Last winter, Kent Noye’s truck went through the ice as his fellow mussel harvesters looked on. Noye was busy working in the tank, where the mussels being harvested were first loaded as they came off the long ropes being hauled up from under the ice.
The driver of the truck allowed it to slip down into the hole carved out to bring up the shellfish from the icy water.
It took eight men to bring it back up, said Noye, grinning.
“The driver was half asleep.”
Noye, who is from the Tyne Valley area on P.E.I., harvested oysters until about seven years ago. He considered going to Alberta like many of his peers, but realized he could do just as well harvesting mussels at home. The money was better than oyster harvesting and he could stay close to home. He is now joined by two brothers-in-law.
The day starts early, is long and it is cold out on the ice, he said.
When he began, he wore a survival suit but he found it too not, so now he only wears regular winter clothing and special gloves.
Randall Clow of Pleasant Grove, P.E.I. used to harvest mussels in Tracadie Bay until about five or six years ago. He agreed with Noye. A lot of mussel fishers wear special clothing, like survival suits and gloves. A survival suit can cost $250 and a pair of gloves about $40.
“If you’re not dressed for it, it’s a miserable job.”
Most wear special tinted glasses or sunglasses as well.
The gloves available at industrial fishing supply stores are better than the older kinds.
“There are better gloves now. Ones that go right up to the shoulders,” Clow added.
Noye said a lot of men wear boots with cleats to keep them from slipping on the ice. He doesn’t have that luxury, however, as he is usually in the tank where the mussels are first put. He needs to walk around on top of the shellfish, jumping on them to press them down, making room for more, so cleats are out of the question, he said. When Noye is manning this station, he doesn’t get to work the hole, where the mussels are brought up with the help of a crane and pulleys.
A scuba diver is brought in to cut a hole through the three-foot-thick ice. Often a truck with a plow attachment is brought in to keep a pathway open for the other machinery and vehicles. It is not uncommon to see four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles being used.
Typically, mussel harvesters will bring up three to four lines a day, depending on how much the wholesalers need.
The season begins with socking, the setting of mussel larvae on many long ropes suspended by an A-frame. The A-frame gets lowered into the salt water where it is left about a year and a half. This usually happens in the fall.
In the new year harvesting begins. It lasts about six weeks.
Clow said it is hard work.
“You earn your money. It’s not an ideal job. It’s a cold job.”
Noye echoed the sentiment.
“It’s not for a lazy person.”
Clow said there are perks.
Being on the ice instead of open water means it is usually calm and there are no waves to contend with. But fishers still have to be cautious.
“If it’s a windy day, you come off the ice and your face is burnt.” They try to keep their backs to the wind.
Noye likes seeing birds and enjoys the fresh air. And it gives him something to do in the winter. As for getting rich, both men laugh at the thought.
Still, Noye said the bank is happy with them.
Clow said there are certain days and certain leases which produce better harvests. But there are no guarantees. When he first began back around the time the Confederation Bridge was completed, the price of mussels was 60 cents per pound for harvesters, he said.
“It was 65 cents for a couple of years but it went down.”
Almost 20 years later, the price is still at 60 cents a pound. The market has opened up worldwide, but large companies have bought out the smaller producers, making it more challenging for harvesters to get what they think is a fair price from wholesalers. Adding to that is the recent problem with parasites such as the tunicate. Because of this, the work has intensified, leaving harvesters putting in longer hours to bring in the same size harvest.
As a result, harvesters are hard to find. Nobody wants to do the hard work of having to not only remove the mussels from the ropes as they come up from below the ice, but painstakingly pressure-wash the gelatinous globs of parasites clinging to many of them.
Yet, business is booming and P.E.I. mussels are found in restaurants, bars and grocery stores, worldwide.
And each year, the winter harvest brings hard-working, resilient P.E.I. fishers returning to the long hours and harsh temperatures on the ice - perhaps a testimony to the well-established work ethic found around the Island.
Neither man sees the day coming soon when the winter tradition will end.
As Noye put – with a smile on his face, “What else would you rather be doing?”
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Theft from cars down for month of March in Summerside: station sergeant
There were 10 reported thefts of less than $5,000 from cars in Summerside in March, says station sergeant Barry Arsenault, a 25-year veteran with the force.
“That is low,” he said.
Fifty-five thefts of the same nature were reported over the past year. An online site which provides crime statistics for areas all over North America is used by Summerside police to gather data, he said.
“It’s only as good as the data put in.”
And these statistics only reflect reported crimes. Police realize many crimes are not reported.
That was the case for Don Thompson of Kensington, who had his truck broken into early in March. He had between $450 and $500 worth of items stolen when he parked his car in the Airforce Association parking lot in Summerside overnight, he said.
“The truck was locked but the window was open a bit.”
He got home and returned the next day to get his truck and noticed the door to the vehicle was open.”
“Everything was all over the place.”
Two containers of coins, a stopwatch he used for horseracing and a special kind of flashlight called a maglight, as well as a few other items, were taken from the truck. Thompson wondered if it was kids who broke into the truck.
“It was a random act of theft. It could have been anybody.”
Arsenault said those caught and incarcerated for this type of crime are usually between their late teens and early 20s.
“The younger teens are just experimenting.” But often, older criminals think of themselves as career criminals.
“It’s called car shopping.”
The thief looks in the windows of a vehicle to see if there is something they need.
“The answer to it all in the end is don’t leave anything valuable in your car.”
Thompson did not report the theft because he thought there was very little chance of police retrieving the stolen items.
“That is low,” he said.
Fifty-five thefts of the same nature were reported over the past year. An online site which provides crime statistics for areas all over North America is used by Summerside police to gather data, he said.
“It’s only as good as the data put in.”
And these statistics only reflect reported crimes. Police realize many crimes are not reported.
That was the case for Don Thompson of Kensington, who had his truck broken into early in March. He had between $450 and $500 worth of items stolen when he parked his car in the Airforce Association parking lot in Summerside overnight, he said.
“The truck was locked but the window was open a bit.”
He got home and returned the next day to get his truck and noticed the door to the vehicle was open.”
“Everything was all over the place.”
Two containers of coins, a stopwatch he used for horseracing and a special kind of flashlight called a maglight, as well as a few other items, were taken from the truck. Thompson wondered if it was kids who broke into the truck.
“It was a random act of theft. It could have been anybody.”
Arsenault said those caught and incarcerated for this type of crime are usually between their late teens and early 20s.
“The younger teens are just experimenting.” But often, older criminals think of themselves as career criminals.
“It’s called car shopping.”
The thief looks in the windows of a vehicle to see if there is something they need.
“The answer to it all in the end is don’t leave anything valuable in your car.”
Thompson did not report the theft because he thought there was very little chance of police retrieving the stolen items.
Smoking pregnant teens need more understanding: UPEI researchers
Christiane LeBlanc, 22, of Charlottetown, smoked in the first half of her pregnancy when she was a teenager. She realized people were looking at her and she didn’t like the perceived treatment, LeBlanc said.
“If you’re young and pregnant, it’s a big deal – It’s a lot of stress.”
She held her squirming, two-year-old son, Miguel, in her lap.
She decided to quit for the rest of the pregnancy.
Miguel was born in February, 2006.
LeBlanc, along with other smoking, pregnant teens, took part in a recent study done by researchers at UPEI.
Smoking gives young pregnant teens a place of their own, said Colleen MacQuarrie, one of the researchers and an assistant professor and instructor at the university.
MacQuarrie and Lorraine Begley, of the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, are on a research team for the study. Begley is at UPEI to do the research.
“They live very challenging lives,” MacQuarrie said.
Begley said it’s a very mobile population.
The idea for the project came about in the mid-1990s, she added.
“The idea for research with pregnant adolescents emerged from a previous research project.”
There was a smoke-free homes project sponsored by the P.E.I. Tobacco Reduction Alliance.
Various groups supported that project and Begley was invited to be the coordinator. Then there was a look at the next step, said MacQuarrie.
“The gap in effective programming for adolescents who are smoking.”
The research team put together the design, which would include recruitment of pregnant smoking teens, several group sessions as well as home visits to the participants.
The two women chose girls who were 14-19 years old. They had to have smoked as a pregnant teen, although some had already given birth by the time the project was begun.
Begley gave the girls the choice of keeping a journal or a scrapbook, both of which would be collected later.
There were also collages made by participants.
The project began in 2005, with recruitment starting in 2007. All the data was collected by the summer of2008. Now, the team is analyzing what it all means. Researchers include Dianne Boswell, P.E.I. Health’s reproductive care coordinator; Janet Bryanton of the school of nursing at UPEI; Billie Jean Flynn, a community researcher with the government of P.E.I.; Rosemary Herbert, of the school of nursing at UPEI; Marilyn Norton, of the CHANCES family resource centre; Lida Shaffer, a primary care coordinator with the P.E.I. government; Philip Smith, a psychology professor at UPEI; and Paul MacDonald, the chair of health studies and gerontology at the University of Waterloo.
While conclusions are being drawn, the team has made some startling discoveries. One of the most important is participants used smoking as an excuse to take a break from the stress of their lives, as pregnant teens, making it that much harder to quit.
LeBlanc has just moved into a small, sparsely decorated, basement apartment where she lives with her son.
She first heard about the project from a CHANCES coordinator. She wanted to get more information about smoking while pregnant, so decided to become involved, she said.
There were other incentives as well.
“There’s a little fee they give you.”
Now the project has wrapped up the first stage, she and a couple of other participants have gone to see an advisory committee to provide ideas for upcoming projects. LeBlanc was encouraged by the common experiences she shared with other participants, she said.
“We had the same pressures while smoking and pregnant.”
The team has also concluded current stop-smoking campaigns are not working because they are too narrowly focussed and don’t consider pressures pregnant teens face as well as their lifestyles and backgrounds.
“Often they come from homes that are marked by marginalization,” MacQuarrie said.
“It’s like the water they swim in.”
“If you’re young and pregnant, it’s a big deal – It’s a lot of stress.”
She held her squirming, two-year-old son, Miguel, in her lap.
She decided to quit for the rest of the pregnancy.
Miguel was born in February, 2006.
LeBlanc, along with other smoking, pregnant teens, took part in a recent study done by researchers at UPEI.
Smoking gives young pregnant teens a place of their own, said Colleen MacQuarrie, one of the researchers and an assistant professor and instructor at the university.
MacQuarrie and Lorraine Begley, of the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, are on a research team for the study. Begley is at UPEI to do the research.
“They live very challenging lives,” MacQuarrie said.
Begley said it’s a very mobile population.
The idea for the project came about in the mid-1990s, she added.
“The idea for research with pregnant adolescents emerged from a previous research project.”
There was a smoke-free homes project sponsored by the P.E.I. Tobacco Reduction Alliance.
Various groups supported that project and Begley was invited to be the coordinator. Then there was a look at the next step, said MacQuarrie.
“The gap in effective programming for adolescents who are smoking.”
The research team put together the design, which would include recruitment of pregnant smoking teens, several group sessions as well as home visits to the participants.
The two women chose girls who were 14-19 years old. They had to have smoked as a pregnant teen, although some had already given birth by the time the project was begun.
Begley gave the girls the choice of keeping a journal or a scrapbook, both of which would be collected later.
There were also collages made by participants.
The project began in 2005, with recruitment starting in 2007. All the data was collected by the summer of2008. Now, the team is analyzing what it all means. Researchers include Dianne Boswell, P.E.I. Health’s reproductive care coordinator; Janet Bryanton of the school of nursing at UPEI; Billie Jean Flynn, a community researcher with the government of P.E.I.; Rosemary Herbert, of the school of nursing at UPEI; Marilyn Norton, of the CHANCES family resource centre; Lida Shaffer, a primary care coordinator with the P.E.I. government; Philip Smith, a psychology professor at UPEI; and Paul MacDonald, the chair of health studies and gerontology at the University of Waterloo.
While conclusions are being drawn, the team has made some startling discoveries. One of the most important is participants used smoking as an excuse to take a break from the stress of their lives, as pregnant teens, making it that much harder to quit.
LeBlanc has just moved into a small, sparsely decorated, basement apartment where she lives with her son.
She first heard about the project from a CHANCES coordinator. She wanted to get more information about smoking while pregnant, so decided to become involved, she said.
There were other incentives as well.
“There’s a little fee they give you.”
Now the project has wrapped up the first stage, she and a couple of other participants have gone to see an advisory committee to provide ideas for upcoming projects. LeBlanc was encouraged by the common experiences she shared with other participants, she said.
“We had the same pressures while smoking and pregnant.”
The team has also concluded current stop-smoking campaigns are not working because they are too narrowly focussed and don’t consider pressures pregnant teens face as well as their lifestyles and backgrounds.
“Often they come from homes that are marked by marginalization,” MacQuarrie said.
“It’s like the water they swim in.”
Rocket beats Olympiques despite being outshot 2-1
By a final score of 5-2, the P.E.I. Rocket beat the Gatineau Olympiques last Saturday night at the Civic Centre.
The Rocket knew how the Olympiques goalie tended net, said Rocket player, Benjamin Casivant, named third star of the game. He spoke through a translator.
“We took advantage of that.”
The team strategy was to keep the puck away from the hard hitting, larger Olympiques, as much as possible, keeping it 200 feet from the Rocket goal at all time, Casivant added.
“When we have the puck, they can’t score.”
Danick Malouin, #3 for the Rocket, said they tried to play physical like the visiting Gatineau team.
“They played hard. We need to give them credit.”
The game began with wide open play concentrated in the Rocket zone for most of the first period.
At 3:58 into play, the Rocket’s Matthew Lachaine scored the first goal of the game. Danick Malouin followed quickly, making the score 2-0 for the Rocket.
Gatineau put the pressure on and answered with Gerrit Fausier scoring at 8:22. Hard checking of Rocket players by Olympiques continued to escalate in the home team’s zone, with the second period ending 2-1.
The second period opened with the Rocket widening the goal gap within the first minute of play as Chris Doyle scored for the team.
Mathieu Tousignant was pushed into the Olympiques goal crease, pushing the net out of place and earning a penalty shot. He did not score on the shot.
As play progressed Gatineau missed more and more passes, often sacrificing making the scoring connection for aggressive moves. The strategy seemed to keep them from taking the lead, even though Hugo Laport did manage to get one in the home team’s net roughly five minutes after the Rocket goal.
By the end of the second period, the score was 3-2 for the Rocket.
The third period saw no major change in either team’s approach, with continued hard checking in the Rocket’s zone and more shots on the home team’s net by the visiting players.
At a little more than two minutes in, Casivant scored for the Rocket, bringing the score to 4-2. The Rocket’s third game star made it a neat 5-2 by the halfway mark of the period.
Game stars were Tousignant, Doyle and Casivant.
The Rocket knew how the Olympiques goalie tended net, said Rocket player, Benjamin Casivant, named third star of the game. He spoke through a translator.
“We took advantage of that.”
The team strategy was to keep the puck away from the hard hitting, larger Olympiques, as much as possible, keeping it 200 feet from the Rocket goal at all time, Casivant added.
“When we have the puck, they can’t score.”
Danick Malouin, #3 for the Rocket, said they tried to play physical like the visiting Gatineau team.
“They played hard. We need to give them credit.”
The game began with wide open play concentrated in the Rocket zone for most of the first period.
At 3:58 into play, the Rocket’s Matthew Lachaine scored the first goal of the game. Danick Malouin followed quickly, making the score 2-0 for the Rocket.
Gatineau put the pressure on and answered with Gerrit Fausier scoring at 8:22. Hard checking of Rocket players by Olympiques continued to escalate in the home team’s zone, with the second period ending 2-1.
The second period opened with the Rocket widening the goal gap within the first minute of play as Chris Doyle scored for the team.
Mathieu Tousignant was pushed into the Olympiques goal crease, pushing the net out of place and earning a penalty shot. He did not score on the shot.
As play progressed Gatineau missed more and more passes, often sacrificing making the scoring connection for aggressive moves. The strategy seemed to keep them from taking the lead, even though Hugo Laport did manage to get one in the home team’s net roughly five minutes after the Rocket goal.
By the end of the second period, the score was 3-2 for the Rocket.
The third period saw no major change in either team’s approach, with continued hard checking in the Rocket’s zone and more shots on the home team’s net by the visiting players.
At a little more than two minutes in, Casivant scored for the Rocket, bringing the score to 4-2. The Rocket’s third game star made it a neat 5-2 by the halfway mark of the period.
Game stars were Tousignant, Doyle and Casivant.
Reverend performs Japanese weddings at P.E.I. tourist sites
One Wednesday in July, 2005 at Avonlea Village on the north shore of P.E.I., Chesley Boutlier was walking across the grounds.
The general manager, Sheila Curley, approached and asked to accompany him. That conversation changed his life and those of some visiting tourists since.
Boutilier, otherwise known as Reverend Ches, Padre and The Rev by those in his community, was about to perform a wedding ceremony as a volunteer on the site. Curley told Boutilier he should be working there.
“Do your wedding and come up to the office to see me,” she told him.
Boutilier did just that.
“By Sunday at 1:15, I was working there.”
Boutilier is an ordained United Church Minister. His first church was in Elkhorn, Man.
Then he spent 20 years full time at two churches in P.E.I., spread between Margate and Mount Stewart. That was followed by supply preaching in Cornwall. He was one of P.E.I.’s first marriage commissioners.
Curley said she has known Boutlier for a long time.
“When I was in high school, Ches was a substitute teacher.”
He later became friends with her father. It wasn’t unusual for her to go to her father’s house and find him at the older man’s kitchen table, swapping stories. Boutilier left home at 16.
“I’m 66 years old. I play Reverend Allen in the village. It’s a great place to go and be with people.”
Curley said the village was just thinking of getting into the wedding market and thought Boutilier would be a perfect fit as he is energetic and can perform legal weddings.
“We’ve got acres of gardens.”
“We’ve just hooked up with a professional wedding planner,” she said.
Boutilier sees his role as multifunctional. He gets to be a goodwill ambassador for the village and can travel around the world visiting the international tourists he sees weekly.
In the tourist season the site is open at 10 a.m., but likes to be there at 9 a.m. He also does weddings at Silver Bush, the Anne of Green Gables Museum, not far from his own home on the north shore.
Since 1988, he has performed over 500 Japanese weddings there. Although the season runs from June to October, the busiest season for Japanese tourists is the autumn. Japan’s climate differs from eastern Canada’s. Japanese schedule their holidays and weddings during their own prime tourist season.
They do not have the letter V in their alphabet, so the weddings do not include vows but promises, Boutilier said.
They come to P.E.I. for similar reasons. Engaged couples read P.E.I. tourist guides.
“They’re here because the groom has read it and has been intrigued by the picture they have of P.E.I.”
Curley is pleased with Boutilier’s contribution to Avonlea Village.
“He’s open minded and quite a lively character.”
The general manager, Sheila Curley, approached and asked to accompany him. That conversation changed his life and those of some visiting tourists since.
Boutilier, otherwise known as Reverend Ches, Padre and The Rev by those in his community, was about to perform a wedding ceremony as a volunteer on the site. Curley told Boutilier he should be working there.
“Do your wedding and come up to the office to see me,” she told him.
Boutilier did just that.
“By Sunday at 1:15, I was working there.”
Boutilier is an ordained United Church Minister. His first church was in Elkhorn, Man.
Then he spent 20 years full time at two churches in P.E.I., spread between Margate and Mount Stewart. That was followed by supply preaching in Cornwall. He was one of P.E.I.’s first marriage commissioners.
Curley said she has known Boutlier for a long time.
“When I was in high school, Ches was a substitute teacher.”
He later became friends with her father. It wasn’t unusual for her to go to her father’s house and find him at the older man’s kitchen table, swapping stories. Boutilier left home at 16.
“I’m 66 years old. I play Reverend Allen in the village. It’s a great place to go and be with people.”
Curley said the village was just thinking of getting into the wedding market and thought Boutilier would be a perfect fit as he is energetic and can perform legal weddings.
“We’ve got acres of gardens.”
“We’ve just hooked up with a professional wedding planner,” she said.
Boutilier sees his role as multifunctional. He gets to be a goodwill ambassador for the village and can travel around the world visiting the international tourists he sees weekly.
In the tourist season the site is open at 10 a.m., but likes to be there at 9 a.m. He also does weddings at Silver Bush, the Anne of Green Gables Museum, not far from his own home on the north shore.
Since 1988, he has performed over 500 Japanese weddings there. Although the season runs from June to October, the busiest season for Japanese tourists is the autumn. Japan’s climate differs from eastern Canada’s. Japanese schedule their holidays and weddings during their own prime tourist season.
They do not have the letter V in their alphabet, so the weddings do not include vows but promises, Boutilier said.
They come to P.E.I. for similar reasons. Engaged couples read P.E.I. tourist guides.
“They’re here because the groom has read it and has been intrigued by the picture they have of P.E.I.”
Curley is pleased with Boutilier’s contribution to Avonlea Village.
“He’s open minded and quite a lively character.”
P.E.I. RCMP not sure whether force will choose unionization: Staff relations representative
Local members of the RCMP are sceptical about whether the national force will choose unionization, says P.E.I.’s staff relations representative, Sergeant Dave George.
“This is all most members know.”
In January, an Ontario Superior Court judge awarded Canada’s 22,000 Mounties the right to join a union after striking down Section 96 of the RCMP Act, which forbids members from associating, as unconstitutional.
In 1974, RCMP formed a system which allows member’s grievances to be heard. It uses locally elected staff relations representatives. George has been the P.E.I. RCMP representative for the last three-and-a half years.
There are 39 staff representatives across the country. Representation is by numbers in any geographic area.
MP Wayne Easter, formerly the solicitor general, said as a former union member he supports the idea of unionization for the RCMP because collective bargaining is important in lieu of any potential strike.
But if there is ever a prolonged strike, options need to be in place so police services are not compromised, Easter added.
“The bottom line is fairness to the employer as well as the employee.”
George agreed, in part.
“The main goal of this directive is the best representation for the members.”
Easter suggested mediation should be available in case of strike, but he doesn’t anticipate any need for that in the near future, unless it has to do with the recent federal government’s budget restrictions with regards to the RCMP pension fund.
“They are one of the better paid police services in the country.”
George does not think local RCMP members have anything to compare to a potential unionization as the present system has been in place for so long. He also does not know how government, which was given 18 months to draw up a response, will reply to the court order.
“It may come to a referendum.”
“This is all most members know.”
In January, an Ontario Superior Court judge awarded Canada’s 22,000 Mounties the right to join a union after striking down Section 96 of the RCMP Act, which forbids members from associating, as unconstitutional.
In 1974, RCMP formed a system which allows member’s grievances to be heard. It uses locally elected staff relations representatives. George has been the P.E.I. RCMP representative for the last three-and-a half years.
There are 39 staff representatives across the country. Representation is by numbers in any geographic area.
MP Wayne Easter, formerly the solicitor general, said as a former union member he supports the idea of unionization for the RCMP because collective bargaining is important in lieu of any potential strike.
But if there is ever a prolonged strike, options need to be in place so police services are not compromised, Easter added.
“The bottom line is fairness to the employer as well as the employee.”
George agreed, in part.
“The main goal of this directive is the best representation for the members.”
Easter suggested mediation should be available in case of strike, but he doesn’t anticipate any need for that in the near future, unless it has to do with the recent federal government’s budget restrictions with regards to the RCMP pension fund.
“They are one of the better paid police services in the country.”
George does not think local RCMP members have anything to compare to a potential unionization as the present system has been in place for so long. He also does not know how government, which was given 18 months to draw up a response, will reply to the court order.
“It may come to a referendum.”
P.E.I. sees little progress in climate change since 2000: environmental expert
P.E.I. has made little headway on climate change since 2000, says an Island environmental expert.
“I do think literally, we are light years away from where we need to be,” said Gary Schneider of the Environmental Coalition of P.E.I. and MacPhail Woods Ecological Forestry Project.
Schneider was one of four panellists who spoke to a crowd of 175 at UPEI’s State of the Environment 2008 public forum held in Don and Marion McDougall Hall on Nov. 13.
Other panellists were Diane Griffin of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Daryl Guignion, a wildlife biologist and retired UPEI biology professor and George Webster, the provincial environmental, energy and forestry minister.
Sharon Labchuk of the Green Party of Canada was unable to attend because of illness. This was the fifth forum of its kind held in P.E.I. The first was held in 2000 and the last was in 2003.
The latest one was coordinated by Darren Bardati, director of the Environmental Studies program at UPEI. The program had 16 courses across the arts, science, business and education faculties, said Bardati.
“We want our graduates to be equipped.”
The forum offers a welcome place for creative discussions, he added.
“Our program needs to reach out to the Island community.”
Schneider said environmentalists can have lots of influence. Often, they don’t realize the power of that influence.
For years, people were trying to get a public transit system on P.E.I.
“That’ll never happen here,” was the general response, he said. But now there’s a transit system across the Island.
Griffin said the public needs to have a better understanding of what is necessary for positive change.
“There’s still the understanding that it is somebody else’s responsibility.”
But the media and other sources are doing a good job at educating the public, she added.
Don Mazer, the Environmental Studies program’s first coordinator 10 years ago, said the program attempted to marry the university and Island communities.
“Public education was an important part of our work.”
Topics discussed at the first forum included water quality, waste management and genetically modified organics.
Topics for the November forum were water quality, nitrates, fish kills, water sheds and energy. Panellists were asked to examine each topic and report to the forum.
“I do think literally, we are light years away from where we need to be,” said Gary Schneider of the Environmental Coalition of P.E.I. and MacPhail Woods Ecological Forestry Project.
Schneider was one of four panellists who spoke to a crowd of 175 at UPEI’s State of the Environment 2008 public forum held in Don and Marion McDougall Hall on Nov. 13.
Other panellists were Diane Griffin of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Daryl Guignion, a wildlife biologist and retired UPEI biology professor and George Webster, the provincial environmental, energy and forestry minister.
Sharon Labchuk of the Green Party of Canada was unable to attend because of illness. This was the fifth forum of its kind held in P.E.I. The first was held in 2000 and the last was in 2003.
The latest one was coordinated by Darren Bardati, director of the Environmental Studies program at UPEI. The program had 16 courses across the arts, science, business and education faculties, said Bardati.
“We want our graduates to be equipped.”
The forum offers a welcome place for creative discussions, he added.
“Our program needs to reach out to the Island community.”
Schneider said environmentalists can have lots of influence. Often, they don’t realize the power of that influence.
For years, people were trying to get a public transit system on P.E.I.
“That’ll never happen here,” was the general response, he said. But now there’s a transit system across the Island.
Griffin said the public needs to have a better understanding of what is necessary for positive change.
“There’s still the understanding that it is somebody else’s responsibility.”
But the media and other sources are doing a good job at educating the public, she added.
Don Mazer, the Environmental Studies program’s first coordinator 10 years ago, said the program attempted to marry the university and Island communities.
“Public education was an important part of our work.”
Topics discussed at the first forum included water quality, waste management and genetically modified organics.
Topics for the November forum were water quality, nitrates, fish kills, water sheds and energy. Panellists were asked to examine each topic and report to the forum.
Mother grateful for help from Moncton pregnancy centre
Pauline Gagnon had just graduated from college in Campbellton, New Brunswick and was newly engaged when she found out she was pregnant.
She had been ill and did not suspect anything, until her abdomen began to swell and she realized it was more than just a case of tummy upset.
A test confirmed her suspicions and she began a journey marked by emotional highs and lows. She was six months along when she found out. Soon after that, she and her fiancé broke up.
Her family told her she should have an abortion, but she realized very quickly, she wanted to keep her baby.
There would be a cost, she knew.
“I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do,” Gagnon said.
As well as battling with emotional pressures, practical decisions needed to be made.
She had no maternity clothes and did not have the money to buy them.
“Somebody happened to mention go check into the Crisis Pregnancy Centre.”
So she did.
The worker on duty told her it was free.
When she first went to the Moncton organization she assumed there would be a cost for the clothing.
“Really?” said Gagnon.
The organization helped her with many needs throughout her pregnancy and even after her son was born. They found housing for her when she was still pregnant and did not feel safe where she was living, she said.
It was called a shepherding home.
The Greater Moncton Crisis Pregnancy Centre offered her counselling services as well, Gagnon said. And they gave her financial help, finding a new apartment for her after the baby was born.
“They were kind of like a family for me.”
Gagnon knew it was a Christian organization and although volunteers did encourage conversation about God, she never felt pressured.
“They never pushed religion on me.”
The centre saw pregnant women from many walks of life and of varied ages.
“It doesn’t just happen to teenagers. There were some even in their forties,” she said.
“I don’t see my son as a mistake,” Gagnon added.
And neither did the staff at the centre, which was lead by Isabelle Slater from 1987-2000.
Slater had worked with teens alongside her husband for many years before getting involved with the organization.
“I just felt a tug when they first thought of opening one,” she said.
Slater thought she was preparing herself for talking to teens about the consequences of sexual activity, so she took a vacancy offered and a year later was asked to go on staff as co-director. Later she would become the executive director.
Slater had no training in counselling and wondered why she had been chosen, she said.
“I have no idea why they would hire me for this position.”
Those who hired her told her it was because of her passion.
“I think the period of time I spend there at the centre is the most rewarding time of my life.”
Slater’s years with the Moncton centre have given her a desire to see similar centres wherever possible. When her husband retired they moved to P.E.I. in 2002. The move ended her work in Moncton.
Recently the passion she shares with others on the Island has ignited a movement to open a centre in Charlottetown.
A steering committee was set up and a board of directors was elected in July and August of 2008, Slater said.
“I started on as chair.”
This time around Slater will not take on as big a role, she added.
“My husband’s retired.”
On Nov. 1, Island Pregnancy Care & Support Services (IPCSS) opened its doors at 500 Queen St. in Charlottetown.
It offers peer counselling, free pregnancy tests, information on options, support to family members, an abortion recovery support group, maternity and baby items free of charge, parenting classes and other educational presentations.
The program includes optional Bible studies and spiritual support groups.
Gagnon’s baby is 11. Gagnon lives in P.E.I. and is married with two other children.
She will volunteer with the new centre.
“Words cannot express the gratitude I have for them, “ she added.
“They should have this everywhere.”
She had been ill and did not suspect anything, until her abdomen began to swell and she realized it was more than just a case of tummy upset.
A test confirmed her suspicions and she began a journey marked by emotional highs and lows. She was six months along when she found out. Soon after that, she and her fiancé broke up.
Her family told her she should have an abortion, but she realized very quickly, she wanted to keep her baby.
There would be a cost, she knew.
“I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do,” Gagnon said.
As well as battling with emotional pressures, practical decisions needed to be made.
She had no maternity clothes and did not have the money to buy them.
“Somebody happened to mention go check into the Crisis Pregnancy Centre.”
So she did.
The worker on duty told her it was free.
When she first went to the Moncton organization she assumed there would be a cost for the clothing.
“Really?” said Gagnon.
The organization helped her with many needs throughout her pregnancy and even after her son was born. They found housing for her when she was still pregnant and did not feel safe where she was living, she said.
It was called a shepherding home.
The Greater Moncton Crisis Pregnancy Centre offered her counselling services as well, Gagnon said. And they gave her financial help, finding a new apartment for her after the baby was born.
“They were kind of like a family for me.”
Gagnon knew it was a Christian organization and although volunteers did encourage conversation about God, she never felt pressured.
“They never pushed religion on me.”
The centre saw pregnant women from many walks of life and of varied ages.
“It doesn’t just happen to teenagers. There were some even in their forties,” she said.
“I don’t see my son as a mistake,” Gagnon added.
And neither did the staff at the centre, which was lead by Isabelle Slater from 1987-2000.
Slater had worked with teens alongside her husband for many years before getting involved with the organization.
“I just felt a tug when they first thought of opening one,” she said.
Slater thought she was preparing herself for talking to teens about the consequences of sexual activity, so she took a vacancy offered and a year later was asked to go on staff as co-director. Later she would become the executive director.
Slater had no training in counselling and wondered why she had been chosen, she said.
“I have no idea why they would hire me for this position.”
Those who hired her told her it was because of her passion.
“I think the period of time I spend there at the centre is the most rewarding time of my life.”
Slater’s years with the Moncton centre have given her a desire to see similar centres wherever possible. When her husband retired they moved to P.E.I. in 2002. The move ended her work in Moncton.
Recently the passion she shares with others on the Island has ignited a movement to open a centre in Charlottetown.
A steering committee was set up and a board of directors was elected in July and August of 2008, Slater said.
“I started on as chair.”
This time around Slater will not take on as big a role, she added.
“My husband’s retired.”
On Nov. 1, Island Pregnancy Care & Support Services (IPCSS) opened its doors at 500 Queen St. in Charlottetown.
It offers peer counselling, free pregnancy tests, information on options, support to family members, an abortion recovery support group, maternity and baby items free of charge, parenting classes and other educational presentations.
The program includes optional Bible studies and spiritual support groups.
Gagnon’s baby is 11. Gagnon lives in P.E.I. and is married with two other children.
She will volunteer with the new centre.
“Words cannot express the gratitude I have for them, “ she added.
“They should have this everywhere.”
Marketing grads need to understand subtleties of globalization: speaker
Marketing students about to enter the workforce need to understand what it means to work globally, said the speaker at a public talk on globalization given at UPEI on Nov. 6.
“Globalization is not just an opportunity for companies, it’s an opportunity for you,” said Debra Sandler to the university’s global issues and business school students. Sandler, born in Venezuela, raised in Trinidad and educated at NYU in the U.S., was named one of America’s top 15 African Americans by Ebony Magazine last year. She was employed with Pepsi Co for the first 13 years of her career.
It was her dream job, she said.
“It was my first real global experience.”
But it was a burnout position as well, Sandler added.
“I really lived on American Airlines.”
After taking two years off to raise her daughter, she sought entry once again into the job market and found herself employed with Johnson and Johnson, a $16-Billion corporation with 250 operating companies.
She was brought in to launch McNeil Nutritionals in 1999, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Some of the things global marketers need to consider are efficiency, economics of scale, consistency in brand imagery and experience, innovations which can be applied quickly and the need to replace competitors, Sandler said.
She gave the example of the golden arches which is McDonald’s restaurant symbol. Globally, it is a well-identified sign.
Other important aspects involve what defines a brand, its design and packaging, logo and labels, advertising and pricing strategies.
“It’s very difficult to get true global advertising,” she said.
“The price strategy needs to ring true wherever you exist.”
The goal is to build an icon brand.
She used the example of NIKE, asking students to offer up their responses to the brand name.
“Jordon. Just do it. Sports performance,” were some of the responses from students.
Sandler said they looked at the Chinese market when trying to promote Pizza Hut. Marketers had to consider 75 per cent of Chinese are lactose intolerant. They chose to embellish the salad bar. It turned out, Chinese clients preferred tuna and raisin pizza.
It was a success.
But often, mistakes are made, she said. When the American Dairy Association came up with its marketing phrase, “Got Milk?” it was translated into “Manure stick” in Germany.
Colgate introduced a product called Cue and tried to market it in France. They hadn’t done their homework and did not know Cue was also the name of a notorious French porn magazine.
Sandler spoke for about an hour, afterwards answering questions from students. Angela Larter, the coordinator of the Global Issues course said it is required for all first-year students at UPEI.
This year’s course had three themes.
“We’ve had speakers come for each of the three themes.”
The third theme was globalization and governance, she said.
“There is a common major paper for all the three themes.”
Speakers for the first two themes were Jay Ingram and Carlos Reyes Manzo.
Sandler’s name was submitted by a professor of Business at UPEI.
Sandler spoke twice on Nov. 6, once in the morning and once at night.
“This morning’s room had 300,” Larter said.
“Globalization is not just an opportunity for companies, it’s an opportunity for you,” said Debra Sandler to the university’s global issues and business school students. Sandler, born in Venezuela, raised in Trinidad and educated at NYU in the U.S., was named one of America’s top 15 African Americans by Ebony Magazine last year. She was employed with Pepsi Co for the first 13 years of her career.
It was her dream job, she said.
“It was my first real global experience.”
But it was a burnout position as well, Sandler added.
“I really lived on American Airlines.”
After taking two years off to raise her daughter, she sought entry once again into the job market and found herself employed with Johnson and Johnson, a $16-Billion corporation with 250 operating companies.
She was brought in to launch McNeil Nutritionals in 1999, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
Some of the things global marketers need to consider are efficiency, economics of scale, consistency in brand imagery and experience, innovations which can be applied quickly and the need to replace competitors, Sandler said.
She gave the example of the golden arches which is McDonald’s restaurant symbol. Globally, it is a well-identified sign.
Other important aspects involve what defines a brand, its design and packaging, logo and labels, advertising and pricing strategies.
“It’s very difficult to get true global advertising,” she said.
“The price strategy needs to ring true wherever you exist.”
The goal is to build an icon brand.
She used the example of NIKE, asking students to offer up their responses to the brand name.
“Jordon. Just do it. Sports performance,” were some of the responses from students.
Sandler said they looked at the Chinese market when trying to promote Pizza Hut. Marketers had to consider 75 per cent of Chinese are lactose intolerant. They chose to embellish the salad bar. It turned out, Chinese clients preferred tuna and raisin pizza.
It was a success.
But often, mistakes are made, she said. When the American Dairy Association came up with its marketing phrase, “Got Milk?” it was translated into “Manure stick” in Germany.
Colgate introduced a product called Cue and tried to market it in France. They hadn’t done their homework and did not know Cue was also the name of a notorious French porn magazine.
Sandler spoke for about an hour, afterwards answering questions from students. Angela Larter, the coordinator of the Global Issues course said it is required for all first-year students at UPEI.
This year’s course had three themes.
“We’ve had speakers come for each of the three themes.”
The third theme was globalization and governance, she said.
“There is a common major paper for all the three themes.”
Speakers for the first two themes were Jay Ingram and Carlos Reyes Manzo.
Sandler’s name was submitted by a professor of Business at UPEI.
Sandler spoke twice on Nov. 6, once in the morning and once at night.
“This morning’s room had 300,” Larter said.
Local man faces fines and loss of driving privileges
Peter Claude Vessey, 22, of Charlottetown was sentenced to 12 months probation for an assault charge, 30 days in jail for a dangerous driving charge, a $1,035 fine for impaired driving as well as losing his driving privileges for 12 months and got a fine of $230 for a breach of probation, in April in provincial court. He was also told by Judge Douglas to have no further communication with the victim of the assault charge.
The charges were laid on Nov. 18, 2006. Also, he did not report to court on Nov. 18, 2006 and failed to pay a fine of $174.50 which was laid for a previous charge of possession of a weapon, for which he was sentenced on May 4, 2006. After Dec. 5, 2006, he left for Alberta to seek employment.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in January, 2007 when he failed to report to court. When he returned to the province in January, 2009, he moved in with his mother who shortly afterward, reported his return to the province to authorities. Douglas took into considering Vessey had no further criminal activity while out of province and had pursued employment, when making the sentencing decision, he said.
“Hopefully, the time out west has done you well.”
Assault charges were laid after Vessey was reported to have sprayed the victim with dog repellent after having challenged him to a fight in a parking not on University Avenue, late at night on Nov. 17, 2006. According to the police report, Vessey had been drinking at the time and was driving his truck from which a bottle of beer fell during a chase with police shortly after.
The charges were laid on Nov. 18, 2006. Also, he did not report to court on Nov. 18, 2006 and failed to pay a fine of $174.50 which was laid for a previous charge of possession of a weapon, for which he was sentenced on May 4, 2006. After Dec. 5, 2006, he left for Alberta to seek employment.
A warrant was issued for his arrest in January, 2007 when he failed to report to court. When he returned to the province in January, 2009, he moved in with his mother who shortly afterward, reported his return to the province to authorities. Douglas took into considering Vessey had no further criminal activity while out of province and had pursued employment, when making the sentencing decision, he said.
“Hopefully, the time out west has done you well.”
Assault charges were laid after Vessey was reported to have sprayed the victim with dog repellent after having challenged him to a fight in a parking not on University Avenue, late at night on Nov. 17, 2006. According to the police report, Vessey had been drinking at the time and was driving his truck from which a bottle of beer fell during a chase with police shortly after.
Gala showcases Culinary Youth Team Canada Olympic plate
Nine young women and men with spotless, white smocks and large chef’s hats worked frantically but quietly in the Culinary Institute kitchen.
On the back of each smock, at the nape of the neck, was a small Canadian flag. A single cameraman named Henry followed each member of the team, in no particular order, recording each cut of the knife and stir of the pot.
Not one of the team broke a sweat or missed a beat as they made their choreographed moves to produce what they hoped would earn a gold medal for them at the International Culinary Olympics held in Germany in October.
It was Sept. 27 and Culinary Youth Team Canada 2008 was doing its final practice run preparing its entry plate for 200 guests at the Journey to Gold Gala held in the cafeteria of the Culinary Institute.
Olympic rules dictate each member of the team must be no older than 23.
Team members are Jennifer Bryant, Mandy Wingert, Jessica Best, Adam Loo, Tim Leamont, Alexander Haun, Erin Henry, Seth Shaw and Martin Gouthrou. Wingert is the team captain. The team is coached by chefs Hans Anderegg, Richard Braunauer and Craig Youdale.
The recipes and a photograph of the plate were sent to the Olympic committee in Germany on May 1.
From then on, the menu could not be altered in any way, said managing chef Craig Youdale.
“It has to be the same.”
In Germany, only four of the team members will compete, preparing 110 plates for judges. They will have three-and-a-half hours. Each team will work in its own glassed-in kitchen.
“In Germany it’s a one-shot deal,” added Youdale.
The Culinary Institute of Canada won the right to represent Canada during a competition in Quebec.
This is the second time students from the Institute have formed the team. The first time was in 2004 in Germany when the team won gold and silver medals.
The Olympic event took place first in Frankfurt in 1996, moved to Berlin, then to Erfurt, Germany, where it is now held.
Team members come from Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with the youngest member, Adam Loo, from Prince Edward Island. Loo will be 20 in December.
The gala Sept. 27, which featured a six-course meal, live music and dancing, cost $250 a plate.
The evening was emceed by P.E.I.’s chef, Michael Smith, who just flew back the same day from an extensive piranha fishing trip on the Amazon.
“You’re in for quite a night,” the over six-foot-six Smith said.
He listed several items on the menu for the evening, which included other dishes besides the Olympic plate, prepared by culinary students not on the team.
Featured were dishes such as roast duck with boursin cheese, apricots, walnuts and warm chocolate and prune cake. Six different types of wine were served, one with each course. Six wine producers from all over the world donated cases of wine for the meal.
“I’m drooling just reading this,” Smith said.
Premier Robert Ghiz, adjusting the level of the microphone down to his height, joked about being short tonight.
Diners chuckled.
“These young Canadians are embarking on the journey of a lifetime.”
As the evening wore on, diners watched the progress of the chefs as they prepared the meal on two large white screens on either side of the dining room.
A silent auction of various packages and items was showcased in the foyer of the Tourism and Culinary Centre as diners waited to be seated, before the main event. Among the auction items were the rose centre-pieces donated by Bernadette’s Flowers.
Holland College president Brian MacMillan bought some of the centre-pieces and gave a rose to each of the team members as diners applauded.
On the back of each smock, at the nape of the neck, was a small Canadian flag. A single cameraman named Henry followed each member of the team, in no particular order, recording each cut of the knife and stir of the pot.
Not one of the team broke a sweat or missed a beat as they made their choreographed moves to produce what they hoped would earn a gold medal for them at the International Culinary Olympics held in Germany in October.
It was Sept. 27 and Culinary Youth Team Canada 2008 was doing its final practice run preparing its entry plate for 200 guests at the Journey to Gold Gala held in the cafeteria of the Culinary Institute.
Olympic rules dictate each member of the team must be no older than 23.
Team members are Jennifer Bryant, Mandy Wingert, Jessica Best, Adam Loo, Tim Leamont, Alexander Haun, Erin Henry, Seth Shaw and Martin Gouthrou. Wingert is the team captain. The team is coached by chefs Hans Anderegg, Richard Braunauer and Craig Youdale.
The recipes and a photograph of the plate were sent to the Olympic committee in Germany on May 1.
From then on, the menu could not be altered in any way, said managing chef Craig Youdale.
“It has to be the same.”
In Germany, only four of the team members will compete, preparing 110 plates for judges. They will have three-and-a-half hours. Each team will work in its own glassed-in kitchen.
“In Germany it’s a one-shot deal,” added Youdale.
The Culinary Institute of Canada won the right to represent Canada during a competition in Quebec.
This is the second time students from the Institute have formed the team. The first time was in 2004 in Germany when the team won gold and silver medals.
The Olympic event took place first in Frankfurt in 1996, moved to Berlin, then to Erfurt, Germany, where it is now held.
Team members come from Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with the youngest member, Adam Loo, from Prince Edward Island. Loo will be 20 in December.
The gala Sept. 27, which featured a six-course meal, live music and dancing, cost $250 a plate.
The evening was emceed by P.E.I.’s chef, Michael Smith, who just flew back the same day from an extensive piranha fishing trip on the Amazon.
“You’re in for quite a night,” the over six-foot-six Smith said.
He listed several items on the menu for the evening, which included other dishes besides the Olympic plate, prepared by culinary students not on the team.
Featured were dishes such as roast duck with boursin cheese, apricots, walnuts and warm chocolate and prune cake. Six different types of wine were served, one with each course. Six wine producers from all over the world donated cases of wine for the meal.
“I’m drooling just reading this,” Smith said.
Premier Robert Ghiz, adjusting the level of the microphone down to his height, joked about being short tonight.
Diners chuckled.
“These young Canadians are embarking on the journey of a lifetime.”
As the evening wore on, diners watched the progress of the chefs as they prepared the meal on two large white screens on either side of the dining room.
A silent auction of various packages and items was showcased in the foyer of the Tourism and Culinary Centre as diners waited to be seated, before the main event. Among the auction items were the rose centre-pieces donated by Bernadette’s Flowers.
Holland College president Brian MacMillan bought some of the centre-pieces and gave a rose to each of the team members as diners applauded.
Digital mammography soon available to Island women
Prince Edward Island’s two major hospitals will soon be using state-of-the-art, digital mammography, thanks to a pledge of $800,000 by the provincial government, says the province’s director of diagnostic services.
Part of the funding will go toward enhancing the mammography program in place and hiring more staff.
But the majority will be used to help pay for three digital mammography equipment pieces, two for Queen Elizabeth Hospital and one for Prince County Hospital, said Jamie MacDonald.
The advantage digital mammography has over old technology will echo the edge digital cameras have over traditional film cameras, she added.
“These will replacing existing technology which is film based.”
There will be an increase in productivity and a new ease in having a mammogram done.
The provincial health department released the information in August of this year.
Every province in the country is in the process of, or has already moved to, digital mammography, she said.
Norah Smith, the provincial coordinator of the breast screening program, said the digital mammography would enhance turnaround for patients.
“It should help with the waiting time.”
MacDonald said a DMIST study done over a period of several years with 40,000 patients, probing whether digital imaging was better than film, suggests it is as good as and sometimes better than, the present technology.
DMIST, the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial, is a research study sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute.
Both the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Auxiliary will be raising funds over the next little while to help pay for the units. The goal for the QEH is $750,000.
At Prince County Hospital, the Prince County Hospital Foundation will raise funds as well, to the tune of $375,000.
Both sets of figures will be matched by the provincial government.
Support has also been ongoing from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Atlantic Division, said MacDonald.
Part of the funding will go toward enhancing the mammography program in place and hiring more staff.
But the majority will be used to help pay for three digital mammography equipment pieces, two for Queen Elizabeth Hospital and one for Prince County Hospital, said Jamie MacDonald.
The advantage digital mammography has over old technology will echo the edge digital cameras have over traditional film cameras, she added.
“These will replacing existing technology which is film based.”
There will be an increase in productivity and a new ease in having a mammogram done.
The provincial health department released the information in August of this year.
Every province in the country is in the process of, or has already moved to, digital mammography, she said.
Norah Smith, the provincial coordinator of the breast screening program, said the digital mammography would enhance turnaround for patients.
“It should help with the waiting time.”
MacDonald said a DMIST study done over a period of several years with 40,000 patients, probing whether digital imaging was better than film, suggests it is as good as and sometimes better than, the present technology.
DMIST, the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial, is a research study sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute.
Both the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Auxiliary will be raising funds over the next little while to help pay for the units. The goal for the QEH is $750,000.
At Prince County Hospital, the Prince County Hospital Foundation will raise funds as well, to the tune of $375,000.
Both sets of figures will be matched by the provincial government.
Support has also been ongoing from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Atlantic Division, said MacDonald.
Culinary youth team captain starts young
Mandy Wingert was three when she was in her grandmother’s kitchen in Regina, Saskatchewan. She was watching the older woman prepare dough to make a poppy seed strudel, a traditional German treat.
It wasn’t quite finished though.
The grandmother turned her back for just a few minutes to attend to some other duty. She left Mandy alone with the strudel dough, which still needed to be stretched and pulled to a paper thin consistency.
She never dreamed the little girl would take a stab at it. She was wrong.
When the grandmother returned, Wingert had already worked her little hands into the dough, finished preparing it for the filling, added the filling and rolled it up, ready for baking.
Grandma was amazed. Her mouth fell open.
“Oh my God! How did you know how to do that?”
Wingert’s grandmother told her it was wonderful when it was baked.
Wingert, 22, has just been appointed captain of Culinary Youth Team Canada. She hopes the judges at the Culinary Olympics in Germany will be as enthusiastic about her skills as her grandmother was.
“I played chef as a child,” Wingert said.
But her career actually got started when she was 15. Chef Adam Sperling of the Mediterranean Bistro offered her a position at his restaurant, according to her bio on the Culinary Institute’s Youth Team website.
There she was mentored for the next several years by Chef Ian Pritchard.
In 2004, she enrolled in Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown, graduating in 2006.
Her sister, Kenzie Wingert, said nothing seems too big a task for her when she is cooking.
Once, Wingert was making an orange cake recipe she got from Anna Olson of the Food Network. There were orange slices in the glaze and she couldn’t get it right at first, the sister said.
“She ended up improvising and it came out alright,” sister Wingert said.
“I think it’s just a natural thing.”
Another time, the young chef was carving a large carrot for a centrepiece on a vegetable tray.
“The carrot ended up looking like a tower.”
Culinary Youth Team left on Oct. 11 for Germany.
Wingert not only hopes the team will do well but sees the event as a networking opportunity to further her career.
“I think it’s gonna be a good time.”
She expects adrenalin will run high and it will be stressful.
Judges will write things down if the team appears to be in trouble during the competition.
So the group will use a code word to make it appear as if all is well. That way, players will be able to communicate and trouble shoot without giving the judges anything to report.
Wingert would like to open her own restaurant some day.
“We’ll see how the wind blows.”
It wasn’t quite finished though.
The grandmother turned her back for just a few minutes to attend to some other duty. She left Mandy alone with the strudel dough, which still needed to be stretched and pulled to a paper thin consistency.
She never dreamed the little girl would take a stab at it. She was wrong.
When the grandmother returned, Wingert had already worked her little hands into the dough, finished preparing it for the filling, added the filling and rolled it up, ready for baking.
Grandma was amazed. Her mouth fell open.
“Oh my God! How did you know how to do that?”
Wingert’s grandmother told her it was wonderful when it was baked.
Wingert, 22, has just been appointed captain of Culinary Youth Team Canada. She hopes the judges at the Culinary Olympics in Germany will be as enthusiastic about her skills as her grandmother was.
“I played chef as a child,” Wingert said.
But her career actually got started when she was 15. Chef Adam Sperling of the Mediterranean Bistro offered her a position at his restaurant, according to her bio on the Culinary Institute’s Youth Team website.
There she was mentored for the next several years by Chef Ian Pritchard.
In 2004, she enrolled in Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown, graduating in 2006.
Her sister, Kenzie Wingert, said nothing seems too big a task for her when she is cooking.
Once, Wingert was making an orange cake recipe she got from Anna Olson of the Food Network. There were orange slices in the glaze and she couldn’t get it right at first, the sister said.
“She ended up improvising and it came out alright,” sister Wingert said.
“I think it’s just a natural thing.”
Another time, the young chef was carving a large carrot for a centrepiece on a vegetable tray.
“The carrot ended up looking like a tower.”
Culinary Youth Team left on Oct. 11 for Germany.
Wingert not only hopes the team will do well but sees the event as a networking opportunity to further her career.
“I think it’s gonna be a good time.”
She expects adrenalin will run high and it will be stressful.
Judges will write things down if the team appears to be in trouble during the competition.
So the group will use a code word to make it appear as if all is well. That way, players will be able to communicate and trouble shoot without giving the judges anything to report.
Wingert would like to open her own restaurant some day.
“We’ll see how the wind blows.”
City allots $93,000 to fire department in 2009 budget: Chief
The city of Charlottetown will dispense $93,000 to the fire department in 2009’s budget, says fire chief Bill Hogan.
Protective clothing will use up $70,000 and the remaining $33,000 will be used to purchase radios.
The department has asked city council for the funds for the past five years, Hogan said.
“This year they were able to meet our needs.”
The city’s 13 full-time and 78 volunteer firefighters are required by law to have their protective clothing and equipment inspected yearly. Damage is different from year to year and depends on frequency and intensity of exposure to fires, he said.
“A reddish tinge will appear on the clothing to indicate it has been damaged and needs to be replaced.”
Fire and emergency measures committee chair, Melissa Hilton, said the fire department needs upgrading with current technology so firefighters get the best protection.
“We’re constantly upgrading their equipment.”
Council decided to grant funds this year so replacements for damaged protective clothing could be made by purchasing in bulk, Hogan said.
“It’s cheaper in the long run.”
Hilton said the city began to look at the budget in August and September of 2008.
Hogan said to outfit a firefighter it costs the department $2,655. A coat and pants costs $2,000, boots are $185 a pair, a helmet is $320, a special protective hood, called a nomex hood, is $85 and gloves are $65 a pair.
Protective clothing will use up $70,000 and the remaining $33,000 will be used to purchase radios.
The department has asked city council for the funds for the past five years, Hogan said.
“This year they were able to meet our needs.”
The city’s 13 full-time and 78 volunteer firefighters are required by law to have their protective clothing and equipment inspected yearly. Damage is different from year to year and depends on frequency and intensity of exposure to fires, he said.
“A reddish tinge will appear on the clothing to indicate it has been damaged and needs to be replaced.”
Fire and emergency measures committee chair, Melissa Hilton, said the fire department needs upgrading with current technology so firefighters get the best protection.
“We’re constantly upgrading their equipment.”
Council decided to grant funds this year so replacements for damaged protective clothing could be made by purchasing in bulk, Hogan said.
“It’s cheaper in the long run.”
Hilton said the city began to look at the budget in August and September of 2008.
Hogan said to outfit a firefighter it costs the department $2,655. A coat and pants costs $2,000, boots are $185 a pair, a helmet is $320, a special protective hood, called a nomex hood, is $85 and gloves are $65 a pair.
Charlottetown councillor’s blog attests to change in human communications
Rob Lantz, councillor for ward three in Charlottetown, was campaigning in the last municipal election when a man invited him into his home and told him his life story. The man had moved to the city from somewhere in the UK.
Lantz posted the experience on a blog designed for recording his campaigning experiences.
Months passed.
Someone left a comment on the blog which was libellous to the man from the UK and he called Lantz. Lantz gave the libeller’s email address to him.
He was angry Lantz had allowed the comment to stand and told him he was responsible for it. Nothing came of the incident and Lantz let the thread stand for a few more months.
Meanwhile, the blog took on a life of its own.
“I had no intention to carry it on if I did win,” he said.
And win he did. But the site remained.
Lantz works for a computer technology company as well as attending to his municipal duties. He has plenty of expertise setting up and running an efficient, well-monitored blog.
He even keeps statistics with the help of specialized software.
And he knows where visitors are from, he said.
“I’ve tracked one visitor who seems to visit regularly from Japan.”
He suspects most of the visitors are people who know him or people who’ve visited P.E.I.
“There’s a real core of locals. Some of them are brave enough to leave comments.
“And leave their names,” Lantz said.
He also recommended the city adapt to changing times by purchasing Blackberries, wireless internet communications devices, for Charlottetown council members. Council took his advice.
Not surprisingly, Lantz and his colleagues are not alone as they move into the 21st century.
But there has been a cost for the move.
“Some of the councillors still struggle with the Blackberries.”
Howard Beattie of curriculum services at Holland College, an educational technologist implementing a new learning management system for the college, said he doesn’t think society has taken a critical look at what is on the internet when it comes to human communication and how it has changed with the use of technology. Often, the symbolism gets older users confused because they are not fully aware of Internet etiquette, an unwritten list of rules for use with Internet communication.
“I think the English language is constantly changing, but the Internet has sped up the evolution of language,” Beattie said.
He thinks it’s a generational thing as well.
“Internet communication buys into or fuels instant gratification in that today’s society wants it now.”
A sense of detachment associated with Internet communication influences how people communicate.
“Anonymity plays a big part in it as well.”
Lantz said while most visitors to his blog are anonymous, he has never received an anonymous email.
Despite this, occasionally, the tone of emails has been nasty, he added.
Yet, when he has called the sender, their tone of voice is more conciliatory on the phone.
There is a marked difference in how the two forms of communication are delivered.
“You can almost see them banging their fists on the keyboard.”
Perhaps that was what the man from the UK was really complaining about.
Lantz posted the experience on a blog designed for recording his campaigning experiences.
Months passed.
Someone left a comment on the blog which was libellous to the man from the UK and he called Lantz. Lantz gave the libeller’s email address to him.
He was angry Lantz had allowed the comment to stand and told him he was responsible for it. Nothing came of the incident and Lantz let the thread stand for a few more months.
Meanwhile, the blog took on a life of its own.
“I had no intention to carry it on if I did win,” he said.
And win he did. But the site remained.
Lantz works for a computer technology company as well as attending to his municipal duties. He has plenty of expertise setting up and running an efficient, well-monitored blog.
He even keeps statistics with the help of specialized software.
And he knows where visitors are from, he said.
“I’ve tracked one visitor who seems to visit regularly from Japan.”
He suspects most of the visitors are people who know him or people who’ve visited P.E.I.
“There’s a real core of locals. Some of them are brave enough to leave comments.
“And leave their names,” Lantz said.
He also recommended the city adapt to changing times by purchasing Blackberries, wireless internet communications devices, for Charlottetown council members. Council took his advice.
Not surprisingly, Lantz and his colleagues are not alone as they move into the 21st century.
But there has been a cost for the move.
“Some of the councillors still struggle with the Blackberries.”
Howard Beattie of curriculum services at Holland College, an educational technologist implementing a new learning management system for the college, said he doesn’t think society has taken a critical look at what is on the internet when it comes to human communication and how it has changed with the use of technology. Often, the symbolism gets older users confused because they are not fully aware of Internet etiquette, an unwritten list of rules for use with Internet communication.
“I think the English language is constantly changing, but the Internet has sped up the evolution of language,” Beattie said.
He thinks it’s a generational thing as well.
“Internet communication buys into or fuels instant gratification in that today’s society wants it now.”
A sense of detachment associated with Internet communication influences how people communicate.
“Anonymity plays a big part in it as well.”
Lantz said while most visitors to his blog are anonymous, he has never received an anonymous email.
Despite this, occasionally, the tone of emails has been nasty, he added.
Yet, when he has called the sender, their tone of voice is more conciliatory on the phone.
There is a marked difference in how the two forms of communication are delivered.
“You can almost see them banging their fists on the keyboard.”
Perhaps that was what the man from the UK was really complaining about.
Charlottetown Boys and Girls Club gets facelift
A building the Charlottetown Boys and Girls Club leases from the city is undergoing major renovations, including the installation of an elevator, says executive director Krista O’Brien.
“We’re movin’ up in the world.”
O’Brien began applying for the project from an undisclosed source when she became the club’s executive director in December of 2007, she said.
It took six months to get the paperwork finalized.
“In June, everything was given the go.”
The club, which operates child and youth care programs in two buildings on St. Peter’s Road, pays a yearly rental fee to the city.
“It’s the only way we could afford to stay open,” O’Brien said.
But there is a catch.
“We maintain the building ourselves.”
Which means any upgrades and repairs are the responsibility of the club.
Work began Sept. 8. So far it is on schedule and expected to be completed in sixteen weeks from that date, said O’Brien.
“We’re a little bit ahead.”
The architect was Al MacKinnon.
When the work is done, the club will be able to have new programming, O’Brien said.
Like the survival centre, which provides short term care for youth who live on the street. It had its program cut to two nights a week last year. With the renovations complete, the centre will be open for five nights a week.
“It’s like a safe place for at risk or homeless youth.”
Youth can take a shower, get a hot meal or do laundry at the centre.
Anna Mae White, program coordinator for the club, agreed with O’Brien.
“The way it is going to be renovated, it’s going to be better,” White said.
The club now has the ability to take in 35 children in its after-school care program.
With renovations complete, it will be able to increase that to 50.
During renovations, White is doing most of her work in a small, cramped office on the third floor of the building not under construction. Previously, her office was adjacent to a large room where the children were.
She gets more paperwork done, but misses the interaction with the children and parents, she said.
With renovations done, her new office will be in the centre of all the activities once again. Her new office will have several windows. One will allow her to see parents arriving and another to witness minute-by-minute activities with the children. Having the opportunity to monitor closely all activities will be a big plus for her, she said.
“I’ll be in the centre of it all. That’ll be beneficial.”
“That is why I’m doing this job. I’m very much hands on,” she added.
O’Brien said the biggest concern the club had was the absence of an elevator and lack of wheelchair accommodations.
“That was our big concern.”
With the addition of these features, it will be able to take in disabled children. White said she loves providing structure for children.
“I love my children and being able to work with the staff and giving them the opportunities to learn and grow.”
“We’re movin’ up in the world.”
O’Brien began applying for the project from an undisclosed source when she became the club’s executive director in December of 2007, she said.
It took six months to get the paperwork finalized.
“In June, everything was given the go.”
The club, which operates child and youth care programs in two buildings on St. Peter’s Road, pays a yearly rental fee to the city.
“It’s the only way we could afford to stay open,” O’Brien said.
But there is a catch.
“We maintain the building ourselves.”
Which means any upgrades and repairs are the responsibility of the club.
Work began Sept. 8. So far it is on schedule and expected to be completed in sixteen weeks from that date, said O’Brien.
“We’re a little bit ahead.”
The architect was Al MacKinnon.
When the work is done, the club will be able to have new programming, O’Brien said.
Like the survival centre, which provides short term care for youth who live on the street. It had its program cut to two nights a week last year. With the renovations complete, the centre will be open for five nights a week.
“It’s like a safe place for at risk or homeless youth.”
Youth can take a shower, get a hot meal or do laundry at the centre.
Anna Mae White, program coordinator for the club, agreed with O’Brien.
“The way it is going to be renovated, it’s going to be better,” White said.
The club now has the ability to take in 35 children in its after-school care program.
With renovations complete, it will be able to increase that to 50.
During renovations, White is doing most of her work in a small, cramped office on the third floor of the building not under construction. Previously, her office was adjacent to a large room where the children were.
She gets more paperwork done, but misses the interaction with the children and parents, she said.
With renovations done, her new office will be in the centre of all the activities once again. Her new office will have several windows. One will allow her to see parents arriving and another to witness minute-by-minute activities with the children. Having the opportunity to monitor closely all activities will be a big plus for her, she said.
“I’ll be in the centre of it all. That’ll be beneficial.”
“That is why I’m doing this job. I’m very much hands on,” she added.
O’Brien said the biggest concern the club had was the absence of an elevator and lack of wheelchair accommodations.
“That was our big concern.”
With the addition of these features, it will be able to take in disabled children. White said she loves providing structure for children.
“I love my children and being able to work with the staff and giving them the opportunities to learn and grow.”
Autistic Island athlete runs first marathon
A couple of years ago in Kensington, Alex Bain ran a 25-kilometre race. At the start, his mother, Janet Norman-Bain, told on-duty St. John’s Ambulance attendance about her son’s autism and how to treat him if he required emergency care.
Just give him what he needs and don’t make a fuss, she said.
When Norman-Bain did this she had no idea her son would need medical attention part way through the race, but she wasn’t surprised, she said.
“It’s brutal.”
He was in 13th place when he began to drag his feet and weave.
“He ran himself into the ground,” Norman-Bain said.
“He doesn’t like to drink when he runs.”
His family doctor was running the race. He came up behind Bain and asked if he could help.
“We put the water and Gatorade into him,” Norman-Bain said.
Bain’s autism hadn’t caused problems with his running before, but his reluctance to stop the momentum of running to drink at fluid stations finally caught up with him. Dehydration had been a very abstract concept for Bain.
Up until the day of this race.
After that, Norman-Bain began to meet her son at every water station to see he stops and drinks.
Running is no new endeavour for Bain.
He said he began when he was in Grade 4 at Gulf Shore School.
His mother disagreed.
Although he did some fun running throughout his first nine years in school, things didn’t really hear up until he was in Grade 10 at Bluefield High School, she said.
“It wasn’t anything special at that point.”
Although she knew he had a head for the statistics of running, she did not think he was serious about the physical part until he began doing six-kilometre runs around the school track.
Norman-Bain recognized there was more to this than mere numbers.
A member of the PEI Road Runners, John Rombough, asked Bain if he wanted to become a member.
Bain did and began his career.
His first race was a five-kilometre run.
Peter Meggs, a special education coordinator at Bluefield school is also a Road Runner. He rode on his bike following Bain on a 10-kilometre cross-country provincial race at Mill River.
Bain finished 17th among 90 entrants.
When Bain ran the Kensington race and got dehydrated, he wasn’t able to finish, but ran the same event the following year.
On Oct. 19, Bain plans to run the BMO P.E.I. marathon. It is his first full marathon.
He wants to finish the race in under four hours.
Norman-Bain said he many eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon held every April. The older a runner gets, the slower his qualifying time can be.
He has been training with Stan Chiasson, who operates a running clinic in P.E.I.
“Stan’s program has made me a stronger, faster runner.”
He takes inspiration from other runners, such as Frank Shorter, an Olympic athlete who spoke at the 2004 P.E.I. marathon, and Chris Brake, an autistic runner who holds the course record in the Fredericton marathon.
Bain faces the same frustrations other runners deal with, like blisters and stitches in his side.
But the dehydration problem is an issue unique to his autism.
“Now I drink a lot.”
Just give him what he needs and don’t make a fuss, she said.
When Norman-Bain did this she had no idea her son would need medical attention part way through the race, but she wasn’t surprised, she said.
“It’s brutal.”
He was in 13th place when he began to drag his feet and weave.
“He ran himself into the ground,” Norman-Bain said.
“He doesn’t like to drink when he runs.”
His family doctor was running the race. He came up behind Bain and asked if he could help.
“We put the water and Gatorade into him,” Norman-Bain said.
Bain’s autism hadn’t caused problems with his running before, but his reluctance to stop the momentum of running to drink at fluid stations finally caught up with him. Dehydration had been a very abstract concept for Bain.
Up until the day of this race.
After that, Norman-Bain began to meet her son at every water station to see he stops and drinks.
Running is no new endeavour for Bain.
He said he began when he was in Grade 4 at Gulf Shore School.
His mother disagreed.
Although he did some fun running throughout his first nine years in school, things didn’t really hear up until he was in Grade 10 at Bluefield High School, she said.
“It wasn’t anything special at that point.”
Although she knew he had a head for the statistics of running, she did not think he was serious about the physical part until he began doing six-kilometre runs around the school track.
Norman-Bain recognized there was more to this than mere numbers.
A member of the PEI Road Runners, John Rombough, asked Bain if he wanted to become a member.
Bain did and began his career.
His first race was a five-kilometre run.
Peter Meggs, a special education coordinator at Bluefield school is also a Road Runner. He rode on his bike following Bain on a 10-kilometre cross-country provincial race at Mill River.
Bain finished 17th among 90 entrants.
When Bain ran the Kensington race and got dehydrated, he wasn’t able to finish, but ran the same event the following year.
On Oct. 19, Bain plans to run the BMO P.E.I. marathon. It is his first full marathon.
He wants to finish the race in under four hours.
Norman-Bain said he many eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon held every April. The older a runner gets, the slower his qualifying time can be.
He has been training with Stan Chiasson, who operates a running clinic in P.E.I.
“Stan’s program has made me a stronger, faster runner.”
He takes inspiration from other runners, such as Frank Shorter, an Olympic athlete who spoke at the 2004 P.E.I. marathon, and Chris Brake, an autistic runner who holds the course record in the Fredericton marathon.
Bain faces the same frustrations other runners deal with, like blisters and stitches in his side.
But the dehydration problem is an issue unique to his autism.
“Now I drink a lot.”
Author debuts Holland College history publication
Wayne MacKinnon walked into the foyer just 15 minutes before his public was supposed to arrive. He was dressed in a neatly pressed black suit, gold-coloured dress shirt and gold and black tie. Not a hair on his head was out of place.
Small, black-framed glasses sat on his nose as he quietly greeted the Holland College public relations representative, a smiling 40-ish, blonde woman who asked him if he had a pen and ushered him to his book-signing table.
That’s when all the fun began.
MacKinnon, author of the recently published Holland College history, A Record of Achievement, was hired from among a group of candidates, after he wrote a proposal to the Association of Holland College Retirees committee to write the series of memoirs.
It took him 18 months to finish the manuscript.
Thursday, Sept. 25, the book was launched in the cafeteria of the Charlottetown Centre.
The book features stories of those who spent time at the school during its first 25 years or operation.
It’s important institutions tell their story, MacKinnon said to a crowd of members of the Association of Holland College Retirees, Holland College Alumni, politicians and former college administrators.
“It’s been a great project. I had a wonderful time doing it.”
Brian MacMillan, president of Holland College, said in his opening remarks, the launch was more of a reunion or homecoming, noting how those in the crowd were hugging and swapping memories.
“Today is a great day for this college and this province.”
Richard Brown, P.E.I.’s minister of Innovation and advanced learning, agreed. He said he lived near the college and often walked near the campus, witnessing the enthusiasm of students and especially staff.
“They create the people who create the future of P.E.I.”
It’s great MacKinnon has written the book as government can refer to it and say “Look, they are doing a great job here – Let’s continue the funding,” he added.
“It’s a great history.”
Founding president Donald Glendenning said among Canadian colleges, the Holland College board and president have the greatest autonomy.
“Its success depends on all those who made up its population – staff, students and administration.”
MacMillan thanked MacKinnon for capturing the history of the college.
“It is an excellent piece of work,” he said.
MacKinnon said he was pleased to see such a turnout at the event.
He spoke softly and smiled infrequently, adjusted his tie and waited for those gathered to make their way to where he stood.
Small, black-framed glasses sat on his nose as he quietly greeted the Holland College public relations representative, a smiling 40-ish, blonde woman who asked him if he had a pen and ushered him to his book-signing table.
That’s when all the fun began.
MacKinnon, author of the recently published Holland College history, A Record of Achievement, was hired from among a group of candidates, after he wrote a proposal to the Association of Holland College Retirees committee to write the series of memoirs.
It took him 18 months to finish the manuscript.
Thursday, Sept. 25, the book was launched in the cafeteria of the Charlottetown Centre.
The book features stories of those who spent time at the school during its first 25 years or operation.
It’s important institutions tell their story, MacKinnon said to a crowd of members of the Association of Holland College Retirees, Holland College Alumni, politicians and former college administrators.
“It’s been a great project. I had a wonderful time doing it.”
Brian MacMillan, president of Holland College, said in his opening remarks, the launch was more of a reunion or homecoming, noting how those in the crowd were hugging and swapping memories.
“Today is a great day for this college and this province.”
Richard Brown, P.E.I.’s minister of Innovation and advanced learning, agreed. He said he lived near the college and often walked near the campus, witnessing the enthusiasm of students and especially staff.
“They create the people who create the future of P.E.I.”
It’s great MacKinnon has written the book as government can refer to it and say “Look, they are doing a great job here – Let’s continue the funding,” he added.
“It’s a great history.”
Founding president Donald Glendenning said among Canadian colleges, the Holland College board and president have the greatest autonomy.
“Its success depends on all those who made up its population – staff, students and administration.”
MacMillan thanked MacKinnon for capturing the history of the college.
“It is an excellent piece of work,” he said.
MacKinnon said he was pleased to see such a turnout at the event.
He spoke softly and smiled infrequently, adjusted his tie and waited for those gathered to make their way to where he stood.
A wintertime Acadian kitchen party....
On the perimeter of a chalet property on the shore of St. Chrysostome, cars are parked along a dirt driveway and spill out onto the green grass surrounding the building. A dozen people gather in the living room of Eloi Arsenault, who has been greeting them as they arrive with a hearty handshake and sometimes a hug. Arsenault has twinkling blue eyes. His contagious smile is seen on the faces of the visitors.
The large house is right on beachfront property. Arsenault, a Roman Catholic priest who divides his time between a south shore parish and Lennox Island, is one of seven siblings who inherited land from parents and built on it. Rosida Arsenault, mother to the clan, played the organ and passed on her love of music to her children. The tradition of gathering on Sunday evening in a family home to celebrate the gift of music has lived on since 1979. The family took one break when both parents died in 1995 and 1996.
Tonight, most of the guests are family members. Some are good friends. Most sit with an instrument. One woman sits at a pump organ. Arsenault says the instrument was given to him by the St. Martha’s sisters. It has a small plate which reads 1927 and a small lever in front which moved the keyboard five notes to help the player change key. Arsenault grins as he moves the handle left and right.
Fiddle music begins.
“Yahoo,” someone says and the pace of the music picks up. Toes are tapping. Arsenault plays the bones, a percussion instrument, on his knees. He chats as he plays. The musicians are undaunted by the surrounding, quiet rhythm of the conversations.
The pervading peace is almost tangible. And faces are beaming with joy; the joy of the music; the joy of fellowshipping with loved ones.
The music stops. Arsenault speaks.
“That’s a step. That’s a step?” He pauses. “That’s a step.”
There is soft laughter.
A woman on the sidelines speaks in French. Her sentence ends with “Stompin’ Tom.”
Marie, Arsenault’s sister, who plays the fiddle and guitar, smiles and speaks.
“We’re going to play “the Duke of Gordon’s Birthday.” It’s a traditional piece. It’s a bit slower, but slowly builds momentum.
Arsenault step dances. He wears blue canvas shoes, jeans and a light green sports shirt. His feet are flying. Everyone smiles. The piece ends and he sits.
Arsenault’s twin brother and sister-in-law arrive. He greets them with hugs. They find seats. Donna, the sister-in-law, agrees the family was exposed to music at a young age.
“It’s been a real gift to get together like this pretty well every Sunday.” Her eyes are shining. Arsenault says nobody drinks at the kitchen parties.
Donna says not everyone who shows up performs.
“The ones who don’t, sit and chat and get caught up on their work.”
Arsenault accompanies singers on the guitar to Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art. They do a medley of 1950s tunes.
The evening follows this pattern. It’s all pretty spontaneous and nobody complains.
And, short of catastrophe, the tradition will live on in this south shore cocoon of love for some time to come.
The large house is right on beachfront property. Arsenault, a Roman Catholic priest who divides his time between a south shore parish and Lennox Island, is one of seven siblings who inherited land from parents and built on it. Rosida Arsenault, mother to the clan, played the organ and passed on her love of music to her children. The tradition of gathering on Sunday evening in a family home to celebrate the gift of music has lived on since 1979. The family took one break when both parents died in 1995 and 1996.
Tonight, most of the guests are family members. Some are good friends. Most sit with an instrument. One woman sits at a pump organ. Arsenault says the instrument was given to him by the St. Martha’s sisters. It has a small plate which reads 1927 and a small lever in front which moved the keyboard five notes to help the player change key. Arsenault grins as he moves the handle left and right.
Fiddle music begins.
“Yahoo,” someone says and the pace of the music picks up. Toes are tapping. Arsenault plays the bones, a percussion instrument, on his knees. He chats as he plays. The musicians are undaunted by the surrounding, quiet rhythm of the conversations.
The pervading peace is almost tangible. And faces are beaming with joy; the joy of the music; the joy of fellowshipping with loved ones.
The music stops. Arsenault speaks.
“That’s a step. That’s a step?” He pauses. “That’s a step.”
There is soft laughter.
A woman on the sidelines speaks in French. Her sentence ends with “Stompin’ Tom.”
Marie, Arsenault’s sister, who plays the fiddle and guitar, smiles and speaks.
“We’re going to play “the Duke of Gordon’s Birthday.” It’s a traditional piece. It’s a bit slower, but slowly builds momentum.
Arsenault step dances. He wears blue canvas shoes, jeans and a light green sports shirt. His feet are flying. Everyone smiles. The piece ends and he sits.
Arsenault’s twin brother and sister-in-law arrive. He greets them with hugs. They find seats. Donna, the sister-in-law, agrees the family was exposed to music at a young age.
“It’s been a real gift to get together like this pretty well every Sunday.” Her eyes are shining. Arsenault says nobody drinks at the kitchen parties.
Donna says not everyone who shows up performs.
“The ones who don’t, sit and chat and get caught up on their work.”
Arsenault accompanies singers on the guitar to Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art. They do a medley of 1950s tunes.
The evening follows this pattern. It’s all pretty spontaneous and nobody complains.
And, short of catastrophe, the tradition will live on in this south shore cocoon of love for some time to come.
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