Thereâs been a lot of good news in the Red River Valley lately. Some of the best, particularly for our local economy, is the success of the 14th annual Easton Southwest Shoot-out last weekend. More than 1,500 archers were registered for the event, which was a welcome return given its cancellation last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The tourism event surely provided a much needed boost to our local hotels and motels, which continue to struggle as travel has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.
Speaking of tournaments, thumbs up to Mick Horton for his prize-winning catch of the day in Brannanâs Bass Shop Fishing Tournament. It was a beautiful day of fishing after a night of storms, and Hortonâs catch looked awful good in the winnerâs circle.
In all, 124 participants took part in the competition, a record for the event.
âWe had about 80 last year, so this was a lot more,â Brannanâs owner Kathy Ballard said. âIt turned out a lot better than we expected, which weâre really excited about.â
Of the 124 contestants, Paris resident Mick Horton finished first, catching a bass that weighed in at 9.18 pounds. The second place finisher Mitchell Stout, with a bass that weighed 8.97 pounds. And in third was Matthew Basinger, whose catch weighed 7.02 pounds.
Horton, whoâs been taking part in Brannanâs Bass Shopâs annual event for several years, had never won until this year. When he weighed his catch, though, he knew he had a shot.
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The Blues were next scheduled to play on January 3, when they host Man City in the day s 4.30pm kick-off.
Following that, Frank Lampard s men had a week off before their FA Cup third-round run-out against League Two side Morecambe on January 10.
And now Chelsea now be forced to wait until January 15 for their next game if conditions at Man City and Morecambe don t improve.
The Blues make the short trip to local rivals Fulham for that Friday night game.
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Chelsea facing lengthy fixture layoff due to coronavirus postponements
It may be mid-January before Lampard s team play again | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Chelsea may have to wait until 19 January to play again, with COVID-19 outbreaks at Manchester City, Morecambe and Fulham casting their upcoming fixtures into doubt.
The Blues are due to face City in the Premier League on 3 January but it seems increasingly unlikely that game will go ahead after Pep Guardiola s side called off their clash with Everton at the last minute.
Just hours before kick-off, the club issued a statement confirming that a number of positive COVID cases had been found in the latest round of testing, and that the game, due to kick off at 8pm, could not go ahead.