The Timmins Rock had the weekend off, but there was plenty of action around the NOJHL.

It was a particularly tough weekend for the Cochrane Crunch — the Rock’s biggest rivals, who will host the 2019 Dudley-Hewitt Cup — as they dropped a pair of games on the road against East Division rivals.

After dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rapids in French River Friday night, the Crunch were doubled up 4-2 by the Voodoos in Powassan Saturday night.

In Powassan, the Voodoos stormed out to an early four-goal lead and then held on from there to secure a 4-2 triumph over the visiting Cochrane Crunch at the Sportsplex.

It was all Voodoos in the opening 10 minutes of the contest as they rushed out to a 3-0 cushion and chased Cochrane starting goaltender Shayne Battler in the process.

Cade Herd, via the power play, started the home side off offensively at the 5:41mark, before Dryden Rivet notched his first NOJHL marker less than a minute later with an even-strength effort.

Powassan kept coming and added another at the 8:23 mark, with Matthew Hardwick making it 3-0.

The Crunch pulled Battler at that point, with Justin Vertesi coming into the contest.

Up a skater later in the frame, the Voodoos tacked on one more with Herd collecting his second of the stanza to put his side up by four goals.

Cochrane did get on the board in the latter stages of the middle stanza, thanks to Steven Cope who picked up his first NOJHL goal.

Baldino Aiello’s first goal as a member of the Crunch a couple minutes into the third period brought the visitors closer, but Powassan shut the door from there as they finished off their fourth-straight win to start the season.

Tomas Yachmenev doled out two assists to aid the Voodoos’ cause while giving him points in three-consecutive outings.

Powassan goaltender Joe Vrbetic turned in a solid performance by stopping 41 of the 43 shots he faced to record the victory.

Battler suffered the setback after allowing the three against on seven attempts, while Vertesi stopped 21 of 22 in lengthy relief.

Friday night in French River, Rapids goaltender Kevin Donaghey turned in a solid 33-save performance to help backstop his club to a 4-1 victory over the Crunch at the Noelville Arena.

Cochrane took a 1-0 lead in the final moments of the first period when Ethan Emanuel struck shorthanded just before the buzzer sounded for his first NOJHL goal.

French River countered with the equalizer midway through the middle stanza as Hunter Brazier scored at even strength.

The Rapids then picked up the eventual game-winner late in the second thanks to Ryan Smith, who collected his initial NOJHL marker at the 19:10 mark.

It stayed 2-1 for the home side until deep in regulation when Philippe Daoust added some insurance with 1:39 to go in regulation.

Andrew Gavros then iced it with an empty netter with 57 second remaining to secure the win.

The final two tallies were the first in league play for the pair of French River rookies.

Gavros also had two assists to go with his goal on the night for his first multi-point night in the NOJHL.

Crunch netminder Justin Vertesi faced 28 shots in a losing cause for his side.

The win was the initial league triumph for Rapids first-year head coach Shawn Frappier.

Here’s a look at some of the other NOJHL action relating to the East Division on the weekend:

VOODOOS 8

LUMBERJACKS 2

In another battle of East Division foes, the Voodoos rode the strength of a five-goal outburst in a 12-minute span in the second period to an 8-2 victory over the Lumberjacks 8-2 at the Sportsplex Friday night.

David Campbell put the Voodoos in flight 5:31 into the contest with a splendid individual effort only to see Raphael Lecours notch his first NOJHL tally at 18:01 to level the proceedings at 1-1 after one.

Powassan would blow it open in the middle stanza with the five strikes in rapid succession.

After Joe Whittet made it 2-1 at 7:34, Timmins native Gabinen Kioki added to the cushion a minute later.

Later, a pair of rookies in Jacob Peterson-Galema, with his initial NOJHL marker, and Joseph Jordan, who supplied his second, extended the home side’s lead before Tomas Yachmenev rounded out the offensive frenzy.

Moving on to the third, Dakotah Woods made it 7-1 Powassan before Lecours struck again at 4:25 during a Hearst power play.

The Voodoos Ryan Mills then wrapped up the scoring late in the contest to finish off the one-sided victory.

Campbell and fellow forward Henry Scott both chipped in with two assists each, as did Herd.

Christian Cicigoi made 22 stops to register the win.

Tomi Gagnon started for the Lumberjacks and suffered the setback, allowing five against on 19 attempts while Nicholas Tallarico handled 26 of 29 in 27-an-a-half minutes of relief.

LUMBERJACKS 5

RAPIDS 3

The Lumberjacks power play was clicking on all cylinders Saturday, as they scored five times with the man advantage to help them best the Rapids 5-3 at the Noelville Arena.

Maxim Lacroix opened the scoring for Hearst midway through the first frame with his side’s initial extra-man effort.

Ryan Gallant’s first NOJHL goal tied it for the Rapids during a man-advantage opportunity of their own at the 16:51 mark, but the Lumberjacks regained the lead a couple shifts later thanks to Max Griffioen.

Levi Siau drew French River level with the lone marker of the middle session to knot the affair at 2-2 after 40 minutes.

An early Hearst power play in the third helped them take the lead once more, as Lacroix bagged his second of the evening.

Up a skater once more, Lecours notched the eventual game-winner at the 7:22 mark.

The home side did pull to within one during another man advantage chance, with A.J. Favot joining the league’s first goal club with 8:19 remaining.

However, Griffioen picked up Hearst’s fifth power-play tally of the night with just under four minutes to go in helping secure the road victory.

Jake Desando had three assists for the Lumberjacks, while Lecours and Lacroix chipped in with a couple helpers each.

Nicholas Tallarico finished with 31 saves to pick up the win for Hearst, while Kevin Tardif faced 29 shots in a losing cause for the Rapids.

— With files from NOJHL Network

Timmins Symphony Orchestra and Chorus have launched their new season.

Their first event, Grieg Piano Concerto, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Charles Fournier Auditorium in École secondaire catholique Thériault at 7:30 p.m. It will feature Ruby Jin playing the piano. Bottom of Form

“She came up here last year to play some music by one of our board members and vice-president, Luc Martin. He’s a composer. She played several of his pieces. She did such a great job that we wanted to bring her back to perform,” said Josh Wood, music director of the Timmins Symphony Orchestra.

“Throughout the year, one thing we’re going to be doing is a series of commemorative fan fairs written by members of the orchestra. Luc Martin will write one, Mits Takayesu-Douglas is going to write one and I’m going to write one. We’re going to have some original Timmins music to go along with this season.”

Mits Takayesu-Douglas is an instructor at the Timmins Symphony Orchestra’s Geoffrey James Lee School of Music. He teaches his students the lines and spaces in music while trying to incorporate some theory in it. He mostly conducts one-on-one sessions with his students.

“I would say music in a lot of ways is the most demanding of performing arts because we actually tell them to take it home and work at it,” said Takayesu-Douglas.

“I tell them that practicing is like taking a car to the garage where all of a sudden you can take it apart and then work on that part. Then you can put it back together and all of a sudden it runs.”

“The thing you have to break down the parts to find out what the main problem is and then you work on that problem.”

Aside from teaching students, the music instructor discussed his upcoming performance.

“One of the pieces that are going to be played is a piece that I have written. I’m quite excited about that. It’s a fanfare. I was asked to write a piece of music and was given a relatively short time to actually get it down,’ said Takayesu-Douglas.

Their second concert is a Stars of Christmas event. It will feature a soprano performance by Kathleen Pormano and the Timmins Symphony Chorus on Saturday, Dec. 15 at Charles Fournier Auditorium in École secondaire catholique Thériault.

“For the Christmas concert, what we usually do, similar to what we’ve done in the past, we’re going to work with local students. We’re going to try to get some kids choirs from local schools,” said Wood.

Their third main concert will be Joining Forces with Timmins and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestras on Friday, Feb 1. 2019. It will be held at Charles Fournier Auditorium at École secondaire catholique Thériault. Wood said it’s the first time the two groups have performed together in about a decade.

“They’re doing a northern tour. They knew we had an orchestra and they wanted to come and work with us. That’ll be great for our musicians because they’re fully professionals. I’ll be great for our guys to get some experience alongside that and share the stage with them,” said Wood.

Their fourth concert will be Choral Spectacular by the Timmins Symphony Orchestra and Timmins Concert Singers. It will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at St. Anthony’s Cathedral at 8 p.m.

“We really try to give it a Timmins flavour, in terms of the music program. We try to program things that will play well here. We try to collaborate with a lot of music groups. We worked with the schools the last couple of Christmases and we worked with the legion,” said Wood.

“We had five concerts last year and I think three of the guest artists were Timmins folks. We try to make sure that people that are performing here have a good local flavour. When we’re looking at guest artists, I definitely prioritize people that are from here.”

Wood said he tries to teach the orchestra the basics of playing together. He said it’s a challenge when there are about 35 different people playing 35 different parts.

“You want to try to find a balance of helping them towards their accomplishments but also try to show them things about the music that they enjoy,” said Wood.

Season tickets can be purchased at the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre in red and silver categories at different prices. They can also be purchased at the door of each event.

Centre Culturel La Londe held their first 4 à 7 music concert at Full Beard Brewing on Friday.

The first event featured Cindy Doire performing a variety of original French and English songs from her three albums.

“I think it’s important like anything in order to keep a culture alive, you have to nurture it. Creating opportunities for people to get together and speak the language and celebrate it through the arts, through music is really important for preserving culture and language. I think that in any culture, these types of events reinforce a community and the culture,” said Doire.

Doire performed with Lee Hannigan for her stint in Timmins.

“He’s a really great, local musician. I reached out to him because we haven’t had the opportunity to play together ever really.

Doire released her third Francophone album, Panorama in September 2017. It’s a different sound from her debut album, La Vie en Blue in 2007.

“With time, you want to keep challenging yourself as an artist. You evolve with sound. That record I wrote completely with synthesizers and did it all on Logic (Pro) whereas previous records, I was recording and writing with an acoustic guitar. It changes the sound, it changes the arrangements. You evolve as a human, as a person, as a writer.”

“I was listening back to some of those songs because I’m playing a few songs from my first album and I barely recognized myself. In 10 years, anything will grow and change and evolve. There’s definitely a journey there from then until now.”

She discussed the differences in her albums explaining that she writes from an honest place.

“I’m a sucker for harmonies. I love luscious sounds; I love space but still having rich sonic layers. This latest album, there’s definitely a beautiful production but there’s still a lot of room to breathe and there’s honesty in everything that I’ve ever written,” said Doire.

Her debut album earned her the Best Discovery Award at the Gala of the Prix Trille Or in 2009.

In 2012, she teamed up with Andrea Ramolo to create a vocal duo, Scarlett Jane. Doire and Ramolo focus on their solo careers at one time, tour on their own, record an album together and tour with each other as well.

“I traveled a lot and I have a few other projects that I toured internationally. You learn that as soon as something scares you and you feel frighten to step out of your comfort zone then those are the things that are important to do because you challenge yourself and your art and that’s when you grow,” said Doire.

“It goes to show that with this other project, I got very busy. I wasn’t able to do much solo touring; I put a lot of my energy into that. We were doing over 200 shows a year. There was no time for my solo career. We take breaks. She launches a solo album, I launch a solo album and we come back together with all these new experiences and we evolve apart and come back together.”

Doire said she makes sure she is always challenging herself continuing to push herself and her boundaries.

“You don’t want to be diluted and take on too much but I certainty like to keep busy with a lot of projects. People inspire me. I like collaborations. I feel like two heads are always better than one. You push each other to places you wouldn’t get to on your own.”

The Timmins Police Services Board is not rushing into acquiring the newly approved roadside screening device for detecting the presence of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

The decision by the police board to off on getting the new equipment was made on Chief John Gauthier’s advice.

“It’s very, very new equipment. I would recommend to this board that we wait until after Oct. 17 (when the legislation to regulate recreational cannabis is scheduled to come into effect) to see how successful this new instrument is,” Gauthier said during the police board meeting held late last week. “And then perhaps we can have a discussion in 2019 whether or not we’re going to invest dollars into purchasing these units.”

Once in use, police officers will be able to use the Dräger Drug Test 5000 to swab a driver’s mouth to test for the presence of THC. The roadside saliva-testing device was authorized by Bill C-46, a massive overhaul of Canada’s impaired driving laws that passed in June.

Gauthier’s reservations about the Dräger Drug Test 5000 are based on some of its imitations.

“Right now, the roadside screening devices for alcohol will register a pass, fail or warning and actually give you an amount on the readout,” said Gauthier, offering a comparison.

“My understanding of this oral fluid device is it does not give you any amount per se. It won’t give you an amount of THC in a person’s saliva. It will simply tell you whether or not THC is found in that person’s saliva. But it gives you no indication of the impairment; it doesn’t give you any indication of the concentration of THC that is found in the saliva. So it is certainly a tool that will allow for” an officer to confirm THC is present “in that person’s mouth but, right now, it doesn’t give you any more that.”

The board concurred with the chief’s recommendation.

The new laws regulating the use of recreational marijuana set to come into effect next month has police services across the country preparing to deal with an anticipated influx of motorists driving while impaired by drugs.

While a roadside screening device used for measuring THC would be a useful tool for officers, Timmins Police Insp. Darren Dinel said police have been arresting motorists driving while impaired by drugs for years even in the absence of such equipment.

“Officers would be looking for driving behavior that would suggest they are impaired,” said Dinel. “They would also be looking for the driver’s behavior during conversation with the driver on a traffic stop and any observations they might make. Do they see any smoking devices? Are there traces of cannabis marijuana?

“Once they can reach the threshold of reasonable grounds to believe they are impaired by drug, under the new impaired driving laws, they can start asking for blood samples to gather more evidence.”

In the meantime, Chief Gauthier said officers with the Timmins Police Service have been taking advantage of some new training offered in connection with the new marijuana laws.

“As far as our training goes, to support Ontario’s law enforcement agencies to adapt to the complex federal and provincial frameworks, the Ontario Police College is developing an e-learning training module for all police services on the provincial Cannabis Act 2017 and it will be available, we’re told, later this summer,” said Gauthier.

“We have already jumped ahead of that and signed up all 85 of us – and 85 includes all the sworn members of this police service, also our special constables who are on the civilian side, and our auxiliary officers – to take” an online introduction to the Cannabis Act.

“There is a second portion which talks about the rules as it pertains to impaired driving. That’s about another hour to hour-and-a-half session and every one of us has to have that training completed before Oct. 17.”

Mining companies and politicians shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves discussing development within the Ring of Fire, says the grand chief of a regional First Nations council.

While there has been much talk about its mineral riches, Indigenous communities within that area want more consultation before development begins, says Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon.

“We have talked about it in our council, the Mushkegowuk Council with the First Nations communities,” said Solomon. “The legal advice we got from our lawyers is, ‘You have a position now to demand a full involvement in the environment assessment (EA) processes.’”

The council represents seven communities along the James Bay lowlands of Northern Ontario. They are Attawapiskat First Nation, Chapleau Cree, Fort Albany First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation, Missanabie Cree, Moose Cree First Nation and Taykwa Tagamou Fist Nation.

The Ring of Fire, a massive, ore-rich area within the lowlands is touted as potentially the biggest economic boon to this province in 100 years.

It’s rich in palladium, platinum, nickel, diamonds and gold. Most importantly, it has the largest chromite deposit in North America — valued at an estimated $60 billion in economic development.

The Ring of Fire is expected to benefit First Nations municipalities however Solomon said his municipalities want to be more involved in the development process.

Solomon cited the Trans Canada pipeline as an example where communities in the downstream of the area’s development were not included in the environmental assessment processes.

“They have to be very mindful that the court case that was released in British Columbia. The federal appeal said that the proponents failed their duty to consult. Just like the courts said, you just can’t send information to the First Nations. That’s not consulting, that’s not accommodating. The court is very clear on that,” said Solomon.

“We need to get serious as First Nations for whenever and whatever we want to do. We have to sit down with them and have a good conversation with them and listen to them. They must be willing to change the EA concerns.

“We need to change our process. We need to as a First Nations be part of the process. Not at the tail end of everything once you’ve done everything you want to do. They must be involved from the beginning and that’s what the federal bureau said. They have to be involved from the beginning, not after the fact.”

Looking forward to a new year and looking back on the past year, the Timmins Chamber of Commerce is satisfied it is the most effective voice of the business community in Timmins.

Those were among some of the comments put forward when the chamber held its 69th annual general meeting last week.

The event was held Wednesday with the keynote speaker being Phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

Looking back on his year in office, past-president Jamie Clarke said it was a taxing year.

“We were faced with the changes to Ontario labour laws with Bill 148, taxation changes, trade barriers and tariffs,” said Clarke.

“In order to make our views heard we created new partnerships throughout Ontario and beyond.  We travelled to Queen’s Park, Parliament Hill and the Senate to address the issues that matter.”

He said Timmins chamber representatives met with a variety of political leaders and business leaders.

“We listened and heard a common message; we need to make Ontario open for business.”

He said this was more than just talk, as the chamber presented ideas for changes and improvements.

Clarke said this also happened in the chamber’s dealings with Timmins city hall.

He said this included discussions to improve road infrastructure, discussions on large scale municipal projects and the need for transparent budgeting.

He said Chamber members also voiced support to have Timmins become the host community for a chromite processing facility connected to the Ring of Fire mining development.

The annual meeting also heard from Nancy Mageau, the new president for the 2018-19 term, who said she was pleased to be taking on the leadership for the coming year.

She said the advocacy role of the Timmins chamber is important since many local issues and policies have been forwarded to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and beyond and have won higher support.

Mageau said she is also in favour of creating more partnerships with other organizations in a bid to help the Timmins chamber “think outside the box”.

Mageau said partnerships should not be regarded as a hindrance but as a value-added way of doing business. She said this could be something as simple as sharing booth space or a table at a trade show, to exporting or selling products through a joint website, or setting up more complex business ventures.

“Target the right people and take time to get to know them prior to presenting your pitch. In the end you might be pleasantly surprised,” she told the audience.

She also urged local businesses to bring forward their concerns so that collectively the chamber can make a greater impact when dealing with local government, for example.

Also as part of the annual meeting, awards were presented to outstanding chamber members for their contributions to the organization in the past year.

This included the annual Service Award presented to Ginette Nakashoji of MNP LLP, in recognition of her six years of dedicated service to the Chamber’s board of directors — the maximum amount of time someone can consecutively serve.

Melanie Verreault of Trimedia Consulting Inc. was the recipient of this year’s Alex Klimack Award, which serves to recognize an outstanding volunteer for their hard work and commitment not only to the Chamber but the community as a whole. Verreault is well known for her dedication to improving the business community and connecting people and organizations, which was certainly on full display throughout 2017-2018, said Clarke.

“This individual has been a long-time Chamber champion, having served on the board for a few years their dedication does not go unnoticed. The impact of the work that she has invested will be felt by the Chamber, our members, and the business community for years to come.”

Northern College Timmins campus is hosting a weeklong series of activities during the sixth-annual Indigenous Cultural Awareness Week.

The event is held to showcase Indigenous culture to students on campus. A breakfast opened festivities with bannock on a stick at a shaptuan Monday morning.

“We all live on Treaty land because we’re in Canada and it’s important to acknowledge the indigenous people who were here first and it’s important to bring awareness to that way of life because there’s a lot of contributions that can be made,” said Trudy Wilson, manager of Indigenous services and initiatives.

Tuesday will feature a cultural artifacts display by the Ojibway Cree Cultural Centre and a sweat lodge by David Faries, an Indigenous Elder at the college.

“The organizations are usually waiting for the invitation to come. We usually don’t have any trouble getting people to come to it.”

Wednesday will be comprised of cultural movies followed by a drum group performance; Thursday will have the screening of the film Indian Horse and a sharing circle and Friday will conclude events with an archery competition.

“Many of them have been invited this week and two of them are here today, its Misiway Health Centre and the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre,” said Wilson. “There here to share information on the services they offer. We thought, that’s important to let the indigenous students that come to the college know what’s available in the community, as well.”

Wilson expects the screening Indian Horse will draw a big crowd but hopes students will want to participate in other practices such as the sweat lodge.

The Indian Horse was based on a novel by late Ojibway author Richard Wagamese. It follows an adolescent using hockey as a way out of the residential school system.

A community screening was recently held in Matachewan where hoop dancer, Dallas Arcand said it was an eye-opener into the problems Indigenous people face. It makes viewers understand how difficult it is to deal with certain issues.

Wilson hopes both Indigenous and non-Aboriginal students are inclined to participate in events, even if they have no prior knowledge of cultural teachings.

“I hope they take away some curiosity so that they want to learn on their own. I hope it lights a spark in them to learn more on their own and bring more awareness,” said Wilson.

“I think it’s an important thing. I think the more seeds that we can plant, the more people learn about it, the better.”

The concern about the possible loss of wireless cellphone and Internet service in Foleyet appears to have been resolved.

The issue, which was revealed earlier this year by The Daily Press, arose when Bell Canada indicated it was not willing to renew its lease for equipment space on a provincially owned communications tower which is the property of the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure. The issue was a significant spike in the cost of the lease for Bell Canada.

Infrastructure Ontario uses a commercial real estate management company, CBRE Ltd., to manage the leases. CBRE leased the space to Bell Canada for the wireless service. An e-mail sent from Bell Canada to the Foleyet Local Services Board (LSB) indicated a 700% rental increase was proposed; something that Bell considered as unreasonable and unacceptable.

Back in April, Jim Passmore, chairman of the LSB, said if Bell pulled out of Foleyet it could become a serious health and safety issue in his community because people rely on cellphones to keep in contact with emergency services. The local nursing station also used the internet and email to keep in touch with its parent hospital, Chapleau Health Services.

When the possibility of  Bell pulling its service was revealed at a public meeting in Foleyet, Passmore said it was a shock to many in the community.

The issue was also picked up by Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas who suggested the province should step in and declare the services essential, particularly in remote rural communities where the size of the community makes it hard for wireless companies  to earn a profit.

In a recent communique to the residents of Foleyet, Gélinas said there was good news.
“Mr. James Harvey, the vice president of Leasing and Valuation Services at the Ministry of Infrastructure , confirmed that they have come to an agreement with Bell to leave the cell tower in Foleyet,” said Gélinas.

“As a result, there will be no interruption in cell phone or Internet services,” she added.

Gélinas also thanked local residents for reaching out to her office and to Infrastructure Ontario to voice their concerns.

Outside the Timmins Museum stands a portal to the 1930s.

Within the iconic green tar paper Hollinger House there is a living room, two bedrooms, a small kitchen and bathroom.

“The artifacts within the house were all donated by members of the community and are things that would have been found in a Hollinger House at that time,” explains Karen Bachmann, the director/curator of the museum.

The oldest artifact in the building is a wood stove that dates back to 1907.

Next to it in the kitchen is an old ice box, about the size of a hotel room bar fridge.

“The top part you would have filled with ice and bottom part is for whatever you wanted to keep cool,” says Bachmann, as she opens the two compartments of the ice box.

Aside from the old wood stove, “Everything else in the house is pretty well contemporary to the 1930s.”

The Hollinger House will be one of the featured local historic sites when the Ontario Heritage Trust hosts a Doors Open event in Timmins on Saturday, Oct. 13.

“The Ontario Heritage Trust is partnering with the museum, and they are going to highlight some historic sites within the community and within Northeastern Ontario which people will be able to visit for free that weekend,” explains Bachmann. “So they’ll have some activities at some sites, and then it will just be a general welcome and come-on in and explore a little bit of your history on a good Saturday afternoon.”

Anyone wanting to tour the Hollinger House can do so anytime during normal museum operating hours. They don’t have to wait for the Doors Open event.

“People can visit it any time by going to the museum and asking at the front desk and then they will get a free tour of the house and a little bit of information on some of the things that are in there.”

A bill to “protect Ontario drivers from gas price gouging” that was reintroduced last week by MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP – Timmins), has been referred to the Legislative Assembly Committee.

Bisson said he is anxious for the government to call the bill at committee so they can go forward with public hearings to find out how the bill can be strengthened and passed in the legislature.

The bill passed second reading in the Ontario legislature last week.

Bisson reintroduced the NDP bill, Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2018 in August under the new PC government after it was shot down by the former Liberal government in 2017.

“Individuals shouldn’t be punished because of where they live,” said Bisson. “Rural and Northern Ontarians are being gouged at the pumps. They don’t have trains, subways or sometimes even public transportation as an alternative.

“Travelling from Timmins to Queen’s Park, I saw gas prices range from 1.40 per litre to 1.24,” Bisson stated. “If we can sell a case of beer or a bottle of wine for the same price in Cornwall and Kenora, certainly we should be able to bring fairness in the price of gas.”

This morning, according to www.ontariogasprices.com, gas was listed selling for 103.8 in Hagersville while in Geraldton the price for 153.9 — that’s more than a 50-cent per litre difference.

In Timmins, the lowest price for gas listed this morning was 133.6.

“Consumers have to be protected” said Bisson, “and a mark of a good government is to protect the public.”

Bisson’s bill, Fairness in Petroleum Products Pricing Act, 2018, aims to allow the Ontario Energy Board to regulate the retail price and wholesale mark-up of petroleum products in Ontario. The Lieutenant Governor in Council would be given power to govern the board.

The bill, if given final ascent, would guide the Ontario Energy Board and Lieutenant Governor in Council to “protect the interest of consumers with respect to the predictable and consistent retail pricing of petroleum products; prevent pricing practices that undermine the stability and competitiveness of retail markets for petroleum products, including retail markets in remote, rural and northern areas; and ensure transparency and reasonableness with respect to the prices of petroleum products.”

Three games into their Great North Midget League season, the Timmins Majors will play their home opener at the McIntyre Arena when they welcome the New Liskeard Cubs to town Friday night.

After splitting a pair of games with the Major Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie to open the 2018-19 campaign, the Majors dropped a 4-2 decision to the GNML-leading Flyers in Kapuskasing Tuesday afternoon.

As a result, the Majors and the Cubs both share a record of 1-2-0-0 on the season, but while Timmins has been outscored 10-8 to this point, New Liskeard has a goal differential of 6-23.

Still, Majors coach Brandon Perry does not intend to take the visitors lightly Friday night.

“I expect they have a hard-working, physical group like they did last year,” he said.

“There are no easy nights in this league. You have to come to compete every night.

“I don’t expect anything different whether we are playing New Liskeard or North Bay. If we show up and we do our job, I think we will be okay.

“New Liskeard is going to be tough. They are going to come in here and crash and bang. That was the identity they had last year and a lot of their players are back.

“They had a rough game against North Bay (Major) and then they got a win the other night (5-4 over the North Bay Minor Trappers).

“It will be a good test against a team we can’t lose to. Last year, we lost our first game of the season against them.”

Perry will be looking for the Majors to get off to a fast start Friday night to prevent the Cubs from taking what he hopes will be a large crowd out of the game.

“The guys are going to be excited to play our first game at home and we are going to have to control our emotions,” he said.

“Last year, New Liskeard had a bit of an undisciplined team and if we let them parade to the penalty box, our power play is going to have to execute.

“We are just going to have to stay on them. If we can stay on their D, they will give us pucks, just like any other team.

“Even our guys, if you ask them, it’s not fun being pressured, when you have guys on your back or in your face.

“It is tough to make that good first pass if guys are on you. So, we have to get pucks deep and get on their D.

“We have to kind of keep the play down low, beneath the hash marks, grind them out and capitalize on our chances.”

Being the home opener, Perry realizes there will be plenty of distractions but he hopes his Majors will be able to maintain their focus.

“I think it is all about managing your emotions,” he said.

“Obviously, there will be a delay at the beginning with the introduction of the players and the puck-dropping ceremony.

“It is going to be exciting for the guys playing at home in front of friends and family.

“We were very successful on home ice last year, so we just have to manage those emotions and I think we will be all right.”

The Majors veterans have been through the experience, but for the new players on the roster there might be a few jitters in the game’s first few minutes.

“I would imagine so,” Perry said.

“At the beginning, some guys will be nervous, some guys will be excited.

“I played the game for a long time and any home opener I played in was all about getting that first shift out of the way.

“Then, as the game goes on, you can just focus on hockey.”

Two of the players on the Cubs roster — defencemen Josh Kingsbury and Clifford Edwards — attended training camp with the Majors this season before catching on with New Liskeard.

“Josh Kingsbury was in camp with us for a long time, but New Liskeard offered him a spot in their Top 4 and that was something we couldn’t counter with,” Perry said.

“He is a very good defenceman and it seems like he has found a nice little fit.”

Heading into Friday night’s contest, the Majors do not have any injuries and they will get veteran defenceman Jeremy Jeffries back for the home opener, as he served the final game of his three-game suspension Tuesday afternoon against the Flyers.

“It will be good to have him back in our lineup,” Perry said.

“He is in our Top 4. We definitely missed him during the past three games.”

On Tuesday, the Majors gave the Flyers (5-0-0-0) everything they could handle before dropping the 4-2 decision.

If it wasn’t for an issue with the penalty kill, the outcome of the contest might have been different.

Three of the four goals the Majors surrendered in the game were scored on the power play.

“We played a really good game, but our penalty kill was really bad,” Perry said.

“They got the three power-play goals in the game and that was the difference.

“It took us a little while to get our legs under us, but after that I thought we had a really good finish to the first period and we played a very good second period.

“Going into the third period down one goal on the road, you are in a good spot and we played a good third period. We had tons of chances, but things just didn’t go our way.

“I can live with this kind of loss. The effort was there and the guys played well. We just needed our special teams to be cleaned up a little bit.”

For the record, three games into the regular season, the Majors have not devoted a lot of time to either the power play or the penalty kill.

“We will work on those things in practice,” Perry said.

“We have worked on them a little bit, but we have not spent as much time on it as we need to at this point.”

The Flyers struck for the first period’s lone goal at the 6:14 mark when Brendan Aubertin scored the first of those three power-play markers, his fourth goal of the season.

Former Major Kobe Barrette added the Flyers’s second power-play marker early in the second period when he beat Timmins goalie Connor Johnson for his third goal of the season to make it a 2-0 hockey game.

The Majors finally got on the scoreboard three-and-a-half minutes later when Sabastian Sutherland scored his first goal of the season.

Alexandre Blais’ even-strength goal, his fourth of the season, with 8:56 remaining in the middle frame extended the Flyers’ lead to 3-1.

Garrett Gelinas scored his first goal of the season to pull the Majors back to within a goal less than a minute later, however

That’s the way the score remained until early in the third period when Samuel Lambert iced the game for the Flyers with a power-play marker, his third goal of the season, to make the final score 4-2 in favour of the home side.

A number of Majors impressed Perry with strong efforts during Tuesday afternoon’s contest.

“Everybody played well,” he said.

“Garrett Gelinas had a good game. He scored a big goal for us.

“Pierre Racicot and Desmond Brazeau, two late additions to our roster, both played a hell of a game. They forecheck very well and they spend most of their time in the O zone.

“Our goalie (Johnson) was solid.

“It was fun to coach. Everybody was working hard, but our special teams let us down today.”

Perry feels the Flyers are full marks for their fast start to the GNML campaign.

“They have a really good team,” he said.

“They are young, they are big and they are physical. They are very well coached and they have great structure to their game.

“They are a very good hockey team, but we were right there with them. If that is an indication of who is going to be at the top of our league, I like our chances.”

Carson Boutin went the distance in net for the Flyers to pick up the victory, while Johnson, who also went the distance for the Majors was tagged with the loss.

GNML NOTES — As part of Friday night’s festivities, the Majors will be accepting donations for the Porcupine Food Bank … Julia Polowy, the sister of former Timmins Major Victor Polowy, will skate her competition dance following the warm-ups … Among those expected to take part in the pre-game puck-dropping ceremony are mayoral candidate George Pirie and current city councillor Joe Campbell.

The Timmins Rock will attempt to snap a two-game losing streak and claw their way out of last place in the NOJHL’s East Division standings when they host the Rayside-Balfour Canadians at the McIntyre Arena Saturday night.

It will be one of two games the Rock play on the weekend, as they will also entertain the East Division-leading Powassan Voodoos at the McIntyre Arena on Sunday afternoon.

After blanking the French River Rapids in the home opener, the Rock dropped back-to-back decisions to the Gold Miners in a home-and-home series by scores of 5-3, on home ice, and 5-1 in Kirkland Lake.

Rock coach Corey Beer was not happy with his squad’s performance in either contest and he has been working his players hard in the days that followed the most recent setback on Sept. 13.

“We have been trying to address our defensive miscues,” he said.

“We haven’t been very good on the back side of the puck. We have had too many turnovers and too many guys not being able to pick up their guy on coverage.

“Attention to detail on shot blocking and boxing out, all of that stuff, has not been good.

“We have been putting in some good work on the video this week, getting guys up to speed and maybe trying to simplify a bit of our defensive systems.

“We have been working hard. We have to clean up our end of the ice before we can even begin to think about addressing our offensive game.”

The Rock currently have nine blue-liners — Josh Anderson (3, 0-1-1, 6), Will Caston (2, 0-0-0, 0), Alexis Quane-Arsenault (3, 1-0-1, 2), Luka Bolduc (2, 0-0-0, 2), Owen Shire (2, 0-0-0, 0), Carson Burlington (2, 0-0-0, 2), Connor Mullins (1, 0-0-0, 0), Ian Elkins (2, 0-1-1, 0) and Eric Moreau (1, 0-0-0, 0) — on the roster and D-men have been shuffled in and out of the lineup, but Beer does not feel a lack of consistent pairings is to blame for the squad’s defensive woes.

“It is certainly a challenge to find the right mix,” Beer said.

“We certainly feel our guys have a high enough puck IQ and skill level that they should be able to complement each other.

“I think more than anything, it is just learning the systems and trying to get everything in place that way. We have guys from a wide range programs, Junior ‘C’, Junior ‘B’ and Midget ‘AAA’ or wherever and we put a great emphasis on their play away from the puck.

“We have to make sure they understand it and they are not trying to play their own way but rather the team’s way.

“It has been a bit of a struggle trying to find the guys ice time. Guys have to try to find their niche here and carve out their path.

“It is back to the drawing board in terms of hard work and winning battles. If we can do that, we will give ourselves a good chance for success.”

Saturday night’s opponents, the Canadians (2-2-0-0), were one of the top teams in the West Division last season, but they got off to a bit of a slow start.

Still, they are currently tied for third place.

“Rayside-Balfour has always been a real physical team to play against,” Beer said.

“They do a good job of puck management and they like to get pucks in behind our defence.

“They make you pay out there and it is going to be a tough battle on Saturday night. They are going to be hungry to get their game going and we are going to be hungry to get our game going.

“It should be quite the grudge match in terms of physical play and forechecking.”

So far this season, the Canadians have featured a balanced attack — with only Giordano Biondi (4, 3-1-4, 2) and Brodie Willard (4, 0-4-4, 2) topping four points on the campaign.

They have been solid on the defensive side of the puck, however, with goalie Jean-Marc Brisson (120:00, 1-1-0-0, 0, 2.00, .951) at the top of this game.

Meanwhile Sunday’s opponents, the Voodoos (5-0-0-0), currently hold down top spot in the East Division.

They will likely be looking for a little revenge after the Rock knocked them out of the playoffs in the East Division semi-final, 4-2, even though they were the No. 5-ranked team in Canada.

“Obviously, Powassan does a good job every year of bringing players in,” Beer said.

“They have such a good connection with North Bay (Battalion, of the OHL). They have picked up right where they left off in terms of having high-end, quality skilled players.

“(Coach) Max (Gavin) has done a great job of getting them going. It is going to be no easy weekend for us. Really, there aren’t too many easy games in this league.”

The Voodoos have plenty of firepower with the likes of Cade Herd (5, 5-4-9, 4), David Campbell (5, 4-5-9, 2), Timmins native Gabienen Kioki (5, 3-5-8, 4), Henry Scott (5, 2-5-7, 2) and Tomas Yachmenev (5, 3-3-6, 0) in the lineup.

And goalie Christian Cicigoi (184:00, 3-0-0-0, 0, 2.28, .941) is back stopping pucks for Powassan.

Beer doesn’t think there is any great secret to what his team is going to have to do on the weekend to be successful.

“We have to get back to being better with puck management,” he said.

“We have made too many needless turnovers that have ended up in odd-man rushes against.

“We just can’t afford that when we play against good teams. They will make you pay. It is only a matter of time before those mistakes end up in the back of your net.”

Forward Stewart Parnell left the game in Kirkland Lake midway through the second period with an upper-body injury and the news does not appear to be good.

“It is a long-term injury and I don’t think we will be seeing him for quite some time,” Beer said.

“It is extremely unfortunate given where Stewart got himself in the off season in terms of getting into game shape and it looked like he was ready to explode this year.

“He was one of our leaders and an assistant captain, arguably one of our best players, a 200-foot guy.”

Parnell (3, 0-2-2, 2) missed significant time during the 2017-18 season, as well, after suffering a similar injury.

The Rock are working to add another forward to the roster, but in the interim the team will look to somebody currently in camp to hopefully pick up some of the slack.

“It is going to be the next guy up and hopefully that player will be able to help fill Stewie’s role,” Beer said.

The Rock will also be without forward Maxime Charbonneau (3, 1-2-3, 9) for Saturday night’s contest, as he picked up a one-game suspension for his role in a third-period tussle behind the Rock net during the loss in Kirkland Lake.

Gold Miners forward Max Newnam also picked up a one-game suspension from that incident.

Tyler Masternak (140:00, 1-2-0-0, 1, 3.85, .866) has started all three games in goal for the Rock this season, but Nicholas Dicks (40:00, 0-0-0-0, 0, 1.52, .917) has seen action in two of them, as well.

“We are going to split them on the weekend,” Beer said.

“We are still working on which one of them will get the start on Saturday and which one of them will be in net Sunday, but we have to get Nick into a game as a starter.

“He has been good in relief and we have to give him the opportunity to start a game. He is a good young goalie and we have to get him going.

“In terms of Masty, there are probably a couple of goals he would like to have back from the last two games, but he was lights out in the opener.

“It is just a matter of getting our defensive systems sorted out and playing better in front of those guys.”

As a group of students in their rubber boots gather around, their feet sinking into the peat bog, camp coordinator Robert O’Connor advises the students to watch their step and avoid stepping on the pitcher plants.

“Pitcher plants? What are those?” one of the students in the group is heard quietly asking.

On this, the second of a three-day Kidd Operation Eco-Camp at Camp Bickell, the students are on a morning field trip to learn about carnivorous plants.

Clusters of the pitcher-shaped plants that use their pools of nectar within their smooth cup-like leaves to attract and drown bugs, can be found throughout the bog.

For Alexis Moraze, a Grade 11 student from Timmins High and Vocational School, this is her second year attending the camp.

“I’m really interested in ecology and biology and things dealing with animals,” she explained. “Last year, I had a great experience. I learned quite a bit and so I decided to come back to do some of the activities I didn’t do last year.”

Following the presentation at the bog, the students taking part in the camp were going to visit a forest that had been previously harvested, where they would learn about reforestation and forestry practices that promote sustainability.

There were also scheduled presentations by government ministry and industry experts on species at risk and mine water management.

“I really enjoyed people coming in and sharing their experiences,” said Moraze. “I’ve learned more about job opportunities.”

This is the third year Glencore Kidd Operations has sponsored a fall ecology camp at Bickell.

From Monday to Wednesday, 42 students from francophone high schools in Cochrane and Timiskaming districts attended the camp. During the second half of the week, 26 students from English language high schools within the two districts attended.

Darrell MacGregor, a retired teacher and one of the facilitators for the camp, said the camp is intended for “Grade 10 and 11 students who are keen on the environment or being out in the woods, but also some individuals who may be bound for science-oriented careers.”

MacGregor said Glencore covers the camp costs.

“The kids don’t pay anything to come to this. It’s free of charge to them.”

The campers this year included students from Timmins High as well as schools from Iroquois Falls, Cochrane, Englehart and Temiskaming Shores.

While the wonders of nature provide a highlight for many of the young campers, for MacGregor, a retired teacher, he said he enjoys seeing “the young men and women interact with nature, interact with each other, and the light being switched on in terms of possibilities for working within the environment.”

A brand new and fully accessible taxi vehicle is on the market at a price that might be better than expected by the taxi companies in Timmins.

The Overland Custom Coach company was in Timmins Thursday to show off one of their latest models, a Dodge van that is customized to handle a wheelchair or a mobility scooter.

Overland brought a customized accessible taxi van to the Downtown Timmins Urban Park Farmer’s Market Thursday just to show what is available to the market.

It was almost a year ago that the Timmins Police Services Board, which oversees the taxi bylaw in Timmins, agreed to allow for additional taxi licences to accommodate the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

That means any taxi company in Timmins that wants to provide the service only has to ask for a licence if they provide the proper vehicle.

There are two taxi companies in Timmins; Vet’s Taxi which has several independent brokers and Northern Taxi, a newer company that has been in business for only a few years.

So far, neither company has acquired an accessible taxi or an accessible taxi licence.

Overland Custom Coach representative David Branston said his visit came at the suggestion of Timmins Transit officials he met at a recent trade show.  His company has provided Timmins Transit with Handy-Transit vehicles.

He said accessible taxis operate in other Ontario cities and have been found to be useful in that the vehicles can serve as a conventional cab or as a proper accessibility cab, when it is needed.

As he demonstrated the various features of the customized Dodge van, Branston said the price was not prohibitive.

He said the cost of the accessible vehicle for use in the taxi business would be in the range of $50,000 to $60,000 depending on the features. The vehicle he brought to Timmins could be priced around $55,000, he said.

During discussions held at the TPS Board last year, local taxi officials said the cost of an accessible van for taxi service could run between $150,000 and $200,000.

Branston said one of the key features of the Overland vehicle is how easy it can accommodate customers in mobility scooters or wheelchairs. A low-level ramp is pulled out from the passenger side of the van, the wheelchair rolls up, gets strapped in with heavy floor-mounted strapping devices and the trip begins.

Branston said some customers prefer to ride up front, instead of sitting in the area behind the driver. In that case, he said, the front passenger seat can be pulled back and the wheelchair can roll forward and be locked in to the front passenger space. He added that four additional seats in the van will allow wheelchair users to travel with friends and family members.

The accessible taxi van demonstration was welcomed by Dan McKay, a local advocate with the Timmins Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee (MAAC). McKay attended the demonstration and told reporters the cab would fill a gap in service for people with mobility issues.

The Timmins Handy-Transit system operates within the hours of regular bus service, but there is limited service on weekends and no service on statutory holidays.  While Handy-Transit users pay the same fares as Timmins Transit users, they must be registered and have to phone ahead to make a reservation for being picked up as well as for the return trip back home. An accessible taxi service would provide on-demand service around the clock at regular taxi rates.

McKay said the MAAC group is hoping either Vets, Northern or both cab companies will consider purchasing an accessible van. He said MAAC is willing to subsidize the purchase up to $10,000 per vehicle.

“The ball’s in the court of the owners of the cab companies,” said McKay. He added that the funding for MAAC comes from the fines levied on motorists who illegally park their vehicles in designated handicapped parking spaces.

As the demonstration for the van was underway, one city resident David Rivard navigated his motorized wheelchair up the ramp and into the van to check it out. Rivard spent several minutes chatting with Branston, the Overland representative.

Afterwards, Rivard said if the van was purchased by a cab company he would indeed use it. He said he is a regular user of Handy-Transit, but said it has limitations.  He said he liked that the accessible taxi van would provide him with a new option for travel.

He said a regular accessible taxi would be useful for medical appointments and other everyday outings. He also mentioned it would be nice to go out with friends for an evening social event, without having to wrap things up by 11 p.m. which is how late the Handy-Transit will operate.

Timmins Police Service officers recognized and arrested a couple of city residents on Thursday that police knew were wanted on arrest warrants.

In two separate incidents, the TPS took two individuals into custody based on strength of outstanding warrants.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. Thursday, police report that one of their officers recognized a man he believed to be the subject of an existing arrest warrant. The warrant was confirmed and upon arrest, police said a quantity of suspected methamphetamine was found in the suspect’s possession.

Jeremy Embleton, 39, of Timmins, was arrested on the warrant and then charged with one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance contrary to the Controlled Drug and Substances Act.

The accused remains in police custody while awaiting a Bail Hearing.

In a separate incident, a male suspect allegedly involved in an incident of Criminal Harassment was observed by a Timmins Police Service officer Thursday while that officer was carrying out  patrols in South Porcupine.

Police said the male suspect, Jacob  Gervais, 20, of Timmins, was taken into custody and is charged

with:

– Two counts of Fail to Comply with Probation Order contrary to the Criminal Code of

Canada;

– One count of Fail to Comply with Undertaking contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

The accused remains in police custody while awaiting a Bail Hearing, said police.

Matheson OPP have charged a Niagara Region man with dangerous driving causing bodily harm following a collision that sent five people to hospital with what police describe as “serious injuries.”

On Sept. 5, 2018 at approximately 5:12 p.m., the Matheson detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police was called to investigate a collision involving two motor vehicles on Highway 11, south of Matheson.

The local OPP issued a release Friday reporting both the collision and the laying of the charge.

“As a result of the collision, five people were transported to hospital by ambulance with serious injuries,” OPP stated in the release. “The OPP Technical Collision Investigators attended the scene to assist with the investigation.

On Thursday, the OPP North East Region Crime Unit arrested and charged Paul Schaefer, 64, of Fonthill, Ont., with five counts of Dangerous Operation of Motor Vehicle Cause Bodily Harm, contrary to section 249(3) of the Criminal Code.

He was released on a Promise to Appear and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Timmins on Nov. 6, 2018.

Conditions were near ideal for the 38th-annual Brother Roland Saumur Invitational Cross-Country Meet at Hersey Lake on Thursday.

That led to a pair of new meet marks being established and two others being tied.

Thériault’s Alexandre Lapointe established a new standard in the Midget Boys 4,160 metres when he completed the course in a time of 14:26.00.

“I started to pass people after the big hill,” he said.

“After the hill, people start to get tired and it is easier to pass them.”

Lapointe, who was taking part in the race for the first time, still had plenty of gas in the tank for the final half of the race.

“It wasn’t too hot and we got a little breeze while we were running,” he said.

The Thériault cross-country team trains quite a bit at Hersey Lake, which Lapointe agreed was an advantage.

“I have run this course a couple of times, so I know when to start running fast, or to slow down,” he said.

Lakeview’s Maren Kasunich finished the Grade 7 Girls 2,480 metres in a time of 9:50.00 to set a new meet standard.

The Manitoulin Island runner found the advice provided by her coach paid off big time.

“I just tried to relax my upper body and Ava (Assinewai) and I stuck together the whole time, until the end” she said.

“I tried to stick with the top few runners coming out of the parking lot area, then I just sprinted and when we came out, it was just Ava and I and I kept on going.”

Kasunich didn’t look back to see how close the pack was behind her in the final stages of the race.

“If they were close behind, I probably would have heard them,” she said.

Unlike most of the Timmins runners, Kasunich wasn’t familiar with the Hersey Lake trails prior to her race.

“It wasn’t that bad,” she said.

“There were just a few roots here and there. I didn’t slip or anything.”

Record-setting performance aside, Kasunich enjoyed getting to run at the scenic location.

“It is very pretty,” she said.

Jacques-Cartier’s Hugo Richard tied the Grade 3 Boys 1,240 metres record of 5:24.00 set in 2017 by St-Dominique’s Joshua Vipond and Anicet-Morin’s Peyton Daigle tied the Grade 5 Boys, 1,240 metres record of 4:48.00 set by Anicet-Morin’s Vincent Chenier in 2012.

There were plenty of impressive non record-setting performances, as well, of course.

RMSS’s Ryan Armitage finished first in the Grade 7 Boys 2,480 metres, in a time of 9:25.00.

“Oh, it was fast,” he said, while trying to catch his breath after being asked about the pace of his race.

“There were a lot of good runners. I tried to stay with the top guys and then tried to beat them at the end and I lucked out.”

There was still just over a lap to go when Armitage, whose best finish previously was 12th in 2017, took the lead.

“The course was rocky and hilly and hard running in the soft sand,” he said.

Thériault’s Alexi Dupuis took top spot in the Midget Girls 4,160 metres in a time of 17:27.00.

“I started off fast and I got to the front right away,” she said.

“Then, I settled into my pace and once I knew there was about 800 metres left I started speeding up. At 100 metres, I sprinted.”

In all three of the high school divisions, the boys ran with the girls, but Dupuis didn’t have any issues knowing where the female competitors were during the race.

“It really pushes me when I run with the boys,” she said.

Dupuis has been taking part in the Brother Roland Saumur Invitational Cross-Country Meet since she was in Grade 2, although she did not run for Thériault all those years.

“I started off running for St-Dominique, then at Anicet-Morin and this year for Thériault,” she said.

The newcomer to the powerhouse Thériault cross-country team enjoys running for the school.

“There is really good chemistry and everyone gets along together,” Dupuis said.

Brother Roland Saumur, the man who founded the event almost four decades ago, might not be as spry as he once was, but he still enjoys getting a chance to come out and watch the young runners.

“It is super,” he said.

“It was a good move to switch the event to Thursday from Saturday.”

Brother Saumur had no idea back when the race was first held that it would still be going strong 38 years later.

“We just took things one year at a time,” he said.

“Now, it has become something that has to go on and on.”

Brother Saumur is just as much of an advocate for cross-country running today as he was back when he helped organize the first race.

“I like to see kids on the move and get a chance to interact with kids,” he said.

“That’s what has kept me going all these years.”

Never one to sit still, Brother Saumur could be seen at the finish line for some of the races, at the start of others and even up watching at the midway point.

“I stand at different places to see the progress of the races,” he said.

Brother Saumur hopes to see the race named in his honour continue well into the future.

“I am anxious to see the time where kids are ashamed to say they are not running,” he said.

“I see that as the influence of cross-country, to get a mass of kids on the move.”

Brother Saumur considers cross-country to be the sport for training when it comes to just about any other sport.

“In the 1970s, the Russians taught us to put some running in the training for hockey players,” he said.

“They introduced that into the NHL and its feeder organizations and now there is more running in preparation for hockey, or any sports, except maybe checkers.”

Joel Ruel, a long-time organizer of the Brother Roland Saumur Invitational Cross-Country Meet and one of the coaches of the Thériault squad, was pleased with how things went on Thursday.

“We have 35 schools taking part and around 1,050 runners,” he said.

“Conditions were perfect for running, not too warm, not too cold and it has been dry.”

While the majority of the athletes taking part in Thursday’s event were from Timmins, it attracted students from across the region, as well.

“We have schools from Temiskaming Shores (New Liskeard), the Englehart area, Iroquois Falls and even Manitoulin Island,” Ruel said.

The Brother Roland Saumur Invitational Cross-Country Meet kicks off the season for local schools.

“It is our main fundraiser for Thériault,” Ruel said.

“After this, we have races every week, with NEOAA being held on Oct. 23, here at Hersey Lake. The, OFSAA will be held on Nov. 3 in Dundas.

“For our runners, it is a chance to see the trails they will be running on next month for NEOAA.”

Ruel likes the chances of the Thériault team when it comes to NEOAA and hopefully OFSAA, as well.

“We have about 50 runners, so the numbers are good,” he said.

“We do have some class runners.”

It wouldn’t be possible to stage and event of the magnitude of the Brother Roland Saumur Invitational Cross-Country Meet each year without the assistance of more than 80 voluteers and numerous sponsors and organizers are grateful for both.

• • •

Following are the Top 10 finishers in each of the events held during the 38th-annual Brother Roland Saumur Invitational Cross-Country Meet at Hersey Lake on Thursday:

• Grade 3 Girls 1,240 metres — 1. Kylee Costello, Cougars, 5:48.00; 2. Anna Black, EPS, 5:54.00; 3. Emma Levasseur, St-Dominique, 6:00.00; 4. Lauren Black, EPS, 6:09.00; 5. Charlotte Marr, BS, 6:11.00; 6. Olivia Laroche, St-Dominique, 6:11.00; 7. Brooklyn Daigle, St-Dominique, 6:16.00; 8. Sabrina Joanisse, St-Gerard, 6:17.00; 9. Isabelle Gilbert, St-Dominique, 6:18.00; 10. Callie Dickson, DB, 6:22.00.

• Grade 3 Boys 1,240 metres — 1. Hugo Richard, Jacques-Cartier, 5:24.00; 2. Tanner Adams GPS, 5:27.00; 3. Easton Assinewai, Eagles, 5:33.00; 4. Cole Wilson, Pope Francis, 5:41.00; 5. Cameron Swartz, Jacques-Cartier, 5:44.00; 6. Louka Labelle, St-Dominique, 5:50.00; 7. Bryce Morin, Jacques-Cartier, 5:51.00; 8. Olivier Morin, St-Dominique, 5:53.00; 9. Evan Donovan, St-Dominique, 5:56.00; 10.Logan Maurice, St-Dominique, 5:58.00.

• Grade 4 Girls 1,240 metres — 1. Kiana Charest, AM, 5:28.00; 2. Emma Bellehumeur, Flames, 5:32.00; 3. Annick Gilbert, AM, 5:42.00; 4. Danica Labelle, AM, 5:43.00; 5. Sydney Picard, DB, 5:45.00; 6. Karlina Lefevre, PINE, 5:49.00; 7. Naomi Rockel, PINE, 5:50.00; 8. Ania Costache, EPS, 5:52.00; 9. Maia Kinsella, Jacques-Cartier, 5:52.00; 10. Vayda Mascaro, Cougars, 5:56,00.

• Grade 4 Boys 1,240 metres — 1. Seth Boucher, St-Jude, 5:03.00; 2. Pietila McKinley, BS, 5:10.00; 3. Joshua Vipond, AM, 5:16.00; 4. Brycen Roussy, W. E. Miller, 5:18.00; 5. Gavin Baker, DB, 5:20.00; 6. Andre Bysterveld, Edn, 5:27.00; 7. Justin Leclerc, AM, 5:29.00; 8. Caelim Brazeau, Jacques-Cartier, 5:32.00; 9. Jeremy Hull, St-Jude, 5:34.00; 10. Jean-P Lariviére, DB, 5:35,00.

• Grade 5 Girls 1,240 metres — 1. Chantal Kukulka, AM, 5:12.00; 2. Amaia AideRios, Sacre-Coeur, 5:16.00; 3. Hailey Guindon, DB, 5:26.00; 4. Gabriel Lapointe, AM, 5:32.00; 5. Nicole Kukulka, AM, 5:33.00; 6. Emme Dufour, AM, 5:36.00; 7. Emma Bradley, SMC, 5:39.00; 8. Jillian Daguerre, Sacre-Coeur, 5:47.00; 9. J. Bourdages-Cote, Sacre-Coeur, 5:52.00; 10. Charley Pollock, EPS, 5:52.00.

• Grade 5 Boys 1,240 metres — 1. Peyton Daigle, AM, 4:48.00; 2. Joey Labranche, Sacre-Coeur, 4:57.00; 3. S Bourdages-Cote, Sacre-Coeur, 4:59.00; 4. Sam Rimmer, Flames, 5:02.00; 5. Jackson Marr, BS, 5:06.00; 6. Jackson Smith, EPS, 5:08.00; 7. Jaden Martin, AM, 5:15.00; 8. J. Fenton-Chypyha, Knights, 5:18.00; 9. Scott Jodouin, AM, 5:18.00; 10. Paxton Morden, St-Jude, 5:20.00.

• Grade 6 Girls 1,660 metres — 1. Jenna Kim, Sacre-Coeur, 6:46.00; 2. Brooke Goulet, Flames, 6:56.00; 3. Julia Picard, DB, 6:58.00; 4. Sara Swartz, Sacre-Coeur, 7:06.00; 5. Makay MacPherson, EPS, 7:17.00; 6. Raven Baker, DB, 7:26.00; 7. Siena Therrien, DB, 7:26.00; 8. Ella Bertrand, Sacre-Coeur, 7:28.00; 9. Anne-sop Labelle, Sacre-Coeur, 7:32.00; 10. Hanna Kinsella, Sacre-Coeur, 7:48.00.

• Grade 6 Boys 1,660 metres — 1. Ian McLean, DB, 6:33.00; 2. Hudson Litt, Les Lions, 6:38.00; 3. Joshua Marcos, Les Lions, 6:42.00; 4. Tyson Scott, W. E. Miller, 6:59.00; 5. Nathan Forget, DB, 7:01.00; 6. Dalton Cook, Knights, 7:06.00; 7. Landon Blain, AM, 7:07.00; 8. Teegan Bertrand, Les Lions, 7:08.00; 9. Kenneth Chaban, Les Lions, 7:09.00; 10. Sanu Ramola, W. E. Miller, 7:12.00.

• Grade 7 Girls 2,480 metres — 1. Maren Kasunich, Lakeview, 9:50.00; 2. Ava Assinewai, Eagles, 10:03.00; 3. Maria AideRios, Sacre-Coeur, 10:30.00; 4. Maija McCord, Knights, 10:50.00; 5. Kelsey Adams, RMSS, 10:53.00; 6. Felicit Montminy, Englehart, 10:54.00; 7. Keragan Brown, Saints, 11:01.00; 8. Gabriel Hamilton, Sacre-Coeur, 11:12.00; 9. Kendr Rusenstrom, Beattie, 11:20.00; 10. Ella Rimmer, Beattie, 11:22.00.

• Grade 7 Boys 2,480 metres — 1. Ryan Armitage, RMSS, 9:25.00; 2. Maxime Morin, AM, 9:27.00; 3. Scot Bellehumeur, Beattie, 9:45.00; 4. Callum McAuley, Beattie, 10:10.00; 5. Stéphan Lisiecki, SMC, 10:12.00; 6. Clayton Quinton, Saints, 10:13.00; 7. Aaron Veerbeek, RMSS, 10:17.00; 8. Trystan Gadoury, Sacre-Coeur, 10:25.00; 9. Nathan Lemire, AM, 10:36.00; 10. Ty Morin, Edn, 10:38.00.

• Grade 8 Girls 2,900 metres — 1. Taryn Gauthier, AM, 11:48.00; 2. Morgan Rickard, AM , 12:15.00; 3. Lea Mclean, Sacre-Coeur, 12:51.00; 4. Durepos-Létournea, Sacre-Coeur, 12:59.00; 5. Carlen Bertrand, ESPR, 13:17.00; 6. Jade Shalton, Beattie, 13:20.00; 7. Carly Lachance, Sacre-Coeur, 13:21.00; 8. Sarah Marshall, Englehart High, 13:36.00; 9. Nina Anderson, Englehart, 13:37.00; 10. Dominiq Bouchard, AM, 13:48.00.

• Grade 8 Boys 2,900 metres — 1. Justin Kim, Sacre-Coeur, 11:05.00; 2. Aidan Purificati, Knights, 11:25.00; 3. Jacob Beaulac, Sacre-Coeur, 11:38.00; 4. Dayton Cook, Knights, 12:05.00; 5. Hunter Brazeau, Sacre-Coeur, 12:24.00; 6. Patri Lafontaine, Sacre-Coeur, 12:25.00; 7. Ryan Bradley, Saints, 12:28.00; 8. Brady Stockman, Beattie, 12:48.00; 9. Brayden Bruce, Saints, 13:04.00; 10. Wesley Papineau, AM, 13:21.00.

• Midget Girls 4,160 metres — 1. Alexi Dupuis, Thériault, 17:27.00; 2. M. Bourdages-Cote, Thériault, 18:06.00; 3. Madison Brunet, Thériault, 18:42.00; 4. Sophie Harterre, Thériault, 20:12.00; 5. Alysa Peddie, Timiskaming, 20:18.00; 6. A. Rice-Robertson, Thériault, 20:20.00; 7. Morghan Byrnes, Thériault, 20:27.00; 8. Destiny Greyson, Timiskaming, 21:12.00; 9. Emilia Oliver, Thériault, 21:54.00; 10. Amber Vane, Thériault, 21:59.00.

• Midget Boys 4,160 metres — 1. Alex Lapointe, Thériault, 14:26.00; 2. Kyle Roy, Thériault, 15:44.00; 3. No Boissonneault, Thériault, 15:45.00; 4. Carter Armitage, RMSS, 17:37.00; 5. Nicol Lajeunesse, Thériault, 17:39,00; 6. Braden Lauzon, O’Gorman, 18:59.00; 7. Aidan McCauley, TH&VS, 19:28.00; 8. Curran Richard, ESPR, 20:20.00; 9. Victor Belanger, Englehart, 20:40.00; 10. Brecken Clark, RMSS, 20:48.00.

• Junior Girls 4,890 metres — 1. Jordan Bartolomucci, Thériault, 21:17.00; 2. Shannon O’Reilly, Timiskaming, 21:18,00; 3. Macy Turcotte, Thériault, 21:19.00; 4. Daniella Rochon, Thériault, 21:19.00; 5. Jessica Kim, Thériault, 22:45.00; 6. Maryssa Gadoury, Thériault, 25:37.00; 7. Sarah Deforge, Thériault, 25:52.00; 8. Jaden Bellaire, RMSS, 25:53.00; 9. Shaelyn Furtney, TH&VS, 26:01.00; 10. Amelie Mainville, Thériault, 26:31.00.

• Junior Boys 4,890 metres — 1. Joe Bourdon, Thériault, 19:11.00; 2. Ian Little, TH&VS, 19:16.00; 3. Drew Chisholm, Thériault, 19:20.00; 4. Curran Richard, RSPR, 20:32.00; 5. Justin Gagnon, Thériault, 20:40.00; 6. Ethan Vincze, O’Gorman, 20:40.00; 7. Harrison Clark, O’Gorman, 20:42.00; 8. Gavin Gagnon, O’Gorman, 20:50.00; 9. Benoit Morneau, Thériault, 22:01.00; 10. Peter Giesen, Englehart, 22:14,00.

• Senior Girls 6,130 metres — 1. Maxine Dupuis, Thériault, 25:06.00; 2. Alexa Caron, Thériault, 25:57.00; 3. Kristen Kornell, Thériault, 26:09.00; 4. Sabrina Sullivan, M, 26:19.00; 5. Amelia Melancon, Thériault, 28:18.00; 6. Julia Kim, Thériault, 28:22.00; 7. Meghan Boileau, Thériault, 28:40.00; 8. Mya Dolanjski, O’Gorman, 29:19.00; 9. Leah Blain, O’Gorman, 30:29.00; 10. Mackenzie Forest, TH&VS, 31:08.00.

• Senior Boys 6,130 metres — 1. Vincent Chenier, Thériault, 21:02.00; 2. Carson Brunet, Thériault, 21:41.00; 3. Mike Anderson, M, 22:14.00; 4. Mat Delli Quadri, Thériault, 22:17.00; 5. Luc Guenette, Thériault, 23:57.00; 6. Samuel Harterre, Thériault, 24:04.00; 7. Cameron Date, Timiskaming, 24:16.00; 8. Tyler Marcotte, TH&VS, 25:05.00; 9. Kevin Mikovitch, Englehart, 25:08.00; 10. Zach Vincze, O’Gorman, 25:09.00.