The Joint Council of Conception Bay North, in collaboration with ThinkWell Research + Strategy, has created a survey through which CBN residents can share their opinions and help shape the region’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan.

The aim of the plan is to foster a community in which everyone is safe, has a sense of belonging, offer opportunities for residents to participate, and meets their needs for food, housing, income, health care, education, and social and cultural expression.

The survey is available online with physical copies available at the Splash Centre in Harbour Grace.

ThinkWell has also been holding virtual and in-person focus groups.

Harbour Grace councillor Christina Hearn, who just finished a term as secretary of the Joint Council, describing the survey as a great opportunity for CBN residents to share their safety concerns.

“They’re going to generate a report from this, so they’re hoping people participate,” said Hearn. “And I think you can choose to leave your name, and then you can go in for a draw for some type of a gift certificate for anyone who participates.”

The post Survey targets CBN residents’ thoughts on ‘community safety’ appeared first on The Shoreline News.

The Town of Spaniard’s Bay is hoping to get feedback about potential traffic-calming measures from residents of Northern Cove Pond Road.

“This is our first road that the Town is trying to take some control back on traffic issues around town,” said Mayor Tammy Oliver.

She noted council had already put a traffic-calming policy in place and set up a monitoring system on Northern Cove Pond Road. Councillors and staff discussed feedback on the system, and are considering the addition of speed bumps or speed tables to further slow down speeds on the street.

Council sent letters to the 16 residences of Northern Cove Pond Road to get input on the idea. However, only seven households have written back thus far. Of those, three supported the implementation of speed bumps and tables, two opposed it, and two only want it as a last resort. Oliver said that’s not enough feedback for the Town to proceed.

“We don’t meet the criteria right now to move forward until we get more feedback from those residents,” said Oliver. “We do need the majority of responses either for or against to make that decision, and that is stated in the traffic-calming policy.”

According to the policy, if the Town doesn’t receive enough responses, the issue of traffic-calming on Northern Cove Pond Road will be tabled and revisited after two years.

As the procedure and policy are still new, Oliver suggested council wait until its next meeting to see if it gets any more feedback.

“We’ll give it another month, maybe touch base with residents on that road again. We can send them a Voyent alert saying that we need feedback to make a decision,” said the mayor.

The issue will be revisited at the next council meeting on September 8. If a majority of the road’s residents respond by then, council will decide whether or not to install speed bumps and tables.

The post Spaniard’s Bay council hits a bump on traffic calming effort appeared first on The Shoreline News.

By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tyler Waugh

It’s only a couple kilometres away from the Trans Canada Highway byway of Foxtrap, but as you drive down the gravel access road to the Camp Dave Butler Wilderness Lodge, the hustle and bustle of everyday life seems worlds away.

And that’s the point.

Built and managed by the CBS Church Lads Brigade Old Comrades Association, the wilderness camp has been an outlet for youth and other organizations to reconnect with nature since 1983.

“Wilderness is important to the identity of this place,” said CLB Old Comrades member Don Kennedy during a site visit Aug. 12.

The camp – renamed after longtime organization president Dave Butler – is situated on 17 acres of leased Crown land that includes shorefront access to nearby Scout Pond, which can be viewed from the scenic back deck. And while wilderness is a focal point, the main camp building is powered by a generator and includes a full kitchen with stove, fridge, cutlery and cooking utensils, as well as men’s and women’s bathrooms, enough bunks upstairs and down to sleep around 30 people, and a main hall area that has a capacity to sit 50 people.

There is a fire pit by the shore of Scout’s Pond (formerly called Third Pond) for use when provincial fire regulations permit, and barbecues available for outdoor cooking.

“We wanted to give opportunities for the youth – certainly not for us old timers – but for the youth of CBS as a place to go and be outdoors and be entertained,” said Reg Young, a founding member of the CBS CLB Old Comrades Branch 2 and one of the people who helped build the wilderness camp.

The venue has been used by several groups for retreats and daytrips – the RCMP, horse riders, search and rescue, among others – but providing opportunities for young people remains at the heart of the camp’s mission, not surprising given the CLB’s long history of programs for youths.

Use of the camp waned somewhat after the COVID-19 pandemic, beyond use by the membership and a few groups, and the organization is working to better promote what’s available. The CLB Old Comrades continue to conduct regular maintenance and there is also discussion about cutting a new walking trail, as well as bringing in Wi-Fi to make the venue more attractive for retreats by companies and other organizations.

But even the prospect of hosting company retreats is a means to an end, which is exposing more people to the venue in the hopes it will result in more youth groups finding their way to the camp, and back to the wilderness.

“Whatever it takes to get more youth back to the beauty of nature,” Kennedy said.

For more information on the CBS CLB Old Comrades Association Branch 2, or about the Camp Dave Butler Youth Camp contact cbsclboldcomrades@gmail.com

The post CLB Old Comrades open to sharing wilderness gem near the heart of CBS appeared first on The Shoreline News.

Due to the great reception to the South River Newfoundland Pony Walk held in July, the Town decided to hold a second walk on August 13th. The event was hosted by the Town’s summer students. Participants met on Foley’s Hill and trekked to the Newfoundland Pony Heritage Pasture in South River. Many ponies awaited, including some foals. The animals were friendly and content with all the attention, allowing people to pet and photograph them. Refreshments were available at a gazebo set up partway along the trail. Click on the arrows to browse photos. Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Olivia Bradbury photos

The post South River hosts second annual Pony Walk appeared first on The Shoreline News.

If you’re living in Bay Roberts, an arm of the federal government wants to know how you’re feeling.

As part of a national health survey, Statistics Canada will operate an examination centre in Bay Roberts from September 2 to October 7.

The agency will gather data for the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS).

“It’s really a national survey that was established to collect information from Canadians about their general health and lifestyles,” said Stephanie Lavoie, the unit head of the CHMS Collection Team.

The survey is conducted in two-year cycles. The first one began in 2007. They are currently conducting the eighth cycle, which began in 2025 and will conclude in 2027.

For this cycle, 16 locations across Canada were randomly selected through a scientific sampling process. Bay Roberts is the only survey location in Newfoundland and Labrador. Statistics Canada staff will spend six weeks at each location.

 Approximately 850 households in Bay Roberts will be randomly selected to take part in the survey. Letters will be sent to the households informing them of their selection. The survey is voluntary, so householders can decide whether to participate.

If a resident agrees to participate, an interviewer from Statistics Canada will visit and pick one to two household members to be participants.

The first part of the survey consists of an at-home interview. Participants will be asked questions about nutrition, smoking habits, alcohol use, medical history, and so on.

“Just general current health status of the respondents — we call them respondents — that were chosen,” said Lavoie. “Also includes lifestyle and physical activity, and then there’s some demographic and socioeconomic information, as well, collected at that time.”

After the at-home interview, participants are invited to make an appointment with the survey team to come to its temporary examination centre, which will be located in the parking lot of the Bay Arena.

There, participants will undergo the physical part of the survey. Researchers will take their blood pressure, measure their height, take their weight, judge their physical fitness, and collect blood and urine samples.

“We test for chronic disease, nutrition, environmental markers, and we also store the blood and urine in our Statistics biobank,” said Lavoie. “Any of these markers that we can have that complements the questions and vice versa really gives us a whole picture to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illnesses, and to promote health and wellness across Canada.”.

Statistics Canada has federal partners that use the data for their own work. For example, it was used by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology to develop Canada’s 24-Hour Movement Guideline. It has also been used for surveillance and risk assessments by Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Statistics Canada also puts out publications about topics such as vitamin D deficiency, consumption habits, and the like.

The role of participants is crucial.

“They play a really important role in understanding the health of Canadians,” Lavoie said. “It really helps us and our partners develop health services that affect all Canadians in this case.”

Participants are entitled to a report of their physical and laboratory test results.

“They would get results for tests or analyses that they might have not been able to see at a doctor’s office,” said Lavoie. “Although we’re not diagnostic, it is still an important value for the respondents.”

Participants also get a reward of $150 for their time.

Under the Statistics Act, information collected for the survey will be kept strictly confidential.

The post Health of Bay Roberts residents to be probed appeared first on The Shoreline News.

Jewer Bailey Consultants has been hired to provide consulting and administrative services for the phase two of the upgrades to the CBS wastewater treatment plant.

The company will be paid $106,925 plus HST for overseeing the work.

“This is following work we recently completed on phase one for a wastewater plant assessment,” said councillor-at-large Joshua Barrett. “Based on that, it was recommended that we do a phase two. This fee includes some complex mechanical and electrical work to be done over the coming weeks and months.”

Jewer Bailey also conducted the phase one assessment of the plant at a cost of some $73,000 plus HST. That contract was awarded in late 2024.

The post Upgrades still in works at CBS wastewater plant appeared first on The Shoreline News.

The recent report that C.B.S. has concerns about its water supply made me pause to take a look at the place of water in our lives. Along with oxygen and food, water is essential for our very existence. Our relationship with water raises various questions and concerns. Here are a few.

C.B.S. has a population of about 27,000. According to reports, installing a system to add more water may take up to 10 years. It makes you wonder how large cities with populations of millions manage their water supply.

According to the U.N., 2.2 billion people do not have safe drinking water, which amounts to one in every four people. Disproportionately, women and girls are the most affected. Around 1.4 million people die annually from contaminated water. The World Council of Churches this past year sponsored “Seven Weeks for Water” (February 18 to April 1). Water justice involves supply, control, sanitation, inequality and climate change.

There is a lot of water but most of it is ocean, amounting to 97 per cent, leaving just three per cent for human consumption and use. But we don’t benefit from even this amount of water because we pollute and overuse water. Our water is affected by industrial, chemical, and agricultural run off, pathogens and everyday human use. Keeping our drinking water safe is an ongoing issue. In Newfoundland and Labrador, we have 181 municipal boil water advisories, some going back decades. Unsafe drinking water can cause ever so many diseases, such as cholera, hepatitis A, polio, dysentery and typhoid.

We also misuse and waste a lot of water. Most of us are guilty of this in our personal use. The average American family wastes about 180 gallons of water per week. Last summer’s drought and fires should be a warning about taking water for granted.

We even talk about war over water. The World Conflict Chronology identified 420 water-related conflicts in 2024. Most of these are local, such as in Algeria where water shortages, led to protest riots or in Cameroon where rice farmers clashed with fishers over access to water. More worrying are waterways which go through several countries, such as the River Nile, and possible conflicts over storage and use.  

The United Nations states in its Sustainable Development Goals that everyone should have access to water and sanitation.

Everett Hobbs

C.B.S.

The post Not as much water around as you think appeared first on The Shoreline News.

A Work in Progress

Let’s hope the weather clears up for a few nights of stargazing. August for me is a month of letting go, relaxing, recharging. A good way to do that is to stargaze – enjoy the night sky. It’s very peaceful. You must get away from urban light, but that’s not the challenge here that it is in other parts of the world.

We have celestial events in August. I love the Perseids, a so-called meteor shower that’s actually the Earth passing through the debris trail of a comet. August 11- 13 is the best time, but it can be spectacular even after that. If you really want to see honest to God fireballs, this is for you.

Or on any clear night you can just lie on your back in a dark place and look up. If you are into constellations, there are books and websites that can help you out. Personally, I have always thought they were out-dated and kind of silly, made up by ancients with way too much time on their hands. Make up your own constellations. It’s more fun.

What you are looking at is our corner of the universe; and while you are staring at it, here are a few facts to boggle your mind and the minds of people who are gazing with you.

Our solar system is on one wing of our galaxy, which we call the Milky Way; a spiral galaxy of over 100 billion stars, like our sun, held together by gravity, the centre being a black hole with gravity so strong light cannot escape it. Speaking of light, a light year is the distance light travels in one of our years (299,792 kilometers per second). Our galaxy is over 100,000 light years across. (How far is that? You do the math, I hate math).

Ready for more silly numbers? Recent research indicates there are two trillion galaxies in what is known as the observable universe. That’s what we can see. Some say there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on all the world’s beaches. Some say that’s bunk. You can google the arguments and boggle your brain further. (Too many numbers. I remind you I hate math.)

And as I am taking you on a boggle-a-thon, while you are staring at all this, another thing to remember is you are time travelling. Most of what you see is no longer there, as light from even close galaxies can take millions of years to reach your eyes. And they are moving away from us. You are looking at images older than our species. What you see is how they looked millions of years ago.

Now consider our planet is spinning on its axis at up to 1,674 kilometers per hour while travelling around the sun at 107,229 kilometers an hour, while our solar system moves around the Milky Way at roughly 828,000 kilometres per hour. The Milky Way galaxy itself travels through space at about 2.1 million kilometres per hour relative to the cosmic background.

Does all this overwhelming silliness mean anything?

To each their own, but it reminds me how important we are to each other, and how miraculous we all are. It reminds me that none of us are here for very long and we have only each other. To me it underscores how important it is we all care for each other.

We are here in the middle of a nothingness too vast to comprehend. We are very much on our own. If we don’t care for each other, nothing else will.

All that vastness we have managed to figure out. Wouldn’t it be great if we could figure out how to get along with each other?

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

The post The message is in the stars appeared first on The Shoreline News.

Holyrood councillor Steve Winsor offered an emphatic defense of the town’s water system during the July 28 public council meeting in response to comments that he and other councillors have seen on social media.

“The system is a safe and reliable source of water for essential household use, acknowledging that there are seasonal demands and maintenance to be managed, and positive improvement projects ongoing,” said the councillor.

Winsor explained the town’s water supply is dependent on a 255,000 gallon water tank located at George Cove Mountain.

Eight local wells pump water into that tank.

The Town has earmarked the construction of a future tank that will hold 543,000 gallons of water – over double the capacity of the current tank.

“The project had to be phased because of the increased cost and scope of work,” said Winsor. “Last year we talked about hoping to have that installed this year. Very disappointing. But there’s a lot of reasons for that.”

So far, the Town has completed civil work for connecting the new water tank to the existing system, a geological study to create the pad for the new tank, and identified the scope of work for the pad.

“This is now a shovel ready project waiting for approval to award a tender,” said Winsor, who added the tank itself will be tendered separately and is expected to be completed in 2027.

Council hired Prime Drilling to install the tank foundation and underground piping and valves for the new tank at a cost of $70,000 back in June.

Holyrood has over 32 kilometres of underground water pipe, and Winsor admitted much of that piping is old, and leaks are common.

The town experienced ten leaks in five weeks this summer, including on Salmonier Line, Country Path, Sir Albert Walsh Drive, Penney’s Lane, Burns Lane, and Conception Bay Highway. Some of the leaks, said Winsor, occurred on residential properties. Six of the leaks occurred between July 15 and 19. During that same week, a lightning strike short circuited the pump control sensors.

“They all went offline at 8 o’clock in the night,” said Winsor. “So, now they’re not pumping and filling up the tank overnight. During the period of the leaks, and the lightning strike, we lost 10 feet in the tank. That’s 85,000 gallons of water.”

Winsor said additional water usage during the summer for things like swimming pools and lawn sprinklers creates even more demand on the system.

In 2026, the average monthly usage between January to June was about 6.7 million gallons a month – an increase of about 817,000 gallons per month over the same time period last year.

That increase, said Winsor, could not be contributed to new housing builds.

Whenever a leak is fixed, the section of pipe is replaced with a flexible pipe made of crosslinked polyethylene that Winsor said is an improvement in material over the copper pipe already in the ground.

“So, as we’re doing this, we’re improving the system,” said Winsor.

The councillor allowed that while the Town continues to proactively replace pipe in suspected trouble areas, replacing all 32 kilometres of it is not feasible.

Winsor said Holyrood has secured $3 million in funding for water improvement projects, and that St. John’s engineering firm CCBL is advising the Town on the best way to spend that money.

“They have the best possible information and history and record available to them on this town’s water system,” said Winsor. “They are a very reputable engineering firm. They are very experienced and knowledgeable. They have hydro geologists on staff with masters degrees and they have a wide spectrum of experience in this province and outside this province, with a lot of different ground conditions and challenges.”

The town is investigating three new potential wells, one of which has already been determined to be a viable water source.

Winsor added that while council has considered surface water options in the past, CCBL recommended the town stick with a well based system.

“The surface water route requires far more engineering and more costly infrastructure improvements,” said Winsor.

Meanwhile, at that same meeting, council decided to rescind a temporary water ban that had been implemented on July 8 while keeping a water conservation order in effect.

“Residents will always have water, to the best of our ability, for necessary, essential, daily activity,” said Winsor.

Under the conservation order, the Town is asking residents to avoid unnecessary lawn watering, limit car washing, avoid filling swimming pools and hot tubs, and reduce power washing of driveways, decks, siding and other surfaces.

Following the council meeting of July 28, the Town suffered a watermain leak two days later on July 30 along the Conception Bay Highway.

The post Holyrood’s water system is ‘safe and reliable,’ says Winsor appeared first on The Shoreline News.

Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy confirmed last week what everybody who lives near Seal Cove bridge knew already, that work to replace the aging structure is delayed and will take until the end of this year before it’s finished.

Hardy said last week the contractor is facing challenges with the rock below the surface around the bridge and has been having trouble finding equipment for the job.

The project is shutting down for about a month.

“While the outcome remains favourable, there is going to be a delay in opening the bridge,” Hardy said. “The contractor has advised that new drilling equipment is being secured and is expected to arrive in mid-September. Once the equipment is on site, the drilling and piling work is expected to take three to four weeks to complete. Once the drilling and piling work is completed, all remaining work will be carried out, which is expected to take us from mid-September through to the end of the year.”

Hardy said Town staff are working diligently to ensure the contractor demobilizes the equipment that is left there now in order to make way for the new equipment.

“There is nothing the Town has done to cause this delay,” Hardy said. “And the Town is not going to be incurring any additional fees or costs as a result of this delay.”

All detours in the area around the bridge remain in effect, the councillor added, and will remain until the new bridge is commissioned. 

“So, we’ll certainly have staff work with the appropriate authorities – the schools, emergency services – over the coming days to let them know of the extension of the delay,” Hardy said. “It’s certainly not what residents wanted to hear, but when it comes to the work that is being done and the piece of equipment that is required to complete the work that needs to be done, this is the only avenue we have at this point.”

Mayor Darrin Bent said he shares Hardy’s disappointment.

“We were hoping this project would be wrapped up somewhere before the end of September, now we’re into late fall… sometime before December 21, I would hope,” he said. “It seems we depend on the assessments and the work and bidding and the contractors to make sure that they have the equipment they need onsite to do these things. It appears there was a misjudgment in this case. It’s unfortunate. But the unfortunate part is not the fact that they misjudged, but that the residents of Seal Cove are now being inconvenienced for a further six weeks at least while this bridge work is being done. However, the alternative is much worse, that you close a bridge and you don’t use it anymore because it needed to be replaced. So here we are, we’re replacing the bridge and we’re taking our lumps along with it. But at the end of the day, I feel confident in the contractor and the ability to do the work, it’s just that it will take a bit longer. When it’s done the residents will have a bridge that they can depend on for decades into the future ensuring their access. At least there’s that at the end of the day.”

The post Equipment problems put contractor up a creek at Seal Cove bridge appeared first on The Shoreline News.