RCMP are looking for a suspect in thefts in Digby and Queens County. (RCMP photo)
RCMP in Queens County and Digby are looking for a person of interest in a break and enter at two businesses.
On Jan. 23, at 11:37 p.m., Digby RCMP responded to a commercial alarm on Prince William Street in Digby.
Somebody broke into the business through the front door and drove away in a blue Mazda with $8,000 in merchandise.
On Jan. 24, at 2:10 a.m., somebody stole a black and yellow 2004 Ford truck from R & C Weare Logging Ltd. in Harmony Mills, Queens County. Shortly afterward, the truck was found undamaged.
RCMP say surveillance footage from the area shows a man wearing a hat, a dark hoodie with CAT on the front and rubber boots.
RCMP are looking for a suspect in thefts in Digby and Queens County. (RCMP photo)
Anyone with information or who can identify the suspect is asked to contact the Digby RCMP Detachment at 902-245-2579 or Queens District RCMP at 902-354-5721. Or you can call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, anonymously and toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca.
The cast of Follies rehearses at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Liverpool will soon get a chance to see the first adult musical at the Astor Theatre since Rock of Ages in 2018.
The Astor and Winds of Change are co-producing the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies. The Tony-award-winning show features elaborate costumes and big musical and dance numbers.
Set in 1971, in a decaying and haunted Broadway theatre, Follies tells the story of a reunion of former showgirls through their memories and their enduring friendships.
It features more than two dozen cast members from around Queens and Lunenburg counties, ranging in age from 14 to 77. That’s in addition to the many other people behind the scenes.
Cast and crew have spent hours each week over the past two months in vocal and dance training, as well as regular rehearsals.
Ashley-Rose Goodwin, director of Follies at the Astor Theatre. (Rick Conrad photo)
Director Ashley-Rose Goodwin estimates she’s spent about 50 hours a week with individuals and the full cast in preparing the show. The company has also partnered with Kinship Performing Arts Centre in Bridgewater to include some of their dancers in the show, and to help train cast members.
We talked to some of the people behind the show as they ramp up rehearsals in preparation for opening night on Feb. 22.
Region of Queens Municipality administration building. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Fire trucks and Airbnbs are on the agenda as Region of Queens council meets Tuesday evening in Milton.
Council has four meetings a year in a community facility in a different part of Queens County. Tuesday’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Milton Community Hall, 168 Tupper St., Milton.
Councillors will discuss a policy to help the county’s five fire departments with vehicle purchases according to a set schedule.
The current schedule expired last year. And council will be discussing a new timetable that will expire in 2035.
The Mill Village fire department has asked the region for $275,000 in loan payments over 10 years toward a new $711,810 fire truck.
Under the proposed new funding arrangment, the maximum amounts available to fire departments for the next two fiscal years for new equipment would remain at $275,000 for pumpers, tankers and aerial trucks and $100,000 for rescue and utility vehicles.
From 2026/27 to 2034/35, those amounts would increase to $425,000 for new trucks and $200,000 for rescue vehicles.
The amounts would be reviewed with fire chiefs every two years.
Also on council’s agenda Tuesday evening, owners of short-term rentals in Queens County may get a chance to have their say on a tourism accommodation levy.
The Nova Scotia government made it possible in 2022 for municipalities to tax all tourist lodging up to a maximum of three per cent.
Since last April, all short-term rentals must sign up with a provincial registry. They must also follow municipal land-use bylaws.
According to a staff report to council, a three per cent levy could raise about $240,000 per year. The extra revenue would go toward boosting local tourism efforts.
But first, staff is suggesting that the region consult the owners of such properties.
Staffing shortages are once again being blamed for ongoing temporary closures at the emergency department at Queens General Hospital in Liverpool.
Darlene Davis, the executive director for community and rural health for Nova Scotia Health’s western zone, said Thursday it boils down to not enough doctors or nurses, despite hiring efforts to bolster the Queens ER in the past year.
“We have seen more frequent closures than we’d like to see in the ED department, certainly,” she said in an interview.
“We’re constantly in a position of recruitment. And it is a challenge to try to keep staff onboarded. People leave for a variety of reasons, so whether it’s retirement or they’re relocating or just looking for other opportunities.”
The ER was closed from Wednesday morning at 11:30 to Thursday at 8 a.m. It closed again later Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and will reopen Friday morning at 8. It will remain open until Sunday at 5 a.m., when it will close until Monday at 8 a.m.
According to numbers provided by Nova Scotia Health, temporary closures affected the Queens General emergency department for 13 days in November, 15 in December, and 10 so far in January. Those were usually closures for part of the day, but some were full-day closures.
Davis said nurses are a key component to keeping the ER open. Queens General needs to hire 10 more in its emergency department alone. She didn’t know how many more doctors are needed.
“We have a significant vacancy rate there. We do add folks and we’ve got people who are leaving at the same time, so the bottom line is we need to continue to put our efforts toward recruitment and that’s our highest priority right now.”
Davis said ER schedules are planned at least four to eight weeks in advance, but they’re addressed on a daily basis.
“We certainly don’t plan to be closed. We plan to be open. And our goal is to provide as much reliability consistency as we possibly can to the community. So we’re striving to fill those shifts every day. Our goal is to be open seven days a week.”
People who need emergency care can go to the ER at South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, or call 911.
Patients of Queens Family Health can also access the same-day clinic for certain conditions by calling 902-354-3322.
The Mental Health and Addictions crisis line is available 24 hours a day at 1-888-429-8167.
Abigail Smith, 16, of Brooklyn, stands with her coach Jason Scott, displaying one of the two bronze medals she won at the Elite National Championships in Edmonton on Jan. 13 and 14. (Photo via Abigail Smith)
By Rick Conrad
Abigail Smith credits a lot of people for her success so far and so young in national and international judo meets.
Her parents, her coaches, her teammates, her teachers.
But what really gets her into a competitive frame of mind is some good ol’ country music.
“A lot of people like to listen to pump-up music before a fight, but I like to listen to my country music to keep my calm and not thinking about judo before I do judo. That helps me to not think about what I have to do and then do it.”
So far, listening to the likes of Sam Barber and Luke Combs has helped keep the 16-year-old Brooklyn resident on the straight and narrow.
She won two bronze medals at a national judo meet in Edmonton last weekend, just before her 16th birthday. And in November, she captured silver and bronze at the Pan American Cup in Montreal, her first international competition.
The medals at the Elite National Judo Championships in Edmonton were especially sweet, she says, because it featured the top judo athletes from across the country.
“This is the biggest event in Canada. It’s a lot of work to get selected. So this year this was my favourite medal. Of course, I’m never happy with a bronze medal but this medal meant something to me so I was very happy with that. It means a lot.”
In Edmonton, she had her sights set on beating a rival judoka she hadn’t defeated yet. When they met in the U-18 division on Saturday, Smith lost to her. But on Sunday, in the senior division, Smith came back with a vengeance.
“She was my first fight and I had a very hard fight but I beat her, so winning that bronze medal meant a lot to me because I had been training specifically to beat that one person. So it was a big moment, we’d been working a while for that, me and my coach.”
Smith has been working at judo for 11 years. Based at Nova United Martial Arts in Halifax, she trains three to four days a week for up to two hours each session. That’s in addition to regular cardio and strength workouts.
She said her father Troy Smith first got her interested in the sport.
“My first coach worked with my dad and my dad was like, ‘I have a crazy daughter at home that needs to get some energy out,’ and he brought me to judo with his co-workers.”
Smith, who is in Grade 10 at Liverpool Regional High School, hasn’t looked back. She is ranked in the Judo Canada Top 10 in the U-18 division. Sport Nova Scotia has chosen her to be one of 12 Nova Scotia True Sport Athlete Ambassadors for 2024. True Sport emphasizes fair, inclusive and safe play.
She’ll be travelling to Denmark in early February to compete in the Danish Open.
And she just found out that she was selected to be part of Team Canada at the International Thuringia Cup Judo in Germany on March 23.
Competing nationally and internationally does cut into her school work, Smith says, but her teachers have been very supportive.
“I’m able to do what I’m doing, missing a lot of school because the teachers are very understanding and help me with my work to help me catch back up. So it’s nice to have teachers supporting me.”
She also credits the community support she’s received from the Region of Queens, Folk Law, Main and Mersey, Best Western Plus Liverpool and Sport Nova Scotia, as well as her coach Jason Scott and her teammates.
“People think judo is an individual sport and it is an individual sport, but it’s a huge team sport because you can’t get anywhere without your team, your training partners,” she says. “And having a good team you can rely on in sport and outside of sport is really important and that’s what’s helped me get so far in judo.”
She says she’s learned a lot of valuable lessons from the sport.
“That what you put in comes out. Whatever you want, it can happen. But you just have to put in that work and that extra effort and if you don’t, you’re not going to see the results you want, but if you do, then you’ll see results. And to be patient.”
With that frame of mind, she says she’s on track for her next big goal.
“I always say that I will be competing at Olympics and representing Canada at worlds one day so what I want to happen, I always say is going to happen. So hopefully, it will happen one day, Team Canada and the Olympics hopefully. We’re on track for that now.”
Queens Ground Search and Rescue needs volunteers to continue the service. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Queens Ground Search and Rescue has an “urgent” need for volunteers.
Brian Hatt, the group’s search manager, said Monday that they can use people in various areas, but the top priority now is for volunteer ground searchers.
“So we want to put our cards on the table and let everyone know that we really need volunteers to keep this thing going,” he said.
“We can’t afford to lose (this group). There’s no replacement. The only alternative to our service would be to bring people from outside, like Halifax, Lunenburg, Barrington. And that’s going to add time to a response which we can’t afford, especially this time of year.”
Queens Ground Search and Rescue has been offering its services in Queens and other counties for more than 50 years. They cover mostly south Queens and help RCMP, other police agencies and the Emergency Management officials with ground searches, evacuations and recovery efforts.
Hatt said they have about 20 volunteers in their search and fundraising teams. He said at one time, they had more than 50 volunteers.
The group provides all the training, everything from ground searching to drone piloting to first aid. Members also receive provincial and federal incentives, such as bonuses and tax benefits, he said. And volunteers are also given a special licence plate to identify them as members.
“But you choose the route you want to take in the team. … And you’re going to be part of a team that’s well received and recognized and really rewarding when you’re on a successful search and you bring someone home to their family.”
He said he’s optimistic there are people in Queens County who want to get involved.
“I think there are some people that have some time out there that would really fit in well and help us keep this valuable service going. And I know the general public really appreciate when we’re working for them to try to find somebody.”
Volunteers must be more than 16 years old and pass a background check with the RCMP. For more information, contact Brian Hatt at 902-350-1413 or by email at brianhatt@eastlink.ca .
A Liverpool realtor says it’s time to reassess property assessments in Nova Scotia.
Kristopher Snarby says the recent assessment numbers from the Property Valuation Services Corporation are all over the place. And the system needs to change.
“My concern is that there’s just no consistency to any of it,” he said Friday.
“People should be able to understand why their property went up or down. And it’s just completely random.”
Nova Scotians began receiving their assessment notices this week.
The independent, non-profit corporation says 2024 assessments are based on sales and financial data and reflect a market value as of Jan. 1, 2023, and the physical state of properties as of Dec. 1, 2023, including new construction, renovations, demolitions, and impacts from natural disasters.
Nova Scotia’s overall assessments rose by just under 18 per cent.
Residential property assessments in Queens County rose by 25 per cent. The total residential assessment value for Queens County is $1.978 billion, an increase of just under $400 million.
Snarby looked at 10 adjacent homes in Liverpool. He said the increase in assessed value ranged from five per cent to 90 per cent. And the overall average assessment increase for those 10 properties was 44 per cent, he said.
He said house sales in Liverpool rose 20 per cent in 2021/22, but dropped by seven per cent in 2022/23. In all of Queens County, he says they rose by 17 per cent in 2021/22 and dropped by three per cent in 2022/23.
“If they’re saying that the value of a home is based on market sales data, you would think they should rise about the same percentage if nothing has changed with those homes,” he said.
He said even if the PVSC used sales data from 2021/22 which showed about a 20 per cent rise in sales in Liverpool, assessments shouldn’t be going up more than 20 per cent.
“If you have houses that have not been touched, they should all go up by the same amount or down by the same amount.
“It’s completely bonkers the way this is done. There’s nothing that connects it to any hard, real numbers.”
No one from the Property Valuation Services Corporation was available for an interview. But in an emailed statement, a spokeswoman said PVSC uses a standard mass appraisal system, which values a group of properties as of a given date.
She said if homeowners have concerns, they can speak to a PVSC assessor at 1-800-380-7775 or by email at inquiry@pvsc.ca. Information is also on their website at pvsc.ca.
Homeowners can also file an appeal, but Snarby says that’s a double-edged sword because it might result in a higher assessment.
Snarby said the provincial government needs to take a look at the system.
“A lot of people are hurting right now and when the value of your house is suddenly tripled in a year or more, it’s another thing in life that’s super costly and expensive for people to try to cover these bills.”
The deadline for appeals is Feb. 8. Nova Scotians filed more than 13,000 appeals in 2023.
A 66-year-old Chester Grant man is in hospital after his logging truck rolled and hit a power pole in Buckfield, Queens County, on Sunday morning, RCMP said Monday.
Queens District RCMP, firefighters and EHS responded to a single-vehicle crash at 10:52 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 210 and Labelle Road. The tractor trailer was travelling westbound on Highway 210 and suffered extensive damage.
The intersection was closed for several hours and residents were without power as Nova Scotia Power crews replaced the damaged pole. Power has been restored to the area and the road is reopened.
The driver, who was the only person in the truck, had to be extracted from the truck. He was seriously injured and had to be airlifted to hospital. RCMP said in a news release Monday that his injuries are not life-threatening.
The Nova Scotia government is contributing more than $20,000 to physical activity projects in Queens County.
Queens MLA Kim Masland announced the $23,435 in funding for various initiatives in the Region of Queens.
“The support for the Region of Queens Municipality is a great opportunity to encourage more active lifestyles across our community,” Masland said Thursday in a news release.
“It’s encouraging to see such diverse initiatives being implemented, promoting health and wellness for all.”
The money comes from the Active Communities Fund, part of the Nova Scotia government’s strategy to boost physical activity in the province.
It will be up to the municipality to decide which programs receive the funding.
The Nova Scotia minimum wage is increasing to $15.20 an hour on April 1. (Robert Owen-Wahl via Pixabay)
By Rick Conrad
Nova Scotia’s minimum wage will be going up by 20 cents an hour to $15.20 on April 1.
Jill Balser, Nova Scotia’s minister of labour, skills and immigration, announced the raise in a news release on Wednesday.
Nova Scotia’s minimum wage review committee established a formula which would adjust the minimum wage by the national consumer price index, plus one percentage point, from the rate set the previous April.
This year, that means an increase of 4.7 per cent over last April’s rate, which was $14.50 an hour.
“This year has been very difficult for many Nova Scotians – business owners and workers alike,” Balser said in the release.
“I am grateful to the minimum wage review committee for putting forward the perspective of both employers and employees so we can ensure a balanced approach to increasing the minimum wage.”
Even with the adjustment, the basic rate is still below what some researchers say is a living wage.
In a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, released in September, the living wage is defined as the hourly rate that a household with two full-time workers and two children (ages 2 and 7) requires to meet its basic needs.
The group includes government transfers such as the Canada Child Benefit and deductions, as well as employment income to arrive at a living wage.
For the southern region of Nova Scotia, which includes Queens County, the living wage was calculated at $25.05 an hour.
The group has called on the Nova Scotia government to increase the minimum wage to $20 an hour.
According to the province, about 26,200 Nova Scotians or six per cent of workers, worked for minimum wage from April 2022 to March 2023. They worked primarily in retail, food and accommodation.
Nova Scotia Vice President Trevor LaPlante, Queens Mayor Darlene Norman and Owner Moe Nashman officially open the Liverpool call centre, April 4, 2022. Photo Ed Halverson
One of the largest private sector employers in Queens County is asking where his employees will find a place to live.
President and owner of Global Empire Corporation Moe Nashman made the comments at an event celebrating the grand opening of their call centre on White Point Road in Liverpool, Monday.
The call centre employs 120 people and Nashman says he would love to double that number.
“There’s a lot of people that want to work and for me to bring them from out of town into town, I can offer them employment and I know Sobeys and all the other grocery stores can offer them food, we just need to know where they live,” said Nashman. “If I could offer them housing, I could fill this place in five minutes.”
Global Empire already has call centres in Orlando, Florida and Boise, Idaho.
Liverpool is the company’s first call centre in Canada.
As he provided a tour of the refurbished facility, Nashman pointed to the rows of cubicles that filled half a large, open workspace.
Global Empire call centre cubicles. Photo Ed Halverson
He says the company has already ordered the furniture and equipment to fill the rest of the space.
“I would like to start hiring by the end of the year for the second half, but I do need to figure out the accommodation/housing for employees,” said Nashman.
Most of the call centre employees live within the Region of Queens but roughly 20 commute from outside the municipality with some travelling as much as an hour and a half each way.
Nashman is hoping to speak with provincial officials to learn what can be done to make housing more available.
“In five minutes, I could load an airplane full of people that want to come to Nova Scotia. Where they [are] going to live, I have no idea and that’s the biggest problem,” said Nashman.
He says an influx of a couple of hundred people to the area would benefit the region and the province as a whole.
As the tour concluded, Nashman added the company is still looking to hire another 10 people this round and is accepting applications.
Kelly says the profiles were part of a photo project completed ten years ago by Katy Hopkins and Stephen Cooper to showcase some of the businesses.
“All of these businesses are, basically, still operating in Queens County, which I thought was really great too,” said Kelly. “The longevity of it all was a really great piece to highlight.”
Until recently, the photos occupied the walls of South Shore Opportunities office.
When that organization downsized their space, the pictures found a new home with the Chamber of Commerce.
Kelly says most of the businesses she profiled aren’t high visibility, main street style enterprises.
South Queens Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Heather Kelly. Photo Ed Halverson
They’re people who have carved a niche in the market and could work from anywhere and choose Queens.
“It just goes to show, you know, being able to work here in Queens County, work remotely, work from home, that sort of thing and they all love doing business here. [It’s a] great place to live, that’s why they’re here,” said Kelly.
She would like to see the excitement created for the businesses and chamber of commerce by the profiles to continue.
“I would love to do this project again, highlight some new businesses and do this type of thing every year on an annual basis.”
Kelly is pleased to say that going forward, the photos will be publicly displayed at Work Evolved on Main Street.
Cover art from “Remembering Queens County vol. 3” Courtesy Tim McDonald
A local author’s latest book is sure to stir memories for Queens County residents.
Tim McDonald’s new book is the third volume in the “Remembering Queens County, Nova Scotia” series.
McDonald said because it focuses on the 1950s and 60s it feels a lot less like the typical history books he usually writes.
“People really love it. It’s not just a book of history, it’s a book of memories because there are so many people that would remember what’s in this new book of mine,” said McDonald.
Along with stories, the book is full of photographs of the era. McDonald dedicated the book to the three photographers responsible for the images: Armand Wigglesworth, Ralph Morton and Ken Dagley.
He said part of the research for the book involved posting photos to social media, which, more often than not, would start a lively discussion. McDonald said history he may not have had access to comes pouring out when people recount their memories of a photo.
“People don’t realize I’m asking because it’s for a story I’m working on.,” said McDonald. “I’ll say, who worked at Liverpool Ladies Wear or who worked at the Worthmore store? It creates interest, it creates conversation, but it also gives me the information I need for my stories.”
McDonald began writing this book in the midst of writing his previous release and didn’t think he would have it published until 2021.
The pandemic changed all that for him, in the best possible way.
“With COVID, I was home an awful lot more. I expected this wouldn’t get done until next year,” said McDonald. “But because I was home so much in the spring, night after night, I had to do something.”
McDonald currently lives in Halifax and had planned to return to Liverpool to release the book in person but due to COVID-19 precautions, he decided travelling outside of metro wouldn’t be responsible.
Instead, he has sent a batch of autographed books and enlisted some local friends to sell them in his place Saturday between 10:00am and 2:00pm at Work Evolved, located in the formers Oscars space on Main Street.
McDonald is optimistic the book will resonate for a large swath of people in Queens.
“I think anybody that’s at least 40 years old or older and lived in Liverpool, there’s going to be something in this book they’re going to remember. But for the people my parent’s age, in their 70s or 80s, they’ll remember everything.”
Xaver Varnus looks on as his pipe organ is taken apart before transport. Photo credit: Xaver Varnus
One of the most renowned pipe organ players in the world is making his home in Queens because of a mosquito bite.
Xaver Varnus was searching online for a church to buy when a mosquito bit his hand.
While swatting it, he moved the cursor away from the Ontario map he had been looking at and had the good fortune to land in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia.
“And I just realized that in Nova Scotia, there’s a huge beautiful, building, it’s a church with amazing acoustics,” said Varnus. “ So finally I said, this is the mosquito of God.”
That building is the former Pilgram United Church in Brooklyn.
Varnus says he was drawn to the church because of its location and all wood construction.
“Some of the new churches, which is made by [with] dry-wall, actually the acoustic is very dry, like a carpet store, it’s terrible. But somehow the wood church, even if small, has a very rare, very unique acoustic,” said Varnus.
The former Pilgram United Church has an all-wood interior. Photo credit: Xaver Varnus
He is renovating the parish house as his home and is making some upgrades to the church itself.
Still the church was missing one key feature and that’s a pipe organ.
He quickly set about looking for one and as luck would have it, the First Baptist Church in Truro had posted theirs for sale.
Not only was an organ available locally, but, it fit the Brooklyn church perfectly.
Moving a 14 ton organ made up of 3,000 pipes is no easy undertaking.
Some of the 3,000 pipes that make up the new pipe organ. Photo credit: Xaver Varnus
Varnus hired Colin Walsh and his team to dissemble, transport and reassemble the pipe organ.
The crew have moved the organ from Truro and have been putting it back together in its new home all week.
Varnus estimates it should be in place and operational before the end of the month.
He has been overwhelmed by the reception from the people in his new home. Since arriving in Brooklyn from Ontario, he had to follow the COVID-19 quarantine protocols. He says once he was finished his isolation, his neighbours , curious about the church’s new owner, have been bringing him food and gifts to welcome him to the community.
He intends to return that kindness by treating them to a short concert program of Bach once the pipe organ is installed, and according to Varnus, the best tea they’ve ever had.
That will be the first of many performances Varnus has in mind as he plans to put both the organ and his phone book to good use.
Over the years he has become friends with musicians from around the globe and he will be inviting many of them to visit Brooklyn.
Despite the massive renovations, for Varnus, owning an independent church with it’s own great pipe organ is a dream come true.
He says even when he falls to sleep at night exhausted he wakes with a burst of energy, eager to experience another day.
“What is the only difference between me and most of the other organists at age,” said Varnus. “I think God made a mistake and he put three more batteries in my back.”
