LRHS Grad drive-thru parade. Photo Ed Halverson

A jubilant mood outside Queens Place as proud parents, grandparents and members of the community gathered to celebrate the 2021 Liverpool Regional High School graduates.

For the second year in a row, the LRHS community had to find another way to acknowledge graduates as pandemic restrictions have forced the cancellation of traditional proms, safe grads and public graduation ceremonies.

Deborah Raddall says she and her fellow organizers simply followed the plan parents laid out last year.

Students were permitted to be seated six feet apart in front of Queens Place while their loved ones drove past to acknowledge their accomplishments.

Deborah Raddall looks on as the community rolls by in a drive-thru graduation celebration. Photo Ed Halverson

Raddall says after her group bombed public health with letters asking for permission to hold the event, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang not only endorsed the plan during one of his COVID updates, he encouraged other schools to ‘steal’ it and adapt it for their own graduations.

“It’s a simple concept,” said Raddall. “We didn’t ask for more than they were prepared to give and I think that’s really why we got the okay. It was a reasonable, well, thought-out plan, safety was the primary thing.”

Graduate Jamie Dunn is one of many students who appreciates the efforts so many put in to give them a public celebration.

LRHS Graduate Jamie Dunn. Photo Ed Halverson

“It’s really nice that we have classmates with really caring parents that could organize this for us,” said Dunn. “I’m really grateful that everyone is here tonight, together.”

Parent Todd Wilms was on hand to cheer on his daughter Piper. He was glad to see so many people come out to celebrate the graduates.

“This is the epitome of a small community getting together, despite the circumstances here now with the pandemic. Wonderful,” said Wilms.

The excitement of the evening was tempered for some. Graduate Chris Bowers says he appreciates the effort but is a bit disappointed the pandemic has prevented students celebrating the end of their time together in a more traditional way.

“It’s not as exciting as I thought it would be but it’s better than nothing,” said Bowers.

LRHS Graduate Chris Bowers. Photo Ed Halverson

When asked what he was hoping for, Bowers responded, “More together, more than just an hour with everyone. Safe grad is what I’m going to miss the most, not having that.”

Volunteers from Queens County Search and Rescue directed traffic as car after car, loaded with supporters, circled Queens Place several times, honking horns, waving signs and blowing bubbles.

Raddall’s daughter Ellen is among the 2021 graduating class. She was impressed with the turnout from the community and the resilience shown by her fellow graduates.

LRHS Graduate Ellen Raddall. Photo Ed Halverson

“It’s so incredible to see so many people out here today and seeing people who have driven from Bridgewater, like our teachers, just to come and celebrate us. It kind of makes up for the lack of grad we get because of COVID. It really didn’t crack our spirit at all,” said Raddall.

Ellen’s mom Deborah says the support from the community and the turnout really made all the effort worthwhile.

“It’s more than I envisioned. It’s so exciting. I’m trying to hold myself together from having lots of tears, you know, momma tears but it’s excellent,” said Raddall. “The kids are all excited. We’re across the parking lot and you can see them grinning from ear-to ear.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Premier Iain Rankin in Lunenburg. Photo Ed Halverson

The province announced five new palliative care beds are opening on the South Shore.

Premier Iain Rankin was in Lunenburg to share the news the province will provide $1 million annually to fund the five spaces at Fisherman’s Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg.

The new unit will provide team-based palliative care, including end-of-life care, symptom management and support for patients and families from across Queens and Lunenburg counties.

Existing beds at the hospital will be converted into home-like environments.

The province will pick up the tab for equipment and furnishings and additional staff requirements.

Chair of the South Shore Hospice Palliative Care Society Trudy Johnson says the new beds will provide dignity at the end of life.

“I guess I’ll describe it as a giant hug,” said Johnson. “You know, you have people embracing you at your end of life and being able to be with you with dignity and comfort and care and knowing that they love you.”

Trudy Johnson. Photo Ed Halverson

The new unit is set to open this fall.

The new funding announcement is the latest in a string from Premier Rankin, leading many to believe an election call is imminent.

Border blockade takes center stage

Wednesday’s announcement was overshadowed by news of the blockade that has been erected at the New Brunswick – Nova Scotia border.

Protestors blocking the Trans-Canada Highway into Nova Scotia are reacting to last minute changes to quarantine requirements for anyone entering this province from New Brunswick.

The premier announced Tuesday people coming from New Brunswick may have to quarantine up to 14 days based on the number of vaccines they have received and testing.

Protestors are frustrated restrictions weren’t lifted for travellers from New Brunswick the same as they were for people coming from Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.

Rankin has a message to those blockading the highway.

“Think about all the families in Nova Scotia. I have a duty to look out for safety and everyone’s lives,” said Rankin. “We just lost two Nova Scotians yesterday. One had one shot of vaccine. I need to trust the advise of public health that we need one more week.”

At a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, PC Leader Tim Houston said he has been in touch with New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs about the blockade

“I urge the premier to do the same thing. To have those discussions, get everyone to the table and open up the border. But the blockade must end. Goods and services have to be able to flow, families have to be reunited and out products have to move, so end the blockades now,” said Houston.

PC Leader Tim Houston. Screen grab from Zoom conference

For his part, the premier is once again calling on Nova Scotians to put their faith in the people who have kept them safe throughout the pandemic.

“Support public health and support the safety of Nova Scotians for one week and then we’re in a much different place,” said Rankin. “We’ll have thousands of more people with their second dose. Let’s give public health the confidence we have for five months.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Queens-Shelburne MLA Kim Masland will re-offer in the new riding of Queens. Photo Ed Halverson

The MLA for Queens Shelburne is coming back for more.

Kim Masland has announced she will represent the Progressive Conservatives in Queens in the next provincial election.

Masland wants to continue to work on behalf of the people in her community.

“Even though it’s not a big fancy building or it’s not a repaved highway, for me, I know I’ve made a difference, I’ve made an impact in that person’s life and no one will probably ever know about it. But I do, and they do and that’s why I entered into this job, to care for people,” said Masland.

The first-time MLA was elected in the riding of Queens-Shelburne in 2017.

She says representing a large constituency with very different populations over the past four years has been challenging.

The electoral boundaries have been redrawn for the next election to divide the two communities and Masland has chosen to run in Queens, the district she has always called home.

“Queens is home for me,” said Masland. “You know, I was brought up in Queens and I’ve never left. I’m looking forward to be able to, 100 percent focus on Queens County.”

Masland has spent her time in the legislature on the opposition benches and she is optimistic when the final ballots are tallied the PC caucus will be sitting on the government side of the house.

“I truly believe that we are the government in waiting. I truly believe that after the next election there will be a PC government caring for our province,” said Masland.

Despite her party affiliation, Masland says she would like to see an end of partisan politics and games in Nova Scotia.

“If the Liberals or the NDP bring forth great legislation, or speak to a bill that I know is going to benefit my constituents I’m the first one clapping for them. It doesn’t matter to me. It’s all about what is the best for the people we represent,” said Masland.

Often when politicians hit the campaign trail many promises are made that are forgotten once candidates are elected.

Masland says one commitment she guarantees she will keep is to bring decisions about health care back to a local level.

“The administration that was created by the sitting government, by the Liberal government, has basically put decision-making of how healthcare is delivered into glass towers in Halifax.,” said Masland. “That has made things very difficult for the delivery of healthcare in small, rural areas such as Queens County.”

Masland’s family supports her decision to reoffer even though it means they will continue to take a back seat to the people of Queens.

It was a comment from her daughter that Masland says really underscores her family’s understanding of the sacrifices she makes.

“She said Mom, you know what, it’s okay. And of course, my children are grown and are out my house but, [she said] we’ll share you again with constituents because we know they need you.”

The next general election must be called by spring of 2022.

All parties are in the process of solidifying their roster of candidates as Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada without fixed election dates and Premier Iain Rankin could call an election at any time.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Customers flock to Memories Cafe in Liverpool on the first day of the Phase II reopening. Photo Ed Halverson

The second phase of Nova Scotia’s reopening plan kicked off Wednesday.

Restaurants and bars can now have up to ten people per group seated indoors and social distanced from other groups.

Retail stores can now operate at 50 percent capacity and personal services businesses such as hair salons, spas, and body art establishments that require clients to remove their masks can also reopen.

A quick walk around downtown Liverpool shows business owners were ready and keen to open their doors.

Andreas Arnmor, owner of Main and Mersey says while their takeout business has kept them afloat through the lockdown, it was nice to see people milling around inside.

“Today, eight o’clock in the morning, fantastic to have people inside, although it’s still social distancing. But, just to move towards normality,” said Arnmor.

Andreas Arnmor owner of Main and Mersey prepares a hot drink. Photo Ed Halverson

During a busy lunch service at Memories Café, server Angie Wilson stopped for a moment to comment on the crowd.

“Much busier than expected, lots of people coming and going,” said Wilson. “They’re very excited to be back out and into the public again and to see other faces.”

Angie Wilson at Memories Cafe welcomes patrons back to their dining room. Photo Ed Halverson

At Five Girls Baking, owner Leanne Arnott is relieved other owners can reopen their businesses.

Arnott says the pandemic forced everyone to adapt.

“Well, we had seating in here that we had to take away at the beginning and we never put it back,” said Arnott. “We did have people that would come and sit down. We have changed an awful lot to survive.”

In addition to the fresh baked goods produced on site, Arnott says they branched out to offer local fresh food and meats as well as specialty groceries.

Another business owner who had to make changes to their model is Joey Nasrallah, owner of A1 Pizza.

Because of the increase in take out orders, Nasrallah needed more space for his staff, so he expanded his kitchen and cut the amount of seating to just eight stools.

Nasrallah noticed a change in how his customers would interact during the lockdown.

“People were scared, if a person [was] in, people wait outdoors, they won’t even walk in, even if [there was just] one person or they might leave. Difficulties, people scared of each other,” said Nasrallah.

A-1 Pizza owner Joey Nasrallah is glad to see so many neighbouring businesses reopening their doors. Photo Ed Halverson

Around the corner at Hell Bay Brewing Company, co-owner Melanie Perron said they’re just excited to have people sit and stay a while in their space.

Perron says they’re hiring staff and preparing to serve people both in their shop and on their patio.

Each of the people we spoke with were asked how they felt about the speed of the province’s phased reopening plan.

They all agreed the phases seem to be coming at an appropriate pace to keep everyone safe.

Perron sums it up.

“I’m not a doctor. I’m not a scientist, so for me to judge or give my opinion on how they’re going about doing things, it seems to be working out, so far so good.”

Hell Bay co-owner Melanie Perron says beer sales through the NSLC have kept the doors open but she’s glad to see customers return. Photo Ed Halverson

Nasrallah says when it comes to the long-term impacts, a cautious reopening plan is better.

“We don’t want to open too fast and get damaged again like we did last time,” said Nasrallah.

Overall, owners were in good spirits on the first day of Phase II.

Back at Main and Mersey, Andreas Arnmor is looking ahead.

“The first mask-free day we’re going to have a party,” said Arnmor. “I’m going to sell gin and tonics. No, I’m not because I’m not allowed. So, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to sell tonics with matcha latte as a new drink.”

After struggling to survive the pandemic, business owners can begin to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Council proposes to raise Market Street from the bridge to Water Street. Photo Ed Halverson

The Mayor of Queens bristles at the suggestion Liverpool is sinking.

“Liverpool is not sinking,” said Darlene Norman. “The ocean’s rising in a parking lot area that is surrounded by some businesses but Liverpool, as in main street Liverpool, is high and dry ground. The majority of Liverpool is fine.”

Norman is responding to the recently released flood mitigation strategies prepared for Region of Queens council by CBCL consultants back in 2019.

The parking lot in question is downtown along the Mersey River.

Many local business fixtures and points of interest border the lot including Centennial Park, Memories Café, Home Hardware, Hell Bay Brewing and the Royal Canadian Legion, among others.

CBCL made four recommendations to overcome the flooding ranging from the construction of a seawall, raising the parking lot or market street, to retreating from the waterfront.*

The four recommendations come with a price tag that could be as high as $9 million.

Those estimates were completed in 2019 before the cost of building materials skyrocketed during the pandemic and the mayor expects they could be much higher now.

While cost was a consideration, Norman says Region of Queens Council rejected three of the four suggestions on the basis of fairness.

“The Region of Queens is more than the former town of Liverpool and what we undertake in Liverpool we then undertake in all parts of coastal Queens,” said Norman.

Norman says council has decided to take the retreat option but council still needs to determine how that will proceed.*

In the short term, council has decided to apply for $500,000 from the province’s Flood Risk Infrastructure Investment Program to raise Market Street from the Liverpool Bridge to Water Street because it is prone to flooding.

The Region would match the provincial funding and the total cost of the elevating Market street would sit around $1 million.

Norman says council needs to ensure Market street remains passable as it is the main road in and out of downtown Liverpool for emergency vehicles.

She says the hope is to complete the work by 2023.

Council is taking advantage of the current Land Use Bylaw review to head off future flooding issues.

Norman says the draft plan dictates raising buildings eight feet on coastlines and ideally restricts new construction to be set back 100 feet from waterfrontage.

The mayor says council needs to plan for responsible development into the future.

“Knowing what we know, if we continue to allow these things, we’re just dropping more trouble onto future councils,” said Norman. “So we might as well be the ones that bite the bullet.”

Norman expects the proposed Land Use Bylaws will be coming to council in the next few weeks.

Residents will be able to comment through the public approvals process before the provincial government signs off on the final draft.

Norman hopes the new land use bylaws will be adopted before the end of the year.

*The story has been updated to reflect the Region of Queens accepted the option to retreat from the waterfront.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Liverpool Regional High School. Photo Ed Halverson

A local group is working to recognize Liverpool Regional High School graduates.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, large gatherings are prohibited across Nova Scotia, including graduation ceremonies.

Deborah Raddall is one of a group of volunteers who are working to find a way to allow graduates to gather together without breaking the public health orders.

“We thought, we have to do this so that, in the end we can say we did whatever we could to try and give our kids something,” said Raddall.

Schools have adjusted to allow students to receive their diplomas and awards at individually scheduled times.

The students can be accompanied by up to four guests for the ten-minute ceremony.

Raddall and her group are proposing to follow in the steps of last year’s graduating class and hold a drive-by graduation celebration.

She says using Queens Place Emera Centre again would allow the students to set up six feet apart while the community drives by and shows their support.

Raddall says a letter submitted to public health through the department’s website outlining their plan was met with a form-letter type rejection.

But Friday morning, Raddall awoke to an e-mail from Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang.

Dr Robert Strang discusses what safe graduation celebrations could look like in the second phase of COVID reopening. Photo Nova Scotia Government

In it, he says under the current restrictions the gathering is not permitted.

But once the province moves into Phase II of the COVID reopening plan, which could be as soon as Wednesday June 16, the ceremony can go ahead.

In fact during Friday’s COVID briefing Dr. Strang pointed to the LRHS drive-by model as one other schools should consider.

“Communities will need to be creative and innovative again in celebrating their graduates. One example I’ve heard is a drive-past celebration. Graduates can be sitting outside, properly distanced, while family and community members in their vehicles drive-by to honour the graduate’s accomplishments. It’s a great idea and I’m sure the people who thought of it would be happy if you stole their idea,” said Strang.

Raddall is excited the drive-by idea has received the blessing of Nova Scotia’s top doctor.

She’s optimistic provincial officials will announce phase II of the recovery will begin Wednesday and their group can go ahead with their plans but regardless, they’re determined to provide some ceremony for the LRHS class of 2021.

“Really where we’re at is, we just have to move on and say, ok, if that doesn’t work, let’s go to plan B,” said Raddall. “There’s 26 letters in the alphabet and we’re not the give-y up kind of people.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Felix Munoz with Yvonne and Al Wenninger. Photo courtesy of the Wenningers

An online event this weekend will provide a peek into the life of the province’s migrant workers.

“Will You Be My Neighbour” will feature a conversation with local pastor Samuel Jess and migrant worker Felix Munoz about overcoming the isolation some workers feel from the communities where they live and work.

Munoz is one of hundreds of migrant workers from Mexico who make the South Shore their home for up to eight months of the year as farm labour.

Jess is the pastor at Barss Corner Baptist and Emmanuel Church of Parkdale and Maplewood.

The two became friends after Jess invited Munoz to join his family for dinner.

Jess says it’s that personal connection that makes migrant workers feel welcomed.

“They’ve said it’s so nice that you care. Thank you for caring for Mexicans here. And caring about their families, caring to know them, caring to stay in touch with them, that’s probably a pretty big need,” said Jess.

Pastor Samuel Jess. Photo contributed by Samuel Jess

He says a first year university course in Spanish and a trip to South America in his younger days has helped him speak with Felix and the other workers.

“Getting over that language barrier, it takes time and it takes misunderstandings and it takes, it just takes a lot of patience,” said Jess. “Felix has a lot of patience and people in our churches have a lot of patience.”

The event is being presented by the group, “No One Is Illegal – Halifax”.

Stacey Gomez, a member of the Halifax chapter says the organization has offices across Canada and around the world to help migrant workers navigate life and regulations in a foreign country.

“We field questions from migrant workers about the vaccine, for example, about worker rights and other issues around access to services, for example,” said Gomez.

She says this is the first in a series of events they’re planning where residents can engage and learn more about the migrant population that is part of their community.

“We wanted to organize it around the theme of being a good neighbour because I think that really resonates with people, especially in the COVID-19 context where we’ve had to rely on our neighbours a lot,” said Gomez.

The event will be presented Saturday night beginning at 7:00pm on YouTube and FaceBook Live.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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South Shore Drive-In screen. Photo Catherine Croft

Organizers of the South Shore Drive-In say this season will be worth the wait.

Catherine Croft, one of the principal organizers says people are asking when the local drive in will begin operations, pointing out other drive-ins in Nova Scotia have been operating for a few weeks.

Croft says the season will get underway soon and she’s asking patrons to be patient just a little while longer.

“Our drive-in is a bit different,” said Croft. “We’re run by volunteers and unlike some drive-ins that are able to do no-person contact essentially. You can buy your ticket online and you park yourselves.”

Croft says their operation is based on in-person interaction.

Her team of volunteers, including members of the Queens County Ground Search and Rescue, are responsible for everything from selling tickets, directing where to park, selling concessions and cleaning washrooms.

That support team alone, can include up to 30 people which could see the operation run afoul of public gathering limits set by public health.

Croft says their group had hoped to start showing films June 5, but now expects they will have to wait until sometime this summer when restrictions ease.

When the facility is up and running, Croft says they have plans to offer more than movies to their audience.

She is working to showcase local live music. Performers will play on a stage in front of the big screen while their image is shown behind them.

Croft also wants to expand their offerings into the community by bringing their smaller screen to private events.

That would allow people to watch movies, or play video games as part of their gatherings.

The screen is being installed this week at the South Shore Drive-In home on the Hank Snow Museum property.

Croft says she and her team are as anxious as everyone else to get the season underway.

“I’m ready. I’ve been all winter ready. I am ready to go with concessions, our screen is ready and cleaned this year and we’ll be ready to rock and roll whenever the government says or Dr. Strang can say that we can do it.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Photo Ed Halverson

A downed power line briefly trapped students inside a bus Monday afternoon.

Shortly after 3:00pm a bus carrying 23 students on route 122 from Liverpool Regional High School, South Queens Middle School and John C Wickwire Academy, encountered the power line on Barss Street in Liverpool.

Captain John Long of the Liverpool Fire Department explains what led to the downed line.

“Another vehicle had hit the pole, or rubbed the pole and pulled the mast off the house. The bus came along and didn’t notice the low-hanging wire and so it got tangled up in it,”said Long. “As soon as they realized what they were in they stopped the bus and called for help.”

South Shore Regional Centre for Education officials contacted the parents of the 23 students on board to make them aware of the situation.

Nova Scotia Power, Liverpool Fire Department, and RCMP worked together to remove the line from the bus.

The ordeal lasted about an hour but with no air conditioning and temperatures approaching 30 degrees in the mid-afternoon, the only relief students had from the heat was to open the windows.

Liverpool Fire Department provided students with bottled water when they were able to exit the bus.

Some parents arrived to pick up their children from the incident site.

SSRCE Communications Coordinator Ashley Gallant says students were checked out by EHS before being released.

Gallant credits the quick actions of the bus driver for ensuring the safety of everyone on the bus.

“Really have to give some recognition to the bus driver who immediately recognized that something wasn’t right and stopped, according to procedures and contacted Nova Scotia Power, as we should,” said Gallant. “So it’s really the best outcome here. Everybody was safe and no injuries.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Some of the bicycles handed out during the 2020 Bike Exchange campaign. Photo Credit: Norm Amirault

The annual Region of Queens bike exchange is once again up and rolling for 2021.

Beginning Monday, residents looking for a gently used bike in good working order can choose from one of the many that will be posted on the bike exchange Facebook page.

Throughout the year, the Region accepts donations of used bicycles and turns them over to be repaired before being offered to the community.

Region of Queens active living coordinator Norm Amirault says the first bike exchange held in 2019 was modelled after other similar programs that were successful around the South Shore.

With the help of their partners Liverpool Adventure Outfitters, 18 bikes were distributed in person that first year and that number increased to 25 bikes in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Amidst COVID increased demand for cycling or bikes, bike parts and bike supplies went way, way up,” said Amirault. “So God love ‘em, they’ve continued to do our repairs and they’ve always done a great job.

Now in its third year, another partner has come on board to sponsor the bike exchange.

The Liverpool Kinsmen club has stepped up to cover the costs of repairing the donated bicycles.

Each bike the Region gives away also comes with a helmet, and the Kinsmen are covering the costs of buying those as well.

In honour of that generosity, the Region has renamed the event the, “Kinsmen club of Liverpool bike exchange”.

The event will be held exclusively online again. Fifteen bikes will be listed to start this year’s bike exchange. Amirault says they have another 15 or so that will be offered up after the initial batch has been distributed.

Amirault said the aim of the bike exchange is to provide people the opportunity to be more physically active but you can’t overlook the positive impacts of a community looking out for one another.

“It’s been really, really gratifying to see a couple of things. People of all ages in our community receiving bikes who might not otherwise have gotten them and it’s been really gratifying to see people, residents who say, yup, I’ll get you a bike and donate it,” said Amirault.

Anyone with a bike they would like to donate to the bike exchange program can drop it off at the Region of Queens municipal office on White Point Road.

To view the available bikes head to the Kinsmen club of Liverpool bike exchange event Facebook page.

Amirault says the bikes will be listed starting at 7:00pm.

To claim a bicycle, simply leave your name in the comments under that bike and Region staff will contact the recipients on a first come, first served basis to arrange delivery.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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PC Leader Tim Houston. Photo Ed Halverson

The leader of Nova Scotia’s official opposition party says the PCs are the government in waiting.

Tim Houston says the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives have a strong team of sitting MLAs and qualified candidates who are ready to lead after the next election.

“From top to bottom we have a solid team of incredibly talented people. We have it in the caucus now and you’ll see that in MLA Kim Masland and MLA Colton LeBlanc. These are incredible community leaders,” said Houston. “And the slate of candidates that we are assembling, I’m just really humbled with the quality of people that are putting their name forward.”

Houston says Nova Scotia has great potential for success, due in no small part to the increasing population the province has enjoyed over the past few years.

“This government takes a lot of credit for the population growing. But if you’re planning for an increased population then you plan for the other things that go with it, increase the access to health care, understand the needs around housing,” said Houston.

He says that lack of planning for the needs of increased population demonstrates government is taking credit for something that was already happening and is concerned government hasn’t done more to address the housing crisis in Nova Scotia.

“The only solution to the housing crisis is more housing supply. That means looking for ways to get more tradespeople in the province, working with those not-for-profits that are building affordable housing and the development community to see how do we get projects moving quicker and how do we increase supply,” said Houston.

Turning to the pandemic response, Houston says Nova Scotia should be further ahead in its vaccine rollout.

“We were told to be patient. They were building a plan, building a system and that when they turned it on and flicked the switch we would ramp, ramp right up. But we haven’t.”

The PC leader is frustrated it’s taking so long to get needles into the arms of all Nova Scotians.

Houston says from the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, opposition parties have voiced their concerns to government outside of the public eye so Nova Scotians would see their leaders taking on the pandemic as a united front.

He was confident in the approach taken by then-premier Stephen McNeil to follow recommendations made by chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang.

Houston says the relationship developed by the two men inspired Nova Scotians to work together to keep the pandemic at bay.

He questions whether Premier Iain Rankin has the same willingness to follow the advice of public health.

“For the past year we got used to seeing Premier McNeil and Dr. Strang and they certainly seemed to be one unit. They seemed to be totally in sync with each other. I just don’t have that vibe from the new relationship,” said Houston. “In fact, the government has issued a couple of releases where they’ve said Premier Rankin directed Dr. Strang to do certain things.”

Houston says politicians giving directives to public health is not what Nova Scotians are accustomed to seeing from their government.

He is hopeful whenever the writ is dropped the people of this province will recognize the work his party has done to prepare plans to provide dignity to seniors, address addictions and mental health and provide better healthcare to all Nova Scotians.

“We want to be very, very open,” said Houston. “We know we need to be accountable, that’s the job of government, to be accountable to the people. So we’re being very transparent about what we think is possible and where the focus needs to be and right now, that focus needs to be on healthcare.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

New LRHS Warriors logo designed by student Autumn McDonald

Liverpool Regional High School has a new logo to represent the Warriors.

The winning design features a shield with a small letter W in the top right corner and three swords crossing behind from corner to corner and down the center.

Students were asked to vote last week for one of four final submissions and selected 15-year-old, grade 10 student, Autumn McDonald’s logo.

“It is pretty neat that my design is going to be used for a couple of years to come,” said McDonald.

Principal Souhail Soujah says he hopes the design will be in use for more than a couple of years.

Soujah says the idea of using a shield in the design is a great way of representing what it means to be a warrior.

“It fits right in with the ideology that a warrior is somebody who protects others, who stands up for the weak or for those who need protection,” said Soujah. “It works on many levels.”

The decision to replace the Warriors image of an Indigenous man wearing full traditional headdress was made by the students themselves late last year.

Many in the community spoke out against replacing an image that has been tied to the school for generations.

But current students felt using the image of someone from another culture in this way was inappropriate and no longer represented who they are.

This is not the first time McDonald’s art has been chosen to represent the school.

The cover of the Liverpool Regional High yearbook will feature another of her designs.

She is happy the students liked what she did enough to vote for her work. She says her friends have been very supportive.

“Some of them said they weren’t really surprised and others said they were very proud of me,” said McDonald.

She designed the image by first drawing a freehand sketch then using an app on her iPad to put together a polished submission.

McDonald has agreed to further refine her design to provide the school with a few options that can be used for a variety of applications.

Soujah says the SAC has set aside some money to get a copy of the new image into students’ hands in the next few weeks. He wouldn’t say how the logo will be delivered, only that it will be a surprise for all students.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Susan MacLeod seeking Liberal nomination for Queens. Photo submitted

A former regional councillor is throwing their hat into provincial politics.

Susan MacLeod is vying to be the Liberal candidate for Queens in the next provincial election.

MacLeod wants to continue to serve her community as an elected official but recognizes she has a steep hill to climb.

“In my nature I’m a very helpful person and I know it’s going to be tough,” said MacLeod. “There has not been a Liberal representative in Queens since 1955.”

MacLeod spent 16 years serving on regional council and took a run at the mayor’s chair in October but lost by 230 votes to current mayor Darlene Norman.

She has lived her entire life in Queens County and has been a member of many organizations including the Astor Theatre Society, South Shore Housing Coalition, South Queens Chamber of Commerce, Christmas on the Mersey, Queens General Hospital Foundation, Queens County Seniors Safety Association and of course, on this station, QCCR.

MacLeod currently serves on the Housing Committee with the Queens Care Society. She says creating more affordable housing is a top priority.

“It would be staggering to know that there are so many homeless people in Queens that we are not aware of until you hear it from those that have had direct connection with them. And young families, they deserve to have good, solid housing.”

MacLeod says you can’t rely exclusively on private landlords to fill gaps in the housing market.

“When you get non-profits involved in this type of issue I think you might get a little bit more quality housing done.”

MacLeod is excited at the possibility of joining the team under the newly elected liberal leader and Premier Iain Rankin.

“He will listen to anyone, he says he always looks at both sides.”

She also agrees with Rankin that economic development should be environmentally sustainable.

“He is very concerned about environmental issues, and his philosophy is to deal with environment can also be an economic driver.”

MacLeod hopes her long record of public service will convince voters to give their support when it comes time to mark their x at the ballot box.

“You can trust me, you can depend on me and if I can’t help in my own way I will certainly try to find the help and the answers to the questions and concerns that people may have.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Port Grocer in Port Medway. Photo Ed Halverson

The owner of the Port Grocer hopes whoever buys the establishment understands they’re taking responsibility for the heart of the seaside community.

Over the past seven years the Port Grocer has served Port Medway as café, local grocery store, post office, live music venue, yoga studio, community garden and showcase for local artisans.

Owner Annabelle Singleton says what’s most important is that whoever takes this on recognizes its connection to the community.

“We have had incredible support from this community. There’s such an eclectic, diverse group of people here and everyone’s got something different to add or offer.”

Singleton began the business seven years ago with her two friends Deb Melanson and Sparrow Lyndsey.

Lyndsey returned to Ontario because of family obligations seven months after launching the business, leaving Singleton and Melanson to run the show with help from Singleton’s husband Robie Sagar.

For Singleton, running the Port Grocer to provide locally-sourced food aligned with some of her core values.

“If you have healthy, small communities, rural communities where people can work and get their food, it means a lot less travel. It’s a lot lighter living on the Earth.”

Singleton says they are looking for a buyer who will understand the Port Grocer is more than just a business.

“There are elders here in the community who, basically, some days, the Port Grocer staff would be the only people they might communicate with. That sort of stuff is really important to us.”

Singleton says they’re selling after some family health issues and the pandemic have given them pause to reflect on what they want to be doing over the next few years.

“It comes down to a quality of life decision. As much as we love getting up early and staying late at the Port Grocer and being on call seven days a week, you know, there are other things that we want to do.”

Annabelle Singleton relaxing behind the soon to be for sale, Port Grocer. Photo Ed Halverson

Singleton says she and husband, Sagar will remain living in Port Medway. Singleton will continue working her day job as an environmental regulatory consultant and the two have plans to move their tiny home from behind the Port Grocer to their home and establish a small retreat.

The final preparations are being made with their real estate agent and Singelton expects the Port Grocer will hit the market in the next few weeks.

She’s grateful to everyone who has worked, volunteered or even just come in to eat over the years to help make the Port Grocer what it is.

“It’s been such an honour to be part of this and to get to know both the very local, and the summer residents and the people who are touring Nova Scotia and who found us by accident. People are blown away when they come to Port Medway. There’s something in the water here, I think. It’s magical.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Dr. Robert Strang. Photo Nova Scotia Government

The province has announced further easing of COVID restrictions in Nova Scotia.

Beginning Wednesday, malls, retail operations and fitness centres can once again operate at 100 percent capacity so long as people are social distancing.

And anyone arriving from Newfoundland and Labrador will no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days.

The province will also ease up on restrictions for sports practices, training and games, and arts and culture rehearsals and performances to allow 75 people to participate.

Spectators will continue to be permitted at those activities except at schools.

Restrictions will remain in place for other parts of the service industry.

Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang says after recently extending opening hours to 11:00pm the soonest he will look at easing restrictions for bars and restaurants will be the summer.

Strang says those restrictions can be credited for helping the province avoid the spread of the COVID variants that has plagued other parts of Canada.

“I have to ask myself why. Is it just because we’re lucky? I don’t think so. I think it’s also because we have adhered to, even with very safe epidemiology, we’re still hanging onto these public health protocols, the restrictions, and Nova Scotians are following them,” said Strang.

He says it would be premature to look at relaxing those measures while the COVID variants are all around us.

“I’m very nervous about the next couple of months and we’re not going to relax something beyond where we consider it safe to do that while we are looking at how the variant is playing around in other parts of Canada.”

Strang says Nova Scotians still need to be careful about socializing in groups whether it is in their homes or in public.

The changes are being made as the province announces six new cases of COVID-19.

Premier Iain Rankin says the pace of vaccination in Nova Scotia continues to ramp up as supply increases with almost 10,000 receiving their immunization from Thursday through Monday.

Rankin says this weekend’s vaccination efforts only paused for Easter Sunday and he’s grateful to the workers who are making this possible.

“Thank you to everyone who was working or came out to get vaccinated,” said Rankin. “We are not slowing down. In fact, this week we’ll have 47 pharmacies operating with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and I’m pleased to say, all appointments are booked.”

Rankin says that equates to another 40,000 vaccinations this week.

To date, over 116,000 doses of vaccine have been administered in the province and almost 30,000 Nova Scotians have received their second shot.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Olivia and Garfield Gallant-Zwicker alongside the Mersey River. Photo Ed Halverson

A brother sister team at South Queens Middle School are part of classes hoping their science experiment will lead to a cleaner Mersey River.*

Two classes of grade-seven students have been testing sites up and down the Mersey since October tracking levels of enterococci bacteria in the water.

Garfield Gallant-Zwicker says they were inspired by teacher Jill Leuschner’s lessons about another student who took on a similar mission.

“We started learning about Stella Bowles and personal empowerment, which is where you feel like you can make positive change,” said Gallant-Zwicker. “Stella had tested the LaHave River so that gave us the idea to test the Mersey River.”

Gallant-Zwicker says the results of that testing were not good.

“The level is 70, you should not swim and [at] 170ml, the water should not come in contact with your skin. We had over 170,” said Gallant-Zwicker.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, enterococci are indicators of the presence of fecal material in water and, therefore, of the possible presence of disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. These pathogens can sicken swimmers and others who use rivers and streams for recreation.

The siblings brought their findings to Region of Queens Council in the hope the municipality would take action to stop whatever was polluting the river.

Mayor Darlene Norman explained, unfortunately, there is little the region can do on its own.

“As a municipality, we can not go traipsing across people’s properties,” said Norman. “We are legally not allowed, besides, it’s a homeowner’s responsibility to have a functioning system.”

Garfield’s sister Olivia Gallant-Zwicker says they didn’t get as much support as they hoped but council did point them in the right direction.

“We were kind of hoping that council would help us more. They did encourage us to go right to (Queens-Shelburne MLA) Kim Masland and (MP for South Shore-St. Margarets) Bernadette Jordan, which we did,” said Gallant-Zwicker.

Regional council did go a step further and wrote a letter on behalf of the students to the provincial environment minister.

The response from then Minister Gordon Wilson said, “Nova Scotia Environment does not undertake water quality studies or prepare/undertake remediation plans. In instances where water quality impairments are suspected, the development, funding, and undertaking of these types of projects are often led by local organizations, to which we may provide guidance upon request.”

The students decided to reach out to the same organization that had worked with Stella Bowles, Coastal Action.

Assistant director Shanna Fredericks says she will join the students in collecting samples and conduct what is known as parallel testing to validate their results.

“The kids are going to collect their water samples as they normally do and test them with the equipment that they’ve been using and I’m going to collect some samples right alongside them and take them to our lab in the city, so an accredited laboratory. We’ll have those samples tested at the lab and then we’ll compare the results and see how they line up,” said Fredericks.

Olivia Gallant-Zwicker says once they had taken the water samples, their process is relatively simple.

“We incubated it for 72 hours,” said Gallant-Zwicker. “After that, all the dots on the cards would show up and, [it was a] surprising amount.”

Fredericks says to see young people tackle these large problems is inspiring.

“It’s just great to see these kids feeling empowered and passionate about environmental issues and being able to follow in Stella’s footsteps and see that they can actually make a difference,” said Fredericks.

Now that they’ve found their community partner, the students will continue taking water samples from the Mersey and documenting their findings.

Garfield Gallant-Zwicker says their end goal is simple.

“We’re hoping to see at the end of this that our water will return to how it used to be, nice and clean, so then people can swim into it.”

*The story has been changed to reflect the two classes of SQMS students involved in the water testing project.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Liverpool International Theatre Festival Logo. Contributed by LITF

Theatre lovers can firm up their calendar as the Liverpool International Theatre Festival has announced they will be returning in 2022.

LITF is usually held at the Astor Theatre in autumn but will go ahead May 12-15 next year.

The 2020 edition of the event had been postponed until October of 2021 due to COVID-19.

Chairperson Jean Robinson-Dexter says they had hoped to host the event this year but given the state of the pandemic thought it would be prudent to hold out a few months longer.

“It’s disappointing in one sense that we can’t be together in October but we’re very hopeful that by next May most of the world will be vaccinated and we’ll have good travel protocols that we’ll be able to welcome these troupes here in Liverpool next May,” said Robinson-Dexter.

For four days every two years, the LITF welcomes up to a dozen theatre troupes to Liverpool from places as far away as Russia and Africa.

Robinson-Dexter says the influence of the festival extends deep into the community.

“We have social events and the troupes visit the schools and we have workshops and a fabulous opening ceremony then a closing ceremony where we present the awards,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The Astor Theatre is home to LITF. Photo Ed Halverson

Another highlight of the festival is what they call a coffee critique where experts adjudicate a troupe’s previous night’s performance in front of an audience.

“That’s usually a full house of folks that subscribe for the whole festival and attend that and there’s lots of lively discussion,” said Robinson-Dexter.

She says on March 13 organizers spoke with most of the troupes who were scheduled to perform this year to tell them of their plans to delay the event by six months.

She says they were understanding of the precautions and expects the majority will be involved with the May 2022 festival.

As to whether an audience will be waiting for the festival to return, Robinson-Dexter says from all she has seen and heard, people are craving engagement with the arts.

“My sense is that the community will happily fill theatre seats once we’re able to do that safely and we’re moving in that way,” said Robinson-Dexter.

The 2022 edition of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival will be significant not only for its return from the pandemic. It will also mark 30 years since the event was started back in 1992.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Apartment will be built behind Bristol Hall. Photo Google Maps

A request to add six more units to a proposed apartment building on Mersey Avenue is raising concerns for neighbours.

On March 11, the Region of Queens sent out notices to people living with 100 feet of the development property line advising they had 14 days to express any objections with the additional units.

Mayor Darlene Norman says she’s pleased to see plans to create more living space downtown.

“People want services. They want to be close to infrastructure. The land is there. They could be building the same size building with 30 units. They’ve simply asked for six additional units within that size,” said Norman.

Regional council voted in 2017 to amend the land use bylaw in to allow the construction of up to 30 units in a building without going through public consultation.

Norman says public notice was given at the time and people came to council to express their views. Ultimately the decision was made and the provincial government approved the bylaw change on May 31 of that year.

Region staff can approve a variance to allow an additional 50 percent more units to be built but must allow time for neighbouring residents to appeal that decision.

Upper Deck Developments owns the waterfront property in question, behind Bristol Hall, formerly known as Dean Manor.

President of Upper Deck Developments Jonathan Lloy says he doesn’t have much detail to offer at the moment as they’re trying to determine the potential of the property.

Lloy says the public and government have a legitimate voice in all of this and once he has more information he will share it with the public.

He says openness is important and there is no invisible guiding hand behind their plans.

“I would certainly encourage people to keep an open mind until they get some of these details and maybe can decide a bit more for themselves how they feel about it,” said Lloy.

There’s been much speculation on social media as to whether the building will be geared towards seniors or low-income housing but the primary concern for many is the congestion adding 36 units would create on an already busy Bristol Avenue.

Lloy couldn’t comment directly on any of those issues and expects to have a better idea of their plans to share in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, neighbours have until March 25 to submit their appeal to the municipality.

Council will hear from the appellants in person at the April 13 council meeting and will decide at that time whether permission to build the extra six units will be granted.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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LRHS Tech Education shop. Photo Ed Halverson

Liverpool Regional High School is expanding to accommodate a new program to provide students with hands-on experience in the trades.

Plans are being finalized for a new skills trade centre to be built out from the existing tech education classroom at the back of the school.

The skills trade program currently offered at LRHS exposes grade 10 students to the fundamentals of carpentry, drywall, plumbing and electrical.

Vice principal Todd Symes says it is so popular, it has three sections filled to capacity and a waiting list.

Symes attributes the demand for the program to the instructors.

“In particular our grade 9 tech ed or elective teacher Mr. Ambrocichuk. He really generates a lot of passion and enthusiasm in the lab. Students relate really well to him. They really enjoy their experience in his room and he kinda says, you know if you like this course, another course you might want to try is skills trade 10,” said Symes.

The new skills trade centre will expand the tech ed program to a suite of courses that will help prepare students to enter the trades.

“They would have a career path that would basically allow these students to develop their red seal hours. They would develop over 200 hours towards their red seal,” said Symes. “The ideal is to have a teacher come in who is also red seal qualified, who would be the instructor in a new facility built outside.”

Symes says that head start on getting the apprenticeship hours and the hands-on training is appealing to students.

“I think that’s a big draw point for a lot of the kids. I know we had some initial conversations with students from Park View and Forest Heights back before we were selected and that’s one of the reasons they selected the program and I think that’s one of the reasons it’s popular here,” said Symes.

He says the new program would work well with the existing options and opportunities program. O2 as it is called, guarantees students a spot at NSCC and applies credits earned in high school to their college courses.

LRHS expansion exterior outside Tech Ed shop. Photo Ed Halverson

The department of education and early childhood development announced in November 2019 that Liverpool Regional High would be one of five schools that would be expanded to accommodate a skills trade program.

The funding is part of an $85 million capitol plan to support 12 projects in 11 communities.

Symes says the building site has been selected and a lot of the background preparation has been done to support the new class.

The new skills trade program is already listed in the school course book for the fall and students have begun enrolling.

He expects ground will be broken on the expansion in the next few weeks and the new space will be ready to receive students this coming September.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Vice principal Todd Symes at the site of the new track. Photo Ed Halverson

Volunteers at Liverpool Regional High School are working to build a track worthy of an Olympian.

Plans are in place to replace the schools’ existing soccer field and surround it with an eight-lane 400 metre long track.

Vice Principal Todd Symes identified the need for better training facilities when he arrived at LRHS six years ago.

“Believe it or not, we use our bus loop as a surrogate training ground which is not even safe or something I’d like to admit on radio but something we have to do out of necessity.”

The track team is one of the most popular events in the school and regularly sees 75-100 students participating each year.

Plans for the new track also include rebuilding the soccer pitch to ensure a more level surface and improve water drainage off the field. The soccer nets will be moveable to allow for throwing events and training to take place.

Proposed track plan. Submitted by Liverpool Regional High School

Symes says that’s key to providing a training ground form one of Queens County’s most famous athletes Olympic thrower, Sarah Mitton.

“Even really early on when the students here and the committee were looking at designing the facility, we said regardless of what happens, we want to make sure that Sarah has a place to come home to,” said Symes. “I know she currently comes home and has to drive to Halifax to train because even Park View is not equipped to handle her athletic and her Olympic caliber.”

Mitton has been doing her part in return trying to raise awareness of the group’s efforts to raise the $331,000 necessary to realize their vision.

The organization is making a dent in their fundraising. They already received a $50,000 grant and the student body, SAC and Regional Centre have contributed another $15,000.

Symes is pleased people are getting behind the idea but thinks they could be further along were it not for the events of the last year.

“I keep hating to use COVID as an excuse for everything but it’s kind of put a damper on our community involvement. We can’t have any large-scale group meetings and we can’t do any large-scale fundraising. So we’re just relying on word-of-mouth and community members who have contacted us; numerous community members and businesses that want to be part of this project,” said Symes.

The group is not idly waiting for the money to roll in. They’ve launched a fundraising page and a GoFundMe campaign to reach their goal.

Symes says the project is ready to go, they’re just waiting on the money.

“To be honest, we’ve put a lot of work in the last four or five years in the back end to make sure that this is a pretty smooth transition,” said Symes. “We have everything laid out and if we were to break ground today, we’re pretty confident we could have it completed by September.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Photo Ed Halverson

The first steps have been taken to strengthen the relationship between South Shore Public Libraries and the region’s BIPOC community.

Chief Librarian Troy Myers describes Friday’s meeting with the anti-racism task force from the town of Bridgewater as a starting point.

“Our role was to listen, to learn. We started a relationship that we know is going to take some time,” said Myers. “We still accept full responsibility.”

Tensions arose between SSPL and supporters of the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour community last week when the library attempted to provoke discussion around “Freedom to Read” week.

Their choice to use the recent controversy around the publisher’s decision to stop printing some Dr. Suess titles because they contained racist language and imagery provoked a strong reaction online.

Members of the Bridgewater anti-racism task force didn’t want to be recorded for this story. The representative said they, in no way, wish to portray that they speak for the entire BIPOC community.

They did say that the library board listened to their position during the meeting but there is still a long way to go before real change in the institutional racism can be fully addressed.

Myers appreciates the task force member’s willingness to engage with the library and provide their perspective. He reiterated just how sorry he was to have upset members of the community.

“We want our spaces to be safe and secure for everybody and it’s our fault that some people are feeling they’re not. We’re not asking for people to accept this apology. We want people to watch our actions moving forward,” said Myers.

Actions before words

Hours before the meeting, South Shore BIPOC, a collective of BIPOC people on the South Shore of Nova Scotia organizing advocacy, events, and community supports for BIPOC posted a 17 page letter to Facebook outlining several concerns, among which are how the controversy has been handled, the deletion of posts and how Myers could confuse their group with the Bridgewater anti-racism task force.

The letter included several suggestions as to how SSPL could begin to address institutional racism including: providing dedicated funding for resources by and for BIPOC communities, creating an independent advisory council to decide next steps, a review of senior library staff and equity hiring practices, anti-racism training and education for staff, and a commitment to a timely review of children’s and young adult books to ensure racist and discriminatory materials are removed.

The letter was addressed to SSPL board of directors and senior staff, the director of Nova Scotia Public Libraries, Vanessa Fells with the African Nova Scotia decade for people of African descent coalition and the minister of communities cultures and heritage Suzanne Lohnes-Croft.

Spokesperson for South Shore BIPOC Jessika Hepburn says they highlighted several resources the library can engage to begin reparations. Until they see action being taken they will not accept Myers’ offer to meet.

“No work has been done to guarantee any kind of safety,” said Hepburn. “I could go to that meeting, it’s going to be upsetting and traumatic for me but there is no way that any of the people in our community are going to be willing to sit down with a library or any sort of institution that is so clearly not capable of having this conversation.”

Hepburn says the library didn’t acknowledge the group’s concerns on the original posts and have done nothing to engage with South Shore BIPOC since.

She says she has yet to see any outreach by the library, including inviting the Bridgewater anti-racism task force to a meeting.

“A municipal task force that they have a fiduciary responsibility to, because they receive financial contributions every year from the town of Bridgewater, that’s not outreach,” said Hepburn. “That’s responding to a letter that you received. They had a responsibility to respond, that’s PR.”

Myers says the library and the anti-racism committee will meet again in the coming weeks. He hopes the continued dialogue will help lead to changes to make everyone feel safe and included at South Shore public libraries.

“We ask for people’s patience and understanding,” said Myers. “These things take time. We’re not going to fix it tonight or tomorrow; it’s going to take some time. It’s a long journey and I’m making that pledge to leave this library in a better position than I found it 11 years ago and I’m committed to that.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Once the snow melts, residents can look forward to a summer of swimming at the Milton and North Queens municipal pools. Photo Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens is reopening pools this summer and are looking for staff.

The Milton Centennial and North Queens Aquatic Centre were closed last year as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.

Director of recreation and healthy communities Meaghan Roberts says both facilities staff and the public now understand how to safely operate and make use of recreation facilities during a pandemic.

“Obviously the protocols that get put out by public health and the provincial government, we’re all required to follow them in everything that we do,” said Roberts. I think they’re a little bit more clear now, a year into COVID, what the expectations are.”

Roberts says they won’t need to go through public health to get approval for their plan as Queens has the benefit of being able to learn how other pools operated last summer and apply that to their opening.

Another reason why the Queens public pools didn’t open last year was the impact of COVID on the ability to train incoming lifeguards and staff.

Roberts says as the pandemic has gone on, protocols have been established to allow that training to happen and she expects there will be no problem in finding trained staff to fill the necessary roles.

“They did end up getting their certifications and so, things have happened this year, it’s just everything is happening just a little bit differently. It might be less participants in courses and how they learn their skills and whatnot, because of COVID has changed, but they have run in various forms,” said Roberts.

Applications for the summer pool position are available on the Region of Queens jobs page, or click here.

Roberts says the region is still finalizing their pool re-opening plan, but residents can be confident staff will be ready to welcome swimmers this summer.

“You just cross your fingers and hope for the best. You know, COVID is here and we have to live with it and it’s just finding out ways that you can operate safely because safety, obviously, is our number one priority,” said Roberts. “We would never open if it wasn’t going to be safe.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Liverpool EHS station. Photo Ed Halverson

Calling an ambulance won’t always mean a ride to the hospital.

One of the findings in a new report released Monday said to reduce the amount of time ambulances sit in hospitals waiting to offload patients, they should be allowed to use their advanced medical training to treat some patients at home.

Nova Scotia minister of Health and Wellness Zach Churchill says the recommendations will take the onus off transportation and back onto patients.

“It’s going to improve patient care and it’s going to better support our paramedics and help them focus on doing what they signed up to do and that’s responding to emergent cases and saving lives.”

The province commissioned a report on Nova Scotia’s EHS system back in 2018 from consulting firm Fitch and Associates.

Government received the report in October of 2019 but because negotiations were underway between the province and EHS provider Emergency Medical Care, Inc. their findings were only made public Monday.

One of the authors of the report Guillermo Fuentes says overall, his firm is impressed with the EHS system in Nova Scotia, but the perception of the service paramedics provide needs to change.

“Focusing strictly on response times is doing a disfavour to patient outcomes when the focus really needs to be on the medical model.”

The report aims to reduce the number of people coming into hospital emergency departments and get those in the ED needing more care admitted into in-patients in a timely fashion.

Churchill announced he will be making a ministerial directive for ambulances to offload their patients within 30 minutes of arriving at an emergency department and for EDs to admit people to in-patient care within 12 hours.

The CEO of the health authority will be responsible for ensuring those timelines are met and reporting the results to the deputy minister.

The report also aims to reduce the amount of time ambulances are used to transport patients between health care facilities. The province previously announced three medical transport vans are expected to be on the road providing that service sometime this spring,

The newly agreed EHS contract calls for the non-emergency transportation system to be expanded.

Government has adopted 64 of 68 recommendations in the Fitch report.

The new contract for EHS services goes into effect April 1 and runs for five years with options to extend it to nine.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson

A social media post meant to provoke discussion around controversial topics has landed South Shore Public Libraries officials in hot water.

Members of the South Shore Black, Indigenous and People of Colour group are taking the library to task after they published an article on Wednesday by National Post writer John Robson.

The post offers the writer’s stance against the decision by the estate and publisher of Dr. Seuss to cease publishing six of his books featuring racist imagery or language.

The library has apologized for the post but spokesperson for BIPOC South Shore Jessika Hepburn says there needs to be more.

“I don’t accept apologies from my children. I tell them the best apology is changed behaviour. I ask them what are they going to do. An apology means nothing without meaningful action.”

The post was the first in a series by the library as part of their participation in the Freedom to Read initiative.

Chief librarian at South Shore Public Libraries Troy Meyers says they didn’t set out to offend anyone.

“We just wanted to foster, in the spirit of freedom to read and access to information, a larger, more open discussion of the merits of the titles that should continue to be celebrated.”

Screen shots of South Shore Public Libraries Facebook posts

Reaction was swift as members of the public condemned the library’s intention to spark controversy.

Later in the day the library uploaded another video to their Facebook page offering a differing viewpoint on the Seuss discussion, but by that time the damage was already done.

Dozens of comments asking for the library to explain itself went unanswered*. Meyers attributes the silence to a lack of resources.

“We’re new to the world of how to manage social media and we don’t have a person who is directly responsible for it. We should’ve had a full-time moderator and we didn’t. We have people who are doing nine other things throughout the day and they help with our social media.”

Meyers says the library now recognizes social media was not the place to have this discussion.

Hepburn is concerned the library would have such a blind spot where issues of race are involved.

“It’s important to recognize, it’s not just a misstep, it’s not just an unintentional mistake; it is systemic racism.”

Meyers says members of the BIPOC community make up only a small number of the total staff working for the library and none of them were on the social media team responsible for the posts.

The offending posts were removed from Facebook late Thursday afternoon and by Friday the library’s apology post was deleted as well. Meyers says they’ve learned a valuable lesson and deleting the posts is part of an effort to move forward and correct their error.

“It was a mistake and it’s not to scrub the corporate memory, it’s just to be able to start the next chapter in this conversation which is how South Shore Public Libraries can do a better job, and to promote diversity and to work with our local BIPOC communities in Queens County and Lunenburg County and strive to do better.”

Hepburn says as an organization, South Shore Public Libraries need to educate themselves on why the posts were so offensive and upset so many.

“There’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done and the first part is to actually demonstrate some humility, to recognize that they obviously do not have the skills or the capacity or the knowledge to address these concerns and to reach out to the people who do.”

To that end, Myers says he had a conversation with a representative of the Bridgewater anti-racism task force and will be meeting with members of that group next week.**

“We’d love to have a member of their group join our board. And we’d love to have them help us develop some training modules that we can use and to help deliver them so we can make sure that people are sensitized to the issues that are important to us as a healthy diverse community.”

*A previous version of this story said the responses were answered. They in fact were unanswered and the story has been changed for accuracy.

**A previous version of this story indicated SSPL was going to meet with members of South Shore BIPOC. Myers has clarified that during the conversation with the Bridgewater anti-racism task force he thought he was speaking with members of South Shore BIPOC as well. He has reached out to South Shore BIPOC and has offered to meet with them.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

Seaside Centre. Photo Damien van den Berg

Residents have voted down a request for an area rate to support the Seaside Recreation Centre.

The centre’s board is asking Region of Queens council to impose a tax of four cents per hundred dollars of assessment on property owners in Assessment District 7, which includes Beach Meadows, Eagle Head, East Berlin, West Berlin, and Port Medway.

Of the 223 people who turned out at the Seaside Centre Wednesday night, 192 were against the area rate while only 30 cast ballots in support.

Spokesperson for the Seaside Recreation and Community Centre Association Damien van den Berg was surprised by the lopsided result.

“I was probably thinking it would have been more evenly split,” said van den Berg.

The vote itself is non-binding on regional council but the results will be taken into account when they consider the rest of the area rate application at an upcoming meeting.

Based on this result, van den Berg suspects the group may have some work to do.

“I don’t think we’re going to get exactly what we applied for. If we get something, great, if we get nothing, that’s okay too,” said van den Berg. “But if you don’t ask the question, you don’t get an answer.”

Council can decide to award the proposed rate, decrease the amount or not agree to the request at all.

While funding is still an issue for the Seaside Centre, van den Berg says a silver lining could still come out of this.

“I think there’s individuals that may not have been aware of the situation that are stepping up and potentially going to volunteer or potentially donate or look at other ways of helping support so we’ll see how that all works out.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.