Huntingville ballpark is no more
Major damage caused by flooding in the fall of last year has led organizers at the Huntingville ballpark to make the difficult decision not to rebuild the park.
“We’ve already fixed it three times,” explained Jim Wark, who has been taking care of the park for close to 40 years.
Flooding is becoming the norm, he said.
In a letter sent out to team coaches and groups who use the park Wark explained the situation in detail.
“The real issue is can we justify continuously putting money into restoring the park again and again as we all know this same issue of major flooding is going to keep reoccurring. It is no longer a one-off issue or an infrequent event,” the letter read.
“As it stands now, we will not be rebuilding the park. We will tear down the structures that are unsafe and dispose of all the canteen equipment,” the letter continued.
During the most recent flood in October, the backstop was severely twisted, the infield dirt was completely washed away and around 37 sections of the homerun fence boards were gone.
“The water rose to the tops of the countertops in the canteen and filled about four feet inside the large garage
On Monday the SCCCUS, the Université de Sherbrooke’s contract faculty union, declared a general, unlimited strike following a breakdown in negotiations regarding their collective agreement. As a result the vast majority of courses taught by the 2,550 members of the labour union have been suspended until further notice.
According to Vincent Beaucher, the
President of the SCCCUS, the labour dispute revolves mainly around an effort to improve a number of different aspects with regard to working conditions.
“We want more recognition of our implication in the university,” the president said, “yes we lead courses, but we are also involved in a number of other areas such as program committees and faculty councils.”
Beaucher said that the SCCCUS’ demands with regard to salaries level the demands are very simple, with basic adjustments for inflation and consideration of the rates at other major Quebec Universities to be take into account. He also emphasized an interest in seeing a decrease in the difference between the entry level and step two salary scale.
“Of the 2,550 contract faculty, there are about 2,000 at entry level,” he said, explaining that anyone who teaches eight courses or less occupies that lowest step.