(Kenora MP Greg Rickford announces FEDNOR funding for Greater Sudbury)

By Ian Campbell

Sixteen community projects in Sudbury are getting a big helping hand from Ottawa to the tune of one million dollars.

That announcement at Tom Davies Square yesterday from FEDNOR and MP Greg Rickford of Kenora.

“The focus of course is on jobs but we’re also looking at environmental issues, sustainability of our communities, building and putting the right infrastructure in our cities across,” says Rickford.

Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez calls the news welcome.

He was particularly happy over the announcement the city will be receiving $122,500 to develop a strategy to revitalize the city’s downtown core.

“We went to FEDNOR to ask them to bump up the monies to do that project,” he says. “And so I’m very pleased that we’ve exercised the partnership to the maximum for that project.”

With the Prime Minister recently announcing that stimulus spending will dry up as soon as March of next year, Rickford says that’s not the case when it comes to FEDNOR.

“FEDNOR is alive and well, it’s a strong program that our government has added resources to, we think it’s the benchmark agency in Canada for how to be responsive to the changing needs of communities,” he says.

Other recipients of funding yesterday include:

• Grassroots Economic Opportunity Development and Evaluation $121,337
• Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario $104,000
• Art Gallery of Sudbury $85,000
• Corporation of the Municipality of French River $75,500
• Ontario’s North Economic Development Corporation $60,000
• Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) $10,000
• City of Greater Sudbury/Regional Business Centre $184,200
• And various community organizations will receive upwards of $27,500 to hire eight recent graduates through FEDNOR’s Youth Internship Program. Those include the City of Greater Sudbury, Habitat for Humanity Sudbury District, Independence Centre and Network, Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinics, Centre Franco-Ontarien des Ressources en Alphabetisation, Salon du Livre du Grand Sudbury, Penguin Automated Systems Inc.

By Stew Kernan

Cambrian College and Vale are partnering up in support of post secondary education for aboriginal students.

Vale announced a contribution of $500,000 today to fund outreach, recruitment and educational initiatives.

College President Sylvia Barnard says it’s important that aboriginal students are given the opportunity at a pursuing a post secondary education.

She says some of the funding will allow them to actually get out into aboriginal communities.

Vale sees it as an investment in future high skilled employees.

By Angela Gemmill 

Twelve-hundred Fire Rangers are working to extinguish a total of 69 forest fires across Northeastern Ontario.

According to MNR Regional Information Officer, Don Mark, many of the recent blazes were started by lightning strikes, but crews are battling some human-started fires.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has laid over 100 charges to those not respecting the restricted fire zone.

Mark says local resources are strained, which is why fire rangers from Alberta, British Columbia and Northwest Territories have been called in to help.

He warns that along with the hefty fine anyone found guilty of starting a fire will be required to pay the cost to suppress the fire….which could run in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The restricted fire zone will remain in place for some time due to the extremely dry conditions.

Call 310-FIRE to report a forest fire.

By Angela Gemmill 

Sudbury Police are cracking down on prostitution after complaints from several neighbourhoods.

Along with focusing on the illegal act, officers will also look at the root causes and contributing factors…with four specific areas of strategy.

Those are Enforcement efforts, Community Safety Letters, John School and Jane Diversion.

Anyone arrested can attend John School or Jane Diversion instead of being charged.

Plus the names of those arrested will be released to the media.

A weekend sweep left 10 women and six men charged along with seven ‘curb crawlers’ identified.

By Stew Kernan

Talks resume today between the city and the union representing 14-hundred inside and outside workers.

The two sides met with a conciliator for four days earlier this month with two additional sessions scheduled for today and tomorrow.

A media black-out was imposed on the details, but on the CUPE Local 4705 website, President Steve Speck notes the bargaining sessions so far have been productive and the bargaining committees are confident a fair collective agreement will be reached.

A strike or lockout would affect many city services, including roads maintenance, garbage collection, child care and paramedics.

By Angela Gemmill 

Numerous charges for a 45-year-old local man after a series of events that began with a weapons complaint.

Sudbury Police were called to a home on Hannah Avenue in Capreol Saturday night after a man -believed to be suicidal-  threatened others using a hand gun.

The suspect destroyed items in the home before leaving in his vehicle.

Police were able to pull the southbound vehicle over along Municipal Road 80 following a short pursuit.

Officers noticed obvious signs of impairment and a breath sample showed twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

Charges include Mischief Under five-thousand dollars, Possession of a Weapon for Dangerous Purpose, Impaired Operation, Operation Over .08, Dangerous Driving and Flight from Police.

By Stew Kernan

Preparations officially underway for the 2010-11 O-H-L season for the Sudbury Wolves.

The 15 players player drafted earlier this month and a few free agents were put through their paces on and off the ice this weekend during Rookie Camp.

New head coach Trent Cull says he liked what he saw saying he challenged each player to give their all and reminded them they only had one chance to make a good first impression.

A lot of eyes were on first round pick Mathew Campagna who says he worked hard on not letting the pressure get to him.

As advertised, second round picks Brody Silk from New Liskeard and Sam Schutt from the Ottawa Valley certainly showed plenty of offensive flare.

Wolves general manager Blaine Smith says he loved the speed and skill that was on display and says he’s encouraged the future for the hockey club looks bright.

#1 draft pick Mathew Campagna lets go a shot for one of his goals during the Wolves Rookie Camp this weekend.

   (Organizing race chair Helen Michaud)

By Ian Campbell

Sudburians put their best foot forward this morning in hopes of finding a cure one day for multiple sclerosis.

Walkers in the EZ Rock/Q92 sponsored event could either choose 5 or 10 kilometres to help raise money for MS related services and research.

Vice Chair of the Sudbury Chapter Rachel Proulx says it was amazing to see 250 people come out in that spirit of optimism.

“Everytime that we can get people to create awareness that MS is in Sudbury and that we have a number of people that are affected by it, it does give us hope because we are not the only ones rooting for a cure,” she says.

Organizing Chair Helen Michaud has lived with the disease for close to 20 years.

She says she’s hopeful they will find a cure for it at some point in her life time.

“I’m hoping that the vascular findings that they found in Italy will come to here so that we can find it here in Canada and treat those people with the symptoms of MS so that they can live normal lives like everyone else,” says Michaud.

Organizers were hoping to raise a total of $40,000 this year, taking into consideration economic hardships and the recent recession.

This year participants were able to raise $46,234.25, far surpassing last year’s total.

(The view in front of the station at 880 Lasalle, corner of Lasalle and Montrose) 

By Ian Campbell

A big blow to the city’s winter roads maintenance program after Sudbury’s new Auditor General has rated it as weak.

It’s Brian Bigger’s first report in the position created by the city as he wanted to overview the local infrastructure after citizens recently rated roads 92 per cent important while only 29 per cent satisfactory.

His report gives city staff a failing grade in several key areas finding over expenditures with the budget, shotty work practices and exceeding authority.

One problem Bigger reports is a budget variance of 1.6 Million or 362%.

Management it goes onto say exceeded their authority when an operating contract was extended beyond it’s original scope by $423,000.

Meantime city crews continue to lose productivity he says and with their current size leaves taxpayers paying 20 to 30 per cent more than required per pothole.

That’s a big problem for a city that’s worked at trying to change it’s image after rating high on the CAA’s Worst Roads List year after year.

Practices his report details also need to change within the City Hall.

Greater Sudbury he reports will continue to overpay for unpaid work breaks if warnings to contractors are not given immediately.

Public funds it adds will have been wasted if the city does not recover over-payments for those break periods that impact many of Sudbury’s departments.

Bigger’s full report will be presented to city councillors this Thursday.

By Ian Campbell

A 22 year old man is facing charges after getting stopped in the RIDE program around 3 this morning.

It happened at Notre Dame and Lloyd as officers charged him with driving while disqualified and having over 80 miligrams of alcohol.

Police are reminding residents that a zero tolerance policy is in effect when it comes to drinking and driving.