Phillips was clicking buttons on a computer screen and casting votes for O’Leary to become Kraft Hockeyville 2017.
Voting opened Sunday at 10 a.m. and was remaining open until 12:59 am. Tuesday. Ten communities across the country are in the running for the Hockeyville title, O’Leary being the only one from the Maritimes.
“I’ve been voting, but I don’t understand how to do it by myself,” Platts confessed. Platts said she wants to contribute to O’Leary’s chances and would be thrilled if her votes helped push O’Leary over the top.
She was awaiting a little more instruction so that she could click away by herself.
Phillips said she’d love to know the total votes being cast for O’Leary.
That, however, is part of the suspense.
The sponsors of Kraft Hockeyville will release the voting results Saturday night during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.
The community with the highest number of votes in the east will then go head-to-head against the highest ranked community in western Canada for one final round of voting.
Marjorie MacKay arrived at the Christian Education Centre around 11:15 a.m. Monday and was thinking of staying until the makeshift voting station closed at 5 p.m. She’d lost track of the number of times she voted. She regretted that, unlike the last time O’Leary was in the Hockeyville competition in 2006, telephone voting is not being permitted.
“Why did they not do that, just because it’s a high-tech age, I’d say,” she answered her own question.
“Because there is no phone voting this time, it kind of leaves out a lot of our seniors and those who don’t have a computer at home,” said Rev. Bethe Benjamin Cameron in explaining why the O’Leary West Cape Pastoral Charge offered a voting station for seniors. More than 40 had stopped in by early afternoon.
“So many were so pleased they had an opportunity to vote and be part of this community, because this community is important to them, and they have lots of memories of being at the rink,” said the United Church minister.
“They are really cheering on their community.”
It was congregation member Sally Betts who suggested such a voting opportunity for seniors. “They are the ones who would want to vote for the community the most; they’ve been here the longest,” she reasoned. She and her children extended personal invitations to the event.
“Everyone was like, ‘I was wondering how I was going to vote’” Betts commented.
Verna Wedlock and Florence MacNevin were propping up their tablets with hymn books and Bibles.
MacNevin had been voting from home. “So I thought I’d come in here for a change.”
Wedlock said it would be wonderful if the rink wins the grand prize.
MacNevin admitted that's the challenge. “If you don’t try you’ll never succeed,” she stressed.
