Sarnia Catch the Ace and other events cancelled because of air quality warning

Poor air quality has led to cancellations in Sarnia, including Thursday’s Catch the Ace draw at Branch 62 of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Article content Poor air quality caused by smoke from northern Ontario forest fires led to cancellation of Thursday’s Catch the Ace draw at Branch 62 of the Royal Canadian Legion. An orange air-quality warning was issued by Environment Canada because of wildfire smoke moving into southern Ontario. Recommended Videos Lambton Public Health said Wednesday the poor air quality could persist into Friday.

“During heavy smoke conditions, everyone’s health is at risk regardless of their age or health status,” the federal weather website said. It urges residents to limit time outdoors and reschedule or cancel outdoor sports, activities and events. Ron Realesmith, president of Branch 62, said they considered moving this week’s

Catch the Ace draw to another site but decided to cancel it “out of an abundance of caution.” The weekly playing card-based lottery with a progressive jackpot has run for 44 weeks, attracting lineups of thousands downtown waiting to buy $5 tickets at the legion. This week, the jackpot was estimated to reach $4.1 million, Realesmith said.

Last week, 191,000 tickets were sold and he estimated between 10,000 and 11,000 people lined up through the day. “The heat you can prepare for,” Realesmith said. “It’s a totally different health advisory.”

Other activities impacted by the air quality warning include Tecumseh Pool in Sarnia which closed Thursday. Swimming lessons were moved for the day to the Sarnia-Lambton YMCA Jerry McCaw Family Centre on Finch Drive. The Petrolia Discovery oil heritage site also said it was closed for the day and the Inn of the Good Shepherd’s Mobile Market stops in Sombra and Walpole Island were cancelled.

“Our volunteers have been killing it for us” and the cancellation is a chance to give them a break and hold a volunteer appreciation dinner Thursday at the legion hall, Realesmith said. Earlier this year, the legion said between 40 and 50 volunteers work from early morning into the evening on Catch the Ace draw days, selling tickets, counting money, serving food and refreshments and managing a line that circles the block. Plans were to resume the draw next week, Realesmith said.

The lottery, which the branch has held for several years, begins in the fall with 52 envelopes, each holding a playing card from a full deck, then raffle tickets are sold in-person Thursdays at the legion hall on Front Street. The winning ticket is drawn that same evening. The winner receives the weekly cash price and selects one of the remaining envelopes.

If it holds the ace of spades, they also win the jackpot that grows each week until the lottery is done for another year. “I knew I wanted it to be bigger than the last one, which was just shy of $1 million,” Realesmith said. “I had a $3 million wildest dream milestone in my head, but this has exceeded my expectations.”

Realesmith said he’s “overwhelmed with the community support and everyone needs to prepare themselves for the millions of dollars we’re going to be giving back to the community.” A portion of the ticket sales income that doesn’t go to prizes is donated by the branch to community groups and projects, and a portion is used by the legion to help maintain its hall on Front Street. The share of the proceeds for community donations this year “is sitting around $3 million right now,” Realesmith said.

“It’s crazy.” The branch is planning “major renovations” at the hall with its share of the proceeds, he said. “Because of the demand, and because of the wild success that we’ve had, we have decided, as an executive, we’re going to expand this to be a county wide Catch the Ace in the fall,” Realesmith said.

Plans are for all 11 legion branches in Lambton to sell tickets each week for the same draw and jackpot, allowing ticket buyers to support branches in their own community and lead to a jackpot that is expected to “grow exponentially,” he said.