Chris Wolfe, chief of the North Queens Fire Association, speaks at a public meeting on Monday evening. (Rick Conrad)

When Mya Uhlman’s father needed medical help last August, her mother called 911 and expected her local fire department to respond.

They were still waiting 20 minutes later, so Uhlman’s mother called again. The 911 dispatcher told her the North Queens Fire Department was on its way. Uhlman’s parents live less than 10 minutes from the fire hall in West Caledonia.

“And they never, ever showed up,” Uhlman told QCCR. “She ended up calling a relative that lived close by to be with her because she was by herself.  … So when I inquired about it, I was told (North Queens) were never paged.

“The ambulance did arrive eventually. It was around 40 minutes before the ambulance did arrive. My father is OK, but it was serious at the time. 

“When my mother explicity asked for the North Queens Fire Department, they should have automatically been dispatched with no questions asked.”

Uhlman’s story and others were why Chief Chris Wolfe called a public meeting at the North Queens fire hall in Caledonia on Monday night.

About 100 residents, firefighters and other first responders from as far away as Yarmouth met to air their concerns about their local fire departments not being called to medical emergencies.

Chief Wolfe sounded the alarm on Facebook in February after another resident called 911 and the dispatcher didn’t notify Wolfe’s department. Instead, that person was still waiting for an ambulance when Wolfe’s deputy chief found out about it and had 911 page the fire department.

Volunteer firefighters around Nova Scotia take medical first responder training. The type of call they can respond to depends on the level their department signs up for. North Queens has 18 people trained to respond to almost any level of medical call.

Wolfe said that 111 of 198 of their calls last year were medical emergencies.

“My mandate is not to give up until we find a solution to this problem of not being paged for certain calls within our communities, because North Queens residents depend on us.”

He contacted Queens MLA Kim Masland to help organize the meeting with officials from the Department of Health and Wellness, Emergency Health Services, and Emergency Medical Care, which has the contract to operate ambulance and 911 service in Nova Scotia.

Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, told those at the meeting to be frank with their concerns. And she also told people to continue to contact her and other MLAs. 

“I want to make sure that we land where we need to land because what has been happening is not acceptable.”

Representatives from EHS and Emergency Medical Care explained how the system works and the challenges in deploying the right resources in a timely way.

But people like Mya Uhlman wanted to know why their local fire departments wouldn’t be told about a call, especially if the person in distress requested it. A first responder with North Queens also demanded to know why dispatchers would deny that request.

Before officials could answer his question, first responders from the Liverpool, Pubnico and Woods Harbour fire departments also spoke up and said the same thing is happening in their areas.

Jeff Fraser, senior executive director of the emergency health services branch with Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness, said dispatchers have to follow certain models.

“I’m not so sure we should be denying that. I actually didn’t realize that was happening in that manner.”

Gordon Peckham, who is the vice-president of operations with EMC, said he didn’t know why that’s happening, but that it shouldn’t.

After the meeting, Uhlman said she hopes officials change how and when they notify local fire departments.

“In a way it made me feel a little better to know it wasn’t only us. But at the same time, it really made me feel awful  that this is happening in so many places and so many particularly rural community members are not getting the services they need in a timely fashion.”

Masland said she believes some progress was made at the meeting.

“There were things that were said here tonight that I could see they were raising the eyebrows of people here from EHS. And I think it’s important whenever you have communication that’s when you can start to resolve issues, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Chief Wolfe told QCCR that provincial officials promised to work on some of the issues raised and return in six to eight weeks for another public meeting. 

“The community did well supporting us, showing up. They voiced their concerns. Most of the concerns voiced we were aware of. I’m hoping that EMC will take it seriously and we’ll get things resolved.

“You could see the reactions with some of the public talking there that there were things going on that they weren’t even aware of. And I believe that within the next day or two, they’ll be taking those things into consideration and addressing them right away.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Susan Inglis, snowshoeing coach with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, will be heading to Italy this week with these athletes for the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin: Rebecca Delaney, Jillian Young, Chloe Stoddart and Nick Skoreyko. (Rick Conrad photo)

Queens County athletes are once again getting ready to represent Canada on the world stage.

Snowshoers Rebecca Delaney and Jillian Young of Liverpool will be among 91 athletes from across the country going to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, from March 8 to 15.

Bridgewater’s Nick Skoreyko will also be competing for a snowshoeing medal. And Chloe Stoddart from Bridgewater will represent Canada in cross-country skiing.

Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis, the snowshoeing coach for Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, will be one of the 24 Team Canada coaches going to Italy.

It will be the first world games for all of them.

More than 50 people showed up at an event at Memories Cafe and Eatery in Liverpool on Saturday to wish them well.

Inglis says going to Italy is a significant accomplishment for the athletes and for the coaches.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to get to represent their country,” she said. “And to get to go to Italy, for some of them, like Jillian, … this is her first time going out of the country. And they’re going to get to meet people from all other countries and perform on the world stage and see how they stack up.”

Inglis says she is honoured to have been chosen as one of the coaches for Team Canada.

“It is humbling for sure. As it gets closer, it really hits home that I’m representing my whole county in going to Special Olympics World Games.”

Rebecca Delaney is a multiple medal winner at Special Olympics Canada Games. She’ll be running in the 100 and 200-metre snowshoe event as well as the 4 x 100 relay.

She says she’s looking forward to doing her best in Italy.

“I’m nervous and excited and I’m ready to go. I’ve been training and going to the gym a lot and it’s been non-stop. I think I’ll do good, but if I don’t win, I will do my best.”

Jillian Young has also won medals at national games. When she went to last year’s winter games in Calgary, it was her first time on a plane.

She says she’s pumped to be airborne again and to compete in Italy.

“I’m really proud of getting this far. And we’re going to make Canada rock. Go Canada go!”

Young says she hopes to win a gold medal and to “kick some butt!”

Betty Ann Daury of Liverpool has coached snowshoe and track with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens for 43 years.

She was a coach with Team Canada in Nagano, Japan, in 2005. She’ll be cheering on the team from home this time. She says they’re in good hands with Inglis as coach.

Daury said going to a world games is a fitting reward for the athletes, who have committed to regular practices, workouts and hard work to get there. 

“They’ve accepted the fact that if you want to go, if you don’t work hard, then you don’t go. … If you can’t do it here, then you can’t do it there. And you know, we’re so proud of these guys.

“Jillian is an example of how great you can become. She’s come a long way.”

Ben Hatt was among the people at the event at Memories on Saturday to show their support. He grew up with Rebecca and her sister Kate.

“I am really excited to see how she does in Italy. I know she’s gonna win and if she doesn’t win, she’s going to be brave in the attempt. I just think it’s really important to show support for people you love.”

Inglis says the team will be leaving Monday for Toronto for two days to meet with some dignitaries in an official sendoff, including a celebratory Italian dinner. Then they fly to Italy to get ready for the week of competition in Sestriere.

“It is a pretty big deal. From little old Liverpool, we’ve got Sarah Mitton who’s a pretty amazing Olympic athlete and then we’ve got our Special Olympians who are going to representing Queens County on the world stage. And I hope that everybody tunes in.”

Snowshoeing gets underway at the games on March 11. For more information, you can follow the Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens Facebook page. 

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Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

UPDATED FEB. 28, 2:05 p.m.

Liverpool won’t have local emergency department services available on weekends, but it will have 24-hour service through the week.

Nova Scotia Health announced Thursday that it is introducing “expanded and consistent hours” for the Queens General Hospital emergency department.

Beginning March 1, the ER in Liverpool will be open for 24 hours from Mondays at 8 a.m. to Fridays at 1:30 p.m. It will close on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. until Mondays at 8 a.m.

Nova Scotia Health says the change increases the department’s weekly operating hours from about 35 to 101.5 hours.

Leslie Oliver, the executive director of community and rural health in the western zone for Nova Scotia Health, told QCCR on Friday that the new ER schedule in Liverpool will provide more service for patients.

“This temporary schedule that was developed in collaboration with the emergency staff and physicians really will be tripling the amount of hours that the emergency department is open for our community. This is a positive news story for our community.”

In the past few years, the emergency department at Queens General has been hit regularly with temporary closures.

Oliver says the new schedule will allow for better co-ordination with other hospital departments such as laboratory, diagnostic imaging and pharmacy services.

She said virtual urgent care for certain conditions like prescription refills, urinary tract infections or coughs and sore throats will still be available at the hospital seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. A triage nurse will be on duty for that service during those times.

“And a great number of the patients in the community who are presenting for the emergency department they’re actually appropriate for that virtual urgent care stream so we would encourage them to take advantage of that opportunity as well.”

Oliver said there is still a significant nurse shortage in the department.

“We’ve been really committed to our recruitment efforts and that’s not going to change,” she said. “We want to make sure we have Nova Scotia nurses working within our emergency department for sure.”

She said they plan to stick with this schedule until they can hire enough staff to return the Queens General ER to a 24/7 operation. 

“We’re hoping to provide this consistent ongoing coverage for the next several months, hoping to have more success in the recruitment area with more physicians coming on board and more nurses to support the department. We don’t have any plans of going back to an inconsistent coverage schedule. Our goal is to have that Queens emergency department open 24/7, 365 days a year.”

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ATVs ride in the Privateer Days Parade last summer on the Liverpool waterfront. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens took the first step this week to allowing off-highway vehicles on some municipal roads, but ATV groups say they want to see a timeline for when it will happen.

Councillors voted on Tuesday evening to form an advisory committee to look at what needs to be in place to create the first part of a connected road trail network. 

That would go from West Street, near the municipal administration building and hook up with the multi-use Trestle Trail at various points to Bristol Avenue near the grocery stores and the Hank Snow Hometown Museum.

The Queens County ATV Association and the Queens Rails to Trails group have been lobbying the region since July 2023, shortly after the Nova Scotia government passed the Road Trails Act. That allows off-highway vehicles on provincial and municipal roads, with certain conditions.

Coun. Stewart Jenkins said it’s time the region acted.

“I think this is an important part of the tourism and recreation of Queens County and that we shouldn’t delay this because it seems like it’s been going on for a while,” he said at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“I think we should get a move on it. The committee sounds like the right way to go with it. Start moving forward with it so that the ATV association and the users can make use of a good thing.”

Groups lobbying for the connected network say it could generate millions in economic activity for Liverpool businesses and would allow users to travel more easily from Lunenburg to Queens to Shelburne counties.

Dave White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, told QCCR that it’s good to have some movement from council.

He said his group and others have spent more $250,000 last year alone, maintaining 70 kilometres of trails in the county.

“It’s exciting to hear that they’ve actually made a commitment to have a committee look at it and hopefully that moves forward in a timely fashion. We would have liked to have heard a time commitment on that,” he said.

“The road trails act that came out two years ago provided a unique opportunity to make these connections. So when we look at our neighbouring municipalities and towns, so Shelburne, Digby, Barrington, Yarmouth have already done this, we don’t want to be left behind.”

The region’s committee will include staff, a member of council and representatives from ATV groups and local businesses.

It will look at costs, community engagement, any required upgrades to infrastructure and what should be in a bylaw or policy for road trails.

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Some of the drugs seized in RCMP raids in southwestern Nova Scotia earlier in February. (RCMP Nova Scotia)

UPDATED Feb. 25 at 5:20 p.m.

RCMP have charged 21 people, including three from Queens County, with more than 50 offences after raids on Mi’kmaw-owned cannabis businesses in Queens, Kings, Lunenburg and Annapolis counties.

Southwest Nova RCMP called the operation Project Highfield. It began in October 2024 and involved 13 dispensaries throughout southwestern Nova Scotia.

RCMP said Tuesday it involved officers from various units, as well as police services in Kentville, Bridgewater and Annapolis.

Police raided the retailers between Feb. 4 and 13. Two of those were on the Wildcat and Ponhook reserves of the Acadia First Nation.

RCMP held a news conference in New Minas on Tuesday afternoon to announce the charges and items seized.

They conducted raids on dispensaries on- and off-reserve, Supt. Jason Popik of Southwest Nova RCMP told QCCR on Tuesday, including in Acadia, Glooscap and Annapolis Valley First Nations.

Police seized:

• 141.4 kg of dried cannabis
• 189.29 kg of cannabis edibles
• 46 kg of liquid cannabis
• 23.4 kg of hashish
• 9.5 kg of psilocybin, or magic mushrooms
• 958 cartons of unstamped tobacco
• 18 firearms (17 long guns and a handgun)
• $16,143.14 in cash
• 3 ATMs
• 7 shed-like structures

Supt. Popik told QCCR in an interview on Tuesday that organized crime is using indigenous communities to undercut the legal cannabis market, with unregulated product.

“I see them infiltrating the legal cannabis market and they’re really exploiting the indigenous communities,” he said.

“They’re trying to utilize the treaties to find a rational way for them to sell their drugs. And they’re doing it through the people running the different dispensaries. Organized crime will exploit any opportunity they have. … They’re making a lot of money, the dispensaries are the ones taking the risk and the dispensary owners are the ones being arrested.”

Supt. Popik said the wholesale value of all the drugs seized is about $1.25 million, while the street or retail value is between $2.5 and $3 million.

The Micmac Rights Association is protesting the RCMP action. Many of those charged belong to the organization.

The group says Mi’kmaw have a right under the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752 to sell cannabis at truckhouses on reserve.

They say officers desecrated sacred objects, destroyed personal property and traumatized Mi’kmaw men, women and children. The group plans a protest on the Angus L. Macdonald bridge in Halifax on March 10. On June 21, a 15-year-old boy will lead a 111-kilometre march from Annapolis Valley First Nation to the Dartmouth RCMP headquarters.

Twenty-one people are facing 52 charges under the Cannabis Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Excise Act and the Criminal Code, including:

• Possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling
• Unauthorized sale of cannabis
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking (psilocybin)
• Possession of unstamped tobacco
• Possession of unstamped cannabis
• Careless use of a firearm
• Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition

Service Nova Scotia’s alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco division, and the federal Public Prosecution Service, also assisted in the investigation, RCMP said.

Those charged will begin to appear in court in June, RCMP say. They say their investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

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Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO of South Shore Public Libraries, stands in front of the Book Sanctuary display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater. (Rick Conrad)

You may not agree with the content of certain books, but the staff at South Shore Public Libraries will fight for your right to read them.

That’s why they’ve created the South Shore’s first Book Sanctuary at their main branch in Bridgewater to mark Freedom to Read Week, which kicked off Sunday.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, says it’s a permanent collection designed to highlight and protect books at risk.

“It is 50 titles that have been either banned or challenged in libraries and schools across North America,” she told QCCR.

“This is is a permanent home for these titles. They’re presently on display for about three weeks, and then after that folks can borrow them and bring them home and read and think about the reason why someone might want you not to read that book. So we’re declaring ourselves a book sanctuary, a safe haven for books that somebody doesn’t want you to read.”

Christina Pottie, communication and engagement lead for South Shore Public Libraries, organized it in about three weeks. She and Nunn-Smith attended a recent library conference in Ontario, which highlighted the book sanctuary created by the Toronto Public Library in 2023. SSPL is using the same list used by Toronto.

The idea began at the Chicago Public Library in 2022. Almost 4,800 book sanctuaries now exist across the U.S., according to booksanctuary.org.

Nunn-Smith says attempts to ban books are on the rise in North America. 

“We wanted to be proactive by establishing this collection now and saying that we will protect these items. We’ll protect intellectual freedom through all of our services and collections, but this is a visual and symbolic representation of that value.”

The book sanctuary includes typically banned books like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but also children’s books like Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. 

“Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus is a title for readers around age seven. This one was was challenged in Toronto. And so the reasoning was that Junie would be a bad role model for young folks and encourage them to be rude to adults and encourage bad spelling. ”

The collection also includes the Bible, queer fiction and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial best-seller, The Real Anthony Fauci.

“It’s one point of view on public health and pharmaceuticals. Whether or not you believe this point of view, it’s still worthwhile to be able to read it, debate it, discuss it. Read different points of view form your own. That’s vital in a democratic society. I might personally disagree with some of the points of view in this collection but that doesn’t mean we have a right to remove them from the shelf.”

The collection of 50 adult, teen and children’s books is on display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater for three weeks. 

Beginning March 10, people will be able to sign out specific items in the collection, either in person or on the library’s website using the keywords SSPL Book Sanctuary.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Team Nova Scotia third Jill Brothers in the Page 3 vs 4 game at the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts on the weekend. (Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver Photography)

It was an intense, emotional week of curling at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for Liverpool native Jill Brothers and Team Nova Scotia.

But they topped it off with a spot on the podium on Sunday.

Brothers is the third on the team skipped by Christina Black. They made it to the semi-final against Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, losing 9-8, forcing Einarson to make her last shot for the win.

Brothers told QCCR from Thunder Bay on Monday that they were happy with how they battled back during the game. 

“We almost got the steal in the end, so we just kept believing in ourselves that we could make it a really close game and make her throw her last rock.”

It’s their first year together as a team, and Brothers says getting on the podium at the national championship was a big win for them.

“We were having a lot of fun and we just wanted to keep the game really exciting and close. … It’s a long, long week of a lot of focus and concentration and so we were just really happy with our performance.

“At the Scotties, you get a ring if you make it on the podium. So that’s always been a lifelong goal: I want to be on the podium, I want to get a ring.”

But the team also fought through some adversity to get there. Teammate Jenn Baxter’s father died suddenly on Saturday, the day before the semi-final.

“It was a mixture of letting out some tears in between the games and then parking the situation a little bit and just knowing that Jenn and her dad would want us to be out there giving our all. We found the energy to regruop and lean on each other a little bit.”

Rachel Homan’s team repeated as national champions, after their win over Einarson on Sunday.

“They were super kind to us. After they won, they came over to us and just acknowledged the situation we had been in the last couple of days. It was super special that they were so kind and congratulated us and just commended our play in the last couple of games knowing what we had been through.”

Team Nova Scotia entered the tournament in Thunder Bay ranked fourth in the country. And with the bronze medal win on Sunday, they believe they have a chance to be one of the seven teams with an automatic berth in the Olympic trials in Halifax in November.

All team members live in the Halifax area and train together at least four times a week. Some other elite Canadian teams have members scattered in different cities or provinces. Brothers said being in the same city has been a big part of their success so far. 

“There’s no way we’d be where we are without being together this much. … It’s invaluable. And we heard it a lot at the Scotties this year. I don’t know if we have any inspiration for teams to maybe get back to doing it (that way), I guess it feels like an old school way. Like Colleen Jones (and her team), they just all lived in the Halifax area and they were together all the time, just practise, practise practise and that’s how they got their results.”

The 41-year-old has been to the Scotties eight times in her career, as a skip and in other positions. But this is the first time the 2004 Canadian women’s junior champion made it to a senior semi-final.

“I had success at such a young age as skip and you do it for so long that the pressure can kind of wear on you after a while. I’ve skipped for a long time. It’s a position I’m comfortable in, but I like to chat, to communicate, I like to use my strength and sweep. I was so happy to play third for someone who loves to play skip.”

Brothers says she’s keen to get back to work as the technical director for the Nova Scotia Curling Association. But she’s really looking forward to getting home to Bedford and spending time with her husband Paul and their two kids.

Her family was in Thunder Bay for the Scotties, but the kids got sick early in the week, so they missed a lot of it.

“I just really want to spend some time with my kids. I just want to watch my kids plays soccer and go curling and go to dance. That’s my next goal is just to do some work and hang out with the kids.”

Brothers says she’s grateful for all the support from her family and friends and from her hometown of Liverpool.

“My sister lives there, my mom lives there. I’d choose to be there every second weekend if we could. It’s just great to have a special place that I still call home and they’re so supportive.

“A huge shoutout to my husband, Mom that lives in Brooklyn, my mother-in-law that lives in Cole Harbour. They all do so much.

“To have them supporting me to do this is incredible. They’ve always got my back. Even my neighbour, he had to take the kids to school when I flew out to the Scotties. We’ve got so many great people helping us out, so that’s super important.”

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The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will reopen on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED Feb. 21, 2:17 p.m.

The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool is finally ready to welcome patrons to its new location.

It will reopen for full service on Saturday (Feb. 22) at 10 a.m. The library will be open six days a week and closed on Mondays.

The interim location at 54 Harley Umphrey Dr. is in the call centre building off White Point Road.

The branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR that she can’t wait for people to see the space.

“Very exciting. I know it’s been a long wait, longer than we had hoped but we are ready and we are ready to open,” Nunn-Smith said.

“People will be genuinely happy to see inside. There’s a lot of cozy chairs and nooks for reading. But really, the space is so much more than just the books. You can come in and warm up from the cold, you can chat with the staff, you can attend programs, so we’re really excited to be able to offer all of the services again.”

The lease at the former location on Old Bridge Street was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space.

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from the farmers market location on the Liverpool waterfront to Harley Umphrey Drive.

The Raddall family has agreed to allow the library to continue to use the Raddall name for five years because they’ve been assured by the region that the municipality is working on finding a permanent, central location for a new, purpose-built library.

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One of the trucks from the Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department that went off the road on Sunday en route to fighting a fire near White Point. (Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page)

The Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department may have lost two trucks on Sunday to icy roads near White Point, but its firefighters still helped battle a house fire.

Chief Moyal Conrad described the dangerous driving conditions he had to deal with as his crews responded to a call for help from the Liverpool Fire Department.

“We left here. It was a sunny day. There was no snow in the air. The closer we got to Liverpool, the snow was coming down. Reports were the house was fully involved and the roads were treacherous. I was driving the first truck for Greenfield. The road was really, really slippery. The first turn we almost didn’t make. I went in about a couple hundred yards and stopped and rethought my choices. We were only hundreds of yards away from the scene, so we proceeded very, very cautiously. Every turn we tried to make, the truck had a mind of itself.

“The front tires would not steer at all. Every time we went towards the ditch until we hit the hard crushed snow and it bounced back on. … There was a downhill turn at the end and as we were going down the hill, she just kept sliding, sliding, sliding and she just got to the edge and all of a sudden the front tires caught the hard snow and bounced back on the road. When it did that, it slingshot my ass end then my truck into the ditch. It put a brand new 2023, million-dolar truck into the ditch.”

Conrad was in the truck with his son Brandon, who is also the deputy chief. The chief says he’s grateful they escaped unhurt.

“I was basically holding on to him saying, ‘Oh my god, we’re going off, Brandon.’ It’s a very sickly feeling when you have no control of what you’re driving.”

The other tanker truck from Greenfield that went off the road on Sunday in icy conditions. (Greenfield and District Volunteer Fire Department)

Firefighters from Liverpool, Greenfield, North Queens, Port Medway and Mill Village responded to the blaze off the White Point Road on Sunday. That was during a freezing rain warning, which made already slick side roads in the area even more dangerous.

Conditions were so bad that a salt truck also ended up in the ditch.

The Greenfield department sent two tankers. Soon after Conrad’s truck left the road, another tanker from Greenfield coming the other way also slid off the road and landed on its side.

Nobody was injured in either case. And two of the crewmembers from the second truck walked to the scene and spent the rest of the day helping fight the fire, even though it was difficult to stand on the icy roads.

“And they fought fire for the rest of the afternoon and the evening and our rescue truck come along with four other firefighters that made it to the scene and they were on scene fighting fire all afternoon, all evening.”

Conrad says the truck he was driving was a newer model the department bought in 2023. He believes that one can be fixed. The other tanker was an older model from 2017 that was extensively damaged and will probably have to be replaced.

A new tanker truck costs about $1.2 million, he said.

He said he hopes insurance will help cover the costs of repairs and replacement. And there may be some money available through the Region of Queens, which provides up to $425,000 over 10 years for new equipment.

But any insurance payout will cover only what the department paid for the truck, not its replacement cost, Conrad said. So, the fire department could still be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Most of that would have to be raised through the volunteer firefighters’ fundraising efforts like community breakfasts or the Nova Scotia Firefighters 50/50 draw.

“We need to think a lot of things out,” Conrad says. “Queens County doesn’t have a big tax base. We do not have a lot of money to work with. We do a lot of fundraising just to keep the lights on. We have to flip a lot of eggs sometimes in order to buy these trucks.” 

Conrad says they get about $80,000 a year from the Region of Queens to help run the department, half of which goes to keep the hall open. 

“That does not buy equipment, that does not train my men. All that stuff is done by the great people of this county when the fire departments put out their hands (for fundraising) … If it wasn’t for the fundraising, us out here in the country, it makes it hard to be able to purchase stuff. We had a truck plan and that truck plan has gone right out the window at the moment.”

Even so, he said he’s hopeful that things will work out.

“On a good note, in the last two days, I’ve taken a ton of calls and emails from people who want to help out. I just got a message from a fire chief in Prince Edward Island who wants to help us out.”

And he said the neighbouring North Queens Fire Association has loaned them one of their older tankers. So, he said the Greenfield department is still able to respond to fire or medical emergencies.

“We’re not defeated yet. We have the gear and we have the trucks. Members are keen. I don’t want to take away from anybody else’s fundraising, but think of us the next time we have a breakfast or something and come out and help us out.”

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The North Queens Fire Association bought a new rescue truck in December 2023 to respond to medical emergencies and other calls. (North Queens Fire Association Facebook page)

The fire chief in North Queens wants answers about why his department isn’t being called to more medical emergencies in the community.

Chris Wolfe, who leads the volunteer-run North Queens Fire Association in Caledonia, says he’s worried that residents aren’t getting the help they need and someone could die because of it.

“We’re supposed to get called for pretty well anything that the ambulance will come out to North Queens for and that hasn’t been the case here lately,” he told QCCR.

“My concern is that the community’s not getting the help that they need when they need help the most. You take an ambulance takes an hour basically get to North Queens and even longer if you’re in a storm, so potentially somebody could be lying there for an hour without medical help.”

That’s why Wolfe has organized a public meeting on March 3 at 7 p.m. at the North Queens Fire Hall in Caledonia at 9793 Highway 8.

He’s invited officials from Emergency Medical Care and Emergency Health Services, as well as Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, and Health Minister Michelle Thompson. Wolfe is also encouraging residents to attend.

Wolfe expressed his frustration in a recent Facebook post. He also posted last August asking residents to contact him if they’ve called 911 in the past expecting the fire department to respond.

A post on the North Queens Fire Association Facebook page from Chief Chris Wolfe.

“I’ve previously had meetings with EMC and EHS and we’ve talked about it and I thought things were going to get straightened out but obviously they didn’t and we did have one particular call there the night before I posted that and the individual was lying outside in the snow and they weren’t going to page the fire department for it.

“We ended up going over on our own terms and dealing with it till EHS arrived so that was my pet peeve that sent me to put the post on Facebook.”

Emergency Health Services contracts out ambulance and paramedic service in Nova Scotia to Emergency Medical Care, which is owned by Medavie Blue Cross. EMC also operates the province’s 911 call centre.

EMC officials declined an interview request. A spokesman said in an emailed statement that they “are committed to continuing the conversation to address” the fire department’s concerns.

Wolfe said 18 of the first responders at his department are certified under the Medical First Response Program, which trains people to care for someone who is injured. He said they responded to 111 medical calls last year, which account for between 65 and 75 per cent of what they do.

But he said they could potentially respond to more calls and more quickly than EHS, if only they knew about them.

It’s a situation that rural fire departments are dealing with around the province, he says. 

“When you become an MFR agency you choose what level of response you want to be and where we’re so far from a hospital or anything like that we choose to be non-urgent and that means that we give anybody the help that needs it for any type of scenario.”

He says he’s not looking for a quick fix, but he hopes the meeting helps.

“I don’t expect everybody to come (to the meeting) with answers. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

“The purpose of the March 3rd meeting would be to get everybody there, address what the problems are, take everybody’s concerns from the public, put that all together and then go back to the drawing board and say, ‘Look we know this is what’s wrong, what options do we have to fix this, how can the volunteer fire service and MFRs help us out,’ and then maybe have another public meeting maybe three to four weeks later and come back to the drawing board and tell people what was found out and how things are going to be addressed.

“The more people that show up, the better it will be. And hopefully we can get things addressed and make things better for all of Nova Scotia.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad photo)

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be on reduced hours until Tuesday.

It will be closed: 

• from 1:30 p.m. Friday, February 14, and reopen Saturday, February 15 at 8 a.m.
• from 1:30 p.m. Sunday, February 16 and reopen Monday, February 17 at 8 a.m. 
• from 1:30 p.m. Monday, February 17 and reopen Tuesday, February 18 at 8 a.m.

Virtual urgent care is available at Queens General seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. That’s only for certain things such as prescription refills, sinus congestion, coughs and sore throat, urinary tract infections, skin concerns, bites and stings, and mild or moderate aches and pains.

The ER at South Shore General Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.

The Main and Market intersection in downtown Liverpool will be the subject of a traffic study by CBCL. (Rick Conrad file photo)

The Region of Queens will spend about $24,000 to do a traffic study of a downtown Liverpool intersection that has seen its share of collisions and close calls.

Last January, a 79-year-old woman was taken to hospital after being struck in the crosswalk at the intersection of Main and Market streets.

That reignited concern in the community about safety at the three-way stop.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of infrastructure, told council this week the intersection regularly has peak traffic volumes of 200 to 250 vehicles.

“Going back over the last year, we had lots of conversations regarding this intersection. Council’s concerns over the safety of it to pedestrian and motorists alike. We’ve been back and forth a few different times with reports, different analysis, different investigation.”

The previous council asked on Oct. 8 to issue a call for proposals for a traffic study of the area.

Grant said engineering firm CBCL could begin that work as early as Feb. 17. It will include looking at this intersection and others nearby, and installing cameras to monitor traffic and pedestrian movement. The firm will also interview pedestrians and motorists and use modelling software, and itt will look at projected traffic loads in the area.

He said it will be a broader study than one the region commissioned in 2015 from Insight Traffic Engineering.

Coun. Maddie Charlton said that many of the incidents seem to occur in one particular crosswalk, which runs from the post office to Five Girls Baking. 

“There have been numerous pedestrians struck on one crosswalk in particular in this area with the most recent being the worst. Luckily, the woman who was struck survive. But it is an ongoing issue, and … although there haven’t been an insane amount of pedestrians hit, I think one is too many. And so we need to address that.

“I’m uncertain about this study in one sense, because I don’t know if it’s going to solve the problem that we want it to solve. … I’m curious why we couldn’t just remove that crosswalk in that specific area, given that there are other substantial crosswalks in that area.”

Grant said he’s not a traffic expert and he’s unsure whether that would be the best solution. 

“I’m by far a traffic expert and I think that this study is a good investment to assure that we have a path forward to provide the paramount safety at that intersection. 

“Every leg of an intersection is considered a crosswalk. Where you have increased pedestrian movement, you delineate that by putting a sign up or painting it. I’m not aware of anywhere that would have a prohibited crosswalk from occurring. So I think to do something like that, we need to to go beyond who we have in this room to make that decision (and) provide some advice and do it cautiously to make sure that we’re getting the right solution, trying to solve the problem we understand.”

In his report, Grant detailed 36 reported incidents in the area from 2009 to 2024, according to information provided by the Nova Scotia government.

Five of those involved pedestrians being hit by cars in the crosswalk. Other pedestrians have reported or witnessed near-collisions at that intersection.

Grant said the main focus of the study will be how to improve pedestrian safety in that intersection.

Mayor Scott Christian said he understands Charlton’s desire to address the issue as quickly as possible.

“Certainly we want to be well informed with respect to making the decisions, certainly don’t want to drag our feet on it. I know that this was something that was batted about a bit in the past, and it is a priority concern to be addressed for public safety.”

The study will be funded from the region’s accumulated surplus of $6 million. Grant said the company could report back to council as early as May.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Tony Flint, a resident of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool, speaks to Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday about a proposed 24-unit apartment building on his street. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Residents of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool say they’ve lost faith in Region of Queens councillors after a bungled vote on a controversial proposed development.

A 24-unit apartment building is planned for the area, which is the main thoroughfare into and out of downtown Liverpool.

Residents say the development is too big for the neighbourhood. They say the population could triple in an area with only a two-lane street, one sidewalk, and already hectic traffic.

When the development was approved by staff last July, residents submitted a petition and filed an appeal.

Councillors heard the appeal on Tuesday during their regular council meeting. As part of that process, the appellant and the developer can make their cases to council.

Developer Larry Cochrane was at the meeting, but left before the appeal was heard.

Resident Tony Flint told councillors that congestion and noise will only get worse if the apartments are built. He and other residents are also concerned about pedestrian safety and the ability for emergency vehicles to get to the new building.

“So all of a sudden you have a massive influx of people in an already very busy street,” he said. “I think that looking at the drawing, the developer probably tries to do as much as he can with the available space, but it’s really, really cramped.”

Mike MacLeod, the region’s director of land use, said no traffic studies were completed or required as part of the process. He said Cochrane met the requirements of the Land Use Bylaw.

Councillors debated a motion to deny the appeal and allow the development to go ahead.

At first, a majority of councillors voted 4-3 not to reject the residents’ appeal. But then, council took a break. After discussion among the mayor, councillors and the interim CAO, they returned.

Mayor Scott Christian said that a councillor was confused by the motion.

“At least one member of the council didn’t understand the way that they were voting with respect to that motion,” Christian told the meeting as Bristol Avenue residents watched.

“I’ll ask for your forgiveness. I’ll just try to be transparent here. We have four of the seven of us are new. I myself am a new chair here. I want to circle back on that motion to make sure that it’s 100 per cent clear for the council with respect to what they’re voting for or against.”

So they voted again. Three councillors — Jack Fancy, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins — changed their vote to deny the appeal after all.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell was the only vote against rejecting the appeal.

After the meeting, Bristol Avenue resident Janet Perry was visibly upset.

“I’m disappointed and I don’t understand the two separate (votes). We had the motion, it was defeated. They go out and change their minds. I think it’s totally unfair.

“I’ve lost faith in council and the process that we went through.”

Resident Roger Wilcox said the process to approve new developments is flawed.

“The town has a problem because of this development procedure that’s inadequate. (They’re) scared of being sued. … That’s why they changed their vote.”

Flint said he’s worried about someone being injured or killed because of the increased traffic. And he worries that council doesn’t care.

“It means that regardless of the possible dangers to the public, they’re just pushing it ahead anyway. Certain people are friends with certain people and that’s the way it works.”

Developer Cochrane is the treasurer of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. His wife is the vice-president. The chamber’s president is Ashley Christian, who is married to Mayor Scott Christian.

The mayor told QCCR after the meeting that he wasn’t in a conflict.

“From my perspective, I don’t feel there’s a conflict of interest. Certainly if residents feel that there is, I’d be happy to speak to that or think about it. To be honest, … my wife’s involvement with the chamber of commerce or Larry’s involvement with the chamber of commerce would have no bearing on my decision-making process or procedural approach to handling that situation.”

During the appeal, some councillors appeared to sympathize with residents’ concerns, especially about traffic and safety. But Christian said they were handcuffed by provisions in the municipality’s land use bylaw.

“The challenge is that legally we really are bound to the municipal planning strategy and land use bylaws.”

Barring another council reversal, the way is now clear for the four-story apartment building to go ahead.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Ryan and Elizabeth Brown, who live near Liverpool, will be featured on an episode of the new A&E TV show Oceanfront Property Hunt on Saturday afternoon. (Rick Conrad)

Elizabeth and Ryan Brown knew they wanted to get out of Ontario.

And they knew they wanted to buy a house on the water in Nova Scotia.

But what they didn’t expect when they began their search was to be featured in an internationally broadcast television show.

The Queens County couple’s quest will be on the new A&E show, Oceanfront Property Hunt, this coming Saturday afternoon. Produced by Halifax-based Ocean Entertainment, the show follows a different couple each episode as they look for an oceanfront home. Two episodes are broadcast back-to-back beginning at 1 p.m.

The couple has organized a community watch party on Saturday afternoon at Route 3 Cellar Taproom and Grill in Liverpool.

“Ideally, we’ll have the show on all their TVs so that everyone can watch it with us, and I will be hiding under a table if it goes sideways,” Elizabeth says, laughing. “We’ll be seeing it fresh with everybody else. So yeah, I’m a little nervous. A little nervous.”

Elizabeth is an insurance underwriter and Ryan is the sales manager at Liverpool Home Hardware. They were living in Kitchener when they decided they wanted to move to a smaller, less hectic community.

“We were wanting to get something on the water, either lakefront or ocean,” Elizabeth says. “And Ryan’s preference would have been oceanfront. And we’re pretty outdoorsy. We like canoeing, kayaking, camping. And to have something that’s literally on our doorstep, that was our motivation for moving to Nova Scotia because everything is right here.”

“We were eventually going to retire out here,” Ryan says, “but we just moved that forward a bit.”

The Browns applied to be on the show after their Halifax-based realtor told them about it.

Their realtor had been cast on the show, but the producers also wanted some of her clients to apply.

Elizabeth says she told Ryan they were going to apply.

“And I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I guess we’re doing this,'” Ryan says.

They had to submit a video about themselves, their house hunt and why they wanted to be on the water.

“Ocean Entertainment was great. The crew was great,” Elizabeth said in a recent interview. “They were a lot of fun to work with. I feel like it wasn’t reality. I feel like it was our pretend life. We’re on TV, and this is bananas. But we were actually doing it.”

Elizabeth admits that applying for the show was a little outside her usual comfort zone. But she and Ryan fell in love with their new home and community and wanted to share it.

“When we saw Liverpool, we really liked it. But really it was the house that settled it. As soon as we walked into it, we knew that was the house we really wanted.”

The 45-year-olds booked time off work for the four-day shoot last summer. The production crew followed the couple around Queens County on their search for waterfront houses.

The episode features some local landmarks like the Quarterdeck Resort on Summerville Beach.

Until the show airs, they’re sworn to secrecy about which house they chose or even where. But they’re more than happy to talk about how they feel about the move to Queens County from Kitchener.

“I wish we’d done it years ago,” Elizabeth says.

“Yeah, I would agree with that. I love it,” Ryan says. “I wouldn’t change a thing. I love our life here. I love our house.”

“The people we’ve met have been great,” Elizabeth continues. “Our neighbourhood is great. Our friends are great. Our neighbours have been awesome with helping us get settled in.”

“We’re on the beach probably two to three times a week,” Ryan says.

“All of the things that we were looking for in an oceanfront property, in what we wanted to get out of being in Nova Scotia, we’re getting,” Elizabeth says. “And it’s fricking awesome.”

The couple has high praise for Ocean Entertainment and the overall experience, especially the short-term star treatment that came along with it.

Ryan: “It was a lot of fun and a lot of work.”

Elizabeth: “It was like having a little army follow you around. One of the assistants was like the snack girl. And so literally all I had to say is, ‘I’m kind of hungry.’ And she would appear. And I had some dairy allergies. So she would appear with a selection of things that I can eat. And it was wonderful. I’m like, ‘Can I keep you?'”

Two episodes of Oceanfront Property Hunt featuring Queens and Lunenburg counties air on A&E on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Atlantic. The episode featuring the Browns airs at 1:30. Episodes are also available on Apple TV.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Sharon Potter from Annapolis Royal buys some bread on Friday from Leanne Arnott, owner of Five Girls Baking in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

The tariff threat from U.S. President Donald Trump may be on hold, but that hasn’t stopped Canadians from looking for ways to support homegrown products.

Trump agreed to pause a proposed 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods for 30 days after he struck a deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this week.

We asked some shoppers in Liverpool if they’re trying to buy more local or Canadian products in response to the American action.

Use the play button below to listen to what they had to say.

A few final touches and the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will be ready to open at its new interim location. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED THURSDAY, 9:55 A.M.

The library in Liverpool is close to reopening, but a few things have to be ironed out first.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR on Wednesday that a final fire inspection has to be done, and internet issues have to be addressed. 

“The construction work itself is finished. Books are on the shelves. We are waiting on a few very key things. … Once those are resolved, any day now I hope to be able to open.”

The Thomas H. Raddall branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool to a building about 1.5 kilometres away. 

The lease at the former location was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space. 

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from downtown Liverpool to the new location.

“If it’s really successful, I’m sure we can talk about expanding it,” Nunn-Smith said. “We could potentially look at adding other times or other days of the week.”

Nunn-Smith says she empathizes with library patrons who can’t wait for the branch to reopen.

“I know everyone’s really excited to get inside and to have a library in their own community again. We had hoped to be open by now. … We’re really excited to welcome the patrons back in too.”

Nunn-Smith said the new location will keep the Thomas H. Raddall name, after Raddall’s family were assured that regional council is committed to finding a more central, permanent location. 

The municipality’s library steering committee had recommended that a new library be built near Queens Place Emera Centre, close to downtown Liverpool. Raddall’s grandson Tom was the honorary chairman of that committee, but resigned after councillors twice rejected the committee’s recommendations.

Councillors decided last February to move the library to the new interim location instead. 

“With the new council, I feel the attitude has changed,” Nunn-Smith says.

“I’ve met with the mayor and Coun. (Courtney) Wentzell who is on the library board. And they too agree that a true community hub should be at the centre of the community where the people are. And so with that in mind and all of us being aligned, the library board, the Raddall family and the council on the direction of the library, it seems like a positive turn.

“So because of that, Tom Raddall … has agreed to retain the Thomas H. Raddall Library name for another five years.”

Nunn-Smith said she believes “the best case scenario” would be five to seven years before a brand new library could be built.

Despite the delays in reopening in the interim location, she says she believes patrons will enjoy the new space.

It’s bigger and brighter, with a large expandable program room as well as a community kitchen. It’s also fully accessible. 

And it will feature raised garden beds outside, thanks to funding from the Nova Scotia government.

“I love the inside of the space. It’s wonderful. And even the green space directly outside of the library is going to be great too.

“The programming spaces are outstanding. I would love to have such programming spaces in our other locations. … It’s going to be our first branch with a community kitchen, so we can run cooking programs and other types of baking and cooking demonstrations. It’s just going to be wonderful.”

Nunn-Smith said she hopes the Thomas H. Raddall Library is back in business in a few days. 

But regardless, a grand reopening is planned for Sat., April 5.

“So a ribbon cutting and story times and music and some cake, that type of big celebration day, so that everyone who hasn’t checked it out yet can come and celebrate the new space with us.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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An undated aerial photo of the former Bowater Mersey plant in Brooklyn. (Queens County Historical Society Photo Collection, courtesy of the Queens County Museum)

It will likely be March before Queens County residents find out whether Liverpool will once again be a mill town.

Last May, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said the region could be the home for a new kraft pulp mill. It all depends on whether forestry giant Domtar, which operates Paper Excellence, believes there’s a business case for it.

Nobody from Domtar or the provincial government would do an on-air interview this week. But in emailed statements, both the company and Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said more will be known in March.

Domtar said in its statement that it’s in the final stages of a feasibility study into a new mill.

“Our team continues to work with the Province of Nova Scotia and is in the final stages of establishing a business case for building a new bioproducts mill in Liverpool.”

Rushton said in his statement that the province is open to more natural resource development, adding the province believes a new mill would be a good fit for Liverpool. 

“Our interest is in the economic potential for our forestry sector and the province — creating good paying jobs, construction investment and strengthening the overall supply chain. Success in our resource sectors means success for our whole province.”

Last May, the premier announced a deal with Paper Excellence to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after its subsidiary Northern Pulp was forced to shut down its mill in Pictou County in 2020.

As part of that deal, Paper Excellence launched a nine-month feasibility study into whether a Liverpool mill is viable. 

“The province has agreed to support Paper Excellence in the idea of building a new kraft pulp mill in Queens County, in the areas around the former Bowater mill,” Houston told reporters last May. “With the support of the region’s forestry sector, the company believes that Liverpool could again support a new mill, and I agree.

“If there is a business case and the company brings forward a project, it could mean an investment of more than $1.4 billion in our economy and that’s just to build a new mill. Let me assure Nova Scotians that any project that comes forward will need to meet today’s standards and will undergo environmental assessment, significant public consulation and Indigenous engagement.”

Under the court-approved settlement agreement, Domtar’s rate of return over 20 years must be 14 per cent. 

“We assess the estimated cost of construction, delivered wood, start-up and operation, labour, and funding and financing structures, among many other items,” Domtar said in its statement to QCCR.

“We are also assessing the price and market for the pulp and any other bioproducts the mill could produce.”

Houston has recently said the province needs to open up to more natural resource development, especially in light of the tariff threat from the U.S.

Bowater operated a pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn from 1929 to 2012, employing hundreds of people in Queens County. 

When it closed, it threw 320 people out of work. It also affected people in other industries.

Many of the employees retired or left for jobs in western Canada or elsewhere. The region fell into an economic funk. And it took years for the local economy to recover.

When the premier announced the prospect of a new mill last spring, though, local reaction was mixed.

Some local politicians and forestry workers said it would be a welcome boon to the local economy and the industry. Some others, including local business leaders, said they were concerned about the environmental impact a pulp mill would have.

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Pam Wamback holds copies of Lucy the Lob’Star, the kids’ book she officially launched this past weekend as part of Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl. (Rick Conrad)

On the same weekend that Lucy the Lobster saw her shadow, her star was set to rise a little higher thanks to a new book about Nova Scotia’s second most famous weather forecaster.

First-time author Pam Wamback officially released the kid’s book Lucy the Lob’Star on Saturday, the day before Groundhog Day. 

It’s about the clairvoyant crustacean who crawled into the international spotlight in 2018, challenging Shubenacadie Sam for supremacy among wildlife weather watchers.

In real life, Lucy is the official mascot of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, a month-long festival every February celebrating Nova Scotia’s biggest seafood export.

“It’s a book for kids of all ages,” Wamback told QCCR. “A really tough one to learn to read on, but you know, for kids from 2 to 92. We’re all kids at heart, right?”

Featuring fun illustrations by Chad Thompson, Lucy the Lob’Star follows Lucy as she pops her head out of the ocean one day in her home waters of Barrington, and meets Gilbert the Groundhog. 

Gilbert is looking to retire as the local once-a-year weather forecaster, but he can’t find a replacement. So Lucy volunteers.

“It’s my take on how Lucy became famous,” Wamback says. “She’s not like any other lobster. She’s different. There’s always different lobsters. There’s blue lobsters, there’s calico lobsters. Lucy was different, but she just wanted to be famous. She just wasn’t sure how it was going to happen, and a chance opportunity came along, and the moral of the story is that change is scary, but so is staying the same.”

The book has been out for just a month, and Wamback says she’s amazed by the response.

“It’s been fantastic, because like I said, this is a passion project for me, a personal passion project for me. I’m not an author, it’s not my full-time job, but I also wanted it to showcase the destination of Southwest Nova (Scotia) and in particular Shelburne County.

“It’s my home, right? In the back of the book there’s also a little bit of fun facts about lobsters to educate people, and also creating awareness about Shelburne County, and Barrington as the lobster capital of Canada, the Lobster Crawl Festival, and the Shelburne County Lobster Festival as well.”

Wamback, whose full-time job is in communications with Tourism Nova Scotia, has been involved with the lobster crawl since it began in 2018. Her passion for lobster is reflected in her website, Lady Loves Lobster.

“Growing up near Shelburne, I’ve been surrounded by lobster my entire life. Growing up in a lobster community, lobster family.

“Publishing a book was never on my radar, I’m not a writer, I’m the organizer, the planner. I was just kind of playing with an idea, and it kind of grew from there. … So finally last year, I was like let’s see what happens, cast the net and fast track about a year and a half later and here’s Lucy the Lob’Star.”

Wamback has promotional events lined up in Mahone Bay, Shelburne and Bridgewater over the next few weeks. 

“Lucy, I’m probably one of her biggest fans. The real Lucy the Lobster, she’s an international superstar. She’s been on CNN, she’s been on blog posts across Europe, she’s been in the Miami Herald. So we need to celebrate her and showcase her, and that’s kind of what I want to do. I’ve got some people that keep saying, ‘What’s your next book?’ I’m like, ‘Next?’

“I never anticipated one, but who knows? Like I said, I never expected one, so you never know. ”

Lucy the Lob’Star is available at bookstores around Nova Scotia or online.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Lucy the Lobster predicted six more weeks of winter on Sunday. (Visit Barrington Facebook page)

Lucy the Lobster saw her shadow on Sunday morning in Barrington, predicting a longer winter.

The canny crustacean lined up with Nova Scotia’s slightly more famous wildlife weather forecaster. Shubenacadie Sam also predicted six more weeks of winter.

The six-pound lobster has been making winter predictions since 2018 as part of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl. Her handlers say she’s never wrong.

“It was -14 at 7:30 this morning,” Stephanie Miller Vincent, co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Co-operative, which organizes Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl.

“Lucy crawled slowly and quickly all at the same time. So six more weeks of winter, but six more weeks of lobster fishing, that’s the most important thing.”

Wendell McKay and Victoria Hopkins of Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack in Barrington Passage display their winning lobster roll on Sunday. (Rick Conrad)

Simplicity and consistency were the secret ingredients for Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack on Sunday as it grabbed the title of best lobster roll on the South Shore.

It’s the third time the Barrington Passage restaurant has topped the competition in the annual Lobster Roll-Off as part of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl. They won the first roll-off in 2018. And it’s always the same recipe, said Wendell McKay, the kitchen manager at Capt. Kat’s. 

“This is the same cold lobster roll that we’ve been making since before I was at Capt. Kat’s,” he said.

“It feels good to be back in the winner’s seat for sure. We don’t want to stray from what works. And we like to focus on the lobster and not adding too many bells and whistles. Sometimes the lobster gets left in the back of the palate that way.” 

The winning entry featured lobster meat, green onions, celery, mayonnaise, a bit of spinach on a buttered toasted bun.

Victoria Hopkins made the winning lobster roll.

“I am the cold roll mama,” she said. “And I am the one that makes the cold roll with lots of love.”

Eleven restaurants from around the South Shore competed Sunday afternoon in a blind tasting for the title of best lobster roll. They ranged from the traditional, like Capt. Kat’s, to the elaborate. 

Some rolls included Nova Scotia smoked salmon and pepperoni, or deep fried lobster macaroni and cheese in addition to lobster meat.

Four travel writers from outside Nova Scotia served as judges.

Stephanie Miller Vincent, the co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Cooperative which organizes the lobster crawl, said they bring in a new group of judges every year. And none of them eats a lobster roll at any of the competing restaurants before the big day.

“The judges come in through Tourism Nova Scotia. They’re completely different every single year. So it’s pretty unique that one restaurant’s won three times honestly.”

Second place went to the Quarterdeck Resort, which hosted the event this year. And Osprey’s Nest Public House in Petite Riviere finished in third.

Lobster lovers can vote for their favourite lobster roll for the whole month of February. Details, including the 11 participating restaurants, are on the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl website. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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A man from the Halifax area is dead after a crash in Pleasant River, Queens Co., on Friday. (RCMP)

A 44-year-old man from the Halifax region died on Friday after his vehicle left the road on Hwy. 208 in Pleasant River, Queens Co.

Queens District RCMP, fire and other emergency crews found a Mercedes Sprinter van in the ditch around the 4200 block of Hwy. 208.

The man was the lone occupant in the van. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The road was closed for several hours, but has reopened. RCMP continue to investigate, with a help of a collision reconstructionist.

Lucy the Lobster will once again use her canny crustacean conjecturing on Sunday to predict whether we’ll see six more weeks of winter. (Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl photo)

Organizers call it a shellebration, while lobster lovers think of it as the most delicious time of year.

The eighth annual Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl is set to crack open on Saturday at businesses, galleries and community centres along Nova Scotia’s South Shore. 

Each February, the month-long festival highlights the South Shore’s most famous and lucrative export.

Stephanie Miller Vincent is the co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Co-operative, which organizes the event.

“It’s one of the reasons that the lobster crawl happens in February. It’s peak lobster season, yes. But we all know that we get into that spot where we need a little nudge, maybe a little nip with a claw to get us going.”

More than 70 events are scheduled, with more being added as Feb. 1 gets closer.

Two of the biggest events are coming up on Sunday, or Groundhog Day. In Barrington, people will wait to see if Lucy the Lobster sees her shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. 

And at the Quarterdeck Resort at Summerville Beach, near Liverpool, a dozen restaurants from around the South Shore will compete for the title of best lobster roll. 

Local author Pam Wamback has written a children’s book called Lucy the Lob-Star, about Lucy’s rise from the depths to become a famous weather forecaster.

Lots of food events are scheduled, like a chowder showdown. And many restaurants and bars will be featuring additional lobster dishes on their menus. But the month also features arts events around the South Shore, including local artisan markets.

• Go here for a complete list of Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl events

Liverpool’s Queens Coast Trading Company has even created a special tea blend dedicated to Lucy the Lobster. 

Miller Vincent says the lobster crawl is especially important for local fishermen and businesses in light of the tariff threat from the United States.

“And certainly the events that are happening in the U.S. and the conversations that are being spoken about makes us remember that … we should be looking at home first and shopping. And listen, the South Shore’s got some amazing products and amazing shops, restaurants, marketers, whatever it might be. There’s no better time to go see them than it is in February.”

As for Lucy’s prediction on Sunday?

“Lucy has been right every single year, and I don’t want to jinx her. Last year she was the opposite of Punxsutawney Phil and Shubenacadie Sam. And in the long run, she was absolutely right.

“You know, we did end up with the weather that she predicted. So she’s going to be right, no matter what that is. And the best thing is, no matter what she predicts, we still have at least six more weeks of lobster season.”

For more information on the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, visit their website at lobstercrawl.ca or follow them on Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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David White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, made another appeal to regional councillors on Tuesday to create road trails in Queens County. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

ATV users in Queens County are motoring along with their plans to connect off-road trails with public roads and streets in the municipality.

And Region of Queens councillors are interested in hitching a ride.

David White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, was at regional council on Tuesday evening to repeat the group’s request from last March for the region to help make a connected network a reality.

“The idea behind them is to provide trail-to-trail connections and trail-to-access services. 
That’s supported by the 2022 Off-Highway Vehicle Spending Report that showed in the province of Nova Scotia in that year $464 million was spent by off-highway vehicle users. It’s time that impact was felt here in our county. It’s well past time. ”

This is the third time off-highway vehicle groups have appealed to councillors for a road trail that would allow users to go from Lunenburg to Queens to Shelburne counties.

They first presented to council in July 2023, shortly after the Nova Scotia government passed the Road Trails Act, which would allow off-highway vehicles on provincial and municipal roads, with certain conditions. Both levels of government must grant access. And in Queens, that would require a new bylaw.

Queens County ATV groups say having that connected trail locally would boost tourism and help local businesses by creating a destination riding area.

“You need look no further than this weekend gone by where 551 off-highway vehicle users registered and went on a run in Western Shore, and they raised over $13,000 for a volunteer group and their club and saw somewhere in the neighbourhood of 800 people participate. Sixty-one rooms were sold over two nights for a total of over 120 room nights in that community because of off-highway vehicle use.

“Our goal is to have a connected route across Queens County to complete the western loop of the Great Trail, part of the TransCanada Trail to be able to leave Lunenburg County and go right through to Shelburne with the bigger idea of leaving Halifax or Tantallon, travelling to Yarmouth, around to Middleton, and back to Bridgewater via New Germany.”

White told councillors his group has signed agreements with 10 private landowners in Queens County, which would give ATV riders permission to use people’s property to get from one trail to another.

He said the ATV association and the Queens Rails to Trails Association have also spent about $300,000 maintaining and improving trails around Queens County. 

White told councillors that Queens ATV Association spent $49,150 in 2024 clearing and improving trails for off-highway vehicles. 

The Queens Rails to Trails Association has spent almost $245,000 maintaining and improving other trails around Queens County.

White asked councillors for letters of support to explore developing the road trail network in Queens. And he said he’d like a commitment from the region to explore any funding for the groups. He also wanted the region to commit to a process that would begin consultations with ATV groups and others.

Mayor Scott Christian thanked White for his groups’ work on trails around the region.

“And I think it’s appropriate also to apologize for the lack of engagement or action on behalf of the Region of Queens Municipality in actioning previous requests, that the two organizations have made and attempts at engaging our municipality on these files.”

At Christian’s urging, councillors agreed to the letters of support and to explore funding for the groups. They also asked staff to prepare a report for their Feb. 25 meeting on connecting a trail near the region’s offices to the popular multi-use Trestle Trail.

Christian said he wants the region to continue consulting with the community about how to make the connected road trail a reality.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The Nova Scotia minimum wage is increasing to $15.70 an hour on April 1. (Robert Owen-Wahl via Pixabay)

Nova Scotia’s minimum wage is set to go up a total of $1.30 an hour this year.

The first bump will come on April 1, when it rises to $15.70, a raise of 50 cents an hour, and the second increase will be on Oct. 1 when it goes to $16.50.

The Nova Scotia government is touting is as the largest minimum wage increase in the province’s history.

“Inflation continues to put pressure on families across the province. We need to do what we can to help,” Nolan Young, minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, said in a news release.

The province says that with the Oct. 1 raise, Nova Scotia workers earning minimum wage and working 37.5 hours a week will see their annual pay cheques rise by $2,535.

About 33,700 Nova Scotians earned minimum wage between April 2024 and October 2024.

The minimum wage on P.E.I. rose to $16 an hour on Oct. 1, 2024. It’s $15.60 an hour in Newfoundland and Labrador and $15.30 an hour in New Brunswick.

Abigail Smith displays her gold medal at a PanAmerican judo meet in Montreal in November. (Abigail Smith photo)

Abigail Smith has already made a mark on the Canadian and world judo stage, and she’s not done yet.

The Grade 11 student at Liverpool Regional High School will be competing against judokas from other countries yet again as she prepares for a tour of Europe with Team Canada in March. 

Smith will be travelling to Spain, Portugal and Croatia for European Cup tournaments and training camps as part of the European Judo Tour.

“I travelled with Team Canada one time last year which was for an event in Germany, and I was so excited for it,” Smith told QCCR.

“And now I got selected to be on a tour which is an even bigger deal. I didn’t think that would happen for me this year at all. My main focus was nationals, but now I’m spending a month in Europe. It’s crazy to me, I didn’t think it was going to happen to me this year. It’s really exciting.”

She said she’s looking forward to the more intense competition of the European tournaments.

“The training for me is the most important thing. Getting to train with different bodies. In Canada, you know everyone you’re training with and you’re getting familiar with different fighting styles. So getting to go outside of Canada, and fighting round after round with people from all different countries, you’re getting so much experience from it, it’s going to make my judo way better. Tournaments in Europe are a lot different than tournaments in Canada, there’s a lot more aggression, there’s a lot more people who want to win. So I’m getting so much experience.”

Two of the tournaments are in the older U21 or junior age division, while the third is in her usual U18 or cadet class. But Smith is no stranger to punching above her age.

In November, she won a bronze medal in the older division at the Quebec Open and followed that up with another bronze in the same age class at the Pan American Canada Cup. And she snagged two gold medals at the same meets in her usual division.

The 17-year-old Brooklyn resident, who began judo lessons when she was four years old, is ranked in the Top 10 in her age division in Canada. 

Smith says juggling the travel, training and tournaments with school and a social life are worth it. They’re all part of building toward her ultimate goal, which is to compete at the World Judo Championships and at the Olympics.

“Because judo is my life. The thing I love the most is judo and everything that comes along with it.

“So for me, doing all those things, like sacrificing time with friends, I want to go to the Olympics, I want to be world champion, and I know the goals that I want and that I’ve dedicated so much time to, they’re not going to come true unless I keep with it. So I keep with it. Everyone in my life is so supportive. They know I need to train.

“My family, my friends, my community, everyone is so on board with what I do, it makes it 10 times easier.”

Smith trains with Nova United Martial Arts in Halifax four days a week. She says she takes notes at every competition and training camp she attends. And she works with her coach Jason Scott on how to improve.

For the next couple of months, she’ll be focused on getting ready for the European tour in March and a February meet in Denmark, where she also competed last year.

“I want to win of course because it’s my first European tour. My biggest goal is to go out there and fight, do my best. Show the European tour me, show them me. I want to learn so much. You’ll never learn everything about judo. So each time I go away, I’m learning so much.”

After she returns from Europe, she’ll be getting ready for the national judo championships in Calgary in May. If she wins there, she’ll be on Team Canada for the world championships in Bulgaria in August.

But she doesn’t want to think too far ahead. She’s just hoping to do her best wherever she goes.

“I hope everything goes well so I can bring back good results for everyone supporting me.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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