Good Monday morning Sudbury. Here is your daily news preview.

260623_LG_Morning_Preview Headline: Good Monday morning Sudbury. Here is your daily news preview.

SUDBURY HAD SOME OF THE WORST AIR POLLUTION ANYWHERE  The Special Air Quality Statement issued by Environment Canada on Saturday continued into Sunday, June 25 — a day that many people will remember for its bizarre hazy condition.  The statement was issued at 5:31 a.m., and said high levels of air pollution had developed around Sudbury and other parts of Northeastern Ontario because of smoke from forest fires. “Smoke plumes from forest fires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario will continue to affect the area, resulting in deteriorated air quality,” said the statement. An Air Quality Index website said the level of smoke pollution in Sudbury was among the worst on the planet today. In a listing showing the most polluted cities, Sudbury is listed as fourth. North Bay is second. Those values have been fluctuating throughout the day however.  Overall, the air quality listing for Sudbury is “hazardous,” said the website. A forecast for the coming week shows Sudbury’s air quality index will ease off a bit on Monday and Tuesday but it will spike again on Wednesday and Thursday. Environment Canada’s statement added that air quality and visibility can change from hour to hour as well as fluctuating over short distances. Environment Canada said wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone’s health, even at low concentrations. People are urged to continue taking actions to protect their health and reduce exposure to smoke. That advice was backed up by a similar news release issued on the weekend by Public Health Sudbury and Districts.  People with lung disease (such as asthma) or heart disease, older adults, children, pregnant people, and people who work outdoors are at higher risk of experiencing health effects caused by wildfire smoke, said the statement. You can read more about that here: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/special-air-quality-advisory-continues-from-environment-canada-7192990

A COMMUNITY BARBECUE AND FUNDRAISER HELD IN GARSON CEMETERY A community barbecue event was held as a fundraiser in Garson on Sunday. And while that in itself is not such a novel thing, it is where the barbecue was held that makes it special. The event was held at the St. John’s Cemetery in Garson, which is a special place for the community according to John Monaghan, one of the many volunteers who have worked over the years to make a cemetery so much more than a place to bury the dead. The cemetery is several acres of greenspace splashed with colourful raised flowerbeds and accented by scores of carefully pruned trees and shrubs.  There are dozens of benches placed throughout the property where people can go to sit, to quietly spend time and enjoy the solitude. Monaghan was among the several green-shirted St. John’s Cemetery Community Volunteer Improvement Group that was on hand for fundraiser Sunday for the Maison Sudbury Hospice. It was almost like a reunion, or like a wedding, or perhaps even like a funeral, where friends and family members gather, eager to see other and to wish each other well. Monaghan said that’s why people are happy to have a community gathering at the cemetery. You can read more about that here: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/garson-citizens-hold-a-fundraiser-barbecue-at-cemetery-7193383

GRAPHIC-CON EVENT LETS COSPLAY CROWD STRUT THEIR STUFF Hundreds of residents from Sudbury and other parts of the North escaped to the coolness of the Sudbury Arena Saturday to enjoy seeing hundreds of other people in costume.  Despite the crowds, the floor of the arena was a significantly cooler place to be when compared to the afternoon temperatures outside on Elgin Street Saturday.  This was was the 10th anniversary of the Sudbury Graphic-Con, an event which first began in 2013 but was put aside for a couple of years because of the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizer Neil Stephen, who is president of the volunteer board of directors for Graphic-Con, explained what the event was about.   “It’s a celebration of our geek culture, right. So we’ve started 2013 as just a nod for the role that literature and comic books have on popular culture. And then it’s grown over the years to include everything from pop culture to film and television series, and a gaming conventions and so on so forth.”  He said the event has its roots in the popularity of graphic novels and it also allows people to explore fantasy characters and act out in the roles of many of those characters.  You can read more about that here: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/sudbury-graphic-con-was-the-cool-place-to-be-saturday-7191851

CITY WELCOMES OVERTURES ON UNDERPASS The City of Greater Sudbury is seeking the public’s feedback on what they should do with a replacement or rehabilitation of the College Street Underpass, and extending Ste. Anne Road. Both projects are in their early stages, with a review of the existing environment and evaluation of alternative solutions currently taking place. The College Street underpass is a two-span concrete bridge constructed in 1949 to accommodate three lanes of traffic crossing under the CPR tracks. There’s currently a sidewalk on the west side, and no other active transportation facilities. The underpass is considered by the city to be in poor condition, with restricted overhead clearances and poor visibility issues. People can submit their feedback on the city’s OverToYou page, at overtoyou.greatersudbury.ca. Feedback is requested by July 5.  You can read more about that here: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/feedback-sought-on-college-street-underpassste-anne-road-work-7192927

FRIENDLY GAME OF FOOTBALL (SOCCER) BETWEEN SUDBURY POLICE AND NIGERIAN COMMUNITY Sporting events can bring out peoples’ best competitive efforts, spiced with a dose of goodwill. That’s what brough the Nigerian Community Association of Greater Sudbury out Saturday for a soccer match with the Greater Sudbury Police Service (NCAGS)., played at Ecole secondaire du Sacre-Coeur. It was a goodwill challenge match according to Tonye Oriakhi, NCAGS president. “Just you know it’s all good to get people outside for this game, so it’s not all just work, work, work, without any kind of play,” she said. “Right, you know this helps with our health and our mental health and well being,” she added. Oriakhi said this follows an effort by GSPS chief Paul Pedersen who contacted the association. “This is to show that we we support the work, because we have had the chief reach out to us so just to, you know, support each other to ensure that there is this cohesion and community between us and the police,” said Oriakhi.  She said the idea of a goodwill game goes a long way. “So that it’s not when when we see the police, we are afraid of them or that kind of thing.  So this is to know that, yes, the police are actually our friends. We can go to them for help and things like that, right. So this is the first of hopefully many more years of soccer matches” said Oriakhi. “We call it football, by the way,” she smiled. Speaking right before the game Oriakhi thanked GSPS for honouring the invitation. “We will probably take it easy on you guys,” she laughed. Nigerians have a long history of success with international football with a gold medal win at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, silver in Beijing 2008 and bronze in Rio de Janeiro 2016. GSPS Police Chief Paul Pedersen thanked the association for inviting police to the soccer match You can read more about that here: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/police-and-nigerian-community-play-a-goodwill-football-match-7193497

FRANCO-ONTARIAN FLAG WILL NOW FLY PERMANENTLY IN HANMER In celebration of St-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24, a permanent Franco-Ontarian flag was raised June 23 at Centennial Arena and Community Centre Parkland in Hanmer. This isn’t the first location in the city to celebrate the community’s Francophone population by permanently flying the green and white Franco-Ontarian flag, which incidentally, was created in Sudbury. The flag flies permanently at Tom Davies Square, Centre de santé communautaire, Pioneer Manor and the office of Le Voyageur “in recognition of the strong Francophone presence across the community.” “As a proud member of the Franco-Ontarian community, it is meaningful to see the permanent installation of the flag at this municipal site,” said Mayor Paul Lefebvre in a news release. “The flag is a symbol of language and culture; it is a visual celebration of the historical and contemporary contributions of our Franco-Ontarian residents.” The annual flag raising was co-hosted with the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario  du grand Sudbury (ACFO). You can read more about that here: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/franco-ontarian-flag-to-fly-permanently-in-hanmer-7191899

EXPECT MONDAYS’S WEATHER TO BE RAINY, WINDY AND SMOKY  Environment Canada is predicting showers with a chance of a thunderstorm. Precipitation is expected to be 10 to 20 centimetres. Local smoke will continue.  Wind becoming southeast at 30 kilometres per hour,  then easing off to lighter winds later in the morning. High temperature 20 celsius. Humidex 27. UV index 4 or moderate. More showers expected in the evening, five to 10 centimetres. Over night low temperature of 14. Expect more showers going into Tuesday.

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