Wednesday, May 27, 2009
UEFA Championship League Final 2009 Result
The 2009 UEFA Championship League final between Manchester United and FC Barcelona ended a shortwhile ago with FC Barcelona winning by 2 goels to nil.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
2010 Olympic Torch
It’s Spring 2009 and already the 2010 Winter Olympics are a cause for sensation and controversy. The mini-scandal of the day? The 2010 Olympic Torch or — as some are already referring to it as — the 2010 Olympic Toke. This oh-so-clever entendre of course refers to the observation, now made by many, that the official 2010 Olympic Torch sorta-kinda looks like a joint. And you know what, I sorta-kinda have to agree.
Now, not too surprisingly, Olympic officials are hurrying to deny the allegation. According to them, the torch is supposed to look like the snow and ice marks left behind an Olympic skier or skater. Which, to be fair, I can certainly see. Mark Busse, an Industrial designer familiar with the behind-the-scenes making of the torch remarked, “Sure, it may look a little bit like a joint, but I can tell you that what they were going for was ergonomics, sleekness, modernity.”
Still, not everyone is convinced and new interpretations seem to be coming by the minute. In fact, David Schmader of The Stranger just noted how the torch resembled “a pregnancy test that reveals you’re having Satan’s baby.” Another worthy observation I suppose.
So which is it? A joint? Satan’s baby? Or a sleek and modern ski track? Knowing Vancouver, I think I’m going with all of the above.
Courtesy: Stephen Kral
Now, not too surprisingly, Olympic officials are hurrying to deny the allegation. According to them, the torch is supposed to look like the snow and ice marks left behind an Olympic skier or skater. Which, to be fair, I can certainly see. Mark Busse, an Industrial designer familiar with the behind-the-scenes making of the torch remarked, “Sure, it may look a little bit like a joint, but I can tell you that what they were going for was ergonomics, sleekness, modernity.”
Still, not everyone is convinced and new interpretations seem to be coming by the minute. In fact, David Schmader of The Stranger just noted how the torch resembled “a pregnancy test that reveals you’re having Satan’s baby.” Another worthy observation I suppose.
So which is it? A joint? Satan’s baby? Or a sleek and modern ski track? Knowing Vancouver, I think I’m going with all of the above.
Courtesy: Stephen Kral
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mama Pelagai Villaflor Soliven Remembered
MY Mama will always be my idol, a woman whom I strive to emulate even as I realize that I could never measure up to her.
Mama—Pelagia Villaflor Soliven—was born on July 11, 1910, in Sto. Domingo, Ilocos. She was the second of three daughters of Agripino Villaflor, then chief of customs, and Gregoria Tesoro Jaramillo, one of the first teachers recruited by the Americans.
In her autobiography A Woman So Valiant, Mama recounts that her first glimpse of my Papa, the young Atty. Benito Tagorda Soliven, was at the family’s favorite Panciteria Antigua, where her father hosted a lunch in “Bitong’s” honor.
Mama recalls that the photographer made her squat at the foot of the honoree. She was 11 years old and Papa was 23!
It was that summer that the two actually met at a banquet mounted by the Sto. Domingo townsfolk to honor their favorite “son”, Benito T. Soliven, for having passed the Bar.
Mama and Papa got married when she was 18 in December 1928 at the Manila Cathedral. The reception was held at The Manila Hotel. Papa had just been elected representative for Ilocos Sur and so the ninongs were no less than then-Speaker Manuel Roxas and Sen. Elpidio Quirino.
In less than 12 years later, the young couple had 10 children. The youngest, Benito Jr., died, however, as an infant from dysentery during the outbreak of war.
Papa died from complications of malaria. He had fought in the battle of Bataan, survived the infamous Death March, and was a prisoner of war in Capas, Tarlac.
I have never forgiven the Japanese for what they did, depriving me of a father whom I never knew, because I was a toddler when Papa left for the war.
It was the worse time for a young widow (age 33 years!) to be left with nine orphaned children.
Mama, who never went to college, knew only to sew dresses, which she had been doing since she was a teenager. Mama built a wooden box house in Herran near the corner of San Marcelino, Paco, where my parents used to live. The original house had been burned to the ground during the Liberation of Manila.
I loved that house, even though the upstairs “bedroom” was a single room where everybody slept on the floor on mats. I slept on a shelf built over the stairwell. During the day we stored our mats, blankets, mosquito nets and pillows on the shelf.
Mama opened a tiny dress shop in front of the house. She sewed ladies’ dresses for P3.50 apiece and soutanas for the Jesuits at P5 apiece (for which she bought Indian cotton in Divisoria).
We were dirt-poor but we had the happiest childhood that anyone would wish! We had nothing, and yet we had everything. We were nine children plus our cousins, the Cardenas family who lived in the compound, with three kids. When the de Villas moved next door, that added three more playmates. We had a birthday winnie roast every month!
We played games that children play—piko, sipa, cops-and-robbers, hide-and-seek, jumping rope, etc.
The Jesuits from Ateneo Padre Faura, a 12-block walk away, would come to sing along as my brother Willie was a whiz at the small upright piano my Mama purchased.
The Jesuits donated a basketball goal and Mama had a hardcourt cemented in the yard. This later became a favorite venue for class parties, as well as games.
All my brothers’ classmates and even the Jesuits themselves came to play basketball because Mama loved to entertain. It seemed like all that we sisters (her four daughters) did was to make sandwiches and Kool-Aid drinks.
Years later, my brothers’ friends from the Student Catholic Action, a multicollege organization, began meeting and holding parties also in our house in Herran. I learned to dance early because the boys would use me as their dance partner to practice for the parties.
And they all loved “Mommy Soliven”. For many years later, as a journalist I would encounter people from all sectors—the newspaper and broadcast industry, politics, the rich and famous—who would remember the “house in Herran” and “Mommy Soliven”. Inevitably they would say, “And you must have been that little girl making sandwiches....”
So many memories came flooding back yesterday on Mother’s Day, such as when the National Federation of Women’s Clubs of the Philippines named Pelagia V. Soliven as “Outstanding Mother of the Year” on December 3, 1962.
Mama deserved the award, for sure, for every year she singlehandedly raised her nine children. Mama had an unshakable faith in God’s Providence. She would declare that if God took our father away, He would surely provide for us. Through those difficult early years, God must have honored her faith and her perseverance.
I recall waking each morning at the sound of Mama working at her foot-pedaled sewing machine, and going to sleep to the same sound. Before she sat at her sewing machine, Mama would have already gone to the market and cooked the day’s meals for us.
Everything she cooked came in soups and with sauces, the better to spread the ulam. But she was an excellent cook. We loved her picadillos, monggo with alugbati, karne norte with potatoes, higado (bopis Ilocano-style), arroz caldo, atbp. I don’t think I ever saw a whole chicken, because it was always chopped into small pieces.
A rimas tree grew in the yard, and so Mama would make kinalti with this breadfruit and panocha, a favorite merienda.
Mama did push and prod us to become achievers in the tradition of Papa, a brilliant and respected politician, eloquent public speaker and lawyer. Silver was good enough for other students but the Soliven kids had to go for gold, which my brothers and sisters did, mostly in essaywriting and elocution contests. I brought home a few for writing and for English grammar.
There is an advantage to being the youngest. I never had to grab for food, since Mama would always set aside my share before everybody else. Neither did I have many house choirs like the rest.
I wasn’t a beautiful child—scrawny and with big eyes like a “plucked chicken,” as I would tell friends. Yet I knew that Mama loved me as only a mother would, and I miss her to this day.
I guess one never outgrows his/her Mama.
Courtesy: Business Mirror
Mama—Pelagia Villaflor Soliven—was born on July 11, 1910, in Sto. Domingo, Ilocos. She was the second of three daughters of Agripino Villaflor, then chief of customs, and Gregoria Tesoro Jaramillo, one of the first teachers recruited by the Americans.
In her autobiography A Woman So Valiant, Mama recounts that her first glimpse of my Papa, the young Atty. Benito Tagorda Soliven, was at the family’s favorite Panciteria Antigua, where her father hosted a lunch in “Bitong’s” honor.
Mama recalls that the photographer made her squat at the foot of the honoree. She was 11 years old and Papa was 23!
It was that summer that the two actually met at a banquet mounted by the Sto. Domingo townsfolk to honor their favorite “son”, Benito T. Soliven, for having passed the Bar.
Mama and Papa got married when she was 18 in December 1928 at the Manila Cathedral. The reception was held at The Manila Hotel. Papa had just been elected representative for Ilocos Sur and so the ninongs were no less than then-Speaker Manuel Roxas and Sen. Elpidio Quirino.
In less than 12 years later, the young couple had 10 children. The youngest, Benito Jr., died, however, as an infant from dysentery during the outbreak of war.
Papa died from complications of malaria. He had fought in the battle of Bataan, survived the infamous Death March, and was a prisoner of war in Capas, Tarlac.
I have never forgiven the Japanese for what they did, depriving me of a father whom I never knew, because I was a toddler when Papa left for the war.
It was the worse time for a young widow (age 33 years!) to be left with nine orphaned children.
Mama, who never went to college, knew only to sew dresses, which she had been doing since she was a teenager. Mama built a wooden box house in Herran near the corner of San Marcelino, Paco, where my parents used to live. The original house had been burned to the ground during the Liberation of Manila.
I loved that house, even though the upstairs “bedroom” was a single room where everybody slept on the floor on mats. I slept on a shelf built over the stairwell. During the day we stored our mats, blankets, mosquito nets and pillows on the shelf.
Mama opened a tiny dress shop in front of the house. She sewed ladies’ dresses for P3.50 apiece and soutanas for the Jesuits at P5 apiece (for which she bought Indian cotton in Divisoria).
We were dirt-poor but we had the happiest childhood that anyone would wish! We had nothing, and yet we had everything. We were nine children plus our cousins, the Cardenas family who lived in the compound, with three kids. When the de Villas moved next door, that added three more playmates. We had a birthday winnie roast every month!
We played games that children play—piko, sipa, cops-and-robbers, hide-and-seek, jumping rope, etc.
The Jesuits from Ateneo Padre Faura, a 12-block walk away, would come to sing along as my brother Willie was a whiz at the small upright piano my Mama purchased.
The Jesuits donated a basketball goal and Mama had a hardcourt cemented in the yard. This later became a favorite venue for class parties, as well as games.
All my brothers’ classmates and even the Jesuits themselves came to play basketball because Mama loved to entertain. It seemed like all that we sisters (her four daughters) did was to make sandwiches and Kool-Aid drinks.
Years later, my brothers’ friends from the Student Catholic Action, a multicollege organization, began meeting and holding parties also in our house in Herran. I learned to dance early because the boys would use me as their dance partner to practice for the parties.
And they all loved “Mommy Soliven”. For many years later, as a journalist I would encounter people from all sectors—the newspaper and broadcast industry, politics, the rich and famous—who would remember the “house in Herran” and “Mommy Soliven”. Inevitably they would say, “And you must have been that little girl making sandwiches....”
So many memories came flooding back yesterday on Mother’s Day, such as when the National Federation of Women’s Clubs of the Philippines named Pelagia V. Soliven as “Outstanding Mother of the Year” on December 3, 1962.
Mama deserved the award, for sure, for every year she singlehandedly raised her nine children. Mama had an unshakable faith in God’s Providence. She would declare that if God took our father away, He would surely provide for us. Through those difficult early years, God must have honored her faith and her perseverance.
I recall waking each morning at the sound of Mama working at her foot-pedaled sewing machine, and going to sleep to the same sound. Before she sat at her sewing machine, Mama would have already gone to the market and cooked the day’s meals for us.
Everything she cooked came in soups and with sauces, the better to spread the ulam. But she was an excellent cook. We loved her picadillos, monggo with alugbati, karne norte with potatoes, higado (bopis Ilocano-style), arroz caldo, atbp. I don’t think I ever saw a whole chicken, because it was always chopped into small pieces.
A rimas tree grew in the yard, and so Mama would make kinalti with this breadfruit and panocha, a favorite merienda.
Mama did push and prod us to become achievers in the tradition of Papa, a brilliant and respected politician, eloquent public speaker and lawyer. Silver was good enough for other students but the Soliven kids had to go for gold, which my brothers and sisters did, mostly in essaywriting and elocution contests. I brought home a few for writing and for English grammar.
There is an advantage to being the youngest. I never had to grab for food, since Mama would always set aside my share before everybody else. Neither did I have many house choirs like the rest.
I wasn’t a beautiful child—scrawny and with big eyes like a “plucked chicken,” as I would tell friends. Yet I knew that Mama loved me as only a mother would, and I miss her to this day.
I guess one never outgrows his/her Mama.
Courtesy: Business Mirror
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
First Pooch Bo Got Star Treatment
WASHINGTON (AP) — First pooch Bo got star treatment and his first backyard romp at the White House on Tuesday — and even presidential clearance to visit the Oval Office. But he better not get any inflated ideas about doggy sleeping arrangements. "Not in my bed," declared Barack Obama.
The nation got its long-awaited first look at Bo in action as the Obamas showed off the family's new dog on the South Lawn. First lady Michelle Obama did most of the walking while the 6-month-old Portuguese water dog scampered about. Then daughter Malia took a turn, and Bo took off running.
Despite the name of the dog's breed, daughter Sasha pointed out to reporters, "He doesn't know how to swim."
"Yeah, apparently they have to be taught how to swim," Obama added.
The girls grinned as they played with Bo. The wet lawn, chilly air and gray sky didn't put a damper on Bo's debut.
Sasha clapped her hands at one point, calling for the dog's attention. Bo wagged his tail as each of the Obamas bent down to pet him.
Plainly pleased, the president said: "He's a star. He's got star quality."
Obama had promised his daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, a puppy during the presidential campaign. The dog finally arrived Tuesday after the girls came home from school.
The commander in chief laid down some guidelines.
Each family member is going to have to help out, Obama said. "We all have to take turns walking the dog."
Asked by a reporter where the dog would sleep, the president said Bo would have his own spot. A bed? "Not in my bed," Obama said.
The president had a word of warning for the first lady. He said he had heard the breed likes tomatoes, so "Michelle's garden is in danger."
The White House will be the puppy's fourth home. He was born in Texas, then moved to his first owner's home in Washington, D.C., then spent nearly a month with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's dog trainer in Virginia, and now is moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Bo was given up by his first owner because things weren't working out with the family's other dog. Kennedy and his wife, Victoria, who had two Portuguese water dogs from Bo's breeder and acquired a third from Bo's litter, thought Bo would be perfect for the Obamas and gave the dog to Malia and Sasha as a gift, the dog's breeder and a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama said.
At 6 months, Bo is still a "goofy puppy" and, like many Portuguese water dogs, may still be that way up to age 2 or even 4, said Stu Freeman, president of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America. "A puppy is a puppy and these are very active puppies," he said.
The pup is mostly black, but he has white fur on his chest and front feet. The dog's non-shedding coat also makes him a good pick for the family, given Malia's allergies.
After a reporter reminded him of President Harry S. Truman's line, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," Obama joked, "I finally got a friend."
Courtesy: The Associated Press
The nation got its long-awaited first look at Bo in action as the Obamas showed off the family's new dog on the South Lawn. First lady Michelle Obama did most of the walking while the 6-month-old Portuguese water dog scampered about. Then daughter Malia took a turn, and Bo took off running.
Despite the name of the dog's breed, daughter Sasha pointed out to reporters, "He doesn't know how to swim."
"Yeah, apparently they have to be taught how to swim," Obama added.
The girls grinned as they played with Bo. The wet lawn, chilly air and gray sky didn't put a damper on Bo's debut.
Sasha clapped her hands at one point, calling for the dog's attention. Bo wagged his tail as each of the Obamas bent down to pet him.
Plainly pleased, the president said: "He's a star. He's got star quality."
Obama had promised his daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, a puppy during the presidential campaign. The dog finally arrived Tuesday after the girls came home from school.
The commander in chief laid down some guidelines.
Each family member is going to have to help out, Obama said. "We all have to take turns walking the dog."
Asked by a reporter where the dog would sleep, the president said Bo would have his own spot. A bed? "Not in my bed," Obama said.
The president had a word of warning for the first lady. He said he had heard the breed likes tomatoes, so "Michelle's garden is in danger."
The White House will be the puppy's fourth home. He was born in Texas, then moved to his first owner's home in Washington, D.C., then spent nearly a month with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's dog trainer in Virginia, and now is moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Bo was given up by his first owner because things weren't working out with the family's other dog. Kennedy and his wife, Victoria, who had two Portuguese water dogs from Bo's breeder and acquired a third from Bo's litter, thought Bo would be perfect for the Obamas and gave the dog to Malia and Sasha as a gift, the dog's breeder and a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama said.
At 6 months, Bo is still a "goofy puppy" and, like many Portuguese water dogs, may still be that way up to age 2 or even 4, said Stu Freeman, president of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America. "A puppy is a puppy and these are very active puppies," he said.
The pup is mostly black, but he has white fur on his chest and front feet. The dog's non-shedding coat also makes him a good pick for the family, given Malia's allergies.
After a reporter reminded him of President Harry S. Truman's line, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," Obama joked, "I finally got a friend."
Courtesy: The Associated Press
Monday, April 13, 2009
Harry Kalas Dies
Harry Kalas, legendary broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies and the voice of NFL Films has passed way at the age of 73.
Kalas, who had done the Phillies since 1971, was taken to a hospital Monday after passing out prior to the Washington Nationals-Phillies game in D.C.
Today's game - Washington's home opener - is being played at Nationals Park, but the defending world champions will not go to the White House Tuesday as scheduled.
A moment of silence was observed before the Phils-Nats took the field.
In 2002, Kalas was named the Ford C. Frick Award winner at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Phillies president David Montgomery said "we have lost our voice" in announcing the death.
Kalas, who had been with the Phillies since 1971, was known for his distinctive "Outta here!" home run call, a fact Phillies legend Mike Schmidt knew very well.
“The best way I can sum up Harry’s relationship to me was he gave me my sports name," Schmidt told ESPN shortly after learning of the his friend's death. "People all over the country refer to me by the name Harry actually gave me: ‘Michael Jack.’ Everytime I hear it now the rest of my life, his face and smile will resonate.”
“I think he’ll go down over time as one of the top two or three ever (to) grace a microphone," Schmidt told the cable network. "He had a way with those home runs that was a really beautiful thing.”
Kalas used the 'Michael Jack Schmidt' moniker when he called the Hall of Famer's 500th home run in 1987.
ESPN also reached John Kruk, an analyst for the cable network and a first baseman on the Phillies 1993 NL pennant winners.
“He was the Phillies," Kruk said. "He’s a friend to all of us. He was as big a part of the team as any player, coach, manager.”
Longtime Philadelphia announcer Bill Campbell told KYW Newsradio in the city that Kalas had leg circulation problems and had a heart procedure to address those problems.
Kalas missed most of spring training after undergoing surgery in early February, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. The Phils declined to provide specifics of the surgery at that time, saying only that it was a "minor medical procedure" and that there was no reason for concern, the paper also said.
Courtesy: USA TODAY
Kalas, who had done the Phillies since 1971, was taken to a hospital Monday after passing out prior to the Washington Nationals-Phillies game in D.C.
Today's game - Washington's home opener - is being played at Nationals Park, but the defending world champions will not go to the White House Tuesday as scheduled.
A moment of silence was observed before the Phils-Nats took the field.
In 2002, Kalas was named the Ford C. Frick Award winner at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Phillies president David Montgomery said "we have lost our voice" in announcing the death.
Kalas, who had been with the Phillies since 1971, was known for his distinctive "Outta here!" home run call, a fact Phillies legend Mike Schmidt knew very well.
“The best way I can sum up Harry’s relationship to me was he gave me my sports name," Schmidt told ESPN shortly after learning of the his friend's death. "People all over the country refer to me by the name Harry actually gave me: ‘Michael Jack.’ Everytime I hear it now the rest of my life, his face and smile will resonate.”
“I think he’ll go down over time as one of the top two or three ever (to) grace a microphone," Schmidt told the cable network. "He had a way with those home runs that was a really beautiful thing.”
Kalas used the 'Michael Jack Schmidt' moniker when he called the Hall of Famer's 500th home run in 1987.
ESPN also reached John Kruk, an analyst for the cable network and a first baseman on the Phillies 1993 NL pennant winners.
“He was the Phillies," Kruk said. "He’s a friend to all of us. He was as big a part of the team as any player, coach, manager.”
Longtime Philadelphia announcer Bill Campbell told KYW Newsradio in the city that Kalas had leg circulation problems and had a heart procedure to address those problems.
Kalas missed most of spring training after undergoing surgery in early February, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. The Phils declined to provide specifics of the surgery at that time, saying only that it was a "minor medical procedure" and that there was no reason for concern, the paper also said.
Courtesy: USA TODAY
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Kenneth Faried's 14 Points Help Morehead State Rout Alabama State
Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 21 rebounds to help Morehead State rout Alabama State, 58-43, in the NCAA tournament play-in game last night in Dayton, Ohio.
The Eagles (20-15), making their first tourney appearance since 1984, never trailed and earned a first-round rematch Friday against top-seeded Louisville. The Cardinals pounded Morehead by 38 in November.
Alabama State finished the season 22-10.
In NIT action:
Rhode Island 68, Niagara 62 - Kahiem Seawright scored 20 points in the second half - including 10 in a critical run - and the Rams (23-10) beat the Purple Eagles (26-9) in a first-round game in Lewiston, N.Y.
Jimmy Baron scored 20, including six late free throws, for sixth-seeded URI, which will face Penn State next.
In the College Basketball Invitational:
Northeastern 64, Wyoming 62 - Matt Janning scored 20 points and the Huskies (19-12) surprised the Cowboys (19-14) in a first-round game in Laramie, Wyo.
NU will face either Nevada or UTEP in Monday’s quarterfinals.
In Division 2:
C.W. Post 82, Bentley 76 - Kenny Burkes scored 23 points and the No. 1 Pioneers (30-0) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Falcons (26-7) in Brookville, N.Y., and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in Springfield.
Jason Westrol was 7-of-8 on 3-pointers and had 28 points for Bentley.
By Herald Wire Services
The Eagles (20-15), making their first tourney appearance since 1984, never trailed and earned a first-round rematch Friday against top-seeded Louisville. The Cardinals pounded Morehead by 38 in November.
Alabama State finished the season 22-10.
In NIT action:
Rhode Island 68, Niagara 62 - Kahiem Seawright scored 20 points in the second half - including 10 in a critical run - and the Rams (23-10) beat the Purple Eagles (26-9) in a first-round game in Lewiston, N.Y.
Jimmy Baron scored 20, including six late free throws, for sixth-seeded URI, which will face Penn State next.
In the College Basketball Invitational:
Northeastern 64, Wyoming 62 - Matt Janning scored 20 points and the Huskies (19-12) surprised the Cowboys (19-14) in a first-round game in Laramie, Wyo.
NU will face either Nevada or UTEP in Monday’s quarterfinals.
In Division 2:
C.W. Post 82, Bentley 76 - Kenny Burkes scored 23 points and the No. 1 Pioneers (30-0) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Falcons (26-7) in Brookville, N.Y., and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in Springfield.
Jason Westrol was 7-of-8 on 3-pointers and had 28 points for Bentley.
By Herald Wire Services
Job Fair To Fill 200 Positions
KENTVILLE — A job fair here today will introduce people seeking employment to about 200 positions available in the Kings County area, which has been hard hit by job losses over the past couple of months.
The Kings Community Economic Development Agency is hosting the fair at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus.
The full-day event starts with information sessions for job seekers between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Colby Clarke, a development officer with the agency, said the sessions will include information on employment insurance programs, health plan coverage and other issues facing people dealing with unemployment.
From noon to 7 p.m., more than a dozen employers with job openings will be on hand to let job seekers know about these positions.
"Some have a pretty significant number of jobs," Mr. Clarke said. "There are 200 positions available; that’s a pretty good number for these days."
The jobs include full- and part-time employment and seasonal work. Mr. Clarke said even a six-month job could be enough to give some people the "buffer zone" they need for better EI benefits.
Employers with jobs on offer include Larsens, Frito Lay, call centre Online Support, seniors facilities, and some trades.
He said a group of seniors facilities is also receiving funds to train continuing care assistants.
"We’re doing what we can so people are aware of the options that are out there," Mr. Clarke said.
He said the last time the agency held a job fair like this was two years ago, when Maple Leaf Foods closed its chicken-processing plant in Canard.
More than 700 people turned out for those sessions.
This one was organized in the wake of more job losses in the Valley.
About 300 people lost their jobs last month when ACA Cooperative closed its Eastern Protein chicken plant in Kentville and cut more jobs at its main plant in New Minas. KLJ Field Services, a Windsor call centre, closed at the cost of 90 jobs and Michelin laid off 95 flex workers at its Waterville plant
Reported By: Ian Fairclough
The Kings Community Economic Development Agency is hosting the fair at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus.
The full-day event starts with information sessions for job seekers between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Colby Clarke, a development officer with the agency, said the sessions will include information on employment insurance programs, health plan coverage and other issues facing people dealing with unemployment.
From noon to 7 p.m., more than a dozen employers with job openings will be on hand to let job seekers know about these positions.
"Some have a pretty significant number of jobs," Mr. Clarke said. "There are 200 positions available; that’s a pretty good number for these days."
The jobs include full- and part-time employment and seasonal work. Mr. Clarke said even a six-month job could be enough to give some people the "buffer zone" they need for better EI benefits.
Employers with jobs on offer include Larsens, Frito Lay, call centre Online Support, seniors facilities, and some trades.
He said a group of seniors facilities is also receiving funds to train continuing care assistants.
"We’re doing what we can so people are aware of the options that are out there," Mr. Clarke said.
He said the last time the agency held a job fair like this was two years ago, when Maple Leaf Foods closed its chicken-processing plant in Canard.
More than 700 people turned out for those sessions.
This one was organized in the wake of more job losses in the Valley.
About 300 people lost their jobs last month when ACA Cooperative closed its Eastern Protein chicken plant in Kentville and cut more jobs at its main plant in New Minas. KLJ Field Services, a Windsor call centre, closed at the cost of 90 jobs and Michelin laid off 95 flex workers at its Waterville plant
Reported By: Ian Fairclough
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