Bay Bulls council seat to remain vacant

By Mark Squibb | Aug. 20, 2020

COVID-19 put everyone in social isolation. So four members of a local facebook group, Blooming Buddies NL, got together to discuss how to “up” the social environment in the Trepassey Area. A plant swap party seemed like a good idea. The four decided to plan such a party. Registration was limited to 25, complete with a sanitation station and contact tracing records.

Participants came from nearby communities, and some travelled all the way from Holyrood. It was a wonderful day in the great outdoors, swapping plants and socializing. The event could not have happened without support from local businesses.

Honorable mention goes to Patricia Puddister of Pat’s Plants and Gardens, Bay Bulls. What an awesome special guest Patricia was, so much knowledge to share and a very generous sponsor for the event.

There were garden gate prizes galore, thanks to all our sponsors, and everyone had a prize to lift home along with all their newly swapped plants.

Blooming Buddies NL is a private group, but open to new members, so if you grow flowers or veggies, look either one of these women up on FB and ask to join; Patsy McCormack, Theresa Shea, Helen Mulrooney or Viola Curtis-Pennell. If you love to dig in the dirt and create something, we will welcome you to the group.

A fresh look for an old establishment

By Mark Squibb | Aug. 20, 2020

A staple of the Goulds, the Hayloft Lounge, has received a fresh new look — and second bar — that’s turning heads in the community.

The building has a rather storied history. Tony Barton opened the Hayloft Lounge in 1974 (the local legend is that 12-gauge shotgun was handed out as a door prize). During the billiard boom it served a brief stint as the Billiard Barn before reverting back to its old name. And before opening to the public, it was also the Barton home.

The Kiely brothers, Ian and Jed, bought the building some years back. The brothers themselves have a long Goulds history.

Both brothers have worked farms baling hay, back when hay was baled into square bales, not the large marshmallow shapes you see today.

“When it was baling time, everybody around the community, I remember Jed and I and our dad and everyone down by Forest Pond and that area, getting together and helping the farmers bale the hay and loading it up on the flatbeds and then we would get up on the flatbeds as kids and ride down the Goulds Main Road. It was really a part of growing up for me that I would like my kids to experience,” said Ian.

“We have a lot of memories baling the hay and all that. And now that we have small kids, it’s an opportunity for them,” agreed brother Jed.

The brothers say that they have a love for Gould’s farming roots, and want the Hayloft and new Farmhouse bar to reflect that heritage.

“The Farmhouse came from the Goulds being a farming community,” explained Ian. “The roots of the Goulds is in farming. The farmers have been here a long time. Different places, like Petty Harbour, are known for fishing. Goulds is know as being a farming community.”

He said that many people might be a little embarrassed by the farming reputation — especially that unmistakable summertime farm odor — but that they cherish the Goulds’ heritage.

“We want to embrace it. It kind of separates us from everyone one. That’s what we’re all about,” said Ian.

The brothers held a photo contest, asking residents to submit their favorite Goulds farming photos (some of which will adorn the walls) and have designed the building around the farming motif, with decorative hay bales and an unmistakable cow decal alongside the building.

That Cow, reminding folks to ‘support local,’ has caused a bit of debate in the community.

“Some people love it — some people hated it,” laughed Ian. “We did get some negative comments, people saying, ‘Why are you covering up all your nice new siding with this cow.”

However, Ian said, it’s the message the cow proclaims that matters most.

“In this era of COVID, it’s important for people to support local and to support local businesses. They’ve been hit the hardest. So, if we were going to do a billboard, I think the message should be, for now, ‘Support local,’” he explained.

And, for those who don’t like it, he said it probably won’t be there forever.

“It’s basically a billboard that we can change around periodically. It’s not something that’s stationary and going to be there for the life of the building. It got people talking,” he concluded.

The brothers were able to capitalize on the downturn brought about by COVID-19 to complete much of the work, which includes the new Farmhouse bar, new siding and windows, parking lot renos, and a front area overhang.

They closed to the public in March 16, and reopened the 25th of June.

“We were closed and we said, ‘What are we going to do, we’re not just going to sit still,’ and we always wanted to do the renovations, but we were afraid that it would interfere with the customers coming back and forth, so we said that this is probably the best time to get this renovation done,” said Ian. “We’re closed, it won’t interfere with customers coming back and forth. And it reduces the downtime. When you’re open you have to put away all your tools and make sure the place is clean for when customers come back. So, it saves us that hour or two everyday having to clean up.”

The lounge is currently operating at fifty percent capacity, or 30 people, and the brothers are holding off on booking parties, in light of the pandemic.

They hope to have the rest of the interior work, including bathroom renovations, done by the fall.

“A lot of people respect that we’re honouring the farmers of the Goulds and getting back to the roots of the Goulds,” said Ian.

Town of Witless Bay to hold off on by-election

By Mark Squibb | July 23, 2020

The Town of Witless Bay is waiting it out before holding a by-election to fill the seat left vacant by former councillor Lucy Carew, citing safety concerns and COVID-19 regulations.

“By-elections are permitted under Alert Level 2, as long as public health measures are followed, such as social distancing and appropriate hygiene. However, councils are still recommended to do their meetings by video and teleconference. So, council presently has six members. And I’m not comfortable subjecting staff and residents to the possibility of this very serious virus. This is not warranted at this time,” said deputy mayor Maureen Murphy during the July 14 meeting public council meeting.

She added that there are also limits on how many people can be gathered together publicly at one time.

Murphy made the motion that Mayor Derm Moran contact Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment Derrick Bragg to request an extension on the by-election until further notice.

The motion was approved unanimously.

The town council has seen some significant changes over the last year or so with a number of councillors coming and going.

The latest to join council was Dale O’ Driscoll, who was acclaimed to council in November of 2019, following the retirement of former mayor Rene Estrade due to health reasons.

Upon Estrada’s retirement, council voted in Moran, who was the town’s former mayor. Moran, along with David Ryan, were elected to council on Oct. 9, following the resignation of former councillors Chris Brinston and Neil Stratton.

Carew resigned on May 15. No specific reason for the resignation was given to council. Her vacant seat will be the fourth such seat since August, 2019.

Witless Bay tackles long list of public infrastructure applications

By Mark Squibb | July 23, 2020

Witless Bay Town Council had a long list of public infrastructure applications before them at the July 14 public council meeting.

Council first dealt with a number of applications that had been deferred from the June 9 meeting, including an application for a lot at 11 Dean’s Road, which council approved, and an application for a home on Jockey’s Lane, which council deferred as they continue to seek information.

Later in the meeting, council approved a Fisheries and Oceans application to remove the old CFIA building and construct a new warehouse, as per pending permits, at 229-235 Southern Shore Highway.

Council deferred an application for a home on 184-188 Dean’s Road until they received more zoning information, but approved applications for homes at 62 and 64 Country Path Drive, pending Service NL approval, as well as an application for a home at 215-17 Gallows Cove, again pending Service NL approval.

Council also approved applications for sheds, fences, a second access to property, a catch basin, and renovations for other properties around town.

The Town also noted that ongoing work on the recreation complex is on schedule.

“Most of the ground work is done, we got a few minor touch ups to do, and the fencing is supposed to start the middle of the upcoming week at the latest,”  said councillor Fraser Paul, adding that he had to meet with the plumber the next day.

Bay Bulls ratifies St. John’s road motions

By Mark Squibb | July 23, 2020

During the July 15 meeting of council, Bay Bulls council ratified a number of motions approved through email polls in June, most to do with upgrades to St. John’s Road.

Due to numerous conflicts of interest, councillors Joan Luby, Eric Maloney, and Patrick Coady had received permission from the provincial government back in 2019 for just three councillors to vote on any issue regarding St. John’s Road

The first motion to be ratified was email June 15 email vote to award the contract of St. John’s Road Infrastructure Upgrade Project to Cougar Engineering and Construction at a cost of $983,250 based on a 90/10 cost sharing with provincial government.

The second was a June 15 email vote to release payment of$4,326.88 to prime consultant Meridian Engineering  for work completed on St John’s Road.

Two motions for approval of residential accessory building on St. John’s Road were also ratified.

And Then There Were Five

Evelyn Tucker’s resignation brings council to five; no nomination date in sight

By Mark Squibb | July 23, 2020

The resignation of Evelyn Tucker, who joined council in the 2017 election, brings Bay Bulls council down to five members.

“She never really gave a reason... I guess you would have to talk to her about her actual reason. She never really got into reasons,” said Mayor Harold Mullowney, when asked why Tucker quit earlier this summer.

Tucker herself could not be reached for comment.

But Mullowney praised her time on council.

“She was there for a good period of time and did a lot of great work, and we’re sorry to see her go,” said the mayor. “I was surprised and sorry to see Evelyn go. The time she was with the council, she was a very active councillor. She was involved in a great deal of things. She got a lot of things done, and I think her voice is going to be missed around the table. But then again, people got to do what they got to do. She was certainly willing to put in the time. And then some.”

Mullowney said Tucker sent an e-mail notification of her resignation.

At present, there’s no plan to schedule a nomination date to elect someone to fill the seat.

“COVID is certainly a part of it,” said Mullowney, although he said council is also cognizant that they have tried in the past to fill a vacancy with no takers.

“Summer is always a difficult time to hold an election anyway,” added Mullowney. “But I’m hoping we will at least try again and go to the polls and see if we can get one or two people to step forward.”

He said that, in spite of council delaying the nomination date, it is important to get the vacant seats filled, one of which has sat vacant since the resignation of councillors Kevin O'Brien and Philip Burton in 2018. Councillor Patrick Coady was acclaimed to council that year, filling one of those seats, but the other seat has remained vacant, despite multiple calls for nominations over the past two years.

“It would be great to have another one or to councillors around the table. It really is important for quorum on a number of issues,” said Mullowney. “We’re finding it very difficult to get people to step up. But we’re not the only town. We’re looking at Mount Pearl, now, is down to five councillors. I’ve spoken to a couple other mayors recently and they’re also operating with five councillors. So, it seems like it’s getting harder and harder in the province to get people to step up and fill a volunteer role on a council. People have to realize that they’re stepping forward to help assist their communities. At the end of this process, there’s really noting in it for the individual other than seeing their community prosper and grow. The unfortunate thing is that we’re living in a world today where people come forward and try and do the best job that they can and they’re often criticized, mercilessly, by individuals who have no interest in stepping forward themselves.”

During the July 15 meeting, councillor Joan Luby announced that she would be stepping down from the Public Works Committee. Previously, Luby and Tucker had worked on the committee together.

“Joan and Evelyn worked very effectively together,” noted Mullowney.

Councillor Patrick Coady and Eric Maloney will now take over the responsibilities of the Public Works Committee.

Bay Bulls to forward ATV complaint to RCMP

Council also addresses speeding concern

By Mark Squibb | July 23, 2020

Councillors in Bay Bulls say there’s little they can do about an ATV complaint other than forward it to the police.

The Town was in receipt of a complaint from a resident of Quay’s Road who was concerned about ATV usage.

“I believe we just need to forward this on to the RCMP,” said Deputy Mayor Wendy O’Driscoll during the July 15 meeting.

Town CAO Jennifer Aspell spoke to the rationale of the decision.

“The reason that it’s being forwarded on by the deputy mayor is that it’s really outside of the town’s jurisdiction for managing this particular issue. It has to do with ATV use in the area, and the Town of course has no authority to regulate or police ATV use. So, the best course of action would be to refer it onto the authorities,” explained Aspell.

During that same meeting, members of Bay Bulls council addressed concerns about speeding in town generally.

Council had received requests for additional speedbumps along Sheldon Drive and Solomon Close.

“We don’t have any extra speedbumps, but we are going to look into providing some ‘Children at Play,’ signs,” said O’Driscoll.

She noted that correspondence should be sent to residents to inform them of the decision.

Eastern Health Clinic moving from Witless Bay to Bay Bulls

Eastern Health is advising the public that the Witless Bay Health and Community Services Centre at 294 Southern Shore Highway will relocate this month to 788 Southern Shore Highway, Bay Bulls.

The transition is expected to be completed by July 29.

All services currently provided at the Witless Bay Health and Community Services Centre – including public health, community supports, and mental health and addictions services – will be offered from the new site by the same staff. The new space will enhance current operations and allow for future growth of programs and services, said spokesperson Tracey Boland.

The clinic hours will remain the same, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Clients who have been referred to the clinic for appointments will be contacted directly, Boland added. Individuals requiring more information can call the clinic at (709) 334-3941.

Boland said the relocation is anticipated to be completed with a minimal interruption in service.

Picturesque Tors Cove Church taken down

The Sacred Heart Parish Church in Tors Cove, a landmark which stood since 1893, has been torn down.

“It is a sad thing, and a disappointing thing, and a difficult thing, and I understand how people feel,” said Our Lady Star of the Sea parish priest Monsignor Patrick J. Kennedy.

Like other churches in rural communities, in its day, the church was the centre of the community.

“The church was the gathering place. It was the place for baptisms, weddings, and regular Masses and other religious activities, because it wasn’t just limited to Mass, the Stations in Lent, and benedictions and funerals, and all the other things that bind a community together and family,” said the priest.

Kennedy was appointed to the parish in July of 2011, but his history with the building dates back much further.

“I was baptized in that church,” said Fr. Kennedy. “My parents were married in that church. I was confirmed and had my first holy communion in the church, and one of my first Masses, 54 years ago, was in that church, and then I served there as the parish priest.”

The discussion about what ought to be done with the church, which was decommissioned and deconsecrated in June of 2014, had long been a topic amongst church leadership.

“When I first came to the parish in 2011, I think the first meeting I had was a meeting about the situation and the state of Tors Cove church,” recalls Kennedy. “We made an attempt to fix the roof. It was far gone and leaking badly. We spent a little over $11,000 trying to fix the roof and patch it. We didn’t have the money to put a new roof on it, which was what was needed.”

A 2013 engineering study found that much work would be needed to be done to bring the building up to snuff, including structural foundation work.

“We didn’t have the funds to do what was needed. And what was needed was very, very, very considerable,” admitted Kennedy.

Following its decommissioning in 2014, artifacts, pews, statues, and altars, were removed and sold at public auction, with the $7,000 in profits given to the cemetery committee in Tors Cove. That money was used to build a chapel in the cemetery, which contains many of the remaining pews and artifacts.

“The chapel has a lot of the artifacts. One thing is a magnificent stained-glass window of the Sacred Heart,” said Fr. Kennedy, who has since hosted funerals and liturgies in that chapel.

Ultimately, the decision to tear down the building was a necessary one, Kennedy said, especially as the building became a target for vandals.

“Week after week after week the RCMP had to be called,” said Kennedy, who added that no sooner than a parish member could board up a broken window, vandals would break it again. Graffiti became a common problem, both inside and outside the building.

Kennedy said that one night the police were called, but by the time they reached the building, the vandals had fled. They returned that same night after the police had left.

But an even bigger concern was that someone would start a fire, which could spread to nearby homes, or that someone would fall through a sagging floorboard or through the steep tower stairs and injure themselves.

“We couldn’t leave it there like that. It was just to dangerous,” concluded Kennedy, who said there was no other option than demolition.

The wreckage of the building in still on site pending an environmental assessment before a full cleanup can be completed. But, in a larger sense, the church itself, which once served as a landmark for fishermen on the water, remains. Its parish committee is still active and its parishioners are still involved in the ministry of faith.

“The church is not a building; the church is the people of God,” said Fr. Kennedy. “And we have three churches here to serve the area, one in Bay Bulls, one in Witless Bay, and one in St. Michael’s.”

‘We feel forgotten about’

St. Mary’s feeling left in the lurch over doctor shortage

By Mark Squibb | Vol. 13 No. 3 (February 6, 2020)

St. Mary’s Deputy Mayor Steve Ryan said that as of Friday, Jan. 31, the St. Mary’s region is without a doctor for at least the next three months.

“We had a doctor here for about a year-and-a half, her name was Dr. Shada Dujali,” said Ryan, referring to the last fulltime doctor to serve the community and surrounding area.

After Dr. Dujali moved to Carbonear, the clinic in St. Mary’s was without its own doctor.

 “We had no doctor really, so what they did is bring in a ‘fill-in doctor,’” said Ryan, who is part of a local committee that has been lobbying Eastern Health and the provincial government on health issues for several years.

The fill-in physician was a retired doctor, Marshall Godwin. But on Jan. 31, Dr. Godwin left for a three-month vacation in Portugal.

Ryan and his fellow committee members had a conference call with Larry Alteen an executive with Eastern Health, on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

“We had the meeting with Dr. Alteen on Wednesday, and we’re not happy with what they’re offering,” said Ryan. “The solution they came up with is that they’re hoping to bring two doctors to Holyrood. They haven’t got them signed yet, but they’re working on it. They’re going to come to Holyrood and work in an office in Holyrood, and they’re going to come this way for two days a week. But what I’ve said to Dr. Alteen is that if those two doctors go to Holyrood, they’re going to be overwhelmed with Holyrood… They’re hoping that when they get to Holyrood, it’s not going to be busy and they’re going to be able to come to St. Mary’s for two days. They’re hoping. They’re grasping at straws.”

Ryan said Eastern Health’s solution isn’t one.

“From Peter’s River to North Harbour, we have almost 2,500 people. And as you know, the majority of people in those communities are older. They need doctors more now than they ever did,” Ryan said. “They’re just trying to put a band-aid on a wound. We feel forgotten about.”

Just about a 45-minute jaunt from St. Mary’s is the community of Trepassey. Until February last year when he retired, Dr. Thomas McGarry served patients both in Trepassey and St. Mary’s.

Ryan said that while access to health care has been a concern in the region for the last number of years, the retirement of McGarry amplified the problem. He said that shortage makes accessing even basic health care services difficult.

“There are stories here of people having to go to emergency, waiting 10 or 12 hours, to get a prescription filled for a urinary track infection. It’s just crazy,” said Ryan.

He even has his own personal story.

 “I had a flu over Christmas. And I couldn’t get any appointment. So, I said, ‘It’s only the flu.’ I didn’t want to bump anyone else who had a more serious situation. And what happened, is I got an ear infection. I have tubes in my ears, so I have to go and see a specialist on Wednesday, and I have to go to an outpatient specialist on Thursday, which I would not have to do if I had gone and got treated.”

Placentia— St. Mary’s MHA Sherry Gambin-Walsh said she is well aware of the situation unfolding.

“This has been an oncoming concern,” said Gambin-Walsh, who said she has been in constant contact with both Eastern Health and the committee. “Every rural community in Newfoundland and Labrador wants a doctor full-time. That’s the desire throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. So, St. Mary’s is not unique in their request, nor are they unique in their challenges. And the challenges that they are facing are actually getting closer and closer to the urban area. One of my children (in St. John’s) doesn’t have a family physician. Hasn’t had one for years. And I was without one for six months last year.”

The MHA said she is confident in Eastern Health’s ability to address the issue, both in the long run and in the immediate term. For now and until March 9, she said, a doctor will make a weekly visit to St. Mary’s. That will be followed by a fill-in doctor for two weeks, and then a one day a week visit until the summer.

“Eastern Health is truly and honestly working with the resources that are available to try to fill this gap. So, they’ve identified this gap, they are aware of it, and are actively working to try to fill it. And I’m confident that they will,” she said. “But I do understand the frustration of the people, and they want consistency in care. And if we have two physicians that are going to go out there (from Holyrood), one to two times a week, based on the need, there will be consistency of care, and that’s needed. Those physicians have agreed that they would provide services to St. Mary’s,” she added.

Gambin-Walsh said getting a full-time doctor to move to rural Newfoundland would be incredibly difficult.

“The new generation of physicians don’t want to live in rural Newfoundland. They just don’t want to live there… You can’t make a physician move into St. Mary’s and live there. You can’t make somebody work there. So, we’re trying to put together a model that meets the needs of the people.”

According to Gambin-Walsh, the sole practitioner model of healthcare is dying and not just in rural Newfoundland.

“The model for the solo family physician practise is changing across the country, and it’s changing around the world,” she said. “And the modern models of primary healthcare is very different. And there lies the issue and concern… So, the new model proposed by Eastern Health would have two MUN-trained family physicians work in the Holyrood area in July of 2020, so this application is already before the Family Physician Approval Committee. Our objective and goal is to recruit the physicians into the area to ensure that we do give the residents the healthcare that they need and desire, and use the models that are available today — including nurse practitioners.”

Nurse practitioners are “filling a huge void in Newfoundland and Labrador— and doing a good job I might add,” said the member.

Meanwhile, Ryan insists there’s only one right answer for St. Mary’s — and it’s not a doctor dropping in once or twice a week.

“Right now, we need somebody in that clinic five days a week… there’s no way around it,” he said. “I know of people who will not come to this community because of the doctor shortage. They’re older, they’re retired, some have houses here, but they’re living in CBS, they’re living elsewhere, because they’re afraid to come here in case something happens, and there’s no doctor.”

The Irish Loop Post reached out to Eastern Health multiple times, beginning Friday, Jan. 31, but did not receive confirmation or clarification regarding plans for health care service in St. Mary’s by deadline on Feb. 5.