CHEERS AND JEERS: Jeers to P.E.I. government for leaving people out in the cold

jeer to the provincial government for the continued delays in opening emergency shelters to bring PEI’s homeless population in from the cold. When he visited the Charlottetown camp on December 1, one of the residents said he was not aware of any visits or support from the provincial government to help keep local people warm and alive. Despite its original November opening date, the province’s 12 modular units are still not open. The units were still not connected to electricity as of December 1 and the Department for Social Development and Housing will not say when they are expected to be open. In order to protect themselves from freezing to death, the residents of the camp have now built their own shelter with a convection oven, which they want to install themselves. Other residents farther from the temporary shelter use propane heaters to keep warm. Without government intervention, someone could soon freeze, burn, or suffocate.

cheers to Harry James’ family for donating much of his giant Christmas lights to the City of Stratford, and cheers to the city for using everything in the community gardens. James spent decades building an impressive show at his Wren Drive home — one that bus tours attended. When James died in May, his will stated that the lights that filled his shed and garage could not be sold. Mike James, Harry’s son, told SaltWire Network that the family agreed that donating most of Harry’s collection to the city was the best idea. Now, year after year, Harry’s legacy and love of Christmas are enjoyed by islanders as they drive past Bunbury Road Gardens.

cheers to the UPEI and UNB men’s ice hockey teams after their December 3 performance at the MacLauchlan Arena. The top two teams from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) provided fans with a game that people are still talking about nearly a week later. For 60 minutes, the Forbie MacPherson-led Panthers and UNB fought back and forth under Bedeque head coach Gardiner MacDougall. The game featured high-intensity play from the opening faceoff to the final whistle. There were highlight rolling goals, excellent goalies, lots of heavy (legal) hits and two teams that left everything on the ice. We understand that not every game is played at this level, but it was a clear indication of the caliber of hockey that awaits PEI hockey fans when UPEI from the 16th in the highly competitive AUS conference, every game counts and one develops exciting second half.

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