Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Greater Sudbury debt on track to exceed a half-billion dollars
The City of Greater Sudbury’s debt load is on track to peak at $587.3 million by 2028. The city’s debt load at the end of 2023 was $325.9 million, and city council has greenlit securing an additional $259.4 million. This includes $124.4 million toward infrastructure and $135 million toward a new arena/events centre in Downtown Sudbury. This is a significant jump from a low of $18.98 million in debt recorded in 2014, and follows borrowing for such projects as the Pioneer Manor bed redevelopment, the library/art gallery project, Downtown arena, MR 35 and various other infrastructure projects. The city has a self-imposed policy under which their annual repayment limit is no greater than 10-per-cent of its own-source revenue. Under this policy, city council could borrow an additional $200.6 million beyond current projections. Under provincial guidelines, which allow for a greater debt threshold, the city could incur as much as approximately $1.3 billion in debt beyond current levels.
Sudburians stand with American sisters on Roe v. Wade anniversary
Sudburians stood in solidarity with their American sisters June 24, on the second anniversary of the overturn of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court case that has resulted in increasing restrictions to abortion access in the United States. “A lot of the time, people believe it won't be us when we see things happen to others,” said Mia Valliere, one of the organizers of Women’s Strike Sudbury, which held a protest attracting around 50 people in Bell Park on Monday afternoon. “We look at the U.S. and we think, ‘Well, that can't be us.’ But there's no guarantee of that there. There's our charter and it does protect our life, liberty and our security among many other things, but it doesn't protect our reproductive rights, precedent does. “We are afraid that with the wrong interpretation at the wrong time and the wrong politician getting into office saying the wrong things, and the next thing you know, we're in the same place as them.”
Then & Now: The history of Science North as it turns 40
It all began with a small and rather unimpressive bang, accompanied by the tiniest puff of smoke, which seemed almost to be apologizing to those in attendance for its lack of grandeur in the face of the importance of this event. Even the gloomy weather that day was far from projecting a jubilant atmosphere. In all honesty though, even a small scale blast to officially launch such an important construction project, in this capital of Canadian mining, is a much more fitting choice than watching politicians with shovels for the more traditional groundbreaking photo-op. Nonetheless, this was an occasion of real historical significance for Sudbury. On this Thursday morning in late June, 1981, beside a rocky outcropping at Bell Grove, a project tentatively named the Sudbury Science Centre first began to take steps toward becoming a reality for its creators. But, where (and when) did the genesis of such an important project in Sudbury’s history and such an impressive addition to our landscape first take shape? Looking into the origins of the project, George Lund said at the time that the first suggestion for a science centre appears to have been made in a column in The Sudbury Star around 1965.
NOSM taps Dr. Michael Green as new dean, president
Dr. Michael Green has been named as the new incoming president, vice-chancellor, dean and CEO of NOSM University, formerly known as the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, said a news release Tuesday. The university board of governors unanimously approved the appointment on June 13, said the release. Green's appointment will be effective Nov. 1. Green will be taking over from Dr. Sarita Verma, who was appointed in July 2019. She became the second CEO at NOSM. She assumed that role from Dr. Roger Strasser, the school’s founding dean. Verma said Green, whose medical specialty is family medicine, is known in the North. “Dr. Green is no stranger to Northern Ontario,” Verma said in the release. “He is a highly-skilled family physician and rural generalist who spent eight years serving the communities of Moose Factory and Kashechewan. I know that NOSM University — and the North — will continue to be in very good hands.”
Special ed classroom closures leave Ontario parents 'devastated'
Adrianna Atkins said she was "devastated" after her son's principal informed her less than two weeks ago that the self-contained special education classroom he was in would be closed come September. The closure would mean that 9-year-old Marshall — who has severe autism, ADHD and epilepsy, is non-verbal and elopes — would be moved into a regular classroom. "I got in my car and I had a very hard time driving, I didn't move for a little bit, it was a lot to take in," said Atkins, who lives in Hearst, a town more than 200 kilometres northwest of Timmins. Atkins said she was told it was unclear at the time what supports her son would get. She told the principal she didn't know if she could safely send him to school in the fall. Marshall constantly puts non-edible items in his mouth and has experienced seizures that left him non-responsive for three minutes. Atkins has also had to call 911 after Marshall ran away and was gone for 45 minutes.
Video: Breakfast at Eddie’s with the Letterkenny podcasters
When the hosts of the popular “Letterkenny” podcast The Last Stand came to town in May, they didn’t just get to visit the city where the series is filmed, they got to eat at Shoresy’s favourite breakfast spot. In the third part of the Discover Sudbury five-part video series with the hosts of The Last Stand Podcast, the visitors got to fill their bellies at Eddie’s Restaurant. Both Letterkenny and Shoresy are filmed in Greater Sudbury. During their visit, the Last Stand hosts visited several locations used on the shows during their tour of the area, including the Capreol Arena, where much of the show is filmed at a vacant ice pad currently leased for use as a film studio. While Letterkenny is set in a fictional town, Greater Sudbury-area is featured prominently in Shoresy, which is set right here in the Nickel City.
