Listen in: ‘Telling it slant’: Robert Lapp delivers Mount A’s (and his) Last Lecture
Every year, members of the graduating class at Mount Allison University choose a professor they would like to hear from one last time. It’s called “The Last Lecture” and this year, that last lecture was delivered on April 4 by Robert Lapp, head of the Mount Allison English Department.
Lapp began by noting that this literally will be his last lecture since he’s retiring this spring after 25 years of teaching at the university.
In this radio piece produced by local journalist Bruce Wark, we hear excerpts from Robert Lapp’s last lecture called “Telling it slant, How to tell the truth.” We’ll also hear his thoughts on retirement, how poetry helps us to see the truth and, also, how eco-poetry helps us to cope with the often unpleasant and paradoxical truths of climate change.
Robert Lapp was introduced by Mount Allison graduating student Erin Dumville:
Councillors discuss whether or not they intended to suspend Phinney’s health benefits
There was some disagreement at Sackville Town Council on Monday as to whether the suspension of the health benefits of a councillor who was found to be in violation of town council’s code of conduct was properly approved.
Local journalist Bruce Wark reported last week on Councillor Bruce Phinney’s surprise at discovering the suspension of his health plan while visiting a pharmacy to fill some prescriptions.
During question period on Monday, Wark asked council about the specifics of the motion to suspend Phinney’s pay, and why the motion read aloud on July 12 differed from the motion as printed in the approved minutes from the same meeting.
CAO Jamie Burke told Wark that the suspension of Phinney’s benefits, though not specifically mentioned, was implied in the phrasing of the motion that was read.
“The commonly understood legal definition of remuneration income moods includes benefits,” said Burke. “So what’s happened, I guess, is that we’ve got a little error in the minutes that were approved, although the meaning of the motion doesn’t change.”
Councillor Michael Tower read Phinney’s suspension motion on July 12, and on Monday said he would not have done so had he known that the councillor’s health benefits were included.
“The benefits were mentioned during our discussion, and I didn’t agree with that part of it,” said Tower.… Continue
Access denied: NB’s Ombud says a report on Sackville’s fire department—and the recommendations stemming from it—should remain secret
It’s been just over a year since veteran journalist Bruce Wark published the first in a series of articles looking at allegations of harassment and bullying in the Sackville Fire Department.
Wark spoke with a number of current and former firefighters, who told him that although they had brought their concerns to the town’s senior management, they went nowhere and no actions were taken to address them.
Since then, the town of Sackville has taken some actions. At the end of April 2021, the town announced it was hiring Montana Consulting to do “a comprehensive workplace assessment of the Sackville Fire Department and its operations.” At the same time it noted that changes would be coming to the bylaw governing the fire department.
In September 2021, Montana handed over their report—containing 20 recommended actions—to town of Sackville CAO Jamie Burke. Montana also presented on their findings and recommendations to Sackville council and firefighters, and town staff say that work on implementing the recommendations is ongoing.
What are those 20 recommendations, and what’s inside the report and presentations discussing them? All of that remains confidential.
That bothers Bruce Wark, a longtime journalist (and occasional contributor to CHMA’s Tantramar Report), former journalism professor, and Sackville resident. Shortly after the town announced the Montana report was complete, Wark sent a request under the New Brunswick Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA) to the town’s clerk, Donna Beal, asking for access to the report.… Continue
Monday on Tantramar Report: Voices from Sackville’s CUPE rally; health care and local government plans due this week
Listen to Tantramar Report for the following stories:
Sackville rallies behind CUPE and a tentative deal ends strike
Hundreds of Sackville kids will be heading to school today instead of firing up devices at home, thanks to a tentative agreement reached by CUPE and the province on the weekend.
The deal announced late Saturday evening ended a 2 week long strike by 7 CUPE locals, and a lockout by the provincial department of education.
Although CUPE and the government had been close on wages for most of the strike, the point of contention in the negotiations appeared to be pensions. The government had been asking that two CUPE locals agree to change their pension plans to shift risk from the government to the plan members, and CUPE refused. In the end, the two parties agreed to a review of the pension plans, without committing to the ‘shared risk’ style preferred by Premier Blaine Higgs.
While negotiations were underway on Friday, a number of Sackvillians gathered at York and Main to show their support for CUPE members on strike. Bruce Wark was there to document the action, and brings us voices and perspectives from the rally on Tantramar Report.
COVID update: Zone 1 still seeing cases of unknown origin
There were 65 new cases of COVID-19 announced in New Brunswick on Sunday. More recoveries means the active case total dropped slightly to 534.… Continue
Tantramar Report: Cumberland NDP candidate Lauren Skabar, council agenda preview
Monday on Tantramar Report:
Bruce Wark continues his coverage of the candidates vying for the seat representing Cumberland North in the Nova Scotia legislature. Today, Wark talks with one of the youngest candidates in the election, NDP candidate Lauren Skabar.
A Sackville man charged with multiple assaults was back in a Moncton courtroom by video link on Thursday. Colt LeBlanc was scheduled to plea on charges of assaulting a police officer, but his lawyer, Michel Des Neiges told the court that full disclosure had not been received from the crown on the case. LeBlanc will be back to enter a plea on September 9.
Sackville town council meets tonight for their regular monthly council meeting. Council will start off in camera at 6:15 to discuss a human resources item, and then at 7pm, the public meeting is scheduled to begin. A number of motions will be up for consideration, including a possibly contentious first reading of amendments to the town’s Street Traffic By-law that would permit skateboards on public streets.
The town’s public works department is warning of vehicle traffic delays along Main Street by the Booster Pump beginning today and extending all week to Friday. The town says they are “performing much needed repair to a culvert in and around 197 Main Street.” The area will be open to through traffic, but there could be delays.
The Moncton region now has 56 active cases of COVID-19, though still no hospitalizations. … Continue
Tantramar Report: Bill Casey makes his case for Cumberland North, town council to discuss skateboards and rink subsidies tonight
On Tuesday’s Tantramar Report:
Journalist Bruce Wark brings us another instalment of his coverage of the Nova Scotia election as seen from Cumberland county. This time Wark speaks with former MP and Liberal candidate Bill Casey.
The town of Sackville meets tonight for a discussion meeting covering a number of topics first brought up before the last election. Skateboards on town streets and rink subsidies for the Civic Centre are both on the agenda. Up to 20 members of the public are invited to join the meeting in person and people can also participate online.
New Brunswick has 37 active cases of COVID-19, with 24 of those in Zone 1. Those numbers are as of Sunday, when the province announced 18 new cases, all but one of which was in Zone 1. When asked about the spike in cases as the provincial public health order ends, Premier Blaine Higgs said he felt the rewards outweighed the risks.
The Sackville Food Bank is looking for help packing lunches for a Tantramar High School transition camp, a special week of activities for at-risk students making the move from middle school to high school this September.
The Joggins Fossil Institute is looking for visual and performing artists who want to “explore the myriad relationships between the human experience and the natural world,” as part of their 2022 Artscape Artist-in-Residence program. … Continue