Opinion

Hungry For Life

By Jude Major I am hungry for life. Just because I am a “senior” does not mean that I am done. Just because I am a survivor of trauma does not mean that I am incapable. It is time to own some hard truths. It is a great relief to see that we have become so much more open and accepting, as a culture and as a society, to hurt people. It is, however, still painfully hard to own mental/emotional illness or injury, so I will put that out in plain view. What do I have to lose? I will lose secrecy, I will lose isolation, I will lose fear—especially fear of rejection, fear of myself, fear of falling. It is harder to fear falling into the black hole of anguish if we all speak freely about it.

November 29, 2017

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Province Should Fight Litter

LETTER TO THE EDITOR--DECEMBER 2017 The province needs to do a better job combatting the persistent and growing problem of litter on our roadsides. I’m concerned about the negative impression all this litter gives visitors to our province, It may also have a negative impact on prospective property owners thinking about moving to our communities.

November 29, 2017

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Anti-Dump Coalition Seeks Your Input on Next Steps

Editor’s Note: The Coalition for Safe and Healthy Communities for East Preston, Mineville, Lake Echo and Porters Lake led a (thus-far) successful fight to prevent the location of a hazardous waste transfer station on Highway 7 near the Porters Lake-Lake Echo border. They are now asking people for input and direction, starting with the simple question that too few organizations ever ask, whether people support the continuation of the organization at all. We were impressed by the effectiveness of this group’s steering committee in navigating the complexities they faced at the outset, and in coming up with a winning strategy. We urge readers of the Cooperator to support the continuation of the Coalition.

September 28, 2017

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CCVA Asks Provincial Officials for New School

Editor’s note: The Community Campus Vision Association has been lobbying for the province to replace the aging buildings of Eastern Shore District High and Gaetz Brook Junior High with a new school consolidating the two schools. The following letter from CCVA Chair Jean McKenna describes CCVA’s September meeting with provincial officials to share CCVA’s investigations of the conditions of the two schools, and to push for a replacement as soon as possible.

September 28, 2017

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Grieving a Clearcut

To the Editor, Eastern Shore Co-operator: Behind the trees that line my road, there's a large fifteen-year-old clearcut. On the map, it just shows as a small coloured circle, a spot that is now designated “cut”. But the reality is far different.

August 02, 2017

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Speed on Highway

By Gina Dunn People are always complaining about drivers going too slow on Highway 107. Did you know that from where Highway 107 starts in Musquodoboit Harbour to the East Preston turnoff it is approximately 24.7kms? Many people complain that some drivers are driving too slow on the highway at only 90km/hour or even say 80km/hr. What if you drive 110km/hr or 120km/hr? How much time will you actually save driving from Musquodoboit Harbour to the East Preston turnoff?

June 15, 2017

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Clean Up HRM Elections With Public Funding

By Wyn Jones A local interest group has once again raised the subject of political donations at a recent HRM Council meeting. The group rightly questioned whether HRM Councillors should be accepting donations from local developers.

April 06, 2017

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Asbestos Concerns at Eastern Shore District High

To the Editors:In advocating for a new school to replace Gaetz Brook and Eastern Shore District High, the Community Campus Vision Association has recently obtained a coy of a hazardous materials assessment done on the former Gordon Bell High School in Cole Harbour, in 2010 – 2011.

January 22, 2017

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Let’s Replace ESDH Now

By Jean McKenna [Editor’s note: The following article is a shortened version of a longer report that the Community Campus Vision Association has put together. Jean McKenna is one of the founders of CCVA. The complete report is on the Cooperator’s website at CCVA Report December 2016. ] The Community Campus Vision Association has been advocating for a new school that would combine and replace Eastern Shore District High and Gaetz Brook Junior High. Our advocacy had included the concept of a shared facility concept, a “community campus,” to include a recreation complex and a senior's residential care structure. However, it has become increasingly clear that it is futile to “fight on three hills,” and it has also become clear that these two schools desperately need replacement. Our current focus is therefore entirely on school replacement.

November 29, 2016

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On Martinique Beach

By Wyn Jones On any given day in the year, Martinique Beach is magical. The combination of salted air and a foam-laden scent makes it a very special place. I happened to be walking along the strand one afternoon late last August, my dog Amber pounding in and out of the shallows as a warm and glowing sun set the ripples in the receding tide to a diamond sparkle. As it was mid week, we had the whole length of the beach to ourselves, or so I thought. But there suddenly just ahead of us, wading slowly, the water lapping around his knees, was a small rotund figure.

November 29, 2016

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