasn't given up hope her dog, Ben, will be found, and she won't rest until she knows the black lab's fate. Two years ago, Sudbury.com brought you Girouard's story. In February 2018, Ben was stolen from Girouard's property by unknown persons in a truck. At the time, Girouard said she was tending to a newborn calf on their farm while her husband was at church. She said she heard Ben barking. When she went to investigate, she said she saw a two people in a dirty, older model dark-coloured truck drive off with Ben inside. She ran after the truck, but could only watch as it drove south on Highway 64 in Verner. When she spoke with Sudbury.com, she said she didn't want to report the theft to police in hopes that Ben's abductor would return him unharmed, and no questions asked. Full story can be found here.
Serious about salt: It keeps our roads ice-free but how can we keep it from killing our lakes?
Jenny Lamothe take us on a deep-dive into the use of sodium chloride as a de-icer, why it’s so damaging to our waterways and what we can do about it. odium Chloride. Or simply, salt. For those with high blood pressure, it’s a trigger. For a chef – it transforms. But for aquatic life, it can mean a death sentence. A report recently released by the Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance (GSWA), detailing a study initiated by the Minnow Lake Restoration Group, showed that levels of sodium and chloride in the water are climbing high, and quickly. But it can be hard to really understand what those numbers mean without context, to see the effects of the rise – and what a continued increase will do to our City of Lakes. So, what does excess salt in water mean – truly? Find out here.
Delays on Hwy. 17, Hwy. 6 in Espanola Saturday due to Wet'suwet'en solidarity protest:
Expect traffic disruptions at the junction of highway 6 and 17 at Espanola on March 7 due to a peaceful protest organized by members of Wiikwemkoong Unceded First Nation. They will act in solidarity with the Wet-suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose the Coastal GasLink liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline on their B.C. territory. According to the protest agenda, traffic will be disrupted for 15 minutes at the top of every hour from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Between traffic stops, protesters will peacefully demonstrate along corridors and corners of the highway and the intersection. The first traffic stop, from 12 p.m. to 12:15 p.m., will involve an opening prayer, smudge, two songs, and a round dance with a performance by the Spirit Bear Drum Group and Wiikwemkoong community members. The following traffic stops will feature a spokesperson with all demonstrators participating in drumming, song and dance. From 4 to 4:15 p.m., demonstrators will engage in a closing prayer.
'Spring forward' on Sunday:
In case you need a reminder, daylight saving time starts Sunday, meaning that you're going to have to put your clocks forward one hour March 8. “Spring forward” actually occurs at 2 a.m., when it becomes 3 a.m. Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during warmer months so that darkness falls later each day according to the clock. A common implementation of daylight saving time is to set clocks forward by one hour in the spring ("spring forward") and set clocks back by one hour in autumn ("fall back") to return to standard time. There is one 23-hour day in late winter or early spring and one 25-hour day in the fall. It's customary to change more than just your clocks as we “spring forward.” Remember to also check smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarm batteries, update your alarms if they're older than 10 years old, ensure you have enough smoke and CO alarms, ensure alarms are audible and practice a fire escape plan.
Ontario Liberal leadership candidates agree to unify behind new leader:
The candidates vying to become the new leader of Ontario's Liberal party will have to agree to agree. The six would-be leaders seemed to acknowledge Monday evening that the final debate of their leadership race wasn't much of a debate at all, rather it was more a discussion about coming together to get ready for the next election in 2022, whoever the leader may be. On the weekend of March 6-7 at the International Centre in Mississauga, the Liberal Party will come together for a leadership convention. Ontario Liberals from across the province turned out in large numbers at local Leadership Election Meetings to vote for delegates for the March 6-7 leadership convention.
