By David Shuman

As fires burned and smoke billowed across the province, the tragedy that took Clive and Kim Jones’ home in 2008 came rushing back to them.

Fifteen years after the Porters Lake/Mineville fire, Clive and his wife Kim are offering their support to victims of the wildfires. He says they are now linked by something few can wish to imagine.

By Kelly Corkery

Q: What is Natural Organic Reduction? --Puzzled in Port Dufferin

A: Understandable, Puzzled! Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) is a method of body disposal in which un-embalmed remains undergo a natural decomposition process and are turned into soil. This process is also known as terramation, recomposition, or human composting. I will use these interchangeably in my explanation.

Protecting Our Health Care Workers 

Our health system is under considerable pressure and accessing care can be stressful. Long waits at emergency departments or primary care clinics often result in frustration and unfortunately, some patients become irritable, confrontational and in some cases abusive. Now more than ever, health care workers face difficult working conditions, including violence and threats of violence in the workplace. 

By Thomas Scott

Former Eastern Shore District High (ESDH) student Curtis Pettipas won a silver medal for his skills in electrical installations at the 2022 Skills Canada National Competition in Vancouver at the end of May.

By David Shuman

The East Preston Day Care Centre will add eight new infant spaces at its existing site and 60 new infant and toddler spaces at its new location at the Akoma Family Centre in Dartmouth.

By Denise Van Wychen

The Eastern Shore Musquodoboit Community Health Board (ESMCHB) is a volunteer board of community members working to improve the health of the community in a variety of ways. We have been working on several mental health and wellness initiatives in the past number of years. We have created brochures and helping trees, supported projects to pilot service programs, hosted events, built partnerships, advocated for services and much more. In the fall of 2021, the Community Health Board began looking for a project that could be implemented during COVID restrictions and would impact several of our priorities including; social isolation, mental wellness, awareness of resources and access to food. The essence of the project was to build a community of people who are supporting other people. We developed the idea and implemented the Giving Soup for the Soul project from December 2021 to June 2022 with the hope that this project would spur a movement of passing on food, awareness of local resources, checking on neighbors, and visiting with people.

By Karen Bradley

The Old School Community Gathering Place has been a gathering place for workshops, concerts, coffee houses, festivals, an art gallery, and meeting space. But thanks to the work of a dedicated staff and many volunteers, the Old School has become home for a surprisingly rich array of programs that address some of our community’s most serious problems. 

By David Shuman

A group of Ecum Secum moms are one step closer to building a new playground with their latest grant.

The not-for-profit Nature Conservancy has purchased 126 acres (51 hectares) of intact forest, freshwater wetlands, lakes and a one-kilometre section of river frontage along the Musquodoboit River. Jane, Ed, and Matthew of the Webber family previously owned part of the land and donated $16,700 for the purchase.

The Sheet Harbour Sexual Health Centre promotes healthy sexuality across the lifespan for all ages and identities. This July, we are collaborating with Eastern Shore Pride and organizing Sheet Harbour’s first Annual Pride Weekend, July 30 & 31st.

By Jennifer Deacon

Christopher Mathers was an avid kite surfer when he moved from Toronto to Halifax fourteen years ago to attend Dalhousie University. He discovered the surfing world in Lawrencetown, and it changed his life. "I was on track to engage in the architecture program,” Mathers said in a recent interview. “I decided that's not for me. I just took my creativity and applied it to my new-found love of surfing."

By David Shuman

Preston MLA Angela Simmonds is in the home stretch of her bid for provincial Liberal Leadership.

By Savayda Jarone, Herbalist

On a walk through any given yard, county, or city, I will find a dozen or more medicinal weeds growing on the lawn or in and around the garden. Many are also wild edibles, offering a boost of variety and nutrition to the diet. Having an awareness of the many uses for these “weeds” is transformative – you can appreciate your yard in a whole new way. The following are some of the most common:

By Richard Bell

Henry and Marie Loo, the new owners of the Jeddore Lodge, have come a very long way to Head of Jeddore, more than 14,000 kilometers from where they were born and grew up, the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. In a recent interview, they talked with the Cooperator about the island’s intensely multi-cultural cooking, and how they wended their way to the Eastern Shore.

Does your vote matter? Turnout in the 2017 election was at an all-time low, 53.4%. Barely half the eligible voters participated in the election. But 5 of the races in the 2017 election were decided by less than 100 votes! In Cape Breton/Richmond, PC Alana Paon beat the incumbent Liberal Michel Samson by 20 votes. Liberal Lloyd Hines won by only 71 votes in Guysborough-Eastern Shore-Tracadie. In the end, a few hundred votes across the province kept the Liberals in the majority.

By Richard Bell

Lots of politicians will tell you that they’re “fighters,” but Janet Moulton isn’t kidding. She really was a fighter back in the 1970s, when she studied judo for 8 years and traveled to bouts around the country.

By Richard Bell

Rhonda MacLellan was born in Chilliwack, BC and spent most of her life in British Columbia, but she always loved Nova Scotia, and finally moved here for good in 2017. “Nova Scotia’s just in my DNA,” MacLellan said in an interview. “My Dad was born in Deepdale, Cape Breton; his first language was Gaelic. He worked in the coal mines, fought in World War II, and moved to BC. I came to visit with his relatives many times—I’ve got 31 first cousins, most of whom live in Nova Scotia. Moving to Nova Scotia was something I always wanted to do, once my children were grown and settled. And after watching how the province handled the pandemic, it looked even more like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

By Richard Bell

For 33 years, Larry Harrison was pastor at two churches, preaching two sermons every Sunday, one at 9:30 at one church, and another sermon at 11 at the other church.

By David Shuman

Kent Smith has been practicing politics from the outside for years. A native of Sheet Harbour, he settled in Musquodoboit Harbour, where he became the first president of the Musquodoboit Harbour and Area Chamber of Commerce and Civic Affairs.

By David Shuman

Dee Dwyer comes from a family tradition of community service and engagement with the environment. She was born in Liverpool, but grew up on West Petpeswick Road in Musquodoboit Harbour and graduated from Eastern Shore District High.