It’s business as usual at schools across Nova Scotia as the province and the union representing school support workers have come to a tentative agreement.
The deal still needs to be ratified by the 5,400 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
The tentative agreement was announced early Wednesday morning.
The union was poised to strike at 12:01 Friday.
CUPE represents a wide range of school support workers across Nova Scotia including bus drivers, cleaners, maintenance and tradespeople, Early Childhood Educators, Educational Program Assistants and Teaching Assistants, and food services staff.
The union was fighting for increased wages.
A petition circulated by CUPE indicates most members earn below Nova Scotia’s median wage of $35,000 per year an amount which has fallen significantly behind inflation.
Neither union executives or government officials are willing to comment on the details until union membership has had a chance to review and vote on the tentative agreement.
Union officials did say they will work to get the information to members and arrange a vote as quickly as possible.
Students may be getting an extra-long weekend if the province and the union representing school support workers can’t come to an agreement on a new contract.
Approximately 5,400 members of CUPE, the Canadian Union of Public Employees will be in a legal strike position effective 12:01 Friday morning.
CUPE represents a wide range of school support workers across Nova Scotia including bus drivers, cleaners, maintenance and tradespeople, Early Childhood Educators, Educational Program Assistants and Teaching Assistants, and food services staff.
The sticking point in negotiations appears to be wages.
In a petition circulated by CUPE in November the union states the “majority of members earn below Nova Scotia’s median wage of $35,000 per year. Our wages have fallen significantly behind inflation. More than half of our members have had to take other jobs to make ends meet, and the vast majority find that wage increases since 2015 have not met our financial needs.”
Because the union represents so many people across the province the impact of a strike will be felt differently depending on the region.
CUPE Local 4682 represents workers on the South Shore.
The South Shore Regional Centre for Education sent a notification explaining the impacts a strike will have on schools:
Grades Pre-Primary – 6 students will continue to attend classes at their school.
Learning for most Grades 7 – 12 students will shift to online except for students who regularly attend class in the learning center who can continue to do so.
Bussing will not be available for any students, unless previous arrangements are in place for the child to be bussed privately.
Schools will not be available for before or after school use, except for any existing childcare programs.
Extracurricular activities that require the use of the interior of the school or school buses are suspended. However, class trips or other activities that do not involve interior school use or buses, as well as sports on fields and school grounds, may continue.
In the statement released April 14, the Regional Centre goes on to say, “We all hope that we can reach an agreement to avoid a labour disruption. However, we must continue to develop plans to ensure that student learning can continue, if a strike occurs.”
Property map of proposed triplex development. Photo Region of Queens agenda
Most of the units in a proposed Beach Meadows triplex will be reserved for long-term renters.
The developers, Albert and Paula Doucet asked Region of Queens to issue a development agreement permitting all three planned units, to be used for short-term rentals.
The proponents wanted the property zoning changed from Hamlet Residential (HR) to Hamlet Core (HC) to allow the rentals.
During a public hearing held ahead of the last Region of Queens council meeting, residents spoke overwhelmingly in favour of maintaining the current planning rules which limits the number of short-term rentals to one.
Mayor Darlene Norman says the residents who spoke were passionate about keeping their community residential.
“And they see the possibility of three short-term rental units as the demise or negative to their residential way of life in that community.”
After a discussion, a majority of council agreed that the area is residential and should remain so.
They voted to maintain the status quo and allow one short-term and two long-term rentals on the property.
Nova Scotia Legislature. Photo courtesy Communications Nova Scotia
A busy legislative session at Province House hasn’t slowed the announcements coming from the Nova Scotia government.
Wednesday started with an announcement of a new tax credit to help offset the cost of fertility care and surrogacy.
From 2022 onward, Nova Scotians can claim 40 percent of the care and treatment costs up to a maximum amount of $20,000 for applicant families.
Following shortly after the announcement came news that applications are now open for the More Opportunity for Skilled Trades (MOST) provincial income tax refund.
The program refunds the provincial income tax paid on the first $50,000 of income earned by workers in eligible skilled trades and film and video occupations.
Eligible workers must be under 30 in the tax year and be employed and registered as an apprentice or certified journeyperson in an eligible trade, film or video industry occupation to qualify.
Both credits will be applied after applicants have filed their 2022 taxes and can provide their notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency.
The afternoon started with an announcement from the province that mental health and addictions phone line will be open weekday holidays beginning Good Friday, April 7.
That line is open most weekdays from 8:30am until 4:30pm.
For non-urgent mental health supports the number to call is 1-855-922-1122.
Finally, the province announced $10 million in funding to supply schools across Nova Scotia with more Chromebooks, iPads and laptop computers.
South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield. image from Google Maps
After a tumultuous year the situation at the South Shore Regional Airport has returned to normal.
Both the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association and the South Shore Flying Club have secured 20-year leases with the municipality to continue their activities at the site.
The two groups had co-existed as tenants for years until the Region of Queens offered to sell the airport to the drag racers for $50,000 late last year.
Following a public meeting in December, the Region scuttled the idea of selling the property, opting to keep it under municipal control.
The racers signed a lease effective March 1 to pay the Region $1,500 + HST per race each year.
For an additional $1,500 + HST per year, the racers also have use of the small hangar.
Beginning April 1, the South Shore Flying Club will lease the airport and have use of the large hangar from the municipality for the sum of $4,000 annually.
With six races on the schedule this year, the drag racers will pay $9,000 to the region, considerably more than the flying club.
Mayor Darlene Norman says the two groups are paying different amounts based on a couple of factors.
The first is the drag racers have a greater ability to pay as they charge admission to their events.
The second is that the flying club are taking on the role of managing the airport for the municipality, saving the Region from hiring someone for that position.
“Council made it very clear, that they see the service the South Shore Flying Club provide[s],” said Norman.
After rectifying what she describes as a “messy” situation at the airport, Mayor Norman is pleased to see the two groups move forward.
“Things have been resolved, both associations have 20-year leases and I just wish the best to all of them.”
A program providing mental health resources by phone is receiving a boost from the J & W Murphy Foundation.
ICAN, a telephone consultation program run by the Strongest Families Institute is being funded to the tune of $230,000.
ICAN is an eight-week program that provides weekly telephone calls with a coach to help support people through their depression and anxiety.
The money will provide free access to mental health counselling for close to 200 people over the next two years.
President and CEO of the Strongest Families Institute Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie says after three years of living under the spectre of a pandemic people need a place to talk about their experiences, especially those aged 18-25.
“And what we’re seeing is anxiety and depression are really impairing people, especially our emerging adults and those communities who may be underserved,” said Pottie. “They’re not gaining timely access to really evidence-based services, effective services that can help equip them with these types of skills to really conquer these problems.”
The ICAN program offers strategies to help deal with depression and anxiety.
Pottie offered an example of a simple tip to help manage those issues.
“Mental health and well-being is such an important part of our general health and it’s so important take time for yourself. So, I’m always about Dr. Trish tips; make sure you schedule self-care for yourself every single day even if it’s only 10 minutes, take 10 for yourself,” said Pottie.
Anyone interested in participating in the ICAN program can self-refer by calling 1-866-470-7111 or through the Strongest Families Institute website.
Region of Queens Council has rejected a developer’s request to allow short term rentals in all three units they are building in Beach Meadows.
A public hearing on the matter kicked off Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.
The developer will have to stick to the current zoning to permit long term housing which allows only one short term rental on the site.
The council portion of the meeting began with the approval to update the Emergency Management bylaw.
After the development agreement was rejected, council voted to consolidate municipal insurance under one provider.
Much like a multi-line discount for having a car, home and life insurance policy, the Region will save approximately $60,000 by combining all coverage under one provider, AON Reed Stenhouse Inc.
AON requires a significant increase in deductible for fire department trucks, raising the current amount from $5,000 to $25,000 per incident.
The Region agreed to pick up any deductible costs above the $5,000 limit as it is rare for the fire departments to make a claim for the trucks and the move is considered low risk.
Council then approved a tiered system for providing low-income property tax relief.
Anyone with an annual household income up to $20,000 will receive $400 in relief, from $20,000 up to $25,000 will get $350 and between $25,000 and $30,000 will enjoy $300 in property tax relief.
Commercial operators will pay almost $18 more per tonne in residual waste tipping fees going forward.
Council approved a hike to $29.90 per tonne in closure costs effective April 1.
All is back to normal at the South Shore Regional Airport as the municipality has come to terms on a 20-year lease with the South Shore Flying Club.
The club will pay $4,000 plus HST to the Region each year and will be able to continue its activities in exchange for maintaining the site.
The municipality announced earlier this month it had come to terms on a 20-year lease with the South Shore Drag Racers Association.
The two groups will continue to share the airport as they have for years.
During the discussion portion of the meeting council talked about construction of the proposed outdoor pool at Queens Place.
Council put forward the idea that once the scope of the pool is known, that project and the proposed build of the new library alongside Queens Place should be combined and operated by the same project management team.
The next Region of Queens council meeting will be held Tuesday, April 11 in council chambers beginning at 9:00am.
A unique opportunity to get comfortable with death is coming to the South Shore.
The End of Life Expo being held in Bridgewater this weekend will feature exhibitors and seminars on a range of subjects from dealing with grief to estate planning and green burials.
The Expo is being presented by the South Shore Hospice Palliative Care Society.
Chair of the Education Committee for the Society, Shelley Mann says planning for end of life is one of the most important things people can do for themselves and their loved ones.
“If you make some plans for end of life or at least if your family or people close to know what your values and your beliefs are. That helps make decisions and it helps the person whether they’ve been faced with a diagnosis or not,” said Mann.
“But it helps them know that you know my family knows what I want and it also, if someone does have a terminal diagnosis and they’ve died, it helps their family too, move forward with their grief and knowing that they did what that person wanted, the person that they loved.”
The End of Life Expo was originally planned for 2020 but like so many other things was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of the Hospice Palliative Care Society’s mission is to educate, and the Society has organized three talks throughout the afternoon.
The first answers what is palliative care, the second talks about anticipatory grief and the third explains death doulas.
While the three organized talks are waitlisted, the expo offers much more to learn from a multitude of exhibitors.
Mann hopes offering the opportunity to learn more about the process leading up to and following end of life will help people become more comfortable talking about something we all eventually face.
“It’s the thing that affects absolutely every single one of us whether it’s someone close to us or we face it ourselves so yeah we encourage everyone.”
The End of Life Expo runs from 1:00pm to 5:00pm Saturday April 1 at the Bridgewater Baptist Church on Glen Allen Drive.
New mixing console ready to be installed. Photo Brian Godfrey
The Region of Queens is providing almost $2,800 in grant money to this station through the Community Investment Fund.
QCCR manager Brian Godfrey says the money will be used to upgrade equipment in the main broadcast studio.
The main mixing console and amplifiers have been in Studio A since the station was launched over 16 years ago.
Godfrey says the equipment still works but as with any technology, it breaks down over time and reliability has become a concern.
“Studio A was always our biggest headache because there’s about, literally, thousands of feet of wire going everywhere in there,” said Godfrey. “We don’t know where it goes so, we had to hire on a couple of broadcast engineers.
The grant will cover half the cost of the new equipment with the rest of the funding coming as a personal loan from several members of the station’s board of directors.
QCCR recently signed a 10-year lease extension at our location on the corner of Market and Main streets in Liverpool.
Upgrading the equipment is part of a larger renovation which will include new flooring, furniture and a fresh coat of paint.
Godfrey says QCCR is a place for residents of Liverpool to hear local voices talking about local issues.
The station is not just a resource for local news, events, and programming but also a destination to hear discussions about Liverpool’s past, present and future.
Godfrey says QCCR is important as it gives community members a voice.
“One thing about the community radio station it’s open to anyone out there that maybe thought, oh, I could be a DJ, I’ve got a voice, but I never thought I could be on the radio,” said Godfrey. “Well, here’s your chance. We’re always looking for volunteers.”
Godfrey says the station will be asking for more funding from the Region in the next budget season to help with the installation costs of the new equipment
If all goes to plan, he expects the renovations and studio equipment will be in place by the end of May.
Anyone interested in volunteering with QCCR can do so by e-mailing Brian Godfrey at: cjqcradio@gmail.com
Barry Barnet, executive director of ATVNS and Minister Kim Masland. Photo Communications Nova Scotia
Off road vehicles have found a home on the province’s highways following the introduction of the new Road Trails Act in the legislature Friday.
The new legislation will provide riders with improved trail connections and better access to services like gas stations and restaurants.
The act follows on the work of a pilot project that has been in place in seven communities across Nova Scotia since 2018.
Public Works Minister and MLA for Queens Kim Masland says the pilot demonstrated that roads can be safely shared by all.
“Five years, think about that. Most pilot projects are not for five years,” said Masland. “So, the data that was collected during that time, the stakeholder outreach, the relationships that were built, I don’t foresee any tremendous issues.”
Under the introduced act, riders travelling the highways are required to have a valid driver’s licence, insurance, registration, and a licence plate.
It will be up to each municipality to determine through their bylaws, on which roads they wish to allow off-highway vehicles.
Masland says she would like to see this effort extend across the province so people can enjoy the natural beauty Nova Scotia has to offer.
Residents of Liverpool who rely on the Cowie well for water will have to look elsewhere for now.
During weekly testing, the Region of Queens discovered the presence of coliform bacteria and has temporarily closed the well.
Regulations from Nova Scotia Environment say the water must pass three consecutive tests before the well can be reopened.
According to Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman, the soonest the water could be available may be late next week as there must be three days between each test and the testing facility is closed over the weekend.
The municipality suggests anyone concerned about water they have recently taken from the well to dispose of it.
Norman says the municipality has provided bottled water in the past when dry conditions have impacted resident’s wells but won’t be doing so for this temporary well closure as there is plenty of water to go around.
“I would suggest that they reach out to a neighbour or a friend who has good clean water,” said Norman.
The Region of Queens will notify residents once the testing is complete and the Cowie Well is once again cleared for use.
Residents in the Brooklyn area will have their say on how much more they will pay in area rate on top of their annual property taxes.
The Region of Queens describes area rates as special tax rates over and above the normal tax rates which are applied specifically to one or more assessment districts only. Property owners in other districts do not have to pay this charge.
Brooklyn Recreation Committee has requested that Municipal Council levy a 4 cent per $100 of assessment area rate in the Brooklyn area across Assessment Districts 5 and 6 for the upcoming fiscal year. That would provide the recreation committee with the $32,000 they’re looking to raise to cover some of their costs.
Brooklyn Cemetery Committee is asking the Region to levy a 1.5 cent per $100 of assessment area rate in the same area for repairs and maintenance of the grounds of the First Brooklyn Cemetery, Seaside Cemetery and Brooklyn Community Cemetery.
Residents will cast ballots on the area rates in a non-binding vote which will be considered by Region of Queens council when they are preparing the 2023/2024 budget.
A Public Area Rate Meeting will be held on Monday, March 27, 2023, at Liverpool Fire Hall from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
Residents can vast their vote on the proposed area rates Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Brooklyn Community Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Region of Queens Council is reviewing the budget in March and will set tax rates, including area rates for the upcoming year in April.
A lighter than usual agenda was dominated by the proposed new library during the Region of Queens last council meeting.
As previously reported here, council voted to rescind their approval to build a new library at a site in Queens Crossing.
They’ve asked for studies to determine the cost to instead build either directly beside or attached to Queens Place Emera Centre.
The March 14 meeting began with a presentation from Queens Care Building Society updating their progress on the new long-term care home to be built at Queens Crossing.
The group is currently awaiting design approval before they can formally buy the land from Region of Queens.
Next council gave second reading to a Tax Exemption bylaw to support some non-profit organizations by allowing them to forgo paying their municipal property taxes.
Council passed the motion to give up $241,000 in revenue for the Region of Queens.
They also approved the naming of a new road off Shore Road in Western Head as Serenity Now Lane.
Council then rescinded library approval before awarding a community grant of $2,800 to this station, QCCR to update some broadcasting equipment.
Approval was granted to conduct an HVAC investigation at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre.
Council agreed to provide $10,975 to DUMAC Energy to complete a comprehensive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning assessment to determine the needs and find solutions to the heating and cooling systems in the building which houses the Astor Theatre.
During the discussion portion of the meeting council talked about creating a tiered support system for low-income property tax relief.
Anyone with an annual household income up to $20,000 will receive $400 in relief, from there up to $25,000 will get $350 and between $25,000 and $30,000 will enjoy $300 in property tax relief.
Council will vote on that proposal in an upcoming meeting.
Added discussion items included how to reduce the amount the Region’s fire services are paying for insurance.
Council decided they will go with a lower cost insurance provider and pay the higher deductible for any of the five departments as there have been very few claims.
The next council meeting will be held Tuesday March 28 in council chambers beginning at 6:00pm.
The proposed site for the new library at Queens Place lies at the end of the driveway beside the sledding hill. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens Council has cancelled the construction of a new library near Queens Place.
In a recorded 5-3 vote, Councillors Amirault, Charlton, Fancy, Gidney and Muise voted not to build the library at that location, while Mayor Norman and Councillors Brown and Hawkes voted to go ahead.
In August 2022 council agreed to sell the land at Queens Crossing (the name of the site containing Queens Place, the Best Western Hotel, the skatepark, the planned long-term care home and the proposed library site) to the Queens Care Society for $2 per square foot.
The 479,000 square feet of land would bring in roughly $960,000, which is about what public works staff estimate it would cost to build a road, sidewalks and water infrastructure out to the end of the cul-de-sac to accommodate the library and long-term care home.
Historically, council has reinvested any proceeds from the sale of land on that site back into infrastructure at Queens Crossing.
Charlton says she supports the construction of a new long-term care home, but council was never asked if they wanted to spend that money and since it isn’t a policy, this council is not bound by the decisions of previous councils.
“We did not discuss a road extension when we agreed to sell the land,” said Charlton. “We were selling the land because it was already serviced for water and sewer to the point where it was required.”
Mayor Darlene Norman says if the municipality doesn’t cover the cost of extending these services it will need to come from the Queens Care Society’s construction budget.
“The whole idea that we would not show our support for this amazing facility is beyond comprehensible to me,” said Norman.
Councillor Vicki Amirault chairs the library site selection committee and voted against the committee’s recommendation.
The committee was tasked by council with finding the best location to build a new library.
Councillor Amirault was contacted to provide a comment for this story but did not reply before publication.
Council is now looking at options to move the library closer to the Queens Place Emera Centre.
They have requested costed studies for two different library concepts.
One will determine the price of a stand-alone library beside Queens Place; the other would examine building an extension on the Centre.
CAO Chris McNeill told council he was warned by the project manager an extension would be more costly.
McNeill says any extension on Queens Place would have to look at the existing capacity of the building to handle additional demands on electricity, heating and water supply among other issues.
McNeill also informed council the two studies could cost in the range of $200,000.
In the meantime, council is aware of the precarious situation the Thomas H Raddall Library finds itself.
In addition to infrastructure issues the building is currently up for sale.
Council is suggesting the library find alternative locations where they could relocate temporarily until a new permanent location can be built.
Cleaning up after flooding at LRHS. Photo Bradley Judge, South Shore Regional Centre of Education
A teacher is being credited with preventing extensive damage to Liverpool Regional High School when they discovered flooding over March Break.
Around 6:30 Saturday night the teacher returned to school and noticed water on the floor.
They notified the custodian who traced the leak to a defective filter under the sink in the second-floor cooking lab.
Water had soaked the floor and flowed through the first-floor ceiling.
The custodian contacted the operations department at South Shore regional centre for education and it wasn’t long before custodians and staff from several other schools across Liverpool arrived to help clean up.
Within three hours the custodians had dried all the water and a restoration contractor was brought in to assess the extent of the damage.
In addition to many ceiling tiles coming down, ceilings in the change rooms and in the wood shop had to be taken down and will be replaced.
Flooding damaged tech ed shop and locker rooms at LRHS. Photo Bradley Judge South Shore Regional Centre of Education
Coordinator of Operations Bradley Judge says that work is underway and will continue into next week.
But any students or staff hoping for an extended break will be disappointed.
“No worries at all about reopening. It’ll be reopened safely after March Break. We still may have a few areas left to touch up. But talking to the admin people at the school we can work around it,” said Judge. “For example, if the tech ed shop isn’t 100 percent good to go they can use another area. So very slight inconvenience, luckily.”
Judge expects the school should be back to normal within a couple of weeks thanks to the quick actions of everyone involved.
“It’s very lucky. There was a lot of water and if that teacher hadn’t have walked in it would’ve been far worse than what it was,” said Judge. “And if our staff wouldn’t have cleaned it up as quickly and as efficiently as they did we would’ve been facing something different.”
Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson
The Region of Queens top employee has quit.
Chief Administrative Officer Chris McNeill has resigned to take up the same post in Annapolis County.
McNeill has been the CAO for Queens since January 9, 2019.
Mayor Darlene Norman says she held off making the news public until council and staff were informed of his departure.
Norman says council will now need to determine what their next steps will be.
She says there are senior staff members who can step into an acting CAO role on an interim basis, but they will need to begin the search for a permanent replacement.
“In today’s market, CAOs do not come a dime a dozen. I’d like to be optimistic and think that there’s someone who would love to live here in the Region of Queens,” said Norman.
The emotion was apparent as Mayor Norman talked about her respect for McNeill and the work he has done in his time in Queens.
“I have always supported CAO McNeill. I believe his heart is in the betterment of the community,” said Norman. “He’s a wise, intelligent person and when I learned of this, I said I didn’t know whether to cry or to wish him well, so I wished him well.”
McNeill will end his tenure with the Region of Queens in early May.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman with Queens MLA and Public Works Minister Kim Masland. Photo courtesy Communications Nova Scotia
The Region of Queens received $2.6 million in joint funding for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades.
Member of Parliament for Halifax West Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Public Works Kim Masland, and Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman, were on hand at Queens Place Monday to announce the contributions from all three levels of government.
The federal government is investing $1,046,800, the province is kicking in another $872,333 and the Region of Queens is contributing the remaining $697,867.
The money will be used to upgrade and replace water, sanitary, and storm sewer lines.
Part of the funding will go to decommissioning the existing combined sewer outfall in the Waterloo East sewershed boundary and ending the generational practice of pumping wastewater into the bay.
A new wastewater pumping station, forcemain, and a storm sewer outfall will also be included in the project.
The stormwater system is being designed to withstand 100-year storm water levels.
Minister Masland says improvements in these systems will go a long way to supporting development and bringing new residents to Queens.
While those are important issues, she says her larger concern is for cleaning up the harbour.
“The big thing for me with this project is it’s very important that we have a healthy liveable harbour,” said Masland. “And this funding today will certainly make sure that we can replace and upgrade that inadequate infrastructure, and definitely outdated infrastructure that has been there for way too long.”
Mayor Darlene Norman says the Region of Queens has been steadily working on replacing that outdated infrastructure since amalgamation in 1996.
She says the application for this project was submitted in 2021 and the Region is ready to begin when weather permits.
“We’ve been waiting to do it. It was just a matter of $2.6 million is a lot of money,” said Norman.
The project is shovel-ready and will take place in two phases over this year and next.
Norman says the municipality recognizes residents of Waterloo Street will be inconvenienced over the next two years and the Region will keep them informed every step of the way.
The mayor says there are still many areas of Queens County with issues around water and wastewater that need to be addressed.
“First, we have to correct the outfalls and keep our Liverpool Bay healthy. I mean outfalls and oceans is just, I mean major outfalls are just so wrong,” said Norman. “And then we look forward to parts of our county which are in peril if they have unhealthy drinking water so, this is one part of a very big puzzle that needs to be put together.”
The proposed site for the new library at Queens Place lies at the end of the driveway beside the sledding hill. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens Council will revisit the decision to build the new public library at Queens Place.
Several councillors have expressed they didn’t have a full picture of the costs involved in locating the new library at Queens Place when they voted in January.
At issue is an estimated $950,000 cost to extend the road, sidewalks, and underground water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate the new build.
At the last council meeting CAO Chris McNeill explained that while it is not policy, it has been councils’ practice to reinvest the proceeds from the land sales at Queens Place back into the site.
Queens sold a large plot for the construction of the new long-term care facility replacing Queens Manor and Hillsview Manor.
The new road would reach the library as well as the new long-term care home.
Because it wasn’t infrastructure work dedicated to the library build, it wasn’t included when the costs were tallied to locate the library on the site.
Councillor Maddie Charlton says the $950,000 puts the site preparation costs at Queens Place far higher than any of the other seven sites that were being considered.
She says the Region has many priorities and it should be up to council to decide if they want to allocate $950,000 for Queens Place or if it could be used on another project.
That led to this exchange at the last meeting between Councillor Charlton and Mayor Darlene Norman.
“It sounds to me like the library committee was under the assumption that this was a signed deal, that infrastructure was happening,” said Charlton, “and we didn’t have an opportunity to discuss that’s how we want to spend that money.”
Norman replied, “There is a way to change your mind about when new information comes forward and it is called resending emotion.”
Mayor Norman is concerned if council can’t agree to build a new library at Queens Place it may never be built.
“There may even be a discussion at some point in time, we may even get back to why do we need a new library and all other things. I mean, I really don’t know why council cannot just agree that Queens Place is a great place to put a library which we are committed to do, you know,” said Norman. “Library services are part of our responsibility and it’s a library for Queens County. It’s not a Liverpool library, it’s a library for Queens County. And if we have $1,000,000 from the sale of land and we want to put that into roads, sidewalk that may assist the Manor, well isn’t that a great thing?”
Council will vote if they want to rescind the motion to build the library at Queens Place during their next meeting March 14.
Photo courtesy Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association. Credit: David Corkum
A checkered flag will once again fall at the South Shore Regional Airport.
The South Shore Drag Racers Association has secured a 20-year lease with the Region of Queens to operate the Greenfield Dragway on the site.
The contract puts an end to months of uncertainty for the racers.
The Region of Queens owns the airport and thought they had a deal with a developer to buy the land last year.
When that fell through, the drag racers and the South Shore Flying Club both attempted to buy the airport.
The two groups have shared the facility for years and council decided at their Dec 13, 2022, meeting to retain ownership of the airport and renew leases with both organizations.
South Shore Drag Racers Association vice-president Jack Johnson says the group is excited to move forward and focus on racing.
“We’re happy to have it finally come to an end. We’re happy to have a long-term deal and now we can look forward to carrying on our normal business into the 2023 season which actually is the 20th season for the NSCRA,” said Johnson. “So we’re pretty happy about that.”
Johnson says the drag racers provide a huge boost to the local economy every weekend as members travel from across the province and as far away as northern New Brunswick to compete.
“I would say 80% of our business is done locally in town and as far as race weekends go, I’m not sure anybody can even put a number on what we bring into the community. I know the two stores in Greenfield, they both bring in extra staff on race weekends,” said Johnson. “So, I mean, the fuel, the snacks a handful of the travelers that don’t have mobile homes they stay in hotels locally, they eat at the local restaurants, again, they’re buying their gas and fuel sometimes right here in Liverpool, so it has a big effect on the economy in a very positive way.”
In addition to the economic spinoffs Johnson says the association has become knitted into the fabric of the community.
They participate in the annual Memorial Car Show, donate to Christmas Daddies each year, provide opportunities for youth to be involved in the sport and receive the support of local volunteers to put on their events.
The Region has yet to announce a new lease at the airport for the South Shore Flying Club but whenever that happens Johnson says they’re looking forward to sharing the site again with the flyers.
“Hopefully that relationship can continue on both of our parts. I know we intend to do everything we can to continue to work within the same as what we did in the past that was our intentions through the whole thing,” said Johnson.
The South Shore Drag Racers Association has announced a six-event season at the Dragway will begin the weekend of May 26th.
Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens Council will once again vote whether to build the new public library at Queens Place.
After receiving more information on the costs to run a road and services to the new location Councillor Maddie Charlton presented a notice of motion for council to vote on the suitability of Queens Place for the new facility at the next council meeting. There will be more to come on this story later in the week.
While the new library provided the most heated discussion there was still plenty to discuss at the Feb 28 meeting.
Staff continued reviewing and updating existing bylaws and presented council with a modernized Emergency Management Bylaw.
Council then filled vacancies on the Heritage and Planning Advisory Committees.
Next staff recommended council approve a development agreement for the construction of a three unit fixed-roof overnight accommodation on Beach Meadows Road.
A public hearing will be held March 28 in council chambers for residents to provide input on the proposal.
The next item was a proposal shift the various insurance policies held by the Region to a single provider.
The move could save the municipality $65,000 each year.
Eight items in the discussion portion of the session began with a request to name a private road, “Serenity Now Lane”.
From there council talked about the Region’s area rate policy and requests for area rates from Brooklyn Cemetery Association and Brooklyn Recreation Association.
An area rate is a tax collected for a specific community purpose which is collected by the municipality through the property tax bill and paid to the administrating group.
The two Brooklyn Associations were concerned they couldn’t meet the level of accounting standards deemed necessary by the municipality.
Mayor Darlene Norman says if the Region is going to collect money on behalf of an organization, there needs to be the upmost transparency.
“It’s very important that when groups come to us requesting us to collect taxpayer’s money on their behalf that there be a third party independent look at their books.”
Norman says the groups will meet with the Director of Corporate Services and their councillor before presenting their yearly budgets and the reasons the area rate is required in a public meeting.
Council followed that with the library discussion which resulted in the motion to rescind the approval of Queens Place as the new library site.
A question about installing new sidewalks in Cobbs Ridge was shut down when Public Works staff said if the sidewalk was to be built, the underlying infrastructure should be updated first, which would increase the cost of construction exponentially.
Council then punted a discussion of whether council meetings should be live streamed to the communications committee.
The committee is looking into ways to improve sound and video for people wanting to follow council proceedings from home.
The last discussion point was to have an engineering firm perform a comprehensive study of the heating and ventilation system at the Astor Theatre.
Staff are recommending the study be included in the 2023/24 budget and work should begin as soon as possible.
Finally, the municipality announced it has entered into a lease agreement at the regional airport with the South Shore Drag Racers Association.
Discussions are continuing with the South Shore Flying Club.
Region of Queens Council will meet next in council chambers beginning at 9:00am on March 14.
Howe of the Astor Theatre, the Liverpool Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre. Photo Ed Halverson
The executive director at the Astor Theatre is taking her final bow.
Jean Robinson-Dexter announced she will be stepping away from the position at the end of March.
She has been in the part-time executive director position at the Astor Theatre for almost three years while continuing to run her own consulting firm.
Robinson-Dexter says that busy schedule combined with health concerns caused her to think about how she wants to spend her time.
“As a number of people would know is that I have been on a journey with breast cancer for over a year now and that treatment is still underway,” said Robinson-Dexter. “I think I just took a pause a few days ago to think about where I am you know, the treatment seems to be going well but at my age I needed to think about out one, my health for myself and my family and what I wanted to be doing over the next few years.”
Robinson-Dexter will no longer run the day-to-day operations of the theatre, but still wants to be involved.
She was originally drawn to the Astor as a producer for shows like “The Full Monty”, “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the Winds of Change production of “Les Misérables” and would like to return in that capacity, helping to bring new shows to life.
But before show starts planning her next production Robinson-Dexter will be tying-off loose ends over the next couple of weeks.
“There are a few deliverables and pieces of work that I want to have completed and the board would like me to complete before I step back and of course, as I say, I’ll be around and happy to support and provide information for whoever comes next,” said Robinson-Dexter.
She speaks fondly of her time as executive director and looks forward to being involved with the theatre in a new capacity.
“The Astor is a pretty special place in our community, and I think I’ve been pretty privileged to have the opportunity to be part of the Astor family for as many years as I have and so my role is hopefully just changing.”
A new program launched by South Shore public libraries will help residents in remote areas connect to high-speed Internet.
The library has partnered with @NS Community Technology to provide mobile Wi-Fi hotspots on the Bell Mobility cellular network.
The devices can be signed out for a period of four weeks and provide unlimited data.
Acting Chief Librarian Jeff Mercer says this is one more way the library is there to serve the needs of the community.
“Well, we’re not unique in Nova Scotia where a lot of our area are places where people just don’t have reliable Internet if they have Internet at all,” said Mercer. “We heard that and in advance of any sort of infrastructure being built we said OK this is a way we can help people out, at least in the short term, and we can make it free through the library.”
The library has 12 WiFi hotspots to loan out.
Mercer says the demand for the hotspots is already quite high.
“It’s pretty popular, so if you had a request today, I don’t think you’d get it definitely in a month but hopefully not too much longer than that,” said Mercer.
Anyone wishing to sign out a hot spot must have a South Shore Public Libraries card and be over 18 years of age.
Mercer says most of the units are held at the main branch in Bridgewater however a request can be placed at any branch, including the mobile library, and they ‘ll be moved to that location for pick up.
Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson
Tension between councillors at the last Region of Queens council meeting seems to have come from a simple accounting misunderstanding.
Many councillors were upset when it was revealed the cost to build the new library at Queens Place didn’t include $950,000 for the driveway, and other necessary infrastructure.
Several other sites were under consideration, but Queens Place was selected when it was determined each of the other locations would require up to $600,000 to prepare the sites for construction.
Councillor Maddie Charlton represents District 3, which includes the current home of the Thomas H Raddall Library in Liverpool.
She was one of the councillors who initially voted against building the new library at Queens Place.
She was convinced to change her vote when the library committee reported to council that each of the eight sites being considered would need hundreds of thousands of dollars of work to accommodate the new build.
Charlton was also worried that if the project was delayed any longer Queens could be without library services as the Rossignol Centre which currently houses the library is up for sale.
“That is a concern and that was also a part of why in back in January of this year I changed my mind and supported the location at Queens place because the library building is up for sale. It’s very old, it has its issues,” said Charlton. “And I’m a big supporter of the library so this this is difficult for me because I want to make sure residents have a library but also at the same time, we need to make sure that you’re representing your taxpayers the best way as well.”
Charlton and other members of council argued the Queens Place site was being misrepresented as the least expensive location when it now appears to cost almost twice as much as some of the other options.
Mayor Darlene Norman says after that meeting, she asked Region of Queens staff to explain why the numbers seem so out of whack.
The mayor says all the sites were evaluated on several factors such as flood-risk mitigation, demolition, and clean-up of any contamination.
She says the difference has to do with the land the municipality is selling to province for the new long-term care facility on the Queens Place site.
“It has been the historic action of council,” said Norman. “There’s not a policy but it has always been when land is sold in the Queens Place area Queens Place Crossing the money is used to invest in future infrastructure on that land.”
Norman says because of that, the cost of providing infrastructure and extending the driveway to the proposed library on the Queens Place site weren’t factored in.
The funding for the new library is coming from a $3 million surplus in the 2022-23 municipal budget.
Council will once again discuss if the library should be built on Queens Place land or moved to another location at their next regular meeting scheduled for this coming Tuesday, Feb 28.
Future site of Queens long-term care facility. Photo Ed Halverson
The executive director of Queens Manor says while people may not see shovels in the ground there’s lots of work going on behind the scenes in preparation to build the new long-term care home in Queens.
Andrew MacVicar says the design team of architects and engineers are meeting regularly with staff and frontline workers to ensure the new facility feels like home to the people living there.
The new home will have 112 bed capacity divided into groupings of 12 to 16 residents called resident neighborhoods.
MacVicar says placing residents together in smaller numbers allow them to get to know each other just as they do in any other neighbourhood.
He says whenever a new design idea is brought forward it is measured against a very simple standard.
“It’s a resident centred philosophy so everything we do in our design meetings, the questions we’re asking are: how does this benefit our residents, how does this create a homelike environment and then again, the very next question is how does it benefit our staff and how does it allow our staff to be the best they can be?” said MacVicar. “Because if the staff aren’t at their best that is a direct impact on resident care.”
The team behind the development have traveled to three other long term care homes across Nova Scotia which already have some of the design elements they’re considering in place.
MacVicar says some of the design elements they plan to incorporate from these conversations include an open kitchen so residents and staff can connect with each other as you would at home.
Staff also suggested allowing more sunlight into the building so the home doesn’t feel closed off.
MacVicar says one of the most important suggestions was to place the new facility in the heart of the community which is how the decision was made to build at Queens Place.
“Isolating seniors is not a good idea. And you want your seniors to look out their window and see the community that they lived in that they still live in,” said MacVicar. “They want to see people that they know going to hockey games and they want to see parents with their kids at the skate park and they want to see, believe it or not, they want to see the trucks on the 103. They want to see cars, they want to see movement, they want to see action.”
Queens’ new long-term care home is scheduled to open in early 2026.
MacVicar understands there is a lot of anticipation from the community around the new building and the planning team is keen to give everyone a look once the design plans are finalized.
“We’re excited to share. We’re really excited about this project; we’re really excited about the design. We can’t wait to open it; we want to share it with the community.”
MacVicar hopes people will begin to see some activity on the site later this year.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson (middle) addresses residents of Queens Feb 17, 2023. Photo Ed Halverson
People from across Queens gathered at the Best Western in Liverpool Friday to share their concerns about the health care system and hear what the province is doing to fix it.
Minister of Health and Wellness Michelle Thompson and representatives from across the health authority spent just over an hour answering questions from the public.
People wanted to know what’s being done to recruit more primary caregivers, how to reduce wait times, and if there are enough paramedics to answer their call in an emergency.
Minister Thompson says she welcomes the opportunity to speak directly to Nova Scotians about steps government is taking to tackle the healthcare crisis.
“Sometimes it’s hard for us to get our message out,” said Thompson. “It’s hard to get all of this information out past media cycle, we often live in soundbites and so to sit in community and hear directly and speak directly for two hours, I think is really meaningful for people.”
The minister went into detail about plans to recruit doctors from abroad and entice retired physicians back to practice.
Residents pose questions to Nova Scotia Health officials at the Queens Community Health Conversation on Feb 17 2023. Photo Ed Halverson
But she made it clear that across North America, systems are moving away from patients having a single-family doctor and moving to a collaborative team approach.
Thompson says that care team could consist of a nurse practitioner, a physiotherapist, a dietician, a pharmacist, or any other combination of healthcare professionals.
The point would be for your file to be with a clinic and when you sought treatment you would be triaged and directed to the appropriate caregiver.
This method would also allow your health record to stay within a practice so even if one of the members left, your record would be accessible, and you could still receive care.
Throughout the question-and-answer period the health minister hinted at new legislation that would be introduced during the upcoming sitting of the Legislature to remove obstacles from healthcare workers.
“Everything is focused right now on healthcare,” said Thompson. “There are barriers that sometimes we don’t always see, and we want to remove those.”
When pressed on which barriers her department would like to remove Thompson said, “How do we use people to the fullness of their scope? How do we ensure that there’s mobility so people can move into the province easily and making sure that we’ve modernized those systems.”
Thompson says how government will meet those goals will be revealed when the Legislature reconvenes March 21.
