MADD tree-planting event Saturday

News of the ceremony was reported a month ago, but at the time the location was uncertain.

Susan MacAskill, MADD Canada’s manager for the Atlantic region and former national president, is among those planning to be on hand for the event.

Contacted last week, Brenda Adams, president of the Yarmouth MADD chapter, said she didn’t know yet whether Margaret Miller, MADD Canada’s president-elect from Shubenacadie, would be here for the ceremony.

Local political representatives have been invited to attend the event, which is open to the general public.

Dayton Fruit and Vegetable is donating the tree that event organizers hope will help people to remember those who lost their lives in accidents involving impaired driving and to think about those injured in crashess where impaired driving was a factor.

Adams views the tree in light of MADD’s ongoing campaign against impaired driving.

“We can watch the tree grow as we watch our fight grow towards stopping drunk driving,” she said.

Planting a tree for victims of impaired driving is a new initiative for the Yarmouth area’s MADD chapter, which was established three years ago.

The local chapter is one of 11 in Nova Scotia.

Nationally, there are between 75 and 80 MADD chapters. The number of chapters tends to fluctuate. The current figure will be more definitive after an upcoming MADD Canada conference.

About 7,500 volunteers are involved in MADD across the country, according to the organization’s Web site.

The movement originated in the United States in 1980, with MADD Canada established a decade later.

The Atlantic regional office is in Windsor.