The First Annual Teddyshack Golf Tournament was held in July at Grill Marks Clearview Golf Club. Besides being a day during which 144 golfers were able to enjoy a beautiful day on the course, prizes, food and refreshments, it was a time to share stories and memories about their good friend, Ted Dore, whose life was taken on May 9, 2008 after a brief battle with stomach cancer. Teddy, who was a member of the Toronto Regional Police Department at the time of his death, was only 36 years of age and his passing touched the hearts of many people in this community.

   Some of the persons who shared the intense pain of Teddy’s struggle right to the end are shown in the accompanying photo. In the middle are Teddy’s parents, Annette and Gil. The “boys” in the background, from the left, include, Al Chenier, Scott Jeanveau, Steve Christakos, Dan Despatie, and Andrew Brunette.
  
   The tournament was held to initiate the Ted Dore Memorial Fund which has now been established as a sub-committee of the Valley East Renegades Association. A total of $9,000 was raised for the fund and will be made available to provide financial support to needy kids from the Valley who are in danger of being forced out of hockey because of costs.  

   In addition the Ted Dore Memorial Fund announced the donation of 50 brand new sets of hockey equipment, courtesy of the NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams fund. This donation is geared towards helping supplement the rising costs of hockey equipment for today’s minor hockey player.  Andrew Brunette, a star player with the Minnesota Wild who grew up and still lives in the community during the off-season, is thrilled about this opportunity to give back to the game he loved, “Over the last few years we toiled with the idea of opening a hockey equipment bank for the Valley East Community. The NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams Fund has allowed us to jumpstart this program with their generous donation.”  Andrew goes on to say, “With the downturn in the economy, this is the ideal time to establish a program of this nature.  The last thing a child should have to worry about is playing with proper equipment.”
  
   The Hockey Equipment Bank will loan out items of equipment to children in the Valley East Minor Hockey system, from ages 4 – 14, for the duration of the hockey season. At the end of the season, the equipment will be returned to the Bank for use the following year.  This program is designed for families that need assistance. For those families that wish to donate equipment, the Equipment Bank will gladly accept these “deposits”. A special hockey equipment donation drive will be organized in August and September to help increase the amount of equipment that is available through the bank.
  
   In 1999, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) launched the Goals & Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. The players’ program has donated full sets of hockey equipment to more than 9,000 economically challenged children in 17 countries and assisted with upgrades and the building of hundreds of arenas world-wide. To date, Goals & Dreams has donated more than $17-million to grassroots hockey programs around the world making it the largest program of its kind.

   As for the golf tournament, Team Hurley Mining finished the day with the lowest score at 16 under par. The team consisted of Bart Hurley, Bob Simoneau, Jeff Tyers, and Greg Husk. The top prize of the day went to Team King Sportswear who finished in 14^th place, symbolic of the number that Ted Dore wore while playing hockey in the Valley East Minor Hockey system. Dore’s number 14 has been officially retired by the Valley East Progressive Hockey Association in his memory. Most will agree that there will never be another person quite like Ted Dore.

   If anyone is interested in donating hockey equipment or money to the Ted Dore Memorial Fund, you can contact Ryan Kirwan at 897-1110 or by email at ryankirwan@rmabroker.ca Ryan wishes to thank all of the participants and supporters who helped in any way to make this inaugural event such a huge success.

   Valley East is once again proving that this is one of the most exciting communities in the City of Greater Sudbury as a result of the selection of Confederation Secondary School and the Raymond Plourde Arena as the host site of the Rainbow District School Board’s track and field meets for its elementary and secondary schools. On May 12, Alexander Public School took to the track for their annual meet. In the photo we see one of the heats for the Junior Boys 200 metre race.

   The Laurentian Community Track, where annual meets are usually held, is currently being rebuilt to accommodate local track meets in the future, encourage community participation and enable the City to host events such as the 2010 Summer Games. When all other sites were considered, it was determined that the Confederation site was the best one for accommodating the needs of the Board at this time.
 
   The Rainbow District School Board and the City of Greater Sudbury have been working together to prepare the Val Caron location to welcome thousands of students in May and June.

  The Raymond Plourde Arena in Val Caron will serve as a gathering place for participants, officials and spectators. All parking will be at the Raymond Plourde Arena where participants will have access to concessions and washrooms. There will be no parking at Confederation Secondary School for track and field events.
 
   Equipment has been moved from the Laurentian Community Track to its temporary home in Val Caron. The field that runs between the Raymond Plourde Arena and Confederation Secondary School was upgraded to accommodate shot put, javelin, long jump, triple jump, pole vaulting and discus. The six-lane track was resurfaced in preparation for the many races that will take place between now and the end of the school year.
 
   “The work being completed to accommodate this year’s track and field events is certainly enhancing our community,” stated Ward 5 Councillor Ron Dupuis. “We look forward to welcoming track and field participants and spectators to Valley East .”
 
   Director Jean Hanson commended Confederation Secondary School Principal, Mike Mirka, and Program Leader of Athletics, Gilbert Briscoe, for their leadership on this important project along with Chris Gore, the City of Greater Sudbury ’s Manager of Volunteerism and Community Development. She also thanked staff, students and parents for their support.
 
   “We are delighted that Confederation Secondary School offered to host this year’s track and field for the entire city,” says Director Hanson. “Staff and students at the school have certainly been working diligently to ensure the site is ready” 
 
   On May 20 and 21, spectators are encouraged to visit the site to watch the SDSSAA City Finals, featuring some of the finest athletes in the city going head-to-head for glory.
 
   Other significant dates to remember are May 28 and June 2 when the Board Senior meets will take place. The Junior meets will be held on June 4 and 9.
 
   The Relay/Pentathlon Meet will be held on June 11; the Legion Meet on June 13; the Rainbow DSB Champions Meet on June 15 and finally the Board’s Challenge meet will be held on June 17.
 
   We welcome all participants to Valley East and can promise them an experience they will never forget.

   The 2^nd Annual Sportsman League All Star game will go down in the books as a 10 to 4 win for Team King Sportswear over Team Cranky Joe’s, but the big winners had nothing to do with putting pucks in the net.
  
   Over 200 fans witnessed the game helping to raise over $500 for Valley East Minor Hockey and ten boxes of food for the Good Neighbours Food Bank.
  
   The event is sponsored by Cranky Joe's, Molson's, Food Basics, Skater's Edge and Tim Horton's.
  
   The Valley East Sportsman League provides a place to play for men ranging in age from 19 to 35, many of whom with OHL, NOJA Junior A and ‘AAA’ Midget experience. The action is always fast and entertaining, but the all star game provided the opportunity for participants to perform at a higher level than they have enjoyed in a long time.
 
   The final score in the game last year was Team Cranky Joe’s All Stars 2 and Team Desjardins’ Food Basics All Stars 1, so this year’s offensive power definitely provided a lot of excitement for the fans.
 
   There are ten teams with over 150 players in the league. If you want to catch any of the action you can drop in during any of the following game times: At the Ray Plourde Arena in Val Caron on Wednesdays at 10 pm and Sundays at 10 pm; At the Centennial Arena on Fridays at 10 and 11:30 pm and Saturdays at 10 pm.; and at Capreol on Fridays at 9:30 pm, Saturdays at 7 & 8:30 on Ice #1 and 9:30 on Ice #2; and Sundays at 6 pm.
 
   This year the teams are very evenly matched. Carpetland and Cranky Joe’s are battling it out for top spot, but the next five teams are usually separated by no more than 4 points.
 
   If you have any questions about the league or if you are interested in playing for one of the teams, call the League President, Paul Walker at 969-3658. Moe Martel, one of the organizers of the event, can be contacted at 969-3728.

   Kim Carbone, on the left, a member of the Board of Directors with the Valley East Minor Basketball League, is extremely pleased with the interest that is being shown by young boys and girls in this popular sport. In the photo we see Maxine Blais and her twin brother, Alexandre, signing up for the Bantam Division during registrations which were held in September at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre.

   Maxine and Alexandre are both 13 years of age and attend Grade 8 at Ecole Catholique Jean Paul II in Val Caron. They both stated that they like the recreational nature of the league and are looking forward to playing basketball when they get into high school next year. They also play at their school and have an outdoor net at home.

   The league runs from mid-October to mid-April, with one practice and one game per week. The cost of registration ranges from $75 for Tykes to $100 for Midgets. Players are as young as five years of age to sixteen years at the Midget level. All games are played in local school gymnasiums.

   This is one sport which sits well with parents who want their children to enjoy a healthy sport without “breaking the bank”. All you need to play is a good pair of running shoes and a pair of shorts. Jerseys are supplied with your registration. Teams are chosen after a mandatory “try-out” which allows coaches to rate the players and create teams that are equal in skills to promote competition during the season.

   If you would like more information about the league, contact Mike Bertrand at 897-0031 or Kim Carbone at 969-3469.

   Line and Steve Price are what many would call Sudbury ’s most “avid geocachers”. They were the special guests recently on Robert Kirwan’s radio show, The Learning Clinic and they spent a full day at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre providing people with information about this increasingly popular sport.
 
   Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a cache anywhere in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.
 
   Steve indicated that there are more than 200 geocache locations in the Sudbury area. In fact, if you walk among the nature trails and parks in the area, you may have gone right by one without even knowing it. Many of the caches are hidden in hard to find places in order to make it more challenging for geocachers. “Sometimes you get to the location using your GPS and you know that the geocache box is within ten or twenty feet of where you are, but it may still take you another twenty or thirty minutes to find it.
 
   When you do find a geocache, it will contain a logbook with information from the owner of the cache, notes from visitors and it can also contain valuable, rewarding and entertaining information and objects. You never know what the owners or visitors of the cache may have left there for you to enjoy. That is what makes this sport so great!
 
   Steve and Line indicate that there are geocachers all over the world. Whenever they go away on a holiday, they check beforehand to see where the caches are hidden around the city to which they are heading. Then they try to set aside at least a couple of days to go “geocaching” to see if they can hunt down the treasure.
 
   If you are interested in finding out more about this new form of recreation go to the web site at www.geocaching.com.

On the ladies' side, it was perennial winner Paulette Carrier dominating the field right from the start. Paulette finished up with 87 on Saturday and 79 on Sunday for a two day total of 166. 

Karen Croteau came in runner-up position with a two day total of 189.

The photo below shows Ken Kauffeldt putting in the winning stroke, a bogie 5 on the 10th hole after Gates Piquette holed out with a double-bogie six. The victory was Kauffeldt's second Club Championship. He also won the title in 2005. His son, Jason, won the championship in 2006 before Peter Woitowich wrestled it from the Kauffeldt family in 2007. Ken's win in 2008 brought the title home once again.

Both golfers finished up the two-day event with 30-hole scores of 154.

   The First Annual Valley East Men's Open Golf Tournament, sponsored by Grill Marks Bistro and Nature's Haven Developments, was held at Grill Marks Clearview Golf Club on September 6 & 7.
  
   A total of 106 golfers took part in the two day event with Sudbury 's Mike Lemieux edging out Mike Doniec by a single stroke to take the title. Lemieux shot a three over par 75 on a very tough course layout to Doniec's 76. Third place went to local favourites from Hanmer, Rich Larochelle and Tim Phillips who came in with a 77. Roddy McLeod, formerly of Hanmer, now living in the Toronto area was next with a 78, just one shot ahead of Sudbury 's Tim Gordon.
  
   Lemieux is shown accepting his trophy from the owners of Grill Marks Clearview, from the left: Tyler Merrin, Christine Allsop, Lemieux, Lynda Allsop, and Jim Allsop. Tournament Director, Robert Kirwan, was very pleased with the entire weekend and is planning on speaking to the other golf course owners over the winter to see if there is interest in developing a Sudbury Tour during 2009.

  The event featured one of the richest prize packages ever offered in the Sudbury Area. Lemieux won the first place prize of $1000 plus a membership to the club for 2009 in addition to another $205 participation prize that was handed out to all players who took part in the tournament.

   Other flight winners who also won a membership to the golf club for 2009 included: Rob Henri and Joshua Mayne tied in the First Flight with a score of 80; Tim Phillips won the Second Flight with a round of 77; Rich Larochelle won the Third Flight with a 77; Brian Fox won the fourth flight with a round of 87.

League Treasurer, Jeanine Bolger reported that The Valley East Mixed Slo-pitch Association is going stronger than ever this summer. They held their 24^th annual soft ball tournament in July and 20 teams entered the competition. The Division A Champions, the Damn Ducks, are shown in the accompanying photo.

The winners of the weekend tournament were as follows; 

Division A Champs – Damn Ducks, runner’s up Ball Busters.

Division B Champs – Broch-a-foins, runner’s up Star Mart

Division C Champs – Paralyzed Turtles, runner’s up Talbot Automotive

Division D Champs – JAFT, runner’s up Mobile Parts

Division E Champs – Cranky Joe’s, and runner’s up FunKINutz

Bolger stated, “Next year will be the Leagues 25^th anniversary and it promises to be something special.  25 years of softball in the Valley and although times are changing and people are getting busier the urge to play ball is growing strong.  This year the Valley East Mixed Slo-pitch Association has 29 teams on their roster...this has been a banner year!”

Local residents are reminded that you can contact the league by email at v.e.m.s.p.a@hotmail.com. 

You can also watch the teams in action every Sunday except for long weekends at Centennial Arena and the Hanmer field just off 69N at the top of the hill. The year-end playoff tournament will be held the weekend of September 6 & 7.

      The 16^th Annual Valley Family Golf Centre Mini Masters Golf Tournament was held on August 16 at the region’s most popular driving range complex in Blezard Valley . Forty-nine boys and girls ranging from as young as four years old to fourteen years of age took part in the nine-hole tournament which was played on the par 30 Whistling Winds Golf Course which is part of the complex.
  
   Vic Whissell, owner of the Valley Family Golf Centre, first started the event to give young children a taste of what is like to play in a real golf tournament. They play by the rules ( for the most part ) and have their scores recorded, earning prizes for their efforts. He added a long drive, putting, and closest to the pin contests to add variety and excitement to the day. Ryan Abresch, the winner of the boy’s category in 1992, the very first year the event was played, has gone on to become one of the top young golfers in the area. The first girl’s winner was Meghan Pitura.
  
   The accompanying photo shows the group of the youngest golfers in the tournament as they finished the ninth hole and were about to make their way to the BBQ for a well deserved hot dog and refreshments.
  
   At the end of the day, the boy’s champion was Jordan Piette who shot a three over par, 33. Sarefina Giommi was the winner of the girl’s division with a 61.

   Winners of the different age categories were:

Ages 4/5/6 : Alexander Fawke with a round of 48;

Ages 7 & 8: Jordan Ferron with a round of 64;

Ages 9 & 10: Jodi Walker with a round of 39;

Ages 11 & 12: Trevor Labonte with a round of 49;

Ages 13 & 14: Jacob Smith with a round of 40.

   The long drive winner for the boys was Jodi Walker and for the girls it was Marzia Giommi.
  
   The putting contest was won by Austin Pawlik.

   The winner of the closest to the hole contest was Mathew Perry.

   Special thanks are extended to Nicole Stone and Vic Whissell, the two main organizers of the tournament. Others who were instrumental in helping make the event such a huge success included Myrna Young, Sam Stone, Diane Houle and Ed Lemieux. Of course, a special thank you was extended to all of the area merchants who donated prizes in support of the event.

For as long as they can remember, the “boys” in the photo have gathered to take part in the Annual Valley East Men’s League Slo Pitch Tournament (known to many as the Barn Dance Tournament), taking time to enjoy a few holes of golf the day before the competition begins. This is something that they look forward to all year long and they have no plans on breaking the tradition any time soon.
 
From the left we have, Andrew Brunette, Al Chenier, Bob Simoneau, Brian Savard, Steve Fournier, Scott Jeanveau, Rob Fournier, and Dave Ballantyne. All of the guys grew up in Valley East , playing all sorts of minor sports and are following their own paths through life as adults.
  
   Just a few days before this photo was taken, Andrew Brunette, shown on the right lining up a chip off the first green, signed a new three-year $7 million contract with the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.
 
The 35-year old Valley East native will be returning to the club where he played three seasons from 2001 to 2004 and ranks third on the franchise career list in assists, fifth in points and seventh in goals.

He spent the past three seasons in Colorado where he scored 70 goals and 135 assists for 205 points. He now has career totals of 191 goals and 358 assists for 549 points in 788 NHL games.
 
After signing Brunette, Minnesota Wild general manager, Doug Risebrough, who stated that he never should have let Andrew go in 2004, commented, "Andrew is a consistent offensive performer and an excellent teammate who helped create the culture of our team. We are better, on the ice and in the dressing room, with him back. Not often do you get the chance to correct a mistake."
  
Andrew Brunette is the current leader in the NHL Ironman competition, having played close to 600 consecutive games without an injury. No other current player has played as many games in a row, a true testament to his durability.
 
Andrew Brunette is already a member of the Valley East Sports Hall of Fame, having been one of the first inductees in the Professional Category in 1998.

All joking aside, this is one young man who has earned the respect, not only of his fellow NHL colleagues, but also more importantly of his long-time friends who welcome the opportunity to spend some quality time hitting the links or running the bases on the diamond with a man who is putting Valley East on the map around the world. During the 2008 Valley East Sports Hall of Fame Ceremonies, Andrew received a standing ovation from the crowd when introduced in recognition of the contributions he has made to his home town since becoming a professional athlete. Everyone in Valley East wishes Andrew Brunette all the best as he continues his career in the National Hockey League.

   Five more people became members of the Valley East Sports Hall of Fame during the 10^th Anniversary celebrations which were held at the Centennial Arena on June 21. N.H.L. Hockey Hall of Fame Legend Daryl Sittler was the guest speaker during the sold-out event and didn’t disappoint any of the crowd as he made himself available all evening to sign autographs and provided a very entertaining speech.

   Many of the 49 previously inducted hall of fame members were also in attendance, including hockey greats Frank St. Marseilles and Andrew Brunette.

   Sittler paid tribute to the past Valley East Sports Hall of Fame Members and presented the 2008 inductees with their commemorative plaques.  “Our community recognizes the exceptional achievements of the Valley East athletic community; athletes, coaches and community sponsors,” said Ron Dupuis, the councilor responsible for initiating the Hall of Fame.  “We are so fortunate to have so many committed sports people in Valley East ,” said Dupuis.
 
   The 2008 inductees, shown in the photo from left to right include:

   In the volunteer category, we have Dick Decosse, who has been involved in numerous sports and organizations since 1969. Dick is known as one of the best umpires who ever took to the playing field in the Valley. He has also been involved in minor hockey as a coach, convenor, ways and means director, tournament chairman, sponsorship committee, vice president and president. He coached in minor ball and is a half marathon runner, having competed in six events to raise money for charities. His message to the audience was, “Remember that to volunteer is not always easy because sometimes you have to deal with characters. But volunteering is therapy and it soothes the soul.” Decosse received a standing ovation from the close to 400 guests at the ceremony, clearly indicative of his involvement in the community for almost 40 years.

   The Community Sponsor inductee was Neil Lindenbach, owner of Neil’s Independent Grocers. Neil grew up in the grocery business only to purchase the franchise he worked at in the Valley.  Lindenbach has been a strong supporter of sports in his community.  Lindenbach commented at the ceremony, “as a child I proudly wore Daryl Sittler’s name and number on my jersey and today I’m so proud that young people in the Valley now wear my name on their jerseys.”  

   Mike Rusin was the inductee in the Professional Sports Category. Rusin had a 10 year career in the International Hockey League.  He was drafted in 1976 by the Flint Generals.

   The second inductee in the volunteer category was Conrad Laroque, For 25 years Laroque has coordinated the Jug Curling event that is sold out in advance every year with a long waiting list.  He has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for community groups and capital campaigns through his Jug Curling fundraising.

   The Amateur Sports inductee was John Hawes.  Hawes dominated the Canadian bowling scene by winning Gold medals six separate times in his bowling career.  Hawes has coached many other bowlers who have gone on to illustrious careers in bowling as well. Hawes credits Chico ’s Bowl for their longstanding commitment to bowling in the Valley and for supporting so many bowlers, both young and old over the years.

   In the photo below, Daryl Sittler is shown taking time to sign an autograph for a fan. Beside Sittler is Mayor John Rodriguez who was also one of the guests of honour for the event. Across from Sittler is Ryan Benoit, Provincial Ambassador for the Easter Seal Society in 2006, during which time he first met Daryl.