Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
HSN said COVID-19 outbreak now involves 2 staff, 3 patients:
Health Sciences North said that following further contact tracing and surveillance testing, there are now two staff members and three patients associated with an outbreak of COVID-19 at the hospital. The outbreak is on the J and K hallways of the 6th floor of the South Tower of the Ramsey Lake Health Centre. It was announced over the weekend after a patient and an HSN staff member tested positive for COVID-19. While HSN has postponed 55 non-urgent and elective surgeries for the week of Feb. 8-14, all other clinics and procedures at the hospital continue as normal, said a press release from the hospital issued Monday evening. “HSN continues to be a safe place for patients, designated care partners, staff, learners and volunteers,” the press release added.
‘They knew’: Strategist says Laurentian’s financial problems weren’t a secret:
There is a fair amount of speculation swirling around Laurentian University and its seemingly precarious financial situation, and certainly that is what Alex Usher has been touching on in his blog posts on the topic. But there is one thing he is certain of, he told Sudbury.com this week. “They knew.” Usher is the president of Higher Education Strategy Associates and is an internationally recognized consultant and expert in post-secondary strategic planning and counselling. He began writing about Laurentian University’s Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) filing — a federal law allowing insolvent corporations that owe their creditors in excess of $5 million to restructure their business and financial affairs — when it first came to light. He said while the board of directors, provincial government, administration and union representatives from LUFA (the Laurentian University Faculty Association) may point blaming fingers, the school’s financial challenges were far from secret. Anyone who has looked at the financial statements has seen the accrued deficit carried over year to year, in seven of the last eight years. “Did people know that there was an accumulated $20-million loss over the years? Of course they did,” Usher said. “They knew.” And the reason the rest of the world now knows is because the banks pulled the rug out from under them. Find the full story here.
Arena report gets the go ahead from city council:
City council gave the go ahead for staff to proceed with preparing a report on potential sites for an arena/events centre at a cost of up to $125,000. The costs associated with the report will be designated to acquiring third party expertise from PricewaterhouseCoopers, with the report to be brought back to council on June 16 of this year. As has been the case with many decisions centred around the arena/events centre, Tuesday's discussion wasn't short on contention, with Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc opening the discussion by reading from a letter from Gateway Casinos and asking that the motion be deferred and push the date back for the report to be received to September. "We note that in the event that the overall KED project scope is revised as an outcome of the PWC analysis, for example by removing the arena or hotel component, Gateway will need to reexamine the feasibility of gaming property at this location," said Leduc, reading from the letter. Leduc motioned to have the report deferred until Sept. 28 but was defeated. Full story here.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts reports one new case of COVID-19:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) has reported one new case of COVID-19 in its local service area for Tuesday. This means there are now 35 active cases now being monitored. This is a drop from the 41 active cases reported on Monday. Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, there have been 541 total COVID-19 cases reported to the Sudbury health unit, with 506 of those cases being resolved locally. With respect to where the new case occurred,the PHSD daily update page reported that one case was found to have occurred within the Greater Sudbury Area. In terms of the possible cause, PHSD reported one new case listed as information pending or missing.
Weapons complaint in Garson leads to standoff with police:
A 22-year-old man faces firearm-related charges after he allegedly pointed a gun at someone who knocked on his door late at night and threatened to kill them, said Greater Sudbury Police. On Feb. 7, at around 10:40 p.m., officers attended a weapons complaint on O’Neil Drive West in Garson after someone phoned 911 saying when they knocked on the door of the residence, they were met by a man holding what they believed to be a handgun. The caller said the man pointed the gun at him and threatened to kill him. The caller left and phoned police. Once on scene, officers established communications with the man inside the home. At about 12:10 a.m. on Feb. 8, he surrendered without incident. Officers cleared the home and found a replica handgun. As a result, the suspect has been charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, pointing a firearm, and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm. He attended bail court on Feb. 9 to answer to the charges.
OPP seize large cache of illegal firearms, ammo from Sables-Spanish Rivers home:
A 41-year-old man from Sables-Spanish Rivers Township, in the Massey area, faces numerous firearm offences after provincial police say officers found and seized a cache of guns, ammunition and other prohibited devices from his home. The Ontario Provincial Police received information in December that a package containing prohibited devices was being delivered to the man’s address. After a lengthy investigation, on Jan. 20 officers searched the home and found and seized a number of different firearms. The man is charged with unauthorized importing of a firearm, prohibited or restricted weapon, prohibited device or ammunition, unauthorized possession of weapon, unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, and breach of firearms regulation-store firearm or restricted weapon. He is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Espanola on March 1.
Sudbury police charge rabbit-hunting Aurora men for violating stay-at-home order:
Two men from Aurora have been charged with failing to comply with the stay-at-home order and with having a loaded firearm in their vehicle that got stuck on a snowmobile trail north of Capreol. Greater Sudbury Police said they were alerted by Sudbury Trail Plan about a vehicle being driven on one of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club trails. An officer and a game warden with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry patrolled the area to locate the vehicle. When they found the suspect vehicle, its two occupants were found to be from different households in Aurora, Ont. They said they were in the area camping and hunting rabbits. A loaded firearm was found in the vehicle. They were fined $65 for trespassing on the OFSC trail, $880 for violating the Emergency Management and Civil Protections Act for failing to comply with the stay-at-home order, and $615 for having a loaded firearm in the vehicle. They were told to pack up and return home. Get the full story here.
Wednesday Weather:
A mix of sun and cloud today with a 40 per cent chance of flurries in the afternoon. More chilly temperatures today as it's going to feel like -29 with the wind chill this morning. Afternoon high will be sitting at around -12. Partly cloudy into the evening with chances of flurries. Overnight low will dip to -25, feeling like -32 with the wind. There is a risk of frostbite overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
