charlottetown, prince edward island picking her pastime
TRANSCRIPT
Michael D. Fitzpatrick, CPA, CAJamie Arsenault, CPA, CARodney Payne, CPA, CGAGerard J. Fitzpatrick, CPA, FCA, TEP
127 St. Peters Rd., Suite 201Charlottetown, PE C1A 5P3T 902.628.9000 www.fitzandco.ca
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LOCATIONS IN CORNWALL & STRATFORD
THE ISLAND
‘THE DEMAND IS THERE’ Northern Watters Knit-wear expands to Halifax with a new outlet
SPORTS
ISLANDERS DROP GAME 1Blainville-Boisbriand Armada opens QMJHL semifi nal with a 3-1 win on home ice
CLEAR VIEWThe thermometer is trying to rise a bit now that spring has arrived on P.E.I.And with its arrival, thoughts may turn to spring cleaning. It’s important to get those windows squeaky clean so you have a clear view of what we hope will be increasingly lovely weather outside. We went to some local stores to fi nd prices on a 950-ml refi ll of Windex glass cleaner. These are regular prices that do not include tax.
Murphy’s Pharmacy: $4.99Superstore: $4.49Walmart: $4.27Shoppers: $5.49Sobeys: $4.79
readsMUST
B5
PRICEwatch
B1
What’s your reaction to the alleged threats against PC MLA Darlene Compton?
What do you think the regu-lations should be surround-ing the legal sale of cannabis in P.E.I.?
YESTERDAY’S RESULTS
questionQUICK
Vote online at theguardian.pe.ca
Shouldn’t be sold: More restricted than alcohol: Same as alcohol sales: Less restricted than alcohol:
45%27%
24%
4%
COVERS PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND LIKE THE DEW SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018
theguardian.pe.ca
WEEKEND EDITIONCHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
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■ POLITICS
Opposition MLAs say they were threatened with legal action after questions about alleged privacy breach
BY RYAN ROSSTHE GUARDIAN
Opposition MLAs say they have been threatened with legal action over questions raised about an alleged privacy breach related to last year’s byelection in Charlottetown.
Belfast-Murray River MLA Darlene Compton stood in the legislative assembly Friday and said when she arrived at the Opposition offi ce Th ursday she was faced with the threat of a lawsuit.
“If that’s an attempt to stifl e me, so be it.”
Compton raised questions earlier in the week about the Green party and allegations it used personal information that was given to the P.E.I. Coalition
for Proportional Representa-tion.
Th e questions were directed to Justice Minister Jordan Brown, and Compton said members of the public con-tacted the Opposition with concerns the Greens used the information during last year’s byelection in Charlottetown-Parkdale.
Green party leader Peter Bevan-Baker denied the al-legation, as did party president Anna Keenan.
See SEVERAL, page A2
SUBMITTED PHOTO A screenshot of video from the legislative assembly shows Opposition MLA Darlene Compton on Friday as she gives an emotional statement about what she says are threats of a lawsuit.
‘Direct contempt’
■ HOBBY
Heidi Litke discovers her passion is making and playing ukuleles and teaching others how to build them
BY SALLY COLETHE GUARDIAN
CLINTON
Heidi Litke’s world is in tune with the ukulele.
She plays it.She has recorded a CD of her
favourite folk tunes.
She even c r a f t s h e r own versions of the four-stringed instru-ment that Canadian musicians like James Hill, Chalmers Doane and David Myles are raising to new heights across
the country.When Litke rolls up the gar-
age door of her workshop in Clinton, it’s easy to see that this is no ordinary hobby.
Ukuleles, in various stages of construction, are spread out on work tables all across the room. Finished instruments, waiting to be played, hang on the wall inside a humidor, a small room which regulates temperature and humidity.
“I build diff erent sizes,” says the luthier as she moves about her tidy, bright workroom, stopping occasionally to pick up and display an instrument that she is making. “Th ere’s a
soprano or standard, a concert, tenor and a baritone.”
There’s also a bass uku-lele. It’s the same size as the baritone, but it’s built diff er-ently with “fat strings and low tones.”
Creating these intricate sculptures of sound is a pas-time she enjoys.
“It’s quiet, restful and peace-ful. It’s why I enjoy this hobby
so much. It’s so satisfying,” says Litke, who was born in Ontario, lived in the United States and moved to P.E.I. fi ve years ago with her husband after he re-tired from the lumber industry there.
Litke simply wanted to “come home” to Canada.
After summering on P.E.I. since 1997, this country’s smallest province was a nat-ural choice for the couple.
And the rolling rural hills of Clinton were a natural fi t.
Surprisingly, what wasn’t natural was Litke’s connection to music.
See BUYS, page A2
SALLY COLE/THE GUARDIANHeidi Litke plays “The Harp that Once through Tara’s Wall” outside the humidor at her workshop in Clinton. Litke, who plays the ukulele classically, has just recorded a CD, “Heidi Litke: Simple Gifts.” A hobbyist, she also makes ukuleles and classical guitars.
Picking her pastime
WEEKEND REPORT
watch itHeidi Litke performs “The Harp that Once through Tara’s Wall.
www.theguardian.pe.ca
watch itSee Darlene Compton’s presentation in the P.E.I. legislature.
www.theguardian.pe.ca
A2
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n MARITIME ELECTRIC
A power outage Friday in eastern P.E.I. was a direct result of theft, says Maritime Electric.
Around 12,000 customers in the eastern end of the Is-
land were without power Fri-day after a copper theft at the Lorne Valley substation.
The cut copper is valued in the hundreds of dollars, said
the utility. Maritime Electric says
its crews have found dam-age at other substations and are working with the RCMP on
the issue. According to the utility’s
outage map, power had been restored to all but a few cus-tomers as of 10 p.m.
Power outage a result of copper theft
n POLITICS
FROM A1MLAs are protected by par-
liamentary privilege when they make comments on the floor of the legislature, which is in place so they can ask questions and speak without fear of legal action.
Compton and Georgetown-St. Peters MLA Steven Myers both rose to address what they said were breaches of their privilege as members of the legislative assembly and at-tempts to stifle them from ask-ing questions about the issue.
When she raised the ques-tions, Compton mentioned Green party president Anna Keenan and Jordan Bober, who worked on Green MLA Hannah Bell’s campaign.
Myers also rose to say he was threatened with a lawsuit.
Compton and Myers tabled
several posts from social media Friday that they said showed the threats.
In one post from Bober, he said he hoped Compton would realize her error and retract what he called slanderous and unfounded allegations.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been slandered and it is so exasperating to be slandered by someone abusing their priv-ilege as an MLA uttering that slander, which allows them to lie and slander without legal repercussion.”
A series of posts from Kee-nan that were tabled included one in which she said she was seeking legal advice and that Compton made comments about her outside the legisla-ture, where she would not be protected by parliamentary privilege.
In one of the tabled docu-ments, Keenan said she was the target of defamation and libel.
Compton, whose voice shook at times as she spoke, said she has been accused of slander, libel and abusing her privilege as an MLA.
“That shows a direct con-tempt for this house,” she said.
The Guardian contacted Keenan who said she didn’t want to comment because she hadn’t seen Compton’s re-marks from Friday and she was still seeking legal advice.
The Opposition also tabled a post from P.E.I. Coalition for Proportional Representation representative Mark Greenan, in which he referred to state-ments Myers was making that were “false, defamatory and libelous.”
Myers said those were legal terms.
“That is an implied threat of a lawsuit,” he said.
There were further com-ments Myers said were a threat and an attempt to intimidate him into not doing his job.
“This is an attempt to threaten me from not doing my sworn duty of this house and my constituents,” he said.
Speaker Buck Watts said he would take the matter under advisement.
[email protected] Twitter.com/ryanrross
Several social media posts tabledHave your sayWant to wade into the debate? Write a letter to the editor and email it to [email protected]. Be sure to include a name, address and daytime telephone number where the author can be contacted. Letters should be no more than 250 words.
n HOBBY
FROM A1“I studied music in school,
but it never caught on. But, when I discovered the ukulele, things started to click. Now it’s my passion.”
Litke’s love affair with uku-leles began in 2005 when she picked one up during a vaca-tion in Hawaii.
“Some people go to Ger-many and buy a cuckoo clock, I bought a ukulele (in Hawaii).”
When she returned to her home, which at that time was in Colorado, she found some instructional videos online and started strumming.
“I discovered that I loved it. In fact, I loved playing the uke so much I would play it for hours and hours every day; playing every piece over and over and over again until I learned it by heart.”
Her enjoyment with the ukulele led her to share it with others by starting the Denver Ukulele Orchestra. She met with members to learn new songs and strum along together at a local folk venue.
But, that wasn’t enough to satisfy her musical appetite.
A desire to learn more pro-pelled her to switch from simply strumming to more in-tricate plucking.
“I’ve also developed a passion for classical music,” says Litke, who plays the ukulele classic-ally and has just recorded a CD, “Heidi Litke: Simple Gifts”.
Litke, who learned how to build musical instruments at a community college when she still lived in Denver, has also teamed up with her teacher/
mentor, Robbie O’Brien, to give a ukulele building course on-line.
When asked to speculate on her next ukulele challenge, she doesn’t have to look very far.
“My next project is a parlour-sized ukulele. My husband, Rob, built a jig for it. He’s my shop manager, always by my side.”
As for the musical future of those instruments in her work-shop, some will be sold, some will be donated as fundraisers and some will be given away.
Litke says she always wanted to do something “productive” in her retirement.
“Instead of working for others, I’m playing for me,” she says with her ever-present warm smile.
“I’m so glad I don’t have to make money doing these things. I can just enjoy what I love to do.”
[email protected] Twitter.com/SallyForth57
SALLY COLE/THE GUARDIAN Luthier Heidi Litke places the ukulele top on an instrument she is working on at her workshop in Clinton.
Buys first ukulele in HawaiiUkulele on P.E.I.n Saturday Morning Ukulele Group (S.M.U.G) meets Satur-days, 9:30 a.m., at Hillsboro Funeral Home. For more infor-mation, go to http://smugpei.blogspot.ca.n Adult ukulele classes are Wednesdays at Stratford Public Library at 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome.n The Baptist Ukulele Singers (B.U.G.S.) meet Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m., at Joan Jones’ house on 55 Jones Rd., Hazelbrook.n This past winter, ukulele was taught at Community School classes in Stratford, Charlotte-town Rural High School, Vernon River Consolidated and Bluefield High School as well as locations in Montague and Vernon River.n For more information on Heidi Litke, go to http://www.redsandsukuleles.com.SALLY COLE/THE GUARDIAN
Heidi Litke uses a jig to assemble a ukulele at her workshop.
SALLY COLE/THE GUARDIAN Heidi Litke hammers the frets into place on one of her ukuleles under con-struction at her Clinton workshop.
A2 THE ISLAND • SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 X THEGUARDIAN.PE.CA