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Thursday, 31 March 2011

Salvation Army low on food

Salvation Army says many contributing factors to food donation shortage

S. RYAN QUIGLEY
JOURNAL PIONEER

The number of donations coming into the soup kitchens has gone down in recent months, but the demand has gone up, says Salvation Army’s community and family services co-ordinator.
Though this is a slow time of year for food bank donations, Marj Montgomery wasn’t sure if it was the economy being down, the cost of gas or oil or the recent escalating food price.
Economists have said by the end of 2011 we will be paying five to seven per cent more for food due to bad crops, high oil prices and the economy’s current state.
Though supply has been low, Montgomery said she is confident that they will be able to work through it.
“I’m confident that as in previous times, when the food bank does get low, the public does come to our assistance.”
Though they have been low, they haven’t turned away anyone yet looking for some donations, said Montgomery.
“If we maybe have to down a little bit that we put in our food boxes, we will, but we do not turn anybody away.”
The shortages have not affected the soup kitchen as it is largely donations from major commercial contributors, said Montgomery.
“Our soup kitchen is not affected, at the present time, with what we have.”
Montgomery said next time anyone who wants to help is at the grocery store should remember to pick up something to donate.
“Just remember that when they’re at the soup kitchen, when they’re at the grocery store that there is people in great need.”
Though times are rough, Montgomery said the Salvation Army is very greatful for the communities of Prince County and all their help.
“I’m optimistic that things will get better for us, because right now we’re pretty low. We are low on food.”

Out With The Old, in with the new Stand Alone

Summerside Presbyterian Church knocked down on Wednesday afternoon.

Capitals need one or done in MHL playoffs

Capital Gains: A win means the Kent Cup for the Caps

S. RYAN QUIGLEY
JOURNAL PIONEER

It’s do or die for the Summerside Western Capitals in game seven of the Meek division final Thursday night in Woodstock.
After coming into Tuesday’s game with a 3-2 edge in the series, the Woodstock Slammers came away with the 5-2 win to take the series into a seventh and deciding game.
Home ice hasn’t been an advantage in the series as each team has dropped two out of the three home games they have had in the series.
The winner of game seven is set to face the Weeks Crushers who beat the Yarmouth Junior A Mariners last night to close out their series win 7-4.
Summerside head coach Gordie Dwyer said he knows that anything can happen in a game seven.
“We’ve won up there in this series and we won up there in the regular season so we’ll be ready to go and leave it all out there on the ice.”
It’s two really good teams in a hard fought battle and they’ll be ready for game seven, said Dwyer.
“It’s been a game by game battle…It’s a sixty minute hockey game and we’ll be ready to roll.”
There will be minor tweaks in the game, but not much else said Dwyer about the game plan for game seven.
“In game seven it’s all about executing and playing within yourself and doing what you’ve done well all year long and that’s what we’re going to try to accomplish and play a solid sixty minutes and hopefully walk away with the series.”
They expect nothing but the best from the Slammers in game seven, said Dwyer.
“The reality is we have to fight and claw tooth and nail for every opportunity that we cash in on and we’ll have to do that in game seven.”
Woodstock coach Jason Tatarnic credited the team mentality and sticking to the game plan to the win over the Caps Tuesday night and plans to continue that.
“When you’re facing elimination, you’re going to play desperate hockey.”
Though happy with last nights game, there is one factor the Slammers would like to have on their side, said Tatarnic.
“Luck. At some point you have to work hard, and through hard work sometimes you get a lucky bounce here or there.”
Home ice advantage will be a factor, but knows that it hasn’t been that way the whole series, he said.
“It hasn’t been a typical playoffs for home ice advantage, that’s for sure, but the bottom line is there’s one game left and you can’t worry about what happened in the past, you just got to look to the present.”
Though the season series leaned 5-2 in the Crushers favour, there is no shock into going to a game seven with Summerside, said Tatarnic.
“We’re not fooled by it, we know we’re playing against a very good hockey team and we have to be prepared.”
Dwyer said if they had be told they would end up in a one game playoff with the Slammers at the start of the season they would have been happy.
“A winner take all game seven it’s exciting for us and we would have took it at any point in the season.”

Summerside gets a Rockin Rodeo

Summerside gets a Rockin Rodeo

S. RYAN QUIGLEY
JOURNAL PIONEER

New Signage for the Rockin Rodeo
SUMMERSIDE- Summerside will be getting a new country bar as the Heritage will become the Rockin Rodeo.
Formerly located in Moncton, Heritage owner Denton Gardiner, took it over after the Moncton bar changed its name to the iRock night club and began playing a mix of country, rock and dance.
The Heritage pub had previously shut its doors to the nightclub aspect of its business but had recently reopened for the nights and Gardiner says he doesn’t plan to change that.
The restaurant will remain open as well.
“ It’s open for all ages, we’re going to start trying to do live video dances, the whole nine yards, right from nine to two in the morning.”
Though the change is coming soon, he doesn’t know exactly when, said Gardiner.
“Expected date for the opening of the Rockin Rodeo is probably going to be within the next two weeks.”
After hearing some of the older people complaining there was no place to go, he decided it would be a good idea, said Gardiner.
“I think it’s going to be a wide success, more for the older age group. We’re looking basically to concentrate on the older generation that keep saying they have no where to go.”
Country music will be most of what’s heard at the new incarnation of the bar, said Gardiner.
“We’re going to try to push the country music as hard as we can, the country music is the big thing now.”
They plan on making some minor changes to the inside before they have a Grand Opening, said Gardiner.
“Rockin Rodeo has always been an icon for P.E.I., so I figured why not give it a shot?”

Monday, 28 March 2011

Eptek Centre to host Culture PEI seminar

Eptek Centre to host Culture P.E.I. seminar
S. RYAN QUIGLEY
JOURNAL PIONEER

    Culture P.E.I. will be holding a seminar on Tuesday morning at 10 am at the Eptek Arts & Culture centre in Summerside to talk about job openings in P.E.I.’s cultural work force.
    The event is made towards those who have an interest in employment fields such as video game design, music and sound recording, writing, etc.
    The business is one, according to statistics from Hills Strategies Research Inc. in 2008, Islanders contribute over $100 million to every year and is the highest among Provinces with 3.3 per cent of Islander spending going towards this every year.
    Henk van Leeuwen, executive director of Culture P.E.I., said there are approximately 2,000 Islanders reported as working artists in P.E.I. according to the recent Statistics Canada survey, though he says there are more.
    “There’s a good chance they put down that Primary Occupation as whatever else first, before they put down they were an artist.”
    The objectives of the seminar are to let people know who they are and bring attention to help out artists, he said.
    “You could be a singer/ songwriter by night or by weekend but you might have to work as a server in a restaurant to augment or supplement your income because they’re having a hard go of it. That’s one of our objectives too is help change that reality.”

Vector CEO says P.E.I. fine in deal

Eurocopter to buy Vector Aerospace for $625 million
By S. Ryan Quigley
Journal Pioneer
SLEMON PARK- Vector Aerospace CEO Declan O’Shea says sale to Eurocopter should be positive for the company, including its Slemon Park base.
Though there has only been a support agreement signed and the deal still has to go through shareholders, it would see Eurocopter buy the Aerospace parts company sold for $625 million or $13 per share.
The decision of which branches will go into the merger is not set yet, said O’Shea.
“In Summerside, the people and expertise we have in that plant, has created a world leader.”
The Summerside plant has excellent delivery and turn over time, also setting the standard for customer service, said O’Shea.
“We’re very, very proud of the success we’ve had in P.E.I. and we’re very proud of the reception we get in P.E.I.. It doesn’t specifically mean anything for P.E.I. except that through the global nature European Aeronautic Defense Space Company we will have access to new markets.”
The sale would open up more markets for the company as Eurocopter is a more global company, said O’Shea.
“The nature of Eurocopter and ourselves where they’re strong and where we’re strong I think is quite complimentary.”
News of the buyout came Monday morning with Vector calling a press call in the afternoon to explain the logistics.
Shares rose $1.48 to $12.83 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, building on the record closing price for Vector stock reached Thursday after the company announced it was in exclusive talks with major Dutch aircraft firm European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V.
EADS subsidiary Eurocopter said Monday that it will pay cash for Vector, which provides aircraft repair and overhaul services, primarily for helicopters. The $13 per share being paid for Vector is a premium of about 15 per cent above the stock’s closing price last week.
Vector repairs gas turbine engines, components and helicopter airframes for military and commercial customers around the world. It employs about 2,500 people at factories in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Africa.
Its Canadian headquarters are located in Toronto and it operates engine services divisions in Calgary and Slemon Park; a technology group in St. John’s, N.L.; as well as helicopter services operations in Langley and Richmond, B.C.
Vector’s board has approved the deal and shareholders controlling about 60 per cent of the company have agreed to tender their shares. The transaction requires regulatory approval and a minimum of 66 per cent of all shares be tendered.
Through the deal, Vector will keep its name and become Eurocopter’s main maintenance, repair and overhaul provider.
EADS, maker of the Airbus and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide, said the acquisition will help it focus on high end government and civilian customers, and expand in North America. Vector will benefit from Eurocopter’s presence in 25 countries, including operations in Asia and Latin America, the companies said.
Analyst Chris Murray of PI Financial Corp. said the 15 per cent premium being offered is in line with analyst expectations.
“Based on precedent transactions, our estimate was that the valuation would be somewhere between 12 and a quarter dollars and $13.50 so the $13 number seems appropriate to us,” Declan O’Shea said in a statement issued Monday morning. He said he believes there will be no other competing bids given the structure and pricing of the deal.
“The complementary nature of our worldwide network of subsidiaries and Vector Aerospace’s own network will enable us to develop our activities jointly, both faster and more efficiently,” Lutz Bertling, CEO of Eurocopter Holding said in a statement.
Vector has contracts with many of the world’s leading aerospace and equipment companies including several EADS subsidiaries, as well as Bell Helicopters, Boeing, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Vector was founded in 1998 and has grown through a series of acquisitions. It went public in 2009.

Summerside Job Fair

Summerside job fair back again
S. RYAN QUIGLEY
Journal Pioneer

The Summerside Job Fair will be returning to the Waterfront Mall on Thursday April 7.
The event hosted by the East Prince Youth Development Centre and funded by the Canada/ Prince Edward Island Labour Market Development Agreement is gathering potential employers and some schools for residents to learn and apply for.
A wide variety of employers, 40 to be exact, will be showing up for the event, including Vector Aerospace, D.P. Murphy Inc. and Brother’s Two restaurant with Holland College among the schools being represented.
Melissa MacDonald, an organizer of the event, said there will be a lot of job opportunities for full time employment, but students won’t be left out.
“There’s lots of opportunity probably for summer employment if there’s students that are looking for that.”
People looking to apply should bring resumes, said MacDonald.
“There will be space available for people attending to sit and get themselves organized, for if they want to bring cover letters, resumes and anything else they’d like to hand out to potential employers.”
Brian Oulton, executive director of the P.E.I. Trucking Sector Council, an organization which helps guide people looking to become involved in the truck driving industry, said the Summerside job fair is as good as any on the Island.
“It’s more trade specific, we have a lot of people interested in coming into the trades, where if you go to a career fair at UPEI, it’s hard for us to find truck drivers.”
The council has been going to the job fair for the last three years is impressed with the organization of the event, said Oulton.
“The great thing is you have a room full of people either looking for career change or looking for specific work, so it’s just so much easier to promote it there.”

Journal

First day at the journal.