The 19^th Annual Valley East Progressive Hockey Bantam-Midget Tournament provided plenty of hockey excitement on the ice during the last weekend of November, but when the final buzzer was sounded, out of town teams walked away with all of the gold!

In the Midget Division, the Sault Ste Marie Root River Rangers got sweet revenge over the Sudbury Red Wings for a round-robin play loss when they came up on top of a 3 to 2 victory in the finals. The Red Wings, who had gone undefeated up that point, downed Root River 4 to 0 in the first game. The Valley East Rebels struggled during the tournament and were only able to come up with a 2 to 1 win over Walden.

In the Minor Bantam Division, Valley East Rebels took three straight wins over Kanata, North Bay and Espanola before being edged out 3 to 2 in overtime by Seaway Valley in the semi-finals. Seaway Valley was then edged out by Kanata Blazers by a score of 3 to 1 in the finals.

With 12 teams in the Major Bantam Division, the action was extremely competitive. Barrie eventually came emerged as the champions with a 3 to 0 shutout win over Sudbury Woodland in the finals.

The Valley East Progressive Hockey Board consists of Richard LeBouthillier (President); Steve Richardson (Vice-President); John Peattie (Treasurer); Hilda Kingsley (Secretary); Karen Walker, Dan Haines, Ed Paquette and Kevin Villeneuve (Directors); and Bert Pilon (Referee-in-Chief).

Valley East Firefighters Hit The High Notes For The Children’s Telethon

Five years ago, Leo Frappier was sitting around the lunch room table having coffee with several of his firefighter buddies, namely, Robert Giroux, Brian Benoit and Bruno Noel. Leo suggested that they should do something to raise money for the MCTV Telethon, so they decided to go door-to-door singing Christmas Carols. That first year they raised $300. This year, all six full-time firemen, and all 45 volunteers, are taking part in a community wide Carolling project which could raise as much as $7000.

Valley East Minor Ball Goes The Extra Mile With Scholarship Awards

Mark Fraser, a coach and player development instructor for the past 5 years, who considers baseball "the love of his live" according to Serge Parenteau, treasurer of the league, said it best when he explained that, "The Valley East Minor Ball Association always goes that extra mile for the players and coaches, especially when it comes to off season and things like the scholarship program. They set the standard for all other organizations."

The comments were made during the 2^nd annual scholarship award presentation held during a small, but important press conference at the Valley Bingo Charities Association offices in Val Caron.

The that accompanies this article includes, from the left: Serge Parenteau, Mark Fraser, Travis Babe, Jason Provincial, "Max" Jefferson standing in for his grandson, Jimmy, and Larry Furmanic, President of the Association.

"The establishment of a scholarship program for our young players was always a dream of Serge’s," explained Furmanic. "It was a way of giving something back to the young people who have devoted their summers representing Valley East on the playing field. This is the 2^nd year we have offered the program and to date, eight awards have been given out."

The scholarships are open to players, umpires and coaching staff who have been members of the VEMBA for a minimum of three (3) years who are enrolled in a recognized post-secondary institution.

Jimmy Jefferson, who is currently attending Laurentian University in his 3^rd year of an arts program and who is also a star player with the varsity men’s basketball team, received a $500 academic scholarship. He has been a member of the VEMBA for eight years and is a former graduate of Confederation Secondary School.

Travis Babe, in his first year of the Correctional Officer program at Cambrian College, also received a $500 academic scholarship. As was the case with Jefferson, Travis is also an eight-year veteran of the VEMBA and he too graduated from Confederation. Travis was a three time winner this year, previously being awarded two other $500 scholarships from each of the Northern Elite League and the Sudbury Minor Baseball Assocations.

Marc Fraser, who has completed a Bachelor of Science Degree and is now enrolled in the Phys. Ed. program at Laurentian University, received the $1000 Sports Scholarship. His contribution to coaching and player development during the past five years has been nothing short of phenomenal.

One of the most cherished awards this year was the Art Hawley Memorial Scholarship. Named to honour the memory of Art Hawley, who was one of the first recipients of a scholarship last year, the award went to Jason Provincial, who was the only repeat winner. The $1000 Academic Scholarship was topped up this year with a $400 contribution from the Mosquito Vipers Travelling Team.

Provincial was deeply moved at being named the first recipient of the Art Hawley Memorial Scholarship Award. Arthur Hawley, a 19-year old youth from Val Therese, lost his life tragically this past summer in a motor vehicle accident. Art was a very respected member of the Valley East Minor Baseball Association’s umpire group and a valued player for the Valley East Vipers Elite team which played in the Northern Elite league along with Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Timmins. As a ball player he was a very accomplished pitcher and was the battery mate for Chris Duhamel of the Vipers. He played all the way through the Valley East Minor Baseball system and ended up joining the ranks of the men in blue and grey to become an umpire. Art was a very proficient and well respected umpire in the Valley and in major tournaments where he went to officiate All Ontario Championships in Sault Ste. Marie and Elliot Lake. He was scheduled to officiate the All Ontario Junior ‘B’ the weekend of August 18^th and the Bantam/Mosquito All Ontario the long weekend in September. To achieve this high level, he had demonstrated unparalleled knowledge of the Rules of Baseball and the respect of coaches, players and fans alike. His on field prowess was clearly exceptional and had recently been promoted by Frank Mueck, Umpire in Chief for the VEMBA, to Junior Supervisor Status within the Valley East Minor Baseball Umpires Association. He was put in charge of the on field supervision of Junior Level 1 officials within the Valley East organization. His visibility and cheerful character as a respected official and as a valued member of the Valley East Vipers Elite Team was sorely missed.