An iconic sandstone rock formation in P.E.I and a striking solitary tree in Nova Scotia are among the natural landmarks destroyed by post-tropical storm Fiona.
Both destinations for photographers, the Teacup Rock and the Shubenacadie Tree are being mourned by residents and tourists alike as Atlantic Canada slowly takes stock of everything stripped from them in the storm.
Teacup Rock was a teetering tower of sandstone hidden away in Thunder Cove Beach on Prince Edward Island. Once connected to the other sandstone cliffs around it, it had since been eroded away by the water into a teacup shape, tapering to a thin base.
But now, one of the most photographed locations in the province is gone: photos taken since the storm show that Teacup Rock was washed away in the storm, with only the flat rock it stood on remaining.
In the wake of the news that the rock was gone, numerous people took to social media to share vacation photos of them with the iconic rock, expressing their sadness that it was now gone.
Marg Chisholm-Ramsay was one of those who walked down to the water to snap a photo of where the rock used to stand.
“I’ve seen many great things in my travels, the Great Wall of China, Giza Pyramids, and the Lion of Lucine in Switzerland, but to me the Thunder Cove teacup was more Magnificent because she formed herself from nature,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“The Teacup has seen baby announcements, gender reveals, family pictures, marriage proposals and even had ashes spread nearby her. She was there for significant life events for anyone that wanted her.”
Welcome PEI, a tourism website for the province, still included directions for how to find Teacup Rock as of Monday evening. There, they noted how fragile the rock was, stating that it was made of sandstone while imploring tourists to “avoid climbing on or near the Teacup.”
An iconic tree in Nova Scotia that was often sought out for photographs was also struck down in the storm.
On Saturday morning, when photographer Len Wagg’s wife told him she’d heard the tree was gone, he thought at first that she meant a tree in the backyard.
“She said, ‘No, The Tree.’ Everybody kind of knows what the tree is,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
Wagg stopped by the tree while out taking photos to see if the rumours were true.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t survive,” he said.
The Shubenacadie Tree, nicknamed for the nearby village, was estimated to have been around 300 year old. Standing alone in a field, it provided a striking image for photographers, tourists and locals.
“It was a magnificent red oak tree, and, you know, it’s been around for a long time, it’s hundreds of years old,” Wagg said.
He shared the news on social media, accompanied by photos of the tree in each season, and his post was flooded with people sharing their fond memories of the tree.
“Everybody sees this tree as as kind of a touchstone,” Wagg said. “A lot of them said when they see that tree, it’s either at the start or the end of a road trip, or they see the tree as home.
It wasn’t an officially recognized landmark and stood on private property, but Wagg said that its position at the side of a major highway in Nova Scotia meant it was hugely recognizable.
“It’s lived a long great life and has made many, many people happy,” he said, adding that people have gotten married under the tree and taken birthday photos under it.
“All great things come to an end.”
While he’s mourning the tree he drove by at least once a week for the past two decades, Wagg stressed that he didn’t want to minimize the pain and suffering of those who lost their homes in the storm, saying that they are dealing with the real tragedy.
“It was like one tree out of the hundreds of thousands of trees that have come down in the last weekend,” he said.
But he’ll miss the Shubenacadie Tree nonetheless.
“People are going through some pretty rough times here. But for some reason that tree, people could identify with it and a lot of people really feel bad about what ultimately happened to it,” he said.
Fiona devastated Atlantic Canada, sweeping houses away into the ocean and causing at least two deaths. The destruction to the natural landscape is only just starting to be tallied.
Chris Houser, a professor who was performing coastal research with the University of Windsor, tweeted a video Sunday comparing photos of the sand dunes in P.E.I before the after the storm.
The photos show what he calls “devastating beach and dune erosion,” with dunes sharply sheared off and several metres farther away from the edge of the beach than before.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
