Water main breaks in CBS will hopefully be less frequent in the future.

The town saw a series of major ruptures last year.

Mayor Terry French said the resulting pressure fluctuations caused some residents to experience high levels of pressure in their water systems at home.

The Town hired engineering consultants CBCL, which has experience in municipal water systems, to examine the problem.

“We wanted them to inspect it from top to bottom, not just the issues like the pressure issues, but get them to tell us if what we were doing from a maintenance perspective was appropriate,” French said.

The Town learned its water pressure is generally going to be higher than other areas because of its linear layout. Higher pressures were needed to ensure water was passing through the entirety of the system, whereas a more circular system would not need as much force. To help remedy the issue, the Town hopes to replace five of its seven operational pressure relief valves (PRV) this spring. French said there was money budgeted to replace one of the valves last year but it could not go ahead due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Testing by CBCL found two valves have been causing a fluctuation in pressure, ranging from -15 to 37 PSI.

“There was a fluctuation in pressure because of that, depending on where you live, so we asked this company to determine the cause of the issue,” French said. “Your own pressure reduction valve outside your home should protect against the pressure variation we saw in the system, so now what’s come out of this testing is that they’ve given us recommendations on maintenance and so on.”

French said the recommendations will be included in the Town’s maintenance procedures, leak detection programs and updated water design guidelines. Staff regularly inspect the seven PRVs, as well as a third party that comes in once a year, he added.

The mayor said water main breaks are inevitable, but replacing the five valves should help.

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Gavin Baggs of Paradise has been named the 2021 Easter Seals Newfoundland and Labrador ambassador.

“I was very excited, because this is something I’ve been working for a couple of years,” said Baggs. “I feel like it’s going to be a good experience.”

Baggs made headlines back in 2018, when he competed on Newfoundland and Labrador’s wheelchair basketball team in the Canada Winter Games, and he looks forward to competing on the national stage once again in the future. He also plays sledge hockey with the Avalon Sled Dogs, volunteers with Easter Seals Sledge Hockey, and swims with the Mount Pearl Marlins, which he said helps build up muscle for the other sports. He also volunteers with the Easter Seals sledge hockey program.

The 13-year-old cites former ambassadors as inspiring him to go forward with the application and interview process.

“I wanted to apply was because I wanted to represent the Easter Seals,” said Baggs. “I’ve known some previous ambassadors, such as Liam Hickey and Cassandra McGrath, and they were a big influence on me. But I think the main reason why I applied was to represent people who can’t speak up for themselves.”

Currently, events are being rescheduled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but Baggs still anticipates a busy year, and said he’s looking forward to connecting with others and representing the organization.

He encourages others who feel up for the challenge to put their names forward to be next year’s ambassador.

“If you’re not ready, just wait until you’re ready, and when you’re ready, just build up all your courage and go forward with the idea. That’s what I did.”

Baggs replaces outgoing ambassador Claire McCarthy.

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The Town of Paradise has inked a five-year agreement with Power Edge Pro Hockey School.

During the March 16 council meeting, council unanimously voted to allow the hockey school to host training camps during the fourth week of August each year, beginning in 2021 thru to 2025.

“This is a straightforward rental, with access to one rink and designated dressing rooms, with no other special requirements from the group,” said councillor Patrick Martin.

He further said that the arena has hosted the hockey school for the past three years, and that the rental does not conflict with other users.

The group will use the arena Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm, during the allotted week, for which the town will receive a total revenue of $7,200 per year.

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Fake news is a hard enough topic for most of us to wrap our heads around but imagine having to write a whole essay about it. Now, imagine having to write that essay in a second language.

But three students from Roncalli High School in Avondale did just that and have received accolades for it.

Grade 11 students Claire Kennedy, Natalie Hepditch and Georgia Dalton have all received scholarships from the French for the Future (Français pour l’avenir) national essay contest.

“I’m very, very proud of all three girls,” said French teacher Susan Butler. “I’m not shocked that they won. That’s sort of what I promoted to them at the beginning; don’t sell yourself short, or think, ‘Why bother to submit this essay?’ because you never know what will happen. These three girls are living proof that if you do your best, and make an effort at things, you never know what can happen.”

Students had to submit a minimum of 750 words, entirely in French of course, on how fake news changed our relationship with the media.

“I think this topic was a little difficult myself, but they proved me wrong,” said Butler.

Hepditch was awarded a $2,000 scholarship for the University of Lethbridge for her essay on the impact of facebook news on our lives.

“I was really shocked when I found out that I won,” said Natalie. “But I felt really proud of myself.”

Kennedy was awarded a $4,000 for the University of Montreal for her essay on the importance of journalists obtaining all the facts before reporting news to the public.

“It was cool to know that I could accomplish something like that,” she said. “It was a bit of a confidence booster for sure, to know that I could do something like that.”

In her essay, she cited a 2018 study that found fake news reached 1,500 Twitter users six times as fast as verified news

For her essay on how fake news can influence people’s views on everything from medicine to politics, Dalton was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for the University of Ottawa

“I was really excited and a little shocked,” said Dalton. “I won last year, and didn’t expect to ever win one again.”

Meanwhile, Butler said that there are plenty of benefits to studying French, or any second language, in high school and beyond.

“It’s good for your career, its good for travelling, it’s good for your salary,” said the teacher. “I’ve had a couple of French monitors with me over the years from Quebec come into the classroom, and I always remember one of them said to the class, ‘It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, if you’re applying for a job at Subway and you speak French and somebody else doesn’t, you’re going to get that job over that person.’ So, regardless of what type of job or career you’re looking for, having French certainly will be a benefit to you. And I know people who never though they would use French. I know a girl who sells road salt, and she has client in New Brunswick, and she said if she could speak French, it would be a benefit for her.”

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Holyrood has apparently written the final word in a controversial chapter of the town’s history, as council voted Tuesday that Deputy Mayor Curtis Buckle and Recreation and Community Events Director Steve Martin were not in conflict of interest over the since withdrawn Beachhead Brewery application.

Councillor Jim Joy assumed the mayor’s chair while Mayor Kevin Costello presented information about the way the town handled the allegations.

Costello didn’t specify who made the allegations, nor the specifics of them.

“Elected officials, and in this case the deputy mayor, are subject to the conflict-of-interest legislation contained in the Municipalities Act,” said Costello. “Staff members, in this case Mr. Steve Martin, are not subject to those conflict-of-interest allegations contained in the Municipalities Act, but are subject to other disciplinary processes contained in Sections 67 and 68 of the Act. Council has the obligation to deal with all such conflict-of-interest allegations.”

Costello added while the matter has to be dealt with by presenting a public motion in the case of an elected official, a public motion is not required to deal with allegations leveled against staff members.

He noted that former mayor Gary Goobie, who resigned from council over the town’s handling of the brewery application, initiated talks with the town’s lawyer about the allegations before he resigned.

“The previous mayor started the process of addressing these allegations, and engaged our town lawyer to find the facts in relation to the allegations, and present council with various examples of case law, and their interpretation of the overall situation,” said Costello. “Once I became mayor, I met with the lawyer to be briefed on the current status of the allegations and to get some of my own questions answered.”

Costello said a six-page document was prepared by the lawyer and presented to council on February 24. He also said that he had two meetings with a representative from Municipal Affairs to ensure due diligence was being followed, and that a private meeting of council, with no staff members present, was held last week to discuss the information.

“The legal opinion that was received from our lawyer is just that; it’s an opinion,” said Costello. “Councilors still have the responsibility to consider all information received and formulate their own thoughts before voting.”

Council first voted on whether Buckle was in conflict. Costello reminded his colleagues that the question of conflict is strictly related to monetary gain. Council voted unanimously that Buckle was not in conflict-of-interest as it related to the BeachHead Brewery proposal.

Before the motion was made to declare whether Martin was in conflict, Costello declared that he fully supported the long time staff member.

“I know the impact that these allegations have had on Mr. Martin, and I hope we can put it all behind us now,” said Costello. “I have full confidence in the work Mr. Martin has done for the town, and I believe the town will benefit greatly from his efforts moving forward. I personally don’t believe Mr. Martin would do anything to negatively impact the Town of Holyrood in anyway, and I have full confidence in him.”

Council unanimously found Martin not to be in a conflict-of-interest.

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It’s a Happy 99^th Birthday this week to twins Mabel Dawe and Alice Clarke who grew up in Paradise and spent their lives living on this side of Conception Bay.

The ladies, who are celebrating their shared milestone on Friday, were born in 1922, in a Newfoundland that would probably seem foreign to younger generations today.

Jacqueline Penney is Dawe’s granddaughter, and said she has been spending time with her grandmother on a daily basis for years now. The two live next door to each other in Conception Bay South, and so Penney has taken it upon herself to ensure her grandmother continues living as active and happy a life as she can.

Penney said the Janes sisters have plenty of stories to tell from a time before the popularization of things like electric heated homes, paved roads and daily commutes in a car.

Penney, recalling stories she has heard from Dawe over the years, said the sisters grew up in hard conditions compared to today, but always did what they could to make the best of things.

She described their family’s grocery list that the two would take to a local shop in Paradise. It was short, with only the bare essentials such as flour, yeast, baking powder, molasses and the like.

“That’s what you worked with, it’s what you made your meals with back then,” said Penney. “But they always had an abundance of fish.”

Even the school that Mabel and Alice attended as children were worlds different than the ones people are familiar with now. It consisted of a single classroom for all the different grades, with no such thing as a recess period.

“They’d get up in the morning and have their breakfast – a cup of tea and a slice of bread – and they’d go to school,” said Penney. “They wrote on slates with a slate pencil. No such thing as learning from books or taking home reading material in exercise books. That’s just the way they learned.”

Including Dawe and Clarke, their family was made up of 10 children. Penney said the twins used to make their own fun as young girls. In winter, like other Paradise children, they would slide down Paradise Hill and across Topsail Road towards Neil’s Pond. Their games were limited to things like hopscotch and skipping ropes – there were no malls or arcades, and Penney said the two worked for everything they had as soon as they turned old enough.

“They would pick berries and go to the Purity factory. They would get these small boxes or crates with lining, fill them up and sell them to Purity. They made a little bit of money that way, and whatever money they made went back to the family,” Penney said. “Their brothers would chop and bag up wood to sell, 10 cents a bag. From that, they would buy feed for the horses and really anything else that they needed.”

Hooking mats was also a favourite pass time of the twins. Using old clothes, Dawe and Clarke would spend plenty of time hooking rugs that would be used to keep the home warm from the bottom up. This came in especially handy during the winter season when they would take the rugs from the floor to cover up and keep warm throughout the nights.

“I remember even when I was growing up and I’d go out to Nan’s, she’d be there hooking mats. People don’t have those as much nowadays, but that’s what they did,” Penney said. “Their houses were covered in hooked mats.”

Even to this day, Dawe and Clarke are avid knitters, with Alice’s favourite thing to knit being gloves and mitts whereas Mabel focuses on socks and slippers. Penney said they exchange yarn when they can.

“It was such a different world,” Penney said. “When you hear them talk, you can almost picture it all in your head perfectly. All I can think is, my God, if half of us now had to go through all that, they’d just pack up and leave instead.”

Over the course of their 99-years, Dawe and Clarke have stuck it out as close to home as they could. Both of them married and although Dawe moved to Conception Bay South in the 1940s, Clarke stayed in Paradise. Nowadays they still live independently and, when pandemic restrictions allow, spend as much time together as they can.

“Even when they grew up and got married, they stayed close,” said Penney. “You know, people move on and create their own families, but they were always together for as long as I can remember … I don’t know if that’s maybe a twin thing, or maybe just because they grew up with such a tight family. They looked out for each other. That’s just the way it was back then.”

The hardships the women experienced growing up only tightened the bond between them, Penney added.

“They’re their own individuals and love to talk about the times long past. Times have really changed now for both of them, with COVID-19 on the go, it’s something completely brand new to both of them; something they’ve never experienced before,” Penney said. “But they’re always full of laughs either way. They’re really a joy to be around, especially when you can get the two of them together in a room: look out then!”

To celebrate, the ladies are getting together Friday evening for a supper and on Saturday they are having their hair done.

The post It’s Happy 99 and counting for the Janes twins appeared first on The Shoreline News.

The CBS Skating Club is gearing up for the new season with a fresh start.

The club has had a synchronized skating program since September of 2012. In that span of time, the program has led plenty of skaters into various competitions and on-ice shows. Like many sporting programs around the province though, those in the program found themselves unable to take part in these types of events once the coronavirus pandemic started one year ago, but they have high hopes for what the future may hold for them.

Synchro Program Coordinator Kelly Thorne said when the first COVID-19 lockdown started, the group saw it as an opportunity to explore ways to be more creative and innovative when the club eventually returns to the ice.

“We knew we would have to adapt to new guidelines and restrictions, all while keeping in mind that our Synchro competitive 2020-21 season was not going to take place,” Thorne said.

In order to gear up for the major changes that were incoming, the group wanted to give itself a bit of a makeover, something of a re-branding, Thorne said, which included a new name.

“(The name) would encompass a theme of new beginnings for the synchro program,” said Thorne. “It’s been a challenging year for many skaters and coaches who love to skate, and love to come to the rink to see their friends. This new name would represent those friendships being made on blades. The CBS Skating Club thought this would be a great way to display inclusion and positivity among all of the club’s members during this difficult time.”

The club made the re-branding a competition for its members. The goal was to come up with a name that represented the themes of positivity and friendship.

Club skater Adele Martin came up with the name Everblades which won the competition.

Thorne said the name is a good callback to the club’s original motto: “Fun, fitness, and friendship.” So, when Martin suggested Everblades, it seemed to tie in perfectly with the idea of making “forever friends on blades.”

Michelle Walsh, one of four synchro skating coaches with the club, said the synchro program had to spend a lot of time working around the various COVID-19 regulations this past season.

“We were on the ice in September right up until February, so we did get some training in early October, right up until the second shutdown,” Walsh said. “Normally, we hold on and connect to our skating partner by holding on to each other’s hands, arms, or shoulders, so we had to adapt to try and train the kids while we were not allowed to do any touching or anything like that. We have three other coaches, and they were very innovative during this difficult time as they tried to keep the kids engaged and still make it a fun time.”

This season got cut about six weeks short this time around, but both Thorne and Walsh are keeping their fingers crossed that they will be back on the ice this fall and synchro skating the way they always have been.

The program is made up of about 50 skaters, divided into four teams. Walsh admitted the numbers were a bit lower this season with no competitions to attend and the uncertainty of the program in the face of a global pandemic.

“COVID-19 took a toll, like it did with everything else, but we like to think we’ve got a big, bright future ahead of us with this program,” Thorne said. “We even have adults who still skate with us, so this provides them with a program for that which is always important to have around. We’re keeping optimistic, keeping positive. That’s what the club is all about.”

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Better understanding and more acceptance of his condition are what Oliver Bougie of New Harbour, T.B., and his family are hoping for.

Easy going, 12-year-old Oliver has Tourette Syndrome and is used to the stares and comments he gets in public when he experiences a tic.

Tourette Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental condition that causes people to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics, which can be simple or complex. People with Tourette Syndrome have both motor and vocal tics.

Oliver compares Tourette Syndrome to being like an itch.

“It’s like if you have an itch and you got to scratch it and you can’t not scratch it,” said Oliver.

Tics vary from person to person and change in type, severity and frequency. Tourette Syndrome affects one in 100 people and coexists with other conditions such as ADHD, OCD and sensory disorders.

Oliver’s tics are usually complex. They include holding his breath, throat clearing, head jerking, back spasms, screaming and falling. Going out into public places can be a struggle for him. Any type of stimulation, either good or bad, can cause him to experience tics. One of the biggest challenges is how others around him react.

“When I do tics in public places, some people are nice to me, but sometimes people can be not understanding or just mean about it. I try to not let it get to me,” said Oliver.

A diagnosis doesn’t just affect the person, it affects a family. Dana Bougie, Oliver’s mom, said she has witnessed the misunderstanding and lack of education about Tourette Syndrome.

“I don’t find there’s enough education about what it is and how it affects the people who suffer from it,” said Dana. “I guess we are in a society where a lot of people see how things affect them and if a movement or sound makes them uncomfortable, they don’t deal with it.”

The family has had both good and bad experiences with Oliver’s tics in public places over the years. Dana recalls one time when the family went on an outing to a park. When Oliver was experiencing his tics another parent made rude comments about them. She took this opportunity to try and explain the condition to them.

“As a parent, it’s a learning curve and balancing act of when to speak up and advocate for him or when to just show him it’s okay to let it go and walk away, even though it can be upsetting,” said Dana.

Oliver was diagnosed at age eight. He first started showing vocal tics that escalated quickly. It was then that the family decided to home school him.

“In home school, we have the option of controlling the situation. We’re able to work around it and design his day around his Tourette Syndrome,” said Dana.

Mom has always considered herself an advocate for the syndrome and wants Oliver to know he is more than his disorder. “Oliver has Tourette, but Tourette is not him,” said Dana.

Oliver’s family has always approached his diagnosis with openness and encourages conversation for all to develop awareness. “If you don’t understand it, it’s okay to ask about it. We’re all learning,” said Dana.

Janet Rumsey, the Past President of Tourette Canada said the organization focuses on helping to educate the public and provide support to families.

Rumsey believes that there isn’t enough awareness of what the condition is.

It’s often assumed that Tourette Syndrome is the inability to control swearing, but in reality only one percent experience this type of vocal tic.

“We will be 45 years old this year in April, but so many don’t know we exist. We don’t have the same recognition as other organizations,” said Rumsey.

Tourette Syndrome is often misunderstood as a social disorder because some tics are not seen as socially acceptable.

“What we work on as an organization is to try and increase awareness amongst everybody, to show this is who the person is,” said Rumsey.

She believes that people who don’t understand it see the symptoms as a behavior of choice, though its victims can’t control it.

Oliver is hoping that organizations like Rumsey’s will help people understand him and others with Tourette Syndrome.

“I want people to be understanding, not sympathetic,” said Oliver.

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The Loyal Orange Lodge in Middle Bight, Kelligrews recently celebrated its 145^th anniversary.

Once a dominant force in Newfoundland society and at times even politics in the past, Loyal Orange Lodges can still be found in many communities across the province.

Under normal circumstances, Lodge members in Kelligrews would have spent Thursday, March 11 together celebrating 145-years of Orangeism in the community. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, they had to hold off on their celebrations.

The Orangemen’s presence in Newfoundland can be traced back to 1873. In the early to mid-1900s, some 35 per cent of Protestant men in the province were Orangemen – significantly higher than Northern Ireland’s 20 per cent during the same period.

Worshipful Master of the local Lodge, Don Smith, who has been involved with the organization for some 16-years, said the continued existence of Orange Lodges can be a great benefit to any community.

He described the lodges of modern day as benevolent fraternal organizations, allowing that what the organization is now and what it was many years ago are not one and the same.

“Back when the Orange Lodge was started, we were the social safety net for our members,” Smith explained, describing how the organization looked after its members and their families on a personal level when someone was ill, and suffering a tragedy. That could mean something as simple, but vital, as a load of wood to heat someone’s home.

That informal kind of social safety net still exists, said Smith, it just looks different than it did back in those days.

“Looking after our own became looking after the entire community in general,” Smith said, describing the various community fundraising and donations the organization makes each year including towards the Janeway and Daffodil Place.

More locally, the Loyal Orange Lodge raised funds to help support the creation of the monument of honour in front of the CBS Town Hall, among other good works.

“A couple of years ago, there was a house that burned down in Topsail … We ended up giving (the woman who lived there) a cheque to help re-establish her life after receiving a letter asking for help,” Smith said.

It was back in 1876 that the original Lodge in Middle Bight was established and its members received their degrees and initiations. While membership has declined in recent generations, the remaining members are proud of the organization they represent, and of the Lodge’s rich history.

During the 140^th anniversary celebrations, Smith presented a 20-minute speech detailing the history of the Lodge. He said the exact origins of how the Lodge was brought to Middle Bight are lost to time, but records show the dedication of the Orangemen in Newfoundland in the late 1800s was just as strong as it is today.

He described the men of the time walking the distance from Middle Bight to Portugal Cove in order to attend meetings before building a lodge of their own in 1876.

Within the next 10-years or so, membership grew to just under 200 people. This rapidly increasing interest ultimately led to more Orange Lodges popping up in nearby communities to serve those who had been walking long distances to attend meetings in Middle Bight

“By the end of 1920, there had been 463 men initiated and to date there have been more than 600 members pass through the doors of Prince of Orange #23, becoming brothers of the Orange Society,” Smith said.

He noted that at one point, the Middle Bight Lodge had one of the highest membership numbers in the province.

This year, like many things, the Orangemen’s general operations have had to be put on hold. Smith described anniversary celebrations of the past, where members, their friends and family would all gather together for a night of good food and companionship, with speeches from notable members, local dignitaries and the like.

While the 145^th anniversary of the Lodge was marked on March 11^th, Smith said he doubts they will be getting together for such a celebration any time soon, and is anticipating an exciting get-together in five years’ time for the 150^th anniversary.

“The lodge today is not your father’s or grandfather’s lodge,” said Smith. “We have evolved …  Although the membership of Prince of Orange is only a shadow of its former self, the dedication of its members today is as strong as it’s ever been.”

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An equestrian business that fell under the Town’s radar has been asked to cease operations.

The Town of Conception Bay South received an application to approve an equestrian business along Lawrence Pond Road West on Jan. 21. During Tuesday’s public meeting, council voted to order the business to cease its operations.

According to councillor-at-large Rex Hillier, who chairs the planning and development committee, the business does not fall in accordance with the discretionary authority in the Town’s development regulations.

An animal, he explained, is not listed as a permitted or discretionary use in a residential low-density zone.

As well, a part of the same business that is located in a rural zone does not meet with a Town regulation that requires a business that is open to the public to front onto a public road.

Hillier noted the business had actually been operating without council’s knowledge.

“This is a business that’s been operating for some time that we’ve just become aware of,” Hillier said. “At this point in time, the business does not comply with a bunch of our development regulations and we’re not able to give them a permit to operate. We’re asking them to cease operations.”

The motion was carried unanimously by council.

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