Screen grab of Citizen Reporter portal on Region of Queens website
Residents of Queens now have a direct line when reporting infrastructure issues.
The Region of Queens has launched the Citizen Reporter Tool, an online portal to relay non-emergency infrastructure issues.
Mayor Darlene Norman says when people have issues with potholes, loose manhole covers, signage they can contact the people directly responsible for resolving the problem instead of waiting for the information to be relayed through herself, councillors or front desk staff.
“Often, it may go through two or three hands before it reaches where it should reach,” said Norman. “This will allow a person to state exactly what the problem is and they can track when it is addressed.”
Once a problem is logged, staff will assess the situation and determine its priority against other issues they are a currently addressing.
Updates will then be provided through the online portal.
Norman does note the new system is designed for non-emergency issues only, and if someone is experiencing issues with their water, for instance, they should contact the Region of Queens emergency line at 902-354-7157 or 902-354-4749 after hours.
Of course, for those who aren’t tech savvy, Norman says there’s still the option to call herself, the councillors or region staff who will then log the problem.
Inaugural Olympic Wall inductees. Photo Ed Halverson
Seven of Queens most prominent sports figures were honoured Tuesday.
An Olympic Wall was unveiled at Queens Place to recognize residents who have represented Canada at the highest level of amateur sport.
The seven inaugural inductees included two coaches Betty Ann Daury and Owen Hamlin, and five athletes: Jamie Belong, Jenna Martin, Sarah Mitton, Alexander Shankel, and Ben Theriau.
Jenna Martin, a 400-meter sprinter at the 2012 Olympic games who now lives with her husband and children in Washington state, reflected on coming back to her roots.
“There’s nothing like being from a small town because they love you through thick and thin,” said Martin. “They’re with you, every time they see you it’s a celebration. It brings the community together. So, it’s really, really special and it gave me the opportunity to come home and visit my family.”
Martin says coming from a small community doesn’t have to be barrier to reaching your goals.
Shot putter, Sarah Mitton, who competed in her first Olympics in Tokyo Japan in 2020 agrees with Martin.
She says it’s consistently putting in the hard work that can lift someone from their local field to the world’s biggest stage.
“I actually got to throw at the Brooklyn Park again yesterday. There’s no circle, there’s no toe board, it’s graffiti on the ground. It’s really humbling to come back from all these large meets where everything is set out so perfectly, and to be able to come back to the community that you grew up in and just realize how little it actually takes and we how much more we can build on that,” said Mitton.
Both Olympians were honoured to have their images displayed on the wall where anyone arriving at Queens Place can see.
They hope they can be an example to the next round of athletes and coaches coming up in Queens that you can make your dreams come true.
As several people noted after the ceremony, there’s plenty of space on the walls for more portraits.
The pandemic has taken its toll on blood donations across the country.
Corey Matheson, the Community Development Manager at Canadian Blood Services says there are 31,000 fewer regular donors since 2020.
He suspects there are several factors contributing to the decline.
“I know some of them have maybe aged out a bit of the system,” said Matheson. “People have many other different reasons they can’t donate, could be health, but also I think a lot of it was people were staying close to home, the pandemic.”
Donations remained strong for the first two years of the pandemic when restrictions were in place and people had to call ahead to book an appointment, so Matheson was surprised to see the drop in donors this year.
“We managed to get through the last two years, but it was this summer when we noticed, I don’t know if it’s fatigue of the whole thing, but the numbers really took a drop,” said Matheson.
Canadian Blood Services supplies blood products to health services across Canada except for Quebec who have their own internal collection agency.
Matheson says the benefits of giving blood extend further than just one donation.
“We always said that one donation can save three lives. That is a true tagline because we make platelets, plasma, and red blood cells all from one donation.”
Canadian Blood Services currently has 18,000 open donation appointments across the country but it’s a different story in Liverpool where all appointments for the August 29 blood donor clinic are booked.
Matheson says Queens has a long history of giving blood but adds while it’s good to have all the appointments booked, it’s more important to keep those appointments.
“A lot of people are busy, a lot of people are at cottages, that sort of thing and they might forget to cancel it if they can’t make it. We understand people have lives,” said Matheson. “But if somebody has an appointment and they can’t make it, if they could cancel it within the next few days, that would be great because somebody else can book in.”
A South Shore doctor says Canadians don’t need to worry about abortion laws being repealed but must remain vigilant.
Dr. Robyn MacQuarrie, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at South Shore Women’s Health is referring to the recent repeal of the Roe v. Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court. The decision protected the right to an abortion at the federal government level.
MacQuarrie is also an associate professor at Dalhousie University where she instructs future doctors on abortion laws in Canada.
She says there are many differences between the United States and Canada regarding abortion starting with the fact that there is no one law that governs abortion in Canada so none can be overturned.
“The statutes around abortion in Canada are that abortion is alegal, or outside the purview of the law. So, we don’t have to worry about one specific decision being overturned because in fact, the decision was to say this isn’t something that should be governed by Canadian law,” says MacQuarrie. “It’s not a legal issue. It’s a health decision, it’s not a legal issue.”
MacQuarrie points out another misconception held by some Canadians is that there is a time limit on when an abortion may be performed.
She says a fetus is not considered a baby or person under the law.
“Personhood in Canada is governed by federal statutes and personhood is not conveyed until a person has drawn their first breath and is alive.”
MacQuarrie says she performs abortions up to 12 weeks because that’s what her training and equipment permit.
She has heard anti-abortionists use late-term abortions as an argument against the practice but says in fact, those are quite rare.
“They’re very, very uncommon,” said MacQuarrie. “They’re typically the hardest decision that person’s ever had to make in their life.”
While readily available in Halifax, once going beyond the four regional hospitals that are within an hour of the city, access to abortion falls off drastically in Nova Scotia.
A person with a uterus on either end of the province would need to travel several hours to Halifax to undergo a medical or surgical abortion.
MacQuarrie says that inequality to access needs to be addressed.
“We still have disparate accessibility depending on where people are located geographically. And typically, what comes along with geographical isolation is differences in income, differences in access to services,” said MacQuarrie. “So, it’s really important that it be argued meaningful access is really not fair across the province.”
MacQuarrie says even though there may be no one law that can be repealed in Canada, there are still other ways access to abortion can be limited.
She says the many people who warned the new appointees to the US Supreme Court would overturn the Roe v Wade decision were laughed off and told it would never happen and that can’t be permitted to occur in Canada.
“I often think people don’t have a good sense of what gaslighting is,” said MacQuarrie. “But that’s truly what happened when people were rightfully protesting, saying we’re worried we’re going to lose this long-protected statute in the U.S.. And so, all the people that poo-pooed them and said, don’t be silly, you’re really being dramatic. Well, in fact, that is in fact what came to pass. So, I encourage people to pay attention.”
To access abortion services anywhere in Nova Scotia, contact the Choice Clinic in Halifax. You can self-refer by calling 1-833-352-0719.
Towns along the South Shore are taking part in the region’s first ever pride week.
For the past several years most local municipalities have flown the pride flag in a show of solidarity with the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
This year, Lunenburg Pride is working to increase their exposure by expanding the annual flag raising to a week of activities including a dog show, seniors lesbian social, trivia night and pub night, ending with a drag show and dance on Saturday.
Chair of Lunenburg Pride Steve Ellis says there’s a large 2SLGBTQ+ community on the South Shore and they wanted to tailor events to suit local needs.
“Not everyone wants to go all the way to Halifax to have events and they’d rather be supporting their own community,” said Ellis. “So, we decided this year that we wanted to have a week’s worth of events that will include all demographics and something on a smaller scale that represents our community better than the city.”
One event that has generated some controversy is Drag Queen story time being hosted by the Margaret Hennigar Library in Bridgewater.
Following several inappropriate comments South Shore Public Libraries closed commenting on the event on Facebook.
Ellis says there’s no reason to fear a man reading to children while wearing a dress.
“If you think about it on a very basic level, it’s no different than hiring a clown for your kid’s birthday party. That’s a man dressed up in drag. If we take away the seriousness about it, because it’s serious that we get hate about it,” said Ellis. “But at the end of the day, there’s plenty of things that kids go to where people are dressed up so this is no different.”
Pride Flag. Photo Ed Halverson
Each year the Region of Queens flies the pride flag to coincide with Halifax pride events in July.
Ellis says the Lunenburg Pride group would like to see the week expand next year and says Queens would be natural fit.
“We’re definitely open to working with Queens. I know that we have people who work with the municipality who work on various inclusion projects that have contacted us and we’ve worked on things together in the past. So yeah, we definitely would be willing to work with them to make an even bigger organization.”
Ellis says hosting a week of events to increase their visibility is important to members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, particularly in rural areas of Nova Scotia.
“It means a lot to me and I know others who have approached us, telling us what it means to them, to have events to go to. And if they’re not comfortable going to the events they can drive all across the South Shore and they’re going to see a pride flag waving and they know that they’re in a safe space. And that means more than all the events together and the events allow us to do more meaningful work.”
A new 15 unit housing development is being planned for Milton.
At their last meeting, Region of Queens council agreed to sell the former Garika Park lands to developer Eric Fry.
Fry says the new development will be geared towards seniors.
“It’s right at the little waterfall, that dam, so it’s just a gorgeous location. We think it will be a big seller,” said Fry. “My whole background is sales and business development, so we’ll put a package together that I think will be really appealing to a lot of locals and maybe even draw some people in from out of town to help drive the economy a little bit.”
Eric Fry, contributed by Eric Fry
Fry says this is not an affordable housing project with rent expected to land in the range of $1,700 to $1,800 per month.
He anticipates seniors looking downsize from a family home into something smaller and more manageable will be very interested in the development.
“Those folks that are in the local area whether it be Milton or Liverpool that own their homes and they just don’t really have anywhere to go, they don’t want to go all the way to Bridgewater,” said Fry. “They want a place to settle into but a nice, two-bedroom, well-appointed place.”
Fry hasn’t ruled out the possibility of building affordable housing in the future.
He has some experience buying and selling development property in Queens and has enlisted the services of local designer Brydon Huntley to plan the proposed seniors development.
Fry is looking to build 15 1,100 – 1,200 square foot units on the 36,000 square foot location.
Before any work can begin, the property needs to be rezoned and accommodations must be made for a boat launch and fire hydrant on the site.
If all goes well, Fry is hopeful to begin construction in Spring of 2023.
The sale of 11 acres of municipal land was the highlight of Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.
The only session in August started with a presentation from the Queens Care Building Society providing an overview of the proposed new long-term care home set to replace Queens Manor and Hillsview Acres.
The four members representing the society highlighted the programs the new facility will provide along with one and two-storey options for construction of the new 112-bed structure.
The society’s request to secure municipal land adjacent to Queens Place and the Best Western hotel was granted during the in-camera portion of the meeting when council agreed to sell 11 acres for roughly $960,000.
Some long-standing items that had previously come before council were also approved.
Region staff will get to work crafting a bylaw to allow Queens to collect road levies on behalf of non-profit associations.
Mayor Darlene Norman says staff has assured council they have the capacity to take on the added responsibility using existing resources.
“It only seems right and proper that we help them where we can,” said Norman. “For example, we do not put streetlights on their roads. We do not have personal garbage collection at their doorsteps. So, if we can, as a council, help them improve their roads, then it is the right thing for us to do.”
Council also agreed to a request from the South Shore Regional Hospital Foundation to provide $100,000 for their Brighter Days Capital Campaign.
The money will be the Region’s one-time contribution towards the $115 million redevelopment at the area’s regional hospital which will expand the size of the emergency room and surgical areas, add new dialysis chairs, MRI suite and CT-scanner among other upgrades.
The vote was not unanimous as some councillors argued with the ongoing doctor shortage and frequent ER closures, council should be supporting Queens General first.
Norman says South Shore Regional is just as much Queens’ hospital as Queens General.
“We could give a million dollars to our hospital, and it is not going to help our ER situation at this point in time. Our foundation, the Queens Hospital Foundation, have encouraged us to provide this money to South Shore Regional,” said Norman.
Council also decided to pay between $50,000 and $60,000 to build an accessible ramp at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre.
The new ramp will be located between the centre and the neighbouring RBC building to provide access from the parking lot into the Astor Theatre lobby.
Council then heard the Region took in just over $300,000 from the sale of 23 properties at the July 18 tax sale.
Approximately $48,000 will go to paying off outstanding debt with the remaining $250,000 or so, being put in the Tax Sale Surplus Reserve Account where previous owners have up to 20 years to claim the proceeds from the sale.
The first quarter financial review indicated the Region will be paying an additional $150,000 for garbage collection this year to cover the increase in fuel costs.
The original estimate was negotiated based on a cost of 89.64 cents per litre and in the past few months, the price of fuel has routinely been a dollar or more per litre above that.
Council was also made aware of human resource changes to the Region’s employee handbook to make the policies more inclusive and in keeping with 2022 standards.
Some of the policies hadn’t been updated in 20 years.
And the planning and development department is looking to increase the fees for some services to better reflect the cost of providing permitting and development amendments.
Council then moved in camera and approved the sale of the lot for the new long-term care facility as well as a piece of property in Milton for a multi-unit housing development.
Council will not meet again until the second Tuesday in September.
The preferred option for the new long-term care facility coming to Queens Place. Credit: Queens Care Building Society submission to Region of Queens Council
The Chair of the Queens Care Building Society says now that a site has been secured, they can close in on a final design for the new Queens long-term care facility.
Christopher Clark was reacting to Tuesday’s decision by Region of Queens council to sell the society 11 acres of land at Queens Place.
Clark says the province has outlined an 11-step process for building long-term care facilities and moving into the design phase puts them at step 3.
“As we complete each step it’s submitted to government for approval to make sure that we’re meeting their standards, not going overboard with spending money and so on,” said Clark. “By the time we get to step five, complete step five, the government will approve the whole thing and we can start construction.”
Clark says at this point in the process the group envisions the 112-bed facility will be situated on one level next to the Best Western with the entrance to the building facing Queens Place Emera centre.
He would like to see a park that is accessible to both residents and the public created at the front of the building and points out the new facility will tie into the existing resources people already enjoy on the site.
“The walking trail that goes around Queens Place, which is sacred land, really, won’t be affected,” said Clark. “In fact, it will become a real asset to the facility because it’s surfaced with crusher dust, so easier to push a wheelchair on and so people will be out there exercising or being taken around the trail.”
Clark is quick to note they have a team of architects and builders who are very experienced at designing long-term care facilities that integrate into the surrounding community, and the fine details of the plan will be worked out over the coming months.
He says no matter what the final design looks like, the experience for residents at the new facility will be far superior to the existing Queens Manor and Hillsview Acres.
Putting aside the obvious health benefits to residents, Clark says a new long-term care facility will also be a major economic driver for Queens.
“The economics are huge. Construction, the jobs, looking after people. You know, we have 103 people working at the Manor now, Hillsview Acres has, I think about 13. But with a new facility with 112 individual rooms, we’re going to need a much greater staff. So, there will be a lot of jobs and a lot of money being spent in the community.”
Clark expects the design work should be complete by early 2023 and is optimistic the new facility could be opening its doors by Labour Day 2025.
Future site of Queens long-term care facility. Photo Ed Halverson
Queens new long term care facility has found a home at Queens Place.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Region of Queens council voted to sell 11 acres of land adjacent to Highway 103 and the Best Western to the Queens Care Building Society.
The society stressed the need to secure land to keep the process moving on a timeline that will see a replacement for Queens Manor and Hillsview Acres in place before Labour Day of 2025.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman was enthusiastic in praising her fellow councillors for their unity on this project.
“I am so proud of the council of the Region of Queens who were unanimous in this decision,” said Norman.
The mayor says the 479,000 square feet of land will be sold at $2 a square foot, with the Region receiving somewhere in the neighbourhood of $960,000 with the money being reinvested into the development of the new site.
“That million dollars will be for infrastructure and improvements to all the lands at Queens Crossing,” said Norman.
The preferred option for the new long-term care facility coming to Queens Place. Credit: Queens Care Building Society submission to Region of Queens Council
The land around Queens Place Emera Centre has been tied to a couple of high-profile projects in recent months.
The site was the unanimous choice of the library steering committee to replace the Thomas Raddall Library before the idea was rejected by council.
The Queens Community Aquatic Society is also looking at the location to build a new pool, and construction of the new universally designed play park is currently underway.
Norman says residents of Queens will see the benefit of selling the land and securing the site for the new long-term care facility for years to come.
“And all of those things need infrastructure and money because they will belong to the Region,” said Norman. “This is a good start at developing the infrastructure for other future projects.”
Norman says building the new long-term care facility next to Queens Place means residents will be integrated into the community in which they live.
And while the province is footing the bill for the facility, the Region will continue to offer whatever technical and administrative help the Queens Care Building Society may need to see this project through to completion.
Site Supervisor Jonathan Sheppard at Kejimkujik’s solar array. Photo Parks Canada
Power consumption at Kejimkujik is now as green as its renowned forests.
Since May, the national park and historic site has been generating enough power onsite using solar panels to meet the needs of campers in Jeremy’s Bay campground.
Site Supervisor at Kejimkujik, Jonathan Sheppard says this makes Keji the first park in Canada to go net-zero.
“The power that’s actually consumed by visitors and the number of visitors we have here is actually a hard category of greenhouse gas emissions to reduce because it’s up to individual choices and equipment and gear and stuff,” said Sheppard. “So, the principal for this one, for offsetting it, allows us to generate an equivalent amount of power so that when visitors come here, they know that their experience is powered by the sun and basically it’s a net-zero camping experience.”
Power is not stored at Keji but is sold to Nova Scotia Power and purchased back, creating a net-zero exchange.
Generating over 12,000Kw per month, the 100Kw solar array is made up of 272 photo-voltaic panels and covers a 40 x 60 metre area.
The array is located in a clearing near the front of the park out of view of visitors on the site of a former weather station.
Kejimkujik solar array viewed from above. Photo Parks Canada
Sheppard says the location was chosen after consultation with Mi’kmaq partners.
“They were involved in the archaeology around this project. We did that collaboratively,” said Sheppard. “They were very supportive of the benefits of this project but because we’re also a national historic site that’s designated so because of the Mi’kmaq cultural landscape, they were also interested in making sure that when you came into the park you didn’t see a big piece of infrastructure.”
The solar project was funded through an almost $600,000 Government of Canada investment to support greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts and clean technology.
Sheppard estimates at the rate the array is producing power, that investment will be paid off in 20 years.
And perhaps most importantly, over their projected 35-year lifespan, the panels will be responsible for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 3,300 tonnes, the equivalent of taking 1035 cars off the road.
Sheppard says since the pandemic people have sought connection with the outdoors and it’s important to make that experience as enjoyable and green as possible.
“There’s a direct link between the visitor’s experience here in the campground and the knowledge that their experience is powered entirely by the sun,” said Sheppard. “That, for us, provides a really neat connection between a visitor understanding their visit in the context of the larger picture, not only of protecting a national park but the work to mitigate against climate change as well, while they’re here.”
It’s seems rapid COVID tests are becoming more difficult to find across the province.
Nova Scotia Health say they are aware of increased demand for testing kits and are working to distribute more to their community partners.
The department has increased the number of kits they delivered in July by 34,000 above the almost 234,000 distributed in June.
Rapid tests can be found at most public libraries and family resource centres, MLA offices, Public Health Mobile Units, and for those using the services of Feed Nova Scotia and Access Nova Scotia.
Some regional libraries have been delayed in receiving their test kits, but Nova Scotia Health says they are available at all main branches.
In Queens, the Thomas Raddall library still has stock as does MLA Kim Masland’s office.
Public Health no longer recommends testing for COVID if no symptoms are present but says it’s still a good idea to have a couple of tests on hand in case symptoms develop.
Angela Blenkhorne and Bernie. Photo submitted by Angela Blenkhorne
Children who have experienced the loss of someone close to them have an outlet to share their experiences.
Bernie’s Buddies, a kid’s peer support group is being offered at Queens Place Thursday.
Originally from Nova Scotia, and now living in Alberta, founder Angela Blenkhorne launched the program in 2015.
She was inspired to do something to help kids after dealing with the loss of her father at 14.
“Even as an adult grief can be incredibly isolating but as a child you think, well, am I just supposed to be over this now? How does this all work?” said Blenkhorne. “So, you’re sort of, left to your own devices and you just deal with it yourself and put on a smile and keep on going. But I gotta tell you, that’s not the way to do it.”
Blenkhorne brings together children aged eight to 12 and invites them to talk about their experiences as they are engaged with art activities, yoga and a therapy dog.
Bernie’s Buddies was named after and inspired by an abandoned St. Bernard dog Blenkhorne adopted.
She says despite being deaf, Bernie was exceptional connected with children who would come over to interact with him wherever he went.
“And that was the connection there for us,” said Blenkhorne, “and we thought, let’s put together a workshop so kids can get together in a group, have some community, have shared space have a therapy dog to hang out with, do some physical movement to shake out the sillies, ’cause really, you know with kids, kids do best when they wiggling around a lot of times, and then do an activity that brings them all together so they can be creative but also feel comfortable enough in that creativity to share, if they feel like it.”
Bernie passed away a couple of years ago so St. John Ambulance will be providing a therapy dog for the July 28 event.
Thursday’s session at Queens Place is completely free but pre-registration is required.
It appears a burn ban in place across Nova Scotia will remain in effect for the near future.
According to a spokesperson from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, drought-like conditions over the past two weeks have left the forest floor extremely dry.
Wildfire Prevention Officer Kara McCurdy says due to a combination of high temperatures and wind and low humidity the smallest spark could set off a forest fire.
“Don’t have any fires period, whether it be campfire or brush burning. Being careful where you place anything hot. Like, if you’re welding, don’t weld in dry vegetation. If you’re running an all-terrain vehicle that you make sure to clear the exhaust off frequently because stuff accumulates around that and can get hot and drop,” said McCurdy. “Even camping, if you’re walking in the woods don’t discard any cigarettes, don’t play with matches or lighters.”
Environment Canada has issued an extreme heat warning for Nova Scotia and is forecasting temperatures into the high 20s until next week.
There is a chance of showers over that time, however, McCurdy says they likely won’t be enough to lower the fire hazard.
“But it’s not enough to really impact wetting the fuels down in the forest,” We’ll probably leave the ban in place until we get significant rain, which is a continued amount of rain of 20mm plus.
McCurdy says a few days of steady rain is key to preventing forest fires.
“A lot of the rain that comes from thunder cells will just quickly run off,” said McCurdy. “The ground is so hard now from being dry for so long that it’s just going to drain off really quick.”
McCurdy says there have been seven new forest fires of varying sizes across Nova Scotia over the past week.
Several of those are the result of campfires being left unattended or from people clearing their properties by burning the brush.
Crews are working to get a 1-hectare fire in Cumberland County under control.
She says people need to pay attention to the burn ban to safeguard the forests, their property, fire crews and themselves against fire.
Burn restrictions are updated on the novascotia.ca/burnsafe web page everyday at 2:00pm.
The only concrete action taken at the latest Region of Queens council meeting was the decision to create a pool committee.
Councillors Jack Fancy and Vicki Amirault will be joined by two members of the Queens Community Aquatic Society and two residents at large on the six-person panel.
However, Mayor Darlene Norman says it still isn’t clear what responsibilities the committee will have.
“What they’re going to talk about? I don’t know. Maybe they can discuss how to encourage more people to become lifeguards or other things, because they really have no authority to make decisions,” said Norman. “We’ll just see how it goes.”
Since then, some members of council and the Queens Community Aquatic Society have been pushing to tie the new pool to the development of a new library.
The mayor says municipal staff time is at a premium right now and no one is available to sit on the committee and provide resources as they are already working on several other major projects in the community.
“Our engineering and our CAO and our planner, they’re very involved with the building of the new Queens Manor, highly involved with that. We’ve got some major street work going on,” said Norman. “We’re, like many municipal units, we’re struggling with our staff shortage numbers. We don’t have enough labourers in our engineering department.”
Norman says staff is fully prepared to take the on the development of a new pool in 2023.
“At which time they will consult with the community about an outdoor pool, location, etc.”
The committee is expected to meet in early October and Norman says council will attempt to determine what the committee’s function will be before that first meeting.
International students atop Castle Rock in Chester. Photo Yumimphotography courtesy SSRCE
It didn’t take long for the International Students Program to recover from the pandemic.
The program was closed for the better part of two years and only reopened in February.
Coordinator for the International Students Program Carolyn Bolivar-Getson says since then, the number of international students visiting the South Shore has rebounded.
“We had to cut off our numbers this year. We’re back to full-fledged pre-COVID numbers based on the amount of home stays that we have. The home stays are what we’re looking to acquire more of, at this point in time, to grow the program,” said Bolivar-Getson. “But the students are there. The students are there, and the students are ready to come.”
Currently 122 students from countries around the world are enrolled at schools across the South Shore and Bolivar-Getson expects that number to increase to 135 or more in the fall.
Bolivar-Getson says international students are often the first introduction many local students have to a diverse culture.
“In some of these schools, it’s the only diversity that we have. When I look at these schools and how well the international students integrate into the Canadian families and into the classroom, it’s wonderful to see,” Bolivar-Getson.
Coordinators do their best to match students with families who have similar interests to ensure a positive experience for everyone.
Anyone wishing to be a host family for an international student can contact Carolyn Bolivar-Getson at cbg@ssrce.ca.
Bolivar-Getson says the experience of opening your home to an international student is often the start of a life-long relationship.
“They’re part of your family. When you become involved in the Nova Scotia International Student Program, you’re opening your heart and your home,” Bolivar-Getson. “We’re not looking for someone to rent somebody a room. We want families that want to make students part of their family, and that’s the best way to explain it.”
The Liverpool Curling club is hoping almost $500,000 in upgrades over the past season will translate to new members.
President Gordon Sampson says the club is focused on two objectives.
“Everything we do tries to fit in two boxes. One of them is accessibility and inclusion, and the other one is efficiency. Because without getting our operating costs down, no matter what we do, we won’t be able to stay open,” said Sampson.
Sampson says the club enjoyed a buzz after some of the upgrades were completed last year and was looking forward to adding perhaps another 40 people to the existing membership of 75 until COVID restrictions shut them down.
He’s optimistic when they install the ice again in late October people will be just as curious to see the upgrades and give the club a try.
A plan to build a new library in Queens has become a political football.
During budget discussion in March, council decided to spend $3 million on replacing the aging Thomas H Raddall library in Liverpool.
A six-member steering committee consisting of two people from South Shore Public Libraries, two members of the library board and two library users were tasked with devising criteria and determining the best location for a new library in South Queens.
They were looking for a centrally located site with access to sidewalks that offered space to build a 6,000 square foot library and 24 parking spaces, easy emergency access, good exterior lighting, outdoor space, and no known flooding.
Of the eight possible locations, the board was unanimous in selecting Queens Place.
The recommendation was brought before Region of Queens council at the June 14 meeting and was rejected in a 5-3 vote.
Some councillors raised concerns moving the library away from the schools and some private daycare operators would deter students from using the services.
Others wanted to see the new library build tied to the construction of a new privately funded pool.
With seven options remaining, council agreed to meet July 5 to discuss the criteria and provide clearer direction to the steering committee about what locations they would be willing to accept.
After eliminating the steering committee’s unanimous first choice Mayor Darlene Norman says council wrestled with how to word their direction to the committee.
“It ended with a recommendation that the library steering committee choose the second-best site,” said Norman.
The meeting was lively as some councillors argued residents of the old town of Liverpool would not make their way across the bridge to a library at Queens Place.
Others pointed out the new Queens Manor long-term care home will be situated next door to Queens Place allowing residents greater access to library services.
Depending on which of the remaining sites make the short list, Norman says a recommendation from the steering committee on a location may not come back to council before September.
The province has announced changes aimed at getting more people into skilled trades.
New apprentices need to have close supervision under a journeyman which limits the number of people entering a trade.
Amendments to the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act General Regulations announced Wednesday include increasing the number of apprentices a journeyperson can train from one to two for most trades, exempting youth apprentices from the journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio to remove barriers to youth apprenticeship while still providing direct supervision, and adding flexibility for virtual supervision.
To be certified in a skilled trade in Nova Scotia someone must first work as an apprentice with an employer to receive required on-the-job training.
The training is done by certified journeypersons, with a limit on the number of apprentices they can train at a time.
Employers must show they have enough certified journeypersons to train apprentices.
The ratio of journeypersons to apprentices varied from trade to trade prior to this announcement.
For clarity and consistency, the amendments remove all references to the ratio in specific trade regulations, except for trades that have a ratio of other than one-to-two.
The Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency consulted with industry before recommending the changes.
Many sectors had identified ratio requirements as a barrier to growth and recruitment.
The province is aiming to double the number of apprentices to 22,000 by 2030 in order to meet current trends.
Heavy equipment blocks the road to Eagle Head Beach. Photo Ed Halverson
Construction of a new house on Eagle Head beach has been stopped after the Region of Queens cancelled the development permits.
Mayor Darlene Norman says the region is acting on advice from their lawyer.
“We were advised by our legal counsel to revoke the development permit. That is all I can say about that matter,” said Norman. “When it is resolved, then I can say some more.”
Area residents have been vocal in their opposition to the controversial project since crews began breaking ground.
They’ve raised concerned about the environmental impact of developing so close to the beach and restricting access to public pathways.
In a short few weeks, the group has organized a grassroots letter writing campaign to government officials, shared information via their Protecting Eagle Head Beach Facebook page and have told their story to media.
Just last week the owner and excavating contractor were fined close to $2,000 by the Department of Environment and Climate Change for changing a watercourse without approval.
There’s no word yet if the owner plans to continue trying to build on the site.
Region of Queens council took their last meeting on the road to the Pleasant River Community Hall.
The highlight of the agenda was council’s decision to invest almost $2 million to repair the failing air conditioning unit at the Liverpool Business Development Centre.
The meeting opened with the public comment section.
A couple of residents spoke asking council to put a pause on the permits to a controversial house being built on Eagle Head Beach while a third inquired about the possibility of adding more bylaw enforcement officers.
After that council went about approving the job descriptions for workers at Hillsview Acres long-term care facility.
The Region is mandated by the province to review the positions every four years.
From there, council voted to go ahead with the $1.9 million plan to install a new four-zone cooling system at the Liverpool Call centre.
Council then moved into the discussion phase of their meeting.
First up was a conversation around installing an accessible ramp at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre in Liverpool.
Provincial law requires all government owned buildings to be accessible by 2030.
Council deliberated on the placement of the ramp and how it is to be enclosed.
The preferred option seems to be along the side of the building adjacent to the Royal Bank that leads from the rear parking lot.
The plan will be evaluated and brought before council in greater detail at a future meeting.
The last piece of business was a lively discussion on whether or not to form a pool committee.
The Queens Community Aquatic Society recently received a $3 million private donation towards the construction of a new pool and are looking for the region to begin construction as soon as possible.
The conversation revolved around who will make up the committee, what responsibility it will have and what will be asked of staff.
In the end, council decided to form a committee but what it will look like and what role it will play in the construction of a new pool has yet to be determined.
Council will hold a special council meeting Tuesday July 5 to discuss the location of the new library.
Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens will spend $1.9 million to fix the ailing cooling system at the Liverpool Business Development Centre.
Better known locally as the call centre building, the municipally owned property on Harley Umphrey Drive is home to Global Empire call centre and Belliveau Veinotte Inc accountants.
Mayor Darlene Norman says as the landlord, the Region needs to provide a safe environment for the 100 plus people who go to work in the building every day.
“It’s a lot of money. It’s what happens when you’re a landlord. You know, what’s our other choice? Shut the building down, break our leases, hold our breath and hope that the thing doesn’t break again and then when it breaks again and then when it does, we have no solution for air conditioning?” said Norman. “It’s a lot of money to spend on a building. The building is not even worth that much money. However, it’s a business, it’s a building, it’s employing people, they’re good people in there working.”
A staff report indicates in its 20-year lifespan the HVAC unit has required numerous repairs, over and above what is considered normal maintenance.
The unit is approaching the end of its serviceable life and parts are becoming almost impossible to find.
DUMAC Energy Limited was hired in February to conduct a study of the Centre’s HVAC system which produced two recommendations: install a new single facility system estimated at $1.2 million or a four-quadrant system estimated at $1.5 million before structural upgrades and design work is considered.
Half the cost will come from a special operating reserve while the Region will need to borrow money to cover the other half.
Norman says that borrowing could mean a small increase to resident’s property tax bill in the coming years.
“I believe it could roughly be two to three cents, which is what we dropped the rate down by this year. But, interest rates, who knows what they’ll be at the point in time.”
Norman says staff will begin working to resolve the HVAC issues right away but because of worldwide supply-chain issues she doesn’t expect the new equipment will be in place this summer.
The first Privateer Days to be held in Liverpool since the start of the pandemic is barely in the books and already organizers are looking ahead to next year.
Chair of the Privateer Days commission Ashley Whynot wants feedback from the public to learn what they can do better.
“Any input, feedback, constructive criticism, we’re looking for all of that. We need to know because we’re not putting this on for us, we’re putting this on for everyone else,” said Whynot. “It doesn’t matter what I want personally, it’s what we can make happen for everyone.”
For example, Whynot says they’ve already noted the need for more first-aid stations and better locations for some of the washroom facilities.
She says one of the successes for this year’s festival was the shift towards family-focused activities.
Organizers decided to do away with the waterfront beer tent to provide a place for young people to gather in the evening and to nudge adults into local licensed establishments.
Instead, the entertainment tent featured live music all day and was turned over in the evening for a teen dance hosted by the Liverpool Junior Firefighters.
“And there were kids in there screaming and laughing and doing cartwheels and running around outside in the field. They were having such a good time and I have never seen children stay out, during Privateer Days, that late,” said Whynot.
Privateer Days crowd. Photo Ed Halverson
Looking ahead she says the commission will take a few days to catch their breath but plan on being more active and present in the community throughout the year.
“We would also look to do a few little fundraisers to kind of, keep our name out there, keep the community engaged with us, bring in some more funds to see what other new and exciting vendors or entertainment or what-have-you we can bring in next year,” said Whynot. “And we’re always looking for more volunteers.”
Anyone wishing to get involved with Privateer Days can contact Whynot or the commission through their Facebook page.
Protestors want construction of a new home on Eagle Head Beach to stop. Photo contributed by Talla Corkum
The owner and a contractor building a beach home on Eagle Head Road have been fined for violations of the Environment Act.
Tickets were issued by the Department of Environment and Climate Change for changing a watercourse without approval.
Fines of $1,157.50 have been levied against the contractor and $697.50 against the owner.
The department is still investigating reports of wildlife habitat being impacted by the construction which is taking place close to the beach but above the high-water line.
The new home build has upset local residents who mounted a protest Monday at the construction site.
They say the new home is disturbing sensitive beach grasses, waterways, and wildlife habitat.
One of the administrators for the Facebook page Protect Eagle Head Beach Talla Corkum says the destruction of the dunes and waterway flies in the face of the community’s values.
She says many of the protestors at Monday’s demonstration are seeing the property for the first time.
“The biggest reaction was just, how? Because these are people who have grown up around this beach for years, for so long and they’ve seen it and growing up around here we have been taught to respect the beach, that we can’t take any sand, we can’t move the rocks, we can’t take the rocks off the beach. That the dunes are sacred, basically,” said Corkum. “We have learned so much respect for this beach then, to see the, the change, the flip on the way that this beach is being treated, I think was very jarring for a lot of people who haven’t got a chance to see the site yet.”
While Corkum is pleased to see the province take some action, she doesn’t feel the fines are a real deterrent and is looking for stronger action to be taken to protect the beach.
“It’s a step and it‘s encouraging to feel like people are listening, people are trying. The investigation isn’t just open and shut and that, they are still looking at things that could be going wrong.”
She says the community has rallied behind the group’s efforts and they will continue to pressure officials and are planning more protests to raise awareness to keep this from happening again.
“It has been a lot of work. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Corkum. “If this protects one more beach, I will be happy.”
The provincial government is following through on a promise to make up-to-date healthcare data available to Nova Scotians.
Residents can now see the daily or most current information for hospitals across the province for a wide range of stats like hospital occupancy, emergency department visits and number of surgeries performed.
Information is presented on an interactive dashboard and gathered from several sources including hospital inpatient, surgical and emergency data bases, continuing care home support and long-term care reports and EHS.
The data contains no information which could identify individual patients.
Government announced the website would be coming as part of their Action for Health plan back in April.
In a release, Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said, “Change won’t happen overnight. But by sharing this information now, we are holding ourselves accountable to make sure change happens and the system improves in the areas most important to Nova Scotians.”
The website also tracks continuing care services such as the number of people waitlisted for home support and how many have been admitted to long-term care facilities.
EHS is providing weekly numbers of calls, response times and average time it takes to offload patients at each hospital.
The Action for Health website also shows the most current numbers on doctor and nurse recruitment and retention and the number of Nova Scotians without a primary care provider.
Residents around Eagle Head Beach are sounding the alarm about the ecological impacts of a new house being built just off the dunes.
Since construction began earlier this month access to the beach has been cut off by construction equipment.
A group of beach users has formed a Facebook page called Protecting Eagle Head Beach to share information and raise awareness of the changes being made to the natural environment.
One of the Administrators of the page Talla Corkum says they’re hoping to see more concrete action taken to save the beach.
“Making sure all the permits are there, even seeing if there’s a way we can get a stop-work order.”
Corkum says the group is not only concerned about the changes to the environment but also the loss of access to the beach.
She says the large trucks coming and going are destroying the road and once the new house is built it will essentially become a driveway barring people from accessing the beach from the Eagle Head wharf side.
“Trying to prove the right of way and regain the right of way onto the beach. Especially now with the ruts that have created these big puddles, we have now lost access, walking access, to the beach from the side on Eagle Head Wharf Rd,” said Corkum. “Unless you wear boots up to your knees you can’t really get down there anymore.”
Heavy equipment blocks the road to Eagle Head Beach. Photo Ed Halverson
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman spoke with officials at the provincial public works department and learned the road was previously recognized but that may not be enough to prove the existing road is public.
“They believe there was and I know it shows on a church map from 1886 but as we all know, beaches are constantly moving and sand beaches are constantly moving back,” said Norman.
In 2019 the province passed the Coastal Protection Act to help ensure that new development happens high enough and back far enough to be safe from coastal flooding and erosion as well as preventing unnecessary interference with Nova Scotia’s coast.
The act is now waiting on regulations to be drafted before it will be enforced.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Climate Change says this a huge piece of work that requires extensive collaboration, in additional to the consultations that’s already been completed.
Government anticipates the new regulations will be ready in 2023.
Corkum says if the Coastal Protection Act had been in place, none of this would have happened.
She says the group will press on with letter writing campaigns and contacting elected representatives, department officials and environmental groups in the hopes of getting someone to put a stop to the development before too much of the property is permanently altered.
However, she fears what happened to Eagle Head Beach may end up being a warning for other coastal areas in Nova Scotia.
“From this point now, we’re realizing that there might not be so much capabilities of saving Eagle Head Beach. Now we are more just using this as grounds to help other coastal areas in Nova Scotia. To try and make our voices heard. Maybe get the bill moving faster. Maybe even, another community will learn from us and we can help them. Just generally trying to protect the coast, especially now considering when you drive down the highway it says Queens Coast and there’s a lot of issues around the coast,” said Corkum. “I know that if we are the ones to make our voices heard it might prevent other people from in-filling, knowing where the community stands.”
