Digby Area Year in Review

from the Digby Courier

Looking back at 2010


Kelly Tidd with four-year-old Sara and 14-day-old Gabriel Roderick Tidd. Leanne Delong photo
Published on December 29th, 2010
Published on December 29th, 2010
John DeMings Part 1: January - June
Topics : General Hospital , J.D. Irving Ltd. , Digby Regional High School , Digby County , Bear River East , Kentville
JANUARY

Jan. 7

Woodworker John Welch took on the challenge of restoring the historic Rebekah Lodge building in Bear River. “It’s a great community,” he said. “I love the architecture of this town. It’s kind of got like a bit of an edge to it, I like that.” The building holds a bike shop, Bare Canvas Studio and Gallery and an entertainment area upstairs.

Store manager Carthal Hall feels Digby has become an undesirable town to have a business because of continuous vandalism. A window of her Digby Treasures Gift Shop was smashed, the sixth time in six years the business had to replace one of its large windows.

Jan. 14

About 100 CUPE members at Digby General Hospital were among those who would be off the job if the union went on strike across the province. South West District Health Authority spokesperson Fraser Mooney said the authority was looking at reducing services.

A petition over possible cancellation of Acadian Coach Lines bus service between Digby and Kentville had 285 signatures so far at Needs Convenience Store. The bus lines’ owner, Groupe Orleans Express Inc. of Quebec, has filed a proposal to end services from Kentville to Digby.

Elsie Charles Basque, 93, of Saulnierville, was named to the order of Canada for her pioneering contributions as an educator and volunteer work on behalf of aboriginals and seniors in Nova Scotia and the United States.

The provincial government used up to $40 million to purchase about 31 parcels of land from J.D. Irving Ltd. in Digby, Yarmouth, Annapolis and Cumberland counties.

The season ended prematurely for the senior boy’s basketball team at Digby Regional High School because too few students committed to play.

Annapolis County council was reviewing options for the future of Lifeplex Wellness Centre at Cornwallis Park.

Jan. 21

Kelly and Gregory Tidd of Little River welcomed baby boy, Gabriel Roderick, just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, one of the province’s first babies of 2010.

The existing Digby ferry would likely still be the number one option for seafood shippers in southwestern Nova Scotia even if a ferry to Boston was available, said Denny Morrow, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fish Packers. Weather would make the service unreliable, he warned.

T&C Motors on Hwy. 101 turned off its gas pumps after 42 years.

Digby’s James Hazelton took 11th at the Can Skate Junior National championship in London, Ont. Hazelton. He was the only Nova Scotian to qualify for the event.

Municipality of Digby warden Jim Thurber said he remained hopeful nurse practitioner Karen Snider will someday be employed again at Islands Health Clinic. Snider, who was fired from her Islands job in October, was in Thompson, Man., on a contract position.

Jan. 28

Nova Scotia education partners asked the province for a 3.6 per cent increase in 2010-11 school budgets to avoid cuts throughout the education system.

Bay Ferries was keeping mum about security arrangements at terminals of the Bay of Fundy service between Digby and Saint John. New regulations to enhance the security of domestic ferries and Canada's marine transportation system took effect Dec. 23.

Bear River Board of Trade president Bob Benson has stepped down after six years at the helm, and handed over the position to Kelly Foxton.


FEBRUARY

Feb. 4

Geoff Irvine, executive director of the recently formed Lobster Council of Canada says the Atlantic Canada lobster industry faced significant challenges. “This is a billion dollar industry where nobody likes each other, where sectors don’t trust each other.”

One night each week of emergency department coverage at Digby General Hospital was added by the recruitment of Dr. Kathryn Diefenbach.

About 90 per cent of the rails-to-trails project in Digby County was complete but the fate of old bridges in Clementsport, Bear River and Weymouth was yet to be determined. Cost of removing the bridges, which are owned by the province, is estimated at $10 million.

Lightning struck a transmission structure on Lansdowne Road and left more than 4,700 county residents in the dark.

Digby Ravens captured the Western Valley Minor Hockey Midget B championship at home, downing West Hants 6-2 in the second of a best-of-three series.

Feb. 11

Barton and Digby Neck schools dodged the bullet on a school review, and a consultant’s report on area schools hinted at replacement of Islands Consolidated.

An archeological assessment was scheduled on Crown land near the Tideview seniors home to determine whether aboriginals once occupied the area.

Emera, the parent company of Nova Scotia Power, purchased Scotian Windfield’s 50 per cent share of the Digby wind farm project, giving it full ownership.

Vince Stuart and Clare Machine Works Ltd. won the regional I-3 Technology Start-Up prize, earning $100,000 in a combination of cash and in-kind business building

Feb. 18

Roughly 500 people attended a fundraiser for Philip Halliday, his wife Sheree and their two children, and raised just over $13,000. Halliday was arrested by Spanish authorities just before Christmas after cocaine was found on the ship in which he was crewing.

New France was one of the 31 parcels of land sold by J.D. Irving to the province in January and playwright Hal Theriault, author of the play ‘Lights in the Forest’, said the government’s purchase presented the possibility of preserving the site.

Digby Regional’s Lady Mariners moved into a three-way tie for second place in Western Region Division 3 senior girls’ in their final league game of the season and were waiting for a decision on which would host the Regional championship.

Feb. 25

Former Digby-Annapolis MLA Joseph Casey, who died Feb. 16 at age 91 in his Annapolis County home, was remembered at a memorial service, especially for his humour and love of storytelling.

Digby firefighters delivered their spare rescue truck to North Sydney to be ferried to Baie Verte, Nfld., where the fire department there had lost its equipment to fire early.

Conway was to get a left-turning lane from Hwy. 101 at Exit 26, north to the Digby town line, announced the province. As well, Hwy. 101 from the Mary Jane Riley Road overpass to the west end of the Bear River bridge would be repaved.

St. Mary’s Bay Academy basketball Stingrays won the Regional championship and the DRHS senior girls’ basketball team learned it would host the Division 3 provincial championships. Regional playoffs took place at Kings-Edgehill in Windsor.


MARCH

March 4:

Finance Minister Graham Steele was in Digby to discuss the province’s deficit, which he said could reach $1.4 billion by 2013. He said there was a reluctant willingness across the province to accept an increase in the Harmonized Sales Tax.

The former wildlife park at Upper Clements is to become the Upper Clements Adventure Park, complete with zip lines, elevated canopy tours, and suspension bridges. Completion of the project is expected in time for the 2011 season.

The Glooscap rink from Kentville won the Nova Scotia senior women’s championship at the Digby Curling Centre. The curling centre is hosting the 2011 men’s and women’s national championships, using ice surfaces in the centre and the adjacent hockey rink.

Acadian Lines applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to discontinue service between Kentville and Digby and reduce its service between Kentville and Halifax.

A proposed move of the Crown Attorney’s office from Middleton to Digby provoked protest from police advisory boards in Annapolis County as well as the RMCP detachment there.

March 11

The federal budget set aside $28 million to be shared by ferry services in Atlantic Canada. Aside from the Digby-Saint John ferry, those services include ferries between Woods Island, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., and between Iles de la Madeleine, Que., and Souris, P.E.I.

St. Mary’s Bay Academy Stingrays successfully defended their provincial championship title by downing Hants North Flames 67-54 in the final game of the Division 3 senior boys’ provincial championships at Dalbrae Academy in Mabou, Cape Breton.

March 18

Lifeplex Wellness Centre was closing its doors March 21, and Annapolis County council was looking at the YMCA as future managers of the facility.

March 25

A home and two outbuildings were destroyed in Tiverton after a grass fire got out of control. The fire was one of 18 grass fires during the week to require the attention of area firefighters. Spring had arrived with early dry conditions.



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The 152-year-old Trading Post in Weymouth will be closing its doors at the end of May, said owner Louise Mullen, who with her husband bought the store in 2001 and became the third owners of what was among Canada’s oldest rural general stores.


APRIL

April 1

A search and rescue Cormorant helicopter on its way to CFB Greenwood made an emergency landing in Ashmore after a warning light showed on its instrument panel.

Digby and Annapolis counties put out a virtual welcome mat for new immigrants when the Annapolis Digby Economic Development Agency launched an online immigration portal, looking to boost the area’s population and stimulate economic and social well-being.

April 8

After two decades, Wilson’s Gas Stop in Bear closed its doors, but the company was looking for a new owner.

Police in Nova Scotia joined forces to reduce the number of firearms in communities across the province and were offering a month-long gun amnesty during April.

April 15

A new family physician was recruited for Digby and could start a practice in the area as early as September. Dr. Gerhard Beukes was also expected to provide some coverage in the Digby General emergency department.

Finance Minister Graham Steele presented the provincial budget and one of the measures announced was a hike in the HST to 15 per cent.

Tri-County Regional School Board’s finance department was crunching numbers to see what impact the provincial budget would have and found school boards wouldn’t be getting as much money as hoped.

Barton Consolidated School planned to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary on May 1. The school first opened in January, 1960, with 217 students

April 22

Eric Locke of the Digby Golf Club was one of three Nova Scotia junior golfers in Vancouver for a weekend training camp and a competition in the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. The three received a special invitation from the British Columbia Golf Association.

April 29

A full-time nurse practitioner was recruited to serve residents of Long and Brier islands at the Islands Health Centre. Nurse practitioner Constance Day was relocating from Alberta and succeeded Karen Snider, whose contract was not renewed the previous fall by South West Health.

The 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Naval Service was kicked off by celebrations at the former naval training base at Cornwallis, one of the oldest naval training bases in Canada, and the largest in the British Empire during the Second World War.

The Tiny Tattler, a small Digby Neck newspaper printed in the 1930s and ’40s, found new life online thanks to a campaign to digitize the province’s historical newspapers. The Tiny Tattler, begun by teenager Ivan Shortliffe on a small press supplied by the then-Courier publisher, recorded the doings on Digby Neck for 10 years, from 1933-43.


MAY

May 6

Fire resulted in the loss of Sean Wallace’s S&S Custom Cycle Supply on Fort Point Road in Weymouth North.

The Bay of Fundy gained worldwide attention by becoming one of 28 finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature competition. The bay was one of 441 locations originally entered. The winner will be named in 2011

May 13

Digby General Hospital received a new x-ray unit to replace one used since 1979. Digby and Area Health Services Charitable Foundation provided $170,000 for the equipment that was officially welcomed in a recent ribbon cutting ceremony.

The new Digby Elementary School playground would be named after Keith Trimper, a 14-year-old former DES student who died two years earlier, announced the DES Home and School Association.

May 20

Firefighters from six local departments were called to Havelock and Corberrie for what turned out to be two close calls. Shortly after 9 a.m., Havelock firefighters were responding to a chimney fire in Corberrie when they found their fire hall full of smoke after a compressor caught fire. Other departments went to Corberrie and two Havelock firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation.

The DRHS Envirothon team of Rebecca Alexander, Jamie-Lee Berends, Stacy Comeau, Marley Gidney and Kayla Tidd, came second at the provincial competition at Acadia University. They were just edged out by winner Northumberland High.

Digby figure skater James Hazelton was named male individual athlete of the year by Skate Canada Nova Scotia.

May 27

Freeport firefighters, residents and area officials gathered for the opening of the village’s new fire hall, marking the end of a project that began six years earlier.

Bear River Board of Trade held a public meeting to discuss the future of the community’s iconic windmill after an examination found deterioration that posed health and safety risks in the structure that housed the visitor information centre.

Digby Regional High School’s track and field team ignored wet conditions and for the third year in a row won the Annapolis-Digby District competition in Bridgetown. The 48-member team captured four divisions—intermediate boys, junior boys, senior boys and senior girls.


JUNE

June 3

Canada Post was planning to start its rural mailbox traffic safety review in Digby in mid-July, assessing 766 mailboxes in rural routes 2, 3 and 4.

At the Apple Blossom Festival coronation, Digby Scallop Queen Josie Zakhour was selected as first lady-in-waiting to the newly crowned Queen Annapolisa LXXVIII, 19-year-old Emily Elizabeth Lynn Rafuse of Windsor.

The third annual High Cs and Digby Choral Festival ended on a high note with a choral concert featuring a mass choir of 120 singers at the acoustically renowned Saint Bernard Church in St. Bernard.

Kings Transit Authority offered free bus rides on Clean Air Day, June 2.

Records were set in Digby as over 30 power lifters from around the province and Prince Edward Island took part in the provincial powerlifting and bench press championships. Culloden Powerlifting hosted the championships.

A project looking at a new way of capturing energy from waves earned a gold medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Peterborough, Ont., for Chantal Surette, a grade 9 student at École secondaire de Clare.

June 10

A parade of 96 cancer survivors in yellow shirts walked around Dan Brown Memorial Baseball Park in a ‘victory lap’ at the Relay For Life. More than 500 participants raised $60,076 for cancer research.

Annapolis Highland Vineyards of Bear River East became the first winery in southwestern Nova Scotia to bring home gold and silver medals from the All-Canadian Wine Championships.

Digby Regional Airport’s first fly-in breakfast raised about $400 for Digby Area Minor Baseball, and attracted about 110 people and 14 aircraft.

June 17

A crowd watched the demolition of Bear River’s windmill visitor information centre. It took only about a half-hour a crew to tear down the windmill that was built in the mid-1970s for use as a tearoom and gift shop.

Lightning blew out part of the steeple of the Baptist Church in Westport. Three and a half years earlier, the same steeple was struck by lightning just before Christmas.

June 24

Acadian Intercity Coaches’ request to discontinue its Kentville to Digby route and other routes was denied by the Nova Scotia Utility Review Board.

Over 50 people gathered at the Freeport Fire Hall to discuss a fish farm Cooke Aquaculture has planned for St. Mary’s Bay and what it meant for the local lobster and ecotourism industries.

Digby golfer Anne Balser took first place in the university college championships women’s individual competition and then placed 12th at the World University Games. The 22-year-old studies physical education and history at University of Victoria in British Columbia.

Karate athlete and two-time grand champion Gary Sabean of Weymouth was named as one of six athletes who would be inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame on Oct. 30 in Halifax.