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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Paradise Rotary Youth – Community Centre. Paradise 50+ Adventure Club Card Game, Bingo, 50/50 and Door Prize every Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Darts every Monday at 1:30 p.m. For further information about our club and our programs, please call 709-730-0950.

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH

Topsail United Church Coffee Group’s Afternoon Tea Party and Bake Sale is Saturday, May 30 from 2 to 4 p.m., with special musical guests Avalonia. Tickets $15. Please remember your Fascinator. To reserve a ticket, contact the Church Office at 834-4567. Tickets go on sale on May 4 thru May 27. 

Topsail Conception Masonic Lodge #1679 -Flipper or pork loin dinner. Thursday, June 4^th  – price $30 take outs 5 – 6 p.m., eat in 6:30 p.m. – Tom Jensen 685-8872, Kenneth Thistle lucythistle77@gmail.com.

ACW Giant Yard Sale, St. Peter’s Church, Upper Gullies, Saturday, June 6^th beginning at 10 a.m. Clothing, Books, Plants, tools plus Face Painting for the Kids, Live Music, BBQ and much more. All sorts of items at excellent prices plus we invite you to stay and enjoy lunch at our Hot Dog/Burger venue. Come and bring your friends.

Worsley Park 50 Plus Club. Come join us every Wednesday for a game of 120’s card game. Doors open at 1 p.m., $5.00 per week just for cards. Pay $25 per month for meal, card game and dance. Every Thursday a game of Corn Hole, doors open at 1 p.m., Admission $3.

The Kiwanis Club of Kelligrews is offering a resource centre for new Canadians, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Assistance with job search, resumes, locating housing and more. Join us at 925 CBS Highway.

Join the Age Friendly Club for a card game on Mondays @1:30p.m. at the Worsley Park Building in CBS.  Cost to play – $2.  All monies given out for a total of 10 cash prizes. Play a friendly game of cards, meet people, make friends and have a cup of tea. If you don’t have a ride, give me a call. Wilfred Bartlett, 709-631-1588 or 709-834-8071.

GOULDS

3^rd Annual St. Kevin’s Parish Card Party. St. Kevin’s Parish Hall Monday, June 1^st at 7 p.m. (doors open at 7) Tickets are $10 each. Bring you own cards and baskets. Tickets can be purchased at the door or from the Parish Office, or contact Denis Galway (709-745-0396), Herb Stead (709-746-5018) or Shirley Buckley (709-687-8235).

CONCEPTION BAY NORTH

Baccalieu Bucks is a Weekly 50/50 Toonie Lottery in support of the Baccalieu Trail SPCA animal shelter. Visit the Baccalieu Bucks Facebook page to find out how and where to play.

ST. JOHN’S

The St. John’s Retired Citizens Association on Bennett Avenue have some spaces available in the senior’s choir on Wednesdays at 12:15, low impact exercise group on Tuesdays 4:30 – 5:30 and Nia ageless grace movement exercise group on Thursdays from 3:15 – 4:15. To register please contact Yvonne O’Neill at oneyvonne@gmail.com.

OTHER

E-mail your PSAs to notices@theshoreline.ca. Please use proper spelling and punctuation. Limit 35 words or less. Do not use all capital letters or exclamation marks. Space is provided, when available, free of charge to Church groups and charities only. Groups that charge their members registration fees, including sports associations and non-profits, should call 834-2169 for advertising rates.

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The executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada says he is hopeful this will be a good year for the industry.

“We are certainly optimistic for the results of what’s to come this year in the seal harvest,” said Doug Chiasson. “There is a lot of optimism, and now the optimism is being validated in the broader fur sector.”

Recent fur auctions saw record-breaking prices, he noted.

“We’re hopeful that these overall trends in the broader fur space will carry through to the seal harvest this year, as well,” he said.

The EU has been reviewing its ban on seal products, with many organizations, including provincial and territorial governments, advocating for it to be dropped. Chiasson said some European countries have been hurt by the ban, as well.

“They are aligned with us in saying that the ban on seal products in Europe is arbitrary and serves no real purpose other than to disadvantage communities that rely on sealing,” he said.

The Fur Institute serves as the national voice for Canada’s fur trade.

“We represent from trapline to runway, from farmgate to showroom – trappers and sealers and fur farmers, all the way through to manufacturers, retailers, designers and artisans who are working with fur here in Canada, said Chiasson.

The Institute also operates the Seals & Sealing Network, which educates consumers about Canadian seal products. Unlike the institute, whose advocacy is limited to fur products, the network represents a variety of seal products such as fur, oils, leather, and meat.

The Fur Institute represents between 15 and 20 stakeholders, including provincial and territorial governments. The majority of the stakeholders are based in Newfoundland and Labrador including Carino Processing in South Dildo, Always in Vogue and NaturaL Boutique in St. John’s.

Chiasson said there has been a boom in the market for seal-based pet products. Seal oil is a source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which can not only benefit people, but dogs, as well.

“Not only do Omega-3s help a dog have a nice, lustrous coat, but also there are some benefits towards joint health and heart health and things like that,” said Chiasson.

Seal oil can benefit cats too, he said.

Chiasson admitted there is still a lingering impact on the industry due to the anti-sealing movement.

“In many ways, the playbook of the contemporary animal rights movement or anti-animal use movement was built on the floes of ice off Newfoundland in the 1970s,” he said.  

“No one has put more time, effort, and investment into making sure that seal hunting is humane and seal hunting is ethical than seal hunters and the governments who represent them,” he added. “It’s not the anti-sealing groups that were putting money into evaluating the veterinary science of killing seals. It was harvesters and it was the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Canada that put the effort into those things. The anti-sealing groups are happy to point out, ‘Here’s something that’s going wrong’ in their eyes, but very rarely have they ever contributed to efforts to make things better.”

Chiasson said the industry does not hunt whitecoats — baby seals — anymore. And seals are not endangered. Gray seals number in the hundreds of thousands, while harp seals number in the millions.

Chiasson said there may have been legitimate conservation concerns in the 1950s when Canada was not the only country hunting seals, but this is not the case anymore.

“We have a very stringent, science-based management framework delivered by DFO when it comes to harvesting seals,” he said.

The Canadian seal industry took a hit in 2009 with the European Union’s ban on the trade of seal products. This was followed by bans in Russia in 2011 and in Taiwan in 2013. Since then, Chiasson said, the industry has had some good years and some bad years.

He is hopeful the EU seal trade ban will, at the very least, soon be relaxed in some way.

“But in a perfect world we would have the ban completely lifted,” he said.

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Fisheries Minister Joanne Thomspon was in Ship Cove on May 8 to highlight a $957 million investment in small craft harbours – including upgrades to Port de Grave – over the next five years as announced in the federal Spring Economic Update.

 The strategic investment in Ship Cove will see the removal of the existing finger pier and marginal wharf, and the construction of a new finger pier and marginal wharf on the same property, in a different location than the current one. This new construction will provide additional berthage and protection for the harvesters.

“Port de Grave is one of the harbours that tells the story of our province. The new finger pier and marginal wharf at Ship Cove will give the crews here additional berthage and better protection from the weather, and that means a harbour ready for whatever the fishery brings next,” Thompson said, adding that Port de Grave has been a working fishing community for centuries with local families involved for generations.

Canada’s commercial fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood processing sectors support nearly 65,000 jobs — including more than 42,900 commercial fish harvesters — from coast to coast to coast. In 2025, Canada’s fish and seafood exports totaled $8.47 billion.

The Ship Cove wharf is more than 60 years old and was condemned for safety reasons in recent years. The Harbour Authority of Port de Grave has been advocating for the wharf’s upgrade for more than 15 years.

Ivan Batten, vice president of the Harbour Authority, said the project was not simply wanted, it was desperately needed and long overdue.

“The Ship Cove wharf plays a vital role in our community. It supports the livelihoods of local fishermen, more than 250 plant workers—countless people depend on the fishing industry each year,” Batten said.

 “This new wharf will help protect jobs, strengthen our local economy, improve safety for harvesters and workers, and ensure the fishing industry can continue to thrive for generations to come.”

Avalon MP Paul Connors said that the upgrades will increase capacity, ease pressure on the main harbour and help keep fish harvesters working close to home.

“It will also create the right conditions for new private investment, strengthening the local seafood sector, supporting good jobs, and delivering lasting economic benefits for the region.

Thompson stated the five-year funding announcement to support and maintain nearly 950 federally-owned small craft harbours across the country marks the single-biggest investment in Canada’s small harbours.

The new funding will allow the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to undertake repairs, upgrades and dredging as small craft harbour facilities across Canada that will make harbour infrastructure more resilient when it comes to changing environments and extreme weather events.

Thompson grew up in the city but spent her summer weekends in the fishing community of St. Mary’s Bay, where her grandfather lived and worked.

“I constantly think of my grandfather, who would be so proud,” she said of the announcement.

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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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Sheldon S. Crocker of St. John’s has written a trilogy about his journey with disability, trauma, addiction, homelessness and, ultimately, recovery.

Crocker was born with arthrogryposis, a condition which affects muscular development and joint movement. For him, the effects were not just physical. He felt isolated within his community and was bullied by his peers.

“So when I talk about disability now, I try to talk about both sides of it,” said Crocker. “There is the physical side, yes, the movement, the limitations, the adaptations. But there is also the deeper human side, what it feels like to grow up being seen as different, and how that shapes your sense of self.”

An only child, Crocker lived in St. John’s until he was five, at which point his family moved to Chance Cove. Sadly, home was not a safe haven for him. Crocker said his mother beat him with belts and wooden sticks and his father was an alcoholic, who was verbally abusive.

“He said things to me that no child should ever hear, including that I would never be anything except a disabled welfare bum, and that he would have been better off if I had never been born,” said Crocker. “Those kinds of words do not just hurt in the moment. They settle inside you and follow you.”

In his earlier life, Crocker was also the victim of sexual abuse. However, when he told his parents what had happened, they refused to believe him. “That only deepened the hurt, because it taught me that, even when I did tell the truth, I might still be left alone with it,” he said.

Crocker said he started drinking by the time he was 11, and doing drugs by 13 — not for the sake of rebellion, but to escape the pain in his life.

“I have often described it as a love-hate relationship with substances, because that is what it became,” said Crocker. “It felt like comfort, but it was also destroying me.”

At 19, Crocker moved to Clarenville. His addiction got worse, and he experienced poverty and homelessness. All the struggles were connected to one another, he said; the addiction grew from the pain he already felt, and homelessness grew from addiction and the instability it caused.

“That is why I speak about these things the way I do now,” said Crocker. “I think people sometimes want to separate them neatly, but real life is usually not that tidy. In my life, it was one long struggle with many layers.”

Crocker said he struggled with addiction for about 16 years. “What really stands out to me is not only the number of years, but how much of my life disappeared inside them,” he said. “Some of that time is still such a blur. I have said before that although I lived in Clarenville for seven years, I remember, at most, six days clearly from that whole period. That says a lot about how lost I was. Addiction does not just take a person’s health or stability. It can take memory, time, identity, direction, and whole stretches of life.”

Crocker said many people do not realize homelessness is not just about a lack of shelter. “It is also about instability, shame, fear, and feeling like your life has completely come apart,” he said. “It is about not feeling grounded anywhere. It is about not really belonging anywhere. It is about surviving one day at a time while carrying a deep sense of failure and disconnection.”

Crocker said recovery came when his life got so dark he could no longer pretend he was managing it. He moved back to St. John’s at the age of 26, but his situation did not improve immediately. He was carrying a lot of trauma and mental health problems, and came very close to taking his own life. Eventually, however, things started looking up.

“One of the biggest turning points in my life was getting into Emmanuel House through Stella’s Circle,” said Crocker. “It was a four-month residential treatment program, and it changed my life. It gave me structure. It gave me a safe place to be. It gave me accountability. It gave me people who genuinely cared. That mattered more than I can properly put into words, because I was not used to steady care.”

After that, Crocker continued with Stella’s Circle’s Community Support Program, which made a huge difference and helped him rebuild. When he first quit drugs and alcohol, he told himself he would try it for a year; today, he has been sober for 25 years. Yet another turning point came when he let a doctor help him with his depression and anxiety.

It was during the pandemic that Crocker decided to start writing. One day, after realizing he had nearly walked to a liquor store after about 20 years of sobriety, he returned home and read his recovery journals. He recalled that people had told him he should write about what he had been through in his life. He finished his first book, Keep on Walking, quickly, and it was published two months later. Since then, he has added two more books to his Resilience Reborn series.

Crocker said he hopes to convey to his readers that pain does not have to have the final say about someone’s life, and that healing, while it can be slow and bumpy, is possible.

“To anybody who is struggling right now with trauma, disability, addiction, homelessness, anxiety, or depression, I would say this,” said Crocker. “Please do not let your worst season convince you that it is your whole life. I know pain can be very loud. I know shame can be very convincing. But there can still be life on the other side of what feels impossible.”

Crocker’s books, Keep on Walking, The Road to Resilience, and Resilience Redefined, can be purchased on Amazon, at Cole’s and Chapters in St. John’s, and at the gift shop at St. Clare’s Hospital. Crocker hosts a monthly book signing at the Jumping Bean on Topsail Road, where people can purchase copies directly.

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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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