By Ian Campbell

An Owen Sound man is dead and a Barrie man in a Sudbury hospital as police continue to investigate yesterday’s crash on Highway 69.

According to OPP, it was just after 7 in the morning when 43 year old Shawn Hebert’s SUV crossed the centre line, striking an oncoming pick-up head-on.

He would be pronounced dead at the scene, while the other driver 48 year old Ron Lambert was airlifted to Sudbury with serious injuries.

Police believe weather was not a factor but tell us they cannot rule out alcohol.

 (CAW Local Mine Mill 598 update the media and fellow employees about where things stand with negotiations with Vale Inco, [Assistant to the President Jerry Dias in white shirt; Local 598 President Richard Paquin in light blue on right of Dias])

By Ian Campbell

A city already grappling with a major strike at one nickel producer may soon be dealing with another.

So far things remain far apart between Mine Mill CAW Local 598, it’s 540 employees and mining giant Xstrata.

Union officials say Xstrata seems to be taking a page out of Vale Inco’s book, by making demands of the union and being unwilling to compromise.

“We’ve really  narrowed down our proposal to make sure we have an opportunity to have a settlement and they haven’t twisted the response whatsoever,” says Local 598 President Richard Paquin.

Assistant to the CAW President Jerry Dias says their track record speaks for themselves,

“They’ve closed down three mines in Sudbury, announced the closure of the mine in Timmins and they’re taking product out of the ground and shipping it to Quebec…..that doesn’t make a stitch of sense,” he explains.

And according to the union, the fact that they are a foreign owned company doesn’t help matters,

“It’s not as if it’s a community based company, it really is a global company with global initiatives, and the global initiative is profitability,” Dias says.

Meantime the union maintains they are optimistic,

“If we have to go beyond the deadline cause we’re close, then we will do that,” says Dias. “We will do whatever it takes to get a deal, we just have to make sure the deal is centred around our members,”

According to the union, at stake are seniority rights and the rights to recall it’s workers among a host of other issues they have not been able to come to an agreement on.

If they can’t reach an agreement by midnight tonight, then the union will be in a legal position to strike and the company in a legal position to lock out its workers.

Xstrata would be the second of two mining giants in Sudbury whose employees have walked off the job, the first being Vale Inco where Steelworkers have been on strike since July.

Xstrata, along with Vale Inco are two of the largest employers in Greater Sudbury.

By Ian Campbell

It’s time to get off that cell phone while driving or face the consequences.

It’s been 3 months since a new provincial law banned the use of hand held devices while behind the wheel.

During this grace period, OPP Constable Carolle Dionne says some people have gotten the message.

“However we’re still seeing a high number of people utilizing their cell phones as well as texting while they’re driving,” says Dionne.

She adds after today, fines will be issued at 155 dollars and to as much as 500.

In the last few months 64 charges have been laid against drivers across the province related to distracted driver penalties and 3260 officials warnings have been issued, that’s also not counting the informal warnings from officers.

“This is being done because it has been proven on many occasions that you are 23 more times likely to be involved in a collision while your talking on a cellphone as a result of being distracted,” says Dionne.

(Hospital staff help unload a Memorial patient in the Emergency Bay at the new Laurentian site)

(The new front entrance to Sudbury Regional Hospital at the Laurentian site)

By Ian Campbell

Sudbury has now gone from 3 active hospital sites down to 2.

Officials took another major step towards the one site facility today, moving 81 patients from Memorial Hospital to the Laurentian site.

According to Senior Vice President Joe Pilon, some 250 staff members were involved in the move, anywhere from extra support, to housekeeping and transition teams.

It officially puts an end to acute care at Memorial, as the former Hospital now moves to transition itself into a temporary Alternate Level Care patient facility.

“Any appointments even for lab work, or radiology work, x-rays will all happen here now,” says the Vice President. ” The Memorial site is only going to be a site that will house ALC patients for a year or two years.”

Pilon didn’t have exact numbers, but estimates the move was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and came from their capital budget.

The next step now will be to move the A-L-C patients from the Laurentian and St. Joseph’s sites to Memorial starting February 17th.

Then St. Joseph’s patients will begin to move to the one-site Hospital March 28th.

Pilon adds they should have the new Emergency Department operational by then and there will be a brief time where the two departments are open for six hours at the same time.

By Ian Campbell

It’s being described as a big “shake-up” today within the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

General Manager Brian Burke announced a short time ago that the Leafs have acquired all-star defenceman Dion Phaneuf from the Flames in a seven player deal.

The move also sends six foot six defenceman Keith Aulie and winger Fredrik Sjostrom to the slumping club.

In return, Toronto has given up defenceman Ian White and forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers.

The Leafs also announced that they have acquired goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from Anaheim in exchange for Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake.

Burke admitted to reporters today that the loss of Hagman and Stajan will leave a tremendous hole within the line-up but the thought of obtaining Phaneuf was just too good to give up.

By Ian Campbell

One person is dead, another seriously injured after a car crash this morning that’s closed Highway 69.

According to Sudbury Provincial Police, it happened just after 7A-M between a pick-up truck and an S-U-V in Servos Township south of Burwash.

The first driver was pronounced dead at the scene while the other driver was taken to Sudbury Regional Hospital with serious injuries.

There were no passengers in either of the cars.

No names have been released yet as police are still notifying next of kin.

Meantime the Highway’s been re-opened as police continue their investigation.

By Ian Campbell

Highway 69 remains closed at this hour.

The major routeway from Sudbury to Toronto shut down at Burwash just after 7 this morning due to a serious motor vehicle accident.

We’re getting reports into the newsroom that at least two vehicles were involved and emergency crews are on scene.

Provincial Police tell us they don’t expect to re-open the roadway until at early afternoon as the emergency efforts continue and an investigation gets underway.

We’ll bring you more details as they become available.

By Ian Campbell

It’s expected to be a long day for patients and staff at Sudbury Regional Hospital.

Today works get underway, as the Hospital transfers it’s patients out of the Memorial building to the Laurentian site.

It’s a plan that’s been over a decade in the making, combining Sudburys 3 hospital sites into a mega one site facility.

Hospital staff are asking people to refrain from visiting while transfers are underway.

By Stew Kernan

Both sides are hoping to avoid a strike at Xstrata Nickel…but the clock is ticking.

The contract for 540 production and maintenance workers, members of Mine Mill Local 598/C-A-W expires at midnight Sunday.

At last word the two sides were discussing monetary issues with still some contact language to address.

Negotiations have been going on since December 16th.

By Stew Kernan

Local school kids have come through big time for Haiti earthquake relief.

The Rainbow District School Board was a partner in a benefit concert last night put on to raise money for the Mission of Tears charity.

It was announced during the show that students had raised $28,000…an amount that will be matched by the federal government.

Performers last night at Laurentian’s Fraser Auditorium, included Jeff Wiseman, Phillip May and the Sudbury Saturday Night Orchestra.