By Angela Gemmill

A hunter stumbled upon human skeletal remains yesterday, just west of Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island.

Manitoulin OPP called in the Forensic Identification Unit to help with the investigation.

The coroner has also been called in, but police do not suspect foul play.

They also reassure the public there is no concern for public safety.

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By Stew Kernan

The $2 billion Clean AER Project at Vale is marking a milestone.

The first of four converters to be installed in the smelter converter aisle is to be delivered today between 5 and 7pm.

Once completed, the Atmospheric Emissions Reduction project will see sulphur dioxide emissions at Vale’s Copper Cliff smelter reduced by 70% from current levels, as well as dust and metals emissions reduced a further 35 to 40%.

This is one of the largest single environmental investments in Ontario’s history.

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By Angela Gemmill

If you haven’t visited Rotary Park, you’re missing out on a hidden gem in our city…and now there’s a new addition to the nature trail.

The Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers unveiled a large observation deck today that overlooks the Ponderosa Floodplain.

It’s located at the top of the steep hill along the path and provides a panoramic view of parts of New Sudbury, more specifically the wetlands within Rotary Park.

Co-Chair of Rotary Park for Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers, Brian Smith, says the project was a community initiative, involving numerous partners.

An architect, who is a Rotarian, designed the platform, 20 welding students from Cambrian College built the deck, and several construction companies assembled it at the site.

Professor of Welding Fabrication at Cambrian College, Robbie Duncan, says the 20 students learned about drawing interpretation, welding, codes and standards and team-work, while volunteering hundreds of hours for the project.

It was installed in the spring but was officially unveiled this morning.

Smith says the project would have cost a whole lot more if not for the help from the community partners.

He says trail users have already been raving about the platform, which he says allows them to look out over a vast parcel of nature in the heart of a thriving city.

Rotary Park trail runs from Adanac Ski Hill on Beatrice Crescent to Harvey Street in the Flour Mill.

It can be accessed from both points.

(Cambrian College President Sylvia Barnard, Architect Tim James, Welding and Fabrication Professor Robbie Duncan and Rotary Co-Chair Brian Smith)

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By Angela Gemmill

A house on Bancroft Drive was targeted twice overnight and now two teens are in police custody.

The homeowners returned around 10 last night to find the door damaged with signs of a break-in.

Sudbury Police found nothing during the search and had begun an investigation.

Then around one this morning culprits tried to break into the same home.

This time entry was gained and damage caused to property inside.

The homeowners called police and after a short foot chase a 17-year old suspect was caught.

During his arrest, a police officer was assaulted and injured, requiring medical attention.

The K-9 unit was called in to help locate the other suspect.

A 15-year old male was found and arrested a short time later.

Both are charged with Break and Enter,  Mischief, and Breach of Court Orders, while the older suspect is also charged with Assaulting a Police Officer.

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By Stew Kernan

Fighting could end up costing players more than five minutes in the penalty box in the Ontario Hockey League this season.

The league announced several rule revisions Wednesday, with some noteworthy changes to how the league will handle supplemental discipline.

Players who exceed 10 fighting majors will face suspensions from the 11th fight on.

They will get two-game bans for every fighting major assessed after the first 10 and four games if they are deemed the instigator.

From the 16th fighting major on, the player’s team is fined $1,000.

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By Stew Kernan

The issue of Alternate Level of Care patients is rearing it’s ugly head again at Health Sciences North.

A new schedule for non-urgent surgeries goes into effect on September 24th with 15 to be performed daily…down from 19 to 20 a day.

The change will not effect urgent or emergency surgeries.

The Medical Director of H-S-N’s Surgical Program, Dr. David Boyle says with the current number of A-L-C patients added to the increased load now that summer is coming to an end, the current schedule is just not safe.

As of this week there are 133 A-L-C patients in the hospital…seniors who no longer need to be there but still need some type of care.

The growing number of A-L-C patients has led to the postponement of 30 surgical procedures so far this month.

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By Matt Harris

With Sudbury facing a shortage in skilled labour, the city is launching a campaign designed to attract new workers to the city.

“Opportunity Rocks Sudbury” is a partnership between the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation and many companies doing business in the city.

Mayor Marianne Matichuck says she hopes the campaign will break stereo-types people may have about Sudbury.

Opportunity Rocks will highlight Sudbury to more than 40-thousand industry professionals at Mine Expo 2012 in Las Vegas later this month.

The expected worker shortage is due to a high number of mining projects coming to the area in the near future.

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By Angela Gemmill

For the next two weeks Vale will conducting its aerial dust control over the mine tailings near Copper Cliff and Lively.

The work starts today and runs until October 3rd and will involve helicopters flying -low over the designated area to spray a non-toxic biodegradable dust suppressing product.

The flights run daily from 8am until 6pm and Vale says the aircraft will not fly over residential areas.

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By Angela Gemmill

The latest census data from Statistics Canada shows the mom, dad and three kids living under one roof that typified Canadian households of 50 years ago has morphed into a complex and diverse web of family ties.

More couples are choosing common law relationships, married couples are in a long-term decline, single parenting continues to rise and the size of families have gradually shrunk.

According to figures from across the country, the number of common law partnerships increased by 13.9% within five years and the number of married couples declined by nearly 133,000 over ten years.

Specific numbers for Sudbury show a slight decline in married families -with or without children- dropping from 69.3% in the last census (2006) to 67.1% in 2011.

Common-law couples make up 16.1% of local families, while there were 16.8% of families headed by a single parent.

Also of note locally, just 8.3% of families in Sudbury are step-families, the first time they’ve been counted in the census.

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By Angela Gemmill

Several local elementary school students are now considered budding film-makers after winning a contest that meant their videos were shown at Cinefest.

The three winners of the Fast Flowing Water Video Contest had their short safety videos screened during the film festival’s Children’s Film Series this morning.

They will air again tomorrow morning before the 10am short-films.

Local students from Grades Four to Eight could submit a 30 to 90 second safety video centered around the theme that fast moving waterways are dangerous.

Cinefest Director Tammy Frick was one of the judges.

The Fast-Flowing Water Poster Contest was started by the Junction Creek Safety Committee after the 2007 death of Adam Dickie, who fell into the waterway.

The video element is new to the competition.

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