HC Practicum Stories @ Journal Pioneer (April 17-21)

The following are my published stories for the Journal Pioneer during week one of my four-week practicum in Summerside. Click links to view.

Borden-Carleton shop rebrands as The Handpie Company
*Made front page

TOSH students ready to get groovy for R&B show

Miscouche church asks for donation following council election


Legend tells of an elephant buried in downtown Summerside
*Made front page

Rewrites

Young Atlantic Canadians to participate in NEXT150 Model Parliament

Islanders asked to participate in Internet speed survey 

Discover your roots at Genealogy Fair in Summerside

HC Practicum Stories @ Journal Pioneer (April 10-13)

The following are my published stories for the Journal Pioneer during week one of my four-week practicum in Summerside. Click links to view.

Old Summerside building demolished for ADL expansion

Churches carrying cross in procession around Summerside on Good Friday 
*Made front page

'I would never give up coffee' - Summerside pastors discuss how they observe Lent 

Four adults becoming Catholic at St. Paul’s on Saturday

Island sisters on team competing at World Masters Games

HC Practicum Stories @ Journal Pioneer (April 3-7)

The following are my published stories for the Journal Pioneer during week one of my four-week practicum in Summerside. Click links to view.

Island students heading to UPEI for 2017 competition

Miscouche council to elect new chairperson 

No bones about it - Summerside broth business opening market for local farmers 


Rewrites:

Summerside glowing blue for autism 

Summerside mayor taking part in National Poetry Month

HC Practicum Stories @ Journal Pioneer (March 27-31)

The following are my published stories for the Journal Pioneer during week one of my four-week practicum in Summerside. Click links to view.

Parkside Elementary teacher Guylaine Marois gets top marks
*Story by Alysha Campbell, video and photos by myself. 

Summerside library still accepting all kinds of art to display on walls

Miscouche says goodbye to chairman and hello to increased sewer rates

Summerside diners ready to review upcoming Burger Love creations

Summerside area restaurants excited for Burger Love

Burger Love participants can get beefed up at Summerside gym

Rewrites: 

International recruitment session coming up Friday

Summerside bodybuilder Paul Burnley earns Lifetime Achievement Award

Young bluegrass band coming to Summerside this May

Communities across Canada raising awareness for autism on April 3
 

‘Jump, you coward’ Mental health advocate shares story at Holland College

Cutline: Mark Henick speaks with Holland College students during a presentation on Feb. 28. Henick grew up in Cape Breton, but now lives and works in Toronto.

By Daniel Brown

March 15, 2017

        Mark Henick had made multiple suicide attempts, the first when he was 12 years old.

But this time, things would be different.

It was the middle of the night. Henick climbed over the edge of an overpass in Cape Breton, making sure not to trip.

        In the distance he saw the abandoned steel plant. He looked down and saw a fence.

        He calculated how far he’d have to jump so not to land on the fence. He didn’t want this to be painful.

        He hung from the railing, so all he’d have to do is let go.

        “You don’t look like you’re doing so good there,” said a voice from behind.

        Henick looked behind him. He saw a man wearing a brown corduroy jacket, and a car parked in the middle of the overpass.

        The man began chatting with Henick, asking about his life and his passions. The two talked for a while, and Henick saw police lights coming toward them.

        Soon, a crowd formed. A group of high school boys stood behind a police barricade. One of them yelled out.

       “Jump, you coward.”

        It was the push Henick needed. He let go of the railing.

James Reddin has heard many stories like this one.

        The UPEI counsellor meets with people dealing with mental health problems regularly. It’s hard to say how far things have come in regard to mental health awareness, Reddin said.

        “It’s one of those things that doesn’t have one right answer.”

        People who consider or attempt suicide tend to feel like they’re not normal. They believe they’re supposed to be feeling a certain way, or not feeling a certain way.

It’s hard to find a clear solution to this shame – and to mental health stigma – when people all have different life experiences, Reddin said.

       “People will be sad, people will be angry,” Reddin said. “We seem to attach judgment to emotion.”

       Reddin thinks Canada could do a better job at serving mental health in both rural and urban areas. Rural areas may have a better sense of community, but urban areas have more options, he said.

        Henick’s rural hometown didn’t have any options for mental health support.

        After letting go, he didn’t feel anything. He looked down and saw an arm wrapped around his waist.

        The arm was wearing a brown corduroy jacket.

        He was lifted over the railing and put into an ambulance. He was sent to the hospitals psychiatric ward, which he was familiar with by this point.

        Henick thought a lot of the two strangers on the overpass.

He decided he didn’t want to be like the boy who yelled from the sidelines. He wanted to be like the man who talked with him, whose name he never got.

        Someone who is dealing with mental health problems wants the opportunity to talk. The best thing to do if you think someone is considering suicide is to bluntly ask them, Reddin said.

        “People are surprisingly honest.”

        Someone who’s having suicidal thoughts may not trust themselves, so it’s important to make a plan and help them seek professional help. This may mean admitting them to a hospital, Reddin said.

        Becoming trained to respond to those dealing with mental health problems is also a good idea, Reddin said.

        “All of our mental health would do a lot better if we thought of it as health,” Reddin said. “[Not] this outside thing that’s less significant.”

        For Henick, mental health awareness became his new passion.

        Once he was let out of the hospital, he approached his school principal to discuss giving a presentation to the school.

        “I want to talk about suicide.”

        The principle responded quickly.

        “No, no, no, no.”

        Soon after, Henick wrote a letter to the editor, relating his high school to communist Russia. The next day, there were news crews at the school.

        Henick continued with his advocacy. In 2013, he gave a TED Talk that today has over three million views.

More than a decade after his last suicide attempt, he found the man in the brown corduroy jacket. His name is Mike, and after this incident he also starting working in mental health.

“You might not know that you’re that person who can help others, but I guarantee that you are,” Henick said.

*MOCK STORY* Changes coming to public pool following death of an eight-year-old

*The following is a report on a mock conference put on by HC Journalism, in partnership with HC Sports and Leisure. All of the voices here are S&L students, and all of the details are fake. It was to give both program's students experience in their trades.

By Daniel Brown

March 13, 2017

            New terms and policies will be put in place at the Victoria Park pool following the death of an eight-year-old, the facility manager said at a news conference.

        An eight-year-old boy drowned at the Victoria Park public pool around 12:30 p.m. on March 1. Facility manager Maria Walsh and others held a news conference on March 6 to discuss new policies that will be effective immediately.

“With these changes put in effect immediately, we are confident that there will not be a similar incident in the future,” Walsh said.

There will be required bookings for any groups with more than eight swimmers, and a maximum amount of swimmers that can be in the pool at once, Walsh said.

“This number will be determined in the near future.”

There will be a minimum of two lifeguards working at all open hours, or else the pool will not open, Walsh said.

Town council representative Mackenzie Leslie announced new training programs would be offered to lifeguards to prevent incidents like this from happening again.

Swimmers will also be required to pass a swimming test to enter the pool, which will be regulated by distributing bracelets to swimmers, Leslie said.

“The pool will be closed until new policies are put in place and finalized.”

Jenna McCarville is the head lifeguard coordinator. She helped construct and update the policies to reduce the chance of an incident like this from happening again.

Along with the mandatory two scheduled lifeguards, there will be two on call every day, McCarville said.

“The extra lifeguards on call are used if sick calls come through or if theirs a large number of users using the facility.”

The ratio of swimmers to lifeguards will also change to ensure lifeguards aren’t overwhelmed. Those working on March 1 did everything they could, McCarville said.

“The lifeguards on duty on the day of the accident have followed all proper protocol,” McCarville said.

Recreation director Andre Peach said this incident is not being taken lightly, and changes will be made.

“An incident like this is caused by poor policy structure and mistakes across the board,” Peach said.

With the family’s permission, a scholarship fund will be set up to honour the boy’s memory, as well as a memorial. The facility is reaching out in anyway they can to help the family adjust, Peach said.

“We do not wish to forget or move passed this. This will always stay with us,” Peach said. “To the family and friends of the child, we extend our deepest condolences.”

On March 1, six lifeguards were scheduled to work at the free outdoor pool. Three called in sick.

The pool was extremely busy due to unannounced groups showing up.

The boy dove to the bottom of the deep end. Lifeguards didn’t notice he wasn’t coming back up.

By the time they did, it was too late, Walsh said.

         “Our lifeguard did everything they could in an attempt to revive him,” Walsh said. 
         “Unfortunately he died right on the pool deck.”

Trump’s presidency may affect Canadian lumber industry, UPEI professor says.

By Daniel Brown

March 3, 2017

Canada’s softwood lumber industry may face problems during Donald Trump’s presidency, says a UPEI political science professor.

Don Desserud isn’t worried about Trump potentially tearing up the North American Free Trade Agreement, but the lumber industry may be at risk, he said.

“[Some] areas, which are protected under NAFTA, are I think going to be viewed aggressively.”

The softwood lumber conflict comes from stumpage fees, the price charged to harvest lumber. The U.S. has attacked it four times since 1982.

        “We have won every single time,” Desserud said.

        The Canadian lumber industry is run provincially. In the U.S. it’s mostly privately owned. So, Canadian stumpage fees are generally subsidized, while U.S. fees are based on the competitive market.

        If Trump’s administration brought the case again, it would go back to the beginning, Desserud said.

        “So we haven’t gotten anywhere on that one.”

The federal government knows there may be rocky days ahead.

Liberal MP Sean Casey said his government is making sure there is a respect present in dealing with the U.S. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently shuffled his cabinet to align talents with Trump’s administration, Casey said.

Time will tell how Trump’s presidency will affect the two nations, he said.

"It’s going to have a major impact,” the Charlottetown MP said. “We’re going to have to work with this administration.”

The U.S. is entitled to elect whomever they want, and Canadians are obligated to deal with it. Still, the government is responding in a manner that is in Canada’s best interest, Casey said.

“Poking the bear ain’t the way to go.”

The Holland College experience is a focus during the Student Union election.

By Daniel Brown

Feb 21, 2017

            The college experience was a theme with each of the candidates running for Holland College Student Union president this year.

        The three candidates gave brief presentations, which were open to the public in the Florence Simmons Performance Hall on Feb. 21. Each discussed how important the student union’s role is in enriching student’s college experiences.

        The candidates are Luke Ignace, Cassidy MacDonald, and Templeton Sawyer. Voting takes place Feb. 23.

        Ignace graduated from the performing arts program last year. He is now studying business administration.

Everyone at Holland College has a different experience and the student union should make an environment that allows for good experiences, Ignace said.

        “I would make it my goal to revitalise campus.”

        Ignace wants to level with students - to be human and sincere with them. The student union is making more progress every year, he said.

        “With each president at Holland College, there’s always been a moving forward.”

        MacDonald is a second-year events management student. She can see how her experience at Holland College allowed her to grow as a person, she said.

“I want all of you to have the same experience.”

MacDonald wants more to be done to connect the campuses across P.E.I. She praised Holland College for its hands-on learning approach, from the performing arts to the police academy.

        MacDonald has attended multiple leadership conferences during her education and has been involved with the student union as well. She feels ready to be president, she said.

 The college’s diverse student body is a defining trait, MacDonald said.

“Without our diversity, we wouldn’t be Holland College.”

Sawyer is a first-year events management student. Holland College’s diversity is important to recognize, he said.

“Each of us brings perspective which should not be ignored.”

Sawyer wants to implement guidelines so these voices can be heard. His experience in leadership and public speaking would help him be a good president, he said.

The Holland College experience would be the focus if Sawyer were elected, he said.

“Let’s make our experience at Holland College wholesome.”

Need a passport in a pinch? P.E.I. can’t help any time soon.

Corinne Reid helps Chelsey Rogerson with a passport application at MP Sean Casey’s office on the corner of Queen Street and Fitzroy Street in Charlottetown. Islanders can visit any MP’s offices for passport assistance. Daniel Brown photo.    

By Daniel Brown

Feb. 15, 2017

Brady MacVarish was desperate. He’d lost his passport.

The Hermitage, P.E.I man spent the entire night trying to find it with no luck. He had to catch a plane to Russia the next day.

His lawyer was able to speed up the application process. That morning, MacVarish jumped on an earlier flight to Halifax. P.E.I didn’t have a passport office.

Once there, MacVarish took a cab to the Halifax office before his afternoon flight to England.

He skipped the line and asked for a certain person. They took him aside, snapped his picture and gave him his passport 20 minutes later.

MacVarish hopped back in his cab and returned to the airport.

“By the time I got on the plane to England I was wiped,” he said. “I was running on adrenaline.”

Overall, everyone involved was good to deal with, MacVarish said.

“I was shocked that they processed it that quickly.”

MacVarish doesn’t think P.E.I. has enough people to warrant its own passport office, he said.

“I think they should have some sort of auxiliary office,” he said. “They could use that to speed up the process.”

That happened in 2000. Nothing has changed, said Charlottetown MP Sean Casey on Jan. 23.

            He was speaking with journalism students at Holland College. He opened the floor to questions.

“Has anything been done to ease access to passport services for Islanders,” a student asked.

“Yep, my office is open nine to five, Monday to Friday.”

A chuckle swept the room. Casey continued.

“Somebody right there at the front desk, and she has more than a dozen years of experience looking over these things. And if it passes Corinne [Reid]’s seal of approval, you can be darn sure it doesn’t came back.”

He took a breath.

“Sorry, I’m being facetious.”

            P.E.I. is still the only province without a passport office. Any MP’s office will help with passport applications, but applying through mail typically takes about 20 business days.

Casey asked his government to expand passport services to P.E.I. last August, because many Islanders need quicker and more efficient access.

He received a formal response in December from Ahmed Hussen, the minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship.

P.E.I. likely wouldn’t get a passport office in the foreseeable future. The federal government knows how many Islanders apply and how many urgent cases there are, Casey said he was told.

“Basically, the message from the government is the population mass doesn’t warrant it.”

If a passport is needed on short notice, Islanders have to look elsewhere, Casey said.

“In urgent situations, yes, you have to get in your car and drive to Fredericton or Halifax.”