Queens County Food Bank. Photo: Ed Halverson

The middle of a pandemic is a tough time to take over the operations of a food bank.

Chair of the Queens Food Bank Shelly Panczyk assumed the role in September of 2020 after long serving chair Charlotte White stepped down.

Panczyk says the opportunity to learn from White for almost a year combined with the dedication of all the volunteers have made the job easier.

“They’ve worked tirelessly through this whole thing and kept people fed,” said Panczyk.

A dedicated team of nine volunteers and Panczyk ensure the operation continues to run smoothly.

The food bank has had a steady stream of clients since the beginning of the pandemic, but Panczyk says she has seen an uptick in demand of 10 to 20 percent since the end of the federal CERB benefit.

“These poor people that are out, they’ve upped the minimum wage to 15 but they’ve also upped the cost of living by 20 percent,” said Panczyk. “So, you know what, you’re not getting anything for your dollar, right?”

The Queens County Food Bank is part of the Feed Nova Scotia network and receives a truck load of food at the beginning of each week.

But it still relies on food donations from the local grocery stores and private donors for some of the more perishable items such as bread and dairy.

Before the pandemic, the organization would host fundraisers, but COVID restrictions forced them to be creative on how to raise money.

Panczyk came up with the idea for the thrift store which opened to the public in April 2021.

Every item sold comes from the local community and any proceeds pay the bills for both the store and the food bank.

“We got it open, and people just came to it. It was unbelievable. I’m amazed at the end of every week what we do for, moneywise,” said Panczyk. “You know that a small town, it keeps us going.”

Despite the growing popularity of the thrift store, cash donations are still needed.

Cash in hand not only helps the food bank stock up on products they need while they’re on sale but also helps them to pay bills like rent, heat and lights that allow them to operate.

Panczyk says like most charities, the Christmas season brings in the bulk of their donations for the entire year.

Anyone interested in donating can do so anytime by contacting the Queens County food bank or by putting some items in the bin at their local grocery store.

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Queens Manor, Liverpool. Photo Ed Halverson

As the omicron variant runs rampant across Nova Scotia, keeping up morale for staff and residents at Queens Manor has become a full-time job.

The long-term care home in Liverpool was declared an outbreak facility after a staff member tested positive December 29 and the first resident followed on January 2.

Executive Director Andrew MacVicar says omicron is present throughout the community and his focus is to eliminate the stigma associated with a positive test among the staff.

“It’s possible that you could do everything right, which our staff are doing, and be, “the one” to bring it into the building when in reality, there will never be a “one” person who brings it into the building, in all likelihood, with the volume of viral activity that’s out there,” said MacVicar.

Long-term care homes were struggling to hire enough workers before the pandemic hit and MacVicar says the most recent outbreak has only made a tough situation worse.

“When you’re starting with sometimes bare-bones staffing, and you are removing a significant number of people with symptoms that would not have prevented them from working in the past, it significantly impacts your ability to fully staff your facility,” said MacVicar.

He says despite dealing with several staff off work because they have either tested positive or been a close contact of someone with a positive test, Queens Manor is still providing a high-level of care to their residents.

But backfilling those positions to care for residents means there is no staff available to train and monitor visitors coming to the facility.

Which is why Queens Manor is currently closed to all visitors except for residents undergoing end of life care.

MacVicar says decreased staff numbers means not even designated caregivers are permitted until the facility completes a two-week circuit breaker.

“We are putting our plan in place to reintroduce designated caregivers as soon as we can because they are an integral part of providing care here.”

MacVicar says Queens Manor is turning a corner as the first people to test positive return.

“As we have residents come off isolation from being positive and staff returning to work from being positive I think it’s a very important step towards realizing that we’re going to be okay and we can live with COVID-19, however that is defined in the future.”

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Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Public health officials are asking Nova Scotians to change their COVID-19 testing habits.

At Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, Premier Tim Houston acknowledged Nova Scotian’s commitment to testing is the envy of public health officials across the country.

“To be totally honest, I’ve been a regular for months at either stopping at a clinic for a PCR or a rapid test at home. It’s always been something I’ve been doing during the pandemic, and it’s always provided a great deal of comfort. So, I get it,” said Houston. “I get that the change is difficult, but we have to start moving away from the way we’ve been testing.”

Houston says approximately 830,000 tests are distributed across Nova Scotia each week.

The province has ordered 2 million tests above the amount they receive from the federal government, but like the rest of the provinces they’re waiting on supply to arrive.

The province’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang says before anyone can get a PCR or rapid test, they need to do the self-assessment online.

“This is the reality of dealing with limited supply and while you may not be happy about this, we all need you to understand and accept that others may need to be a higher priority than ourselves,” said Strang. “ Please do not get angry at frontline staff or try and find a workaround. Put others ahead of yourself and be kind to those who have been caring for you for over the past two years. They deserve nothing less than this.”

Public health announced 12 new hospital admissions and seven discharges Wednesday.

They also reported a woman in her 60s from the Western Zone has died.

Strang says Nova Scotians should be confident that vaccines are working.

While people are still dying from the virus, Strang says vaccines are preventing serious illness in most.

In a release, Nova Scotia Health said there are currently 600 staff and physicians off work due to COVID-19 infections, or self-isolate requirements.

As a result, only urgent and emergent surgeries, including time sensitive cancer surgeries, will be performed at this time

Strang says the omicron virus has seriously impacted the ability of hospitals to maintain staffing levels.

“There’s no doubt we are in a very serious situation. The most serious we’ve been in during this entire pandemic, given all the pressures on our health care system,” said Strang. “This is different than other waves. We’ve never before had hundreds of healthcare workers not able to work or so many cases that public health is no longer able to identify and closely manage each case and all their contacts.”

Strang urges everyone to reduce their contacts and follow the masking and social distancing requirements to keep themselves and the people around them safe.

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Photo Conservative Party of Canada

The leader of Canada’s official opposition was speaking to southern Nova Scotia Tuesday.

Erin O’Toole spoke virtually with members of the Bridgewater, Annapolis and Yarmouth Chambers of Commerce.

The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada was joined by area Members of Parliament Rick Perkins and Chris d’Entrement.

O’Toole started the hour-long session by taking aim at the Trudeau government record on inflation and pandemic recovery plan.

“All the spending is contributing to inflation but it’s also not securing a strong enough economy. Canada spent more per capita than most of our peers in response to COVID yet we’ve seen some of the weakest results.”

O’Toole says Canada trails recovery plans by the US and several European countries.

The opposition leader says the government is also failing to deliver on promises of more personal protective equipment for those on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic.

O’Toole says his party would send an additional $60 billion over the next 10 years to the provinces to improve long term care and healthcare systems.

“And I think with the Houston government’s commitment to health care, I think they need that type of federal partner that is not giving them one- or two-year plans. We need long-term, guaranteed funding so we can prepare our system for the future.”

During the session, O’Toole leaned-in to his ties to Nova Scotia; he was stationed here during his military career and attended law school at Dalhousie university, where he also met his wife.

He says the Liberals have largely ignored Nova Scotia in their time in office, suggesting a Conservative government would correct that oversight.

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Photo Ed Halverson

Christmas holidays are over for students across Nova Scotia as they return to online classes Monday.

The measures will last a week, giving schools and public health officials time to prepare the buildings, students, and staff for a safe return during the omicron outbreak.

Regional Director at South Shore Regional Centre for Education Paul Ash says the move to online learning will be very familiar to the school community.

“This isn’t new territory for us. We’ve learned a lot over the last two years in terms of online learning and other ways of engaging our students when they’re not in classrooms,” said Ash. “Obviously, we still believe that schools are safe and they’re the best place for our students to be.”

Getting fresh air into classrooms in some schools across the province has been a struggle.

Some buildings do not have mechanical ventilation systems and must rely on natural ventilation, in other words, opening a window.

North Queens Community School in Caledonia is one of eight schools across the region which will install HEPA filters to improve the air quality.

The province has also said 3-ply masks will be made available to students upon their return to in-class learning.

Ash says students and staff in this region have always had access to three-ply masks.

“Those are the masks that are available to our students in our schools right now. At the outset [we] made sure we had more than enough masks available. We have masks available, and they continue to be available to any students and staff that would like those,” said Ash.

SSRCE Executive Director Paul Ash. Photo Ed Halverson

The province also announced test kits will be distributed to schools once they’ve been received from the federal government.

Parents have raised concerns about communication from the schools, in particular, how they will be notified if a classmate has contracted COVID.

Ash says schools will follow the lead of public health regarding how and when those notifications will be made.

“So, we’re part of a mechanism. We don’t make those decisions and I’d be a little concerned being the person to say this is what I think they should do when really, they’ve done such a great job,” said Ash. “Our role is to implement the directives, not actually to create those. So, we’re part of those conversations but at the end of the day, we take the advice of public health and implement as directed.”

He says discussions will take place with public health over the next week so students, staff and parents will know exactly how they are to be notified of COVID cases in schools.

Ash praised families and staff for their hard work and sacrifice to keep COVID cases in regional schools low since the start of the pandemic.

“I do want to thank members of the community in South Shore for their fantastic work over the last couple of years that has allowed us to continue to work with our students in such a positive way.”

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Astor Theatre, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Photo Credit: Ed Halverson

Astor Theatre management was hoping for a better start to 2022.

The popular Liverpool theatre has been effectively closed since the province announced restrictions just before Christmas to limit the spread of the omicron variant.

General Manager Jean Robinson-Dexter says safety measures such as checking for vaccination, masking, and having ushers escort patrons directly to their seats encouraged a good turnout at many of the shows before they were shut down.

“People told us that they felt safe, they felt welcome and so we will just continue to do that once we’re able to welcome folks back here,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The province announced those restrictions have been extended until the end of January and Robinson-Dexter is still unsure what will happen after that.

She’s been reaching out to promoters and performers scheduled to play in February to decide if they will go ahead with their dates with the risk of more potential restrictions cancelling those shows as well.

“We’re just, kind of in wait and see, hoping that we can reopen and I’m not expecting that it’s going to be at full capacity for a while.”

Astor theatre interior. Photo Ed Halverson

Opening for 50 to 100 people is not economically viable for the theatre or performers according to Robinson-Dexter.

She hopes the community understands that leaves the theatre in a precarious position.

The Astor receives annual grants to help cover some of the operating costs and the federal and provincial governments have come forward with more money to help the theatre weather the pandemic.

But it takes funding from multiple sources, including fundraising and ticket sales to keep the Astor afloat.

Robinson-Dexter says the theatre has just wrapped its annual December donation campaign, but she hasn’t seen the totals yet.

She looks forward to reopening the Astor as soon pandemic conditions permit because the theatre is more to the community than entertainment.

“And it’s so important for people, both, I think, for social connection, to get folks out in the community, seeing friends again, and just for their mental health and well-being,” said Robinson-Dexter. “Music can fill you up.”

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Dr. Robert Strang appears virtually behind Premier Tim Houston at COVID briefing January 5, 2022. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia students will be learning from home when classes resume Monday.

Premier Tim Houston announced the plan is to take a week to upgrade ventilation at some schools and improve access to three-ply masks, test kits and communication protocols before resuming in-class instruction on January 17.

“Teachers and staff you will be safe at work. Parents, your children will be safe at school, and students, you will be returning to a wonderful in-person learning environment surrounded by people that have your best interests at heart,” said Houston.

A notice from the South Shore Regional Centre for Education says schools will remain open for students who access supports and programs through learning centres.

The province announced new requirements for self-isolation at Wednesday’s COVID update and extended restrictions that have been in place since December 22nd until the end of January.

The new isolation times will be determined by a person’s age, household situation, and vaccination status.

Close contacts are now being told to get tested 72 hours following exposure and to watch for symptoms.

A link to the full list of changes to isolation requirements can be found here.

Wednesday marked the first time the number of new COVID cases dropped below 1,000 in a couple of days.

Nova Scotia is reporting 842 new cases with 45 of those people in hospital and eight in the ICU.

Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang says high vaccination rates are protecting residents despite the high number of cases.

“Many people are questioning the vaccine, but I need to be clear, the protection we have from our very high level of vaccine coverage is what is keeping us as safe as we are right now,” said Strang. “I don’t even want to think about what omicron would look like if we didn’t have vaccination.”

Houston says he understands the frustration some Nova Scotians feel about the constantly changing rules.

The Premier says he trusts the people at public health who are using the best information available when coming up with plans to protect the people of the province.

“Nova Scotians have been incredible throughout this pandemic. You’ve set an example for the rest of the country,” said Houston. “Let’s keep doing it.”

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SSRCE School Bus. Photo Ed Halverson

A parents group is concerned the Nova Scotia government hasn’t fully thought through the return to schools.

Students across Nova Scotia are set to resume classes following the Christmas holidays January 10.

Co-chair of Nova Scotia Parents for Public Education Stacey Rudderham says the province has yet to address long-standing issues around air circulation, proper spacing for students, social distancing and releasing test results so parents can make informed choices whether to send their child to school.

“We want to see kids back in school. That’s definitely something that, you know, everybody agrees on is that kids, as much as possible should be in school,” said Rudderham. “However, a lot of the issues that have existed throughout COVID have not been resolved in our schools.”

For Rudderham and her group, it’s the lack of transparency and openness from officials that is most troubling.

“Last September, when government said they wouldn’t be listing school notices for any of the schools, we started our list and our group and our group grew by thousands of new members within days because we were the place to come and get information,” said Rudderham. “Parents want to know what’s going on in their schools.”

Nova Scotia is reporting 1,020 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

Rudderham questions why Nova Scotia is returning to in-class learning when other provinces are moving to an online model until the omicron COVID-19 variant can be brought under control.

She says education and public health officials need to consider there is more than just the school community at stake.

“It’s not just about if our kids are definitely going to get sick. It’s about who else that, you know, maybe they aren’t going to get sick but who are they going to impact if they do carry it home?” said Rudderham.

A representative from the South Shore Regional Centre for Education declined to comment on what measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of staff and students, saying the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will share more information with staff and families about the back-to-school plan later this week.

Premier Tim Houston and chief medical officer of health doctor Robert Strang will provide a COVID update Wednesday at 3:00 PM.

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Queens MLA Kim Masland. Photo Ed Halverson

The MLA for Queens sat down with reporter Ed Halverson just before Christmas to discuss a busy 2021.

Kim Masland was re-elected and moved to the government side of the legislature when the PC’s won a majority, was appointed Minister of Public Works and government house leader shortly afterwards and contracted COVID-19 .

The interview is broken into four parts.

In part one, Masland discusses the quick learning curve when forming government.

Another challenge for Masland was contracting COVID, discussed in the second part of the interview.

Healthcare and long term care were hot button topics on the doorstep during the election campaign. The PCs promised to fix the system and Masland describes how her party is working to do so.

The interview wraps up with issues Masland is working to address in Queens including resolving long-standing concerns at Carter’s Beach and the affordable housing crisis.

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A fresh new look at the Liverpool Curling Club. Photo Gordie Sampson

The Liverpool curling club is hoping a prestigious championship can go ahead next year.

The Provincial Mixed Doubles event was to have been held at the club the weekend of December 16-19 but was cancelled along with all competitive sports events in Nova Scotia as the province fights to contain the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

Liverpool Curling club president Gordie Sampson says they will be speaking with Curling Nova Scotia about when the event will be held but is concerned the competition may not be the same.

“Where they’re postponed until the new year, that might be an issue too,” said Sampson. “Because some of the team members that were coming to curl in the mixed doubles are also playing in the Tournament of Hearts.”

Sampson says the situation is fluid and hopes it will become clearer in the coming weeks.

The championship would have capped off a significant year for the club which undertook $400,000 in renovations to the facility.

Sampson says the club received some help from the Region of Queens but most of the funding for the renovations came from private donations.

Contributions are still rolling in as a new $12,000 ice scraper is arriving this week from a donor who doesn’t wish to be recognized.

Sampson says exterior walls have been insulated, more energy efficient LED lighting has been installed and refrigeration has been upgraded to provide a better ice surface and a more comfortable playing environment.

“We know from experience that if you don’t give that good product on the ice then very soon you won’t have a curling club at all,” said Sampson.

The upgrades built an enthusiasm for curling in the community which, Sampson says, has translated into new members for their junior and adult programs.

Now that the ice surface is up to snuff, Sampson says the club is turning their attention to the function rooms.

He says the club will be renovating to meet 2030 accessibility standards.

They’re working now to raise the estimated $600-700,000 for renovations which will also include a new kitchen, bar area and gender-neutral bathrooms.

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Dr. Robert Strang. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s top doctor says COVID restrictions announced last week are not enough as the province imposes harsher restrictions ahead of the holidays.

New measures set to go into effect Wednesday morning include reducing gatherings to 10 people, limits on in-person faith services and restricting singing to one person, businesses reduced to 50 percent capacity, licensed establishments must stop service at 11:00pm and close by midnight and long-term care facilities limiting visitors to two.

Dr. Robert Strang recognizes the impact these new restrictions will have during the holidays.

“What we are asking you to do now is probably the most difficult request we have made yet. This is a long two years and there’s a lot of disappointment about having to do this yet again in the holiday season. But that is our reality, and we have to deal with it,” said Strang.

A link to the full release and all the new restrictions can be found here.

With 83 percent of samples sent to the national testing lab coming back positive for omicron, Strang says the variant has become dominant strain of COVID in Nova Scotia.

The aggressive nature of omicron has impacted workers across all fields, including the medical profession, leading to staff shortages as employees self-isolate to prevent further spread.

Strang says Nova Scotians need to slow down and reduce their contacts.

“If we continue to have an ongoing high case numbers and building hospitalization rates, we reach a point where our healthcare system become very, very challenged from two perspectives: higher numbers of people requiring medical care in hospitals and worsening of an already existing challenges around getting the number of healthcare workers we need,’ said Strang.

He ended his prepared statement with a personal message to Nova Scotians.

“I want to end today speaking you from my heart. This is a worrisome sad and frustrating time. As your chief medical officer of health, I feel immense pressure to make the right decisions to protect Nova Scotians and to find the best balance to minimize harm from COVID and COVID control measures. I’m not gonna get it right every time and in retrospect, perhaps we did not get things quite right last week,” said Strang. “Things are changing fast with this new variant and there is limited information but please know that my recommendations and decisions always have the best interests of all Nova Scotians in mind.”

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Region of Queens Administration Building. Photo Ed Halverson

After much community discussion and consultation, the Region of Queens new noise bylaw will remain virtually unchanged.

Region staff had proposed a long list of noises which would be subject to new regulations during daytime hours.

Mayor Darlene Norman says an ad hoc committee composed of members from all seven districts in Queens as well as the bylaw officer and CAO decided not to include that list in the new bylaw.

“The committee felt that noise throughout the day was not going to become part of this bylaw and therefore, all of those were thrown out,” said Norman.

The committee did extend quiet time in Queens by one hour, shifting the start from midnight to 11:00pm and continuing to end at 6:00am.

Norman says many of the noise concerns the committee hoped to address were either already covered by another level of government or were outside municipal jurisdiction.

For instance, shooting fireworks is covered under federal law and enforced by RCMP while loud mufflers and subwoofers in cars are the responsibility of the province.

“How can we enforce noisy exhausts when we are not allowed to stop vehicles?” asked Norman. “RCMP have that ability and RCMP also enforce the motor vehicle act.”

The committee did decide to up the fines for noise disturbances.

Currently, fines range from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $1,000.

Under the proposed bylaw, the minimum is increased to $500 and the maximum fine jumps to $10,000.

“It was simply felt that $100 is not a significant enough deterrent for someone not to be creating a lot of noise during those quiet hours,” said Norman.

Anyone receiving the minimum fine will only be charged $350 if the fine is paid within 14 days.

Council approved first reading of the new bylaw at their last meeting.

Norman expects the noise bylaw will receive a second reading at a council session in late January.

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Future site of Etli Militamk Universally Designed Play Park. Photo Ed Halverson

A cancelled ground-breaking ceremony could be the start of a series of setbacks in the construction of the new Universal Play Park.

A snowstorm cancelled last week’s festivities at the play park’s future location beside the skate park at Queens Place in Liverpool but it’s the pandemic that is wreaking havoc on the construction schedule.

Chair of the fundraising committee Debbie J Wamboldt says building the park by spring will be difficult.

“Things aren’t looking very good from what we’re hearing from the companies, with the shipping delays and all of this,” said Wamboldt.

A request for proposals for construction of the play structure has been issued by the Region of Queens.

Due to the disruption in supply chains for goods and materials around the world caused by COVID-19, Wamboldt says companies bidding on the project aren’t willing to commit to a spring completion date.

The fundraising committee originally set a target of $450,000 but after five years of effort they’ve exceeded amount and are closing in on $600,000.

Wamboldt says even with an increase in the cost of materials since they established their goal, the park will exceed the group’s original designs.

“Hopefully the pricing isn’t too drastic with all the COVID and the shipping and all of that,” said Wamboldt. “But we still should be able to put in a park that is significantly more than what we were looking at with a $450,000 budget, so it’s exciting.”

The good news is the park now has a name.

At their last meeting, Region of Queens council unanimously approved the choice put forward by the fundraising team.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council welcomed a name that reflected and honoured the diverse cultures in Queens.

“The PAC Autism Nova Scotia Society wished it to be named Etli Militamk. (Pronounced: ed a lee Milly Dumk). Which basically means, we are playing here. That is a Mi’kmaq name,” said Norman.

Wamboldt is disappointed the snow forced the cancellation of the ground-breaking ceremony but after years of effort, she is anticipating welcoming the community to the grand opening of the newly christened park in summer.

“I envision a big party, you know, with hot dogs and cake and music and a big celebration,” said Wamboldt. “I’m looking forward to that.”

In the meantime, the Queens Universally Designed Play Park fundraising association has announced a smudging ceremony will take place on the future site Monday December 20 at 11:00am.

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Photo Ed Halverson

Students across Nova Scotia will enjoy an even longer December holiday as the province announced the break will start Friday instead of next Tuesday the 21.

Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Becky Druhan says the decision was not based on public health direction but is designed to relieve staffing pressures.

“We’re very grateful and pleased that Nova Scotians are following the public health directions to self-isolate when they’re close contacts. But some of those people are people who are in the school system and that means they’re unavailable to come in to teach, to support the school or to drive buses, if those are their roles. So, as a result of the numbers of people who are on self-isolation due to being close contacts, there are challenges with operating school,” said Druhan.

The department announced just last week that students would return to class two days later than planned, on January 6.

The reasoning was to allow families to monitor students for COVID-19 before they return to school, for public health to assess COVID-19 in the province, and staff to undertake further professional development to support their teaching, while also allowing more time for families to book vaccination appointments for their children.

Druhan says the extra time will allow public health officials to make the best plans for a safe return to school.

“One of the reasons for that is about giving public health some additional time to be able to make a determination about the epidemiology and what the situation is and to ensure we have that time to have really good decisions around what measures need to be in place coming back.,” said Druhan. “And so public health will be taking the time over the holidays to make those assessments. We’ll be working very closely with them to make sure that whatever new measures need to be in place when we come back in January are ready to go.”

The announcement to extend the school break comes as the province reports 178 new cases of coronavirus.

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Minister Becky Druhan announces new school funding at Hebbville Academy in Hebbville. Photo Ed Halverson

The provincial government will spend $2 million and hold down the price of a carton of milk to promote healthier living in schools.

The Healthy Schools fund, announced Monday, will provide $5,000 and a dollar per student to schools to support physical and mental health or cultural awareness.

Education and early Childhood Development Minister Becky Druhan says each school will consult with their School Advisory Councils, staff and students to determine how the money will be spent.

“One of the exciting things about this is that every school is going to be able to use it in ways that will benefit them and really meet their own needs,” said Druhan.

Those ways could include structured programming like sports teams or social activities, or less structured groups that promote health and cultural awareness within the schools.

Also announced, the school milk program will hold the price of a 250ml carton of milk to 40 cents until September 2022.

Students would have seen a price increase of five cents in January due to increased production costs before the province agreed to foot the bill for the increase for the rest of the school year.

About 330 schools participate in the school milk program.

The cost of the program has been shared between dairy producers, processors, and the department of agriculture since its launch in 1974.

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Dr. Robert Strang. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is returning to tighter COVID restrictions Friday as the new omicron variant has reached the province and infection numbers climb.

At Monday’s update, Dr. Robert Strang says the restrictions will focus on masking, gathering limits and physical distancing.

Strang says he has been asked why, if our province has such high vaccination rates public health is panicked.

“There is no need to panic but there is a need to be cautious. We don’t know enough about this variant to wait and see what happens,” said Strang. “We cannot take the risk of wider spread into more vulnerable groups like seniors and those that are immunocompromised and potentially putting pressure on our health care system.

Beginning Friday December 18, the restrictions coming back in to play will see indoor and outdoor informal gatherings limited to 20 people from the same household or consistent social group.

Six feet of physical distance is required indoors and outdoors, except among that household or consistent social group.

Businesses can operate at the maximum capacity possible with physical distancing and food and liquor-licensed establishments must have physical distance between tables and a limit of 20 people per table.

People must be seated to remove their mask for eating or drinking.

Schools will implement a return to restrictions Tuesday.

In addition to masks again being required when physical distancing cannot be maintained, school concerts are cancelled, sports teams from different schools will no longer compete against each other and classes can no longer mix with other classes in the same schools.

The province reports 114 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

Public Health also announced rapid COVID tests are available in libraries across Nova Scotia.

Anyone testing positive from a rapid test must self-isolate and book a PCR test to verify the result.

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Region of Queens free metered parking. Photo Ed Halverson

Free Christmas parking is causing problems for visitors to the Liverpool post office.

Each year the Region of Queens makes metered parking free to bring more shoppers downtown in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Mayor Darlene Norman says that effort is being abused by a few drivers who are overstaying in the few spots outside the post office.

Norman is asking drivers to go about their business then move along and let others use the spaces.

“Please keep in mind that we have many people, we have many elders that are going to the post office. It’s exceedingly busy. They’re picking up packages,” said Norman. “Even though it’s free parking, if you’re working at a business or if you’re staff in another store, please don’t park in those places.”

She says the same request goes for people spending more than a few minutes shopping.

Liverpool post office. Photo Ed Halverson

Norman says she has received several complaints from seniors having to park blocks away in a parking lot and make the trek up the hill to collect their mail.

The free parking outside the post office falls under a bylaw that permits free parking across the region for 28 days prior to December 25.

Norman says she has had requests to change the bylaw to exclude those spaces from the free parking.

The mayor acknowledges it would take about four weeks to change the by-law.

She says the parking spots could be maintained as paid parking next year but wonders how it would be enforced.

“How do you enforce 15 minutes unless there is enforcement standing right there looking at someone in the eyeball?” said Norman. “I think people just really need to be kind, considerate and respectful.”

Norman hopes by bringing the issue to people’s attention the public will use the free parking in the spirit in which it was intended.

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Dr. Robert Strang. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

Students can look forward to an extended holiday break this year.

Premier Tim Houston made the announcement at Tuesday’s COVID briefing that public schools will return January 6 instead of January 4 as previously planned.

Houston says the education department proposed the extra time to provide public health officials more time to assess any potential COVID spread following the holiday break.

“The department, just on balance, looked at what’s happening around and said a couple more days is not going to hurt the academic calendar,” said Houston. “If we can get through the holidays and kind of reset starting in the new year, that’s better for students and teachers.”

Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang says the province’s vaccination rates are climbing.

Almost 82 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

Strang expects those numbers will increase even more as parents have been snapping up vaccination appointment for their five- to eleven-year-olds.

“So far, almost 29,000 of 65,000 five- to eleven-year-olds, and that’s almost 45 percent, have had a first dose or an appointment scheduled,” said Strang. “That’s quite something, we’ve just begun immunizing a week ago.”

Strang is still urging Nova Scotians to be cautious and follow COVID protocols such as wearing masks, frequent hand-washing and social distancing.

He says that caution should be front of mind when making holiday travel plans as well.

“We’re certainly far more open than we were last Christmas but we’re still in a pandemic. For me it’s about, we need to slow down our lives and be careful about how active we are,” said Strang. “There’s more virus around in New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec than there is in Nova Scotia. So, now’s the time to enjoy the increased freedoms, if you will, and opportunities we have in Nova Scotia while we’re still in a pandemic. But also, let’s not go crazy.”

Strang says everyone still needs to be careful and cautious, even within the province, about how much travel, and how many social events and people they’re exposed to.

He encourages Nova Scotians to enjoy a much less restricted holiday season than last year.

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Photo Ed Halverson

For the third year in a row some Queens county seniors can look forward to a surprise in their stocking.

Santa for Seniors gives people the opportunity to donate gifts anonymously to seniors living in Queens.

Organizer Kendra Shot says over that time, the program has grown from supplying 250 presents in the first year to providing over 400 seniors with gifts this Christmas.

Shot says about 60% of the people on her list are returning seniors but ensuring those numbers are accurate can be difficult.

“Make sure that everybody that’s on my list is looked after and are still in their residence. But a lot of them have passed on, a lot of them have been moved to homes. It’s challenging but I don’t want anyone to go without.”

Donors can sponsor a senior from an anonymous list posted on the Seniors for Santa Facebook page.

Traditionally, gifts would include items such as toiletries, sweets and warm clothes but this year Shot has seen a drastic increase in requests for gas and grocery gift cards.

“A lot of the seniors are choosing between heat and food so the gift cards actually, are going to help tremendously.”

Shot says the pandemic has been particularly hard on senior’s pocketbooks.

“I’ve had people ask for warming blankets, little electric blanket throws for their couch so they don’t have to turn their heat up. It breaks my heart.”

Shot says once again, the people of Queens have opened their hearts and all but 50 or so seniors have been adopted.

The last day to sponsor a senior is Friday.

Gifts can be left at Route 3 Cellar Tap Room and Grill or at the Liverpool offices of Belliveau Veinotte chartered accountants.

Shot says she and a team of volunteers will distribute the present between December 20 and 23.

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Photo Ed Halverson

A new long term care home is coming to Queens.

The province announced the new facility will replace Hillsview Acres and Queens Manor, increasing the number of available beds from 90 to 96.

Executive Director at Queens Manor Andrew MacVicar says the new facility will replace aging infrastructure that no longer meets the needs of the people living there.

“What I’m really excited about is to have a facility that matches the excellence of the people that work there and provide the residents with single rooms, single bathrooms, more space and state of the art accommodations that meet national standards for long term care,” said MacVicar.

A spokesperson from the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care says costs are still be tabulated and won’t be finalized until the bidding process is complete.

A press release from Queens Manor estimates the cost of the final project will be in the neighbourhood of $50 million, funded solely by the province.

The number and severity of COVID cases in long-term care facilities at the start of the pandemic demonstrated how residents are disproportionately affected by infectious outbreaks.

MacVicar says that has laid bare the need for better tools to prevent the spread of infectious disease in long term care facilities across the province.

“You’ve got staff who are taking all the right measures and putting all the measures in place to prevent the spread, but you’re doing it in an environment that isn’t giving you an advantage. What changes now is that the environment will match the measures that are put in place to prevent that infection from spreading,” said MacVicar.

The province has issued a request for proposals to find a project manager to lead the design and construction of the facility.

MacVicar says he will bring forward any ideas staff at the existing facilities may have about how to make the new build better.

“On any given day I’m sure somebody that works at Queens Manor, Hillsview Acres says, you know, if I was building a new Queens Manor this is what I’d do,” said MacVicar. “So, I want to hear those ideas from the staff and bring them to the design team as well.”

MacVicar says when the new facility opens its doors around the end of December 2024 it will be the culmination of many people’s efforts over many years.

“As a community, it’s a very exciting moment. I know that a lot of people have worked really hard on this over the years,” said MacVicar. “It’s exciting for everyone who’s put the hard work in. But lots of hard work now begins.

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Danna Winters exhibit. Photo Liverpool Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre

A couple of local organizations will get a boost from the sale of works by a local artist.

Close to 40 paintings created by the late Danna Winters are currently on display at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre in Liverpool.

General manager Jean Robinson-Dexter says the idea to sell the paintings came about after the collection came to the owner of the Liverpool Buy and Sell, Colleen Baggs.

Robinson-Dexter says Baggs wanted the artwork to benefit local organizations, “And wanted to share them with the community which is a wonderful gift on her part.”

Robinson-Dexter says the paintings are all priced under a hundred dollars and proceeds will be evenly split between the Liverpool Arts Society and the Liverpool Firefighters Association.

She says most of the paintings have a distinctly local flavour.

“Scenes, primarily, from in and around Queens County, with a few exceptions,” said Robinson-Dexter. “There are winter scenes and there are water scenes and there are ocean scenes and lake and that kind of thing. A really beautiful variety of work.”

Robinson-Dexter says the exhibit has been successful so far, even expanding to include more of Winter’s art.

‘When Colleen came and saw the arts up on the walls in our downstairs gallery, she then donated the quilt,” said Robinson-Dexter. “ Then a few days later they returned with this great box of Christmas ceramic figures.”

Robinson-Dexter says a third of the paintings have already sold.

The exhibit will run until the first week of January.

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Region of Queens Administration Building. Photo Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens will require anyone entering a municipally operated building to be double vaccinated.

Council voted to unanimously approve the measures at a special session Wednesday.

Mayor Darlene Norman says the aim is to provide a safe environment for staff and the public.

“Council all agreed. They all recognized that COVID is an airborne disease, strains are multiplying, and we need to take as many precautionary acts as we can,” said Norman.

Unvaccinated people may still enter the administration building to pay bills, fees or pick up permits or documents.

Proof of a first dose must be presented to the Region’s Safety Officer or staff supervisor by December 31 and full vaccination needs to be shown by February 15, 2022.

Any employee failing to meet the deadline will be placed on unpaid leave for 30 days.

If that employee still isn’t vaccinated at the end of those 30 days, they will be fired.

The policy applies to employees required to interact with members of the public, other staff, contractors, or access common building spaces in the performance of their daily duties.

Norman says the Region is taking this step to fill what she sees as a lack of direction from the province.

“One would have hoped that the provincial government would have made a policy that went straight across the board rather than leaving this up to individual municipalities,” said Norman. “However, they did not, so we did.”

The Region of Queens new mandatory vaccine policy is effective immediately.

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Premier Tim Houston. Photo Communications Nova Scotia

The deadline has passed for mandated employees to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

Provincial civil servants were given until the end of November to have at least a first dose of vaccine or risk being put on unpaid leave from their jobs.

In a release, Premier Tim Houston says he has been told there would be few disruptions to service as 99 percent of provincial government employees have been vaccinated with at least one dose.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development says some school bus routes in Halifax may be impacted but those will be covered off by other drivers.

Long-term care facilities across the province are keeping a close eye the number of unvaccinated employees as well.

The sector already struggles to maintain staffing levels and anyone not reporting for work could affect care at those facilities.

According to the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care the shortfall could be made up by offering full time employment to existing casual and part time workers.

Employment agencies and travelling nursing staff could also be brought in.

Just 20 exemptions to the vaccine mandate have been granted.

Two of those came from the 134 human rights requests and 18 exemptions were issued from 49 medical requests.

Almost 85 percent of Nova Scotians have been vaccinated with one dose and 81.3 percent are fully vaccinated.

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 Photo Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens is looking to speed up the building process.

At their last meeting, council decided to add another planner to the department to clear up a backlog and allow permits to be issued more quickly going forward.

Mayor Darlene Norman says the municipality is seeing a 90 percent increase in permit applications.

“We need to speed things up,” said Norman. “When you have a large commercial development or even someone needing to replace their roof or to put a small addition on. When they’re waiting six and seven weeks to have their permits processed, that is a long time wait.”

Norman says landing a planner could be a challenge as the Region of Queens isn’t the only municipal unit looking to add to their planning staff.

She says the Town of Lunenburg has posted a job ad for a planner and Halifax is looking to hire three.

Norman is hopeful the quality of life in Queens will attract qualified applicants.

“Professionals are widely sought so we’re going to spread our net wide,” said Norman. “The Region of Queens is a great place to live. Anyone that is looking for great cultural life, natural attributes, closeness to Halifax, Yarmouth, Annapolis, we have it all.”

Norman says they’re looking bring a new planner on board as soon as they can.

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Photo Ed Halverson

The Royal Canadian Legion’s annual poppy Campaign rebounded from the pandemic in an unexpected way.

Mersey Branch 38 President Louis Landry didn’t have a final total but says the community really stepped forward to help veterans and their families.

“We did rebound and we did make better than last year, not so much in the sales of poppies at the stores but more so in donations.”

Landry says those donations came primarily in the form of memorial messages which are read by legion members at the Remembrance Day services.

Traditionally the notices are read in person but this year they moved online.

Landry says the legion placed poppy boxes in 68 locations around Queens, 126 donations were received, and 76 wreaths were purchased.

All money raised for the poppy fund goes directly to help veterans and their families.

Landry says attendance at Remembrance Day ceremonies also saw a considerable increase over last year.

He says the Brooklyn service doubled their turnout and Port Mouton had 80 people come out, far more than the usual 20 who would normally attend the service.

Landry says while the sunny weather helped, he feels people are looking to connect with one another.

“I think that COVID may have strengthened that desire to show support,” said Landry. “I think that COVID, and life has caused things to be more meaningful.”

Landry says that desire was reflected in the higher turnout at all nine Remembrance Day services across the county.

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