Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
COVID-19: Boys football, girls bball axed from fall sports calendar:
There will be no boys football or girls basketball on the high school athletic calendar this fall. Those two traditional fall sports are not permitted under Phase 3 of the province’s framework for reopening because they involve prolonged or deliberate contact. These sports, however, do have return-to-train status in Rainbow Schools, which means skill-based training can take place under approved guidelines. Dave Makela, athletic administrator for Sudbury District Secondary Schools’ Athletic Association, said the executive is now tasked with the challenge of trying to find another place for those seasons on the athletic calendar, but it’s a challenge he said they are up for. Sports that are allowed to be played this fall, albeit with a lot of changes in store, are flag football, golf, cross-country running, volleyball and baseball. Rainbow District School Board and Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be participating in those sports, Makela said, while both French-language school boards won’t. More on this story here.
Opponents hope to make 'best of bad situation' as survey work starts on future Valley twin pad arena:
The Valley East Twin Pad Arena has not been approved, but early work in the area near the Howard Armstrong Recreation Centre had started as of last week. The property was recommended as a site for a twin pad arena during a Sept. 16, 2019 community services committee meeting, and during the 2020 budget process, $227,000 in one-time capital funding was approved for the project in order to complete additional studies and reports. Work crews were at the site last week, completing some of the above mentioned studies. Members of the Save Our Green Space Facebook group raised some concerns online over the city's survey work that was taking place in the area of Elmview Drive. The group is opposed to the twin pad arena being developed on the site because it will take away eight of the 28 acres of green space that residents have enjoyed for years. "I was expecting to see survey stakes there, because it looks like they're mapping out where to put the building," said Chris Bentley, member of Save Our Green Space. "They've cleared out a couple of spots where they've knocked down some brush and small trees to drive a stake in, they took the Bobcat down the trail, so there's some tracks where it's been. It's a little disappointing, but I'm not sure there's anything that can or could be done." Get teh full story here.
Ontario delivers $2.8 billion COVID-19 fall preparedness plan:
The Ontario government has developed a $2.8 billion COVID-19 fall preparedness plan to ensure the province's health care, long-term care and education systems are prepared for the immediate challenges of the fall, including a second wave of COVID-19 and the upcoming flu season. Keeping Ontarians Safe: Preparing for Future Waves of COVID-19 will enable the province to quickly identify, prevent and respond to surges and waves of the virus to protect the health and safety of all Ontarians. The full plan was delivered Wednesday by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. "For months, our government has been developing one of the most robust and comprehensive COVID-19 fall preparedness plans in the entire country," said Ford. "We are making an unprecedented investment of over $2 billion to fortify the frontlines of our health care system and ensure we are prepared for future waves of this virus, while ensuring patients and long-term care residents continue to receive the absolute best care from our top-notch health care professionals and their loved ones." You can watch the full press conference of the announcement here.
Fist fight nets impaired driving charges for Lively man:
A 32-year-old Lively man has been charged with impaired driving after he and another person got into a fist fight because of his erratic driving behaviours, said the Ontario Provincial Police. On Sept. 23, officers responded to a report of an assault on Maanie Street on Atikameksheng First Nation. Investigation revealed two people were driving to Atikameksheng First Nation when an argument ensued regarding the manner in which the driver was operating the vehicle. The driver continued to drive erratically until the vehicle skidded across the road and came to a sudden stop, said police. They started fighting on the side of the road. Further investigation revealed the driver had consumed alcohol and was arrested. In addition to the impaired charges, the driver is also charged with operation while prohibited and driving while under suspension.He was issued a 90-day Administrative Driver's Licence Suspension (ADLS) and the vehicle was impounded for 45 days. The investigation is continuing.
Vale’s aerial seeding program underway:
Vale’s annual aerial seeding program will take place between Sept. 28 and Oct. 9 with the use of helicopters. The program targets barren land requiring reclamation around the company’s operations. The program, which started in 1990 under Inco and continued under Vale’s ownership, has treated more than 3,900 hectares (9,650 acres) of land to date. This year’s treatment area will be approximately 100 hectares (247 acres), north of Wahnapitae. While every effort will be made not to fly over nearby residential areas, local residents may notice low-flying helicopters near Wahnapitae. “Residents are advised that this is part of Vale’s normal land reclamation activities and the low flight paths are necessary for the work to be effective,” said the company in a news release. Weather permitting, planes will depart from a private airstrip in Coniston and deposit loads of agricultural limestone, grass seed and fertilizer on the designated treatment areas.
Sudbury regreening program nearing 10 million trees planted:
This autumn was supposed to herald a noteworthy milestone for the Sudbury regreening project: the planting of its 10 millionth tree. But with the arrival of the novel coronavirus last March came a scaled-down 2020 planting season, and instead that marker will be celebrated in 2021. Still, as year 42 of the one-of-a-kind land restoration initiative comes to a close, the organization leading the project believes that some areas of the city are nearing the point when human intervention will no longer be necessary and nature can start taking over. “Already there are certain sites in the Sudbury area, which, with further work, are likely to be declared complete,” said Peter Beckett, an ecology professor at Laurentian University and founding member of the Vegetation Technical Advisory Committee (VETAC), during a Sept. 25 virtual presentation. Find more on this story here.
Spooktacular outdoors Halloween fun at Dynamic Earth in October:
Looking for a little “spooktacular” fun outdoors? Halloween at Dynamic Earth kicks off this weekend. The event runs every Friday to Sunday in October (Oct. 2 to 30) from 7-11 p.m. Activities include Pumpkinferno, an award-winning exhibit created by Upper Canada Village featuring more than 5,000 hand-carved pumpkins, spooky tales on the trail, a fire magic science show, an animated Halloween show projected on the Big Nickel, a parade of inflatables and Halloween treats around the campfire. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all indoor activities have been suspended, including the Tunnel of Terror. More on this story here.
Thursday Weather:
Chilly fall day in the forecast with chances of flurries tonight. Cloudy with 40 per cent chance of showers throughout the day. Thursday's high will be around 10. Overcast into the evening with a 30 per cent chance of showers, changing to chances of flurries. Overnight low will be sitting at zero. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
