The LowDown to Hull & Back News

Chelsea, Quebec hosted this year’s Fete du Soccer Aug. 14. The Low Down was on the sidelines, catching highlights of the Chelsea girls U-10 game for our latest installment of Video Fridays on Low Down Television (LDTV). And for those of you who miss the droning sound of the Vuvuzela horn from the World Cup in South Africa, just listen to the video’s soundtrack. Click here for more LDTV videos

{ 0 comments }

Jean-Francois Gauvreau closed down the pumps at his garage in Masham last month, leaving only one left in all of La Peche

The next time you’re planning to take in a hockey game or a council meeting in Masham, or simply heading for the Hills, you’d better make sure your tank is topped up. Both gas stations in the village have locked down their pumps within the last month.

Jean-Paul Brisebois, for one, just can’t afford to operate anymore. When the La Peche Ward 4 councillor shut down his Francis Fuels station in Masham recently, he left behind 16-years of business in Masham.

“It’s too bad for the customers,” said Brisebois, adding that he will miss seeing his “regulars” in the morning. “But when you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it.”

Brisebois said he was earning only about one cent on every litre of gas he sold, once insurance, worker salaries and other expenses were paid.

Aug 18 Front page

“It’s just not worth it anymore,” said Brisebois. “There is no money to be made in gas these days.”

Brisebois said the previous 16 years were much easier, when he ran the station with his late wife, Denise. The couple would take turns pumping gas and selling vegetables from the stand next to the station, but since she died earlier this year Brisebois has been working an average of 85 hours per week.

“I don’t have time to do anything at home,” said Brisebois, who is considering operating the vegetable stand from his house. Read More…

{ 0 comments }

Chelsea, Quebec has received an extension from the federal government for the $6.1 million in funding for the Meredith Centre, but some bureaucratic stickhandling needs be done before they have the date they want.

Mayor Caryl Green said she received the letter from Quebec’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MAMROT) Aug. 12, confirming the funding extension. She had been repeating for months that she had a “verbal agreement” for the centre’s money and was simply waiting on written confirmation, which she considered a “formality.” Read More…

{ 1 comment }

Gewurztraminer Cuvee Bacchus Pfaffenheim,

Alsace 2007, $11.70

Gewurztraminer - can you say this word?

Click here for to read more of Christina Stobert’s Wine Report

{ 0 comments }

Cantley's Lukas Rioux dives across the goal line to make a save off a penalty kick. The Cantley Scorpions goalie couldn't get to the ball in time.

Click here to see our photo gallery

Chelsea, Quebec held this year’s Fete du Soccer Aug. 14, which featured over 500 players between the ages of five and 10-years-old. Teams from Soccer Chelsea, La Peche, Maniwaki, Aylmer and Gatineau showed up for the friendly competition. The theme of the event was Celebrating Africa, as the World Cup was held there. The Low Down was on the field, snapping some of the highlights. Photos by Trevor Greenway of the Low Down

{ 0 comments }

Camp Fortune in Chelsea, Quebec hosted the mountain bike races for the Quebec Games Aug. 4-6, 2010. The Low Down was on the course, documenting the race for Video Fridays on LDTV. Video and music by Trevor Greenway. Click here for more LDTV videos

{ 0 comments }

Jean-Paul Brisebois poses with his daughter Valerie's medical records from the Wakefield Memorial Hospital

After waiting almost five months and leading an anti-hospital protest, Jean-Paul Brisebois has finally managed to get his late daughter’s medical records from the Wakefield Memorial Hospital - but he isn’t about to park his protest signs just yet.

“They made me wait almost five months, now they can wait,” said Brisebois, standing outside his Francis Fuels gas station in Masham.

Brisebois, the Ward 4 La Peche councillor, will wait until he can get someone with medical expertise to check the records before he takes down the large sign on his truck and the handwritten placard outside his gas pumps. His message questions why the hospital was “hiding” the documents and urges residents to refrain from donating to the hospital.

Aug. 11 Front page

Brisebois initiated his protest this spring after his daughter Valerie, who had Down syndrome, died of pneumonia March. 3. She had visited the Wakefield hospital several times with abdominal pains before she died at the Pontiac Hospital Centre in Shawville. Read More…

{ 0 comments }

Rob Cossette spent his summer holidays cleaning up after vandals.

The Wakefield Elementary School caretaker was able to enjoy a couple of days vacation from scheduled two-week break, because the damage caused by vandals who broke into the school July 19 put him behind.

“It ruined my holidays,” said Cossette standing outside the school. “I want the kids to realize what they have done and how it affects someone else.” Read More…

{ 0 comments }

Serge Galipeau and Christine Landry outside a Montreal courthouse

On the edge of a farm in Cantley, what Serge Galipeau calls a “little corner of paradise,” an odd-looking device interrupts the backdrop of horses and hay. It’s beige and bland and looks like a shed except for the small propeller rigged a few feet above the roof, blowing in the wind. It’s called a JEROME and it measures toxic gas levels.

Just out of view, a kilometre beyond the neighbouring field and grazing horses, is the Cantley dry dump, closed in 2006 under government orders, following a litany of environmental infractions and complaints from the municipality and residents. Read More…

{ 1 comment }