Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Sudbury teen charged with school threats released on bail:
An 18-year-old College Notre Dame student charged with threats against staff and students of the school was released on bail Wednesday afternoon. Zachary Pilon, 18, appeared in bail court in Sudbury in a courtroom packed with students and his parents. Ontario Court Justice of the Peace James Bubba ordered Pilon's release on a $1,000 recognizance into the supervision of his father, who will be acting as surety. Pilon was arrested and charged with uttering threats and criminal harassment on Tuesday after Greater Sudbury Police were notified of a threatening Instagram post made under the account name “sch00lsh00ter767”. Pilon's release was granted with a strict set of conditions, including a curfew that mandates he must remain in his father or mother's home between school hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Pilon was given a few exceptions for this curfew, including medical emergencies, going to and from work, while in the presence of his surety or his mother. Pilon was also given a no contact order for all of the people whose names appeared in an Instagram post from the account ‘cnd_is_sus’ titled ‘CND KILL LIST.’ He is not to possess any weapons, apply to own weapons, or reside where weapons are kept. Pilon is not to attend or be within 200 metres of any school, and is not to attend College Notre Dame or be within 250 metres of the school. Bubba also handed down an almost a complete technology ban. Pilon will be restricted from using any handheld mobile device, accessing any forms of social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat, and will only be permitted to access the internet for the purpose of school work and assignments, or checking his work schedule online. Full story here.
Child porn suspect's matter adjourned to April 10:
Callam Rodya was not present in court for his first scheduled appearance on child pornography-related charges on March 20. The 32-year-old Sudbury man was suspended from his job as a CTV reporter and is facing a number of charges, including three counts each of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, making available child pornography and one count of possession of a Schedule 1 controlled substance (cocaine). Appearing in court in Sudbury on March 20 on Rodya's behalf was attorney Alex Toffoli, who requested that the matter be adjourned until April 10 as the defence has not yet recieved disclosure material from the Crown. "We have not received disclosure on this, this is a complicated matter," said Toffoli. Rodya was released on $1,500 bail under the supervision of his mother-in-law on Feb. 14 with a number of conditions. His surety was later transferred to his mother.
Next door neighbours raided, arrested on child porn charges:
On Monday, two unrelated investigations brought Greater Sudbury Police two next door neighbours. Members of Greater Sudbury Police's internet child exploitation (ICE) unit tactical unit and integrated crime team – intelligence unit executed the search warrants as a result of two separate child pornography investigations. Police said one of the investigations revealed a Greater Sudbury resident had been using file sharing networks since 2016 to access and possess child pornography. The second investigation was initiated based on information received from a community member and revealed that another Greater Sudbury resident was also accessing and possessing Child Pornography. A 33-year-old faces 23 counts of accessing child pornography, 23 counts of possessing child pornography and four counts of making available child pornography. A 31-year-old faces one count of accessing child pornography and one count of possesssing child pornography. More on this story here.
ETFO Rainbow pres: 'You can't increase class sizes without impacting the number of teachers'
Local teachers' union rep Barb Blasutti hasn't done the math for the local impact of last week's provincial class size announcement, but does say “you can't increase class sizes without impacting the number of teachers.” “That's what it is designed to do,” said Blasutti, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Rainbow local, representing elementary teachers working for the Rainbow District School Board. “It's designed to cut billions of dollars from the education system ... I haven't done the exact math for Rainbow, and what that means for the number of positions in Rainbow.” Last week, as part of an announcement of a sweeping series of changes to the education system, education minister Lisa Thompson announced the cap for high school classes will be raised by six students, from 22 to 28. Cap sizes for kindergarten and primary grades are not being changed. In Grades 4 to 8, the average will increase by less than one student, from 23.84 to 24.5. Thompson has said there will be no involuntary job losses, with the reduction in the ranks of teachers being done through attrition. She said during the transition, there will be an extra $1.6 billion for school boards over the next three years to support maintaining teaching positions where needed until reductions can be done through attrition. More on this story here.
'It's not a good thing when I show up': Council meets new integrity commish:
Greater Sudbury's new integrity commissioner, Robert Swayze, made his first appearance at city council Tuesday night, and made it clear he hopes it will be his last. Swayze said that, other than his presentation at Tom Davies Square, he'll only be back in town if he's conducting an investigation. “So it's not a good thing when I show up,” he said. Swayze detailed his “approach to ethical rules” in a 40-minute presentation, outlining what authority he has and the limits of what he can do. “Nobody can appeal my decision,” he said. “(Although) I have been taken to court for judicial review.” The maximum penalty he can impose is to suspend a councillor found to have violated the code of conduct for 90 days without pay. On a lesser scale, he can issue a reprimand. In any event, it is up to city council whether to enforce the penalty. Get the full story here.
Sudbury Five's Braylon Rayson headed to Chinese pro league this summer:
The Sudbury Five have announced that guard Braylon Rayson has signed a summer contract with Luoyang Zhonghe of the National Basketball League of China. A native of Dallas, TX, Rayson signed with the Five in the off-season after being acquired in a deal with the Windsor Express at the 2018 NBL Canada draft. The 5-9 guard has been the NBL Canada’s most potent offensive player this season, leading the league in points scored per game. He is also second in three-pointers scored per game, first in total points scored, and first in total three-pointers scored. Rayson is currently averaging 24.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. “I want to thank Logan, Dario and the entire Five organization for giving me the opportunity to play here in Sudbury this season,” said Rayson. “It’s been a fun year, especially with the close group we have in the locker room. I’m excited to continue my career in China at the end of this season, but right now, I have my focus on a long playoff run in Sudbury.” Rayson will join Luoyang Zhonghe at the conclusion of the 2018-19 NBL Canada season.
Thursday Weather:
The second day of spring isn't looking much better than the first. There's a 40 per cent chance of flurries changing to 40 per cent chance of rain showers or flurries near noon. Thursday's high is only expected to get up to 2. Periods of snow possible tonight with up to 4 cm falling before morning. Overnight low sitting at -4, feeling like -12 with the wind chill. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
