A brutal war thousands of kilometres away has struck home for the Cornwall-based Ontario Hockey Academy (OHA) with the death of a former student from the Ukraine, another victim of the senseless Russian invasion.
Daniil Chochua, a 26-year-old Ukrainian soldier, was killed on Aug. 4 when struck by shrapnel during a rocket attack on his hometown.
He was among the school’s first students, one of many young foreign men and women who have pursued their hockey dreams at the academy.
“Just when you think you are so far removed from the world problems you receive (this) devastating news,” Kim Lascelle, who with husband Giles co-founded the academy, posted on Facebook.
“He was loved by all of us. We are heartbroken.”
She described Daniil as a fun-loving young man and one of my “most memorable students.”
“I will always cherish my (Ukraine) ball cap (that he gave me).”
Several of his former OHA team-mates took to Facebook.
Damien Dangueurger called him the “most fun team-mate I’ve ever had.”
For Jamie Campbell, he was a “true character” who was “loved by all of us.”
“The world is a little less bright without him.”
Sam Gagnon said he was one of his “funniest and best team-mates. “
Daniil’s young widow said her husband had fond memories of his time at the academy and Cornwall. She designed an OHA ring that his father gave to him on his 25th birthday.
DOUBLE TALK: Aaron Rodgers, the Hall of Fame-bound QB for the Green Bay Packers, protested the COVID-19 vaccine because he didn’t want to be injected with a “dangerous” chemical. Meanwhile, he recently told the New York Post that during a trip to Peru he experimented with the hallucinogenic drug DMT and had a “blissful experience.” There is a laundry list of side-effects that include psychosis, mood swings, panic attacks, seizures and cardiac issues. … Another professional with a double-standard is German Formula One racer Sebastian Vettel. When he isn’t burning up gallons of high octane petro on the race track he is calling for an end to fossil fuels.
HERE AND THERE: Never been a huge National Basketball Association (NBA) follower but counted the late great Bill Russell of the Celtics one of my heroes, not so much for what he did on the court, which was immense, but for his involvement with the civil rights movement. In 1961 he refused to play in an all-star game after a Kentucky restaurant refused to seat him and three of his Black team-mates …Cornwall native Peter Gatien of New York City night club fame was in town last week to shoot a segment for a documentary. … On June 2, there were two institutional outbreaks (COVID-19) in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit region. On Monday, the number had grown to 20. And last August there were no COVID-19 patients in the region’s hospitals. On Monday, there were 20 with two in ICU.
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR:
A judicial recount on August 14, 1962 carried out in the county court chambers under the watchful eye of Judge George Brennan confirmed that Liberal candidate Lucien Lamoureux, a city lawyer, was the new MP for Stormont.
On election night, Lamoureux had a 70-vote margin. But a recount three days later cut the margin to 65 votes. The 70-vote margin was restored in the rare judicial recount that was demanded by the Conservative team.
It was the closest federal or provincial election in local riding history.
Lamoureux would be twice re-elected before cutting his ties with the Liberal Party to run as an Independent Speaker of the House. He retired in 1974 and became an ambassador.
ALSO IN AUGUST 1962: Two masked bandits held up the Bank of Nova Scotia’s Martintown branch and fled with $4,000 in cash scooped from the cash registers. After one of the men fired a warning shot, employees and customers were ordered to lie face down on the floor. The haul could have been much more. The bank manager, with a gun to his head, was opening the safe when the look-out outside the bank in the getaway car alerted them to somebody approaching the bank. … Canada’s first commercial caustic soda terminal was opened at Iroquois Chemicals in the city’s west end. … Royal Canadian Legion Branch 297 membership drive reached 1,000. The branch was aiming to add at least 700 more members by the end of the year. … Peter Green, former beverage and food manager at Toronto’s Lord Simcoe Hotel, was the new manager of the Cornwallis Hotel. .. For the third straight year, there would be no Labour Day Parade in Cornwall. George Harrop, president of the Cornwall and District Labour Council, said that with double-digit unemployment, labour was not in the mood to celebrate. … Former St. Lawrence High School principal Remi Lalonde was appointed professor of physics at Laval University in Quebec City.
The Texaco gas station on Second Street West squeezed between the Bank of Nova Scotia and Cornwallis Hotel – was torn down and replaced with a parking lot. The property was owned by Zeller’s. … Faulty wiring was blamed for a fire that destroyed a four-room house in Osnabruck Centre. … Additions to city schools pushed the value of July building permits to $2.3 million. The additions accounted for $1.9 million. … With an average of 84% on 13 Grade 13 departmental papers, St. Lawrence High School student Helen Neill led all city graduates. Karen Doyle, also of SLHS, had 78.5% on eight papers.
TRIVIA: This department chain which had deep roots in Canada was sold to Walmart in 1994.
TRIVIA ANSWER: A 1960s fitness test of Cornwall elementary school students showed that 25% didn’t meet the basic national level of fitness for elementary kids.
QUOTED: “Life would be infinitely happier if we could be born at age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” – Mark Twain
