November 2017

Health-care rally held in Shelburne

Shelburne-area residents concerned about health-care accessibility in their community had a chance to express their thoughts at a public session. Among those in attendance were people who were waiting to access health care, those who didn’t have a physician and those who had faced emergencies during times of emergency room closures at the Roseway Hospital. Indeed, the frequency of ER closures in Shelburne was one of the issues that led to the healthcare rally being organized. “No one can predict when we will have an emergency,” said Shelburne Mayor Karen Mattatall. “The ER should be open 24/7.” The plan was to create a video – featuring interviews of people expressing their healthcare concerns – to help get the word out. It was important that people’s voices were heard, the mayor said. “This is the only way to effect change,” she said.

Coast guard member from Shelburne County was honoured for bravery

A Shelburne County man who risked his life during a rescue at sea was honoured by the province with a Medal of Bravery. Leading Seaman Eric Nickerson of the Canadian Coast Guard was one of four Nova Scotians recognized for their heroic efforts. The medals were presented Nov. 8 in Halifax. Nickerson was a crewmember on a coast guard vessel that in November 2016 was tasked with helping to rescue a 68-year-old man from a 32-foot sailboat with a broken mainsail boom that was taking on water in rough seas about 50 miles offshore. The man ended up being knocked into the water by a wave and Nickerson dove in after him and was able to save him.

Disconnecting from public Wi-Fi

The downtown Digby area soon would be without public Wi-Fi, but a town official said Wi-Fi remained on Digby’s radar. The public wireless network had been installed by local internet and networking company bNetworked. It was an initiative to try to connect the town with local business, but it proved difficult to manage after businesses didn’t buy into the new advertising platform. “There was a steep learning curve with An Aurora aircraft from 14 Wing Greenwood made an emergency landing at the Yarmouth airport Nov. 16 after smoke reportedly had been detected in the cockpit. this and it was challenging,” said bNeworked owner Brian Joudrey. Tom Ossinger, the Town of Digby’s CAO, said the town probably would take the winter to consider what other options there might be. Referring to the bNetworked project, Ossinger said, “We tried but couldn’t find a way to keep this going.”

Initiative shining light on woman abuse was introduced to tri-counties

The Shine a Light on Woman Abuse campaign was developed by the London Abused Women’s Centre and November 2017 marked the campaign’s debut in southwestern Nova Scotia. As part of the month-long initiative, people were invited to use purple lighting to draw attention to the problem of violence against women. The effort would lead into the blue ribbon campaign, which is held annually in late November/early December. Lisa Newell-Bain, executive director of Juniper House, was asked if she felt progress was being made in the fight against violence against women. “People are talking about it more,” she said, “and I think people are reaching out for services more. There’s still much more work that needs to be done, but it is a community effort and I think this community has been very receptive and very supportive.”

Smoke in cockpit resulted in unscheduled landing for Aurora

A CP-140 Aurora aircraft made an emergency landing at the Yarmouth International Airport after the airport was told the crew had detected smoke in the cockpit. There were no injuries and any emergency had dissipated quickly by the time the plane was down safely on the runway. The tower operator in Yarmouth had received a call from Moncton Air Traffic Control that an Aurora was going to touch down very quickly at the Yarmouth airport. “They had smoke in the cockpit, no fire,” said Yarmouth airport manager Mike Fields. A spokesman for 14 Wing Greenwood said an investigation would be done to find out what had happened. Meanwhile, although the incident wasn’t more serious, Fields said the airport was prepared and things went smoothly.

Effort underway to make change in Clare as ‘seamless as possible’

A transition committee had been formed and was meeting monthly to discuss major changes coming to the school system in Clare. A few months after a decision by the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) to close four elementary schools in the Municipality of Clare – two to be closed at the end of the 2017-18 school year, the two others to be shut down at the end of the school year in 2022 – there were questions and some uncertainty among the affected communities. The plan eventually is to have a new school built to replace the existing four. That decision lies with the province. Before then, however, students displaced by the scheduled closure of the first two schools (St. Albert and Jean-Marie Gay) at the end of the 2017-18 academic year would be relocated to the two schools remaining open (Stella-Maris and Joseph-Dugas). The latter two schools would be shut down four years later, when/ if a new school would be ready, according to the CSAP’s decision.

Customs issue in Portland raised questions about Cat ferry service

There was word of potentially rough waters for the ferry service between Yarmouth and Portland due to a customs issue on the American side of the route. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) said it would suspend customs for the ferry service beyond the 2017 season if the City of Portland did not make upgrades to facilities at the Ocean Gateway terminal. The work was expected to cost about $6 million to $7 million. A spokesperson for the City of Portland said they did not want to lose the ferry but that the cost of the required work was too high for the city to shoulder on its own. She said they would try to come up with an interim solution that would enable the ferry service to continue in 2018. Bay Ferries president and CEO Mark MacDonald said his company had been working with both USCBP and the City of Portland “to attempt to identify appropriate solutions to this issue.”

Windy forecast prompted one-day delay for start of lobster fishery

The opening of the 2017-18 lobster season in LFA 33 and 34 was delayed by a day due to anticipated windy weather. The season was scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 27, but the start was pushed back to Tuesday, Nov. 28. Dumping day – the day vessels head to their fishing grounds loaded with traps and gear – is considered the Eric Nickerson of Shelburne County (third from left) was among those recognized for their bravery during a Nov. 8 ceremony in Halifax. Nickerson received a medal for saving a man during a coast guard rescue mission in November 2016. Xoe Nickerson of Yarmouth got to spend the day mentoring with entrepreneur Mandy Rennehan last week as part of a Barbie/Mattel initiative called You Can Be Anything. On this day the focus was on trades and seeing more women become involved in them. Afterwards there was a celebration at a Pop-Up Party at the Yarmouth Mall. The start of the lobster season in southwestern Nova Scotia was delayed by one day due to winds. Dumping day instead happened on the last Tuesday of November, instead of the last Monday of November. riskiest day of the six-month season. Safety again was a priority as the season began, and while there were no incidents reported on the first day, the second day was a different story, with a number of vessels requiring assistance. On one vessel, a medical issue resulted in a 25-year-old man being airlifted. Elsewhere, a vessel’s crew was picked up by another boat after issuing a Mayday signal due to a mechanical failure. Heading into the new season, the Lobster Council of Canada said there was reason for optimism. Among other things, it cited the Canada-U.S. exchange rate, as well as positive developments regarding the export of lobsters to Europe.