By Charlotte MacAulay
Roger MacPhee, pastor of St. John Presbyterian Church says he always finds inspiration when he’s exploring the outdoors.
About 7 years ago he was on his daily walk when he noticed the stump of a tree with some new shoots sprouting out of it.
“That is a wonderful symbol of what the church is all about,” he thought.
The church was built in 1824, making it one of the oldest on the Island, yet the church community prides itself on doing new things and changing with the times.
The stump gave him the idea to have a celebration for people to come together to renew their spirit and that is when the first weekend revival was born, he said.
For the fourth time in the past 7 years the St. John Presbyterian Church in Belfast will hold a interdenominational weekend conference filled with music and motivation.
‘Revival in Belfast’ will take place May 13-16.
“The format changes from year to year depending on the ideas of the people who organize it, he said.
This years conference will feature music by Robin Mark and talks by Paul and Priscilla Reid all from Belfast, Ireland as well as Father Gerry Tingley, Kings County pastor.
The music has a Celtic connection which is something that will make the Maritimers feel at home.
The conference is becoming more popular every time and 400 people are expected to attend this year said Rev MacPhee.
There are people from not only PEI, but from all over the Maritimes.
“I hope that people leave here refreshed, positive and hopeful about what God’s doing in their lives, but most of all, I hope they leave having enjoyed the company of everyone involved,” Rev MacPhee said.
There is no registration fee for the weekend. A free will offering will be collected nightly. For more information or to register call 838-3663 or visit www.belfast2010.ca.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Time to set sail for summer again
Models for the upcoming ‘set sail for summer’ fund raiser for the Montague Curling Club are from left Edythe Docherty, Judy Koke, Alisa Beck and Julie VanDenbroek.
The ladies will by modeling summer fashions from Belle’s Boutique and footwear from Proude’s shoes.
By Charlotte MacAulay
The third annual fashion show fund raiser, ‘Set sail for summer’, for the Montague Curling Club is taking place on Friday April 23 at the Curling Club.
Organizer Judy Koke said the fund raiser was a yearly event when Belle’s Ladies wear was in business.
Since Belle’s Boutique opened for business, owner Nancy MacKinnon has revived the annual event.
This is a licensed event and lunch will be available.
All of the clothing being modeled is from Belle’s Boutique and the footwear is from Proude’s .
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at Belle’s on Main Street in Montague.
Yeast plant not up and running yet
By Charlotte MacAulay
An engineering firm is still working on the design of an addition to the future yeast manufacturing plant in Summerville PEI said company President.
Garth Greenham of Phyterra Yeast Inc. said, a 557 square metre addition will be added on to the former MacGowan Tractor building to house a fermentation suite.
The company will receive more than $3 million in government funding to convert the building.
The production of commercial scale yeast will take place at the plant.
“We are hoping to start construction in the next four to six weeks and that should bring us to opening in the first quarter of 2011,” Mr Greenham said.
Currently the company has 18 employees on PEI, mostly in the research and development area and they are based at research facilities at UPEI.
Some of those employees will be moving from UPEI to the new facility when it begins operation, but the university will still be used by the company , Mr Greenham said.
“It is very convenient to be able to lease lab space that is already set up,” he said.
The facility will bring 20 new jobs to the Island when the plant is up and running.
There have already been employment inquiries from students in the Holland College Bioscience Technology program Mr Greenham said.
In addition to the jobs at the plant, local companies will be given opportunity to bid on the manufacturing of equipment for the plant.
The addition will house fermentation tanks, some as big as 20,000 litres.
Mr Greenham said his looking forward to working with more local companies in the construction of the yeast plant.
Diversified Metal Engineering in Charlottetown made a lot of the equipment for Maritime Pulse Drying, a plant in Graham’s Pond that is also run by Phyterra Yeast Inc.
Operations manager Doug Clark said the drying facility is in the process of doing samples for potential clients and are awaiting their certification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Once that happens the plant should be running full tilt with the potential to have four shifts and 10-12 people working in total, said Mr Clark.
The Graham’s Pond plant will also be used to dry the yeast from Phyterra’s Summerville operation, said Mr Clark.
An engineering firm is still working on the design of an addition to the future yeast manufacturing plant in Summerville PEI said company President.
Garth Greenham of Phyterra Yeast Inc. said, a 557 square metre addition will be added on to the former MacGowan Tractor building to house a fermentation suite.
The company will receive more than $3 million in government funding to convert the building.
The production of commercial scale yeast will take place at the plant.
“We are hoping to start construction in the next four to six weeks and that should bring us to opening in the first quarter of 2011,” Mr Greenham said.
Currently the company has 18 employees on PEI, mostly in the research and development area and they are based at research facilities at UPEI.
Some of those employees will be moving from UPEI to the new facility when it begins operation, but the university will still be used by the company , Mr Greenham said.
“It is very convenient to be able to lease lab space that is already set up,” he said.
The facility will bring 20 new jobs to the Island when the plant is up and running.
There have already been employment inquiries from students in the Holland College Bioscience Technology program Mr Greenham said.
In addition to the jobs at the plant, local companies will be given opportunity to bid on the manufacturing of equipment for the plant.
The addition will house fermentation tanks, some as big as 20,000 litres.
Mr Greenham said his looking forward to working with more local companies in the construction of the yeast plant.
Diversified Metal Engineering in Charlottetown made a lot of the equipment for Maritime Pulse Drying, a plant in Graham’s Pond that is also run by Phyterra Yeast Inc.
Operations manager Doug Clark said the drying facility is in the process of doing samples for potential clients and are awaiting their certification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Once that happens the plant should be running full tilt with the potential to have four shifts and 10-12 people working in total, said Mr Clark.
The Graham’s Pond plant will also be used to dry the yeast from Phyterra’s Summerville operation, said Mr Clark.
royalty hardwood
-Gui Poggio, employee at Royalty Hardwoods, puts a board through the molder. Floor boards are just one of the many products avaliable at the wood manufacturer at Poole’s Corner.
By Charlotte MacAulay
Spring is the time of year people turn their thoughts to being outside and sprucing up the yard.
Royalty Hardwoods Ltd. at Poole’s Corner has all the wood needed to build a Gazebo or fix up the deck.
In fact they have wood to suit any need.
“If it’s wood we can make it,” said Martinus Rose , owner/ operator.
Not only do they manufacture products for both the interior and exterior of homes such as flooring, moldings, butcher block counter tops, siding and decking materials.
They are also the suppliers to industrial companies across the Maritimes and western Canada and local farmers and fishermen.
All species of wood in PEI are used to make the products at Royalty Hardwoods.
Twenty people are employed at the Poole’s Corner plant where they take the raw product from felled tree to finished product all in the one location.
On sight there is a sawmill, dry kilns and two production plants.
There is no wood waste at Royalty Hardwoods because they use all the waste wood to heat the production facilities.
The biggest thing Mr Rose would like to get out there is Royalty Hardwood retails directly to the public and no request is to small or to big.
They will even take a customer’s own wood and make it into a product for them.
So if you come across a broken arbor or a board that needs replacing on the deck just go to Royalty Hardwood at Poole’s Corner and see what they can do for you.
Historical monument stands alone
This plaque is part of a school erected in 1926 as a memorial to soldiers of the First World War. It can be seen on the side of the former Montague school at 112 Fraser Street.
By Charlotte MacAulay
A plaque commemorating the fallen soldiers in the First World War is perched on the north side of an abandon building on Fraser Street.
The building was erected in 1926 as the Montague Memorial school and remained the school until consolidation during the 1960s when it was sold to the Royal Canadian Legion #8.
In 1996 when the legion could no longer afford to keep the building it was sold to Oak Acres Children’s Camp Inc.
The most recent group to use the building was the Generation XX youth group, but it now sits empty and is for sale by the company.
When asked if the building had any historical value the Legion, President, Gilbert Murphy, said they did look into acquiring the plaque a few years ago, but were not able to.
He said since the building is for sale they could ask the owners if anything could be done. All they could say is no he said.
Local historian Donna Collins made an attempt to have the building preserved in 2007.
“Heritage is a part of the building, I can remember moving from that school to the new one,” Ms Collins said.
She did the research and applied to the PEI Register of Heritage Places to have the building registered but it was declined.
The heritage places review board reviews applications based on a number of criteria, one of which is alterations from the original state.
Charlotte Stewart, Heritage Officer with the province said the building had too many alteration inside and out that detracted from its heritage character.
Our space
One hero makes many
It was 30 years ago Canadian hero, Terry Fox began his incredible journey, the Marathon of Hope.
He was victim of cancer, but he didn’t let anything stand in the way of his dream of a cure.
He walked across Canada and inspired Canadians to fight for a cure right along with him.
To date over half a billion has been raised for research because of what he started.
Terry is not the only one who has inspired millions to become heros themselves.
In the coming months over two thousand Islanders will participate in the Relay for Life.
The relay began in the US with the inspiration of one man, Dr Gordy Klatt, who raised money for the local cancer society.
Now millions of people world-wide participate every year.
There are six relays being held this year one of which is on June 18 in Montague.
Teams will gather to celebrate survivors, remember loved ones lost and fight back in the hope of finding a cure.
By Charlotte MacAulay
One hero makes many
It was 30 years ago Canadian hero, Terry Fox began his incredible journey, the Marathon of Hope.
He was victim of cancer, but he didn’t let anything stand in the way of his dream of a cure.
He walked across Canada and inspired Canadians to fight for a cure right along with him.
To date over half a billion has been raised for research because of what he started.
Terry is not the only one who has inspired millions to become heros themselves.
In the coming months over two thousand Islanders will participate in the Relay for Life.
The relay began in the US with the inspiration of one man, Dr Gordy Klatt, who raised money for the local cancer society.
Now millions of people world-wide participate every year.
There are six relays being held this year one of which is on June 18 in Montague.
Teams will gather to celebrate survivors, remember loved ones lost and fight back in the hope of finding a cure.
By Charlotte MacAulay
Horse stock breeds new life into a local farm
By Charlotte MacAulay
It was eight years ago when Ken and Theresa Mellish decided it was time to get out of dairy farming and into horse breeding.
In 2002 the Mellishes were faced with a choice of expanding the dairy operation to stay competitive or changing their focus.
They had always had some horses and their daughter, Martha, rode show horses so it seemed a natural fit to get into the horse breeding industry.
New Perth Farms now breeds Dutch Warmbloods, a breed of horses originating in the Netherlands, which are used for show jumping and dressage.
They started by importing from Holland a foundation stock of six young horses that had just been weaned.
The horses are bred through artificial semination with frozen semen imported from Dutch Warmbloods in Holland.
Mr Mellish saw a good potential on PEI for getting into the breeding industry.
“It is a huge industry in Europe and there aren’t too many breeders in Canada,” he said.
In fact, Mr Mellish sold one horse last year to a lady in BC who said New Perth Farms was the closest place to buy.
They have customers all over Canada, mostly the Maritimes and some of the states.
Most people who buy the horses from the Mellishes ride as a hobby, but it is an expensive and serious hobby as there is not only the cost of the animal, but also equipment, horse care and travelling to shows and clinics.
“There are quite a number of people on PEI who ride,” Mr Mellish said.
Even though New Perth Farms has been in the business for eight years, they still have what is considered young stock.
Show horses have along career as most are 20 by the time they retire.
“If you are training a horse for jumping they don’t usually start the higher jumps until they are eight- years-old,” Mr Mellish said.
The riders who have bought horses from New Perth have had a lot of success in the young horse classes.
This past summer at a show at Gingerwood Farm in Stanhope inspectors from Holland came to look at New Perth’s stock and they were credited with having the number one yearling in North America.
This time of year is spent training the young horses and around the end of the month it will be busy in the barn with new foals arriving.
This year five new foals will be joining the stock at New Perth.
Most mares foal in the middle of the night and foal quickly so they have installed security cameras in the stalls.
This helps alleviate unnecessary trips out to the barn in the middle of the night, Mr Mellish said.
It was eight years ago when Ken and Theresa Mellish decided it was time to get out of dairy farming and into horse breeding.
In 2002 the Mellishes were faced with a choice of expanding the dairy operation to stay competitive or changing their focus.
They had always had some horses and their daughter, Martha, rode show horses so it seemed a natural fit to get into the horse breeding industry.
New Perth Farms now breeds Dutch Warmbloods, a breed of horses originating in the Netherlands, which are used for show jumping and dressage.
They started by importing from Holland a foundation stock of six young horses that had just been weaned.
The horses are bred through artificial semination with frozen semen imported from Dutch Warmbloods in Holland.
Mr Mellish saw a good potential on PEI for getting into the breeding industry.
“It is a huge industry in Europe and there aren’t too many breeders in Canada,” he said.
In fact, Mr Mellish sold one horse last year to a lady in BC who said New Perth Farms was the closest place to buy.
They have customers all over Canada, mostly the Maritimes and some of the states.
Most people who buy the horses from the Mellishes ride as a hobby, but it is an expensive and serious hobby as there is not only the cost of the animal, but also equipment, horse care and travelling to shows and clinics.
“There are quite a number of people on PEI who ride,” Mr Mellish said.
Even though New Perth Farms has been in the business for eight years, they still have what is considered young stock.
Show horses have along career as most are 20 by the time they retire.
“If you are training a horse for jumping they don’t usually start the higher jumps until they are eight- years-old,” Mr Mellish said.
The riders who have bought horses from New Perth have had a lot of success in the young horse classes.
This past summer at a show at Gingerwood Farm in Stanhope inspectors from Holland came to look at New Perth’s stock and they were credited with having the number one yearling in North America.
This time of year is spent training the young horses and around the end of the month it will be busy in the barn with new foals arriving.
This year five new foals will be joining the stock at New Perth.
Most mares foal in the middle of the night and foal quickly so they have installed security cameras in the stalls.
This helps alleviate unnecessary trips out to the barn in the middle of the night, Mr Mellish said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)