Premier and ministers roll out firefighting money in Bay Roberts

On hand for the Province’s funding announcement for a new fire pumper for the Bay Roberts fire brigade last week were, starting in the back row, from left: FF Jamie Russell, Deputy Mayor Geoff Seymour, Mayor Walter Yetman, Safety Officer Newman Parsons, FF Hayward Butler, Assistant Chief Glen Bradbury, Training Officer Adam Russell, FF Roy Mercer, Chief Michael Murphy, Public Safety Minister Bernard Davis, FF James Newell, Captain Adam Norman, FF Jordan Power, Councillor Frank Deering, FF Lauren Newell; and in the front row, from left: Councillor Ross Petten, Councillor and FF Silas Badcock, Premier Andrew Furey, MHA Pam Parsons, and Captain Doug Mercer. Olivia Bradbury photo

By Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Report

A bevy of provincial politicians were on hand in Bay Roberts last week to announce the town will be among a list of municipalities getting new firefighting equipment.

It fell to Public Safety Minister Bernard Davis to announce that in the case of Bay Roberts, the funding will be for a new pumper truck.

The announcement took place at the Bay Roberts fire station on November 29.

“Bay Roberts is a very efficient department,” said the area’s MHA Pam Parsons.

She said the department does not ask for much, but came to her about needing a new truck. “We’re a team out here in Conception Bay North. It’s not just simply within the borders of Coley’s Point, Bay Roberts, Shearstown, Butlerville. When the call comes in, you respond to CBN,” she said of the Bay Roberts firefighters.

Parsons thanked the members for their hard work, as well as the council for its support and advocacy for the department. Two members of council, Dean Franey and Silas Badcock, are members of the brigade.

Premier Andrew Furey echoed Parsons’ appreciation. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for keeping our communities safe, and thank you for standing up for the citizens of your communities and putting yourself often in danger to help others,” he said. “Certainly the word hero is not said enough with respect for the work that you guys do.”

Furey said when Parsons came to him with the department’s request, they and Davis worked together to ensure it got immediate attention.

Davis acknowledged the many roles firefighters fill.

“It’s not just fires that you’re fighting,” said Davis. “It’s collisions, medical calls, other emergencies — you’re there. The demands placed on volunteer groups can be overwhelming. To effectively do the job and help protect the community, you need to have the necessary equipment.”

The money for the truck is part of a fund the Province announced the week previous at a press event in Pouch Cove. The money will be shared among 39 fire departments across the province, and with contributions from the towns, will help pay for everything from bunker gear, boots, cylinders, and portable pumps to vehicle extraction tools. In September, Furey announced money to replace over four hundred self-contained breathing apparatus units and other equipment. That too will be cost-shared with the towns.

“You don’t need to be a firefighter to understand how important those breathing apparatuses and equipment are,” said Davis. “It will play a significant role in protecting our friends, our families, and our loved ones.”

Davis said thanks to $2.8 million from the government, 13 communities will receive funding to help them buy new fire protection vehicles. Bay Roberts Fire Rescue will receive approximately $450,000 for the purchase of its new pumper truck.

Fire Chief Michael Murphy offered his thanks for the funding. “I’m sure they’re going to feel the exact same way on how important reliable equipment and vehicles are to provide a fire service,” he added, referring to the other departments.

Murphy said the new equipment and vehicle will make his department’s response time better and serve not only Bay Roberts, but the whole area. He also thanked council. “It’s great to have a council that supports us,” said Murphy.

Politics on the menu at Topsail - Paradise District PC Association Breakfast

By Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Topsail–Paradise member Paul Dinn was busy serving up grub and handing out smiles at his first ever ‘Meet the MHA’ breakfast event at the Topsail United Church hall last month.

Members of the parish’s Men’s Club helped prepare and serve the fare.

As the area’s MHA, Dinn has attended quite a few events at the Church over the years, but this was the first time he has served breakfast, an event organized by the local PC District Association.

“I come down and try to help out whenever I can,” Dinn said. “It’s such a wonderful group down here.”

Dinn said the Topsail-Paradise PC District Association likes to give back to the community where possible. The night before the breakfast, Dinn and members of the association went to Tim Horton’s Paradise to decorate Smile Cookies, with the proceeds from cookie sales going to local charities and groups. Dinn said some of the proceeds from the United Church breakfast would go back to the church and the association’s programming, but the rest would be donated to the community.

“I try to get to as many events as I can so no one can say to me, ‘Well, I can’t get ahold of Paul Dinn,’” the MHA said. The breakfast was just the first of a number of events Dinn had planned to attend that day.

“There are many groups in Topsail-Paradise who do great work,” said Dinn. “And I always said there’s no government around that would be able to fit the bill for all these volunteer groups and what they do. I mean that’s how I got into what I am (doing). I was an active volunteer. I still am.”

Dinn said as the area’s MHA, it’s important to be available.

“As MHA, we’re sort of last resort for people who are out there with issues or concerns,” he explained. “We’re sort of last resort for them, and you’ve got to be available.”

He added that when it comes to private or confidential issues, people might not be comfortable calling officials or staff members, so it is important to him as MHA to be as available to the public as possible. “You may not help everyone, and you may not get them the answer they want, but at least you’re approachable and people can come up to you,” he said.

Asked for his thoughts on the timing of the next provincial election, Dinn said he could not guess that. Whenever it is, he said, it won’t change what he has been doing since he was first elected.

“The big part about it is: have you done your job?” said Dinn.

Traffic planners to give Dunns Hill another go

By Craig Westcott

Harbourside Transportation Consultants is getting a second crack at trying to figure out how to improve traffic safety at the intersection of Dunns Hill Road and Route 60 in Foxtrap.

At last week’s CBS public council meeting, a motion to pay the engineering firm $22,500 to devise a new pilot study and “complete a revised assessment” was given unanimous approval.

Harbourside came up with the current assembly of traffic calming barriers and routing for a year long pilot project that ended last spring. The changes, which included a ban on turning left off Dunns Hill Road onto the CBS Highway or crossing the four lanes of traffic to access Lodge Road, were made permanent this past July. The other significant change as a result of the first pilot project was that cars heading west on Route 60 were no longer allowed to turn left onto Dunns Hill Road; only cars heading east were allowed to access the road by turning right.

The impact on the intersection has met with criticism from residents of Dunns Hill and other attached streets, as well as from All Saints Parish, which corners the intersection and has ended up contending with impatient drivers using its driveway and parking lot as a makeshift route around the intersection.

“We’ve had multiple conversations with some residents in the area,” said Ward 4 councillor Melissa Hardy, who chairs the Town’s engineering committee. “Council has met and we’ve agreed to move forward with an amended pilot project assessment.”

Hardy said the pilot project will last a year, like the first one did. “However, the allowable traffic movements will be adjusted,” she added. “The traffic consultants are currently drafting a new layout and once that’s completed council will determine when the changes can be made and advise the public.”

Council also intends to gauge public opinion with a survey when the new pilot project is nearing completion, Hardy noted.

“Once all the information comes back, council will assess and then we’ll decide on how we want to proceed,” she said.

Pressed for more details by Mayor Darrin Bent about the planned traffic changes, Hardy said the layout of the traffic calming structures will be changed. “We’re just waiting for Harbourside to come back with some information for us,” she said.

Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse, who represents the area as part of Ward 2, pointed out the new pilot project will encompass more than the intersection itself.

“We had a number of meetings with residents who were very concerned about the area and expressed their concerns about safety, the All Saints Parish parking lot, the Greeleytown Road and All Saints intersection, and all these things are being looked at in this amended pilot project,” Gosse said. “We realize that in this pilot project adjustment, new data will be collected, so we’ll be looking at some numbers on the traffic. Hopefully this will help All Saints Parish with some of the safety issues they’ve been having with traffic, and also make a difference at the Greeleytown and All Saints intersection. So I just wanted to let residents know that we have listened to them and that we are looking at this going forward (to see) what’s the best option.”

That lead Mayor Bent to ask again if anything has been decided as to how the new configuration will look. “Or are we waiting on Harbourside to tell us that?” he asked.

“We’re currently waiting for Harbourside to come back with the recommendations,” Hardy said. “We’ve certainly voiced what we’d like to see there, but we’re waiting for them to come back to see what’s able to go there.”

Paradise breaks from policy to assist hockey school

By Mark Squibb

The Town of Paradise will have to bend the rules a little to accommodate a hockey camp hosted by the Danny Cleary Hockey School next summer.

During the November 19 public meeting, recreation committee chairman Patrick Martin explained that, due to operational changes, the Double Ice Complex will only have one ice surface open next July, which will lead to a reduction in available ice time for users.

Martin said the facility rental policy states that community groups, schools, sports, and not-for profits are given priority for ice-time ahead of private rentals, including rentals to privately owned hockey schools.

“Danny Cleary has been operating out of the Double Ice Complex for the last eight years, yet if the policy is followed, other users will be prioritized ahead of them,” said Martin, who then moved, at the behest of the recreation committee, that the Town allow one week of ice time to the hockey school for one week in July 2025. The motion further acknowledged the move was not aligned with the Town’s facility rental policy.

Council approved the motion unanimously.

Ecological group manages to KEEP it going

By Mark Squibb

The past year was at times a challenging one for the long running Kelligrews Ecological Enhancement Program (KEEP), says its chairperson Jenna Scott, who gave a detailed report at the group’s recent annual general meeting.

“It’s been a slower year,” allowed Scott.

The group had one new member join, but membership remains low. The group also had difficulty holding meetings from April through August as it was unable to obtain quorum. The organization had planned to hire a Green Team to monitor the Kelligrews River and collect data on water temperature, vegetation cover, wildlife diversity, and more, for two weeks in July, but was unfortunately unable to host the team due to transportation issues and a lack of an adequate, onsite shelter.

But it did get some work done. The organization submitted letters of concerns to the provincial government regarding three quarry proposals and a concrete plant proposal. Despite the group’s concerns, all four project proposals were released from environmental assessment.

“Our main problem with quarries like this is that many companies don’t have the proper remediation plans in place, or they just don’t follow through with them,” said Scott. “Why it’s unrealistic to ask the companies and the government to put a stop to development all together, we do at least ask that there are greater environmental plans beforehand and that they clean up the mess that they make.”

On a more positive note, the group made some headway in its study of siltation that occurs in the Kelligrews River after heavy rainfalls, persuading the Province to install a mobile environmental monitoring platform (MEMP) in July.

The group also purchased a drone, which it will use to search for the source of the siltation. Members suspect the silt is coming from a high dirt embankment on Incinerator Road. Determining who would be held responsible for the cleanup, said Scott, could prove difficult, as the road itself is within the St. John’s City boundary, but the silt— which can wreak havoc on fish and animal populations — accumulates in CBS.

This year also marks the organization’s 25th anniversary, and Scott highlighted a number of the group’s accomplishments over the years, including the construction of the outdoor classroom on Pond Road, the removal of concrete barriers from the Kellgirews River, and 15 years of hosting the Kelligrews Railway Folk Festival.

The group is a volunteer, non-profit organization that aims to maintain and preserve waterbodies within the town — more specifically, the Kelligrews River and the Lower Gully.

“It’s important that we protect these rivers for a lot of reasons,” said Scott. “They act as a carbon sink (something which absorbs more carbon than it releases), they can filter out hazardous materials before they reach the ocean, they prevent flooding by holding water, and they support biodiversity.”

At the end of the AGM, the group hosted its election of officers. Brad Strap was voted vice-chairman, Karen Morris treasurer, Stephanie Pink secretary, and Phyllis Smith a director. There are still some directors’ positions that need to be filled.

Former dance studio to become place of worship

By Craig Westcott

The CBS Minor Softball Association has been given the all clear towards building a new clubhouse.

The group's application for 1 - 19 All Saints Road, Foxtrap was approved at the CBS council meeting November 19.

Planning committee chairman Gerard Tilley said the approval is contingent on the association developing a parking area large enough to accommodate the traffic expected there.

Tilley said the Town received three submissions in response to the public notice about the application. “Some of those concerns dealt with parking, traffic, increased intensity of use, lighting and security," he added. "I believe we can address all those particular concerns, so the committee is recommending approval of the clubhouse."

Councillor-at-Large Rex Hillier complimented the club on the other work it has already done on the ballfield. "They started tearing down the old facility, upgrading the field, and it's nice to see them now taking this next step in putting a clubhouse there and making it a true neighbourhood facility," he said.

In other developments:

• The former dance studio at the corner of Ivimey Place and Topsail Road in Chamberlains will finally see some life again, this time in the form of a place of worship.

"This is an existing building and parking lot," Tilley said. "The proposal requires a minimum 28 parking spaces. While that particular area only has 11, they have an agreement with an adjoining property to utilize parking there as well, so council is recommending approval."

Mayor Bent noted the building has been sitting vacant for a number of years. "It's nice to see a building like that being repurposed and put back into life," he said. "I was talking with one of the proponents and they were happy to have an agreement with a local business for the extra parking to make this work for them. So, it's great to see that."

• An application for an in-ground swimming pool at 28-38 Steep Nap Road, Long Pond that council initially rejected back in April, has now been approved, thanks to recent changes in the regulations governing pools. In this case, the permit had been rejected because of the distance between the pool and the house.

Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse said council felt the rules were outdated and it was time to revisit them. "And this just presented an opportunity," she said. "It will make it a little easier for people who want to have backyard pools."

• A long running debate on how to accommodate a long-standing heavy equipment garage operated by Eric Taylor Limited at 40A Foxtrap Access Road looks to have been resolved.

While the company's operations predate the Town's incorporation, the garage it used to repair its equipment remained in a Residential Zone. That prevented council from approving the company's bid earlier this year to open the facility to repair work for other customers. Several debates on the application split council down the middle.

Tilley explained that after further consideration by the planning committee, and the holding of a public hearing, council has agreed to amend its Development Regulations to accommodate the garage.

"We did have two individuals who attended the information session," Tilley said. "The basic comments were no objection to the proposal. There were some concerns about traffic and a lack of a privacy fence. We think we can work with the proponent on these."

Mayor Bent was also in favour. "I thank council for bearing this out," he said. "We tried to find a way forward so that the proponent would have a straight line to an application to get to the end and decide properly whether this was something we could accept or not accept. And they did that, went through the system, and came out the other end with an approval. And I thank council for working on that with the resident as we always like to do in these cases."

• A home-based nail salon business proposed for 1 Woodpath Road in Chamberlains has been given the go ahead.

"We did circulate notices to the neighbouring properties, and we received one submission in favour," said Tilley. "Off-street parking is available at the property to accommodate the proposed business with client visits, so the committee is recommending approval."

Council approved the use of a home office for a paving company at 25 Sylvia Place, Long Pond, but on condition that the shed on the property not be used for the storage of equipment or goods related to the business. Tilley said the Town will ask the owner to clean up any commercial equipment at the property prior to issuing the permit.

Council rejected an application to extend the dwelling at 5 Sparrow Drive, Chamberlains, because the proposal didn't meet the minimum rear setback requirement.

Council also rejected an application to build a house at 33-35 Thomston Avenue because it wouldn't front directly onto a street constructed to Town standards, and also because the driveway would be less than 10 metres from an intersection.

Paradise scores advertising deal at its twin rinks

By Mark Squibb

You’re likely to see more advertising at the Paradise Double Ice Complex in the near future.

The Town inked a deal with Score Group Canada for advertising rights at both rinks during the November 19 public council meeting.

Councillor Patrick Martin explained that staff have been working with Score Group on the chance to purchase the naming rights for Rink A and Rink B, and the company offered to pay $12,500, HST included, per year for three years for the naming rights for both rinks.

To date, said Martin, no other companies have expressed interest.

The contract would allow Score to advertise outside the arena entrance, along the rink boards, within the lobby, and on lobby monitors.

“This is a good news story,” said Martin, “We’ve been trying to do this for a while, and I know one of our staff was working very hard to get this done, she was at this for a year going back and forth with this company. This is a good commitment.”

Deputy Mayor Kim Street added the deal is an exciting one, and the motion was approved unanimously.

Petty Harbour brewery permit narrowly defeated

By Mark Squibb

An application for a brewery at the site of the former church property on Cribbies Road in Petty Harbour was narrowly defeated last week after three members of council voted in favour of the application and three members voted against it.

As per legislation, a tie-vote results in a defeated motion.

Deputy Mayor Richard Raymond, councillor Ed Dyke, and councillor Irene Stack voted against the application. Councillors Agatha Balsom, Kayla Parsons, and Dave Balsom voted in favour of the motion. Mayor Ron Doyle was unavoidably absent from the meeting.

“I’m pleased, but to be honest, it was a little too close for comfort,” said Nancy Hannaford, the resident who spearheaded a campaign against the application, which including distribution of a petition that was signed by over 100 residents.

Hannaford said that while the matter has been put to bed for now, she’s concerned about what the future holds for the property, given how close the vote was.

“Residents have made our stance pretty clear — we don’t want anything of this magnitude in that area, which is a residential area,” said Hannaford.

The application has been before council in one form or another since 2023, and to prepare for the potential brewery, council approved motions to accommodate commercial use at the address and add “Microbrewery” to a list of discretional uses. Those motions paved the way for more potential business applications for the building.

Concerns raised by residents included a lack of adequate parking, increased traffic, noise, and odours, and the potential environmental impact on the area.

Paradise to ask Province to pony up on lift station costs

By Mark Squibb

Paradise councillor Deborah Quilty said the Town will ask the Province for help covering the cost of the recent Lift Station 10 failure.

During a routine inspection on November 1, staff noticed the lift station was not operating at full capacity, and sewage pump trucks were contracted to pump the sewage.

The Town declared a state of emergency on November 4, which not only allowed the trucks to work around the clock, but also gave the Town the option to try leveraging money from the Province, which Quilty said council intends to do.

Council has extended the original state of emergency of November 4 on two more occasions — on November 8 and again on November 15.

“It is extremely unfortunate, however, due to the extreme wind and rain, the Marine Atlantic ferry crossing has been impacted, which in turn has caused delays to the repairs,” said Quilty, referring to a part that was due to be shipped in on the ferry.

Council ratified the two emergency extensions during last week’s public meeting.

The lift station experienced a similar, catastrophic failure in 2019, costing the Town well over a million dollars and prompting the construction of a new Lift Station 10 at a cost of over $23 million, about twice the initial $12.6 million price estimate.

The new lift station is expected to be commissioned in early 2025.

Newfoundland’s newest golf pro has an attitude of gratitude

Riley Furey tries a chip shot to the first hole at The Willows.

By Craig Westcott

He didn’t even start golfing until Covid closed the planet, but already Avondale’s Riley Furey is becoming a golf professional.

Last week, the 24-year-old, who hones his game at the picturesque Willows golf club in Holyrood, passed the first major hurdle towards gaining his status as a Class A Pro.

Becoming skilled in the game so quickly is not so surprising given Furey was an ace pitcher and second basemen with Newfoundland’s fastpitch softball team, but to achieve his level of skill in golf so quickly, is remarkable. He has already matched the course record at The Willows, which is 33 on the 9-hole course, finishing with an eagle on the challenging par 4 nine, which has two rivers bisecting the fairway between the tee and the green. In plainer English, he managed to put the ball in the hole from 410 yards away in just two shots. A very good golfer, on a good day, is lucky to do it in four shots.

“I didn’t even get to see it go in,” said Furey said. “I saw it go towards the flag over the bunker and then I heard the guys on the fourth green screaming, so I went up and there it was, in the hole.”

Furey had stopped playing sports when he entered university.

“But then when Covid hit, I was home and had nothing else to do,” Furey said. “My dad (Jeff Whelan) was always golfing and when Covid started they made it so that you could only golf with members of your household, when they did the social distancing. So, my dad had nobody to golf with and he asked me one day. And for some reason I had always put golf to the side, I didn’t really have much interest in it, but then I went out with him to the driving range and after the first good ball I hit I wanted to keep coming back and getting better.”

Furey, who is in the last year of a business degree at MUN, also works at The Willows, where he hones his skills after hours when the other golfers have gone for the day. He put his studies on temporary hold this summer when he decided to go for his pro card.

“I figured if I can break 40 at the (par 35) Willows, which I know is a pretty tight, hard course, I can probably go shoot an 80 at the courses up away,” Furey said. “So once I had that in my mind I started really putting in a lot of work, especially with my short game. After work, once everyone was off the course, I’d go out for a couple of hours until dark on the first green chipping and stuff. And I think that’s where I shaved the most strokes off my game.”

Furey, who is tall and, as the old fellows would say, as thin as a night’s frost, can carry the ball about 270 yards before it hits the ground and bounces even further. “That’s if I’m swinging it hard,” he said. “But I don’t really swing too hard, to be honest. I kind of focus on keeping the ball straight.”

The professional program he has entered is administered by the CPGA, the Canadian Pro Golf Association. The goal is to become a Class A Professional. To qualify for to try out, you have to be at least 18, have worked 400 hours in the golf industry, have a reference from a qualified golf professional, and a reference from a golf course.

“The next step after that is to do the thing I just did in Halifax, which is go do the playability test,” Furey said. “For that you’ve got to shoot an 80 or better from the second furthest back tees.”

Furey shot a 77.

“I had a practice round and on the practice round I shot a 77 as well,” he said. “I got out with three members, and I was asking them a million questions. I felt annoying, but it was for a good cause, because I was trying to figure out everything I could about the course. I was very nervous. My (older) brother Coady went with me. He goes everywhere with me. I’m after playing 70 rounds, just with my brother this year. And he was even nervous. He dropped me off to the course two hours before my tee time, just so I could warm up and get the nerves away. And I thought that would fix it, but I was nervous the whole six-hour round.”

By passing the playability test, Furey is now considered an apprentice professional.

“So, I can be an assistant pro at golf courses, I can play in pro tournaments, I can give lessons, I just can’t be a head pro (at a club) yet,” Furey said.

To qualify as a head pro, Furey will have to complete 35 online credit courses on everything from the rules of golf to how to instruct beginners. And he will have to compile 3,000 hours working in the golf industry.

“It’s kind of hard to get 3,000 hours in the golf industry here (in Newfoundland) where we have such a short season,” he allowed. “So, I guess that will take me a little bit of time.”

There are only two other CPGA registered golf pros on the Avalon that Furey is aware of, one at Bally Haly golf course, and one at The Willows’ sister course, the 18-hole Glendenning.

Furey is not thinking just yet about trying to make the professional tour, where the big money from tournaments and sponsorships lies. He would probably have to move to the United States for that and, like many other pros starting out, work his way up through a series of regional qualifying tournaments to hopefully, eventually, make it to the big league.

“I’m kind of more focused on giving back to the game a little,” he said. “I’m really interested in teaching the youth. That’s kind of what got me wanting to get my pro card. I’ve been helping a few members at The Willows lately with a few things, but technically I couldn’t give them lessons. But now I can. So that’s kind of what I’m more interested in now is just teaching and showing people the fundamentals and getting more people into the game.”

Furey said his business studies have helped him along the path towards the pro status.

In October, he will head to Ottawa for a three day clinic on a private course for one of the CPGA courses on instructing beginners. “That pretty much gives you the layout of how to plan out your teachings and the things you should focus on first,” he said.

In the meantime, Furey counts himself lucky to be able to work at one of the most beautiful places in the world.

“I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else,” he said. “If it wasn’t for (operations manager) Andy Borill and all the stuff he’s done for me through The Willows, I definitely wouldn’t have my pro card right now, that’s for sure…It doesn’t even feel like a job, to be honest. Most days when I go in it just feels like I’m going to my happy place, really. There’s no place I’d rather be than at The Willows. There’s something about that course that’s so peaceful.”

Furey is grateful for the support of other staff there as well, including his co-worker in the pro shop, Kayla Warford, who had a big congratulatory card signed by the club’s members waiting for him on the counter when he got back from Halifax. And he is mindful of the support of his family, including his dad Jeff who got him into the game, his mom Jillian Furey and his grandparents Agnes and Harold Furey.

“I’d definitely like to thank my brother,” Furey added, “because without him, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am with golf. I’d be golfing alone everyday, and that wouldn’t help me at all.”