(A Poem)

As we inch closer to Spring, visions of spending more time outdoors, and working on, and with the land come into focus. In an ever more digitized world, hands-on skills people once used on a day-to-day basis are slipping away.

By Richard Bell 

Renée Lavigueur (left, above) and Ola Jackson  (right, above)  announced on February 13 that they will be opening Martinique Desserterie in Musquodoboit Harbour in the space formerly occupied by Dobbit Bakehouse. Paul Nicholl (center) the owner of Dobbit Bakehouse, will be consulting with them on getting their new shop opened as quickly as possible. 

By Richard Bell 

Robin Clayton, with all kinds of community support from letters, email, and impassioned speakers, has won his long fight for the zoning variances he needed to continue keeping his horse Angel on his property on East Petpeswick Road in Musquodoboit Harbour. 

By Richard Bell

More than 80 people showed up at the Old School Gathering Place on January 18 for a meeting to bring the community together to launch community-based planning for the future of the Eastern Shore District High School building and to learn about all the exciting projects already in the works. Central Nova MP and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, MLA Kent Smith, and HRM Councillor David Hendsbee were all in attendance to listen and learn from the group.

(Above, the February 20, 2014 WSP "Health and Welness Campus Concept Plan")

Introduction

 The recent FOIPOP-ordered release of a long-supressed document filled in one of the many missing gaps in the history of the decision to replace Eastern Shore District High and Gaetz Brook Junior High with a consolidated school in the Eastern Shore Industrial Park in East Chezzetcook. Both the McNeil Liberals and then Houston’s PC fought hard against FOIPOPs requesting some of the material discussed below.

Did you know?  

Nova Scotia Health is committed to the inclusion of patient and family voices in our setting priorities and making important decisions that impact their lives, our community, and the whole health care system.

By Richard Bell 

On a recent stop for an event at Carroll’s Corner, Central Nova MP and Immigration Minister Sea Fraser told the Cooperator that after a six-year struggle, doctors and nurses practicing at the Eastern Shore’s three hospitals would finally become eligible for the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness for Family Doctors and Nurses. 

It has been one of my traditions to herald the New Year by going outside at midnight to hear the guns going off along the Shore.

Dobbit Bakehouse closed its doors with a great farewell party on New Year’s Eve. The shop supplied the community for 15 years with wonderful breads, scones, pizza dough, cookies, treats, and coffee.

The Deanery is gearing up for an exciting winter of activity indoors and out. Not everyone realizes we are open year round–If you have ideas for creative ways to connect with nature, and each other, please be in touch! The trails are open and the kettle is on.  

By Pearl Akers 

There was a bumper crop of wishes for the CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS WISHES TREE this past fall. Gifts for 63 children from 30 families totaling $4500 were donated by more than 42 people in the community. Gifts ranged from gift cards for the teens to clothing, bedding, and every toy imaginable, from the traditional Barbies to the newest attraction unfamiliar to some of us old-timers.   

Central Nova MP Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship was at the Carroll’s Corner Community Centre today to announce 5 grants totaling $322,727 for four projects across the Eastern Shore.

By Richard Bell 

The fate of the management of the Shearwater Flyer trail is sitting in the hands of Minister of Lands and Forests Tony Rushton. 

By Kelly Corkery  

What should seniors be considering when they think about selling the family home? 

By Mary Elizabeth O’Toole 

If your sewing machine is on the fritz, you need to call Rick Pehrsson in Lawrencetown. After retiring from a career spent fixing things, he discovered a passion for fixing sewing machines and learning each machine’s history.  

By John English

Imagination is a quality generally associated with children, and with creative people like musicians or artists or writers.  I think I can safely say that all the great works of art I can think of began as thoughts or concepts in someone’s head – Michelangelo’s David, Beethoven’s 9th symphony, Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. 

By Richard Bell 

Jake Reeves, Cadet Chief Warrant Officer of the 2741 Eastern Shore Army Cadet Corps in Gaetz Brook, has been awarded the most prestigious award for an army cadet across Canada. He was named Canada's Most Outstanding Army Cadet for 2022-2023 and will be the National Army Cadet Representee for the year 2022-2023. 

By Savayda Jarone - herbalist 

Spices take the chill out of winter. Added to food, teas, and other home remedies, they promote circulation and the sensation of warmth. 

17-year-old Isaac VanWychen received the 2022 Male Youth Performance Player of the Year award at the Soccer NS Night of Excellence. VanWychen, who lives in Middle Musquodoboit, will be playing soccer this fall on a soccer scholarship at St. Francis Xavier University. He was a member of the NS Canada Games Soccer team that represented Nova Scotia at the Summer Canada Games in Niagara in August of last year. Van Wychen also plays table tennis and will be representing Nova Scotia at the Canada Winter Games in February 2023 as a Table Tennis athlete.