Art enthusiasts will want to mark July 19 on their calendars.

Councillor Jennifer Hiscock, who broached the subject during the May 12 committee meeting, explained that Arts in Paradise hosted an art show at Banished Brewery in 2025 to showcase the talent of local artists. On display were photographs, paintings, textile pieces, and sculptures.  

“Building on the success of this event, Arts in Paradise is seeking to establish an annual visual arts show within the town to provide residents with an opportunity to showcase local artistic talent and further promote arts and culture within the community,” explained councillor Hiscock.

To that end, the organization requested the use of St. Thomas Line Community Centre at no cost to host a free-to-the-public art exhibit on July 19. The town typically charges $455 for the use of the building.

The initial recommendation of staff was to offer the group a community group rental rate. However, following discussions with recreation director Tina Auchinleck-Ryan earlier that day, Hiscock put forward a recommendation to waive the rental fee entirely.

“I think this is a really important concept, and I think it’s important to recognize arts in our community,” said Hiscock. “It’s a great way to showcase people’s abilities. Art seems to be a part of the community, not just in our community but across the province, that is kind of slipping away a little bit from us, so (it’s good) to be able to bring that back and highlight those things. And it’s a free event for our community, so what are we losing? It gives everyone an opportunity to get out and see those amazing artists.”

When put to a vote on May 19, council unanimously agreed to waive the rental fee on an annual basis.

The exhibition will run from 11 am to 4 pm on July 19.

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The Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador (FHSNL) is working to document the history of Conception Bay’s unsung heroes – the women who helped populate and raise the families who spread out along the shoreline.

The project, called Mapping the Mobility of Women in 19th Century Conception Bay, is funded through the federal New Horizons Program for Seniors.

“What we’re trying to do is find history of people that would otherwise be lost,” said historical fiction author Ida Linehan Young, who is the project coordinator.

“They would marry and they’d lose their last name,” said Linehan Young. “They’d lose their identity. They might never get back home. They might never see where they were born and reared or any siblings or anything again. So we’d like to hear those stories if we could.”

Linehan Young said the project is less interested in genealogy and more in the context of why women moved.

“We want the stories that are attached to that,” she said, whether it be due to work, marriage or even shipwrecks.

“There’s lots of books about men,” Linehan Young said. “But women were the integral part of keeping us all together.”

Women were often viewed as property more so than people, she added.

“That’s sad to say, but that’s the reality of it,” said Linehan Young. “It’s not like nowadays. So those kinds of stories tell about their strength and their character and what they had to go through. We’re going to lose it so if we can capture that somehow, isn’t that amazing?”

Linehan Young said the group is focusing on Conception Bay because an island, or province-wide  scope would be too wide to manage. “You need a place to start, so our swimming pool for now is Conception Bay,” she said. “Who knows, maybe next year we’ll move on, or maybe we’ll record it some other way or something. I don’t know. But for now, we want to keep it to Conception Bay just to get a good taste of whether we can even get the history.”

The Family History Society is trying to connect with community groups or other places people gather to tell stories. They have met with mayors to discuss the project, and have distributed a press release about it. At a recent craft fair in Harbour Grace, Linehan Young handed out the press release to visitors, asking residents if they knew their history.

“I connected with a couple of people who knew their paternal and maternal genealogy and had stories for me,” said Linehan Young. “I haven’t actually met with them yet, but they’re going to gather those stories.”

Linehan Young said the project will largely rely on word of mouth. The aim is to get into group meetings, find people who have relevant information, and then interview them. The group will record audio, potentially video, and upload the stories to the society’s website.

As an historical fiction author, Linehan Young is intrigued by the project. “I am there to do this project, but it interests me. I love seniors, I love the stories. It’s just my wheelhouse,” she said. “I just retired, and this is keeping me busy. And it might inspire 10 books. I don’t know, it might inspire nothing, but you never know.”

Anyone with stories they believe could be relevant to the project can email newhorizons@fhsnl.ca.

“I can get the contact information and, when we get a group in one area — and maybe we’ll never get a group, we might just get that one person — but we’ll go to them and get their stories,” Linehan Young said.

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The Town of Paradise has had to pony up nearly $40,000, less HST, because of inaccurate infrastructure drawings.

Councillor Erin Furlong brought the matter forward during the Town’s May 12 committee of the whole meeting.

Furlong explained the drawings of infrastructure already in the ground at Carberry Place, which are needed to design the connection of a new watermain, turned out to be incorrect.

The drawings had been drafted after water and sewer was installed on nearby Duff’s Crescent years ago, and were provided to the Town by the prime consultant at the time. The drawings indicated that a thrust block, commonly used as a support in pipeline systems, had been installed. But the thrust block wasn’t actually installed.

“It seems the contractor didn’t do some of the work that was required, and the prime consultant had said it was done, when it wasn’t, when they provided this information to the Town,” said Furlong. “There was a thrust block on the watermain that was not put in place, which is what made the work a little more complicated.”

The mistake wasn’t noticed until Black Diamond dug down into the ground. The thrust block was then installed by the company at a cost of $37,301, plus HST.

Councillor Glen Carew asked whether the Town was billed for the original work that was not actually completed by the previous contractor, whom council did not name.

Staff did not have the answer on hand, but both Furlong and Mayor Patrick Martin said staff should be able to get the answer within a couple of days. Carew indicated he would like to have the answer before the matter was put to a vote.

Carew also asked whether there would be any recourse given Paradise is now spending $37,000, less the HST, for work that should have been already completed.

“My thought is, are we paying twice for the same work,” said Carew. “It’s a $37,000 bill. I know it’s a big project, and this is probably small in comparison to the overall scope of the project, but the as-builts showed the thrust block, and now we’ve got to put it in, so I was wondering if there was any recourse for us.”

Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Niblock said the matter is a legal one and needs to be discussed in private.

Council agreed to discuss the legal ramifications in more detail at a later time, and for the time being agreed to move the extra cost of doing the job now to the next regular public meeting for a vote.

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CBS council has approved the list of issues that the developers behind two proposed apartment buildings in Long Pond will have to address as part of a Land Use Impact Assessment Report.

The proposed 6.7-acre development is located at 215 Conception Bay Highway, near the Dawe’s Plumbing building, and consists of two six-or-seven-storey towers containing a total of 300 apartments and commercial space. The developer is BGI Group of Toronto acting on behalf of Revive Church.

“Some of the things that the proponent will study in detail will be things like flood risk, impact on adjacent waterways… whether water and sewer capacity in that area can support that building, impact on traffic flow, shade and shadow impacts, noise generation, and they will also be responsible for holding their own public consultation,” said councillor-at-large Rex Hillier. “We’ve had this out in the community for some time, and we’ve had people come back to us, and some of the things that they’ve asked that probably won’t need the same degree of analysis, but some of the things that they’ve asked and that we will be asking the proponents deal with things like impact on property values, assurance of target market, whether this will be all seniors, a proportion of seniors, the proportion of lower income (renters), and so on. There have been questions about landscaping. This property will be adjacent to the T’railway. There have been questions about the impact on the T’Railway and snow clearing and snow collection on property.”

Hillier said those matters won’t get the same degree of analysis as the issues required by Town of CBS staff, but will still get some attention in the study.

 “So, it’ll be a significant piece of work, and we will look forward to seeing that sometime months down the road,” Hillier said.

Ward 3 councillor Gerard Tilley said the LUAR guidelines are among the most comprehensive that he’s been involved with.

“And contrary to sometimes what you see or hear on social media, the decision has not been made,” Tilley cautioned. “This is just part of the process. We encourage everyone to voice their opinion, whether it’s positive or negative.”

Tilley said many people in CBS are looking for affordable housing options. “So, we’re going along with the process as we’ve done with just about every other project. So, if you want to say (something), now is the time to say it, and we’ll certainly take everything under consideration.”

Councillor-at-large Joshua Barrett agreed with Tilley on the strength of the terms of reference, adding some of the perspectives raised by the public were used in drafting the guidelines for the study.

“This is a big piece of work and I’m looking forward to seeing what that has to say to help guide these decisions that my colleagues have noted already,” Barrett said.

Like Tilley, Mayor Darrin Bent stressed council has not made up its collective mind on whether to approve the buildings.

“We go to the public first on these things, and then we gather all the information and all the required background and the land use impact assessment and all that,” Bent said. “Then we make a decision. That’s how it works. So, no decision has been made… When we get all the information, that’s when the decision will be made. I’m looking forward to that and looking forward to the land use impact assessment and seeing what it says and what it’s guiding us to do.”

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After more than a year, Amelia Earhart is back where she belongs: the Town of Harbour Grace.

The trailblazing pilot was a notable part of Harbour Grace’s history. The town’s airstrip was the takeoff point for her historical transatlantic flight in 1932. In 2007, a statue of Earhart was erected in The Spirit of Harbour Grace Park. However, in April of 2025, the statue disappeared just like her real-life counterpart. Four months later, the statue was found in pieces. On May 20 it was restored, whole, to its proper place.

A ceremony to celebrate the statue’s return was held at St. Francis School in Harbour Grace and emceed by pilot Captain Kim Winsor. Guest speakers included Mayor Terry Barnes, MHA Pam Parsons, and Avalon MP Paul Connors. Representatives of the Pike family, which has a connection to Harbour Grace’s aviation history, were also present. The town’s landmark plane, The Spirit of Harbour Grace, was donated by the late Roger Pike in 1993. Pike’s grandson, Sam Bruce, commended the community for rallying to recover the statue, and said his grandfather would be prouder than anyone.

A speech was also given by Elisabeth O’Higgins, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Ireland to Canada. Ireland, like Harbour Grace, has a connection to Earhart, as she completed her transatlantic flight with an impromptu landing in Derry. A Derry poem, “What Do Dreams Know of Boundaries,” was recited by Captain Winsor and student Kate Taylor.

Earhart herself also appeared at the event, still in her pilot gear and with the thermos of soup given to her by Harbour Grace resident Rose Archibald to take on her flight. Actress Emma Mercer played the famed aviatrix and recounted her journey across the ocean to the audience and later received ‘Welcome back’ cards from students.

Another notable pilot also attended the event: Beverley Bass, one of the pilots to land in Gander on 9/11. Bass, portrayed by Rebecca Sellars, performed the song ‘Me and the Sky” from the musical Come From Away, in which she herself is a character. Winsor, Taylor, Bass and Earhart performed together as a quartet, singing Every Time I See a Star.

The ceremony concluded with a livestream of the statue’s unveiling at the Spirit of Harbour Grace Park, which included a flyover by members of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. Earhart is now back where she belongs, watching over the Town of Harbour Grace, with a plane waiting just beyond her.

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The best of Harbour Grace’s athletic and volunteer community were honoured April 30 at the annual Sports Hall of Fame and Town Awards reception April 30 at the Danny Cleary Harbour Grace Community Centre.

Nice individuals and groups were celebrated including the induction of Ron Martin into the Sports Hall of Fame as a builder for his contributions to the development of minor soccer.

In addition to helping establish minor soccer, Martin coached and refereed, and also was heavily involved in the men’s soccer league.

The Mayor and Councillors Award went to the Splash Centre, which provides programs and support for Conception Bay North (CBN) youth.

“For 25 years, the Splash Centre committee and board have been at the heart of something truly special in Harbour Grace,” said Deputy Mayor Gary Baker. “What began as an idea has grown into a vital community hub. Their accomplishments speak volumes. The Splash Centre combines recreation, education, and social supports to help our youth thrive and stay connected to their community.”

The Paul Moriarty Memorial Sport Volunteer Award went to Jamie French, who volunteered with the St. Francis School junior high basketball team over the past three years, taking them to provincials twice. He has also assisted with the school’s year-end sports day. French is also part of the Splash Centre staff.

The Dick Power Memorial Award for Team of the Year went to the Harbour Grace Cold Storage Rowing Team. Guided by coxswain Fred Chafe, the team consists of 14 and 15-year-old boys. In 2025, the team rowed in all three regattas, coming first in both Placentia and Harbour Grace. At the St. John’s Regatta, their rowing was hindered by a build-up of weeds around their buoy. The boys ultimately came in second, but exhibited great sportsmanship and congratulated the first-place team; this was the main reason they were nominated for Team of the Year.

The 1992 Summer Games Scholarship went to Hunter Williams, who played volleyball at Carbonear Collegiate, serving as co-captain during Grade 12. He has since graduated with plans to become a physical education teacher, but volunteers at his old school as an assistant volleyball coach. It was not the first time Williams received an award from the Town of Harbour Grace and its sports museum as he was awarded 2024 Senior Male Athlete of the Year at last year’s reception.

For the second year in a row, the Sonia Williams Award for Junior Female Athlete of the Year went to Lily Moriarty, who excels at hockey, soccer, and volleyball. She was a member of the CTP Devils female hockey team that won the Provincial U15 A Championship in 2024. She also won provincial bronze with the Tri-Pen Ice AA U18 female hockey team. When it comes to soccer, she was on the CBN Lightning U15 female soccer team that won the Provincial Mega Tier 2 Tournament in Bay Roberts in 2025.

The Jamie Korab Award for Junior Male Athlete of the Year went to Simon Fortune. A member of the Harbour Grace Cold Storage Rowing Team, Fortune also participates in hockey, soccer, basketball, and cross-country. As part of the U15 AAA Tri-Pen Osprey hockey team, he and his team won gold at the 2025 Atlantic Cup. With the CBN team in the Newfoundland Soccer Association, he won gold in the 2025 Anchor Cup. A member of Carbonear Collegiate’s Grade 9 cross-country club, he placed in the top five at the Harvest Run.

The Doris Murcell Memorial Award for Senior Female Athlete of the Year went to Jade Bennett for the second consecutive year. Bennett has been a soccer official for various tournaments and is an instructor with the CBN Minor Soccer Association. She is also a member of the AAA gold medalist Carbonear Collegiate girls senior basketball team, and competes in soccer and cross-country for her school.

The final award, the S.W. Moores Memorial Award for Senior Male Athlete of the Year, went to Braeden Sullivan. Captain of the Avalon Minor Football team, the CBN Warriors, he was named MVP in 2025. He also played on the football team representing Team NL at the Atlantic Bowl. Sullivan coaches flag football, and played on Carbonear Collegiate’s boys volleyball team. Sullivan is also taking lifesaving courses, having earned his Bronze Medallion in 2025. He is on track to earn his Bronze Cross this year.

The award winners included, starting with the top row and going from left to right: (1) Winners of the Dick Power Memorial Award for Team of the Year, Harbour Grace Cold Storage. From left: Brendan Chafe; Jacob Chafe; Luke Pike, Ben Bailey, Rylan Chafe, sponsor Amy Dwyer, Evan Johnson, Simon Fortune and coxswain Fred Chafe. Missing from photo are Liam Evan, Tyler Snow, and Nicholas Barrett. (2) Hunter Williams, left, being presented with 1992 Summer Games Scholarship by Harbour Grace Sports Museum committee member Frank Finlayson. (3) Harbour Grace Jamie French being presented with Paul Moriarty Memorial Sport Volunteer Award by Helen Pembroke. (4) Harbour Grace Junior Female Athlete of the Year Lily Moriarty, left, being presented with the Sonia Williams Award by its namesake. (5) Junior Male Athlete of the Year Simon Fortune, left, being presented with the Jamie Korab Award by Jamie Korab. (6) Harbour Grace Senior Female Athlete of the Year Jade Bennett, left, being presented with the Doris Murcell Memorial Award by Harbour Grace-Port de Grave MHA Pam Parsons. (7) Senior Male Athlete of the Year Braeden Sullivan, left, being presented with the S.W. Moores Memorial Award by Harbour Grace Deputy Mayor Gary Baker. (8) Splash Centre representatives being presented with the Mayor & Councillors Award by Deputy Mayor Gary Baker. From left: Jamie French, Hayward Blake, Gary Baker, Judy McCarthy, Juanita Verge, and Allison Seward.

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Carbonear council is looking for ways to curb speeding to protect pedestrians, especially children.

At last month’s public meeting, councillor Wendy Penney said the Town had received correspondence from residents concerned about speeding on Valley Road. The road is known for ATVs and will probably see more of them as the weather improves. Penney asked whether there has been any resolution to it.

Mayor Sam Slade replied none had been reached yet but suggested extending the school zone in that area may cut down on speeding.

“You’ve got the elementary school, you’ve got the recreation park, you’ve got the high school, and plus you’ve got a bus turnaround in there almost to the end of the pavement,” said Slade.

He allowed staff could erect signage to indicate the extended school zone and lower speed limits.

Penney said speeding is also a problem on High Road South, and that a daycare there has contacted the town with concerns.

“I think we were discussing putting some lights there, or putting the lights back that were there,” said Penney.

Councillor Steven Penney, a member of the town’s public works committee, said a budget is in place for the work on High Road South. “I’ll take that back to the committee and see if we can get that started,” he added.

“Thank you,” replied councillor Wendy Penney. “Because it’s bad over there with kids being dropped off and I think it needs to be on the top of our list for sure. Plus, there’s many speeding roads in our town. We’ve got many complaints, but we have to look at the sections that are close to schools or daycares because it’s a very high safety issue,” she said.

Mayor Slade noted people have been hit by vehicles on High Road South, and the Town had previously placed a flashing light there.

“I don’t know why it would have ever got taken out of it, but it did,” he said. “So you’re not doing anything brand new there. The light should go back there and we’ll deal with it from there.”

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Bay Roberts council is hoping to soon adopt a new policy governing the use of shipping containers, also known as sea cans, as accessory buildings.

During the April public meeting, council refused a request from Newfoundland Power to run power to a sea can at 175 Central Street.

Councillor Silas Badcock argued it wouldn’t be appropriate to permit electrical services to the sea can, as it may negatively impact the street’s character and facilitate ongoing use of a ‘nonstandard’ structure.

In lieu of allowing power to the seacan, council will permit power hookups to a permanent accessory building on the property.

“I think this is a prudent move, seeing as we don’t have a sea can policy,” said councillor Dean Franey. “And we’re starting to see more of them. I don’t know if it was on VOCM or CBC or in The Shoreline, (but I’ve heard) other towns are looking into the fact that they need to develop a sea can policy, as we’re seeing them pop up more as structures on properties. I don’t think we should allow too much in terms of permanent services, like electricality, without a proper policy in place.”

Mayor Geoff Seymour concurred.

“I don’t think a sea can is something that you want to see power running to,” said Seymour. “It certainly speaks to a bigger issue, because we’re going to have to develop a policy, because they’re popping up everywhere, and some of them not very sightly, for sure.”

Director of Protective Services Gregory Squires said that a sea can policy has been drafted and will be presented to council this month.

Council unanimously rejected the application for 175 Central Street.

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Members of Carbonear council have apologized for the Town’s flags not being flown half-mast in recognition of the National Day of Mourning.

The National Day of Mourning is held annually in Canada on April 28 in remembrance of those who have been harmed or killed in the workplace. Council, which had a meeting on that date, observed a moment of silence for the occasion. However, later in the meeting, councillor Steven Penney expressed disappointment the Town had neglected to lower its flags.

“I have a family member who got killed on the job, so I’m very disappointed in that,” Penney said. “And I know several people who have family members that got killed or got seriously hurt on the job. So I apologize to all of those folks and I assure you we won’t let that happen again.”

Penney, who works outside of Carbonear, did not learn until that evening that the flags had not been lowered.

Mayor Sam Slade, a commercial fisherman who had been out on the water earlier that day, echoed Penney’s regret that the flags had not been flown half-mast.

“It was an important day for a lot of families and it certainly won’t happen again,” said Slade.

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Tensions rose in Spaniard’s Bay’s council chambers last month during a discussion about plowing an unnamed lane.

At the April 14^th meeting, councillor Terry Sheppard, chair of public works, put forward several road-related motions. One was to begin providing snow-clearing services to an unnamed lane in Tilton immediately.

According to Sheppard, residents of the lane previously put in culverts and a turnaround in order to convince the Town to assume responsibility for the road. However, when the Town asked them to pave the road, the residents decided they could not put any more money into it.

“The road is not plowed by us,” said Sheppard. “It’s plowed by a private resident. And here’s the kicker. We have a school bus with all our children on it that goes in that main road, that highway every day and every evening that stops in the middle of the highway because we won’t plow up that road for the turnaround. Stops in the middle of the highway, puts his flashers on, backs up the highway and backs up that road to turn around with all our kids in it. So, that right there shouldn’t be allowed at all.”

Sheppard noted the lane, while not paved, has a turnaround and ditching.

“So, I think, for safety concerns alone, we should immediately reach out to the owner of this road who has tried over the years numerous times to give it over to us so that we would plow it,” he said.

Councillor Ann Marie Singleton pointed out the topic had not been discussed at the public works committee. She added for her and fellow committee member councillor Debbie Newman, it was their first time hearing of the issue.

“I didn’t know which ones (roads) you were talking about,” said Newman. “So I didn’t know what to discuss tonight. So, this is something I would like to have beforehand to have the information so that I’m aware of what’s going on.”

Singleton said the issue should have been discussed at the committee before landing before council.

Councillor Darren Smith defended Sheppard’s motion.

“Terry just brought a major concern up here,” said Smith. “We’ve got a bus full of kids. Everyone here in the chambers heard the concern and knows the concern.”

Mayor Tammy Oliver sided with Singleton and Newman. “When council has an issue that’s unbeknownst to council, and it’s presented for the first time and we do not have all the facts —there’s a lot of facts to consider in this — I don’t think it’s fair to take over a road when this is introduced tonight and we have none of that supporting information,” she said.

Oliver said more discussion is necessary to resolve the issue in a timely way.

“I agree, if the bus is backing up there, and they shouldn’t be, we obviously have to bump that to the top of the list to make sure the children are safe,” she said. “There’s no question on the line. I mean, everybody here is in agreement with that.”

Smith said council often defers issues dealing with plowing, upgrading or other services. “I don’t understand where the block is here, always,” he said.

“Councillor Smith, I don’t think there’s a block,” said Mayor Oliver. “It’s the amount of information that is being shared that seems to be an issue here tonight. We have members on the public works committee, and members that are not on the public works committee have more information and it has not been shared.”

When put to a vote, Smith and Deputy Mayor Gerald Sheppard voted in favour of councillor Sheppard’s motion, while Newman, Singleton, Oliver, and councillor Sherry Lundrigan voted against it. The motion was denied.

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