CHEERS: To the Viola Desmond $10 bill that was named the 2018 Bank Note of the Year by the International Bank Note Society. The bill was unveiled on March 8 – International Women’s Day. On Nov. 8, 1946, Desmond, a salon owner, attended a movie at the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S. She refused to leave the whites-only section of the theatre and move to a section for Black patrons. She was removed from the theatre, jailed for 12 hours and fined. She fought the charges and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. In 1965, the civil and human rights icon died, and in 2010, she was posthumously pardoned by Nova Scotia’s lieutenant governor.
JEERS: To the person or persons that damaged the tires of vehicles belonging to the mayors of Wellington and Abram-Village. The proposed amalgamation of those two communities along with others into the Évangéline Rural Municipality is a hot issue. No one is saying the tire incidents are related to the amalgamation proposal. Regardless of whether they are, or if they’re just random acts of vandalism, they’re childish.
CHEERS: To Guardian entertainment reporter Sally Cole for her excellent coverage of the East Coast Music Awards in Charlottetown last week. Cole also got the chance to take the stage and, along with singer-songwriter Rose Cousins, presented the Fans’ Choice Video of the Year award to Makayla Lynn Thursday night. Also, cheers to former Guardian intern and current CBC P.E.I. staffer Tony Davis. Davis, who attended Holland College’s journalism program, was recently named an Atlantic Journalism Awards winner.
CHEERS: To Bailey Smith and to Kameron Kielly for recently being named athletes of the year at UPEI. Smith, 22, the female athlete of the year, is a sprinter and runner on the school’s track and field team. This year, she won her third straight Atlantic University Sport (AUS) title. Smith is also graduating this year with a nursing degree. Kielly, a sophomore on the UPEI Panthers hockey team, had 15 goals and 28 assists this season for 43 points in 30 games. He was one of the opt scorers in the AUS. Prior to joining the Panthers, Kielly played five seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders.
JEERS: To another incident of a motorist passing a stopped school bus with its lights flashing. On April 25 at 8:30 a.m. on Route 2 in the Morell area, a female driver was charged under the Traffic Safety Act for passing a school bus with the lights activated by the Kings District RCMP. She allegedly slowed down but failed to stop for a school bus as children were boarding. Also in April, two other drivers in the Summerside area were charged with the same offence. It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but clearly drivers aren’t getting the message about the potential dangers of passing a stopped school bus. This issue needs to be a priority of the incoming provincial government, and the current penalties need to be examined to see if they’re effective.
