CHEERS & JEERS: Lifeguards go above and beyond

CHEERS: To two young lifeguards working at Chelton Provincial Park last Tuesday who went above and beyond the call of duty to warn nearby bathers and beach-goers to take shelter from an approaching thunderstorm. After issuing a warning and clearing their Chelton park beach of people, the two walked over a kilometer down the shoreline to warn others using a private area. A high point of land prevented those beach users from seeing the thunderstorm approach, posing a threat to children, parents and others enjoying the water and sun. They were in imminent danger as lightning and water certainly don’t mix. The lifeguards prevented what could have been a dangerous situation, and got soaked in the process from the ensuing heavy rain.

CHEERS: To the 10th annual Onion (Brian McGuire Memorial Golf Tournament) which Saturday raised almost $68,000 for hospice and palliative care services across P.E.I. Over its 10 years, the Onion has raised more than $350,000 for the two vital health care services. Jasper Wyman and Son defended its title at the Links at Crowbush Cove with a low gross of 58, edging four other teams which finished with 59.

CHEERS: To Scott Morrison, assistant coach with the NBA’s Boston Celtics who is guest speaker at this Saturday’s annual Morell Sportsman’s Dinner. Morrison had one free weekend all summer and agreed to donate his time to help out his home community. The Aug. 18 dinner at Morell High School starts with a reception at 6 p.m. with the dinner to follow at 7 p.m. This year, organizers are also honoring four Morell high basketball players at the head table as well - Bailey Maclean, Lindsay Sanderson, Nathan Eldershaw and Thomas Craig. UPEI Panthers men’s head coach Darrell Glenn is also part of the head table. Tickets are available at many locations or by contacting Kip Doyle.

CHEERS: To the organizers of the first Jamieson family reunion held recently in Montague. Chief organizer Janie MacDonald and her committee of brother Ralph, sister Dottie and cousin Debbie Cann Johnston, along with countless others, did an excellent job and presented an outstanding program. Many of the more than 190 descendants of Donald Jamieson and Isabella Kielly met for the first time. Participants came from as far away as Oklahoma, with many from the Boston area. Most of Donald and Isabella’s nine children went to the Boston area in the pre-World War One era. Photographer Randy MacKinnon somehow managed to get a perfect shot of all 192 of the unruly group into one photo by the Montague River.

JEERS: To rude sidewalk users who reluctantly or refuse to move out of the way when meeting fellow pedestrians in Charlottetown. One female walker says when she meets two or more in a group, she is often forced to move off the sidewalk because they refuse to budge, instead of stopping or going into a single file for a few steps. “They are often quite rude,’ said the young lady, who now stops with arms crossed and refuses to move when confronted with sidewalk hogs.

CHEERS: To Steve Bellamy who has been selected as the new chief executive officer to lead Confederation Centre of the Arts. As the current Dean of the Humber School of Creative & Performing Arts, Bellamy is responsible for the delivery of degree, diploma, and certificate programs in music, creative writing, comedy, acting, production, as well as publishing, music business, and arts administration and cultural management. As a recording engineer and music producer, he has worked with many leading jazz and classical musicians including Kenny Wheeler, Mike Downes, Kirk MacDonald, Dave Douglas, Anton Kuerti, Gryphon Trio, and Tafelmusik. Bellamy will be starting at the Centre October 1, 2018.