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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-08-03, Page 7Robert Donnelly's story - The Rise and Fall of a Defiant Young Man' at the Blyth Festival The final show of Blyth Festival's 42nd season - The Last Donnelly Standing - runs Aug. 4 to Sept. 2 in Blyth's Memorial Hall. Conceived and created by Paul Thompson, Gil Garratt, and Beth Kates, directed by Thompson and starring Gar- ratt, The Last Donnelly Stand- ingis the ultimate fiery epilogue to the bloody Biddulph Feud. Of the seven Donnelly brothers, only one was ever sentenced to hard time in prison; only one was ever con- victed of "assault with intent to kill and murder" (on a duly deputized police officer no less); only one returned to the charred foundations on the infamous Roman Line to drive his hammer against fresh tim- bers and rebuild from the ashes: Robert Donnelly. A successful businessman in tumultuous times, known equally for his quick temper as his elegant fashion sense, Robert's family name may have made him an object of scorn in the community, but his own fiery nature solidi- fied his reputation. When the rest of the family had moved away after the fate- ful murders of 1880, Robert refused, and instead took up residence in a house on Lucan's main street, pacing his porch as the murderers among them walked those very roads. The Last Donnelly Stand- ing details the rise and fall of a defiant young man, who stood in the face of history, and dared to burn it all down with a smile. Playwright and director Paul Thompson, O.C. first encountered the Blyth audi- ence when he brought The Farm Show on tour in the spring of 1973. He has co - created numerous original plays at Blyth since, includ- ing He Won't Come in From the Barn, Barndance Live, Death of the Hired Man, and The Outdoor Donnellys. He ran Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille from 1970 to 1982, created original plays in eight of our ten provinces and four continents, and partnered in two recent cre- ations at the Stratford Festival. Portraying Robert Don- nelly and also co -playwright is Gil Garratt. Garratt has been involved with the Blyth Festival since 1999, includ- ing 16 seasons as an actor, director, co -creator, and the director of the Young Com- pany. Notable past shows with Blyth include Death and the Hired Man, The Drawer Boy, The Outdoor Wednesday, August 3, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 7 Submitted Gil Garratt plays Robert Donnelly in the Blyth Festival's final show of 2016, which runs Aug. 4 to Sept. 2, 2016. Donnellys, Against the Grain, Vimy, The Nuttalls, and Early August as a per- former; Our Beautiful Sons: Remembering Matthew Din- ning, Mary's Wedding, Spirit of the Narrows, World With- out Shadows, and Another Season's Harvest as director; and as the playwright of 2014's St. Anne's Reel. This is Garratt's second season as Blyth Festival's Artistic Director. Reserve seats by calling the Box Office at 519-523- 9300 or online at blythfesti- val.com Wind turbines killing tens of thousands of bats, including endangered species John Miner London Free Press Wind turbines are killing bats, including ones on the endangered species list, at nearly double the rate set as acceptable by the Ontario government, the latest monitoring report indicates. Bats are being killed in Ontario at the rate of 18.5 per turbine, resulting in an esti- mated 42,656 bat fatalities in Ontario between May 1 and October 31, 2015, according to the report released by Bird Studies Canada,a bird con- servation organization. Ontario's Ministry of Nat- ural Resources has set 10 bat deaths per turbine as the threshold at which the mortalities are considered significant and warrant action. The bats being killed by turbines in Ontario include the little brown bat, tri -col- oured bat, eastern small footed bat, and northern long-eared bat, all on the endangered species list. The Birds Studies Canada report draws its informa- tion from a database that is a joint initiative of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Bird Studies Canada. Brock Fenton, an expert in the behaviour and ecol- ogy of bats and professor in Western University's department of biology, said the bat deaths are a concern. Bat populations across North America have been plunging with the emer- gence of a fungal disease called white nose syndrome. Birds are taking less of a hit from wind turbines, according to the report, with an estimated 14,144 non - raptors killed by wind tur- bines and 462 raptor fatali- ties between May 1 and October 31 in 2015. The report noted that some wind farms have moved to reduce bat mortal- ities by cutting their turbine speeds from dawn to dusk in the late summer and early fall. A spokesperson for the Canadian Wind Energy Association said the associ- ation is concerned about reports that are based on limited data that have the effect of boosting estimates. In response, CanWea is developing its own system that will be released this fall that is designed to improve existing and proposed bat regulations, said Brandy Giannetta, CanWea's Ontario regional director. "It aims to achieve this in part by enhancing knowl- edge of the existing data in order to drive science -based policy decisions and also by providing avoidance, mini- mization, and mitigation options that we hope opera- tors and regulators alike will find useful in conservation efforts," Giannetta said in an email. Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of provincial groups opposed to wind farm development, said it is concerned that birds and, significantly, bats are being killed in numbers that were not forecast by either the Ontario government or the wind power developers. "The population of the Little Brown Bat in particu- lar is now at 5-10 per cent of its historical levels, so, as the Environmental Review Tribunal stated in the White Pines decision in Prince Edward County, even a few deaths will have a serious impact on the species as a whole. And we know for a certainty that bats are killed by wind tur- bines," Jane Wilson, president of Wind Con- cerns Ontario, said. It is critical to under- stand that wind power pro- jects shouldn't be approved without a full and objective assessment of all factors in any given location. The government's push for wind power has to be bal- anced with the continuing need to protect the natural environment, Wilson said. A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said the province has estab- lished clear rules for wind power developers to pro- tect birds, bats and their habitats. "Developers must com- plete environmental impact studies, protect significant wildlife habitat and do post -construction monitor- ing for bird and bat species . The ministry will con- tinue to work with industry and environmental organi- zations to enhance our understanding of potential impacts of wind energy on birds and bats in Ontario," said ministry spokesperson Kate Jordan. PARK THEATRE FOR MOVIE INFORMATION.,. www.mowleEir,ks.c x� • • I -B M -X65- � Contributed photo A brown bat. • HAPPY 40T11ANNIVERSARY 1 -tis . r} —rra Ron & Joanne Menary On August 6v', 2016 Love, Your Family! . 4 7.