JEERS: To the tone-deaf clerk at a Summerside hotel who refused to use common sense when a young mother and her baby arrived just before midnight Thursday to check into a room because there was no power at their rural home all day. The woman’s spouse was at a remote oil camp in northern Alberta and had called the hotel from there with a credit card number to book the room for his family.
When the mother and baby arrived, the clerk demanded a credit card, and after getting the husband on the phone, determined that verbal authorization was insufficient. He insisted on faxing an authorization form to Alberta for the husband to fill in and fax back. It was impossible because all the man had was his iPhone at the camp. After waiting with her baby for more than half an hour, the woman said perhaps she could get better service elsewhere, and the clerk agreed. At least he got something right. The woman and baby headed down Water Street to the Quality Inn and Suites and quickly ended up in a warm room – free of charge.
CHEERS: To some 20 communities across the Island who opened warming centres during lengthy power outages starting Thursday and continuing into Sunday for some locations. The warming centres gave residents a chance to warm up, get a hot snack or drink, recharge cell phones, and chat with neighbours. Over 100,000 Islanders were without power on Thursday. Thousands were still without power on Saturday and even into Sunday, as Maritime Electric crews remained busy replacing scores of broken poles and trimming trees knocked down from the storm which hit Wednesday night -- making those warming centres appreciated and necessary.
CHEERS: To forward Cody Payne of the UPEI Panthers men’s hockey team who was named the Subway Atlantic University Sport male athlete of the week ending Nov. 25. The third-year forward from Davie, Florida, earned back-to-back Subway Player of the Game honours in two weekend home wins for the Panthers. UPEI downed the Acadia Axemen 4-1 Friday as Payne scored twice. Saturday, the Panthers topped no. 6-ranked Saint Mary’s Huskies 4-3 as Payne notched two more goals, including the game winner late in the third period. He continued his hot streak on the road this past weekend, scoring once and adding two assists as UPEI defeated second-place St. Mary’s 4-3 win Saturday night in Halifax to wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on a winning note to finish with a solid 9-6-1 record. He also had an assist Friday in a 5-2 loss in Acadia.
CHEERS: To Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada for making a special effort to attend Wednesday’s book launch and fund-raising banquet for Forbie Kennedy. MacLean was in Dieppe, N.B. last Sunday for a hometown hockey segment, then had to be in Quebec City for an engagement the first of the week and had to scramble with travel arrangements and weather delays to make it back to Charlottetown for Forbie’s big night. His highly-entertaining Q & A with Forbie was the night’s highlight. Kudos to all involved in making the night such a success.
CHEERS: To Islanders like Joe Tuplin, who made a special effort to help others deal with the wide-spread power outages last week. Joe made his way to the home of elders on Lennox Island to provide power so they could get some heat and cook food. Says Joe: It’s cold and the best I can do is show some respect and help the out as much as I can.’’
JEERS: To Northumberland Ferries Ltd. which is now cancelling crossings a day or more in advance, simply based on forecasts and expected wind speeds. The service is looking for any excuse in November and December to cancel sailings as traffic drops off. Wind speeds that wouldn’t have any impact on service in the summer are suddenly more than sufficient to keep vessels at the dock in the fall.
JEERS: To Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – both suffering from chronic cases of swelled heads and monster egos -- for their less than stellar performances in a $9 million, ‘winner-take-all’ golf match on U.S. Thanksgiving Day. Mickelson won in extra holes as both golfers failed to show anything to justify the bloated paycheque and hype in the pay-per-view event. With huge side-bets, neither golfer could really lose and each was guaranteed to take home millions. No wonder the match sucked, and that cable providers in the U.S. were giving customers their money back.
CHEERS: To Bevan Brothers Plumbing and Heating and Olympia Electric for sponsoring their 3rd annual Holiday Skate and Donate event on Sunday at Simmons arena in support of the Upper Room Hospitality Ministry food bank. The family skate also saw a challenge to Islanders and businesses to drop off non-perishable food items to help the Upper Room feed Island families in need this holiday season.
