Calling all "peelers"...

I remember a numbers of years ago when I was deep into the Superstore wars at IRAC and I had come up with some crazy idea to have a manure spreader painted in IRAC's corporate colours and have it hauled around the block where IRAC offices are located in Downtown Charlottetown. I went so far as buying the spreader, painting it green and ordering up some manure as a symbol of what IRAC dishes out. Unfortunately I was thwarted by my lawyer of the day Bill Lea who had up and left the hearings in the middle of the case because he was frustrated with IRAC's process... I always felt cheated out of this "stunt" as we had spent about $300,000 in professional fees in our attempt to open a simple Superstore in Charlottetown and I wanted at least get some “fun” out of it.

Sharon Labchuk is no stranger to stunts and most Islanders remember when she had the picture taken of her "nude" in the middle of a potato field... and I can also remember her at the opening of the Greenwich National Park when she organized a bunch of teenagers to dress up as ghosts implying the world was going to end with the opening of the Interpretive Centre.

Well Sharon Baby maybe it time to revert back to your "peeling" days as you're bang on that the boys at IRAC are "pastured out, political backroom boys" and the only way you're going to get their attention is "peel it all off" and if you do “I promise” I'll drive the manure spreader around the block myself....

P.S. Sharon, I think you're crazier than I am....

Shooting range 'rubber stamped,' residents complain

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

People in central P.E.I. made a passionate plea Tuesday morning to have a nearby shooting range shut down.

Sigrid Rolfe and Sharon Labchuk are appealing the government's approval of the Big Boot Gun Club in South Granville at a hearing of the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

They criticized the provincial government's approval process for the range, saying it was "rubber stamped" and their pleas for public hearings were ignored.

Labchuk and Rolfe told the hearing that residents are worried about bullets causing lead contamination of the area's water supply. They also don't like the noise of guns six days a week, and believe their properties have been devalued by the range.

Another concern is stray bullets hitting people or livestock.

Labchuk said she doesn't have much hope that the hearing will change anything. With her opening statement, she criticized the tribunal as "pastured out, political backroom boys" with no power or jurisdiction.

Peter Baker, who owns property next to the shooting range, testified on Tuesday. He said he wants to build cottages on his property but the noise is an issue.

"The noise is certainly going to compromise quiet enjoyment of our property," he said.

"When tourists come to the island, it's sold as a gentle island and I mean, I don't think the sound of gun fire in any case is something that people would expect if they came to a resort or a cottage for quiet enjoyment for their summer vacation."

Baker said an investor in his cottage project has questions and concerns about the shooting range.

The hearing continues Wednesday.