Every time the Dunvegan Recreation’s euchre luncheon returns for a new season (as it did last Friday), there’s a worry about how many players will show up after the winter hiatus. Round about 11:40, with only four players registered, Dytha Dixon, Lynne Robillard and I were getting jittery. Dytha and Lynne were standing in for Ann Stewart, who was away on a March Break adventure. And none of us wanted to hand the tournament back to Ann broken. However, we need not have worried. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, the hall filled up with five and a half tables of eager euchre enthusiasts. And many of them were new faces.
After a bowl of hot soup with hunks of warm cheese bread, the hordes fell upon the sandwich and sweets buffet like a swarm of locusts. I usually have leftovers for folks to take home, but not last Friday. No sooner had the tables been cleared of luncheon detritus, than the starting bell rang and play commenced. A few hours later, “50/50” prizes were awarded to Ginette Lecuyer, Rita MacLennan and Claire Van Putten. 1st prize went to Byron Michaud. And Isabel MacLennan and Rolland Paquette tied for 2nd prize. Claire Van Putten took home the Door Prize. And the “Top Star” player was Carol Paquette.
The next DRA Euchre Lunch is scheduled for Friday, April 20th. As always, it will be held in the DRA Hall at 19053 County Road 24 from 12:00 noon to around 3:30 PM. Admission is only $5.00 and includes a pre-game lunch and a post-game snack.
Still a hidden gem
With two annual appearances at the DRA hall under their belts, I think it’s fair to conclude there’s a major problem with Celtic musicians Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald. Not with the performers themselves — they put on a marvelous show last Friday evening — but rather with the timing. Around St. Patrick’s Day, the competition is incredibly fierce for Celtic music lovers. There are concerts, ceilidhs and “Irish” shows everywhere one turns. I wouldn’t be surprised if even the Fassifern General Store held one in their back room. This is a shame, because the little concert in Dunvegan continues to be an undiscovered gem.
While Friday’s audience was once again only around 40 strong, Anita MacDonald, Ben Miller and Zakk Cormier gave a rafter-shaking performance that ranged from marches, jigs and reels to a funereal dirge and a sweet melodic waltz. My only regret was that the playlist didn’t contain more of these slower pieces. I think they’re missing a real opportunity here to break out of the Celtic mold.
However, one advantage of the modest turnout was that, at the end of the evening, chairs were cleared in front of the stage and Anita showed the crowd the ins and outs of square dancing, using four gung-ho couples to demonstrate the moves. It was a homespun crown to a perfect evening.
Six on the sixth
I’ll have more details as we get closer to the date, but I wanted to give you fair warning that the annual DRA Crokinole and Taffy Party is on the horizon. This perennial favourite is scheduled for Friday, April 6th. The fun will start with pizza at 6:00 PM, followed by a full-contact crokinole tournament at 7:00 PM. Sandwiched in amongst the finger-flicking fun will be the traditional hot maple taffy on snow break. Serious players should start getting their digits in shape, including generous applications of Voltaren® for older, arthritic competitors.
Wards vs. at large… take 2
Before this past weekend’s “Saturday Night at the Movies” event in Dunvegan, Len Siwik asked to address the group of loyal moviegoers. Len has been closely following Council’s decision to add a referendum question on the October 22 municipal election ballot asking if North Glengarry should scrap the ward system and elect five councillors at large instead. Presently, all eligible voters select our mayor, deputy mayor and a councillor at large. While each of the four wards (Alexandria, Kenyon, Lochiel and Maxville) elect a councillor to represent their individual areas. Len is a passionate supporter of the ward system… as am I.
Proponents of the at large system suggest that, by eliminating the wards, fewer councilors will be appointed by acclimation and the entire Council will be elected by a vote of all residents. They also maintain that the system works well in South Glengarry, and will do so here too. However, the southern half of Glengarry does not have an equivalent to Alexandria… one large urban area that can easily skew electoral results in its favour.
My fear with the at large approach is that the interests of Alexandria could be over-represented if the majority, if not all, of our councilors hail from within the town’s boundaries. Already, the vast majority of the tax dollars contributed by rural ratepayers go toward providing services like water, sewage and snow clearing for Alexandria residents. Alexandrians even have their yard waste picked up. Rural residents, on the other hand, are responsible for their own water, waste, composting and snow removal. And I can only foresee it getting worse if we eliminate local representation from the outlying areas.
I would even like to see the ward system fine-tuned to be more representative than it is now… given that the Kenyon and Lochiel wards are so geographically huge. I know we can’t afford to have two representatives per rural ward… one each from the north and south halves. However, we could insist that the councillors alternate from election to election. In other words, if the Kenyon representative for the next election comes from the south, in the following Council, the representative must come from the north. Yes, it adds another layer of complexity to the planning process, but it might result in every second Council having a Kenyon representative who knows where Dunvegan is.
My understanding is that in order for the results of the referendum to be binding, at least 50% of all of North Glengarry’s eligible voters need to cast their ballot. Given that voter turnout in 2014 was just 37%, I can see a real push by the at large camp to have Alexandria and Maxville residents vote to dismantle the ward system. This must be matched by equal pro-ward passion from us hicks in the sticks.
By the way, Saturday night’s film Big Fish from director Tim Burton was excellent. Suitable for the entire family, it’s 125 minutes of pure delight. Unfortunately, it’s not on Netflix, but you can watch it on-line if you have an Amazon Prime account. Alternatively, Action Video in Alexandria might have the DVD available to rent.
Sesquicentennial shenanigans
Dunveganite Bob Linney sent me some eye-opening data on Canada’s recent sesquicentennial. According to in-house research, the Department of Canadian Heritage estimated 31 million people (i.e., 8 in 10 Canadians) “actively” engaged in Canada 150 events. Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly declared the $210 million boondoggle a success. “The legacy of Canada 150 will be the connections we forged together,” said Joly. “The investments made this year will increase our sense of belonging and citizenship.”
However, the pollsters with the Quorus Consulting Group disagree. When asked if they watched a Canada 150 event on TV or the Internet, 51 percent of respondents said no. And over 60 percent reported not attending a Canada 150 event in their local community. When asked if they had visited a national park or historic site with free entry, 73 percent said no. As for volunteering for a Canada 150 event, a resounding 94 percent said no. In Québec, 85 percent said they did not attend or participate in any Canada 150 event. While in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 57 percent said they did not watch any TV programs marking Canada’s 150th birthday.
If the Heritage Minister thinks this is what “success” looks like, I’d hate to see her vision of failure.
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