Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Planning tribunal makes scant progress at first meeting:
The first step in addressing appeals of the Kingsway Entertainment District showed just how much uncharted legal territory the parties will have to navigate throughout the process. The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), created late last year by the outgoing Liberal government, aims to speed up the time in which planning disputes are settled. Under legislation, a decision on the Kingsway should be made by June 2019. But meeting Tuesday in Sudbury, the three members of the tribunal pressed “pause” on that timeline, admitting there are several issues to be dealt with before they will have an idea of how long the process will take. Get more on this story here.
HSN workers rally for a stop to hospital cuts:
A handful of HSN employees braved some inclement weather on Tuesday as they rallied along Paris Street to send a message to Premier Doug Ford that Sudbury's hospital is not being properly funded. The hospital has seen the reduction and elimination of a number of front-line jobs, and there are another 100 proposed cuts to full-time equivalent positions that could be forthcoming. "Since March of this year, between the Ontario Nurses Association and CUPE, we've been through about 113 to 120 eliminations," said Dave Shelefontiuk, CUPE 1623 president. "At CUPE it hasn't so much been layoffs, but elimination of jobs and reassignments. When positions are being eliminated, the work is still there, so someone has to pick up that work. For example, in support services we have five-hour shifts now to do a job that would normally take seven and a half hours." More on this story can be found here.
Who is a Legionnaire? Meet 20-year-old Kyle Millar:
Kyle Millar is a 20-year-old student at Laurentian University. He has been a member of Br. 76 for the last year. He carries the colours during our ceremonies and can be seen volunteering all over the branch. When asked why he made the decision to join the Legion, Kyle said it was easy. "It was an easy decision to make. I have always been interested in Canadian veterans and their families and how I could help,” he said. “The members that I met explained the values of the Legion and they coincided with mine.” After participating in Legion activities for a year, Kyle was asked for his impressions and why he would recommend the Legion to his peers. Kyle said that after celebrating his first year, he felt that the legion was very inclusive. “They are happy to hear my ideas and always willing to answer any questions that I might have,” he said. “They appreciate any time I can volunteer.” Kyle went on to say that he would encourage all of his peers to volunteer. If you want to learn about the past and help the Legion thrive and move towards the future, now is the time, said Kyle. More on this story here.
Ready to Rock Steady at Top Glove Boxing Academy:
Top Glove Boxing Academy officially launched the Rock Steady Boxing program on Nov. 6. The much-anticipated and unique exercise program is based around training techniques used by professional and amateur boxers alike, adapted for people with Parkinson's disease. Top Glove received a crucial funding boost to the tune of $10,000 from their "super heavyweight title" sponsor, Mine Mill Local 598/Unifor, on July 11, and the program is now up and running for nearly 20 people from Greater Sudbury and surrounding area who are living with Parkinson's. Gordon Apolloni led the charge to bring the program to Sudbury on Top Glove's end as the club's head coach. In collaboration with Estelle Joliat, northeast community development coordinator, Parkinson Canada, the two set out to bring Rock Steady to the Nickel City. "This is a great program and resource to have in the city," Apolloni said, speaking at Tuesday's press conference. "When I first heard about it last fall … there was no hesitation, I wanted to have this here in Sudbury." Find the full story here.
City rejects staff advice, turns down Hanmer wrecking yard:
Members of the planning committee sided with concerned neighbours on Monday, rejecting an application they acknowledge conforms with Ontario planning laws. But Ward 6 Coun. Rene Lapierre said planning laws need to change if they allow the type of development being proposed on Monday. At issue is an application from a Hanmer business in Lapierre's ward that operates in land zoned rural. Ranger Wrecking and Salvage Inc. on Bodson Drive wants to build a 145 square-metre warehouse, a covered tent and an office trailer on their property. Technically, zoning laws don't permit industrial uses on rural lands, but the business has been operating on the property since before current land use laws were established. “The salvage/wrecking yard use was established on the subject lands in the early 1970s prior to any zoning being in effect on the property,” says a staff report on the application. In those sorts of cases, businesses are allowed to continue operating as a “legal non-conforming” businesses, grandfathering them into the new planning laws. Land use changes are to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The overall intent is to get rid of the non-conforming uses in the city, but existing businesses can continue to operate and even make major changes, as long as the changes conform to certain criteria
City champ junior Cards leave it all on the field in tough NOSSA loss:
Coach Mike Scott and the St. Charles College Cardinals junior boys football team may not have reached their ultimate goal, beaten in the NOSSA final, but a third SDSSAA banner in the past four years provided plenty of reason to look back on a highly successful season. Following a 3-0 win in the city final over the St. Benedict Bears, the Cards were stopped 47-20 by the Korah Colts Saturday afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie. "Korah is a well-coached team," said Scott, providing a text account of the contest later that evening. "They were a big team with lots of numbers. They outpowered us. We got hit with injuries to key players early in the game and had a difficult time adjusting." The loss was pretty much the only blemish on an otherwise highly memorable campaign.
Wednesday Weather:
More rain in the forecast for Wednesday. Mainly cloudy today with periods of rain throughout and a high of 6. Rain will change to light snow in the evening. Overnight low will be zero. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
