Proudly servIng PrInCe edward County sInCe 1830
The Picton Gazette THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013
VOLUME 1 8 3 , N O . 1 5
InsIde Boston tragedy shocks county marathoners
tHiS week
Explosions hit close to home for local runners and organizers JasonParks
Staff writer
READING
the County reads champions share their books Page 3
RELATING
North Marysburgh residents learn about their neighbours Page 9
ROLLING
Police officers preparing for Pedal for Hope bicycle tour Page 12
seCtIons
Looking back.......6 Weather.............6 Editorials.............7 Letters....................8 Sports....................24 Puzzles.................30 Classifieds.............31 CaNaDa’S OLDeSt COMMUNitY NewSPaPer
Shocking and heartbreaking. That’s the only way to describe the events of Monday afternoon at the finish of the 2013 Boston Marathon. The Super Bowl of marathons, the world's largest and oldest annual distance running event was a scene of chaos, confusion and tragedy as a terrorist attack at the finish line claimed the lives of three bystanders and injured over a hundred others. Over 2,000 Canadians were taking part and more than a few qualified for the prestigious event by way of the Prince Edward County Marathon last fall. The suspected terrorist attack struck a chord with a number of local people involved with the County Marathon. Race manager Lisa Lindsay said she was monitoring the race on and off Monday to check and see how some of the runners that take part in the local marathon in order to qualify for the Boston event were fairing. Just after 3 p.m. When a pair of blasts ripped through Copley Square, Lindsay found her self not worried about times but worried about the welfare
safe dIstanCe Peter Orr, a participant in the 2012 County Marathon, shows off his 2013 Boston Marathon medal in a marshalling area about 500 metres from the finish line. Within minutes of this photo being taken, two bombs ripped through Copley Square, killing three and injuring close to 200 bystanders. (Submitted photo)
of runners that have supported the County Marathon and used it as a stepping stone for the largest marathon stage in the world.
“It's a shock and it's upsetting,” Lindsay told the Gazette. “We have such a broad band of people that come to our race to qualify for Boston and it's
a chilling feeling knowing that people are celebrating, trying to achieve personal goals that they worked so hard for and then, all of a sudden, this
attack happens.” Monday night, Lindsay tracked down nearly every County Marathon runner she thought might have been running the Boston event to ensure they were safe and sound. Locally, she said that security and safety were already at higher-than-normal levels at the County Marathon and while there will be a push at distance events across North America to ensure a tragedy like one experienced in Boston doesn't happen again, it shouldn't change much in Prince Edward. “We have plenty of safety and security mechanisms in place and we have had that since day one. We're lucky that we've taken that approach from the start. Other races out there will likely be incurring a large cost in order to bring their safety and standards up.” Among those in Boston that qualified for the event through the annual County run was marathoner Peter Orr and his supporting wife Mary (Ostrander), a Picton native. Just picking up marathoning in the past few years, the 2013 event was Orr's first experience in Boston and said it was unlike any race he had ever been a part of. “The whole city is into it,” Peter Orr said from the safety of his King City farm Tuesday evening.
See BLASTS, page 14
Pirates preparing to play for provincial championship After sweeping Alliston, Picton will face Essex in Junior C final Chad Ibbotson
Staff writer
The Picton Pirates will go to the Schmalz Cup final for the first time in club history after sweeping the Alliston Hornets in the semi-final. Heading into Game 4 on April 10 the Pirates held a 3–0 series advantage and were looking to close it out with a road win. The team managed to do just that with a gritty 5–4 victory over the Hornets in front of a hostile Alliston crowd. Pirates coach and general manager Ryan Woodward said the team has worked hard for their success this season. He said
their focus now turns to the Essex 73's for the Schmalz Cup final. Woodward said making it to final for the first time is a milestone for both the players and the club. “It's a big accomplishment in terms of what the guys have done on the ice and off the ice this year. They've been a fantastic group of players,” he said. “It's the first time since 1996 an Empire team has made it back to the finals and we look forward to working hard and making the Empire proud.” The Pirates got the start the wanted in Game 4. Just over two minutes into the opening frame —
P U L L - O U T
and with his team shorthanded — Brian Bunnett broke up a play at his own blue line and made a power move around the Alliston defence. In alone on Alliston goaltender Tyler Brindle, Bunnett slipped the puck through the five hole to give Picton a quick lead. “Scoring the first goal on the road really calms the guys. They really settled in,” Woodward said. “Brian has scored a couple of big goals in this series. We seem to be getting that big effort or big goal from a lot of different players throughout our playoff run.”
R E A L
See PIRATES, page 27
E S TAT E
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Sales Representative
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102 Main Street, Picton Business 613-476-2100 Res 613-476-8039 E-mail carolbroughc21@hotmail.com
gettIng ready Picton Pirates coach and general manager Ryan Woodward gives some instruction to players during a practice ahead of Saturday night’s opener of their Schmalz Cup final series. (Chad Ibbotson/Gazette staff)
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