Violent crime hit record high in Greater Sudbury last year
Violent crime has continued its multi-year steady increase in Greater Sudbury, reaching a record-breaking 3,222 offences in 2023. This represents an increase in violent crime offenses of 11.3 per cent (327 cases) compared to 2022, and the eighth consecutive year the number of violent offences has increased. Further, it’s the greatest annual total of violent crime incidents in the City of Greater Sudbury’s history, which dates back to its 2001 amalgamation.The city’s 23-year average is 1,975 violent offences per year. The pandemic era (2020-23) recorded an average of 2,814 violent offences per year, which 2023 exceeded by 12.6 per cent. The recent spike shouldn’t come as too great of a surprise, with last year also recording Greater Sudbury’s highest-ever violent crime severity index of 137.9, which ranked the city third among 36 metropolitan areas listed by Statistics Canada (outranked only by Thunder Bay and Winnipeg).
‘Not the only board’: Sudbury Catholic uses reserves to defray $900K deficit
Reflecting a trend with boards grappling with JK-12 funding shortfalls across Ontario, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has pulled from its reserves to balance its budget for the 2024-2025 school year. The board’s projected deficit for the next school year is $909,430, although it was able to balance its budget of $121 million by pulling from its reserves. With the 2024-2025 deficit, the board’s reserves dip to $5.48 million. It’s a similar situation with the Rainbow District School Board, which also projects a deficit of $704,045 and is making up for the shortfall by pulling from its reserves. The Algoma District School Board in Sault Ste. Marie has also drawn $298,000 from its reserves to balance its budget. School boards are expected to present balanced budgets, but reserves can be used if the money being taken out is one per cent or less of the board’s operating revenue.“The reason we're going into the deficit is generally due to funding gaps that we're experiencing,” said Cheryl Ann Corallo, the Sudbury Catholic Board’s superintendent of business and finance. She was speaking at the June 26 school board meeting, where trustees approved the board’s 2024-2025 budget. Budget documents produced by the school board show funding gaps when it comes to hiring supply teachers ($1.8 million), statutory benefits such as increases in employer CPP contributions ($200,000), transportation ($500,000) and general inflationary costs (the board said it has not calculated the potential funding gap for all its expenses yet).
Hold the hassle. Your licence plate will renew automatically
You are among more than eight million drivers in Ontario about to get automatic licence plate renewals. The change takes effect on July 1. “First, we eliminated licence plate sticker fees for passenger vehicles, saving drivers $120 a year for every car they own. Now, we’re saving drivers valuable time and making their lives easier by automatically renewing licence plates.” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. Licence plates for passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, motorcycles and mopeds will renew automatically 90 days before expiry if the vehicle owner has valid insurance and no outstanding fines or tolls. If a licence plate cannot be renewed automatically, the vehicle owner will be notified and required to manually renew online or in person at ServiceOntario.
Levack woman still busy at 105: Secrets and science behind Canada's 'super agers'
Angeline Charlebois keeps a busy schedule. The 105-year-old Levack, Ont., woman spends Tuesday afternoons in town playing cards with her friends at the golden age club, often bringing home-baked treats to share with her friends. Charlebois is an avid reader and loves to sew. She makes hats for babies at the nearby hospital — having picked up knitting as a new hobby when she was 100 years old. “I’m not someone to just sit down. I’m motivated. I do things and I like to do things,” Charlebois said, sitting in the living room of the two-bedroom town house where she’s been living on her own for nearly 30 years. Charlebois beams when she talks about her big family, and proudly shows off pictures of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren on the walls of her home, about 50 kilometres northwest of Sudbury. She’s extremely social, and says she likes to have a drink on the weekends with her family. She’s partial to beer or rye and water, and she puts Irish cream in her coffee after mass every Sunday.
Pets & Animals: Introducing Her Worship Minousse the Pet Mayor
It has been a big month for Alex Tétreault and his cat Minousse. Or should we say Minousse and her human Alex? Earlier in June, Tétreault was named Greater Sudbury’s eighth poet laureate. Minousse now holds an honorary literary position of her own — she was recently voted “pet mayor” of the Panache French-language bookstore, which opened at Place des Arts in January. In the next year, the community will get to know Her Worship Minousse, who will share her literary favourites, her thoughts and photos of her daily activities. These snapshots will be visible on the bookstore's social network accounts (Facebook, Instagram) as well as in its newsletters. A regal-looking portrait of Minousse (whose full name is Ariane “Minousse” Minouchkine) photoshopped into a renaissance-style dress will be displayed in the bookstore.
