Cheers &Jeers

CHEERS to Jayda Veinot and her Acadia Axewomen basketball teammates. Veinot, the

Port Williams hoops star, was named the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) MVP on March 16 after leading the country in scoring. She averaged 23.4 points per game this season to go with 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. She is the second Axewomen to receive the MVP honours after Paloma Anderson earned them in both the 2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons. Veinot then was named the AUS championship MVP as the Axewomen won all three games in Halifax, finishing with an exclamation mark – erasing a nine-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to defeat an up-and-coming Cape Breton Capers squad to win their fifth title and fourth since 2012. Good luck at nationals in Kingston, Ont. at Queens University from March 31 to April 3. Veinot’s twin brother Keevan helped the Dalhousie Tigers win the men’s championship. It’s quite the accomplishment to see siblings win the men’s and women’s basketball titles in the same year. We’re not sure how many times it has happened, but we know it wasn’t the first time – the Veinots accomplished the feat in 2019.

JEERS to Canadians who could help others but choose not to. The Canadian Blood Services says one in two people in the country are eligible to donate blood, platelets and plasma, but only one in 81 do. It only takes about an hour of your time and could help save someone’s life. “It’s in you to give” is a long-used slogan by Canadian Blood Services and this is a reminder for us all to consider giving the gift of life. One Annapolis Valley resident who has done his share of rolling up his sleeve is Cambridge’s Steve Connors, who recently made his 123rd donation. Thank you, Steve, for leading by example. Find out more at www.www.blood.ca or by calling 1-888-2-DONATE.

CHEERS to the lifting of almost all the COVID-19 restrictions on March 21. While we are not done with COVID just yet, it is a sign that we are starting to live with the virus that has drastically altered our way of life for two years. The province’s state of emergency, implemented on March 22, 2020, also came to an end this week. “These decisions were not made lightly and should signal to Nova Scotians the seriousness of what’s before us,” then premier Stephen McNeil said. “These orders may seem harsh, but they are absolutely necessary. We all have a moral and legal obligation to obey if we want to bring the spread of COVID-19 under control.” Masks are still mandatory in public schools, long-term care and health-care facilities and jails across the province for a few more weeks. Public health officials continue to strongly recommend people continue to wear a mask in public indoor places and we should respect our fellow citizens who choose to do so.