Queens County Museum Board Chair Dave Nickerson says the museum complex has been given the opportunity to apply for $50,000 through the Canadian Museums Assistance Program (CMAP), following the provincial government’s decision earlier this year to cut heritage funding.
The announcement came after a premature post on the museum’s Facebook page suggested the funding had already been confirmed, but it hasn’t. “We have applied, but we have not heard back yet,” Nickerson told QCCR.
The provincial cuts, announced in February, were a blow to the Queens County Museum Complex, which includes Perkins House, the courthouse, the lighthouse, and the main museum. The complex lost its provincial operating funding, leaving the board scrambling to keep the doors open.
For Nickerson, this isn’t just an administrative challenge. It’s personal. He grew up steps from Perkins House and says his earliest memories include ringing the brass bell at the front door. He later built display cases for the museum as a cabinetmaker, funded through community sponsors. “We have to preserve our history,” he said. “It’s always been in my heart.”
The community responded quickly to the funding cuts with protests and letters to MLAs and Premier. The museum board has what Nickerson describes as a dynamic group of local business leaders, and they came together quickly to respond.
Perkins House has traditionally opened around the May long weekend, but with funding still uncertain, this year’s opening date remains up in the air. If funding is granted, Perkins House will be able to open eight hours a day through the week, a significant step up from the one or two days a week that is the alternative.
The Queens County Historical Society, which holds charitable status over the complex, will issue tax receipts for donations. Fundraising events are being planned, with details to be announced through QCCR, community bulletin boards, and the Queens County Museum and Historical Society Facebook pages.
“Through community involvement, everybody stood up and realized we cannot lose Perkins House,” Nickerson said.
HUNTS POINT – A large crowd was on hand on Thursday, February 26th at White Point Beach Resort for the announcement of the Mersey River Wind Project, which will see construction and installation of 33 wind turbines with related grid connection infrastructure. The wind farm is expected to supply 148.5 MW of zero-emission electricity, capable of powering more than 50,000 homes.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is providing a $206 million loan to a partnership between Slate Asset Management and funds managed by Hamilton Lane to develop a wind farm at Mersey River. Project partner Renewall Energy Inc. will sell electricity to end customers in Nova Scotia.
The announcement was made by the Honourable Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada, and the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
This large-scale project will help support the province’s energy transition, as Nova Scotia moves from coal-based electricity generation to clean electricity by 2030. The wind farm is expected to avoid approximately 220,000 tonnes of emissions per year, equivalent to 1.5% of Nova Scotia’s carbon output in 2022.
Renewall secured Nova Scotia’s first renewable-to-retail program licence to sell electricity from 100% renewable sources directly to end customers. This licence gives residents, public institutions, commercial and industrial customers the ability to achieve emissions reductions and sustainability objectives. Construction will take place in two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed in 2027. More than 200 workers are expected to be employed at the peak of construction activities.
Dan Roscoe, Renewall
The project is being financed under the CIB’s Clean Power priority sector, which addresses financing gaps in low-carbon emissions projects such as renewables, district energy systems and energy storage.
Minister Hodgson also announced that NRCan will provide nearly $5 million in funding to Net Zero Atlantic for the Data Analysis and Modelling for Atlantic Offshore Wind and Transmission project, to support the next stage of offshore wind planning and the proposed Wind West and Atlantic Energy Strategy.
The Province of Nova Scotia’s contribution is both financial and in-kind support, valued at nearly $700,000.
Jessica Fancy, Member of Parliament for South Shore—St. Margarets, presided over the event, stating “Renewall is bringing greater choice and affordability to Nova Scotia electricity consumers for the very first time. With the support of the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the Government of Canada, the Mersey River Wind project will harness our province’s natural wind power advantage to provide clean renewable power to Nova Scotia families and businesses for decades to come.”
MP Jessica Fancy
Speakers also included Mike Shoen, Director of Investments at Canada Infrastructure Bank The Honourable Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia; Dan Roscoe, President of Renewall Energy Inc; and Scott Christian, Mayor of the Region of Queens Municipality.
Last week, the province’s heritage department announced that it plans to close the Perkins House Museum, in addition to 11 other museums throughout the province
A statement by the Dept of Communities, Culture, Tourisms & Heritage said some of the material and objects currently housed at the museum will be shuffled to other locations in the province-wide system, while others “may” be transferred to “other institutions” or “community organizations.” The statement did not say ‘what’ would go ‘where’ or provide a timeline for what it calls the “de-accessing” of material.
The government’s “Collection Management Policy” govern its museums. It includes a section outlining criteria for the saving of material and objects and provides guidelines on how they are to be handled. That policy can be accessed at https://museum.novascotia.ca/collections-research/policies/collection-management-policy. The section that controls access and the end-of-access to material begins on page 20 of that policy.
While general sweeping budgets cuts were announced, the impact on precise sites of arts, culture and heritage were not spelled out in detail. There are currently 28 museum sites in Nova Scotia.
Queens resident Mary Dahr shared her concern about the provincial debt and “such drastic cutbacks to everything in Nova Scotia.” Dahr added, “One of my major concerns is the Perkins House. For me, the Perkins House is a magical place, it’s something that we in Liverpool have always been really proud of…it’s almost like taking the lighthouse down at Peggy’s Cove – it’s that important…
“…and after they spent two million dollars fixing that house and then to turn around five years later and close it down!”
Local resident André Haines, speaking of the broader funding cuts, spoke of the importance of arts, culture and heritage in drawing visitors and as part of life in Nova Scotia. “We know that arts and culture and heritage have been the cornerstones of modern living throughout history.”
AFTER THE VOTE: WHAT LAND CONSERVATION LOOKS LIKE IN QUEENS
By Denaige McDonnell
Council has approved the transfer of municipal land at Path Lake to the NatureConservancy of Canada, placing the property under permanent conservation stewardship for a nominal price of $1. This transfer continues a long-standing pattern in Queens, where multiple ecologically significant properties have moved into conservation ownership over the past two decades. Protected sites include Port Joli, Stuart Lake, Long Lake Bog, Shingle Mill Bog, and Toby Island nature reserves, each recognized for sensitive habitats or rare species.
From an ecological perspective, these are precisely the kinds of landscapes conservation organizations exist to protect. The value of these sites is real, documented, and in some cases nationally recognized. The question, now that the Path Lake decision is made, is not whether conservation is worthwhile — but how conservation functions in practice, and what the cumulative effect of these decisions means for local governance and long-term strategy.
Conservation and Stewardship Are Not the Same Thing
A common assumption is that land transferred to a conservation organization is actively managed on an ongoing basis. In practice, stewardship varies. Some sites have formal management plans and regular monitoring; others rely primarily on legal protection through ownership, with limited on-site presence.
Doug van Hemessen, Stewardship Manager for the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Nova Scotia, confirmed that several conservation properties in Queens do not currently have a designated on-site steward. Instead, NCC relies on a volunteer-based Property Steward Program, in which trained volunteers visit assigned sites at least annually and report observations to NCC staff, who retain overall responsibility.
In context, NCC conservation lands account for approximately 6,234 acres, or just over one per cent, of the Region of Queens Municipality’s roughly 590,000 acres.
This light-touch approach to land management can be appropriate for sensitive habitats such as bogs and wetlands. At the same time, periodic monitoring shapes how conservation is experienced locally and brings practical governance considerations into focus: how issues are identified between visits, who responds to access-related impacts, and how ecological conditions are tracked over time.
As the footprint of protected land in Queens continues to grow, these considerations become central to understanding how conservation functions in practice and how responsibilities are shared.
What Changes When Land Leaves Municipal Ownership
For residents, the Path Lake transfer may look like little has changed. The land remains accessible. The landscape remains intact. Recreation continues. From a governance perspective, however, the change is significant.
Once land leaves municipal ownership, control leaves with it. Elected officials no longer have authority over how the land is managed or adapted over time. Accountability shifts from a democratic body to an external organization, even when public access is preserved.
That tradeoff is often acceptable when the goal is permanent protection. But it also reduces municipal flexibility by permanently removing land from the public asset base. Land set aside for conservation can no longer support future community, cultural, or region-led development initiatives.
The impact of that loss is magnified by the absence of a clear long-term growth strategy. Without a shared vision for how Queens wants to grow or what it hopes to attract, land decisions are made one parcel at a time rather than as part of an integrated plan.
The Strategic Question Queens Has Yet to Answer
Taken on their own, each conservation transfer in Queens is easy to support. Taken together, they raise a larger question: how do these decisions fit within a coherent long-term strategy for municipal land?
There is no publicly articulated inventory of municipal lands and their intended purpose, nor a clear framework showing how conservation transfers are weighed alongside housing needs, recreation planning, climate adaptation, or economic development. Council does not routinely assess how much land has been permanently removed from future municipal use or what that loss of flexibility means over the long term.
Without that strategic context, land decisions risk being shaped by opportunity and goodwill rather than by a deliberate vision for how the region wants to grow and what assets it needs to retain to get there.
A Legacy Worth Managing Intentionally
The Path Lake transfer is now complete. The land is protected, and that outcome will be welcomed by many. The work ahead is not to revisit the decision, but to deepen the conversation. As Queens continues to partner with conservation organizations, clearer communication about stewardship, cumulative impacts, and long-term intent would strengthen public trust and understanding.
Conservation is a legacy decision. Its value is highest when it is guided by intention, transparency, and a clear vision for the future.
Five people, including Darrell Dexter, have been appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia. (Office of the Lieutenant Governor)
Queens County’s Darrell Dexter is among five Nova Scotians given the highest honour in the province.
Dexter has been appointed to the Order of Nova Scotia.
He led the NDP to a historic provincial election win in 2009, forming Nova Scotia’s first New Democrat government.
As premier, he led a government that tried to tackle the province’s debt and deficit, improve protections for private-sector trade union members, raise the minimum wage and lobbied successfully for the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project and a multi-billion-dollar federal shipbuilding contract for Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding.
His government also bought the assets of the closed Bowater Mersey paper mill in Brooklyn in 2012. It was a deal that helped secure pension benefits for former Bowater workers.
Dexter served as a Dartmouth city councillor from 1994 to 1996. He was an NDP MLA for the Dartmouth area from 1998 to 2013.
A former lawyer, he is a graduate of Dalhousie University and the University of King’s College. He grew up in Milton. Since his resignation as NDP leader in 2013, after the party was defeated in that year’s election, he has worked as a political commentator and a lobbyist for the cannabis industry.
He and his family have moved back to Queens County.
Other recipients of the 2025 Order of Nova Scotia are:
John George (Jack) Flemming, Halifax – a philanthropist and entrepreneur recognized for his contributions to local charities
Rankin MacSween, Ironville, Cape Breton Regional Municipality – a business and community leader and from 1995 to 2021, president and CEO of New Dawn Enterprises, the oldest community development corporation in Canada
Joel Plaskett, Dartmouth – a celebrated singer, songwriter, producer and philanthropist
Carolyn G. Thomas, East Preston – an educator and human rights and community advocate; recognized for her contributions to education, government and community development.
A ceremony will be held at Government House in Halifax in the spring. Lt.-Gov. Mike Savage will present the new members with their awards.
Farmers will get some help from the Nova Scotia government to expand their operaitons. (Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture via Facebook)
The Nova Scotia government is devoting $5 million over the next three years to help new and existing farmers buy farmland to encourage more agriculture.
“Young farmers and growing family operations often struggle to find affordable farmland to expand their business. This program gives them a practical way to grow their farms and secure their future,” Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow said Thursday in announcing the program at the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture’s Farmers’ Forum in Truro.
The Program for Accessing Agricultural Land will be administered by the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board, which is a Crown lending agency under the Department of Agriculture.
The three-year pilot program includes four streams:
a low-cost land-leasing option for new farmers and for exisiting farmers to expand their farms
a second land-leasing option that allows farmers to build equity for a future purchase
deferred financing to help grow new farms
startup loans for land, equipment and livestock to help new farmers
As of March, the Farm Loand Boardhad $314 million in loans issued to 380 clients located mainly in rural Nova Scotia, according to the Department of Agriculture. That supported 3,180 full-time-equivalent employees, $191.6 million in gross domestic product and $35.8 million in provincial tax revenue
Signs from the group Protect Liverpool Bay. (Protect Liverpool Bay Facebook page)
Hearings into a fish farm expansion in Queens County get underway on Tuesday, with opponents saying they’re not confident that regulators will listen to their concerns.
Cooke Aquaculture subsidiary Kelly Cove Salmon has applied to Nova Scotia’s aquaculture review board to add six more cages to its operation near Coffin Island off Beach Meadows Beach. It had also applied to add two new farms near Brooklyn and Mersey Point. The review board is looking into only the application to expand the existing site.
Hearings begin at the Days Inn in Bridgewater on Tuesday at 9 a.m. and are set to run through to Friday.
Protect Liverpool Bay has been fighting Cooke’s open-net pen fish farm near the beach since 2018. The group has protested the review board’s decision to hold the hearings outside Queens County.
Group spokesman Brian Muldoon told QCCR earlier this summer that he’s worried the hearing is just a formality.
“I believe they are not listening to the people or residents of Queens County. They’re moving forward with their agenda,” Muldoon said.
“I have no confidence in the board listening to us.”
Still, Protect Liverpool Bay is encouraging its supporters to attend the hearings. It’s also offering to arrange ride shares for people who need transportation.
The group is one of the intervenors at the hearing. Environmental law charity Ecojustice is representing Protect Liverpool Bay on a pro bono basis. But the group says the fight will still likely cost about $25,000 in hiring expert witnesses, and other costs associated with the hearing.
Other intervenors are a group of 22 lobster fishermen from Liverpool Bay and the Region of Queens Municipality. It’s unclear whether the Wasoqopa’q First Nation and the Brooklyn Marina are still involved.
Hearings had been originally scheduled for March 2024, but they were cancelled shortly after Premier Tim Houston told a business crowd in Liverpool last February that he personally opposed expanded fish farming in Liverpool Bay.
Chairwoman Jean McKenna and other members of the review board were also replaced.
The review board has consistently refused to answer questions from QCCR on any of its decisions or its makeup.
In the leadup to the originally scheduled hearings, more than 150 residents, businesses and community groups filed written submissions with the board. Most opposed the expansion and the new farms.
If Cooke is successful in its application to expand the Coffin Island site, it will have a total of 20 cages, holding up to 660,000 Atlantic salmon, covering an area of 40 hectares or 100 acres.
The hearings are open to the public. People can also watch a livestream of the sessions by registering on the review board’s website at arb.novascotia.ca.
RCMP were called to a residence in Beach Meadows on Sept. 13. (Vlad Vasnetsov via Pixabay)
Two people were found dead in a home in Beach Meadows on Sat., Sept. 13, according to Nova Scotia RCMP.
Queens District RCMP officers responded as part of a well-being check, a spokeswoman told QCCR in an email on Monday.
Officers found the two residents already deceased. The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service was contacted, and “criminality is not believed to be a factor in the deaths,” according to the email.
Fire, police and other emergency vehicles could be seen at the property for much of the morning on Sun., Sept. 14, with officers in white forensic identification suits entering the home.
Because of privacy concerns, the RCMP won’t be releasing any further details, though it’s believed an elderly man and his daughter were living in the home.
“Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this difficult time,” the RCMP statement said.
Parks like Pine Grove Park in Milton will reopen after the Nova Scotia government lifted its woods ban in most counties on Thursday. (Tourism Nova Scotia)
The ban on travel in the woods has been lifted for most counties in Nova Scotia except for Annapolis County.
The Nova Scotia government allowed travel and activities in the woods to resume as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, according to a news release from the Department of Natural Resources. That includes hunting.
The change applies to Queens, Cumberland, Hants, Lunenburg, Kings, Shelburne, Digby and Yarmouth counties. Restrictions were previously lifted in the other nine counties.
Restrictions will remain for Annapolis County until Oct. 15, the end of wildfire season.
“We’ve looked at improving conditions and also at the impact these necessary restrictions have had on businesses, which we’ve tried to minimize all along,” said Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton. “We’re at a point where, for both reasons, it’s time to lift these restrictions everywhere except Annapolis County, where crews are continuing to fight the Long Lake wildfire.”
The ban on open fires remains for the entire province until Oct. 15 or until conditions improve.
The fine for violating the burn ban is $25,000.
The woods ban was introduced on Aug. 5, while the burn ban began July 30.
Two Bluenose deckhands meet. Kate Smith of Sydney, N.S., is currently part of the Bluenose II crew. Craig Harding of Liverpool was a deckhand on the ship in the 1960s. (Rick Conrad)
The Brooklyn Marina rolled out the red carpet for Nova Scotia’s sailing ambassador on Tuesday evening.
A few dozen people turned out to meet the crew of Bluenose II at the small clubhouse as it visited the Liverpool area in its first stop on a tour of southwestern Nova Scotia.
Others drove down the small wharf in Brooklyn or towards the breakwater to get a look across Liverpool Bay to where the schooner was anchored near Port Mersey Commercial Park.
Volunteers at the marina had food and drinks ready for the crew and fans of the Bluenose.
Capt. Phil Watson was one of the dozen or so crewmembers who shuttled from the sailing icon to the marina.
“We haven’t been here in a long time and we were developing a a cruise along Southwest Nova and so Liverpool it is. There’s great alumni support here and community support and the club has always been good to us so it’s pretty easy to put Liverpool on the list.. … It’s good to come back to this side of the province again.”
The tour of southwestern Nova Scotia was hatched after the Bluenose crew cancelled an early September trip to Gloucester, Mass. Instead, they said they’d do what so many other Canadians are doing this year, stay closer to home and support local tourism.
Kate Smith, a deckhand from Sydney, N.S., is spending her third summer on the Bluenose. It was her first visit to Liverpool.
“I love it. It’s great. People are sweet. It’s super awesome,” she said of the Liverpool welcome. “We really like going around this area and we figured we’d go on a little staycation basically around the south coast.”
Liverpool’s Craig Harding sailed on the schooner as a 20-year-old from 1968 to 1969.
“I’d been on fishing boats on draggers and so on but I’d never been on a sailboat until that year and I learned to sail on it,” he said. “I’ve been connected to the Bluenose ever since. Hard not to be. Really, really happy to see the support. It was beautiful to see her come in.”
The last time the Bluenose II was in Liverpool was in 2021 when the ship celebrated 100 years of Bluenose history.
Jamie Frankel of Massachusetts just happened to be at the marina when he heard about the Bluenose’s visit. He and some others arrived on his boat The Sea Quester a couple of days before to wait for a weather window to continue their journey through the Gulf of Maine.
“None of us knew she was going to be coming at the time, so this is an incredibly welcome surprise. … As the sailing ambassador for Nova Scotia I think everyone loves her but in addition, she has beautiful lines as a ship and as a tall ship of that size I’d say that it’s always a wonderful event to be someplace where she comes in and it’s the splendor of old sailing ships and old-style sailing ships.”
Capt. Watson says the Bluenose always draws a crowd.
“It’s bringing a fishing schooner back to a fishing community. You know all these communities have shipbuilding, fishing heritage and these schooners, whether it was a fishing schooner or a cargo schooner, they all have that history there, so to be able to put a thing in place in the harbour where you can then talk about it and you can talk about, ‘oh those schooners used to be here all the time’ or ‘they used to build them over there’, it’s a chance for the community to talk about the history of their communities and share it with them themselves and hopefully they’ll come and share it with us as well.”
The Bluenose II left Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon, sailing around Port Mouton to its next stops in Clarks Harbour, Yarmouth, Digby and Lower West Pubnico.
Department of Emergency Management staff stand on top of their communications truck to view the wildfires in Annapolis County on Sun., Aug. 24. (Province of Nova Scotia)
The Nova Scotia government has announced emergency financial support for people who have been evacuated by the wildfires in Annapolis County.
The maximum amount people are eligible for is $3,000 per adult 18 and older, and $1,750 per minor.
The support is available for people who have been forced to leave their primary residence, based on the number of days they’re gone:
four to seven days – $500 per adult (18 and older), $200 per minor
eight to 14 days – an additional $500 per adult (18 and older), an additional $200 per minor
15 or more days – an additional $250 per week per adult (18 and older), an additional $200 per minor.
People evacuated from secondary homes like cottages or cabins do not qualify.
The funding will be available until the evacuation order is lifted or until the end of the wildfire season on Oct. 15, whichever comes first.
The help was announced on the same day the province confirmed that some homes have been damaged in the Long Lake wildfires. The blaze has grown to an estimated 7,780 hectares.
Premier Tim Houston told reporters at a briefing on Monday afternoon that on Sunday, five new fires broke out around the province. He said one of those fires in Cumberland County is still listed as out of control.
“The Long Lake fire in Annapolis County took a real turn over the weekend and it’s had devastating impacts,” Houston said.
“It’s now over 7,500 (hectares) in size, maybe closer to 8,000. Over 230 homes have been evacuated and there has been some loss of homes. This is a crushing feeling. We really can’t imagine what it must like, what it must feel like and also with the added anxiety of not knowing what’s happening to your home, it’s an awful time.”
In total, 330 properties have been affected by the evacuation order. The funding is in addition to other help through the County of Annapolis, the Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the Nova Scotia Guard.
Mainland Nova Scotia finally saw some rain on Monday afternoon, but officials told reporters that much more rain is needed to make a dent in the Long Lake wildfires.
Jim Rudderham, the director of fleet and forest protection with the Department of Natural Resources, said the fire grew so large and hot on Sunday that crews had to be pulled out.
“At peak burn time, … any amount of resources couldn’t have touched that fire yesterday,” he told reporters. “We certainly tried as much as we could, but at a certain point it’s not safe for anyone to be in there and we had to leave. … If you were to put water on it, there was no effect. It was just too powerful, too strong. Couldn’t get near enough to it regardless, but even if you had the biggest water bombers in the world yesterday when it was at its biggest point, dropping water on that fire, you couldn’t touch it. It just wouldn’t affect putting that fire out.”
The premier said the province hasn’t considered asking for federal help yet. He said they’re getting good support from fire departments from other communities and provinces. Firefighters from around Queens County have been helping out almost since the wildfire began.
Houston said the province will wait until after the fires are under control to consider any further compensation for residents whose houses are damaged or destroyed.
The Nova Scotia government is posting the latest information on the Long Lake wildfire on its various social media channels and at novascotia.ca/alerts.
Fire crews are on the scene of a fire near Round Lake in North Queens. (File photo via Province of Nova)
UPDATED 2:10 p.m., Friday, Aug. 15
Local fire and Natural Resources crews are holding a small fire near North Queens that began around suppertime on Thursday.
Firefighters from Queens and Lunenburg counties were called to an area at Durland Lake Brook, which is near Round Lake, off the Old Annapolis Road, close to the border of Queens and Annapolis counties.
According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System map, the blaze was about a third of a hectare in size. The wildfire burning in the Long Lake area in West Dalhousie, Annapolis County, is about 406 hectares.
North Queens Fire Chief Chris Wolfe told QCCR on Friday afternoon that the fire is being held.
The Durland Lake Brook fire is part of the Long Lake wildfire complex. According to an update from the Nova Scotia government this morning, five Natural Resources and 12 local firefighters are working on the Durland Lake Brook fire, which was at about a half hectare this morning.
The Liverpool Fire Department posted on Facebook that it will also take a break from filling residential wells so they can concentrate on fighting fires. They’ve asked people to phone the fire hall at 902-354-4530 and leave a message. They said they’ll get to the wells as soon as the wildfire threat is over.
Department of Natural Resources staff member Mark Shaw works to put out fires in the Upper Tantallon area on May 30, 2023. (Province of Nova Scotia / File)
UPDATED TUES., AUG. 5 at 5:20 p.m.
With drought conditions affecting most of Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston announced Tuesday that the province is banning all activities in the woods and on trails, with few exceptions.
“We’re hearing from rural fire departments that are worried about low water levels in the ponds and lakes that they use and really about their overall ability to respond to emergencies,” Houston said at an early afternoon news conference.
“As tinder-dry conditions continue to persist from one end of the province to the other, the risk of wildfires increases and the risk is very, very high right now.
“Effective 4 p.m. today, we’re telling Nova Scotians stay out of the woods. We are restricting travel and activities that really aren’t necessary for most of us. Hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted. Trail systems through woods are off limits. Camping is allowed but only in official campgrounds.”
Houston said the fine for violating the new restrictions is the same as flouting the burn ban — $25,000. So far this year, seven people have been fined. Officials didn’t disclose where those fines were levied.
The province implemented a provincewide ban on open fires on July 30. Hot, dry conditions are expected to last in Nova Scotia for at least two weeks.
“I know it’s inconvenient and I know it’s the height of summer vacation … but we have to stay out of the woods. It’s a small price to pay right now to avoid the kind of devastation we saw from the wildfires in 2023. And nobody wants that.
“We need all Nova scotians to help keep our firefighters safe along wih everyone else by following the measures we’ve put in place. I’m counting on you to do the right thing. Don’t light a campfire, stay out of the woods and stay safe.”
Commercial activities in the woods will also be restricted. Forestry, mining and any other work must be approved by a local Department of Natural Resources office.
Beaches and parks are still open, but any fires are banned. Private landowners may use their own properties but can’t allow others to use their wooded areas.
Fireworks are also part of the ban. In response to a reporter’s question about whether the penalty for setting off fireworks during a burn ban should also be increased to $25,000, the premier said “that sounds like a good idea to me. (It) should be.” It was unclear whether the fine would be increased.
Houston said the move to restrict activities in the woods was made based on advice from Natural Resources officials.
Minister Tory Rushton said Nova Scotia has already had about 100 wildfires so far this year. He said they were extinguished quickly, but the kind of blaze that officials have battled is different.
“The fires we’re seeing right now are burning deeper into the root system and going deep underground and that kind of fire takes a long time to put out which is exhausting our resources,” Rushton said.
“The aim is to limit unnecessary travel in the woods and activities.”
Dave White, president of the Queens County ATV Association, told QCCR on Tuesday that he supports the province’s decision.
“I think that the premier and Minister Rushton are absolutely making the right call and relying on the right people to give them good information,” White said.
“As much as I want everybody to have recreational opportunities, now is not the time.”
White said his group and others are meeting with provincial officials on Wednesday to find out what the new restrictions mean for major ongoing work on trail maintenance.
“Those are commercial practices, but I suspect that those will be suspended until conditions improve. Obviously, our priority is to protect our woods and that leads to our community, and our friends, family and our firefighters. That’s the No. 1 thing that we’re looking at right now.”
His group and the Queens Rails to Trails Association have posted on their Facebook pages that all trails are closed.
“It’s important that people follow this. The opportunity to use our trails will come again,” White said.
“Our standard line is we’re not just building rails, we’re also building community, and that means working together to keep everybody safe and happy and healthy.”
Parks Canada issued an advisory late Tuesday afternoon (read that here) detailing these closures in Queens County:
All trails in Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
Backcountry camping at Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
All trails at Kejimkujik National Park Seaside
Front-country camping, beaches, and day-use areas (including Jakes Landing equipment rentals) at Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site are still open.
The Region of Queens issued its own news release late Tuesday afternoon with details about which parks and trails are closed in the county. (Read the full news release here.)
The following municipal trails are closed:
Pine Grove Park, including Anniversary Trail which connects Pine Grove
Park to the Trestle Trail
Trestle Trail, including the extension that begins at White Point Road and
George Street and continues running parallel to George Street to connect
to the Trestle Trail, ending on Bristol Avenue
Meadow Pond Trail
Queens Place Trail
People who use the Trestle Trail or other wooded trails to get to other parts of Liverpool or Queens County should use Queens County Transit or a taxi service while the restrictions are in place, the region says in the release.
Path Lake Park and Scout Camp Park are also closed. Other non-wooded municipal parks throughout Queens such as
Tupper Park, Centennial Park, Privateer Park, Port Medway Lighthouse Park, sports fields and playgrounds remain open.
The covered picnic areas at Beach Meadows Beach Municipal Park are off limits, because they’re surrounded by wooded areas, but the beach is still open.
The municipal leaf and yard waste site in Western Head is also closed immediately. The region will be posting closure notices in those areas affected, the release said.
White pointed out that Queens County has many options for exercise, including beaches, parks, the walking track at Queens Place Emera Centre and the new all-weather outdoor track at Liverpool Regional High School.
“We still have lots of options for recreation,” White said.
Thousands of hectares and many homes were destroyed and thousands of people evacuated in wildfires in May and June 2023 in Shelburne County and Tantallon.
The restrictions announced last week and Tuesday will stay in place until Oct. 15, or until conditions improve with several days of steady rain.
Thomas Raddall Provincial Park near Port Joli, Queens County, is one of 16 provincial parks getting upgrades. (Nova Scotia Provincial Parks)
The Nova Scotia government is committing $100,000 for upgrades to Thomas Raddall Provincial Park in Port Joli.
The money will help improve the park’s entrance building and water system, according to a news release from the governing Progressive Conservatives.
“We’re making smart upgrades that protect these beautiful spaces and make them easier and more enjoyable to access,” Queens MLA Kim Masland said in the release.
The work at Thomas Raddall is part of the province’s $13.8-million capital plan to improve infrastructure at 16 provincial parks, including water and sewer system upgrades at camping parks, washroom improvements, trail enhancements and parking lot redevelopments, according to the release.
More than 1 million people visited provincial parks in 2024.
Matt Smith of North Queens Active Living describes the new track and soccer field project at North Queens Community School in Caledonia to Queens MLA Kim Masland. (Rick Conrad)
Supporters of a long-awaited new soccer field and track at North Queens Community School in Caledonia cleared the final hurdle on Friday afternoon as Queens MLA Kim Masland announced the Nova Scotia government’s grant of $800,000 toward the $1.1 million project.
The Region of Queens had earlier committed $250,000 and a local resident donated land worth $7,500 to expand the field.
“This is absolutely a change maker for our students and our community,” Masland said in an interview after the announcement at the school.
“Our students will now have the opportunity to train at home, to be able to compete in sports that they’ve never been able to compete in before because they didn’t have the place to train. This is about investing in rural communities, this is about investing in our youth, and I’m just so excited about this project.”
The 325-metre gravel track and regulation-sized natural soccer field will mean that the 235 students from pre-Primary to Grade 12 will be able to stay in their community to train and compete. Now, students must travel to Bridgewater or Liverpool or even farther away to Mahone Bay to participate in outdoor school sports.
A concept drawing of the new soccer field and track at North Queens Community School. (North Queens Active Living)
It will also mean that the school will have a place to hold outdoor physical education classes again. As part of the project, its outdoor classroom will also be freshened up, along with a new canopy built by students in the school’s high school construction trades program.
Jake Flemming will be entering Grade 7 at the school in September. He’s on the volleyball and basketball teams and he throws javelin. He said he’s looking forward to using the new facility.
“I think it’s pretty good because hopefully it will help our stuff because we had to kind of practise inside a few times,” he said.
Principal Cindy Arsenault said it’s not safe for kids to use the field because it’s in such bad shape. It’s especially treacherous after it rains because it doesn’t drain properly, and years of damage from ATVs using the field have left holes in the turf.
“So you end up with giant mucky puddles all over, and plus there’s holes because ATVs are here so we have kids stepping in the water and twisting their ankle or falling,” she told QCCR on Friday afternoon.
She said the new fenced facility will get more kids engaged in school sports, which will help lower absenteeism.
“It allows us to bring in some additional sports and some additional things that our kids have been asking for. We could do rugby and some other similar sports, bring back soccer. It means an opportunity not even during school but off school (hours) for families to come and play here and do picnics and we can now start hosting things instead of us driving all the time.
“So for our kids it’s a benefit, they can be involved where they couldn’t before. Now they can come and be on their home field and be participating in sports.”
The new field and track aren’t just for the school to use, it will also be available for the whole community.
Alyssa Short, president of the North Queens Active Living Society, said she and other group members have worked for the past six years to make the new field a reality, though the need for a new field and track goes back decades.
“I have young children here and I know that the impact that it’s going to have on their lives is going to be incredible,” she said, “and I can see for all of their friends growing up with access to something like this it’s going to make such a big difference in their lives and I know for the community at large, there are so many people excited about this and who are going to take full advantage of this and it’s going to have a huge impact.”
Short expects work to begin this summer. She said she hopes the track and soccer field will be ready by the spring.
With a new rubberized track and artificial turf soccer field set to open soon at Liverpool Regional High School, Queens County athletes and community members will soon have two new facilities.
Masland said that will help young athletes from the area follow in the footsteps of Queens County Olympians like Jenna Martin and Sarah Mitton.
“We’re developing future athletes. If we think about Liverpool, we think about our Sarah; if we think about North Queens, we think about our Jenna. And there’s more Sarahs and there’s more Jennas and we have to make sure we have the place for them to grow and to train.”
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.”
The Nova Scotia government is re-examining where and how people can buy alcohol. (Rick Conrad)
You may get a wider selection of stores to buy your 2-4 in Nova Scotia.
The provincial government is looking at expanding the places where people can buy booze.
Finance Minister John Lohr said in a release Thursday that the province wants to reach out to the public and people in the industry to gauge their thoughts and concerns about making alcohol available in more stores or allowing more places where people can drink.
“Nova Scotia is taking steps to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers, and that makes this a good time to look at how alcohol is sold and consumed,” Lohr said in a release.
The province plans to commission a public opinion survey of 1,500 Nova Scotians beginning this week.
Provincial officials want to gather input from people about the types of stores where liquor is sold, locations where people can drink alcohol, and the health and safety consequences of any changes.
Lohr says the province will also be surveying more than 250 health and safety groups, store owners, municipal governments, industry and consumer groups, alcohol producers and others.
The government will seek input until June 30. It didn’t say when the results of the consultations will be released, or when the province may make a change to how and where alcohol is sold in Nova Scotia.
Hailey Flemming and her dog Nala outside her family’s home in Port Medway. Hailey will be representing Nova Scotia at the Canadian Kennel Club’s National Junior Handling Championship in August. (Rick Conrad)
A young dog handler from Queens County will be representing Nova Scotia at a national championship in Manitoba.
Hailey Flemming, 12, from Port Medway plans to fly to Winnipeg in August with her family to compete in the Canadian Kennel Club’s National Junior Handling Championship.
Her family owns Medway Kennels, where they breed collies and board other people’s dogs.
Hailey has been competing in conformation and obedience shows for about two years.
She will be up against 13 other junior dog handlers from across the country as old as 19.
She’s already accomplished a lot in a short time, racking up ribbons and taking home trophies at kennel club and 4-H events in Nova Scotia.
Hailey got her first taste for the dog show ring at four years old when she showed her cousin’s Corgi.
“It’s fun. It’s a hard sport but once you get the use of it then it’s easy. And with a collie, it’s an easy breed.
“Me and Nala together, we’ve won a lot of ribbons. And with the male Maverick we’ve won a couple of ribbons too.”
Hailey, who wants to be a professional handler someday, says she feels happy when she’s in the show ring.
“And I don’t get nervous at all. It’s just go in (the ring) and like there’s a bunch of people watching you. And it seems scary but it’s not. (Nala) doesn’t get nervous either. She doesn’t pay attention to other dogs unless they touch her. But other than that, she’s pretty good listening.”
Hailey’s mom Crystal says she’s proud of what her daughter has accomplished so far.
“Pretty honoured. I’ve been with dogs all my life but I didn’t have the confidence like Hailey does in the show ring. It wasn’t something that I enjoyed. I just did it because it had to be done if you breed dogs. Hailey has been totally opposite of that. She doesn’t get nervous, she loves it and it’s showing.
“She’s got ribbons and trophies galore. It just makes me smile every time I think of it.”
Usually at an event like the famous Westminster Kennel Club show, it’s the animals that are being judged. But at the national junior handling championship in East St. Paul, near Winnipeg, it will be the humans.
“In juniors, it’s judging the kid on how well the kid does,” Crystal says. “And of course, if the dog works better with the kid, then they have more of an advantage. But there’s lots to learn in juniors. They have to do many different patterns and they have to know the parts of the dogs. They have to know what the breeds were bred to do. They’re going to ask them all kinds of questions.
“Sometimes at a regular show around here, it would just be one judge, and that judge would get them to show their dog and she may ask a few questions. At this show, there’s going to be five judges. There’s going to be one in the main ring with them, getting them to do the patterns and show their dog, and there’s going to be four others sitting down and they’re probably going to ask them questions as they go around.”
Crystal says they weren’t banking on Hailey going to the nationals this year. So, they’ve been asking for donations from friends, family and the community to help cover the approximately $4,000 cost.
“We had no clue we’d be going to Winnipeg for nationals when we went to regionals that day and that wasn’t even in our mind. … People have been extremely supportive. A lot of clients from my kennel and dog show clubs, they’re giving money to help Hailey get to Winnipeg.”
The event in Manitoba will also feature regular dog shows and obedience trials. And there will be social outings for the junior handlers and their families.
Hailey says practice, and one other vital element, have been key to her and Nala’s success so far: “Treats.”
She says she’s learned a lot working with dogs in the past few years.
“I’ve learned how to train my dogs and make her/him pay attention to me more and how to eliminate treats in obedience because you’re not allowed treats in that. I’ve learned how to, for showing, you have to run a certain way and I’ve learned to run with a glass of water in my hand and not spill it.”
Hailey is looking forward to getting into the ring with Nala for the first time at a national competition.
“Really excited. The main reason that I’m actually excited to go is to get the experience. I don’t care about winning, just the experience of getting to go there and seeing other junior handlers show because they’re really good.”
The national junior dog handling championship will be held on Aug. 16 in East St. Paul, Manitoba. The winner of that event will represent Canada at the international junior handling championship at Crufts Kennel Club in Birmingham, England, next March.
If you’d like to donate to Hailey’s trip to Manitoba, you can contact Crystal Flemming through Medway Kennels at medwaykennels@yahoo.ca, or through their Facebook page.
Justin Freeman launched Letterswitch Publishing on Saturday in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)
In a town without a bookstore, starting a publishing business might seem like a leap of faith.
But Justin Freeman of Liverpool says he’s realizing a childhood dream by launching Letterswitch Publishing.
“I’m content to just put out beautiful books that entertain and educate and encourage new parents, and parents of young kids especially, but everybody in a family,” he told QCCR.
“I hope it goes off well. Publishing is not exactly the most robust industry to be jumping into feet first at the moment, but I’m hoping with kind of the niche aspect of it and keeping things small and focused that it’ll be a success.”
Freeman unveiled his micropublishing company on Saturday at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. The stay-at-home Dad moved to the area a few years ago with his young family.
“(We) moved to Liverpool in 2022 after my son was born. My wife got a job at the hospital … and this is home now. We’re putting down roots and are looking forward to a lot of years here.”
Freeman says he’ll be concentrating at first on publishing his own work through Letterswitch.
His first book was on display on Saturday. Called A Little Grieving, he partnered with a pediatric crisis counsellor on the parent’s guide to helping your child through the grieving process.
He also plans a kids’ picture book called One Veggie, a middle-grade chapter book called Molly Moss Runs for Office and a western novel called Crimson Shadow.
“It’ll be a slow rollout. I’m a stay-at-home dad and I’ll just try to get things rolling here in the next couple years. But once both kids are in school, I look to open up to other authors and just get a nice catalog of titles.”
Freeman grew up on a farm in Missouri. He had an eclectic career before moving to Nova Scotia with his wife, Dr. Alison Freeman, and their kids Molly and James.
“I was formerly a police officer in Missouri in the city of Springfield. I was also a minister for a few years, and sold shoes and grew up on a farm and just have a varied background that kind of informs and inflects different writing. Thus all the different type of books that are coming out.”
The name of the company comes from how he met his wife, when he was still on the farm in Missouri and she was at home in Nova Scotia.
“Essentially, back in 2000, I was on the family farm using ICQ, a messaging app, and this message pops up saying, ‘Do you want to catch up?’ It was obviously a misdirect, but I went to reject it and something told me to accept it, so I did. And it was somebody looking for somebody named Justin Freeman that they had met in Massachusetts. And instead of typing MA for Massachusetts, they typed MO.
“And we struck up more conversations, postcards from abroad, kept up over the years, and then 15 years later, wound up meeting finally, fell in love. I’m now married to Alison and we have two beautiful kids. And so the letter switch is an homage to that switched letter that started our entire story.”
For the launch event, Freeman teamed up with local artisans to feature some of their work, including local baker Gabby’s Bread Basket, who catered the event, and the Covey Candle Company, who created a couple of limited-edition scents.
“And there’s also a piece that I commissioned by local artist Katie Kripp called Bound for Novel Passages. And it’s a sailing ship with books for the sails and it just represents a new journey for me and some other creatives I look to work with. I find myself surrounded by creative people here in Liverpool and I wanted to work with a few of them for the launch.”
People at the Letterswitch launch, like Jaqueline Duck of Liverpool, said it was exciting to have a publisher in the area.
“I think that’s amazing because there are writers here and they have to go and find a publisher. If we have one in Liverpool, it makes everybody’s life that much easier. And it’s good business.”
Freeman says that while he’ll be busy for the next few months on his own work, he’d still like to hear from people interested in his new venture.
The Region of Queens won’t give the South Shore Flying Club a break this year on its lease fee at the South Shore Regional Airport in Greenfield. (South Shore Flying Club)
The South Shore Flying Club’s request for a break on its rent at the South Shore Regional Airport had a rough landing at regional council on Tuesday evening.
Region of Queens councillors voted down a motion from District 6 Coun. Stewart Jenkins to forgive the flying club its $4,000 lease fee for 2025/26.
Jenkins was the only councillor who supported the motion.
“The club is more than just a club. They’re stewards of the airport,” he told councillors. “Years in the past, this region used to pay somebody thousands of dollars a year to sit at the airport just in case there was a plane come in.”
The municipality owns the small airport in Greenfield, but two years ago, it planned to sell it.
Instead, the region signed 20-year leases in 2023 with the flying club and the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association. The racing group pays $9,000 a year to lease the property for its events.
Under the flying club’s lease, it has access to the large hangar, but it also agreed to maintain the property for the region.
The club says now that it can no longer afford the annual fee. President Peter Gow wrote the newly elected council last October looking for the rent waiver.
He could not be reached Wednesday for an interview.
Jenkins said the club’s 34 members spend a lot of their own money maintaining the airport, terminal building, hangars and grounds. Three of the club’s members are also on call to respond to any problems at the airport, or to refuel a plane that’s landed.
“So we still have a viable airport. … But it’s also an asset that this region should be looking at seriously. And it’s also an asset that we pay very little to maintain. Everything else there is done by the club at their expense.”
According to the club’s financial statements, it recorded a loss in 2024 of $2,639.48. As of Dec. 31, it had a bank balance of $15,562.64.
Other councillors pointed to the club’s bank balance and its $25 annual membership fee, and said they could do more to raise revenue.
The club also spent $2,245 on clothing last year, as well as $1,241 on a new highway sign. Councillors said the club likely won’t have those expenses this year.
District 2 Coun. Maddie Charlton said she appreciates what the club does for the airport, but they also have a whole year to fundraise to help cover their costs.
And with budget talks coming up, she said she doesn’t want to commit to the rent waiver, especially with other groups in the region like the Queens County Food Bank asking for help.
“We are going into this budget process right now completely blind. We don’t know what our bottom line is. … I think it’s probably fair to say there will be some surprises there. We know we have huge infrastructure challenges. When I think about our strategic priorities, food insecurity is one of them, I think that would be an easy one (to assist) the food bank with the rent, but I don’t necessarily feel the same way with this ask at this time.”
After the meeting, Mayor Scott Christian said the club may be able to offset some of its operating costs through its application to the region’s Community Investment Fund.
The region usually announces the recipients of those grants later in the spring.
Lauren Murphy is the director of recruitment and volunteer services with Nova Scotia Health. (Nova Scotia Health photo)
Nova Scotia Health is looking for more Nova Scotians to fill hundreds of jobs around the province.
The department is holding its second annual provincial career fair on Thursday (March 27) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 11 locations around Nova Scotia.
The closest one for Queens County residents will be in Bridgewater at the Michelin Social Club, 221 Logan Rd.
Lauren Murphy, the director of recruitment and volunteer services with Nova Scotia Health, says last year’s event attracted about 3,000 people and led to more than 220 people being hired.
“It’s really an opportunity to showcase our roles and jobs and talk to Nova Scotians about our opportunities we have at Nova Scotia Health,” she says.
“Because we’re hosting it from coast to coast in the province it’s also an opportunity for people in their own communities to find a job there so they don’t have to leave.”
Murphy says job seekers will be able to speak to hiring managers from all parts of Nova Scotia Health.
“That’s also the beauty of showcasing the amount of positions that we have. We had admin staff hired … but we also had diagnostic imaging technologists, we had folks who are going to be supporting our pharmacies, we had (emergency) nurses and specialty nurses. It really was amazing to see the amount of people who showed up and were able to connect with a hiring manager and find a job.
“If you think about what it takes to run a hospital, obviously doctors are critical but there are so many more moving parts and pieces to it. We’re a 30,000-people employer. We’re Atlantic Canada’s largest and we really do cover everything you can think of.”
Murphy says being able to talk to somebody in person can help demystify the application process.
“Walking in there and being able to talk to people about such a wide variety is so much different than scrolling online and trying to doing your own research. … To be able to talk to someone who is living and breathing that job day in and day out … I really think that’s what bridges that gap between virtual and in-person.”
Job applicants will also be able to upload their resume using a QR code at the job fair. Murphy said Nova Scotia Health officials will follow up with applicants the week after the event who applied using the QR code to give them an update on their application.
She said she hopes to beat last year’s numbers, both for turnout and for hires.
“Any person that we can hire is a win. There are such amazing opportunites for internal advancement. So even if you take one job tomorrow, there’s a million different pathways you can take so you can have a fulsome career at Nova Scotia Health, which I think in a lot of companies these days, that’s pretty rare.”
Susie and Joan Stephenson of Port Joli visit the Bookmobile recently at its stop in Port Mouton. (Rick Conrad)
It’s the last one in Nova Scotia. And it’s still motoring along the South Shore.
Each week, the Bookmobile brings books, DVDs and other materials to about 15 communities in Lunenburg and Queens counties, from Chester to Caledonia.
A mobile library has been operating on the South Shore since the 1970s.
Other library systems around Nova Scotia have stopped the service. The Cape Breton Regional Library had the only other one and it retired its Bookmobile in November 2024.
So now, the South Shore has the only remaining Bookmobile in the province. And it shows no signs of slowing down.
Ashley Nunn-Smith is the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries.
“Our Bookmobile has been on the road for 50 years. But it’s much beloved, it’s very much a fabric of the community. For example, a few weeks ago, we had someone bring the books out to Caledonia in their van because the Bookmobile was having some mechanical issues and not only did people come out to pick up their items, but they had almost like a tailgate party. They just hung around the back of the van and chatted with their neighbours. There was nothing keeping them there other than that sense of community.
“It’s not just about the books, although that’s wonderful to drive books out to people. It’s really about a sense of community.”
Joan Stephenson of Port Joli was at a recent Bookmobile stop at Coastal Queens Place in Port Mouton. Stephenson and her daughter Susie are some of the regular patrons the Bookmobile serves every three weeks at this location. It visits certain communities on a weekly basis, while others are on a tri-weekly schedule.
“We remember when we had to fight to get a Bookmobile because the county didn’t want it,” Stephenson says. “And instead they put streetlights on our road and fought the Bookmobile, and we said it’s a different kind of enlightenment.”
In 2021, the library put a new custom-built Bookmobile on the road at a cost of about $500,000, with an accessibility lift, Wi-fi and seven electrical outlets where people can charge their devices.
Last year, the mobile service had an average of 1,100 monthly visitors who checked out 3,000 items, accounting for about 15 per cent of the library’s overall visits and circulation. Fuel and maintenance take up about two per cent of the library’s total $1.9-million operating budget.
Nunn-Smith says that because the South Shore has fewer physical library locations than other library systems around Nova Scotia, having the Bookmobile is essential.
“I think that by having the library on wheels we can bring it to more spaces than we would be able to reach with brick and mortar locations. We’re able to reach more communities that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. We reach Port Mouton and Mill Village. Those places, it wouldn’t be feasible to operate a library branch, and so we’re able to bring the library to them.”
Susie Stephenson says she remembers the anticipation as a kid waiting for the Bookmobile to visit, a feeling she still has years later.
“When we lived in Broad River, we all went and we’d come home with clothes baskets full of books. The eight of us would just sit around and read. And you’d do it until you had to eat.
“It makes it accessible and it keeps me in reading material. And it keeps me interested and not depressed. I can sit and read a book and look at it. … I’ll take two or three bags lots of times.”
Her mother Joan says it’s something she looks forward to every three weeks.
“I can’t be away too long. My husband’s disabled. So it’s fun to come here. And the wonderful thing is the people who drive and work on the Bookmobile over all these years we’ve had it have always become our friends. They know what you’re looking for and we laugh. They want to know how your trip was or how your surgery was. They become friends.
“We love it. We love the Bookmobile. I’m an old lady and hopefully it will outlive me.”
The Bookmobile visits Caledonia every Saturday from 10 a.m to noon in the NSLC parking lot. It will be back in Mill Village at the fire hall on April 4 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and in Port Mouton at Coastal Queens Place on April 4 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
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.
Susan Inglis, snowshoeing coach with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, will be heading to Italy this week with these athletes for the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin: Rebecca Delaney, Jillian Young, Chloe Stoddart and Nick Skoreyko. (Rick Conrad photo)
Queens County athletes are once again getting ready to represent Canada on the world stage.
Snowshoers Rebecca Delaney and Jillian Young of Liverpool will be among 91 athletes from across the country going to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, from March 8 to 15.
Bridgewater’s Nick Skoreyko will also be competing for a snowshoeing medal. And Chloe Stoddart from Bridgewater will represent Canada in cross-country skiing.
Delaney’s mother Susan Inglis, the snowshoeing coach for Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens, will be one of the 24 Team Canada coaches going to Italy.
It will be the first world games for all of them.
More than 50 people showed up at an event at Memories Cafe and Eatery in Liverpool on Saturday to wish them well.
Inglis says going to Italy is a significant accomplishment for the athletes and for the coaches.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to get to represent their country,” she said. “And to get to go to Italy, for some of them, like Jillian, … this is her first time going out of the country. And they’re going to get to meet people from all other countries and perform on the world stage and see how they stack up.”
Inglis says she is honoured to have been chosen as one of the coaches for Team Canada.
“It is humbling for sure. As it gets closer, it really hits home that I’m representing my whole county in going to Special Olympics World Games.”
Rebecca Delaney is a multiple medal winner at Special Olympics Canada Games. She’ll be running in the 100 and 200-metre snowshoe event as well as the 4 x 100 relay.
She says she’s looking forward to doing her best in Italy.
“I’m nervous and excited and I’m ready to go. I’ve been training and going to the gym a lot and it’s been non-stop. I think I’ll do good, but if I don’t win, I will do my best.”
Jillian Young has also won medals at national games. When she went to last year’s winter games in Calgary, it was her first time on a plane.
She says she’s pumped to be airborne again and to compete in Italy.
“I’m really proud of getting this far. And we’re going to make Canada rock. Go Canada go!”
Young says she hopes to win a gold medal and to “kick some butt!”
Betty Ann Daury of Liverpool has coached snowshoe and track with Special Olympics Lunenburg/Queens for 43 years.
She was a coach with Team Canada in Nagano, Japan, in 2005. She’ll be cheering on the team from home this time. She says they’re in good hands with Inglis as coach.
Daury said going to a world games is a fitting reward for the athletes, who have committed to regular practices, workouts and hard work to get there.
“They’ve accepted the fact that if you want to go, if you don’t work hard, then you don’t go. … If you can’t do it here, then you can’t do it there. And you know, we’re so proud of these guys.
“Jillian is an example of how great you can become. She’s come a long way.”
Ben Hatt was among the people at the event at Memories on Saturday to show their support. He grew up with Rebecca and her sister Kate.
“I am really excited to see how she does in Italy. I know she’s gonna win and if she doesn’t win, she’s going to be brave in the attempt. I just think it’s really important to show support for people you love.”
Inglis says the team will be leaving Monday for Toronto for two days to meet with some dignitaries in an official sendoff, including a celebratory Italian dinner. Then they fly to Italy to get ready for the week of competition in Sestriere.
“It is a pretty big deal. From little old Liverpool, we’ve got Sarah Mitton who’s a pretty amazing Olympic athlete and then we’ve got our Special Olympians who are going to representing Queens County on the world stage. And I hope that everybody tunes in.”
Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO of South Shore Public Libraries, stands in front of the Book Sanctuary display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater. (Rick Conrad)
You may not agree with the content of certain books, but the staff at South Shore Public Libraries will fight for your right to read them.
That’s why they’ve created the South Shore’s first Book Sanctuary at their main branch in Bridgewater to mark Freedom to Read Week, which kicked off Sunday.
Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, says it’s a permanent collection designed to highlight and protect books at risk.
“It is 50 titles that have been either banned or challenged in libraries and schools across North America,” she told QCCR.
“This is is a permanent home for these titles. They’re presently on display for about three weeks, and then after that folks can borrow them and bring them home and read and think about the reason why someone might want you not to read that book. So we’re declaring ourselves a book sanctuary, a safe haven for books that somebody doesn’t want you to read.”
Christina Pottie, communication and engagement lead for South Shore Public Libraries, organized it in about three weeks. She and Nunn-Smith attended a recent library conference in Ontario, which highlighted the book sanctuary created by the Toronto Public Library in 2023. SSPL is using the same list used by Toronto.
The idea began at the Chicago Public Library in 2022. Almost 4,800 book sanctuaries now exist across the U.S., according to booksanctuary.org.
Nunn-Smith says attempts to ban books are on the rise in North America.
“We wanted to be proactive by establishing this collection now and saying that we will protect these items. We’ll protect intellectual freedom through all of our services and collections, but this is a visual and symbolic representation of that value.”
The book sanctuary includes typically banned books like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but also children’s books like Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus.
“Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus is a title for readers around age seven. This one was was challenged in Toronto. And so the reasoning was that Junie would be a bad role model for young folks and encourage them to be rude to adults and encourage bad spelling. ”
The collection also includes the Bible, queer fiction and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial best-seller, The Real Anthony Fauci.
“It’s one point of view on public health and pharmaceuticals. Whether or not you believe this point of view, it’s still worthwhile to be able to read it, debate it, discuss it. Read different points of view form your own. That’s vital in a democratic society. I might personally disagree with some of the points of view in this collection but that doesn’t mean we have a right to remove them from the shelf.”
The collection of 50 adult, teen and children’s books is on display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater for three weeks.
Beginning March 10, people will be able to sign out specific items in the collection, either in person or on the library’s website using the keywords SSPL Book Sanctuary.
