January 17, 2022

January 17th is the 17th day of the year. There are 348 days remaining until the end of the year.

Students in Chatham-Kent and across Ontario will return to class this morning for the first time since the start of the holiday break.

Schools will reopen for in-person learning after the Ontario government delayed the return to the classroom due to the rising cases of COVID-19.

Parents won’t be notified of a potential COVID-19 outbreak in a child’s school until approximately 30 per cent of students and staff are absent.

Data on absentee rates will be available to the public starting January 24th.

On Sunday Ontario reported 3,595 people are now in hospital due to COVID-19.

That’s a seven month high, the province also reported a third straight day of 40 or more deaths.

The last update from Chatham-Kent Public Health had 18 COVID patients in hospital. A weekend update will come between 10-11 this morning.

As of Friday morning, DTE Energy Music Theater’s name has officially been changed back to Pine Knob.

It’s all part of the venue’s 50th anniversary celebration, which takes place all year. The name was changed in 2001 after a 20-year naming deal was announced with DTE Energy.

The theatre opened in June 1972. At the time of its opening, Pine Knob was the largest amphitheater in the U.S.

The announcement was made at 7am Friday when they uploaded a new profile photo to its social media accounts featuring a retro-looking Pine Knob logo.

The world’s largest skating rink opened for the season on Friday.

The 7.8 km Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa is now open for its 52nd season of skating.

Concessions stands and washrooms are open along the route.

Today is Blue Monday which is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. A British psychologist came up with it in 2005.

It’s called Blue Monday because it’s the perfect mix of all of the factors that make us depressed: Bad weather, high debt from the holidays, the realization of just how far away next Christmas is and how far away we are from our next vacation, failing on our New Year’s resolutions and low motivation at work.

For what it’s worth, the guy who came up with Blue Monday says it was, “never my intention to make the day sound negative, but to inspire people to take action and make bold life decisions.”

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod