District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton asked for a way on Tuesday to boost funding for the South Shore Transition House Association. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Thirty-four community groups in Queens County will be getting almost $150,000 in funding from the municipality, but one councillor worried on Tuesday that one organization wasn’t getting enough.

The Region of Queens approves funding requests each year from non-profit groups for operational, capital or event funding through its community investment fund.

Groups have to meet various criteria to be approved for funding. Eighteen groups applied for funding of more than $1,000. Another 16 applied for help under $1,000. Council must approve all requests over $1,000. Staff alone can assess and approve those requests under $1,000.

The South Shore Transition House Association asked for $5,000 so that the Bridgewater-based Harbour House can help clients in Queens County from a more secure location in Liverpool. 

Stephanie Sereda, the region’s community development co-ordinator, explained the association’s request to councillors.

“They currently have been in the Liverpool area serving clients for two years from a location that is just not secure. They have requested that they can find a safe and secure space, this would cover rent, transportation to and from for their clients.

“This would be for Queens County residents who are experiencing domestic violence to go and receive counselling and support and they’re brought in from all corners of Queens to the Liverpool area to this particular location. … But the space is very public and it’s a very private matter. They’re just hoping to continue to support in a better location.”

But because the organization’s cash assets made up more than half of their operating budget, they were eligible for only $1,250 under the community investment fund. The amount that can be awarded to an organization is reduced if its bank balance or assets are above a certain threshold.

Some other organizations were also not awarded all the funding they requested.

District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton asked if there was any way to make an exception to the policy to ensure the transition house association got its full funding request.

“I want to see this request considered to be supported in the full amount because I think it’s important that women in Queens County have access to a resource like this in Queens County and they don’t have to go elsewhere.”

Charlton wanted to see the motion amended. 

Other councillors, however, said that while they support more funding for the organization, they couldn’t support going against the policy.

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he would support a standalone request, but he wouldn’t support changing the policy in this case.

“This is a very worthwhile cause but we have to have some consistency in how we deal with things. We can’t decide that one area or group is not as deserving as another area or group. I think that’s a slippery slope we go down.

“But if we decide we want to give more to this organization, it’s a very good organization, we have that option at a later time and in my mind, that’s the best way to go today.”

Mayor Darlene Norman said that she couldn’t amend the motion, because it would be a substantive change and it would be out of order. Norman suggested that Charlton make a motion at a future meeting that council fund the remaining $3,750 requested.

“This council does highly support South Shore Transition House and the outreach they provide for the women in Queens but this council wishes to keep in check with the policy that we’ve developed.”

In the end, councillors voted to support the recommendation to give the South Shore Transition House Association $1,250. 

Councillors approved all funding requests recommended by staff, for a total of $147,858.64.

Here are the organizations awarded more than $1,000 in funding through the Region of Queens community investment fund.

Operating investment funds (for eligible operating expenses up to the amount stated)

• CJQC Radio Society (QCCR) – $5,000
• Queens County Museum – $10,000
• South Queens Chamber of Commerce – $5,000
• Queens County Fair Association – $10,000
• North Queens Heritage Society – $1,125
• South Shore Transition House Association – $1,250
• Mersey Point Community Association – $10,000
• The Friends of Carroll Baker Society – $4,847.50
• Coastal Queens Place – $5,000
• Queens County Blades – $5,000
• Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute – $5,900
• Friends of Hank Snow Society – $10,000
• North Queens Board of Trade – $10,000

Capital investment funds

• Seaside Recreation and Community Centre Association – $33,723.64
• Liverpool Baseball Club – $1,025
• Westfield Community Center Society – $23,197.50

Event investment funds

• Native Council of Nova Scotia – $2,300
• Privateer Days Commission – $3,400

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Region of Queens councillors will again discuss traffic safety in downtown Liverpool, at their regular meeting on Tuesday. (Rick Conrad)

Traffic concerns, a heritage property and money for community groups are some of the issues Queens County councillors will be discussing on Tuesday at their regular council meeting.

At their April 23 meeting, councillors wanted more study of traffic safety issues in downtown Liverpool.

They voted to defer a decision on whether to install orange crosswalk flags at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets. Staff did not support that idea. But councillors plan to discuss it again on Tuesday. 

Councillors also plan to consider a motion on Tuesday to spend $1,000 on a traffic study on Main Street, from School Street to Riverside Drive near Fort Point Lighthouse Park. 

This was after a petition from residents in November, urging the region to lower speed limits in the area and to create a four-way stop at the Main and School Street intersection. Residents want the current 50 km/h limit lowered to 40.

At their April 23 meeting, councillors heard from Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works. He said an outside consultant in February studied municipal roads that might meet the provincial criteria for lowering the speed limit to below 50.

That work found that 85 per cent of the traffic on the section of Main Street from School down to the park was already topping out at 42 km/h.

Grant told councillors it would cost $35,000 to hire a traffic consultant to study the feasibility of a four-way stop at Main and School streets.

The municipality also plans to use three mobile speed feedback signs to help with lowering speed in the area.

Mayor Darlene Norman summarized Grant’s report.

“We can let the petitioners know that it is possible to reduce the speed from School east to Main. We are going to continue to do the investigation to reduce speed in that area. … We are doing three speed feedback signs, so that’s speed calming, which we can place in other areas.”

Staff are recommending that council spend the $1,000 to study the section of Main Street from School Street to the park. But they are not recommending crosswalk flags at the three-way stop on Main Street.

Councillors will also vote on Tuesday on requests from 18 non-profit groups for operational, capital or event funding through the region’s community investment fund. 

Another 16 groups applied for funding of less than $1,000 each. Those requests do not require council’s approval. Staff assess those applications. If councillors approve the requests, the region will be giving $147,858.64 to community groups around Queens County.

And the Medway Area Heritage Society is applying for a municipal heritage designation for Seely Hall in Port Medway. 

Built as a general store, warehouse and shipping office in the mid-1800s by the family of privateer Caleb Seely, the building is now used for community events, such as the Medway Head Lighthouse Art and Craft Show every summer.

The region’s heritage advisory committee recommended the property for heritage designation. It said the role of the building as a community hall and general store and the prominence of the Seely family is of great historical significance to the area.

Council meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesday in council chambers on White Point Road. You can also watch the proceedings live on the Region of Queens Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Min Smale is the chairwoman of the Privateer Days organizing committee. This year’s event is scheduled for June 28 and 29 in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

The organizers of this year’s Privateer Days festival in Liverpool are promising a bigger and better celebration even as they cope with less funding and fewer volunteers.

Entering its 39th year, Privateer Days has become the biggest event of the year in Liverpool, drawing thousands to the downtown. 

Min Smale, who chairs the Privateer Days committee, says that because of the funding challenges, organizers decided this year to turn the traditionally three-day event into a two-day affair on June 28 and 29.

“I think this year is actually going to be even better than last year and we’re working with a third of the money,” she said in an interview.

“We’d rather condense the days down and go big than spread it over three and not be able to do as much, so it’s go big or go home. … Just trying to make it still historical, but family oriented and community supported.”

Privateer Days is a mix of the modern and historical, as it marks Liverpool’s history of privateering dating back to 1775. Privateers were private citizens sanctioned by the Crown to attack enemy ships and confiscate their property. The spoils were shared between the conquering crews and the Crown. Privateers were not pirates, and they were highly respected in the community.

Privateer Days features a parade through town, entertainment, craft vendors and food trucks on the waterfront, an historic encampment re-enactment in Fort Point Lighthouse Park, and a traditional colonial wedding.

Privateer Days features historical re-enactments, live entertainment, carnival rides and much more. (Chris LaRocque Photography via Privateer Days)

This year will also have carnival rides for kids and carnival games, inflatable entertainment from Yarmouth Big Bounce Rentals and a street dance on Friday night on Henry Hensey Drive near the waterfront, sponsored by Mersey Seafoods.

This is Smale’s third year on the organizing committee. She says it’s been a struggle since Covid to find people to help with the event. 

And board turnover has also affected their ability to look for funding. But she says the new board members are excited for this year’s event and committed to working on Privateer Days into the future.

“Over these last years, the turnout has increased. We’re looking forward to having the encampment back and doing the colonial wedding again and just trying to see with fresh faces, fresh minds, fresh ideas what new things we can bring to the table to make this year different and stand apart.”

She says that Privateer Days isn’t alone in struggling to find volunteers.

“In talking with other not-for-profit and charitable organization in south Queens, it’s not just Privateer Days that’s having issues with finding volunteers. It’s everybody. You kind of find the same people showing up in multiple boards. And we’re all just trying to do what we can.”

Smale said they’re also trying to engage more local businesses and encourage the thousands who attend Privateer Days to visit more businesses on Liverpool’s Main Street.

“Making sure that we’re adequately supporting those businesses and making sure that once the traffic in the park has died down for the day that we’re diverting them into the community so that we’re working hand in hand in supporting Liverpool thrive.”

The organizing committee is teaming up with Rafflebox and with local businesses for various fundraisers leading up to Privateer Days. Hell Bay Brewing is holding one on Saturday night featuring local musicians. They’ll be holding a 50/50 draw and donating $1 from each beer toward Privateer Days.

Smale says she’s learned a lot over the past three years about how important Privateer Days is to the community.

“In terms of South Shore events, people look forward to the Big Ex, people look forward to Privateer Days. It’s the end of the summer, it’s the end of the school year, it’s that kind of pivotal point of the start of summer in Liverpool.”

For more information or if you’re interested in volunteering with Privateer Days, check out their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Debris from the fish farm near Coffin Island on Beach Meadows Beach in 2021. (Rick Conrad photo)

It’s been a little over a month since Nova Scotia’s aquaculture review board indefinitely adjourned hearings into a fish farm application in Liverpool Bay.

And there’s still no indication if the hearings will ever begin.

Jamie Simpson with Juniper Law represents one of the intervenors in the hearing, a group of lobster fishermen. He said Thursday he hasn’t heard a word.

“The parties haven’t been informed of any updates, any new dates, or any attempts to schedule anything,” Simpson said in an interview.

“It’s just kind of radio silence at the moment. And I guess we’re just kind of sitting tight waiting to see what might happen.”

Kelly Cove Salmon, owned by Cooke Aquaculture, applied in 2019 to expand its salmon farming operation off Coffin Island near Liverpool, and to add two new farms off Brooklyn and Mersey Point. If successful, that would increase Cooke’s operation to 60 pens from 14, and include trout as well as salmon. It could mean up to 1.8 million farmed salmon in the bay, compared to about 400,000 now.

More than 150 residents, businesses and community groups filed written submissions with the board. Five groups were granted intervenor status at the hearings: Protect Liverpool Bay, the Region of Queens, the Brooklyn Marina, 22 Lobster Fishermen of Liverpool Bay, and Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn, which is representing the Acadia First Nation.

The hearings had been scheduled to begin in Liverpool on March 4. At a business luncheon in Liverpool on Feb. 7, Premier Tim Houston said he was personally opposed to the expansion, but that he respects the independence of the review board.

On Feb. 20, groups involved in the hearing got a “high priority” email from the board, telling them those hearings were cancelled. Lawyers were told that April hearing dates were still a go.

Then on March 6, the board posted a notice on its website that “all sessions of the hearing have been adjourned until further notice.”

The board did not give a reason. And it’s still just as tight-lipped today as it was then.

In an email on Thursday, board clerk Stacy Bruce repeated what he told QCCR in March, that there is no new information about the hearing. And he said when new information is available, it will be posted to the website.

Bruce also turned down a request from QCCR to interview board chairman Tim Cranston. He said board members are not available for public comment on their work.

The delays occurred when lawyers involved in the hearing were told in mid-February that then-chairwoman Jean McKenna was no longer on the board. 

They were surprised because McKenna had been involved in preparing for the hearings, even though her one-year term was set to expire anyway on Feb. 15. That is confirmed in a ministerial order signed by then-Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Steve Craig on Feb. 17, 2023.

Part of the ministerial order from Feb. 17, 2023, reappointing Jean McKenna as chairwoman of the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board for one year.

A spokesman for Cooke Aquaculture declined comment Thursday on the delays.

And Kent Smith, Nova Scotia’s fisheries and aquaculture minister, also would not comment Thursday. A spokeswoman said it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment while the matter is still before the board.

Lawyer Jamie Simpson said that regulatory boards generally try to address issues in a timely manner. 

“I would presume that the most affected is Cooke, Kelly Cove Salmon,” Simpson said. “They are the ones that brought the application forward and they are the ones that are interested in getting this moving. In terms of the lobster fishers of Liverpool Bay, they would rather not see the aquaculture site go in of course because of the potential impacts on lobster stocks and impact to fishing in that area.”

Simpson said that his clients will wait and see what happens with the hearings. He said it would be nice to have the issue resolved, but that it’s up to the board to make that happen.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audo version below

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

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool closed on Thursday at 5 a.m. and will reopen on Friday at 8 a.m.

It will close again at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and reopen Monday at 6 p.m.

The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open. Nova Scotia Health advises anyone with urgent medical needs to call 911.

Patients of Queens Family Health can access the same-day clinic through the week for new and emerging health problems at 902-354-3322.

Nova Scotia Health gave no reason for the temporary closure of the Liverpool ER, but in the past officials have blamed staffing shortages.

Velta Vikmanis’s art exhibit, Chaos to Calm, is on now at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

As many others did during the pandemic, Velta Vikmanis and her husband were looking to move from the crush of the city to the calm of the country.

“With the pandemic I think everybody kind of did an inventory and reprioritizing of life,” the Liverpool resident says. “And so we were very fortunate that we came to Nova Scotia. Neither one of us had ever been here or visited. We drove around for two and a half months and came across the South Shore and fell in love with it.”

That examination of where you’ve been and where you end up is a central theme of Vikmanis’s art exhibit, now on at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. 

Chaos to Calm has its official opening with a reception on Friday at 6:30 p.m. It runs for the month of May. 

“Coming from Ontario, from a large metropolitan city of 4.2 million people and constant traffic and people on top of each other to this slower, calmer pace. … The show itself is an opportunity for me to do a kind of retrospective.”

Vikmanis and her husband Peter arrived in Liverpool in November 2021, part of the influx of people who moved to Queens County in the midst and the aftermath of the pandemic.

Before that, they lived in Toronto for 16 years, where Vikmanis worked full time. She pursued her bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture and installation at OCAD University as a part-time student.

“The show is really a reflection of things I did in the past, things that I did in school and an opportunity for me to get back into a daily practice and reflection of my art,” she says.

“I’ve never been what I consider an artist who makes work for a living. I’ve always done it for myself and if it happens to inspire or spark joy in someone else and they appreciate it and want to purchase it, great. That just buys me more art supplies.”

While Liverpool has served as a respite from the bustle of a bigger city, it also allowed her to rediscover her passion for art. After going to school, working full time and living through a pandemic, Vikmanis says she was burnt out after years of what she calls “forced creativity”.

“It was signing up to do this show that actually forced me to do an assessment, an inventory, catalogue, and actually create new works. Because prior to that, I went through a period of no creativity and just putting it on the shelf.”

When artist Velta Vikmanis moved to Liverpool, she was inspired by Queens County’s beaches. (Rick Conrad)

Vikmanis’s show features an eclectic mix of styles, media and topics. From photography in the Azores or on the beaches of Queens County to painting to sculpture, she says it represents 20 years of work.

The centrepiece of the show is Vestige Echo, her thesis project at OCAD. It is a paper-based sculpture that consists of literal pieces and mementoes of Vikmanis’s life, quilted together and hung in the window. A metronome ticks on the windowsill behind it. 

Her parents had been packing up her childhood home in Minneapolis. They started to send her boxes of her old report cards and other keepsakes they collected over the years.

At the beginning of the pandemic, her father died. And that spurred Vikmanis to go through all of the memorabilia from her parents and from her own collection. 

“It was this whole very strange experience of having to mourn and grieve from afar. So that’s when I started gathering and looking through all the things I had collected.”

She tore everything into smaller pieces, ordered them into boxes by the weight of the paper and stitched them together according to how she picked them up out of each box.

It took her 24 weeks to complete the original eight-by-10-foot installation piece. What’s on exhibit at the Astor is a much smaller, but no less compelling, version.

“It was liberating. Certain things, you put them away and you don’t really ever really pull them back out, do you? So the fact that I was deliberate in looking at every single item, reminiscing about it, but the fact that I could have that moment and that time with that person, with that event, with that lived experience but then pass it along. For the Vestige Echo, hopefully (people) find something in it that triggers something in them.”

“It’s fun to experience it with somebody who has no idea who I am and who these people are and someone who’s present to have that shared memory. It triggers something really fun.”

Vikmanis says she loves finding beauty in the mundane. 

“At the end of the day, I’m still drawn to the ordinary. I”m not somebody who’s very gifted in realism. I can’t paint in a realistic manner. I’ve never been interested in that.”

Vikmanis jokes that since she moved to Liverpool, she’s worked almost everywhere. She now works at Main and Mersey on Main Street, and she volunteers with QCCR on its board of directors. She is also the host of two shows on the station. 

She says she’s looking forward to the opening reception on Friday, to hearing what people think of her work and to meeting other artists from Queens County.

“This is my last stop. I’m not going anywhere. Liverpool is my home now. I love all the people here and getting to know everybody. It’s a great opportunity to meet people and engage with the artist community and to meet folks that I haven’t come across yet. For me, it was that, OK I’ve transitioned, I’ve moved, I’m settled in, I’m truly calm now, so now I need to get back into that practice, and this was that kickstart to get back into that practice of thinking about,, OK what am I going to create next?”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version below

The Port Medway Readers Festival has announced its 2024 lineup.

The Port Medway Readers Festival has announced its lineup of guest authors for their 2024 season.

The annual literary event began in 2002 and allows literature lovers to meet writers in an intimate, friendly setting in the village of Port Medway.

Past festivals have featured Margaret Atwood, Tomson Highway, Jane Urquhart and many other renowned and best-selling writers, poets and playwrights.

This year, the festival will welcome Rosemary Sullivan, author of the memoir Where the World Was, on July 20; Michael Crummey, with his new novel The Adversary, on Aug. 17; Holly Hogan with her non-fiction work, Message in a Bottle: Ocean Dispatches from a Seabird Biologist, on Aug. 18, and Alexander MacLeod, reading from his new book of short stories, Animal Person, on Aug. 31.

Tickets go on sale Mon., May 13 at 6 p.m. You can find more information about the Port Medway Readers Festival on their Facebook page or at portmedwayreadersfestival.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Barb Hill-Taylor of East Port L’Hebert was at a community wildfire preparedness day on Tuesday, organized by Parks Canada. (Rick Conrad)

When last spring’s wildfires were consuming thousands of hectares around Barrington in southwestern Nova Scotia, Barb Hill-Taylor was about 90 kilometres away at her home in East Port L’Hebert.

“We have only one exit from our peninsula,” she said Tuesday, “and I was concerned about that and also the closeness of the Barrington fire, you could see the plume.”

The fires didn’t get close enough to threaten Hill-Taylor’s house, but they still left a lasting impression. Even though her house is made of concrete with a metal roof, she was still concerned enough that after it was all over, she and her neighbours asked the province’s wildfire prevention officer to visit their area. The officer gave her and her neighbours tips on how to make their properties more wildfire resilient.

“It was great. I learned a lot. We spent about two hours driving around the peninsulas and she would point out things that were issues for people to look at. It was a really worthwhile exercise. The snag is that people have to act on the recommendations now and cut trees. It’s difficult because you spend a lot of time doing your landscaping.”

Hill-Taylor was one of the local residents at Kejimkujik National Park Seaside in Port Joli on Tuesday for a wildfire community preparedness day.

Organized by Parks Canada, Tuesday’s event also included officials from Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables and the Liverpool Fire Department.

They were there to educate people on how to make their property a little safer from fires. Parks Canada officials also laid out many of the measures they have taken at the park to help mitigate the spread of wildfires, which mirrored the things people can do on their own properties.

The fires that started in the Barrington Lake area last May eventually burned more than 23,000 hectares. So far this year, Nova Scotia crews have responded to 27 wildfires around the province.

Cory Isenor, a forestry resource technician with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, says it’s a lot about common sense.

“It’s looking at the stuff around your home and trying to eliminate anything that could catch fire.”

Isenor advises homeowners to keep grass trimmed and short around your foundations, clean up any brush or leaves from around your home, make sure your decks, patios, gutters and roof are free of leaf and yard waste, and cut back any trees, especially if they’re evergreens, from around your home. He said it’s also important to make sure stacks of firewood are stored as far away from your house as possible.

Officials discussed which building materials are more prone to igniting in case of an outdoor fire. Metal roofing and concrete structures are best. But using non-combustible and fire-rated products can also help.

“The big thing is the distances from the combustible materials around your home,” Isenor said in an interview. “And the biggest thing is what we call the intermediate zone which is touching your house, a couple of metres right around your home, that you may have flower beds or dried wood, fences, anything that could catch and then transfer that over to your home. 

“You want to try to remove any combustible material in that immediate zone: birch bark mulch, firewood piles. Decks are always an area of concern.”

And Isenor said it’s also important, in the event of a wildfire, for people to be ready to shelter in place for 72 hours or to evacuate immediately.

Local resident Nancy Perry said she and her husband already cut back many of the trees on their property after last year’s fires. But she said she came to the event to be better prepared, just in case. 

“I was just interested to find out how we could make some changes at our property to be a little safer if we ever get another fire.”

The wildfire preparedness day was part of FireSmart Canada’s National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, which was observed on Saturday. Parks Canada officials recommended on Tuesday that people check out the FireSmart Canada website for more tips and a self-assessment of how to protect your home.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to an audio version of the story below

The front entrance of the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre, will be closed for the next two weeks. (Rick Conrad)

The front entrance of the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre, on Main Street in Liverpool will be closed for the next two weeks.

The Region of Queens is doing some work on the front facade of the building.

The accessible entrance at the rear of the building will be open.

The work was expected to begin on Monday.

Emergency crews clean up the scene of a two-vehicle collision near Tim Hortons in Liverpool on Friday morning. (Rick Conrad)

Emergency crews responded to two separate collisions in Liverpool on Friday.

The first occurred near the Tim Hortons shortly after 10 a.m. A Subaru Forrester and Hyundai Elantra collided as one was exiting onto Bristol Avenue and the other car was turning at the intersection.

An RCMP spokesman said nobody was injured, but both cars were towed.

The second one happened at about 11:45 a.m. at Henry Hensey Drive and Bristol Avenue. RCMP, EHS and Liverpool fire crews were on scene. Three vehicles were involved in that incident. Nobody was injured, RCMP said.

A spokeswoman said it appeared one car ran into another car, which then bumped another vehicle.

It snarled traffic for about an hour. 

Traffic was snarled around lunch time on Friday on Bristol Avenue after three cars were involved in a collision at Henry Hensey Drive. (Rick Conrad)

Officials are holding a wildfire preparedness event at Keji Seaside in Port Joli on Monday. (Parks Canada)

Parks Canada is holding a community wildfire preparedness session on Tuesday, May 7, at Kejimkujik Seaside Adjunct in Port Joli.

The event goes from 3 to 5 p.m. Officials from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables and the Liverpool Firefighters’ Association will be on hand to give advice on how to make communities more resilient to wildfires.

Parks Canada will also be giving a tour of the recent fire prevention work at Keji Seaside.

It’s part of National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day which is observed on the first Saturday in May. That’s a project of FireSmart Canada, which educates people on how to boost resilience to wildfires. 

Crews in Nova Scotia have already responded to 27 wildfires so far this year. Last May, a blaze that broke out in the Barrington Lake area eventually consumed more than 23,433 hectares.

It’s an outdoor event. It was originally scheduled for Monday. Updates will be posted on the Keji Facebook page.

John Simmonds, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, addresses a members’ meeting on Thursday at the Liverpool theatre. (Rick Conrad)

The board of the Astor Theatre Society on Thursday clarified who can vote and who can be nominated to its board at its upcoming general meeting.

Some members who signed up in the past two months were concerned that the Astor would not allow them to vote. 

About 50 people turned out for the members meeting on Thursday evening at the theatre. Board chairman John Simmonds explained that all members in good standing will be able to vote at its upcoming annual general meeting.

“There’s been controversy over conflicting bylaws and conflicting interpretations and we’ve tried to remain as quiet as we could on those issues. But it was necessary to do a lot of research to make sure we were on good ground in what we were proposing. Every member who is in good standing who is over 18 years of age and a resident of Nova Scotia can vote at the AGM.”

The meeting was held in response to a request from the ad hoc group Queens County Community Theatre Advocates. That group was formed after the resignation of associate artistic director Ashley-Rose Goodwin in March.

The group said it was concerned about recent decisions made by executive director Jerri Southcott and the Astor Board. The group said that as Astor members they wanted  to hold the board accountable.

In an April 25 update to the group’s members, one of the founding members of the group Kevin Colwell wrote that the Astor appeared to be taking a “restrictive” approach to voting at the upcoming AGM. He said that in discussions with the Astor, it appeared they were planning to prevent anyone who became a member after Dec. 31, 2023 from voting.

He called on group members to attend the May 2 members meeting and the May 9 AGM.  

About 50 people were at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool on Thursday evening for a meeting on voting at the upcoming annual general meeting. (Rick Conrad)

The issue over voting arose because of confusion about which set of bylaws was valid.

Simmonds said Thursday that until the board did a “deep dive” into their archives, even they were unsure of the proper voting procedures. So they hired Marjorie Hickey, a lawyer with McInnes Cooper in Halifax, to look into it and give an opinion.

“It outlines in great detail exactly what all the steps were, how the three sets of bylaws compare and contrast, where we stand legally now. And she has confirmed through case law and others that we are in good position now using the 2017 bylaws.”

As a result of that legal advice, the Astor has also changed the date of the May 9 AGM to June 24.

According to its most recent bylaws, the Astor will appoint people to replace three directors who resigned in the past couple of months.

There will be four open spots on the board of directors at the June AGM. Any member can be nominated to sit on the board.

“So hopefully this will set the record straight on where we stand and where we propose going with all of this,” Simmonds said. “It will be a true democratic process at the AGM in terms of nominations. We look forward to having many of you putting your name forward.”

Some members of the Queens County Community Theatre Advocates were at the meeting. But they didn’t want to comment until they could read the lawyer’s report to the Astor.

Simmonds said after the meeting that he believes it addressed many concerns from community members. He said the board believes it’s on solid legal ground.

“We’re very comfortable that we’re in good shape now with our current bylaws. And that allows us to move forward and alleviates a lot of the issues and controversy brought to us by the community,” he said in an interview. 

“It clarified things that we didn’t know ourselves. So it was new to us. So once we digested it all ourselves and came up with a final conclusion verified by the lawyer, … all the rest of what went on in the past is not really relevant now.”

Simmonds said the Astor will announce the new appointed members of the board in the next week. He said it will also send notice about the June 24 annual general meeting to all members and advertise it in local newspapers and online.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed this weekend.

The ER will close on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and reopen Monday at 8 a.m., according to an advisory from Nova Scotia Health.

The emergency department at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open,

Nova Scotia Health advises anyone with urgent medical needs to call 911.

The mental health and addictions crisis line can also be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-888-429-8167.

Low-income Nova Scotians being treated for cancer and dealing with hair loss can get a $300 rebate toward the cost of a wig. (Communications Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotians going through cancer treatment can be reimbursed $300 if they buy a wig to help deal with hair loss.

To be eligible, people must be a Nova Scotia resident with a valid health card, have a gross family income of $35,000 a year or less, be enrolled in the drug assistance for cancer patients program and have no private insurance that covers the cost of a wig.

“A cancer diagnosis is scary enough,” Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said in a news release Thursday.

““We want to give people some help to buy a wig if they choose and hopefully let them focus more of their energy on getting well.”

People can apply here: https://novascotia.ca/dhw/pharmacare/cancer-assistance.asp

The government estimates about 360 patients could be eligible for the one-time rebate, which will cost about $110,000.

The province also provides a rebate for mastectomy breast prostheses and two programs that support low-income cancer patients – the boarding, transportation and ostomy programs, and the drug assistance for cancer patients.

Howe of the Astor Theatre, the Liverpool Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre. Photo Ed Halverson

UPDATED 8:33 p.m.

The Astor Theatre is holding an information session on Thursday in advance of its annual general meeting on May 9. 

Thursday’s meeting is for members of the Astor Theatre Society. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Astor.

It’s in response to a request from the ad hoc community group Queens County Community Theatre Advocates, according to Astor board chairman John Simmonds.

“The meeting was requested by a group of community members which we’ve agreed to, and the purpose of the meeting is to clarify voting procedures and entitlements, and nomination procedures for new directors at the AGM.”

The group was formed after Ashley-Rose Goodwin resigned as the theatre’s associate artistic director in mid-March.

The group said it was concerned about recent decisions made by executive director Jerri Southcott and the Astor Board. It said it was worried how those decisions affected the Astor’s legacy as a community-based theatre. As Astor members, it said it was trying to hold the board accountable.

Simmonds said Wednesday he couldn’t say much more about the meeting on Thursday.

“It’s an information meeting basically. There’s no motions. There’s nothing that’s going to take place other than questions and answers.”

The meeting was originally scheduled for Queens Place Emera Centre, but Simmonds said late Wednesday they were able to juggle the schedule at the Astor and have the meeting at the theatre.

The Astor put out a call in April for nominations to its board. Simmonds said the Astor has a slate of possible candidates for vacant board positions. He said that will also be discussed at Thursday’s meeting.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Cathie Pincombe and Ray Leger of the Medway Head Lighthouse Society. The group is looking for volunteers to help preserve the iconic light near the end of Long Cove Road in Port Medway. (Rick Conrad)

A local community group is hoping to recruit more people to help preserve a historic lighthouse in what some refer to as the Peggys Cove of Queens County.

The Medway Head Lighthouse Society took possession of the lighthouse in 2014. 

Near the end of the picturesque Long Cove Road in Port Medway, the current light has been standing since 1983. But there has been a lighthouse of some kind at the site since 1851, when I.K. Perry was the inaugural keeper.

Cathie Pincombe is secretary of the Medway Head Lighthouse Society and is an organizer of the Medway Head Lighthouse Art and Craft Show. Both are run entirely by volunteers. She says they need more to make sure this piece of Nova Scotia’s heritage survives.

“We are a dedicated hard-working group of people that want to save our iconic Medway Head Lighthouse just like all the other iconic lighthouses in this province. And if not for societies like ours, we would not have lighthouses in this province.”

Like all Nova Scotia lighthouses, the Medway Head Lighthouse was automated in 1983. But it still opens in the summer to tourists, who can learn about the vital part these structures and their hardy, brave keepers and their families played in seaside communities like Port Medway.

The society maintains the lighthouse, doing necessary repairs and upkeep.

Some of the art from last year’s Medway Head Lighthouse Art and Craft Show in Port Medway. (Medway Head Lighthouse Society Facebook page)

To do that, they hold a major fundraiser every summer in the village of Port Medway. The society will hold its 11th annual art and craft Show in August.  

“We are the largest art show on the South Shore. And it’s a pretty impressive show. We have anywhere between 70 and 80 artists that are part of the show every year.”

To run the lighthouse and the art show, however, Pincombe says they need more volunteers. The lighthouse is open three days a week from late June to early September. And the art show goes from Aug. 17 to 25. 

The show alone requires eight volunteers daily for nine days. And the lighthouse needs enough volunteers to cover 36 shifts through the summer.

Sales at the art show are vital to pay for lighthouse repairs and maintenance. Last September’s Hurricane Lee blew much of the siding from one side of the structure.

“It still is going to require some specialized equipment and we’re hopeful we can get it done in the $10,000 range. So it’s not inexpensive to maintain a lighthouse.”

Pincombe says it’s getting more difficult to find volunteers, even as it becomes more important to replenish their ranks.

The society hopes to hire a student for the summer to help with tours and administration. And she says they’re also on the lookout for a treasurer.

“I think it’s getting tougher because even though there are a lot of people moving into the area, and we try to get to know our new community members and hope that they will get involved, it doesn’t seem to be quite as easy to get volunteers as it has been. And we’ve expanded the locations (of the art show) and the number of days. So we’re giving ourselves a bigger number of shifts to cover. So it’s not as easy.

“We volunteers are getting older, so we need younger people to get involved.”

Pincombe says the lighthouse and the art show draw people from across Canada and around the world. Her partner Ray Leger looks after the building and its volunteers and leads many of the tours at the lighthouse in the summer.

“I think we had something like 800 visitors to the lighthouse last year. And Ray … tracks where everybody comes from. And it’s a wide range of people from all over the place. And you’d be amazed how many local people like to come out to the lighthouse.

“So it’s a great cause. The art show is a fun thing to volunteer with, because it’s busy. You meet lots of people. And the lighthouse is a fabulous place to volunteer because you meet people from all over the world with stories and why they came here. It’s really an exciting thing to do.”

If you’re interested in volunteering with the Medway Head Lighthouse Society or the art show, check out their Facebook page, or email them at medwayheadlight@gmail.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to an audio version of this story below

The Region of Queens approved its 2024/25 budgets on Monday. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens council approved a balanced budget on Monday with no tax rate increases and almost $30 million in spending.

At a special meeting, councillors also approved a $21.5-million capital budget, which includes the start of big projects like the water and sewer extension to the Mount Pleasant area and the new outdoor community pool at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Spending is up about $4 million from last year, to $29,848,303. The region’s water utility reported a $442,122 deficit.

Mayor Darlene Norman said in an interview that it was important to councillors not to increase the tax rate.

“We live in a great county and the budget reflects the fact that we are moving ahead,” she said.

“Many things in the budget remain the same. We’ve increased funding for fire departments for their truck purchases. The cost of those trucks is astronomical and we know how as volunteers how hard they work.

“It’s a good budget, it recognizes some requests from all parts of our county.”

Council committed an extra $126,772 in 2024/25 to help the county’s five fire departments with the rising costs of replacing fire trucks.

It also raised the household income threshold for the low-income tax exemption by $5,000. Property owners with a total income of $35,000 or less can qualify for up to $400 off their tax bill. The tiered structure gives the highest break for the lowest income.

“We understand that people financially struggle,” Norman said, “which is why … we increased the amount of money that people can make in order to claim a reduction on their taxes, … which is very generous, I believe, for a municipality of our size.”

The region reported a $644,000 surplus from last year, largely from rising property assessments, higher deed transfer tax revenue and unintended savings from unfilled staff positions. 

The region’s capital plan is packed.

CAO Cody Joudry said in an interview that it addresses a lot of concerns around the municipality.

“In terms of capital budget, it’s expansion of water, wastewater, there’s a lot of safety improvements and upgrades and a lot of investment in infrastructure and community assets, so I think that’s pretty significant.”

A little more than $7.8 million of the $21.5-million capital budget for 24/25 is provincial funding. Almost $2.5 million is from federal sources. About $3.8 million is from long-term borrowing, while $3.53 million is from a combination of municipal reserves and municipal surplus.

In addition to the new pool and the water and sewer extension, some other capital projects include:

• more work at Beach Meadows Beach to expand the parking lot, install sheltered picnic areas and improve environmental protections;
• much-needed repairs and upgrades at the Old Burial Ground in Liverpool;
• continued work on the Liverpool Business Development Centre to install a new heating, ventilation and cooling system;
• renovations to make the business development centre, otherwise known as the call centre space, ready for the temporary home of the Thomas H. Raddall Library;
• the early design work to install accessible washrooms at the inclusive play park and splash pad near Queens Place.

“There are things on there that are very important,” Norman said. “Of course, they will not all get done (this year), but by putting them on here, it shows that these are priorities and start them, do the best that you can do with them.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

The Milton Centennial Pool suffered severe damage in last July’s torrential rains and floods. (Rick Conrad)

The Milton Centennial Pool will remain closed this summer.

“It is very, very unfortunate, but the Milton pool will not be opening this year,” Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said Monday.

The pool suffered significant damage in last July’s torrential rains and floods. Councillors heard Monday that it would cost from $100,000 to $150,000 to fix the pool.

The rains and flooding last summer damaged the pool liner. Even though the region ordered a new liner immediately, it arrived only in late December. So staff winterized the structure as best they could, according to Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works.

This spring, the region’s staff discovered the base of the pool had been damaged even further.

Grant said it would take about 12 weeks to do the work, with the “best-case scenario” of having the pool open by August.

Mayor Darlene Norman said the North Queens Aquatic Centre in Caledonia will be open.

“Unfortunately, for this summer we will be unable to provide seasonal swimming lessons at Milton pool,” Norman said in an interview.

“We did make the decision and we made it now so that we don’t have people’s hopes up.”

The region is going ahead with hiring lifeguards for the pool in Caledonia. CAO Cody Joudry said the pool staff hired will be employed for the whole summer. 

Councillors decided to keep the $40,000 budgeted for Milton pool operations in this year’s budget. They suggested that money could go toward extending the hours at the pool in Caledonia, covering mileage for lifeguards who have to travel to Caledonia or working out a deal with Queens County Transit to provide transportation for pool users in south Queens to north Queens.

They asked staff to report back with recommendations on what to do this summer and next year, until the new outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre can be built.

Last Friday, Queens MLA Kim Masland announced $2.2 million in provincial funding toward the $7.2-million pool. The region has already committed $2 million, with another $3 million coming from a private anonymous donor.

Norman said last week that the region hopes to start construction in spring 2025, with an opening in 2026.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, with Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman on Friday at Queens Place Emera Centre after Masland announced more than $2.7 million in funding for Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

A new outdoor pool and a state-of-the-art track and soccer field for Queens County got a lot closer to reality on Friday as Queens MLA Kim Masland announced more than $2.7 million in funding for the region.

Masland, who is also the province’s public works minister, told a crowd at Queens Place Emera Centre that the province will give $2.2 million toward the $7.2-million community pool to be located next to Queens Place.

She also pledged an extra $500,000 for a new all-weather artificial turf soccer field and rubberized track at Liverpool Regional High School. Masland announced $700,000 last fall for the facility. That was before the design was changed to make it an all-weather facility, which would be the first of its kind on the South Shore. That brings the provincial contribution for that project to $1.2 million.

Masland made the funding announcements on behalf of Allan MacMaster, minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage.

“These announcements are all about physical activity, making sure that we have opportunities for people living here and for people who are interested in moving to be part of what we have going on here in Queens. Great investment to keep our youth engaged,” she told reporters afterward.

“People that are moving to our communities, we have new doctors moving here, they have young families. They want to have facilities where their children and where they themselves … can be active. Health care is what we were elected on, and every decision that we make, health care plays a role in.”

Masland also announced the Liverpool Curling Club will get $47,030 for upgrades to its kitchen facilities.

The pool will be a six-lane, 25-metre, zero-entry structure, with a therapy hot tub.

The Region of Queens is contributing $2 million toward the pool, while an anonymous private donor has committed about $3 million.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said that tenders for work on the pool will be issued soon. And the hope is that construction will begin in spring of 2025, with an anticipated opening in 2026.

“The next call will be the issuing of tenders. All the pre-designs are completed.”

Deborah Herman-Spartinelli is a member of the region’s pool committee and the Queens Community Aquatic Society. She said the provincial funding was “wonderful” news.

“We still need to fundraise for certain aspects. There’s all these things like starter blocks, equipment and the therapy pool and other things that are needed.”

Kristopher Snarby is president of the Queens County Track Society. He said that with Friday’s provincial funding, in addition to $1.8 million from the federal government and $250,000 from the municipality, his group has about $100,000 in fundraising left to do.

“We’re still hopeful that we might be able to get it done by late fall,” Snarby said in an interview.

“From a soccer perspective, it’s great. It allows us to have a longer season. You can play into the winter if you want to, as long as there’s no snow. From a track perspective, the rubberized surface will be fully accessible, a level walking area for seniors, for people with disabilities, and that also can be used year-round as well.”

This is the Houston government’s second significant funding announcement for Queens County in the past two weeks. On April 15, Masland announced $10.7 million for upgraded water and sewer infrastructure that would also be extended to the Mount Pleasant area of Liverpool.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Nova Scotia Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland with Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman at a funding announcement at the region’s offices on April 15. (Rick Conrad)

Queens MLA Kim Masland will be at Queens Place Emera Centre on Friday at 1 p.m. to announce money for community recreation infrastructure.

Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, is making the announcement on behalf of Allan MacMaster, the minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage.

No other details were provided in a news release on Thursday afternoon. Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman will also be at the event.

This will be the second significant funding announcement for Queens County in the past two weeks.

Last Monday, Masland announced $10.7 million in funding for water and sewer upgrades for the region. The municipality is pitching in $10.8 million. The $21.5-million project will extend water and wastewater services to the Mount Pleasant area of Liverpool. That money will also help improve existing water and sewer services to more than 1,200 homes and businesses in the area, and help enhance the amount of water available for firefighting efforts.

That project paved the way for two new private housing developments on more than 60 acres of land. About 325 new housing units will be built for up to 1,200 people.

QCCR will be at the announcement on Friday.

Region of Queens councillors plan to ask RCMP to step up enforcement efforts at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County councillors grappled with traffic safety in downtown Liverpool at their meeting on Tuesday evening.

The intersection at Main and Market streets has been the scene of some close calls between motorists and pedestrians. And in January, a 79-year-old woman was hit in the crosswalk and taken to hospital in Bridgewater. A driver was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.

The incident reignited concern in the community about that intersection and others in town. Councillors heard from their constituents that they needed to address safety in that area.

Some residents want the municipality to install pedestrian-controlled crosswalk lights.

At their Jan. 23 meeting, councillors asked staff to review previous reports and studies about that intersection and come back with recommendations. They also asked staff to investigate adding fluorescent orange flags at that intersection for pedestrians to use while they cross.

On Tuesday evening, some councillors were in favour of trying the flags, while others were opposed. It would cost $1,050 to put the flags at each of the three corners of the intersection. The idea has been used in the Halifax region at many crosswalks, but not at those controlled by stop signs. 

Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said he spoke with the community group in Halifax behind those flags. 

The citizens’ group Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia began putting the orange flags at intersections in 2008 after a teenager was killed in a Dartmouth crosswalk. According to the group’s website, it got approval from the province in 2011 to allow crosswalk flags on provincial roads. They are now found in Hubbards, Hantsport, Aylesford, Berwick, New Ross, Bridgewater, Chester and Windsor.

Grant said the reception to them in the Halifax region is mixed. And he told councillors there is no evidence that installing the flags at Main and Market would improve pedestrian safety.

“I don’t feel comfortable consenting to the installation, quite frankly, as the traffic authority.

“Any time we introduce anything to a situation which doesn’t have a clear and direct guideline with substantiated evidence determined by professionals, we’re introducing liability. For me to suggest putting these in place will improve safety when I don’t know they will would be contradictory to my intent.”

Councillors decided to defer the flag discussion to a later date.

Grant said that pedestrian-controlled lights at the intersection could interrupt traffic flow and create more problems. He said it’s unusual to install the lights at a three-way stop.

A 2015 study by Insight Traffic Engineering did not recommend installing lights at the intersection. Instead, it suggested changing some signage, remove any trees or greenery obstructing visibility and moving the stop sign and crosswalk from the western approach on Main Street.

The study found that existing traffic control wasn’t an issue, though it did recommend council at the time ask Queens District RCMP to step up enforcement.

Grant told councillors Tuesday that conditions at the intersection haven’t changed since that 2015 report, and that there was no increase in the rate of collisions over the past 10 years, according to the RCMP.

Mayor Darlene Norman suggested leaving the issue for the next council to tackle after municipal elections in October.

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he’d like the region’s police advisory board to discuss increased enforcement with the RCMP at their next meeting, likely in late May.

“It sounds more like a compliance issue,” Brown said.

“Once you make an example of a few peole and word gets out that there are potential fines for jaywalking or entering the intersection illegally when you’re driving, word will get around and pepole will take the extra time and look at what they’re doing.” 

Norman said she believes that’s a good idea, and that police need to keep up the enforcement efforts for many days, and at all times of the day.

“And fines. Not warnings, but fines for rolling stops, for all of those things, because it might be the pedestrian once in a while who darts out, but it’s often the vehicle driver.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Region of Queens councillors Jack Fancy, David Brown and Vicki Amirault in a file photo. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens plans to increase the income threshold for people eligible for the low-income property tax exemption.

As part of budget discussions on Tuesday, District 6 Coun. David Brown asked council to consider increasing the income brackets for those eligible for the tax break.

“We know there’s been a lot of inflation this year and the consumer price index went up 3.4 per cent,” Brown said.

“We end up with bracket creep. I know some people are getting small raises in their pensions, small raises in the EI rate, and minimum wage that could price them out of that benefit. So we could be clawing back what little benefit they gained out of inflation.”

Property owners with a household income of $20,000 a year or less are eligible for a maximum $400 tax exemption. Those who make between $20,000 and $25,000 get up to $350, and those making between $25,000 and $30,000 get as much as a $300 break.

The revised income amounts would add $5,000 to each of those brackets. So the lowest income bracket would now be up to $25,000, and then $25,001 to $30,000 and $30,001 to $35,000. The tax exemption amounts would not change.

Brown originally wanted council to increase the income brackets by the same rate as inflation. That would have added about $680 to the lowest income group and about $1,000 to the highest.

But District 3 Coun. Maddie Charlton said council should increase the top bracket by $5,000. She said the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg recently changed its low-income tax exemption to give people a 14 per cent boost in savings on their property taxes.

“I think upping that to the $35,000 is more than reasonable and helps those who need it the most,” Charlton said.

Council decided to increase each income category by $5,000.

“We’re talking about the lowest (paid) and the poorest in our society who need the most help from us,” Brown said. “And it’s a small amount of money to be able to help those who need it the most. I think it’s something we should do.”

The region originally set aside $125,000 for the low-income tax exemption in their 2024/25 budget. CAO Cody Joudry said staff would add another $10,000 for it in the budget. 

The increase will be funded from the municipality’s accumulated surplus special operating reserve fund, which sits at just over $10 million.

Council is holding a special meeting on Monday at 9 a.m. at the region’s offices to vote on the final budget.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Jerri Southcott with a small-scale model of the set for Seussical, the first production from the Astor Theatre’s Astor Academy. (Rick Conrad)

The Astor Theatre in Liverpool is launching a new theatre education program for youth with a production set to open in June.

The Astor Academy is designed to give youth aged 8 to 18 access to high-quality performing arts training. Its first production is Seussical, a musical comedy based on the works of Dr. Seuss.

Jerri Southcott is the Astor’s executive director. She said the Astor Academy was the “brainchild” of former interim executive director Jean Robinson-Dexter and some members of the Astor board.

The idea is to give kids and youth some training in the arts at little or no cost.

“The draw really is access to arts education, a creative and safe space to work with theatre professionals, musical theatre, and summer camps, dance and vocals and music at no cost,” Southcott said in an interview Tuesday.

“Too often, families are left in a position where they can’t afford to have private music lessons or private dance classes. We are trying to make it as a accessible as possible to allow everyone in rural Nova Scotia no matter what their economic situation is to this great opportunity.”

Preparation for Seussical is well underway, with up to 18 young cast members from Queens County and other areas of the South Shore. It’s being helmed by a production team of adults experienced in community and professional theatre. 

Southcott’s brother Shane is the director, Malcolm Freeman is the assistant director, Kim Umphrey is vocal director, Kristopher Snarby and Michelle Riley are vocal coaches, Kerenza Verburg is choreographer and Cynthia Walker is stage manager.

It will open on June 20 and run until June 23, with two evening shows and two matinees.

“It’s about friendship, it’s about relationships, it’s about community and about treating people with love and respect.”

Southcott says they’re still looking for anybody who might be interested in joining the show. The cast is basically set, but they’re looking to fill some spots in the production crew, including costumes and set building.

“I have experienced and seen the benefits of what this kind of involvement in productions and the camaraderies and teamwork and everything can have on a person. Too often, it’s not just economics, it’s feeling excluded, feeling isolated, not feeling popular enough, not knowing the talent they have inside and creating an environment where they feel welcome and they feel accepted. … We have people who have never been on stage, and we’ve seen some hidden talents.”

Southcott says the Astor will soon announce summer theatre camps offered through the Astor Academy. She said there will be a small fee to help pay the instructors. The Astor has scholarships available for those camps.

The productions through the academy are mostly free with a $20 fee for registration and show T-shirt, though that fee can be waived.

“I do think it’s important for the Astor to offer this opportunity for youth in the area,” Southcott says. “I would love to see more kids come out. We are wide open to anybody who would like to come and see what it’s all about.”

Malcolm Freeman is the assistant director of Seussical and Easton Goodwin plays Cat in the Hat in the musical. It opens at the Astor Theatre on June 20. (Rick Conrad)

Easton Goodwin is playing Cat in the Hat in Seussical. He is a Grade 11 student at Liverpool Regional Regional High School. He’s been involved in other productions at the Astor, including the recent musical Follies, as well as Into the Woods and Peter Pan Jr., all directed by former associate artistic director Ashley-Rose Goodwin.

“Seussical is such a fun musical and it’s so entertaining, especially for younger ones too. I’ve always wanted to play a crazy fun character that moves around a lot. I just love musical theatre so much.”

Malcolm Freeman of Liverpool is the assistant director of Seussical. He has appeared in numerous Astor productions, including Follies. This is his first time behind the scenes.

“It’s fun being on this side of things and getting to learn the ropes on that (side of) the spectrum. I wanted to get involved with this because I’ve never worked with youth and I’ve never actually been a part of making the decisions and bringing a stage production to life. It broadens your horizon on your own skills and your own acting and singing abilities.

“It’s coming together so well. We have a fantastic cast, the kids and the youth are great and we really couldn’t have asked for a better group of people.”

Tickets for Seussical are on sale now through Ticketpro.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Region of Queens councillors are getting closer to finalizing their 2024/25 budget. (Pixabay)

The Region of Queens is getting closer to finalizing its budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year.

Councillors will go over the draft operating, capital and water utility budgets at their meeting Tuesday evening at 6. It will give councillors a chance to make any other changes before voting on the final package.

They’re proposing to have a special council meeting next Monday at 9 a.m. for that final vote.

Councillors are coming off a 2023/24 budget that ended up with an estimated $650,000 surplus. 

So far, the region is proposing a balanced budget for 24/25, with no increases to the base tax rate. 

Councillors and staff have worked over the past month to avoid any tax rate increases, even as they added expenditures, such as an extra $126,772 to help the region’s fire departments pay for rising costs to replace trucks.

Also on Tuesday, councillors are set to discuss crosswalk safety at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets in Liverpool, as well as speed limit reductions in certain parts of Liverpool.

The meeting is in council chambers on White Point Road, and it will also be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.