Family of David Rudderham at his induction on Queens Olympic Wall. Photo Ed Halverson

Two more distinguished athletes were honoured with spots on the Queens County Olympic Wall.

Portraits of Wheelchair Basketball athlete David Rudderham and Para Archery competitor Brian Ward were raised alongside the previous seven inductees in a ceremony held at Queens Place on Tuesday.

According to the municipality, the Queens Olympic Wall was created to recognize the accomplishments of high-performance athletes, coaches and officials from Queens County who have participated in World Olympic, World Special Olympic and World Paralympic Games.

The two latest additions were recognized posthumously and were represented by their families.

Rudderham, a Port Mouton native, was honoured for his participation on the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball team at the 1976 Olympiad for the Disabled in Toronto.

Family of Brian Ward at his induction in the Queens Olympic Wall. Photo Ed Halverson

Ward competed as a member of the Canadian Para Archery team at the 1980 Arnhem Netherlands, 1988 Seoul, South Korea and 1992 Barcelona, Spain Paralympic Games.

Master of ceremonies for the event was retired veteran CBC Sports broadcaster, Steve Armitage.

Armitage said recognition on an Olympic Wall is important not just to acknowledge success, but to inspire others to achieve as well.

“But I think one of the key reasons and maybe the biggest reason is to inspire the next generation to someday be included on that wall,” said Armitage. “In the not too distance future, hopefully, some athlete will walk or wheel through that door, glance at that wall and say, I want to be on that wall. And will then dedicate themselves to weeks, months, years of preparation and competition to get to the elite level that you have to be to join that group on the wall.”

With the addition of Rudderham and Ward the total number of inductees on the Queens Olympic Wall is up to nine.

The wall is featured prominently when you walk into the main entrance at Queens Place and can be viewed during regular hours of operation.

To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Minister Kim Masland announces funding for new athletic facilities at Liverpool Regional High. Photo Ed Halverson

New athletic facilities and a walking trail are coming to Liverpool Regional High School.

Public Works Minister and MLA for Queens Kim Masland announced a combined $2.75 million from three levels of government to replace the school’s existing soccer field with artificial turf and build a 400-metre-long gravel running track.

The new artificial turf field will resolve long-standing issues with drainage.

At Friday’s announcement Masland said Queens has a history of producing world-class athletes and construction of the new field will support future athletes by allowing them to train closer to home.

“The big thing for us is we want to make sure that we’re providing a facility that people can use in our community. We have amazing athletes. We talked a little bit today about Sarah Mitton and [in] the announcement we talk about our special Olympians,” said Masland. “Many of our athletes have to travel to Bridgewater to be able to adequately train, so this will be able to keep people home and also bring people here for events.”

LRHS Principal Todd Symes says the effort to replace the school field began about six or seven years ago.

“Students always went to other schools and were kind of jealous or envious of facilities in other schools had and then logistically, a lot of our students had to travel to participate, to have the same advantages that a lot of other areas already had,” said Symes. “So, the students themselves came up with an idea. They came up with the design to come up with a plan and they were adamant that they wanted something done. So, we had students that were with us for 3-4 years. They worked the whole time they were here to engage community members, to draw designs, to work with staff members, to initiate development of a non-profit society and they were the ones who started the dream.”

Symes says the current funding will build the track and field and students will be approaching the community to help raise another $200,000 to realize the entire vision, including a Mi’kmaw learning trail.

Masland says the tender to replace the track and field will be released later this fall and the new field is expected to be completed in 2024.

Damaged retaining wall on Shore Rd in Western Head. Photo Ed Halverson

Also announced Friday was $1 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments to protect two stretches of Shore Rd in Western Head which are dealing with erosion and flooding.

Work will include reinforcing an existing retaining wall and excavating existing rock and gravel to provide more protection against the effects of climate change.

Masland says work on that project will be performed by local Public Works staff beginning this fall and finishing in spring of 2024.

To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com