Chapleau Splash Pad Opens for Season

Chapleau's splash pad is open for the season.
While the pad had stayed closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Township says it opened Thursday, as water recreational facilities are allowed to reopen under "Stage 2" of the province's COVID-19 recovery plan.
The Township warns no more than ten people can use the splash pad at a time - maintaining physical distancing of at least two metres - and anyone who suspects they have COVID-19 symptoms is prohibited.
It reminds playground structures remain closed with no indication when they can reopen.

Local National Park to Allow Camping Later This Month

Camping is slowly returning for some national parks - including a local one.
Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson's announced some camping services will be offered at "select" national parks and national historic sites, starting Monday, June 22nd, or soon after.
Included on the list is Pukaskwa National Park, which began offering limited visitor access and basic services at the start of the month.
At the same time, Parks Canada's cancelling and automatically refunding reservations for international visitors up to August 7th, citing current limitations on international travel.
Ontario Parks have already started allowing backcountry camping, with some day-use activities allowed, though buildings and facilities remain closed.

Heat Warning for Chapleau, Foleyet & Gogama

Caution is being urged as heat warnings have been issued for the Chapleau and Gogama areas.
Environment Canada says daytime temperatures for Chapleau, Gogama, Foleyet, and Missinaibi Lake will be near or above thirty degrees until the weekend, with temperatures only dropping to the high teens overnight - a cooler airmass is expected to bring relief Saturday.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts warns the heat can lead to heat stroke, heat exhaustion, fainting, heat rash, heat cramps, and more issues, with older adults, young children, pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses, alcohol or drug users, the homeless, and those working or exercising in the heat most at risk.
To deal with the heat, the health unit recommends wearing loose-fitting light-coloured clothing made of breathable fabric, drinking plenty of liquids, seeking shade, and taking breaks from the heat.

Over $1m in Provincial Funding for Wawa-Dubreuilville Broadband

The Ontario government's touting support for broadband projects in Northern Ontario - including more than $1-million for a project between Wawa and Dubreuilville.
A total of $1,036,772 will be provided to the Dubreuilville Economic and Community Development Corporation, to install fibre optic infrastructure between the two communities, as well as to plan and secure partnerships with telecommunications companies for future broadband improvement projects.
It's part of $2.3-million meant for a total of seven broadband projects in the North, provided by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.

Sudbury Man Charged After White River-Area Traffic Complaint

A Sudbury man's facing a pair of charges after a traffic complaint near White River.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say they received the complaint around 7 o'clock Monday morning, stopping the vehicle near Wawa - investigation revealed the driver's licence was suspended and they were on court-ordered conditions not to operate a motor vehicle, prompting charges of "failure to comply with release order - other than to attend court" and drive while under suspension.
The 51-year-old has been released from custody, scheduled to appear in Wawa court next month.

Lady Dunn Health Centre Confirms LTC Visits Will Be Allowed Soon

Wawa's Lady Dunn Health Centre will start allowing long-term care visits later this week - but with restrictions.
The local hospital says - per government guidelines - it will allow outside visits starting Thursday, emphasizing there are visitor requirements - including screening - as well as protocol that must be followed, with the Activity Department facilitating the visits.
Visitations will only be allowed so long as there is not an outbreak at the facility.

Chapleau Reopening Library for Curbside, Keeping Splash Pad Closed

Chapleau's library is reopening - with some big restrictions.
While the physical location remains closed, the library's now offering curbside pickup and drop off, Monday to Friday from noon to 4 pm.
Patrons will be limited to four books, requesting them by phone, email, or through the Chapleau website, where the catalogue can also be viewed - once the library is able to fulfill the request, it will call to arrange for pickup.
Meanwhile, the Township's warning it isn't reopening its splash pad quite yet.
Though water recreational facilities are allowed to reopen now under "Stage 2" of the province's COVID-19 recovery plan, the Township of Chapleau says it's still reviewing guidelines and awaiting clarification of required safety precautions to open the splash pad, though further updates will be provided.
It reminds playground structures remain closed with no indication when they can reopen.
Similarly, the Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board says its child care centres aren't reopening yet, as they need more time to make needed changes and preparations.

Wawa Missing Person Call Leads to Charges for Greenstone Resident

A missing person call in Wawa has led to the arrest of a Greenstone resident.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say they responded to a missing person call around 10 o'clock Saturday morning, with reports the person may be in the Wawa or Dubreuilville area.
Officers located a vehicle matching a description given shortly before 1:30 that afternoon, prompting a traffic stop that revealed the missing person inside the vehicle, along with a 31-year-old from Greenstone who is on conditions not to communicate with the missing person.
The Greenstone resident's been charged with fail to comply with recognizance and released from custody with a future Wawa court date.

Porcupine Health Unit Reports 8th COVID-19 Death

Another COVID-19-related death has been confirmed in the region.
The neighbouring Porcupine Health Unit is reporting its eighth death related to the illness, a woman in her 90s who was admitted to Timmins and District Hospital after testing positive on April 20th - her case was related to an outbreak at the hospital, which was declared "over" on May 11th.
No further information is being provided at this time.
It was the sole remaining active case for the health unit, which has reported 65 cases since the pandemic began - the most in northeastern Ontario, and second in the North, after the Thunder Bay Health Unit's 87 - while its eight deaths is the highest for all of the North.

Deadline Nearing for Buddy Swanson Volunteer Awards

Time's running out to nominate someone for Chapleau's annual volunteer awards.
Mayor Michael Levesque encourages the community to participate ahead of the Friday deadline.

The submission form and details can be found on the Township's website.
While the award won't be presented at Canada Day ceremonies this year - as they've been cancelled - Mayor Levesque notes a local resident has suggested the town celebrate by covering the town with flags.

Update on Algoma's 23rd COVID-19 Case

A pair of recently-reported cases remain active in Algoma.
While they were the first reported in to weeks - after more than a week of no active cases - Algoma Public Health says the two cases of "unknown" exposure are evidence of community spread in the Sault Ste. Marie and central Algoma areas.
The most recent case - the health unit's 23rd, reported Friday - is a staff member at the Algoma Manor Nursing Home in Thessalon, prompting it to implement "suspect outbreak" measures, until it gets results from surveillance testing - during this time, residents are being monitored for symptoms and any that are symptomatic are immediately tested, while staff wear masks at all times.
As of Sunday morning, the health unit was still awaiting results from 926 tests.

23rd COVID-19 Case Reported in Algoma

Another case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in Algoma. Like with its 22nd case - reported late Wednesday - Algoma Public Health is providing few details about their 23rd case, except that they were tested Tuesday and are now self-isolating, with close contacts notified.
The way they were exposed is unknown, considered evidence of ongoing community spread in Sault Ste. Marie and area, though the health unit warns community spread is still possible - and even likely - in all regions of Algoma, even north Algoma, where no cases have been reported so far.
This leaves the health unit with two active cases, though results from 824 tests are still pending.

Local French Catholic Schools to Hold Virtual Graduation Ceremonies

Local French Catholic schools will celebrate graduating students later this month.
The Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon's announced virtual graduating ceremonies will be held for ten of its secondary schools over the next two weeks, including for Wawa's Ecole secondaire Saint-Joseph and Chapleau's Ecole secondaire catholique Trillium.
Both local schools will have their online ceremony on June 24th, at 7 pm.

Progress for Local Mining Properties

A local mining project is moving closure to fruition. Argonaut Gold's reporting the conclusion of Schedule 2 amendment by the Canadian government, a key authorization and permitting milestone for the Magino Gold project.
President and CEO Pete Dougherty notes this makes the project "much more attractive to joint-venture partners and project financing lenders", while the Toronto-based company expects project approvals and development financing options in line to make a decision on advancing the project during the second half of the year.
Dougherty adds ongoing deep drilling exploration has consistently hit high-grade intercepts which are not included in Magino's current mineral reserve or resource estimates.

This comes as an exploration company's expanding its holdings in the region, as Manitou Gold says it's entered into a purchase agreement to buy the Shihan property in Rennie Township, which is continuguous with its Goudreau Project.
The purchase makes the consolidated land package about 340 square kilometres.

Chapleau Council Approves 2020 Budget

Chapleau Town Council's approved this year's budget. In a regular meeting Wednesday night, Council confirmed various by-laws implementing the budget, which Mayor Michael Levesque says includes a 2.5% levy increase - though he notes it could have been worse, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Council also approved the purchase of a new lawn tractor and tenders for a new rubber tire loader and to remove scrap metal from the landfill, which is expected to garner some funds for the Township.

Black Lives Matter Event Planned for Wawa

Protesters will be setting up outside of Wawa's Municipal Office, to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mary Harbocian explains an event's planned for this afternoon, with attendees to display signs and hear from speakers, acknowledging concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harbocian adds - while she'd appreciate backing from the municipality and other local government figures - it's more about showing support for the international movement.

The event's set to begin at 3 o'clock.

Wawa Catholic Church Preparing to Reopen

Wawa's Catholic church is looking at reopening later this month.
A letter from St. Monica's Parish notes churches in the local diocese have been granted permission to open their doors on the June 20th/21st weekend, after the provincial government revealed that places of worship could reopen tomorrow - with some restrictions.
The church notes procedures are being developed to meet those restrictions - which include limiting attendees to 30% of the building's capacity - in hopes to open the church to parishioners by the June 20th weekend, emphasizing COVID-19 "is still around even if we have not been directly affected in Wawa".

Foleyet Water Advisory After Power Outage

Foleyet's under a drinking water advisory after a power outage in the community.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts says the outage caused a loss in water pressure in the Town of Foleyet, and even once the water supply's re-established, residents shouldn't use the water for human consumption - like drinking, cooking, washing fruits and vegetables, or brushing teeth - until testing confirms it's safe.
It further warns boiling the water may not make it safe for drinking, instead recommending water from another source, like bottled water.

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