A fire off the West Berlin Wharf Road on Monday evening seen from the beach in West Berlin. (Rick Conrad)

A house was razed in a suppertime blaze in West Berlin on Monday.

Queens District RCMP and firefighters from Liverpool, Port Medway, North Queens, Greenfield, Mill Village, Italy Cross/Middlewood, Bridgewater and Dayspring responded to the fire at about 5:50 p.m. on the West Berlin Wharf Road. There were more than a dozen emergency vehicles on scene.

The building was fully engulfed shortly after fire crews got there, with flames seen shooting into the sky from across Blueberry Bay. Cars lined the Eastern Shore Road near the small beach in West Berlin to watch the fire from across the bay and take photos.

“At the scene, there were reports of gunshots or fireworks,” RCMP spokesperson Cindy Bayers told QCCR on Tuesday.

“No firearm was located in the area and no injuries were reported. One man was safely arrested. At this time, he’s not facing any charges and the investigation is ongoing.”

The oceanfront property down a long lane is a good distance away from West Berlin Wharf where lobster fishermen have their boats tied. One woman parked near the beach said she was worried her father’s building at the wharf was in danger, but said she soon realized the fire was far enough away.

Along with the house, a truck was also destroyed in the blaze and at least two outbuildings sustained damage.

Crews were on scene most of the night and into the early morning. They were called back to the scene around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after reports of hot spots possibly reigniting.

The fire was fully extinguished by Tuesday afternoon.

The Liverpool fire chief could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

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Ronnie Conrad on the West Berlin Wharf on Friday, on the last day of lobster fishing season. (Rick Conrad)

Friday was the last day of lobster fishing season on Nova Scotia’s South Shore.

And fishermen at wharves in Queens County say it was a good one.

Ronnie Conrad of West Berlin has been fishing for 44 years. He said conditions on the water were rougher than last year, with more wind, but catches were up. 

“(It’s) been a real good season. It started off good, but it didn’t sound like it was going to be a real good season all over, but I call it a real good season.

“We were up probably stock-wise another 25, 30 per cent.”

Almost 1,700 licensed vessels fish along Nova Scotia’s southwestern shore, from Cow Bay near Halifax, around the southwestern end of the province to the Bay of Fundy.

The season opened in lobster fishing area 33 on Nov. 26. That’s the area from Cow Bay to Shelburne. And it began a couple of days later in LFA 34, which takes in the rest of southwestern Nova Scotia to Digby County. 

Conrad said he thinks most fishermen in both districts did well.

“Overall, I think everybody came out pretty good. Southwest, District 34, was down all fall and all winter, but they had a real good spring. So that was a plus for them.”

He said he usually fishes about 25 kilometres off shore in the winter time, leaving at 3 in the morning and getting back about 12 hours later. And for the first few days of the season, if catches are good, he and his crew will be out for up to 20 hours, hauling as many as 500 traps total, double what they would do on a normal day.

This year, though, he decided to stick closer to the coast.

“Normally, I go out there probably about 16, 17 miles in the wintertime. But this year, I didn’t venture out that far because there weren’t any lobsters offshore.

“It got cold quick. It started off colder than last year too. It keeps the catch down. Lobster won’t crawl in cold water. This spring it warmed up quick and we had an excellent spring. Everywhere along the coast we had a real good spring.”

Lobster fisherman Mike Mattatall unloaded his last catch of the season at the wharf in Port Medway on Friday. (Rick Conrad)

38-year-old Mike Mattatall from Sable River has been fishing most of his life. For the past three years, he’s had his own boat out of Port Medway. 

“Every season is so different. Last year was probably a little more in catch, but the average price through the winter helped sell some more lobsters through (last) winter because the water was warmer. Colder water made the winter pretty slow this year.”

Mattatall said prices started out around $9 a pound this season, went up as high as $20 in the winter when the catch was scarce and settled around $7 a pound this spring.

Just because the season’s over, though, it doesn’t mean the work stops. Fishermen will spend the summer and fall fixing up their boats, building new traps and spending some time with their families.

But you won’t hear people like Mattatall and Conrad complain.

“It’s a lifestyle, though. I don’t really know what it is, comparable to other kind of work. You’d probably have to come do it and tell me how much different it is than your job. It depends on who you are. We don’t find it hard. We like it.”

Conrad says he’s not going to retire yet.

“My wife wants me to be done now, but the money’s just too good yet, so I’m gonna hang in for another year or two anyway.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Seaside Centre. Photo Damien van den Berg

Residents have voted down a request for an area rate to support the Seaside Recreation Centre.

The centre’s board is asking Region of Queens council to impose a tax of four cents per hundred dollars of assessment on property owners in Assessment District 7, which includes Beach Meadows, Eagle Head, East Berlin, West Berlin, and Port Medway.

Of the 223 people who turned out at the Seaside Centre Wednesday night, 192 were against the area rate while only 30 cast ballots in support.

Spokesperson for the Seaside Recreation and Community Centre Association Damien van den Berg was surprised by the lopsided result.

“I was probably thinking it would have been more evenly split,” said van den Berg.

The vote itself is non-binding on regional council but the results will be taken into account when they consider the rest of the area rate application at an upcoming meeting.

Based on this result, van den Berg suspects the group may have some work to do.

“I don’t think we’re going to get exactly what we applied for. If we get something, great, if we get nothing, that’s okay too,” said van den Berg. “But if you don’t ask the question, you don’t get an answer.”

Council can decide to award the proposed rate, decrease the amount or not agree to the request at all.

While funding is still an issue for the Seaside Centre, van den Berg says a silver lining could still come out of this.

“I think there’s individuals that may not have been aware of the situation that are stepping up and potentially going to volunteer or potentially donate or look at other ways of helping support so we’ll see how that all works out.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Seaside Centre. Photo Damien van den Berg

A local community centre is looking to collect funding from area residents property tax bills.

The Seaside Recreation and Community Centre is asking Region of Queens council to approve an area rate of four cents on every hundred dollars of assessed property value for residents of Beach Meadows, Eagle Head, West Berlin, East Berlin and Port Medway.

On a $150,000 home, the area rate would amount to an extra $60 on the homeowners property tax bill.

The treasurer of the volunteer board operating the Seaside Community Centre Damien van den Berg understands no one wants to see their taxes go up, but hopes when people understand the situation they will get on board.

“Even just putting paint on the wall is difficult unless you’ve got money to do that,” said van den Berg. “Primarily the challenge has been operating a building versus operating a community centre.”

van den Berg says the board would like to focus on repairing the basketball courts, fixing up trails and painting lines for pickleball to attract more users but can’t because they’re working on keeping the lights on every month.

Figures submitted by the board to the Region of Queens show an operating deficit of over $6,000 for 2020.

During the year, Seaside Centre received almost $2,000 in donations and raised $358 from an online raffle.

The group has applied to the federal and provincial government for grants to make the basement level fully accessible. The federal funding will build a ramp and renovate the existing washrooms. While the money from the province will go to install 7 heat pumps to lower the heating costs and provide better control over the temperature and humidity.

But neither of those grants will assist in the day-to-day operations of the recreation centre.

van den Berg is concerned the centre cannot continue to rely on donations to fund their activities and needs to find a steady stream of income to go forward. The area rate is expected to provide $35,000 each year

“The cost associated to that increase is quite low year over year, like $50-$60 a year isn’t a significant amount of money from an assessment perspective in order to have a facility that supports the community,” said van den Berg.

He believes the community is looking for the Seaside Centre to be more than it is. And if the area rate is approved, they will have the stability to return their focus from maintaining a building to upgrading the facility and improving their offerings.

“I like to say I’d rather buy a bunch of hockey sticks and hockey nets for the kids that are in the community than being able to turn the lights on,” said van den Berg.

Area residents will have a say in whether or not they’re willing to foot the bill.

A vote will be held on the proposed area rate at the Seaside Centre on March 3.

To cast a ballot, a person must be 18 years of age, a Canadian citizen and permanently reside in Beach Meadows, Eagle Head, East Berlin, West Berlin, or Port Medway on March 3, 2021.

The vote itself will not determine whether or not the area rate will go ahead. The results will be presented to Region of Queens council and used as part of their process as they decide whether or not to introduce the area rate during their annual budget deliberations over the next month.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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