Stay on the course set by Fun Run

To the editor:

It’s May and this is usually the time of year that we hold the Hubtown Youth Fun Run. Originally held at the TAAC grounds and later at the Truro Raceway and Agridome, the run has been a successful event for the past 10 years. We have partnered with schools and local businesses to host this positive event for students from Primary through to grade nine. From 2007 to 2016 we have had thousands of local kids participate in a fun event where they are part of a group that goes for a run, has a healthy snack and maybe, if they’re lucky, wins a bike!

We have been fortunate to be supported by many local businesses for years and have included their names on the backs of our t-shirts each year. We developed a School Spirit award and watched as dedicated teachers and students started up running clubs with the support of parents and in one case even a school bus driver who adjusted their schedule in order to make it possible for students to participate. Winners of the School Spirit Award could use their winnings to contribute to the purchase of fitness related equipment for their school.

Doctors Nova Scotia promoted and supported running programs in schools and our run offered students a local event that was enjoyed by many. The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board allowed us to distribute information and speak to classes about the Fun Run. Local physicians and the health authority provided support as well.

We want to thank everyone who came out over the years: the runners, the volunteers, those who provided pre-run exercise, face painting and warmups – the local doctors who volunteered and the staff at the NSPE as well as the race horse owners who let us use the track on a Saturday morning.

The run was created by Dr. Barry Wheeler who had the vision to recognize that our community needed an event that would promote running, an inexpensive way to exercise, to children. We are taking this year off to re-focus our energy and determine the best way that we can continue to promote our commitment to encouraging all families to be healthy and get out and run.

So, until we have our plan ready for 2018, put on your sneakers and go out for a walk or a run and take your kids. Have fun with it.

Thank you for your support over the years.

Submitted on behalf of

Dr. Mike Murray, Leslie Henderson, Raj Makkar, Tracey Ungar electricity. That is, until someone proposes a windmill farm anywhere near where they live.

Consider, also, the natural gas storage facility currently being developed near Alton. The residents of the Alton area paid little attention to the leaflets that were circulated prior to the naming of the specific site. Once the site was named there was an immediate uproar. Had the chosen site been elsewhere probably none of the folks around Alton would have uttered one word of complaint.

We are now well into another provincial election. How many eligible voters will take the time to discover what issues are at stake? If past patterns are followed, a large percentage of eligible voters will not bother even to cast a vote.

In Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley we have an incumbent Conservative MLA in Larry Harrison. He is a highly respected person in the area and now has valuable experience that he can use in the service of his constituents.

We have enough lawyers and accountants in government. They can oversee the legal and financial affairs of the province. We need someone who can offer a deeper perspective on the social consequences of government programs.

Larry Harrison served many years as United Church Minister in Brookfield-Middle Stewiacke. He could provide valuable insight into issues that affect people directly.

An elephant is hiding in the bushes in this election. That elephant takes shape as PC Leader Jamie Baillie’s plan to allow fracking in Nova Scotia. Although Mr. Baillie states it as “developing the energy industry in Nova Scotia,” that can only mean fracking for natural gas.

This presents many problems, the most serious of which is the very likely contamination of our drinking water. Any jobs that might come would be short term but the water pollution from fracking could be permanent.

We can choose to ignore this issue and later react in anger and fear or we can take a stand now to prevent fracking in Nova Scotia. When considering your vote, remember the folks in Alton who now have a gas storage facility they don’t want in their neighbourhood. Indifference often comes with a very large price tag.

I would like to vote for Larry Harrison. Unfortunately, that means voting for fracking and there is just too much at stake. Sorry, Larry.

Orland Kennedy, Brookfield