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Local police are reminding anglers to be safe during the Wawa derby.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police Constable Ashley Nickle notes you should have some equipment in your boat.
Nickle recommends an equipment check - and checking the weather forecast - before heading out on the water, and notes OPP will have increased patrols over the derby weekend.
Anglers are streaming into Wawa as the 40th annual Wawa Salmon Derby gets underway later today.
Organizer Brad Buck reminds there's several prizes anglers could reel in - including a few missing the last couple years.
Buck notes entry forms will be accepted for the derby until 5 o'clock this evening, which is when fishing first begins - it continues until 8 tonight, then from 6:30 am to 8 pm Saturday and 6:30 am to 1 pm Sunday.
While the usual Sunday prize ceremony isn't expected - the meal is cancelled - there will be pancake breakfasts Saturday and Sunday, as well as a Saturday night fish fry.
Time is running out for prospective councillors, mayors, or school board trustees to launch a bid for upcoming fall municipal elections, as the nomination deadline's this afternoon.
Wawa Clerk Cathy Cyr reminds there are some required qualifications.
Cyr explains the process is simple: obtain the forms from the municipal office or website, fill them out, then bring them in.
Cyr notes there is a filing fee.
Both Wawa and Chapleau are posting candidates' names on their municipal websites, along with information for prospective candidates.
Nomination papers must been submitted by 2 o'clock this afternoon, with certification to happen Monday - candidates are "unofficial" until then.
The municipal election date for all of Ontario is October 24th.
White River is "bouncing back" this weekend, with the 34th annual Winnie's Hometown Festival.
Festival Coordinator Nicole Simpson notes new events include the "smoker barbecue cookoff" at the baseball field and - returning from several years ago - a "Hands On Event".
Simpson reminds there are a number of returning events, including the Cornhole Tournament, Trade Show, the Family Fish Derby, and a Drive-In Movie Double Feature.
Tickets are available at the Township Office or "at the door", with more details on the Winnie's Hometown Festival Facebook page.
A past candidate's making another attempt to represent the region at a local school board.
Luc Tessier's filed nomination papers to represent Chapleau, Wawa, and White River on the local French Separate board - Tessier lost a close race for the seat in 2018, but is currently unopposed.
This comes as time's running out for nominations: prospective candidates have until 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon to file.
More COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the region.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts has added 55 since Monday - 47 in Greater Sudbury, four in the broader Sudbury District, and four in the Manitoulin District - though known "active" cases declined to 164, including 30 in hospital.
The "active" cases include four in the northern Sudbury District - down by one from Monday's update - the communities aren't specified, but the region includes Chapleau, Cartier, Foleyet, Gogama, and neighbouring First Nations.
It's showing ten "active" outbreaks, all in Greater Sudbury.
Good news for those needing passport service: Sault Ste. Marie has a new passport pickup location.
Sault MP Terry Sheehan's announced the city's Service Canada Centre's now been designated an additional passport pick-up location, meaning you can apply for and pick up your passport there - and the government says it offers ten-day service, meaning the passport will be available by mail or in-person pick-up after ten business days.
It's one of four newly announced locations - the others are in Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec - part of efforts intended to improve passport service delivery and decrease wait times at other offices.
Wawa Municipal Council's considering next steps after a report on the apportionment calculation for the Algoma District Services Administration Board.
In their Corporate Planning Committee meeting last night, Council heard from outside firm Municipal Tax Equity Consultants, which looked at ADSAB's apportionment formula and specifically the way it considers the "power dam compensatory payment" that Wawa receives from the provincial government, in lieu of property taxes from hydro dams.
A different outside firm - Municipal Government Wayfinders - recommended in last year's municipal transformation report that the Municipality of Wawa should pursue a revisit of the model, suggesting it could save Wawa hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
The new report has a similar conclusion: while it doesn't dispute the inclusion of the payment in the formula, Council was told the way the model treats the payment has meant a "20 year migration from equity", and it's "no longer a valid measure" because the payment was not indexed to inflation by the province - it's currently just over $2.3-million but would be nearly $3.3-million if it had kept up with inflation.
It found the calculation currently costs the Municipality over 40 percent of the grant, over $1-million, but the report's recommended recalculation would see that reduced to about $337,000 - that was noted to have obviously potential ripples for other communities served by ADSAB, though the Township of North Shore would potentially see a reduction, too, as it also receives a similar payment to Wawa.
Mayor Pat Tait noted the point of the study was to review the situation, and Council now needs to figure out the strategy to address it, while CAO Maury O'Neill noted the Municipality has now received the annual payment, but it included no inflationary adjustment.
Fishing is coming to an end ahead of the Wawa Salmon Derby.
Today's the last day in the derby's five-day pre-derby fishing contest, offering any anglers registered for the derby a chance at a prize for the largest fish caught today.
The 40th annual derby will be held this Friday, August 19th, through Sunday the 21st.
Local police are warning people to be careful outdoors after drugs were found in a local provincial park.
A social media post from Superior East Ontario Provincial Police says magic mushrooms were found in a geocache at Potholes Provincial Park, adding "luckily, it was found by a park employee and not someone's child or pet".
Chapleau has its first candidate for councillor.
Local teacher - and past candidate - Alex Lambruschini's filed his nomination papers, making him only the second person to file for the Chapleau election, after local businessman Ryan Bignucolo launched his third bid for mayor.
In Wawa, Angela Calaiezzi's become the eighth candidate for four seats on Council, after after current councillors Cathy Cannon and Mitch Hatfield, as well as Mary Harbocian, Jim Hoffman, Leah Isosaari, Robert Reeves, and Sue Smith - there's still a single candidate for mayor, current councillor Melanie Pilon, while longtime English Public School Board trustee Russell Reid's seeking re-election unopposed, and no candidate has filed for the English Separate School Board trustee position.
Meanwhile, longtime French-Language Public School Board trustee Josée Bouchard has filed for re-election - she's represented Chapleau, Dubreuilville, Wawa, White River, and Johnson, Laird, MacDonald, Meredith, Tarbutt, and Tarbutt Additional on the Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l'Ontario since 2007.
Candidates are considered "unofficial" until certification, which happens after the nomination deadline, which is Friday, August 19th, at 2 pm.
Another COVID-19 death's been confirmed in the region.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts is reporting its 164th linked to COVID - the 8th in the Manitoulin District - it last reported deaths on August 5th.
It's also reporting 61 new cases since Friday - 53 in Greater Sudbury, four in the Sudbury District, and four in the Manitoulin District - though known "active" cases are down to 174, with 28 in hospital, two in ICUs.
The "active" cases include five in the northern Sudbury District - up by one from Friday's update - the community isn't specified, but the region includes Chapleau, Cartier, Foleyet, Gogama, and neighbouring First Nations.
Meanwhile, the Porcupine Health Unit's added 25 cases since Friday - it no longer breaks that down by region nor reports "active" case counts, but does show one in hospital.
A couple forest fires were reported in the region in recent days.
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Aviation, Forest Fire, and Emergency Services says the one-hectare "Wawa 5" was confirmed Friday night, about two kilometres north of Mosambik Lake and eight kilometres southwest of Kabinakagami Lake - it has since been declared out.
"Chapleau 14" was reported Monday afternoon, about seventeen kilometres south of Biscotasi Lake and twenty kilometres west of Highway 144 - it's under control at a tenth of a hectare in size.
The fire hazard's moderate to high for much of the northeast.
Wawa Municipal Council is holding its sole meetings of August tonight.
The first is a Corporate Planning Committee meeting, which includes a memo on refuse collection renewal, as well as a delegation on a review of apportionment for the Algoma District Services Administration Board - last year's "municipal transformation" report by firm Municipal Government Wayfinders recommended Wawa push for a change in how the apportionment's calculated, particularly how the model considers the power dam compensatory payment from the provincial government.
That'll be followed by a regular Council meeting, which includes by-laws to enter into an agreement with S. Burnett and Associates for the development of a Water and Wastewater Master Plan and to appoint a Joint Compliance Audit Committee under the Municipal Elections Act - the committee will cover Wawa, Chapleau, Dubreuilville, White River, and Hornepayne - and there's a single "in-camera" item, a legal issue relating to marina divestiture, as the municipality continues pursuing efforts to acquire the site from the federal government.
The meetings will be held back-to-back, starting at 6:30 pm tonight, in Council Chambers - they'll also be livestreamed through the Municipality's YouTube channel.
A Regina driver's facing multiple charges after a traffic complaint near White River.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say they received the complaint about a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed near White River late the morning of August 6th, with East Algoma OPP locating the vehicle in Thessalon less than three hours later, leading to the arrest of a 28-year-old from Regina on charges of dangerous operation, flight from peace officer, and theft under $5000.
They've been released from custody, set to appear in Wawa court next month.
Dangerous operation and other charges have been laid after a traffic stop in Wawa.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say they stopped a vehicle on Mackey Street the afternoon of July 25th, with investigation revealing the driver's licence was suspended, leading to the arrest of the 24-year-old Wawa man on charges of: dangerous operation; flight from peace officer; fail to comply with probation order; driving while under suspension; and disobey stop sign - fail to stop.
He was remanded into custody, pending a bail hearing.
Impaired driving, weapon, and drug charges have been laid after a possible impaired driver complaint near Chapleau.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say the call early the morning of August 8th warned of a possible impaired driver on Brunswick House First Nation, with officers later locating the vehicle, determining the driver was indeed impaired.
The 40-year-old from Chapleau's been charged with: operation while impaired - alcohol and drugs; unauthorized possession of weapon; dangerous operation; and four counts of possession a Schedule One substance, which is not specified.
He's been released from custody, set to appear in Chapleau court next month.
A charge has been laid over theft from a Wawa business.
Superior East Ontario Provincial Police say they were notified about the theft from a business on Broadway Avenue early the night of August 6th, with investigation leading to the arrest of a 66-year-old Wawa man on a charge of theft under $5000.
He's been released from custody, set to appear in Wawa court next month.
Chapleau's can recycling program is set to kick off.
Starting tomorrow, cans - including food and beverage cans - will be collected every Tuesday, though they must be rinsed with labels removed and put in a plastic container without a lid, placed at curbside by 8 am Tuesday morning.
Wawa's Lady Dunn Health Centre is flagging issues with a staffing shortage.
Noting the whole province is experiencing "a sustained, system-wide pressure on emergency department staffing levels due to COVID-related absences, staff fatigue, and burnout" - with Emergency Department staffing pressures "being felt by hospitals across the country" - the hospital says it's currently experiencing a staffing shortage in its physician group, which lasted over the weekend into today.
Though it assures the local physicians - with support of locums - will work to keep the local Emergency Department open, it is asking you only visit the ED today if you have an emergency.
If you're unsure whether you have an emergency, it recommends seeking advice from a Registered Nurse by calling Health Connect Ontario at 8-1-1 (or by visiting ontario.ca/healthconnectontario ), which is available 24/7.
It also warns that patients who come to the hospital will be prioritized based on "medical needs", and may experience "longer wait times" today.
Any questions can be emailed to feedback@ldhc.com
