By Richard Bell

Someone is paying for a phone poll of people on the Eastern Shore to see what they think about destroying Owls Head Provincial Park. You can listen to the poll on this link on Soundcloud.

A Pride Festival is coming to the Eastern Shore on June 26th and 27th,  2021, at the Old School Gathering Place in Musquodoboit Harbour. This year’s theme is Wear Your Pride, and will include t-shirts, bags, scarves, art and beer, outdoor games, indoor and outdoor vendors, and more.  

By Emily Sawchyn 

Musquodoboit Harbour’s Old School Community has been bustling with activity and newly motivated individuals, thanks to funding provided by the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS). The program’s second group started last fall and ended in January. 

By Dee Dwyer  

On a cold February morning, Judith Brannen and I chat about her work at the shop/gallery at MacDonald House in Lawrencetown. She walked me through her career, working first with leather, and then moving on to watercolours and oils, with special inspiration from the poems of T.S. Eliot.

By Kelly Corkery  

Q-We recently received shocking news of the unexpected death of a close family friend.  She was a single mother and didn’t leave any instructions for guardianship or her personal wishes.  Her parents can’t even gain access to her bank accounts. It’s a mess.  What can I do to avoid a similar situation? --Worried in Jeddore

By Richard Bell 

The Cooperator has received a number of inquiries about the purpose of the extensive tree and brush clearing taking place on the 107 between exits 17 and 18. The clearings are much wider than previous clearings, and some people questioned whether the wide clearings might be preparation for twinning the 107.  

By Jennifer Deacon 

Jessica Steponaitis might not have ended up as a successful rug hooker if she hadn't needed emergency surgery in 2002. "I was off work for 6 weeks, so a  friend thought it was a good opportunity to teach me how to hook,” Steponaitis said in an interview. “I instantly loved it." 

By Shelley Fashan 

 The Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival is celebrating its 11th year of presenting unique, original storytelling through film, animation, video and performance. It starts April 21 to April 24th at various venues, (please visit our website at www.theemerginglens.com to get the details.) All screenings are free.

In the debate over the fates of Eastern Shore District High and Gaetz Brook Junior High, there have been any number of comments about the benefits of community-based schools. By community-based, I mean schools that are embedded in a geography of community resources that are easily accessible to young people. 

By Richard Bell 

The province and the board of the Birches Nursing Home are engaged in discussions about redeveloping or replacing the facility as part of a province-wide Long-Term Care Infrastructure Plan investment in improving long-term care facilities and adding 230 long-term care beds across the province. 

By Richard Bell 

 “It was the same thing with Sobeys. Only a few idiots caused them to back out of Musquodoboit Harbour.” 

By Richard Bell

Opponents of an American billionaire’s proposed enclave of luxury housing and two or more golf courses on top of Owls Head Provincial Park got their day in court on April 1, 2021. At issue was a fundamental question about whether there should be any restraint on the decisions of the government in selling off parks and other protected lands.

By Richard Bell

The Facebook comments on the mystery map story (“The Mystery Map: What Did They Know and When Did They Know It?”) show that I did not explain clearly enough why the existence of the mystery maps raised serious questions about whether Liberal politicians and department bureaucrats had conducted a legally unbiased site selection process.

By Richard Bell

The Cooperator has uncovered new evidence suggesting that the Liberal government was planning to locate the new high school in the Eastern Shore Industrial Park in East Chezzetcook at least as far back as the fall of 2015.

By Richard Bell

Three residents of Musquodoboit Harbour have joined together to file a Notice for Judicial Review with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia challenging the decision by the Nova Scotia Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Nova Scotia Minister of Transportation to locate the proposed school combining Eastern Shore District High and Gaetz Brook Junior High in the East Chezzetcook Industrial Park.

By Pearl Akers

I think this has been the most successful of the 14 years of Children’s Christmas Wishes. I was concerned with all the restrictions, limitations, closures and stress we’ve all had to endure this past year, that the Wishes project might be in trouble.

Gravesites in B0J 2L0’s Cemeteries are settling considerably after the Feb 2nd announcement of the Eastern Shore Consolidated new school being relocated to an Industrial Park location in Chezzetcook.  I'm not an expert on this strange phenomenon, but most likely it's those dear souls who built up this community spinning in their graves after having heard this unbelievable, non-democratic decision. 

Dear Eastern Shore Cooperator,

No one on the Eastern Shore would disagree that a replacement school for ESDH and GBJH is long overdue. Our students, faculty and staff—who have been forgotten budget after budget—deserve a new, safe and modern building. I’m thrilled for those who will get to proudly walk through the doors.  

By Richard Bell

The FOIPOP Act was passed in 1993, and there have been calls ever since for strengthening it. The Act’s fundamental weakness if that the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) for Nova Scotia cannot order the government to do anything if the Commissioner (or Review Officer) finds that the government is violating the Act. Suppose you file a FOIPOP, and the government denies your request. You have the right to appeal to the Commissioner. But if the Commissioner finds in your favour, the government can simply ignore the Commissioner’s finding.  

By Richard Bell 

When you’re dealing with a government that likes to operate in secrecy as much as the Liberals have since they took power back in 2013, it can be difficult to understand just how much contempt our elected officials actually have for the people of Nova Scotia