Cheers: To the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. The staff and students at the AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital go above and beyond when treating their furry patients, showing care and compassion towards them as if they were their own family members. Islanders are lucky to have access to this wonderful facility, where animals are well taken care of and pet owners are kept up-to-date with information when their animals are being treated.
Jeers: To the pot holes and stretches of broken pavement that make driving on P.E.I. streets and highways like riding an obstacle course. It’s also very districting. While driving, it’s easy to take your eyes off the road because you’re looking for the next pothole that will break the car’s axel. Then there are the causes to consider. Is broken pavement caused by the frost coming out of the ground or is it simply the quality of asphalt deemed by the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy? At least two P.E.I. roads stay pristine year-round. They are Route 6, which takes motorists to Cavendish and the Gulf Shore Parkway, the highway through the P.E.I. National Park. It makes full-time residents wonder whether paving companies are using a better quality of asphalt for the tourists. Then there’s the practice of paving the road several times without raising the manhole cover. This makes a pothole a man-made problem.
Cheers: To Clinton, P.E.I.’s Roy Paynter, 21, the lone Island athlete on Team Canada at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi. On Friday, Paynter, a swimmer, won bronze in the 100-metre backstroke, and then on Sunday, captured gold in the 200-metre freestyle event. The games officially began on Thursday and wrap up on March 21. Roy's parents Brian and Sarah as well as his brother Gary were in Abu Dhabi cheering him on. Congratulations Roy!
Cheers: To Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside for inching closer to completing three years of renovations. The school had delegates on hand this week for the school’s official reopening. The renovations began in 2016 and cost $22.6 million. Classes continued during the renovations.
Cheers: To Summerside’s Ardyn Hardy for recently receiving the Lowell Stewart Memorial Award. The award recognizes a soccer participant who encompasses sportsmanship, a sense of community, volunteerism and a love of the game. She was a member of the Summerside United under-13 girls team in 2018.
Cheers: To Dr. Michael Irvine and CAO Arlene Gallant-Bernard for being recognized for outstanding service at the Prince County Hospital. The pair were named co-recipients of the Dr. Tom Moore Award last week. The award is handed out annually to PCH employees or physicians who provide outstanding service, dedication and achievement. Irvine is described by a colleague as being humble and having high character as well as being dedicated to his patients and a “driving force” at the hospital, including the annual Friendship Run for PCH. Gallant-Bernard began as a nurse before transferring to administration. A colleague describes her as a leader “who provides support but also allows her other leaders to work autonomously.”
