Speed hump request causes debate in Bay Bulls chamber

Town Manager says ticketing speeders is outside Town’s jurisdiction

By Mark Squibb / July 7, 2023

A resident of Bay Bulls who had requested six speed humps be installed along Sheldon Drive and Marsh Road will have to be satisfied with just the one.

Council discussed the request, which was for four seed humps along Sheldon Drive and two along Marsh Road, during last week’s meeting, from which Mayor Keith O’Driscoll and councillor Jason Sullivan were both absent. Of the three councillors present, there was some disagreement as how to best approach the request.

Councillor Shannon O’Driscoll motioned to install speed bumps and signage along Sheldon Drive, as per the request.

Councillor Corey Ronayne off the bat noted council had refused a similar request for speed humps at a recent meeting.

Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien added that, as per the Town’s Traffic Calming Policy, the date for accepting speed hump requests had already passed. Such requests had to be submitted no later than 10 calendar days before the June monthly meeting.

O’Brien said six speed humps were too many for such a small stretch of road, and suggested council make a friendly amendment to the motion to reduce the number of speed humps being voted upon.

He added the real problem is not the number of speed humps in town, but the number of speeders, and the best way to resolve safety concerns would be to have drivers ease off the gas pedal.

To that point, Town Manager Jennifer Aspell noted the Town cannot ticket speeders, as that falls under the purview of the RCMP, and the most the municipality can do is install traffic calming measures in an attempt to curb speeding.

As to O’Brien’s suggestion to reduce the number of speed humps being voted upon, councillor Ronayne suggested council approve just one speed hump along Sheldon Drive.

O’Driscoll, however, said she would prefer council approve all four.

“There’s a lot of young kids in that area playing, and it’s better to be safe than sorry,” she said.

O’Driscoll’s original motion was put to a vote, and O’Brien and Ronayne both voted against it.

Councillor Ronayne then moved that council install a single speed hump along Sheldon Drive.

That motion was approved, with all three members of the five-person council present being in favour.

Mobile Central High teacher recognised for contribution to sport

Andrew Mackey of Mobile Central High School was recently honoured with a 2023 School Sport NL Regional Recognition Award for the St. John’s Region. Submitted photo

By Mark Squibb / July 7,2023

If it’s a school sport, Mobile Central High’s Athletic Director Andrew Mackey is involved in it one way or another.

From coaching sports to organizing tournaments, Mackey is integral to the school’s athletic program.

“We’re a small school, but we decided we wanted to get involved with a little bit of everything, which has been paying off the last couple of years,” said Mackey, who said that not only have school teams won a number of provincial and regional titles over the last number of years, but the school itself has been named the SSNL School of the Year two years running.

Mackey was recently honoured with a 2023 School Sport NL Regional Recognition Award for the St. John’s Region.

“To be honest, I was pretty surprised,” said Mackey. “I didn’t even know that anybody had put my name forward for nomination. But it’s pretty exciting for sure.”

The school has long had a reputation for sports involvement fostered under former longtime athletic director and teacher Shawn Doyle, who retired a couple of years ago, and an enthusiastic body of parents, teachers and volunteers.

Mackey has picked up the mantle of that leadership and kept running with it. The school of 400 boasts over 30 sports teams.

 “That ranges from basketball to volleyball, badminton, ice hockey, ball hockey, table tennis, cross country, cheerleading — we’re pretty well into everything,” said Mackey.

Witless Bay to kick in on Canada Day fireworks

By Mark Squibb / June 29, 2023

The Town of Witless Bay will purchase fireworks for the Bay Bulls to Bauline Athletic Association’s Canada Day festivities.

Council approved the request during last week’s council meeting and voted to spend up to $1,000 on the products.

Earlier this month, the Town of Bay Bulls committed $1,400 to the event, which will be held in Bay Bulls this year.

At the time, members of Bay Bulls council had expressed their desire that other towns would be willing to contribute to the festivities, which are attended by folks from the entire region.

Bay Bulls council intended for staff to write the BBBAA and ask whether other towns would be contributing financially to the festivities.

Witless Bay settles on new location for dog park

Mark Squibb / June 29, 2023

After voting last July to move the dog park, members of Witless Bay council last week voted to prepare a tender to construct a fence at the soon-to-be new facility.

“We made a motion, last year I believe it was, to relocate our dog park and right now where we’re planning is close to Southside Track right by the changerooms, so it will be really handy for everybody,” said councillor Ralph Carey, who made the motion to prepare a tender.

Carey went on to explain the Town is looking to install about 130 feet of chain link fence from the existing chain link fence off the Puffin Centre parking lot to the corner of the change rooms.

The run of fencing, complimenting preexisting fencing, will box off an area to be designated as the dog park, which Carey said would be the most cost-effective way to go about the work.

Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard seconded the motion.

“Like councillor Carey said, we made a motion to do this last year so I’m really happy to see it move ahead,” said Yard. “We have had a lot of feedback from residents about the lack of an accessible dog park facility. I have looked into (it), not that we want to have a luxurious dog park, but I have looked into some designs that other jurisdictions have had, so that rather than just have a flat piece of land, we have some things there. It would be really great if we could get some kind of water source for the dogs. But, in the meantime, I am looking into some different things we could have in the dog park. Like, I’m trying to get some prices on doggie bags for picking up waste, so when I get that together, I will bring that to council for further consideration.”

The former dog park was located in the same general area but could only be accessed by trespassing over private property.

The park remained closed while council sought a solution.

St Kevin’s teacher uses common sense applying the meaning of a ten-dollar word

St. Kevin’s High School teacher Greg White (left) was one of nine teachers from across the province to be named a recipient of the 2023 Minister of Educations Award. Caitlin O'Brien, right, nominated White for the award, and three of his students wrote recommendations. Submitted photo.

By Mark Squibb / June 29, 2023

One day, a student approached Greg White and asked him what a pedagogy was.

White explained to the student that a pedagogy is essentially a teacher’s philosophy of teaching.

The student then turned it back on White and asked what his own personal pedagogy was.

“When I walk into a classroom, I concern myself with not making better students, but making better people,” said White. “That’s always been my philosophy — to walk in and influence these youth to try and be better people. And everything else falls into place — the curriculum falls into place; the lessons fall into place.”

White, who teaches English and Social Studies, and spearheads the school’s drama troupe, says he tries to influence his students for the better both by being a role model and also creating a space in his classroom where students can feel free to be themselves.

That approach to teaching has recently earned White a 2023 Minister of Education Award.

“I was a bit shocked actually, I wasn’t expecting it at all,” said White. “The kids really kept the nomination under wraps really well, so I had no idea I had been nominated. I received a phone call from the Department of Education, and at first, I thought. ‘Oh no, what did I do?’ but they congratulated me and said that I had been nominated and selected to receive one of the Minister’s awards. I was blown away by the news.”

White was nominated by colleague Caitlin O'Brien, and three students volunteered to write letters of recommendation.

“I was lucky enough, once I found out, to have a chance to read all of their letters, and it was really sweet,” said White. “To see their feelings written out was really nice to see.”

White was one of nine teachers from across the province to be named recipients of the award.

Premier Andrew Furey and Minister of Education Krista Lynn Howell will present the recipients with their awards at a ceremony this coming fall.

Subdivision applicant hits all the right notes for deputy mayor

By Mark Squibb / June 29, 2023

Witless Bay council last week gave a developer the greenlight to construct a temporary road to access the site of a potential subdivision off Dean’s Road.

“This is an application to construct temporary access to assess water availability in terms of a residential subdivision,” explained councillor Ralph Carey. “So, we wanted to place a few conditions on this in terms of safety, with kids out of school, and quads, mountain bikes, walkers, and everyone else on the go.”

Some of those conditions include the installation of culverts and stop signs.

Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard said there was care taken to ensure the protection of the railway bed and the safety of the public.

She applauded the developer’s approach. “We met with the developer of this development, and I was really heartened by what he said, because it’s always a bit worrying when we get development in town, and we don’t know what the vision is,” said Yard. “We need to sell ourselves as a premiere destination, not a budget destination. And so, when we meet with the developer, just to reassure residents in the area, it seems like he has a good vision. He’s talking about doing one acre lots, when he’s only required to do three-quarter acre lots, but he’s going to do one acre lots to help with water and well contamination and all that sort of thing. He said he’s not going to clear cut the land and flatten all the trees, he’s looking at maintaining rural characteristics of the area. And I’m really happy to hear that. And if he gets through this phase with his well testing, I do hope to have a conversation with him to see if there’s something we can talk to CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) about for getting friendly lighting for migrating seabirds. I don’t know the cost or what’s involved with it, but if he gets through this phase, I’m hoping, with council’s approval, we can have a conversation about improving even more on his ideas for a subdivision.”

The motion was approved unanimously, excepting that councillor Jacob Hayden was absent from the meeting and thus did not vote.

Council also approved an application for new home-based plumbing business on Greenhill Drive.

“This is a residential plumbing company servicing the southern shore and surrounding area,” said Carey. “It’s just going to be an office, and he’ll park his vehicle on the driveway, so it’s not like he’ll have a large amount of traffic there, because he’ll be mostly working out of his home.”

The motion based unanimously.

“I think it’s great that we have more business in the community, and awesome that we have a plumber in the community,” said councillor Nancy Burke.

Council also approved sheds for homes on Dean’s Road, Dunn’s Lane, and Country Path Road, and approved construction of a new home on Dean’s Road.

The Irish Loop Quilt Guild

The Irish Loop Quilt Guild is celebrating a year of accomplishment. The group has participated in several 12-hour day retreats at Saltwater Country, done a local shop hop, made donations of denim pillows for the homeless to The Gathering Place in St. John’s, and have made a baby quilt to donate to One Plane Away – a charity that accepts baby care packages in Nunavut. Guild member Pennie Hancock said groups like the Quilt Guild add to the community. “It’s especially important now after the challenges of COVID, both socially and economically,” she said. The guild allows adults to gather together in a small, safe, group setting and enjoy the company of others. Joining a guild also provides the opportunity to share skills and techniques. “Donations of quilted items help fill a need in our community and lets those in need know that others are available to help,” said Hancock. “Working on projects to donate to the community also gives a sense of accomplishment and purpose to the guild.” In the upcoming year, the group has chosen to make and donate a quilt to the Quilts of Valor project for Canadian Forces veterans. “In addition, it’s been proven that a vehicle full of quilters going on a shop hop adds much needed funds into our economy with their planned purchases of fabric, gas and a meal stop along the way,” said Hancock. The guild meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at Saltwater Country, in Bay Bulls. Pictured, from left to right, are members Pennie Hancock, Colleen Power, Justine Finlay, Deborah Maddox and Joanne Moss.

Bay Bulls approves bevy of construction permits

By Mark Squibb / June 23, 2023

Folks in Bay Bulls can expect to see some new homes and commercial developments pop up around town in the coming months, as council last week approved a number of new residential and commercial permits.

Council approved two applications to construct homes, one at 10 Dunn Drive and one at 22-24 Quay’s Road, both pending a receipt of approval from the provincial government for installation of septic and well systems. Also approved were two accessory buildings applications, one on Dunn Drive and one on the Southern Shore Highway, as well as a new tourist accommodations business at 80-82 Quay’s Road, and a new recreation development at 2-46 Cemetery Lane West.

Council, of which only three members were in attendance for the meeting, lost quorum on an application for a new commercial development at 79-87 Farm Road and an accessory building on Dunn Road due to potential conflicts of interest.

Bay Bulls declares town manager not in conflict

By Mark Squibb / June 23, 2023

Bay Bulls council has deemed Town Manager Jennifer Aspell not in conflict on matters related to O’Brien’s Trucking Ltd., though the decision was not unanimous.

Council ratified a vote that had been held at a privileged session on May 15 that stated that “Town Manager Jennifer Aspell is not in conflict of interest on any matters pertaining to public works, capital works, or procurement involving O’Briens Trucking Ltd., on a go forward basis so long as a family member does not hold a management position with the company.”

That motion passed 4-1, with Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien voting against it. The motion to rescind, held last week, also passed, though narrowly. Councillors Shannon O’Driscoll and Corey Ronayne both voted in favour, but O’Brien once again voted against the motion.

Mayor Keith O’Driscoll and councillor Jason Sullivan were not present at the meeting, and thus did not vote to rescind the motion.

The Irish Loop Post followed up with the Town, and Aspell explained the new Municipal Conduct Act requires all municipal officials to disclose any potential conflict of interest for council to decide if a conflict of interest exists.

Aspell has a family member who is an employee of O’Brien’s, which is why the matter came to a vote.

Proposed Lifestyle Centre alteration generates three votes

By Mark Squibb / June 23, 2023

The Town of Bay Bulls last week rubberstamped a decision of council made via an e-mail poll to rescind a previous motion of council to relocate the Bay Bulls Regional Lifestyle Centre generator.

Council initially voted during the May 8 meeting to relocate the generator at the Lifestyle Centre at a cost of $6,735, plus HST.

Prior to last week’s meeting, council had voted via the e-mail poll to rescind that motion.

During last week’s public meeting, councillor Corey Ronayne moved to ratify the motion conducted via e-mail poll.

The motion to ratify the e-mail vote passed— though barely. Councillor Ronayne and Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien voted in favour of the motion while councillor Shannon O’Driscoll voted against it.

Mayor Keith O’Driscoll and councillor Jason Sullivan were both absent from the meeting.

There was no explanation offered as to the reason for rescinding the motion, nor why it had gone to an e-mail poll ahead of the public meeting.

The Irish Loop Post followed up with the Town following the meeting, and Town Manager Jennifer Aspell explained that following the motion, council reconsidered whether it was necessary to relocate the generator and decided not to move it.