A 24-year-old Sable River man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after fleeing an RCMP checkpoint early Saturday morning. (File photo from RCMP NS Facebook page)
An early-morning checkpoint and a flight from police have left a 24-year-old Sable River man in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
About 1 a.m on Saturday morning, Queens District RCMP officers had a checkpoint set up on Milton Road near Liverpool. A Volkswagen Golf approached and then made an abrupt U-turn to head north on Highway 8.
According to a news release, an RCMP officer immediately left the scene to try to stop the Golf.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told QCCR on Monday that the cruiser was not involved in the crash. The officer found the car off the road and on its roof.
Along with the driver who was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries, the car’s passenger was also injured. She is a 25-year-old woman from East Green Harbour. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
Cpl. Tremblay did not have an update Monday on their conditions.
“Our officers will do checkpoints at random times throughout the day. From my experience, 1 a.m. is not abnormal. We often do checkponts through the night to conduct traffic enforcement such as impaired drivers that might be out there,” he said in an intervew.
“Oftentimes, there could be many reasons why someone may conduct a U-turn before a checkpoint. It could be a legitimate reason, but it could also be a reason because the person could be impaired, it could be because they don’t have a drivers licence, it could be because they’re wanted. And oftentimes our officers will then get in their vehicle and try to pull over the vehicle that proceeds with the U-turn.”
Cpl. Tremblay did not know exactly where on the Milton Road the checkpoint was set up.
Highway 8 was closed for several hours, while a collision reconstructionist visited the scene.
Cpl. Tremblay says officers continue to investigate.
“The investigation remains ongoing. That could involve criminal charges such as flight from police. The same goes for any impairment level. Our officers would be looking to obtain search warrants or warrants to seize any blood … just to determine if the person was impaired at the time of the crash or not.”
The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.
Patients of Queens Family Health can access the same-day clinic, depending on provider availability, by calling 902-354-3322.
A mobile primary care clinic is scheduled to be at Queens General on Tuesday (July 30) from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday (July 31) from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Thursday (Aug. 1) from 9 a.m. to noon.
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed at various times this weekend. (Communications Nova Scotia)
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be on limited hours for the weekend and early next week.
It will be closed on Friday, Saturday (July 20), Sunday (July 21), Monday (July 22) and Tuesday (July 23) at 1:30 p.m. each day and reopen at 8 a.m. the next day.
For example, it will reopen on Saturday at 8 a.m., but close again at 1:30 a.m. and reopen Sunday at 8 a.m.
The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.
Nova Scotia Health says that anybody experiencing a medical emergency should call 911.
Patients of the Queens Family Health same-day clinic can call 902-354-3322 to book an appointment through the week for new and emerging health problems, depending on provider availability.
You can also talk to a nurse for general health advice by calling 811, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Melanie and Bruce Inglis organized Queens Hockey Fights Cancer on Saturday at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool. It has raised more than $16,000 so far for cancer research. (Rick Conrad photo)
A charity hockey game in Liverpool on the weekend raised more than $16,000 for cancer research.
Queens Hockey Fights Cancer was hosted by Memories Cafe & Eatery and Inglis Kassouf Financial Solutions at Queens Place Emera Centre on Saturday.
It was organized by Bruce and Melanie Inglis of Liverpool, who own Memories and Inglis Kassouf.
“Cancer is close to everybody one way or another and for us this year, it’s been pretty challenging with some various people that we know that are fighting different kinds of cancer at different ages in life,” Bruce Inglis said Monday. “It was a case where we thought we could make it so the community could show them how much they care.”
“We are always great at doing hockey game fundraisers,” Melanie Inglis said. “We’ve done several so we knew that would be a good one for us. We did a silent auction, with the help of Karleigh Huskins who was terrific at getting a lot of businesses to chip in.”
They also raised money through donations from individuals and businesses, a 50/50 draw and admission to the game on Saturday. The winner of the 50/50 draw, Danny Whynot, donated the pot back to the cause.
The Inglises say they’re thrilled with the result.
“A final tally isn’t done yet, but we are a little over $16,000 right now,” Melanie says. “I think it surpassed our expectations for sure.”
“I think we knew that the community would come together,” Bruce says. “We knew that we would do $5,000, hoped that we would do ($10,000). But anything above 10 I think is pretty remarkable.”
The hockey game featured the under-18 Queens County Midget Cougars going up against another group of players who suited up for the Inglis Kassouf All-Stars.
Admission was $10 and about 300 people showed up to watch the all-stars win the game in overtime on a goal by 14-year-old Eric Hanley.
The Inglises said the big tally is even more special given the relatively small population of the area.
“It was a nice crowd,” Bruce says. “And that’s on a busy Saturday in the summer when there’s lots going on. There were a lot of people who did send donations, and saying, ‘Sorry we can’t be there’.”
“We’re thrilled,” Melanie says. “It’s fantastic to have the community rally together behind us to support the people that we love in the community.”
The couple organized the event in honour of a couple of friends going through their own battle with cancer.
Jack Stephenson is a student athlete at Bates College in Maine. He spent part of his childhood in Queens County. The son of Jay and Renee Stephenson is currently undergoing treatment for sarcoma.
Anthony MacDiarmid of Liverpool is also battling cancer. A longtime supporter of hockey and community causes, he coached the all-stars to victory.
An X-ray technician is seen in this photo. X-ray reports will soon be available through the YourHealthNS app. (Communications Nova Scotia / File)
X-ray results will soon be available through the YourHealthNS app.
Nova Scotians will be able to see any X-rays done from July 15 onward. The results will be on the app 14 days after the scan.
The report includes findings from the X-ray, a comparison with any previous X-rays, the patient’s history and a summary. Images won’t be available.
“This is just the beginning as we plan to make more records and information available that will help Nova Scotians take a more active role in their health care, ” Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson said Monday in a news release.
Earlier this month, the Nova Scotia government expanded access to health records through the app to everybody in the province 16 and over with a valid health card.
That was after a three-month pilot project involving more than 13,000 patients at six clinics, including Queens Family Health in Liverpool.
The X-ray reports will be in addition to the other information available on the app, including lab and some test results, hospital and health visits, medications and immunizations.
More than 600,000 X-rays were performed in Nova Scotia in 2023.
The emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool will be closed at certain times this week.
It closed at 1:30 p.m. on Monday and will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m. It will close again on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and reopen Wednesday at 8 a.m.
Patients of Queens Family Health can call 902-354-3322 to access the same-day clinic, depending on provider availability.
The ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater will be open.
As of June 1, 1,100 people in Queens County, about 10 per cent of the population, were still without a doctor or nurse practitioner. In Bridgewater, 6,382 people were on the waitlist. That’s almost 23 per cent of their population.
Drag performers Rhett Torical and Rouge Fatale read to kids and adults as part of Reading with Royalty at the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool on Thursday. (Rick Conrad photo)
Drag queen story hour made its fabulous debut in Liverpool on Thursday as part of Pride celebrations on the South Shore.
The event, dubbed Reading with Royalty, featured Rouge Fatale, one of Nova Scotia’s best known drag performers, and drag king Rhett Torical.
They were at the Thomas H. Raddall Library to read to and sing along with kids and their parents, grandparents and others.
Two hecklers stood outside the library and yelled insults at Rouge and Rhett as they entered the building. The women later came into the library to watch. Staff had to ask one of them to leave after she appeared to be taking photos of the crowd.
Still, about 20 people showed up to listen to Rouge and Rhett read from such books as My Shadow is Purple, Bathe the Cat, Julian is a Mermaid and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, which was also one of the singalongs.
Here are some sounds from the afternoon and reaction from those who were there.
Bob Chouinard, Valerie Wilcox, Carolyn Campbell, Janet Perry, Tony Flint and Roger Wilcox, all residents of Bristol Avenue in Liverpool, were among a group of people who told Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday that they oppose a 24-unit apartment building proposed for their street. (Rick Conrad photo)
Residents on a busy street in Liverpool are concerned it will only get more hectic if a 24-unit apartment building is built in their neighbourhood.
About a dozen people presented a petition to regional council on Tuesday and spoke against the development planned for 48 Bristol Ave., during the meeting’s regular time for public comments or questions.
They say they have 35 signatures of residents upset that the proposed four-storey building is too big for the area. They are worried about increased traffic, motorist and pedestrian safety and increased noise.
They say the design doesn’t fit with the character of the many historical homes in the area. And they’re also concerned that existing water and sewer services can’t handle up to 100 new residents.
Tony Flint, who lives right across from the proposed development, organized the petition. He told councillors on Tuesday that it would be a mistake to allow the development to go ahead.
“I think a 24-unit, four-storey building with the potential of housing as many as 100 people and 50 vehicles is way too much for the footprint of the real estate,” Flint said in an interview after the meeting. “It’s just an inadequate property to handle a building of this nature.”
Bristol Avenue is a busy thoroughfare into and out of Liverpool. The two-lane road is the main access to and from downtown Liverpool. If you live in downtown Liverpool, Western Head or Mersey Point, it’s the most direct route to get to many services like the town’s two grocery stores, Queens Place Emera Centre and gas stations, or to get onto Highway 103.
There is no sidewalk on the side of the road where the development is proposed. It’s currently undeveloped green space with mature chestnut trees. The 6,720 square-foot building would be set back 10 feet from the street, with 24 parking spots behind and on the side of the building. The lot is about 36,000 square feet.
As part of the site plan approval process, residents within 100 feet of the development were notified by the municipality in a letter dated June 19. According to a letter from development officer Mike MacLeod, they had 14 days to appeal.
Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday that councillors found out about the development last week when they received their meeting package.
“There’s a process for appealing. They write a letter to the planner stating that they wish to appeal and then they give their reasons of which they’re appealing. And it has to be based on the criteria that the site plan was approved on.
“Unless there are appellants, unless people within the 100 feet of the subject property make application to be an appellant and to appeal the site plan approval then there is nothing council can do at this time.”
Norman said the proposed building meets the zoning requirements. She added that staff take a serious look at new developments to ensure they follow the municipality’s land use bylaws.
“People don’t understand that council do not have the ability to simply shut down stuff just because people don’t like it. We have to live within the rules that we’ve established.”
Flint said he wrote a letter to MacLeod objecting to the proposal. He said that he and his neighbours believed they were getting their appeal on Tuesday, with the petition and speaking to council.
“But we presented the petition and what they do about it, yeah, I would consider that’s a written appeal,” Flint said Wednesday.
“We would like to proceed and continue further if necessary. Whether we’re beating our head against a brick wall, we don’t know. We all feel like we accomplished something by bringing it to the council’s attention. And there were several people that were completely unaware of it.”
Carolyn Campbell is another Bristol Avenue resident who also expressed her opposition Tuesday about the new building.
“I’m concerned that it could possibly be a death trap. As far as I know, there’s only one entrance off of Bristol and they all have to come out the same way. … If there’s a fire or if there’s an emergency vehicle needing to get in there, it could be bad.”
She and others worry about increased congestion caused by this development and a 45-unit building under construction behind Bristol Avenue on Mersey Avenue.
Janet Perry said residents agree with the need for more housing in Liverpool, just not in that location.
“We all live in close proximity to each other and we’re all going to be facing that building. The traffic is horrendous on that street, the noise is horrendous. There’ll be so many other things happening. … Garbage pickup in the mornings, can you imagine how long there are going to be trucks parked on the street? It’s just going to be a nightmare. I’m sure there’s another site (where) it can be built. We’re not opposed to housing, we’re just opposed to that location.”
Norman said that if the development goes ahead, a new council may decide to address any traffic issues that arise.
“It always has been and it always will be a busy street. If these apartments are built and it’s deemed that there’s a need to put a crosswalk, there’s a need to put streetlights to improve traffic flow … then I’m certain that council at the time will do those things. But at this point in time, we are going through the process as it is.”
The board that operates Region of Queens Home Support in Liverpool has given notice that it will terminate its contract with the Nova Scotia government to provide home-care services. (Rick Conrad)
UPDATED 2:30 p.m. Tuesday
A non-profit group that delivers home-care services in Queens County has decided to terminate its contract with the provincial government partly because of a “substantial” deficit.
Region of Queens Home Support has been providing services like personal care, respite care and meal preparation for people in their homes for more than 40 years.
The Queens Home for Special Care Society operates the agency. The board gave six months’ notice recently to the province that it would no longer run it. That means a new provider needs to take over by January.
But Christopher Clarke, the society’s chairman, says its 174 clients in Queens and Lunenburg counties won’t see an interruption in service, and employees will keep their jobs.
“For the clients, it will mean they will continue to get service,” Clarke said Monday in an interview.
“We have a strong commitment from government that they will continue to get service. For the employees, they will be working for another employer, but they will be providing service to the same clients as we currently have.”
A Facebook post from someone who said they have worked with Queens Home Support for more than 20 years was widely shared on Monday. She said she is a continuing care assistant and that staff were told on July 4 that Queens Home Support would be closing.
“Let me be clear before I say what’s on my mind – to any clients or family with clients under Queens Home Support – the transition is supposed to be smooth without much upset to the (clients’) routines, themselves or their daily care,” the post said in part. “They will continue to receive care as usual.”
The post also claimed that Queens Home Support’s deficit is $1.5 million.
Clarke confirmed that the agency has run a deficit the past two years. But he said that it isn’t as high as $1.5 million.
“We have a deficit, yes. The number is incorrect, but we have a deficit. I’m not going to go into that. It’s substantial, so we have to work through that with government.”
He said the deficit is one of many reasons why the board decided to end its contract with the province.
“There were a number of other problems too, but that’s the main issue that caused us to make the decision,” he said.
“I’m not prepared to go into them in any sort of detail.”
Much of the funding for Region of Queens Home Support comes from the province. Based on clients’ income and the kind of care they need, other costs may be paid by the client.
Clarke said the agency’s income dropped because their service hours decreased, but its expenses didn’t.
“We got compensated on the basis of service hours, those are hours that we actually service our clients. But there are a lot of overheads in addition to that, and those overheads don’t change even though your service hours diminish.”
Clarke emphasized that clients will continue to get care. And he said the approximately 60 employees will retain their jobs.
“Government has assured us that they will continue to provide the services we provide under another agency. … And the employees will all be virtually employed by whatever the new agency is.”
Kim Silver, director of home and community care with the provincial Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care, said Monday that when an agency notifies the province it’s winding down, officials immediately start looking for options to ensure services are maintained.
“Obviously, it’s concerning for clients and staff. For clients, they should know that there will be no impact to their care. The acting administrator has been in there for a little while now. She knows the organization well and she’ll continue to operate that organization until there’s a solid plan in place where we can seamlessly transition clients. In terms of staff, the plan certainly includes considerations for staff. We want to make sure everyone is treated fairly.”
Annette Hartlen, the agency’s executive director, is on leave. Kerry Hobbs, executive director of Lunenburg Home Support, is the interim director in Queens.
“We have options thankfully,” Silver said. “We’ve got a number of agencies in the province. Typically, we would have conversations with ones that make sense to see if they would be interested in taking over geographies. … We’re looking at other agencies in the area to support the clients.”
Silver said various factors could contribute to a reduction in service hours.
“Agencies are funded based on the number of service hours that they deliver on an hourly basis. So if service hours are lower, the funds the agency’s paid are lower. It could be a drop in clients, it could be that some clients have different care needs that might take a different amount of time. It could be that there’s more travel time involved. There are a whole lot of factors that can play into it.”
As for Queens Home Support’s deficit, Silver said that will be worked out between the province and the organization.
“It’s really about the sustainability of the organization. It’s a deficit that’s built up over time and would continue to be added to if the agency kept going.”
Queens MLA Kim Masland posted to her Facebook page on Tuesday morning and said that she’s working to make sure there’s no interruption in service.
“I commit to updating the community frequently as plans become finalized,” she said. “I want to be very clear that government did not cut funding!”
Clarke said that cancelling the home-care agreement was a tough decision for the board to make.
“Obviously, it’s not a decision that the board made lightly and obviously none of us feel good about it, but it’s something we had to do.”
Silver said they should have more information for clients and staff in the next few weeks.
“We’re working with the board to put a plan in place, to make sure people continue to get care, and that employees are treated fairly. Our primary focus obviously is our commitment to client care, so we’re working on solutions to make sure that we can continue that and have a smooth transition.”
Most of the agency’s clients live in Queens County, but a few live in neighbouring Lunenburg County. Clarke said that’s left over from when the agency had too many employees for its Queens County clients, so it took on some from the county next door.
