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West Prince Graphic Columns and Opinions

Duffy achieved one thing; uniting us in anger

In the end it was not a conspiring media or vengeful political opponents who brought down Mike Duffy. The only person to blame for the Senator’s downfall is the Old Duff himself.
Duffy’s spectacular flameout from Conservative insider, cherished by Harperites for his acidic attacks and fundraising prowess, now finds himself a political pariah, responsible for taking the prime minister’s chief of staff down with him and punching a potentially fatal hole in the public’s perception of the Harper government.
It is rare to find public unanimity in politics, but Mike Duffy’s abuse of the public trust and repeated attempts to mislead has infuriated Tories, Liberals, NDP and ordinary folk from coast to coast.

The great lobster strike of 2013 has shocked players into a new reality

 

Ground control to Commander Hadfield

Welcome home, Chris Hadfield.

Exactly who’s dealing EI ‘misinformation?’

By Wayne Young

Guest editor

Nostalgic Fashions Feature of Alberton Variety Show, 1960

“The Old Fottygraph (photograph) Album and fashion show were featured at Alberton Women’s Institute Hall last Wednesday evening, May 4, in an entertainment that was filled with laughter. There were also music and step dancing numbers on the program.” “The Guardian,” 7 May 1960;  reported by Alice Green.

To fish or not to fish that was the question

Local lobster fishermen have been a united front in the recent stance to improve lobster prices. What will go down in the history books as the first ever Island-wide strike taken by fishermen has proved - well nothing for the still lower then expected lobster prices, but the strike has proved fishermen are willing to give it all up till things improve.
By hauling in all their gear and bringing it ashore, fishermen are willing to make a statement that they are not going to take this issue sitting down. Day in and day out, over the heated five day protest fishermen, processors and buyers were at the drawing board. Several options were presented, none being the saviour to end all the conflict, but some enough to sooth the increasingly frustrated fishermen.
As the day long strike turned into five, meetings were held every single evening at various wharves. Meetings that in some cases turned heated and ended abruptly with no real clear future plan.

Heaven help us if the shenanigans of this country’s Senators is labelled leadership

It has been said there is no honour amongst thieves, which is also to say thieves are, ipso facto, not honourable people.
That being the case, what then are we to make of the action by the Conservative Leader in the Senate of Canada, to declare that henceforth there will be no honour system in place with respect to members when it comes to reporting expense claims?
Or, in more colloquial terms, we just can’t trust the bastards with a nickel or a dime of taxpayers’ money.
Now, to be sure, given the measure of human frailty with which we are all endowed, there’s bound to be a few rascals amongst the bunch.
But is this just cause to tar all of them with the same dishonourable brush?
This means in practise, the historical habit of referring to members of the Canadian Senate as, “the Honourable so and so,” must also go by the boards.

Tree free paper

In a digital age, when information on any topic can be displayed on your computer screen, or you can save entire filing cabinets worth of data in the tinniest of storage devices, paper appears to be less and less essential. Some people would tell you the paper industry is slowing to an inevitable stop. The popular television series The Office once described themselves as a paper supplier in and increasingly paperless world.

Furniture sale - not

For the last month or so we’ve been renovating our old farm house kitchen. We tore off old paneling from the ‘70’s I’m guessing, and found much to our delight, the original tongue and groove wainscoting. We worked at getting off old navy blue flowery wall paper and then the fun really began.
In the meantime, we haven’t sat or eaten a meal at the kitchen table in weeks. In fact, there is no table in the kitchen. There’s nothing in the kitchen except for the appliances and a wood stove. Everything else was dragged out and piled up throughout the house.

Mother Is Heart of Home Yesterday, Today, Forever

“Someone has written the greatest word in our language is God; the deepest word is soul; the longest word is eternity; the swiftest word is time; the nearest word is now; the darkest word is sin; the strongest word is truth; the tenderest word is love; the sweetest word is home, but the dearest word is MOTHER.” Ellen’s Diary, “The Guardian”, 7 May 1960.
“And reflecting on the word we think now of the saints of mothers we have known. Not all indeed of the past, of that era of living when her continued presence in it made her the heart of the home, her only thought its care and comfort, but also in these years when women’s dominion has widened to afford surprisingly changed horizons which in many instances combine the interests of home and family with that of career. And always the love between mother and child continues to be a sacred tie.”

Eating clean all summer

Everyone who trains on a regular basis knows that good nutrition makes your training much more productive. Eating right will help you to maintain a healthy body weight and will make your training much more productive.
Summer can present both new challenges and opportunity when it comes to healthy eating. Backyard barbecues, cottage living, dairy bars and summer parties can all put the pounds back on that you were so successful in losing over the other seasons. Here are some tips on how to enjoy it all and still stay lean.

Second job to support extra-curricular activities

Having children in your life can be both joyful and fulfilling. However can be awfully expensive too.
As my daughter makes her mark in Grade 9, she has recently been consumed by spending hours online looking at all the latest prom dress designs. Ugh! To all you parents who have gone through this in the past can share in my exhaustion.
It is not the fact that I will be one of several parents sitting in the dressing room giving our opinions to which will not be heard by our teenage daughters. It will be the walk to the check out with one overly-excited girl whose dreams are about to come true as I swipe my debt card once again.

Government by silo doesn’t work

National columnist Chantal Hebert wrote a striking column last week speculating that the legacy of Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not be policy related, but a lingering image of nastiness.
It was a typically thoughtful and insightful piece. Harper has few ‘big idea’ achievements, other than pandering to his Conservative base. It can be argued his government is the anti-bunch; it’s anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-small town, anti-government oversight, and anti-seasonal worker.
And that’s just to name a few.

Testing, testing - Stevie Harper here for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

People, I guess by now you’ve heard that the prime minister wants to take over and run the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Who’d a thunk it. Little Stevie Harper wants to get into showbiz.
Well, why not? Here you’ve got this television and radio network paid for by the taxpayers of the country, and sometimes they do stuff that isn’t really favourable to Stevie and his government.
I can dig it. Why not just take over the sucker, and have done with it.
It’s just a small detail that the CBC would stop being a “public broadcaster,” and become a “state broadcaster,” the favourite tool of Kim Jong Il and every other two bit dictator you can dredge up.
And most Canadians wouldn’t give a hoot anyways.
It’s all about control, do ya see? That’s the important thing, control, and the tighter the better.

Taking the challenge

Last week I wrote about my wonderful walk on the trail, and I mentioned how time in nature is supposed to improve your health, creativity, happiness, and all kind of other things. Well, I took a closer look at these claims, and it appears they have some legitimate backing. I’ve always found time in nature restores some unseen balance.

Town of Alberton Celebrates 100 Years, 1913-2013

In 1862 the residents of “The Cross” named their rising village, Alberton, in honour of Prince Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, and later King Edward VII who had visited Charlottetown as a teenager in 1860. Within a few generations the village of Alberton became the center of commercial activity in west Prince as the industries of farming, fishing and the fox boon brought much wealth and prosperity to the area. Although there was opposition to the village’s incorporation as a town at the time, in1913 the Legislative Assembly of P.E.I. passed an Act to Incorporate the Town of Alberton. The Act received Royal Assent on 24 April 1913. The first election for Town Council was to be held the first Tuesday in June 1913.

Sifting through Islanders' trinkets and treasures

The rumours were quick to make it through the gossip grape vine - but all the excitement was well worth it.
Reality television show, Canadian Pickers stars Sheldon Smithens and Scott Cozens recently made their way across the province looking for that rare collection or piece of unique history.
How does someone get a job like that? Where do you sign up?
Imagine the stories they must hear. The collections they must find.
Everything from large collections which include pop bottles and street signs to the unique item that nobody really knows what it was used for. Doesn’t seem to matter, but each find has it’s own stories to why the collectors saved the items throughout the years. Some even built extra rooms onto their homes or additional outbuildings to house their prized possessions.

Second disaster in less than five months

This past week there was a terrible accident in Bangladesh. An eight storey garment factory building collapsed. More than 370 people were killed with hundreds of people still unaccounted for. More than 2,000 people worked in the building.
The garment industry employs 4,000,000 people. They are desperate to feed their families and eke out a meager living.
Should the global box store giants get the blame for importing and selling cheap clothes? Should the consumer that buys $10 throw away T-shirts take the blame? These may add to the deplorable situation, but the blame lies solely with the powerful building owners.

Peepers and tweeters

I was on my evening stroll recently, heading down the Confederation Trail with my cell phone playing me a soft tune. I used to wear headphones while on the trail, but after a few close calls with four wheelers and dirt bikes racing towards me in the fading light of the late afternoons, I decided not to impair my hearing while out and about.

New Library at Tignish Officially Opened, Source of Pride to Its Citizens, 1950.

On 15 December 1950 members of the Tignish Library Committee officially opened the Tignish Branch Library when Dr. Shaw, deputy minister of education, opened the door of the new library with the key handed to him by Claude Kinch, chairman, before many citizens and school children. Miss Margaret Conroy, who since 1933 sacrificed herself to give that ‘quiet, silent, satisfactory service, was initiated as the librarian for the new building.”… “Summerside Journal,” 18 December 1950.