It was just one of those bad days when it came to the annual Arthur Lions Club’s annual Duck Race in the park here on May 8.
It was with some reluctance but a good deal of common sense that club president Ian Turner announced that the duck race itself was being cancelled.
That decision was made with the river at full speed and about three feet deep – and the colour of chocolate soup from heavy rains. The Lions Club used the tags from each duck to hold a draw instead.
Turner said the club had sold plenty of ducks before the big day, and so it would still make money for its various projects.
He explained that over the years the children attending the event have followed along the river from the place where the ducks are dumped into the water, until the finish line. With slippery banks and a fast flowing stream running over three feet deep at the park, Turner said there was simply too much danger of a child falling in to hold the race. He added that coralling all the ducks would not be an easy thing to do for the club, either because of the speed of the river.
The winners in the draw were:
– $500, Nick Raftis, Arthur;
– $200, Julie Pietrowski, Arthur; and
– $100, Vicky Hergott, St. Clements.
In the random draws for $25 each, the winners were Paul Heaney and Tim Lightheart, both of Arthur.
Rick Marshall, of Fergus, won a Toronto jersey, and Irene Fudger, of Harriston, won a Boston hockey jersey.
