CHEERS: To all involved in keeping an Island tradition going during a pandemic. While not Old Home Week, it was great to see the horses racing daily at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park. No question, it had a different feel this year but when the horses made the final turn and headed for the finish line the excitement in the crowd was evident. Hats off to the people who spent days working on a plan for the event and seeing it through to the 61st running of The Guardian Gold Cup and Saucer late Saturday night.
CHEERS: To the owners of Totally Taco Eatery for pushing through obstacles caused by the pandemic and opening up shop last week to share their taste with Montague. It's nice to see entrepreneurs trying new things even though the tourism sector is under extra pressure this year.
CHEERS: To Summerside Police Services for acting quickly when they received a call of a potential child abduction that turned out to be false. A woman was apparently making a joke by yelling out a car window that she’d been kidnapped. A witness, erring on the side of caution, phoned the police and the matter was dealt with immediately. They acted quickly and were able to put a missing persons alert. It’s good to know that if there was an actual missing person, there is a system in place that can quickly alert the public.
JEERS: To people who water plants, lawns and even driveways during the hottest part of the day when it just evaporates into the air. The City of Charlottetown has a water summer water ban that seeks to curb this behaviour, but a reader in Cornwall tells us it is common practice there. We know Cornwall is not alone in this water wasting. Common sense and caring for the environment are needed.
CHEERS: To the groups rallying around Lebanon following the explosions in Beirut. There are many, but one such organization raising funds for the area is the local Development and Peace/CARITAS Canada group in Charlottetown. Development and Peace has been active in Lebanon since 2005 supporting various projects. Ottawa promised to match donations to mandated organizations dollar for dollar up to $5 million until midnight last night.
CHEERS: To those who supported Big Brothers Big Sisters of P.E.I.'s annual dream cottage fundraiser and congratulations to Tawnia Craig, of Spring Valley, the winner of the fully-furnished cottage. Tickets sold out earlier than ever before on July 23 – roughly six weeks earlier than last year. The brisk sale of 15,500 tickets will provide close to $280,000 towards Big Brother, Big Sister and Big Couple programs as well as in-school mentoring, teen mentoring and a couple of smaller programs.
