In recent months, attendance at the Dunvegan Recreation Euchre Luncheons has fallen off a bit. Unfortunately, illness and the untimely passing of some of our loyal players has had an adverse impact on our numbers. We must reverse this trend. I send out an appeal to euchre enthusiast across the region to support this neighbourly tournament in downtown Dunvegan.
This coming Friday, October 16th, is Euchre day at the DRA Hall, 19053 County Road 24… and we hope you’ll be able to join us.
Admission is only $5 and includes one of the best lunches on the circuit with sandwiches and homemade sweets by Sandra Daigle.
As an added bonus, the luncheon will be served by the dynamic duo of Linda Burgess and yours truly. A 50/50 draw is also part of the fun. The event starts at 12:00 noon and wraps up around 3:30 PM. Everyone is welcome.
Call for Mr. & Ms. Fix-it
Glengarry Pioneer Museum curator, Jennifer Black, is planning their annual Closing & Fix-it Day on Saturday, October 17 starting at 9:30 AM. This is when Jennifer and some kind volunteers (like you) get the museum ready for its long winter rest. None of the tasks are onerous — carefully pack up the delicate artifacts for storage, board up some windows, trim some trees, do some small repairs, assess the buildings, move picnic tables into the pavilion, etc. — but it’s work that must be done.
Jennifer tells me that a light lunch and warm drinks will be provided. So, if you can volunteer a couple hours of your time, please give Jennifer a quick call at 613-527-5230 or drop her an e-mail at: info@glengarrypioneermuseum.ca.
As John Heywood, the 16th century English writer and playwright, penned centuries ago… “Many hands make light work.” And Jennifer is confident that with a dozen volunteers, they can have the Museum put to bed in no time.
30th Child Haven Anniversary
It’s hard to believe, but this year’s Annual Child Haven International fund-raising dinner marks the organization’s 30th year of assisting children and women in developing countries who are in need of food, education, health care, shelter, clothing and emotional support.
Founded in 1985 by Bonnie and Fred Cappuccino of Baltic’s Corners (a few minutes south of the Dunvegan crossroads), Child Haven now has five homes in India, one in Nepal, one in Tibet in China and one in Bangladesh. These shelters accept destitute children from birth to six years of age who are referred by local social welfare agencies. The charity provides their charges with full care until the child graduates from high school. They even offer vocational training, so each child can enter the local workforce as a self-sufficient adult. Girls and boys are treated equally, without regard to race, caste, colour, religion or culture.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 24th at the Glengarry Sports Palace, 170 McDonald Blvd. in Alexandria. The evening kicks off at 6:00 PM with cocktails and a chance to stroll up and down the treasure-laden Silent Auction tables and start placing bids. One hour later, attendees will be invited… table by table… to line up for a Thai buffet prepared by Bhanthai Cuisine.
As Child Haven supporters tend, in my experience, to be CBC lovers, they’ll be delighted to hear that this year’s fundraiser will once again be MC’d by Robyn Bresnahan, host of Ottawa Morning on CBC Radio One. And, as an added bonus, Dunvegan South’s David Kelleher will entertain the crowd with his classical guitar whenever appropriate.
The cost is $40 per person and $280 for a table of eight. To purchase tickets, please call Susan Joiner at (613) 525-5177… or contact the Child Haven office at (613) 527-2829. NOTE: organizers are asking that you reserve your tickets by this coming Saturday, October 17th so they can finalize arrangements with the caterer.
Choo-choo secret
This past Saturday while wandering the aisles of our local supermarket, I ran into Karen Davison-Wood, this year’s Citizen of the Year recipient at the 8th annual North Glengarry Business & Community Awards Gala. She was telling me that a few days after the banquet she and her husband, Don, headed off to Toronto to visit with their daughter in Toronto.
When I asked, as one does, if their journey was by car, she replied in the negative. “We took the train,” she told me, “from Alexandria.” This was the first I had heard of a train from Alexandria to the Centre of the Universe, so I pressed her for details.
The main attraction for Karen was the elimination of the need to travel to and from Cornwall to catch the Via Rail train that passes through there. Sure, the Alexandria—Ottawa—Toronto route takes a bit longer. However, not having the hassle of getting to Cornwall and, worse yet, driving back home from Cornwall, makes it all worthwhile.
And, speaking personally, I’ve always LOVED travelling by trains from the early 1950s when my family would take the magnificent Canadian Pacific steam trains from the former station in Westmount to the former one in Lachute. Even today, it is my preferred mode of transport… although this attraction has been tempered by the advent of the cell phone. Why people have the need to tell all of their life’s boring details at the top of their lungs is beyond me.
So I decided to look into this alternate train route to Toronto. It turns out there are three such trains a day, during the week. The trains at 7:34 and 13:59 only take five and a half hours for the trip. While the 10:07 train takes seven hours, because of a 90-minute layover in the Ottawa station. On Saturday and Sunday, the only option is the 10:07 train.
I’m sharing this information with you in the hope that other Toronto-bound travellers will take a look at this option. Because, if we don’t use it, you can be sure we will lose it.
Write on, Bonnie
While we’re on the path of chance encounters in our local Independent Grocer, I bumped into Dunvegan writer and playwright, Bonnie Laing, a few weeks ago. When I asked what’s new, I learned that Bonnie had just retired from her day job at Amnesty International.
She seemed energized by the prospect of finally being able to devote as much time as she wants to her own creative projects. “After writing and editing stuff for other people for more than 45 years,” Bonnie told me, “I now want to focus on my own stuff.”
As I understand it, the Bard of Dunvegan has another play in the works. She also expressed an interest in exploring the field of travel writing, an outlet that would combine two of her favourite pastimes.
Regardless of where retirement takes her, we wish her all the best.
“Wind Whips Taxpayers”
The above paraphrases the headline of a short article by retired banker and power analyst, Parker Gallant, in the October 6th Financial Post Comment section.
According to Mr. Gallant, in the early morning hours of October 3rd, the output from industrial wind turbines surpassed that of Ontario’s hydroelectric generating stations. Due to freakishly fierce winds between 1 AM and 5 AM, wind turbines generated 12,481 megawatts (MWh) of electricity as compared to 11,736 MWh of hydroelectricity.
Now those on the renewable energy bandwagon will no doubt see this as proof positive that wind is king. However, before they go off half-cocked, they should consider the true cost of this rare five-hour anomaly.
The reality is that, for the five hours the winds were howling, Ontario’s total demand for electricity averaged 11,663 MW. In other words, Ontario Hydro’s existing nuclear and hydro facilities were already handling the load.
As a result, during this exceptionally windy period, Ontario EXPORTED most, if not all, of the 12,481 megawatts of wind power. Unfortunately, we were only able to recoup about $3.43 per MWh for this surplus power.
Given that the international green energy consortiums who own Ontario’s turbines charged us around $1.5 million for this wind power (an average of $123.50/MWh), the answer as to how much Ontario taxpayers lost in this breezy boondoggle is blowing in the wind.
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