SQ investigates arson at NOVA facility
The storage facility for La Boutique NOVA in Hudson was gutted by a fire in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The storage building shares a wall with the Main Rd. boutique, which sells gently used clothes to help fund the many health and wellness NOVA outreach programs. Sûreté du Québec confirmed that firefighters were called to the scene at 3:20 a.m. The fire is considered suspicious in nature and an investigation has been launched. An empty gasoline container was found nearby. “It is devastating,” NOVA volunteer Janet Ellerbeck said. “That’s where we stored all our Christmas dresses and coats. All the good stuff. We lost thousands of dollars in stock.” Ellerbeck said that people donate high-end coats including shearling jackets and mink coats. The fur coats sell for up to $400. Ellerbeck spearheaded the opening of a NOVA clothing boutique in Hudson after visiting the NOVA boutique in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue 10 years ago. Ellerbeck said that the boutique has raised close to $1 million, which goes right back into the community through services such as home-based palliative nursing, bereavement support for children and adults and an adult day centre. The store front portion of the boutique sustained only smoke damage and is open for business. “We’re having a fire sale,” Ellerbeck said. “We have big fans going. The clothes don’t smell and people seemed to be thrilled at the discounts we’re offering.” The fire will not prevent the boutique’s fashion-show fundraiser from taking place at the Whitlock Golf and Country Club Oct. 29 at noon. As luck would have it, the volunteer models had taken their outfits home with them. And Ellerbeck had taken the silk scarves, designer handbags and jewelry home with her in preparation for the event. “The people in Hudson have been wonderful,” Ellerbeck said. “The owner of an empty building across the street has offered us the location. And the Sterling Arts Boutique has offered us clothing racks, because our racks were destroyed in the fire, too.” Ellerbeck is having a hard time understanding why anyone would do such a thing to the charity boutique, but she said people leaving bars at closing time can sometimes get rowdy. Because so much of the holiday/ winter season garments were lost in the fire, the boutique needs to replenish. Ellerbeck suggested that if each person attending the fundraiser at the golf club brought a nice item — a coat, dress or accessory — it would go a long way toward restocking the storeroom. “And now we have the building across the street to store everything,” she said. Tickets for the Boutique NOVA Luncheon and Fundraiser Fashion Show cost $50 and are available at the boutique (455 Main Rd.) and the Maison NOVA furniture store (538 Main Rd.). For information, call 450-2026682 or visit the Boutique NOVA Facebook page. For more information about the services offered by NOVA, visit www.novahudson.com.