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MSS Past
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by Tom Sasvari
MANITOULIN - The success of the Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS)
Mustangs boys hockey team, winning the NOSSA championships, has
brought back pleasant memories for members of the first MSS hockey
team, in 1969.
"They were a really good team, and Bruce Watt was a real good coach,"
said Ted Jackson, who was an assistant coach on that team (along with
Larry Burns). He pointed out the MSS team went to the NOSSA finals
only to be defeated in the last game.
"We were undefeated up until that game in the North Shore league
which included teams from Espanola, Elliot Lake, and Blind River,"
said Glen McDougall, also a member of the team. "We were still
unbeaten through the playoffs when we went against Sudbury Secondary
School (SSS)."
"Ivan McFarlane (SSS) beat us single-handedly. We lost by one goal,
in overtime, on a goal by him," stated Mr. McDougall. Mr. Jackson
recalled that, "Doug Farquhar was our main goalie that year, and the
team included guys like Glen McDougall, Max McDougall, Brad Campbell,
Ross McDougall and Ed Laidley. "It was a heckuva team," said Tom
Farquhar one of the goalies on the team. He noted some of the other
members of the team included Terry Orford, Rob Little, Floyd Ense,
and Albert Beaudin.
Some of the other members of the team included Larry Roy, Max
McDermid, Mark Dunlop, and Larry Hunter said Mr. McDougall. "I
remember Rob Little wanted to get into a fight with Ivan (McFarlane)
but he wouldn't. We figured if we could get Ivan into a fight and get
him kicked out of the game we would do alright," he said. "I remember
we were on the bus, getting ready to travel for a playoff game, when
Sam Bondi told Kerry Rowe, the bus driver for A.J. Bus Lines, to
wait. Sam told all the players, that if we had missed the chemistry
test, then we couldn't leave until we took the test. It was the only
chemistry test I passed that year," quipped Mr. McDougall.
In that first year, MSS played its home games at arenas in Little
Current, Gore Bay and Mindemoya. "The arenas were filled with fans
for every game," said Mr. McDougall. He noted that players on the
high school team also played on other teams, such as senior and
midget hockey teams. "One month, I think it was January, between high
school, senior and midget hockey, out of the 31 days there were 25
days of hockey, and I loved every minute of it."
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Three MSS
teams bound for OFSAA
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by Neil Zacharjewicz
MANITOULIN - Three Manitoulin Secondary School sports teams are
headed to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations
championships.
Both the Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) Boys and Girls Hockey
Teams are headed to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic
Associations championships (OFSAA) later this month in Mississauga
and Peterborough respectively. The MSS Girls Curling Team, meanwhile,
while hit the rink in Thunder Bay on April 4, 5 and 6.
The MSS Boys Hockey team secured their berth in OFSAA by advancing to
the championship game in the Northern Ontario Secondary School
Athletic Association (NOSSA) championship held last week in Sudbury.
The team was admitted to the NOSSA tournament after a team from Sault
Ste. Marie withdrew. The Mustangs made the most of the opportunity,
and went on to win the NOSSA title with a 3-1 victory over the
Chelmsford Flyers at Countryside Arena in Sudbury on Wednesday, March
6.
The OFSAA Boys Hockey Double A Championships will run from March 19
until March 22. The Double A division is determined based on school
population, and the category refers to schools between 600 and 750
students.
MSS is seeded sixth out of sixteen teams in the province who have
qualified to play in the tournament. There are four pools, each with
four teams. MSS will play in Pool 'C,' along with the third seed, the
St. Theresa Titans from Belleville; the St. Paul Wolverines from
Mississauga, who are the 11th seed; and the Brock Bulldogs from
Cannington High School in Brock, who are the 14th seed.
The teams which finish in the top two in their pool advance to the
quarter finals.
Several members of the coaching staff will be featuring new
hairstyles for the tournament, as they had promised to shave their
heads for the team if they won the NOSSA Championship.
The Girls Hockey Team, meanwhile, is bound for OFSAA following a
tough loss in the city championship. The team had not lost a game all
year when they qualified to face Ecole Secondaire Catholique
L'Horizon in the championship. The team had faced L'Horizon three
times during the regular season, beating them twice and tying them
once. However, in the city championship, L'Horizon was ready for the
Mustangs, defeating MSS in game one in Little Current, then wrapping
up the series in game two in Sudbury.
However, since there is no NOSSA Girls Hockey Championship, simply by
qualifying for the city championship the Mustangs assured themselves
a berth at OFSAA. As of press time, a schedule was unavailable for
the girls. However, the OFSAA Girls Hockey Double A Division
Championship tournament will take place March 20 until March 22.
Participating in OFSAA is not unfamiliar to MSS Girls Curling Team
members Amanda Flanagan and Lauren Paradis, who have qualified for
OFSAA on three other occasions. This time, they are joined by
teammates Rachel Russell and Jessica Clark, and spare Meghan
McCutcheon. The team earned its berth in OFSAA by winning both the
North Shore Secondary School Athletic Association (NSSSA) and
Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (NOSSA) titles
in recent weeks. In fact, the team won all five of its games at NOSSA.
"They were a powerhouse. It was unbelievable," Coach Shirley Dewar
suggested. "MSS is on the map."
MSS Principal Carolyn Lane-Rock confessed she is absolutely thrilled
with the school's success.
"A lot of schools would be proud to be sending just one team to an
OFSAA event," she suggested.
MSS is looking at rebuilding its Championship Fund, which was
originally created through seed funding provided by Manitoulin
Transport several years ago. The fund is presently exhausted, and the
school is looking at ways to raise funds for its teams. One option
being looked at is resurrecting the "duck race" fundraiser in the
spring.
With three teams headed to OFSAA, the school is looking at an
estimated $8,500 in expenses. The estimated cost for the Boys Hockey
team to participate in OFSAA is $3,500, while the Girls Hockey team
may require as much as $3,000. The Girls Curling team, meanwhile, is
faced with expenses of approximately $2,000.
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Rabies edges
closer to Manitoulin Island
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by Michael Erskine
SUDBURY---Two Webbwood cows and a fox set Manitoulin nerves on edge
when positive results last week confirmed the three animals were
infected with rabies.
"We are continuing to monitor the situation," said Sudbury District
Health Unit officer Dan Burns. "We are concerned that it is getting a
little close. There is no need to panic, certainly there have been no
cases reported on Manitoulin Island, but this does mean the disease
is getting closer to our area and it would be prudent for people to
exercise caution."
An unconfirmed case in Elliot Lake may indicate the disease has moved
right across the northern shore of Georgian Bay and has jangled
nerves in communities on the path of the disease.
"There was a bit of a scare in Whitefish Falls as well," said
Mindemoya veterinarian Dale Scott, "but it was probably Parvo Virus.
The animal was vomiting and that is not a symptom normally associated
with rabies."
An outbreak of rabies on Manitoulin Island less than 40 years ago
resulted in 80 to 100 animals being infected. "It was quite an
extensive outbreak," said Mr. Burns.
"Yes, it happened in the early sixties," said Dr. Scott. "We have
been very fortunate after the disease died out, we have been spared
for nearly 40 years so far."
Although the waters of the lakes and North Channel, and the mountains
which surround the area provide a natural barrier to the spread of
the disease, once it has arrived on the Island the conditions for its
spread are quite good.
"We have a lot of easy terrain, and a lot of skunks and foxes," said
Mr. Burns. "Combined with the confined area and relatively easy
terrain, a lot of animals can be infected quite quickly."
Given the theoretical vulnerability of the Island to a rampant rabies
outbreak, there are precautions which residents should adopt.
"You should have your cats and dogs vaccinated against the disease,"
said Mr. Burns. "It is after all a legal requirement."
Although concerns are rising, there are no immediate plans for set
rabies clinics, at this time. "We held one in the fall in
Wikwemikong," said Dr. Scott, "but the problem with holding clinics
is that only 30 or so of the people with pets come out, when there
are as many as 400 animals in the community, and that is without even
beginning to address the problem of strays."
The biggest obstacle in trying to control the spread of rabies
through vaccination is that there is no enforcement in any of the
communities at present. "A rabies shot has proven effective for up to
two years," said Dr. Scott. "But the people who come in with their
animals for a shot are usually the people we see on a regular basis
anyway."
Dr. Scott said that he would consider holding clinics in communities
if they were serious about getting all of the dogs in the community
vaccinated.
"Birch Island is very committed and serious about the issue," said
Dr. Scott. "They have made a commitment to having all of the dogs in
the community vaccinated."
While the disease has yet to make an appearance on the Island, there
are a number of common sense precautions people should observe. "You
should keep your distance from any animal which appears to be acting
in a peculiar way," said Mr. Wierzbicki.
"If you see a fox acting in a very lethargic or aggressive manner, if
they seem to be without a normal fear of humans, give us a call,"
said Mr. Burns. "That doesn't mean call us if you see a fox," he
laughed. "We would be swamped by calls if we got one every time
someone saw a fox, but if you see one acting very strangely that
would be the time to call."
A good indication of a fox in trouble is quills in the mouth. "Foxes
are a lot smarter than that," said Ed Wierzbicki, of the Sudbury
District Health Unit.
Mr. Wierzbicki described incidents where a fox was seen attacking the
tires of a car. "I don't know what prompts them to do that, if they
think it is some kind of large animal, but if you see something like
that, you can count it as unusual behaviour," he said.
The disease causes paralysis of an animal's throat as it nears its
final stages, allowing saliva to drool out of the animal's throat.
This is the source of the 'foaming at the mouth' image associated
with the disease.
If you come across dead carcasses in the bush, the best course of
action is to simply leave it alone. "Nature will take its proper
course," said Mr. Wierzbicki. "The virus does not survive outside of
a live host for any great period of time."
That being said, if you do need to move a dead carcass, take careful
precautions, wear protective gloves and wash your hands thoroughly
afterwards.
"Really the biggest thing people can do is vaccinate their pets,"
said Mr. Wierzbicki. "It doesn't cost very much."
The cost is particularly low when you compare it to the costs of
treating a human after they have been exposed to rabies. "It costs
$1,000 per person," said Mr. Wierzbicki. In the case of one suspected
rabies case in Sudbury, we have had to treat over 20 people who were
exposed to the animal."
Bats remain the greatest rabies threat to humans. "The bite of a bat
is so small and their teeth are so sharp, it is easy for a bite to go
undetected," said Mr. Wierzbicki. "If you wake suddenly and find a
bat flying around in your room, our protocol says come in for
treatment. It is the undetected bite that is the problem. If we know
about an infection, the success rate is 100 per cent."
The Ministry of Natural Resources conducted a vaccinated bait program
south of Sudbury last fall in an effort to stem the northward advance
of the disease, which, judging from the reported cases in the
Webbwood area, was not completely successful.
"There is a lot of territory out there," said Mr. Burns.
After 40 years of rabies-free Island life, a certain complacency has
set in about the disease.
"It is like a lot of things in life," said Dr. Scott. "Until a
problem is on your doorstep, you don't take it as seriously as
perhaps you should."
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