Author: The Irish Loop Post

By Mark Squibb | Vol. 12 No. 26 (December 18, 2019) Witless Bay Mayor Derm Moran said that a growing

The Southern Shore can now claim they’re home to some of the world’s best young martial artists.

14 young athletes from the Mount Pearl and the Southern Shore competed in the 2019 World Karate and Kickboxing Commission’s (WKC) World Championship in Niagara Falls this November.

“The atmosphere is unreal,” said Lucas Crann,16, of Mount Pearl.

“Just being there with all the competitors from different countries who have all done essentially the same thing as you, who have put in the hard work and training, and having that all come together to fight and see whose most determined and see who wants it bad enough. Because we’ve all done the same thing, we’ve all done this training, and it comes up to this big week of competition.”

A vehicle was impounded in Witless Bay on Thursday, Nov. 21, following protests near Ragged Beach, according to Witless Bay Mayor Dermont Moran.

“There were protesters. And people are free to protest,” said Moran.

Nonetheless, he said, work on finishing a stone sea wall that protects the small parking lot on Ragged Beach from being washed away by erosion had to proceed, and the Town had issued a request for people not to interfere with the work.

Kelsey Power’s sharp eye is taking her places she never expected.

At the age of 12-years-old, Kelsey Power of Bay Bulls was introduced to air rifle shooting through her cadets program. Now, she is 19, and for the last seven years, she hasn’t let her interest in the sport diminish in the slightest.

It was two years after initially getting involved in shooting, in 2014, when Power joined up with the Newfoundland and Labrador Shooting Association, allowing her to pursue her interests even further through the various air rifle target shooting opportunities made available there.

A former Mobile Central High School student has been awarded the prestigious Wounded Warriors Doctoral Scholarship.

Queen’s University’s Ashley Williams, formerly of Bay Bulls, was awarded the annual scholarship, which will help fund her research on how veterans access healthcare as they transition from the federal healthcare offered to military personnel to the civilian, provincial system.

Those looking to learn more about the history and names of Calvert’s past might want to take a look through Kevin Reddigan’s newest book.

Reddigan grew up in Calvert, and can trace a lot of his own family’s history to the community. Although he now lives in Conception Bay South, the author retains a great fondness for what was once called Caplin Bay.

Three young women from the Southern Shore were top winners among the 33 competing at the 2019 Miss Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador Leadership Program Awards Gala on Nov. 4.

Kathleen Murphy, 17, of Tor’s Cove was crowned Miss Achievement Newfoundland and Labrador 2019-2020.

If you love local sports and nostalgia, the Southern Shore Folk Arts Centre in Ferryland was the place to be Saturday, October 26, as members from the sports community from as far as Argentina and Bell Island gathered to celebrate 50 years of Ferryland Flyers hockey and softball.

Long time Goulds farmer Hector Williams was inducted into the Atlantic Agriculture Hall of Fame this October.

Born in 1945, Williams is a staple of the province’s farming community.

He helped establish the Milk Marketing Board, now know as the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador, which was essential in securing supply management for farmers across the province, amongst other accomplishments. He served as director of that board from 1999 to 2016, as well as a representative on the Federation of Agriculture and Agri Adapt Council.