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The wrong flew over MacAulay's head

Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay should hang his head low for setting principle aside for personal gain recently.
MacAulay, who said publicly he did nothing wrong, had 60 to 70 loads of fill dumped on his Midgell property by the Department of Transportation and Public Works.
The wrong obviously flew right over MacAulay's head if he thought for one minute no one would notice that much dirt.
No matter how long and loud MacAulay denies it was a political handout it wasn't acceptable. Islanders have class and something like this rubs the shine right off it. It reeks of patronage.
Now there's no way to prove the fill was a favour to the near two-decade Liberal Cardigan Member of Parliament and we will never know if MacAulay followed protocol in acquiring the dirt.
Apparently it's up to the foreman of the road crew to decide where the dirt is dumped. But first a form/waiver for damage must be filled out by the person requesting the fill.

Future of DVA anything but secure

So what is more important: An address on the letterhead or jobs?
That is the question seemingly lost on municipal leaders in Charlottetown. In their rush to 'solve' the uncertainty over the future of the Department of Veterans, municipal leaders are ignoring the most important question. It’s not keeping the department that is important. It is the jobs – and the estimated $70 million plus payroll - that go with it that is vital.
And on this score the Harper government is anything but reassuring. Sure, both the prime minister and the minister of Veterans Affairs are publicly guaranteeing the department won’t move back to Ottawa.
What good is that?

The truth is usually the opposite of what's said

This is not about the money."
... PEI Finance minister Wes Sheridan
This emanation from the delicate lips of our provincial money minder assures us of one thing, to whit, the discussion about whether Prince Edward Island should get into the sponsorship and operation of online gambling  - is all about the money.
It is all about stupidity as well.
Mr Sheridan justifies his government’s interest in the supposed free money it would realize through online gambling using a peculiar, and totally unproven supposition - that Islanders presently gambling online on sites located in strange places outside the province, would move in mass to the government operated site, and lose the grocery money there.

Poor fishermen, poor us

It seems fishermen can’t get a break regardless.
On the south shore of eastern PEI, herring fishermen are only getting about 12 cents a pound for their catch.
In the western end of the Island, lobster fishermen’s expectations were dashed as prices for the fall fishery are virtually the same as they were for those who took part in the spring fishery. Western PEI fishermen are getting $3 for canners and $3.25 for markets.
The value of the catch in both industries were higher years ago, with lobster fishermen recalling days when they’d get five or six dollars a pound for their catch.
You can’t blame a shortage of demand, as PEI lobsters remain popular both domestically and abroad. With inflation you'd expect prices would go up anyway, but try telling that to the buyers.
So what keeps fishermen on the water?
Like farmers, fishermen have important jobs and they have no choice but to keep going.

PM Harper blinded by flashing lights

Usually when a police officer tells you to do something, you do it.
If you’re driving along and you see the lights flash behind you, you pull over. And if the police officer tells you your taillight is out and lets you off with a warning, you make darn sure you fix it. This is how most rational people go about their lives.
Not the federal Conservative government. Last week PEI police joined the national chorus of law enforcement begging the government not to kill the long-gun registry, which it might very well do. They say it helps them solve crimes.
Yes, the registry was far too expensive to implement. Yes, criminals are unlikely to register their guns and in fact unlikely to use long guns at all. Yes, it’s an expensive burden on legitimate marksmen and farmers.

It's that time of year and first bell at Kaylee Hall Nudie and the Turks

It is August now, towards the end, and the weather can no longer be trusted." - from Alistair MacLeod's short story called The Closing Down Of Summer.
I always found it borderline disturbing to bring the cattle in from the pasture each fall. The spring calves spent their summers without any human contact, so they would be as wild as deer. I can still hear them bawl out in protest to being penned up in the barn. This week, kids everywhere will be feeling a lot like those steers and heifers as they are corralled back into classrooms. Free range kids sporting fresh haircuts and too new clothes will be squirming in their desks as they stare out the windows and pine for the outdoors.
I, for one, can empathize with those poor students and wouldn't blame them a bit if one or two bawl out in protest.

Sweet corn season is high point of gardener's year

Early in the gardening season there were a few glitches, weren’t there? Some early plantings rotted in the ground because it was too wet and then we waded through a crop of slugs, the likes of which few of us has ever seen. Once we got past those things, the season developed into one of the most productive that I have seen in awhile.
Sure, many of my crops were later than I would have liked but that was simply because I wasn’t able to get on the land early. Next year ...
Today I picked my first corn of the season. If you are a novice in this corn growing business, you may be wondering when the corn is ready to pick. Immature and over-mature are equally bad so you have to learn where that ideal mid-point is.

Mad about me

The first thing I felt after the impact was sheer,  murderous rage at the driver responsible for what I knew was going to be a very expensive fender bender.
The second thing I felt was a gentle wave of compassion and forgiveness for the poor fellow, because we all make mistakes.
And then I asked myself an important question: "How am I going to explain to my wife that I just backed my car into her parked vehicle with enough force to tear the bumper off not just her car, but mine as well?"
Oh, dear. 
I live in an old farmhouse in the country. At the back of the house is a generous parking area. Normally, my wife and I park alongside one another, leaving room behind for any visitors.

Stratford Pharmacy Athletics play perfect road game to get back into best of five

The Stratford Murphy Pharmacy Athletics played the perfect road game to get back into their best of five semi-finals against the Peakes Bombers.
Stratford defeated the Bombers by a score of 5-3. It was a good team effort by the Pharmacy scoring some two-out base hits and a timely home run. The pitching did their part with a big K with the game on the line. A two-out two-run double by Josh Toombs in the third and a two-run homer by John Walsh in the fifth were the key hits for Stratford. Kyle MacDougall got the third out in the bottom of the sixth on a strike out with the bases full of Bombers.
Peakes took the opening game of the series last Wednesday hammering the Pharmacy 9-1.
In Morell, the Morell Chevies moved to within one win of their tenth straight final appearance. The Chevies defeated Northside Brewers 12-8 last Sunday in a game that took nine innings to decide.

Island trainer/driver & 'Magic' Filly seek world record

Meridian Magic and her trainer/driver Kenny Arsenault continued their chase for the North American wins record last Saturday at Exhibition Park Raceway. They racked up numbers 22 & 23 as the filly, co-owned by breeder Barry Martin and his partner Jim Gillis of Sydney, won both the elimination and the final of New Brunswick's Maritimer Stake for three year olds. That leaves Arsenault and MM just five short of the record of 28 consecutive wins. It was set by the great Cam Fella, who retired in 1984 with earnings of over $2 million and a mark of 1:53.1. According to Maritime racing statistician Scott Green, Meridian Magic’s 12 wins this year also ties the North American record for her age and gender.

 

Here today, gone tomorrow, it's up to us

Look around, there literally are farms within walking distance but yet we still answer the call of the big grocery chain stores where cellophane, Styrofoam and fancy packaging offer irresistible appeal.
But while we're cruising the aisles in awe of the sheer variety and volume of food items Island farmers are working the land, planting seeds and harvesting crops - producing good quality food that we often pass over for, in many cases, products from out of province or imported from foreign countries.
Where's the logic and where's the allegiance when we shop for groceries?
There is little. Our priorities are sadly lacking.
So, it's up to the farmers for the most part to get our attention.

Dysfunctional monkey MOVES TO SUMMERSIDE

Well Montague town council is at it again. But this time PEI’s most infamous council is acting ... well ... almost like a council should.
All too often commonsense was ignored by Montague’s elected representatives in the past two years. It peaked with council’s very public split – municipal coup is a better phrase – with former Mayor Pat McGowan. Councillors didn’t like how the mayor managed municipal affairs. The mayor didn’t like council questioning her decisions.
It got very ugly. Eventually councillors decided they could no longer work with McGowan, who at the time was enduring significant health issues. The renegade council even passed a motion giving it the right to appoint committees.

The PM came, the PM left in the absence of Foofaraw

The prime minister of Canada spent a day last week moving amongst (well, close to) his subjects on this least of the provinces within his realm, making nice with the inhabitants and distributing largesse along his path, using dollar bills instead of flower petals to curry favour with them.
In truth, there was no pushing and shoving to get close to His Eminence, and only one lone wannabe protester showed up at the Gold Cup and Saucer parade dressed up in a faux seal suit emblazoned with a slogan that read - "Hug Me, Don’t Club Me."
The prime minister did not oblige (after all, Mr Harper’s preferred method of displaying affection to his son is a handshake), which led The Guardian to headline its story "Harper avoids protest at Gold Cup parade."

Without the past there is no future

If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development. - Aristotle
To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. - Cicero
There is a history in all men’s lives. - William Shakespeare

Wait for it, reality will rear its ugly head

All the talk recently about the Department of Veterans Affairs in Charlottetown being moved to Ottawa seems calculated.
At roughly the same time word came out that ombudsman Pat Stogran would not see his contract renewed with the government, a Gulf War veteran stated the department should be taken out of Charlottetown and moved to the nation's capital where it would face greater scrutiny.
The suggestion is that Mr Stogran is being booted due to his criticisms of the government over what he says is poor treatment of veterans. He gave his support to DVA employees and opposed moving the Veteran's Affairs offices off the Island.

Saddle up your ponies and come on down

"Let him squander his last suns by the river with his mare in the meadow where the sweetest grasses grow." ... From the Slim Dusty song called Leave Him Out There In The Long Yard

Cucumbers have their own mind

This may go down in gardening history as not only the Year of the Slug but also the Year of the Vine Crop. How are yours doing?
I have to smile when I look at some of my squash vines. In my back garden they were planted a respectable rototiller width from the snap peas and scarlet runner beans and the plastic netting that’s supporting them. Not only have the squash washed up on the netting like a tidal wave but the squash vines have poked through and are heading off to visit the beets and beans on the other side.

Stop killing my summer

The other evening I was out with some friends and one of them noted a slight chill in the air.
"Well, that’s it," she said. "So much for summer. Winter’s on its way."
It was such a Canadian thing to say. We just love to whine about winter, even when winter is still months away.
You hear it all the time.
"Wow ... here it is, the middle of August. Summer’s almost over."
"Boy, it was chilly this morning when I woke up. Winter’s just around the corner."
I actually had someone say this to me: "Gosh, already late July. Where did the summer go?"
I tell you what, Mr Glass Half Empty: if it’s only late July and you want to know where summer is, look around you. It’s there. You’re just too pessimistic to see it.

Rob Phelan snags league MVP honours

Rob Phelan joined the Peakes Bombers in the mid 2000s. He was pegged the fourth starter and didn’t have a very good rookie season.
That was then ... this is now. Last Thursday at the 20th annual awards banquet at Peakes Tee, Rob Phelan is definitely no longer a fourth starter. He is the ace of the Kings County Baseball League.
Phelan captured the prestigious MVP award as the league's top player. He went 8-0 pitching for the Bombers, allowing a little over one run per game. His batting numbers were also good, hitting at a .370 clip. Phelan also won three other trophies including the Harry Hughes Memorial for top pitcher. He won for best pitching percentage and most pitching wins.
Stratford Pharmacy’s rookie catcher, Marshall Ellis took home four awards. He was the unanimous choice as rookie of the year. Ellis also won the batting title, most triples and on-base percentage, an award donated by Freddie Handrahan.

Greatest show in harness racing lives up to its reputation

Well, as the fella says, it’s all over but the crying. Old Home Week has come and gone and left us all with great memories, thinner wallets and the odd hangover here and there.
Word is the wager passed the million dollar mark and that would make it a slight increase over last year. I hasten to add though that this is only rumour as of my deadline Sunday evening. I hope to have a fuller breakdown for you next week.