La Fecundidad by Salvador Dali will hang in Gallery 244 in Brooklyn on Saturday as part of the Queens Coast Art Tour. Photo courtesy of Sue and Chres Jensen

It’s the third year for the Queens Coast Art Tour and studio rally, but it will be the first year that people will be able to see a piece by Salvador Dali at one of the galleries.

Gallery 244 owners Sue and Chres Jensen bought a signed Dali in September and they plan to display it at their gallery in Brooklyn starting Saturday to coincide with the art tour.

Called La Fecundidad or Fertility, it’s a sterling silver relief from 1977. It’s signed by the Spanish surrealist, weighs just 249 grams, and measures 18 by 24 centimetres.

It was part of a limited run created for American Express as a promotional item for some cardholders.

The couple are in Toronto for six months while Chres awaits surgery. They told QCCR this week that they bought it from their friend Doug Peterson in Burlington, Ont., who has owned it since the ‘70s. 

They thought it would be a great way to help promote the art tour and Queens County artists.

“We knew we weren’t going to be there for the art tour and we wanted to send something back to Nova Scotia that would align our artists with a master,” Sue says. “I’m hoping that people come to see it and enjoy the work.”

“It’s kind of a draw like a bit of a fish hook so that people will see a piece by a well-known artist, and that will maybe introduce them to some of the local artists there,” Chres says.

“So that will create some curiosity and some buzz and that’s what we’re hoping to do and hopefully give the art scene in Liverpool and Brooklyn a boost.”

Sue says the piece will be hung differently than other artwork in the gallery. She says they’re not concerned about security.

“It’s gonna be hung in a little different way on the wall, but no, we know where we live and we want people to enjoy seeing it.”

After the art tour, she says they’ll store it in a secure place until next spring when they reopen the gallery.

The back of a piece by Salvador Dali bought by Sue and Chres Jensen of Gallery 244 in Brooklyn. Photo: Sue Jensen

Gallery 244 features work by Chres and other local artists. 

He says the Dali, which he estimates is worth around $5,000, will help add to the eclectic nature of their space.

“Our gallery is kind of diverse but we are more contemporary. We have abstract artists and cubist artists. I guess I’d put myself in that category. We try to offer something different to the public. Some people want to have something a little different and more striking in their personal collection of art.”

Sue says their friends have been looking after the gallery for them while they’re in Toronto.

“It’s exciting to give back to the community. The artists and musicians have been watching the gallery for us and working, so it’s just something to send back to them to say thank you.” 

The Queens Coast Art Tour is on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to the Salvador Dali piece and other work at Gallery 244 in Brooklyn, the tour features artisans at work all over Queens County. You can meet artists in their own workshops or at three public sites – The Astor Theatre, Coastal Queens Place or White Point Beach Resort.

More information is available on the Queens Coast Art Tour Facebook page.

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Queens District RCMP are investigating after a body was found in a cabin fire in Queens County. (Vlad Vasnetsov via Pixabay)

Police are investigating a fatal fire near Kempt, Queens County.

Firefighters found human remains inside a cabin on Albany New Road when they were called to a structure fire on Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m.

They called Queens District RCMP, who say they don’t believe the fire was suspicious. Police have not said how many people may have died in the fire.

RCMP say they continue to investigate, along with the Nova Scotia fire marshal’s office and the medical examiner service.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call Queens District RCMP at 902-354-5721, or Crimestoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip at crimestoppers.ns.ca.

Region of Queens councillors on Tuesday voted on a revised plan to develop 194 Main St. in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens council have changed course to allow a developer to build apartments on Main Street in Liverpool after all.

At their regular meeting on Tuesday morning, councillors voted unanimously to start the process to amend the municipality’s land use bylaw. 

A public hearing will be held on Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. in council chambers about changing the bylaw to allow more ground floor space to be used for residential uses in the downtown commercial zone. 

Currently, no more than half of a building’s ground floor can be used for apartments.

RELATED: READ MORE ABOUT 194 MAIN ST.

Developer Eric Fry approached the region in February to change that rule to allow him to turn all of 194 Main St., commonly known as the old Stedman’s building, into apartments. His original plan was for 16 units, with indoor parking and storage.

In July, councillors rejected changing the bylaw. Fry immediately listed the property for sale. 

He returned to the region’s planning advisory committee in August with a new plan that would include two commercial units on the ground floor of the 30,000-square-foot building, in addition to 14 apartments. 

His latest proposal is for 18 residential units, four of which would be “hotel suites”, and two Main Street-level commercial units of 300 square feet each. One of those would be a laundromat. 

“So given the significant size of the building at 194 Main St., 50 per cent of the ground floor area of the building creates some challenges for the owners of the building,” Director of Land Use Mike MacLeod told councillors. 

MacLeod reminded councillors that if the bylaw is changed, it would apply to all property owners in the downtown commercial zone.

“Any proposed amendments would apply not only to the applicant’s property, but would apply to all other owners of property of commercial buildings who want to convert more than 50 per cent of the ground floor area to residential uses.”

Planning advisory committee members originally discussed recommending a minimum depth of 6 metres for commercial space on the ground floor, but settled on 3.66 metres or 12 feet and a minimum floor area of 27.88 square metres or 300 square feet.

The other changes proposed would require that commercial uses extend along the full width of the building facade from its main entrance.

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton, who is a member of the committee, said PAC members believe the bylaw needs to be more flexible for property owners in the commercial zone.

“There are buildings of significant sizes that make it really challenging to allow for more residential while protecting the commercial area. And so what this does is it protects the Main Street and surrounding streets in those commercial zones or commercial core zones anywhere.

“We do recognize that there are folks beyond this proposal that have an appetite to decrease the size of commercial space. They could put in more residential space, which we feel like is a win-win.”

Under the proposed amendments, the commercial units could not be used as office space by the building owner or manager.

Mayor Scott Christian said after the meeting that the changes would be good for downtown Liverpool.

“We’re hoping to see that generate more investment, because right now we all know that there’s a lot of vacancy and underutilized spaces in the downtown core and there’s also a lot of space that could be repurposed for residential units, which we know there’s a huge demand for. So we’re hoping that we’ve struck a good balance there.”

Christian said the municipality looked at rules in other areas for guidance on the changes. He pointed to Halifax, which encourages businesses to set up as boutique shops in some buildings.

“Like a fishmonger or a small deli or an ice cream shop or a candy shop or small sort of micro retail models,” he said in an interview. “If property owners take advantage of the opportunity to create really small spaces, that micro retail model,  which I think could be attractive to our residents and our visitors.”

Christian said he understands if some people might believe the process has been tailored to suit one developer. But he says it’s an issue the community had to tackle.

“That was certainly the impetus or the catalyst to have the conversation, but I’m quite excited about where we’re going to land. I think that if the amendment goes through, I think it’s a step in the right direction, in getting more flexible in the way that folks can use those buildings in the downtown core to make it more vibrant, breathe more life, bring more people into the downtown core.”

In a survey conducted by Halifax consultants UPLAND Planning in July, 18 of 30 respondents said they were fully or somewhat supportive of changing the bylaw. 

But 90 per cent of the business owners who responded were against a bylaw change. They said they were concerned about eroding the commercial area.

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Liverpool residents Jillian Young, Susan Inglis and Rebecca Delaney are the newest inductees on the Olympic Wall at Queens Place Emera Centre. (Rick Conrad)

Three Queens county residents who have made their marks on the world stage were honoured at Queens Place Emera Centre on Thursday.

Liverpool athletes Jillian Young and Rebecca Delaney and coach Susan Inglis were added to the Region of Queens Olympic Wall, in front of a full house in the foyer of Queens Place.

Young and Delaney each won gold medals in snowshoeing at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy in March.

Inglis, who is Delaney’s mother, was also in Italy as one of Team Canada’s coaches.

Mayor Scott Christian said the community is proud of the athletes and coaches from Queens County who have represented Canada at the Olympics, Paralympics and Special Olympics. After Thursday’s ceremony, 12 banners now hang on the Olympic Wall at Queens Place.

“I think that this is a great initiative having the Olympic Wall here. I don’t know what we’re going to do because we’re running out of room, but no, I think I think it’s really fantastic that we have a way of honouring folks for their achievements. We’re happy to celebrate any athlete from Queens County who can climb that mountain and manage to get to an Olympic Games. And so that’s what this is all about.”

Inglis said having her banner sharing space with fellow inductee Sarah Mitton is “a dream come true”.

“I really wasn’t that much of an athlete myself growing up, so I could never have dreamed that I would be on the Olympic wall of anything, let alone, you know, here locally. It’s such a privilege. Special Olympics is an amazing organization, and I am very, I’ use the word again, privilege to be a part of it, and to have guided my athletes to get to where they are today.”

Inglis has coached the five Special Olympians who are now inductees. And she said it’s important for all athletes to be recognized for their achievements in world competitions.

“When you look at the talent that comes out of this small town, you know, people think, oh, you’re from a little small town, you’re not going to get anywhere, but, you know, you look at Sarah, you look at Jenna Martin, all the other people that are on the wall, the special Olympians. And I don’t know that it really hit home to me until I went to Italy and I saw the talent on the world stage and saw how our athletes could measure up to that world talent.”

Delaney, who has numerous medals at national and international competitions, said it’s exciting to be among her heroes like Sarah Mitton and to be inducted alongside her mom.

“I love it because we have a good bond together. I would have never expected to be on the wall, but here I am, at Queens Place.

“Me and Jill are very good teammates and I’m glad she got to do it with me. It was a good experience.”

Young said she was “happy and excited” to be recognized for her achievements, though she joked that she didn’t like the food in Italy and was eager to get home to her parents after the games were over.

The Region of Queens is also selling commemorative prints of all the Olympic Wall inductees to raise money for its Recreation for All program.

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Kristopher Snarby, Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian, Queens MLA Kim Masland, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and Olympian Sarah Mitton were among those at the official opening of the Steele Athletic Grounds in Liverpool on Wednesday. (Rick Conrad)

The South Shore’s first turf field and rubberized track officially opened in Liverpool on Wednesday with a new name and lots of community enthusiasm.

The $3.5-million facility at Liverpool Regional High School will be called the Steele Athletic Grounds after a $100,000 donation from Steele Auto Group.

Hundreds of people including Olympian Sarah Mitton, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, Queens MLA Kim Masland and Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian turned out for the ribbon cutting.

The Queens County Track Society spearheaded the project that began in 2018.

“It will be a place where both youth and adults can train and dream, where teams can compete and where a community can come together to celebrate with sport and achievement,” president Kristopher Snarby told the hundreds of students and others gathered for the event.

“Today’s grand opening is more than just a ribbon cutting, it’s the start of a new chapter for recreation, health and community pride in Queens County and across the South Shore.”

Snarby thanked the many people and organizations in the community that made the track and field a reality. The federal government contributed $1.8 million, the province gave $1.2 million and the Region of Queens granted $250,000, with local donors and sponsors chipping in another $250,000.

Snarby said after the event that thanks to the 10-year agreement with Steele Auto Group, the society has about $1,000 left over to put toward future improvements like seating and security cameras.

“Most people are bringing their own chairs, but we would like to have some seating, that’s probably the next thing. The other thing are security cameras, that’s probably the top priority. We need to get security cameras up and we’re putting things in place to get that done.”

In addition to the all-weather track and soccer field, the fully lighted facility also features an area for the long and triple jumps. A new shot put circle and area have also been installed next to the high school. The complex is open to everybody in the community.

“It’s getting a lot of use, the soccer kids are loving the field,” Snarby said. “Track doesn’t start until the spring, so the track hasn’t had like a lot of training but the cross-country team does use it to train as well and just the general public using it for walking and … to have some recreation.”

Masland said she was overwhelmed to see the facility completed and open.

“To actually stand on this field today, to see the kids out there really enjoying it, just an amazing day for me,” she said in an interview. “It’s been something that’s been very close to my heart since becoming elected in 2017. Glad I could be part of the project and work with such amazing dedicated folks with the society. This is a game changer for our athletes, for our community and for our students.”

Mitton is a champion shot putter who was a high school student in Liverpool more than 10 years ago. She said the state-of-the-art facility will help young athletes excel.

Before it opened, local track and field athletes had to leave the community to train or use the bus loop around the school.

“This is such an incredible thing for the kids that go to school in this area,” Mitton told QCCR.

“Anyone in the community can use this, whether it’s for just a healthy active lifestyle, a project like this can really change the lives of many people in the community. … I learned a lot not having a facility like this, but I think like this would have eliminated a lot of barriers for me. I drove to and from Bridgewater three or four times a week as a kid once I started joining a club and to have something like this here I think would have been a lot easier and maybe my progress could have been a little bit faster.

“But to have something like this, if you’re interested in throwing shot put, you can just come up and do it whenever you want like in the evenings, it just opens the door for kids to have the same opportunities other athletes and kids have in other communities on the South Shore and around Nova Scotia.”

The facility is operated by the Queens County Track Society and maintained by the South Shore Regional Centre for Education.

The society is selling annual memberships of $25 which entitle people to use the track whenever it’s available. More information can be found on the Liverpool community track and field Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Lawyers listen to Stacy Bruce, clerk with the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board, on Tuesday in Bridgewater as hearings began into Kelly Cove Salmon’s application to expand its operation in Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

Hearings opened Tuesday into a proposed bigger fish farm in Liverpool Bay, with community members and others getting a chance to say what they think of the idea.

A three-member panel of the Nova Scotia Aquaculture Review Board is hearing an application from Kelly Cove Salmon, which is owned by Cooke Aquaculture, to expand its operation near Coffin Island off Beach Meadows Beach.

Kelly Cove wants to add six more cages for a 20-pen farm, with an extra 260,000 Atlantic salmon. 

Lawyers are representing six groups at the tribunal, including Kelly Cove Salmon, the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, community group Protect Liverpool Bay, the Region of Queens, 22 Lobster Fishermen of Liverpool Bay and the Wasoqopa’q First Nation.

Six members of the public were given time at the beginning of Tuesday’s hearing to make statements about Kelly Cove’s application.

Jeff Bishop, executive director of the Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia, urged panel members to allow the expansion. He said ocean-based aquaculture takes up less than half of one per cent of the coastline, creating jobs and pumping millions into local economies.

He warned them not to listen to groups opposing the application.

“They will tell you they are grassroots, community groups that represent the voice of most Nova Scotians, while they talk about potential hazards and not evidence of any actual risks. In fact, by looking at the members of these networks and coalitions publicly available annual reports to Canada Revenue Agency, we know that they take in millions of dollars of unreceipted foreign revenue from outside of Canada every year, and hundreds of thousands of dollars or more annually from other charities. That hardly sounds like grassroots local support to me. … These groups do not speak for most Nova Scotians, but simply their echo chambers.”

Bishop did not name any organizations and provided few other details. Protect Liverpool Bay has been the most prominent to oppose Cooke’s operation off Coffin Island. It’s a volunteer-run organization that began in 2018 and relies on local donations. 

He added that the review board should not allow “the hollow cry of ‘not in my backyard’ to have its way” and to “support growth by approving Kelly Cove Salmon’s application”.

Bob Iuliucci of Bear Cove Resources in East Berlin, who worked as a researcher in applied ocean sciences and marine geology for 50 years, said he was worried about how climate change and the ever-strengthening tides in Liverpool Bay would affect the expanded farm, and the resulting damage it could do to the coastal environment.

“Expansion multiplies risk on every front — ecological, biological, economic loss to wild fisheries and tourism.”

Elizabeth Hartt of Bear Cove Resources said she was concerned that an expanded operation could risk development of other industries that could set up in the area, such as sustainable seaweed, oyster or mussel farms.

She said those types of aquaculture exist lower in the ocean and are not in fixed structures at the surface.

“You can sail over a lot of those things. They’re not fixed structures that in storms are going to be trashed and then thrown on shore. They’re not heavily loaded with fish that are going to land up on the shores of Liverpool.”

Instead of more fish farms, she said the province should be encouraging more exploration and ocean research in Liverpool Bay.

Liverpool resident Andrew Tyler said he and his family moved to the area two years ago because of the natural beauty and the beaches.

He said when they first moved to the area, he didn’t know what the cages were off Beach Meadows Beach. But he said in noticing the signs peppered around the community protesting open-pen fish farms, he realized most residents are against it.

“This is a hearing, and I hope you’re listening, that the Liverpool community, by and large, doesn’t want this expansion,” Tyler said.

“The jobs that fish farming bring are very few. The investment is very little, and it doesn’t add to the draw that bring people like me, who want to move their families to the area, who want to invest in the area, who want to put down roots in the area. So in my view, fish farming takes. 
It doesn’t give back.

“There’s a way to do it that doesn’t risk one of our greatest natural assets at Beach Meadows. This isn’t it.” 

Stewart Lamont, managing director of Tangier Lobster, said he’s concerned how an expanded operation would affect the area’s lobster fishermen and their contribution to Nova Scotia’s $1.5-billion lobster export industry.

He said that up to 1,000 metric tonnes of fecal and food waste is deposited every year on the ocean floor below fish farms operations in Nova Scotia. In an era of foreign markets sensitive to where their food comes from, Lamont said “if any jurisdiction in Europe saw a viral video of our Nova Scotia lobster grazing on bottom below or near an open net pen, our lobster sector would be finished overnight.”

He said climate change will also only add to the problems as waters warm and storms become more intense.

“The greatest piece missing in this business model is the lack of community support referred to already this morning,” he said. “Academics call it social license. What is taking place now is effectively the privatization of public waters, and that is by so many standards, clearly wrong and absolutely unwanted. 
… The more citizens learn about fish farms and open-net pen fish farming, the less they want any part of them.”

For the rest of the day, a nine-member witness panel from Kelly Cove answered questions from lawyers about the company’s extensive application to the board.

Lawyers cross-examined the panel on its consultations with the local Indigenous community, the company’s various studies of impacts on the ocean and surrounding environment and the effects on lobster populations. 

Michael Szemerda, Cooke’s global chief sustainability officer, admitted under cross-examination from Region of Queens lawyer Natasha Puka that the company has been operating outside its lease boundaries since it took over the farm.

He also confirmed that there have been only two “mortality events” at the Coffin Island site, with an unknown number of fish dying in 2018 from insufficient oxygen and 2019 from storm damage. In 2012, Cooke reported an infectious salmon anemia, which led to the destruction of two pens of fish, and a bacterial kidney disease among its salmon.

About 20 community members travelled to Bridgewater to take in the proceedings. 

Beach Meadows resident Tim Nickerson said that he wanted to make the trip, though he was upset the review board didn’t hold the hearings in Liverpool.

“I’m really disappointed with the idea that the hearing’s being held in Bridgewater,” he said in an interview. “We heard the chair say that they made a big effort to be in Liverpool, based on the dates, but I’m like change the dates. I just think that’s such a big issue, and should be really concerning about a public exercise not really being done in the area that has the greatest impact.”

He said he was also disappointed in comments made by Jeff Bishop from the aquaculture association.

“I just didn’t think his comments were very respectful. I think people can have contrary views. 
I don’t think we need rhetoric about foreign investment and that kind of just silliness. … I didn’t appreciate that.”

The three-member panel is made up of Roger Percy, Bruce Morrison and chaired by Damien Barry.

Proceedings continue Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Days Inn in Bridgewater. It’s open to the public. People can also register to watch a livestream of the hearings.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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.

RELATED: Read more of QCCR’s coverage of fish farms in Queens County

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.

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Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens mayor and councillors are holding seven town hall meetings around Queens County this month to get public feedback on various issues.

Mayor Scott Christian says it’s important to hear from as many people as possible.

“We’re looking to kill two birds with one stone in that we think it’s important to be accessible and engaging with our residents writ large, but it’s also timely because we have been working behind the scenes on identifying some five-year strategic priorities and a vision and a mission for the organization and we want to make sure that it’s aligned to what residents are seeing and feeling and experiencing in the community.”

Christian says the region will also have a survey available for people who can’t make it to one of the October sessions.

Council’s strategic plan has been mentioned regularly at council meetings since the new slate of councillors was sworn in in 2024. But it hasn’t been made public yet. 

Christian told QCCR that the town hall meetings will be a chance for people to get a look at some of the details of that plan.

“My expectation is that we provide folks with an opportunity to take a look at what we have thus far, provide their feedback on that, give everybody an opportunity to contribute in a way that they’re comfortable (with), but then also just open up the floor for more kind of question-and-answer to engage their councillors and myself as the mayor on particular issues or items of importance to them.”

Christian said that staff and councillors will incorporate what they hear at the town halls into the region’s five-year plan, which will also influence budget deliberations.

He said the region plans to start early budget talks and capital planning by December, with work on the budget set to begin in the new year. 

Municipalities are expected to finalize their fiscal plans by March 31. This year, the Region of Queens passed its budget in mid-May.

“We were quite last minute last go-around so we’re going to start to look at the five-year capital improvement plan and updates to that … in December, so my expectation is that we’ll have those kind of those strategic priorities nailed down by that time.”

The seven town hall meetings are scheduled to run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Christian, councillors and some staff will likely be at the meetings. Here is where they’ll be held:

• Thurs., Oct. 16 – Liverpool Fire Hall
• Fri., Oct. 17 – Milton Memorial Hall
• Mon., Oct. 20 – Mersey Point Hall
• Tues., Oct. 21 – West Queens Recreation Centre
• Thurs., Oct. 23 – Greenfield Fire Hall
• Fri., Oct. 24 – Port Medway Fire Hall
• Mon., Oct. 27 – North Queens Fire Hall

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Hundreds showed up at the Hank Snow Museum community park on Tuesday in Liverpool for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Rick Conrad)

Hundreds turned out to the Hank Snow Museum Community Park in Liverpool on Tuesday to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Survivors of residential schools and their families shared their stories in the morning. In the afternoon, organizers held a mawio’mi, or pow wow, that highlighted Indigenous dancing, drum singing and traditional crafts.

This was the fifth annual event in Liverpool to honour the victims and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.

The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available 24 hours at 1-866-925-4419. It provides support, including emotional and crisis referral, for former residential school students.

Here are some of the stories and sounds from the event in Liverpool.

Michelle Roy organized the event to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

A new group wants to hear from you on the need for transition housing services in Queens County for survivors of domestic violence.

Jane’s Place Society is holding two public consultation sessions Monday night at the Liverpool Fire Hall at 6:30 and on Oct. 2 at 6:30 at the North Queens Fire Hall in Caledonia.

The group wants to provide second-stage housing for women and families who are leaving shelters, but still need supportive places to live.

Volunteers with the society want to buy a property and develop it into apartments to provide stable, secure housing.

The sessions on Monday and on Oct. 2 are designed to get as much feedback as possible from residents all over Queens County.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

The Region of Queens administration building. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens has hired a deputy chief administrative officer.

Patrick Hirtle will start the job on Oct. 20. He’s currently the manager of community attraction and communications with the Town of Bridgewater.

“I’m thrilled that Patrick will be joining our team as deputy CAO. Patrick brings a unique perspective to this role – he has more than 10 years’ experience in municipal government, and has been a councillor in Town of Bridgewater several years ago,” Willa Thorpe, the region’s CAO, said in a news release.

“When we interviewed Patrick, we were very impressed with his extensive experience in municipal and private sector communications, strong skills and training in emergency management, and strength and proficiency leading a cohesive staff team.”

The deputy CAO new position was created this past year. Hirtle will assist Thorpe with projects and administration and he’ll oversee staff in administration, community economic development, communications, information technology, protective services, and policy and bylaw development.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Hirtle has worked for Bridgewater for almost 11 years. He is also the former communications co-ordinator at Covey Island Boatworks. He served one term as a Bridgewater town councillor. Before that, he worked as a journalist for Lighthouse Publishing, which used to print the Bridgewater Bulletin and Lunenburg Progress Enterprise.

He was born in Bridgewater and raised in Mahone Bay, according to the region’s news release.

“I’m both honoured and excited to have been selected as the Region of Queens’ new deputy CAO,” Hirtle said in the release.

“There are a lot of great things happening here in Queens, and I can’t wait to get to work with the team.”

The annual salary range for the deputy CAO position is $113,339 to $149,885.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s like bodybuilding,” he says.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They said they were impressed with Caledonia.

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

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

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

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

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

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Summerville artist and retired diplomat Scot Slessor is in Arusha, Tanzania, working with a group of artisans to expand their markets. (Rick Conrad)

A Queens County artist is in Tanzania for the next two weeks, helping artisans there develop ways to get their products to more people.

Scott Slessor is a retired Canadian diplomat who lives in Summerville. He’s also the owner of SAS Glass, a stained glass studio in Liverpool. As a Canadian foreign affairs officer and consul general, he led strategic planning and training in places like India, Afghanistan and Thailand.

Since he retired, he’s done a couple of stints in places like Mongolia and Cambodia with Catalyste Plus, a Canadian NGO focused on economic development in Indigenous communities and emerging economies. This will be his first trip with Catalyste Plus working with artists in another country, as part of a project to improve economic and social well-being for women and girls.

“This one is very unlike the other stuff I’ve done,” he says.

“This is about arts and crafts. So this tacks onto a whole other part of my life. I’ve never been to Tanzania. I’ve never been to East Africa. This is all new, which is going to be really cool. … And so they wanted to, in this institute, look into, as part of their tourism program, working with craftspeople, with artisans, and sort of up their game a bit.”

He’ll be working with about 20 artists in Arusha, a city of more than 600,000, near Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. In an interview before he left for Tanzania, Slessor said he’ll be helping local artists develop ways to get their goods into the hands of more tourists and hikers.

“We’ll be talking about the market there. Who are they actually trying to sell to? Because I don’t think they’ve necessarily done a full assessment. And I have. The government of Tanzania has done some. So we have some starting points of the ages of people coming there, where they’re coming from, a lot from the U.S., Canada, Europe. … And these are people who are going to climb Kilimanjaro. These are guys who are going to have a carry-on (bag) with their hiking boots on. So how do you put something in their pocket? So we’re going to generate a whole whack of ideas. And then they’ll have to decide how they’re going to implement that.”

Slessor has been doing glass art for more than 25 years. And he’s lived in Queens County with his wife, also a retired diplomat, since 2022.

He’s one of the organizers of the Queens Coast Art Tour studio rally. He says he hopes to be able to connect some artists from his trip in Tanzania with Queens County artisans who have offered to be occasional mentors.

“You know, it’d be fun if a couple folks from here, even just an hour a month for three or four months, hook up with somebody in Tanzania just to talk about, ‘What are you making today?'”

Slessor says he hopes his two weeks with the artisans in Arusha can help set them up for success.

“If a couple of these people develop habits that help them design more appropriate stuff for the folks that are coming in, then I think that’s a real win. So I’m going to spend a bit of time with them on, who are these Westerners that are coming here with their money? And then how do you sort of represent your culture, the local techniques, and all of that in a way that satisfies you as an artisan, but also allows you to make a few bucks?”

Slessor says meeting new people and experiencing different cultures are part of why he enjoys taking on these projects.

“So for me, it’s a lot of fun. I mean, I’m going to get to meet 20 people, but then I get to see a new part of the world, which is really fun. Yeah, I think that’s a fair amount of win for me.”

Slessor says Catalyste Plus is always looking for people with experience in varied backgrounds, from marketing and finance to factory production and information technology. More information can be found on their website.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Willa Thorpe is the chief administrative officer of the Region of Queens Municipality. (Rick Conrad)

Employees facing layoff when the Region of Queens closes its recycling depot may still have a job with the municipality.

The region announced this week that it would close its materials recovery facility on Dec. 1 in response to new regulations from the Nova Scotia government.

The province is shifting the responsibility for sorting plastics and other packaging to the companies that produce it. That means municipalities won’t need their own sorting facilities anymore.

In Queens, that will affect eight unionized employees.

Willa Thorpe, the region’s chief administrative officer, told QCCR on Thursday that the municipality will try to find other jobs for those workers.

So if there’s an opportunity through current vacancies here in the organization where we have the opportunity to train folks and have them shift to a different position, we’ll do that.

“So if there’s an opportunity through current vacancies here in the organization where we have the opportunity to train folks and have them shift to a different position, we’ll do that.”

She said they’re also going to hook workers up with provincial and federal supports from Nova Scotia Works and Service Canada.

Unionized employees at the Region of Queens Waste Management Facility are represented by Local 1928 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The local signed a new contract with the region after a week-long strike in January.

Thorpe said the agreement requires five days’ notice of any ceasing of operation or service that will affect jobs. She said managers wanted to give the affected employees more notice, so they met with workers and their local union representative as soon as council decided to close the facility.

“We think it’s important that our employees know exactly what’s going on, that their livelihood may be impacted, and so rather than follow the (basic language) of the collective agreement, we think we hold ourselves to a higher standard. So we actually met with staff a few hours after meeting with council, so the same day as opposed to waiting, so that those employees can be confident they know exactly what’s going on.”

Some workers will continue to be employed until at least Dec. 1, depending on how long it takes to wind down the facility, Thorpe said.

She said the collective agreement does not provide for severance pay. But she said “the region is actually actively working on providing some severance to those employees.”

She didn’t have details yet on what that package might be.

Jim Sponagle, the business manager for IBEW, told QCCR earlier this week that relations between the union and the region have not improved since the strike.

Thorpe, who started as CAO in June, said that’s incorrect.

“I would disagree with that statement based on the conversations I’ve heard since the labour action, the relations have improved.” 

Nothing will change for residents in how garbage and recyclables are collected, and the municipality’s solid waste facility will remain open. 

A company called Circular Materials will be taking over the sorting of recyclables from the region. That’s an organization formed by large corporations like MacDonald’s, Nestle Canada and Pepsico.

Thorpe said municipalities are still working out details of the agreement with Circular Materials, so she’s not sure yet how much money the region might save.

“What the specific impacts are to municipalities we’re still determining where the dust will settle. But the idea is that the producer would bear the lion’s share of the cost.”

Thorpe said officials with the region plan to meet with affected employees again next week.

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Laura Methot is president of the Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens councillors dumped proposed changes to garbage collection on Tuesday after residents packed the public gallery to protest the proposals.

More than 40 property owners from the region’s cottage country showed up at council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, concerned that the municipality was trying to download responsibility for illegal dumping onto volunteer-run residents’ groups.

More than 5,700 properties in Queens County are connected to roads that aren’t maintained by the municipality or the province. Most of these roads are in the areas of Molega, Ponhook and Annis lakes. Private lot owner groups collect fees from residents to maintain those roads.

People who live on public roads in Queens County usually get regular roadside garbage collection. Those on private roads, however, have to take their waste to a central location, known as grey box sites. From there, the municipality picks it up.

But under proposed changes discussed at Tuesday’s council meeting, responsibility for the maintenance and cleanup of those grey box sites would shift from the municipality to non-profit property owner groups.

Laura Methot, president of the Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association, which represents more than 1,200 property owners, told councillors on Tuesday that the proposed changes won’t address the longstanding problems of people dumping their trash illegally at the grey box sites.

“It is absolutely absurd to think that private road associations, managed by volunteer boards, would be able to solve the illegal dumping problem and unsightly premises that the region has not been able to tackle for years,” Laura Methot, president of the Greater Molega Lake Lot Owners Association, told councillors.

“Worse still, this bylaw update, if passed, would result in diverting resources, both time and money, away from our primary mandate, which is keeping our roads safe and passable in good condition.”

The Molega Lake area alone covers more than 1,200 hectares and 52 kilometres of roadway. It’s the largest recreational development in Atlantic Canada, though many people live in the area year-round.

Residents say they contribute disproportionately to the region’s tax base, while getting far fewer services than most other areas.

“The proposed amendments entrench this imbalance rather than resolving it,” Methot said.

Former regional councillor David Brown, who lives in Labelle, said that nobody would volunteer for lot owner groups if they were also now expected to clean up the grey box sites.

He said that at the lot owners annual general meeting in June, Mayor Scott Christian promised more collaboration and consultation.

“That didn’t happen,” Brown told councillors.

“
What we find is this is not a discussion, it’s not presented to us as options, but it’s a downloading of responsibility. It’s over 40 private law owners associations, and they’re volunteer associations.

“This bylaw, if passed, will be the end of all residential landowners associations. Nobody’s going to go out there and volunteer for a board and pick up garbage. It’s not going to happen. So as those lawowners associations disband because they can’t get volunteers, the roads won’t be maintained, Property values are going to go down.”

About 40 property owners showed up at Tuesday’s regional council meeting to protest proposed changes to garbage collection. (Rick Conrad)

After hearing from residents, councillors voted unanimously against the proposed amendments. And they voted instead to have councillors and staff consult with the lot owners groups about potential changes in garbage collection.

Christian said after the meeting that council heard the community loud and clear.

“There was a real, strong reaction from the community. Emails came flying in. Telephone messages came flying in to all members of council,” Christian said after the meeting. 

“We’re trying to get to a place, though, where we’re as transparent and open in the way that we do business as possible. … So I think we got it right and I think that it’s a tricky issue, though. It continues to be this persistent issue, but I’m hopeful that we can find good, creative solutions through broad-based engagement with everybody who’s impacted out there. 
Sit down, do some creative brainstorming, and figure out maybe we can pilot this solution, pilot that solution, see what works, you know, and then go from there.”

Methot of the Molega Lake lot owners group said after the meeting that she believes Christian and the rest of council are committed to working with residents. 

“I am very pleased with how it turned out, and particularly with the confirmation and recommitment of the mayor and council to working collaboratively with our association and with the broader community. It was a very positive outcome for us.”

Christian said the engagement sessions are already in the works. He said he hopes that the community consultations will result in a solution to the garbage problem that residents can live with.

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Deborah Herman-Spartinelli is the chair of Jane’s Place Society, a group working to bring second-stage housing to Queens County for survivors of domestic abuse. (Rick Conrad)

A new group is in the early stages of trying to create safe and secure housing for Queens County residents fleeing domestic violence.

Jane’s Place Society wants to provide second stage housing for women and families who are leaving shelters, but still need supportive places to live.

Group chair Deborah Herman-Spartinelli says Queens County needs more supports for victims of intimate partner violence. 

“The plan is to buy a property and develop it into second-stage housing, which means making apartments. When you leave a transition house you go into this second-stage housing for a limited time. It gives women and their families a step in the right direction to get their finances in order and get back into the regular (housing) market eventually.”

She says a small group of Queens County residents got together about two years ago to talk about forming the society. They’ve recently been meeting with officials from all levels of government, including Queens MLA Kim Masland and South Shore-St. Margarets MP Jessica Fancy-Landry. They’ve also met with representatives from Harbour House, a transition house in Bridgewater that provides services in Queens County.

“This is new. Even though the idea was brought together two years ago it didn’t really get any feet under it till this spring,” Herman-Spartinelli says.

“I think Queens County is underserved and we felt like we needed to do something. And we have the seed money from some donors and we felt like this was the best way to (do it). After talking to Harbour House and various levels of government and so on. We’re still meeting with different levels of government again to go over this second-stage housing and how to go about it.”

The Nova Scotia government declared intimate partner violence an epidemic last September and increased funding to transition houses across the province. 

The Transition House Association of Nova Scotia says its member organizations supported about 4,500 women and children in abusive situations in 2024. It says the problem is only getting worse.

Kelly Ann Hamshaw, the executive director of the South Shore Transition House Association which operates Harbour House, says there’s a critical need for second-stage housing on the South Shore.

“We desperately need access to second-stage housing,” she told QCCR earlier this year. “For women to be able to access our shelter environment, they need to be able to transition to safe and secure housing. So there’s a critical shortage of that across the entire province.”

Herman-Spartinelli, who has a background in construction, says the group will have up to nine members on its board. And it will be looking for volunteers to help in other ways.

She says they’re also planning public consultation sessions around Queens County, likely to begin in the next month.

“We’re trying to get enough people on the board from all parts of Queens County, trying to get their opinion and their thoughts because it’s a big community. It can’t just be focused on Liverpool. It might have the secondary housing in Liverpool, but it is for the whole community, and it could even house people from other communities too if there was room.”

Jane’s Place is named after Jane Hurshman, the Queens County woman convicted of killing her abusive ex-husband in 1982.

Herman-Spartinelli was a friend of Hurshman’s. She says the problem of intimate partner violence is just as prevalent more than 40 years later. 

She says the group’s members know there’s a lot of work ahead of them. But they’re committed to creating safe and secure second-stage housing for women and their families in Queens County.

“We’re going to work very hard and we have positive support from the people we’ve met so far, so I think it’s not going to be quick because nothing ever is. So it’s not going to happen tomorrow, but it’s going to happen.”

If you’re interested in volunteering with Jane’s Place Society, you can email Deborah Herman-Spartinelli at dahsnseb@gmail.com.

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The members of Crafternoon get together every Tuesday at the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows. (Rick Conrad)

A group of artisans gathers at the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows every Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. to work on projects, chat and make new friends.

The group began in 2021 with three women from the neighbouring community of Eagle Head. Craft novice Karen Costello got together with rug hooker Cathie Mourre and knitter Donna Sampson Dowling.

The group welcomes everyone who wants to work on their craft or learn a new one. It now counts as many as 25 people, mostly from Queens County, but some also travel from Lunenburg County.

Members say they enjoy getting together for four hours each week to bond around a shared love of creation. And they say they’re always looking for new people to drop in.

QCCR stopped in on a recent Tuesday to talk to some of the members.

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Bruno is one of the regulars at Crafternoon at the Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows. (Rick Conrad)

Rug hooking and a variety of other crafts are worked on Crafternoon at the Seaside Centre. (Rick Conrad)

The artisans group at Seaside Centre in Beach Meadows has about 25 members in total. (Rick Conrad)

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• READ THE QUEENS QUARTERLY POLICE REPORT HERE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some councillors want more of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Debris from the fish farm near Coffin Island on Beach Meadows Beach in 2021. (Rick Conrad file photo)

Supporters and opponents of a fish farm expansion in Liverpool Bay will get a chance to make their case in front of Nova Scotia’s aquaculture regulator after all.

The province’s aquaculture review board will hear an application in October from Kelly Cove Salmon to expand its current operation at Coffin Island, just off Beach Meadows Beach in Queens County.

Kelly Cove Salmon is owned by seafood giant Cooke Aquaculture. It applied in 2019 to expand its salmon farming operation off Coffin Island near Liverpool, and to add two new farms off Brooklyn and Mersey Point. 

All three applications would have increased Cooke’s operation to 60 pens from 14 and include trout as well as salmon. It would have meant up to 1.8 million farmed salmon in Liverpool Bay, compared to about 400,000 now.

The board had scheduled hearings for those proposals for March 2024. But it indefinitely adjourned the matter that month with no explanation.

According to groups involved in the hearing, Cooke applied to the board this June for a hearing on only the Coffin Island expansion.

The review board held a conference call with Kelly Cove and some intervenors last week. Hearing dates were set for Oct. 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Liverpool. 

Originally, the board had set aside only two days. But after lawyers for community group Protect Liverpool Bay objected, the board added two more hearing dates. The group is represented by environmental law charity Ecojustice.

“So there was no consultation at all in picking the dates,” said Brian Muldoon, spokesman for the group which has been fighting fish farms in the area since 2018.

“So our lawyers wrote to the ARB and said this is not reasonable and the ARB added two more dates.”

A board spokesman would not confirm the dates or comment on any upcoming hearings. He said any new information on hearings in Liverpool would be posted online.

A few days after this story was posted, the review board updated its website with the hearing notice.

The Region of Queens was one of the intervenors in the original hearings. Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR this week that the municipality still opposes the expansion at Coffin Island.

“We’re staying the course,” he said. 

“Beach Meadows Beach is the beach where we have municipal amenities. That’s where we have our infrastructure, and we want to make sure that that beach continues to be a really attractive and great place for locals and for visitors to use, and so that’s certainly one element of the opposition to the expansion at that site. ”

Muldoon said he’s worried about the hearings in October. 

“I believe they are not listening to the people or residents of Queens County. They’re moving forward with their agenda. They are going to put these fish farms over the areas where our local lobster fishermen lay their spring traps. This is taking income and disrupting our lobster industry. Right there, they should say, OK, we’re dismissing this application based on the data that we received that this is where lobster fishermen have been fishing for decades. And they’re going to turn around and ignore this information? It’s absurd, totally absurd.

“I have no confidence in the board listening to us.”

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.

Five groups were granted intervenor status at the hearings: Protect Liverpool Bay, the Region of Queens, the Brooklyn Marina, 22 Lobster Fishermen of Liverpool Bay, and Kwilmu’kw Maw-Klusuaqn, which is representing the Acadia First Nation. 

Jamie Simpson of Juniper Law in Halifax represents the lobster fishermen.

He said his clients are still concerned about how the expansion will affect their fishing grounds and how new pens will affect their ability to set and reach their traps.

“Ever since the original hearing was postponed without a date, I think everyone was hopeful that maybe the entire application would be withdrawn but that’s not the case so we’ll deal with the revised application.”

Joel Richardson, spokesman for Cooke Aquaculture, said he didn’t have time for an interview. But in an emailed statement, he wrote that the company “welcomes the opportunity to appear before the aquaculture review board to seek approval of our applications which have been in the provincial system for many years.

“At every step of the way, Kelly Cove has complied with the application process. At the aquaculture review board hearings our representatives will present how the company meets all the regulatory criteria.”

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told a business luncheon in Liverpool in February 2024 that he personally opposed new fish farms in Liverpool Bay, though he said he supports the aquaculture industry. 

It was shortly after that that the board postponed and then indefinitely adjourned the hearings.

The Nova Scotia government appointed a new board chair, and some other new members, in February 2024. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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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.

Chris Radimer, owner of Tiddley Bee Honey, near his hives in his backyard in Brooklyn. (Rick Conrad)

It’s a sunny day at the Privateer Farmers and Artisans Market in downtown Liverpool, and Chris Radimer’s table is buzzing with people looking for local honey.

Radimer, the owner of Tiddley Bee Honey in Brooklyn, sells his raw, unpasteurized honey from his property and at markets in Liverpool and Shelburne.

He also uses some of the beeswax his bees produce to make things like furniture polish and candles.

Radimer has been beekeeping since 2019 after a 33-year career in the Canadian Navy.

He explains how he arrived at his business name: “Tiddley in the navy means something that is done neatly and tidily and expertly, and so I thought, that would work pretty well because that’s what you want from your bees. You want your bees to take care with the building of the honey, building of the hives, building of the comb.”

Radimer and his wife moved to Queens County from Ontario in 2022. Since then, he’s been tending to his 26 full colonies and two half-colonies spread on his own and other properties in the area.

He keeps four colonies and two half colonies on his own property. The others are hosted by homeowners in Brooklyn, Mersey Point, Western Head, Beach Meadows, and near Lockeport.

“I retired from the the navy in 2017 and sort of didn’t know what to do or where to go,” he says.

“We were in Port Colborne, which is on Lake Erie, which has Niagara College pretty close by, and my sister, who works there, knew about this beekeeping program. And Veterans Affairs was offering to send us back to school, and I went to one of their open days, and the person that was representing the commercial beekeeping group was so incredibly enthusiastic that I just got swept into it. And after that, I was reading books and applying and spent the next full year at that school learning.”

Each of his hives has a queen and a minimum of about 20,000 other bees bringing back pollen and nectar. When it’s loaded with honey, one section of a hive can weigh up to 50 pounds.

“And if you have a very healthy colony, there’s a couple on this property here that are very healthy right now, they could go up to 60 or 80,000 bees for the summer,” he says.

“And then that number would back way down over winter.”

Without a lot of agricultural activity in south Queens, it would be difficult to have a large beekeeping operation.

“To make a living off of it, you need commercial-level agriculture, where you have a stable stream of crops to pollinate, or crops that produce nectar that you can draw from.”

Radimer says he’s happy with the number of colonies he has.

“To have a viable, small-scale honey operation, you probably need about 150, and I’m never going to do that. Thirty is probably going to be my limit, just because I’m getting a little older and it’s a lot of weight to lift.”

He’s quick to point out that beekeeping is agriculture, which is why the year-long course at Niagara College was important. You need to know how to keep your flock healthy. You also have to learn to adapt to extreme weather or other conditions.

He says the season this year began slowly, but the spring conditions soon improved, bringing a mix of rain and sun to help produce the pollen and nectar that bees need.

“It was just a very slow start, but once they got going, there was a lot of nectar for them to produce. I was really shocked at the amount of honey that was generated in late May and through June, early July, but now it’s stopped.

“So the challenge right now is that with these drought conditions, with no rain, even if we have flowers, the flowers aren’t producing nectar to the degree that the bees need.”

And because bees need the honey to keep their colonies fed and thriving, a shortage of the golden stuff creates another problem – robber bees.

“And robber bees are nasty,” Radimer says.

“They’re more aggressive and they’ll attack other hives to try and steal the honey.”

Radimer says many beekeepers will harvest only once a season, usually later in the year, but he harvested about 30 to 40 litres in July and he’s hoping for better weather for a bigger harvest this fall. The late summer plants like aster and goldenrod produce a honey that customers like, but bees, not so much.

“The problem with that honey is it’s not actually that good for bees. It’s not as nutritious as the early honey. So we like to take as much of that as we can. And then as soon as we’ve taken that honey, most beekeepers with more than one or two hives will start feeding sugar water. The (bees) can process that better. The goldenrod honey actually gives them the runs.

“So, if you’ve got bees nearby and a black truck, such as me, you notice when you’ve left too much goldenrod (honey). It’s just yellow streaks, yellow streaks (on the truck).”

And as if robber bees and the weather weren’t enough to deal with, there’s also the constant threat of predators like wasps, hornets, skunks and bears.

“What skunks do is they’ll sit at the bottom of the beehive and they’ll tap on the box with their paws. And as the bees come out, they’ll eat the bee. And a skunk can go through a beehive pretty quick. They’ll eat a lot of bees. They want protein.

“Bears too, bears don’t tend to go for the honey. They tend to go for the brood. They’ll scrape off all the eggs and the brood. Bears apparently can smell a beehive for about three kilometres.”

Radimer is constantly monitoring and maintaining his hives, especially during swarm season in May and June, when the colonies are more likely to make new queens. Every 10 days or so, he’ll suit up and open the hives to make sure everything is tiddley.

One thing’s for sure, his bees keep him buzzing.

“I like a challenge and I like puzzles. And so, you know, when something’s not going right, I can do research. I can look at what I’ve done, what others are doing and try and figure out if there’s a way to solve it. Ultimately it’s agriculture. So sometimes the solution is just walk away from it and start another colony. But usually, you can bring them back if they’re having trouble. … I was just out at one of my yards this morning and it was struggling a little bit last month. I wasn’t quite sure why. And I did a few adjustments here and there and I left it for a few weeks and it’s fabulous. It’s fantastic. Better than it was at the start of the season. So that’s what you want to see.”

You can look for Tiddley Bee Honey online or at farmers markets in Shelburne and Liverpool.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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BEE BITS

• Raw honey does not need pasteurization and therefore is the most nutritious honey you can eat. During processing, Tiddley Bee’s honey never reaches temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius, which is also the internal temperature the hive strives to maintain over winter to protect the queen
• It’s natural for raw honey to crystallize
• Honey will absorb moisture instantly. You’ll know if honey’s “gone bad” if it begins to foam. That means the moisture content is too high and it’s begun to ferment
• If honey contains more than 18 per cent water, it will spoil. “But if it’s under 18 per cent, it could last 1,000 years,” Radimer says
• Help pollinators like honeybees and other bee species, butterflies and moths by not using pesticides on flowering crops
• Worker bees are all female; they do all the work of collecting pollen and nectar and defending the hive; drones are males and are used exclusively for reproduction. The males can’t forage or feed themselves
• In winter, the colony will form a protective ball around the queen. The bees take turns on the outside of the cocoon and flap their wings constantly to generate heat. They also need a lot of honey to feed on during the winter months
• If you have a swarm or a hive in your building or on your property, you can visit the Nova Scotia Beekeepers Association website or on Facebook .

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.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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