Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Sudbury will benefit from Ring of Fire access road too, says MPP:
The province's plans to build a year-round access road to the Ring of Fire mineral development in northwestern Ontario is good for this area, too, says Sudbury's MPP, despite the distance between the deposit and the Nickel City. Glenn Thibeault, who's also the province's energy minister, spoke to Sudbury press at a media conference held at Cambrian College after listening in on the livestream of the Aug. 21 provincial announcement. He said he continues to advocate with Noront Resources Ltd., the main industry player in the area, to locate its chromite smelter in Sudbury. Find the full story here.
Sudburians gather to witness solar eclipse:
Total solar eclipses can happen, on average, once every year and a half (18 months). However, seeing a total solar eclipse from your location is quite rare since the next one may only be visible somewhere else on Earth. A total eclipse wasn't observed in Sudbury Monday, but that didn't deter the hundreds of Sudburians that headed to Science North on Aug. 21 to witness the partial eclipse. The next total solar eclipse visible in North America will be April 8, 2024. Check out video from Monday's event at Science North here.
Report calls for more winter plowing of sidewalks:
The city's operations committee will decide next week whether to add an additional 26 kilometres of sidewalks to winter snowplowing routes, a move that will cost an additional $550,000. That amount includes $310,000 to buy additional equipment, and $240,000 in permanent annual costs. The move was approved in December, and was a compromise between those who wanted to expand plowing to all 440 kilometres of sidewalks in the city, and those who preferred to keep costs down by maintaining current service levels. Currently, 325 km are plowed during winter. Expanding plowing to all at least one side of sidewalks was estimated to cost $1.3 million more. More on this story can be found here.
Marking the anniversary of Sudbury's deadly 1970 tornado:
When Sudburians awoke on the morning of Aug. 20, 1970, the weather for the day was projected to be cloudy with a chance of showers. By 8:30 a.m., however, that forecast couldn’t have been further from reality. Around that time, parts of Sudbury and Lively were devastated when a violent storm struck without warning. As the sky darkened, the clouds unleashed a torrent of rain and hail and winds as strong as 100 miles an hour battered the Nickel Belt. Within 10 minutes, it was over, but the destruction was significant. Six people were dead, 200 injured, hundreds were homeless and more than $17 million worth of damage was caused. Read more on this historic event here.
Butterfly release honours memory of those who have passed:
Silent and beautiful, butterflies loom large in First Nations tradition as trusted holders of wishes. Sunday evening at Science North, about 600 were released by the living in honour and remembrance of people who have passed away. Held in support of the McCulloch Hospice, the butterfly release raised almost $30,000, an increase of about $12,000 from 2016. Families and individuals buy them for $30 each in memory of a loved one who has passed, and all are released together. The money will support the hospice's $5.1 million capital campaign. Find more on this story here.
Don't forget: If you need to modify your child's school bus, the time is now:
Although school is still a few weeks away, it's time to start thinking school bus service. If you moved during the summer, changed your child’s school and/or modified your child’s babysitter, you need to contact the Sudbury Student Services Consortium to make sure your child will have the correct bus service as of the first day of school. Changes received after Aug. 23 will not be processed until the third week of school, the consortium told Sudbury.com today. You can contact the consortium at 705-521-1234 or at BusInfo.ca under the Parent Portal.
New resident porcupine calling Science North home:
Since it first opened in 1984, there has almost always been a porcupine within the confines of Science North. Science director Julie Moskalyk said the porcupine has always been an iconic Science North animal. That's why she was excited to announce the arrival of Maple, the newest animal ambassador at the science centre. Maple, named in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, was born and raised at the Zoo Sauvage de St-Félicien in St-Félicien, Quebec. Since she was born under human care and interacted with her human keepers regularly, Maple cannot be released back into the wild and will now call Science North her home. More on this story can be found here.
Tuesday weather:
Showers are expected to return after a hot and sunny Monday. Mainly cloudy to start the day with rain showers through the morning and ending this afternoon. Chances of a thunderstorm and a high of around 19. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
