If you see smoke billowing from the Kenmount Business Park this fall, don’t panic. It might just be the Falck firefighting training school in operation.
Last week, Mount Pearl council approved an application by a construction company to complete a 10 metre by 20 metre concrete pad and accessory building for Falck to host its firefighting training centre at the back of 35 Becklin Road.
“The exercises will include extinguishing fires in portable fire pans, and a portable sea container located within the fenced in area will be used to undertake interior safety training,” said councillor Andrew Ledwell, who chairs council’s Planning and Development Committee.
Ledwell noted that being in an industrial park, many of the activities neighboring the facility are similar in nature. “But the development regulations do consider this a hazardous use, which makes it a ‘Discretionary Use’ for council,” he added. “We have discussed it as a committee and are prepared to recommend that council issue a conditional development permit based on the conditions outlined by the Regional Fire Department.”
Those conditions include that Falck notify the appropriate provincial government departments and check whether it is a requirement to have sprinkler and other systems in place.
The City advertised a public briefing session in the daily newspaper on the application but received no responses and so the meeting was cancelled.
“I have a concern which comes to mind,” said Mayor Randy Simms. “This is in the middle of an industrial park and it is for firefighting training. So what are they burning? What kind of billowing smoke are we going to see from this? Does anyone have a concern at all? Did our planners and inspectors talk about that at all?”
Planning and Development Director Stephen Jewczyk confirmed staff did look for details about the operation. Jewczyk said the company will use propane for both the outside and interior fires. “So I don’t believe you will see billowing smoke, but you will see a fire there,” he said. “There will be some smoke.”
Jewczyk added there were no concerns expressed by neighboring property owners despite the public notice being “pretty explicit about what was happening.” The provincial Fire Commissioner’s Office doesn’t have a problem with it, he noted, and the Regional Fire Department plans to use the training facility too.
Deputy Mayor Jim Locke asked how often the facility will be used and whether there is a plan to communicate the frequency of the activities to the neighbouring companies. “I’m just thinking, if a number of residents see smoke coming out of the Kenmount Business Park and they don’t know that it’s a practice run, is there going to be an influx of calls to out 911, or the fire department or anything like that?”
Jewczyk said he will check on the training schedule. The City could make it a condition of the operation permit that Falck notify its neighbours when it plans a burn, he said.
Councillor John Walsh said Falck has such training schools throughout Canada and the fires are contained and controlled and this facility is unlikely to be a neighbourhood nuisance. “I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about,” he said.
Mount Pearl councillors offered Carribbean overture
The City of Mount Pearl has agreed to serve as a twin for Belmopan, the capital city of Belize, a small country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south.
Mayor Randy Simms said that during a discussion prior to last week’s council meeting, Ralston Frazer, a councillor responsible for business development, investment and public utilities in Belmopan, asked if Mount Pearl would be interested in twinning with his city.
“I told him I wouldn’t even ask you,” Simms said, addressing his colleagues jocularly. “I told him the answer is yes.”
Frazer was part of a delegation of municipal councillors from Caribbean countries who visited St. John’s and Mount Pearl under a Federation of Canadian Municipalities initiative to help councils in developing countries strengthen local governance, democracy and economic development practices by studying Canadian cities and towns. Mount Pearl has been a supporter of the program for several years, with staff having travelled to several countries in the Caribbean to provide expertise in local economic development initiatives. Representatives from St. Lucia, Jamaica, Belize, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago composed the delegation visiting Newfoundland this month.
Simms said the twinning with Belmopan, a city of about 20,000 people, will involve an exchange of information on best practices in municipal administration.
Frazer confirmed for the rest of Mount Pearl council that the first subject he raised with Simms when they met was the establishment of a “sister city relationship, where we can share and learn from each other’s best practices.”
Frazer said there isn’t a whole lot of difference between Mount Pearl and Belmopan. “But I know that you are more advanced,” he said. “The things we are now going through, you guys have gone through them and are in the process of developing systems that you are putting in place. That is one thing we can learn from you, how you got through it, what steps you made to get past those challenges. We would be glad to learn from you guys… We want to know your pitfalls, how you did all of it and it may help us to avoid some of these pitfalls and not make the same mistakes that you did.”
Frazer thanked council for backing Simms’ decision and encouraged Mount Pearl’s councillors to visit Belize.
Mount Pearl soccer aces win national award
Mount Pearl’s Special Olympics soccer team, which represented Newfoundland and Labrador in national competition last year, has been named the Team of the Year by Special Olympics Canada.
The squad is comprised of 10 talented, hard working and motivated athletes - Andrew Hynes, Bradley Murphy, David Wells, Eddie Hynes, Jason Roche, Mark Peddle, Matthew Kelly, Matthew Martin, Nadia Brenton, and Nick Styles. They are coached by Travis Maher, Amy Skinner and Emily Shea.
Trish Williams, the Executive Director of Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador, said the athletes are all dedicated to their coaches; “listening to them and truly believing and understanding that they are working together to be the best team that they can be.”
The team members were silver medallists at the Special Olympics Canada 2014 Summer Games in Vancouver, BC.
“The team exemplified the true spirit of Special Olympics every time they stepped onto the field,” said Williams. “They played extremely hard during game time – but once the whistle blew they complimented their opponent’s good play, helped someone off the field that had fallen, and high fived those involved. Fair play and hard work is always at the forefront for this team.”
Special Olympics has the power to change the lives of both the athletes and the volunteers who support them, Williams added.
Sarah Brown of Gander and Jackie Barrett of Gillams were also recognized by Special Olympics Canada for their achievements.
“We are thrilled to have so many of our athletes’ performances recognised at the National level,” said Williams. “The SONL athletes and volunteer coaches are to be commended on their success.”
The Special Olympics Canada National awards will be presented on November 19 in Toronto.
Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador (SONL) is dedicated to enriching the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with an intellectual disability through active participation in sport. It is a provincial not-for-profit grassroots organization that provides sport training and competition opportunities for over 600 athletes of all ages and abilities.
There are 14 community based clubs that offer sport programs. Through sport, Special Olympics offers athletes and families a sense of achievement and an opportunity to excel as they take on leadership roles within their community, Williams said.
Mount Pearl feeling confident going into Challenge Cup finals
By Cameron Tobin for The Pearl
Mount Pearl First Choice Haircutters’ coach Andrew Murphy is hoping his squad can keep its streak of strong play going for one more weekend: If so, Mount Pearl could wind up as the winner of this year’s Challenge Cup on its home turf at Smallwood field.
The third place club, which has been on a streak for the past month or so, will go up against fourth place Feildians Ernst and Young on Friday evening at Smallwood. The next day the winner will play the loser of the match between first place Holy Cross and second place St. Lawrence. And the winner of that game goes to the championship.
Mount Pearl is heading into the weekend with the confidence of having a top notch keeper in Brandon Noseworthy and the league’s top scorer in Justin Pickford.
Murphy said Noseworthy has been the biggest difference in the team this season. He came up through the Mount Pearl Minor Soccer Association’s system, but played the past few seasons with Holy Cross.
“Having one of the best goalies in the league behind you gives the back line a lot of confidence throughout the whole game,” Murphy explained. “And we’re pretty balanced throughout our whole lineup. We’ve got a strong backline, midfield and attackers. And we’ve gotten a lot of support in our goal scoring this year. With Justin Pickford, we’ve got the league’s top scorer. Having him have a big year has been huge for us too.”
Making good on their scoring opportunities will be a key requirement this weekend, Murphy said. “We are very capable of creating scoring chances, so finishing our chances early in the game will be important.”
Sprinkled throughout Mount Pearl’s lineup are finalists for Challenge Cup awards. Murphy has been nominated for the Jeff Babstock Award for top defender, Noseworthy has been nominated for the Al Slaney Award for top goalie, Matthew Hamlyn has been nominated for the Johnny Breen Award for top midfielder, and Pickford has been nominated for the Dick Power Award for league MVP.
Murphy feels Mount Pearl is capable of beating any of the teams it might face given recent successes against them. “They're both strong and experienced in final weekends,” he allowed of the top two finishers. “But we are coming off a win against St. Lawrence, and we tied our record against Holy Cross, so we know we are capable of beating either team."
Mount Pearl struggled at the beginning of the season, largely due to the unavailability of some key players earlier in the schedule. Murphy is delighted with the way the team has gelled since then. “We rebounded well, which has been a pleasant surprise for us,” he said. "Once everybody got back in town, we've been on a roll ever since. We had four guys out of town and getting them back is just what we needed."
Still, Mount Pearl’s success is not entirely unexpected. The squad is built around a core of players who have carried the club through several Challenge Cup seasons.
“We are in great shape because of all the training we did in the winter, and we have guys who have played many years in the Challenge Cup,” Murphy said. “So our experience is a key for us."
Murphy believes the key to success against the defending champion Crusaders is stopping their offensive attack. " They have players who are among the top scorers in league. If we can defend well as a group, we'll definitely give ourselves a good chance."
St. Lawrence too will be a strong contender, Murphy admitted. “St Lawrence has a lot of players who seem to have been in the league forever and they know how to win," he noted.
But Murphy remains confident.
“It’s been a good season,” he said. “We’ve performed well against all of the teams all year, so we know going into the weekend that we are capable of beating everyone. We just have to put it all together for one weekend. And we’ve got everybody healthy and everybody is training really well, so we’re pretty confident going into the weekend.”
It's official: Simms is in race for Mount Pearl North
It came in the middle of a scorching day in early August after a month of everyone waiting for summer weather to finally arrive, but it didn’t stop a crowd from filling the Masonic Community Centre to hear Mount Pearl Mayor Randy Simms announce he is seeking a seat in provincial politics.
Simms’ confirmation that he is running in Mount Pearl North against PC incumbent and Deputy Premier Steve Kent didn’t come as a surprise, but the timing did: Most political watchers in the city expected Simms to make the final decision on whether he would run at the end of the summer.
“I had an awful lot of people asking me about it and there was a lot of pressure to do something or to say something and I didn’t want people to believe that I had changed my mind or anything of that nature,” Simms said.
The announcement drew as much media attendance as normally accorded to a federal candidate or a provincial party leader. Simms said he was surprised by the attention. He puts it down to the fact he is running against a Deputy Premier and cabinet minister. “Everyone says this is going to be the one to watch,” he admitted.
Simms used the occasion to highlight some of the challenges facing the province in the coming years and said people are looking for a change in the way the province is managed.
“There is a certain sense in the air that change is upon us and that change is needed,” Simms repeated during an interview this week.
He pointed out the party in office has been in power some 13 years. “And I feel that the public are telling them that with our changing economy and our challenging demographics… it may be time for us to take a different direction.”
The time is also right for him personally to take a serious look at running provincially, he added. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” said Simms, who sought provincial office on two other occasions in his younger years. Since then, he has built a higher profile, not only as a councillor and now mayor of Mount Pearl, but also as one of the province’s best known media personalities and for a while as a manager of a non-profit organization. He has also served as the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities.
“I think I’m ready for it,” Simms said. “And I think my record is intact, that people feel that as a community leader and as a policy maker I have served my community well in that capacity and I am hoping they will look at me and say ‘We think you can serve our community well in this new capacity,’ and I look forward to maybe having that opportunity.”
Simms is one of the few politicians who have acknowledged that the province is facing serious economic and demographic challenges. But he said there is always a sense of trepidation on the part of the incoming party when administrations change.
“It’s one thing to get out there and run for it, it’s another thing to find yourself in the morning with the job,” he allowed. “I think we all know that the economic outlook for the next few years is not good. We all know the situation with oil prices and iron ore prices is not good. But we also know there are other opportunities in other natural resource fields, including what’s happening with our fishery. A lower Canadian dollar will bring some benefits. But how we spend money, where we’re going to spend money, what our priorities are going to be in the future – these are the kinds of things that I think the public are looking for a change in.”
Simms said he supports some of the initiatives announced by Liberal leader Dwight Ball and the party, including the promise to build a new Waterford Hospital for mental health care and to not implement the additional two cent cent levy on the province’s sales tax, which PC Leader and Premier Paul Davis has pledged to bring into effect starting January 1, 2016.
The HST hike would be a bad move to make at a bad time for the economy, Simms argued. “In this district we have an awful lot of people on fixed incomes, an awful lot of people who are retired, as well as young families who are trying to get ahead,” Simms said. “And they don’t need another two per cent stuck on their tax, not when your government and economists are telling you that the economy is actually slowing.”
As for his job on council, Simms said he will continue as Mayor until the first week of November when the writ for the provincial election is dropped. “When that happens I will take a leave of absence and I will stay out of City Hall until the election is over,” he said. “If I should I win, I will submit a resignation, the Deputy Mayor would become the mayor and there would be a by-election in late winter or early spring for a new councillor.”
Simms has appointed retired City Clerk and City Manager Gerard Lewis as his campaign manager, while the former general manager of VOCM, John Murphy, has agreed to serve as manager of communications. Simms and Lewis became acquainted in 1989 when Simms was first elected to council just months after Lewis began working for the City. Murphy was Simms’ boss when served as host of VOCM Open Line. “It’s good to have people participating whom the community knows,” said Simms, who is tickled by the irony of having one key person who in a sense worked for him for years on council and another for whom he worked for for years. “I think that’s very positive stuff,” Simms said.
Admiralty House hosts heritage funding drop, preps for centenary party
Admiralty House Museum served as the backdrop last month for an announcement of some $1.2 million in operational funding for 115 heritage groups throughout the province.
Some $9,770 of the money is being allocated to the Admiralty House Museum and Archives.
Business and Tourism Minister Darrin King said the recipients of the funding are reviewed by a special Heritage Advisory Council struck in 2012 and composed of representatives of the department, the Museums Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives, and the Association of Heritage Industries.
Seven groups are getting funding to help with special projects, including the Newfoundland and Labrador Archeological Society which hopes to encourage owners of private collections to come forward so that their artefacts can be documented.
“We want to gain a better understanding of collections that may not be curated,” said the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Archaeological Society, Tim Rast.
King complimented groups such as Rast’s for the invaluable work they do in preserving the province’s heritage.
“As the summer winds down, this announcement is a reminder of the valuable role these organizations play in our communities,” King said. “Summer time is a very important time for museum and heritage organizations across Newfoundland and Labrador. Employees and volunteers work hard to showcase our history, our culture and our heritage to Newfoundland and Labrador families on vacation, to children in summer day camps, to those who have long summer days to themselves and free time, and to tourists who come to our province to experience for themselves this very special place that we call home.”
Mount Pearl North MHA and Health Minister Steve Kent welcomed all the press conference guests to Mount Pearl. He noted he has a special connection to Admiralty House, having worked with a number of community organizations when the museum re-opened in 1997 and having supported it later as mayor. “This has been an important part of community life for me and thousands of citizens over the last number of years,” he added. “I’ve been involved in touring many youth groups through this facility, many celebrations have happened here at Admiralty House and the beautiful grounds that surround Admiralty House. I’ve attended many arts events at this facility and cultural events. I’ve performed wedding ceremonies (as mayor) out on the grounds.”
Kent said the heritage funding announced by King helps heritage facilities and organizations to operate.
Later this month, Admiralty House Museum, which is mostly funded by the City of Mount Pearl, will celebrate a milestone of its own as it marks its 100th anniversary. The facility was built as a secret naval wireless station for the British navy during the first world war. It is the oldest structure in Mount Pearl.
Museum chairman John Riche said the actual anniversary is September 16. On that day the staff and board will hold a small event at the site. The main celebration will come on Saturday, September 19. “It will be a big event,” said Riche. “The CLB band will be playing, we’ll have their Honours the Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan and Patricia Fagan, Senator Elizabeth Marshall is bringing greetings from Ottawa, Mayor Randy Simms will be there and the provincial government will be bringing somebody.”
The event will be hosted in the back garden. “Our grounds are spectacular in the early fall,” Riche said.
Meanwhile, the museum’s board and staff will soon start working on a funding application to prepare for the centenary of the sinking of the S.S. Florizel in 2018. Admiralty House has an extensive display and collection of artefacts related to the famous sealing and passenger vessel, which sank off Cappahayden in a snow storm on February 25, 1918 with a loss of 138 people.
AAMP touting biggest arts festival yet
The Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl will mark its 10th anniversary year with its biggest ARTFUSiON Festival ever on September 12-19th, say organizers.
The celebrations begin with a daylong celebration of the arts on Saturday, September 12 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Kenmount Park Community Centre. This year is particularly special because ARTFUSiON will be a Doors Open site.
“The ARTFUSiON Festival on Saturday, September 12th includes all kinds of fun performances and activities. There will be displays by local artists and artisans, crafts and activities for the kids, and an introductory community art project for everyone to participate in,” said AAMP’s co-chairperson, Cindy Foote.
The celebrations continue throughout the week with a number of workshops, activities and events. The 2015 festival has a mix of new performers and crowd favorites, including singer/songwriter Chris LeDrew and storyteller Catherine Wright.
“Following our full day of performances and displays, we have workshops ranging from writing to dancing, storytelling, crafts for kids and acting for youth and adults,” added fellow co-chairperson Christine Hennebury. “There is even a murder mystery event taking place at Coffee Matters to end off the festival. However you like to participate in the arts - from audience member to performer to crafter- we have something interesting for you to do during ARTFUSiON Week.”
The Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl encourages all residents of Mount Pearl and surrounding areas to join in the week of fun. Hennebury and Stamp said they would like to express their sincere gratitude to all of AAMP’s community partners and sponsors for their support in making this festival what they hope will be the most successful to date.
City moving to online only registration for most rec programs
The City of Mount Pearl will make a special effort to make sure seniors have access to flyers and brochures informing them about schedules and registration procedures for recreational programs.
The move comes at the urging of councillor Lucy Stoyles, who raised the issue at last week's public council meeting. She said not all seniors have access to computers to go online and learn about the programs. The City used to publish an Activity Guide that listed its recreational programs and registration guidelines that was mailed to every home in Mount Pearl, but discontinued the practice last year because of the cost.
Deputy Mayor Jim Locke noted the other reason for no longer publishing the guide is that the City is trying “to filter everything through a green lens.” All program information is now posted on the City’s website starting in late August, he added, and also available at the Summit Centre.
“It’s not that we’re getting rid of all the print material. At the Summit Centre there will be individual pamphlets for the variety of programs,” said Locke. “So residents can still go and avail of that.”
Mayor Randy Simms said Stoyles raised a good point and argued the City should have hard copies of the material available for people who request it.
Locke suggested the City might be able to enlist the help of the Seniors Independence Group in getting the word out about the programs.
“That’s an excellent outlet for it,” Simms agreed.
Meanwhile, registration for all recreational programs this year will only be done online, Locke said. The City moved from on-site registration to online registration last year, but didn’t make it mandatory for aquatic programs. This year, registration in aquatic programs will have to be done online too. Registration for the aquatic programs will open on Tuesday, September 8 for Mount Pearl residents only, with non-residents being able to register for the programs two days later. Registration for all the other fitness programs opened on August 31.
One set of programs remain open for in-person registration. People interested in participating in 50 Plus activities can register in person at the Summit Centre starting on September 8. They can also do it online.
Summit Centre remains open as pool closes for early maintenance
Though the building has only been open for months, there is nothing unusual about the new swimming pool at the Summit Centre being closed for two weeks for “regular maintenance,” says the City of Mount Pearl’s Director of Community Services, Jason Collins.
Collins was asked at the August 25 public council meeting to explain the reason for the maintenance shut down after the chairman of council’s Community Services Committee, Deputy Mayor Jim Locke, said the state of the art aquatic centre would be closed from September 5 to 20. The fitness facilities at the Summit Centre and the Reid Centre will remain open.
“I was asked by a resident the other day how come a building that is not even a year old (is closing for maintenance)?” said councillor Dave Aker. “I know it was under construction and occupied for about three years now, but what is involved with the maintenance?”
Collins said the work is privative in nature. “It could be anything from looking at the skimmers and sensors, to giving the steel a proper cleaning and a waxing when it comes to the pool deck, things that you typically can’t do when the pool is in operation,” he added.
Some of the water will be drained from the pool to allow the maintenance work to be conducted, Collins acknowledged.
Mayor Randy Simms asked whether the shut down for maintenance will be carried out in early September every year.
Collins said the period could vary. Staff opted to undertake the work at this time, he explained, because of the possibility of dust being left in the centre from the recent construction activities, and there happens to be a lull in the pool’s schedule.
Councillor Lucy Stoyles pointed out that maintenance at the old pool was usually carried out in December.
NLHC housing units getting facelift
Modernization and improvements are underway on 10 Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) homes on Topsail Road in Mount Pearl.
G.S. Hunt Enterprises Ltd. has been awarded a $417,000 contract to undertake interior and exterior renovations on the social housing properties.
The 10 units are contained in one building which will receive new roofing, siding, windows, doors, ventilation and electrical upgrades, along with the installation of heat recovery ventilation systems (HRVs) and exhaust fans. The property will also receive various site improvements. The anticipated completion date is April 2016.
“I am pleased to see this contract awarded and the work started. The significant upgrades being undertaken on these 10 social housing homes is just one indication of how our government, through Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, is helping people with low incomes to live in comfortable home environments,” said Mount Pearl North MHA Steve Kent.