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Page 4 : a Ramblings =' Recent decisions taken by the Ontario Hockey League (Junior ae will go a long way in changing the image of the hockey player from that of a dumb jock to that of a young man who is academically talented. Last season the OHL initiated the Bobby Smith Award (given annual- ly to the player who combines high standards of play and excellence academically). Along with the trophy went a $2,000 scholarship. This year's winner was Doug Smith of the Ottawa 67's who in addition to the trophy received an all expense paid vacation for two to Florida. This season the league took a giant step in ensuring that those players who are academically inclined are awarded for their efforts. The OHL is a very special league for advanced junior age players, talented per- formers with well above 'average skills. For many it is the time-tested route to a career in professional hockey. However, they do realize that hockey is a very competitive field and there is no guarantee that a NHL contract will be waiting at the end of a junior career. Therefore, educa- tion for life outside of hockey must be continued to keep other options and occupations open. So this year they introduced an OHL Scholarship Program which provides tuition to any Canadian university or college, books, room and board for a single person living away from home. The maximum benefit under this program is $3,200 per year. In order to quality the applicant must have played at least two years of OHL hockey having exhausted his junior eligibility with a member team of the OHL. While in the league, the cost of the players education will be absorbed by the team -- the scholarship program takes over once his junior eligibility has ter- minated. Should a player have the misfortune of sustaining a career- ending injury, he still remains eligible for the league scholarship pro- ram. ' A recent study carried out for the agi indicated that 79 per cent of the players are registered in school and regularly attend classes. The On- tario average for the same age group (16-20 years old) is only 52 per cent. So the league executive should be given full marks for encouraging total development -- hockey plus formal education. It is about time they realized that they should be in the business of dasha good citizens as well as good hockey players. The brochure that I received tends to deal in general terms so there may be something in the fine print that may make the plan less attrac- tive. Even so, they are headed in the right direction. Many boys will take* advantage of the program while others won't want it. Combining the WMETCALFE WINTER CARNIVAL two will not be easy but the academically inclined athletes will now at least have the opportunity to acquire an education at the expense of the OHL. It is difficult to say what motivated the league to initiate this expen- sive program but I suspect the fact that many players were opting for U.S. College Hockey Scholarships was an influencing factor. The league ontends that they are acting in the best interests of the most important eople in the game -- the players -- let's hope so. FRI. FEB. 20 - SUN. MAR. 'st SAT. FEB. 21 -- Queen Contest Old Time Carnival Jamboree Dance = ' SUN. FEB. 22 -- Parade 1:15 p.m. Junior B Hockey 2:15; Log Sawing Contest 2:30; Dinner 4:30 - 6:30 followed by Comm. Hymn Sing TUES. FEB. 24 -- WED. FEB. 25 -- Carnival Bingo 7:45 p.m. Euchre Party, Admission $1 THURS. FEB. 26 -- Teeny Bopper Dance -- 7:30 - 9:30 Teen Dance -- 8 p.m. - Midnight FRI. FEB. 27 -- 8:15 Metcdlfe Jets vs. Winchester Jets Carnival Dance, 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. SAT. FEB. 28 -- Broomball Tournament 8 a.m. - Ski-Doo Rally -- 12 noon Carnival Supper -- 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. 12 midnight Carnival Wind-up Dance, 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. SUN. MAR. 1 -- Broomball Finals 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Bean Dinner -- 12 noon ' - X Country Ski Outing -- 1 p.m. Our Local Representatives: PONTIAG 2 BUICK . Rob McVey -- 526-0076 Jim Senos -- 445-5372 NEW AND USED CARS AND TRUCKS GMC TRUCKS--DAILY RENTALS AND LEASING 1492 Youville Dr. Orleans 824-8550 A little over a year ago the Russell Curling Club was inform- ed by the Department of Labour that their club building had been condemned. They would be per- mitted to operate in, the existing structure for the 1980-81 season after which the building would be closed. Engineers had determined that the structure would not support a heavy snow load. Club officials pointed out that the existing roof- line made it almost impossible for snow to collect there but to no avail. A number of other area Curling Clubs have also suffered the same fate because their buildings do not conform to modern building codes. Having accepted the fact that this ruling was irreversible the club was left with two options -- to carry out the necessary renova- tions to satisfy the current building code or to demolish the existing structure and construct a brand new curling facility. Club spokesman Wendell Stanley stated that performing the necessary renovations would have been very costly, possible in the neighbourhood of $75,000. The building would have had to be raised, new support jacks installed or additional rafters put into place. After all this expense they would still be left with a building almost twenty years old and which would continue to require addi- tional repairs as time went on. At this point the club decided that it. would be in the best in- terests of the members to con- struct an entirely new building. Immediately, a building commit- tee was formed with Keith Boyd as Chairman, Jim Campbell as Secretary and Wendell Stanley as Treasurer. With help from the 100 club members this committee has been hard at work designing the new structure and conducting fund raising events. A final design has been completed and the club has submitted tenders which close on March 2nd. NHL Trivia The NHL maintains records on just about every facet of the game. Some recently released statistics included the following: -- the average height of an NHL Player is an even 6 feet -- the average age is 26.1 years and the average weight is 188.4 pounds -- every team in the league averages 6 feet with the exception of Boston which averages 5'11"' -- the heaviest team is the L.A. Kings at an average of 195.6 pounds per player with the N.Y. Rangers next at 195 pounds .-- the oldest team is the Boston Bruins with an average of 27.6 years per player followed by the Vancouver Canucks at 27.5 -- the St. Louis Blues are the youngest with an average of 25.1 years DOUGIE'S ELECTRIC Plumbing and Repairs Residence, Rural and Farm Free Estimates My Aim...Your Satisfaction Call Doug Eastman Anytime 445-5674 OR 445-2813 The present structure will be torn down but the ice plant and base. will remain with the club room being enlarged. Plans call for a modernization of the base- ment including washrooms and it is hoped that the new design will. also incorporate features to assist the handicapped. There will be two sheets of ice with the new structure being about four feet wider than the present one. Provided everything goes as. planned they hope that construc- tion will commence in the Spring and be completed in time for the Fair in August. Cost of the new building could be "as high as $200,000 but Mr. Stanley hoped that the tender accepted would be somewhat less. An application has already been submitted to Wintario and "the club is optimistic that for every - $1.00 raised locally, Wintario Will contribute $2.00. Initial response from Wintario has been favorable. To take advantage of Russell Minor RMHA President Barry Carscadden reports that Russell teams are now making prepara- tions for the league play-offs and at this time it appears that every team will make the play-off scene. Congratulations to the players and coaches for an _ excellent season. The first home date for: . play-offs will be Tuesday, Feb. 24, when the A Division teams will be hosting visiting clubs. The B Division teams will get started the following week. The RMHA will be hosting their annual tourna- ment during the March school break. Dates are as follows (all Curling Club plans building this grant an ambitious fund rais- ing program has been underway for some time. The club is selling memberships at $100.00 each. It currently has about 100 members and is hoping to attract more with a new modern building. They cur- rently are selling tickets at $1.00 each with first prize consisting of $500.00 worth of groceries which have been donated by the I.G.A. store in Embrun. The Curling Club has matched this total with a second prize of $300.00 and a third prize of $200.00 worth of groceries also from the I.G.A. store. The draw will take place on 1 March at 4:00 p.m. and tickets can be purchased from any club member as well as local stores in Russell. Mr. Stanley emphasized that the Curling Club is used by residents of the area for many events apart from curling and is hoping that the entire community will lend its support to this wor- thwhile project. Hockey News games played from 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.); 21 March -- Atom A; 22 March -- Pee Wee A; 23 March -- Atom B; 24 March -- Pee Wee B; 25 March -- Bantam B; 26 'March -- Bantam A; 27 March -- Midget A. They also have a,dance schedul- ed for April 11, an Easter Bingo with hams and turkeys as prizes on April 13, the Banquet Awards night on April 28 and the Annual Meeting is scheduled for May 5. All of these events will take place at the Dr. F. Kinnaird Community Centre. Just remember Minor Hockey needs your continuous support. Fri. Mar. 6 -- 7 p.m. - HAY, FEED, HANDICRAFT AND MACHINERY SHOW EMBRUN COMMUNITY CENTRE MARCH 6 & 7, 1981 Sat. Mar. 7 -- 10 a.m.-5p.m.Open House - 9:30 p.m. Dance, "Les Déserteurs" Admission $3.00 (LUNCH) 10:30 Open House scotiabanks THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA RUSSELL 445-2880 'Grow With Us' Scotia Bank