Witless Bay firefighters to get EPA support

By Mark Squibb / September 1, 2023

You could say that Witless Bay council is on fire for the fire department.

Council last week approved a number of different motions supporting volunteer firefighters in the community.

In the opening minutes of the meeting, council ratified an e-mail vote of council conducted on August 8 to enroll members of the volunteer fire department in the provincial government’s Employee Assistance Program (EPA) at a cost of $4.75 per month per member, of which there are about 30 members.

The EPA helps folks deal with stress and personal problems.

“With the increasing population and other complexities, our fire department is facing more traumatic calls, and they’re seeing a lot of stuff that’s very difficult,” said Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard, who serves as council’s liaison with the fire department. “And they didn’t have anything in place for counselling or support, and so that’s what this is.”

Yard explained that all current members will be enrolled in the program, and new members will be enrolled once their membership has been approved by the fire chief.

Later in the meeting, council approved a motion to send two fire department delegates to the annual convention of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire Services. The convention will be held in Gander and will run from September 8-10.

“One thing we all talked about during budget preparations is that we really want to support all staff training,” said Yard. “And this is just another way to try and do that.”

The cost associated with attendance at the conference was not outlined.

Following that motion, council approved a motion to pay for vehicle extrication training from September 14 through to the 17th at a cost of $4,330.

“This is training that will take place on our training grounds here in Witless Bay, and it will be guided by a certified trainer,” said Yard.

Last but not least, council approved the purchase of a new, 40-foot Sea Can for the department’s training grounds at a cost of $3,750, plus HST. Council also approved the delivery of the Sea Can at a cost of $850, plus HST. Sea Cans are the big steel shipping containers you see on big cargo vessels such as those run by Oceanex or towed behind tractor trailers.

Yard said the fire department uses the Sea Cans to simulate entry into a smoke-filled home.

Town CAO Jennifer Aspell added the additional Sea Can will allow fire fighters to complete critical training exercises.

All motions were approved unanimously.

Witless Bay council first took a long, hard look at firefighting operations back in 2020, under former mayor Derm Moran.

In Budget 2021, council budgeted close to a million dollars over the next decade for construction of a new regional fire hall in Witless Bay.

Budget 2021 saw also the Town invest heavily in fire department operations, volunteer recruitment and training, new equipment, and new training grounds, investments over and above the $370,730 borrowed earlier in the year to purchase a new tanker truck. 2021 also marked the year that the Town hired its first paid fire chief. That role, originally held by Maria Churchill, is now held by Jack Gatherall.

The new slate of councillors elected in the municipal election held in September 2021 has continued the work of strengthening the fire department begun by the former council.

In May, 2022, council agreed to accept a cost-shared funding offer from the provincial government and move ahead with the construction of a new regional fire hall proposed by the former council.

The total project value comes in just shy of $3 million dollars, with the Town expected to pay $815,646 over the next decade.

Shortly after, in October of that year, council also borrowed $200,000 for the purchase of a new fire truck.

The department itself has become one of the region’s active community groups, participating in community days and meeting regularly for training purposes and social events.

New staff at Bay Bulls Town Hall

By Mark Squibb / August 25, 2023

Bay Bulls council last week voted to hire two new staff members at the town hall.

Council voted to hire Stella Sullivan as a part-time administrative assistant and Jennifer Blanchard as a full-time assistant town clerk.

Both will begin work on August 28.

The hirings come quickly on the heels of council naming former Town Clerk Ashley Wakeham as Town Manager following the departure of Jennifer Aspell, who quit Bay Bulls to take a job as the chief administrative officer in neighbouring Witless Bay earlier this summer.  

The members of council who were present for the meeting, including Mayor Keith O’Driscoll, Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien, and councillor Corey Ronayne, extended their welcomes to the new staff. Councillors Jason Sullivan and Shannon O’Driscoll were absent from the session.

Bay Bulls nixes federal money for Long Pond Trail

By Mark Squibb / August 25, 2023

Bay Balls council last week voted to rubber stamp an email vote it had conducted on August 4 to cancel funding from the federal government for improvements to the Long Pond walking trail. The vote to cancel the project passed unanimously.

Walking enthusiasts need not be alarmed though — council only cancelled the funding deal to take advantage of money available through a partnership with the provincial government.

Council will share in the cost of the Phase II improvements, which are estimated to total some $534,047. The Town will be on the hook for $193,717 of that with the Province borrowing to pay the rest.

“It’s great to see us get this approval,” said Deputy Mayor Jason O’Brien. “We’ve been pushing hard and working hard to try and get this agreement… We’re moving froward on the remainder of the Long Pond trail. Phase 2 will complete the loop. Once we have the design a tender will be released in short order.”

The trail follows the contour of the pond as much as possible, with a bridge crossing the pond at one point.

The details of the cancelled deal with Ottawa were not specified in the meeting, although councillor Corey Ronanye noted that Bay Bulls would have had to take a long-term loan to make the payment.

Phase I of the project was cost shared by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments under a Municipal Capital Works program, with each government paying a third of the cost, which works out to $143,702 each for a total of $475,444, less HST.  

Eugene Ward Memorial Cornhole Throwing Tournament

Tammy Jones, left, and Francisco Bellens were the champs at the Eugene Ward Memorial Cornhole Throwing Tournament held in Portugal Cove South earlier this month as part of the town’s annual Cape Race Days summer festival. The first-place prize was presented by Ward’s daughter Dawn Ward, centre. Ward, a much-loved fisherman of Portugal Cove South who was noted for his dry sense of humour, passed away several years ago due to brain cancer. For years he had quietly spearheaded the organization of many of the community’s sporting events and dances. Submitted photo

Guiney out to loop the loop in aid of mental health causes

Bill Guiney of Renews is hitting the road again in aid of helping Newfoundland mental health organizations and raising awareness about the cause. He plans to walk a complete loop from Signal Hill down the Southern Shore to Trepassey and back around the loop on the Salmonier side. He is also in the process of writing a book about mental health in the province.

By Alexandra Brothers, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter / August 25, 2023 Edition

Renews resident Bill Guiney is carrying on his annual effort to raise awareness for mental health this September.

Guiney turned 61 this month and has been organizing mental health awareness campaigns and fundraisers in the community for eight years. Mental health awareness is a cause that has a deep personal significance to Guiney. In the fall of 2015, Guiney’s two daughters were hospitalized within a week of each other for mental health concerns. Later that year, Guiney decided to take action to open a dialogue about mental health. “I told (my daughters) that I was going to start supporting mental health and supporting them so they wouldn’t feel that they were alone,” he said.

His first initiative was a push-up challenge that he shared over social media. This event became an annual thing “and it’s been kind of growing ever since,” he said. In 2021, Guiney walked 1,000 km across the island from Port aux Basques to St. John’s, raising $30,000 for mental health organizations in the province in the process.

This year, he will be walking around the Irish Loop to collect funds for his upcoming self-published book on mental health, Push. Proceeds from this book will go towards supporting local mental health organizations. The “Loop the Loop” walk will be roughly 330 km, beginning and ending at Signal Hill. He will leave Signal Hill on August 31 at 6:30 and walk along the highway towards Salmonier Line with the hope of reaching the Edge of Avalon Hotel and Restaurant in Trepassey on September 3 between 2 and 4 p.m. There, he will host a halfway point celebration. After that, he will trek back to Signal Hill, returning on September 6.

It was his walk across the province in 2021 that sparked his idea to write a book about mental health.

“The walk across Newfoundland was amazing,” he said.

Although when he began his walk on the West Coast nobody knew who he was, he quickly gained recognition and by the second week of his month-long journey, people began to join him for portions of his walk.

“People were coming out and they were walking with me for five or 10 kilometres… then they started to tell me their stories,” said Guiney. People have continued to reach out to the Guiney family to share their own mental health stories over the past few years. Eventually, Bill and his wife Susan decided to compile these stories into a book to help raise awareness about mental health within the community.

Guiney’s goal for his walk this September is not only to raise money to put towards his book, but also to gather more stories to include in it. The promotion for his walk invites people “to keep him pushing by sending your stories, poems, songs, or letters. He looks forward to reading and sharing what helped you and your loved ones with your mental health in his book.” He asks for people to email their stories to wilguiney@gmail.com with the subject “Push.”

The title Push has a layered significance for Guiney. “It means a lot of things to me,” he said. Not only is it a nod to his push-up challenge, which started his mental health initiatives, but is also part of a personal mantra that Guiney applies to mental health. “It’s just about pushing forward,” he said. Pushing forward can be as simple as “just getting out there, going for a walk, doing something physical, because that helps (with mental health),” he said.

Two thirds of the proceeds from the book will be donated to The Gathering Place and Ruah Counselling, an organization that provides counselling to those who can’t afford it. The other third of the proceeds will cover the expenses of publishing the book.

Guiney said it’s important to start conversations about mental health. He said that since mental health has become more openly discussed in the past number of years, it seems the number of people who are affected by mental health problems has increased. His explanation for this is that “before, it was kind of hidden, but now that people are talking about it, it seems that there’s more out there, but I think there’s always been this much out there, but it just wasn’t being talked about.”

He said the more these issues are talked about, the better for everyone. He said it is crucial to hear “real stories from real people” about mental health because they are a lot easier to comprehend than impersonal statistics on the topic.

“A lot of people don’t understand the statistics, but if you have a person that’s telling their story, like how it affected their family or it affected them, then people, and probably the government, will understand it more,” Guiney said.

Gulch Beach Festival attracts biggest turnout to date

This year's Gulch Beach Festival held in the communities of St. Mary's and Point La Haye drew the largest crowd yet. A popular feature of the annual event, which was held August 5, is the antique car parade. Ken O'Brien photos

This year's Gulch Beach Festival held in the communities of St. Mary's and Point La Haye drew the largest crowd yet. A popular feature of the annual event, which was held August 5, is the antique car parade. Ken O'Brien photos

By Alexandra Brothers, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter / August 18, 2023 Edition

The Gulch Beach Festival is an event that residents of the Town of St. Mary’s have been celebrating for two decades. This year also happened to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Town’s incorporation, making the celebration even more special.

The Gulch Beach Festival started off as Gulch Days, which originated as an informal gathering between a few families who would get together for barbeques and live music. Over the past 20 years, however, it has evolved into a weekend-long festival that attracts visitors from all over the province. Many former residents plan their vacations around the festival so that they can return home for the celebration, said the president of the Gulch Beach Improvement Committee, Michael White. This year, the festivities spanned over 10 days as the Town of St. Mary’s put off a slew of events following the annual festival to celebrate the Town’s incorporation.

“It’s been a growing festival since day one and this was the biggest turnout that we’ve ever had,” said White.

This year, the festival drew approximately 1,000 people. White has been on the committee since the festival’s inception and has seen the event grow each year. One of the festival’s main attractions  — it’s antique car show—continues to be a major success. This year, there were 94 antique cars, making it “one of the biggest car shows on the Avalon,” according to White.

In addition to its celebrated car show, the festival offered a little of something for everyone, from games of chance to a variety of children’s activities. Festival goers got to enjoy food from a selection of stalls along with live music. The event’s seaside-locale is another attractive feature that helps to draw crowds. White said many guests come to explore the town’s ocean-side trails during the festival.

White described the event as “a win-win for the town,” since the influx of visitors during the event helps to promote businesses in St. Mary’s. For a community of only around 350 residents, the crowds that the festival draws offer a welcome boost for local stores and bed and breakfasts.

White said the committee is already in the planning stages for next year’s festival. He said the members are looking forward to bringing back all the events that made this year’s festival such a success and they hope to see the event continue to grow in years to come.

Three steps forward, three steps back

By Mark Squibb / August 18, 2023

Witless Bay council during the July 26 meeting rescinded three motions that it had originally passed during the June meeting.

The motions included tendering of road grading, shouldering, and other general work, tendering for pothole repairs, and tendering for the construction of a new fence for the dog park.

Councillor Ralph Carey explained that in regard to the road grading and shouldering, the Town already had a standing offer in place which would render the tender process for the work unnecessary.

As to the pothole repairs, Carey noted the work would not meet the threshold for an open call for bids.

Council has also since issued a new request for quotes for work to be done at the dog park. A quote is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.

The motion to rescind the prior motions passed unanimously.

Witless Bay Fire Department denied funding for new equipment

By Mark Squibb / August 18, 2023

The Witless Bay Volunteer Fire Department has been denied funding for new equipment, but they aren’t too put out by the decision.

During July’s meeting, Deputy Mayor Lorna Yard explained that Fire Chief Jack Gatherall had requested funding for three new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs), but that government had denied the request.

Yard said the decision didn’t come as a surprise, as there are limited funds available for fire departments and as the department is doing well equipment-wise, it would not be high on the priority list.

The fire department itself, which boasts around 30 members, has been very active this summer.

As part of Witless Bay Days celebrations, the fire department hosted an Open House complete with dunk tank and bouncy castles that was well attended by the community. In addition to regular training, two members of the department earlier this summer participated in special fire training hosted by the Grand Falls Windsor and Gander fire departments.

Trepassey songbird attracts international award

By Mark Squibb / August 11, 2023

Judy Brazil of Trepassey was recently awarded a bronze medal in an international singer/songwriter competition. Submitted photo.

Judy Brazil of Trepassey can now add a Bronze Crystal Award for International Songwriter of the Year courtesy of the International Singer-Songwriters Association to her many other awards and honours.

Upon hearing of the association’s annual awards show, Wanda Rossiter nominated Brazil in three categories – Vocalist of the Year, Rising Star and Singer/Songwriter of the Year – back in April. With the help of thousands of voters, Brazil made it to the final round in all three categories. From that point forward, the duty of selecting award winners fell to a panel of qualified judges.

Brazil was invited to attend the red-carpet awards show in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this August, but unfortunately was unable to attend. Shortly following the awards show however, she received an email informing her that she had earned the bronze medal in the Singer/Songwriter category.

She said the award was a brightener during a summer that has been filled with personal hardships.

“I thought it was a scam first, to be honest,” Brazil joked. “And I was having a really down day, so I was quite emotional. But I cried like a baby, I’ll be quite honest. I really and truly did not expect this, because there were so many really talented artists in this competition… It’s a big accomplishment, so I have to say that I’m quite proud of it.”

Brazil has been entertaining folks on the Southern Shore and beyond for decades and has a number of albums under her belt.

Her most recent album was ‘My True Love,’ released in 2022. Four songs from that album were submitted to the contest – ‘My Father, My Friend,’ ‘Behind the Curtain,’ ‘Shattered Dreams-Titanic Lament,’ and ‘My True Love.’

The songs touch on a variety of themes and emotions — ‘My Father, My Friend’ is a song about fathers written from the perspective of a child; ‘Shattered Dreams - Titanic Lament’ was written some years back to coincide with an anniversary of the sinking of the famous ship; ‘Behind the Curtain’ deals with mental health and how some folks ‘hide themselves behind the curtain’  because of their mental health; ‘My True Love,’ meanwhile, is one of Brazil’s few love songs.

“A lot of the songs I do are for the heart,” said Brazil. “I like to write songs that I can imagine or that I’ve gone through. I’m very particular over what I write, to be honest. I’m very critical of myself.”

She cites Nana Mouskouri, Anne Murray, Rita MacNeil, and her own family members as major influences on her music career.

“I love all music — except rap,” joked Brazil. “I love listening to people sing and learning how they write their songs. And there are so many up-and-coming artists who are doing really well for themselves, and I encourage them to keep going and keep writing. Everybody has their own way of writing songs.”

Brazil wished to extend her thanks to fans, friends, and family that not only voted for her in the contest, but who have supported her over the years.

To purchase one of her albums album, you can reach Brazil at 709-728-8993 or jjssbrazil@hotmail.com.

BAY BULLS RESIDENTS SEE GREEN

Bay Bulls once again celebrated local green thumbs with the second annual Golden Tulip Awards. Council asked folks to nominate friends and neighbours in one of three categories — Best Residential Property, Best Beginner Property, and Best Vegetable Garden. Following the nomination deadline on July 19, town representatives judged the properties over a number of days. Winners, who were presented with a plaque from the Town, were announced on July 28.

Scott Dalton

Audrey and Scott Dalton were deemed to have the Best Vegetable Garden. Town of Bay Bulls photo.

Darelene and Paul Carew

Darelene and Paul Carew were awarded the Best Beginner Property. Town of Bay Bulls photo.

Irene Kavanagh

Irene and Eric Kavanagh were awarded the Best Residential Property. Town of Bay Bulls photo.

The event was first held in 2022 to celebrate the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association’s declaration of 2022 as “The Year of the Garden,” but Town Manager Ashley Wakeham said the event went over so well that council decided to turn it into an annual event. “Council decided it would be a good bit of fun and encourage some healthy competition between neighbours,” said Wakeham. “We got a really good response the first couple of years and only feel that it will continue to grow.” Wakeham said that not only is getting out in the garden good for people, especially after so many years cooped up due to the pandemic, but that good gardening creates healthy habitats for animal life and helps beautify the town all in one go. The Town receives about 15 nominations a year.