Chicken vs. chess board

By Collin Gallant on July 28, 2017.

Medicine Hat News

An urgent rooster made one Medicine Hat man a lucky duck on Thursday.

The first Cock-a-doodle-poo raffle began shortly after the end of the morning’s Stampede parade and wound up in short order.

The $5,000 contest, in support of the public library is akin to chicken bingo, where a grid is laid down, tickets are sold, and the winner is determined by which square the fowl dirties.

The cock was produced, placed on its randomly assigned starting square from whence it bolted across the grid that was laid on the nearby chess board.

Within a moment the deed was done.

“I7” was the winning ticket held by local man Darryl Lockwood, who said he frequently buys charity raffle tickets, but had yet to collect a main prize before this week.

“Those others were practice tickets,” he said. “But this is really awesome.”

The lifelong Hatter, who is a manager in the News’ mailroom, said that immediate plan is to get rid of some bills, then put the rest towards a vacation next year.

As for 2018, organizers are already contemplating a repeat of the contest the proved popular, selling out completely.

The proceeds, about $5,000, will be put towards ongoing theatre renovations at the downtown branch through the Friends of the Library Society.

“It was a fun event,” said chief librarian Shelley Ross. “A great crowd and we’ll consider doing it again. It generated a lot of fun.”

Ross said the group had considered cow pie bingo, but felt it prudent to keep the contest small and more manageable in its first year.

The event was also a finale to the library’s pancake breakfast, held at the Fourth Ave. and First St. location, near the end-point of the parade at River Road.

Some of the 50-odd spectators who attended briefly wondered about whether the mark should count, but the result was certified.

Art Van Dam, of Windmill Garden Centre, supplied the cockerel from the business’s petting zoo. He was glad to be a part of the contest, despite having to have his opinion sought about the whether the mark should count.

“It’s not the size that matters, but location,” he said was the key consideration.

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