Daily News Archives » Page 7 of 231 » CHMA, Voice of the Marshes

‘Climate Imagination’ sessions ask residents to ‘think big’ and create a vision for Tantramar

On today’s show, we talk with Sackville’s Quinn MacAskill, who is tackling climate anxiety by inviting residents to imagine their vision for a sustainable Tantramar. MacAskill is hosting two Climate Imagination Sessions this summer, asking community members to get together and think big in terms of the future of the region in a changing climate.

“We’ve been doing some good things in this community in terms of climate action,” says MacAskill, “but I thought that it could be really beneficial to have a community vision for the future of this town.”

Plus in briefs, more senior staff changes in Student Affairs at Mount Allison, and two artists-in-residence start work in the Sackville Waterfowl Park. … Continue

Political leaders gather to call for urgency on Isthmus fix, and build awareness for bill S-273

Senator Jim Quinn sponsored Bill S-273 in the Senate and is working to build support among MPs as it heads to the House of Commons. Photo: Erica Butler

Two mayors, two MLAs, and representatives from Acadian and Mi’kmaq groups gathered in person and virtually in Amherst on Tuesday afternoon to get an update from Canadian senator Jim Quinn about the future of Bill S-273, “An Act to declare the Chignecto Isthmus Dykeland System and related works to be for the general advantage of Canada.”

Quinn sponsored the bill, which would claim the Isthmus dykeland system under federal jurisdiction, but not commit specific funding to the project. It passed the Canadian senate in June and is expected to make it to the floor of the House of Commons this fall, with Conservative MP Stephen Ellis from Cumberland-Colchester as a sponsor.

Quinn says he believes S-273 has a shot to make it through the House of Commons if enough MPs are aware of it. He’s hoping the bill will at least make it past first and second reading and into committee, where witnesses can be called to talk about the risks.

“Now’s the time to start educating,” says Quinn, “because that’s what it was like in the Senate process. [It] was educating my colleagues on this area. We’re often forgotten, and a lot of people don’t know where the Chignecto Isthmus is.”

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black says he’s willing to work to help make MPs aware of the situtation on the Chignecto Isthmus.

… Continue

Indefinite closure of Wheaton Covered Bridge brings up fond memories and current concerns

A barricaded Wheaton Covered Bridge on the High Marsh Road in Tantramar, NB. Photo: Percy Best

Hear this story on Tantramar Report:

Phyllis Wheaton can remember driving through the Wheaton Covered Bridge with her parents, always honking the horn. It’s a longstanding tradition in New Brunswick’s covered bridges. “Everybody honks the horn going through the bridge, because you can’t see if there’s somebody on the other side,” says Wheaton.

The Wheaton Covered Bridge on High Marsh Road is one of about 56 historic covered bridges left in the province. According to the Tantramar Heritage Trust, the current bridge was built more than a hundred years ago, around 1916. But now its future is in question.

On July 11, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) closed the Wheaton bridge to all traffic, citing public safety concerns. The department says that during a recent annual inspection, DTI workers discovered “significant structural issues” in the bridge, which caused the immediate closure. DTI says that its bridge staff are still conducting further evaluation of the bridge and there is currently no timeline for its reopening.

Phyllis Wheaton and her family have fond memories of the Wheaton Covered Bridge, and still rely on it as small farmers. Photo: Erica Butler

Phyllis Wheaton and her sister Mary Fawcett not only have nostalgia for the bridge, but they rely on it. Wheaton is one of many farmers who uses the bridge to bring cattle to and from the Tantramar Community Pasture, and Fawcett cuts hay every year on her plot of marsh near the bridge.… Continue

Political leaders gather to help build awareness of Isthmus bill

On today’s show, we talk with political leaders who met in Amherst Tuesday, where they discussed the future of the Chignecto Isthmus. Senator Jim Quinn called the meeting with Mayors Andrew Black and David Kogon, MLAs Megan Mitton and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, as well Acadian and Mi’kmaq representatives. Quinn asked leaders to help raise support for his bill S-273, which would see the federal government take jurisdiction over the Isthmus dyke system, which is under threat due to sea level rise and extreme weather.

Plus in briefs, Amlamgog First Nation’s conservation team will be in Dorchester tonight to talk about their work, and Strait Shores has been recognized as one of New Brunswick’s age-friendly communities.… Continue

Youth pitch possibilities for a new Sackville Farmers Market

On today’s show, we take a look at some of the pitches for permanent locations for the Sackville Farmers Market, thought up by teams of high school students who are at Mount Allison this month for the SHAD program, an enrichment and entrepreneurship program for youth. Six teams proposed a variety of locations for a new market and multipurpose building, including the former foundry site at the end of Lorne Street, the Lansdowne Field, the empty lot at 3-5 Bridge Street, a second floor addition to the Sackville Library, and the former Irving gas station on Main Street, across from the library.

Plus in news briefs, a meeting of politicians today in Amherst aims to draw attention to the need for fortification of the Chignecto Isthmus, and three men accused of arson in a Petit Cap smokehouse fire will be back in court throughout the summer and fall. … Continue

Sackville hospital clinic offers some primary care services to help fill the gap

Nurse practitioner Darla MacPherson and Sackville Memorial Hospital facility manager Sarah Brown, in one of the exam rooms at the hospital’s ambulatory care clinic. Photo: Erica Butler

A new nurse practitioner clinic is offering services out of the Sackville Memorial Hospital’s ambulatory care clinic to those without a family doctor or NP.

What started out as a series of PAP test clinics has morphed into something with a wider range of services, including drivers medicals, handicap parking forms, medication refills (other than narcotics), blood pressure checks, and routine lab testing with follow up. Nurse Practitioner Darla MacPherson says that while she was working in the hospital’s emergency department, she coulld see the need for an “orphan clinic.”

“I could see people, women in particular, coming in who had not had their physicals done for a long time,” says MacPherson, “some who had abnormal PAP smears. And I was like, oh, something has to be done about that. This can’t go on.”

So MacPherson got permission to run a temporary PAP clinic out of the hospital’s ambulatory care section. But it didn’t stop there.

“That very day of starting the PAP clinic, I said to Sarah [Brown, the Sackville Memorial Hospital business manager], in the parking lot, there are people coming to my door all the time looking for med refills, because I’m a Sackville girl, and everybody who knows me knows I’m a nurse practitioner.”

She told Brown, “the need is there.… Continue

How Sussex got $3.2 million in federal funding to support housing growth

Some community leaders are calling on Tantramar council to take steps to access federal and provincial funding that could help build infrastructure needed for new housing growth in the region.

“New housing requires adequate infrastructure,” resident Natalie Donagher told Tantramar council at their July 9 meeting. “However, we understand that infrastructure funding dedicated specifically toward affordable housing, is not being accessed by Tantramar.”

Donagher was reading from a letter signed by Pat Estabrooks and Margaret Tusz-King, the co-chairs of the Tantramar-Strait Shores Community Task Force. The letter refers to provincial funding available through the Regional Development Corporation, and also the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.

“Only the municipality can apply for [this funding],” said Donagher. “If this funding is not applied for by the municipality, the added costs for new infrastructure will have to be paid for by current taxpayers through property taxes and municipal borrowing. Or, the new affordable housing might not happen at all.”

HAF now closed to new applications

Unfortunately, one of the main programs that Donagher referred to is closed to new applications, at least for the time being.

The federal government announced their Housing Accelerator Fund in March 2023, a $4 billion dollar fund to help “build the housing we need, faster” according to the program’s tag line.

Dozens of projects across the country have been approved under the program, including 16 in New Brunswick.… Continue

Fond memories of and current concerns over the Wheaton Covered Bridge

On today’s show, the Wheaton Covered Bridge on High Marsh Road is one of about 59 covered bridges left in the province. In addition to being a picturesque spot on the marsh landscape, the bridge connects an important transportation route for the region’s farmers. We speak with some of those farmers, as well as MLA Megan Mitton, to learn more about the closure of the bridge and its impact.

Plus in briefs, upwards of 20 visual artists will populate the Sackville Waterfowl Park on Saturday for Art in the Park, and a major donation from Atlantic Industries Limited has helped the Sackville Memorial Hospital Foundation meet its 2024 fundraising goal. … Continue

Sackville hospital clinic offers some primary care services to help fill the gap

On today’s show, we visit the Sackville Memorial Hospital ambulatory care clinic to hear about a new, add-on nurse practitioner clinic now offering expanded services to help fill the primary care gap in the region. Nurse practitioner Darla MacPherson and hospital manager Sarah Brown walk us through how and why primary care has found a temporary home at the hospital.

Plus in briefs, Amherst town hall is hosting Parks Canada’s Revealing Chignecto exhibit this summer, and a federation representing Francophone education councils is concerned about the province’s court action to dissolve the Anglophone East District Education Council, and recent changes to how DECs can access funding for legal issues. … Continue

How Sussex got $3.2 million in federal funding to support housing growth

On today’s show, we talk with Sussex CAO Scott Hatcher about how the newly amalgamated municipality jumped on the chance for federal dollars from the Housing Accelerator Fund. Sussex has received $3.2 million dollars in funding through the fund, while local groups in Tantramar continue to ask municipal council to actively seek provincial and federal funding to support housing growth.

Plus in briefs, the closure of the Wheaton Covered Bridge is indefinite and due to “significant structural issues”, York Street in downtown Sackville will be closed for water work on Wednesday, and the province’s case to dissolve the Anglophone East district council will be heard on November 14. … Continue

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HAF now closed to new applications