Several crews responded to a Forest Fire outside Milton on Sunday.

Trucks were dispatched from Liverpool, North Greenfield and Port Medway to put out five hectares along the power lines around 1:30pm.

Thirty local firefighters were joined by nine personnel and a helicopter from the Department of Lands and Forestry.

Crews had to use ATVs to reach the fire, which was burning approximately three kilometres from the Mersey Lodge.

John Long, a Captain with the Liverpool Fire Department says he wasn’t clear what caused the fire but the high power lines overhead could have been involved.

“Sometimes it happens, a tree just touches a wire. I didn’t hear of any power outages so I wouldn’t say any lines broke. Sometimes that happens.”

Long says the fire was knocked down early Sunday evening and crews left the scene around 8:00pm.

A spokesperson for the Department of Lands and Foresty says the cause of the fire is still unknown.

The department is reminding people that a “No Burn” restriction on open fires is in effect to protect Nova Scotia’s forests during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open domestic fires are prohibited for any purpose in woods or within 1,000 feet of woods in any part of the province and will be enforced until May 15, 2020.

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

The Queens County Food Bank is putting their shoulder into helping people get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clients are not allowed to come in person to collect their orders, so a team of volunteers has sprung up to create a supply chain from the Food Bank to the client’s doorstep.

Charlotte M. White, Chair of the Queens County Food Bank says it’s a very time and labour intensive process but necessary to ensure clients receive the food.

And with so many people struggling to work, more people are relying on the food bank to get by.

“Everybody has their set bills they have to make and the only place they can take money from is their food budget. I mean your rent and your utilities, you know you have to pay those, right?”

White says on average the Food Bank serves 200 families each month, but that number can fluctuate.

She’s grateful for the number of people who have really stepped up to help, donating both their time and money.

“The community’s been very kind to us. But we’ve always had a good community when we needed money, why they came forward. I really can’t say enough about the community as far as supporting us.”

One organization, which has come through in a big way, is Greenfield’s Freeman Lumber.

They recently donated $10,000 to the Queens County Food Back to be split evenly with the North Queens Food Bank in Caledonia.

Representatives from Freeman were unavailable for comment.

White says the donation will be particularly helpful to the North Queens Food Bank because they are not a member of Feed Nova Scotia.

“Feed Nova Scotia has 144 food banks with 15 on the waiting list, so you just can’t say I want to be a member.”

White says each Monday the Queens County Food Bank receives an order from Feed Nova Scotia.

“But, we never know what’s coming. It’s like Christmas every Monday. They send what they get.”

That’s when White and her team of 50 to 60 volunteers begin working the phones to find out how many families are placing an order, then package the orders for delivery.

“The volunteers, we give them each the name of the person and their address. They take them to the house and they set them on their doorstep so that there’s no contact with people.”

White says many schools and restaurants have passed food onto the food bank, which would have otherwise spoiled.

She says every donation is welcome but an item many people often overlook is toilet paper.

“And it’s not cheap. It’s not edible, but it’s a necessity, right?”

The Queens County Food Bank is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and anyone wishing to make a donation can do so by e-transfer or mail or they take the proper precautions and drop it off at 344 Main Street in Liverpool, next to Frenchy’s.

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

Liverpool residents missing a night at the theatre can now get their fix.

Jonathon Paterson, Technical Director at the Astor Theatre has just produced and starred in his one-man show called “House” and posted it to the Astor’s Facebook page.

Written by Cape Breton actor and playwright Daniel MacIvor in 1991, the play features Victor, whose mother is possessed, father is the saddest man alive, and who laments the love of his life doesn’t love him in return.

After being laid off by the Astor at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paterson returned home to Toronto but wanted to continue to create.

He applied and was awarded a $1,000 grant from the National Arts Council’s Canada Performs series.

Paterson says he’s been fascinated by MacIvor’s play since he saw it for the first time in Toronto in 2007.

“I actually saw a production where some guy got up and walked out just before he left. And MacIvor, as his character, wove that into the play and made it a part of it. I was just learning the craft of the theatre back then and didn’t know that you could have what they call gifts from the gods.”

Paterson wanted a way to continue to earn money while at home so he taught himself how to produce a live stream and took a page from street performers at Fringe Theatre festivals by soliciting donations via Paypal.

“They just pass the hat after and that’s basically me just passing the virtual hat. I’m hoping if and when we do our live Astor series that this continues.”

Paterson says it’s important people support the arts and is thankful the grant he received allowed him to pay himself and the playwright for this performance.

He established the paypal account to receive payment for future performances and hopes people will take this opportunity to donate back into their local arts community.

“I’d like, especially people in Queens County, if they want to make a choice, I would recommend donating to the Astor.”

Paterson wants to return to the Astor once the pandemic subsides.

He moved to Liverpool to take the technical director job in 2017 and was quickly impressed by how much the community embraced the theatre.

“What sets aside the Astor from other theatres is that it’s a beautiful theatre in a very small town. And the community supports the Astor so much.”

Jonathon Paterson’s performance of House can be viewed now on the Astor Theatre Facebook Page.

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

The province reported four more deaths at long-term care homes on Wednesday, jumping the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Nova Scotia to 16.

The Northwood long-term care home in Halifax accounted for another three deaths and the fourth occurred at Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney.

As of April 22, the province has tracked COVID-19 cases in 158 residents and 79 staff at 10 licensed long-term care homes and unlicensed seniors’ facilities in Nova Scotia.

The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang says while the daily update tends to focus on the Halifax region, there are still cases of the coronavirus across Nova Scotia.

“Just the fact that today, one of the deaths we’re announcing, unfortunately, is from Cape Breton illustrates that fact. We’re a small province geographically and COVID-19 moves as people move and if we give it a chance it will move across the province.”

Strang called on Nova Scotians to maintain their vigilance, not just for themselves but, for their neighbours, families and friends.

Wednesday also saw the largest single-day spike of new coronavirus cases in the province with 55.

The latest numbers show Nova Scotia has 827 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The QEII Health Sciences Centre’s microbiology lab continues to operate 24 hours a day and completed 921 Nova Scotia tests on Wednesday.

To date, Nova Scotia has 23,731 negative test results.

Ten individuals are currently in hospital, four of those in ICU.

On the plus side, 358 individuals have now recovered and their cases of COVID-19 are considered resolved.

Premier Stephen McNeil says while some other provinces are looking at beginning to ease their restrictions, Nova Scotia isn’t in the position to make those changes yet.

“Dr. Strang and I both want to be in a position where we’re starting to lift some of these restrictions in our province but that’s only going to happen, and it can only happen if we all keep following the public health protocols and we see the positive trends and signs.”

The Premier says he’s grateful to those Nova Scotians who are following the protocols and stressed everyone needs to continue to do so.

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

Two more residents have died at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax as a result of COVID-19.

Nova Scotia now has now had 12 deaths from the coronavirus.

Thirty-five new cases were announced Tuesday bringing the total number of confirmed cases across the province to 772.

Updates from the province over the past few days show the number of recovered cases is higher than the number of new infections, but Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang cautioned about being too optimistic, too soon.

“If anybody thinks that we can ease up now, they’re mistaken. ‘Cause if we start to ease up now we know that the large majority of the population is still not immune, has not been exposed and we will give COVID-19 a foothold to come back and resurge within our communities.”

Seniors care homes are bearing the brunt of the pandemic with 148 residents and 65 staff at 10 different facilities across Nova Scotia having tested positive for COVID-19.

The microbiology lab at the QEII Health Sciences Centre continues to operate 24 hours a day and completed 849 tests Tuesday.

Ten people are currently in hospital being treated for COVID-19, three of those in ICU.

Nova Scotia has recorded 22,993 negative test results to this point.

Three hundred and thirty-three people have recovered from the virus and their cases are considered resolved.

Premier Stephen McNeil starting the briefing by announcing the province would waive extra dispensing fees on prescriptions.

Many people had complained about the extra cost coming out of their pockets after being asked to fill their prescriptions more frequently to ensure pharmacies wouldn’t see a run on their drug supply.

Beginning Thursday April 23, government will cover the second and third refill dispensing fees for prescriptions typically dispensed for 90 days and will also will also waive the $5.00 prescription co-pay for clients of the Income Assistance program and the Low Income Pharmacare for Children program.

The Premier used his final comments to address the families of those killed in this weekend’s tragedy.

“They are hurting in a way that is unimaginable. I spoke to some of them today and I want to thank them for taking my call and for being so gracious when they are feeling such loss and heartache.””

McNeil praised the families for their composure and announced the creation of Stronger Together Nova Scotia Fund, which will accept donations to provide immediate and long-term support for the families.

The fund will be managed by the Canadian Red Cross. Details are available on their website.

The Premier closed the brief by asking Nova Scotians to support each other.

“While it’s hard to imagine how we will ever get through this, we will. And we will do it together. Because Nova Scotia is stronger together”

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

Sirens rang out across Nova Scotia last night, when firefighters from across the province sounded their horns at exactly 7:00pm to pay tribute to those killed in the tragic events this weekend.

The idea to blast the truck sirens began making the rounds on social media Wednesday morning and by late afternoon over a hundred fire departments had signed on including those in Greenfield, Liverpool, Mill Village, North Queens and Port Medway.

John Long, a captain with the Liverpool fire service says it’s a fitting tribute.

“There’s some significance from what I can see. For the first responders, there was a retired firefighter who was one of the victims. But the spectrum, there’s obviously, the RCMP officer who was shot and the other that was wounded.”

On Monday, fire halls were lit up blue in mourning.

Long says because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are unable to mourn properly so they’ve had to come up with creative ways to do so.

“We feel for the first responders. We feel for the victims and their families, because of what we do by nature.”

RCMP say 23 people were killed from when the tragedy started to unfold Saturday in Portapique until the lone gunman was shot and killed by Police in Enfield, Sunday.

On Wednesday, Premier Stephen McNeil announced the creation of the Stronger Together Nova Scotia Fund to provide immediate and long-term support for the families of the victims.

The Canadian Red Cross will manage the fund and donations can be made on the Canadian Red Cross web site.

Anyone who wishes can also sign the province’s online book of condolences by following this link to the Nova Scotia.ca webpage.

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

The number of Nova Scotians who have died as a result of COVID-19 is now 10 following the passing of another resident at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax.

The province reports sixteen new cases were identified Monday, bringing the total number to 737.

That marks a sharp decline in new cases after that number spiked to 46 on Sunday.

Seniors care homes continue to be a hotbed for outbreaks as 128 residents and 62 staff at 10 different facilities across Nova Scotia have tested positive.

The microbiology lab at the QEII Health Sciences Centre is running 24 hours a day and completed another 516 tests Monday which is about half of its capacity.

The Province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang says part of the decline in people getting tested can be attributed to this weekend’s tragic events, but also to the change in season.

“We are coming to the end of our flu season, so we have less people that may get the symptoms that are on our list, fever and cough, that we’re asking them if they get those to go get tested.”

Dr. Robert Strang

Eleven people are currently in hospital being treated for COVID-19, three of those in ICU.

Nova Scotia has recorded 22,190 negative test results to this point.

Two hundred eighty-six people have recovered from the virus and their cases are considered resolved.

Dr. Strang says while some jurisdictions are looking to ease up on their restrictions, we are not nearly out of the woods yet.

“We have to be prepared, as I’ve been saying, as public health folks across the world have been saying, this is quite likely the next 12 – 18 months as we deal with this, ‘til we finally get a high enough level of immunity in our population that COVID no longer becomes an area of major concern.”

Strang raised concerns about stories his heard of people being afraid to go to hospitals or doctors offices for fear of catching the virus.

“Don’t let your health care needs just sit unattended to if you need help.”

During the briefing reporters questioned Premier Stephen McNeil about the tragic shooting spree this weekend.

Premier Stephen McNeil prepares to give the latest COVID-19 update

The premier was asked why an emergency alert was not sent through the emergency system to resident’s cell phones.

McNeil says emergency staff were ready, but didn’t receive the necessary instructions.

“The lead agency, in this case the RCMP has to ask for that alert to go out because quite frankly, we need the information from them. What is it they want in that alert to notify to citizens? But we had staff on hand in the morning to be able to do that, but it was not requested.”

The Premier encouraged Nova Scotians to not let this act of violence define us.

“And if I had a message for Nova Scotians it is, to not to let the individual define us, but to let the spirits of the victims define us. They were community-minded people who cared and loved for each other, and supported one another, and were building a life for themselves and the community, making a difference in this province. That’s what we should be working towards to let define this tragedy that has been brought to us.”

Premier McNeil and Dr. Strang ended the briefing with a moment of silence in honour of the victims, their families and friends.

Premier McNeil and Robert Strang observe a moment of silence

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

The latest casualty of the COVID-19 virus is the Annual Hank Snow Tribute.

The event celebrating the life of Queens County’s hometown country legend, scheduled to run August 20 to 23^rd has been called off due to the corona virus pandemic.

Jessica Smith, administrator at the Hank Snow Home Town Museum and Co-chair of the organizing committee says the event relies heavily on sponsors.

“And when we kinda thought about it, a lot of our sponsors are just not open for business right now and are really feeling the economic impacts of COVID-19. So with that being said, we kind of realized we’d lose a lot of our sponsors. We already have lost quite a few.”

While she couldn’t provide numbers, Smith says the roughly 2,500 visitors drawn to Liverpool by the event each year are a boon to the local economy.

She says the Hank Snow Museum site and Queens Place Emera Centre provide camping for up to 150 RVs, and hotels for miles around are booked almost a year in advance for the event.

But Smith is quick to point out, the economics of the situation are not as important as the people involved.

“We have a lot of volunteers that are in an older demographic and they’re the ones who are most at risk for the pandemic right now. When we realized that things are looking more likely to be July, August – it’s more about keeping our volunteers safe.”

Smith says people have become less available due to social distancing and more and more suppliers have been shutting down making planning the event almost impossible.

She says she has spent most of the last week informing everyone involved of the decision to postpone until next year.

The thirtieth installment of the festival was set to open at Queens Place Emera Centre on Thursday August 20 with a performance by country music legend and native of Port Mouton, Carroll Baker.

On Friday, several Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame members were scheduled to perform, including Chet Brown, Don Haggart, Joanne Newman, Jamey Cotter, Sheila Newman and Matt Balsor.

Saturday would have seen inductee Dale Verge of Port Mouton as the honoured guest while Sunday, fellow inductee Joyce Seamone, a Recording Artist who had a number one hit in 1972 with “Testing 1,2,3” was set to host the Grand Finale and Songwriter’s Circle.

Baker has agreed to return when the thirtieth anniversary tribute is held in 2021 and the rest of the performers have been invited as well.

The Region of Queens has agreed to provide funding to keep the Hank Snow Museum operational; something Smith says is key to ensuring the tribute can go ahead next year.

“That is one of our main funding sources for the year. It’s definitely a big impact to us, something we rely on. So their assistance through this time has definitely been overwhelming and it’s going to get us through the next few months for sure.”

Because this year would’ve been the thirtieth anniversary of the event, the decision to postpone was not easy.

But Smith is rolling with the punches.

“So we’re essentially just taking everything from this year and just pretending 2020 didn’t happen and we’re just going to go to 2021 as the 30th.”

While regular attendees to the Hank Snow Tribute may not have the opportunity to gather together this summer, they can look forward to picking up where they left off when the thirtieth anniversary tribute takes place during the third week of August next year.

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

It’s been a long trek to get the Trestle Trail bridge reopened, but work will soon begin to restore the once popular path.

Major work is needed repair concrete piers and pillars, which are in various states of decay. Brian Hatt, president of Rails to Trails said the group has been working since before it’s closure in 2014 to get repairs done.

After years of work getting assessments and repair plans drawn up, the tender was called in March to find a contractor to do the work. Once the proposals are reviewed, Hatt expects work will get underway and hopes to see a late summer completion.

“The actual support of our volunteers made this work well,” said Hatt. “We formed partnerships with the Region, the Murphy foundation and the province. We’re optimistic our timeline is good and we’ll be having some kind of a celebration in the fall.

The Region of Queens has put in $83,000, the Murphy Foundation $250,000 and the remainder from the province of Nova Scotia.

Eventually the plan is to connect the bridge to a larger multi-use trail network that runs through the province. Hatt says they are looking at several options to connect the remainder of trail from Brooklyn to Hunts Point.

An earlier article mis-attributed the project as being led by the Region of Queens Municipality. QCCR apologizes for the error.

It’s been a long trek to get the Trestle Trail bridge reopened, but work will soon begin to restore the once popular path.

The major work needed is to the concrete piers and pillars, which are in various states of decay. Brian Hatt, president of Rails to Trails said the group has been working since before it’s closure in 2014 to get repairs underway.

After years of work getting assessments and repair plans drawn up, the tenders were called in March to find a contractor to do the work. Once the proposals are reviewed, expects work will get underway soon and hopes to see a late summer completion.

Quote:

The Region of Queens has put in $83,000, the Murphy Foundation $250,000 and the remainder from the province of Nova Scotia. Eventually the plan is to connect the bridge to a larger multi-use trail network that runs through the province. Hatt says they are looking at several options to connect the remainder of trail from Brooklyn to Hunts Point.

An earlier article misattributed the project as being led by the Region of Queens Municipality. QCCR apologizes for the error.

The budget for the Region of Queens has come down, and taxes will rise by 2 cents this year.

On Tuesday council approved the budget motion, which came after several months of deliberations over project priorities within the municipality.

Mayor David Dagley says no one project or cost increase caused the need. Instead increases across the board, which saw the municipal expenditures go up by $1 million dollars to $20.8 million dollars, are what caused the increase.

The budget also has set out several capital infrastructure projects for the upcoming year. The largest being the sewer and water work on Waterloo Street, which will cost around 4.7 million dollars. The cost is being shared between all three levels of government.

Mayor Dagley said despite the tax increase, he is encouraged by what he sees in the community. With new investments, such as Aqualitis and apartment complexes, and expansions of existing businesses from White Point and Mersey Seafoods, he says the slide down after the Bowater mill closure in 2012 seems to be finished.

“There was an initial reduction, businesses that closed, people that moved away and taxes that weren’t paid,” he said. “I would say now the reduction resulting of the Bowater Closure is behind us.”

Meanwhile the recent federal budget will likely mean a boost to what the Region of queens can do to upgrade infrastructure.

The federal government allotted another $2.2 billion to municipalities. Mayor Dagley expects that will double the $700,000 they receive already, however it wasn’t included in the budget because it still needs final approval by the house.

He said the money would go to further upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure, as well as rural broadband internet to parts of Queens County that need upgrades.

The full budget, as well as the Mayor’s speech, can be found online on the municipality’s website.

The Region of Queens Council is inching towards a position on the salmon farm expansion in Liverpool Bay.

Although no motions were made in Tuesday’s meeting, all councilors present made it clear they are not in favour of the expansion.

Some said they weren’t comfortable with what they have learned about salmon farms. Others outright called it an environmental disaster. Councilor Gil Johnson summed up what they were feeling.

“I think just sitting here and not doing something is as bad as not doing something to protect the people in the crosswalks downtown,” he said.

A motion to come out against the expansion was attempted, however because of the municipal rules of order it would have to wait until the next council meeting in April.

Complicating the issue is an old letter to the province on the books from 2015 by the previous council. In that letter, the Region of Queens states it is opposed to further development in the Port Mouton Bay, however it also states that the existing aquaculture farm in Liverpool Bay is suitable and expansion is welcome.

That motion will need to be rescinded before the any motion against the fish farm expansion is made.

The position by councillors comes after months of pressure by local advocate group Protect Liverpool Bay, which is opposed to the expansion. In most council meetings, the members have spoken publicly against the farm and urged council to stand with them.

The municipal council sent a letter to Cooke Aquaculture in January, highlighting questions on the expansion, but made no mention of a position. Protect Liverpool Bay members were asked to be a signatory of the letter as well, however refused because it was not officially opposing the expansion.

Council also asked municipal staff to present options on further action they could take.

One option is intervener status. The Region would ask to formally present evidence at the aquaculture review board that the aquaculture expansion should not go through.

However Chief Administrative Officer Chris MacNeil cautioned that it could be very costly to do so.

He said because the municipality does not have the in house scientific and legal knowledge on aquaculture farming, they would have to hire outside experts to gather and present evidence on their behalf. MacNeil, who has worked with review boards though not specifically the aquaculture review board, said interveners can spend upwards of $200,000 to collect the proper evidence.

“The only way we critique those applications is to provide fact based scientific evidence as to why we agree or disagree with certain assumptions,” said MacNeil. “That takes hiring technical people and scientists to critique that application.”

Councillor Brian Fralic said he was willing to spend the money to prevent possible ecological damage to the bay.

Kelly Cove Salmon, the subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture has put in for a big expansion in Liverpool Bay

According to Joel Richardson, Vice President of Public Relations with Cooke Aquaculture, the application is to expand their current operation from 14 to 20 pens, and add two more sites of 20 pens each. The location would be close to their current site. Richardson added the expansion could add up to 20 new jobs.

The company made application with the province on March 6, which now goes under technical review with the various governmental levels of aquaculture departments. It will then go to the aquaculture review panel who will hold public hearings before making their decision. The public can continue to provide feedback and ask questions through Cooke Aquaculture’s website aquaculturegrowsns.ca.

All information they received from the public was submitted as part of the application, as well as a response to a letter written by the Region of Queens.

Richardson said unless there are delays in the process, the earliest he expects a decision would be about a year from now and if approved the pens would be stocked in 2021.

Meanwhile the group Protect Liverpool Bay, said they are working on a response. The group had put pressure on the Region of Queens municipal council to take a stand against the expansion, however Mayor David Dagley said they will remain neutral. The municipality has no say in the decision on whether the expansion is approved.

With solving climate change becoming more urgent, a worldwide movement aimed at pressuring governments to take action is coming to Liverpool to gather support

Extinction Rebellion’s Nova Scotia chapter is hosting a talk and discussion on the topic this Thursday at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, starting at 6 pm.

Lisa Strickland-Clark, a member of the group, will be leading the talk on Thursday, and says it will have three parts to it. The first is finding out why people are interested in the topic, then a presentation on the data behind climate change and finally a discussion on what the audience thought and actions that can be taken.

Strickland-Clark says the data shows action needs to be taken soon. At the end of 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change released a report stating the global governments have 12 years to drastically reduce emissions of CO2, before catastrophic climate change will begin.

“It’s that dramatic, that we have to act really quickly,” said Strickland-Clark. “And to have a citizen’s assembly to oversee the government to make sure they do what they say they will.”

Extinction Rebellion was formed shortly after the IPCC report was released, and promotes non-violent direct action, such as Ghandhi’s non-violent protest over British Rule or the civil rights movement. Earlier this month the group hosted a “die-in” in Halifax, to showcase the number of species at risk of extinction, and interrupted the provincial legislature to highlight the issue.

More information on the group can be found on their Facebook page.

A wigwam will soon go up at the Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy, thanks to a grant from Mi’kmaq Services.

The $5,000 grant is part of an outreach program aimed at educating students in the schools about Mi’kmaq culture and heritage.

Students Calla Brown and Sierra MacLeod are part of the group working to get the Wigwam built, and say it was a good opportunity for the school.

“I feel like it is a really good thing to be happening,” said Brown. “It’s something that should be happening.

Adam Leuschner, the teacher coordinating the build, says they hope to use the Wigwam for learning about Mi’kmaq history, reconciliation efforts and to incorporate it into their outdoor education curriculum.

Both students are moving on to Grade 6 at the middle school next year, but hope that this Wigwam be a lasting legacy for the school.

Todd Labrador from Acadia First Nations will help the school create the Wigwam, and will teach the children the meaning behind the Wigwams, how to collect materials and how to construct it.

The Wigwam will go up on school grounds sometime in May.

RCMP are investigating an incident where stranger allegedly approached an 8-year-old girl outside of Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy.

The incident occurred between Feb. 1 and 14, and reported to police on March 6. The girl was waiting at the entrance of the school, when the man pulled up and offered her candy and toys. She was not hurt in the incident.

A description of the individual is vague at the moment, however the girl described him as a tall man with a deep voice, and he may have been wearing a colourful costume.

The RCMP are working with the school to review surveillance video to find out more information.

This is the only incident that has happened in the area, but police are working with the school staff to make sure the students stay safe.

. Anyone with information about this incident, or anyone who has concerns about suspicious activity in the community, can contact Queens District RCMP at 902-354-5721. Anonymous tips can contact Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca

A local business has won the outstanding service award at the Lunenburg Queens Business Excellence Awards.

Memories Café accepted the award on Tuesday night at the ceremonies in Cookville, and this is the first year the Outstanding service award was presented.

Jeff Whynot has worked the front of house since the café opened in 2012. While running the café is a team effort, Whynot accepted the award at the insistence of owner Linda Smith because he is the one most customers interact with.

Whynot says that having fun with the customers, but also making sure that any problems are taken care of quickly and attentively is the secret to customer service success. He said he was honoured that they received the award.

“Getting the award meant a lot to me,” he said.

Memories Café also won the best news business award in 2012.

This year the Large Business award went to Belliveau Veinotte Chartered Accountants while the Small Business award was won by Tilia Builders of West LaHave.

Tanner & Co Brewing in Chester received the New Business Award and The Barn Coffee and Social House of Mahone Bay was recognized with the Hospitality Award.

Dr. Kombu Brewing Company of New Ross won the Export Achievement award.

The students at North Queens Community School have created a striking message to raise awareness about missing and murdered aboriginal women across Canada.

The Grade 9 students at the school took on the project as part of their citizenship class. The project is based on a similar concept by Winnipeg Artist Jamie Black, that he created in 2016

North Queens is home to several first nations reserves, and indigenous issues need to be talked about more said student Dallas Wier.

“We have a lot of indigenous people in our community, and not a lot of people talk about (their group) and the issues they face.”

Weir said the indigenous women in Canada are 3 times more likely to be murdered by strangers, and seven times more likely than the general population. The goal of the project she said is to make people aware of the issue and hopefully take action.

The dresses were gathered from all over Southwest Nova Scotia, and once word of the project spread they had dresses collected and dropped off from many supporters of the project. In total they collected 80 dresses.

The dresses will be on display at the school, Hunt park in Caledonia and the Wildcat reserve. A ceremony is set for Friday at 6:30 pm at Hunt Park, where the students will talk about the project, members of the first nations community will speak, and music performed by the students.

The dream of a dog park in South Queens is quickly becoming a reality, and it looks like it will be ready to go this summer.

John Simmonds, president of the association in charge of the dog park, says he credits Angela Dixon, Judy Conrad, Alyssa Little, and Terry Zweep for getting things together so quickly. He said they’ve been coming up with fundraising ideas and working with the Milton Community Association to get everything in order.

He said the park will be a great way for owners to socialize and exercise their dogs, to help keep them healthy.

“Socializing dogs is a very important element of the dog experience, I think both for the dog and the owner,” says Simmonds. “And you can’t really do that when you are out walking your dog.

The park will be located behind the Milton Centennial Pool, and will be split into two areas. One will be for larger dogs, and the other small dogs. Around the park will be a walking trail as well.

The main cost will be fencing, which Simmonds says will be around $45,000. To raise funds, the group has a 50/50 draw underway, and will be holding a puppy fair, selling dog bone shaped plaques and looking for corporate sponsorship.

A public information meeting is set for March 6 at the Milton Community Hall starting at 6:30 p.m.

No matter which way you look at it, fixing the Liverpool waterfront flooding issues will take millions of dollars and is likely years away from happening.

Region of Queens Council heard a presentation on Tuesday from CBCL, the company hired to look for solutions on the Liverpool waterfront flooding. The parking lot was built over existing piers and infilled at a level that is just over a metre above normal high tide.

The company said projections show sea levels could rise as high as 2.5 metres by the year 2100. This would flood the parking lot every high tide, instead of just during storm surge events as they happen today.

Three main solutions were presented, constructing a Seawall, raising the parking lot and water street, or relocating the businesses that will be flooded out as sea levels continue to rise in the coming decades. These range in cost from around 2 and a half million to move businesses up to nearly 10 million dollars to build a seawall with a pumping system.

CBCL representative Colin Fisher said a seawall or raising the parking lot would only be temporary solutions, and the flooding issues would return in 50 years as levels continued to rise. He said adapting and planning for the change makes better sense.

“As far as the parking lot goes, it’s hard to recommend building a wall,” he said. “I think the most responsible thing to do is retreat and adapt.”

Council will review the presentation before deciding what direction to take from here.

A new art festival will liven up downtown Liverpool this May.

Eventide art festival is the brainchild of two local artisans, Stacey Smart-Chandler and Brittany Wentzell, and is slated for May 11.

As Smart-Chandler explains, while there are many festivals that have art as a component, they wanted to create an event that is solely focused on the arts.

“We have so many creative individuals in the community, as well as businesses and public spaces devoted to arts and culture,” said Smart-Chandler. “But we have no event devoted specifically to the arts.”

Similar to events like Nocturn in Halifax, Eventide will be a night time event. Wentzell said they wanted to pick a time of day that isn’t normally active in Liverpool, and the festival is slated to go from 7 pm to midnight.

Eventide will be centred around Town Hall arts and cultural centre, and spill out onto main street in Liverpool. The festival is still in its planning stages, so specific events have yet to be announced, but the pair hope to start announcing more details soon.

Eventide can be contacted at eventidefestival@gmail.com

http://eventidefestival.ca/

The Region of Queens Municipal Council has rejected a cell phone tower proposal that was slated to go up at the end of Meadow Pond Lane.

In January, a public hearing was held in council chambers, where about two dozen members of the public came out to listen. Out of those six spoke out against the tower. One was developer Dale Whynot, who is building apartments on Cobb’s Ridge. He said because the proposed tower was so close to his property, he would halt any further development in that area if it was approved.

Mayor David Dagley said each councilor weighed the decision carefully, and ended with a unanimous vote against the tower on Feb. 12.

Speaking on behalf of himself, he said the development of needed apartments in Liverpool and the potential loss was a large factor in his decision.

“Community unrest regarding this location, and the impact of a developer building new apartments in Queens which we desperately need in the Region of Queens, and the ability for Eastlink to find another location,” he said of his reasons why he voted against the motion.

Eastlink site manager Steven Banks was in Council on Feb. 12, and said the tower was needed to cover dead spots in Liverpool, as well as provide better data speeds for customers.

Eastlink can still choose to send their application to the CRTC, however the decision by council is submitted as part of process and would be taken into consideration.

The Region of Queens municipality is sending a long list of questions about the potential fin fish farm expansion in Liverpool Bay, but is still taking a neutral stance overall.

In council on Feb. 12, councilors voted to send the letter to Kelly Cove Salmon, a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture, about their proposed Salmon Farm expansion in the Bay. Kelly Cove currently operates an existing pen in the harbor, but seeking to expand.

Currently the company is scoping the bay, which means they are gathering evidence to see if the locations are suitable and safe to put more cages in. From their it would go to the provincial aquaculture review board for decision.

Mayor David Dagley said they don’t expect a direct response to the letter. Rather, the letter would go with the submissions sent to the provincial aquaculture review board if Kelly Cove decides to go further with their application.

“If the review board finds that there were scientific requests for Kelly Cove to follow up on and they did not, I’m sure the board would want to know why.”

The Region of Queens has no say over approving the application, as it is under provincial jurisdiction.

The group Protect Liverpool Bay was disappointed that the letter did not come out against the farm, and refused to be a co-signer however.

The Region of Queens municipality sent a copy of the letter beforehand to the group, and offered for them to co-sign the letter.

Anne Laws represented the group in council on Feb. 12, and said while they appreciate that the Region is asking questions about the development, it is not line up with their mandate of no fin fish farms in Liverpool or Nova Scotia.

“We are disturbed and saddened that the Region is not supporting our position that fin fish farming has no place in the marine environment.”

She added they are Also concerned that if Kelly Cove provides adequate explanation to the questions, that it could be taken as they are giving approval for the farm to go ahead.

Laws again called for council to take a stand against fin fish farming in Nova Scotia.

A Nova Scotia grown investment co-operative is coming to Queens County this month, to pitch investing in the local food economy.

Farmworks provides loans to businesses that are part of the local food industry, and the funds are raised by the public buying shares in a diversified portfolio of local food businesses

Those that invest in Farmworks are eligible for tax credits, and there are multiple ways to invest, says Linda Best, Co-chair and Treasurer of FarmWorks. As an added benefit, Best says it keeps invested money in the province, creates jobs and helps boost the local economy.

“Farmworks provides opportunities for people to invest closer to home and invest in things meaningful to them,” she said

Best said they spend over 100 hours on each application, to make sure all due diligence has been taken care of, before taking the application to board of directors for board to decide

So far they have funded 93 businesses, with loans ranging from $5,000 to $50,000

In Queens County, the Port Grocer in Port Medway received a loan to start the business, and use local food in their restaurant.

Annabelle Singleton is the owner of the Port Grocer, and says when they started looking for loans to get their business off the ground, major lending agencies did not have faith a business in such a small community would work. However it was Farmworks who looked at their business plan and lent them the funds to help bring the Port Grocer to life.

“Instead of blank stares and people telling us it wouldn’t work, we had a room full of people cheering us on,” she said.

As both an investor and a recipient of a loan Singleton says she has no problem recommending Farmworks to those looking for a loan to start a food industry based business, as well as those looking for a way to invest locally.

Farm works will be at the Port Grocer on Feb. 9 at 2:30 pm, and at the North Queens Business Centre in Caledonia on Feb. 22 at 2:30 pm.

With the dreary weather setting in for Canada, and six more weeks of winter predicted by Lucy the Lobster, many Canadians are flying south for a relaxing getaway.

To protect your home while you are away, the RCMP have released a few tips to keep your house secure.

Theses include making sure all entrances and windows are locked, avoid hiding spare keys nearby, and asking a neighbor, family member or friend to check on your home.

They also say although vacations are exciting, it is better avoid posting your vacation plans and waiting until you return to post your snapshots, so criminals don’t know your house is empty.

The full list of tips:

• Make sure all doors and windows are locked, including your garage door, shed, and basement windows.
• Avoid leaving spare keys “hidden” under a mat or under a rock. Burglars know about this trick and a key gives them easy access.
• Ask a trusted neighbour, family member or friend to check on your home while you’re away.
• Set timers on lights inside and outside of your home and on electronics like a radio or television. Timers help give the impression that someone is home.
• Arrange to have your driveway cleared of snow while you’re away.
• If you have any cash, jewellery or any other valuables in your home, store them in a safety deposit box.
• Make sure that your home security system is on and provide the code to a family member or trusted friend so that they do not set off the alarm when they check on your home.
• Never announce your vacation dates on social media and avoid posting your holiday pictures until you return home so criminals don’t know your house is empty.