Headline News

This page will be reserved for News Headlines from the Gaspe area.

August 18, 2004; St. Andrew's of York celebrated the 75th anniversary of their church. Constructed in 1929, it replaced the former structure which had become too small for the growing population. Over 215 people attended the service and about half of them enjoyed the lunch served afterwards in the Wakeham Hall. There were three Christenings during the service. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organizing committee, the Clergy, the choir, the Anglican Church Women for preparing and serving the wonderful lunch, and everyone else in the community who helped out. The event was a wonderful success. Click here to see some pictures. - Andy

May 29, 2004; A crowd gathers at the home of Heather and Dean to watch Tampa and Calgary square off in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The cheering and the competition made for an entertaining evening. -Andy

Pharillon, May 2, 2004; Lori Miller has just joined the Connecticut Polar Bears, which is one of the best US girls' hockey teams under 16 years of age. Previously she has played with the Boys' Bantam team from Gaspe, and a girls team which consisted of girls from the Bas St. Laurent region. She is currently playing in an after season league with a triple A girls team. They play in tournaments all over Quebec and Ontario during the spring time. We wish Lori lots of luck. For more about this story see the article in the Pharillon.

Feb. 21, 2004; The 33rd Annual Wakeham-York Carnival got under way with a very successful first day. A Masquerade and other activities were held at the York Rink in the afternoon, and in the evening a Supper and Amateur Hour were held at Gaspe Elementary School. Sarah Hackett was crowned this year's Queen, after the group had raised about $2000 selling tickets. Profits will be distributed between the York Rink, Gaspe Elementary and the Gaspe Polyvalent to fund future activities.

Feb. 16, 2004; Pearl Patterson, Sunny Bank's eldest offspring passed away early today at the age of 102. Pearl, the daughter of Joseph and Beatrice Patterson, was born on Dec. 11, 1901. She left Gaspe about 1920 and married Fitzallan Patterson, also of Sunny Bank. They moved to London, Ontario, where they raised a family of 3 children. Her husband passed away in 1980. Pearl lived in her own home until she was 90, and has enjoyed good health until recently. We offer our condolences to the family.

Feb 12, 2004; Wreaths Plus, the Gaspe based company noted for its Christmas decorations including wreaths and garlands, was recognized at the "Gala des Exporteurs" held January 31 at the Hotel des Commandants in Gaspe. Prizes were given out in six different categories, with Wreaths Plus winning $5,000 in the exporting for less than two years category, between one and two million dollars. Bruce Jones, who owns the company with his brother Brent, would like to extend a special thank you to all those whose efforts have helped lead to this award. [SPEC - February 8, 2004]

Jan. 13, 2004; The cold snap that has struck the entire north east continues to bring sub-zero weather to Gaspe. Night-time temperatures regularly dip below -25 C, and days are bitterly cold. This follows one of the mildest autumns in recent years. Before the new year the temperature dropped below 0 F (-18 C) on only 3-4 occasions. And in addition we have very little snow. The cross-country ski trail only opened last weekend, and the Mont Bechervaise is still waiting for snow.

Dec. 14, 2003; Gaspésie rates as one of the top six "scenic drives" in Canada, as quoted from the Michelin North America Road Atlas:
"Gaspésie (953 km): A circular tour around the Gaspe Peninsula beginning and ending in Ste Flavie, QC, east of Rimouski, and passing through Gaspésie Park, Perce and Carleton."

Oct. 14, 2003; The province of Quebec enjoyed the warmest Thanksgiving weekend on record, and Gaspe led the way. The thermometer at the Gaspe Airport reached 26.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, breaking the previous record by 3 degrees.

September 28, 2003; A four passenger plane crashed late yesterday in Haldimand, near the Gaspe airport. A local pilot and a police officer were bringing a prisoner from the Magdeline Islands to Gaspe. All three died in the crash.

August 18, 2003; The last battle ever fought on Canadian soil and least known of all, "The Battle of the St. Lawrence" began in 1942, and saw 28 ships torpedoed during the Second World War. The tip of the Gaspe Peninsula is lined with the remains of bunkers and cannons, from Fort Peninsula to Fort Prevel. One torpedo hit the shore in St. Yvon on Sept. 5, 1942. To learn more visit the Gaspe Museum this summer.

May 12, 2003; The 7th floor of the Hotel Dieu Hospital of Gaspe has been closed to prevent the spread of a severe gastro-intestinal virus. -AP

May 12, 2003; AAER Systems of Montreal, a company involved in the construction of wind mills, had previously announced that it would likely set up factory in Gaspe, employing about 75 people. However it now seems that the change in government may have an impact on their decision. Currently it appears that they favor Riviere-du-Loup or Matane, which elected a Liberal member. -AP [Bulletin hebdomadaire Gaspesie 03-05-11]

April 27, 2003; For the first time since 1996, there will be no cod fishing for Gaspe fisherman this year. The new moratorium, announced because of dangerously low cod stocks in the Atlantic, affects fisherman from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the north of Newfoundland. The last moratorium on cod fishing was from 1993-1996. The government has put in place a 50 million dollar aid package for those affected. -RP

April 25, 2003; After recently getting a Canadian Tire store, Paspébiac would now like to construct a Wal-Mart in its municipality. Mayor Regent Bastien admits to having discussed this possibility with managers of the company in Ontario, but says any decision would probably be in the medium term rather than in the short term. -RP

April 25, 2003; Liberal MNA, Nancy Charest, who was elected in Matane on April 14, has started her term with a bombshell. Recently in an interview with Le Soleil, she said that she would work to move the head office of the Technocentre éolien from Gaspé to Matane based on the fact that her office is on the side of the new government while the Gaspé riding re-elected the PQ candidate, who is now in the opposition. However, most people involved in this project think that such a move is highly unlikely due to the many advantages Gaspé has in relation to this project. -RP

April 15, 2003; After two consecutive PQ mandates, Quebec has elected the Liberals with Jean Charest as leader. The Liberals won 76 seats and 46% of the popular vote. The PQ won 45 seats and 33% of the popular vote. The Action Democratique won only 4 seats with 18% of the vote. Gaspe didn't follow the trend however, and once again voted in the PQ candidate Guy Lelièvre. Bonaventure remains liberal. Click here to see all the results. -RP

April 6, 2003; Gaspe; growing? If the housing market is an indication, Gaspe is showing signs of growth. Currently there are very few houses on the market compared to 4 years ago. And condominium complexes are in the planning stages. One will be constructed on the site of the Ursulines, and the other is rumored to be built beside MacDonald's. -AP

March 22, 2003; A "Community Visioning Conference" was held discuss the future of the English community in Gaspé. Some interesting statistics from were presented from recent census records. Of the 12500 people living between Cap-Aux-Os and Perce in 2001, 2400 are English mother tongue. Thus we represent 19% of the population. This number of English in the area has declined from 3200 in 1991, and 25% of these people are over 65. Simply put we have experienced a severe exodus of young people in recent years.
Amazingly the same is happening in the French community, signifying a severe lack of jobs. The day was spent discussing our current resources and looking at what people envision for Gaspé in the next few years. Future conferences will likely be held to discuss concrete measures to atain the goals. -AP

March 10, 2003; An average of 200 people are heading into the Chic-Choc Mountains every day skiing and snowshoeing, making the area a major tourist attraction for our region. With double the average snowfall so far this winter, avalanches are becoming a major concern. Two skiers were recently injured on Hogs Back Mountain in Parc de la Gaspesie. AP - Bulletin hebdomadaire www.gaspesie.com édition du 10 mars 2003.

March 10, 2003; An inventory of all churches in the Province of Quebec is being compiled by a group of about 30 experts in the field of architecture, urbanism and history. With a price tag of about a million dollars, it will provide a data bank for researchers, historians, and aid in developing tourism. AP - Bulletin hebdomadaire www.gaspesie.com édition du 10 mars 2003.

Feb. 10, 2003; The Hockey skills competition was held at the York rink on Saturday, February 9, as part of the Wakeham/York Winter Carnival. At least 20 people participated in the six events. Activities began with the Breakaway which involved shooting four shots, two at each of the two goalies. Winner was Ricky Thibault. Travis Henry was the best goalie. Shooting at the Four Corners of the net proved challenging. Once again Ricky Thibault proved to be the most accurate. Who had the Hardest Shot of the group? Ricky Thibault, shooting at 106kmh. Henri Beliveau was the fastest in the Speed Skating competition, but only four people were willing to take that challenge. Target Shooting involved attempting to hit a one litre soft drink bottle which was hanging from the net. Draper Clark out shot all his competition and won this event. Final event was the Lucky Shot. Participants were allowed one shot from center ice and were shooting along the ice at a five inch hole. Lucky man was Brandon Patterson. - by Morris Patterson

Feb. 9, 2003; The 35th Annual Atom Tournament will be held in Gaspé from February 13 - 16. Fourteen teams, including two from Gaspé, will vie for the championship. The final "Series A" game being held at 2 PM on Sunday.

Jan. 31, 2003; Queen Street in Gaspé was once again a festive site. Celebrating the end of "La traversée de la Gaspésie en ski de fond," the street was covered with snow to welcome the 78 participants and those who were bussed to Cap-aux-Os to accompany them on the last day of their trek. In mid-afternoon the group arrived after crossing the Gaspé Bay from Peninsula Point.

Jan. 28, 2003; Three snowmobilers missing after their snowmobiles sink through the ice near Fox River. Late Monday night the three young people left a bar in Fox River heading for a camp in the woods. Two men and one woman remain missing, but one snowmobile was recovered yesterday. Divers will begin today searching the frigid waters for the bodies.

Jan. 10, 2003; Starting at Gite de Mont Albert in Parc de la Gaspesie on Jan. 25, more than 90 athletes will participate in the seven day event. The first day will be a 70 km trek to Murdochville. The cross-country rally will lead skiers to Pavillion des American on the St. John River, Corner of the Beach and Cap-aux-Os, among other destinations. For more information click here. - Andy

Dec. 10, 2002; The plane that disappeared after leaving Gaspe on Jan. 20, 2002 [see below] has been located on the NB side of the Patapedia River. For some unknown reason the ELT began functioning on Dec. 8th. No bodies have been recovered but it is presumed that both occupants were killed in the crash. An abundance of snow in the area is hampering search crews. - Andy
UPDATE: Dec. 14; It is reported that bones of two different bodies have been discovered, reassuring rescuers that both occupants were killed in the crash.

Dec. 1, 2002; Operation Red Nose is back again for its 19th year. For those not yet familiar with it, this is a volunteer group that will drive you and your car home during the festive season if you have had a few too many. The service will be in operation in the Gaspe area on Dec 6, 7, 13, 14, 19-23, and 26-31. To use the service simply call 368-4011 in Gaspe or 269-5959 in Rivière-au-
Renard. - Ron

Nov. 22, 2002; Wind energy has potential to grow in the Gaspe Region. Natural Resources Canada has set aside $100 million in grants for wind energy, and Hydro Quebec has committed to purchasing 1000 megawatts of power over the next decade. Already a Montreal company, 3Ci, has plans for a $180 million project to develop Copper Mountain and Miller Mountain near Murdochville, and Parc Eolian Renard is under construction in Fox River, and will construct windmills. [SPEC 02-11-24] -Andy

Nov. 19, 2002; Another project has been proposed to keep the town of Murdochville opened. At a cost of 700 million dollars, the proposal suggests that over 900 people could be employed at a pig farm. The complex would consist of 340 buildings, a slaughter house and a packaging facility. Production would be in the vacinity of 2 million pigs per year. [Le Pharillon 02-11-17] -Andy

Nov. 19, 2002; Yesterday Gaspe was hammered with what could easily be the biggest blizzard of the winter. More than 45 cm fell, with strong winds, closing all schools in the area, including the CEGEP and many local stores. Driving remained dangerous well on into the evening, and the clean-up continued into Wednesday. -Andy

Nov. 17, 2002; During the 2002 moose season in zone 1, there were 3182 moose killed, 8% more than last year. [Le Pharillon 02-11-10]

Nov. 13, 2002;After much consultation the decision has been made to leave Gaspe's main street (Rue de la Reine) as a one way street. At the beginning of summer 2002, the street was converted to a one way street to try to attract tourists and pedestrians to the area. The plan was to return the street back to its original two way direction before the winter. This decision has now been reversed and the street will remain one way until further notice. For the Christmas season the town plans to place Christmas trees, benches, ornimental deer, and ice sculptures along the street to put Gaspesians in the Christmas spirit.

Nov. 6, 2002; The Gaspe museum is getting a facelift during the year 2003. The firm of Brière, Croft et Pelletier of Quebec, in collaboration with the firm of Vachon et Roy of Gaspe have been chosen to add 4 new exposition rooms to the museum. Work should be finished by mid-2004.

Nov. 6, 2002;Éocycle Technologies is planning to construct a research center and a factory for the fabrication of alternators and electronic convertors for wind generators in Rivière-au-Renard. The company, based in Levis, estimates that its project will create at least 100 local jobs by the year 2008.

Oct. 18, 2002; Moose season closes tomorrow. Despite a record kill last year, there seems to be more moose in the Gaspe area than ever before. Many credit the recent mild winters, and others the abundance of feed, but the population is reportedly up by 25% this year. -Andy

Oct. 1, 2002; GaspeLink has changed names. In our continuing effort as Gaspe's leading website, we have adopted a new name. Please reset your "Home Page" to www.gogaspe.com .

Sept. 28,2002; Finally, evidence has been found that there are cougars living on the Gaspe Peninsula, substanciating something that many locals have known for years. Wildlife officials have found cougar hair, which was positively identified by DNA testing. It is not known how many frequent the area, but further studies will be done to help answer this question. [CBC Radio]

Sept. 15, 2002; The Quebec government has said no to the official closing of Murdochville. Government officials explained that many regions in Quebec face the closure of their main industry, and the public cannot be expected to pay the bill. However, they did commit themselves to further job development in the region. [Pharillon 02-09-15]

Sept. 10, 2002; Gaspe Ranch Academy continues to expand. The ranch has been located in the back of Douglastown for the past 4 years. They now have 17 horses and offer horse-back trips ranging from a short stroll along the near-by beach to 5 day trecks into forest, with all meals included. Business was up substantially during the past summer. [SPEC 02-09-08]

Sept. 8, 2002; Canada's Annual Ranking of the top 50 start-up companies includes WreathsPlus of Gaspe. Companies are ranked based on growth in annual profit during the past 3 years. In 2001 their sales topped the $1 million dollar mark, a 356% growth over 1999. And the company employed 163 people during its peak season. Bruce Jones, co-owner, sees great potential for growth by introducing new products, in addition to the wreaths, which are currently their largest seller. [SPEC 02-09-08]
Watch GaspeLink for your chance to win a free Christmas Wreath from WreathsPlus.

August 31, 2002; Heavy frost last night! The year 2002 will go down in history as one when Gaspe had frost in each month. By virtue of its distance from the open water Sunny Bank has a more extreme climate than areas near the ocean (ie. hotter days and colder nights). We had frost on June 15, July 25, and August 31. Any wonder the farmers have difficulties surviving here! -Andy

August 25, 2002; Eligible voters in Murdochville cast their ballots today, and 65% favored closing the town. Murdochville opened in the early 1950's with a life expectancy of 25 years. The mine operated almost 50 years closing in 1999, and the smelter was just recently shut down. A considerable amount of copper remains deep under the town, but world prices have remained far too low during the past few years to make mining it feasible. -Andy

August 21, 2002; Late getting started, the summer of 2002 has been one to remember. Beautiful weather began in mid-July, and intense heat has dominated the past few weeks. On one occasion the thermometer reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 F). During the same period frequent thunder showers kept the region wet enough to keep the fire index down and provide ideal growing weather. We've never mowed so often! Even the water at Haldimand Beach reached record temperatures, passing over 24 degrees on several occasions. However, during the last couple of days we've seen a cooling trend and tourists have all but disappeared, signs that fall is just around the corner. -Andy

August 17, 2002; Despite the abundance of rain this summer the hot days have dried the forests creating a certain fire hazard. Late Saturday afternoon a fire was reported along the lower St. John River. Water bombers were quickly on the scene, filling in the Gaspe Bay in 5 minute intervals, providing an excellent opportunity for spectators to witness a spectacular show. -Andy

August 15, 2002; The excessive heat during the past few days has claimed the lives of two local forestry workers. The temperature in Sunny Bank has surpassed 30 degrees Celsius every day this week, meaning that it has been even hotter in the forest. -Andy

August 7, 2002; Heavy rain caused damage to local roads. During the day 70 mm of rain fell in the Gaspe area. Flooding washed away a section of road closing highway 132 between Gaspe and Fox River. A section of highway 198, near L'Anse Pleureuse washed away, that could require several weeks to repair. And the highway 132 was closed between St. Yvon and L'Anse-a-Valleau for about 18 hours. -Andy

July 31, 2002; The annual Firefighter Combat Challenge was held in Gaspe from July 29 - Aug 4. Activities were held every day starting at noon. The highlight was the firefighters challenge itself, a provincial competition in which Dwight Sinnett again came first. He is now heading to the Nationals, hoping to retain his title won last summer. [SPEC 02-08-11]

July 29, 2002; The "Pioneer Days" weekend, a fund raising campaign for the Greater Parish of Gaspe was a "Roaring Success," according to one of the organizers. Various events such as breakfasts, a unique roast beef supper, evening entertainment, and an Amateur Hour were part of the festivities. The weekend culminated with a Church service and picnic in the Mal Bay Church to bid farewell to Rev. Hugh Matheson, who will be moving after serving the Greater Parish of Gaspe for 10 years. -Andy

July 29, 2002; "Les Belles du Temps," a local car show, was a success again. Over 100 antique cars were on display in Gaspe during the weekend of July 21, and reportedly more than 4000 visitors attended. [Pharillon 02-07-28]

July 4, 2002; Lawsuit Successful; The family of Hoyt Stewart was greatly relieved when their son's reputation was protected by a recent court decision. Contrary to rumors that spread after his death, Hoyt passed away peacefully in his sleep on the night of May 20, 1999. For further details click here.

July 2, 2002; Canada Day Celebrations were a wonderful success in Gaspe. Hundreds of families stopped by the Halte Routiere in Gaspe Harbour for the afternoon activities. Over ten thousand people were in attendance for the entertainment and fireworks during the evening. And most agreed that the fireworks display was one of the finest ever seen in Gaspe.

June 22-24, 2002; Gaspe celebrated St. Jean Baptiste. Daily activities took place in the parking area near the Gaspe Tourist Bureau. A huge tent was erected and entertainment was provided each evening.

June 22, 2002; Queen Street in Gaspe (rue de la Reine) has become one-way. Cars must enter from the east, at the bridge end of main street. Lots of room has been made for pedestrians to browse along the shops and two bars have built patios complete with umbrellas. The pedestrian area is elegantly decorated with benches, flowers and newly planted cedar trees. It makes a beautiful addition to the town of Gaspe.

June 18, 2002; Despite the fact that the mine and smelter have closed in Murdochville, construction continues on route 198, commonly referred to as the "Mine Road." A section about 1 km long is being reconstructed near Silver Brook and a new bridge is being built over the Big Fork.

June 2, 2002; Construction to begin soon on wind generating stations near Fox River. The government has committed $450 000 in financing for the project which will begin with 3 wind towers. [Le Pharillon 02-06-02]

May 13, 2002; Bell is currently installing fiber optics around the Gaspe Coast. This 4 million dollar project will provide high speed data communication and internet services for schools and businesses in the area. Work should be completed by autumn, and a few permanent jobs should result. [SPEC 02-05-12]

May 13, 2002; The area's forestry companies for a cooperative. Several Forestry companies have formed a coop with the sole endeavor of getting more work for local woodsmen. Currently most of the logging and transporting of wood carried out in the Gaspe area is done by workers from outside. [SPEC 02-05-12]

April 29, 2002; Murdochville closure three days ahead of schedule. Saturday, the 27th of April, operations ceased in Gaspe's foremost industries.

April 29, 2002; A recent agreement between the Quebec Government and the Micmac of Gaspeg has given the natives the right to use gill nets at the mouth of three of Gaspe's salmon rivers, as well as unrestricted free fishing on the ZEC unlimited fishing zones. This has caused anger among local anglers who believe that the survival of the Atlantic Salmon will be jeopardized in the York, St. John, and Dartmouth Rivers.

April 25, 2002; Wakeham Adult Education celebrated graduation at Adams Dining Room. This coincided with a retirement party for Debbie Patterson. When this fun loving group gets together, they always have a great time and this event was no exception.The celebration was organized entirely by the students who did a wonderful job in making the evening a festive occasion. [see photos]

March 18, 2002; In just over three years on the web, GaspeLink has reached a milestone. At 8:30 PM GaspeLink had its 100 000th hit. We are now receiving almost 250 hits per day, and that number is climbing rapidly. And, unlike most web counters, ours only counts each computer once per day, no matter how many times you return! -Andy

March 14, 2002; GaspeLink made the Gazette! Today's issue carried a short story about our web site. Welcome to all new visitors! [Read the article] -Andy

March 6, 2002; "In like a lamb, out like a lion." Will the old saying hold true this year? March has been beautiful so far, with daytime highs above the freezing point 3 days so far! The snowmobile trails are all but closed, with practically no snow left in the woods. Unquestionably, Gaspe has had an unusual winter, with very little snow and no severely cold weather. -Andy

Feb. 28, 2002: Heavy rain during the past 24 hours has taken its toll on the little bit of snow we did have. Yesterday's high was 11 degrees Celsius!. If this continues, the snowmobile season could be cut short on both ends. -Andy

Feb. 22, 2002: Gaspé finally receives another blanket of snow. The snow started early yesterday morning, and by nightfall tomorrow we will have accumulated more than 30 cm of the white stuff. It has been an unusual winter in Gaspé to say the least, as this is only the 3rd significant snowfall this year. This snow will help, but we still need 2 or 3 more storms of this magnitude to prevent an early end to the skiing and snowmobiling season, that already has been shortened by a late start. -Ron

American Snowmobilers Love Gaspe Trails; Despite the fact that the snowmobile season was late coming, the great winter conditions of the last three weeks could make up for the lost time, thanks to the arrival of many groups of American tourists on Gaspe Peninsula trails. A tour operator from Indiana is thinking about sending all the groups coming to the Province of Quebec next year. The Gaspe will also be the main subject of a lengthy report in a specialized snowmobile magazine. Many American groups are currently circulating in the Gaspesian network of trails. Last week, SPEC met with a group of 27 snowmobilers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and New York State, who stopped for lunch in Chandler, at the Sentiers Blancs Club. [SPEC 02-02-17]

February 10, 2002; The Wakeham-York Carnival is once again in full swing. It began on Friday with a moonlight walk (under cloudy skies) and some teen events. Saturday morning, despite the cold, a good number of children showed up at the York Rink to participate in children's activities, which were to be followed by a hover craft demonstration. Bad luck prevailed again, as the hover craft owned by the Gaspe Fire Department failed to start. In the evening there was a very successful pot luck supper followed by the coronation exercises, and an amateur hour at the Royal Canadian Legion. All in all, the carnival is off to a good start. Festivities will continue through the week. -Andy Carnival photos

Air Canada May Abandon Gaspe: It is possible that Air Canada may decide to abandon service to the Gaspe Airport at the end of this year, along with other routes in Canada that are not profitable. [Pharillon 02-01-20]

Feb. 4, 2002: Cold weather returns to Gaspe. Last night the mercury reached -30 degrees Celsius, about -22 Fahrenheit. -Andy

Feb. 2, 2002: About 32 cm of snow fell last night, which should be sufficient to get the snowmobile season in full swing. -Andy

Jan. 29, CSST Office in Gaspe Under Siege: At about 10 AM today a man armed with a hunting rifle entered the CSST Office in Gaspe. Shortly after the incident police closed highway 132 between the Gaspe Polyvalent and L'Anse-aux-Cousins. The suspect surrendered peacefully during the early afternoon, and around 2:30 PM the highway re-opened.

Jan. 24, Plane Missing in the Gaspe: As we went to press, on January 22nd, the Canadian Army Search and Rescue teams, as well as some civilian experts in the same field, were still trying to find a small plane with two people on board. They had left the Gaspe airport on January 20th, a little after 4 o'clock PM.
Two days of very active search were not enough to find the plane, a Piper Cherokee PA-28, owned by Air Tuteurs, from St. Hubert, near Montreal. The identity of the two people, a man, 19, and a woman, 25, was not revealed by the Surete du Quebec, also involved in the Search and Rescue operations. The couple consists of a pilot and an apprentice. According to a witness at the Gaspe airport, the woman speaks with a French accent from France. [SPEC 02-01-27]

UPDATE: As of Jan. 29 the wreckage of the plane has not been located.

Jan. 16, 2002, More than 100 shanties sink in the Bay of Chaleurs and the Restigouche River, MIGUASHA - More than 100 fishermen shanties located in Escuminac and Maria sank in the Restigouche River and the Bay of Chaleurs on January 14th, following the first snow storm of the winter and very strong northwest winds.
About 130 of the cabins were installed in Escuminac, in the Pourvoirie de l'eperlan site near Glen South Road. In Maria, close to the Gesgapegiag limit, another chunk of 30 shanties left the cove with the high tide and the wind. In this case, all the cabins sank. In Escuminac, about 40 shelters were recuperated late on January 14th, and early the following day.
The ice floes, in both cases, were not as thick and as solid as they usually are at this time of the year, because of the mild weather of the last weeks. Pushed by very strong winds, the Escuminac floe slowly drifted from west to east, passing in front of Escuminac Flat, Fleurant's Point, and Miguasha. The ice floe was more than one kilometer in length. At noon, on that Monday, January 14th, 117 shanties were still visible, slowly moving towards Dalhousie. [SPEC 02-01-20]

Jan. 14, 2002; First Blizzard of the Winter; Light snow began last evening. It snowed all night and winds intensified from the NW. There is over a foot on the ground this morning, and it is still snowing. The total accumulation was 33 cm, measured at the Gaspe airport.

Jan. 13, 2002; Panelboard plant project submitted to Quebec Gov't; The $150 million panelboard plant projected by Groupe GDS and the Syndicat des producteurs de bois de la Gaspesie was officially submitted by its promoters to Quebec government officials on December 20th. Discrete about the details of the feasibility study, the promoters of the plant nevertheless reveal that the potential of the project is "exceptional". The plant would hire 147 workers in the Chandler area, and would generate $15 million in spin-offs directly related to wood buying from lot owners. [SPEC 02-01-13]

Jan. 5, 2002; York Rink Still Opened; The York Rink opened once again in mid-December, beginning its 32nd year of operation. The rink, which opened in December, 1970, has always been operated by a group of volunteers from the surrounding communities. The rink is located in York, next to St. Andrew's Church. [Pharillon 02-01-06]