Cheers & Jeers
JEERS to Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey for providing an example of the folly of attempting to capitalize on a COVID-19 political popularity bump. Furey called an election scheduled for this Feb. 13, hoping the second wave of the virus would remain contained. But last week, St. John’s saw an explosion of new cases – almost 250 as of Friday. The chief electoral officer ordered in-person voting be delayed in the capital; local election staff effectively walked off the job. This created a situation where half the province will have voted this weekend and the other half … who knows when? Campaigns matter, and two separate voting days could create significant questions about the legitimacy of the election. As N.L. PC Leader Ches Crosbie told reporters, people in St. John’s will end up voting based on different information than those in the rest of the province. CHEERS to Dennis MacKenzie and Rebecca Murphy of Brave and Broken for getting veterans, EMS and police active as a means to support their healing. The nonprofit, in operation under different names since 2017, organized a disc golf introduction class at Huck It Disc Golf in Kinkora on Feb. 7, with a slate of other activities planned for the year as they expand their programming, including a golf tournament this summer.
CHEERS to Ryan Steele, who is one of 50 nominees for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award in the United States. The award recognizes hockey players for exceptional play, excellent teamwork, dedication, integrity, humility and character. It is one of the most prestigious awards presented to an NCAA Division 1 hockey player. Steele, a 23-year-old Stratford native, is in his junior year at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. Steele has made a lot of sacrifices to realize his dream of playing NCAA hockey and is deserving of this recognition. Online fan voting for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award is open and runs until midnight on March 8.
CHEERS and Happy New Year to Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean Islanders who celebrated their Lunar New Year holidays much differently this year while following public health guidelines. Usually the occasion, which fell on Feb. 12 this year, would see many people returning to their birth countries to share the festival with family. Despite this custom, hundreds of people would stay in P.E.I. to take part in celebrations in their Island home. Last year, the Tet event attracted 480 Vietnamese Islanders and their friends to the Delta Charlottetown hotel for dinner, games and dances. This year, some young Viet P.E.I. members got together in safe numbers to make Chung cake to deliver to people’s homes. We wish the new year will bring health and peace to your families.