Shelly Panczyk (centre) with representatives from Liverpool Superstore, food bank staff, Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and MLA Kim Masland. Photo Ed Halverson

A new walk-in freezer is helping the Queens County Food Bank provide better service to more people, more efficiently.

The 12’ x 12’ walk in freezer is the result of a $45,000 donation courtesy of Loblaws Canada.

Chair of the Queens County Food Bank Shelley Panczyk learned they would be receiving the funding in November of 2022.

The walk-in replaces chest freezers the food bank had been using and Panczyk says the ability to open a door and see where food is at a glance has been extremely helpful to volunteers.

“You’ve got your hamburger here and your hot dogs here and things on top of each other and we were always pulling and taking out and rearranging,” said Panczyk.

For two years before the new unit was installed, Panczyk says Mersey Seafood would store overflow frozen food for the bank.

She welcomes the increased capacity the new freezer provides as over the past three years food bank use has increased dramatically.

“And it’s not just single people. I have people in here that are, two people working. With the way the economy is, and the pricing, that have to come here because there’s no way that they could ever live.”

On average, the Queens County Food Bank provides for 160 families every month serving 450-500 people, 33 percent of those are children.

Panczyk says the support from the Superstore and Sobeys stores in Liverpool is invaluable.

She also appreciates all the generous food donations being dropped off at various locations.

While those are good, Panczyk says one of the best ways to support the food bank is through making a cash donation.

“Money donations are better because I’m always, always looking for sales. That’s part of my work,” said Panczyk. “Every Thursday I have to get the flyers from Superstore and Sobeys and I go through and what’s ever on sale that I use as a staple, I have to order. And we’re ordering cases.”

Panczyk says they can accept cash or cheque at the food bank or thrift store locations, by mail or people can e-transfer the funds.

Donors receive a receipt which can come in handy when looking for deductions at tax time.

Now that the walk-in freezer is installed and running, Panczyk says the Food Bank infrastructure is set for years to come and they can confidently focus on serving their clients.

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Milton Pool. Photo Ed Halverson

The committee charged with planning a new pool in Queens still has no direction on how to go about that task.

Formed at the request of Region of Queens council the pool committee was never given a formal Terms of Reference to indicate what they should be doing.

The committee wrote Terms of Reference based on those used for the library committee and presented them for approval at the last Region of Queens council meeting.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council voted not to approve the terms because the pool committee was told when it was created municipal staff did not have time to participate.

“When this committee was formed it was mid-way through our year,” said Norman. “This was never part of any budgeting and budgeting is more than just budgeting money, budgeting also budgets staff time.”

Some councillors felt a new pool should be given a higher priority after a private donor came forward with funding towards its construction.

It was revealed during the last council meeting that contribution was in the neighbourhood of $3 million.

CAO Chris McNeill said it will likely be spring of 2023 before staff will be freed up to assist the pool committee.

In the meantime, Mayor Norman says the committee has a great deal of expertise and experience to offer.

“I am optimistic that when we get these things ironed out that that committee can be very helpful in some research. If they want to find more money for extra add-ons, if they want to deal with the biggest problem, which is staffing,” said Norman. “That truly is our largest problem when it comes to pools is the staffing component.”

Norman hopes using the clearer direction from council, the pool committee will come back to a future meeting with terms of reference that will allow them to get underway without involving municipal staff.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Astor theatre interior. Photo Ed Halverson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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LFD new ladder truck beside their rescue boat. Photo John Long

The Liverpool fire department now owns their ladder truck free and clear thanks to a donation by Mersey Seafoods and the J and W Murphy Foundation.

Volunteers at the station were surprised when opening mail this week to discover a cheque for $50,000 to go towards the purchase of another truck.

The department determined before Christmas they would need to replace their ladder truck.

Hydraulics that lift the ladder had failed and the department learned repairing the equipment was not only costly but there was no guarantee the repair would pass an inspection to return the engine to service.

Liverpool fire department approached the Region of Queens for help to buy a replacement. The municipality stepped up with a $46,000 interest-free loan.

Members located a ladder truck for sale in New Brunswick and took ownership it earlier this week.

Captain John Long says the department had been exploring several options to raise the money needed to buy the ladder truck.

“We had sent out some letters requesting some help,” said Long. “This came through and it’s huge. Not just the number but the impact it has on us is huge. And we can work towards replacing our boat.”

Replacing their 1994 rescue boat had been the fire department’s focus before the issues arose with the ladder truck.

Long says the boat is showing its age.

“The ring is not holding air. We can use it in an emergency but we can’t really do any training with it,” said Long.

The new boat will need to be outfitted for rescue operations. A T-top, rear bench, console, steering wheel and search lights will need to be fitted to the boat. A new modern, sonar system will be installed and other safety equipment will be updated as well.

All told, Long says they need to raise $56,000 to turn out the new boat.

He says any money donated by individuals and businesses in the community towards replacing the ladder truck will be applied to the purchase of the boat.

Longs says thanks to the generous donation from Mersey Seafoods and the J and W Murphy Foundation the loan to the municipality has been repaid in full and the rest will go into the boat fund.

Information on how to donate to the Liverpool Fire Department is on their website: Liverpoolfirefighters.com.

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