The Inverness Oran

Burton MacIntyre proudly shows of his new X ring he received at a lunch during Whycocomagh’s Winterlude. (Photo credit: MaryBeth Ferguson)

-by Beverley Phillips

                Burton MacIntyre has given so much to his community that his community decided they needed to give something back. At the closing luncheon of the Whycocomagh Winterlude festival, they surprised him with an X ring, replacing the one he lost years earlier.

                St. F.X. graduates are proud of the distinctive ring they get during their graduation year, and MacIntyre was no different.

                But his story of earning his ring isn’t the story most can tell. He was late to begin his university career. He quit school in grade 12, after his father died, to run his father’s store and help his mother take care of his younger siblings, Ethel and Warren. He moved on from there and got a job at the pulp mill in Point Tupper. After a few years there, he went back to school for his grade 12, and he kept working all the while.

                He then went to St. F.X. for his Bachelor of Arts, studying by day and working the back shift at the pulp mill by night. He earned his degree, followed by his education degree, the next year.

                And while he worked hard those years, he always had time for friends and a good time. Steve MacDonald spoke about meeting MacIntyre in the line of the cafeteria in Morrison Hall on the first day of classes. MacDonald is from Washabuck, and they had a mutual friend. Once they made the connection, they have been friends ever since.

                It’s MacIntyre’s ability to connect with people that motivated a group of former students and others who had volunteered with him to start fundraising to replace the lost X ring.

                On August 23^rd, a group chat began plotting on how to fundraise without him discovering their plan. “We did a lot of sneaking around,” said Nancy Turnbill. “Burton even came to one of our fundraisers.” They even managed to trick him into sizing the ring.

                To make sure he attended the luncheon, they asked him to speak on the value of volunteering for one’s community. So before the ceremony, he gave a short talk noting that it would soon be festival season again, and they need more young people to volunteer. But, he encouraged everyone, no matter what community they lived in, to not just watch community events from the sidelines, but get involved, and “Be part of it.”

                MacIntyre never shied away from being part of it. MacDonald outlined a few of the things he has done for the community, including initiating the rink, the summer festival, and being one of the founding members of the Cape Breton Fiddlers’ Association. He has also demonstrated a lifetime commitment to volunteerism.

                Turnbill put the ring on MacIntyre’s finger. “Thank you all so very much,” he said. He told a few stories, including one of “not” catching a group of girls skipping school one day, though of course he knew, and extended them grace, “to not ruin a good skip.”

                He was clearly grateful for all that was done to make this happen and extended grace once again. “This is really awesome. You have no idea. Thank you, and I forgive you for setting me up.”

                Speaking to MacIntyre the next day, he said he was completely surprised. He had no idea something was up, and once again expressed his gratitude for what everyone did. “It was a good afternoon,” he said. “I talked to a lot of people. And I had messages from all over, even from Denmark!”

                He has no big plans for the summer, but will keep doing what he has long been doing, lifting weights at the gym, having laughs with friends, square dancing, of course, and being part of it.

Abbey Mullendore (on the right) with her sister Tamzin Gillis and brother Tyler Mullendore. (Photo courtesy Abbey Mullendore)

-by Beverley Phillips

                Tyler Mullendore is being a good big brother, organizing a concert series and online auction in support of his sister, Abbey Mullendore, who is recovering from brain surgery.

                Abbey has been open about her health journey, from needing a ride to the ER to getting out of surgery in Halifax, which removed 99 per cent of a meningioma brain tumor. Her Facebook posts have garnered an outpouring of love and concern from friends, family, and fans.

                Reaching out to her to check in on how she is doing, she had this to say:

                “On February 9^th, I underwent a seven-hour craniotomy brain surgery to remove a meningioma tumor. The surgery was successful, and almost all of it was removed. However, the tumor was actually growing from the wall of a major blood vessel that connects the brain to the spinal cord, so complete resection was not possible. Now we wait for the results and grading of the tumor to determine what further treatment and recovery might look like going forward. We were given a baseline of six-12 months for full recovery, but we will have a better idea when the results are in, and we meet with the surgeon for follow-up in a few weeks’ time.

                “Recovery has been slow and steady, and that will be the case for a while. I’m quite limited in what I’m able to do for the next several months – work, driving, performing, many of the everyday aspects of life have been put on hold as I settle into a new ‘normal.’ With that said, I’m just so grateful to have the surgery behind me and to have received the medical care that I did. Everything happened at such lightning speed that I haven’t even had the time to fully process it. I think that’s not such a bad thing. The week leading up to the surgery was heavy. Lots of fear and uncertainty. It was a lot. But, we remain hopeful that the worst of it is in the rear view, and the focus is now on rest and recovery, and all in good time, getting back to business.”

                Tyler said that it was a pretty scary couple of weeks when they didn’t really know what was wrong. Being just 13 months older, the siblings are very close. He gave his perspective on how she is doing and her attitude. “Abbey is doing pretty good. She has good days and bad days,” he said. “She’s trying to stay positive, and she’s very resilient. She has a very strong personality, and she’s got a really good group of friends and family supporting her.”

                With a six- to 12-month recovery ahead of her, her ability to make a living is put on hold. She has a mushroom farm, and she performs on stage with Classic Albums Live, singing the role of Stevie Nicks in their tribute show to Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album Rumours. They are both physically demanding careers, and simply not possible at this time.

                Tyler is organizing the fundraisers as she has to take so much time off from work. And he adds, “She’s not the type to ask for help, but she’s the first to offer.”

                It was a friend of Tyler’s who suggested they do something. “I wasn’t thinking about anything public,” said Tyler. “I was just staying close to her. I was very worried, and my head was wrapped around what was going on with her medically. But a buddy of mine sent me a message asking how she is doing and saying he was really sorry that all this is happening. I said, “Thanks, man.” And then he said he’s going to throw a fundraiser.”

                And the idea has since grown from there.

                On March 1^st, a variety of acts, including The Back Pack, Aaron MacDonald, Peter MacInnis, and Hearts of Kin, will perform from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Daniel’s Alehouse in Sydney. On March 6^th, a different lineup of musicians will take to the stage at Capital Sports Club on Lady Hammond Road, in Halifax. The series closes at the Iona Heights Inn in Iona on March 14^th. The Inn is offering a discount on rooms that night in support of the cause. Admission to the shows is by donation.

                It wasn’t hard getting acts to support the cause. “Most of the artists are either friends with her or fans of her,” said Tyler. “The Nova Scotia musician community is close. We all know each other for the most part. Everybody’s jumping on board and just being amazing. People are being very generous and very, very supportive.”

                An online silent auction is also being organized with the help of Steve Luxton, a good friend of Abbey’s in Sydney. Items to bid on include a guitar signed by Matt Anderson, a fiddle signed by Ashley MacIsaac, and other items like lobster, meals, and a visit to the hair salon. The auction opens on Saturday, February 28^th, and runs until April 1^st.  The website will be announced soon on social media.

                To support Abbey on her healing journey, check out one of the concerts, the online auction, or go to the GoFundMe page set up by her sister, Tamzin Gillis.

Dalbrae Dragons forward Bentley Cameron moves the puck out of his end while SAERC Saints forward Liam Taylor closes in to meet him during Highland Region Division 2 semifinal action in Port Hood on Friday.

-by Bill Dunphy

                Both the Dalbrae Dragons and the  Cabot/CBHA/NDA Huskies-Eagles relished their underdog roles in the Highland Region Division 2 playoffs – both teams picking off the Cape Breton West High School Hockey League leaders.

                The Dragons and Huskies-Eagles both benefitted from a queer rule in their ‘best-of-three’ playdown series.

                Instead of the traditional best-of-three, which would require a third game if the series was tied 1-1, the new rule calls for an ‘overtime’ immediately after completion of the second game to determine the series winner. Teams play five minutes of four-on-four, and if no one scores, then five minutes of three-on-three, and if there’s still no goal, the ‘game’ goes to a shootout.

                In the Dalbrae Dragons, who finished fourth in the league with a 4-0-8-0 record (wins-OT wins-losses-OT losses), faced the first-place SAERC Saints (11-1-1-1) in playdowns.

                Game one, at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, was an old-fashioned goaltenders duel between Dalbrae’s Hayden Gillies and SAERC’s Brooke Wadden, each going save-for-save until 33 seconds left in the third period when Owen Campbell scored the game-winner on a play with Jayden Cameron and Ethan Gillis.

                With their backs now against the wall, the Saints dominated the Dragons in game two, winning 5-0 at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre on Friday.

                Owen Burns won a puck battle behind Gillies’ net and fed Masen MacPherson for a tuck-in at the side of the net to give the Saints a 1-0 lead at 9:32 of the first period.

                The eventual game-winning goal came with 43 seconds left in the first with Keiran Madden scoring off a faceoff in the Dalbrae zone, assisted by Gunner Brown.

                MacPherson scored an unassisted goal in the second period to put the Saints up 3-0 at the break.

                In the third, Burns scored on a set-up by Madden and Madden mad it 5-0 two minutes later, assisted by Liam Taylor and Duncan Scott.

                With the game in hand and knowing what was coming next, both teams seemed content to play out the third period without a whole lot of intensity.

                The first ‘overtime’ of four-on-four hockey was scoreless, though SAERC picked up a minor penalty at 4:07, which carried over into the second ‘overtime’ of three-on-three.

                Dalbrae played the first 67 seconds at four-on-three, which became four-on-four when the penalized player stepped on the ice, until the first whistle.

                Now playing three-on-three, Dalbrae D-man Donald Gillis, in his own end, head-manned the puck to Nathan Crighton who went end-to-end, finishing with a backhander past Wadden at 2:23 to give the Dragons a 1-0 win and the series victory.

                The playdown series between the third-place Huskies-Eagles (7-0-2-1) and the second-place Richmond Hurricane (9-1-3-0) was equally wild.

                Richmond won the first game in Louisdale 3-1.

                Jacob Hebb, on a powerplay with Jace Bishop, gave the Huskies-Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first period.

                However Richmond scored three in the third for the win.

                Game two, at the Cabot Trail Arena in Cheticamp on Friday, saw Jayden Aucoin score at 11:02 of the third period, on a set-up by Nolan LeBlanc, to give the Huskies-Eagles a 1-0 win to tie the series.

                Going into four-on-four ‘overtime,’ Avery Evers took a pass from Hebb and scored the series winner at 2:56 to sideline the Hurricane.

                Huskies-Eagles goaltender Callum Courage had the shutouts.

                The Dalbrae and Cabot/CBHA/NDA will now play a real best-of-three series to determine the Highland Region Division 2 champion, but both teams advance to provincials.

                The Highland Region is designated to host the School Sport Nova Scotia D2 provincial tournament on March 27-29, but it was not known at press time if it will go to the Highland Region winner or an alternate site.