Mechanic’s passion is a real drag

Daniel Veinot is a speed demon on asphalt, but instead of racking up speeding tickets, he collects trophies.

The 41-year-old Veinot’s love for competitive drag racing began at Greenfield Dragway in Queen’s County. Since 2015 he has been racing at Miramichi Dragway in New Brunswick, where races are sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

With about 40,000 drivers on its roster, the NHRA is the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world.

Veinot’s dragster, a 1999 Honda Civic, has torn down the quarter-mile track at 177 mph (285 km/h) in 8.78 seconds. The front-wheel-drive turbo Civic packs muscle under its hood – a screaming 1,000+ horsepower.

Veinot told me he has won a number of trophies over the years, including the Turbo Heads-up Class Championship at Miramichi in August, 2021, when he pushed his Honda to that remarkable 177 mph.

He said he takes a deep breath before unleashing all that powerful horsepower, then exhales only when his mighty Civic crosses the finish line.

In addition to competing against fellow drag racers from Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario, and working on his own car, Veinot manages to find time to build and tune other racers’ vehicles.

A mechanic for many years, Veinot achieved his Red

Seal Automotive Technician certification eight years ago. He worked for Bridgewater Honda for 12 years before opening his own one-person auto-repair business, Sick Automotive and Performance, in September last year.

Located on Hwy. 3 in

Upper Lahave, Veinot offers services such as complete diagnostics, brakes, suspensions, engines, transmissions, fluid changes and MVIS. He said he works on all makes and models of cars and trucks, as well as managing all aspects of the performance and racing side of his business.

Here’s what I’m thinking: Daniel Veinot is one of the many South Shore homebased entrepreneurs who I enjoy profiling in this column. If you believe you fit the bill, email a summary of your product or service for my consideration.

BIKES FOR KIDS

For the past 10 years, the management of the South Shore Centre in Bridgewater generously donated space to accommodate the annual Bikes for Kids campaign, organized by the United Way of Lunenburg County.

All the space appropriate for the campaign has now been leased, so that’s good for the shopping centre and its customers, but not so good for Bikes for Kids. United Way co-ordinator Michael Graves said he has been unsuccessful locating donated space elsewhere, which places in jeopardy this year’s campaign.

During those 10 years, more than 650 refurbished or new bicycles were provided free of charge to girls, boys, youth and adults. Some recipients were able to enjoy their first family bike rides, while others were just pleased to have a mode of transportation to get to their places of employment.

In addition to the South Shore Centre, many other organizations and individuals contributed to the success of Bikes for Kids over the years, including the O’regan Subaru Cycling Team, Spin Your Wheels Bike Shop, Sweet Ride Cycling, Sportchek, PRO Kids, Better Together Family Resource Centre, YMCA Youth Leaders, Michelin, South Shore Breaker and Al Heubach, former owner of the Bike Barn in Lunenburg.

If you or someone you know is able to donate climate-controlled space in or near Bridgewater, please contact Michael Graves at 902-521-4704.

ILLEGAL BURNS

Please, people, before you light a match to brush piles or anything else on your property, check the Burning Restrictions Map at novascotia.ca/burnsafe or call 1-855564-2876.

The provincial Burning Restrictions Map is updated daily at 2 p.m., from March 15 through to Oct. 15.

During a recent two-week period, our community’s fire department was paged out to deal with four smoke sightings. In three of those cases the property owners were burning at times when burn bans were in effect.

Scotia Business Centre, which provides dispatch services to 21 Lunenburg County fire departments, reported firefighters were dispatched to 15 grass/brush/ woods fires in April. Four calls were confirmed as illegal burns. Some of the other 11 calls might have been illegal as well, but were not confirmed as such.

That’s a lot of volunteer firefighters who left their jobs, families, friends and recreational activities to respond to those calls. Firefighters don’t mind dropping what they’re doing to help area residents deal with emergencies, but responding to illegal burns could be avoided if property owners simply followed the rules.

MEDICAL NO-SHOWS

I was at my doctor’s office in the Bridgewater and Area Family Health Centre a few weeks ago for a minor procedure. While waiting, signs posted adjacent to the appointment check-in windows caught my attention.

South Shore health centres – likely health centres elsewhere, too – are dealing with patients either not showing up for appointments or shortnotice cancellations. This has been occurring for quite some time.

A no-show is self-explanatory. A short-notice cancellation means there won’t be enough time to notify another patient, then have that patient drive to the health centre to take the vacated appointment.

The message on the signs revealed during the month of March, there were 189 noshows or short-notice cancellations for appointments with the eight doctors and three nurse practitioners employed there.

We live 10 minutes from the health centre, so we could accommodate a last-minute call from the doctor’s office offering one of the vacated appointments. Others might have to drive long distances to get there.

Inclement weather could play a factor, or perhaps folks didn’t enter the appointments – which might have been made weeks in advance – in their phones or on their calendars at home, and forgot about them. Elderly patients should consider telling a family member or trusted neighbour about appointment dates and times.

The sign noted the 189 no-shows and short-notice cancellations equal 47 hours of health-provider time when other patients could have been seen by the doctors and nurse practitioners. That’s unfortunate.

Let’s make life easier for our doctors, nurse practitioners and support staff. Their jobs are stressful enough.

HERE’S WHAT I’M THINKING

Peter Simpson is a veteran journalist who is a recent recipient of a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medallion for journalism. Here’s What I’m Thinking appears bi-weekly in the South Shore Breaker.