'Our future is in good hands...'

One of Canada’s top Air Cadets and an honours student with a bent for social activism have been named Mount Pearl’s Male and female Youths of the Year.

Harrison Latham and Noubahar Hasnain were accorded the honour during the 26th annual Focus on Youth Awards held at the Glacier last week.

The event was emceed by Mount Pearl Deputy Mayor Jim Locke. “It’s truly my pleasure to be here this evening as we celebrate the outstanding contributions made to our amazing city by our youth as well as by our adults who give their time to work with our youth,” said Locke. “I know I speak for all of our council when I say this event is a highlight in our calendar every year.”

The evening was co-hosted by last year’s Youths of the Year, Lauren Winsor, who is a first year Memorial University student intending to study medicine, and Colin Hunt, who is graduating from Mount Pearl Senior High this year and planning to study engineering.

“They did a great job this year representing the youth at so many different functions,” Locke said.

“We’ve had a great year working together as youth ambassadors for the City,” Hunt allowed.

Winsor thanked the City of Mount Pearl for continuing to showcase youth achievement.

Some 15 awards were handed out during the night, with Mount Pearl Show Choir providing the entertainment, and four of the nominees in the category of Performing Arts Youth Award, also taking to the stage to perform. Ryan MacDonald performed the speech that won him the Speak Off as part of the Youth of the Year competition. The subject was chivalry in the modern age. That was followed by the female winner in the same category, Victoria Jackman, who looked at the subject of changing attitudes towards people with development disabilities.

The event is held as part of Youth Week, which is organized by the Youth Action Team, the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance and the City of Mount Pearl.

The highlight of the ceremony was the announcement of Male and Female Youths of the Year.

Winsor and Hunt noted that the first ever Male Youth of the Year, John Rossiter, died in 2003 while working as a paramedic in Nova Scotia during Hurricane Juan. Rossiter was a gifted athlete, coach, student and actor, Hunt said. “It is in his boundless spirit that we give the award tonight.”

Two members of Rossiter’s family helped present the award to Latham, a first class honours student at O’Donel.

Latham has already experienced more things than most students ever get to, Hunt said. “He is the top Air Cadet in Newfoundland and has been nominated as the top Air Cadet in Canada,” he added. “Latham is also a cadet instructor and was named top drill instructor, commanding over 500 people.”

Latham competes as a biathlete and marksman. At O’Donel, he is a member of the First Responder Team, the Robotics Club and the Model UN. “Outside school, he makes time for his volunteer work, collecting for food hampers and participating in the Run for the Cure for the last four years,” said Hunt.

“It’s an honour to be here,” said Latham. “I’m really proud to say I am a citizen of Mount Pearl. This whole ceremony has really been something. We see all of the talents of the youths and indeed the diversity. We’re really a great community.”

Latham said winning an award named for John Rossiter is especially meaningful.

“This is rally personal for me,” he explained. “My grandfather was also affected by Hurricane Juan. He was paralyzed from the waist down.”

Latham thanked his fellow nominee, Ryan MacDonald, for doing “an excellent job. You really deserved it.”

The Female Youth of the Year, Noubahar Hasnain, is no stranger to anyone familiar with youth leaders in Mount Pearl.

“As an academic and as a leader, Husnain assumes a great deal of responsibility in both her school and her community,” said Hunt. “She is an honours student with the highest average in her grade level, earning numerous certificates for her academic achievements.”

Husnain is a member of the school council, debate team, newspaper club, a mathlete, member of the underwater ROV team, and the yearbook committee. She is also president of the Mount Pearl Youth Action team, chairperson of Causes for Concern, and co-chairperson of her school’s Animal Rights/Environmental Club. Husnain sits on the Provincial Youth Advisory Committee and volunteers with the Alzheimer’s Society, the Janeway and the City of Mount Pearl. She is a tutor and a poet, with one of her poems having been published in a national anthology.

Husnain thanked the City of Mount of Mount Pearl for making the Focus on Youth Awards possible. “It really shows that they prioritize their youth, and that’s really important,” she said.

Husnain also congratulated all the award winners and nominees. “Regardless of whether you win an award, the effect that you have on your community as a youth citizen is everlasting and you should be really proud of that,” she said.

A new award this year, the STEM Award (for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathemathics), sponsored by Sunrise Animal Hospital, went to Lauren Coombs, the president of her student council and a strong math student.

The winners of the Performing Arts Recognition Award, sponsored by First Choice Hair Cutters, included the O’Donel Jazz Band, Mount Pearl Show Choir, O’Donel Sound of Music, the Mount Pearl Senior High Drama Club and Etcetera 28: True Colours.

The Performing Arts Youth Award, which attracted 17 nominees, went to Jenny Mallard. It was sponsored by Reid Music.

The RNC Youth in Service Award went to Emily Gallant, who volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The Visual Arts Award, sponsored by Eastern Audio, went to O’Donel High student Sarah Hiscock.

Eastern Audio also sponsored the Youth Volunteer of the Year, which was presented to Cassandra Chislett. The O’Donel High student maintains honours grades, acts as a student mentor, and is a member of the school’s Outreach Team, First Responder Team. The Welcome Team, the Beyond the Hurt Team, Patriot Paws and the Best Buddy program. Outside of school, she is a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, a volunteer with Eastern Health and Ronald McDonald House, and tutors other students in math and science.

The Literary Arts Award, sponsored by Sunrise Animal Hospital, went to Breanna Sheppard of Mount Pearl Senior High. Sheppard has branched out from short fiction and poetry and is working on her first novel. She recently won the Junior Poetry section category in the provincial Arts & Letters Awards. “Her ability with tone, structure and visual metaphor is what sets her apart from the crowd,” said Hunt.

The Youth Group of the Year Award, sponsored by Young Drivers of Canada, went to the O’Donel Patriot Mentors. The group consists of 18 academically gifted students who help other students with their studies.

Swimming judge and timer Jeff Butler was named Official of the Year. The award was sponsored by the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance. Butler is vice president of the Mount Pearl Marlins swim club.

H.J. Bartlett Electrical sponsored the Youth Sports Team of the Year Award. It was won by the Mount Pearl Girls Under 14 Celtics Basketball team. The 16 player squad took the silver medal last year at the provincial club championships and made it to the championship game at all seven tournaments they played in. This year they won the gold medal at the provincial club championships.

The David Holloway Adult Volunteer Working with Youth Award was sponsored Pearlgate Lanes Youth Bowling Club and presented by members of Holloway’s family. It went to Mount Pearl Minor Baseball Association president Brian Hunt, father of the evening’s co-host, Colin Hunt, who got to announce his father’s name as the winner.

The Male and Female Youth Athlete of the Year Awards were sponsored by Smitty’s Restaurant. Sledge hockey and wheelchair basketball star Liam Hickey of O’Donel High took the honour in the male category, while Emily Bailey, a soccer ace on Memorial University’s varsity team, won the female category.

Hickey is the first athlete from this province to be named to both the junior and senior national wheelchair basketball teams and is the lead scorer in the Maritime Travel League. He had to decline an invitation to try out for the national sledge hockey team because of his basketball commitments. Bailey helped lead MUN to its first Atlantic soccer championship, came second in league scoring and earned the Atlantic Conference’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Mayor Randy Simms thanked all the volunteers who helped stage the event” It is a humongous, monstrous task,” he said. “It’s all done by volunteers and what a tremendous labour of love it is.”

Simms also thanked the parents of the nominees. “You’re the ones who have every right to be most proud tonight when you see what’s going on here and you hear the names of the young people who are nominated in so many different categories,” he said.

The mayor also singled out the event’s sponsors, including the major sponsors, Reddy Killowatt Credit Union, Eastern Audio and Smitty’s Restaurant. “Without the contribution of our business community, without their recognition that they not only do business here, but that they live here, without that, none of this would actually be possible,” he argued. “I’m not sure that they get a lot of business out of it. I’ve talked to so many of them over the years and I’m pretty sure that none of them do it because of the ROI (return on investment). Because I think the only ROI is the sense of satisfaction from knowing that you’re building and supporting and setting up a foundation of a great community that hopefully your business can prosper in.”

Simms said the awards recognize the best about Mount Pearl itself. “To the nominees, and there are so many of them… I want you to know this and to recognize it, that this is not a competition and it is not a contest, that the recipients tonight are not in and of themselves winners. They are representatives of all of you and all of you are winners. There are no losers, there are no ‘also rans.’ I believe the recipients of these awards and those whose names appear on this list, represent the best of our values.”

Simms said he was blown away recently when he had to present some Duke of Edinburgh awards and there were so many young people winning scholarships and awards.

“Despite what we hear about young people, despite the debate over whether or not the clothing is right in schools, despite the debate over whether or not young people are as disciplined as they were in ‘my day…’ I think you will agree with me at the end of this night, our future … is in really great hands.”

MHA Steve Kent, a previous five time winner of the Male Youth of the Tear Award, acknowledged the awards have been a part of his life for many years. “It’s an incredible event because it recognizes the amazing talents of our young people,” he said. “And it’s a tribute to our first class youth, our great volunteers, the City of Mount Pearl and the entire province… Every year, I’m truly overwhelmed to hear all the accomplishments of the young people and the adults and the groups who are nominated. Tonight is no exception. Your dedication and your contribution to our city and to or province is invaluable and I sincerely commend you for your efforts.”

Mount Pearl South MHA Paul Lane also addressed the crowd. “When we talk about the Mount Pearl Focus on Youth Awards, and I’ve had a number of conversations over the years with colleagues and friends, we’re talking about our future leaders,” Lane said. “But they are not future leaders. The young people we are talking about this evening are leaders of today. They are leaders in their schools, they are leaders in their sports teams, they are leaders in our community, and they lead by example. And they are excelling… We are so fortunate to be living in a community which has such wonderful and talented youth.”

Mount Pearl, Lane added, is a wonderful city to live and work and raise a family. “And of the great attributes we have here – and it’s not only our great roads and great snow clearing and so on – it’s also our sense of community.”

St. John’s South - Mount Pearl MP Ryan Cleary called attention to the two Speak Off presenters, noting he competed in Speak Offs during his two final years of high school and placed third each time. “I didn’t lose,” he added. “I did it. It gave me confidence in myself. But it also gave me determination to the point that today I speak in the House of Commons.”

Sheila Hynes-Brenton of the Reddy Killowatt Credit Union, noted the awards have grown from five categories when it started to 15 today. The Credit Union has been a sponsor of the event for 25 years. “Looking at the categories and all the nominees tonight, I think you can all agree with me that it must have been a challenge for the selection com

Annual walk is a 'day without Multiple Sclerosis'

Some 1,000 people are expected to turn out for the annual walk in support of Multiple Sclerosis research and treatment, which will wind through Mount Pearl on May 24th.

It’s the 25th year for the walk, which has grown so large over the years that it had to be moved from its starting point at Bowring Park in St. John’s. This year the starting point will be St. Peter’s Primary School on Ashford Drive.

Among the participants will be one of the most active MS Society organizers in the province, Zita Kavanagh of Mount Pearl, who says the annual event has special meaning for her.

“Not only do you get people with MS at the walk, but you get their loved ones, family and friends who support them,” she said. “There will be people in wheelchairs, with walkers, canes, we get children, people with pets, we get all sorts on this walk. It’s one of our biggest fundraisers.”

Anyone interested in participating can register online through the MS Society of Canada.

Kavanagh is walking as part of a team called Small Steps Big Steps. The name stems from her experience when she was first diagnosed with MS in January 2010 and spent five days in hospital unable to walk. She had fallen down in her house and was unable to get up.

“I didn’t know if I was ever going to walk (again),” said Kavanagh. “I came home, struggled, then went through heavy physiotherapy to get back to walking. It seemed like it was small steps I was going through and then all of a sudden coming to big steps.”

After being diagnosed, Kavanagh thought her future would mean life in a wheelchair. But a heavy dose of steroids and some medication and physiotherapy since then have kept her mobile and active. Last Friday, she attended a flag raising ceremony for MS at St. John’s City Hall and later presented a book on MS to the Ross King Memorial Library in Mount Pearl, something the local chapter of the MS Society does every year as well as make presentations in schools.

Kavanagh was 46 when she was diagnosed, a day after her daughter Jesse’s birthday. The disease can affect vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility and be accompanied by heavy fatigue. It can be aggravated by stress. Kavanagh says looking back she realizes she was probably exhibiting symptoms for some time, perhaps as long as 12 years, before the attack that left her temporarily immobile. “The symptoms can mimic other diseases so it can be hard to pinpoint it as MS,” she explains.

Kavanagh said she expects she will have to spend a few days on the couch recovering from the annual walk, but it will be worth it.

“That walk is special to me because that day you are walking with all of your people, all of the people who are there to support you, people who are living with it every day and all the varieties of it,” Kavanagh said.

The atmosphere of the walk, ironically, lets Kavanagh rid her mind of the stress of having the disease. Her son, daughter and husband accompany her along with the family dog, Cookie. “It’s the one day I don’t have MS,” she said. “That’s the joy of it, knowing I have MS but that I fought it that day.”

St. Peter's expansion a go

It was with a large dose of reservation, but Mount Pearl City council has given the English School District approval for a “pretty sizable extension” of St. Peter’s Junior High School on Munden Drive.

The work will include the creation of a new exit from the parking lot of the school onto Munden Drive, which council hopes will ease traffic problems in the area.

Planning and Development Committee chairman Andrew Ledwell said the extension includes completion of a “junior high sized” gymnasium with a stage and change rooms. The main floor of the old gym will be converted into a cafeteria and kitchen, with a second floor added to accommodate six new classrooms. The existing cafeteria will be converted into two additional classrooms. The work is expected to take 18 months to two years.

“This is a pretty sizable extension,” said Ledwell, adding the plans include expansion of the parking lot and the creation of a driveway around the school leading to the new access on Munden Drive.

To gain the new access, to be situated between 93 and 95 Munden Drive, the school board needs to acquire city owned land that is now used as a pathway.

“It is proposed that it will be a single lane with a side walk and right turning only,” said Ledwell.

A public meeting on the development was held March 19. Three people attended. The City issued over 200 notices to residents in the neighbourhood about the meeting.

“There were a number of concerns that were expressed,” said Ledwell. “Those revolve around traffic flow, the impact on the neighbourhood in terms of noise and safety, potential problems with traffic – both on foot and on four wheels – and the loss of some green space.”

Ledwell said the longer driveway around the school will allow for the stacking of some 75 cars, which would enter from the current access and exit through the new one. “It’s thought that the stacking of the 75 cars would allow for traffic to come off of Munden Drive thereby reducing congestion on the street,” he said. “At least that’s the hope.”

The school board has committed to install privacy fencing between the new exit and the neighbours immediately adjacent to it. Ledwell said that after much discussion at the committee level, the recommendation is to approve the application. He then moved that the city also conduct a survey on the land needed for the new exit so that it can be leased to the school board.

Councillor Lucy Stoyles said she could not support it.  “I have a major concern with this,” said Stoyles. “I have had since the get go.”

Stoyles said she attended all but one of the public forums about school changes that were held by the board last year and has spoken with residents around St. Peter’s. “I’m quite familiar with the school, my three children went to this school,” she said. “From the time it was built it was too small, it was busting out of the seams.”

Stoyles said while the extension is needed she objects to the effect the new exit will have on the immediate neighbours. “If I was living there, I wouldn’t want it next to me,” she said. “I really can’t support that access going in there.”

Stoyles suggested the school board should have tried to buy one of the neighbouring houses to make more room for the exit. “I really don’t think the school board did a good review of the whole system,” she argued. “People were up in arms for months last year, almost all the public forums were full.”

Deputy Mayor Jim Locke, who chaired Tuesday’s public meeting in the absence of Mayor Randy Simms, asked Stoyles what she would do differently. Stoyles said she would send some of the children to a different school.

Councillor John Walsh said the changes to the school are “substantive and sweeping” and he shares Stoyles’ concerns. He noted the neighbour who is most affected by the changes, who has problems with vandalism and noise over the years, also continues to have concerns.

“But I recognize as a councillor that something has to be done,” Walsh said. “It’s not as easy as saying, ‘Put them in another building.’ There is no other building. The buildings are all overcrowded, unfortunately.”

Walsh said as long as the new exit from the school allows for right turning traffic only, the new configuration should alleviate some of the traffic congestion on Munden Drive. “For me this is about balancing, using the resources that you have and trying to find the suitable balance,” he added. “I share the concerns , but I see this as an opportunity and I want to make sure that our Planning Department and our council really hold the School Board’s feet to the fire in terms of following through, particularly on the promises made (to the neighbour)… When you look at everything in totality, this is the best and safest and most prudent decision. It’s not perfect, but the fitting in of the school building into the neighborhood was never perfect. This is as good as it’s going to get.”

Councillor Dave Aker urged council to reach out to the neighbours to ensure their concerns are taken into account by the school board. He agreed the proposed loop around the school should alleviate traffic problems in the area.

Councillor Paula Tessier too said the proposed changes are a chance to make the traffic situation better. The privacy fence might also improve things better for the resident when it comes to vandalism, she said.

Ledwell said while he is also sympathetic about the impact on the immediate neighbours, he agrees with Walsh that council must err on the side of safety. “I think we have to let this go ahead, because we have to look after the safety of our students,” he said.

Calling the vote on Ledwell’s motion, Deputy Mayor Locke observed that “If it doesn’t work… we’re not averse to revisiting it.”

On the vote, the motion passed with everyone in support except Stoyles, who voted nay.

City stands firm with developer over building permits

Prospect Development will have to fix the remaining deficiencies on the first three phases of the Pearlview West subdivision off Moffat Drive before Mount Pearl City council will approve any building permits for phase four.

That was the consensus at council on Tuesday after Planning and Development Committee chairman Andrew Ledwell asked for clarification on the decision council made back in November regarding the six phase development.

At that meeting, council voted to withhold any more building permits until the deficiencies are addressed, but did approve clearing and scrubbing of the land for phase four. It took some debate for Mayor Randy Simms to agree to allow any work to go ahead until the deficiencies, which included problems with trees that had been planted by the developer and the need to sod a slope on Pollux Drive, were remedied. Councillor Lucy Stoyles voted against approval of the clearing and grubbing at that meeting.

Ledwell noted that residents have been e-mailing council again lately about “concerns that were unaddressed.” He was raising the issue again, he added, “to remove any doubt” about how council plans to address the continued expansion of the subdivision. “What is our commitment in terms of phase four and beyond for Pearlview and Moffatt Road subdivision?”

Councillor John Walsh allowed his interpretation of council’s November decision was that the developer would be allowed to install some of the underground infrastructure for phase four since the equipment for the work was already in place. “It just made so much sense to do that,” he noted. “I supported it. What I don’t support however is outstanding deficiencies in phases one, two and three and at the same time issuing further development permits. I don’t care whether they are building permits. Building permits are the very last thing you will do in a development. I don’t think we should be allowing any development permits, period, until any outstanding deficiencies – and they are minor now – are (remedied).”

Stoyles repeated her concerns from November. “I don’t want any more permits given out to the developer until every last deficiency is looked after,” she said. “There are six phases in this, so they still have a long ways to go. I think we need to send a message out to the developer that the residents are our priority.”

Councillor Dave Aker said he agreed with Ledwell’s assessment. “We were trying to strike a balance between not overly punishing the developer, but at the same time making sure they were not running roughshod over the residents,” he explained. “So we let them go ahead and start some work on phase four, but then to ensure – because we didn’t want to see phase four started and all the new houses built and all these deficiencies sitting there – I believe council’s decision at the time was that we hold back and review every building permit… Now positions can change, but I still think we should hold the developer to our requirement.”

Councillor Paula Tessier asked whether the matter can be quickly settled by meeting with the developer, outlining the deficiencies and giving the company a week to address them.

According to the City’s manager of planning and inspection services, Julia Schwarz, a meeting has been held with the developer who is addressing the slope problem at Pollux Drive. However, the issue of the quality of trees that were planted in the earlier phases has yet to be rectified.

“Let’s give them a reasonable time limit that should please the residents and that will give the developer an opportunity to get it done, but the operative phase being ‘Get it done,’” Tessier suggested.

“We’re not in a situation where this development has all kinds of deficiencies,” Ledwell concluded. “We are getting close to addressing this… I certainly have no problem saying to the developer that there will be no permits – development or otherwise – issued until these couple of issues are addressed, and giving them a time frame to do that… I just want to make sure that that is our commitment as a City to the residents… I want to be able to share the same message with the residents of the area and make sure that they know that we have their backs on this and are making sure all of the issues will be addressed.”

Mount Pearl artists recognized with Arts & Letters awards

Three artists from Mount Pearl were among the winners of provincial Arts & Letters Awards handed out at The Rooms in St. John’s this past weekend.

They were among some 553 Newfoundland and Labrador artists who submitted works in categories ranging from poetry and short fiction to dramatic scripts, prose, French literary writing, music and visual art.

Megan Penney received an award and a $350 prize for Supreme in the Junior Poetry category. Some 81 people competed in that category with eight receiving awards and cheques.

Rebecca Simms was one of four winners from 29 entries in the Senior Music division. Her contemporary classical music composition was entitled, Bud. She received a cheque of $1,000 as part of the award.

In the Senior Visual Art category, Danny Woodrow’s acrylic and oil on board painting The Modern Stump was one of 12 award winners. He also received a cheque for $1,000. Some 131 artists submitted works in the category with well-established painters Rod Hand and Ellie Yonova among the winners.

“I would like to offer my congratulations to all the winners of the 2015 Arts and Letters Program,” said Brian Way, Chairman of the Arts and Letters Program. “The award show not only showcases the diverse artistic talent that exists throughout our province, but also provides the opportunity for artists to view each other’s works and receive feedback from their peers.”

The awards are funded by the provincial government and overseen by the Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development.

“The provincial government acknowledges and applauds the important role Newfoundland and Labrador’s creative and talented visual, musical and literary artists play in the continued development and sustainability of our cultural industries and the province’s heritage,” said the minister for the department, Darrin King. “Our province has a tremendously vibrant and active cultural community and as a government, we are pleased to invest in programs like Arts and Letters that support the arts. Congratulations to all this year’s winners and participants.”