Once again this year, Dunvegan’s Robert Campbell has volunteered to canvass up and down County Road 24, and around the hamlet, for the annual Heart & Stroke campaign. In case you’d forgotten, February is Heart & Stroke month. Probably because it’s the sole month festooned with (Valentine) hearts.
Robert has joined 89,999 other volunteers across Canada to collect donations during this community-based fundraising campaign. Through their efforts, Heart & Stroke is able to fund over 850 researchers. And thanks to the 1.45 BILLION dollars the Foundation has invested in this life-saving research over the years, Canada has seen a 75% decline in the heart disease and stroke death rate since 1952.
So, please open wide your doors, and wallets, to Robert and his fellow canvassers when they ring the bell. The life you help save may be yours… or mine.
Carnival this Saturday
In case you needed more of an incentive than a magical winter day packed with delicious food and Canadian-style outdoor fun, proceeds from this year’s DRA Winter Carnival on Saturday, February 4th will go towards the Dunvegan Park Fund. Plans are afoot to bring the tiny recreation oasis at the corner of Church and Murray Streets up to Code… complete with the latest in safety-first equipment like a horizontal slide and stationary swings.
For long-time Carnival goers, you can skip this paragraph; you know the drill. However, for first-timers in the audience, here’s the rundown. Carnival day starts with a scrumptious breakfast buffet at the DRA Community Hall, 19053 County Road 24 from 8:00 to 10:00 AM. There, the famous short-order cook trio of Denis Ranger, Bob Linney and Greg Byers will be whipping up fluffy flapjacks and soft scrambled eggs. These will be accompanied by your choice of sides (baked beans, an apple/sausage medley and/or crispy bacon), homemade muffins, hot coffee or tea and chilled fruit juices. The cost for all this gastronomical happiness is only $7.50 per person or $3.00 for children aged five to twelve.
After the breakfast feast, the outdoor portion of Carnival Day will be held chez nous at 19314 County Road 24 from 10:00 AM to around 3:00 PM. This past weekend, a dedicated crew of volunteers spent hours readying the two bonfire pits, scraping the crust off the surface of the pond and packing down the sledding hill. Volunteers Ben Williams, Aiden Burgess, Sean Burgess, Stephen Burgess (anyone else see a theme here?), Cole, Dawson and Oakley Williams, Denis Cormier and Jim Tilker deserve our gratitude. They did a terrific job of making sure the Carnival site is ready for you and your family to enjoy fresh-air skating and tobogganing fun.
On top of this, there will be Kim Raymond’s ever-popular backwoods Scavenger Hunt, old-fashioned sleigh rides along snow-covered forest trails and an invitational “Snolleyball” match between Dunvegan Recreation (led by Ben Williams) and Laggan Recreation (led by Dean MacGillivary). There will also be a brand-new attraction: re-enactors depicting life in a First Nations winter camp back in the 1800s.
As a warm-your-fingers & toes break, everyone is welcome to cozy up to the wood cook stove or the living room fireplace and enjoy a bowl of Terry’s homemade soup, famous butter rolls and a mug of hot coffee or cocoa. Remember, the sleigh rides and all the other activities and refreshments are completely free. Moreover, folks are welcome to participate from far and wide. You needn’t be from Dunvegan to enjoy this celebration of winter fun!
What goes around…
While skimming through some pages I photocopied from the Dunvegan Tweedsmuir Diaries, I came across a snippet that reminded me of a proverb my father was fond of — what goes around, comes around — which I always took to mean that things often return to their original value, after completing some sort of cycle. To quote from the anonymous entry on life in Dunvegan around the turn of the century (from the 19th to the 20th, that is):
“About 1896 the telephone, both Bell and Rural, came along. The hydro followed in 1938, but due to high rates we all could not have the convenience.” (Emphasis mine.)
It’s almost eighty years later and Dunvegan-area homes and farms are once again hard-pressed to afford this commodity. The newly appointed Hydro One president, Mayo Schmidt, told customers in a recent full-page colour newspaper ad campaign that he is aware of our frustrations with the skyrocketing cost of electricity.
So what are he and his merry band of hucksters doing to make things better for us? For starters, Mr. Schmidt told readers that the Ontario Energy Board has authorized a reduction in the usurious fees Hydro One charges. (And true to his word, in our last hydro bill he knocked a whopping $25 off the total.) Schmidt also assured us they’re working diligently to serve us better… by adding more customer service staff at local offices, redesigning our hydro bill and handing out $75 “service guarantees” when they miss appointments. But what he failed to add was that all this largesse is being paid for with — you guessed it — OUR money.
I have no actual figure as to what this insulting public relations shell game cost. But my guess is that we wouldn’t get much charge from a $1,000,000 bill (if such a unit of currency existed). For my part, I would rather Schmidt had put this expediture … and a significant slice of his 4 MILLION dollar annual pay packet… towards lowering our hydro rates.
Taxing times
Last week, I received an interesting, albeit disturbing, e-mail from Gordon White of Dunvegan West. Gord and Nancy had just had their first propane delivery for 2017, only to discover when they looked at the bill that they were charged 13% HST on both the propane AND the Liberal’s new ‘carbon tax’ levy. Yes, you read that right. Our middle-class-loving federal and provincial governments are charging us tax on a tax.
Now, this practice isn’t new. However, in the past, it usually applied to ‘sinful’ expenditures like liquor and tobacco. Who knew that, as of New Year’s Day, driving to work and heating our homes and businesses are now sins as well?
As Gord put it, “is it any wonder why the Donald Trumps of the world get elected?”
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