Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Monday morning.
Laurentian looks to develop policy for revoking honorary degrees
Earlier this month, Laurentian University awarded its first honorary degrees since 2020. The recipients were Supreme Court Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin, geoscientist and mining executive Catharine Farrow and educator and Alzheimer’s advocate Daniel Andreae. “We awarded three honorary doctorates to very deserving people who are all really pleased to have that relationship now with Laurentian University, and of course, more to come,” said Laurentian president Lynn Wells, speaking at the June 18 meeting of LU’s senate. “This came together very quickly, I would say within two weeks of the ceremony, so we were delighted to get three honorary degree recipients.” While Wells said LU is happy to “get back into the business of awarding honorary degrees,” she said it has come to her attention that the university doesn’t actually have a process to revoke them.
Tragic end to search for missing Sudbury man
The search for a missing Sudbury man has ended tragically today. Greater Sudbury Police announced this morning that a 26-year-old man named Sheldon (the last names of missing people aren't released by GSPS) was located June 23. He is deceased. The man was declared missing on June 3. "Unfortunately, 26 y/o Sheldon has been located deceased. At this time foul play is not suspected," GSPS said. "Our condolences go out to his family and friends. Thank you to members of the public that called in tips during this investigation."
Starting this fall, the spiritual leader of 1.1 million Canadians will live in the Sault
Anne Germond is working hard these days to keep under the radar. Germond is Anglican Archbishop of Algoma, Archbishop of Moosonee and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. On Sept. 15, the Sault Ste. Marie-based cleric will begin a 41-week stint as interim leader of the Anglican Church of Canada. According to the 2021 census, 1.1 million Canadians self-identify as Anglican. That makes Germond's flock the third-largest church in the country, after Catholics and the United Church of Canada.
New leadership means new focus for Sudbury drug strategy group
The Community Drug Strategy in Sudbury said it has changed its leadership and has realigned itself to focus on the recommendations from the Greater Sudbury Summit on Toxic Drugs. The drug strategy organization said the new executive members and co-chairs are Dr. Mustafa Hirji, the CEO and medical officer of health (MOH) at the Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD), and Heidi Eisenhauer, executive director for Réseau ACCESS Network in Sudbury. They are replacing former MOH Dr. Penny Sutcliffe and former Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen. "This means shifting emphasis away from enforcement to more root cause approaches on health promotion, providing comprehensive supports like housing and employment, and substance use care," said the public health news release. “As the unregulated drug supply becomes more toxic, we must work collectively to reduce harms and save lives, while addressing the root social causes of this crisis to the best of our abilities," said Dr. Hirji, in the release.
Tech pinpointed for LU pool repair already being used in Elliot Lake
While Laurentian University will make a decision based on its own needs, the manager of a company offering a pool remediation technique called RenovAction pinpointed in a repair options report for LU’s long-closed pool said it’s “the best technology” for the job. Following the release of a March 2024 report by consultants JL Richards on repair options for the Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool this week through a freedom of information request by Sudbury.com, we spoke to Dan Thompson, Canada country manager for Myrtha Pools. He said RenoVaction is the same technology currently being used to renovate a pool in Elliot Lake. Besides the 25-metre Elliot Lake Ruben Yli-Juuti Pool, which he said should re-open in September, other Canadian examples pools remediated with this technology are the Montreal Olympic Pool, the Victor Davis pool in Guelph, the Point Claire Canada Games pool and the Etobicoke Olympium.
Video: Celebrating all things great and geeky at Graphic-Con
One of Northern Ontario biggest and longest-running and largest fan convention, Graphic-Con, took over Sudbury Arena on June 22. Now in its 11th year, Sudbury Graphic-Con celebrates all things that fall under the banner of geek culture, from Star Wars and Star Trek, to comic books, video games, movies and more. Started by the Greater Sudbury Public Library in 2013, the convention now operates as its own corporation under the moniker Sudbury Graphic-Con Non-Profit Corporation. Despite the official-sounding name, Graphic-Con is the same welcoming celebration of all things geeky it has alway been, said Neil Stephen, president of the convention board. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate literature, art, anime, sci-fi — whatever your ‘fan-dom’ is, whatever your ‘geek-dom’ is, it’s an opportunity to really come together and celebrate your geek in a safe and welcoming environment,” Stephen said, who added Graphic-Con is one of the only conventions to go the non-profit route.
