“I feel good,” says 107-year-old Rogersville resident

Flora Thibodeau has lived to see two world wars, 16 Prime Ministers and, as of March 20, 107 birthdays.

Birthday cards and flower bouquets lined the window ledge and floor in her living room where she celebrated her birthday in much the same way she has for the past few years.

Thibodeau, who can slip between speaking French and English, said she had a lot of visitors on that day. Although she usually goes out for supper on her birthday, this year she was stuck at home because of a snow storm, which was the only change in her birthday plans.

"It's always the same thing," said the Rogerville resident.

The village marked her birthday with a congratulatory message on a sign next to the main road and the old-age club sent her a member card, she said.

Angela Bastarache is Thibodeau's home care aid who has worked with her for about a year and a half.

She is the first aid worker Thibodeau has had.

Bastarache said most of the work she does is just cooking and cleaning.

"I don't have to help her much."

She stays with Thibodeau for a few hours a day, five days a week, with someone else there for four hours on the weekend, she said.

Bastarache said it wasn't what she exepcted when she started because it is like being with someone who is younger.

"It's unbelievable because she's not laid up or anything."

And it's as if the two have known each other for a long time, she said.

"It's just like as if she was my grandmother."

Thibodeau said she has seen a lot of changes throughout her life like when she was younger there was no electricity, no phone and everything had to be done by hand.

"We had nothing to work in the house."

Born in Rogersville, Thibodeau said she has lived there most of her life.

As a young woman, she spent six months in Fredericton where she went to school to become certified to teach up to grade eight, she said.

But the religious schools she went to as a girl didn't teach in English and she had to go to an English school in Newcastle for a year before she could go to Fredericton.

"Here it's all French," she said in French.

Thibodeau said she taught in a one-room schoolhouse with about 30 students who learned basic subjects like reading and arithmetic.

She liked it at the time but wouldn't want to teach now, she said.

"It's much different from our time."

When she was married, Thibodeau spent four years in Dalhousie where her husband worked at a mill.

Her husband was an only child and the couple moved back to Rogersville when his mother died so he could take care of his father.

Thibodeau's husband died in 1941 when her youngest child was one and the oldest was 12.

The family took things one day at a time and although they were never rich they never went hungry because she worked hard to get by, she said.

"We made due with what we had."

Thibodeau had seven children. All but one of whom are still alive. She also has 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and three great-great-granchildren, but none of them live in the area.

"I have nobody in Rogersville," she said in French.

Up until a couple of years ago, Thibodeau still played the piano and although she would love to still be able to, because of her hands it is one thing she has had to give as she has aged.

"It's old hands."

Even though she is in good health, she said she doesn't leave the house much and watches a lot of TV to pass the time.

"I get a lot of visitors," she said in French.

Thibodeau said she never did anything special to stay healthy and thanks God for her continued health.

"I think I did everything everybody else does."

Thibodeau, who has lived in her current house for 30 years, said she has no plans to move.

"I'm going to die here."

The centenarian said we see things change every day but people can't change their lives.

"We have to go with it."

Bastarache said Thibodeau hasn't changed much in the time she has worked with her.

"She's about the same to me."

But Thibodeau said things can change fast in people's lives.

"It's not us who decides."

Meeting reveals differences re: forestry

Jim Irving spoke at a stakeholders meeting Saturday at the Rodd Miramichi on the state of the forestry industry in New Brunswick.

Irving said the industry is in trouble because stumpage fees and electricity costs in New Brunswick are among the highest in the country.

"If we're going to compete in a global economy, these are issues we're going to have to address."

Irving was speaking as a member of a panel that included Fraser Papers CEO Peter Gordon and Flakeboard CEO Kelly Shotbolt.

The meeting also featured several presenters, including the minister of natural resources and a representative of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

Irving said New Brunswick has to compete in a global market and to do that, rates don't have to be the lowest — they just have to be even.

"I think that's the message."

Gordon said power rates in Quebec are 50 per cent lower than in New Brunswick and that difference has to be passed on in an industry that relies on competitive prices.

"It just doesn't work."

The group's report showed Prince Edward Island was the only province with electricity rates for the pulp and paper industry higher than in New Brunswick.

Irving said forestry companies need to work with government because the high rates are driving people out of business.

"Ultimately, you go because you can't stand the heat."

But New Brunswick businesses create the most jobs and they want to stay in the province, he added.

"We have to have the heart for it."

Irving said there is the ability in this province to keep things moving forward and the government will do the right thing when it gets all the facts.

"Now is the time to move."

The jobs lost to mill closures throughout the province are being replaced, but they are not being replaced by high paying jobs like the ones in the forestry industry, he said.

Irving said the loss of a mill affects municipal budgets too, because mills pay a high percentage of the property taxes collected in some areas.

"That's real dollars."

The panel presented Price Waterhouse Cooper reports that indicate New Brunswick spruce fir stumpage rates are 30 per cent higher than those in Quebec and 50 per cent higher than in Ontario; and that $17 million more was paid for trees cut on Crown Land in New Brunswick than in Quebec, and $20 million more than in Ontario.

Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault said royalty rates need to reflect the markets as they go up and down.

"That's what we're trying to do."

As for the electricity costs, a high-energy-use rebate of $16 million over two years was announced last summer, he said, but added it is hard to convince other cabinet ministers money needs to be budgeted for the forestry industry.

"You're limited in dollars — and the demands are unlimited."

We have to get message out: Miramichi forestry workers

"Tell your MLA you need their help."

This was the message delivered to woodlot owners and silviculture workers at a meeting Monday in Newcastle.

And that's just what many of the about 70 people in attendance did when they left the Northumberland Woodlot Owners Association headquarters, got in their cars and drove to their local constituency offices.

About 30 people gathered outside Public Safety Minister John Foran's office in Newscastle while they discussed strategy. Many others at the meeting returned to their home ridings to see their own MLAs.

Northumberland Woodlot Owners Association executive director Kevin Forgrave told the crowd if everyone went to their MLA's office it would really make a difference.

"They're gonna want to resolve that, because it takes up their time."

But, he cautioned, do it in a way that will add credibility to the cause.

"We do it peacefully."

Before the group filed up the ramp to fill Foran's small office, Northumberland Forest Products Marketing Board president Jean-Guy Comeau repeated that message.

Foran wasn't in the office, so Comeau asked his representative to pass their concerns along to the minister.

"They want the minister to work on their behalf."

With the message delivered, the woodlot owners and silviculture workers filed back down the concrete ramp.

As they gathered in the parking lot, Foran arrived.

He agreed to a meeting at the woodlot owners association building, but asked that the media not be permitted to sit in.

After the meeting, Foran said he would be happy to attend a public meeting where the media is present, but he was told this particular meeting would be private.

"That's what I wanted to attend was a private meeting."

Foran said he will attend a public meeting the association has scheduled for April 14 at its office.

Meanwhile, Foran said, he told the group he understands its concerns about cuts to silviculture, but pointed out the budget has already been put forward and will be voted on this Friday.

"I can't see any changes in the future."

Comeau said he appreciated the minister's help and added they need MLAs to work on their behalf to show the impact of the cuts, because their success depends on it.

The biggest problem for those in the forestry industry is losing what they already have, he said.

Comeau said people who work in silviculture are trained professionals and they can't sit at home and wait a year to see if things turn around.

"If we lose them this year, they could be lost forever."

Silviculture worker Maureen Whalen visited her MLA in Blackville after the meeting.

She said 2008 might be her last year working in the industry — if she can get work at all this year.

Whalen explained her husband works out west and usually comes home in the summer, but this year he might not do that. Instead, after about 10 years working in the forestry industry, she might join him out west.

"If need be."

Whalen said the workers know where they stand.

"Our jobs don't mean a whole lot to the government."

Comeau said the Miramichi region can't afford to lose the money earned from forestry jobs that goes into the community.

"That money is spent every week."

There is an aging workforce in the industry, he said, and parents won't tell their kids to get into it because of the uncertainty.

"That's a sad thing to do."

Comeau said he will be at the legislature April 2 to address his board's concerns alongside other marketing boards and woodlot owners.

"There will not be an MLA who is not be aware of the consequences and damages," he said, adding all they want is the same program as before, with the same amount of dollars.

"Not 50-50."

New biathlon club set up in Miramichi

A new Miramichi biathlon club hopes to start training soon, says one of the club's organizers.

Herman Koops, a local cross-country skier, is one of the organizers of New Brunswick's newest biathlon club.

Koops said biathlon training usually peaks in the winter, but this year the new club will wait until the the snow melts to start training.

"It's really an all-season sport."

Biathlon is a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting.

Competitors ski around a track and stop to shoot at target ranges set up around the course.

One of the attractions to biathlon is that the age of athletes can cover a wide range because kids can start as early as eight-years-old, he said.

"You peak late in this sport."

Koops said a demonstration last month drew over 50 people interested in learning more about the sport.

The plan calls for the club to use air rifles first, then to move to .22-calibre rifles later on if there is enough interest, he said.

"It's probably been brewing for almost two seasons."

Koops said cross-country skiers and cadets are the people who are the most interested in a biathlon club.

"I guess looking for the challenge of something different."

The Miramichi club will have help from former biathlete Ray Kokkonen, who lives in the area and who is one of the executives of Biathlon New Brunswick, he said.

"He's an amazing resource."

And Koops said people with shooting experience who are looking to try something different can get involved to help train members of the club.

Kokkonen said there are exceptional skiers and some shooters involved in the local cross-country ski club who can help with training once the biathlon club starts.

"My training aspect will be quite rudimentary."

He said he will help the club with basic training and some of the technical aspects of the sport, but emphasized he is not a coach.

"I just wanted to set up the package and watch it go."

Kokkonen said Biathlon New Brunswick will loan the club five air rifles.

"This is a good way to develop."

The club will hold an information session April 19 from 9-12a.m. at the Atlantic Superstore community room in the Miramichi Mall.

Participants have to pre-register and can do so by contacting Herman Koops at 622-6863. The deadline for registration is April 5.

Karate students have colourful night in Chatham earning their belt grades

The two combatants bowed to each other before their fists and feet sprang to life in front of a crowd of friends, family and other students.

A group of instructors sat at a table near one end of the gym as they graded the students on their form and looked to see if they landed any blows.

It was all part of the Moo Yan Kune Chi karate club's belt grading that took place April 1 in the Saint Andrews Elementary School gym in Chatham.

New karate students begin with a white belt and receive different colours as their skills progress, until they reach the black belt. From there they move in degrees, up to 10th degree black belt.

Louis Morris, one of the instructors, has studied karate for 32 years and reached the 10th degree about five years ago.

As the students waited to find out if they passed, Morris told them they did very well.

"I'm very proud of you."

Even so, some of them struggled and not everyone passed.

After the 16 students who did pass were presented with their belts, Morris had all of the students line up and addressed the group.

There was a time when he struggled too because of his nerves, he said, but it is something the students have to overcome.

"It's entirely up to you guys."

Danny Sonier watched the testing from the sides as, one-by-one, the students went through the grading ritual.

Sonier has been involved in karate off-and-on for five years and is two steps away from a black belt.

It will probably be two or three years before he reaches that level, he said.

"Whenever master sensei says you're ready to go."

Sonier said he likes karate because of the social aspect of it and because it frees his mind.

"I always want to learn," he said.

Yvon Cormier was there for his third class and said karate gives him a great cardiovascular workout.

Cormier said he used to be in the military, owns a gym and has lifted weights for years but karate was a big change for him. "It's a whole different ball game," he explained.

At the end of the night, as the instructors packed up their equipment, Morris said he teaches karate as a way to help communities.

"It's to help the kids."

Life of Fighting Fisherman to air on CBC

A documentary about the life of Yvon Durelle will air on CBC television during the hockey playoffs, says the former boxer's widow.

Therese Durelle was married to Yvon for 55 years and moved from Baie Ste.-Anne to Moncton after his death from a stroke in January 2007.

The documentary will not be just about her husband's career as a boxer, she said.

"It's going to be on his life."

Therese Durelle said a television crew began to shoot footage about a month ago for the series, called Grave Concerns.

The show focuses on people suffering from illnesses who have passed away, she said.

"This year they chose Yvon."

Even though her husband suffered from Parkinson's disease and was not very well for the last few years of his life, his death last year was unexpected, she said, adding he was sick, but not that sick.

"It's hard to know Yvon is not with me any more."

Durelle said she plans to give away the items she still has from a museum the couple had in their home, but she doesn't want to give the collection to someone who will just keep it at home.

"I would like to give it to somebody who will show it, so people can see it."

Colin Thornton, who filmed the TV episode, said the show focuses on famous Atlantic Canadians.

The boxer was chosen along with songwriter Gene MacLellan and writer Jack Kerouac from a list of 12 people, he said.

Everybody understands Durelle's boxing career, Thornton said, but the producers wanted to look at things people might not know about him, like his life as a father, his big heart and his importance to Acadians.

Outside the ring, Durelle was a big softy but inside it, he was tough as nails, he said.

"The contrast I find staggering."

Thornton said every member of Durelle's family in New Brunswick participated in the making of the episode. They were very open and have every right to be proud of Durelle, he said.

"He's a hero."

The Durelle episode of Grave Concerns will air April 29 on CBC television.

Loose dogs are killing deer, says conservation official

Loose dogs are chasing and killing deer in the heavy spring snow, says a Department of Natural Resources representative.

Eric Sullivan, a biologist with the department, has been monitoring deer kills in the area.

He said it is instinctive for a loose dog to chase after a wild animal.

"People think it's never their dogs."

And although it is a problem year-round, he said changing snow conditions are making the problem worse.

"This time of year it's especially critical."

Sullivan said deer are at their lowest energy reserves at this time of year and any extra stress can lower their chances of survival, even if the dogs don't catch them.

Dogs can run along on top of the snow while deer fall through and can't get away, he said.

"Often they're killed."

Sullivan said it is a problem all over the province, but there are places where it is worse.

"We do have hot spots that come back every year."

People need to be educated, he said, but he is not sure what it is going to take for people to get the message.

"This is a problem."

Sullivan said there were probably 15-20 deer killed in the last week.

"Those are just the ones we've been finding."

People report incidents when they see them and that means they don't find the ones that happen back in the woods, he said.

"A lot of it's happening around communities."

Sullivan said in the past, the Department of Natural Resources has run radio ads, posted information on their website and they now include information in their hunting and trapping summary booklet to try and educate the public.

People know it is a problem, he said.

"It's just some people choose to ignore it."

Michael Cain, the regional conservation manager for Miramichi district, said there are consequences for owners who let their dogs run free.

Wildlife enforcement officers don't have to prove a dog is actively pursuing a wild animal for them to fine the dog's owner, he said.

"Any time a dog is allowed to go unsupervised there is the potential to be charged under the Fish and Wildlife Act."

Cain said they approach everyone with an unchained dog but don't enforce the law as much in the summer.

"We try to use common sense."

The fines range from $100 to $300 and conservation officers have the authority to destroy dogs, he said.

Cain said a dog would have to be actively in pursuit of wildlife for an officer to shoot a dog and very few incidents come to that, he said.

"That's used as a method of last resort."

Conservation officers always prefer to follow an animal home, charge the owners and, if possible, turn the dog over to the local dog catcher, he said.

Cain said they can't do that if the dog is dead.

"It's not the preferred option."

Silviculture cuts debated in legislature

Opposition leader Jeannot Volpe says the decisions made about silviculture are killing rural regions, but the provincial natural resources minister says sometimes governments have to make tough choices.

Volpe addressed Premier Shawn Graham in the legislature last week in response to provincial budget cuts made to silviculture.

Volpe asked the premier why the government killed the silviculture program.

"We all know the money was there."

Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault answered for the premier and said Volpe was once the minister of finance and knows how difficult it is to meet every demand made for money.

"We have to make some choices."

Arseneault added Volpe cut the budget for silviculture on Crown land by $3 million down to $13.1 million when he was the natural resources minister during the first term of Bernard Lord's government .

Even with the current reduction, he said, there is $15 million budgeted and twice as many trees will be planted than were planted under the Lord government.

"I have no lesson to be learned from the leader of the opposition."

Arseneault said 28 million trees will be planted throughout the province this year, which is the same amount as last year.

New Maryland-Sunbury West MLA Keith Ashfield asked what impact changes to the silviculture program will have on the workforce in rural New Brunswick.

"What job losses will there be in rural New Brunswick because of the cuts in this program?"

Arseneault said there is always an impact when you reduce funding to a program, but a private woodlot is a business.

Even with 50 per cent funded by the government, it is still a generous program, he said.

"Find me a business program that is as generous as that."

But Ashfield said the changes will cut the legs out from under the silviculture program.

"It will not exist."

Over 700 jobs will be lost in rural New Brunswick because of the cuts, he said.

"This is the worst time you could possibly have done this."

Graham gave his first response to opposition questions and said market conditions have changed in recent years.

The forest industry took a leave on silviculture programs on their own lands last year, he said.

"This year, the government is also taking the same initiative because of the market conditions."

Ashfield responded by saying the premier has been letting his ministers take the heat on important issues.

He said the federal government has transferred more money to the province and more has been spent in New Brunswick by them than there has been in years.

"The government has been squandering the resource of money coming from the federal government and it continues to do it.

York North MLA Kirk MacDonald said the federal government gave the province $100 million more this year.

"The money is there, but the will is not."

Woodstock MLA David Alward asked Arseneault and Graham to elaborate on the reductions in silviculture.

"How much less wood will be available in the system for our forestry sector?"

Arseneault said in the medium term there will still be the same wood supply available for New Brunswick mills.

"Silviculture is an investment for the future."

Alward said Volpe and the people of New Brunswick want to ensure forestry is a viable industry.

"They want to save the industry."

Graham said with the new cost-sharing agreement, landowners can receive up to 50 per cent of taxpayers money to pay for pre-commercial thinning and tree planting on their property.

"That is an investment for the future."

Community involvement key to renewed success: community action committee

Active community involvement is important for the Miramichi to get through tough economic times, says the chair of the Miramichi Community Action Committee.

Rogersville businessman Patrick Finnigan was part of the committe commissioned by Premier Shawn Graham to find ways to help communities in the Miramichi region prosper.

Finnigan said there will be business leaders who lead the way in the future, but it is the people on the river who will ultimately help the area prosper.

"We want to get the whole community behind it."

The committee was set up in August 2007 with a 6-9 month mandate to find ways to move forward as a community.

Finnigan said there are great leaders on the river and the group hopes to get support from the government.

"We should be successful."

Finnigan said the region needs to be successful in order for his gardening-oriented business to succeed and he joined the committee to do his share.

"I want the future of the Miramichi to be bright."

Organizations like the chamber of commerce have been very responsive, he said, and they are best suited to take over the committee's work once it disbands.

"I think we're ready."

Coordinator Lisa Cove said the committee has looked at other communities and cities to see how they have dealt with the loss of major employers.

Moncton was one of those cities, she said.

Cove said Moncton launched a program to help citizens see the city's strengths and sold those strong points through a lot of marketing.

"They sold that to the citizens."

There are many positives in the Miramichi, Cove said, which bode well for a program like the one Moncton used.

"I think it would work well here."

Cove added other communities have not been as successful as Moncton has. She cited as an example the city of Sudbury in Ontario, a community similar to Miramichi because of it's dependence on natural resources, which achieved only modest success because there has been less community involvement.

"It was able to hold its own."

It's amazing what Moncton and Halifax have been able to do, she said, adding, "I think Miramichi can do it as well."

The committee is compiling a report to send to Graham by the end of May.

Cove said the committee's mandate is not to bring business to the region.

"We're not an economic development organization."

As it final act, the committee will host a public forum and will feature as guest speaker a former Miramichier who helped Halifax rebound.

Fred Morley was the executive vice-president of development in Halifax after jobs were lost at the naval base there.

Foundations 2020 will be a full-day event involving visioning, building partnerships and growing a healthy and vibrant community for the future of the region.

Facilitator Andrew Beckett is Saint John deputy manager for programs and priorities. He is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the city's Vision 2015-Program of Excellence.

The objective of that program is to work with the community in establishing a long-term vision and goals and then to establish concrete action plans that will move the community towards achievement of this vision.

Beckett will help community members who attend the Foundations 2020 event better understand the role they play in the future of the region, as well as provide insight into visioning and building partnerships.

Foundations 2020 is set to take place April 12, at the Park Inn. Anyone who wishes to participate is invited to call 622-7890.

Record 373 centimetres of snow fell on Miramichi

He was never good at math, but that hasn't stopped Robert Groves from following his dream of becoming a weatherman.

It just meant he had to go about it a different way than most.

Groves said he became an amateur weatherman in 1954 when he started to keep records of basic temperatures.

"I've been doing them ever since, up 'til today."

With a few pieces of equipment, Groves said, he can measure wind speed, rainfall, barometric pressure and the high and low temperatures for the day.

He even keeps accurate measurements of snowfall, something he said nobody in the area does.

Groves said his measurements are generally about 20 per cent higher than Environment Canada's readings.

"That's because they're estimated from Kouchibouguac."

Claude Coté of Environment Canada said there is an automatic weather reporting station at the Chatham airport, but the data it provides is more of an estimate because it is exposed to the wind and there is no one there to go out and take a measurement.

"There's nothing like going outside and doing a real one."

That's just what Groves said he did this winter, when he measured a record 373 centimetres (147 inches, or 12.25 feet) of snowfall between Jan. 1-March 31 — the largest snowfall since 1967, when 483 centimetres fell.

"Too much snow," Groves said.

He said he had an old weather station that was destroyed when it blew over this winter and the heavy snow has kept him from replacing it.

"I have a station to put up, but I have to wait until the snow disappears," he said, adding sometimes it has been hard for him to get around this year to take accurate reading because of all the snow.

Along with the weather station and hand-held instruments he has owned for about 40 years, Groves said he has learned to predict the weather by observing the updrafts and downdrafts of cloud formations.

"Before, I just knew what kind of cloud it was."

Everything he has learned is self-taught from government pamphlets, he said.

"Picked it up myself."

Cote said Environment Canada looks at information from different resources, which includes certified amateur volunteers like Groves.

"It has to be according to certain standards."

Groves writes down his readings on paper, so although he has detailed records going back some time, none of them can be electronically transmitted to Environment Canada.

"Someone will have to re-enter all this info," Groves said.

His records include data from when he lived in Moncton where, he said, his predictions we so accurate people would ask him about the weather before they planned their vacations.

"They tried to plan theirs around when I was going."

Groves said there was a difference of 2-5 per cent between his readings in Moncton and Environment Canada's numbers.

"A lot closer than up here."

In 2001, Groves started reporting severe weather conditions for the Weather Network. Two years ago, he recorded 21 thunderstorms. Last year he recorded 41.

"I expect to see more of those this year too."

Groves said he still finds the work interesting and doesn't plan on giving it up any time soon.

"'Til I can't write I guess."

Rising costs mean higher food prices

High wheat prices are leading to higher prices for baked goods, says a local baker.

Colleen Flett, a vendor at the Newcastle Farmers Market, has sold bread, cookies and other baked goods at the market for over 10 years.

Flett said she has had to raise her prices, but is still trying to keep them affordable, even though the price of flour has doubled over the last year.

"It affects everything."

The increased cost has to be passed on to customers, she said, but once she explains why prices are up they understand.

"They're accepting it."

Other ingredients, like marshmallows and brown sugar have also gone up in price, she said.

"What do we do?"

Flett said she has raised the price of almost all her product by 25 cents.

Over the years, she has built up a clientele of regular customers who have accepted that prices had to go up, she said.

"They just keep coming back."

Lorna Urquhart, owner of the Country Charm Bakery in Miramichi, said she has been in business for 11 years and has never before seen such a big increase in the price of flour.

"We didn't have any warning whatsoever."

The increase is making it hard for small business owners to stay in business, she said.

"It's really difficult."

Urquhart said the price per 20 kilogram bag has doubled to $23 in the last few months and her bakery goes through anywhere from 15-20 bags a week.

"Any of the busy times, it's more than that."

But customers are understanding, she said, and she didn't raise her prices until all the old flour stock was gone.

"I held it off as long as I could."

Andrew Veneau, a Bathurst farmer who sells chicken, eggs and beef at the market, said wheat isn't the only grain that has gone up in recent months.

Veneau said he uses all natural grains and grass to feed his animals.

"Barley and corn ... is what I use the most of."

The cost has gone up by almost $50 a ton in the last month and that costs him more than $400 a month, he said.

"It's almost doubled."

Veneau said he pays more for his feed than some farmers because it has no animal waste in it.

He said he refuses to add animal waste to the grain, even though that could lower his costs.

"I will not do it."

Veneau said growing demand for biofuels is pushing grain prices up.

"A lot of these guys have gone into growing corn for biofuel."

Over the last year, the prices he charges have gone up 25 cents for a pound of beef and 50 cents for a dozen eggs, he said.

"I had no choice other than to put it up some."

Veneau said most customers realize the price of everything is going up and although some people complain, others tell him he doesn't charge enough.

"It's not too bad."

Veneau added one way for him to save money on feed would be to grow it himself.

"I've got the land base available."

But the bottom line is, if prices stay high, he said, he will have to get out of farming.

"I'll hang on as long as I can."

UPM transition centre to recieve more funding

The provincial government will give $500,000 to help workers who lost their jobs when the UPM mill closed, says Public Safety Minister John Foran.

Foran made the announcement Monday during a press conference at the UPM-Kymmene Adjustment Committee Transition Centre.

The funding will go to the centre and extend training programs in place to help people make the transition from being a mill worker, he said.

"Our goal is to have as many people as possible working."

Foran said with projects like the Point Lepreau refit, New Brunswick is on the verge of an economic boom.

"We have to position ourselves to be ready for that."

Some of the people who use the transition centre to retrain will benefit once the boom hits, he said.

"We've got to do everything we can as a government to retrain people and be ready for the boom."

Patrick McDonald, a former process operator at the UPM mill, worked there for 29 years and said the announcement was good for the workers.

"It should help."

The training he gets at the centre has helped him develop more marketable skills, he said.

"I'm improving my edge on competing for employment."

McDonald said he won't leave the province to find work the way some people have, unless he has to.

"Out west is not my home."

Program gives high school students training in trades

Oily metal shavings drop from a spinning pipe as pipe-threading machine's teeth dig threads into the steel.

When he was satisfied, Josh Manuel cut off a section of the pipe and dropped it into a bucket to rest with his earlier work at the union hall of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 799 on Henry Street in Newcastle.

Manuel is one of 12 high school students involved in the Career Exploration and Apprenticeable Trades program through funding from the Department of Education's Innovative Learning Fund.

The program helps students develop skills in several trades, including carpentry and welding.

Manuel said he liked the program because he was not a strong student.

"I'm more a hands-on kind of person."

The program teaches students a lot of different things and is a good opportunity for them to get into the trades, he said.

"It's an amazing program."

Helena Waye, the former principal at the District 16 Learning Centre, applied for the program's funding from the province because she wanted students to be able to get hands-on training in the trades.

"We felt that there was something missing from our high schools."

The students who were approached for the program were extremely interested, she said.

"They saw it as an opportunity."

Waye said the training will help the students find jobs when they are done and give them credit toward post-secondary education.

"They'll get credit for work already done."

One important part of the program is a requirement that students be drug-free, she said and added it is the way things are in the workplace.

"You have to be drug-free to work for those companies."

Waye said the students' and parents had to agree to allow testing before they entered the program.

"They're all drug-free through the process."

Kaitlin Matchett, a Grade 11 student, said it was a great idea because people don't need drugs in their life and it makes the workplace safer.

"If you are attached to it, it's a good way to get away from it."

Matchett was one of two girls in the program, both of whom received their Class B F-3 welding tickets.

That class of ticket means Matchett can weld flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead seams.

Matchett said they are the first girls to get welding tickets through the program.

"I was like, wow, I actually did it."

Guys look at women and think they can't do that type of work, she said.

"I think there should be a lot more women in the industry."

Samantha Hobson, the other girl in the program, shared Matchett's opinion of women in the industry.

"More girls need to get into it, so I might as well set an example for everyone else."

Hobson said she will take part in the program next year if she can.

"I don't know if they're letting people back or not."

Waye said the program will need about $100,000 in funding to run again next year, but they can't apply for the same funding again, she said.

"That was a one-shot deal."

To get this year's funding, Waye said, they had to get $24,000 on their own before the government would give them the $100,000 grant the program received.

"It really is a very small investment for a program of this magnitude."

Waye said the impact will not just be in the lives of the students, because there will be 12 more people ready for the workforce.

"If just one student didn't finish high school without this program, it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run."

Former politicians face off at lecture

By Ryan Ross

The provinces have an important role in Canada, a former Alberta premier said yesterday during the Symons lecture at the Confederation Centre.
Peter Lougheed, who served as premier for 14 years, made the remarks to the large crowd by video.
Lougheed said he never thinks of Canada as anything other than a confederation.
“Our history is a history of confederation.”
The annual Symons lecture marks the anniversary of the meetings of the Fathers of Confederation in 1864.
It was established in 2004 to provide a platform for Canadians to discuss the current state of the country and its future.
Lougheed wasn’t able to attend in person because he was recovering from a virus he picked up on a trip to Mexico.
The needs of the provinces should be kept in mind when discussing federalism, he said.
“More and more should be provided to the provinces.”
But after the Meech Lake accord Canadians got turned away from constitutional change, he said.
“There just isn’t the mood or appetite for that today.”
Former cabinet minister John Crosbie said it’s important to have a balance.
One of the problems is there are 10 provinces and three territories trying to get as much as they can for themselves, he said.
“The increasing strength of regionalism has to be resisted.”
Crosbie said we are lucky to have the United States as a peaceful neighbour but Canada also needs regular armed forces to avoid weakness.
“A nation can’t be truly sovereign if you turn your defence over to a neighbour.”
And even with close ties our federal system is different than the American one, he said.
“It was the provinces that created Canada, not the other way around

Government needs checks and balances, says Crosbie

By Ryan Ross

Governments in Canada are gaining too much power, says former cabinet minister John Crosbie.
Crosbie, Fisheries and Oceans Minister under Brian Mulroney, spoke to a group of about 40 people at the Confederation Centre yesterday.
The prime minister has too much power because Canada doesn’t have the checks and balances of the American system, he said.
“That’s the trend today.”
Crosbie said Newfoundland has the same issue with Premier Danny Williams.
“Nobody dares disagree with him.”
And winning a huge majority, like Williams did, can be dangerous, he said.
“That puts you in a very tough position.”
Crosbie said former premier Joey Smallwood’s cabinet experienced it first hand.
“We would go into a cabinet meeting and Smallwood would talk for an hour and a half.”
It was a one-man show and no one had any influence, he said.
“I never should have run for him.”
Crosbie said in making the move to federal politics having a good staff was crucial to knowing what was going on.
“I couldn’t afford to be sandbagged.”
That knowledge helped in making good decisions and keeping some power, he said.
“If you don’t have any power who the hell fears you?”
Crosbie said he would never let the Prime Minister’s Office tell him what to do. That includes choosing who is on a cabinet minister’s staff, he said.
“What an insult.”
And Crosbie said he chose his cabinet post as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
His fate was tied to the fisheries, he said.
“I couldn’t have survived with another minister in fisheries and oceans.”
Crosbie said those were the two toughest years of his political career.
People were mad at him because of their situation, he said.
“They’re looking to you to save them.”

Prices drop in Stratford

By Ryan Ross

Customers expect prices to go down to keep up with the changing dollar, the owner of a Stratford hobby store says.
Jim Ewing, the owner of Great Hobbies, lowered prices in response to the rising Canadian dollar.
They have made several price changes along with the loonie but there is a psychological barrier where people expect more of a change, he said.
“Once we hit par that’s when everyone’s brain switched.”
The loonie reached parity with the US dollar in September and has since hit record highs.
And Ewing said at Great Hobbies, more than 95 per cent of their stock gets priced through the U.S.
“There’s not a heck of a lot that doesn’t.”
To help make the transition the company had a sale before lowering prices, he said.
“We ate the GST.”
Ewing said they made the decision to lower prices about a month before making the change.
“We didn’t wait that long.”
But it took time to adjust the price on the almost 70,000 products they carry, he said.
“Not a simple feat to re-price all of that.”
Ewing said a lot of that product stays on the shelf for a while.
“Your average product will change every two to three months.”
That means the amount they make off each item will change with the dollar, he said.
“There are times when you’ll be on the short end of the stick.”
Most of the competition has followed their lead, which Ewing said they always do.
“We were definitely the first.”
Brittany Stephen, one of Ewing’s employees, said she has been getting positive feedback from customer.
“Definitely had a few say others have to jump on the bandwagon and lower theirs too.”
But Stephen said she wasn’t sure if they were busier because of the prices.
“Hard to say because the phone system changed at the same time.”
Ewing said even though the dollar has changed there are other factors that make doing business in Canada more expensive than in the United States.
Factors like high taxes and the cost of getting things across the border mean they have to add to prices to cover the cost of doing business, he said.
“From what I’ve heard most people are OK with that.”

Vietnam wasn’t all bad for Canadians, says Summerside man

By Ryan Ross

When people gather in November to remember Canada’s time at war, a Summerside man reflects on one of the country’s missions of peace.
Alfred Gallant was 38 when he left for Vietnam, leaving his wife and six children behind.
He landed in Saigon in 1965 as part of a Canadian peacekeeping mission where he worked as an accountant in the Forces’ finance branch in the war-torn country.
When they arrived, the Canadians were treated like kings, he said.
“My God they thought the world of Canadians.”
Gallant said one of the reasons the Vietnamese liked them was because the Americans had a lot of money and the Canadians didn’t.
“The Americans are a big bunch of show-offs.”
Despite the war, the Canadians were safe in Saigon, but if they left the city they needed an escort, he said.
“We weren’t allowed out of the city of Saigon single.”
However, Gallant said he did travel to Hanoi, in North Vietnam, three times as a courier.
As he soon as he got off the plane he was met by North Vietnamese soldiers with their bayonets fixed and pointed straight at him, he said.
“I wasn’t all that big I’ll tell you then.”
It wasn’t his only brush with danger during his time there, he said.
Gallant said one of his favourite places to eat was at a floating restaurant and he was on his way there with a friend one day when the North Vietnamese bombed it.
“We heard a big bang and smoke.”
But it was the only time he saw an attack like that, he said.
“We only saw it after it was done.”
Gallant said the hardest part of being there was adjusting to the way people lived in Vietnam.
His driver had 13 people in his family living in a one-room house with no toilets and no water, he said.
“The house was on stilts over water and they had holes in the floor that’s where they used the washroom.”
And Gallant said they ate water buffalo, which he didn’t like.
“Just like mud.”
But because he could speak French it helped him adjust a little easier than some of the other Canadians, he said.
Gallant said he spoke French almost all the time he was out and had to interpret for other soldiers who couldn’t.
“It was great.”
One of the best moments during his time in Vietnam was when a few of the soldiers starting looking after an orphanage, giving a few cents here and there to buy them candy, with each of them chipping in a little more at Christmas, he said.
“They really enjoyed that.”
Vietnam was Gallant’s first posting overseas without his family and with six kids his wife Louise said she was very busy at home.
“The weekends were very long.”
It was hard seeing cars pull into other driveways when he wasn’t there, she said.
“Suppertime was the worst.”
She said she found out he was leaving the same day he found out she was pregnant.
She didn’t cry when she found out he was leaving but did when he left, she said.
“It was some nice to have him back.”

Acadia faculty end strike, accept new contract

By Ryan Ross

Acadia University faculty are happy with their new contract, says a faculty association spokesman.
Andrew Biro, an assistant professor at the university, spoke on behalf of the more than 300 full- and part-time faculty, librarians and instructors at Acadia in Wolfville, N.S.
It was a long and difficult process that created a lot of bonds and brought the faculty closer together, he said.
“We got a 92 per cent ratification vote.”
Classes resumed No. 8 after the faculty association walked off the job Oct. 15 in a contract dispute over salaries and benefits.
The new three-year agreement gives staff an average salary increase of 10.5 per cent over the length of the contract.
Salaries are based on a grid, which the new agreement compresses. Under the new system fewer steps mean higher wages as staff move up the grid and there is a larger increase on the bottom end, Biro said.
“We think because of that it will be easier to recruit new faculty.”
Scott Roberts, Acadia’s communications director, said the university’s senate met Nov. 7 and decided to extend classes until Dec. 7, pushing exams back three days to start Dec. 8.
It was the only thing on the senate’s agenda and the meeting lasted for about three hours, he said.
Exams will still end Dec. 18 as planned and the shorter schedule should have little effect on exams, he said
Roberts said visits to the meal hall and library show many students stayed during the strike.
“We had between half and two-thirds of student body remain on campus during the strike.”
And Biro said faculty will do their best to cover the material in the time they have left.
“I think everyone is very keen to get back to work.”`

Island life provides inspiration for Kensington artist

By Ryan Ross

Seated at a table splattered with dried paint splotches, a Kensington artist takes a break from painting a Christmas scene on her gallery’s window. Coloured dots stain Anne Gallant’s sweatshirt’s rolled-up sleeves and she leans back in a chair, surrounded by hanging paintings.
The gallery is tucked away at the end of a string of businesses on one of the small town’s main streets. It is full of her work, the white walls covered with bright paintings and prints showing Island life in vivid colour.
Anne Gallant is a graduate of Mount Allison University but didn’t start working on her own as a full-time artist until a few years ago, she said.
“I didn’t think I could make a living.”
Gallant said before moving back to P.E.I. she spent time in Haiti where she helped teachers use artwork in the classroom.
The kids would read paragraphs then draw what they read on the chalkboard, she said.
Gallant said the time spent there is reflected in the work she does now.
“That was a huge influence on my work.”
And since she moved back to the Island, Gallant said she finds inspiration in P.E.I.’s colours and lights.
If an artist can capture them it is where they become successful, she said,
“It’s pretty special here.”
There is more of a market for Island works with people coming from away since the Confederation Bridge opened, she said.
“In the summer it’s crazy here.”
Gallant said she has probably sold about 400 paintings with about 30-35 sold in the summer.
And people want to buy originals now, she said.
“They won’t go back to that print at Wal-Mart.”
Commission work is part of her business too, she said.
Gallant said she was asked to do a mural for a couple in Nova Scotia after the woman bought a painting from her.
Once they approved her sketches, the owners gave her the keys to their house for the winter, she said.
Gallant said it took four months to finish the mural, which was painted to look like windows opened up to the bright scenery outside.
“That was an artist’s dream job.”
Gallant said she never thought she was better than anybody else and her work has improved since she moved back to the Island.
“I guess you just want to challenge yourself every time.”

Varsity Vikings get big win in Charlottetown

By Ryan Ross

The Amherst Varsity Vikings men’s basketball team advanced to the semi-finals with a 71-57 win over Sackville at the Confederation City Classic in Charlottetown on Friday.
The Vikings faced last year’s winner, the Tantramar Titans, in a game that saw big swings for both sides.
Loren Fawthrop, who scored 24 points for the Vikings, said the team did what had to be done to get back in the game once they were down.
“It’s a big win for us.”
The Vikings lost to the Titans earlier in the season at a tournament hosted by Tantramar.
With the win, Amherst’s tournament record improved to 3-0 and pushed them through to the semi-finals.
Amherst opened up the scoring in the first quarter, giving them a lead they held through most of the game.
The first quarter ended 15-14 for the Vikings.
The Vikings dominated the second quarter from the beginning when Lawson McLeod drove to the net and dropped the first point of the quarter.
At one point Amherst held a 10-point lead, including a stretch where they scored six unanswered points.
By the time the teams broke for the half, Amherst was ahead by seven.
Tantramar closed the gap in third and it took the Vikings almost four minutes to score their first point of the quarter.
The Titans stole the lead with a three-pointer later in the third but Amherst fired back with one of their own to tie it up.
Amherst saw their early lead reduced to two points as they went into the fourth quarter with a score of 49-47.
The Vikings came back in the fourth with a strong finish as they stretched their lead and finished the game 71-57.
Amherst coach Reg Caulfield said his team needed to match Tantramar’s intensity to win and that’s what they did.
“We’re not a prolific scoring team.”
But they need to execute their game plan to win and he is hard on the kids, he said.
“My expectations are high.”

Job fair opens doors for education students

By Ryan Ross

The UPEI education job fair gives students a lot of opportunities, says the fair’s education coordinator.
Basil Favaro, an education professor, is one of three coordinators from the university who helped organize the annual event.
Favaro said the 33 school boards and recruiting agencies who attended the fair gave students the opportunity to meet boards looking to hire.
“We’re into helping students.”
The fair was held at the Rodd Charlottetown Feb. 5-6 with school boards from across Canada, Korea, United Kingdom, China and Japan.
Other universities in the Maritimes have their own job fairs but UPEI’s is unique because it is open to everyone, Favaro said.
He said about 50 job-seekers came from off-Island because they didn’t have their own.
“They really appreciate that this fair was open to all education grads.”
Mamdouh Elgharib, a career development specialist at UPEI and one of the fair’s coordinators, said there were hundreds of jobs available.
Although they don’t know the total number for hirings, he estimated about 100 interviews were done over the two days.
“Contracts were signed yesterday.”
And some of those contracts were for jobs in Fort McMurray where the starting salary is $70,000, he said.
The starting salary on P.E.I. is $45,000.
“It’s a good incentive,” he said.
Elgharib said one of the recruiters for Fort McMurray was a UPEI graduate who was hired at the fair two years ago and is now the vice principal at her school.
“Here’s an example of what could happen.”
Favaro said the fair has grown since the first year when they had about 25 school boards.
Even though they could use a bigger space, the fair is always held at the Rodd Charlottetown because the boards appreciate the classiness of the hotel, instead of having it in a gym like other job fairs, he said.
Favaro said they now set a limit because one year they had over 50 boards and couldn’t fit everyone.
“The venue can accommodate so many.”
This year was the first time the fair was held during the week instead of on a weekend because some of the boards were involved in another job fair the same week, he said.
Favaro said they will try and bring it back to the weekend next year.
“Overall the boards were very pleased.”

STU contract goes to arbitration

By Ryan Ross

The way strike negotiations were going, it would take a couple of months to complete them without an arbitrator, says a representative for the St. Thomas University Faculty Association.
Dawn Morgan, an English professor at the Fredericton university, spoke on behalf of the faculty who returned to work Feb. 4.
The union negotiated a back-to-work deal and only outstanding issues will go to arbitration, she said.
“We did think it was important to end the job action to save the term.”
The faculty association’s contract expired June 30, 2007 and a lockout went into effect Dec. 27.
Both sides have since agreed to binding arbitration and classes resumed Feb. 5.
Students will only lose six days of the semester and the exam schedule has been shortened to make up for time lost to the strike.
Morgan said the university wanted to take away a limit on class sizes. The two sides agreed to keep the maximum number of students per class at 60.
“We’re happy about that.”
Wages on the lower end of the pay scale were also an important issue. Some newer professors made more money on strike than they did at work, Morgan said.
“We couldn’t give up the principle of it.”
But Melissa Dickinson, a first-year student who stayed home during the strike, said if the faculty get what they want tuition will go up.
“I think what their striking for is a little absurd.”
Both sides were doing more arguing than negotiating and Dickinson said both sides were to blame.
“They’re using us as hostages.”
The exam schedule has been pushed back and compressed with only a two-day study break between the end of classes and exams, she said.
Dickinson is nervous about the workload under the new timeline for the semester.
“I’m a little nervous the teachers will be a little bitter.”
Morgan said the professors want a say in the conditions that lead to excellence at the university and she doesn’t think the strike will affect the respect between students and professors.
“Excellence depends on a climate of respect.”
But Dickinson said the strike gave the school a bad reputation.
“People aren’t going to come to the school.”
And as the strike dragged on, she said she considered going to a different school next year.
“If tuition goes up as much as they say it will, that’s when I’ll start looking.”

STU students seek compensation

By Ryan Ross

The St. Thomas University student union is still considering a class action lawsuit even though the faculty strike is over, says a student union executive.
Duncan Gallant, the student union’s vice-president of education, is part of the group that will represent students in talks with the university.
Gallant said the student union’s lawyer advised them they are in a position to sue all parties involved, including the university and the faculty association, in order to get compensation.
“We do have that option available still.”
The faculty association’s contract expired June 30, 2007 and a lockout went into effect Dec. 27.
Students didn’t return to class after their Christmas break but both sides have since agreed to binding arbitration and classes resumed Feb. 5.
Students will only lose six days of the semester and the university shortened the exam schedule to make up for time lost to the strike.
The union is working on getting compensation by gathering data from students and the administration on the amount of money lost during the strike, Gallant said.
He said they can’t ask for rent money but will look to recover other expenses, such as changes to plane tickets, and want compensation for the stress caused by the strike.
Any compensation agreement would cover all of the students, but some would receive more on a case-by-case basis, he said.
Gallant said the money would come from salaries not paid to professors during the strike.
“Our meetings will set out a specific number for compensation.”
Lawyer Jason Crelinsten said a class action lawsuit with a lot of claimants has the benefit of being a much bigger deal.
“You want to threaten them with the largest suit possible as a bargaining position.”
And class action suits will often name as many defendants as possible, he said.
“It’s a pretty typical litigation tactic.”
But Crelinsten said many organizations have clauses in their contracts that say they aren’t liable in case of a force majeure, which are circumstances beyond their control, such as war or an act of God.
Although he wasn’t familiar with the specifics of STU’s agreement with students, Crelinsten said the strike might fall under force majeure.
“That’s probably how they would defend themselves.”
Gallant said he is glad the strike is over but it would have been nice if it had ended a few weeks ago.
“Better late than never.”

Mother finds it hard to change diapers in the dark

By Ryan Ross

The Martin family’s power went out on the afternoon of Jan. 28 when a branch snapped off the maple tree in their yard in Kensington and knocked the power line down.
One end of the line sat next to the house while the other was wrapped around the broken branch in the middle of the yard about five metres away.
Thick ice coated every branch of the trees surrounding the house and the yard was loud from the constant crack of shifting ice.
That night Brandi changed her baby’s diapers with a wind-up flashlight in her mouth so she could see.
“It sucks.”
A wood stove kept the house warm and Martin used it to heat water for Madison’s bottles.
Since the power went out, the baby got more bottles than she usually does, she said.
“You can’t heat up her baby food.”
A few days later their grandparents, who live a few minutes away, got their power back and the Martins took their frozen food up to them and put it in their deep freeze.
“The refrigerator stuff is sitting in the car.”
As the family waited for the electricity to come back on, they sat next to the picture window to get as much daylight as possible, chunks of ice beat against the glass.
The ice started to melt as temperatures rose and large chunks fell from overhanging branches.
Martin’s sister Heidi sat on the couch, bored as they tried to find ways to pass the time.
“I think the computer is the thing most missed.”
And her brother Jonah, a Holland College student in Summerside who had classes cancelled because of the storm, agreed.
“It’s been getting more difficult as the days go by.”
But Heidi said when they called Maritime Electric they weren’t given a timeframe for when to expect the power to come back on.
“Now that the big problems have happened, our house has probably been bumped to the last of the list.”

UPEI cancels students’ trip to Kenya

By Ryan Ross

It’s disappointing the violence in Kenya forced UPEI to cancel teaching practicums in that country, says one UPEI student.
Alecia Barlow, in her second year of the education program, was one five students who were supposed to leave for Kenya in March to work in schools alongside Farmers Helping Farmers.
Barlow was disappointed to hear the trip was cancelled because when she decided to do the specialization in international education, Kenya was the country she thought of from the beginning, she said.
“It was really crushing.”
With the outbreak of violence after the country’s election in late December, the Government of Canada issued a travel advisory for Kenya.
The most recent advisory warns against non-essential travel to the country, which has seen renewed violence, including the killing of two members of Parliament.
Barlow said she knew there was a pending election and kept up with the news so she would know what was happening.
“I kind of was second-guessing that we might not be going.”
And although the university made the decision for the students, Teresa Mellish of Farmers Helping Farmers said their group decided not to go when they saw the first travel advisory.
Mellish said the violence is not in the area where they would have been working but that didn’t affect their decision.
“All it did was sort of muddy the waters.
Farmers Helping Farmers has worked with UPEI since 2004 and they are delighted with the co-operation from the school, she said.
“We are really disappointed that the situation in Kenya is such that we aren’t able to go this year.”
Mellish said two or three students from past years have joined Farmers Helping Farmers after their internships and the students are received very well in Kenya.
“That’s why we keep on doing it.”
Barlow is still on, but her destination has changed.
She had hoped to go to Japan or Spain instead but they fell through, too, so now she is going to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“That was basically the only one.”
Barlow said she went to all the Farmers Helping Farmers meetings, did all the research and built herself up to go to Kenya.
“I was confident I was going.”

Changes coming for rapper Classified

By Ryan Ross

Sitting at a table, wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates cap and with his winter coat still on after a van ride from Halifax, Luke Boyd is at ease before a Valentine’s Day show at The Wave.
The Enfield, N.S., based rapper known as Classified looks over a laminated menu while members of his crew set up for the night’s performance.
On stage, someone brings in a pair of drums and taps out a beat while DJ IV sets up his turntables on a long banquet table.
The show doesn’t start for a few hours and Boyd just learned the room holds over 1,000 people instead of the 200 he was told when he signed the contract to perform.
He shrugs it off.
“As long as the people here are having a good time we usually have a good time.”
It’s the first time Boyd has played at The Wave. He says he has performed in Charlottetown before, although it has been a while.
“It’s cool to come back.”
The show is in support of his newest CD, While You Were Sleeping, which he produced himself and released on his own label, Halflife Records.
The album has a few new songs but is mostly older material that shows what he used to do, he says.
“This is what I was working on while you weren’t paying attention.”
Although the music might be old, Boyd does have something new to celebrate. A few weeks ago, while he was on tour, he found out his wife is pregnant.
“I’m sure it’s just gonna add to the experience.”
He doesn’t expect it to affect his career, though it doesn’t take much to go down to his studio and make music.
He will still have to keep on top of what he’s doing.
“This is my job.”
A growing part of that job is producing for artists like Jordan Croucher, Chad Hatcher and his own brother, Mic Boyd.
He says the brothers have always done music together.
“When the thing got done it got done.”
Later, while they sat on the edge of the stage waiting for their food, Mic said he always toured with his brother and hasn’t done any shows on his own.
“A lot better way of getting fans than going by yourself.”
Back at the table, Luke said it’s cool to work as a producer and let other people stress about everything else.
“I don’t want to be a rapper when I’m 56 years old.”

STU strike caused problems for internships

By Ryan Ross

Some St. Thomas University students had their internships cancelled during the recent faculty strike, says the program’s field education coordinator.
Sandra DeVink, an assistant professor, arranged work placements for the 27 social work students doing their internships.
DeVink said some placements were in unionized workplaces and several supervisors considered the internships as crossing the picket line.
“I was looking at a way to work with that without pulling all the students out of placements.”
The faculty association’s contract expired June 30, 2007 and a lockout went into effect Dec. 27.
The strike led to the cancellation of seven out of 27 social work placements.
Both sides have since agreed to binding arbitration and classes resumed Feb. 5.
The issue with the social work job placements arose when one student’s placement at a hospital was suspended, DeVink said.
She said that was when a student complained.
Students were given several options to make up for the lost time, such as researching the role of unions, watching videos related to their field and walking the picket line with professors, DeVink said.
“We talked about it with the student that was suspended in the beginning.”
She said the student wanted to do her placement in that location and was willing to wait for the strike to end.
The student was also given the opportunity to sit in on a court case going on at the time and DeVink said she advocated for them to take the student back if she did research about unions.
“She was pleased about that.”
John Lane, a Holland College faculty union representative whose union is in contract talks, said he didn’t know his own union’s position with regard to internships.
“There’s no way in my heart I could ask a student to cross the picket line.”
Most students at Holland College are required to complete an internship and Lane said students have to do what is necessary to graduate.
“You sure don’t want them to have not completed at the earliest possible date.”

STU year shortened to make up for strike

By Ryan Ross

The strike-shortened school year will be tough, says one St. Thomas University student.
Katie Francis, a second-year criminology and anthropology student, spoke from Fredericton where she stayed throughout the almost month-long strike.
The school condensed what is left of the school year and the exam schedule to make up for lost time, she said.
“It’s gonna be pretty brutal.”
The faculty association’s contract expired June 30, 2007 and a lockout went into effect Dec. 27.
Both sides have since agreed to binding arbitration and classes resumed Feb. 5.
Francis said she has a lot of reading to do, but all the professors cancelled midterms.
“I still have just as many papers.”
Even with the strike-shortened schedule, students will only miss one week of school, she said.
“It’s going to be tense.”
Shannon Whidden went through a similar situation as a music student at Mt. Allison University in Sackville, N.B.
Whidden was in his last semester when professors went on strike in 1999 and left students with a shortened year.
When the strike ended, his academic classes were cut short, but professors gave the music students extra lessons for studio classes to make up for lost time as they tried to prepare for their final performances, he said.
Whidden said the students gave up about a month of preparation, even with the extra lessons, and that affected their sense of confidence.
“I felt like I really lost out, in that sense.”
But Whidden supported the faculty until they decided to go on strike.
“It’s not a factory job.”
There is more long-term damage when a strike affects people’s education, he said.
“I felt that their methods were pretty unpalatable.”
Whidden said if he had to do it again the strike-shortened year wouldn’t make him reconsider going to Mount Allison.
“It certainly soured me on some of it.”
And Francis said she won’t get the same quality of education she would have otherwise.
“We’re not going to get the regular amount of education we should have received.”

Island religious communities have different needs

By Ryan Ross

The Island’s growing Muslim community needs its own gathering place, says the president of the Muslim Society of P.E.I.
Najam Chishti, the current president, moved to P.E.I. form Pakistan in 1979.
Chishti said the community needs a place where they can meet to discuss issues within the Muslim community.
“The main objective is to get a place of our own to meet regularly.”
Charlottetown does have a mosque in a renovated basement, but it is owned by one person, not the entire Muslim community, he said.
Chishti said P.E.I. is the only province without a permanent mosque and that’s one of the criteria for Muslim immigrants.
“It does affect, to a certain extent because it affects prayers.”
The Island’s Muslim community has grown to over 100 families since he moved to P.E.I., due mostly to immigration, and there is a need for new facilities, such as a Muslim cemetery, he said.
“As the community is growing the need is getting greater.”
Chishti said they need at least $500,000 to build an Islamic centre and cemetery and the community wants to pursue it.
“It is long overdue.”
But John Zarwan, a spokesman for the P.E.I. Jewish Community, said even though the number of Jewish families on the Island is also growing there aren’t enough people to support a formal gathering place.
There are about 80-90 families but there are not enough people or the financial support for a synagogue, similar to other Island churches, he said.
“There are lots of empty churches.”
Zarwan said there are members of the Jewish community who go to synagogues in other cities off-Island.
“There are members who are fairly observant.”
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in a part-time rabbi but there is a traveling rabbi who fills in when there is a death within the community, he said.
“We certainly couldn’t support a full-time rabbi.”
Zarwan, who is not originally from P.E.I., said since he moved here seven years ago, changes to the P.E.I. Jewish Community’s board members and philosophy have increased attendance at community events.
The number of Jewish residents has also increased, he said.
“Mostly through in-migration.”
Zarwan said there is always an interest within the Jewish community to have a formal structure.
“There are some people who would like to have it.”

No clear solution for farmers after public forum

By Ryan Ross

Hog farmer Gordon Lank stood in the crowded hallway at the Kensington legion as he waited for the CBC public forum on the beef and pork industries.
People lined the walls, three deep in places, as about 400 people crammed into the main hall to voice their concerns about the state of P.E.I.’s farmers.
The crowd spilled out into the hallway where Lank discussed the turnout with the farmers around him.
“If nobody came it wouldn’t be a good indication.”
Lank was a life-long farmer who raised both beef and pork.
“Lucky aren’t I.”
He still has pigs going through the hog plant but expects them to be gone around the middle of the summer.
“We’re going out of the hogs.”
In the main hall, CBC anchor Bruce Rainnie moderated the discussion as farmers and other stakeholders in the industry pressed through the crowd.
They made their way to one of the microphones set up for questions directed to a panel that included Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan and Agriculture Minister Neil LeClair.
Sheridan listened to farmers’ concerns about meat imports from other countries and government aid to countries like Argentina where they are having problems with hoof and mouth disease.
“It’s despicable,” Sheridan said.
The discussion moved from one topic to the next as farmers blamed retailers, free trade, subsidies in other countries and a lack of government funding for some of the problems facing the industry.
Lank pushed his way through the crowd to voice his concerns about the lack of exports since the industry was crippled by the mad cow scare almost five years ago,
“We’re not competitive any more.”
While the panel agreed exports are a problem, they also addressed concerns about the ability to buy local products in the big retail chains owned by companies like Sobeys or Loblaws.
For Sheridan, it’s a consumer’s choice and they need to tell the stores they don’t want outside products.
“Bring in what we want to buy.”
The issue of buying local was raised again by Malpeque MP Wayne Easter when he referred to recent stories in the news about massive recalls in Japan and the United States.
“Where do Canadians want their food to come from?”
When the meeting was over, Lank moved through the thinning crowd, shaking hands with some of the farmers sticking around to speak with Sheridan.
Lank didn’t expect the meeting to have much of an effect.
“You never know what affects anything.”

Maritime schools face recruiting challenges

By Ryan Ross

Increasing interest in the trades has helped keep enrolment numbers up at Holland College, says a representative for the school.
Donna Sutton, the school’s director of student services, said there has been a push for trades programs from industry and that has helped build interest.
“That’s a relatively new phenomenon for us.”
Sutton said there is an aging workforce with no young people coming behind to fill the gaps once people retire.
The school has benefited from industry involvement in advertising the need for tradespeople, she said.
“It’s almost like they were advertising for Holland College.”
Sutton said Holland College has also seen a huge increase in students with a post-secondary background.
The number now stands at 35 per cent, she said.
“Twenty years ago that was virtually unheard of.”
Shawna Garrett, Acadia University’s executive director of enrolment services, said the school has seen a drop in enrolment in recent years, for many different reasons.
A lot of high school students go straight to college, the birth rate in the Maritimes is on the decline and there is an exodus out west, she said.
“So they can be immediately employed.”
Garrett said the government in Nova Scotia, where the school is located, doesn’t fund universities to the same extent as other provinces.
“Nova Scotia universities still have the highest tuitions in the country.”
A change to the school’s Acadia Advantage program has seen a drop in tuition from $8,062 a year to $6,652, she said.
Under the old program students were required to lease a laptop from the university.
Garrett said students prefer a choice and will now own the laptop outright.
“Ideally that will make Acadia more attractive.”
The school has been active in recruiting internationally to try and boost enrolment and has seen an increase in international students over the past few years, she said.
But Garrett said international students also enrich the classroom and aren’t just enrolment numbers.
“To us it’s much more than that.”
With enrolment numbers down at many Maritime universities, she said there is a need to develop Maritime cooperation.
“I think we’re going to have to work together.”
Sutton said Holland College is sending recruiters out west to recruit and will host information sessions there.
“Let’s bring our Islanders home.”

UPEI veterinarians wait for peace in Kenya

By Ryan Ross

Easing tensions in Kenya means UPEI veterinary students might be able to continue their cancelled trip this summer, says a university professor involved in work with Farmers Helping Farmers.
John VanLeeuwen, the coordinator for the students’ work with the Island charity, has traveled to Kenya with students four times.
The students have to go during Kenya’s dry season and the next one isn’t until the summer, he said.
“We’re hoping to get it in some time this year.”
In past years the students would already be working in Kenya but the trip was cancelled when violence erupted after a disputed election in December.
With the outbreak of violence, the Government of Canada issued a travel advisory that warned against travel to the African country.
VanLeeuwen said travel insurance covered the cost of the trip because there was a change in the travel advisory.
“It wasn’t a cost to us.”
The group’s work did get results in past years with some farms doubling in size, he said.
“Most of these farms are quite small.”
CBC radio host Karen Mair went to Kenya with the group four years ago and said there were sometimes 100-200 people, each with a cow, lined up to see the students.
“They were like gods.”
Mair said people wonder if money makes a difference but she saw how much it helped.
“They were changing the future of generations of those families.”
VanLeeuwen said many of the farmers changed from growing coffee to raising cows and don’t have the proper knowledge on how to care for them.
“We try to recommend proper management.”
One issue they did encounter was women doing a lot of work on the farm plus all the traditional work at home, such as raising the children, he said.
“When we put on these seminars it’s traditionally men that show up.”
VanLeeuwen said Farmers Helping Farmers is considering spreading out to work in other countries in the area but they haven’t made any decisions yet.
“It does mean we’re restricted in doing things if there are any problems in one country.”