Islanders Country getting fans closer to the team

The website Islanders Country may only be a few years old, but Nolan Reid says it’s already the place to go for Charlottetown Islanders news.

His passion for hockey and writing was behind his inspiration to make a site dedicated to the Island’s only major junior hockey team.

The site is already two and a half years old and already Reid is seeing the benefits, he said.

“It’s pretty successful – the Islanders fan community seems to be engaged with it and seem to appreciate the news I put out.”

John Marlen has been following the Islanders franchise for the past few years. He goes to Islanders Country updated news.

“The site provides fans with information that the official site just doesn’t have. It’s a blessing for Islanders fans and also fans on the QMJHL who want to follow our team.”

Reid started following the major junior team, formerly known as the P.E.I. Rocket, in 2006.

Watching the Rocket had a major impact on blogging, he said.

“I had a website dedicated to the Rocket a few years ago called “Let’s Go Rocket”, which also sort of inspired me to do it again for the Islanders. I know a lot about the team over years and want to share that with other diehards.”

Marlen enjoys reading Reid’s post-game stories, he said.

“They are well written, posted online quickly after the game, and have good interviews. Why wouldn’t anyone go to the site?”

Content is important for any blog, said Reid.

“It also is something I wanted to do as well, again going back to being unaffiliated with the team, I can break trades before they are made official by both the team and league, but verified by reliable sources via Twitter.”

Reid is also the Islanders reporter for the The Q News, a website dedicated to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The 23-year-old has had many memorable interviews, he said.

“It would probably be interviewing Daniel Sprong for the first time this season since coming back from the (Pittsburgh) Penguins.”

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft will take place in Charlottetown in June. Reid and the Islanders Country staff will be in attendance.

“Islanders Country will be the No. 1 source for Islanders news during the 2016 QMJHL Draft.”

Reid encourages fans to visit his website, www.islanderscountry.ca.

Water - Holland College Project

Travis Roach has lived in Prince Edward Island all his life. Living outside of Charlottetown, he understands how important water is to many Island residents.

The 23-year-old has a well in his backyard, which he relies on for his drinking water.

It's something he doesn't take for granted, he said.

"Many Islanders have wells in their backyards and if something were to happen to these wells, things could become tricky for many residents."

It's not uncommon to see the Holland College student bringing large bottles of water from his well.

"Our family makes sure we have enough water in our house. It's very important to save water and not to over use it while showering or brushing your teeth."

In recent years, there have been discussions about the possibility of fracking on Prince Edward Island. Other provinces such as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have also spoke about fracking.

Andrew Lush is the manager of the Hunter-Clyde Water shed group. There are many risks to fracking, he said.

"There are thousands of cases where spills have got into the ground water, animals dying and people having sickness in the areas where there is fracking. It's not worth it."

In recent months, fracking has been the cause of earthquakes in Alberta and British Columbia. If fracking happened in the Atlantic Ocean or Northumberland Strait, it could still be a cause for concern for ground water, said Lush.

"Deep water aquifer is connected to across the whole of P.E.I. and in fact it's connected to Northern New Brunswick and Cape Breton as well, so we just don't know about what's going on down there."

Roach agrees that fracking is not something that should happen in P.E.I.

"There are too many risk factors concerning our ground water. For the little amount of jobs fracking would bring to P.E.I., it's just not worth the risk of having these get into our ground water."

As of 2012, there have been no leases for fracking on P.E.I., however that doesn't mean it couldn't happen, said Lush.

"A company could come and knock on the door, get a lease, convert that into a lease for testing and drilling and before you know it you have fracking."

Currently, there is not a ban on fracking on P.E.I.