CHEERS: To the volunteers attempting to save Malpeque’s Fanning Grammar School. First constructed in 1847, the school operated until 1969. It has since been moved from its original location to Cabot Beach Provincial Park and has been used as a museum, ice cream stand and at one point a set piece for the Emily of New Moon TV series. But time and weather are not kind to such structures. A grassroots effort to save the school made good headway several years ago before losing steam, but is now regaining that early momentum. The Save Fanning School Inc. group re-formed in 2019. With an injection of new blood, they have ramped up their efforts with the creation of a five-year strategic plan they hope will result in the school being preserved to serve the community as a multipurpose facility and museum. Without the efforts of groups like these saving our heritage doesn't stand a chance.
JEERS: To the numbers. The numbers of Islanders dying from opioid use and addiction. Six people in P.E.I. died due to opioid overdoses in 2020; three have been linked to the presence of fentanyl. The numbers were shared by chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison during a recent meeting of the standing committee on health and social development. The doctor said P.E.I. has been seeing an increase in accidental overdoses linked to fentanyl. There were five deaths linked to accidental overdoses involving opioids in 2019 and eight in 2018, the highest overall number since the province began documenting statistics. However, none of these deaths were linked to fentanyl in 2019 and only one in 2018. Public health authorities documented a total of 17 accidental opioid-related overdoses in 2020, nine of which involved fentanyl. We're not sure what, specifically, can or should be done to stop this growing trend, but the government should be listening to the experts and acting on their advice now, not later.
CHEERS: To Jason Milligan who donated an outdoor rink-building kit that he won in a contest to his hometown of Alberton. Milligan says he was surprised when he heard that he’d been selected for the kit from Canadian Tire’s Operation Puck Drop. In his application, Milligan explained that it wouldn’t be private, in his yard but rather he would donate it to his town for everyone to use. As a silver prize winner, Jason won a collection of hockey pucks, a hockey net, Hockey Canada hats, and brackets and liners to help build the 20 by the 40-foot outdoor rink. Operation Puck Drop judges looked for people devoted to community hockey, with stories to share of how it had a positive impact on themselves and their communities. Milligan says the rink is used a lot. "There are people there every day.”
