Looking back at Shelburne County history

From 1982

There was a sense that better days were ahead in Lockeport. The community had been going through a tough economic time as it continued to feel the impact of a fish plant fire from a couple of years earlier. In the summer of 1980, fire had destroyed Lockeport’s National Sea Products facility. By the fall of 1981, with unemployment insurance benefits running out for those who had worked at the plant, there was much concern over what the winter might be like, but things hadn’t been as bad as they could have been, thanks to some help from the government, local officials said. Meanwhile, National Sea was building a new plant and another local fish processor was looking to expand.

*** Concern was being expressed over the impending loss of a Barrington-area ambulance service. A spokesman for the service, which was expected to end in October 1982, attributed the situation to a lack of funding and shortage of volunteers. The service had started a decade earlier – in 1972 – and initially had been entirely run by volunteers. By 1979, with volunteers harder to get, the service had found it necessary to hire a driver and dispatcher, the spokesman said, but now an issue with funding – or rather the lack of it – meant the service’s days apparently were numbered.

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Three major capital projects for Shelburne County schools were awaiting approval from the provincial cabinet. The projects were for Lockeport Regional High School (estimated cost: $727,000), Shelburne Regional High School ($897,484) and Clark’s Harbour Elementary School ($ 605,000). The projects had been in the works for several years and had been approved by the education department and by the school board, but they required the goahead from the cabinet in order to proceed.

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It was spring, but it had still looked very much like winter when the area was hit recently by a snowstorm that resulted in several school closures and left some communities without power. While the amount of snow might not have been significant on its own, the precipitation had been accompanied by wind gusts exceeding 80 km/h.

From 1995

A sod-turning ceremony was held on Sherose Island at the site of the Barrington municipal arena project. About 100 people were on hand for the ceremony, including Steve Stoddart, the Barrington warden at the time, who said, “Finally the day is here. Let’s enjoy this.” Those attending the event included local MLA Clifford Huskilson and MP Derek Wells. The province was contributing $500,000 to the project and the federal government was giving $300,000. The tenders for the project were scheduled to be opened April 28. Building the arena was expected to take about seven months.

***

A local group was working on a community economic development plan for Shelburne County and three public meetings were held as part of the process. A spokesperson for the Shelburne County Marine Advisory Committee, which was working on the plan, said the downsizing of services in small communities and the movement of services to larger areas was hurting the local economy and making the area less attractive to prospective new industries.

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The sanction process, licence and lobster car fees, trap limits and licence transfers were among the key issues for the newly formed Sou’West Nova Lobster Association. What set this group apart from others, a spokesman for the association said, was that its focus was on one particular district and one particular species.

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Also in 1982, the Municipality of Shelburne was going to continue funding the Western Counties Regional Library after all. In February, the municipality had given notice that – as a cost-cutting measure – it no longer would fund the library, but at its April 10 meeting, Shelburne municipal council had rescinded that motion. Council had drawn much criticism for its initial decision to cut financial support for the library.