The Féile Seamus Creagh festival is spreading its wings again this year and changing some of its venues with two shows set for the Southern Shore this weekend.
On Friday night, the festival will hold an opening concert at the O’Brien’s Tours Stage Head in Bay Bulls. It will feature Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne, Oisin McAuley and Caoimhin O Fearghail of Ireland, Cara Butler of the United States, Jimmy Crowley of Ireland, Graham Wells, Benny McCarthy and Conor Moriarty, the latter two also from Ireland.
On Sunday, September 13, the festival moves to the Folk Arts Council building in Ferryland where John Curran and Greg Walsh of the Masterless Men will take the stage along with the Dunne Family from Ferryland as well as Irish performers Crowley, McCarthy, Oisin McAuley, Caoimhin O Ferghail and Butler, who is American but excels in the Irish step dance.
The festival is also staging shows in Carbonear and St. John’s. The Regina Mundi Centre in Renews was among the venues in previous years.
Keith Mooney of the Southern Shore Folk Arts Council said he expects to see a good night of entertainment in Ferryland given the large and diverse lineup. Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They are available in local stores and at the Folk Arts Council’s building.
The festival celebrates traditional music and songs from Newfoundland and Ireland. It’s named after the late Irish fiddle master Seamus Creagh, who played in Newfoundland some years ago. Creagh’s connection to Newfoundland is thanks to Graham Wells, whom he took under his wing when Wells went to Ireland to study music. The pair recorded an album of Newfoundland and Irish tunes in 2002. Wells is the founder of the festival named in Creagh’s honour.
“Graham started this event and it features a great combination of established musicians,” Mooney said. “For Celtic music followers it’s a great opportunity… I attended the shows in Renews and it’s fabulous entertainment. And in this case it’s going to be a well-rounded show because you have the instrumentals and the singing, and you have the step dance, so it’s pretty appealing to a wide range of Irish-Newfoundland music enthusiasts.”
Bay Bulls council set to meet for first time in nine weeks
It looks like Bay Bulls council will meet for the first time in nine weeks next week without having resolved any of the conflict of interest allegations levelled against three different councillors.
The public meeting scheduled for September 14, if it goes ahead, will mark the first time council has met since July 13, when unexpected allegations of conflict of interest came to light against councillors Jason Sullivan and Joan Luby.
Sullivan is accused of breaking conflict of interest rules by land developer Martina Aylward, who claims Sullivan voted on development applications even though he is a developer himself.
Sullivan, meanwhile, is the accuser in an earlier conflict of interest allegation levelled against Deputy Mayor Harold Mullowney. Sullivan claimed in a letter to council this past spring that Mullowney is a competing developer and should not have participated in a council discussion regarding Sullivan’s application to develop a 37 acre subdivision in Bay Bulls. Mullowney has denied the allegation and said Sullivan is misconstruing his application for a small parcel of Crown Land. Sullivan’s move against Mullowney was kept off the public agenda until this past summer when the Irish Loop Post learned of it and published details about it.
The allegation against councillor Luby, by a developer applying to build a subdivision in the town, contends she discussed a development application belonging to her sister-in-law. Luby, who was elected in a by-election earlier this year, maintains the incident happened during her first night on council and that she didn’t know who was behind the application when the discussion started. Luby pointed out that unlike the other councillors in attendance, she was not provided with a detailed agenda and briefing book until she was sworn in at the meeting and so she had no time to prepare for any of the discussions.
All three matters were expected to be addressed at the August 10 public meeting of council, but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute when councillors Sullivan, Rick Oxford and Gerard Mulcahy indicated they were unavailable to attend.
Mayor Patrick O’Driscoll did not respond to a request for an interview this week.
When contacted, Deputy Mayor Mullowney said no ‘Friendly Hearings’ have been held by council to discuss any of the allegations, as is required under the Municipalities Act when conflict of interest charges are made.
“All I’ve heard is that they’ve sent it all off to legal again and the lawyers were supposed to meet with council to give them some indication of what was on the go – that meeting was supposed to happen last month, however the lawyers went on holiday as far as I understand, and were supposed to be back around mid-August, but I haven’t heard anything regarding a meeting,” Mullowney said. “So I don’t exactly know where it is right now.”
If the Town has obtained a another legal opinion it will be the third one requested by the mayor and council in regard to the allegation against Mullowney. In the first opinion, the lawyer reportedly sided with Sullivan’s allegation against the Deputy Mayor, but after hearing from Mullowney himself, issued a second opinion opposite to his first finding. Mullowney has contended that Sullivan’s allegation is frivolous and that council is wasting money by hiring lawyers to entertain it.
Mullowney said he has since been contacted by a couple of councillors who are backpedalling and claiming their move against him was blown out of proportion. “I said nothing was blown out of proportion by me,” he noted.
Mullowney said he expects at some point he will be given a Friendly Hearing and despite any legal recommendation that he is not guilty, a majority of council can still vote to vacate his seat anyway. “If people want to, they can disregard the legal opinion,” he said. “So I’m waiting to see where that goes. I’ve been told by a number of individuals that they don’t see any conflict in my case and I don’t see it there, but at the end of the day it still comes down to a vote of council.”
The longest serving member of council added he is still working to fulfill his duties but he has a sense council itself is drifting. “There was no meeting last month and they didn’t set a date for a follow-up meeting, so I’m assuming now we’ll have one this month,” he said.
Mullowney acknowledged the Department of Municipal Affairs hasn’t done much to help the town resolve the situation. “Municipal Affairs generally wipes their hands of a lot of this saying there is a mechanism and procedure to be followed, but they don’t seem to really want to get involved too much,” he said. “But I agree there needs to be a greater role and presence (by the department). This situation is going to become more prevalent I think as development picks up in the Northeast Avalon and unless you have mechanisms to deal with it properly it is just going to continue to fester.”
If the regular public council meeting does go ahead next week, a number of items have been added to the agenda by councillor Luby that may generate their own share of debate. Luby confirmed Tuesday she intends to question why council adjourns so often in the middle of public meetings to hold unscheduled privileged sessions, as well as seek clarification on council’s policy regarding the use of cel phones and texting devices by councillors during public meetings. Luby said she has observed some members of council texting during debates, including occasions when one councillor is outside of the chamber because of a declared conflict of interest.
Local heritage groups get small grants
Admiralty House Museum in Mount Pearl served as the backdrop last month for an announcement of some $1.2 million in operational funding for 115 heritage groups throughout the province, incouding a number on the Irish Loop.
Some $9,770 of the money is being allocated to the Admiralty House Museum and Archives.
In this area, Cape Race – Portugal Cove South Heritage Inc. is getting $15,360, the Colony of Avalon, $89,300; Ferryland Historical Society $2,210; the Fisherman's Museum - St. Vincent's $1,000; the Petty Harbour Maddox Cove Heritage Museum Association $1,000; and the Witless Bay Heritage Committee $1,000.
Business and Tourism Minister Darrin King said the recipients of the funding are reviewed by a special Heritage Advisory Council struck in 2012 and composed of representatives of the department, the Museums Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives, and the Association of Heritage Industries.
Seven groups are getting funding to help with special projects, including the Newfoundland and Labrador Archeological Society which hopes to encourage owners of private collections to come forward so that their artefacts can be documented.
“We want to gain a better understanding of collections that may not be curated,” said the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society, Tim Rast.
King complimented groups such as Rast’s for the invaluable work they do in preserving the province’s heritage.
“As the summer winds down, this announcement is a reminder of the valuable role these organizations play in our communities,” King said. “Summer time is a very important time for museum and heritage organizations across Newfoundland and Labrador. Employees and volunteers work hard to showcase our history, our culture and our heritage to Newfoundland and Labrador families on vacation, to children in summer day camps, to those who have long summer days to themselves and free time, and to tourists who come to our province to experience for themselves this very special place that we call home.”
Mount Pearl North MHA and Health Minister Steve Kent welcomed all the press conference guests to Mount Pearl. He noted he has a special connection to Admiralty House, having worked with a number of community organizations when the museum re-opened in 1997 and having supported it later as mayor. “This has been an important part of community life for me and thousands of citizens over the last number of years,” he added. “I’ve been involved in touring many youth groups through this facility, many celebrations have happened here at Admiralty House and the beautiful grounds that surround Admiralty House. I’ve attended many arts events at this facility and cultural events. I’ve performed wedding ceremonies (as mayor) out on the grounds.”
Kent said the heritage funding announced by King helps heritage facilities and organizations to operate.
Later this month, Admiralty House Museum, which is mostly funded by the City of Mount Pearl, will celebrate a milestone of its own as it marks its 100th anniversary. The facility was built as a secret naval wireless station for the British navy during the first world war. It is the oldest structure in Mount Pearl.
Museum chairman John Riche said the actual anniversary is September 16. On that day the staff and board will hold a small event at the site. The main celebration will come on Saturday, September 19. “It will be a big event,” said Riche. “The CLB band will be playing, we’ll have their Honours the Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan and Patricia Fagan, Senator Elizabeth Marshall is bringing greetings from Ottawa, Mayor Randy Simms will be there and the provincial government will be bringing somebody.”
The event will be hosted in the back garden. “Our grounds are spectacular in the early fall,” Riche said.
Meanwhile, the museum’s board and staff will soon start working on a funding application to prepare for the centenary of the sinking of the S.S. Florizel in 2018. Admiralty House has an extensive display and collection of artefacts related to the famous sealing and passenger vessel, which sank off Cappahayden in a snow storm on February 25, 1918 with a loss of 138 people.
Municipal Affairs minister moves to finalize Witless Bay's Town Plan
With the Witless Bay council hamstrung because it doesn’t have enough councillors who are not in a conflict of interest to adopt a new Town Plan, the process is finally being handed over to residents to decide.
Residents will be given a chance this week to review two versions of the Town Plan and to vote by plebiscite sometime next week as to which one to accept.
The Department of Municipal Affairs will hold public meetings at the Southern Shore Arena for residents to review the two plans though it’s unclear how much guidance they will receive as to what is in them. Both plans are fairly complicated and while similar in many respects, weigh in at over 200 pages each, plus supporting maps that outline the various zones for housing, recreation, commercial and other uses in the town.
Municipal Affairs Minister Keith Hutchings said he has ordered the plebiscite because council is unable to deal with the plan. He mailed a letter to all households in Witless Bay on Friday, but with the main Post Office closed on Monday because of Labour day and no effort to advertise the hearings in local media, it’s unclear whether residents are being given enough notice of the three dates at which they can review the two plans before voting next week.
Mayor Sébastien Després did not respond to a request for an interview. But he did note at Tuesday’s council meeting that all the dates outlined in Hutchings’ letter for reviewing the two plans have been changed and that a new letter is going to be issued.
“This is an action of Municipal Affairs,” Després said. “It does come from the Town.”
The new letter is necessary because of mistakes in the original one. Hutchings referred to the Town Plan submitted in 2013 as having been submitted in May 2014.
That incarnation of the plan, known as Version A for the purpose of the plebiscite, is the document that was submitted by the previous council, reviewed by Municipal Affairs and sent back to the Town for ratification. It essentially allows development of many family-owned lands in the town under the regulations and guidelines that have been in use for years.
Version B of the plan, which the current council submitted in December 2014 after taking back the original submission and making substantial changes to parts of it, prohibits development of privately-owned and Crown land in a number of areas, including near The Tolt and the area between Mullowney’s Lane and Ragged Beach by zoning the areas Recreational.
In his letter to residents, Hutchings said that if they vote for Version A, registration of it will proceed faster than if they vote for Version B, because public hearings were held on the first plan, as required under the Urban and Rural Planning Act, but weren’t held on the rejigged version. However, he has since changed his stance on that too. Whichever plan is chosen by residents, a hearing by a Commissioner will be necessary, he said Tuesday.
Hutchings said he is reluctantly intervening in the process, which has dragged on now for about three years.
“I called them (the councillor) in on August 31 and said, ‘We’ve gone through an extensive process in the past year, since last October when some issues arose as a result of a conflict,’” Hutchings said Tuesday. “I’ve tried to work with officials and the Town to expedite this and get it to a point where we can get a plan adopted for the Town, unfortunately through our efforts we haven’t been able to get there.”
With two councillors having had their seats vacated because of conflict of interest allegations, a third facing a Friendly Hearing on a similar charge and a fourth councillor voluntarily declaring a conflict of interest, only three members of council are left to vote. That’s not enough for a quorum. Hutchings said council asked for permission to vote on the plan without quorum, but he rejected that request.
It makes better sense, he said, to let the residents choose “democratically” which of the two plans they prefer. “I’ll take that plan then and move it forward, adopt it for the Town and then on a go forward basis that plan will be a working document for the Town,” said Hutchings. “In the future it could be amended in accordance with the regional Urban and Rural Planning Act and we’ll proceed from there. But it seems right now we’ve gotten to a point where we don’t see a way forward to getting a Town Plan for Witless Bay.”
Hutchings said he has heard from many residents on the issue.
“For this reason I am taking the steps as outlined above,” he said in his letter. “I know that you, as residents, are invested in the future of your town and this plebiscite provides you with the opportunity to move your town forward.”
Both versions of the plan are based on the assumption that the town will grow by about 250 new houses over the next 10 years. The purpose of each proposed plan is to guide how that development takes place. In version A, lot sizes in residential zones have been set at just under a half acre and at three quarters of an acre in areas zoned Residential Rural. In Version B, lot sizes remain at just under a half acre in Residential zones, but have been increased to a full acre in Residential Rural zones.
Witless Bay council imbroglio heads to court
A Supreme Court Justice refused last week to consider an application from two former members of Witless Bay council who asked the court to order the Town to cover the costs of their effort to gain their seats back.
Wife and husband pair Dena Wiseman and Ralph Carey are seeking $500 to defray the legal costs of their appeal of council’s decision to vacate their seats over conflict of interest allegations. But Mr. Justice David Hurley wouldn’t consider the application because the Town had not been served notice of it. He set the matter over until such time as the Town has been notified of the application by Wiseman’s and Carey’s lawyer and has a chance to consider a response.
In an interview after the print edition of the Irish Loop Post went to press yesterday, the lawyer for Wiseman and Carey, Annette Conway of Curtis Dawe, explained the Town was not notified of the Interlocutory Application because it isn’t clear in the Municipalities Act that such notice is necessary.
“The Act requires that you make an application to the court for an order with respect to the costs of the Appeal and to have it set down,” Conway said, explaining why the two former councillors requested coverage of their legal costs before the Appeal itself was heard.
Meanwhile, Wiseman’s and Carey’s Notice of Appeal challenging their firing was registered with the court on August 3. To date, there has been no official response or Statement of Defence filed by the Town. When contacted by e-mail on Monday, Mayor Sébastien Després said council would meet on the matter this week. “Until then, I am unable to comment, since this is a matter before the courts,” he said.
Council voted to dismiss Wiseman and Carey at a special public meeting on June 23. The decision was ratified at the following regular public council meeting on July 14. It marked the apparent culmination of a nearly year-long controversy during which the Department of Municipal Affairs instructed council, on at least three different occasions, to deal quickly with allegations of conflict of interest involving the pair. However, council, led by Dépres and Wiseman, delayed for months the holding of a by-election which was required in order to have a quorum to deal with the allegations. It was only after two new councillors were elected, and after much wrangling between them, the mayor and Wiseman and Carey, that the matter was finally decided with the latter pair being evicted for allegedly contravening the conflict of interest provisions of the Municipalities Act by discussing snow clearing on a private road abutting their property.
In their appeal, Wiseman and Carey admit they did participate in a discussion involving snow clearing on Pond Path, but they maintain it was not during a formal council meeting. “The discussion was informal and took place with the intention of wording the snow clearing contract before presenting it in a public meeting,” said their lawyer, Annette Conway in the filing with the court.
Conway is claiming Wiseman and Carey were performing in their capacities as councillors representing the interests of all citizens during the discussion and not their own interests.
The pair is blaming the rest of council for failing to raise the issue of conflict of interest at the time, though Mayor Dépres did have the Town Clerk notify the Department of Municipal Affairs about his concerns the day after the September 16, 2014 meeting. “Had the issue been raised, the Appellants would have excused themselves from any discussion in relation to the issue,” Conway wrote.
Despite that, Wiseman and Carey are denying they broke the conflict of interest rules and are also claiming unfair treatment by the rest of council. They maintain they were given no documentation “explicitly setting out” the details of the allegations against them, and that they were not given enough notice to adequately prepare a defence for a Friendly Hearing on the charges held on April 21 this year.
Wiseman and Carey claim the “conduct of the Town council has been arbitrary, high-handed and capricious,” and that the matter “has been unduly delayed and subject to severe mishandling.” They also maintain some councillors have shown “antagonistic behaviour” towards them.
There is no mention in the Notice of the other conflict of interest allegation that has been levelled at Wiseman and Carey by developers and land owners in Witless Bay, that they voted on the proposed Town Plan which would rezone their property on Pond Path to allow for residential subdivision development while also moving to limit development in other parts of the town.
Another Petty Harbour softball player nabs national notice
Next week, Mitch Stack of Petty Harbour will head to Memorial University for first year studies with a plan to gain entrance into the engineering faculty. The move will follow a summer full of learning, but in a different venue.
The 18-year-old shortstop is one of 24 young softball players from across Canada invited to participate in national training camps leading up the selection of Canada’s entry in the world softball championships next summer. With exposure to high level competitors and coaching, this past month’s camp in Fredericton, New Brunswick was ripe with learning opportunities, Stack confirmed.
The camp followed the national softball championships where Stack played for Newfoundland’s Under 18 team as did his younger brother Mark, who flew back from the Under 16 nationals in Saskatchewan to bolster Newfoundland’s lineup in Fredericton. Ferryland’s Shane Kavanagh was also on the Under 18 provincial squad.
“We gave it a good run and made it to the playoffs,” said the elder Stack, who was voted as the All Star shortstop of the tournament.
Stack greatly enjoyed the training camp for the national team. The 24 invitees roomed together at a University of New Brunswick dormitory and were bused back and forth to the playing grounds every day.
“There was a lot of team building and team bonding stuff,” said Stack.
The camp also featured training and instruction on defensive play, batting practice, technical instruction and games against a local senior men’s team.
“The coaches were a great group of guys,” said Stack, citing each of the three senior hands drawn from across Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan who will prepare Canada’s team for the world tournament next summer.
“They really know a lot about the game,” said Stack, who noted his game in the local intermediate and senior leagues, where he plays against fellows much older than himself, will likely improve as a result of the camp. “They give you different (game) situations and scenarios that really help you when you come home. And playing at that calibre with guys from Quebec and Ontario and Saskatchewan, who are all real good ball players, you feel more confident when you come home,” he said.
Stack and the 23 other hopefuls will gather in Kitchener, Ontario next June for another camp which will lead up to the final team selection about a month before the world championships in Michigan.
Stack tries to be a team leader when he is at the diamond, supporting each player’s efforts and keeping their spirits up. He also has enough maturity to be aware of areas of his own game that he would like to work on. “I’d like to improve on my mechanics of playing shortstop, learning a few more things to make me quicker on my feet and move faster and get more outs,” he said. The national training camps are helping with that, he acknowledged.
The start of school in September won’t mean the end of Stack’s softball training. He said he is fortunate enough to participate in winter training with well-known local softball stars Ryan and Shane Boland, Sean Cleary and others from Newfoundland’s senior men’s team. Just listening to those guys talk about aspects of the game is also an education, he said.
Cape Broyle Sea Products lands research money
Cape Broyle Sea Products Ltd. is receiving $30,157 through the provincial government’s Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program to help achieve efficiencies and long-term viability of its sea cucumber operation.
“Cape Broyle Sea Productsis committed to advancing the sea cucumber business in the province and we greatly appreciate the provincial government's support,” said senior manager Edgar Coffey. “We believe this project will help us further develop our product line and improve efficiencies as we move forward.”
The funding will allow the company to hire consultants to analyze current technologies and processes. The work will include a market analysis to determine detailed customer product specifications, physiological research and investigation of alternative sea cucumber processing methods to remove the tentacles; productivity evaluation to determine ways to streamline operations; and an investigation of new processing technologies in other jurisdictions.
“Our seafood industry is valued at approximately $1 billion per year and investments we make in improving processing operations for emerging species, such as sea cucumber, help to optimize return on investment for processors and create additional opportunities for harvesters,” said Fisheries Minister Vaughn Granter."
“Sea cucumber is a species that holds tremendous opportunity for our seafood industry on both the harvesting and processing sides,” added Ferryland MHA Keith Hutchings, a former minister of fisheries who now serves as Minister of Municipal Affairs. “This funding will help Cape Broyle Sea Products Ltd. improve their operations and productivity and help them to better identify and meet the demands of the market.”
Improvements to processing technology resulting from this project are expected to be beneficial to all processing operations in the province using the same technology to process sea cucumber, he added.
Business award a shining accomplishment for young car detailer
He’s only 17 but Matthew Howlett of Petty Harbour – Maddox Cove already has nearly four years of experience as an entrepreneur. This past summer, he received an Outstanding Venture Award from the province’s Youth Ventures programs, which helps young people start their own businesses.
“Matthew runs a car detailing business from his home in Petty Harbour,” said Celtic CBDC executive director Loretta Ryan. “CBDC Celtic is proud to support Mathew’s entrepreneurship though our lending program (Kick$tart loans) and our Youth Ventures Program.”
Howlett too is pleased, if a little surprised, with the award. He started his company after attending car shows with his Dad, cleaning up the engine blocks and interiors of classic automobiles owned by eagle-eyed collectors. The business continues to grow. Howlett reckons he spends three or four days a week during the summer detailing cars. He also works at McDonald’s Home Hardware in the Goulds.
Howlett is a big advocate of self-employment for young people. “It’s a great experience,” he said. “It helps you get involved with your community more and helps you learn about financials and how to grow a business using your money properly.”
It also helps with developing people skills, he added.
The CBDC helped him a lot, not only with a grant, but particularly with advertising, Howlett said.
This fall, Howlett is hoping to enter a two year nursing program, but intends to keep the car detailing business going on the side.
The award, which was presented during a ceremony held at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John’s earlier this month, was a surprise, he admitted. “I wasn’t really expecting it,” he said. “It was all worth it in the end.”
Local softballers show how to 'Crush' it
The Southern Shore Crush Under 12 team finished second out of 12 teams to capture the silver medal in a provincial Slo-pitch tournament held recently. The Crush lost to Carbonear in the final. The team consists of Tanner Hawkins, Owen Brothers, Ian O,Driscoll, Adam Whelan, Kyle Goodridge, Ty Power, Jordan Harvey, Owen Coady, Ronan Houlihan, Griffen Crane, Ashton Harvey, Ryan Frizzell and coaches Dean Houlihan, Clyde Harvey, Robin Harvey and Jerome Whelan.
St. Bernard's to get more modular classrooms
The Eastern School District has received approval to attach a set of modular classrooms to the side of St. Bernard’s Primary in Witless Bay.
Approval for the application was given at this past month’s public council meeting.
“Are these going to permanent?” asked councillor Ken Brinston, drawing laughter from some of the people in the chamber.
“I’d rather not answer that question,” said Mayor Sébastien Després.
“They tend to last much longer than anticipated,” allowed councillor René Estrada.
The last time the school board applied to install a “temporary” classroom at the Kindergarten to Grade six school, the town placed a three year time limit on the unit to be followed at that time by a review, said Després.
“If we don’t put a deadline, they become permanent,” he said.
Council also stipulated that the next time the school board plans to add a modular classroom, it consult with the town first.
That didn’t happen this time around. “No consultation was carried out,” Després noted.
“We’ve got to have it,” councillor Albert Murphy said of the extension to the school, “unless we put them up in the Church.”
Després suggested the motion on the books calling for public consultation be amended to say the town will inform residents about the project.
“To me it makes sense to approve for a period of three years with room for renewal,” Després added.
The two new units will take up space currently used as a playground.
The enrollment at St. Bernard’s is expected to increase by several students in September to a projected count of 349 children. It’s one of the few schools in the province to see its teacher allocation increase, by one full teaching unit.
Ferryland MHA Keith Hutchings recently announced the region will get a new middle school, but no details were furnished. They are expected to come this fall as part of the PC Party’s re-election campaign.
