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NOJHL NOTES: NEW LOOK IN MANITOULIN

May 14th, 2008

Here ‘n there in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League:

…The Manitoulin Islanders have a new-look Board of Directors. Gone are president Wendell Buie and vice president Rick Gjos, among others. Making up the Board for the ‘08-09 season will be Jim Ferguson, Marj Moody, Ron Steeves, Jim Stringer and Peggy Young. Interestingly, Stringer is the Mayor of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI). Stringer was a Board member for the ‘05-06 edition of the original Islanders but resigned after that season in protest of the firing of coach/general manager Todd Stencill, who since resurfaced as coach of the rival Blind River Beavers. Stencill, in just two seasons in Blind River, has become the winningest coach in franchise history.

…Reggie Leach says he will definitely be returning to Manitoulin for his first full season as coach and director of hockey operations. The legendary Leach, a former National Hockey League goal-scoring superstar with the Philadelphia Flyers during their mid-1970s heydays, had joined the Islanders midway through the ‘07-08 season after Barry Parsons stepped down as coach and general manager. Larry Roy, who worked closely with Leach last season, will serve as the Islanders’ general manager for the ‘08-09 campaign. Roy replaces Jacques Lamothe, who had become GM following the departure of Parsons. Lamothe told me that commuting from Sudbury, where he lives and works, made it too difficult for him to commit to  continue on as GM for the ‘08-09 season.

…Sources say former North Bay Skyhawks’ heavyweight Dustin McCrank has a future as a linesman and that personnel from the Ontario Hockey League and National Hockey League have the name of the former tough guy on their list of potential prospects.

…Should he make as good an impression at the Soo Greyhounds’ May 31 mini camp as he did at the one a year ago, left winger Jordan Carroll will be offered a spot on the Ontario Hockey League team for the ‘08-09 season. Carroll was an impact player with North Bay as a hustling, hardworking 16-year old rookie during the ‘07-08 NOJHL season and caught the eyes of Greyhound coach Craig Hartsburg. “I really like the kid,” Hartsburg told me.

…Rumour that won’t go away: Billy (The Kid) Stone will be back playing goal in the NOJHL in ‘08-09. The former Manitoulin sensation split the ‘07-08 season between Halifax of the Maritime Jr. Hockey League and Port Hope of the Ontario Provincial Jr. Hockey League. Stone has one season of junior eligibility remaining.

…Over to Manitoulin again, Reggie Leach says he is confident of icing a competitive team for ‘08-09 following the disastrous two-win season of ‘07-08 that was pretty much doomed from the start mainly due to ineffective recruiting by the since-departed Barry Parsons. “The only way the franchise is going to turn around and become more attractive to the fans is if Larry (Roy) and I put together the kind of team that will bring the fans to the rink,” Leach told The Manitoulin Expositor. “It’s hard when your team is losing all the time. It’s going to come down to what Larry and I do in August and September.”

by Randy Russon, Osprey Media

 

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Decisive Moments – Peter Stranks at the Orillia Museum of Art and History

January 17th, 2008

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At the Orillia Museum of Art and History you have an opportunity to see photographs that capture the decisive moments of everyday life in a special manner. Peter Stranks, a Toronto-based photographer living in Orillia, has selected twenty-two photographic works for his one-man show at the Museum.

Stranks’ photos show us defining moments in our lives, ranging from a family by the poolside, a child being twirled around by his parent or the touching of hands linking two generations. I remember in particular the photo of “Auntie Marjorie meets Sunny” where the aunt sees the young child through the car window for what seems like the first time. Also, he shows a wonderful ability to showcase a sense of movement as in the photo of the boy above.

He also is not afraid to photograph from right inside a situation, whether inside the King Street Car or looking out the front window of a car. By getting inside the moment, Stranks involves us in the situation and we feel that we are right there. While we have been there before, we feel this is a special moment, something to reflect upon.

Stranks also presents as part of the show some work that contain both text and images. The texts tell a series of stories that are illustrated by photographs. The stories are from his personal memories, whether from his own childhood or from children’s stories. The written word calls for you to stop and take in the story and to look again at the photograph that illustrate the story.

Instead of small snapshots of everyday life, Peter has taken his photographs and enlarged them 3 to 4 times while staying true to the original in-camera composition. For those of us who are used to colour photographs, all his photographs are black and white using modern printing technology and techniques. Black and white shows you what is important and helps you as a viewer focus in on what is important in the photograph.

With digital photography, there is now somewhat of a black and white photography renaissance as it is now possible to convert digital images to black and white relatively easily and to great effect. Whether you are using Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Lightroom, consider converting some of your images into black and white. If you want to experiment, set your camera to black and white mode and photograph in raw. This way you can see the black and white image on the camera but still capture all the colour too.

“Decisive Moments” is open now at the Museum at 30 Peter St. South and runs until March 1st. Stranks will give an artist’s talk on Thursday, January 24th at 7:00 pm at the Museum.

Later in the month on February 2nd, the Museum will be hosting a photographic workshop led by the Orillia Camera Club, “You and Your Camera – Learning to See Creatively”. I will lead this workshop along with John McQuirter and Mark Kruse, both local photographers. For more information, contact the Museum or the Camera Club.

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