The staff and board at Miramichi Youth House kicked off a new fundraiser this week.
Recording the time the ice departs from the Miramichi River is a longstanding local winter ritual and the Youth House has taken it to the next level by adding a competitive edge.
If you like to take a chance and help out a good cause, this is the lottery for you.
In the 2005 Ice Breaker Lottery, tickets are being sold based on educated guesses as to what month, day, hour and minute the ice will leave the river.
A wooden tri-pod structure has been erected on the ice directly in front of the Youth House. The tri-pod is attached to a rope approximately 400 feet long. The rope is attached to a timer that will record the day, hour and minute of the month in which the ice leaves the river.
Approximately 150 feet of slack in the rope will allow for ice movement during the thaw so as not to prematurely set the timer off.
This precise recording of seasonal events is a factor in the science of Phenology, a branch of science that looks at the annual timing of natural events, and it can provide very useful information to scientists over an accumulated period of time.
Tickets in the Ice Breaker Lottery are $2 for one or 3 for $5 and can be purchased at Bill’s Kwik Way, Books Inn, all three Kingston Petro-Can service stations or from any staff or board member at the youth house.
For more information call (506) 624-9909.
