Miramichi Blog

Rotary Pond Hockey Tournament

The Rotary Club of Newcastle unveiled a new website, just in time for their third annual Rotary Pond Hockey Tournament February 2nd to 4th, 2007. Designed and hosted by Mighty Miramichi, the website can be viewed at www.MiramichiRotaryPondHockey.com. Chair for the tournament, Geri Mahoney, is pleased with the added exposure this will bring to the event, the club, and the Rotary name.

“We have appreciated being able to piggy-back on www.FrenchFortCove.com the past couple of years, but the magnitude of the event necessitated setting up our own home. We feel the web design team has produced something visually pleasing as well as highly functional for us. We applaud their efforts,” Mahoney says. Also new in the 2007 event will be an Over 50 division, as well as a few surprises for the viewing public.

The tournament has room for 100 teams across six divisions, which include Female, Over 35, Over 50, Non-Competitive, Family, and the popular Open Competitive division. A total of 84 teams registered for the event in February 2006, an increase of 38% over the inaugural year. With the entry deadline fast approaching, many of the openings for this year’s event have already been spoken for.

“The number of teams coming from outside the area will be up again this year,” Mahoney says. Entries last year came from as far as Alberta, Ontario, and Boston, with teams also coming from Maine and across the Maritimes. Inquiries this year have come from Houston, Ohio, and Montreal, as well as many closer to home. Participants from last year were enthusiastic in their praise of the event.

"Thanks for another great time this weekend." - G. Cripps.
"It was one of our greatest road trips ever." - N. Thomson.
"We had a team in your 2006 hockey tourney this year and they had a blast. When can I apply to put a second team in for your 2007 pond hockey tournament?" - P. Blais.

A large number of spectators are expected to take in the event, with viewing available at ice level, along the park boardwalk, or from other vantage points around the cove. Admission to the public continues to be free, but spectators are reminded it is at your own risk. Concessions will be available at ice level. Back by popular demand will be a sound stage with continuous music by Trinity Sounds throughout the weekend. The large number of teams will necessitate continuous play on 12-14 ice surfaces, as well as night games under the lights. The event will not be postponed due to inclement weather conditions. Play begins Friday afternoon and continues all day Saturday. The final games of the tournament will be played Sunday morning and early afternoon. Once again this year the public will be asked to wear hockey jerseys on the first day of the tournament (February 2) to celebrate the weekend – last year’s “Hockey Jersey Day” was an enormous success as schools, businesses, and spectators alike hosted a visit from CBC Hockeyville.

French Fort Cove has always been a picture-perfect location along King George Highway, the main traffic artery along the north side of the city. Development of the park started years ago and is actively managed by the French Fort Cove Commission. The long-awaited construction of the year-round Eco-Tourism Centre and Miramichi Curling Club is complete, with the grand opening and ribbon-cutting happening Saturday October 14th. The net proceeds from the Pond Hockey tournament will go toward this project.

Anyone thinking about participating should grab a spot soon, the deadline to enter the tournament is January 5, 2007. Registration packages in either language are available for download at www.MiramichiRotaryPondHockey.com. You can register online using PayPal, as well as the usual paper and cheque method. See you on the pond!

Women's Wellness Program Designs Calendar

The Women’s Wellness Program of the Miramichi Regional Health Authority wants to fill stockings with the gift of women’s wellness this season.

“The program committee is pleased to produce the first edition of the Women’s Wellness Calendar,” says coordinator Jacqueline Poitras. Poitras is the program’s registered nurse chair of the committee. “The calendar has been developed as an educational/awareness tool with a preventative focus on specific health problems that women encounter,” Poitras says.

The full colour calendar was designed by a local company. All photographs were taken locally and each month addresses a health topic that is related to women’s health and wellness. “The information identifies a proactive approach to address these topics. Our goal is to encourage women of our health region to be proactive and responsible for their health and well being.”

The Women’s Wellness Program is a program of the Outpatient Clinics Department of the Miramichi Regional Hospital. The program provides a weekly Pap Clinic which can include breast self-exam teaching, blood pressure screening and a health assessment which leads to providing pertinent health information. The program also provides and/or organizes individual and public health promotion information sessions on a variety of different topics including menopause, sexual health, breast health and ovarian cancer.

The calendars are $10 each. All proceeds from the calendar will be used towards promoting women’s health and wellness in the community, including the yearly International Women’s Day conference in March.

Calendars are available at the Miramichi Regional Hospital Gift Shop, the Miramichi Medical Day Clinic, the Blackville Health Clinic, the Néguac Health Clinic and the Baie Ste. Anne Health Clinic. They are also available at the Public Health office in Chatham and Checkpoint Miramichi. For more information call (506)623-6136.

Miramichi Photographer

Late last night I received an email from a fellow Miramichier, Teri Fullerton. We've never met, but that's one of the perks of my job--I'm constantly meeting new and interesting people via email and in-person that I would not have otherwise known. Anyway, Teri wrote:

Hi there,
Congratulations on a wonderful site! I just happened to stumble upon it . . . I noticed on your sticky notes page you had some photos. I am an amateur photographer and would like to share some of my photos if you are interested . . .

Me? Interested? Absolutely! So, I looked at the attachments and found . . .





Fabulous stuff! Teri is a Miramichier, born and raised. She has been living in Fredericton for the last four years, but is now back home for three months doing her practice teaching at James M. Hill High School in Chatham. In May she graduated from UNB with a BA, majoring in English and she'll finish her BEd in December. I immediately answered her email and asked her a bit more about herself. She wrote:

An art course I took during summer session this year inspired me to renew an interest in photography. I hope to pursue this interest further--whatever that might mean. The exhibit at Charlotte Street Arts Centre was wonderful because it allowed me to showcase my work and also to draw public awareness to the great work that the Multicultural Association of Fredericton does.

Yes, that's right! Some of Teri's photos are on exhibit right now in the Foyer Gallery at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton. Not any of these ones:




But different photos, you can kind of see them in the picture on the Gallery page. The exhibit is called, It's In Their Eyes, and were taken during the Rainbow of Cultures Summer Camp hosted by the Multicultural Association of Fredericton. Teri's exhibit runs until November 13th, so drop by this weekend and take a look while you still can.

Meanwhile, these are my absolute favourites of the set she emailed me:





Congratulations again, Teri, on your exhibit and we wish you much success with your photography, wherever it may take you.

And here she is!

Bread 'n Molasses Magazine Goes Into Print Production


Exciting news! After months of preparation, Bread 'n Molasses magazine launched a print edition exclusively in the Miramichi region this week. That's right, now there's even more Bread 'n Molasses out there for you to enjoy!

The print edition will be published six times per year with great articles, stories and regular features that you won't find anywhere else. You can purchase a yearly subscription online so you don't miss any of the fun or drop by one of the local retailers and pick up a single issue. Our premiere issue is currently for sale at the Books Inn in Newcastle; Bill's Quikway in Chatham; 4D Grocery in Burnt Church; Kwik Mart in Neguac; Annie's Country Store in Tabusintac; and your local Pharmasave in Doaktown, Blackville and Newcastle. Support independent publishing in the Miramichi and pick up your copy today.

In the first edition we bring back our When I Was a Young Lad regular feature that we used to run online a couple of years ago. Now, this regular feature will be exclusive to our print edition and we're starting it all off this issue with memories of growing up in Morrison Cove from Joan Cripps. Other new regular features you'll find only in the print edition are Miss Alley's Life and Relationship advice column, Mighty Crafty how-to tips, SammyScope predictions, computer tips, and more. All this and some really great feature articles too.

In the current issue I travel to Fredericton to meet an Inuit artist formerly from the Miramichi and find more than I bargained for as I'm welcomed into this young man’s home for an unforgettable afternoon of conversation about art, inspiration, family, history, responsibility and destiny. Alec Lawson Tuckatuck is pursuing his passion and his destiny, and keeping the ancient ways alive.

As the air takes on that crisp autumn chill and people open closets and trunks to find their heavier coats, I head to the cleaners and find Frank and Patsy MacLaughlin. MacLaughlin's Dry Cleaners have been serving the Miramichi region for almost 20 years, but you probably don’t know this about them. See what I found out about how the MacLaughlin's are leading the way in Atlantic Canada.

Our favourite Newfoundlander retiree makes her Bread ‘n Molasses print debut after months of sharing her stories with us online. Like many Miramichiers today, Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe’s family are scattered across the country. Yes, she misses and loves them all dearly, but there’s one little girl in particular that she wishes could be closer. Follow the story as this grandmother discovers a new way to keep tabs on the ones she loves.

When was the last time you went to Tabusintac? I took a gander downriver and you won’t believe what they’re doing! This tiny community has a big goal with the plan and support system to take it all the way to the top. Tabusintac is on a mission to build a future for all ages and so far the results are pretty impressive.

You'll find all of these feature articles and more in the first printed edition of Bread 'n Molasses magazines on sale now. We hope you're as excited about this mighty adventure as we are!

The shoe box gift deadline is drawing near- Nov. 18
This is something me and my family enjoy doing each year. All you have to do is get an empty shoebox and fill it with school supplies, toys, soap, toothbrushes, etc. The dollar store is a great place to go for these items, and we usually end up filling 2 or 3 boxes each.

Choose if you are going to buy for a boy or a girl, and the age group; 2-4, 5-9, 10-14. Go to their website for more information on filling a box and to print out box labels, or pick them up at the locations below.

Drop-off schedule for items and boxes. You can also pick up an empty shoe box if you don't have one.

• Boxes can be picked up and items can be dropped off beginning Nov. 3rd, in the evening and Nov. 4th, all day at the table in Northumberland Square Mall.

• Or pick them up or drop them off at the Newcastle United Baptist Church (www.nubc.com) 582 King George Hwy.
Dates:
Nov 14-15: 4-8 pm
Nov 16-17: 12-8 pm
Nov 18th: 9 am - 5 pm

Visit the Samaritans Purse website to find out what kind of items to put in a box, to print out box labels, download the form to include with your donation, see which countries the donations go to, and learn more about Operation Christmas Child.