The members of a committee of Roman Catholic parishioners and residents in Renews are hoping an injection of energy from a Spirit of Newfoundland performance will rally enough contributions to save the deteriorating façade of Holy Apostles Church.
The registered heritage structure was built in the 1870s and is still used regularly for Mass. Perched on a hill overlooking a Grotto with its famous Mass Rock, the building is a community landmark as well as a place of worship. In past years, the steeple on the church was used as a landmark for hunters returning from the woods and fishermen heading home from the fishing grounds.
But with Church attendance down and no funds available from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese Corporation to keep it up, the responsibility of maintaining the building rests with local citizens.
“The Church is in bad shape,” allowed Lois Berrigan, one of the members of the Holy Apostles Church Properties committee. “The front of it is woodpecker infested. For the first time ever we’ve seen that a lot of woodpeckers have eaten the front of the Church. Structurally it’s great, we’ve had it checked out, but it needs a lot of cosmetic work.”
The problem is finding the money to fix the problems. Due to declining populations and the limited availability of priests, parishes in the Archdiocese have been reorganized. There is only one parish now – and one priest -from Cape Broyle to Cappahayden. Proceeds from the collection plate circulated at the Masses held in the communities throughout the parish have to be shared throughout the parish. So when a particular church requires major renovations or repair, an outside injection of funds is needed. Hence the fundraiser set for Regina Mundi Cultural Centre on Lady Day, August 15, featuring Spirit of Newfoundland Productions.
Berrigan said the committee can qualify for a grant from the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland on a 70/30 basis. But the local committee has to come up with its 70 per cent first before the foundation will contribute its 30 per cent, up to a maximum of $50,000.
“We can also get new steps on the church through an Inclusion grant (from the provincial government), Berrigan pointed out. “So we’re applying for that.”
Berrigan said she would like to see $100,000 raised this year, but is doubtful the group can reach that figure. “But if we could raise probably $30,000 or $40,000 at least it’s a big start,” she said.
The money would be used to replace the clapboard and the corner boards, which appear to be rotted. “There’s a lot of rot,” Berrigan acknowledged. The steeple and roof also need attention.
Some people are sceptical about the notion of saving churches, because they aren’t used as much anymore, even for weddings and funerals, Berrigan admitted,. “But you don’t want to lose the church – it’s such a heart of your community, even the structure itself.”
The dinner show fundraiser is being organized by Natalie Brazil, who put together a similar event on Lady Day last year. This year’s entertainment features a performance by Spirit of Newfoundland Productions of their Beatles: Back in the NFLD show along with a three course meal for $65.
Bay Bulls council wracked by conflict of interest allegations
The largest crowd of spectators to attend in years was on hand last week as Bay Bulls council twisted itself into a tighter knot with three new allegations of conflict of interest coming to light.
Most of the crowd seemed to show up in support of Deputy Mayor Harold Mullowney, who is being accused by fellow councillor Jason Sullivan of being a competing land developer and therefore in a conflict of interest when he discussed Sullivan’s application this past March to acquire 37 acres of Crown land for a 50 lot subdivision.
Sullivan levelled that accusation after Mullowney pointed out in a public council meeting that much of the land in question is wetland and recommended the town get an opinion from the Department of Environment before it accede to Sullivan’s request to develop half acre lots in place of one acre lots.
Because Mullowney was applying for a small piece of Crown land across the highway from his development, Sullivan maintained the Deputy Mayor was a competing developer. Sullivan claimed the land was intended as an access to other property Mullowney has an interest in and intends to develop. Mullowney has denied the allegation.
The crowd in the gallery was clearly anxious for council to get to that matter and at times jawed Mayor Patrick O’Driscoll over his handling of the accusation. O’Driscoll shouted down the crowd and pounded his gavel onto his desk.
But the surprise of the night was when Mullowney insisted that a letter received by council the previous day be reinstated to the agenda for discussion. Mayor O’Driscoll had disallowed the item before the start of the public meeting. After heated debate, and loud complaints from the spectators, the mayor was outvoted.
“This is a democracy, not a dictatorship,” said one woman.
“This reflects back on the whole community,” added another woman. “Harold has been an excellent councillor for 26 years. Harold Mullowney has been an individual who has put himself forward on many occasions to do things that nobody else would. And he deserves the respect of this community.”
Another resident, Kevin O’Brien, suggested Mayor O’Driscoll was himself in a conflict because earlier in the meeting he had voted on a development application from his aunt. O’Driscoll said that wasn’t a conflict of interest under the Municipalities Act. “Don’t get up there and make accusations against me,” he told O’Brien.
As for the letter, it was written by Martina Aylward, who is a partner in a property development company with her brother Ernest Dunn. It accused councillor Sullivan of breaking conflict of interest rules on six or seven occasions. The first charge involved Sullivan allegedly voting on a council motion to pay Sea Gypsy Enterprises, which is owned by his father, almost $2,000 for work down for the Town.
The other allegations centre on Sullivan taking part in discussions and votes involving other development applications. Aylward contends that because Sullivan is a developer - his application for Crown land dates back to August 2013 and he was involved in housing construction before that - he should have excused himself from any decisions involving other subdivision developers.
Aylward and Dunn’s company has filed a legal action against the town over the way council handled its development application in June 2013 involving Crown Land that was also being sought by developer Fraser Paul and sod farmer Christa Luby. The land is about a kilometre or so away from the 37 acres being sought by Sullivan.
In a private meeting in June 2013, council approved Paul’s application in part, along with Luby’s. The decision on Aylward’s and Dunn’s application has never been made fully clear. Meanwhile, council has since rescinded its approval of Luby’s application.
Rather than discuss the allegations against Sullivan publicly, council moved the matter to a privileged session along with the two other allegations involving councillors that were revealed Tuesday night.
The first involves a conflict of interest allegation against councillor Joan Luby stemming to her first night on council.
Luby was elected by acclamation on April 1 and sworn in at the start of the public meeting on April 13. She had asked to be sworn in earlier so that she could get a copy of council’s agenda to prepare for the meeting, but was turned down. Partway through the meeting, Mayor O’Driscoll ordered the public out of the chamber so that council could meet in private. The nature of the discussion was not disclosed. But the Irish Loop Post has learned that it involved developer Fraser Paul’s subdivision application.
Luby said at the time she didn’t even know where Paul’s land was located.
“I said to (the mayor) Patrick, am I in conflict on all this?” Luby recalled. “No one said a thing… It was a decision just to go to a lawyer (for advice), that was all… I said, ‘What is it on? I didn’t know anything about this.’”
The next day, said Luby, Paul wrote the Town accusing her of having broken conflict of interest rules because a corner of the land had also been sought by her sister-in-law, Christa Luby.
“I never knew about that,” said the councillor, pointing out it was first night on council and she had not been given a chance to review any of the information in her councillor’s package before each item came to the table for a discussion and vote.
Luby said she is unsure how Paul found out about council’s discussion so quickly since it was a privileged session. Sullivan was absent from that night’s meeting and councillor Rick Oxford, who is Paul’s brother-in-law, did not participate in that part of the session.
The third new conflict allegation also involves Paul. He is contending, like councillor Sullivan, that Deputy Mayor Mullowney is a competing land developer and therefore should have abstained from any votes or discussion involving his subdivision application.
Near the end of the public meeting, Mayor O’Driscoll asked the public to clear the chamber so council could meet in private. Two hours later, the chamber doors reopened. Going through each matter one at a time, council agreed to refer each allegation to a lawyer for advice.
Earlier in the meeting, before council broke for the private session, the crowd urged Mullowney to give his side of the story.
“I think I was totally blindsided and set up here,” said Mullowney. “I am not a developer… And yet we have an individual sitting in this chamber, who has told everyone he is a developer, and continues to vote on development… I built my own house (years ago) with a great deal of help from my brothers. I have not built any houses for sale. I am not a developer.”
When councillor Sullivan, who took Mullowney’s remarks as being directed at him, contended he is not a developer either, the crowd groaned and hooted.
“I can’t wait for the next election,” said one of the spectators.
During the whole of the three hour meeting, two uniformed RCMP officers remained standing outside the back of the Town Hall. Mayor O’Driscoll would not say if he had asked the police to remain on standby for the council meeting.
Ferryland Guide looking forward to an India summer
Brandi O’Keefe is having a pretty good year. In May, the 23 year old Ferryland native graduated from Dalhousie University with a combined honours degree in marine biology and oceanography. Last week she started a new job with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans lab in St. John’s. And next week she leads a Canadian delegation of Girl Guides to India.
O’Keefe is one of two leaders selected for the month long trip. Her nomination was promoted by the Guiding movement in Nova Scotia. O’Keefe and the other leader, who is from Alberta, will take eight younger Guides, including two from Newfoundland, to Pune, India for an international conference and then some sightseeing around Delhi and other places on the subcontinent.
“I’ve been involved in Girl Guides since I was five, from Kindergarten right through to Grade 11,” said O’Keefe, who is back living in Ferryland.
O’Keefe is used to travel, and achievement. In her final high school year, she was selected as a Pearson scholar, which qualified her for two years of study at Pearson College in Victoria, British Columbia. The school was founded by and named for the late Lester B. Pearson, a former Prime Minister of Canada and Nobel Laureate.
O’Keefe kept up her involvement in the Girl Guides while in B.C., becoming a Leader. “I graduated from Pearson College and moved to Halifax and I got really involved with Girl Guides there, from a district level to a provincial level,” she noted.
In Nova Scotia, O’Keefe became a District Commissioner, essentially running the Girl Guides’ operations in Halifax, which consists of nine clubs.
Every year, Girl Guides of Canada sends a delegation somewhere internationally. When O’Keefe heard one of the trips this year included India, she got excited.
“I always wanted to go to India,” O’Keefe said. “I love to travel… So I said I would give it a shot and apply.”
O’Keefe got through the initial round of applicants and was selected for an interview as a Nova Scotia Guide. A week later she was notified that she was one of two applicants whose resumes from that province were being passed on to the national council for consideration. That was followed by a second interview that got her placed on a short list of 10 candidates nationally. Then came another interview, which occurred while she happened to be home in Ferryland for a visit this past February. It included a 30 minute panel discussion over the telephone with six judges.
“Mom was in the kitchen when I came and out and said ‘How was it?’ I said ‘I have no idea. They fired questions at me.’ It was quick, quick, quick, with no input on how I did, nothing.”
On Saturday night O’Keefe’s e-mail started to light up. The first message informed her she had been selected to co-lead the trip to India. “I actually screamed,” said O’Keefe. “Dad jumped out of the chair and everything.”
Since then she and the co-leader from Alberta have been planning the trip and coordinating things with the other Guides. The delegation will assemble in Toronto, fly to Frankfurt, Germany, change planes for Mumbai, India and take a five hour bus ride to Pune, site of the Girl Guide World Centre. “We’re going to stay there for 10 days and take part in an international leadership conference, volunteer in some schools and an orphanage and help build a new school,” O’Keefe said.
That’s followed by two weeks of touring.
O’Keefe has to get a month’s leave of absence from her new job to make the trip. Guiding is that important to her.
“Being involved in it so long, I’ve seen everything that Girl Guides has to offer,” she explained. “You learn everything from leadership skills to camping. It became part of me and giving back to the community is a big thing. I’ve seen what Girl Guides can do for me, giving me such a good outlook and teaching me so much. Now it’s my time to give back to the people who gave to me.”
Girls Guides also offers a lot of opportunities scholastically and travel wise, O’Keefe noted. “Girl Guides offers scholarships like no other (organization),” she pointed out. “There are national scholarships, provincial scholarships, District scholarships. There are all kinds of conferences (out of the province). There are opportunities galore and that’s a big part of it.”
India won’t be O’Keefe’s first international trip. She spent a summer in Kenya on a Pearson College program, backpacked through Europe and visited South America.
The DFO job will also be interesting. O’Keefe has an eight month contract studying capelin, including the factors that affect their reproduction and abundance. She is looking forward to spending time on the water this fall with the Coast Guard conducting capelin sampling exercises.
Meanwhile, she is preparing for monsoon season in India where daily temperatures hit about 42 degrees.
“It’s definitely a big place to visit and culturally diverse,” said O’Keefe.
That’s something she expects to enjoy. Pearson College had over 200 students from 100 different countries. “It was exciting that they got to live with us and experience Canadian culture,” O’Keefe said. “Now I’m really excited to go and experience what they have to offer and where they came from and everything they practice from yoga to being a Buddhist or Hindu, and taking part in different religious ceremonies, seeing all the temples, everything.”
For NDP hopeful it's the Wright time to run
Kingman’s Cove resident Jenny Wright is hoping to turn a career of social activism into a political one with her run for the NDP nomination in the riding of Avalon and potentially a seat in parliament.
Wright, 49, is the executive director of the St. John’s Status of Women’s Council, a job she took just over a year ago. Before that she worked with Choices For Youth and the Child and Youth Advocate’s Office.
“I’ve done that work most of my life – advocating for women’s rights, homelessness, anti-poverty work,” Wright said, during a phone interview on her way to Cape St. Mary’s Bird Sanctuary. She is in the middle of a two week holiday, time she is using to explore the nooks and crannies of the riding. It includes the Southern Shore from Mobile southwards, both sides of St. Mary’s Bay, and both shores of Conception Bay – as far as Salmon Cove in the north and Paradise in the south. That gives it some of the province’s largest municipalities in Conception Bay South, Paradise, Bay Roberts and Carbonear, and some of the smallest, unincorporated ones.
“I’ve never run for politics before,” Wright said. “I’ve always worked for advocacy organizations, fighting for people’s access to government services. But if there’s a time to run, this is it. It’s time for a real big change. I’m really concerned about where the country is going and after Bill C-51 I thought, ‘This is it, I’m going to have to take a stand.’ And I want to run. I really want to run in Avalon. My heart and soul is in it and I live in it and it’s a diverse district.”
Wright is using her vacation time to meet with people throughout the riding and ask about their issues and concerns. “Everyone is saying to me, ‘We need change.’ People are unhappy,” she said.
Wright has been struck by the number of people who told her they’ve never voted before but want things to change. “It’s very positive,” she said. “People are very activated, very stimulated… so I’ve just been having a wonderful time talking to people seeing what the issues are.”
Bill C51, the Conservative government’s ‘Anti-terrorism Act,’ was tepidly supported by the Liberals in Parliament, but opposed by the NDP. It allows for “preventative detention” of terrorism suspects before they commit a crime and the sharing of personal data among government agencies. Security experts have warned the new provisions could lead to abuse of suspects while in detention and the possibility of innocent people being detained. There is also concern the new Act will criminalize some protesters and restrict free speech. Canada’s spy agency, CSIS, has also gained new powers.
“We can’t allow government and CSIS and our police systems to have that much power, to have surveillance monitoring and arrest powers over people with absolutely no oversight,” Wright argued. “I mean this is unheard of in Canada and it has so many repercussions for advocacy groups, even for groups like Greenpeace or First Nations people who are out protesting. Under this new law, everyone who is out protesting for change against the government could be hauled in and charged. This is not the Canada that we’re used to. I just think Bill C-51 pushes that too far and for me that was the final straw. I thought, ‘I don’t recognize my country anymore, this is not the country I grew up in.’”
Among the other issues important to Wright is “detangling the mess that is the DFO,” she said. “I live in a very small fishing community and the rules, policies and procedures that are coming down when it comes to managing the fisheries are just a mess and it’s getting in the way of us working on a good resources management plan.”
Affordable child care, is also important, Wright said, because the lack of it is stopping some people from being able to take jobs outside the home. Economic development, including support for small businesses, is also on her list.
“And I’m absolutely passionate of course around women’s issues,” Wright added. “I’ve been a strong feminist voice in this province for a while. We need a strategy to end family violence, we need much more women in government in leadership positions in the province. And all of those issues are not just women’s issues, they’re family issues and community safety issues and they become economic issues with the drain on the economy that happens around family violence and the drain on the economy when women can’t work because of the lack of childcare.”
Wright said many people she has talked to were unaware the Harper government has raised the qualifying age for Canada Pension to 67, up from 65. Many rural residents are worried about being able to retire with dignity, she said, especially when it comes to accessing health care. “If you want to keep people staying in their communities, and get the population growth up, which is a huge issue that we’re dealing with, people need access to health care and to be able to retire with some kind of dignity,” she said.
Jeannie Baldwin, a senior vice president with the Public Service Alliance of Canada has also announced her intention to seek the NDP nomination. In a press release, Baldwin described herself as a “born and raised” Newfoundlander, though she now lives in Nova Scotia. Wright is originally from Wiarton, Ontario, home of the famous weather prognosticating groundhog, Willie. Whoever wins the nomination will face Conception Bay South Mayor Ken McDonald, who is the Liberal Party candidate. Scott Andrews, the incumbent MP who was kicked out of the Liberal Party after an internal party investigation into reports of sexual misconduct towards a federal NDP member from Quebec, is also expected to run. The Conservative Party of Canada is without a candidate since it blocked the nomination of St. John’s lawyer Ches Crosbie.
The NDP nomination is set for August 26 with ballot boxes at the Royal Canadian Legion in Kelligrews. There may also be voting stations in Trepassey and Placentia. In order to vote, you have to be a member of the party for at least 30 days prior to August 25. That means anyone wanting to cast a ballot must sign up as a party member by July 25. Membership is free and can be obtained online.
“Hopefully they will come out and vote for the candidate that they want,” Wright said. “I think a lot of people are going to come out. I’m so pleasantly surprised talking to people all over the region. I’ve been absolutely everywhere and people are really engaged, I’m having fantastic conversations, people want change and they’ve definitely had enough of Harper.”
BBBAA Auction draws biggest crowd yet
Organizers of the annual Bay Bulls to Bauline Athletic Association Auction hope to have a tally within the next week or so on how much money they netted from this year’s event.
Last year the event grossed some $123,000 and left the association with $70,430 after expenses to put into programs and infrastructure in the region. This year’s auction was even bigger in terms of attendance, said BBBAA president Scott Penney.
“It was the biggest crowd ever,” said Penney, “over 370 people. We sold nine more tables over last year… It was amazing. It was a great time. It was great to see so many new people and new faces.”
Among the prizes auctioned off was a seat from the Montreal Forum autographed by the late Jean Beliveau, commissions by painter Jean Claude Roy to paint a scene of the winner’s choice, use of a condo in Florida for a week, $1,000 in Provincial Airlines certificates, a pig roast for 70 at Lester’s farm or at your home and catered by Lester’s, and private performances by the band Bic and the Ballpoints. Three people went home with Roy commissions, at bids of $7,500 each, while a boat tour for 100 people aboard O’Brien’s whale watching boats went for $3,000.
Other items up for auction or prizes included a couple of high powered rifles, a necklace from Diamond Design, a ‘Passion Party Chest,’ and paintings by Christine Koch and Susan Boyle.
It’s a lot of work keeping such an event going, Penney allowed, but he said it’s possible due to a strong committee of organizers and help from sponsors and others such as the Community Credit Union in Witless Bay, whose staff volunteer to work the show handling the money from the night’s proceedings. Businessman Andrew Bell donated enough wine for every table.
The BBBAA has already booked Bic and the Ballpoints to perform for the dance at next year’s show, which is set for May 28, 2016 and again at the Bay Bulls Regional Lifestyle Centre.
Penney said the money raised at the auction will be put to good use. “We’re in discussions now with Witless Bay and hope to announce soon a project over there,” he said. “We’re in the process of submitting an application (to government) and trying to pull a few things together but we’re there with a significant investment to put into that community.”
Penney said the BBBAA hopes to have a new regional recreation director in place by this fall – the previous one left for a job in the oil and gas industry – and is looking for office space. The association currently works out of free space inside the Bay Bulls Town Hall.
Penney said the association will also look around and entertain proposals to invest in recreational infrastructure throughout its coverage area. “Our goal is to put this (auction) money out into the community as quick as we possibly can.”
Shamrock Folk Festival planning fireworks this year
The organizers of the Shamrock Folk Festival are marking a milestone this year: It’s the 30th anniversary of the annual Ferryland spree that has become a ritual of summer for many people on the Southern Shore and beyond.
The key to the event’s longevity has been the caliber of Irish and traditional Newfoundland music right from the time the festival was started by the Southern Shore Development Association in 1986 and taken over by the Southern Shore Folk Arts Council nine years later.
“Like any new venture it was humble beginnings,” said the Folk Arts Council’s executive director Keith Mooney, who can remember the very first show. “You have to acknowledge the great decision to start it on the Southern Shore. It was a great fit for our Irish heritage.”
The festival is still operating from the same venue where it started – a former ball field with a temporary stage that has since seen a series of upgrades to better suit a music site.
Mooney remembers the 1996 festival in which the area suffered a tremendous amount of rain and wind with tents blowing down and damage to the field itself. It was an ill wind with a silver lining. The damage hastened the implementation of a Master Plan that had been developed for the Colony of Avalon that included a village green in the area of the ball field. The Folk Arts Council was able to obtain funding to rehabilitate the site.
“We built up the site above the water table and constructed a new stage,” Mooney said. “That was in 1997.”
Over the years other improvements were made too, including a new fence and a concession park.
“Over the years we’ve seen a lot of great performances,” Mooney allowed, reciting a list of acts that have regularly trod the stage including the Masterless Men, Celtic Connection, Ron Hynes, The Navigators, The Punters, Stogger’ Tight and Shannyganock. That’s in addition to many local performers from the area.
“People look forward to the festival every year,” Mooney said. “Depending on the weather, you can get a large turnout of people. They come for a good time and to socialize and just to take advantage of the good weather and the outdoor music… It’s a great garden party (atmosphere). People plan their holidays around it. People have ongoing parties in their houses. For Ferryland and the area it’s an annual get together. We get a lot of visitors from the Avalon Peninsula and inquiries from all over the island and the mainland. It’s one of the longest running festivals and that garners a lot of interest in itself.”
Like all festivals, attendance is often weather dependent. Along with some rained out sessions there have been bouts of great weather. “1999, I remember, was just an exceptional year,” Mooney recalled. Last year saw perfect weather too, he added. “We’ve had it all. We’ve had tremendous crowds.”
Mooney said the Folk Arts Association has taken measures to make the festival an enjoyable family event. It’s Dinner Theatre is held in conjunction with the festival, and an art show has become an annual part of the weekend as well. This year fireworks have been added to close the event on Saturday night.
This year’s festival is set for July 25-26. Headlining the shows are Middle Tickle, The Masterless Men, Generations, Slainte, Jackie Sullivan, The Dunne Family and Sullivan & Slaney.
The festival will feature two sessions, Mooney noted, with an evening show on Saturday, July 25 and the traditional Sunday afternoon show on July 26.
“We really wanted to combine our Saturday afternoon and evening shows to bring together our family and evening audiences to hear several great acts starting off with the popular youth session,” he explained.
Beginning at 5 p.m., Saturday evening’s session will feature 12 performances and close out with a fireworks display. “We are very fortunate to have support from The Town of Ferryland and Dalton’s Home Hardware in making sure our new Saturday evening session finishes with a real blast,” said Mooney. “We want to invite our local supporters and our friends and visitors from near and far to help us celebrate 30 great years. Mark your calendar now for an event that will be the highlight of your summer.”
The weekend will also feature a Friday evening performance of this year’s dinner theatre, Outport Taxi, a special menu at the Tetley Tea Room By The Sea, the annual Art Exhibition, children’s activities, plenty of food vendors and a beer garden. A full schedule of Festival events and acts can be found at www.ssfac.com.
“There’s no nicer place than festival Park on a sunny, breezy day to socialize and have a bite to eat or a refreshment,” said Mooney. “It highlights the Irish Loop region. It’s been the biggest event in the region for a number of years on the Irish Loop and we’re working this year to have a special event for out 30th anniversary.”
MHA gives constituents something to think about
Whoever wrote the letter for Keith Hutchings to Witless Bay council did a skillful job of making the minister of Municipal Affairs sound tough, while actually doing nothing to rectify a situation that has plagued the town for the past year.
Rather than make the mayor and council deal with two alleged cases of conflict of interest in a transparent and accountable way, Hutchings has approved a process that raises more questions than provides answers. And he has done so while giving false hope to some citizens and developers who were led to believe he was going to be forceful in holding council to account.
The outcome of the letter was so skillfully disguised, in fact, that when it was first delivered to council, those who have been most detrimentally affected by last minute changes to the Town Plan made by Mayor Sébastien Deprés and councillors Dena Wiseman and Ralph Carey, actually thought Hutchings was ordering council to retake the vote on the conflict of interest allegations.
Not so. Instead, a careful parsing of the letter, and followup e-mails to his staff, confirm Hutchings has accepted the mayor’s claim that council cleared Wiseman and Carey during a vote conducted in a private meeting. That vote is problematic for several reasons, not the least of which was that it was done behind closed doors and not ratified during a public session. A rumour has arisen that at least one councillor who voted to clear Carey and Wiseman thought he was voting to do the opposite, while another councillor has publicly challenged the outcome of the vote and has called for a ‘Friendly Hearing’ for the two councillors as is spelled out in the Municipalities Act. The bottom line is that the circumstances of the vote – how it was conducted, who set the ground rules, how the motion was worded, who else spoke to council in the moments prior to the vote – are unclear and clarity in such a matter should be a first order of business.
Hutchings’ failure to ensure the matters were disposed of in a transparent and accountable way is all the more disappointing given that Witless Bay is one of the principal towns in his district. If the local MHA, who happens to be the minister responsible for enforcing the Municipalities Act, won’t ensure a proper job for these constituents, what can the rest of the people in the district expect?
This failure to maintain open and accountable government at the municipal level is the latest in a string of incompetent and damaging moves by the current government. It was one of Hutchings’ predecessors in the portfolio, Kevin O’Brien, who messed up the wording of a departmental directive to the Town of Witless Bay regarding the controversy at Ragged Beach. That boner, whether deliberate or a genuine mistake, led in part to the situation still bedeviling the council. As a result, development throughout the town is held up. One contractor estimates the town is losing out on some $200,000 a year in residential taxes from his long delayed subdivision alone.
It was the PC regimes of Danny Williams, Kathy Dunderdale and now Paul Davis, who changed the rules and set a tone of government secrecy for councils to emulate. Town councils are far less open and transparent than they used to be. It’s gotten to the point that councils no longer identify applicants who are seeking development permits on the public agenda. In effect, the province, acting through municipalities, has trampled on the right of citizens to know what is going on in their communities and who is doing it.
It’s unclear that a Liberal or New Democratic administration would do any better when it comes to ensuring openness and accountability on the part of town councils. But it’s hard to imagine they could do worse. The last 12 years of government has been one constant attack on the public’s right to know. The citizens of Witless Bay in particular and Ferryland District in general should weigh the negative impact of that when they go to the polls this fall.
By failing to make sure the council in Witless Bay followed the rules in a timely, accountable and transparent way, the local MHA has given his constituents something to think about.
Much Deserved
On a happier note, and concerning a fellow who doesn’t shrink from his duty, it was heartwarming last month to hear that Ken Williams was being inducted into Newfoundland’s Hockey Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony occurred this past weekend. It’s no exaggeration to say Williams is as much responsible for the Southern Shore Breakers’ storied history in senior hockey as any of the players who ever laced up a skate. Williams has kept not only the team, but also the rink in Mobile alive and open through thick and thin and helped ensure the operation of an important facility for the whole region. On top of all that, he is one of the wittiest and smartest fellows around and a joy to know. Well done Ken Williams.
So long Joe Croft
One of the privileges of publishing this newspaper is that you get to meet, and in some cases know, many people in the Goulds, the Southern Shore and St. Mary’s Bay. A highlight is delivery day, when you get to stop at all the stores along the route. That often entails a quick chat with some of the operators. All those weeks that I’ve delivered the paper over the past eight years, and for the three years in the late 1990s when I published The Southern Post, included a call at Joe Croft’s store in Aquaforte.
Almost always, Joe was there. A man who had a keen interest in life around him, Joe could fill you in on how the fishery was going, local history, or anything else in the area.
Joe passed away suddenly last week. Perhaps appropriately, he died in the store. Joe Croft was a gentleman and a good businessman who, with his wife Carmel, managed to keep a store going in thin times and full in a small community. That’s not an easy accomplishment. Joe will be sorely missed by his family but also by all us regulars who called at the shop.
Southern Shore’s Mr. Hockey inducted into HNL Hall of Fame
The man with a wit as sharp as a skate and a dedication to his community as thick as a Southern Shore fog was inducted amid much accolades into Hockey NL’s Hall of Fame Saturday during a gala dinner at the group’s annual general meeting and conference in Gander.
Ken Williams, the long-time manager of the Southern Shore Arena and organizational genius behind the Breakers’ senior and junior hockey clubs for many years, was described as “owning a 32-year hockey career that is overflowing with hard work, valuable contributions and a multitude of sensible decisions that have been very important to the overall success of hockey within Newfoundland and Labrador. He is simply an extremely good hockey person.”
Williams’ contribution to amateur hockey in the province extends from making it possible for generations of the youngest minor hockey players to ever try out the game to keeping the most elite levels of the sport viable through challenging times and circumstances. And he did all that with an engaging wit and style that has earned him respect and many friends throughout the province.
Williams’ hockey “career” started on Maggoty Cove Pond in Bay Bulls. He went on to play organized hockey as a junior player in the Southern Shore Junior League. But it was in the boardrooms of minor and senior hockey where he has left his biggest marks.
Starting in 1986, Williams was instrumental in helping raise the money and organize the effort to build the Southern Shore Arena. Once built, he was a natural choice to serve as its manager. Williams was elected the founding President of the Southern Shore Minor Hockey Association and remains a volunteer with the organization. He has been the HNL provincial co-ordinator for 24 years.
Williams was also instrumental in reviving senior female hockey at the provincial level and brought the first team in many years to Prince Edward Island to compete nationally. He held a director’s position on the provincial female hockey committee for several years.
In 1993, Williams played a major role in organizing the Avalon West League as its first President and served as a director of the Southern Shore Breakers Senior Club. He served as treasurer for the Avalon East League and was president of the Southern Shore Amateur Hockey Association, which encompassed both junior and senior hockey.
Williams has served as chairman of Provincial Senior Hockey and was Branch Representative on Hockey Canada. In 2006, he chaired Hockey Canada’s meetings in St. Johns, which were deemed wildly successful. He is Provincial Senior Hockey Secretary and continues as President of the Southern Shore Hockey Association.
“Ken Williams has been, and continues to be, an outstanding contributor to hockey within Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Hockey NL executive director Craig Tulk.
Students show leadership, dedication in variety of sports
With a handful of championships in everything from soccer and basketball to cheerleading, plus enthusiastic contributions in ice and ball hockey, volleyball, softball and other sports, the students, teachers and coaches at Mobile Central High School have much to be satisfied with this past school year.
Like all the school’s in the coverage area of the Irish Loop Post, the students at Mobile High are distinguished for their team spirit, dedication and in many cases, athletic prowess.
The school recently held a banquet to pay tribute to all the student athletes and their coaches who represented Mobile Central High and their repsective communities this past year. Below are the individual members who stood out in the four main categories for each team: Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player, Best Defensive Player and Most Sportsmanlike.
Boys Ice Hockey
MVP Kieran O’Driscoll; Most Improved A.J. Doyle; Best Defensive Player Jeremy Legge;
Sportsmanship Award Tyler Yard
Grade 7 Girls Basketball
MVPs Maggie Pottle and Caroline Murphy; Most Improved Rachel Lundrigan; Best Defensive Brooke Walsh; Sportsmanship Kathleen Murphy
Grade 8 Boys Basketball
MVPs Gavin Wall and Sean Wilson; Most Improved Patrick Maloney; Best Defensive Kurtis Clarke; Sportsmanship Ryan Power
Grade 8 Girls Basketball
MVP Bridget Gatherall; Most Improved Victoria Maloney;
Best Defensive Jessica Carey;
Sportsmanship Amelia O’Driscoll
Grade 9 Boys Basketball
MVPs Brendan Houlihan and Sean Wilson; Most Improved Cody Glynn; Best Defensive Gavin Wall; Sportsmanship Antonio Riberio
Grade 9 Girls Basketball
MVP Meagan Mullowney; Most Improved McKenna Walsh; Best Defensive Nikita Harvey; Sportsmanship Dayna Power
Under 16 Boys Basketball
MVP Luke Gatherall; Most Improved Kieran O’ Driscoll; Best Defensive Luke Power; Sportsmanship Jack Williams
Under 16 Girls Basketball
MVP Sarah Walsh; Most Improved Hailey Power; Best Defensive Dana Mullowney; Sportsmanship Hayley Murphy
Under 17 Girls Basketball
MVP Kendra Tobin; Most Improved Nikita Harvey; Best Defensive Janine Coombs; Sportsmanship Hailey Power
Senior Boys Basketball
MVP Jeremy Legge; Most Improved Tristan Melvin; Best Defensive Nick Power; Sportsmanship Dylan Woolridge
Senior Girls Basketball
MVP Brianna Walsh; Most Improved Stephanie Puddester;
Best Defensive Emily Walsh;
Sportsmanship Maria Sullivan
Cheerleaders
Cheerleaders of the Year Kathleen Houlihan and Caroline Murphy; Most Spirited Cheerleader Gabrielle Norris; Most Improved Junior Cheerleader Erin Walsh; Most Improved Senior Cheerleader Sarah Walsh; Most Dedicated Junior Cheerleader Meagan Mullowney; Most Dedicated Senior Cheerleader Bridget Keating
Junior Girls Hockey
MVP Jennifer Bidgood; Most Improved Chantelle Delaney; Best Defense (Baltimore Award) Christy Alyward; Sportsmanship Nikita Harvey
Under 17 Boys Basketball
MVP Tristan Melvin; Most Improved Lucas White; Best Defensive Luke Gatherall; Sportsmanship Kieran O’Driscoll
Senior Girls Soccer
MVP Chantal Armstrong; Most Improved Bridget Keating; Best Defensive Amanda Dalton; Sportsmanship Rachel Tobin
Senior Boys Softball
MVP Colin Dunphy; Most Improved Dylan Woolridge; Best Defensive Nick Walsh; Sportsmanship Trevor Hicks
Senior Girls Softball Slo-pitch
MVP Brittany O’Driscoll; Most Improved Chelsea Corrigan; Best Defensive Brianna Walsh; Sportsmanship Laura Tobin
Junior Boys Hockey
MVP Brendan Houlihan; Most Improved Ryan Noel; Best Defensive Kendall Power; Sportsmanship Devon O’Brien
Senior Girls Ball Hockey
MVP Emily Walsh; Most Improved Ericka Carew; Best Defensive Brianna Walsh; Sportsmanship Chantal Armstong
Boys Ball Hockey
MVPs Mitchell O’Driscoll and Nick Walsh; Most Improved Colin Dunphy; Best Defensive Jeremy Legge; Sportsmanship Christian Walsh
Senior Girls Hockey
MVP Brianna Walsh; Most Improved Emily Walsh; Best Defensive Keesha Power; Sportsmanship Award Chelsey Healey
Junior Girls Softball
2014 Fastpitch
MVP Brittany O’ Driscoll; Most Improved Maria Sullivan; Best Defensive Alyssa Power; Sportsmanship Hayley Power
Girls Senior Volleyball
MVP Kathleen Houlihan; Most Improved Brittany O’ Driscoll; Best Defensive Dana Mullowney; Sportsmanship Alyssa Power
Junior Girls Softball
2015 Fast pitch
MVP Jennifer Bidgood; Most Improved Meagan Mullowney; Best Defensive McKenna Walsh; Sportsmanship Dayna Power
Junior Male Athlete of the Year
Brendan Houlihan
Junior Female Athlete of the Year Meagan Mullowney
Senior Male Athletes of the Year
Colin Dunphy and Jeremy Legge
Senior Female Athletes of the Year Brianna Walsh and Kathleen Houlihan
Junior Male Academic
&Athletic Award
Adam Lake
Junior Female Academic
& Athletic Award
McKenna Walsh
Senior Male Academic
& Athletic Award
Nick Walsh
Senior Female Academic
& Athletic Award
Kathleen Houlihan
Bill Mulcahy Award
Tristan Melvin
David Emberley Award for Senior Male Athletes
Nick Walsh and Jeremy Legge
David Emberley Award
Senior Female Athlete
Emily Walsh
Mobile Central High celebrates a special year of athletic achievement
When the sports community at Mobile Central High handed out its recognition awards June 4, one special moment was reserved for the person who has been a key motivator and booster of athletic achievement at the school for the past 28 years.
For teacher and athletic director Shawn Doyle, the call to the podium and the accolades marked the second occasion in two weeks that his efforts were recognized: In late May, the School Sports Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SSNL) honoured Doyle with a coaching service award at its annual general meeting.
The Master of Ceremonies for the Monarchs’ awards presentation, Dana O’Driscoll, gently kidded Doyle before calling him to the podium where he was received by students, parents, coaches and teachers in the gymnasium with a prolonged and enthusiastic standing ovation.
“We honour him every day and genuflect daily,” O’Driscoll joked. “But our province has recognized his achievements as well… We tend to think of Mr. Doyle as ours, but he is also the regional representative for the SSNL and has served on their committee for a number of years.”
When called to the podium, Doyle was true to form and used the occasion to highlight the achievements of the students rather than himself. He started by thanking all the students for showing such good conduct during what was a long evening of presentations.
“I just want to talk about the significance of Awards Night,” Doyle said. “If your child didn’t get an award tonight, or if they did, the whole concept and spirit of Awards Night is about determination of the athlete and trying to do well. And if you did well, people should recognize that you did well and through that recognition, others will be thrust forward to try to do well in the following year. That individual effort and reward builds toward teams and teams win banners.”
Doyle said this past school year saw a number of Mobile teams win provincial championships, including the AAA Girls soccer team, the AAA Boys basketball team, the Under 17 Boys A basketball team, the tier two AAAA senior girls’ basketball team and the cheerleading squad, which won the Charity Classic at the Bay Bulls Lifestyle Centre, the provincial championship at Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay and the national championship at Niagara Falls, Ontario. The Mobile boys also won the David Emberley Memorial Basketball Tournament, which they host every year. The variety of achievement in a spectrum of different sports by a wide gamut of student athletes was nice to see, he noted.
“The volunteers here at the school are awesome,” Doyle added. “Wherever I go for a provincial meeting, I always brag about Mobile and I tell everybody who wants to have a game, pick it and come up. I don’t care if it’s 4A, 3A or 2A, we’ll find someone to play you and we’ll give you a game.”
Doyle said the other thing he boasts about when talking with school athletic officials is that at Mobile he sometimes has to turn down people who want to work with teams, because there are so many good people available and willing to help. “That’s a compliment to the program,” said Doyle. “It makes me feel bad sometimes, because you should never have to turn away help, but there are so many people who want to be involved. If you look around here today, there are 50 or 60 people involved (as coaches, managers and trainers) in the program.”
Doyle singled out the cheerleaders for a particularly great season. The team won the Charity Classic Tournament, which it hosted at the Bay Bulls Lifestyle Centre, the provincial championships at Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay and the national championships held in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
He pointed out that for the first time since he’s been at the school, this past year saw Mobile field boys and girls basketball teams in the 4A division. “If you look at our school population, it’s 119 students from Grades 10 to 12,” Doyle said. “Next year, we will be going into games against schools with 800 and 900 students.”
The ability of a school the size of Mobile’s to do that is a “total compliment” to the communities in this area from which the student population is drawn, Doyle said. “You’re doing a great job.”
Before closing, Doyle also paid tribute to the relationship between Mobile Central High and Baltimore School in Ferryland. Earlier in the evening, representatives of Baltimore made a special presentation to the school recognizing their sportsmanship at the Paddy Kane Memorial Basketball Tournament.
