Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Firefighters rescue man trapped on rock face over Brady Street:
A man is thanking his lucky stars someone heard his cries for help after he became trapped on a rock face above Brady Street this past weekend and had to be rescued late Sunday night by Greater Sudbury Fire Services. Officials aren’t sure how long the man was trapped, but he was injured and dehydrated by the time firefighters got to him around 11 p.m. on May 24. The rock face in question overlooking Brady Street is next to the Cherry Garden Apartments, which sits behind a plaza on Paris Street that includes the Weaver Simmons building. Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Oshell said Greater Sudbury Fire Services isn’t sure how the man wound up where he wound up, but it appears he slid down a steep embankment and became stuck. Oshell said there is a lot of loose rock near the top and it’s possible the man slipped because part of his torso and his legs were buried under several large rocks, or boulders, pinning him down. “We’re not sure what he was doing,” Oshell said. “He might have been up there over a day.” Get the full story here.
Break-ins, a drive-by shooting and a dramatic rescue: City police have been kept busy lately:
Greater Sudbury’s deputy police chief is hailing the actions of one of her members who helped save the life of a woman in distress on April 28. Deputy Chief Sheilah Weber called the aftermath of the incident a “good news story” during the virtual police services board meeting on May 20. On April 28, bystanders in the area of Frood Road and Baker Street saw a woman on a railway trestle about 40 feet above the roadway. The woman was in crisis, and had two different types of rope around her neck. She was sitting at the edge of the railway trestle with her feet dangling over the bridge. Det.-Const. Jon Barry was the first officer at the scene. He saw the woman lying down on the trestle. As additional police arrived, the woman tried to hang her body off of the track area. Barry moved onto the trestle as officers began to talk with her in an attempt to stop her from hurting herself. When Barry reached the top of the trestle, he saw she was trying to get back up, however, she did not have the strength to pull herself up. He grabbed her upper arms to stop her from falling. A paramedic then arrived and helped the woman to safety on top of the trestle. They removed the ropes from around her neck. More on this story here.
Second arrest early Monday morning ends Howey Drive standoff:
At around 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, Greater Sudbury Police were finally able to bring an end to an 18-hour standoff at a residence on Howey Drive in the city’s Minnow Lake area. The incident began at around 11:30 a.m. on May 24 when police received a weapons complaint. GSPS sealed the street off and asked people to avoid the area. Tactical and canine units were brought in. Within a couple of hours of police arriving, they had one person in custody, but police kept part of the street closed and were asking the public to stay away from the area, and to avoid livestreaming police activity to the internet. Late in the evening on Sunday, the Ontario Provincial Police tactical and rescue unit and emergency response team were brought in to spell the GSPS tactical and canine unit. The standoff continued overnight until between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. this morning when police took a second person into custody, a 23-year-old man. Police have not released any information on the nature of the incident or any charges. The investigation is ongoing.
Levack bush fire came within 500 metres of a residential area:
A forest fire in Levack on Saturday spread within 500 metres of a residential area before firefighters were able to contain it, Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell told Sudbury.com on Sunday. The fire spread outward from the hillside of what used to be the old Levack ski hill. Sudbury No.12, as it was later named by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, was reported to the Greater Sudbury Fire Services at 1:25 p.m. on May 23 and is currently being held at a size of 10 hectares. Exactly how the fire could have started is difficult to determine, said Oshell, but at this point, his team is fairly certain there was human influence involved. Various factors were considered to reach this conclusion, he said, including the fire's location and behaviour. Further investigation into the incident remains ongoing, however, the bulk of which will resume once the fire has been extinguished. It is precisely the fire's peculiar location that made controlling so difficult, Oshell went on to explain, that and the conditions of the day. Given Saturday's high winds and dry landscape, the fire had the ideal conditions to spread to the community located below. Attention was, therefore, focused on pushing the fire back up the hill from the roadside, said Oshell, ultimately avoiding the need for any residents to be evacuated.
Wearing face masks on your neck and other PPE don’ts:
Many Ontario stores and businesses have been given the green light to reopen their doors as part of Premier Doug Ford's plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions. Although the economy is slowly opening back up, health officials are advising the public to take precautions when they must go out. While physical distancing remains your best defence against COVID-19, if you find yourself in a situation where keeping the recommended six-foot distance may be a challenge, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) like face masks and gloves can help protect you and others around you — but only if you use them correctly. Watch the video here (https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/video-wearing-face-masks-on-your-neck-and-other-ppe-donts-2374190) as Sudbury.com walks you through the steps of donning and doffing your PPE, as recommended by Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
Premier applauds province's volunteers for their work during COVID-19:
Ontario's volunteers and small businesses are rising to the challenge and helping seniors and other vulnerable people during the COVID-19 outbreak. Thousands of people are generously giving their time and resources to make and deliver food, run errands, and check in on those who are self-isolating. Premier Doug Ford gave a tip of the cap to Ontario's volunteers for their efforts during his daily press conference on May 25. "Over the past few weeks, I've been moved by hundreds of stories of people reaching out in selfless acts of kindness to help those most in need," said Ford. "It's that Ontario spirit that is giving us the strength to pull through these tough times. If you have some spare time, I encourage you to sign up and volunteer because we are all in this together." You can watch Ford's press conference from Monday here.
Ontario reports 404 new cases of COVID-19, 8,170 tests:
Public Health Ontario reported 404 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, which is an increase of 1.6 per cent to the province’s cumulative total of cases. This is the lowest daily case increase reported by the province in the last five days, but testing is also down with a reported 8,170 tests completed since the last report by the province’s public health agency. From May 18 to 25, daily testing has ranged from 5,813 to 11,383. In previous weeks, there were up to 18,000 tests processed in a single day. Public Health Ontario is reporting 29 deaths attributed to COVID-19, including two people between the ages of 40 and 59, five people between the ages of 60 and 79, and 22 people over the age of 80. Since Sunday’s report, there have been 491 new recoveries reported.
Tuesday Weather:
A mix of sun and cloud for Tuesday with some scorching temperatures. There's a 30 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. Today's high will get up to 30, feeling like 38 with the humidex. Clear skies into the evening with the overnight low sitting at 18. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
