Discussion on poppy trays continues

e Colchester East Hants Library Board is sticking to its guns with a decision to refuse permission for the Tatamagouche Legion to place poppy trays in the village library.

At least for now.

The Tatamagouche legion branch was refused permission during this year’s poppy campaign because of the board’s policy barring outside sales or solicitation in its branches.

at decision was upheld during a recent board meeting, in a vote of 4-3, a fact that left Colchester County Councillor Karen Mackenzie fuming. She is one of two elected municipal o cials who sit on the library board.

“I was disappointed. I was appalled at the whole thing,” Mackenzie said. “You don’t turn away a veteran. at’s just disrespectful and I said that in the meeting.”

Library CEO Ti any Bartlett said while the board did vote at its last meeting to uphold the original decision to not permit poppy trays in any of its branches, the issue will be discussed again at its next meeting Jan. 22.

“So, the poppies aren’t o the table yet,” she said. “ e board’s general feeling was that we don’t need to rush this.”

Bartlett said the spirit of its selling and soliciting policy was not meant to be detrimental to the vitality of the communities the library serves and the relationships it fosters. She also said the board does respect the di erences between communities of different sizes and realizes a smaller legion branch such as in Tatamagouche has only so many sources available in which to place its poppy trays.

And what was also not taken into consideration, Bartlett said, was that the legion in Tatamagouche, unlike in other areas, did have a working history with the library.

“We noted that there was an historical precedent set in Tatamagouche because the legion had been allowed to have poppy trays at the library, previously,” she said. “And, unfortunately, that historical precedent was never agged when the policy was being developed this summer and approved in September. So that is regrettable.”

Library officials recently met with Alan Fahey, past president of the Tatamagouche legion branch to discuss the issue.

Fahey, however, said he was not at liberty to discuss the outcome of that discussion until after the library board meets again in January.

Bartlett said she’s hopeful of a better outcome at that time.

“I’m positive and I think that we can move past this,” she said. “I think we’re all looking forward to moving forward and restoring that relationship.”