Seven athletes from Alex Foley's Academy of Martial Arts in the Goulds recently travelled as members of Team Canada to Killarney, Ireland to compete at the World Karate and Kickboxing Commission (WKC) World Championships where competitors from all over the world assemble to test their skills against some of the best in their particular discipline. The athletes returned to Newfoundland with 20 medals and five new world championship titles. The team members included, starting in the back row, from left:  Alex Foley, owner and Coach at Alex Foley’s Academy of Martial Arts, Katelyn Farrell, of Mount Pearl, Gavin St. Croix of the Goulds, Ryan Bennett of the Goulds, Emily Power of Paradise, and Gavin Nauyuk of Witless Bay; and in the front, from left: Chloe Kieley of Petty Harbour and Eythor Kelly of the Goulds.

Two Nos, a Yes and a 'Maybe Later'

By Mark Squibb/November 4, 2022

Witless Bay council said no to two applications during the October 11 meeting, while another application could not be voted on because of a lack of quorum due to conflict of interests and absentee councillors.

The first application was for Crown Land along the Southern Shore Highway for industrial use. Councillor Gerard Dunne declared a conflict of interest as it was a relative who had made the application, while Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard left the chamber to allow council the opportunity to discuss whether she was in conflict on the matter, as she claimed her brother was employed by the individual who had made the request. With Dunne and Yard having left chambers, and councillors Jacob Hayden and Alex Troake being absent from the meeting, councillor Ralph Carey declared that a quorum had not been met, and that a vote could not be cast.

The next application was a Crown Land application for construction of an access off Dean’s Road to private land.

Carey motioned to deny that application, claiming that what the resident had requested did not square with the town plan. In short, ‘Transportation’ applications, as per the Town Plan, must be either airfields, railway yards, or docks and harbours. The application was neither of those three (presumably, the applicant would use a car to get to their property, and not an airplane, train, or boat.)

Next up was an application to construct a storage shed on an Ocean View Drive. Yard declared a conflict of interest as the application was made by a family member.

Carey put forward the motion to deny the application, claiming that, along with the building that already exists on the property, the shed, if built to the specs the resident had requested, would push the property above maximum allowable square footage.

Carey was apologetic about the decision.

“We do realize that accessory buildings need to be a bit larger, so we are going to try to deal with that in the near future with the town planner and our regulations,” said Carey.

Council did approve a request for a pet grooming salon at 147 Southside Track.

Carey moved to approve the application, so long as it meets town regulations for a home-based business. Dunne seconded the motion, and all members present voted in favour of it.

Bay Bulls to once again host recycling blitz for local schools

By Mark Squibb/November 4, 2022

The Town of Bay Bulls will once again collect recyclables for breakfast programming at local schools.

Council had received a request for support from the Kids Eat Smart Foundation to donate to the breakfast club.

Town Manger Jennifer Aspell explained that in the past the Town has hosted recycling blitz’s and donated the proceeds to St. Bernard’s Elementary and Mobile Central High.

Councillor Jason Sullivan said he would rather donate directly to the schools than do it through an organization.

Aspell pointed out that if the Town makes a donation, council can specify which school or schools it goes toward, and that the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) will match all funds that are donated. She said residents and local businesses can also donate, and that MMSB will match those contributions too.

Council voted to donate the same amount as last year, which wasn’t specified, and also to host the recycling blitz.

“I think we started at 9, and finished at probably 1 o’clock,” said Aspell. “The entire foyer was full of recycling, we had a few of our own kids come and volunteer. I can’t remember the final tally, but it ended up being something like a thousand dollars split between both schools, because, like I said, if you as an individual bring in a plastic bottle, you get five cents, but for schools, they have a program where they match that.”

Folks can also bring their recyclables directly to the recycling depot and tell staff that the money is to go towards the Breakfast Club.

Witless Bay hires new town planner

During the October 11 meeting in which council voted to part ways from its former town manager, it also voted to hire a new town planner— Stephen Jewczyk.

Jewczyk began his career in Ontario but moved to St. John’s in 1977 when he took on the mantle of town planner for the St. John’s Metropolitan Area Board. In 1989 he became Mount Pearl’s city planner and served as the City’s Director of Planning and Economic Development for some years.

The Town had issued a tender for a new town planner during a special meeting back in May following the expiration of former town planner Paul Boundridge’s contract with the town that same month.

A motion to hire a new town planner was on the August 9 meeting agenda, but council at the time deferred that motion pending, as per councillor Ralph Carey, further interviews.

The town planner is not an actual full time staff person, but a consultant serving the Town on contract.

The Baltimore School boys’ softball team are provincial champions after earning gold in the School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador AA Boys Slo-Pitch tournament held earlier this month. In the back, from left to right, are: coach Sean Walsh, Daniel O'Brien, William Carey, Jackson Boland, Landon Reddy, Zachary Ryan, Cameron Shannahan, Nathaniel Walsh, and Lynden Doyle. In the front are, from left: Jeremiah Ryan, Nathan Crane, Kegan Goodridge, Carter Coady, Matthew Molloy, and coach Jamie O'Brien. Submitted photo

Fix for turnaround on Bill Joy's Lane postponed to next year

After a disagreement last month on how best to proceed with the realignment of the turnaround on Bill Joy’s Lane due to budgetary considerations, Bay Bulls council has decided to postpone the work until next year.

During last week’s public meeting, councillor Jason Sullivan made a motion to postpone the project and re-issue a new request for proposals in March 2023. The motion was seconded by councillor Shannon O’Driscoll, and council voted unanimously in favour of it.

The moves follows some indecision that arose when council addressed the matter back in September. At its September 12 meeting, council could not reach a consensus on the matter when Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien made a motion to award the contract for the work, but Mayor Keith O’Driscoll said he was concerned the Town might not have the funds to complete it.

O’Brien and councillor Corey Ronayne voted in favour of moving ahead with the project, while councillor Shannon O’Driscoll and Mayor O’Driscoll voted against it. Councillor Jason Sullivan was not in attendance. Shannon O’Driscoll then made a motion to withdraw the request and reissue the tender next year. No one seconded that motion, so it died on the floor.

The new motion, which amounted to the same thing as the one councillor O’Driscoll made in September, passed with no discussion this time around.

Bay Bulls seeks exemption from government per capita tax policy

By Mark Squibb/October 28, 2022

The Town of Bay Bulls has once again requested an exemption from the provincial government’s Own Source Revenue tax policy.

“The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador defines ‘Own Source Revenue,’ as a general revenue from taxes,” explained Mayor Keith O’Driscoll during last week’s meeting. “Municipalities are required to maintain a minimum level of own source revenue each budget year based on population and per capita rate.”

When the policy was first implemented several years ago, it required both Bay Bulls and Witless to increase the level of taxes they were charging their residents. Both towns requested exemptions from the policy.

Bay Bulls requested an exemption last November, with councillor Jason Sullivan labelling the policy ‘outlandish’ and ‘crazy.’

This time the Town is the Minister of Municipal of Municipal Affairs for permission to reduce the per capita rate it had to charge from $1,047 down to $873. Sullivan made the motion which was seconded by new councillor Corey Ronayne.

“I would like to weigh in, because we have talked about this before, that Bay Bulls’ per capita rate is significantly higher than a lot of other municipalities of similar size and growth history,” said chief administrative officer Jennifer Aspell. “And what that means is that we have to generate more taxes than any other comparable municipalities, and therefore our mil rates are reflective of that.”

Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien added that council’s aim is to maintain current rates and to avoid any increases.

The previous council in neighboring Witless Bay requested an exemption from the policy in 2020 on similar grounds and received approval.

In a follow up phone call, Aspell said that due to a population increase of 66 residents, the policy means that Bay Bulls will have to generate roughly $69,000 in additional tax revenue in 2023.

Witless Bay dismisses former town manager

By Mark Squibb/October 28, 2022

The revolving staff door at Witless Bay keeps on spinning.

Council voted — though not unanimously — to officially terminate its contract with former Town Manger Sean Kavanagh during last week’s public meeting.

Councillor Ralph Carey put forward a motion that Kavanagh be dismissed, without cause, as of June 9, with pay in lieu of notice.

Carey explained that as per the Municipalities Act, the matter had to be put to a vote first in a privileged meeting, before being voted on again in a public meeting.

Carey did not signify how many weeks pay Kavanagh would be provided.

Councillor Nancy Burke alone was opposed to the motion.

“I just want to say that I wasn’t here when all of these things went down,” said Burke, who had recently returned from a lengthy leave of absence. “I was still on my leave of absence. And I feel, because there weren’t things in writing for me to review, that I’ve just seen one side of things. So, for that reason, I’ll be voting against the motion, and I just wanted to make that known. I don’t want to make an uninformed vote.”

Apart from Burke, the other four council members present – Mayor Trevor Croft, Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard, councillor Carey, and councillor Gerard Dunne – voted in favour of the motion. Councillors Alex Troake and Jacob Hayden were not present at the meeting.

The motion passed without any further discussion.

The Town hired Kavanagh in February 2021, after Kevin Kelley, whom the town had hired in September, resigned in October.

At the time of Kavanaugh’s hiring, Yard boasted that council had saved taxpayers thousands of dollars by overseeing the hiring process themselves, rather than paying a consultant to do so, as is the typical protocol.

Upon hearing rumors of Kavanagh’s dismissal back in June, the Irish Loop Post reached out to the town hall, Mayor Croft, Deputy Mayor Yard, and Kavanagh himself.

Yard declined comment, saying the mayor was the official town spokesperson. Croft said Kavanagh was on a leave of absence. Kavanagh himself confirmed that he was technically on a leave of absence, but that he wasn’t at liberty to discuss it at that moment.

Mayor Croft said Monday he is unable to comment regarding the issue as of now. He added that he will gladly comment when able to.

The Irish Loop Post phoned the Witless Bay Town Hall during business hours on Monday, Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, and each call went to voice mail. Three voice messages were left asking town staff to return the call, but by deadline on Thursday, staff had not returned the calls.

Kavanagh too could not be reached.

During the February meeting in which council approved Kavanagh’s hiring, council also approved the hiring of fire chief Jack Gatherall. He was hired to replace former fire chief Maria Churchill, who was hired by the Town in May and then tendered her resignation in October.

Prior to that, longstanding assistant town clerk Barb Harrigan resigned in the summer of 2021, but then returned to the office for a brief stint before retiring in March.

Former Town Clerk Geraldine Caul, who herself had been on leave since well before the 2021 election, was called in to act as acting Town Manager during Kavanagh’s absence.

Witless Bay Heritage Committee wins Award of Merit

The Witless Bay Heritage Committee has won another provincial award for its work.

This past June, the committee captured the Manning Award for its book, Bygone Days of Witless Bay. The latest accolade is for all its work in the town since the committee formed in 2004.

The Museum Association of NL said it accorded the Heritage Committee its Award of Merit for the significant contributions it has made to the practice of museum and heritage work in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Award of Merit was presented to co-chairs Maureen Walsh and Bonnie Johnstone at MANL’s Annual General Meeting on October 15.

Among the committee’s work noted by MANL was the publication of Bygone Days of Witless Bay;  an inventory of houses built before 1930 that was compiled in 2011 by member Barry Norris and used as the basis for a celebration of the architecture of the community, which included providing plaques for the Historic Homes Project; the designation of the old cemetery as a registered municipal heritage site and one of Canada’s historic places; the collection and scanning of old photographs to ensure the preservation of the images; the hosting of events such as the ringing of the bells to celebrate the Armistice in 1918; collaboration with graduate Folklore students from MUN during field schools in the community; the organization of a heritage walk; provision of storyboards; visits to Alderwood Retirement Centre to display artifacts; design of an information brochure and bookmark for tourists; organization of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the cemetery; the hosting of a Heritage Day for Come Home Year; participation in the annual Puffin Festival; the participation of members in Heritage NL workshops; teaching Girl Guides how to perform traditional dances; the sale of old photographs of postcards and note cards; and the hosting of a contest to identify older artifacts which was enjoyed by young and old alike.

The Award of Merit is based on outstanding, innovative, or creative achievement in the museum, gallery, or heritage field, or in any area related to the preservation and development of the province’s cultural heritage, including research, collection, documentation, exhibition, public programming, and management.

“We are pleased to have this award to acknowledge all the work that has been undertaken by current and past members, some of whom have passed,” said Johnstone.

“While we have accomplished a lot, there is much left to do,” added Walsh. “We are planning our projects for the coming year, so stay tuned.”

Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of Bygone Days of Witless Bay, can contact Walsh at 689-5087 or Lucy Carew at 725-9533.