Disappointing turnout for thank-you dance

EUREKA - The music was blasting from the speakers, but the dance floor was empty. The hall was filled with rows of empty seats.
The union representing the staff at Riverview Adult Residential Centre, Union 2330, held a 'thank you' dance at the Eureka Fire Hall on Saturday evening for those who helped during January's evacuation.
Bill Holley, the Eureka Fire Department chief, who was in charge of serving drinks that night, said he was told to expect as many as 180 people. Instead, by the end of the night, only about 30 people had attended.
"(The union) put so much work into hosting this event, and to have this happen to them is really disappointing," Holley said.
Those who were there didn't seem impressed with the low attendance numbers, either. "I'm so mad," one person remarked. "They put all this work into holding this event and nobody shows up, but you know had (the union) not held anything at all people would have complained."
Early that evening, Betty Jean Sutherland, president of Local 2330, explained why the union had the dance.
"We thought it was time we publically acknowledge the efforts that were put in by the fire departments, the ladies auxiliaries, the Red Cross, Riverview staff and the many other volunteers," Sutherland said.
She said the Stellarton, Eureka and Plymouth Fire Departments, which all housed Riverview residents during the evacuation, would each receive $500 donations from the union, as would the Red Cross.
No one from the Stellarton Fire Department was there to accept the donation.
Sutherland said those who played a part in the evacuation of the home's residents should be commended for doing the job quickly and efficiently.
"We practise mock evacuations all the time, and when you're doing those mock evacuations, you're never anticipating the real thing will happen," she said. "But their training paid off. They were prepared, and I think they deserve to be recognized for it."
Sutherland said she was hoping for a strong attendance. "Unions get a bad reputation, but we're part of the community," she said. "We're all part and parcel of this, and we want to build strong ties with the community."
Those who did help with the evacuation say they didn't get much sleep that week. Holley says in the days following the evacuation, he mostly slept in his office above the fire hall. He rarely went home, except to get food, supplies and to shower.
"I slept in my office, maybe two hours here and there," he said. "I tried to sleep, but you can't sleep when you've got stuff on your mind."
He said he was proud of the firefighters with his department, who he said went "above and beyond the call of duty" in helping care for the 42 residents who were housed at the Eureka Fire hall.
Patricia Matheson, president of the Eureka Fire Department ladies auxiliary, was at the fire hall from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, from the day of the evacuation to when residents left the fire hall three days later.
"When (the residents) first arrived, we didn't know if they would be with us for a few hours or a few days," she said.
But Matheson, who spent most of her time helping out in the kitchen, said she never worried.
"Everybody knew his or her job," she said. "The angels who work at the Riverview Home love their residents so much; they treat them like family and they knew just what to do."
Sandra Matheson, who works for Parkview Group Home in Trenton, which is part of the Riverview Home corporation, also helped care for residents during the evacuation. She said during the evacuation and afterwards, staff did all they could to ensure residents were comfortable and secure.
"Everything went off without a hitch," she said. "We knew exactly what to do."