December 2016 Dec 2 2016 | Page 14

Page 14 The Colebrook Chronicle Friday, December 2, 2016 Around The Region Sebastien Boisvert, Francois Lacourse, Daniel Lachaine, Johanne Poulin and their coach, Alfred Whittier, who recently received his certification. Corey Bellam photo. On Tuesday we took a drive over to St. George’s Anglican Church, where this jolly group was hard at work during their annual Christmas wreath decorating time. Corey Bellam photo. Capt. Yvon Laroche, Lt. Louis Laroche, Assistant Fire Chief Marcel Charpentier and Alexandre Laroche of Sawyerville Fire Station 2 hit the streets of Sawyerville to raise money for Christmas baskets on Saturday afternoon. Corey Bellam photo. Left photo: One of Santa’s more mischievous elves, Peggy Munkitrick, sure livened up the party at the Grace Christian Rest Home in Huntingville. Right photo: Sherbrooke Mayor Bernard Sevigny took time to give us a big smile as he passed out candy to children during Sunday’s holiday parade in Sherbrooke. Corey Bellam photos. Pat Bryant, Mary Simons and Ferne McConnell at the Christmas Tea Bazaar at the St. George’s Church in Lennoxville. Corey Bellam photo. This young fellow had a tall order for Santa this year, spotted at the Co-op Hardware Store in St. Isidore de Clifton. Corey Bellam photo. SANTA COMES TO SHERBROOKE Excitement filled the air along King Street East in Sherbrooke on Sunday afternoon as Sherbrooke brought in the holiday season in grand style with the holding of their Santa Claus Parade and holiday activities. The fun all kicked off at around 2:30 p.m. when clowns and singers on the street started entertaining a fast-growing crowd. At 3:30 p.m. the sound of Christmas music filled the air, and from where this reporter was standing on the corner of 10th Avenue, we could see the 2016 Sherbrooke Santa Claus Parade start down the hill with the Sherbrooke Police Service leading. The parade was filled with marching bands, clowns, Christmas characters, superheroes, floats, cheerleaders, local businesses and more, with the sound of “Ho-ho-ho” coming closer by the second. All of a sudden, the children went wild. Santa had arrived, perched high up above the street in his comfy chair waving to both young and old along the parade route that ended up near Sherbrooke Town Hall with the lighting of the tree and fireworks. The Sherbrooke Holiday season has now started, and with less than a month to Christmas, the excitement levels are high. –Corey Bellam ALFRED WHITTIER CERTIFIED COACH After starting a Wheelchair Curling program in 2008 at the Lennoxville Curling rink and training an award-winning team that won the 2016 Quebec Championship, Alfred Whittier, 82, has finally taken the big step of becoming the coach after all those years of teaching it. We took a drive over to the Lennoxville Curling Club to talk to Alfred and watch the team train. Alfred was all grins. The course he had to take was a two-day course that he had to pass with a score of over 75%, which was no problem for this fellow. He also had to pass an on-the-spot test at the rink with the inspector which he breezed through. Alfred is now a Qualified Certified Competition Wheelchair Curling Coach. Alfred's first official coaching job was on Nov. 25 at the R. A Center in Ottawa, and we'll have news soon how they did. They will be competing against curling teams from Russia, Nova Scotia, and Ottawa, just to name a few at the Bonspiel. The event is called the Cathy Kerr International Wheelchair Curling Bonspiel. The team Alfred took to Ottawa consisted of Sebastien Bo