On today’s news:
- Nova Scotia responds to non-isolating traveler;
- Sappyfest has plans for Sackville’s giant white cube;
- Levee on the Lake gets council support;
- Mount Allison gets rid of fall Reading Week;
- No dog park for Sackville;
- And the COVID numbers update.
COVID numbers
The province reported no new cases of COVID-19 again yesterday.
There is just 1 remaining active case in New Brunswick.
Testing in the province continues to slow down. Just over 1600 tests were completed in the past 7 days.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell has recommended a minimum of 2300 tests per week in the province.
Nova Scotia responds to new case from traveller who did not isolate
Nova Scotia has reported one more case of COVID-19, and it is a travel-related case thought to be connected to the current cluster in PEI.
The man flew into Toronto from the US, and was then cleared to fly on to Halifax by Canada Border Services.
He was on his way to PEI, but got turned away at the Confederation Bridge because he did not have pre-screening approval.
Another man from PEI who had gone to Nova Scotia to pick him up, carried the virus back to the Island, apparently infecting three other people, one of whom works in a long term care home.
Both the man who travelled from the US and the PEI man who returned from Nova Scotia were required to self-isolate for 14 days.
PEI Medical Officer of Health Heather Morrison said the man from PEI did make an effort to self-isolate, but indicated that some living situations make it difficult to do so successfully.
The man who crossed the US-Canadian border is governed by the federal Quarantine Act, which technically carries fines as high as $750,000, though in practice fines have been much lower.
Recently two Americans were fined $1000 each for not isolating after entering Ontario from Minnesota.
On Monday, Premier Stephen McNeil said that Nova Scotia would start requiring a form from anyone coming into the province from outside the Atlantic bubble.
New Brunswick has been requiring a contact form from anyone crossing the provincial border, though the practice has been suspended at times to prevent further traffic delays at border crossings.
Sappyfest thinks on-side the box
Sappyfest treasurer Jeff McKinnon presented the festival’s COVID-friendly plan for 2020 to Sackville town council on Monday night, and it includes special plans for the giant white Terra Beata freezer in the Sackville Industrial Park.
Sappyfest, along with partners at Struts Gallery and Owens Gallery, are planning to use the 14-storey cranberry freezer as a giant screen to host projections of art and musical performances this summer.
Unlike that past 14 Sappyfests, McKinnon says the organization is not aiming to draw a huge crowd, due to dangers of spreading coronavirus. Instead, they want to provide a venue for artists already announced for the 2020 festival, and to be able to document the performances.
But there will be space for viewing.
McKinnon is proposing taking over the parking lot at the Public Works building and closing Crescent Street to traffic, so that a large area can marked off in a 4 metre grid to help viewers remain socially distanced.
The festival plans to use the East side of the building to project onto.
The screen would be more than three times the size of the largest drive-in screen in North America, says McKinnon.
When the festival approached Terra Beata about projecting onto their building, the company told them that others had already asked for similar permission.
So McKinnon is hoping that the Sappyfest event will serve as a blueprint for future, similar projects.
He hinted that if all goes well, the giant white cube may even become a regular Sappy venue in future years.
McKinnon asked the town for the Crescent street closure, an exemption to the noise by-law, use of the public works lot, and access to a power source.
Councillors reacted positively to the idea, and it’s expected they will formally approve the Sappyfest requests at next Monday’s meeting.
Supporting a Levee on the Lake
Sackville town councillors appear to be in agreement, at least in principle, on supporting Levee on the Lake, a new COVID-friendly live music event happening this summer on Silver Lake.
Producers Shelley Chase and Stacey Read presented their plan to councillors on Monday and asked for financial support to the tune of $12,000 for all three concerts the duo has planned.
The first Levee on the Lake concert is scheduled for June 18th, featuring five different bands from noon to 5pm, all playing on a stage on the shores of Silver Lake.
The event is free, but to watch, audience members need to be on the lake, in the watercraft of their choice.
The June 18th concert features Cap Pele’s Colleen Duguay & Sharp Tone, Sackville’s Ray Legere & Acoustic Horizon, and from Moncton, The Lumber Jills, The Melanie Morgan Band, and The Divorcees.
Chase says the Levee on the Lake will fill a void in cultural programming left by the COVID shutdown, which saw all festivals and concerts cancelled this year.
She says the pandemic has been catastrophic for the live music industry.
Click to listen:
Shelley Chase: “We were canceled on March 15. Everything, everything that we’d worked for. Over 48 hours, all cultural workers in the live music sector watched all their festivals, events, touring, planning, record releases everything you could think of… 18 to 24 months of work… cancel worldwide. It was like a house of cards and it was devastating.“
Though town councillors were supportive of the idea, some were concerned about the propriety of giving public funding to a private business.
Similar concerns were raised weeks ago, when councillors gathered to discuss a COVID 19 Recovery Fund for local businesses.
Even though the town has two organizations that regularly support private businesses, Main Street Sackville and Renaissance Sackville, there was no clear support for the idea, so CAO Jamie Burke dropped it.
This time around, the enthusiasm seems to have trumped the concerns.
Councillor Shawn Mesheau summed up comments echoed by a few town councillors:
Click to listen:
Councillor Shawn Mesheau: “I think this is something important for our community. I think it’s something that our downtown or business community can tap into regards to maybe helping them bridge some of the… what they’ve been dealing with the pandemic that’s going on. You know, is there any avenue that we can provide sponsorship? There’s other organizations that we provide taxpayer money to actually grant money to for-profit businesses, such as Renaissance. So I’m just wondering if there’s an avenue that we could make this work. And let’s make it happen. You guys have a deadline. We are eager to find a way to help. I agree with Councillor Tower and the fact of, you know, you’re a business that has stepped up and said, this is where you can help. That was one of the questions, you know what our businesses are looking for? You presented, so let’s make this happen.“
Chase says that Sackville can support the Levee on the Lake by reallocating funds for services like entertainment and cultural events that are not being supplied this year due to COVID.
Click to listen:
Shelley Chase: “We are able to fill the substantial void in the marketplace, in the cultural space, and provide a measurable benefit to our community and the surrounding communities.“
Chase says each Levee on the Lake event will cost $35,000 to $40,000, and she and Read are waiting to hear this week if enough sponsors come through to make the event viable.
Click to listen:
Shelley Chase: “This event could still fold. Like everything else right now it is very fragile, and unfortunately, on Thursday morning we may have to notify everybody that we couldn’t meet the target. And there’s no shame in that. We’ve tried.“
In the end, council agreed to have CAO Jamie Burke look into any issues and logistics, and then come back to council for final approval.
The next meeting of town council is Monday June 13th.
No dog park for Sackville
Sackville Town Council has scrapped plans for an $80,000 dog park in Beech Hill Park.
At their meeting Monday night, councillors came to a consensus that the project should be put off for at least year if not longer.
Deputy Mayor Ron Aiken appeared to speak for the majority when he said he thought Beech Hill Park was the wrong place for a fenced-in dog park.
Click to listen:
Deputy Mayor Ron Aiken: “It’s too much money. I think that’s just ridiculous amount of money for this and given what financial stress we might be up against in the next year 18 months I think this is one way we don’t need to spend money. This is one we can put on hold for a year or two, three years, whatever. And if we really want it in the future sometime this is just not the right time to do it.”
Aiken said that as someone who has three dogs himself, he knows there are lots of places to exercise them.
Councillor Joyce O’Neil repeated comments she made last fall when she said spending $80,000 for a dog park makes no sense.
Click to listen:
Councillor Joyce O’Neill: “Just to me, that just doesn’t make sense. Not when we have miles sidewalks here in town where people can put their dogs on leash and walk their dogs or exercise.“
Only Councillor Bill Evans spoke in favour of a dog park.
Click to listen:
Councillor Bill Evans: “I’m not so dumb that I can’t read the writing on the wall here. But I just want to point out that the point of a dog part is the off leash part. The fact that there are lots of places in town that you can walk a dog on a leash is not being disputed by anyone. It’s there very few places in town where you’re allowed to turn your dog loose and let them run on our property and certainly not on or seals. We have a specific rule about that.”
Town council initially allocated $25,000 for a dog park in last year’s budget after a survey last summer showed strong support for one.
But councillors decided to put the project off after learning that building two fenced-in areas in Beech Hill Park, one for smaller dogs and the other for larger ones, would cost $80,000.
The Beech Hill Park location lost even more of its appeal in December when the Mayor’s Roundtable on Climate Change recommended that the dog park should be “as close as possible to the town centre to minimize the amount of driving and thus fossil fuel consumption undertaken by dog owners to get to the park.”
Beech Hill Park is beside the TransCanada Highway, six-and-a-half kilometres from downtown Sackville,
At last night’s meeting, Councillor Andrew Black seemed to summarize the feelings of most councillors when he said he favoured maintaining the status quo — no dog park for Sackville.
Click to listen:
Councillor Andrew Black: “Like other councillors I was initially comfortable with the dog park — the $80,000 price point was a little high — but things change and my mind has been changed over time.”
No fall reading week for Mount Allison
Mount Allison University has eliminated reading week for the fall 2020 semester.
The mid-semester break was cancelled in a special senate vote for the following reasons:
• Students will not likely be able to travel during the Fall 2020 Study Break due to COVID-19.
• Students may have to self-isolate during the 2020 Christmas Break and thus it should be as long as possible.
• If there is a 2nd wave of COVID-19 in late fall, this lessens the impact of losing on-campus term time.
• Full elimination of the break week is more manageable for courses with scheduled activities such as labs, studios and tutorials than preserving a short break such as Wednesday through Friday.
• The date to receive final work from students not involving on-campus elements could remain the same, to allow additional time to complete online work.
Mount Allison Student Union Vice-President and Academic Affairs Councillor Charlie Burke vocalized student concerns,
Click to listen:
MASU Councillor Charlie Burke: “The majority of students, about 60%, did not support the idea of eliminating reading week. It did unfortunately get eliminated.”
The loss of the mid-semester break also raises concern about student mental health.
Click to listen:
MASU Councillor Charlie Burke: “Currently faculty has been provided, thanks to Anne Comfort, with a large list of mental health resources and supports that they’re going to make available to students as well. Furthermore, Anne Comfort is also leading a task force and mental health committee this year about mental health…how we can better support students and get more resources for students and also make students more aware of those resources.”
Most of the mental health resources will have online elements for distance students. Burke also stated that there was discussion about course flexibility and alternatives to traditional exams. Students’ exam period is being shifted forward one week to accommodate the scheduling change.
CHMA Daily News is hosted Mahalia Thompson-Onichino, and produced by Erica Butler, with contributions from Bruce Wark, Meg Cunningham, Aura-Lynn Groomes, Geoff de Gannes, and James Anderson.
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