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.
Region of Queens Coun. Stewart Jenkins, Queens MLA Kim Masland and Greenfield and District Fire Chief Moyal Conrad at a funding announcement Monday about improvements at the fire hall. (Rick Conrad)
The Greenfield and District Fire Department will get much-needed improvements to its fire hall, with $600,000 in provincial funding announced Monday by Queens MLA and Emergency Management Minister Kim Masland.
“This funding will help ensure that the people who protect this area have the space and the infrastructure that they need,” Masland said at an event at the hall.
The support was part of almost $800,000 Masland announced for projects in Queens County at the Greenfield fire hall.
The Greenfield department is planning a $1.1- to $1.3-million renovation and expansion to its fire hall and emergency bays.
The work will ensure that the bays are the correct size for modern fire trucks. It will also create a dedicated bay for its rescue truck. Now, firefighters have to spend extra time driving a fire truck out of the bay to access the rescue truck.
The whole building is also getting a facelift, with new steel siding and other exterior improvements.
Renovations to the fire hall will make it even more useful as a community hall and a registered comfort centre.
Along with additional, expanded and accessible washrooms and separate shower rooms, the kitchen is getting a major facelift. At the fire hall’s popular fundraising breakfasts, volunteers can serve up to 300 people. With a new commercial kitchen, they will be able to serve more than 100 people an hour.
Chief Moyal Conrad told QCCR it will be the first time in 35 years that the fire hall has had significant work done.
“This will mean for us as a fire department it’s going to make my firemen safer, be able to respond faster and hopefully put a little more pride into their community with a new structure and all this gear potentially we could get out of this grant.”
The provincial contribution is on top of $200,000 from the Region of Queens Municipality and about $125,000 from the fire department’s own fundraising efforts.
Conrad said the department will raise the rest of the money.
Stewart Jenkins, a local business owner and municipal councillor for the area, is acting as the project manager for the hall overhaul.
He said the work will begin in a couple of weeks and be mostly finished by Christmas and likely wrapped up by April.
Jenkins said the work is vital to ensure the fire hall can continue to support the community.
“It’s an important factor that we get the trucks out of the bays faster and especially the specific trucks that need to go can go immediately. And as far as the hall imporvements, it’s to become a centre for people if they need it. If there are power outages or whatnot, they can stay close to home and still get fed and showered and taken care of.”
Masland also announced $187,143.35 in funding from the province on Monday for groups maintaining trails in Queens.
The Queens Rails to Trails Association will get $144,345 for work on the Hunts Point Trail, including brushing, ditching, resurfacing and culvert replacement. The group will also get a total of $25,034 in an annual maintenance grant to look after various trails in Queens.
The Queens County ATV Association is receiving $17,763.75 for development of the new Deep Brook Trail, which will stretch from Highway 8 to River Road in Milton.
