Lobster boats leave Port Medway Harbour early Tuesday morning on Dumping Day. (Rick Conrad)
More than 1,400 fishing boats left wharves early this morning along the South Shore as lobster season got underway in southwestern Nova Scotia.
Known as Dumping Day, it’s the day that fishermen set their traps in some of North America’s most lucrative lobster grounds. Nova Scotia exported more than $1.3 billion of lobster last year.
Dumping Day was delayed by a day this year because of weather.
Catches were down overall last year, but still accounted for about $318 million.
Some 680 vessels from Queens County motored out at 7 a.m.
Dozens of family and community members were at the wharf in Port Medway to wish fishermen a safe season, which wraps up at the end of May.
Here are some of the people and sounds from the morning.
Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday in Nova Scotia’s provincial election. (Rick Conrad)
UPDATED NOV. 26, 10:10 a.m.
Election Day is Tuesday in Nova Scotia, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
But many Nova Scotians have already voted, though early numbers are down from the 2021 election.
According to Elections Nova Scotia, 160,698 people have voted in early, advance and community polls at returning offices around the province. That also includes write-in ballots.
In the 2021 provincial election, 176,793 votes were cast early. But in 2017, that number was 118,623.
As of Sunday, there were 788,427 registered voters in Nova Scotia.
According to Elections Nova Scotia, 1,950 of 9,270 eligible voters have cast ballots in early voting in Queens.
Election officials did not mail out individual voter information cards this year because of concerns about the impending Canada Post strike.
Naomi Shelton is the spokesperson for Elections Nova Scotia.
She said voter cards would have been mailed out beginning Nov. 14. Postal workers hit the picket lines on Nov. 15.
“So we wanted to make sure we had one clear path, one clear message for voters,” Shelton said in an interview. “So instead we put together a voter awareness campaign. So that is a multimedia campaign that has radio ads, a variety of traditional print mediums as well as social ads.”
Three people are running in the riding of Queens. Incumbent PC MLA Kim Masland is trying to win her third election in a row. She’s being challenged by Liberal Cathy De Rome and New Democrat Brian Skabar.
If you’re not sure where to vote in your community, you can use the Where Do I Vote tool on the Elections Nova Scotia homepage or call 1-800-565-1504. Or you can vote at the Queens returning office in the post office building on Market Street.
Lobster traps on the wharf in Port Medway. Fishermen head out to start their season on Tuesday morning. (Rick Conrad)
Queens County fishermen will be heading out to set their traps on Tuesday morning at 7.
Known as Dumping Day, the first day of lobster season on the South Shore is usually the last Monday in November. But weather delayed the opening this year to Tuesday.
Lobster fishing area 33 covers ports from Cow Bay to Shelburne, while LFA 34 takes in the rest of southwestern Nova Scotia and Digby county.
Fishermen in LFA 34 will head out at 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
About 680 vessels fish out of LFA 33, according to the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association.
The first day can be a long one. While LFA 33 crews can set their traps beginning at 7 a.m., they can’t start hauling them in until midnight. Some boats come back to port, but others decide to stay on the water for a few days.
Lobster is Nova Scotia’s biggest seafood export, with $1.3 billion shipped out of the province in 2023.
According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, overall catches in LFAs 33 and 34 were down last year, but still combined for a value of almost $318 million.
Liberal Cathy De Rome, PC incumbent Kim Masland and New Democrat Brian Skabar are running in Queens in the Nova Scotia election. (Rick Conrad, Nova Scotia NDP)
The two people hoping to unseat popular MLA Kim Masland in Queens admit it’s an uphill battle, but they say they’ve been hearing good things from voters.
Cathy De Rome is running for the Liberals and Brian Skabar is trying to take the seat back for the NDP in Tuesday’s provincial election.
Masland is trying for a repeat in a riding she captured in 2021 for the Progressive Conservatives with 70 per cent of the vote. Before that, the riding was Queens-Shelburne, which Masland won in 2017 with almost 44 per cent of the vote.
Election Day is Tues., Nov. 26. But Queens County residents can vote early at the returning office on Market Street in Liverpool or at the North Queens Fire Hall in Caledonia.
When the election was called on Oct. 27, the Tories had 34 seats, the Liberals had 14, the NDP had 6 and there was one independent.
De Rome lives in Beach Meadows and is a retired elementary school teacher. She’s also the president of the Queens Liberal association. Skabar is originally from Amherst, but now lives near Caledonia. He is a retired social worker and a former NDP MLA for Cumberland North.
De Rome and Skabar say that they know it’s going to be tough to defeat Masland. But they say it’s important to run.
“Our democracy is only as strong as the people who participate in it,” De Rome said in a recent interview. “And I want people to become involved and find out what the issues are and how they can work at participating and hopefully making things better.
“Kim is very popular and she has been doing it a long time. But just maybe it’s time for a change.”
Skabar says he’s knocked on 40 to 50 doors a day during the campaign. And even though he’s new to the area, he says he’s been getting positive feedback.
“To my surprise, only having been here for two years, either people in Queens County are really, really kind, 0r I might have half a chance,” he said in an interview.
“Three out of five doors that I knock one are supportive of New Democrats. Our incumbent here is quite popular individually but I don’t think people are really crazy about Tim Houston.”
Masland could not be reached for an interview. But in a video posted on her Facebook page, she said she’s knocked on more than 5,000 doors in the campaign.
She also posted that the Houston government has hired more doctors, helped build more affordable housing, and made record investments in road and bridge infrastructure.
De Rome says that while many voters say they’re not happy with the state of health care, housing and affordability, they haven’t asked her much about she or the Liberals plan to address it.
“People will complain. When the other day I said to a man, ‘Do you have any questions?’ He said no. And so I said, ‘Are you happy with things?’ ‘Not really’. So it just didn’t quite make sense.”
De Rome points to the Liberal plan to build more homes using the co-operative housing model, open more collaborative care clinics around the province, and to forgive part of certain health-care workers’ student loans for up to five years.
“We are getting more doctors, it seems, but people are still having long waits in emergency. … To sit in emergency for nine-plus hours to have a prescription renewed is ridiculous.”
The NDP had been a force in the traditionally Conservative riding of Queens from 2006 to 2013. Sterling Belliveau hung on to the seat for the party in 2013 when it was changed to Queens-Shelburne.
But the NDP haven’t had much of a presence since Belliveau retired before the 2017 election.
Skabar says he’s hearing from voters who are upset about Premier Tim Houston’s early election call. He says voters have told him they like some parts of the PC plan. But they wonder why the party needed an election to do that.
Skabar adds that Masland has done a good job getting roadwork done in Queens County.
“I only just met Kim last week at the community dinner here in Caledonia. And really, what’s not to like? Actually, she’s a good member. But the government that she represents is not doing a good job for Nova Scotia.”
The Liberals’ De Rome says that no matter which party people support, she hopes they get out and vote.
“I would consider it an honour if they chose to elect me. I’ve never thought of doing this, but I am enjoying it. People have been very receptive when I’ve talked to them. … I hope people take the chance to get out and vote. It’s important. Go out and vote, put your X in the spot where you think would do the most good.”
You can vote early at the returning office in your area until 8 p.m. on Friday or until 6 p.m. on Saturday and Monday.
If you don’t know where your Election Day voting location is, you can use the Where do I Vote tool on the Elections Nova Scotia website at electionsnovascotia.ca or call 1-800-565-1504. Polls will be open on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Fishermen in West Berlin get their traps ready for Dumping Day. (Rick Conrad)
Fishermen around the South Shore are getting ready for the start of lobster season.
Depending on the weather, Dumping Day will start for Queens County fishermen at 7 a.m. Monday, when vessels race to get to some of the most lucrative fishing grounds in North America to set their traps.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans makes the call on Friday morning based on the forecast.
Dumping Day can be moved up or delayed by a day if the forecast predicts anything over 26 knots of wind.
Fishing boat captains can also vote to go a day early or a day later, if they feel conditions are too dangerous.
Bruce Perry fishes out of Port Medway. He was getting his boat ready this week and waiting for the official call to get out on the water. He said he’s looking forward to a good start to the season.
“Just hope there’s a few lobsters everywhere and a good price and some good weather,” he said this week.
The season in lobster fishing areas 33 and 34 goes from the last Monday in November to May 31. LFA 33 includes Queens County and covers the area from Cow Bay to Shelburne. Some 680 vessels fish out of the area.
Dan Fleck, the executive director of Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, said DFO changed the procedure for the Dumping Day start.
In previous years, boats were allowed to untie and wait in the harbour until the opening bell. This year, though, in an effort to make it fairer for all fishermen, DFO has ordered all vessels to stay tied up at the dock.
“And that could be very dangerous in some harbours,” Fleck said in an interview. “We have some ports with five, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 80 boats. It could be tricky, in hours of darkness and vessels loaded and you can’t see.
“It’s an anxious time, everybody wants to get to sea, they want to get to their prime fishing grounds. To have everybody try to untie at the same time, jockeying for position and get out of these wharves, it could be dangerous.”
The first day is a long one. LFA 33 crews can set their traps beginning at 7 a.m., but they can’t start hauling them in until midnight.
“So we have some vessels that will stay out until midnight to start hauling, and some vessels will stay for three or four days,” Fleck says.
Overall catches were down last year, according to DFO. In LFA 33, crews landed 6,881 metric tonnes during the 2023-24 season for a value of $163 million. The year before, 7,692 metric tonnes were landed, valued at $154.8 million.
Fleck says it’s difficult to predict what this season will bring. Fishermen in other areas like LFA 35 in the Bay of Fundy are reporting good catches and getting about $11 a pound, he said.
“Safety’s the most important, make sure everybody gets out there safe and sound, and gets back home the same way.”
The Region of Queens released this graphic on Friday morning to illustrate water levels in the Town Lake Reservoir (Credit: Region of Queens Municipality)
UPDATED Nov. 22 at 10:15 a.m.
The Region of Queens is asking its municipal water users to cut their consumption in half.
The municipality first sounded the alarm on Nov. 1 about dropping water levels in the Town Lake Reservoir.
Since then, the situation has only worsened. Officials say people have not reduced their water use enough to deal with the lack of rainfall.
The area has received only about 45 millimetres of rain since the first of October. CAO Cody Joudry told QCCR last week that the region would need at least 50 mm of rain a week to improve things.
For the past few weeks, the region has appealed to the 1,400 residential and commercial water utility customers in Liverpool and Brooklyn to conserve water.
Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR on Thursday that the newest advisory was necessary because water levels continue to drop.
“We’ve just continued on the same trajectory towards a situation we don’t want to find ourselves in. The updated (communications) strategy is around giving people a target to work toward to manage their own consumption or water conservation efforts.”
The region released more information on Friday morning, explaining the current water levels in more detail, including a graphic to illustrate.
“At full capacity, the Town Lake Reservoir has a maximum depth of nine feet above the water intake pipe,” according to the release. “Currently, the water level stands at six feet. If levels reach five feet, it triggers the Warning Level, where reduced water pressure could impact the entire system. While the system is operating at lower pressure, it remains functional.”
Some people who commented on the region’s latest post on Facebook said they’re frustrated with the region’s efforts to put the word out.
Christian said he understands people’s discontent. He said council plans to discuss the region’s long-term water plans and better communication with residents at their meeting on Monday evening.
“I think those are all good and fair questions to be asking right now. … It’s something that members of the council definitely take seriously. The things that we need to right now right now, is we need to conserve water right now.”
People also wondered why the municipality is flushing some fire hydrants in certain areas. Christian said he appreciates people pointing that out, but said they need to do that to avoid contaminating the water supply. Still, he said officials will look at ways to limit the flow of water from those hydrants.
The region also responded on Friday morning to concerns about the hydrant flushing.
“These ‘flusher locations’ are essential to maintain water quality throughout the system,” the release said. “The municipality has reduced flushing rates from 40 to under 5 gallons per minute to conserve water while ensuring safe potable water distribution.”
Christian told QCCR on Thursday that the best thing to do is for all users to cut their consumption as much as possible.
“But what’s most important urgently right now is to try our best as a community to conserve water as much as possible.”
Municipal water users have dealt with frustration before. Controversy over an eight-week boil water order in the summer of 2023 forced the Queens water utility to give customers a one-time break on their bills.
Other water utilities across the province are also struggling with dwindling water supply. The Halifax region issued water conservation notices last week.
The Region of Queens is asking people to take shorter showers and take baths less often. Flush toilets only when necessary, reduce the number of times you do laundry or dishes, fix leaky pipes and report any suspected leaks in water lines to the municipality at 902-354-7170.
Kendra Shot is the organizer of Santas for Seniors Queens County. (Rick Conrad)
The organizer of a local program that helps seniors over the holidays is hoping for a little Christmas magic this year.
Santas for Seniors Queens County connects low-income seniors with others who want to help them have a good holiday. And it relies on Canada Post to help make it happen.
Organizer Kendra Shot says this year, she’s worried about how the postal strike may affect the festive fundraiser.
“I’m hoping by the end of the week that maybe they come to some terms and settle this strike. I will put them in the mail but there’s no way we can hand deliver because we have mailing addresses for the seniors, and not home addresses.”
This is the fifth year for Santas for Seniors Queens County. Since it began, it’s helped hundreds of Queens County seniors each year.
Anyone can nominate a senior, or seniors can nominate themselves. People tell Shot what they’d like, whether that’s a gift card for groceries, gas or other goods.
All nominees are anonymously posted to the Santas for Seniors Queens County Facebook group. If you want to add any Queens County senior to the list, contact Shot with the person’s full name, age and full mailing address.
“55 and over, low income, need a little extra help this winter. That’s what we’re here for,” Shot says.
“You adopt your senior, buy a holiday card, buy your gift card, there’s one or two usually listed per senior, you don’t have to buy both of them. Put it in your holiday card, seal it, on the back of your card write your number, on the front of the card, place a stamp.”
Completed cards can be dropped off at Exit Realty or Route 3 Cellar Taproom and Grill, both in Liverpool, or at Stew’s Corner Convenience and Gas in Greenfield.
Shot says she’s seeing more seniors from Greenfield and Caledonia participating this year.
As of Tuesday, 328 seniors are signed up, with 158 adopted so far. Last year, a little more than 300 took part.
Seniors can be nominated until Dec. 1. Shot says all cards need to be dropped off by Dec. 15 so that she can mail them out in time for Christmas.
“Basically 90 per cent of the people that are nominated do not even know that they’re nominated. So, they’re going to get a card in the mail from a complete stranger with a little extra help. There’s no set denomination for amounts. We’re all feeling the crunch of the increased prices it’s more so the thought that counts.”
Shot and her volunteers used to collect gifts from donors and deliver gift bags to as many as 400 seniors. She said they changed it to gift cards during Covid.
They also used to work with local service organizations and other groups to identify seniors in need, but because of confidentiality rules, they had to stop doing that.
Despite that, more than 1,200 Queens County seniors have been adopted in the past five years.
“It makes me feel good because No. 1, to give back is the best feeling at Christmas for me. Gifts aren’t Christmas, it’s how you actually make somebody feel.”
This year, Shot says she’d also like to get more businesses involved in the fundraiser. The managers at White Point Beach Resort got together and adopted 12 seniors.
If you want to be nominated or if you want to nominate somebody else, message Kendra Shot on Facebook, or call her at 902-646-0265 or email her at kendra_shot@hotmail.com.
Brian Anthony, left, vice-president of Local 18 of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, stands with fellow union members on the picket line outside the Main Street post office in Liverpool on Monday. (Rick Conrad)
Canada Post workers were back on the picket line on Monday in Liverpool hopeful that a deal can be reached to get them back to work.
About 20 members of Local 18 of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers were outside the post office on Main Street as cars honked their support.
Brian Anthony is the vice-president of Local 18. He told QCCR that four days into the strike, morale is high.
“We’re here until we get an agreement. Resonse has been good. We’ve got a good turnout here and a good response from the cars driving by. We had a guy stop by and give us some donuts and coffee today. I think the public understands that we all just need a fair deal.”
More than 55,000 Canada Post employees went on strike across the country on Friday. The Bridgewater-based Local 18 covers Hubbards to Shelburne and has about 60 members.
Union members say they want fair wages to keep pace with inflation, safe working conditions, pension protections and better benefits.
Canada Post’s latest offer included pay raises of 11.5 per cent over four years and a pledge to preserve the defined benefit pension plan for current employees.
A special federal mediator met with both sides on Monday. But Canada Post said they remain far apart on the major issues.
On the Liverpool picket line on Monday morning, Anthony said workers are hoping for a short walkout, but they’re prepared to stick it out.
“We don’t want to lose what we already have. We’re hoping there’ll be a settlement sometime soon. I think we’re optimistic. Everyone is still in good spirits. We’re hoping for a short strike for sure.”
Mail service is suspended during the strike. But Canada Post and the union have assured people that government cheques will still be delivered.
Workers plan to be on the picket lines in Liverpool from Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
2018 was the last time there was a work stoppage at Canada Post. The rotating strikes lasted 31 days before the federal government stepped in an legislated employees back to work.
Spend a day at the beach with Jane Dunlop-Stevenson for Hands Across the Sands, a fundraiser for the Queens County Food Bank on Sunday at Summerville Beach. (Rick Conrad
You can help turn a day at the beach into a work of art this weekend, and raise some money for a local charity.
The idea is to draw 30-foot tall stick figures on the beach at low tide. You make a $20 donation to the Queens County Food Bank for each figure. And Dunlop-Stevenson and other volunteers will help you bring your beach art into the world.
“It started with a gentleman saying to me it would be neat to see people being drawn on the beach,” Dunlop-Stevenson said in a recent interview.
“And that led me to think of a picture of all these stick people and what we could do with it and it just evolved into let’s charge some money and help out the food bank and create this great picture.
“The original goal was to draw 150 30-foot stick figures at $20 a piece which would then (be) $3,000 to the food bank. We’re at a third of that right now. So that’s really good. I’m pleased with that. Just to envision 77 30-foot stick drawings is incredible across the beach, all holding hands, … with their feet in the water. It’ll be really neat to see the tide coming in and touching their toes.”
After everybody has drawn their figures, Dunlop-Stevenson will take drone footage of the whole scene and post it.
This is the first time she’s created sand art at Summerville with so many other people. But she’s a veteran virtuoso at creating striking short-term sand art.
Probably her best known work was a 120-foot-by-60-foot tribute to Olympic shot putter Sarah Mitton before this summer’s games. That one featured an 85-foot Eiffel Tower, a Canadian flag and the Olympic rings.
Dunlop-Stevenson created this tribute to Sarah Mitton this summer at Summerville Beach. (Jane Stevenson photo)
She’s also recreated the logo for the Liverpool International Theatre Festival. And she’s taken small groups to Summerville to create mandalas and other images.
But Sunday’s event promises to be her biggest group effort yet. She and some other volunteers will sketch out the heads of all the stick figures ahead of time.
And participants just have to bring their own rakes to help give their pieces texture, so that they show up against the smooth sand.
“And they will rake the head and choose their design however they want it, however simple or dressed up they want their little person to be, it’s totally up to them. No perfection is necessary. If you have your little picture drawn and you know what you want to put in the sand, it will probably take you 20 minutes maybe to draw a stick figure. So it’s very possible to draw a few.
“Nothing has to be perfect. It’s all just for fun and to see this really cool art.”
Dunlop-Stevenson has set up a Facebook event, which includes a link to a Google registration form. You can go by yourself or get a team of five together.
The region says its 1,400 water utility customers must use less water because the municipality’s Town Lake reservoir is getting dangerously low.
Queens CAO Cody Joudry said Thursday that he hopes residents and businesses co-operate.
“I wouldn’t call it at a critical level, however it’s been heading that way for a while,” he said.
“It is continuing to go down at this point. It’s definitely getting worse so that’s why we really want to talk to the public and encourage them to actively try to conserve water.”
Mayor Scott Christian was not available for an interview Thursday. But he did post this video on his Facebook page Thursday afternoon appealing to municipal water users to cut their consumption.
Queens County has had very little rain this fall. According to Environment Canada, the area had only 30.1 millimetres of precipitation in October. So far, only 4.1 mm has fallen in November.
Joudry says the area needs to get at least 50 mm a week to replenish the reservoir to comfortable levels.
In their latest update, the municipality says if the situation worsens, they may have to begin mandatory conservation measures. Failure to follow those could result in fines and having your water cut off.
“Overall we’re not seeing a lot of decreased usage,” he said. “Those that are conserving water, we appreciate it. And those that aren’t, we are asking them to take it seriously and take immediate action … that people actively and consciously and deliberately take steps immediately to use less water than they were last week, than they were the week before that and the week before that. … We don’t want it to be dire.”
Joudry says the region has had worse water levels in the past. The reservoir isn’t yet at the low levels experienced in 1992, 1994 or 2001.
“When we get down to those levels, we’re implementing mandatory water conservation. And if people aren’t adhering to those rules, there could be tickets or disconnections and we don’t’ want to get to that point.”
Joudry said it’s difficult to say how close the region is to enacting more severe measures. But he said if things don’t improve in the next two to three weeks, it may come to that.
“I remain hopeful that usage goes down and rain occurs. Maybe more than one day of hard rain would be great.”
Joudry said he has reached out to the region’s Top 10 largest water consumers to explain the situation and ask them to start conserving water immediately.
“I don’t want to put all the weight or the onus on them. Everyone needs to do their fair share.”
The region did not do a baseline measurement of individual water usage when they first identified the problem about three weeks ago. But Joudry said officials are discussing ways to judge whether specific residents and businesses are using less water.
And he said they don’t plan yet to contact users directly. He said he hopes the municipality’s updates on social media and on radio will get the message across.
“I’m not sure at this point what we can do at this point, other than a door knocking campaign. It may come to that. For example, if we get to mandatory conservation measures, there might be letters that go out and door knocking.”
Joudry said he understands that conservation efforts will be different for everybody, depending on what their needs are.
Some of the things you can do to reduce your water usage include: reduce the frequency of flushing toilets; do fewer loads of dishes and laundry; stop washing vehicles; take shorter showers; turn off taps when not in use while showering or brushing your teeth; and fix any leaks or dripping faucets.
And if you have a suspected leak in your water line, contact the municipality at 902-354-7170.
Julie Babin crochets one of the items that will be up for auction at the LRHS Japanese exchange art auction on Friday night at ADJA Studio and Gallery on Main Street in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
It will be the first foreign exchange trip for Liverpool high school students since before the pandemic.
And they and their parents are holding a fundraiser on Friday night to help get them there.
Ten students from Liverpool Regional High School are planning a cultural exchange next year with kids from a high school in Yokohama, Japan through the Nova Scotia International Student Program.
Julie Babin is one of the parents organizing a silent auction and fundraiser at ADJA Studio and Gallery on Main Street in Liverpool, from 7 to 9 p.m. It will feature local visual art, crafts and baked goods donated by people from the community.
“There will be anything from knit items, photographs, stained glass, paintings, jewelry, all kinds of cool stuff to help these kids get their goal met and get to Japan.”
People will be able to bid on items at the gallery on Friday night. And the auction will continue on Facebook next week.
Babin says the students are working hard to reach their fundraising goal for the two-week trip.
“They’ve been working their little fingers to the bone to try to fundraise for the past six months. They’ve been doing beef jerky fundraisers, we have a fudge fundraiser going on, 50/50 tickets, bottle drives.”
She says the Queen’s Enviro Centre in Brooklyn is accepting donations of bottles for the trip. People just have to tell them it’s for “the Japan trip”.
The group has to raise $5,000, with each student expected to pay another $3,500.
Babin says they’re pretty close to their group goal. But any money raised above $5,000 will help lower the students’ expenses.
“If we can get that, the kids feel pretty good. … It’s exciting for them to see it slowly go up. We have a couple of more things on the horizon but we’re really hoping that this fundraiser gets us to that goal.”
Her 16-year-old son, Desmond Danylewich, is one of the 10 students going on the trip next July.
She said he’s excited to experience Japanese food and culture first-hand.
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime to go and get to just immerse yourself in the culture of Japan. He’s looking so forward to trying real sushi and real tempura. It’s going to be exciting for him.”
Babin said it will also be interesting for students and parents to host 20 Japanese students in Liverpool for 10 days in April.
“So every one of our students will have two Japanese students come stay with them. See what eating Canadian food is like, going to school in a Canadian school. And then they’ll also get to go on excursions.”
Babin says they’ll be accepting art and craft donations for the auction right up until Friday evening.
“If you made it, we will appreciate it.”
And she says most of the kids going on the trip will also be at the fundraiser on Friday.
“7 to 9, come by, see the art, maybe lay a couple of bids, meet the kids. They’re pretty stoked to talk about their hopes for it and they’re really excited for the Japanese kids to come here.”
The LRHS Japanese exchange art auction begins at 7 p.m. on Friday at ADJA Studio and Gallery at 177 Main St. in Liverpool. You can leave donations for the fundraiser at the gallery. And you can also follow the event on Facebook.
Construction has begun on the $8-million outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
Region of Queens councillors want to test the waters on the idea of switching lanes and building an indoor pool after all.
Construction on the $8.08-million heated outdoor pool next to Queens Place Emera Centre has already begun. But councillors said Tuesday they heard from many residents during the recent election campaign who want an indoor facility.
Coun. Courtney Wentzell said many of his constituents prefer an indoor pool, while some were against a new pool altogether.
“So when we’re voting on this and we’re thinking about this, we need to think about our constituents and what we heard in each district,” he told council. “And I will say from my experience and my constituents, they definitely prefer an indoor pool.”
Coun. Jack Fancy said he also heard from many people on both ends of the pool debate. He added that council’s initial pool discussions were always geared toward building an indoor pool.
Council voted in June 2023 to go with the less expensive outdoor option — a heated, 25-metre, six-lane pool. But many residents have long advocated for an indoor pool that can be used year-round.
“As Coun. Wentzell has said, it was a hot topic. Every house asked me,” Fancy said. “I think most people didn’t even realize that we were getting donations or monies from the government.”
Fancy said voters were also concerned about how spending more money on a pool would affect the region’s tax rate.
The region secured $3 million from an anonymous private donor and $2.2 million from the province. The region is picking up the rest of the tab.
Councillors on Tuesday asked the region’s CAO to prepare a report on how feasible it would be to change the current project so that Queens has a year-round pool.
Mayor Scott Christian campaigned in favour of an indoor pool. He said regardless of what councillors find out, it won’t stop the current project.
“This motion wouldn’t in any way impact currently what’s taking place with the preparation of the site,” Christian said.
“It also would not reverse course in terms of no pool at all. That’s not what’s on the table. It’s very much about providing the assembled council with all of the information required to understand what would be required and what the foreseeable impacts would be of entertaining and exploring and shifting the construction project to an indoor pool.”
Coun. Vicki Amirault said it’s important for councillors to understand the conditions under which the region secured funding for the indoor pool and how a change might affect that.
CAO Cody Joudry said he hopes to report back to council at their next meeting on Nov. 25. He said that report may not be made available to the public, if it includes information about contracts or negotiations.
Shelley Walker is Queens County’s senior safety co-ordinator. (Rick Conrad)
UPDATED WED., NOV. 13, 12:27 P.M.
Queens County will be getting a full-time senior safety co-ordinator.
In their first meeting since the Oct. 19 election, Region of Queens councillors voted Tuesday to fund five-day-a-week senior safety services in Queens.
Representatives of Queens Care Society asked council in August to consider making the senior safety co-ordinator a full-time employee of the region.
In their August presentation to council, representatives from the non-profit society said they couldn’t afford to make the job full time. The group receives a $25,000 grant from the Nova Scotia government, as well as $5,000 from the Region of Queens.
Shelley Walker, the current co-ordinator, works three days a week. But advocates say the job should be full time because Walker can help only a fraction of the seniors in need.
The co-ordinator helps promote senior health, safety and independence, working with older residents to help them stay in their own homes.
Councillors voted Tuesday to provide up to $35,000 in funding to Lunenburg County Home Support to make the job full time until Oct. 31, 2025.
Coun. Maddie Charlton said she expects Queens Care Society to return to council before then to seek longer-term funding.
“I think that they would like an opportunity to see just how it fares out,” Charlton told council.
“It’s my understanding that the group is happy with this for now for the year. … I’m happy to support this now. They do need the increased funding to make sure we have that capacity.”
Society chairman Grant Webber told councillors in August that as a part-timer, Walker can help only 7.5 per cent of the 3,300 Queens County residents over 65.
In August, he asked the region to create a full-time senior safety position at a salary of $53,000 plus benefits, travel expenses and office space.
Webber told QCCR on Wednesday that he’s pleased the municipality OKed the funding.
“I think it’s a wonderful decision. We’ve got some things to work out and get an agreement with the municipality,” he said.
“We’re very pleased and we’re hoping that the municipality will take over full funding of the senior safety program, because with the funding from the municipality and the (provincial) grant, we’ll have a senior safety co-ordinator here for five days a week.”
He said other Nova Scotia municipalities have full-time co-ordinators and he hopes Queens will follow suit.
In an October staff report, councillors were told that historically, the co-ordinator focused on senior safety three days a week. For the rest of the week, she worked as a supervisor for Queens Home Support.
Financial difficulties forced Queens Home Support to close earlier this year. Lunenburg County Home Support now looks after those services in Queens.
According to the October staff report, the year-long funding will give the Region of Queens and the Lunenburg group time to assess the service.
On Tuesday, Queens CAO Cody Joudry assured councillors and the public that the co-ordinator will still be based in Queens County.
“There’s never been any discussion whatsoever about the idea that that position would be based in Lunenburg.”
In response to a question from Coun. Stewart Jenkins, Joudry said the region hasn’t yet analyzed how much it would cost to make the co-ordinator a municipal employee.
Region of Queens councillors chose District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton on Tuesday as the region’s deputy mayor. (Rick Conrad photo)
District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton is the new deputy mayor for the Region of Queens.
Councillors voted for Charlton, who was the only nominee, at Tuesday’s meeting, the first since the Oct. 19 municipal election.
Charlton’s term as deputy mayor is for two years. She won’t get a raise, though she will be compensated at the mayor’s rate of pay while she acts as mayor.
Scott Christian presided over his first council meeting as the region’s new mayor. Charlton was re-elected to council, as were Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault. New councillors are Courtney Wentzell, Stewart Jenkins, Wanda Carver and Roberta Roy.
Region of Queens councillors make $20,865 annually, while the mayor makes $41,730.
Scott Christian, mayor of the Region of Queens, is preparing for the newly elected council’s first meeting. (Rick Conrad photo)
Queens County residents can expect more than just new faces around the table as regional council meets Tuesday, for the first time since the October election.
Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian says people will also notice changes in how meetings are run. He says they’ll be a little less formal, and give councillors more opportunity to address residents’ concerns.
“Where we can, making it feel more approachable and trying to generate good, fulsome conversation,” Christian told QCCR in an interview.
“So a little less formal, a little more conversational with the hope of making it more engaging for the public and to really foster good conversation around the table.”
One of the first issues they’ll tackle on Tuesday is the new outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre. In his campaign for mayor, Christian said he wants the pool to be a year-round, indoor facility.
The region broke ground on the new pool on Oct. 4. The $8-million structure is slated to be open by 2026.
Christian says he and the rest of council will discuss the region’s options if councillors eventually decide to upgrade the project.
“We haven’t had an apportuity as a council to debate this and I look forward to hearing what my fellow members of council, what their perspectives are on it,” he said.
“But at this stage, the motion will just be related to having better information. From my perspecitve, that’s the first appropriate step, is to have a complete understanding about if we go down that path what are we getting ourselves into, but also what opportunites are there, what willingness is there on part of the various funders at the table and the construction company who’s been engaged to pursue a shift in scope?”
Before becoming mayor, Christian was a private and public sector consultant. He was elected in a tight race in the Oct. 19 election with former Queens County educator Terry Doucette.
The other new faces on council are Roberta Roy, Courtney Wentzell, Wanda Carver and Stewart Jenkins. They’ll be joining re-elected councillors Maddie Charlton, Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault.
Christian says he’ll be working as mayor full time. And he admits he has a lot to learn.
But he says he and the rest of council have had a good start, thanks to guidance from CAO Cody Joudry and a productive two-day training and orientation session in Halifax last week.
“What I heard loud and clear throughout the campaign was a desire to see our council working effectively together. I think that we’ve already made some really great strides. I’ve had conversations with each and every member of the council and sought to hear them out. … I think we made some really positive strides as a group in terms of coming together while we were in Halifax. … And another thing too is working effectively with other members of the community, with other organizations, and other orders of government, and what I hear is a real comitment across the team to start to do those things.”
Christian says there’s a lot of work to be done. But he also says that with a staffing crunch at the region, he and the rest of council need to be patient.
“We as a council need to be realistic in terms of the capacity of the staff right now to execute on some of the work that is important. The whole team has a real commitment to addressing the priority concerns in the community, but we need to do it in a way that makes sense.”
Ultimately, Christian says he hopes he and the rest of council can get the public more involved and engaged in the region’s business.
“We are accountable to the pepole of Queens and we need to make sure that they are well informed and that they have access to the decisions that we’ve made and the conversations we’ve had in reaching those deicsions.”
The new Region of Queens council meets Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at council chambers on White Point Road. You can see the agenda here.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Dorothy Rice, has received an order from the Governor in Council for a Provincial general election(PGE) to be held in Nova Scotia. The CEO has issued the writs of election for the 55 electoral districts in the province and election day will be Tuesday, November 26, 2024.
Nova Scotians who are 18 years or older, a Canadian citizen, and have lived in the province for 6 months before the election call can vote in the PGE.
“Voters in Nova Scotia can count on Elections Nova Scotia to deliver on our mandate by providing a fair and balance election,” says Dorothy Rice, Chief Electoral Officer of Nova Scotia, “We offer a variety of voting options because we want the electoral process to be accessible so all voters can participate in democracy.”
There are 26 early voting days available in Nova Scotia during the 42nd PGE. Voting will begin on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at the returning offices in all 55 electoral districts.
Before election day, voters in Nova Scotia can cast their ballot early at any voting location in the province, not just in their home electoral district. This allows voters to vote when and where it is convenient for them.
Early voting after the close of candidate nominations on Wednesday, November 6, will be done using Elections Nova Scotia’s new secure e-Ballot system. e-Ballot allows voters to cast their vote on a secure tablet in-person at an early voting location. Early voting before the close of candidate nominations will be done by paper ballot, using the write-in ballot.
Write-in ballot is the remote voting option for voters in the 42nd PGE. Voters can apply to vote by mail using a write-in ballot. A trusted friend of family member can act as an agent to assist a voter with their write-in ballot application. Returning offices call also make arrangements for a write-in ballot to visit voters at their home.
On election day, Tuesday, November 26, 2024, voters must vote at their assigned voting location or the returning office in their electoral district. Elections day voting will be done on traditional paper ballots. Polls will be open on election day from 8 am – 8 pm.
An information postcard will be mailed to every household in the province next week to help voters understand their voting options. Elections Nova Scotia encourages voters to get to know their voting options and make a plan to cast their ballot in the 42nd PGE.
International Filmmaking Competition is open to all in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador & New Brunswick! www.48hourfilm.com/AtlanticCanada. On the 6th of September, 2024 in Mi’kma’ki, Nova Scotia, conducting our activities on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq, which is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship. We are all Treaty People.
From Dream to Screen, to Filmapalooza and Cannes!
157 filmmakers hit the streets in one wild and sleepless weekend, 23-25 August, in PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick, to make 19 short films, totaling 95 films in the last 9 editions of Atlantic Canada 48 Hour Film Project.
All 19 short films will Premiere on 22 September, Sunday,1:30 pm at ASTOR Theatre, Liverpool, Nova Scotia and ONLINE. The BEST film will receive $1,000 prize from Tidekite and will compete internationally at Filmapalooza with a chance for the prestigious Cannes. The Audience will also vote for their favorite film for the Audience Award.
The 19 films and teams Premiering and competing:
Clipped Wings by 6 Lock Productions (Daniel McKenzie) NS
Pictures of a Bird by B Reals (Jack Hunter) PEI
Departing R.E.M. by Cinematic Cookhouse (Evan Cook) NB
Timbit by DD2 Entertainment (Dan Mendoza Kariya) NS
Equal and Opposite Reaction by Dartmouth Productions (Patrick Kidston) NS
Inside Feather Cake by Death Horse (Lee-Anne Milne & Mark Sawatzky) NS
What A Time To Be Alive by G.A.M.E. Productions (Phillip R Gannon) NS
The Journey of a Lifetime by House of Daisies (Joseph Raymond Ciarrocco) NS
The Feather by I Heart Beeno (Romi Robinson) NF&L
Family by Once Upon a Midnight Dreary (Danielle Marie MacQuarrie) NS
Colours of You by PEI P.O.V. Productions (Kirstin Lund) PEI
This Hour has Five Minutes by Principals Productions (Bridget A. Ricketts) NF&L
Dancing on a thread by Riff Raff (Oshean Juneja) NS
Scott, Relax by Shwing Entertainment (Connor Locke) NS
Ticket to Love by Stenvar Creative (David Jakub Moravcik) NS
Going Under by Studio E (Liz Neubauer) NS
Dudes With Guns by The Boys (Ben Ruffett) NS
Redemption by Tromboncino Productions (Daniel Luques) NS
Freehold by Boshat FILMS (Ryan Cyr) NS
Join the filmmakers for the After Party, 4PM at Hell Bay Brewery, Liverpool, NS. Thanks for the collaboration and support: Tidekite, Astor Theatre, FILM PEI, QCCR 99.3 FM Queens County Community Radio and Queens Crown Newspaper, Hell Bay Brewery.
An asbestos abatement crew cleans up the site at 89 Main St. in Liverpool on Wednesday. (Rick Conrad)
An abandoned property in downtown Liverpool destroyed by fire in the spring is finally being cleaned up.
The historic and unoccupied Hendry house at 89 Main St. was leveled in the May 13 blaze.
The Liverpool Fire Department referred it to the RCMP for investigation. The RCMP declared it suspicious and asked the public to come forward with any information.
An RCMP spokesman told QCCR in July that officers have closed the file for now, because there was insufficient evidence to keep the investigation open.
Fire services from around Queens County and RCMP officers responded to the fire at 4:40 a.m. on May 13. Nobody was injured.
On June 11, the Region of Queens declared the property dangerous and unsightly and ordered owner Rosemarie Jacob to clean it up, or the region would do it at her expense. Jacob didn’t appeal the order, so the region began the process to clean up the site.
Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday that initial testing found that there was asbestos in the siding of the house.
The region hired Asbestos Abatement Limited in Dartmouth to do the work. Norman said the company expects to have everything cleaned up by the end of the week.
“They say they’ll be finished by Friday,” Norman said. “The material is being deposited at another facility in Nova Scotia that accepts this material.
“The company indicated that they would have both the asbestos-containing materials removed, other debris on the property removed and the building foundation removed. … It is being done so that’s the important thing.”
Norman said the company has assured municipal officials there is no danger to nearby residents from the asbestos on site.
The cost of the cleanup isn’t known yet. But the mayor said it would be added as a lien to the owner’s taxes this year.
“(It) would be payable in 2025. And if at that time, the taxes are not paid in full, including the lien, then you would go to our policy regarding uncollected taxes. I believe one year of unpaid taxes and then the tax sale process would start.”
The property had been unoccupied for some time before the fire. And the owner had been difficult to reach, but Norman said the municipality was finally able to find her.
Norman said she’s happy to see the cleanup underway. And while she won’t be running for re-election, she said a future council may decide to try to do something with the property once it’s cleaned up.
“I know many people have been wanting that corner widened. There are some people who want it left historically the way it is. But there’s lots of vocies from people who work at Queens General (Hospital), from people trying to get 18-wheelers around that corner, there’s going to be a huge amount of housing development that’s going to require vehicles going that way, but that will be future decisions by a future council. But at this time, our main goal is to have that corner cleaned up so people can be free of the black tarps and the fencing and the things that are there at this point in time.”
Norman added that because the cleanup cost will be applied to the property owner’s taxes, the region likely won’t release the figure because of privacy concerns.
Michelle Thompson, Nova Scotia’s health and wellness minister, is warning of a potential strike by more than 9,000 health-care workers. (Communications Nova Scotia)
Nova Scotia’s health minister is warning the province’s health authorities to prepare for a possible strike by more than 9,000 health-care workers.
Michelle Thompson wrote a letter to the CEOs of the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the IWK Health Centre. She said the province is committed to reaching a settlement.
Thompson said talks have been difficult but are continuing with the help of a conciliator.
“Each negotiated settlement and wage and benefit investment we have made has resulted in higher wages,” she wrote in the letter, released Tuesday by her department.
“Once again significant wage increases are on the table. At the same time, we have to be mindful of the taxpayer and make sure that we only commit to what is affordable to taxpayers, now and into the future.”
The employees are represented by three different unions – the NSGEU, CUPE and Unifor. The unions are negotiating as one body under a council of health-care unions.
Members represent more than 170 occupations in the health-care system – including those working in diagnostic imaging and laboratory, mental health and addictions, cancer therapy, paramedics, and community health.
The unions say many employees are now the lowest paid in Atlantic Canada and are struggling with severe staffing shortages.
Thompson said in the letter that the government is focused on “tough but fair” bargaining. She said they want an agreement without a strike, but that the province’s finances are stretched.
“The reality is that with a staggering provincial deficit, there is just no more to offer. We simply can’t sweeten the offer because the taxpayer is already stretched to their limit.”
In late July, Nova Scotia’s Finance Minister Allan MacMaster reported the province recorded a $143-million surplus on surging revenues. He said Nova Scotia brought in $1 billion more than expected last year.
This round of contract negotiations does not include doctors or nurses.
A house on Wolfe Street in Liverpool was gutted by fire on Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured in the blaze. (Rick Conrad)
Emergency crews were busy in Queens County on Tuesday as a house fire in Liverpool left a family homeless, and a motor vehicle collision snarled traffic in the Brooklyn area.
The Liverpool Fire Department was called to 61 Wolfe St. shortly after 2 p.m. When firefighters arrived on the scene, the house was fully engulfed, according to Liverpool Fire Chief Trevor Munroe.
“We encountered heavy fire conditions on arrival. No one was injured. We did check the homeowner but he seemed fine.”
Munroe said the home’s residents and their pets were outside when firefighters arrived.
Fire crews clean up after a house fire in Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon. (Rick Conrad)
Six fire departments from Liverpool, Port Medway, Mill Village, Greenfield, North Queens and Italy Cross were at the scene.
Munroe didn’t have many more details on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ll do a preliminary investigation and then turn the home back over the homeowner and they’ll bring in their insurance company.”
Also on Tuesday afternoon, traffic was being diverted in Brooklyn after a motor vehicle collision in the Sandy Cove area.
Few other details were available late Tuesday afternoon. RCMP could not be reached for comment.
QCCR will publish more details as they are available.
Crews are working on the $3-million Liverpool Community Sports Field at Liverpool Regional High School. (Rick Conrad)
There may be a little short-term pain this fall for some big long-term gain for Liverpool’s high school soccer teams as they wait for a new multimillion-dollar field and track to be completed.
Crews are working now on building the $3-million-plus Liverpool Community Sports Field at Liverpool Regional High School. It will feature the South Shore’s only all-weather, year-round track and a new artificial turf soccer field.
Kristopher Snarby, president of the Queens County Track Society which is leading the effort, said the field likely won’t be finished until November. And depending on the weather, the new rubberized track probably won’t be ready until early spring.
“They’re working hard, they have a camper on site and the crew’s actually living in the camper and working pretty long days,” Snarby said Tuesday.
“We’re hoping that the field will be done late October, early November and the track itself, it depends on weather in terms of when they can lay the track. So the track will either be done in November as well or it will have to wait till spring when things are little warmer. So things are coming together fairly well. We kind of had a pipe dream that the soccer field would be ready for this fall, but that’s not going to happen unfortunately.”
In the meantime, he said the high school’s boys and girls soccer teams are working with the middle school in Liverpool to use that field for practices. He said they’ll likely have to find another field outside Liverpool for their games.
Despite having to wait a little longer than they’d hoped, Snarby says it’s gratifying to see the project coming together.
“There have been so many people pushing for this for so long, it’s nice to finally see the end result coming together. The contractors that are doing the work are doing a great job there. They’re working really hard to move along as fast as possible.
“It’s just really exciting to know that the community is going to have this facility in a few months. And it’ll be great to see people start to use it. I’ve had inquiries already from other areas who are interested in renting the field to have some higher level soccer taking place there. So that’s really positive. It’s just really exciting for sure.”
The track and field project got a $1.8-million funding commitment from the federal government, $1.2 million from the province and $250,000 from the Region of Queens municipality.
Snarby said his group will be launching a private fundraising campaign in the next couple of weeks to cover other costs, such as a shot put and discus throwing area.
He said doing those separately from the main project is cheaper.
“The costs to do it as a whole project were extremely expensive. So we had to pull them out of the project and we’re still going to get them done, but they’re going to be quite a lot more cost-effective.”
Snarby said that as long as construction continues to go as planned, everything should be ready for use by March or April next year.
Deborah Raddall and Jean Robinson are part of the team organizing this year’s Liverpool International Theatre Festival. (Rick Conrad)
It happens every two years, it’s less than two months away and the organizers of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival want you to be part of it.
The festival is looking for local residents to open their homes and help welcome the almost 90 people coming to Liverpool from 10 different countries for the four-day event.
The volunteer-driven festival is celebrating its 16th edition from Oct. 17 to 20 at the Astor Theatre.
This year, amateur theatre troupes from Morocco, Egypt, the country of Georgia, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, Wales and the U.S. will be putting on one-act plays in an event that celebrates theatre and international friendship. Winds of Change from Liverpool will also be putting on a play at the festival.
“For those that haven’t been to the festival in the past,” says festival chairwoman Jean Robinson, “they are one-act plays and they have to be between 25 minutes long and 50 or 55 minutes long. And so, it’s a great introduction to theatre and different types of theatre.”
Deborah Raddall is in charge of LITF’s marketing and promotions.
“LITF is a celebration of culture and theatre and community. And it’s a chance for us, meaning Liverpool, to experience the world.”
The festival relies on 40 to 60 volunteers from the community to make it happen.
Members of the theatre troupes are billeted at homes around Queens County. This year, organizers are putting an urgent call out for people to open their homes to the actors and crews coming to Liverpool.
LITF asks hosts to provide a bed and some breakfast for festival participants. The festival looks after everything else, including other meals and transportation. Hosts also get two free tickets to the play involving their guests.
Raddall and her husband Blair have hosted troupes in their home for many previous festivals.
“It’s a wonderful experience, my experience has been really great with that. We’ve been hosting almost every year and we’ve made wonderful friendships and connections. It’s quite unique for a theatre festival.”
“All you need to do is have a bed. It’s a bed and breakfast situation. What we ask of our hosts at a minimum is to provide a bed, provide a breakfast for them in the mornings and to pick them up when they arrive, if it’s a reasonable time. … At a minimum interaction, make them welcome in your home, give them something to eat in the mornings and our festival is designed to pick up all the rest of the stuff. … We’re really looking for a welcoming space and a little bit of breakfast.”
Robinson said hosts and guests have made lasting connections.
“Hosts can be as engaged in the festival as they want to be. We know that these have become lifelong friendships and also new experiences. People have gotten to go skating for the first time with their host, even being taken to the ocean to see a beach for the first time, going out on a lobster boat or things like that that have really cemented those relationships.”
Raddall says they’re still looking for space for about 40 troupe members. Troupes and potential hosts fill out questionnaires so that organizers can help make sure the experience is as positive as possible for everybody.
“It’s a process that’s not just we’re just going to chuck somebody on your doorstep without having a conversation about what works best for you and what works best for them.”
If you’re interested in becoming a host for the Liverpool International Theatre Festival, you can contact info@litf.ca , check out their website at litf.ca or message them at their Facebook page.
