Eric and Dawn Fry are hoping to build 16 apartments in the old Stedmans building on Main Street in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

A developer is hoping to turn an old storefront on Liverpool’s Main Street into apartments.

Eric and Dawn Fry of Fall River bought 194 Main St. in January and hope to turn it into 16 one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental units.

Eric Fry told QCCR that they applied a few weeks ago to the Region of Queens to allow for apartments on the ground floor. The region’s land use bylaws permit residential units on Main Street only in buildings with a commercial storefront.

“We would rather see it as 100 per cent residential because there’s more of a need in that area for residential than for additional commercial space because there’s a fair amount of vacant commercial space on Main Street.”

The property is known locally as the old Stedmans building. Before it was bought by the Frys, it sat vacant for a few years and was heavily damaged by extreme weather. And before that, it housed a dollar store and office space on the ground floor.

Fry said Tuesday that they’re also planning indoor parking, which would be accessed on the Water Street side at the back of the building.

“We’re hoping that there won’t be any or too much opposition to what we’re trying to do because we know that there’s a need for housing there and I think this would lend itself nicely. … So it could be a pretty desirable development when it’s completed.”

Tenants recently moved into the couple’s other development, The Falls in Milton, located on the Mersey River. That building is full and targeted to people 55 and over.

This new development would be marketed to a more mixed demographic. Fry says he hopes to attract health care or other professionals. And two or three units could qualify as affordable housing.

According to Viewpoint, the 30,000-square-foot building sold for $235,000 after almost a year on the market. Fry said it’s too early to estimate the budget for the project or what the rents will be. 

“The two criteria that I typically use are location and potential. And I think that’s got both in spades. It’s very central and a lot of potential. It took a little creativity with our design team and our construction manager to work through a feasible plan, in order to make it all accessible. We’ll be adding windows and skylights for the upper units. We think it’s really going to begin to transform Main Street, so we’re excited about it.”

They’re working with a partner on the project and have named their company SDL Developments, as an homage to the building’s former life as a Stedmans department store.

While they wait to see how their application goes with the municipality, Fry said workers have been cleaning up debris inside the building. 

He said he and his wife wanted to invest in the community after they bought a cottage in Port Mouton in 2015 and fell in love with the area.

“We’re not trying to disrupt anything or upset the apple cart. My wife and I have lots of great relationships in Liverpool and we’ve gotten to know a lot of folks in the municipality and we love it. What we’ve done with The Falls in Milton would be frankly representative of the type of approach we would take, very open and communicative with the public and a quality product that people can be proud to call home.”

Fry said that if their application with the municipality succeeds, they hope to begin construction by the end of June. 

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Justin Freeman launched Letterswitch Publishing on Saturday in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

In a town without a bookstore, starting a publishing business might seem like a leap of faith.

But Justin Freeman of Liverpool says he’s realizing a childhood dream by launching Letterswitch Publishing. 

“I’m content to just put out beautiful books that entertain and educate and encourage new parents, and parents of young kids especially, but everybody in a family,” he told QCCR.

“I hope it goes off well. Publishing is not exactly the most robust industry to be jumping into feet first at the moment, but I’m hoping with kind of the niche aspect of it and keeping things small and focused that it’ll be a success.”

Freeman unveiled his micropublishing company on Saturday at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. The stay-at-home Dad moved to the area a few years ago with his young family. 

“(We) moved to Liverpool in 2022 after my son was born. My wife got a job at the hospital … and this is home now. We’re putting down roots and are looking forward to a lot of years here.”

Freeman says he’ll be concentrating at first on publishing his own work through Letterswitch. 

His first book was on display on Saturday. Called A Little Grieving, he partnered with a pediatric crisis counsellor on the parent’s guide to helping your child through the grieving process. 

He also plans a kids’ picture book called One Veggie, a middle-grade chapter book called Molly Moss Runs for Office and a western novel called Crimson Shadow.

“It’ll be a slow rollout. I’m a stay-at-home dad and I’ll just try to get things rolling here in the next couple years. But once both kids are in school, I look to open up to other authors and just get a nice catalog of titles.”

Freeman grew up on a farm in Missouri. He had an eclectic career before moving to Nova Scotia with his wife, Dr. Alison Freeman, and their kids Molly and James.

“I was formerly a police officer in Missouri in the city of Springfield. I was also a minister for a few years, and sold shoes and grew up on a farm and just have a varied background that kind of informs and inflects different writing. Thus all the different type of books that are coming out.”

The name of the company comes from how he met his wife, when he was still on the farm in Missouri and she was at home in Nova Scotia.

“Essentially, back in 2000, I was on the family farm using ICQ, a messaging app, and this message pops up saying, ‘Do you want to catch up?’ It was obviously a misdirect, but I went to reject it and something told me to accept it, so I did. And it was somebody looking for somebody named Justin Freeman that they had met in Massachusetts. And instead of typing MA for Massachusetts, they typed MO.

“And we struck up more conversations, postcards from abroad, kept up over the years, and then 15 years later, wound up meeting finally, fell in love. I’m now married to Alison and we have two beautiful kids. And so the letter switch is an homage to that switched letter that started our entire story.”

For the launch event, Freeman teamed up with local artisans to feature some of their work, including local baker Gabby’s Bread Basket, who catered the event, and the Covey Candle Company, who created a couple of limited-edition scents. 

“And there’s also a piece that I commissioned by local artist Katie Kripp called Bound for Novel Passages. And it’s a sailing ship with books for the sails and it just represents a new journey for me and some other creatives I look to work with. I find myself surrounded by creative people here in Liverpool and I wanted to work with a few of them for the launch.”

People at the Letterswitch launch, like Jaqueline Duck of Liverpool, said it was exciting to have a publisher in the area.

“I think that’s amazing because there are writers here and they have to go and find a publisher. If we have one in Liverpool, it makes everybody’s life that much easier. And it’s good business.”

Freeman says that while he’ll be busy for the next few months on his own work, he’d still like to hear from people interested in his new venture.

You can find Letterswitch Publishing at letterswitchpublishing.com or email Freeman at hello@letterswitchpublishing.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Members of the Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association want changes to a proposed private road levy bylaw. (Rick Conrad)

A property owners group in Queens County’s growing cottage country hopes regional council can pass a new bylaw by the fall that would make it easier to collect fees to maintain private roads.

Representatives from the Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association appealed to councillors at their regular meeting on Tuesday to make a few changes to the region’s proposed bylaw on private road maintenance charges.

The bylaw has been in the works since 2019.

More than 5,700 properties in Queens County are connected to roads that aren’t maintained by the municipality or the province. Most of these roads are in the areas of Molega, Ponhook and Annis lakes.

The association invoices property owners an annual fee for that maintenance, using manually generated lists. It charges property owners annual fees of $408.25 for developed land and $149.50 for vacant land. Those amounts include HST.

Under the new bylaw, the region would collect the fees on annual municipal tax bills, and then remit those to the association.

Dwayne Primeau is president of the Molega lot owners group.

“Optimistically, when this bylaw has passed and hopefully when we adopt it, what will happen is the region will issue a tax invoice that includes a road maintenance levy. And that would essentially be the same fee that is collected at one time and then remitted from the Region of Queens to the association to support us in delivering the service to the citizens. ”

The group represents 1,233 property owners, covering more than 1,200 hectares or 3,000 acres. It’s the largest recreational development in Atlantic Canada. Many people now live in the area full-time.

The association is responsible for maintaining 52 kilometres of roadway, including 10 km of provincially owned K class roads, 13 boat launches and three bridges.

But treasurer Bruce MacInnis told councillors that about 20 per cent of land owners don’t pay their fees.

“And it is quite an expensive process because we’re duplicating effectively what they do here (at the region),” he said in an interview after the meeting.

“There’s a lot of people we just have difficulty finding because we have to maintain mailing lists and the information’s not always easy to find. So that takes a lot of time as well. And we’re volunteers.”

As part of the proposed bylaw, the region would keep about five per cent of the fees they collect to pay for administrative costs. The association estimates that would cut about $15,000 from what it gets from the levy. It wants that lowered to two to three per cent.

The group said a lower percentage would allow it to hire a manager to oversee its work in maintaining the private roads.

The bylaw would also require agreements with lot owners associations to be renewed every year. The group wants that changed to every five years, with renewal based on meeting certain criteria.

Primeau said after the meeting that he’s cautiously optimistic the bylaw will be adopted before the group begins sending out invoices in November.

“The message we’re trying to relate today is that our members and our board are are in support of and in need of this assistance to continue to maintain and manage the infrastructure, supporting this growing part of the region.

“We would really love to see this be in place and ready for us to adopt prior to November of 2025, which is when we typically would follow our manual process to invoice for the coming year’s fees.”

Councillors had suspended first reading of the bylaw in January so that they could become more familiar with it. It’s unknown when council will bring it back.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Tara Druzina, representing the Queens County Food Bank, speaks to Region of Queens councillors at their regular meeting on Tuesday. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

The Region of Queens will again be late setting its budget, though councillors hope to begin deliberations soon.

Mayor Scott Christian said this week that recent turnover in senior management has contributed to the delay. 

“It has been a challenge,” he said in remarks during council’s regular meeting on Tuesday.

“The organization has gone through significant churn within the senior management levels and we’re seeking to improve the organization, the functions in the organization to ensure that we can govern in ways that are accountable and transparent and engaging for our residents.”

Councillors fired CAO Cody Joudry in December, and the region terminated the employment of municipal clerk Pam Lovelace at the beginning of March, three months after she was hired. 

At their regular meeting this week, councillors approved interim spending limits until the 2025/26 budget is set.

Municipalities are expected to finalize their budgets by the end of March each year.

The region was also late last year with their budget talks, beginning the process in early April.

Christian told QCCR after the meeting that another reason for the delay is that the municipality is waiting for results of its water rate study, which will set charges for the region’s 1,400 water utility customers.

He said they’ll notify the public as soon as budget deliberations begin.

When they do, councillors are facing some challenges in a region with some of the highest poverty rates in Nova Scotia.

Officials with the Queens County Food Bank appealed to councillors this week to consider granting the group $15,500 in an annual rent subsidy for the next four years.

Before the food bank was forced out of a derelict municipal property in 2019 and began leasing space on Main Street, it paid no rent. But demand for their services has grown, as food costs have risen and donations have plummeted by about 50 per cent.

Just recently, the food bank was hit with a $10,000 repair bill on its two-year-old walk-in freezer. And it has committed to begin food pantries for elementary and high school students throughout the county, said Tara Druzina, the fundraising lead for the food bank.

“This highlights how the food bank constantly adapts for emergency community needs, not just providing food every Tuesday, but ensuring that vital support reaches the most vulnerable when and where needed,” she told councillors.

“These challenges illustrate why stable operational funding is critical. Without it, the food bank cannot effectively respond to growing community needs.”

Shelly Panczyk, chairperson of the food bank, said their client list has grown by about 30 per cent in the past few years, while the organization’s food costs have ballooned to $6,000 a month.

She says the rent subsidy is something the region provided in the past, by giving the food bank rent-free space in one of its buildings.

“Food is not all donated. 
So most of our food is bought, even though we get a truck from Feed Nova Scotia every Monday, but that’s mostly produce. But most everything else, all our canned goods and all our staples have to be bought.”

She says revenue from its thrift store has helped with those increased expenses. 

“We’ve been lucky the last four years we’ve had the thrift store open, but that can change at any time and that’s where most of our money comes from.”

Mayor Scott Christian said he didn’t want to predict how budget deliberations will go, but he acknowledged the role of local governments is becoming more complex.

“There’s an incredible amount of need in our community that we have to look at and just on balance with the pressure that puts on the ratepayer. I think all municipalities (face) significant pressure and competing priorities to figure out what to do with the limited available resources.”

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The Region of Queens won’t give the South Shore Flying Club a break this year on its lease fee at the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield. (South Shore Flying Club)

The South Shore Flying Club’s request for a break on its rent at the South Shore Regional Airport had a rough landing at regional council on Tuesday evening.

Region of Queens councillors voted down a motion from District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins to forgive the flying club its $4,000 lease fee for 2025/26.

Jenkins was the only councillor who supported the motion.

“The club is more than just a club. They’re stewards of the airport,” he told councillors. “Years in the past, this region used to pay somebody thousands of dollars a year to sit at the airport just in case there was a plane come in.”

The municipality owns the small airport in Greenfield, but two years ago, it planned to sell it. 

Instead, the region signed 20-year leases in 2023 with the flying club and the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association. The racing group pays $9,000 a year to lease the property for its events.

Under the flying club’s lease, it has access to the large hangar, but it also agreed to maintain the property for the region.

The club says now that it can no longer afford the annual fee. President Peter Gow wrote the newly elected council last October looking for the rent waiver.

He could not be reached Wednesday for an interview.

Jenkins said the club’s 34 members spend a lot of their own money maintaining the airport, terminal building, hangars and grounds. Three of the club’s members are also on call to respond to any problems at the airport, or to refuel a plane that’s landed.

“So we still have a viable airport. … But it’s also an asset that this region should be looking at seriously. And it’s also an asset that we pay very little to maintain. Everything else there is done by the club at their expense.”

According to the club’s financial statements, it recorded a loss in 2024 of $2,639.48. As of Dec. 31, it had a bank balance of $15,562.64.

Other councillors pointed to the club’s bank balance and its $25 annual membership fee, and said they could do more to raise revenue.

The club also spent $2,245 on clothing last year, as well as $1,241 on a new highway sign. Councillors said the club likely won’t have those expenses this year.

District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton said she appreciates what the club does for the airport, but they also have a whole year to fundraise to help cover their costs.

And with budget talks coming up, she said she doesn’t want to commit to the rent waiver, especially with other groups in the region like the Queens County Food Bank asking for help.

“We are going into this budget process right now completely blind. We don’t know what our bottom line is. … I think it’s probably fair to say there will be some surprises there. We know we have huge infrastructure challenges. When I think about our strategic priorities, food insecurity is one of them, I think that would be an easy one (to assist) the food bank with the rent, but I don’t necessarily feel the same way with this ask at this time.”

After the meeting, Mayor Scott Christian said the club may be able to offset some of its operating costs through its application to the region’s Community Investment Fund.

The region usually announces the recipients of those grants later in the spring.

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Lauren Murphy is the director of recruitment and volunteer services with Nova Scotia Health. (Nova Scotia Health photo)

Nova Scotia Health is looking for more Nova Scotians to fill hundreds of jobs around the province.

The department is holding its second annual provincial career fair on Thursday (March 27) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 11 locations around Nova Scotia.

The closest one for Queens County residents will be in Bridgewater at the Michelin Social Club, 221 Logan Rd.

Lauren Murphy, the director of recruitment and volunteer services with Nova Scotia Health, says last year’s event attracted about 3,000 people and led to more than 220 people being hired.

“It’s really an opportunity to showcase our roles and jobs and talk to Nova Scotians about our opportunities we have at Nova Scotia Health,” she says.

“Because we’re hosting it from coast to coast in the province it’s also an opportunity for people in their own communities to find a job there so they don’t have to leave.”

Murphy says job seekers will be able to speak to hiring managers from all parts of Nova Scotia Health. 

“That’s also the beauty of showcasing the amount of positions that we have. We had admin staff hired … but we also had diagnostic imaging technologists, we had folks who are going to be supporting our pharmacies, we had (emergency) nurses and specialty nurses. It really was amazing to see the amount of people who showed up and were able to connect with a hiring manager and find a job.

“If you think about what it takes to run a hospital, obviously doctors are critical but there are so many more moving parts and pieces to it. We’re a 30,000-people employer. We’re Atlantic Canada’s largest and we really do cover everything you can think of.”

Murphy says being able to talk to somebody in person can help demystify the application process.

“Walking in there and being able to talk to people about such a wide variety is so much different than scrolling online and trying to doing your own research. … To be able to talk to someone who is living and breathing that job day in and day out … I really think that’s what bridges that gap between virtual and in-person.”

Job applicants will also be able to upload their resume using a QR code at the job fair. Murphy said Nova Scotia Health officials will follow up with applicants the week after the event who applied using the QR code to give them an update on their application.

She said she hopes to beat last year’s numbers, both for turnout and for hires. 

“Any person that we can hire is a win. There are such amazing opportunites for internal advancement. So even if you take one job tomorrow, there’s a million different pathways you can take so you can have a fulsome career at Nova Scotia Health, which I think in a lot of companies these days, that’s pretty rare.”

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More doctors and other health professionals from the U.S. want to move to Nova Scotia, according to Nova Scotia Health. (Province of Nova Scotia)

The unstable political situation in the United States may be good news for the Nova Scotia health care system.

More doctors and other health professionals working in the U.S. are looking to move north. One of the places they’re calling is Nova Scotia. And some of them also want to move to Queens County.

Lauren Murphy, director of recruitment and volunteer services with Nova Scotia Health, says they’ve seen an increase in applications from people from the U.S.

“Honestly, we’re hearing some pretty amazing stories,” she told QCCR this week.

“We’re hearing people who maybe have family members who are trans who don’t feel safe anymore. We’re hearing about people who are Canadians but have been living in the U.S. for years and working in their health care system and not feeling safe anymore and wanting to come back to Canada. We’re hearing from people who are internationally educated but living in the U.S. and again not feeling safe. It’s a scary time in the States and I do think people are seeing Canada as that safe space.”

Murphy said that the health care professionals reaching out to Nova Scotia Health recruiters are extremely qualified and experienced. They include doctors, nurses and other professionals.

“And the beauty is that the hospital setting in the U.S. is very very similar to what we have in Canada in terms of the level of care. And so being able to hire someone from the U.S., they can pretty much hit the ground running. As horrible as it is, maybe there is some silver lining that people can find a new home here in Nova Scotia and build roots and bring family or create families, and that’s great for our economy and great for us as a province.”

Murphy did not say how many doctors or other health professionals are interested in making the move from the U.S. to Nova Scotia.

According to data obtained in January 2024 by the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, more than 1,000 health-care positions were still waiting to be filled in Nova Scotia. That includes professionals other than doctors and nurses.

And in March, about 96,000 Nova Scotians were still without a primary care provider. That was down from February’s number of just over 104,000. About nine per cent of the population is still looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

Murphy acknowledged that there’s a global shortage of health-care professionals. Jurisdictions like Nova Scotia have been looking in other countries to fill those spots.

The process can take some time, especially as candidates navigate immigration and licensing requirements. Nova Scotia Health has its own immigration team to help make it easier for clinicians or other professionals to move here.

Nova Scotia recently opened a new centre to help speed up the licensing process for internationally trained physicians. It takes about 12 weeks to complete and doctors agree to practise in the province for at least three years.

Murphy says American-based doctors also ask her recruitment team about the differences in culture and taxation.

“It’s a huge step to move to a different country,” she said. “A lot of the conversations start off very exploratory. If you’re thinking about the U.S., you’re also potentially talking to a candidate who is coming from a state that doesn’t pay tax.

“But … we really are seeing people who are like, ‘No, we have to do this, we’re taking the plunge.’ And we’re really seeing those numbers now.”

Some of those doctors and other professionals are interested in moving to Queens County. 

Dr. Al Doucet is the chair of the Queens General Hospital Foundation, which works with Nova Scotia Health to bring doctors to the area.

He was out of the country and unavailable for an interview Friday. But he said in a text message that the foundation is getting inquiries from physicians and physician assistants about moving here.

Nova Scotia Health recently named Liverpool-based Dr. Alison Freeman the MD recruitment and retention lead for the South Shore.

To help with those recruitment efforts, Nova Scotia Health is holding a provincial career fair on March 27 at 11 locations around the province. Officials will be at the Michelin Social Club in Bridgewater from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Murphy says the job fair targets Nova Scotians who are interested in a first-time position with Nova Scotia Health or transferring to a different part of the province. More than 220 people were hired through last year’s job fair.

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Students and staff at Liverpool Regional High School were under a hold and secure order for a short time on Wednesday morning. (Rick Conrad)

An incident at Liverpool Regional High School on Wednesday forced officials to secure the school and students.

Parents got an email at 10:50 a.m. telling them the school was in a “precautionary hold and secure”.

“Everyone is safe and this measure has been taken out of an abundance of caution, due to a potential safety concern in the community,” the email said.

“During the hold and secure classes will continue as normal, access to the building will be limited, and students will remain inside the school for breaks.”

The email told parents that the hold and secure would remain in place until “police confirm normal activities can resume”.

The hold and secure order was lifted around lunchtime, according to a spokeswoman with the South Shore Regional Centre for Education, who also provided QCCR with a copy of the email.

She told QCCR to contact the RCMP for further details. 

RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Carlie McCann said police are still investigating and would likely provide an update in the next few days.

“I can’t provide any further information at this time,” she said Thursday.

Students heard on Wednesday that another student brought a pellet pistol to school.

“I think some guy flashed a pellet gun at someone,” Logan Sarty, a Grade 12 student at LRHS, said outside the school on Thursday. “That’s the main thing I’ve been hearing around.”

Sarty said everybody appeared OK afterward, but there was speculation in the halls about the alleged incident.

“A lot of people thought that it shouldn’t be hold and secure because there was a lot of talk of it being a rumour.” 

Another, unrelated incident occurred at South Queens Middle School on Wednesday. A school board spokeswoman said that was “more common”, as staff dealt with a disruptive student.

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Susie and Joan Stephenson of Port Joli visit the Bookmobile recently at its stop in Port Mouton. (Rick Conrad)

It’s the last one in Nova Scotia. And it’s still motoring along the South Shore.

Each week, the Bookmobile brings books, DVDs and other materials to about 15 communities in Lunenburg and Queens counties, from Chester to Caledonia.

A mobile library has been operating on the South Shore since the 1970s.

Other library systems around Nova Scotia have stopped the service. The Cape Breton Regional Library had the only other one and it retired its Bookmobile in November 2024.

So now, the South Shore has the only remaining Bookmobile in the province. And it shows no signs of slowing down.

Ashley Nunn-Smith is the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries.

“Our Bookmobile has been on the road for 50 years. But it’s much beloved, it’s very much a fabric of the community. For example, a few weeks ago, we had someone bring the books out to Caledonia in their van because the Bookmobile was having some mechanical issues and not only did people come out to pick up their items, but they had almost like a tailgate party. They just hung around the back of the van and chatted with their neighbours. There was nothing keeping them there other than that sense of community.

“It’s not just about the books, although that’s wonderful to drive books out to people. It’s really about a sense of community.”

Joan Stephenson of Port Joli was at a recent Bookmobile stop at Coastal Queens Place in Port Mouton. Stephenson and her daughter Susie are some of the regular patrons the Bookmobile serves every three weeks at this location. It visits certain communities on a weekly basis, while others are on a tri-weekly schedule.

“We remember when we had to fight to get a Bookmobile because the county didn’t want it,” Stephenson says. “And instead they put streetlights on our road and fought the Bookmobile, and we said it’s a different kind of enlightenment.”

In 2021, the library put a new custom-built Bookmobile on the road at a cost of about $500,000, with an accessibility lift, Wi-fi and seven electrical outlets where people can charge their devices.

Last year, the mobile service had an average of 1,100 monthly visitors who checked out 3,000 items, accounting for about 15 per cent of the library’s overall visits and circulation. Fuel and maintenance take up about two per cent of the library’s total $1.9-million operating budget.

Nunn-Smith says that because the South Shore has fewer physical library locations than other library systems around Nova Scotia, having the Bookmobile is essential.

“I think that by having the library on wheels we can bring it to more spaces than we would be able to reach with brick and mortar locations. We’re able to reach more communities that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. We reach Port Mouton and Mill Village. Those places, it wouldn’t be feasible to operate a library branch, and so we’re able to bring the library to them.”

Susie Stephenson says she remembers the anticipation as a kid waiting for the Bookmobile to visit, a feeling she still has years later.

“When we lived in Broad River, we all went and we’d come home with clothes baskets full of books. The eight of us would just sit around and read. And you’d do it until you had to eat.

“It makes it accessible and it keeps me in reading material. And it keeps me interested and not depressed. I can sit and read a book and look at it. … I’ll take two or three bags lots of times.”

Her mother Joan says it’s something she looks forward to every three weeks.

“I can’t be away too long. My husband’s disabled. So it’s fun to come here. And the wonderful thing is the people who drive and work on the Bookmobile over all these years we’ve had it have always become our friends. They know what you’re looking for and we laugh. They want to know how your trip was or how your surgery was. They become friends.

“We love it. We love the Bookmobile. I’m an old lady and hopefully it will outlive me.”

The Bookmobile visits Caledonia every Saturday from 10 a.m to noon in the NSLC parking lot. It will be back in Mill Village at the fire hall on April 4 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and in Port Mouton at Coastal Queens Place on April 4 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

You can find the schedule for the Bookmobile on the South Shore Public Libraries website.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The South Shore Flying Club maintains the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield as part of a lease agreement with the Region of Queens. (South Shore Flying Club Facbook page)

The South Shore Flying Club is looking for a break on its rent at the South Shore Regional Airport.

Peter Gow, president of the non-profit, says his group’s 35 to 40 members maintain the runway, hangars and grounds at the small airport in Greenfield.

“Between the insurance and the annual fee that we pay to the region, it kind of makes it pretty tight to keep operating,” he said in an interview Monday. “We’re just kind of run pretty thin.”

The flying club has asked the Region of Queens, which owns the airport, to waive the annual $4,000 rental fee.

Last October, Gow wrote to the newly elected council to ask for a break on the rent. District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins brought up the issue at last week’s council meeting. He asked councillors to support his motion for the rent waiver.

“They also provide a substantial service because they do keep an eye on the aiport, they clean it, they maintain it so that it can be used,” Jenkins told council last Tuesday.

“The problem is their limited revenue stream. Unlike other users of the airport, they don’t have 500 or 1,000 people coming to watch an event that pay money. It’s a small club with limited revenues.”

Two years ago, the region was on the verge of selling the airport. But after public backlash, municipal councillors decided to hold onto it. 

In spring 2023, the flying club and the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association agreed to 20-year leases with the region.

Under the flying club’s lease, it has access to the large hangar, but it also agreed to maintain the property for the region. The drag racers have use of the small hangar.

“It was either we more or less agree to that or we don’t have an airport,” Gow says. “So we begrudgingly agreed to the lease with that stipulation that we would run it.”

Gow says the club has a few fundraising events each year, but it can’t sustain itself if it has to pay the rent on top of its annual $6,500 insurance bill.

“We try to do what we can here and there but everything is so expensive as everybody knows. It’s just kind of a bit of struggle. It just seems a bit odd that we pay a fee to operate the region’s facility.”

Gow said the small airport could help attract new residents to Queens County.

“We feel it’s very important. You take what’s going on around the world now, south of the border. Some of our American neighbours may consider moving to the area and that might be one of the things they look for — is there a viable airport there for someone who might have a small plane. It could make the difference between somebody moving to the South Shore and not.”

Last week, councillors said they were supportive of Jenkins’s motion, but voted to defer it to their next meeting on March 25 so they could get a look at the club’s financial statements.

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Jillian Young of Liverpool celebrates after winning the gold in her 200-metre snowshoe race at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy. (Special Olympics Canada)

Queens County athletes are once again at the top of the world podium.

Jillian Young and Rebecca Delaney of Liverpool captured gold this week at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Sestriere.

Young was the first to win gold on Thursday in the snowshoe 200-metre F15 final. And Delaney won gold on Friday as part of the 4 x 100-metre relay snowshoe team.

Susan Inglis, who is also Delaney’s mother, is one of the Team Canada snowshoe coaches in Italy for the games.

“It’s really amazing like the talent that is here and to see them compete on the world stage and do that well is just amazing.”

Young and Delaney are part of the 90-athlete-strong Team Canada at the games in Turin and Sestriere. And they contributed to Canada’s 76-medal haul.

Bridgewater’s Nick Skoreyko and Chloe Stoddart are the other athletes from Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens competing in Italy. Skoreyko finished fifth in both of his snowshoe races. And Stoddart claimed bronze in 500-metre cross-country skiing.

Delaney also placed fourth and fifth in two other races, while Young finished sixth in her other race.

Delaney’s gold-medal-winning relay team has the fastest time in the world and Skoreyko was also in the fastest heat among male athletes.

“Pretty big deal to go and represent your country,” Inglis said.

“The medals are the icing on the cake, but the cake is still pretty good, pretty impressive. And they are here in Italy in these beautiful mountains with people from all over the world and they’re showcasing their talents here and they have done all so well that it’s almost hard to believe that they can be in the Top 10 in the world.

“This little town of Liverpool can put out some pretty cool, amazing athletes.”

Inglis said Delaney’s relay was run in the middle of a blizzard on the mountain.

“I had no idea what was happening on those relays until they got around to the 100-metre mark becuase you couldn’t see.”

Inglis said every athlete achieved a personal best in their sport.

“If you’re beating your personal best times, which they’ve all done, that’s amazing in itself too.

“For Rebecca and Nick, they’ve been training for a good nine months. And the minimum that they’ve had to train was three times a week, so they’re improved their performance by all that training.”

Another important aspect of the games is meeting other competitors from Canada and around the world. Inglis said the experience will only help set up the Lunenburg and Queens athletes for even more success.

“I think that they now see waht opprotunities are out there for them. And if they work really hard, train really hard that they can continue to go to national games and maybe get to go to another world games.”

As for herself, Inglis says she’s learned a lot from other coaches, lessons she’ll put into practice when she returns to Nova Scotia.

“It gives me that knowledge to bing back and share in nova scotia, not just within luen queens but with some of the other coaches in nova scotia that do snowshoeing as well.

“It’s fantastic. I’ve never met a Special Olympic athlete I haven’t fallen in love with. And this has just opened up a  new world to me because in Lunenburg Queens we have a limited group of athletes and I’ve been working with them for quite a few years but now I know athletes from all over the country. It’s been wonderful.”

Saturday is the last day of competition at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin. And then it’s the closing ceremonies Saturday night.

After that, Inglis says she hopes to take a few weeks off before resuming training for the Nova Scotia Special Olympics provincial summer games in July.

“It just was an overall amazing experience. I’m exhausted and looking forward to getting back home to my own bed and animals and things, but it’s been overall an amazing experience.”

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The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed Friday. (Communications Nova Scotia)

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool is closed Friday.

Nova Scotia Health issued a notice Thursday night that the ER would be closed temporarily until Mon., March 17 at 8 a.m. It gave no reason for the closure.

On Feb. 27, the department announced new “expanded and consistent” hours for the Liverpool ER. It would be open 24 hours a day from Mondays at 8 a.m. until Fridays at 1:30 p.m. and closed on weekends.

Leslie Oliver, the executive director of community and rural health in the western zone for Nova Scotia Health, told QCCR at the time that the new hours would provide patients with reliability.

“We don’t have any plans of going back to an inconsistent coverage schedule.”

Virtual urgent care is still available at the hospital from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Nova Scotia Health is holding a drop-in clinic in Caledonia on March 20. (Province of Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotia Health is holding a mobile primary care clinic in Caledonia next Thursday (March 20) from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The drop-in clinic will be held at the North Queens Community Health Centre. 

Only certain health issues can be seen at the drop-in clinic. Nova Scotia Health says it can address only non-urgent conditions such as prescription refills or renewals, minor respiratory or gastrointestinal problems, muscle pain, rashes or urinary tract infections.

People are being asked to have their health cards and a list of their medications with them. 

Medical staff will screen patients to make sure they can treat the concern at the clinic.

The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool is also now open 24 hours a day from Mondays at 8 a.m. to Fridays at 1:30 p.m.

Nova Scotia Health is also organizing drop-in clinics in Bridgewater at the Medical Arts Building on Glen Allen Drive. Those are set for Sun., March 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wed., March 26 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Sun., March 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

An undated aerial photo of the former Bowater Mersey plant in Brooklyn. (Queens County Historical Society Photo Collection, housed at the Queens County Museum)

UPDATED March 11, 6:30 p.m. 

Northern Pulp says it’s struggling to make a business case for a new mill in Liverpool.

As part of a settlement agreement reached with the Nova Scotia government in May 2024, Northern Pulp launched a nine-month feasibility study into a new bioproducts mill in Queens County.

The province has agreed to give the company a five-week extension as it tries to figure out whether a new kraft pulp mill is viable in the area.

In separate statements released Monday night, both the province and Northern Pulp parent company Paper Excellence said the company hasn’t yet been able to make a business case for a successful mill.

Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told QCCR on Tuesday that the province has worked with Paper Excellence for the past nine months on the study.

He said the province needs a processor for the forestry sector’s pulp wood. 

“We know we need a home for the low-grade wood fibre but at the end of the day, this is going to be a business decision from their part,” Rushton said.

“We’re willing to work with them to meet the environmental standards of a new-era mill that would find a home for ecologically produced forest products. I don’t want to speculate what the next five weeks may bring, but we’re supportive of this extension.”

Paper Excellence, owned by forestry giant Domtar, estimates a new mill would cost $2.5 billion in government and private funding to design and build. And it would require a rate of return of 14 per cent, as outlined in the settlement agreement.

The company’s statement said that while the proposed new facility doesn’t meet that threshold, it plans to look for more financing in the next five weeks to get the project going.

“As of today, the proposed new facility’s (rate of return) does not meet the threshold (rate of return),” the company said in the statement.

“However, the company will use the extension period to continue working to identify and evaluate potential financing opportunities to benefit the project.”

Rushton said he’s hopeful the company can make it work.

“At the end of the day, we’ve taken all the measures we can to support their information and allow them to make an educated decision. So we’re certainly hopeful there could be a postiive outcome in this.

“There are different companies that are looking at using wood fibre for renewable biofuels, renewable aviation fuels, things that have to utilize bioproducts from ecological forestry practices. So we’re interested in having a conversation with anyone that wants to come and have a conversation about using our bioproducts from forestry activities.”

Ashley Christian, president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said she wasn’t surprised by the delay.

“I think there’s so much uncertainty in the economy at the moment and certainly a bioproducts mill would be affected by any potential tariffs that could still exist by the time this mill would be operating,” she told QCCR on Tuesday. “I’m not surprised that Domtar wasn’t ready with a decision. And I anxiously await May and for them to publish that decision.”

Christian said local reaction to a new mill in Queens County remains mixed.

“I think that residents recognize the potential economic impact of a mill in our county, however on the flip side recognize the potential environmental and health concerns as well. So I echo the concerns of our residents and agree with them. … I think (the feasibility study is) just the first part of this. That’s when the real work begins as citizens and for the business community to advocate for Queens County and the health of our environment here.”

According to Northern Pulp, the feasibility study looked at a mill that would produce kraft pulp, as well as biogas and biochemicals used in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and adhesives. The study also considered green energy projects, including a plan for carbon capture and storage.

Last May, Premier Tim Houston announced a deal with Paper Excellence. That was to settle the company’s $450-million lawsuit against the province after Northern Pulp was forced to close its mill in Pictou County in 2020 because of environmental concerns.

The company has been under creditor protection since the shutdown. 

A hearing is scheduled in British Columbia Supreme Court for Friday (March 14) under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act so that the company can ask for the five-week extension to find more funding for the project.

Bowater operated a pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn from 1929 to 2012, over the years employing thousands of people in Queens County.

When it closed, it threw 320 people out of work.

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North Queens firefighters in a training exercise. (North Queens Fire Association Facebook page)

The North Queens Fire Association in Caledonia will now be notified of more 911 calls in their community.

“As of right now, if you call 911 and you say you want the fire department to respond, there will be no question. The fire department will be paged out,” Chris Wolfe, chief of the North Queens department, told QCCR on Monday.

Last Monday, about 100 residents, firefighters and other first responders from as far away as Yarmouth met in Caledonia to air their concerns about Nova Scotia’s emergency communications system.

Rural fire departments like North Queens said they weren’t being paged about some medical emergencies in their community, even when residents specifically asked for their help.

Volunteer fire departments can sign up to be a medical first responder agency and respond to various medical emergencies, depending on their level of training. That is vital in rural areas like Caledonia where the nearest ambulance depot is about an hour away.

The 18 trained first responders in North Queens can attend almost any kind of call for help. 

After a couple of high-profile incidents in the community left people waiting for an hour or more for medical help, Wolfe organized the public meeting with help from Queens MLA Kim Masland. She invited officials from Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness, Emergency Health Services and Emergency Medical Care, the company that operates the province’s ambulance and 911 services.

“Our local MLA Kim Masland’s helped greatly with it,” Wolfe said. “The public showed support that night. It’s just a bunch of various things that’s come together to make people more aware of what’s going on and there is an urgent need for something to change there. I couldn’t be more happy with the way it’s panned out.”

Wolfe is also meeting with EHS officials on Tuesday in Halifax to discuss a potential pilot project with the North Queens department that could be used across the province.

“We’re going to sit down and discuss some possibilities. There will probably be a new protocol put in place. It will start with our department and it will trickle down to different MFR agencies around the province.”

Wolfe said he believes hearing from the public pushed provincial officials to act.

“Oh definitely. I think they realize we’re not going to let it lay to rest and it’s something that needs to be addressed and fixed and they’re on board and they’re going to help us get there.”

Wolfe said he will likely post an update on the department’s Facebook page Tuesday evening after the meeting in Halifax.

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Campaign contribution disclosure forms are missing from the Region of Queens website for some candidates in October’s municipal election. (Rick Conrad)

Mayor Scott Christian got the most campaign contributions of any candidate in October’s municipal election in Queens County.

He received just under $10,000 ($9976.44) from 49 declared donors, some of whom are local small business owners and landlords.

The biggest donation to Christian’s campaign was $1,000 from Chad Clothier, who co-owns Rumclo Developments. They’re behind the already approved housing development The Point on the Mersey. They plan to build up to 146 detached houses and townhouses, as well as 82 rental apartments just outside Liverpool.

• CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS: Use this link to view breakdown by candidate

Christian told QCCR he believes his campaign raised just over $10,000 in total, including small donations that don’t have to be declared.

“I’m really proud of the amount of money that my team was able to fundraise and it did come from a pretty diverse swath of people. There were a lot of dribs and drabs contributions as well. I think my biggest contribution was $1,000 and my smallest contribution I think was a toonie.”

Christian said Clothier is a friend. He said he and his team began fundraising early, seeking donations first from the people they know, including personal and business connections.

“It shouldn’t come as a suprise to anyone who knows me that a lot of my social network includes a lot of people who are members of the business community. … I didn’t shy away from the notion that I was a ‘grow Queens’ candidate.”

Former Queens MLA Kerry Morash and former Region of Queens mayor Chris Clarke also contributed to Christian’s run.

Clarke gave $250 to Christian and to his opponent Terry Doucette.

Doucette declared $2,550 in donations from seven donors. The largest were $1,000 each from J. M. Reynolds Pharmacy, the company that owns Reynolds Pharmasave in Liverpool, and Mitchell Nauss of construction and consulting company MC Nauss Holdings.

Under Nova Scotia’s Municipal Elections Act, candidates had 60 days after the Oct. 19 election to file their contribution disclosure statements, even if they accepted no donations.

Everybody who runs must declare any donations over $50, or check a box confirming that they received no contributions.

Failure to do that can result in a fine of up to $2,500 or six months in jail.

Also, if candidates don’t submit a disclosure form, they forfeit their $200 deposit.

Disclosure statements from only 11 of the 19 candidates are posted on the Region of Queens website. Christian and Doucette were among the candidates who filed their disclosures on time. All other councillors except Jack Fancy met the deadline.

When QCCR recently asked Fancy about it, his disclosure form was posted the next week. He had no contributions over $50 to declare.

The region says all forms that were submitted have been posted. 

QCCR reached out to the candidates whose forms are missing. Those who could be contacted said they had no contributions to declare, but said they filed the necessary paperwork with returning officer Ian Kent.

Kent is an employee with Elections Nova Scotia, who was seconded to the municipality for the election. He could not be reached for comment.

Paul Deveau, who ran against Fancy in October’s election, said he filed the necessary paperwork and got his deposit back. But his disclosure form is not on the site.

“That’s kind of weird because I found it very professional and I found that Ian took his job quite seriously,” Deveau said.

“We had an exit meeting. And with the exit meeting, we had to return the voter list … and sign a declaration that we were going to remove all of our signs and we had to fill out that contribution sheet.”

Most candidates contacted said they were told they had to submit a campaign contribution disclosure form.

But some said they either couldn’t remember what forms they signed after the election or they didn’t submit a form because they had no donations to declare.

Candidate Gil Johnson said he got his deposit back, so he thought he did everything that was required.

“The reason I didn’t file was because I didn’t receive any contributions and didn’t know I needed to check the box.”

Coun. Stewart Jenkins, who was acclaimed in his district, said returning officer Kent had a checklist of the things he was required to submit.

“I was told to file a form, which I did, even though I didn’t have any contributions to claim,” Jenkins said.

A spokesman for the Department of Municipal Affairs said in an email that it’s up to the municipality to make sure candidates comply.

“It is the municipality’s responsibility to address situations where an elected municipal official is not in compliance with requirements surrounding disclosure statements, and the province expects candidates to comply.”

Under the Municipal Elections Act, the municipal clerk is supposed to keep track of all documents related to the election.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR he asked about the missing documentation and was told by now former municipal clerk Pam Lovelace that everything that was submitted to the region has been posted to their website.

He said he was unsure why not all forms are posted, though he added that the region’s deputy returning officer has been on leave for some time. 

Here is a list of the candidates whose campaign contribution disclosure forms aren’t posted yet to the Region of Queens website:

• Candice Weagle
• Douglas Bent
• Susan MacLeod
• Star Donovan
• Paul Deveau
• Alex Gallagher
• Tina Brown
• Gil Johnson

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Pam Lovelace, a former Halifax councillor and mayoral candidate, is no longer the Region of Queens municipal clerk. (Facebook)

The Region of Queens has dismissed another top staff member, just three months after she was hired.

Pam Lovelace got the job as the region’s municipal clerk in early December. 

Interim CAO Dan McDougall would not comment on Lovelace’s firing because it’s a personnel matter. He said the municipality “will work towards filling the municipal clerk position”.

Mayor Scott Christian also wouldn’t comment on her departure.

“I wish Pam all the best and what comes next for her professionally. I thank her for her contributions that she made to the Region of Queens for the time that she spent with us, both as municipal clerk and acting cao. Beyond that, it’s personnel, it’s not really the realm of council.”

Vaughn Mullen first reported Lovelace’s termination on his Social Politics social media channels on Wednesday.

Lovelace is a former Halifax regional councillor, who placed third in the 2024 Halifax mayoral race.

Then-CAO Cody Joudry hired her, just two weeks before he was fired himself by regional council. Christian said at the time that Joudry wasn’t the right fit with the newly elected council.

After Joudry was fired in mid-December, council appointed Lovelace acting CAO. She did that job until the region hired Dan McDougall as interim CAO in mid-January.

In a news release announcing her appointment as acting CAO, the region said Lovelace “brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise … with more than 20 years experience in the public sector.”

“Council of the Region of Queens Municipality is confident that Ms. Lovelace is the right person to guide the municipality during this transition period.”

QCCR asked Christian if he was surprised by Lovelace’s dismissal.

“No. I have a close working relationship with the CAO and it was something that had evolved in terms of Pam’s role in the organization and the time that she spent here. No, I wasn’t surprised.”

At last Tuesday’s council meeting, Lovelace was still on the job. She presented a progress report on the region’s Dismantling Racism and Hate Plan.

Lovelace could not be reached for comment.

Before Lovelace was hired, the region had been without a full-time municipal clerk for more than a year. Christian said he and the rest of council are working with interim CAO McDougall to figure out how to structure that job, or whether to create a deputy CAO position.

But he said nothing’s been decided yet.

In the meantime, the search for a full-time CAO continues. Christian said the region has received more than 10 applications in the week since it was posted on various job sites.

“We’re not going to rush it, we’re going to be deliberate and intentional about it. If thorugh this first round, it doesn’t yield the right-fit candidate then we may explore using a recruitment agency or something like that. But so far so good. Pretty encouraged by the quantity and the quality of the applications the we’ve received on the job ad thus far.”

He said council decided to save time and money by not using a professional recruiting firm. 

Christian, Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton and councillors Courtney Wentzell and Stewart Jenkins are on the CAO search committee, with McDougall providing advice.

Christian acknowledged there’s been some upheaval in the region’s ranks since the new council was elected in October.

“It’s tumultuous obviously, it invites uncertainty and it’s destabilizing when you have major shifts in the senior leadership. That’s why it’s really important to find the right person for this next role to provide some stability.”

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Chris Wolfe, chief of the North Queens Fire Association, speaks at a public meeting on Monday evening. (Rick Conrad)

When Mya Uhlman’s father needed medical help last August, her mother called 911 and expected her local fire department to respond.

They were still waiting 20 minutes later, so Uhlman’s mother called again. The 911 dispatcher told her the North Queens Fire Department was on its way. Uhlman’s parents live less than 10 minutes from the fire hall in West Caledonia.

“And they never, ever showed up,” Uhlman told QCCR. “She ended up calling a relative that lived close by to be with her because she was by herself.  … So when I inquired about it, I was told (North Queens) were never paged.

“The ambulance did arrive eventually. It was around 40 minutes before the ambulance did arrive. My father is OK, but it was serious at the time. 

“When my mother explicity asked for the North Queens Fire Department, they should have automatically been dispatched with no questions asked.”

Uhlman’s story and others were why Chief Chris Wolfe called a public meeting at the North Queens fire hall in Caledonia on Monday night.

About 100 residents, firefighters and other first responders from as far away as Yarmouth met to air their concerns about their local fire departments not being called to medical emergencies.

Chief Wolfe sounded the alarm on Facebook in February after another resident called 911 and the dispatcher didn’t notify Wolfe’s department. Instead, that person was still waiting for an ambulance when Wolfe’s deputy chief found out about it and had 911 page the fire department.

Volunteer firefighters around Nova Scotia take medical first responder training. The type of call they can respond to depends on the level their department signs up for. North Queens has 18 people trained to respond to almost any level of medical call.

Wolfe said that 111 of 198 of their calls last year were medical emergencies.

“My mandate is not to give up until we find a solution to this problem of not being paged for certain calls within our communities, because North Queens residents depend on us.”

He contacted Queens MLA Kim Masland to help organize the meeting with officials from the Department of Health and Wellness, Emergency Health Services, and Emergency Medical Care, which has the contract to operate ambulance and 911 service in Nova Scotia.

Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, told those at the meeting to be frank with their concerns. And she also told people to continue to contact her and other MLAs. 

“I want to make sure that we land where we need to land because what has been happening is not acceptable.”

Representatives from EHS and Emergency Medical Care explained how the system works and the challenges in deploying the right resources in a timely way.

But people like Mya Uhlman wanted to know why their local fire departments wouldn’t be told about a call, especially if the person in distress requested it. A first responder with North Queens also demanded to know why dispatchers would deny that request.

Before officials could answer his question, first responders from the Liverpool, Pubnico and Woods Harbour fire departments also spoke up and said the same thing is happening in their areas.

Jeff Fraser, senior executive director of the emergency health services branch with Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness, said dispatchers have to follow certain models.

“I’m not so sure we should be denying that. I actually didn’t realize that was happening in that manner.”

Gordon Peckham, who is the vice-president of operations with EMC, said he didn’t know why that’s happening, but that it shouldn’t.

After the meeting, Uhlman said she hopes officials change how and when they notify local fire departments.

“In a way it made me feel a little better to know it wasn’t only us. But at the same time, it really made me feel awful  that this is happening in so many places and so many particularly rural community members are not getting the services they need in a timely fashion.”

Masland said she believes some progress was made at the meeting.

“There were things that were said here tonight that I could see they were raising the eyebrows of people here from EHS. And I think it’s important whenever you have communication that’s when you can start to resolve issues, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Chief Wolfe told QCCR that provincial officials promised to work on some of the issues raised and return in six to eight weeks for another public meeting. 

“The community did well supporting us, showing up. They voiced their concerns. Most of the concerns voiced we were aware of. I’m hoping that EMC will take it seriously and we’ll get things resolved.

“You could see the reactions with some of the public talking there that there were things going on that they weren’t even aware of. And I believe that within the next day or two, they’ll be taking those things into consideration and addressing them right away.”

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Susan Inglis, snowshoeing coach with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, will be heading to Italy this week with these athletes for the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin: Rebecca Delaney, Jillian Young, Chloe Stoddart and Nick Skoreyko. (Rick Conrad photo)

Queens County athletes are once again getting ready to represent Canada on the world stage.

Snowshoers Rebecca Delaney and Jillian Young of Liverpool will be among 91 athletes from across the country going to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, from March 8 to 15.

Bridgewater’s Nick Skoreyko will also be competing for a snowshoeing medal. And Chloe Stoddart from Bridgewater will represent Canada in cross-country skiing.

Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis, the snowshoeing coach for Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, will be one of the 24 Team Canada coaches going to Italy.

It will be the first world games for all of them.

More than 50 people showed up at an event at Memories Cafe and Eatery in Liverpool on Saturday to wish them well.

Inglis says going to Italy is a significant accomplishment for the athletes and for the coaches.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to get to represent their country,” she said. “And to get to go to Italy, for some of them, like Jillian, … this is her first time going out of the country. And they’re going to get to meet people from all other countries and perform on the world stage and see how they stack up.”

Inglis says she is honoured to have been chosen as one of the coaches for Team Canada.

“It is humbling for sure. As it gets closer, it really hits home that I’m representing my whole county in going to Special Olympics World Games.”

Rebecca Delaney is a multiple medal winner at Special Olympics Canada Games. She’ll be running in the 100 and 200-metre snowshoe event as well as the 4 x 100 relay.

She says she’s looking forward to doing her best in Italy.

“I’m nervous and excited and I’m ready to go. I’ve been training and going to the gym a lot and it’s been non-stop. I think I’ll do good, but if I don’t win, I will do my best.”

Jillian Young has also won medals at national games. When she went to last year’s winter games in Calgary, it was her first time on a plane.

She says she’s pumped to be airborne again and to compete in Italy.

“I’m really proud of getting this far. And we’re going to make Canada rock. Go Canada go!”

Young says she hopes to win a gold medal and to “kick some butt!”

Betty Ann Daury of Liverpool has coached snowshoe and track with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens for 43 years.

She was a coach with Team Canada in Nagano, Japan, in 2005. She’ll be cheering on the team from home this time. She says they’re in good hands with Inglis as coach.

Daury said going to a world games is a fitting reward for the athletes, who have committed to regular practices, workouts and hard work to get there. 

“They’ve accepted the fact that if you want to go, if you don’t work hard, then you don’t go. … If you can’t do it here, then you can’t do it there. And you know, we’re so proud of these guys.

“Jillian is an example of how great you can become. She’s come a long way.”

Ben Hatt was among the people at the event at Memories on Saturday to show their support. He grew up with Rebecca and her sister Kate.

“I am really excited to see how she does in Italy. I know she’s gonna win and if she doesn’t win, she’s going to be brave in the attempt. I just think it’s really important to show support for people you love.”

Inglis says the team will be leaving Monday for Toronto for two days to meet with some dignitaries in an official sendoff, including a celebratory Italian dinner. Then they fly to Italy to get ready for the week of competition in Sestriere.

“It is a pretty big deal. From little old Liverpool, we’ve got Sarah Mitton who’s a pretty amazing Olympic athlete and then we’ve got our Special Olympians who are going to representing Queens County on the world stage. And I hope that everybody tunes in.”

Snowshoeing gets underway at the games on March 11. For more information, you can follow the Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens Facebook page. 

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Queens General Hospital. Photo Ed Halverson

UPDATED FEB. 28, 2:05 p.m.

Liverpool won’t have local emergency department services available on weekends, but it will have 24-hour service through the week.

Nova Scotia Health announced Thursday that it is introducing “expanded and consistent hours” for the Queens General Hospital emergency department.

Beginning March 1, the ER in Liverpool will be open for 24 hours from Mondays at 8 a.m. to Fridays at 1:30 p.m. It will close on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. until Mondays at 8 a.m.

Nova Scotia Health says the change increases the department’s weekly operating hours from about 35 to 101.5 hours.

Leslie Oliver, the executive director of community and rural health in the western zone for Nova Scotia Health, told QCCR on Friday that the new ER schedule in Liverpool will provide more service for patients.

“This temporary schedule that was developed in collaboration with the emergency staff and physicians really will be tripling the amount of hours that the emergency department is open for our community. This is a positive news story for our community.”

In the past few years, the emergency department at Queens General has been hit regularly with temporary closures.

Oliver says the new schedule will allow for better co-ordination with other hospital departments such as laboratory, diagnostic imaging and pharmacy services.

She said virtual urgent care for certain conditions like prescription refills, urinary tract infections or coughs and sore throats will still be available at the hospital seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. A triage nurse will be on duty for that service during those times.

“And a great number of the patients in the community who are presenting for the emergency department they’re actually appropriate for that virtual urgent care stream so we would encourage them to take advantage of that opportunity as well.”

Oliver said there is still a significant nurse shortage in the department.

“We’ve been really committed to our recruitment efforts and that’s not going to change,” she said. “We want to make sure we have Nova Scotia nurses working within our emergency department for sure.”

She said they plan to stick with this schedule until they can hire enough staff to return the Queens General ER to a 24/7 operation. 

“We’re hoping to provide this consistent ongoing coverage for the next several months, hoping to have more success in the recruitment area with more physicians coming on board and more nurses to support the department. We don’t have any plans of going back to an inconsistent coverage schedule. Our goal is to have that Queens emergency department open 24/7, 365 days a year.”

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ATVs ride in the Privateer Days Parade last summer on the Liverpool waterfront. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens took the first step this week to allowing off-highway vehicles on some municipal roads, but ATV groups say they want to see a timeline for when it will happen.

Councillors voted on Tuesday evening to form an advisory committee to look at what needs to be in place to create the first part of a connected road trail network. 

That would go from West Street, near the municipal administration building and hook up with the multi-use Trestle Trail at various points to Bristol Avenue near the grocery stores and the Hank Snow Hometown Museum.

The Queens County ATV Association and the Queens Rails to Trails group have been lobbying the region since July 2023, shortly after the Nova Scotia government passed the Road Trails Act. That allows off-highway vehicles on provincial and municipal roads, with certain conditions.

Coun. Stewart Jenkins said it’s time the region acted.

“I think this is an important part of the tourism and recreation of Queens County and that we shouldn’t delay this because it seems like it’s been going on for a while,” he said at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“I think we should get a move on it. The committee sounds like the right way to go with it. Start moving forward with it so that the ATV association and the users can make use of a good thing.”

Groups lobbying for the connected network say it could generate millions in economic activity for Liverpool businesses and would allow users to travel more easily from Lunenburg to Queens to Shelburne counties.

Dave White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, told QCCR that it’s good to have some movement from council.

He said his group and others have spent more $250,000 last year alone, maintaining 70 kilometres of trails in the county.

“It’s exciting to hear that they’ve actually made a commitment to have a committee look at it and hopefully that moves forward in a timely fashion. We would have liked to have heard a time commitment on that,” he said.

“The road trails act that came out two years ago provided a unique opportunity to make these connections. So when we look at our neighbouring municipalities and towns, so Shelburne, Digby, Barrington, Yarmouth have already done this, we don’t want to be left behind.”

The region’s committee will include staff, a member of council and representatives from ATV groups and local businesses.

It will look at costs, community engagement, any required upgrades to infrastructure and what should be in a bylaw or policy for road trails.

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Some of the drugs seized in RCMP raids in southwestern Nova Scotia earlier in February. (RCMP Nova Scotia)

UPDATED Feb. 25 at 5:20 p.m.

RCMP have charged 21 people, including three from Queens County, with more than 50 offences after raids on Mi’kmaw-owned cannabis businesses in Queens, Kings, Lunenburg and Annapolis counties.

Southwest Nova RCMP called the operation Project Highfield. It began in October 2024 and involved 13 dispensaries throughout southwestern Nova Scotia.

RCMP said Tuesday it involved officers from various units, as well as police services in Kentville, Bridgewater and Annapolis.

Police raided the retailers between Feb. 4 and 13. Two of those were on the Wildcat and Ponhook reserves of the Acadia First Nation.

RCMP held a news conference in New Minas on Tuesday afternoon to announce the charges and items seized.

They conducted raids on dispensaries on- and off-reserve, Supt. Jason Popik of Southwest Nova RCMP told QCCR on Tuesday, including in Acadia, Glooscap and Annapolis Valley First Nations.

Police seized:

• 141.4 kg of dried cannabis
• 189.29 kg of cannabis edibles
• 46 kg of liquid cannabis
• 23.4 kg of hashish
• 9.5 kg of psilocybin, or magic mushrooms
• 958 cartons of unstamped tobacco
• 18 firearms (17 long guns and a handgun)
• $16,143.14 in cash
• 3 ATMs
• 7 shed-like structures

Supt. Popik told QCCR in an interview on Tuesday that organized crime is using indigenous communities to undercut the legal cannabis market, with unregulated product.

“I see them infiltrating the legal cannabis market and they’re really exploiting the indigenous communities,” he said.

“They’re trying to utilize the treaties to find a rational way for them to sell their drugs. And they’re doing it through the people running the different dispensaries. Organized crime will exploit any opportunity they have. … They’re making a lot of money, the dispensaries are the ones taking the risk and the dispensary owners are the ones being arrested.”

Supt. Popik said the wholesale value of all the drugs seized is about $1.25 million, while the street or retail value is between $2.5 and $3 million.

The Micmac Rights Association is protesting the RCMP action. Many of those charged belong to the organization.

The group says Mi’kmaw have a right under the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752 to sell cannabis at truckhouses on reserve.

They say officers desecrated sacred objects, destroyed personal property and traumatized Mi’kmaw men, women and children. The group plans a protest on the Angus L. Macdonald bridge in Halifax on March 10. On June 21, a 15-year-old boy will lead a 111-kilometre march from Annapolis Valley First Nation to the Dartmouth RCMP headquarters.

Twenty-one people are facing 52 charges under the Cannabis Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Excise Act and the Criminal Code, including:

• Possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling
• Unauthorized sale of cannabis
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking (psilocybin)
• Possession of unstamped tobacco
• Possession of unstamped cannabis
• Careless use of a firearm
• Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition

Service Nova Scotia’s alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco division, and the federal Public Prosecution Service, also assisted in the investigation, RCMP said.

Those charged will begin to appear in court in June, RCMP say. They say their investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

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Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO of South Shore Public Libraries, stands in front of the Book Sanctuary display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater. (Rick Conrad)

You may not agree with the content of certain books, but the staff at South Shore Public Libraries will fight for your right to read them.

That’s why they’ve created the South Shore’s first Book Sanctuary at their main branch in Bridgewater to mark Freedom to Read Week, which kicked off Sunday.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, says it’s a permanent collection designed to highlight and protect books at risk.

“It is 50 titles that have been either banned or challenged in libraries and schools across North America,” she told QCCR.

“This is is a permanent home for these titles. They’re presently on display for about three weeks, and then after that folks can borrow them and bring them home and read and think about the reason why someone might want you not to read that book. So we’re declaring ourselves a book sanctuary, a safe haven for books that somebody doesn’t want you to read.”

Christina Pottie, communication and engagement lead for South Shore Public Libraries, organized it in about three weeks. She and Nunn-Smith attended a recent library conference in Ontario, which highlighted the book sanctuary created by the Toronto Public Library in 2023. SSPL is using the same list used by Toronto.

The idea began at the Chicago Public Library in 2022. Almost 4,800 book sanctuaries now exist across the U.S., according to booksanctuary.org.

Nunn-Smith says attempts to ban books are on the rise in North America. 

“We wanted to be proactive by establishing this collection now and saying that we will protect these items. We’ll protect intellectual freedom through all of our services and collections, but this is a visual and symbolic representation of that value.”

The book sanctuary includes typically banned books like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but also children’s books like Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. 

“Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus is a title for readers around age seven. This one was was challenged in Toronto. And so the reasoning was that Junie would be a bad role model for young folks and encourage them to be rude to adults and encourage bad spelling. ”

The collection also includes the Bible, queer fiction and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial best-seller, The Real Anthony Fauci.

“It’s one point of view on public health and pharmaceuticals. Whether or not you believe this point of view, it’s still worthwhile to be able to read it, debate it, discuss it. Read different points of view form your own. That’s vital in a democratic society. I might personally disagree with some of the points of view in this collection but that doesn’t mean we have a right to remove them from the shelf.”

The collection of 50 adult, teen and children’s books is on display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater for three weeks. 

Beginning March 10, people will be able to sign out specific items in the collection, either in person or on the library’s website using the keywords SSPL Book Sanctuary.

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Team Nova Scotia third Jill Brothers in the Page 3 vs 4 game at the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts on the weekend. (Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver Photography)

It was an intense, emotional week of curling at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for Liverpool native Jill Brothers and Team Nova Scotia.

But they topped it off with a spot on the podium on Sunday.

Brothers is the third on the team skipped by Christina Black. They made it to the semi-final against Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, losing 9-8, forcing Einarson to make her last shot for the win.

Brothers told QCCR from Thunder Bay on Monday that they were happy with how they battled back during the game. 

“We almost got the steal in the end, so we just kept believing in ourselves that we could make it a really close game and make her throw her last rock.”

It’s their first year together as a team, and Brothers says getting on the podium at the national championship was a big win for them.

“We were having a lot of fun and we just wanted to keep the game really exciting and close. … It’s a long, long week of a lot of focus and concentration and so we were just really happy with our performance.

“At the Scotties, you get a ring if you make it on the podium. So that’s always been a lifelong goal: I want to be on the podium, I want to get a ring.”

But the team also fought through some adversity to get there. Teammate Jenn Baxter’s father died suddenly on Saturday, the day before the semi-final.

“It was a mixture of letting out some tears in between the games and then parking the situation a little bit and just knowing that Jenn and her dad would want us to be out there giving our all. We found the energy to regruop and lean on each other a little bit.”

Rachel Homan’s team repeated as national champions, after their win over Einarson on Sunday.

“They were super kind to us. After they won, they came over to us and just acknowledged the situation we had been in the last couple of days. It was super special that they were so kind and congratulated us and just commended our play in the last couple of games knowing what we had been through.”

Team Nova Scotia entered the tournament in Thunder Bay ranked fourth in the country. And with the bronze medal win on Sunday, they believe they have a chance to be one of the seven teams with an automatic berth in the Olympic trials in Halifax in November.

All team members live in the Halifax area and train together at least four times a week. Some other elite Canadian teams have members scattered in different cities or provinces. Brothers said being in the same city has been a big part of their success so far. 

“There’s no way we’d be where we are without being together this much. … It’s invaluable. And we heard it a lot at the Scotties this year. I don’t know if we have any inspiration for teams to maybe get back to doing it (that way), I guess it feels like an old school way. Like Colleen Jones (and her team), they just all lived in the Halifax area and they were together all the time, just practise, practise practise and that’s how they got their results.”

The 41-year-old has been to the Scotties eight times in her career, as a skip and in other positions. But this is the first time the 2004 Canadian women’s junior champion made it to a senior semi-final.

“I had success at such a young age as skip and you do it for so long that the pressure can kind of wear on you after a while. I’ve skipped for a long time. It’s a position I’m comfortable in, but I like to chat, to communicate, I like to use my strength and sweep. I was so happy to play third for someone who loves to play skip.”

Brothers says she’s keen to get back to work as the technical director for the Nova Scotia Curling Association. But she’s really looking forward to getting home to Bedford and spending time with her husband Paul and their two kids.

Her family was in Thunder Bay for the Scotties, but the kids got sick early in the week, so they missed a lot of it.

“I just really want to spend some time with my kids. I just want to watch my kids plays soccer and go curling and go to dance. That’s my next goal is just to do some work and hang out with the kids.”

Brothers says she’s grateful for all the support from her family and friends and from her hometown of Liverpool.

“My sister lives there, my mom lives there. I’d choose to be there every second weekend if we could. It’s just great to have a special place that I still call home and they’re so supportive.

“A huge shoutout to my husband, Mom that lives in Brooklyn, my mother-in-law that lives in Cole Harbour. They all do so much.

“To have them supporting me to do this is incredible. They’ve always got my back. Even my neighbour, he had to take the kids to school when I flew out to the Scotties. We’ve got so many great people helping us out, so that’s super important.”

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The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will reopen on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED Feb. 21, 2:17 p.m.

The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool is finally ready to welcome patrons to its new location.

It will reopen for full service on Saturday (Feb. 22) at 10 a.m. The library will be open six days a week and closed on Mondays.

The interim location at 54 Harley Umphrey Dr. is in the call centre building off White Point Road.

The branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR that she can’t wait for people to see the space.

“Very exciting. I know it’s been a long wait, longer than we had hoped but we are ready and we are ready to open,” Nunn-Smith said.

“People will be genuinely happy to see inside. There’s a lot of cozy chairs and nooks for reading. But really, the space is so much more than just the books. You can come in and warm up from the cold, you can chat with the staff, you can attend programs, so we’re really excited to be able to offer all of the services again.”

The lease at the former location on Old Bridge Street was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space.

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from the farmers market location on the Liverpool waterfront to Harley Umphrey Drive.

The Raddall family has agreed to allow the library to continue to use the Raddall name for five years because they’ve been assured by the region that the municipality is working on finding a permanent, central location for a new, purpose-built library.

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