Cold snap & cozy spots ❄️

IN THIS ISSUE

➡️ John Andrew left a legacy

➡️ Transit contract extended

➡️ Morell River now has ice

QUICK HITS

🌲 Large Legacy: He wasn’t quite a household name, but generations to come will enjoy his legacy. Dr. John Andrew passed away last week. Professionally, John was a doctor in Nova Scotia and here at home, most recently at the QEH cancer treatment centre. His legacy to our community started taking shape when he co-founded the Wright’s Creek Watershed Environmental Committee with Darren Riggs. The Committee established an extensive network of walking trails through East Royalty. John and his wife Christine donated the northern portion of Andrew’s Pond to the city in 2019, a gesture that was noted when he received a Medal of Merit (Order of PEI) last year. He was 76.

💨 New Cannabis Store: Residents of Stratford who partake in some recreational toking will soon have one less reason to head over to Charlottetown. Cannabis PEI posted a tender last week for a retail store fit-up in the Kinlock Plaza, two doors down from Mary Brown’s Chicken. Tender timelines require the store to be handed over to Cannabis PEI by mid-August. This will be PEI’s 5th cannabis shop, with locations already operating in Charlottetown, Summerside, Montague and O’Leary.

🥌 Curling Over the Pond: Before the Charlottetown Curling Club found its former home on Euston Street back in the 40’s, players of the sport struggled to maintain a place to throw their rocks. They’d play at Government Pond, a strip over the harbour (good luck doing that now), or just about any patch of ice they could find. But it seems that tradition of hustling is now over in the capital, as the Club has set its sights on building a new four-sheet rink in Stratford. The Club has been without a home since the PEI Housing Corporation purchased the Euston Street property for $1.55M in November 2021.

🏆 Business Hall of Fame: The 2023 Prince Edward Island Business Hall of Fame inductees have been announced by Junior Achievement. This year’s inductees are Mary van den Broek Grant (Cardigan Feed Service and Cardigan Feed Retail), Warren Ellis (Frosty Treat Dairy Bar and Summerside Chrysler Dodge), and John Robinson & the late Alan Robinson (Ingleside Farms and Mid-Isle Farms, represented by Lori Robinson). The official ceremony, which doubles as a fundraiser for JA, takes place May 23. Tickets are now available.

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PUBLIC TRANSIT

Transit Contract Extended

Charlottetown council has voted to extend the city’s public transit contract with Trius Tours for an additional ten years. The contract, which was originally signed in 2005 and then extended in 2015, was set to expire in 2025.

I was surprised to learn this. Back in September, the Environment & Sustainability Committee heard that the city was planning to open the contract up to make some changes before entering into a new 30-year contract with an operator.

But it seems that plan has since changed. The Committee met most recently on Jan. 18, where it discussed this new ten-year extension for an hour during a closed (not public) session. When the meeting opened back up to the public, the Committee quickly passed resolutions to extend the contract, and to finalize a land purchase and lease agreement that I reported on back in July (recapped below).

📝 Recap from July 27th Issue: Charlottetown will spend $2.95M to acquire the Trius Transit and Coach Atlantic bus depot facility and land on Mount Edward Road. Council approved the purchase at a special meeting Monday evening (July 25, 2022). Under the resolution approved by council, the city will lease the facilities back to Trius Transit and Coach Atlantic for their continued use of the existing facilities. The land is being purchased from Northumberland Ventures Ltd., which is a company owned by Mike Cassidy. The city has plans to build an electric transit hub facility on the property.

🤓 For the nerds: I obtained a copy of the transit agreement back in 2018, here’s the PDF if you want to read it (3.6MB). My interest back then had to do with bus shelter advertising; the agreement gives Trius exclusive rights to sell advertisements on shelters the city owns. Trius contracted its advertising sales out to Pinnacle Marketing Group, a company owned by The Michael Cassidy Family Trust. Am I the only one who thinks bus shelter advertising should have been tendered out?

#PEIslandEdition

We're On Thin Ice 🧊

Brian LaPierre captures excellent PEI nature photography for his Instagram page, @brianlp.photos. This week Brian captured a photo showing a little ice finally forming on Morell River. If you like nature photography and PEI, then it's mandatory that you check out Brian's page.

Tag @PEIslandEdition or use #PEIslandEdition to get your post featured in Island Edition!

COMMUNITY CORNER

👥 ADHD Meeting: ADHD PEI will hold a public meeting and information session this evening (Feb 1) at the Charlottetown Library from 6-7PM. ADHD PEI is a non-profit group that works to help people affected and impacted by ADHD on PEI. Full details are available here.

❄️ Winter Wellness: Borden-Carleton and PEI Community Navigator has organized an afternoon of winter wellness activities. Everything is free to attend. There’s an event listing on Facebook with all the details.

📱 Tech N Talk: This event is over a week away, but I’m sharing it now to give you a chance to promote it with your elderly family members: A digital literacy event for seniors (65 years of age and older) will be held on Feb. 11. Seniors looking for assistance with their digital devices are invited to take part in this program, which is being offered by the Office of Seniors and Big Brothers Big Sisters of PEI. Here’s a page with more information.

Send a quick message if your organization would like to publish a quick PSA. There's no charge for these. Max three per-issue.

WEATHER

Wednesday

🌤️ H -9°C 🌡️ L -12°C 
💨 WNW 13 km/h, gusting 30

Thursday

🌦️ H -3°C 🌡️ L -5°C
💨 WNW 19 km/h, gusting 33

Island Edition Storm Watch

👀 It's not a storm, but the temperature this week will be a slap in the face. A quick blast of arctic air is going to roll in Friday evening, plunging the Island into the mid-minus 20's. When you factor in windchill, Friday night will feel near -45°C. 🥶

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