WELCOME TO PAGE THREE
DECEMBER 5, 2006 ISSUE

A Very Disappointed Hockey Official Speaks Out About Coaches Who Speak Without Thinking
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter was sent in by a young gentleman who should be well-known to many of the people living in Valley East and Capreol. He no longer resides in Valley East, but is still living in Northeastern Ontario. We thank him for sharing some of his thoughts and opinions on the game of hockey.
I think that many coaches forget to think before they speak.  

I ref a lot of hockey in our area and at all levels.  I can tell you lots of stories that if it was caught on tape coaches would be very embarrassed.  

I live in Rural Northern Ontario and teams have to do some travel to get games in.  We often get triple headers where a midget game will be first, a pee wee game in the middle and the same two Midget teams play again for the third game.  

On this particular Sunday the two midget games were Girls, so I did the first game.  Nothing happened in this game. I may have used old school judgment and let some of the new infractions go just a little but it kept the flow of the game at a great pace.  I called more penalties than last year but still let a lot go.  As a side note anyone who feels there is no body contact in girls hockey, needs to go out and watch, because they will be very surprised at the talent level of these young ladies and I think our dominance at the world level is going to continue for some time.  but back to my story.  After the game one of the coaches came over to me and told me that he enjoyed the game but felt that I didn't call enough penalties for both teams based on what some of the other officials were doing in his league.  I took in his comment thanked him and I knew what he was saying.  I was consistent but call more penalties.  Point heard and taken.

In game two there was another official doing the game, I was on the lines for this one and he called the game according to how we are instructed to call the game.  the girls were sent to the penalty box in numbers.  I don't think there was a 5 minute stretch of 5 on 5 the entire game.  and I think the girls were getting a little frustrated.  So with about 3 minutes left in the third period there was some contact made behind the net which there was no need for a penalty but a player yelled from the bench "hey ref there is no body contact in Girls hockey"  well this was completely wrong but I didn't make a comment, "there is no body checking in girls hockey but there is definitely a lot of body contact".  

But the next comment from a female coach is where my jaw hit the ice, the coach spoke out "that is what happens when Men are in charge of women."  I couldn't believe that she was saying this with me right beside her.  

To put this in context imagine a female ref, in game where it is all boys and a male coach yelled out "this is what happens when you put a women in charge!"  I truly believe that minor hockey would through the book at him and he may not ever be allowed in another arena.  Maybe not that drastic but definitely 10 plus games.  

So this is where my story really begins.  

I told the ref about it and he wrote it up the way it happened and gave her a Gross Misconduct for making a travesty of the game. he faxed it off to the league.  I in turn, took the action of calling our Referee in chief, then the regional Referee in chief, then the NOHA contact for our area.  At each phone call they laughed at me.  Never mind my wife thinking I was over reacting that I should have just shrugged it off.  It wasn't until I used the female ref story did anyone take it serious. 

Well two weeks later I was on the ice with the same two teams and who was behind the bench the same lady.  The women's league gave her the minimum suspension - 3 games.  What message are we sending to the young girls when a coach only gets 3 games for clearly sexist and in appropriate comments, where if the roles where reversed the male coach would have been 10 plus games.  

To the women's Hockey Association, you definitely made your point clear, "I am women here us roar!".  You missed the opportunity to do it better.  To set a higher standard of tolerance in the sport. 

David-Sean Rowell
A very disappointed Official

EDITOR'S NOTE: As a follow up to David-Sean's letter, the following is an article about one of my own sons, Marty, who has made his way through the ranks and is now a referee with the Ontario Hockey League. We express sincere appreciation to all minor hockey officials who step into the "lion's den" every time they go out to officiate a game. It isn't easy, but someone has to do it.
Valley East's Marty Kirwan Has Grown With His Experiences On The Ice To Become One Of The Most Respected Referees In The Ontario Hockey League

Marty Kirwan first pulled on the stripes in 1989 as an 11 year-old in the Valley East Minor Hockey Association. Today, the 27 year old is beginning his second year as a full-time referee with the Ontario Hockey League and is quickly becoming one of the most respected officials in the circuit. We captured some photos of him during a game played between the Sudbury Wolves and the Belleville Bulls on October 22, 2006. For the record, the Wolves won the game by a score of 3 to 2 in a game which many local fans were calling the best refereed game of the season.

Marty grew up in Val Therese. He attended St. Anne School then attended St. Charles College. He graduated from Laurentian University Sports Administration (Bachelor of Commerce) Program in the spring of 2002. He has his Senior Level 4 Canadian Hockey Association Officials Certificate. 

Marty also knows what it is like to play the sport, having competed at the 'AAA' Major PeeWee level before deciding to devote full time to refereeing. After four years off the ice he played a starring role on defense with his high school team while in Grade 13. So Marty knows the game from all sides and uses this knowledge to effectively manage all situations while on the ice as an official.

Before being appointed as a full-time referee with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) at the beginning of the 2005-2006 hockey season, Marty was a well-respected referee in the Northern Ontario Junior "A" Hockey Association (NOJHA) and in the Ontario College (OCAA) League during the 2001-2002 season before he decided to move to the Toronto Area at the beginning of the 2002-2003 season to advance his career on the ice and to manage the family owned marketing business. He was married to Christina (Woodley) in October 2004 and now lives just north of Guelph. He began a career as a police officer with the Peel Regional Police Department in January 2005.

In the spring of 2002 he had the honor to be a Referee in the Ontario "Air Canada Cup Regionals" held in Timmins and other tournaments such as the Big Nickel Major AAA tournament and the high school OFSAA tournament that was held in Sudbury, Ontario.

Marty was also selected as one of the six (6) referees assigned to the do the games at the 2004 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge which is being held in St. John's, Newfoundland from December 28 through January 4. He was only one of two referees from Ontario, with the other four coming from Quebec and out West.

Marty summed up his feelings with the following, "The thing that I love the most about being a hockey official is that it does not seem like work to me. You show up to the rink and you know that for the next two to three hours, you are going to Referee a hockey game that has never taken place before. You never do the same game twice, it always changes."

For more photos of Marty in action, CLICK HERE>>>>
After The Whistle Hockey Web Site Provides Readers With Plenty To Think About
Click on the banner below for a full web site with plenty of stories, articles, and editorials that will make you think about the state of hockey today.

Doug Hanson Novice House League Team Raises Funds Through Penny Table Sale

Parents and players from the Doug Hanson Novice House League Team spent many hours at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre during the weekend of December 1 to 3 selling Penny Table tickets to raise funds for their upcoming tournaments this season. Many groups and organizations are finding that the organization of a Penny Table is one of the easiest and more enjoyable ways of fund-raising. Parents contribute two or three gifts to the table, as well as several hours of their time to supervise the ticket sales, and money can be raised to defray some of the costs of operating the hockey team. Sandy Dombek was the coordinator of this particular penny table venture and indicated that she was very pleased with the support of the community during the weekend.
Good Neighbours Food Bank Volunteers Raise Money For The Salvation Army
 

Reina Bazinet, on the left, and Andrea Blais-Beaulieu spent several hours at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre on December , 2006, ringing bells and raising money for the Salvation Army. Each year volunteers such as Reina and Andrea volunteer their time towards this very worthwhile endeavour. Valley residents generously support this cause with donations of cash which will then be used to help those in the community who are less fortunate.

Next Blood Donor Clinics Scheduled For December 21 At Knights of Columbus Hall
Michelle Blais, Senior Clinic Coordinator, Donor Services for Canadian Blood Services reminds all local residents that monthly clinics are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Emily Street every month.

Clinic hours are between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. on the following dates: 

December 21
January 17, 2007
February 21, 2007
March 21, 2007

If you have any questions, please contact Michelle at:
Phone: (705)688-7347
Toll free:  (800) 263-3733
email: michelle.blais@bloodservices.ca
 
Seventeen year old Kelsey Patterson, shown above in the photo, a Grade 12 student at Confederation Secondary School in Val Caron, recently gave blood for the very first time on her 17th birthday. She is shown above with Health Worker, Shiela Gravelle, who gave Kelsey a birthday to remember. 

ADULT
BADMINTON

Mixed Doubles

Bishop Alexander Carter School
539 Francis Street, Hanmer

For All Men and Women
16 Years and older

THURSDAYS
8:00 to 9:00 p.m.

$20 Registration Per Year

 

Contact: Larry at 969-5023 or Vic at 969-7180

GREATER SUDBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY OFFERS A TEEN ADVISORY GROUP

TAG! You’re it!

The Greater Sudbury Public Library is looking for teens in grades 7 to 12, who will meet monthly, to join the library’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG).

Reasons to consider joining...

1. Look good on college resume

2. Earn Community Service hours

3. Suggest materials for the library

4. Meet new people

5. There’s always food at meetings

6. It’s fun!

You have the choice of two groups:

Valley East Public Library

4100 Elmview Drive, Hanmer

first Wednesday of the month

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Main Public Library

74 MacKenzie Street, Sudbury

last Wednesday of the month

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

If you are interested, please call Ginette Mallette at 

673-1155, extension 205.

Join us for the next meeting.

For more information, please contact:

Ginette Mallette, Children and Teens Programmer

Greater Sudbury Public Library, 673-1155, extension 205

ginette.mallette@city.greatersudbury.on.ca

The Amazing Persona Spends Several Days Introducing Valley Residents To New Digital System

Representatives of The Amazing Persona, including Natalie Champagne, of the company's marketing department, were on hand for three days, from December 1 to 3, 2006, at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre meeting with local residents to show them the features of their new products, including digital cable television. A beautiful plasma television set drew a lot of attention during the weekend.
 

Special Letter of The Week
From Wendy Petro (Bisson)
(To see her other notes click here>>>>)

Hi Bob!

Just looking at the photos from St. Kevin's Tea & Bazaar...I sure do miss those things, nothing like them at all down here. No one knows what a penny sale is, and the only tea they drink down here is "iced."

I noticed a face that looked familiar while looking at these photos. I checked the name and saw it is Doris Labelle. I thought, nah, couldn't be the Mrs. Labelle I had in grade 5. Then I saw the next photo of her, and it does look like her! Can it be...??

(Yes, Wendy. The lady on the left is Doris Labelle. The lady on the right is Bertilla Rodriguez)

You don't know how much I long to be up there at this time of year. We actually had a snow flurry last week (it was above freezing on the ground, but it was cold up above us...the snow came down and melted before hitting anything), but we're back up into the low 80s again. My mom's in Sudbury right now (probably at Pioneer Manor as we speak, sitting with my grandmother). Mom said it's been warm, but then you had a bit of a freezing rain storm yesterday...? Sounds delightful to me!

I remember one time we had a whole bunch of snow, and then it got warm (I think it was in March or somewhere later in the season) and a lot of snow started to melt, and then it rained and got cold again...school was out because of the weather as the roads were iced over. It was really windy, and these kids down the street got their skates on, held a sheet between them, and ice-sailed down the street!

We just celebrated our Thanksgiving last weekend. Katie's had a cold, so she wasn't much in the mood for turkey. I must say, for not having my mom around, the gravy turned out really good (of course, I did call her to get instructions as I was doing it!). The City of Orlando had its employee holiday luncheon today at the O-rena (we still can't get used to calling it the TDWaterhouse Center). My gravy was MUCH better than the stuff they served there...their stuffing looked like it had been put through a blender...and the ham was called "mystery meat" by several of my co-workers! I wonder who catered the event?! At least the turkey wasn't too bad (although even there, I believe mine was better!).

One of my co-workers was up in Niagara Falls two weeks ago, and she'd brought back some fancy cookies...maple cream cookies! I told her you could get the same thing at the dollar store (made in Canada, of course), so went out and bought some and brought them in...no one could taste a difference. Yesterday I brought in some Dare maple cream cookies which I found at a local grocery store (and bought a bag of chocolate fudge cookies for myself, but the kids have eaten most of them already!!). Gotta show these Americans what good junk food tastes like!! I had Shirley bring me back some Coffee Crisp bars, and the following weekend I found some at another dollar store in Winter Park! And they were 2 for $1!!! That's cheaper than we'd pay up there!!! Now, if I could only get someone locally to sell butter tarts and ketchup chips! The Entenmanns company was selling Vachon cakes under their name here for a while (Au Caramels and Half Moons, as we called them up there) but they've disappeared. The Dare cookies I find every now and again, depending on the store. I'm hoping mom can bring me down a can or two of Habitant soupe au pois. I have a recipe to make some sponge toffee (looks easy enough) which will probably entertain Katie as well (and give her a quick science lesson at the same time), and another recipe for tortiere. I'll let you know how those turn out! Maybe I'll make some butter tarts, too, if I become ambitious and the weather gets cool. I can't make the sponge candy 'til the humidity drops again, should have taken advantage of the nice weather last weekend.

See? And you take all these things for granted.... LOL!!

Anyway, hope you're doing well and you're getting back on track after the elections. Please let me know whether the Doris Labelle in the photos was the same one I knew. I love when you post photos as I am constantly searching for my old life and people I knew when I lived up there in God's country!

Take care, Bob!!

Thank you for keeping in touch, Wendy. It is always a joy to receive one of your emails. I know that our readers appreciate your reflections about the "Good old days in Valley East". I will say hello to Doris Labelle for you.
 

Published by
INFOCOM CANADA BUSINESS CONSULTANTS INC.
Robert Kirwan, President & C.E.O.
4456 Noel Crescent, Val Therese ON P3P 1S8
Phone: (705) 969-7215    
EMAIL   rkirwan@infocomcanada.com