Cheers: to good weather. Well, it might not have been hot, but you couldn’t ask for much better weather on the pond for rowers at the Royal St. John’s Regatta. It’s not often you hear a forecaster in this province talking about unusually calm winds. Cheers to the racers, the customers, and most of all, to the team of volunteers that works all year long to make the Regatta possible. It was a job well done.
Jeers: to horrible weather. Last week, the weather was so bad in Nain that repairs couldn’t be made to the water system or the long distance phone system, because crews couldn’t get in through the fog for more than a week. So, no sun, no long distance phone services, no water — and don’t even start thinking about what kind of fruits and vegetables might be left up there.
Jeers: to surprising weather. You probably didn’t know that Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro’s Hardwoods Gas Turbine generating station on the edge of the Outer Ring Road was struck by lightning — but it was. The facility was hit by lightning in 2017 and part of the plant was damaged, but not much was said about it until this year, when the lightning strike was mentioned in a history of the plant’s operations. The detail was revealed in documents filed with the Public Utilities Board as Hydro tries to get permission for $225,000 in a different set of unexpected repairs and needed spare parts for the facility, costs that became apparent after a failure in part of the plant in February. The Hardwoods plant is 42 years old.
Jeers: to the lowest of the low. So, you can understand that someone might break into the town hall. And that’s exactly what happened at the Municipal Building and Fire Hall in King’s Point. You can understand that that thief or thieves might steal a large television and a cash box that the RCMP described as containing “an undisclosed amount of money.” But just who exactly would steal equipment from the town’s fire trucks? Clearly, not anyone with even a shred of common decency.
Jeers: to drive-by politicking. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to town, and all he was able to say about looming power rate increases from Muskrat Falls and whether the feds would be able to help mitigate costs was essentially summed up in his Tweet on the topic. “Had a good meeting with @PremierofNL this morning, before heading to the @StJohnsRegatta. Thanks for the productive conversation about how we’ll keep working together to create good, middle class jobs and grow the economy in Newfoundland & Labrador.” And you know what? Chances are, he didn’t write that, either. Let’s just file it all under #Coldcomfort, with a special emphasis on the cold part.
