Take Me Back Home

It's been a very long time since I've been on here but I really wanted to make sure that this post would be here. I did post it in a Facebook group Willowdale in the 70's.
As strange as this sounds, after watching the Riverdale series finales the other night I was so affected by the feelings of endings and saying goodbye and wishing that I could go back to places in my past.
There are a couple of things that contributed to my emotions which I have not mentioned on here.
My father, Doug Scammell passed away a few months ago. It was unexpected and I never got to say goodbye. When I got to the hospital he was already gone. My son Tyler was the one who found him.
My step-mother was in Florida at the time and messaged me to check on Dad who was at their house. He did not go to Florida. I was in the middle of something so I asked Tyler to drop over and see how Dad was.
He found him on the ground. He had fallen and hit his head. We're not sure of why or any other details.
Damn, I should have been the one to go over there. I haven't really talked about that day with Tyler or Braydon who rushed over when Tyler called.
So now my nuclear first family of Mom, Hayley, Dad and me is now just me.
Something about my dad is that he took many, many photos. His cousin worked at Kodak and got them processed for free. So Dad had slides. More slides than I realized.
When my stepmother sold the house we trucked over 7 large totes and 1 wooden box of slides.
When dad got the slides developed he would show them once or twice and then put them away. So there are many photos in there that I have never seen.
It's a but of a gut punch when I run into these pics of us that I didn't know exist. For the past few months I have been going through these thousands of slides and digitizing the important ones.
I've been posting them to my Facebook as well as the Willowdale page. I'm happy to say that people are really enjoying them. The page administrator really appreciates my contributions as well as the page members. It's a very emotional task but worthy.

Many of the photos I have found are from multiple birthday parties when we were very young. It looks like a wild time with kids everywhere loading up on junk and sweets. A perfect time.
In several of the photos there is a cute little blonde girl named Robyn. She and I were great friends for many years until her mother remarried and the family moved away. I think I was 8 or 9.
When she was moving I took a box of chocolates over to her. We were at her front door. I handed her the chocolates and then we kissed.
It was the first ever romantic-ish kiss for me and I found out years later for her too.
Several years ago we connected on Facebook and became friends again.
I found out last week from a post from her son that Robyn had just passed away a few days prior.

I felt a shadow cross my heart.

So you see, It's been am emotional time of late and last night I decided to say it to my Willowdale friends.

So here it is:


I don’t know how many of the people on here watched the series finale of Riverdale last night and felt what I did. First, the similarity of the name with Willowdale isn’t lost on me.
It was so sad and bittersweet. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone but it hit home hard.
We were like last night’s Riverdale.
To be nearing the end of a long life and ache to get back when it was so much to be with our friends and family.
I think it’s a combination of turning 60 and losing friends and family as we are.
Add this to all of the slides of my father’s that I’ve been going through since his passing.
I’ve spent hours going through memories that I had long forgotten. So many times I’m feeling “God, I wish I could go back to that.”
All the scout camps, weeks spent in summers with guys (and girls), on northern Ontario islands. Jamborees across the country with guys who were the brothers I never had. Hockey teams of guys who were wild on the ice and off but we were a team. And that was family.
Family trips across the globe and spending time with friends and family that we never thought would end. And they would always be there for the next time we visited. Until they weren’t anymore. The warm feelings of the first kiss, that made me smile when she jokingly mentioned it to me a few years ago when we reconnected on Facebook, and the sadness of finding out from her son last week that she had passed away. I had just found several slides of her just recently at my old birthday parties.

And my baby sister Hayley.
The best little sister I could ever have asked for. She did a pretty great job of stopping me from doing stupid things. She advised me on the smart things to do. I protected her when I could. I feel badly for the occasional boy who may have expressed an interest in her and decided not to pursue it after meeting me. Going through these slides has knocked me for a loop many times. Yes, we were close.

Pictures of my family that I haven’t seen in years. Some that I never have seen until now.
Great pets that we have had in our lives and remember them like it was yesterday, even if it was many yesterdays ago now.
When we look at group and family photos now and count how many are no longer with us, and end up with more people gone than still with us.
I hope that I will meet all of you again and get a hug.

I wish that I could have had a chance to say goodbye to my father but I take some satisfaction in the knowledge that I ended all of our conversations with “I love you”. I was there when mom passed and I got to say goodbye. I had a chance to be with Hayley and talk to her while she slept before she passed.

My point is this.

Tell the people you love that you love them.
Tell the people that you like that you like them.
Enjoy every moment with your friends and when someone wants to take a photo then smile and make the photo wonderful. If you don’t like having your picture taken just suck it up!
There is a good chance that one day many years from now someone is going to browse through those photos and admire that person with the warm sincere smile.

Even if we are gone our smiles will still be around.


Take good care,

Tim

Don't Give Up, Especially On Old Friends

My good friend Dave Savage and I first met almost 15 years ago when I was busy with my efforts to save the York Street Station with Steve Boyko and the Fredericton Friends of the Railway. Dave called me from Ontario one day to talk about the station but we talked about everything from rails to politics to family.
We quickly became good friends.
I always loved it when we spoke and would always be at least an hour chatting.

I remember on one of my solo trips to Ontario I stopped in to see him and we drove all over the map to see Dave’s Grand Railway History tour.
My god, the knowledge he had. If you ask him anything about any area he had the history in his head. It was marvellous to behold.

You see, Dave used to look after a little publication called the Canadian Railway Station News. That’s why he initially called me in the first place. Railway stations had always been his passion. He had actually published a couple of books and picked my brain for details of New Brunswick stations. Of course I was only happy to help my friend in any way that I could.

Several years ago the York Street Station was saved and became an NB Liquor store. It was restored and looks beautiful today. I am proud to say that the efforts of the Fredericton Friends of the Railway and our friends and members were successful.

Over the years I switched careers and moved homes but that should not have affected Dave and I.

Yet we lost contact.

The phone number and information I had for him didn’t work any more. I tried sending a letter but never received a reply.
I was a member of numerous Railway Yahoo groups and tried reaching out to the other members if anyone had any information about him. Someone must know something. I had no luck at all. I feared for the worst.
Once in a while I would think of my friend and try another Google search for anything about him. To no avail.

Until about 6 months ago.

A Google search came up with a little paragraph in a little newsletter with his name. He had spoken to some people at a gathering about some local railway history in Cobourg, Ontario.
I sent an email to a contact in the newsletter.
She replied to me and copied another gentleman who knows Dave. He took my information and told me he would tell Dave that I had been in touch.

This gentleman gave me a brief update and I’m afraid that the story of Dave since we had last spoken was not a happy one.

Several years ago he suffered a stroke which confined him to a wheelchair. He had been living with his girlfriend in a house but she had decided that caring for Dave was not something she was up to doing. So she left.

As a result of his stroke his kidneys failed and he requires dialysis three times a week.
Dave entered a nursing home. All of his possessions from his house were placed into a storage locker where they remain to this day.
He lost my contact information among many other things. That explained why I had not heard from him.

A short while later I received a call from him. He had received my message.
It was just like old times. It was so nice to talk to my old friend again.
He sounded pretty good. Considering all that he has been through.

Our family decided to visit Ontario last week to visit family and some friends.
I was determined that I was going to visit Dave and see him for the first time in more than 10 years.
I dropped Cheryl and the boys off at her mother’s place and headed out to Cobourg.

When I arrived at the nursing home the residents were having lunch. I asked one of the nurses where Dave was and she pointed him out. His back was to me.

When he saw me his face lit up. We were so happy to see each other and we gave each other a big hug.
Dave didn’t look quite how he did 10 years ago but he was a sight for sore eyes.
Recently, Dave has developed a hearing problem and requires a device to help him. Between that and my deafness our conversation was not the easiest but we didn’t mind.

After lunch I took him in his wheelchair and we went for a pretty long walk.
Dave knew absolutely everyone we came across and said hello to all.
We went into his credit union so that he could do some banking. Every lady in the place knew him. I took him to the counter.
He didn’t need a bank card or bank book or anything. They know who he is and exactly what he needed. It was amazing.
The photo above was taken by one of the ladies at his credit union.

When we got back to the nursing home he asked me to do a favour and go to the storage unit office where his possessions are and pay his monthly charge.
I told the young lady that it was for Dave and she was disappointed that he had not come with me.
She told me how much she enjoys when he drops in.

She said that in the summer Dave will get dropped off and she wheels him back to his storage space where she will take out the same 2 boxes every time.
She takes him over to the rear of the property beside the train tracks where he watches the trains go by for a couple of hours while he goes through his boxes of memories.

When she told me this I visibly teared up and still do as I write this.

I wish that I lived closer to him so that I could sit with him and watch those trains.

When I returned to the home to give him his receipt I could see that he was looking tired.
It was time for me to get back to Cheryl and the boys.

I gave Dave a big hug and could see that he was sad that the visit was ending.
I promised him that every time I visit Ontario I will visit him.

Without fail.

I’m looking forward to the next time I will see my friend.

Vapor Trails

Those who know me (and some who do not) are aware of my family’s passion of Rush. This illustrates it well.

On August 10, 1997, soon after the conclusion of Rush's Test for Echo Tour, drummer Neil Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-year-old Selena Taylor, was tragically killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario.

Only 10 months later, on June 20, 1998, his common-law wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer. Peart attributes her death to the result of a "broken heart" and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't care."

In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart writes that he told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired." Peart took a long sabbatical to mourn and reflect and travelled extensively throughout North and Central America on his motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 mi).

After several years it looked that RUSH was done as a band.

However, after his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote the book as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey.

Peart was introduced to photographer Carrie Nuttall in Los Angeles by long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan. They married on September 9, 2000.

In early 2001, Peart announced to his bandmates that he was ready to return to recording and performing.

The product of the band's return was the 2002 album Vapor Trails, RUSH’s 17th studio album. Its release marked the first studio album for the band since Test for Echo in 1996 (the longest gap between Rush albums until their retirement).

The band felt that the entire developmental process for Vapor Trails was extremely taxing and took about 14 months to finish, the longest the band had ever spent writing and recording a studio album.

Despite controversy concerning its production and sound quality, the album debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career. Personally, I attended the Toronto show. There's no way I was going to miss the return. It was quite emotional for myself and likely everyone in attendance to have our favourite sons back again.

The album was certified gold in Canada in August 2002. The song "Ghost Rider" appeared on the album and was written by Peart as a tribute to his travels around the US and Canada after his personal tragedies, while "One Little Victory" served as the first single to announce the band's return from hiatus.

The original audio mix of the album received criticism for its heavy use of dynamic range compression. Not pleased with the results, Rush had two of the album's tracks mixed again and re-released in Retrospective III: 1989–2008.

The positive response to that led to a completely revamped version of the album, titled Vapor Trails Remixed, released in 2013. It was released both individually and as a part of the box set The Studio Albums 1989–2007.

After the release of Vapor Trails and his reunion with bandmates, Peart returned to work as a full-time musician.

It is for this reason that many people, including my family, feel that Vapor Trails is the most important and meaningful album in RUSH’s discography.

And this is why both Braydon and I have the album cover as tattoos. Braydon has had his for a few years and I have finally had mine done. Both were done by the incredibly talented Joey Saindon at Sacred Owl Tattoo who has done all of my tattoos for almost 10 years now.

Purists will note that the original Vapor Trails album cover was orange, red, black and yellow and the image used for our tattoos was from the remixed album cover. It is a much nicer image with many other colours added.

I point out however that the remixed version of the album was the one that Geddy, Neil and Alex preferred, as they had not been happy with the original.

Stay well,
Tim

My Dad

It's not easy being as awesome and groovy as I am. It takes years of special training and guidance with a highly skilled trainer who has had a lifetime of being awesome himself.

That would be my dad.

I don't often mention special occasions and holidays here but felt that a huge Happy Father's Day to my dad was in order.

Thanks for everything Dad. Thanks for all of the amazing times and wonderful memories that I have locked in my mind for the rest of my days. Thanks for always being there when I needed something. Thanks for being the best sports coach anyone could ever have. Thanks for having the tolerance to go with my friends and I for a week every summer into the wilds of northern Ontario for a scout camp/week long party. Thanks for the coolest family road trips of places that most of the details are now lost, but the awesomeness of the moments are still fresh. Thanks for putting up with me when I wasn't making the best educational or career choices for myself that I should have, but had faith that I would bounce back and land on the right path. Eventually. Thanks for being so great that my sons recognize it in you too.
Most of all. Thanks for teaching me that being a good father isn't easy, but it's necessary. It doesn't pay well at the time, but the payoff in the end is priceless.

You've taught me that in order to build a massive clear bright future for our entire species, we have to take these little blocks that are right in front of us, plant them in the right place and hope that they take root as long as we nourish them properly.

I'm confident that most of what Hayley and I became in our adult lives is a credit to the way you raised us.

I say this with confidence because of what I see in my own sons. Cheryl and I have happily worked hard and continue to do so. We are very proud of the results.
Without the guidance of our parents we likely would not have been as prepared as we were.
Happy Father's Day dad. I love you. Thanks for everything. xo

Village of New Maryland Budget 2017

Hello there. Tonight the Village of New Maryland Council presented our first budget. It was read by Deputy-Mayor Alex Scholten and accepted unanimously by all members of Council.

BUDGET 2017

Your Worship, fellow Councillors and residents it is my privilege to present to you the 2017 General Operating, Utility and Capital Budgets for the Village of New Maryland.

In the 2017 General Operating Fund Non-Tax Revenue Budget we were able to generate a total Non-Tax Revenue of $317,083. Our tax base only increased at a rate of 0.0027%, resulting in a new tax base of $341,991,050. This represents an increase in revenue of only $113 from the base.

The 2017 General Operating and Capital Fund Expenditure Budget will be $4,536,859 which is an increase of $114,259 over the 2016 amount.

General Government Services will only increase by $967 to $889,094.

Protective Services expenditures will be $1,027,220, an increase of $15,695 over 2016, which includes the R.C.M.P. increase of $13,982, Emergency Measure, Building Inspection and Fire Department costs.

Transportation Services expenditures will be $594,941, an increase of $4,566, of which the snow removal contract was the main driver.

Environmental Health Services expenditures will be $256,500, a reduction of $1,900 for garbage collection tonnage.

Environmental Development Services expenditures will be $157,332, a reduction of $346.

Recreation and Cultural Services expenditures will be $619,949, a reduction of $15,592. The main drivers were personnel cost reductions and a reduction in grounds maintenance costs at the New Maryland Centre.

Fiscal Services expenditures for debts will be $396,910 a reduction of $1,904. This section includes Interest on Long Term Debt and Principal Instalments. This expenditure includes the capital costs for the Gravenstein culvert and the paving project in Castle Acres debentures being issued.

For 2017 the General Capital Fund will be $594,913, an increase of $112,773. Of the total Capital $198,580 has been allocated to Transportation projects, $76,000 has been allocated to Recreation projects, $130,000 has been allocated to the Fire Department and EMO, $7,500 has been allocated to General Government, $142,833 has been allocated for Infrastructure Replacement Reserve, $21,000 has been allocated to a Municipal Plan Review Reserve and Solar Panel project, and $19,000 has been allocated to a site restoration and Specification for Developers review.

In response to the infrastructure deficit, as made apparent through PSAB (Public Sector Accounting Board), Council has again stepped up to the plate in terms of continuing to address this deficit in order to protect the longevity and sustainability of the municipality by setting aside additional funding of $142,833 which equates to just over 4¢ on the rate. This funding will be placed into a reserve for future infrastructure replacement.

This being said, the overall General Operating Budget increased by a total of $1,486 or 0.04% while the General Capital Budget increased by $112,773 or 23.39%, which is reflective of the ever-increasing capital demands on the municipality.

At this juncture I would like to point out that since 2011 the Village has lost $194,966 in revenues through reductions in Unconditional Grant funding from the Province of New Brunswick. In fact, since 2011 the Village has lost $219,966 through reductions in the Unconditional Grant, Provincial and Federal Student funding, as well as Fine Sharing Revenue. This represents a significant reduction in the Village’s revenue, one that neither staff nor Council have any control over. Each cent of the rate represents $34,199 of revenue for the Village. Therefore, the combined reductions since 2011 equates to 6.43¢ on the rate, and if you add in the negative impact of the base reduction for 2016 of $20,457 this equates to 7.03¢ on the rate that has been lost, a loss the Village has to contend with. Faced with this challenge, Council and staff have worked diligently to control costs and reduce where they could without impacting services. We will continue to vigorously review program costs and services throughout 2017 to identify various options available for consideration. In 2017, as a result of the comprehensive study on the Village’s storm water system, we identified potential flood areas that could pose risks to people, property and public health and safety. As a result, residents will see increased capital spending earmarked for new or upgraded storm water infrastructure. With increased demands on the Village to deal with these deficiencies, we want to be transparent about the associated costs and where those funds will come from. Because of the nature and scope of such projects, each will involve substantial borrowing and the additional costs from this borrowing will need to be reflected in future tax rates as we cannot afford to expand or upgrade this infrastructure without doing so.

Over the past several months, staff and Council have worked diligently together in order to bring forward a budget that not only addresses the sustainability of the Village but also affordability for our residents and I believe that this budget has managed to do both.

Therefore, with a total expenditure of $4,536,859 less the Non-Tax Revenue of $317,083 and less the Unconditional Transfer of $6,163 and a Municipal Tax Base of $341,991,050 we are left with a Tax Rate for 2017 of $1.2321 per $100 of assessment. This represents an increase of 2.49¢ on the rate or a 2% increase. To put that into perspective, for every $100,000 of assessed value this increase would represent $24.90 for the year compared to 2016 assessments. On an average home value of $250,000, residents would see an annual increase of $62.25 in their property tax bill or an increase of $5.19 per month.


The Village of New Maryland’s 2017 Utility Operating and Capital Expenditure Budget will be $1,191,585 which represents an increase of $35,302.

Water supply and Treatment costs will be $250,822 which represents an increase of $531 over the 2016 amount. This increase is due mainly to increases in power and pumping costs.

Sewage Collection and Treatment costs will be $319,527, which represents a reduction of $22,376 over the 2016 amount. This reduction is primarily due to decreases experienced in sewage treatment and disposal costs.

Fiscal Services costs equal $347,742, which is a reduction of $2,586 over the 2016 amount.

The following reserves will be made: $50,000 for future maintenance of the Waste Water Treatment Plant; $13,420 for replacement of water meters; and $20,000 for future maintenance of the Water Tower.

The Utility Capital requirements for 2017 are $189,474, representing an increase of $59,593 over the 2016 amount.

On the utility revenue side, under the heading Other Revenues from Own Sources results in a total of $126,771. This leaves a balance of $1,064,814 to generate from user fees. Water service will be charged at $1.38 per cubic meter (an increase of 4¢ per cubic meter), plus a flat fee of $37 (an increase of $1 per quarter) and a meter fee of $5 per quarter (no change). Sewerage service will increase to $512 per year which represents an increase of $16. This is the second increase to the user fees which were identified previously as part of the Village of New Maryland’s 5 Year sustainability program. For the average household with both water and sewer services this will amount to an annual increase of $28.00 or $2.33 per month.

In conclusion I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our Treasurer (Scott Sparks) for being patient in helping to finalize the numbers on Council’s behalf. I would also like to thank our Chief Administrative Officer (Cynthia Geldart), Department Heads, and my fellow Councillors and Mayor for their dedication in helping to prepare this budget.

Staff and Council have worked diligently for several months on this budget and it comes as a result of numerous meetings, debates and studies being completed. I believe this budget reflects recognition of the burden taxes and fees have on residents but at the same time, seeks to balance the need to ensure the long-term viability of the Village, the value of resident’s property and the public health, safety and enjoyment of residents who live and work here.

It is an honour to submit the Village of New Maryland’s 2017 Operating and Utility Budgets for your consideration and approval.

At this point I would like to introduce the motions to adopt the 2017 Budgets.


During the discussion prior to voting on the Budget motion, I provided the following comments:

Budget 2016

During the election campaign I told residents that I would work to keep our taxes as low as possible. To promise that we would not raise taxes would have been irresponsible in my opinion. I am satisfied that Council and Staff have worked very hard on this budget to ensure that we use Village tax dollars in a responsible manner and have sorted projects and expenses in a proper prioritized manner.

I acknowledge that the Village and its infrastructure are approaching a period that replacement and repairs are going to be necessary more frequently due to the rising age of Village assets. This is just a fact of life.

This certainly does not imply that poor workmanship or materials were originally involved by any means. On the contrary. I would say that we have been doing quite well to date and that the staff and Village engineers have done a great job of staying on top of monitoring Village assets. For this I congratulate them on a job well done.

One factor that cannot be ignored regarding our infrastructure is the change in weather events. The increase in severe weather events around the world and at home has resulted in our implementation of the Storm Water Management Plan – a document which details both the need to increase the capacity of our infrastructure as well as the significant costs involved. To ignore the need for financing of these costs would be detrimental to our community.

Costs and expenses for the operation of our services will also continue to rise. Accordingly, the sources of the needed income will need to keep up. This year’s budget increases the tax rate of the Village for the first time in 4 years. All members of Council would prefer that the increase was not necessary. We are after all, Village residents as well. But we agreed that this increase is fiscally responsible and manageable.

I believe that the Councils of the past have worked very hard and diligently and this Council is continuing this tradition.

I would like to thank the staff and my fellow members of Council for the spirit of cooperation and making this process go smoothly.


Take care,
Tim

It is what it is

I hate to be the one to say this but even though many are not happy with the US election results, this is the democratic process in action. The voters have spoken and like it or not it is what it is. 

Protests and flag burning may make some people feel better for a short time but they won't change the results. 

I may not agree with how some people cast their votes but many years ago an awful lot of people who we will never get to personally thank fought for our rights to vote as we please and I would challenge anyone who wants to take that right away. 

The US Electoral College and election system is one of the wildest systems I have ever seen but it was created by a group of people much smarter than I am and has been in place for over 200 years. 

What everyone CAN do is to become involved. Hold the elected representatives accountable and show them that you are watching and paying attention and  they should stay on the proper course of decency and good.

 

Even better, do as I have done. Run for office and keep an eye on things from the inside. 

Stay well,

Tim

Cat's in the Cradle

I was just driving home after dropping the boys off at a friend's house a few minutes ago. 

I had the radio on and the song "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin came on. 

As I listened the song made me feel sad as it always does. 

This sadness is for a couple of reasons. The story of the song is a father who was too busy with things in his life that he didn't take the time to spend with his son as he was growing up. 

Also, I always feel sad when I think how the world was robbed when Harry Chaplin died at only 38 years old. 

However, my sadness is NOT from feelings that I missed out on the cool things in my boys' lives. 

Sometimes the boys may tell you that Cheryl and I were there too much and right in the thick of things. 

I confess that there were a few occasions during my first term on Village Council that I had to miss a hockey or baseball game or needed to have Cheryl take Tyler to his weekly piano lesson because I had to be somewhere. 

When I decided not to reoffer in 2012, the main reason was that I would be available for everything that came up. 

And I was. 

When Braydon had a paper route for a couple of years, the two of us got up together bright and early and were ready when the papers arrived. 

His route was in another neighbourhood a fair distance away so we needed to drive to get there. 

We had that paper route down to an art. We both knew what houses got papers and where the they wanted them. 

There were many times that we were driving through huge piles of snow that the plows hadn't had a chance to get to yet. 

But we made sure that the papers got to the customers. 

Many times the papers were delayed in reaching us and it drove us nuts. 

Braydon took such pride in his commitment to that paper route. 

Of course this made me very proud of him as well. 

He and I still talk about the paper route days as quality time we spent together and miss them. 

Just as Tyler and I remember the days of driving to piano his lessons every week and having dinner together afterwards. 

These were some of the good times we've had so far. 

I think I can say with confidence that many years from now our sons are not going to say "I wish that my mother/father/parents had been there more for us". 

We have been and will always be there for them. 

Yes Virginia, I am Reposting This One

I was going through the notes on my iPhone and found a copy of this one that I posted this one 5 years ago on December 3rd, 2010 when the boys were in middle school. 

It still annoys me that we had to deal with this at all. I hope that there have been changes since then. 

Regardless, it's timely and a good excuse to have the Virginia story posted in my blog again. 

December 3, 2010

Yes, Virginia, You Will Make Smart Choices

In my mind the most important part of our job as a parent is to try and teach our kids how to make smart choices and direct them to the resources to help them do so.

I’m certainly not one that has made only smart choices in my life but I would like to think that I’ve learned something from the questionable ones I have made. I try to pass this education on to my kids whenever I can.

I think that a major factor of happiness and success is the ability to make smart choices and learn from not-so-smart ones.

We trust our educators to use their expertise and fill the minds of our children with many things that we can’t teach them in their family life. Hopefully, with everything that they learn, the kids will be able to make the smartest choices that they possibly can.

In doing so, we trust that the educators have the ability to make smart choices themselves.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this is always the case.

Yesterday afternoon I received a cc to an email from my wife to the vice-principal of our sons’ school expressing great dissatisfaction and concern of a poem that was read to the Grade 7 English classes. These are 11 and 12 year olds.

The details that I gathered which are only one (two?) sides of actual events are as follows.

The English class temporarily has an intern working with it under the guidance of the teacher. I mention this because the teacher was present the entire time.

According to my son the intern asked the class how many believe in Santa Claus to which the great majority raised their hands stating that they do.

She proceeded to read a poem titled "The Death of Santa Claus" to the class. This made my son and other kids quite upset.

At some point a remark was apparently made by the intern or the teacher that when the kids get older they’ll know more and will understand that there is no Santa.

The poem is about Santa having a heart attack and dying. It’s told by an 8 year old boy to his mother who has some terrible news to tell him. I’m assuming that the boy’s father has passed away. The boy’s friends at school have been telling him that Santa is fake.

I’m not even going to bother pasting a copy of the poem here but if you want to read it try here http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-death-of-santa-claus . Have fun with that.

Maybe it’s just me but isn’t that horribly inappropriate to tell to a bunch of kids during the Christmas season? Or any time really.

If they are trying to teach the kids about poetry and metaphors and symbolism or make a statement about staying healthy or the health care system they failed.

That’s not the message that my kids took away.

And if this crap must be read to them do it at another time of the year! Not during the Christmas season!

Something like this is not for kids the age of my sons. I don’t give a damn if anyone disagrees with me. I know my kids.

I guess you can figure out that I was pretty angry when I found out especially upon hearing that it had upset the kids. 

I'll make this part of the long story short and say that I left a message and email for the provincial Minister of Education, Superintendent of District 18 education and the school principal and vice-principal to get back to me. 

In it I included the above link to the poem. 

I would think that the board was a busy place this morning with various people trying to get to the bottom of it. 

Eventually I called the school and ended up chatting with the principal. 

As expected, he had received numerous calls and emails from parents who were as upset about this as we were. 

He told me that The Death of Santa Claus is indeed included in the list of materials and stories for teachers to choose to read to the class. 

Some international expert on middle school material named Nanci Atwell had made the wise decision that this is a good thing to read to kids of this age and school boards have snapped it up because no one thought to say "Uh Nance? Excuse me? I don't mean to question your great expertise but that poem isn't a great choice and quite frankly sucks anyway."

The principal said that it isn't a poem that he would have chosen and will suggest to teachers that they skip over that page of Nanci's material list in the future. 

He mentioned that another parent had suggested that they read "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" to the kids to counter the awful poem. 

He asked my opinion and I told him this is a great idea. They will be doing so next week. 

Later this afternoon we received the following email from the English teacher. 

It turns out this was copied and pasted and emailed to the other parents who had complained as well so the personal touch isn't really there as it appears to be. 

It's better than nothing. 

Here it is:

 Mr and Mrs Scammell

I apologize for this upsetting experience. This poem comes from an anthology by Nanci Atwell, a highly regarded and well published middle school teacher. In the past I've shared this poem with my class because it is a great example of metaphor. This year I passed it on to Mlle P------(the intern) to use because it linked to our memoir theme. The purpose was to demonstrate that memoirs convey emotion and reflect on personal experiences. The poem describes a classic childhood experience everyone can relate to; the 'quintessential moment' as described in the text.  In the past I have read this poem in the spring as part of a poetry unit and although the Christmas link seemed like a good idea at the time, in hindsight perhaps it was not good timing. I am sorry. I understand your position and concerns and I will certainly take these into consideration in the future.

Sincerely,

Michelle"

What "quintessential moment" is she talking about? Is she referring to a moment when a child stops believing in Santa Claus? 

They had already established that most of the kids had not experienced that "quintessential moment" before they read it to them. How could the kids reflect on that personal experience? 

In this case this teacher did not made a smart choice and made a bad one. This resulted in a flurry of activity as people struggled to figure out a way to undo the damage that had been done. 

I'm hoping that this teacher stands by what she has written and really will take more into consideration in the future assuring smarter choices. 

 

I didn't want to waste space with the awful poem however, I am going to tell the Virginia story.

In 1897 an 8 year old girl named Virginia O’Hanlon asked her father Dr. Philip O’Hanlon if Santa Claus really existed. She had started to doubt if there was a Santa Claus, because her friends had told her that he didn’t exist.

Her father suggested that she write to the The Sun, a New York City newspaper at the time, telling her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."

In doing this he gave one of the editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question, address philosophical issues behind it and become immortal with his reply.

Her letter:

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. 

Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. 

Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' 

Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

VIRGINIA O'HANLON.

115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.

Mr. Church replied to Virginia with the most famous reply ever printed.

“VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. 

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”

Great job Mr. Church. What a masterpiece. 

Is there a Santa Claus? You’re darn right there is! 

Questioning his existence is not a very smart thing to do. Not a good choice. 

Trying to tell a child that Santa isn't real is a very bad choice. 

Every choice results in a lesson. Let's learn from them shall we?

Stay well, 

Tim

No Harm, No Foul

Yesterday started out as a pretty average day.
I drove the boys to school then went to the office. I had plenty to do so I got started.

Then, about an hour later, everything changed. My day suddenly became a day that every parent has nightmares about.
I received a text message from one of my sons that Fredericton High School was in lockdown.
A man with a gun had been spotted in the vicinity of the school. I jumped onto the internet immediately to find whatever information I could.

The Fredericton Police had posted a photo taken from a surveillance camera showing what appears to be a man carrying a long gun in what appears to be a gun sock.

It wasn't much to go on but it looked pretty convincing to me that this was indeed a weapon of some type being carried by a man who almost seemed to be trying to conceal his identity with a hat and hoodie.
This scared the hell out of Cheryl and I and every other parent I was hearing from.
The thought of our kids being in danger and us being unable to do anything about it is almost too intense to describe. We've seen far too many stories of situations like this where lives were taken away and no-one could stop it.

Most of all, this made me very angry. How DARE some crazy bastard with a weapon threaten the things I value most in my life! How DARE he??
I'm pretty sure that I was not alone in feeling this.
All we could do was wait and watch as news developed and hope for a good ending to the story.

Photo taken by Ray Borgeois of the Daily Gleaner

You can imagine some of the rumours that were flying around on social media as time went on. I won't even bother saying some of what I heard.
Fortunately, both of my boys and those around them were safe and lying under tables in darkened, locked classrooms. All they could do was stay where they were and wait it out.
At times like this I am extremely grateful that our kids have smartphones and stay in touch with us. I realize there are some folks who don't approve of this but to them I say blow it out your hat. In times like this when nothing is known as fact, the knowledge that our kids are safe is the only thing I want to know and if a smartphone is how I hear it then that's just fine with me.

However, the tension and anger are still there until it's over.

Finally, about 2 hours after it started I received word that the lockdown had been lifted and classes were returning to normal. Both of the boys messaged me and all was well.

And then, something happened and everything changed for me.

A photo was posted of an umbrella that was mistaken for a weapon and triggered the panic.

I certainly understand how it could have been seen as a weapon. It's actually a very cool umbrella to tell you the truth.

It turns out that someone spotted the man with it and a manager at the Canadian Tire store (where my sons both work) captured the above images from the cameras outside the front of the store.

But Sean is what happened that changed things for me.

The Gleaner sent out a Breaking News email alert and everything became very clear.
Sean is a young Fredericton man who just happens to be autistic. He is involved with a wonderful organization called Jobs Unlimited which is located just opposite Fredericton High School. They provide employment and care services to adults with intellectual disabilities. Their website is www.jobsunlimited.nb.ca .
Yesterday morning, Sean was on his way to work at the Giant Tiger store in the mall at the opposite end from Canadian Tire. It turns out that his mother had given him that cool umbrella for his birthday and was the ideal item to have with him on this day. Rain was forecast for the afternoon.

Here is Sean with his cool umbrella.

Photo taken by Ray Borgeois of the Daily Gleaner

When Sean got to work he and the other staff were told to remain safely inside the store. His mother Frances was following the events and was very scared. In the article she tells that her family has always been opposed to firearms. Sean didn't even have a toy gun as a child.
At some point yesterday morning Sean realized that he may be the person the police were seeking. He realized that they were looking for someone walking from Priestman Street and that's where he had been. When he saw the video from the surveillance camera he knew it was him. The police were contacted and everything was cleared up.

This is where the story broke my heart.

The article talked about the concern for stress that Sean is going through over the event and the image that may be transmitted in the city about him. He was anxious at work all morning. He didn't realize that the umbrella could be mistaken for a firearm when he carried it at his side as he did. I wouldn't have thought of this either.
His mother decided that it would be in Sean's best interest if they shared more about him with the public. She says that "If he's recognizable it makes the world safer for him.""Sean is the sweetest, kindest most loving person".

My god. I had been angry at this person. Someone with absolutely no intention of causing any harm to anyone had made me terrified and angry! Sean wasn't concealing himself with his hoodie. He was trying to stay warm! It was cold yesterday morning. I'm sure that Sean kissed his mother goodbye and took off with the goal of doing the best damn job that he could of whatever was asked of him that day.
Then tears came to my eyes. They still do as I write this actually.
I felt ashamed at my thoughts and so sad at the idea that anyone could ever think badly of Sean.

. So, I went to the phone book to looked up their phone number and called his house. I wanted him to know something from me.
A lady answered and I asked if she was Sean's mom. She said yes she is. I introduced myself and asked her to please give him a message.
"Please tell him no harm, no foul. Carry on, my friend. You've done nothing wrong at all".
She said "Aww. Thank you Tim. How do you know Sean?"
I said "I don't, but when the article said you are worried about what people may think of him, I wanted to call and say that I think he's great and not to worry."
She said "Aww" again and we said goodbye.

I felt a lump in my throat for most of the conversation.

I hope that my phone message helped him, even if just a little bit.

Carry on, my friend....


Stay well,
Tim

Wait! Don’t leave yet please…

Happy New Year.

When Cheryl and I and the boys moved out here to New Brunswick about 12 years ago it was quite full of our Scammell family.
We were moving to a place that actually had a whole bunch of us in reasonably close proximity to each other, give or take 50 kilometers.

My grandmother Annie was living in her house in Fredericton on Hansen Street near the University of New Brunswick. She was entering her 90’s and still getting around and living quite independently.
Her house was, and still is, the one that I associated with Fredericton for my whole life.
As I was growing up, whenever my family travelled here this house was our destination.
When I think about Christmas I will always think about Fredericton and being at Granny’s house.

I always hated that drive from Ontario to Fredericton but man did I love it when we got here! I have so many wonderful memories of the Christmas season in Fredericton I could fill pages of a separate entry on that topic alone.

I’ve mentioned this before but throughout my life I always felt more at home when I was in Fredericton than anywhere else in the world. When we decided to move out here it was quite easy for me.

Of course when we were in Fredericton we drove across the Saint John River to Devon to visit two of my favourite people in the whole world, Uncle Maurice and Aunt Dorie. They were actually my great-uncle and great-aunt, my father’s uncle and aunt. It was always such a fantastic treat when we went to visit.
Sadly, Dorie passed away a few years before we moved here but Uncle Maurice still lived alone on School Street in Devon.
Just prior to our moving here Maurice was moved into a home in Oromocto but the house sat empty.

My dad’s older brother, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Margie had moved back to New Brunswick when Jim retired and bought a house in Beaverdam. Beaverdam is about 5 minutes further out of Fredericton than New Maryland is. Uncle Jim also passed away a few years before we moved here but Aunt Margie stayed in the house in Beaverdam.

My lovely cousin Megan and her husband Peter lived in a great place just outside of Stanley. It was a hobby farm where they had all sorts of different animals such as horses, dogs, cats, chickens and whatever else roamed around the place.
It was a bit of a drive and lousy during bad weather but we loved visiting them. The boys loved interacting with the assorted creatures and would help with whatever needed to be done.
We would have a delicious dinner then head out to the back for a bonfire when it became dark.

Peter worked for Fundy National Park in a little place called Alma which was down on the Bay of Fundy. During the week he would stay at a cottage that they had bought on Mechanic Lake just outside the park. This saved him driving many hours every day to and from home to work.

Many times in the summers Peter and Megan would let us use their cottage during the weekend and our family would have a Fundy weekend in the park and surrounding area.
These trips were priceless with the beautiful scenery and trails to explore.
On one of the trips the boys rented kayaks as Cheryl and I watched from the shore. While they were on the water a mother and two young moose came to the water’s edge for a drink and look around! The boys were able to get within 30 feet of them!
That’s a valuable rare opportunity for certain.

Very shortly after moving to New Brunswick Uncle Maurice passed away and we were robbed of the opportunity to spend more time with a great man.
Their little house on School Street was sold and the “SCAMMELL” letters that Uncle Maurice had put up beside the front door were taken down.
One of my thoughts when we were coming to live here was that the boys would get to spend time with Maurice and enjoy being around him as I had growing up. I think they only saw him 2 or 3 times in their lives. And that sucks.

In late 2013 Megan was taken away from us. Another huge hole was punched into the family that could never be filled again.
Understandably, it was difficult for Peter to remain in the home and life that they had made together without her. Peter sold the place at Mechanic Lake and in the end of 2014 sold the house near Stanley and moved to Toronto to take a great job.

A few days before my birthday in June we lost my grandmother. She was 102 years old!
I thought that perhaps she would make a run for a few more years but she decided that she had done well enough. She used to tell people that she wanted to beat her sister who had passed away in her 90’s.
Now that she had done so she was okay to go any time.
It may have been okay for her but it still hurt like hell for the rest of us. One thing I am very thankful of is that we were able to spend a lot of time with her while living here.
I think that I met my great-grandmothers once or twice before they died but I don't remember them at all. My sons saw Granny quite a but and are old enough to always have clear memories of her.
But it’s a strange feeling when we realize that someone that has been here for our whole lives is now gone.

Granny’s house had sat empty for several years when she moved into the home. My dad told me that even though it was empty, nothing would be changed as long as Granny was alive.
As of this moment, her house on Hansen Street is up for sale.

A few months ago it was decided that my Aunt Margie would sell the house in Beaverdam and move into a place in Ottawa to be closer to my cousin Jamie. The house was put up for sale and sold just a little while ago. The deal actually closes today.

So, in a few short months New Brunswick has gone from having our Scammells in many areas to only two. My father and step-mother in Lower Queensbury and ourselves in New Maryland.

It would be great if someone in the family would move back to New Brunswick someday but in the meantime let’s not get any smaller, okay?

I don’t like goodbyes and don’t want to say any more.

Stay well,
Tim

Wow...

Something really insane happened at the Transportation Committee meeting tonight when the Mayor showed up to have a word with the members. 

I won't get into the details here yet out of respect and the Mayor's request that we keep it confidential until she has had a chance to speak to the members of all of the other Committees of Council as well as the Transportation Committee members that weren't there tonight. 

I'll just say that the mood and energy of the committee up to that point tonight came crashing down to nothing. 

Plus, I really didn't care what we talked about after that anyway because it is now clear that the Village clearly places a value of zero on what the public members of its committees contribute or say. 

I suppose it could be a control thing too. That is probably a very large part of what is about to go down. 

Anyway, there will be first and second reading of the Village bylaw amendment soon and the third and final reading will follow the month afterwards. 

My biggest fear is that the Village business and expertise is about to be drastically changed and not for the better. 

What some people may see as a savings of time and money will end up costing much much more in the long run. Shortsightedness is a constant trait in many groups and organizations that I have been a part of throughout my life. 

Too many little bean counters want their little piles of beans to look wonderful when someone comes by to see it. 

There is no regard or consideration for what is sacrificed from other crucial bean piles to get their piles so lovely but they usually don't care. 

Plus, these beaners HATE when someone comes by and tries to tell them what to do with those beans and suggest ways to use the beans wisely. 

So the beaners shut them out and have the well meaning folks taken out of the equation with everything within their power. 

I'm glad that I've met several beaners that genuinely appreciate input and find ways to listen and implement suggestions that come their way. 

But the Village looks like it's not going to be one of the good ones. 

And that's a shame. 

It's looking more and more like I may have to take another stab at that Council thing sooner than later to see just what the hell is going on in there. 

If the people will take me. 

We have a while to talk about that though. 

For now I'll just get kicked around along with the other members. 

Stay well,

Tim

My Uncle Richard

One of the first memories I have of my Uncle Richard was that I liked him. He was visiting us at our home on Marconi Court in North York and was sleeping on the fold out couch in our den. I think that I was 4 or 5 years old and Richard was in his late teens.
The problem with someone sleeping in the den was that it was the room with the only television in the house. I'm pretty sure that my sister Hayley and I probably made some noise to help him wake up but when he did wake up he watched cartoons with us. Bullwinkle cartoons.
No older person watched cartoons with us.

That was a true sign of an adult that we could trust. The Bullwinkle Bond was strong.

Here is an amusing story similar to the one above.
Years later when I was in my early teens my family travelled to New York to stay with Richard and his family.
My cousin Lisa was just a little thing at the time.
I was assigned the couch in the downstairs family room to sleep on.
Guess where the television was?
My little cousin Lisa was ordered not to wake me up even though she was dying to get down there and watch TV.
I remember as soon as I opened my eyes I was looking directly up at Lisa who was sitting patiently at the top of the stairs staring at me waiting for me to wake up. As soon as my eyes opened Lisa came flying down and turned the TV on and we watched cartoons together.

Another memory I have from when I was small is of Uncle Richard and I cruising down the old Trans Canada highway at night along the Saint John River from Fredericton towards Moncton listening to Johnny Cash on the 8 track player. I specifically remember listening to "Ring of Fire".
I remember that I liked it a lot and even being as young as I was I knew that the whole situation was very cool.

It's funny but on the day Johnny Cash died I remember being woken up with the radio playing that song. As soon as I heard it I thought of that night driving along with Richard. I still do actually.

One time our family travelled to Clinton, New York where Richard and his family lived and he was playing hockey with the Clinton Comets. We really enjoyed that game. I still have the program somewhere.

Here is Richard's career information from www.hockeydb.com.

Rich Scammell
Wing
Born -- Fredericton, NB
Height 6.00 -- Weight 200

1963-64 with Peterborough Petes of the OHA - 17 GP, 3 G, 0 A, 3 Pts, 0 PIM
1964-65 with Peterborough Petes of the OHA - 27 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 Pts, 0 PIM
1966-67 with R.P.I. of the ECAC - 24 GP, 27 G, 29 A, 56 Pts, 63 PIM
1967-68 with R.P.I. of the ECAC - 22 GP, 23 G, 23 A, 46 Pts, 24 PIM
1968-69 with R.P.I. of the ECAC - 21 GP, 19 G, 16 A, 35 Pts, 28 PIM
1970-71 with Clinton Comets of the EHL - 18 GP, 8 G, 3 A, 11 Pts, 9 PIM
1971-72 with Clinton Comets of the EHL - 45 GP, 16 G, 21 A, 37 Pts, 8 PIM

Speaking of programs. This photo is from the 1980/81 Les Canadiens book which the team gave out to detail the team and stats.
As often happens, they missed one of the "L"s in Scammell. Ah well. At least it's a good photo.

As you can see, Richard became a scout with the Montreal Canadiens. I decided that since he is family and I liked him that Montreal was going to be my favourite team.

I should mention that I've been the kind of hockey fan that a team doesn't want to have.
I was a Minnesota North Stars fan when Danny Grant played there since he is a good friend of the family.
I was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan until Richard worked for Montreal.
However, I also loved Boston because Bobby Orr was there.
I cheered for Toronto to win their games unless the game was against Montreal. Then it flipped to Montreal.
Richard left Montreal several years ago so my loyalty there was reduced after that.

As I mentioned, one of Richard's best friends and Scammell family pal is hockey legend Danny Grant.
Danny and another hockey star, Buster Harvey, used to put on a summer hockey school here in Fredericton.
Several times we came from Ontario to Fredericton for vacation to visit family and stay with my grandmother and I would go to the hockey school.
Richard was one of the instructors along with other NHL players such as Gilles Gilbert and Fred Barrett.
It was a great school but I'm afraid it didn't do much to improve my minimal hockey skills.
It was pretty cool telling my friends that I was going to a school in New Brunswick that was taught by professional hockey players and my uncle was one of them!

The photo above is, left to right, Danny Grant, my friend Lyle who came with us from Ontario that year, power skating instructor Harold Joyce, Buster Harvey, myself, Gilles Gilbert, and Richard.

These days I don't think I even have a true favourite team. It depends on what's going on.
I liked the Leafs last season while they were doing really well but after the stunning crash and burn in the playoffs that felt like a kick to the gut I hated them. I still haven't gotten over that.

I'll tell you something though.
It was always much easier to be a Montreal fan in Toronto when I was young than being a Leaf's fan. Montreal was regularly winning the Stanley Cup while the Leafs haven't been close for years.

My father has always been the fan a team wants. He's a diehard Leaf's fan and will watch every single game. When we lived in Ontario if he happened to go to a game he would still record it and watch it when he got home!
Even when his brother was with the Montreal organization Dad stuck with the Leafs.

I don't recall how it came up but a few years ago Richard and I were talking about the Fredericton Sports Wall of Fame and wondering why Richard had not been nominated for it before.
I also discussed the matter with another of Richard's best pals and former Fredericton Mayor Les Hull and we set out to gather information and submit a nomination.

This was about 3 or 4 years ago I believe.
We didn't hear anything until this year.

Back in March Richard called me asking if I would be able to attend a press conference at the Fredericton City Club for the announcement of this year's inductees on his behalf. It made no sense for him to travel up from New York for a press conference.
Of course I attended. It was an honour to represent him.

Here is the press release about Richard from that day. As you see his greatest accomplishments may not have been what he did himself but what he did for others.

2014 INDUCTEE WALL OF FAME BUILDER

Richard Scammell

Fredericton native Richard Scammell played in the Fredericton minor hockey system and in junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey Association's Peterborough Petes before attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on a hockey scholarship from 1965-69 where he led the team in scoring twice. He played two professional seasons with the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League before suffering an injury which ended his playing career at age 26.
He then turned his attention to scouting for the Montreal Canadiens, a position he held for 28 years. Scammell scouted seventy-three players that went on to play for the Habs. The team won six Stanley Cups in his time on the scouting staff. He also refereed Division 1 hockey in the Troy, NY area for nine years, including two games in which the U.S. Olympic team faced off against RPI in 1976 and 1980.
Richard has been inducted into the RPI Athletics Hall of Fame as well as the Capital District Hockey Association Hall of Fame. However, his most enduring legacy is the founding and development of a girls' hockey program in upstate New York. He started the Troy-Albany Ice Cats in 1993. The program now encompasses five teams at different age levels that have won five New York State championships in their 20-year history. The program has sent more than 65 girls on to university hockey programs at the Division 1 or Division 2 level. Two others have gone on to play lacrosse for national championship teams and one plays softball at the NCAA Division 1 level.

On May 3 the induction ceremony took place at the Delta hotel (which is also the location of the wall).
Cheryl and I attended as well as my father and step-mother. We were seated at a table right at the front of the room near the stage. Also at our table were Danny and Linda Grant and of course Uncle Richard and my aunt Denise.
What a great ceremony! We had a blast!
I’ve been to more big dinners than I can count for various associations, organizations, weddings or political things and usually have a hard time keeping focused on the stage. This time was completely different. The stories told by presenters and the recipients themselves were fantastic.
It was the largest attendance in the history of the event.

Click on the picture below to see the full size of the room.

The Room.

Richard and a few of the other recipients.

Richard and Danny Grant.

All of the recipients of the evening

Linda Grant, Richard, Danny Grant, my aunt Denise Scammell

Rather than try to detail the event I’ll let you read Bill Hunt’s article from the Daily Gleaner the next day.
Great work with reporting and the details, Bill. Awesome job.

Record turnout for Wall of Fame inductions

BILL HUNT Fredericton Daily Gleaner
May 4, 2014

For Richard Scammell, it was good to be home.
The 67-year-old Fredericton native is already a member of three sports halls of fame in his adopted home town of Troy, N.Y. But there’s something special about being a hero in your hometown – as Scammell and the other members of the Fredericton Sports Wall of Fame class of 2014 discovered at the 23rd annual induction ceremonies at the Delta Hotel on Saturday night.
Before a record crowd of 400 guests – who combined for an unofficial record eight standing ovations, including the one for recently crowned world senior men’s curling champions Wayne Tallon, Mike Flannery and Chuck Kingston – Scammell and friends took their places among the growing list of Fredericton sports immortals.
Scammell’s sporting exploits as a hockey player, scout and founder of a thriving girls hockey program have earned him membership in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Athletics Hall of Fame, the Capital District Hockey Association Hall of Fame and the Friends of the 112th Street Sports Hall of Fame. Prestigious honours all.
But “it’s my hometown, so I’m going to say (this is) number one,” said Scammell, who left Fredericton at age 16 – two years after the death of his father – for Peterborough, Ont., where he joined Danny Grant with the Petes.

Their paths diverged from there: Grant went on to a long National Hockey League career and Scammell went on to a scholarship at RPI, where he played hockey, graduated and has worked since 1965. He is currently the Director of Research Administration at the upstate New York school.
Through it all, he incorporated a full and fruitful 28-year career as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens which saw 79 players he recommended be drafted by the Habs, 29 of whom made it to the NHL, and the founding of a girls hockey program in upstate New York, the Troy Albany Ice Cats. He founded the program 21 years ago, in 1993, two of his three daughters played in it, and next year, his nine-year-old granddaughter Emily will begin in the U12 rung of the program.
“I look around and I see so many people that I know and that I haven’t seen for years,” said Scammell, who thanked the guests who were there to help him celebrate and said he planned to visit the Pine Grove Nursing Home on Sunday to tell his mom, 102-year-old Annie McCullough, of the honour.
“It’s great being back home so I can share this evening with my family and friends,” he said. “Everybody should be proud of all the inductees tonight. I think they’re a very good example of what people from Fredericton are and can be.”

The class of 2014 ran the gamut, from track and cross-country athlete Wayne Stewart, who drew loud cheers from some 60 supporters in the track community who were there to recognize a career highlighted by his competing as a member of the Canadian cross country team at the world championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1977; to golfer Kathy Meagher, still building on a resume that includes at least one provincial championship in each of the five decades in which she has played and titles in each of the junior, amateur, senior and super senior classes; to Fredericton’s dominant senior softball squads in the first half of the decade of the 1980s; to Intermediate Fredericton Caps hockey sniper Billy Hughes, who helped make the B line, with Bob Mabie and Bev Bawn, such a force through the decade of the 1960s.

It also included a nod to both the present and the future in the selection of volunteers Mike and Margie Reed as recipients of the Dr. Bill MacGillivary volunteer of the year award, for the longtime, and ongoing, service to sport, currently with the Fredericton Office Interiors Caps junior team but extending back to peewee, bantam and midget hockey when their own children played; and to Virginia Hokies women’s soccer goaltender Dayle Colpitts, who won the Myer and Jack Budovitch Award as Fredericton’s athlete of the year for a record-setting season in leading the Hokies to the NCAA Division 1 semifinals.

Meagher, ever the epitome of class, hit all the right shots – as she has for half a century on the golf course – thanked the founding organization, Fredericton Sports Investments, “for your continued support of the Sports Wall of Fame and for all that you do for sport in our community. Your legacy is part of what makes Fredericton such a great city in which to live.”

That’s a theme that surfaced throughout: that Fredericton is a special place, a fact stated by all the inductees in varying degrees of eloquence this night.
Family was prominent too: Meagher tracing her Miramichi roots in the game, when she was Kathy Whitty, to thanking her daughter and playing partner Kathryn, “my biggest cheerleader” and, incidentally, her playing partner on eight mother-daughter provincial championship teams.
“It’s very special that I’m joining my late husband John, who was inducted in 2010,” she said. “Among many things, we shared a love of sport ... and now membership on the Wall of Fame.”

Catcher Sonny Phillips, inducted on the wall for his own brilliant career in 1999, was joined on Saturday by all but five of the 30 team members from the 1981-84 teams that captured four straight senior titles and hosted nationals at newly constructed Prospect Street Park in 1984.
In addition to speed, pitching and defence, which the team had in spades, Phillips said “we had a great time for those five or six months (every year) we were together. We found that’s what it was all about ... people, people, people, relationships.”
They were reborn at a private team function on Friday, the night before the official induction ceremonies, said Phillips.
“There were a lot of three-run homers and no-hitters. We’re not sure if they happened, but we sure had a good time,” he said.
“This Fredericton Sports Wall of Fame is really special to us,” he said. “The efforts of FSI really emphasize why the city of Fredericton is such a great community to live in and retire to and give back.”

The softball crowd was exceeded only by the track crowd, which greeted the mention of anyone on track, whether it be Mel Keeling or Peter Richardson, both previous inductees.
“This is great,” said Stewart in humble tones, who counted one little known kilometre among his career highlights – the first one from Parliament Hill in Ottawa in the direction of Montreal and the opening ceremonies of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
“Many thanks to all the athletes who I coached at UNB, who I trained and competed with,” he said, pointing in their direction in the crowd and deadpanning “pretty much all right there.”

Hughes was represented by son Terry: Billy remains on his native Prince Edward Island due to ill health. Terry said his dad wanted to thank all his teammates for their roles in his success.

Colpitts became the 10th female winner of the Myer and Jack Budovitch Award after the 22-year-old led the Hokies to previously unattained heights. They lost 3-2 to the Florida State Seminoles in the NCAA semifinal, ending a season in which she managed 11 shutouts, 19 wins and a 0.77 goals against average and a career in which she set school records with 29 shutouts, 49 wins and a 1.15 goals against average over four years.
Colpitts was humble in accepting the trophy and to be “in the presence of so many distinguished athletes and sports people,” she said.
She called her early years in Fredericton, spent on the rinks, courts and fields of Fredericton, “obviously the best years of my life,” she said.
After playing ringette, volleyball, basketball and soccer in her formative years, she turned exclusively to soccer at 16, starring at Fredericton High School, the Canada Games and beyond.
“But I didn’t do it by myself,” she noted, thanking her parents, family, coaches, teammates and the community.

Margie Reed, speaking on behalf of the couple, said she and Mike were “honoured but also a bit embarrassed” when initially told they were receiving the MacGillivary Award as “Fredericton’s outstanding sport volunteer and community worker.”
“But we’ve had time to let it sink in and are now enjoying the moment,” she said. “Volunteering has become a big part of our lives,” she said. “Most people who ask us to help them out in whatever situation know that if they ask one of us, they’re going to get both of us.”
They’ve lent that spirit and expertise to the Fredericton Youth Hockey Association, the Brendon Oreto Foundation and to teams from peewee, bantam, midget, junior and high school girls hockey over the years, working alongside some 28 coaches and for the benefit of countless young players over their careers, “and we’d like to thank every one of them for taking us along for the ride,” she said.
“It’s funny, because you think at the time that they don’t realize that you’re there,” she said. “But if you meet them in a grocery store or a mall and they give you a big hug ... that’s our paycheque.”

All of the award recipients were fantastic and completely deserving of their awards.

Richard received a very nice silver ring to honour the occasion.
Here is a photo of it along with one of his Stanley Cup rings that he received while scouting with the Canadiens.

I’ll tell you, it was a great night to be a Scammell in Fredericton.

It was also a great night for the city of Fredericton to show my uncle Richard that they are very proud of him and everything that he has accomplished.

Almost as much as I am.

Stay well,
Tim