The dry hydrant at Bangs Falls pictured in early September, one of the photos of the condition of dry hydrants, posted by the Greenfield and District Fire Department. (Greenfield and District Fire Department)

A new dry hydrant will be installed behind the North Queens Nursing Home but at almost three times the cost that Region of Queens councillors were expecting.

The dry hydrant behind the manor in Caledonia has been on a list of planned work for the past five or six years, council heard at their meeting last week.

Councillors had budgeted $40,000 this year to install three new dry hydrants. The two others were planned for Mary Lake and Westfield Road, also in Caledonia.

But the one approved by council last week near the nursing home is the only one that will be installed this year, and at a cost of $40,000. The others will be pushed to next year, according to Garrett Chetwynd, the region’s manager of public works.

Chetwynd told councillors that staff decided to contract out the work because public works staff were busy with other projects.

“The original request for pricing was posted to the provincial procurement site where we received no responses. When we received no submissions to that, it was submitted to, I believe, 12 local contractors. So that same RFP was sent to them and we only received one submission back.”

That was from C. Eugene Ingram Construction in Liverpool, who will install for $40,000 plus HST.

Dry hydrants are used where traditional hydrants aren’t available. They access water sources such as ponds, lakes or streams to help fight fires. The municipality maintains 51 dry hydrants around the county.

District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins said he was concerned that one hydrant will cost so much. He asked how much it’s historically cost to install a dry hydrant, but Chetwynd said he was familiar with only one being installed during his time with the region and he didn’t have those numbers.

“I’m not against dry hydrants coming in,” Jenkins said. “I am against one hydrant costing what three was expected to cost.”

He said he’d like to see council combine dry hydrant maintenance and installation into one larger tender to attract more bids.

“If we as a region working with the fire departments came up with a plan of putting in new hydrants or fixing old ones and came up with a group of hydrants to have fixed, then we would get a tender because it would suddenly become a higher dollar value,” Jenkins told his fellow councillors.

“And I think if we had, you know, $150,000 worth of work out there or $200,000, we’d do it once every two years and fix up a whole bunch of things, it would make it more acceptable to get better quality quotes from the people that do this sort of work in Queens County.”

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton said bundling the work into a higher-value tender makes sense, especially if municipal staff can’t do it.

“We do have to try to make this more competitive for sustainability moving forward.”

Councillors voted to direct staff to compile a list of new dry hydrants requested to date and those in need of repair to attract more competitive bids for tender. 

Some councillors were also concerned about delaying the work on the other two new hydrants to next year.

With the recent drought conditions in Nova Scotia, many of the water sources for the hydrants have literally dried up. The Greenfield and District Fire Department recently sounded the alarm about the condition of some of the hydrants in their area. According to a Sept. 1 Facebook post, the department has reported problems with dry hydrants to the region many times.

Councillors had set aside $110,820 in this year’s budget for maintenance and installation.

Jenkins said that while the dry hydrants provide handy access to water, the county’s volunteer fire departments have other ways of getting water to a fire scene.

“I know from experience with the fire departments that they do have other ways of getting water out of water sources than the dry hydrants. 
There’s portable pumps that are high volume. Many of the trucks have front intakes so they can pull into a site and pump water. So I don’t think it’s a fact that they’re not going to have water to that site. 
There’s other ways of doing it. And Greenfield (fire) department has had to lay out the other ways of doing it because half of their dry hydrants are very dry and the other ones are plugged up with mud.”

When asked, Chetwynd said he believes the work will likely begin in the next month, though he wasn’t sure exactly when or if the agreement dictates a timeline.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of the story below

Marcus Tufts of Barrington Passage with one of his oxen team at the Queens County Fair in Caledonia. (Rick Conrad)

Organizers of this year’s Queens County Fair say the annual agricultural exhibition is growing, but staying true to its roots.

Secretary-manager Doreen Holdright says more people are volunteering, and events like the horse and ox pulls are attracting even more participants.

“It’s getting bigger, we’re providing more entertainment. We do a lot of things that people just coming in off the grounds can take part in. Like Saturday, our corn cob contest. See who can eat the most corn. More like the old country fair. That’s what we’re trying to stay with and stay clear of the commercialism. ”

This is the 149th year for the fair in Caledonia, though the exhibition is more than 150 years old, and runs until Saturday. It features other livestock competitions like barrel racing, an artisans market, competitions for arts, crafts, vegetables and horticulture and lots of activities for kids. And popular events like the ladies’ toilet seat toss and the men’s frying pan toss are back for another year.

“Everybody’s interested,” Holdright says. “They all want to get involved. We’re all volunteers and three-quarters of the community volunteers.”

Despite an incident in which a horse and buggy overturned during Tuesday’s parade, Holdright says opening day was a success.

A man and his daughter were on the cart when their horse got tangled in its harness. The man suffered undisclosed injuries and is still in hospital, while his daughter hurt her leg, but was sent home after being checked out in hospital.

Holdright says the two people on the cart will be OK, and the horse was uninjured.

She says the fair is so popular this year that organizers will have to expand their camping area next year. A large part of the draw are the horse and ox pulls, with a record number of light horses at the fair this year.

“Ox pulling is growing. There’s new people coming into it. There’s new people coming into it. We have to limit because we only have 61 stalls for oxen. But at our spring pulls, we’ve had up to 80 pairs.”

Marcus Tufts of Barrington Passage brought his two teams of oxen. One of his pairs was already racking up the ribbons, winning best matched team, best gear and best exhibit of oxen in the parade. 

“Queens County is where I grew up but moved away 20 years aog and it’s still my favourite exhibition to come back to. Just a hometown fair to see the people and friendly and just love the fair and to compete with the ox pulling.”

Tufts doesn’t use his oxen for much farm work anymore. But he still puts them through their paces to prepare for the ox-pulling competitions.

“It’s like bodybuilding,” he says.

“You have to work them every night to make them strong. We exercise my oxen for near an hour a night every evening at home. Just dragging a lightweight to build the muscle in their legs and their neck. And every once in a while, once a week, we put them on a heavier load just to test them to see how we’re doing.”

He bought Toby and Dan when they were three years old. 

“No Bright and Lion. That’s a traditional name but we tried to stay away from that. They were actually that when we bought them.”

The six-year-old pair can haul up to 9,600 pounds, about three times their body weight. Oxen are judged by how much they can pull divided by their weight. He says the crowds love it.

“It’s a big draw. I think it’s just to see the pure strength of the animal and how well they listen to being trained. It’s an old tradition. Years ago, they used to use them in the woods and the old guys would bring them to the fair just for bragging rights of who had the strongest team. It’s kind of still the same thing today, except not many work them in the woods anymore.”

Tufts says this is the last fair of the year for his oxen. After this, they’ll head home for a rest in the pasture. 

“My father always had a team. Now my kids, they come with us to all the fairs. My kids pull in the junior ox hauls and this is just my hobby. This is my four-wheelers.”

Kari-Lynne Drummond and Kevin Charlton of East Torbrook in the Annapolis Valley have been to four other exhibitions this year, in Lawrencetown, Bear River, Bridgewater and Windsor.

They said they were impressed with Caledonia.

“The barns are in excellent shape and the number of livestock is high,” Charlton said. “For the number of fairs we’ve gone to this summer, it’s probably the fair we’ve seen the largest amount of animals.”

“They’ve done a great job here as far as keeping it down home,” Drummond says.

The fair’s Holdright says the rest of the week features lots for people of all ages.

“It goes until Saturday, come check it out. Our rates to get in are the lowest and we’ve got lots for you to do and see.”

For more information, visit the Queens County Fair’s Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version below

Region of Queens councillors want more traffic enforcement in places like Liverpool and Summerville. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens councillors want the RCMP to crack down on traffic violations and drug crime and they say they’re willing to put up the money to hire extra officers.

Staff Sgt. Dan Archibald is the commander of the Queens District RCMP detachment. He recently provided a quarterly police report to council. 

He said that having a dedicated street crime enforcement team of two officers to investigate drug complaints would free up other officers to address longstanding irritants like traffic.

“I feel that it’s too easy for individuals to sell illicit drugs from their residences with the lack of enforcement or capability in doing enforcement on our behalf. A designated street crime team or general investigations team would not only give us the resource power to do it, but it would come with the knowledge and experience that would be required to do it.

“To me, it would make (Queens County) that much better of a place to live to be able to enforce those on a routine.”

There was one charge under the controlled drugs and substances act from April to June this year. Last year, there were four in the same period.

• READ THE QUEENS QUARTERLY POLICE REPORT HERE

The detachment is currently staffed with 10 constables, which includes one community policing officer. Two corporals act as shift supervisors and operations manager, in addition to Archibald himself. There are also two civilian employees.

The Region of Queens spends just under $3 million a year on policing. 

District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault said council decided more than 10 years ago to pull funding for an extra officer. And she said another officer left the area soon after that and wasn’t replaced.

“I’ve been getting a lot of complaints lately of drugs, needles, within Pine Grove Park,” she said.

“I think council has to tackle that right away. 
… 
I think now we do have the need to support that extra officer without a doubt, with what’s going on now in today’s world. And I really hope that council will support this initiative. ”

Overall, Archibald said there was no big spike in crime in Queens County over the same period last year.

But calls for assaults, extortion, harassment or threats were up to 48 from 32. There 42 calls related to intimate partner violence. Twelve people, nine male and three female, were charged in those incidents.

RCMP also dealt with 388 traffic violations, up from 250 the year before.

Archibald said the increase in traffic-related charges is the result of targeted enforcement. 

“We’ve been doing some proactive traffic enforcement throughout Queens County,” he said.

“
For the two months of that first quarter, we’ve focused on North Queens, Caledonia area, and rural roads off of Caledonia, which has been great. And what that looks like is a day designated with some extra members coming in, doing strictly traffic enforcement, road safety things. People are happy to see us in places where they haven’t seen us previously. We’re looking at keeping that up every month at the very least focusing one day in various areas throughout the community.”

Some councillors want more of it.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell said he regularly gets complaints from residents in his downtown Liverpool district that they never see police.

“The lack of police presence in this community, I find quite appalling. 
I never see a cop. Privateer Days, I think I’ve seen five of them in the tent, but I don’t see them. 
And I live on the west side of Main Street, which is a drag strip. They start around around the fire hall or Cameron’s Corner, and it is a drag strip, and you can talk to anybody on that street, and they’ll tell you. And we never see a cop. 
We never see a radar set up.”

Archibald said that covering a large area like Queens County can be challenging.

“Policing has changed over the last however many years, (and) the demand for police presence has grown. 
Every time someone calls the police, whether it’s North Queens, West Queens, East Queens, wherever it is, if we have two members on during a day shift or two on night shift, a call in North Queens drags two members, whether it’s mental health, whether it’s a mischief, whether it’s a domestic, whether it’s a traffic complaint, that drags the only police officers out of Liverpool to a different area which takes them away from town for two hours. 
So it’s harder to designate police to the town of Liverpool when there’s other needs.”

But Archibald said they’re trying to address those kinds of concerns with their monthly traffic initiative. And he said installing more digital speed signs in some areas would also help, especially during tourist season.

Archibald told councillors that residents should report traffic violations to the detachment as soon as they see them. 

“If they call us in real time, and we’ve got some new recruits here … who are gung ho on getting out there and if someone gives information as to who these people are, what they’re driving, like, they are out of the office to go look for them. So now’s a good time to report those people as well. You don’t always get that in certain detachments, but we have some young folks who who are enjoying traffic enforcement.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Alyssa Short, chairwoman of North Queens Active Living, details for regional councillors the track and field project at North Queens Community School. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

A new field and running track will be built at North Queens Community School, thanks to funding from the Nova Scotia government and the Region of Queens.

Regional councillors approved $250,000 this week for the $1.1-million project at the Primary to Grade 12 school in Caledonia.

That’s on top of a planned $800,000 grant from the province.

Alyssa Short, chairwoman of North Queens Active Living, told council at their regular meeting on Tuesday that the field is “almost completely unusable”.

“And so the result is our athletes are not able to train at the school and that has historically been the case.”

Olympic track athlete Jenna Martin went to the school and couldn’t use the field to train, Short said. She had to go to Bridgewater, which is an hour’s drive away.

“There’s very poor drainage, the ground is uneven, it’s compacted,” Short told councillors.

“The water pools up in the middle and so it’s soaked all year round.”

And because it isn’t fenced, ATV riders have further damaged it by “doing doughnuts” in the field, she said.

“It’s to the point that the students are not even able to use the field for recess or for sports or anything.”

The field was built in 1984 with no proper drainage or fencing, Short said. The school’s outdoor classroom is also not safe to use, she said.

The new field will feature a 325-metre track, which is smaller than the regulation 400-metre size. Short said a larger track would have tripled the cost of the project. The field will be fenced, lit and have proper drainage. North Queens Active Living will maintain the field.

“We’ve gone with a natural turf field that will have fencing. And very importantly, it will be a very good quality walking track that will be used by the local community.”

Short said they hope to put the project to tender immediately, and have the work done over the summer and fall so that it will be ready to use next year.

Councillors said the new field and track are vital in a smaller, rural community like Caledonia and the surrounding area.

“I think it’s very important that this project be supported by this council,” said District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins, whose area includes North Queens.

“People out in the country have to travel so far for many things and when you start moving your children an hour one way and an hour back just so they can train on a track after they spend all day in school, (that) shouldn’t be unacceptable. I think we should move forward with this.”

North Queens Active Living had requested $250,000 through the region’s community investment fund. Instead, councillors voted to fund the project from their accumulated budget surplus.

This will be the second new track and field in Queens County. A $3-million, 400-metre rubberized track and artificial turf soccer field at Liverpool Regional High School is expected to be ready by early July.

After the funding was approved, Short told QCCR she’s “absolutely grateful” for the municipality’s support.

“I know the school is going to be thrilled, but I think the whole community is really going to get behind it,” she said. 

“It’s going to mean that athletes who have it in them to become athletes have the facilities to follow through on what they’re capable of. And I think there’s probably been a lot of potential lost in North Queens over many years. And I think that having this facility is really going to have a lot more athletes come out of North Queens.” 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Queens MLA Kim Masland announced funding for six groups in Queens County on Thursday. (Rick Conrad / File photo)

Businesses and community groups in Queens County will get almost $80,000 in provincial funding.

Queens MLA Kim Masland announced the funding on Thursday from the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage for six different organizations.

The funding ranges from $25,834 to Rosefinch Mercantile in Port Medway for an accessible path and wheelchair lift to $4,250 to Mersey River Chalets in Caledonia for upgrades to the roll-in shower.

“These investments are making Queens a more accessible and vibrant place to connect,” Queens MLA Kim Masland said in a news release.

“By investing in restorations and accessibility infrastructure, we’re ensuring our community spaces are inclusive and full of life, bringing people together across our region.”

The projects are supported by a series of programs from the department, which provide grants to improve accessibility, upgrade community infrastructure and promote recreation.

Here’s how the $78,624 in funding was divided among the groups:

• Rosefinch Creative Inc., Port Medway: $25,834 for an accessible path and wheelchair lift.
• Region of Queens Municipality: $25,000 for accessible railings and upgrades to the compressor panel and sound system at Queens Place Emera Centre.
• Little Red South West School House Society, South West Port Mouton: $12,540 for the restoration of the historic schoolhouse.
• Pleasant River Community Hall Society: $6,000 for heat pumps, the stage, and replacing a ramp.
• North Queens Board of Trade, Caledonia: $5,000 for a new entry to Caledonia Park.
• Mersey River Chalets, Caledonia: $4,250 for upgrades to the roll-in shower.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Newly elected South Shore-St. Margarets MP Jessica Fancy-Landry speaks to a voter in Liverpool earlier in the campaign. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED TUESDAY at 5:20 P.M.

Voters in South Shore-St. Margarets went back to the Liberals on Monday night, electing first-time candidate Jessica Fancy-Landry in a decisive victory.

Fancy-Landry beat Conservative incumbent Rick Perkins by about 7,000 votes, grabbing 55 per cent support.

The Liberal got 27,871 votes to Perkins’s 20,854, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada.

“I think it was our positivity,” she told QCCR in an interview.

“We ran a very positive and clean and energetic campaign and I think that really resonated with a lot of people here.”

Turnout in the riding was just over 72 per cent, which was higher than the national rate of about 67 per cent.

Fancy-Landry is originally from Caledonia and now lives in Bridgewater. She’s a teacher at Forest Heights Community School in Chester Basin.

Perkins was first elected in 2021, ousting then-fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan.

Fancy-Landry said the big issue on the campaign trail was affordability and people’s concerns over the cost of living.

“Also, Trump and tariffs and then being a coastal riding, definitely fisheries,” she said. 

“But I really think right now it’s time to unify all of our community and really build on this positivity and build trust back where the Liberal Party might have lost trust in a couple of different areas within the riding.”

She said she believes growing up in the area helped cement her win.

“I think that was my secret sauce. We need someone who has been here, has their feet on the street, has raised their kids here and really knows those intimate concerns and issues for the area and has the connections to bring people together.

“I really think it was that positivity in bringing people together that really spoke to a lot of people because politics right now is just so divisive. And we need to unify as a nation. And I really felt like … now that we have that mandate, we can start doing a lot of really good work.”

She said she’s already heard from municipal leaders from around the riding, as well as other Liberal MPs to help her in her new role.

Fancy-Landry said that in the next few weeks, she’ll be getting orientation as a first-time MP and meeting with the rest of the newly elected Liberal caucus.

She’ll also be wrapping up her career as a teacher.

But she’s looking forward to getting to work as the MP for South Shore-St. Margarets.

“That’s been my tagline for the last 37 days: ‘Let’s get to work,’” she said. 

“And now we’re here and we’ve got to put our money where our mouth is and work really hard for our constituents, all constituents.”

The Green Party’s Mark Embrett finished third with 818 votes. Patrick Boyd of the People’s Party of Canada was the choice of 698 people and independent candidate Hayden Henderson got 460 votes.

Elections Canada said 50,701 of 70,205 eligible electors voted. That included just over 19,000 people who turned out for advance polls over the Easter weekend.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version below

Jessica Fancy-Landry is the Liberal candidate in the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets. (Jessica Fancy-Landry)

Jessica Fancy-Landry is trying to take back the riding of South Shore-St. Margarets for the Liberals in the April 28 federal election.

She’s up against incumbent MP Rick Perkins, who won the seat in the 2021 election over Liberal MP Bernadette Jordan by about 1,800 votes.

Fancy-Landry, a Bridgewater resident and first-time candidate, is a teacher at Forest Heights Community School in Chester Basin.

She’s also a community volunteer, including serving as past board chair with the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Fancy-Landry grew up in Caledonia, Queens County. We asked her about various local issues in the campaign, including the commercial fishery and the prospect of a new kraft pulp mill in Liverpool.

The interview was recorded on April 9 and edited for length.

Listen to our interview with Jessica Fancy-Landry below:

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.

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.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

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.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

The North Queens Fire Association bought a new rescue truck in December 2023 to respond to medical emergencies and other calls. (North Queens Fire Association Facebook page)

The fire chief in North Queens wants answers about why his department isn’t being called to more medical emergencies in the community.

Chris Wolfe, who leads the volunteer-run North Queens Fire Association in Caledonia, says he’s worried that residents aren’t getting the help they need and someone could die because of it.

“We’re supposed to get called for pretty well anything that the ambulance will come out to North Queens for and that hasn’t been the case here lately,” he told QCCR.

“My concern is that the community’s not getting the help that they need when they need help the most. You take an ambulance takes an hour basically get to North Queens and even longer if you’re in a storm, so potentially somebody could be lying there for an hour without medical help.”

That’s why Wolfe has organized a public meeting on March 3 at 7 p.m. at the North Queens Fire Hall in Caledonia at 9793 Highway 8.

He’s invited officials from Emergency Medical Care and Emergency Health Services, as well as Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also the minister of emergency management, and Health Minister Michelle Thompson. Wolfe is also encouraging residents to attend.

Wolfe expressed his frustration in a recent Facebook post. He also posted last August asking residents to contact him if they’ve called 911 in the past expecting the fire department to respond.

A post on the North Queens Fire Association Facebook page from Chief Chris Wolfe.

“I’ve previously had meetings with EMC and EHS and we’ve talked about it and I thought things were going to get straightened out but obviously they didn’t and we did have one particular call there the night before I posted that and the individual was lying outside in the snow and they weren’t going to page the fire department for it.

“We ended up going over on our own terms and dealing with it till EHS arrived so that was my pet peeve that sent me to put the post on Facebook.”

Emergency Health Services contracts out ambulance and paramedic service in Nova Scotia to Emergency Medical Care, which is owned by Medavie Blue Cross. EMC also operates the province’s 911 call centre.

EMC officials declined an interview request. A spokesman said in an emailed statement that they “are committed to continuing the conversation to address” the fire department’s concerns.

Wolfe said 18 of the first responders at his department are certified under the Medical First Response Program, which trains people to care for someone who is injured. He said they responded to 111 medical calls last year, which account for between 65 and 75 per cent of what they do.

But he said they could potentially respond to more calls and more quickly than EHS, if only they knew about them.

It’s a situation that rural fire departments are dealing with around the province, he says. 

“When you become an MFR agency you choose what level of response you want to be and where we’re so far from a hospital or anything like that we choose to be non-urgent and that means that we give anybody the help that needs it for any type of scenario.”

He says he’s not looking for a quick fix, but he hopes the meeting helps.

“I don’t expect everybody to come (to the meeting) with answers. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.

“The purpose of the March 3rd meeting would be to get everybody there, address what the problems are, take everybody’s concerns from the public, put that all together and then go back to the drawing board and say, ‘Look we know this is what’s wrong, what options do we have to fix this, how can the volunteer fire service and MFRs help us out,’ and then maybe have another public meeting maybe three to four weeks later and come back to the drawing board and tell people what was found out and how things are going to be addressed.

“The more people that show up, the better it will be. And hopefully we can get things addressed and make things better for all of Nova Scotia.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Kendra Shot is the organizer of Santas for Seniors Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED DEC. 4, 10:30 A.M.

Even though the Canada Post strike is continuing, the organizer of Santas for Seniors Queens County says seniors will still get their gifts in time for Christmas.

In previous years, organizer Kendra Shot has mailed out the cards. But this year, she says that she and some other women will hand deliver more than 300 envelopes with gift cards to seniors around Queens County.

“We’re going to make sure they get out before Christmas because I know a lot of seniors wait for this to help with their Christmas dinners,” Shot told QCCR.

On Tuesday, Shot got some great news that somebody wanted to adopt 50 seniors.

“I’m feeling very, very happy about it because last year at this time, we had to add another week to get all the seniors adopted and by the looks of it, I’m praying we’ll have everybody adopted by Friday.”

Later on Tuesday, Shot announced on the Santas for Seniors Facebook group that all 337 seniors have been adopted.

This is the fifth year for the volunteer-led program, which helps low-income people 55 and over celebrate Christmas. 

Anyone could nominate a senior, or seniors could nominate themselves. They gave Shot the person’s full name, age and mailing address. People told Shot what they’d like, whether that’s a gift card for groceries, gas or other goods.

All nominees are anonymously posted to the Santas for Seniors Queens County Facebook group. And then people adopt as many seniors as they’d like.

Donors buy a holiday greeting card and include the requested gift cards. They put a stamp on the front of the envelope and the number of the senior on the back. People can drop them off at three locations in Queens County – Exit Realty or Route 3 Cellar Taproom and Grill in Liverpool, or Stew’s Corner Convenience and Gas in Greenfield.

Over the past four years, more than 1,200 seniors in Queens County have been adopted.

Shot said despite people feeling the pinch this year, they’ve still found a way to contribute. 

“I’ve noticed even with the people adopting this year, they can’t do as much as they’ve done in previous years, but they want to help,” Shot says.

“This kind of puts a jump start in my step, because I’ve got my Christmas shopping done, my cookies done, my baking, and the presents wrapped. It puts a little fire in me to get up and get going, but now I do get to sit back and relax.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Lobster boats leave Port Medway Harbour early Tuesday morning on Dumping Day. (Rick Conrad)

More than 1,400 fishing boats left wharves early this morning along the South Shore as lobster season got underway in southwestern Nova Scotia.

Known as Dumping Day, it’s the day that fishermen set their traps in some of North America’s most lucrative lobster grounds. Nova Scotia exported more than $1.3 billion of lobster last year.

Dumping Day was delayed by a day this year because of weather.

Catches were down overall last year, but still accounted for about $318 million.

Some 680 vessels from Queens County motored out at 7 a.m.

Dozens of family and community members were at the wharf in Port Medway to wish fishermen a safe season, which wraps up at the end of May.

Here are some of the people and sounds from the morning.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

QCCR acknowledges the support of the Community Radio Fund of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative.

Kendra Shot is the organizer of Santas for Seniors Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

The organizer of a local program that helps seniors over the holidays is hoping for a little Christmas magic this year.

Santas for Seniors Queens County connects low-income seniors with others who want to help them have a good holiday. And it relies on Canada Post to help make it happen. 

Organizer Kendra Shot says this year, she’s worried about how the postal strike may affect the festive fundraiser.

“I’m hoping by the end of the week that maybe they come to some terms and settle this strike. I will put them in the mail but there’s no way we can hand deliver because we have mailing addresses for the seniors, and not home addresses.”

This is the fifth year for Santas for Seniors Queens County. Since it began, it’s helped hundreds of Queens County seniors each year.

Anyone can nominate a senior, or seniors can nominate themselves. People tell Shot what they’d like, whether that’s a gift card for groceries, gas or other goods.

All nominees are anonymously posted to the Santas for Seniors Queens County Facebook group. If you want to add any Queens County senior to the list, contact Shot with the person’s full name, age and full mailing address.

“55 and over, low income, need a little extra help this winter. That’s what we’re here for,” Shot says.

“You adopt your senior, buy a holiday card, buy your gift card, there’s one or two usually listed per senior, you don’t have to buy both of them. Put it in your holiday card, seal it, on the back of your card write your number, on the front of the card, place a stamp.”

Completed cards can be dropped off at Exit Realty or Route 3 Cellar Taproom and Grill, both in Liverpool, or at Stew’s Corner Convenience and Gas in Greenfield. 

Shot says she’s seeing more seniors from Greenfield and Caledonia participating this year.

As of Tuesday, 328 seniors are signed up, with 158 adopted so far. Last year, a little more than 300 took part.

Seniors can be nominated until Dec. 1. Shot says all cards need to be dropped off by Dec. 15 so that she can mail them out in time for Christmas.

“Basically 90 per cent of the people that are nominated do not even know that they’re nominated. So, they’re going to get a card in the mail from a complete stranger with a little extra help. There’s no set denomination for amounts. We’re all feeling the crunch of the increased prices it’s more so the thought that counts.”

Shot and her volunteers used to collect gifts from donors and deliver gift bags to as many as 400 seniors. She said they changed it to gift cards during Covid.

They also used to work with local service organizations and other groups to identify seniors in need, but because of confidentiality rules, they had to stop doing that.

Despite that, more than 1,200 Queens County seniors have been adopted in the past five years. 

“It makes me feel good because No. 1, to give back is the best feeling at Christmas for me. Gifts aren’t Christmas, it’s how you actually make somebody feel.”

This year, Shot says she’d also like to get more businesses involved in the fundraiser. The managers at White Point Beach Resort got together and adopted 12 seniors.

If you want to be nominated or if you want to nominate somebody else, message Kendra Shot on Facebook, or call her at 902-646-0265 or email her at kendra_shot@hotmail.com.

And if you want to “adopt” a senior, check out the Santas for Seniors Queens County Facebook group.

“We’ll get them all adopted, we do every year, and put some smiles on seniors’ faces.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

North Queens Community School in Caledonia is one of the recipients of the new School Advisory Council Innovation Fund. (NQCS Facebook page)

North Queens Community School in Caledonia is one of 26 schools across Nova Scotia awarded funding through the new School Advisory Council Innovation Fund.

The fund is sponsored by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. It provides grants of up to $10,000 to test an idea that could be expanded to other schools. The province announced the program in December to encourage new and innovative projects to support student achievement and well-being.

“I am so impressed with the creativity and commitment to bettering schools that SACs showed in their applications to the innovation fund,” said Becky Druhan, minister of education and early childhood development.

“The councils really demonstrated their deep understanding of their school communities and the things that get students engaged in their learning experience.”

The North Queens Community School’s project is a W’koum (wigwam). Led by a community elder, students will sustainably collect materials to build the structure. 

The Primary to Grade 12 school plans a community celebration when the W’koum is finished and it will be incorporated into the school’s outdoor learning environment.

School advisory councils are volunteer-driven and usually include parents and guardians, school staff, students and other community members.

The province received 128 applications for funding. More than $250,000 was awarded to recipients.

Projects will be featured at the first provincewide SAC conference in September.

Some of the other successful projects include: hydroponics to expand school gardens; a model apartment for students with special needs; and a “right to bike” program, which supplies students in grades 3, 4 and 5 with larger bicycles and safety equipment.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

The Milton Centennial Pool suffered severe damage in last July’s torrential rains and floods. (Rick Conrad)

The Milton Centennial Pool will remain closed this summer.

“It is very, very unfortunate, but the Milton pool will not be opening this year,” Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said Monday.

The pool suffered significant damage in last July’s torrential rains and floods. Councillors heard Monday that it would cost from $100,000 to $150,000 to fix the pool.

The rains and flooding last summer damaged the pool liner. Even though the region ordered a new liner immediately, it arrived only in late December. So staff winterized the structure as best they could, according to Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works.

This spring, the region’s staff discovered the base of the pool had been damaged even further.

Grant said it would take about 12 weeks to do the work, with the “best-case scenario” of having the pool open by August.

Mayor Darlene Norman said the North Queens Aquatic Centre in Caledonia will be open.

“Unfortunately, for this summer we will be unable to provide seasonal swimming lessons at Milton pool,” Norman said in an interview.

“We did make the decision and we made it now so that we don’t have people’s hopes up.”

The region is going ahead with hiring lifeguards for the pool in Caledonia. CAO Cody Joudry said the pool staff hired will be employed for the whole summer. 

Councillors decided to keep the $40,000 budgeted for Milton pool operations in this year’s budget. They suggested that money could go toward extending the hours at the pool in Caledonia, covering mileage for lifeguards who have to travel to Caledonia or working out a deal with Queens County Transit to provide transportation for pool users in south Queens to north Queens.

They asked staff to report back with recommendations on what to do this summer and next year, until the new outdoor pool at Queens Place Emera Centre can be built.

Last Friday, Queens MLA Kim Masland announced $2.2 million in provincial funding toward the $7.2-million pool. The region has already committed $2 million, with another $3 million coming from a private anonymous donor.

Norman said last week that the region hopes to start construction in spring 2025, with an opening in 2026.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Queens MLA Kim Masland. Photo Ed Halverson

Residents of North Queens will soon have a new long-term care home to call their own.

Kim Masland, Minister of Public Works and MLA for Queens, on behalf of Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams, made the announcement Tuesday November 28.

People living in and around Caledonia, will have access to a new, modern long-term care facility with the replacement of the North Queens Nursing Home.

The new North Queens Nursing Home is expected to replace the existing home when it opens in 2032.

The new facility will provide care for close to 50 seniors with single rooms, each with its own private washroom.

In a statement Masland says eventually everyone needs some help and the new home will be a resource for families when they need it.

“At some point, almost of us will have a loved one in need of long-term care,” said Minister Masland. “We are planning today to ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place so that everyone we care about can have a safe and welcoming place to receive the care they need, when they need it.”

The North Queens Nursing Home replacement is part of the recent addition of 2,200 rooms to the Province’s long-term care infrastructure plan.The provincial government is promising more announcements about locations of new and replacement rooms are coming in the next few weeks.

Those announcements can’t come too soon. As of Nov 15, there were just over 1,700 people waiting at home for placement in long-term care.

To hear the broadcast version of this story click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Horse pull at Queens County Fair. Photo Doreen Holdright

Organizers of the Queens County Fair are hopeful the event won’t be blown away again this year.

The fair was ready to reopen after the pandemic in 2022 but Hurricane Fiona forced the cancellation of most of the week-long activities.

The agricultural fair held each year in Caledonia features livestock competitions, oxen and horse pulls, as well as an arts and crafts fair and vegetable displays.

Secretary/Manager of the fair Doreen Holdright says visitors will enjoy some new activities this year along with some old favourites.

“For the adults we’ve added a tug-of-war competitions, which we haven’t had there for years,” said Holdright. “And oh yes, we will still be having our ladies frying pan toss, and the gentlemen’s toilet seat toss and Saturday we will be having a woodsman competition again. We’ve got a jam-packed schedule.”

The Queens County Fair will run from Sep 19 – 23 this year, and another change people will want to note is the parade which would normally take place on Wednesday has been moved to Tuesday to avoid conflicts with other events.

Holdright says anyone wishing to be part of the parade can do so up until the day of, by contacting the organizing committee.

She says the organizing team of 50 or so dedicated volunteers worked hard this year to make the fair more kid friendly.

Children under 12 will get in for free Tuesday and in addition to including a midway for the first time in many years an area will be dedicated to keeping them entertained.

“We have a committee that’s set up just to work with the kids for a couple of hours early in the evening, that they can watch movies or play games or do activities,” said Holdright.

Returning visitors will also notice the kitchen and dining room facilities at the fairgrounds have just been completely renovated to improve the dining experience.

The five-day-long event usually attracts over 5,000 people and Holdright hopes the added events and changes to the facility will help that number grow.

Ticket information and an event schedule for the 2023 edition is available on the Queens County Fair Facebook page.

To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Washrooms under construction at Queens County Fairgrounds. Photo Carolyn Tufts

The sights and sounds of the working farmer are returning once again to Caledonia.

Following a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Queens County Fair gets underway Tuesday.

Secretary/Manager of the fair board Doreen Holdright says while they did manage to host a couple of smaller events over COVID, people are eager to attend the full fair once again.

“It was nothing like having an exhibition. Now everybody’s really excited about getting back to the normal thing where everything is open for five days and you’ve got lots of opportunity to get in and see and do what you want to do,” said Holdright.

The full schedule includes horse and oxen pulls, barrel racing, woodsman competitions, entertainment for adults and kids, live music, the ever-popular fry-pan and toilet seat toss and much more.

The pandemic did create time to allow improvements to the fair site.

The entertainment pavilion received a refresh and visitors will enjoy the new washroom complex.

The event is not going off without a little unexpected excitement this year.

Holdright says just last week the water system at the fairgrounds failed.

“It’s on a drilled well and our conditioner just completely failed so we had to put in a whole new system. I think they finished it on Wednesday, or something, was when the last part came in to get it working,” said Holdright. “I tell you; we were all in panic mode. Nothing comes easy.”

According to the Queens County Fair webpage, agricultural exhibitions have been held in the area since the 1880s.

The fair has called its current location home since 1886.

Holdright estimates over five days the Queens County Fair will welcome about 5,000 people through the gates.

She says a 14-member board serves on several committees in the year leading up to the fair to ensure all their bases are covered and she’s grateful for the team of 80 – 100 volunteers who ensure the event runs smoothly.

The Queens County Fair runs from Tuesday through Saturday.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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

Photo contributed Emma Goulden

Students at North Queens Community School will enjoy a safe grad adventure after fundraising efforts exceeded expectations.

Parents of North Queens grads have been working for two months to raise $9,000. A recent online auction raised close to $4,300 pushing them past their goal for a total just shy of $11,000.

One of the parent organizers Marie Gernon says it was a lot of work but worth it to give students a memorable final night together.

“It’s important that they go have fun and then they just [can say] I graduated, I’m done, you know?” said Gernon.

After COVID restrictions were lifted, the South Shore Regional Centre for Education informed schools they could make their own determination around what graduation celebrations to hold.

North Queens is moving forward with a pre-pandemic schedule of events including prom for grades 7-12 on June 27 and a full, in-person graduation ceremony in the gym on June 29.

Gernon is pleased the students will be ending their time together as a group.

“A lot of the kids have grown up together so it’s nice for them all to have that camaraderie and just see it through and support each other,” said Gernon.

Following the graduation ceremony, the students will board a bus to Halifax to start their safe grad night at Putting Edge and Get Air. Then it’s off to Bridgewater to spend time at HB Studios sports centre before swimming at the Best Western Pool. Once back in Caledonia, they will sit down for breakfast together at the Hollow Log restaurant before heading home.

Gernon calls the way the community rallied to support the graduates a blessing.

Going forward, she hopes parents continue to take an active role in planning graduation activities, not only to take the burden off teachers but to also be part of the celebration.

“You’ve raised them up to this point,” said Gernon. “It’s the parent’s celebration as well. So, it would be nice to see the parents get involved in it again.”

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

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

Washrooms under construction at Queens County Fairgrounds. Photo Carolyn Tufts

Aged washrooms* at the Queens County Fair Grounds in Caledonia are getting a facelift.

Construction has already started on the new building which will be larger, safer, and completely accessible.

Secretary/Manager of the Queens County Fairgrounds Doreen Holdright says the repairs are long overdue.

“They were basically condemned about 15 years ago and I don’t remember when they were actually built,” said Holdright.

The estimated $102,300 total cost of the project is being covered by a pair of contributions.

The Queens County fairgrounds received $77,073 in ACOA funding through the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF) in February 2022.

At their most recent council meeting, the Region of Queens approved a grant of $25,575 from their Community Investment Fund.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council was pleased to cover the balance and support the hard-working people of Caledonia who keep the fairgrounds going.

Norman says a conversation with a student highlighted the need to improve upon the previous building.

“One of the kids, I was at the high school the other day said, Mrs. Norman, are the walls going to go all the way to the roof? ‘Cause, you know, the guys could always stand up and look over. And I said, oh yes, the walls are going to the roof. So, it’s great. It’s a great improvement,” said Norman.

Holdright expects construction on the new washrooms will be complete ahead of the May 21 Spring Horse Pull.

She says now that COVID restrictions have been lifted, 2022 will see a full roster of events at the fairgrounds, culminating in the annual Queens County Fair Sep 20 through 24.

* A previous version of this story mis-identified the pavilion instead of the washrooms as the building under construction. Work on the pavilion was completed last fall. 

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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

Executive Director Annette Hartlen looks on as Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and MLA Kim Masland cut the ribbon to open the Caledonia home support office. Photo Queens County Home Support

Queens County Home Support is expanding their services into North Queens.

The agency celebrated the opening of their Caledonia satellite office in the old Credit Union building on Highway #8 on Monday afternoon.

Executive Director Annette Hartlen says with the launch of the satellite office the agency can expand their services beyond home care in North Queens.

Hartlen said the new location is, “Basically a one-stop shop for seniors to get information about supports that may be available to them, whether it’s supports to stay in their own home or whether it’s information on what grants they may qualify for housing and repairs.”

Hartlen says services at the Caledonia office will mirror some of those already in place in Liverpool such as providing clients with help to navigate, print and complete government forms.

She says home care workers have already identified a specific need in North Queens for people to be able to do laundry when wells run low.

“There’s no public laundry facilities there, so we’ve put a washer and dryer in our office. For our clients, that service is authorized through the department of health but they’re scared their well may run dry. Our workers will take their laundry, or bring them if they want to come, to our building and have their laundry done for them,” said Hartlen.

The office will also act as a home base for the agency’s home support workers.

“They have gaps between client visits. They have no place to go. They either sit on the side of the road in their car, or whatever,” said Hartlen. “So this office will enable them a spot to come in, eat their lunch or bathroom break, whatever it may be.”

Hartlen says initially, administrative staff from Liverpool will rotate through the Caledonia office to ensure someone is there to assist during the day Monday to Friday but she hopes to hire people to staff the local office full time.

She says the office is a one-year pilot project to determine if the model can provide better services to seniors by setting up in a smaller community.

If it is successful, Hartlen would like the provincial government to replicate the model across Nova Scotia.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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

South Shore Drive-In screen. Photo Catherine Croft

It took longer than expected but a drive-in is returning to Queens.

Co-founder of the South Shore Drive-In Catherine Croft had hoped to be showing films again this spring.

Unfortunately, COVID restrictions and some technical issues postponed the reopening of the drive-in at the Hank Snow Museum.

“Towards when we were opening and then my tech guy said, oh by the way, we need a new bulb,” said Croft. “I didn’t know about it. I was waiting for our sizes to open to at least 50, that’s done now.”

Croft was referring to the COVID restrictions lifting to allow at least 50 people to gather outdoors.

In fact, 150 people are now permitted to gather outside which means the drive-in can open to its normal capacity of 300 cars.

“Because we are a drive-in, we keep everyone social distanced by being in their own vehicles,” said Croft. “The only time you’re not in your vehicle is when you are going to the washroom and or concessions and there you’ll find that we are fully masked and hand sanitizers. Washrooms are cleaned upon use.”

Croft says the plan is open August 6 with a double feature but then there will be a short hiatus for films at the Hank Snow site over the next couple of weeks.

The following weekend the drive-in will be closed due to the Hank Snow mini tribute and the weekend of August 27, Croft and her crew will be taking the show on the road to Gateway Campground in Caledonia.

The pop-up show called a Field Good Time will feature a couple of movies, monster truck rides and live music.

The South Shore Drive-In will return to its home at the Hank Snow Museum in September.

Croft hopes to run shows into late October or until the evenings become too cool to operate the equipment.

She says by bringing back the drive-in, she and the rest of the organizers want to provide people an experience they will cherish.

“That’s what we want to bring to the table this year is more of the retro, more of the fun,” said Croft. “We want to create memories as much as you can enjoy remembering your own from years ago.”

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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