The national polls are trending against the NDP and locally he is in a squeaker of a race against a challenger who seems to have picked up some wind in his sails, but the incumbent member in St. John's South - Mount Pearl, Ryan Cleary, says he is feeling confident going into Monday's election.
"I feel strong," Cleary insisted. "I take absolutely nothing for granted, but I feel strong. I feel that the support is there at the doors. People see that I'm busy, they see that I've been working, they see that I've been standing up in the House of Commons for different issues that affect not just the riding but for the province. So no, I feel strong. But again I take nothing for granted."
Cleary indicated he isn't too worried about the effect the waning NDP numbers nationally will have on his campaign. "My strategy, I guess from day one as a Member of Parliament, was to work my butt off and to build a strong base in terms of case work, in terms of my work in the community and in terms of my work in the House of Commons," he said. "To build a strong base so that in the event of a worst case scenario, I'd be strong. So I have done my work for four years and I think that is why I feel strong... My strategy has been to build a strong base here and I think I've done that."
The self-styled Fighting Newfoundlander said nobody has made an issue of his party leader Thomas Mulcair having used the word Newfie in an insulting fashion during his days as a member of the Quebec national assembly. "I know obviously it was a news story when he was here, but I have not gotten that once," he said.
Cleary bristled at the suggestion that he has been overselling himself as a Newfoundland patriot. "It used to be that I was known as a one trick pony for the fishery," he said. "And now it's for Newfoundland and Labrador. If you want to portray me that way, I don't think that that's a bad thing. I do stand up for Newfoundland and Labrador. This is a total cliché; I do represent Newfoundland and Labrador in Ottawa and not the other way around. And after four years in Ottawa buddy, that means something to me, because it's a fight every way you turn for a small province and a fight to put our interests first and foremost."
Asked if he is fearful that he is limiting how other people see him, Cleary replied, "I'm afraid of noting... I don't care how other people see me. I am there for a reason; to fight for Newfoundland and Labrador and St. John's South - Mount Pearl, that's it, that's a full time job. I've spoken more about Newfoundland and Labrador in Question Period, for example, than any Liberal MP. This is what I do. This is a full time fight for Newfoundland and Labrador and if people don't like it boy, I don't know what to tell you."
As for his fight to keep his seat, Cleary said it's assuming a lot to say the race is close. "That's not what I feel at the doors," he said. "I feel strong support. Again, I take nothing for granted, but I feel strong support."
Cleary said he has no idea what his Liberal opponent Seamus O'Regan's campaign team is like, "but I have a fantastic crew around me and that crew is constantly growing. And we are flat out, be it telephone calls or knocking on doors or drops, you name it, we're there and we've got a crowd doing it."
If re-elected, Cleary said he will pursue three priorities. The first is helping seniors, who happen to be the biggest demographic in the riding. "From Newfoundland and Labrador's perspective I think one of the big things coming up is Northern Shrimp and LIFO (Ottawa's 'last in, first out' policy for cancelling the licences of harvesters in the event of quota cuts)," he said. "Something has to be done about LIFO. And we have a commitment from the party to fix it based on the twin principles of adjacency and historical attachment, so I'm going to make sure we follow through on that. Thousands of jobs are dependent on that and impacting the economy of the entire province and St. John's South - Mount Pearl."
The third priority, Cleary said, is to get more information about the Search and Rescue response to the sinking of the fishing vessel Atlantic Charger in northern waters this past fall. "When I get back to Ottawa I'm going to push on that," he said. "The nine crewmen... all got into immersion suits, they all got into a life raft, they all survived, fantastic. But questions have been raised about what happened with the Cormorant (helicopter) response to that, especially amongst the crew and the owner. So I'm going to ask questions about that as well."
And if he loses the election?
"I don't know boy, do you think the media will have me back?" he responded, laughing. "I'm in it to win it. I'm in it to win it."
Cleary's final message is that "Harper is going to be gone. Nobody is clear away in the polls. I think there is going to be a minority government,” he said. “I think we're going to need the strongest possible representation from the province and I think that that's what I represent."
Mount Pearl Referee gets call from the AHL
The Mount Pearl Referees Association is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with another milestone: the induction of Darryl Butt into the ranks of professional hockey as a new official this season in the American Hockey League.
It's the second time in just a few years that an alumnus of the MPRA has been recruited to officiate in the league. Justin Day officiated at games at Mile One Centre for three seasons before recently moving to Labrador West where he is a member of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
MPRA president Gary Martin congratulated Butt on his accomplishment and thanked Day for all his efforts with the association over the years. "MPRA prides itself on official development, with both Darryl and Justin being two examples of the strength of the program," said Martin.
Butt is looking forward to his first game in the AHL on Tuesday, October 20 when the St. John's IceCaps host the Binghampton Senators. Butt, now 34, has been refereeing and skating the lines since he was 14, and still gets nervous before most games.
But he gets great satisfaction from officiating. His ice work was noticed by a local AHL supervisor last spring and Butt was invited to join the small cadre of Newfoundland officials who do the lines at AHL games. Butt acknowledged it was the result of a lot of work and training over the years and the the opportunities to learn provided by the Mount Pearl Referees Association.
"I played hockey all the way up through with Mount Pearl Minor Hockey," Butt said, explaining where his interest in officiating originated. Once he became an official at 14, he continued playing hockey up to junior. After junior, he stepped up his officiating involvement significantly. He liked the way it opened up another aspect of the game for him.
"When you're playing, you have one mindset," he said, " and that's to get the puck and score. But when you are an official you've got to watch 12 players on the ice. You've got to have your head on a swivel the whole time... Your focus is to control the game and call the penalties. The safety of the players comes first."
Butt allowed you need a thick skin sometimes to be an official. And you always have to be open to learning new things."I'm still learning new stuff," he said.
Much like hockey, officials in MPSA look up to older officials for guidance and instruction. "One of my mentors when I first started was Kevin Penney," Butt said. "He started (officiating) in the AHL in 1991. I had just come on board and was only young, but he used to help me out. Now I do the same for Mount Pearl Minor. I help to develop the younger kids and do on ice sessions with them."
Butt also helps with the clinics for score keepers and time keepers. In the "off season," he has officiated at national ball hockey championships.
Butt said Mount Pearl has one of the strongest referees' associations in the province. "It's acknowledged that we have good, steady, strong quality officials," he said. "We've got about 700 kids in Mount Pearl Minor Hockey and right now between 40 and 45 officials... We actually have a waiting list of 14 people trying to get in. We can't take everybody every year, but we always try to take in one or two new ones and develop them... But we've always met our capacity. We're never short on numbers."
Butt doesn't know how many games he will officiate in the AHL this season. He will also be busy calling games in local senior, junior, high school and minor hockey leagues. He usually logs between 60 and 80 games a season.
His goal as a rookie linesman in the AHL is the same one he brings to every game. "I want to do my best," said Butt. "You still want to push and be the best official that you can be.”
Admiralty House celebrates centenary with a proper fete
The people who operated the secret Royal Naval station that is now the home of Admiralty House Museum were honoured last month during a garden party and fete to mark the 100th anniversary of the facility’s opening.
Lieutenant Governor Frank Fagan and his wife Patricia, along with fellow guests Senator Beth Marshall, Mayor Randy Simms, Mount Pearl North MHA Steve Kent and councillor Paula Tessier, representing the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, unveiled a centennial plaque and planted two trees to commemorate the occasion: an oak, which is “It’s a real honour for my wife and I to be here today," said the Lieutenant Governor. "My wife is a breast cancer survivor so it's especially meaningful for us. Cancer touches most people in this province one way or another. In fact we lost our 25 year old son in his battle with cancer, so it's especially meaningful to us."
Fagan pointed out the province is marking the 100th anniversary of the First World War. It was on August 4, 1914 that the Lieutenant Governor of that day received a telegram from Britain announcing the Commonwealth was at war, he said.
"Within weeks he made a commitment that we would marshal 500 soldiers that we would send over to help Britain in the war effort," said Fagan.
Two months later, on October 4, the first contingent of Newfoundland soldiers left St. John's aboard the Florizel for Europe. A month after that the British Admiralty issued an order to build a number of secret communications installations around the world, including Admiralty House.
"Of course, Newfoundland - the small little country that we were at the time - rose to that requirement and today we're here to celebrate the construction of Admiralty House which was done on September 16, 1915,” Fagan said. “It's always wonderful to see a beautiful and lasting tribute, that not only remembers the people who participated here but also celebrates the people who participated in the whole area of the First World war."
Admiralty House chairman John Riche said when Great Britain was at war a century ago, "the Dominion of Newfoundland was central to His Majesty's war efforts. The early months of the Great War demonstrated the significance of new wireless communication technology. This was especially true during the Battle of Coronel in the south Atlantic off the coast of Chile in November of 1914.Communication problems and delays resulted in a significant naval defeat for the British Empire. Thus the Admiralty ordered the construction of 11 identical long range secret wireless stations. They were in locations such as Singapore, Ceylon, Hong Kong and on the outskirts of St. John's, which is today's Mount Pearl. This very place proved the strategic and ideal location for this building due to its security from enemy bombardment, the conductivity of the soil, accessibility for the transport of materials and fresh water and the employability of the locals."
HM Wireless Station St. John's, as it was called, was constructed and supplied by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company Limited. It opened and began operations on Sept. 16, 1915, Riche said. It was part of a global network that transmitted, received and intercepted Morse code for the British Empire throughout the Great War.
The soldiers who operated the station lived there as well and spent their leisure time in the area, said Riche, "whether it was snow showing, skiing, playing hockey, boxing, biking, hunting - and many had dog companions who lived in the station with them. Several of the men often picnicked with the Parsons family who lived on a nearby farm."
Some of the men married local women and a number of marriage ceremonies were held at the station, Riche added.
"Despite these jolly good times, however, danger was present," Riche said. There were two known attempts of sabotage on the station. One operator died in the spark room.
"The men of H.M. Wireless Station St. John's, their lively characters and spirits and dedication to the empire and the cause on the home front is a large part of why we celebrate today," Riche said. "Moreover, those men, the museum and this building reminds us - the community, the province and our nation - of the importance of educating, preserving and maintaining our culture, history and heritage."
Senator Marshall pointed out the station’s connection with the S.S. Florizel. The museum has an extensive Florizel exhibition, including a recreation of the vessel’s wireless room, where passengers huddled together awaiting rescue after the vessel struck rocks off Cappahayden and foundered in a winter storm on February 24, 1918. Some 94 of the 118 passengers aboard the vessel were lost.
“I must say, for me the exhibit on the Florizel disaster is the most poignant,” Marshall said.
Marshall said not only did the Florizel carry the First 500 soldiers from Newfoundland overseas, it was also used in the seal hunt and to search for bodies after the sinking of the Titanic. The Peter Pan statue in Bowring Park, she noted, was erected in the memory of a little girl who died on the Florizel when it foundered off Cappahayden.
“I find that in Newfoundland and Labrador, we're all connected and all the events are connected," Marshall said.
The Senator congratulated the City of Mount Pearl for preserving Admiralty House and its beautiful grounds. "This is truly a place where people can come and learn about one aspect of the history of our province," she said, "and sit and quietly reflect on the important role wireless communications has played in our community over the past century. I'm confident this centre will remain an important part of our community for many years to come."
To give a flavour of what newfoundland was like in 1915 when Admiralty House opened, Deputy Premier Kent Steve Kent cited excerpts from the Evening Telegram of September 16, 1015. The paper contained updates that almost seemed "routine" after a year of war, he said.
"They told of engagements far away, of how many soldiers had made the supreme sacrifice and of Britain's efforts to finance the war effort," said Kent. "Meanwhile, here at home, even though so many were overseas, life continued. Ayre's had a sale on for the approach of the fall hunting season. McMurdo's was selling something called Worm Syrup, which I personally have never tried or experienced, and cod fishermen reported squid to be abnormally scarce. However most didn't know at that time, and it wasn't in the Evening Telegram, that the Marconi company was about to throw a switch right here on something very secret."
Kent said the new technology at the wireless station helped guide and protect ships and supplies crossing the Atlantic. "Now in 2015 we honour the efforts of those who blazed new trails and used the latest technology to keep us safe," he said. "Admiralty House is such an important historic site. It is vital that we maintain this link with our history."
Kent noted that earlier this year the provincial government provided some $570,000 to the museum for upgrades to the site.
"I encourage you to look at the exhibits here today and reflect on a time when soldiers were stationed here out in the country to help keep others safe,” he added. “Ask staff about the unconfirmed story of two enemy soldiers who were found right here hiding under a pile of snow during the war; ask about the time the Florizel, which had carried so many of our sons to war, ran aground in Cappahayden in the final year of the Great War. The distress signal was received right here; and as the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel approaches, and province wide activities take place to honour those soldiers, let's all remember the role that this station played in moving people safely across the North Atlantic."
Mayor Simms agreed the contribution of Admiralty House to the war effort was "tremendous and significant. But after the war, due to changing times and technology, Admiralty House was no longer used as a secret wireless site, he said. "And after that, not a lot happened on this property."
That is, Simms added, until a special person, the late councillor Gloria Pearson, "who spearheaded, who passionately believed that this building and that these grounds should be preserved for all time."
Simms said Pearson was adamant with council that "we could not let this particular facility and this building simply go away. It had to be preserved."
The question was, said Simms, preserved as what?
"'Let's make it a museum,' she said. She had a lot of people on council who agreed with her,” Simms recalled. “So I'm honoured that our City had that kind of sage wisdom and advice presented and a passionate argument made that we should try and … keep the building so that forever in Mount Pearl's history it would remain one of the iconic places in our community. It is tremendous that we were able to preserve it, tremendous that future generations will be able to come look at exhibits, look at art displays, look at other activities that are taking place and can pause and remember the importance of what Admiralty House really was back in the day."
Councillor Tessier, representing the Newfoundland and Labrador Branch of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, pointed out the contingent of breast cancer survivors in the audience, including Mount Pearl resident Linda Ryan, who started Pink Days in Bloom in Newfoundland, a project that has spread across Atlantic Canada.
Tessier was delighted to learn that Ryan and the other women had decided to include Admiralty House in their Pink Tree Initiative
The grounds are about to get another gift too, Tessier noted. Seventy years ago, Tessier said, Holland presented Canada with a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs in appreciation of the help provided in liberating the country from the Nazis in World War II. "Vessey Seeds in Prince Edward Island decided that this year, on the 70th anniversary, they would honour that gift by also awarding 100,000 tulips to different municipalities and initiatives across Canada," she said. "They received 450 applications. Four were awarded in Newfoundland and Labrador. And the City of Mount Pearl and Admiralty House grounds will be the proud recipients of 700 tulip bulbs - 350 red, 350 white."
After the tree plantings, Riche thanked the City of Mount Pearl for its support, Muir's Marble Works for donating the centennial plaque, and the other sponsors that supported the event, as well as the Church Lads Brigade band, which provided fabulous entertainment throughout the afternoon.
The public event drew a good crowd, including residents of Hillcrest Estates and the Royal Canadian Legion. Later in the afternoon, a special cake was cut to commemorate the day’s festivities.
Campia springs towards new multimillion dollar home
Mount Pearl has taken another leap towards completing its status as the athletics and recreation capital of Newfoundland with a $4.5 million gymnastics centre announced for 21 Old Placentia Road.
The centre, which will open next year, will be owned and run by non-profit Campia Gymnastics.
Municipal Affairs Minister Keith Hutchings was on hand for the announcement, which includes a $1.9 million contribution from provincial and City of Mount Pearl taxpayers. The lion's share of the financing is being backed by Campia.
"The facility will benefit the children and families of this city, and certainly the region, for many years to come," Hutchings said. "Once constructed, the facility will boast 10,000 square feet of floor space, tumbling and trampoline pits - which sound like a lot of fun - viewing areas and (an additional 2,000 square metres of) office space."
Hutchings said Mount Pearl has always been known as a family friendly community and the facility will help maintain that "tremendous" image.
“Recreation infrastructure is one of the most critical investments the government can make,” Hutchings said. "The ability of our young people, adults, and seniors to be physically active, to socialize, to gather with members of your community, is what makes are our communities strong and places that people are proud to call home.”
Mayor Randy Simms was equally effusive. "This is truly a great day for the City of Mount Pearl as we once again expand on our ever increasing role as a community committed to sports and recreation," he said.
Simms underlined the regional aspect of the facility. "It will allow for regional and provincial competitions and will no doubt become the place to participate in top quality gymnastics competitions and it will foster growth within the sport, not only in Mount Pearl but all across the Northeast Avalon," he added.
Simms said the City wanted to see the facility come to fruition because it fits so well with Mount Pearl's tourism and recreation strategy.
"The facility will stimulate community and business growth as thousands of participants will come to our city, to our region and to our province to engage in sporting events in this state of the art building," Simms said. "The centre is also going to be an investment in our health and our wellness... It is being built for our children, it is being built for our youth. I understand there may even be a program or two for some old guys like me to do some stretching."
Mount Pearl North MHA and Deputy Premier Steve Kent, whom Hutchings credited with putting a lot of work into the project, recalled his first paying job, that was not just a summer job, was as a gymnastics coach first with the City and then Campia.
"I've got to say I feel a tremendous sense of pride today because this is a project that a lot of people having been working on for a long, long time, myself included," Kent said. "This is a personal passion of mine, I have to admit."
Kent noted his parents participate in Campia's programs as does one of his sons. "I look forward going with them to the brand new facility that we'll open together in the months ahead," he said.
Kent thanked council and City staff for working with the province in striking an agreement, as well as Campia's building committee.
"A facility such as this helps create an environment that is attractive to families in our community," Kent said. "As previous speakers have mentioned, soon enough there will be 10,000 square feet of space... But more importantly, there will be 10,000 square feet of young people engaged in physical activity. As Minister responsible for Health, I take a tremendous sense of pride in knowing that is the case."
Kent said it will be nice to have a facility that meets the needs of a rapidly growing program. "I know the facility you are in is woefully inadequate," he said. "You've really maximized the use of that space for a long time. I remember the days when we had to unroll and roll up floor mats to run sessions at the Reid Centre... The sport has come a long, long way. Campia is bigger and healthier and stronger than it has ever been and that's a really good thing."
Campia president Melanie Hollett, who got involved with the group when her daughter joined gymnastics eight years ago at the age of five, apologized in advance in case she got emotional during her remarks.
"I can't believe we're here in this room today," Hollett said. "I was very involved in sports growing up in Mount Pearl as a child, participating as a competitive figure skater and as a soccer player... I still spend most of my days in the great City where I grew up. We own a business in Mount Pearl, my mother still lives in the home where I grew up and I often hear my husband joke about my 'full time' volunteer job with Campia Gymnastics."
Hollet said Mount Pearl will always be a big part of her. "And I couldn't be more thrilled to be giving back to the youth and sport in the City of Mount Pearl."
Campia started out as a non-profit group in 1986, Hollett noted. In 1994 it took over responsibility for the City's gymnastics program and several years later merged with a club in Conception Bay South. "Today, Campia's membership is approximately 1,000 athletes with a waiting list of nearly 400 participants, surpassing all of our projections to this point," she said.
The new facility will be twice the size of the current one being leased in Donovans Business Park. "Imagine what we will be able to offer to the community once we move into our new home," Hollett said. "Our new 12,000 square foot facility will be the largest gymnastics facility in Newfoundland and Labrador... We will be able to accommodate more members and with the addition of new foam pits, the athletes will be able to train in a safer environment. This truly is a dream come true and I cannot wait to see the looks on the children's faces the first time they walk through the doors to see their new home."
Hollett said fundraising will continue over the next year to raise money for new equipment. "We want to walk into our new facility on the first day with shiny new equipment for the children," she said. "Although we have raised a significant amount of money to this point, we still need to continue raising funds to make this happen."
The new centre, said Hollett, has been 10 years in the making. She thanked Campia's board members, staff, the City of Mount Pearl and the provincial government for bringing the dream to reality.
"Gymnastics teaches so many things," said Hollett. "Not only strength and flexibility, but teamwork and social skills, self-confidence and work ethic, discipline and determination, performance and compassion and the list goes on. Thank you, City of Mount Pearl and provincial government. Be proud knowing you have impacted all these children in setting the foundations for a brighter future."
Blazers earn silver at Atlantic championships
Mount Pearl’s AAA Mosquito Blazers had a good showing in Dieppe, New Brunswick last month at the Atlantic baseball championships. The group headed to the tournament after securing the gold medal in the provincial championships held in St. John's on Labour Day weekend.
In Dieppe, Mount Pearl beat two teams from New Brunswick and a squad from Prince Edward Island, earning a spot in the championship game against Nova Scotia. The Mount Pearl Blazers managed a silver medal in that contest.
The team consists of Jaden Dyke. Dave Parsons (coach), Trevor Murphy (coach), Charles Dyke (head coach), Gabe Trickett, Paul Oake (coach), Ryder Ash, Reegan Hiscock, Nathan Frelich, Braedy Walsh, Cameron Pennell, Noah King, Kalan Noonan, Jack Sullivan, Ryan Murphy and Logan Broderick.
'Farmer Jim' Lester enters provincial politics
For Jim Lester, his life’s work has always been a family affair. So when the farmer and entrepreneur looked at entering politics, as the PC Party candidate in the new district of Mount Pearl – Southlands, it was a decision threshed out with the family too.
Lester and his wife Michelle – she’s the vice president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture - have three children. Daughter Samantha, 21, manages the farmhouse flavoured banquet facility on Pearltown Road, which the family opened in 2010. Son John, 18, a high school student, looks after the crops and fields. “He’s definitely going to be a farmer,” says Jim. And Caleb, 12, likes tending to the animals.
The Lesters go back seven generations on this land. Their forebear, John Lester, arrived in 1836 as the 14 year old assistant to British navy veteran Captain John Pearl, who was himself a teenager when he served under Admiral Horatio Nelson during the famous tangle with the Spanish fleet at Trafalgar.
Years later, Pearl was given the land at what is now Mount Pearl as a reward for his long service to the Crown. Young Lester was charged with looking after his horses.
“By the time he was 19, he was the foreman of Captain Pearl’s farm,” says Lester. “And when Captain Pearl died, he looked after the farm for Lady Pearl.”
She left Lester 100 acres of the land upon her death. He and his descendants have been farming here ever since.
Like most of his ancestors, Lester has been a full time farmer most of his life. “I remember in high school my mother tried to convince me to go outside of agriculture for my career,” he says, smiling. He tried university for a while, but came home one day and said, “That’s it, I’m meant to be on the farm.”
Lester has proven himself to be one of the most successful and innovative farmers in the province. Along with the banquet ‘barn,’ which is used for wedding receptions, pig roasts, birthday parties, conventions and all kinds of social functions, Lester operates a U-pick patch and busy vegetable market. His latest venture is an aquaponics facility that combines hydroponics and agriculture to grow vegetables year round and raise tilapia, a fish that grows to about two pounds in weight. It’s the most modern facility of its kind in the world, he says. “It’s a zero waste facility,” he notes.
With such a busy farming enterprise, it’s not surprising Lester wrestled with the idea of entering politics.
“It was something that we put a lot of thought into it,” he says of himself and his family. “We’re quite occupied here because our farm is always growing – in more ways than one, pardon the pun… So yes it was something that we did evaluate in terms of how much time we were going to have to put into it. But I feel it’s part of my responsibility that the agriculture industry in our province doesn’t get put to the wayside. We need to continue to expand our agricultural production, we need to expand the number of people we have in agriculture, and I think we really need to make the public aware of how important it is to be more sustainable when it comes to our food production. And I think that from a political stage I’d be in a better position to do that. If I can influence our food policy to increase production by even a very small percentage, it would be a great accomplishment.”
It was his exposure to its efforts to improve agriculture in the province that convinced him to run for the PCs, Lester says. That and efforts Mount Pearl North MHA Steve Kent made on their behalf when Lester’s family encountered bureaucratic hurdles at Confederation Building. Kent was the Parliamentary Secretary for agriculture at the time.
Kent didn’t solve the problem, Lester says, but he tried.
“I’ve been really encouraged by the strides we have made in the agriculture industry under the current government,” Lester says. “They’re food production supportive.”
From lobbying Ottawa for funding for Newfoundland farmers, to supporting market development and production programs, this PC government has always been at the table, he argues. He says he likes the way the government has taken a long term view of the value of agricultural as a sustainable industry.
Though the district is mostly urban, or suburban, Lester thinks his message will find a home among voters.
“That will be part of my ‘knock on the door speech for sure,” he says. “I know in this area there are people who are concerned with food production, how we are treating our environment and there is an extremely high number of young families. I get the sense they’re concerned with issues of preserving our environment, protecting our resources, increasing our own food production.”
The other big concern for Lester is the habit the provincial government has of borrowing money to cover everyday expenses. “We can’t afford to do that anymore,” he says. “That really concerns me, not only as a citizen, but as a business person who knows that you can’t afford to keep in business if you’ve got to borrow to keep the lights on.”
Lester sees it is as the biggest issue facing government.
“We have to realize that we have to be able to pay for these services,” he says. “We cannot keep shouldering the load onto future generations.”
The reliance on a commodity as volatile as oil has to change, he says.
It’s blunt talk from a fellow running for a party that found ways to burn through mountains of tax and oil royalty revenues and still end up borrowing most years to cover the bills.
“I don’t want to be too critical, because there has been an extreme amount of infrastructure put in place, because it was crumbling around us, from hospitals to schools, a lot of it almost Confederation era infrastructure,” Lester says. “Those types of things had to be replaced or improved. Basically I think we have to be more efficient in our deliverance of government provided services and really be careful about where we are spending our money. If we can’t afford something, we’re just going to have to do without it for a little bit.”
That message is a tough sell and he knows it. “My grandfather said to me one time, ‘Jim, the right decision is not necessarily going to be the popular one,’” Lester says.
He points to the health care system noting it’s the most expensive one in the country but with one of the lowest satisfaction rates. “Our doctors are not by far the highest paid in the country, they’re among the lowest paid in the country, the same with our nurses,” he adds. “We really have to look at that and see where we can improve the deliverance of service.”
Lester says he has always been interested in the way government works. “My wife and I are firm believers that we may have our names on the deed to this land, but we’re only borrowing it,” he says. “So I don’t want decisions to be made today that are going to prevent future generations of either my family or Newfoundlanders from being able to do the same things I do and make a living from the land.”
Lester’s expectations about politics are tempered by a farmer’s practicality. “I’m sure when I get elected that I’m not going to be able to fix everybody’s problems,” he admits. “And to say that I will would be contrary to what I believe… I realize there are some issues that are just not going to be fixable. To effect 100 per cent change is not conceivable… I’ll put my best effort into it, but I don’t expect to reinvent the wheel by any means. But if myself and everyone else in government would make even a slight change to something, my God, how much better off would we be?”
Lester is holding off on the door to door campaign until the federal Conservatives choose a candidate for the riding of St. John’s South – Mount Pearl. Lester says he has already been confused by some people as being the federal candidate.
“Democracy is an important thing,” Lester says. “And the sad part about Newfoundland politics is that usually when there is a change of government, it’s a landslide change. You need an effective Opposition as much as you need an effective government.”
Lester doesn’t like partisan politics, because of the pressure on all sides to make people in other parties look like idiots. “A lot of efforts and good ideas don’t come to fruition (because of that) and ultimately it’s the citizen who pays,” he says.
“We’re headed for some real, real challenging times,” Lester adds. “And once upon a time, when we were a Have-not province, it was okay, because the rest of Canada was doing fine and they were able to support us. But we’re looking at global economic collapse. We don’t want to be on the bottom of that.”
Despite the unpopularity of the PCs, Lester remains hopeful he can win. “A couple of people told me you win an election door by door,” he says. “And polls can change three or four times between now and the election. I’m confident we’re going to put our best effort in and if people hear my message and understand who I am, yes, I am confident we will win.”
And what will the voters of Mount Pearl – Southlands get if he does win? Lester thinks carefully about his answer.
“I am an incredibly hard worker,” he says. “And a problem solver. Through the development of our farm we came up against a lot of brick walls and when I figure out that we can’t smash through them, I figure out a way we can go around them or go over the top of them. And that’s exactly what I’ll bring to the House of Assembly.”
MP Minor Baseball outlines big hopes for coming year
Brian Hunt is fired up. The president of Mount Pearl Minor Baseball has pieced together a roster of big plans for the association in the coming year. He’s also celebrating after teams from the club won a record six medals this season, including four gold, at provincial tournaments.
Hunt is hoping a series of coinciding events – especially the provincial election and the Blue Jays streak toward the World Series – will coalesce to boost the growth of baseball in the region.
The last time the Jays went deep into the post season, in 1992, he said, membership in baseball associations in St. John’s and Mount Pearl nearly doubled. Hunt is in talks with the Blue Jays to have the major league club hold training camps for young ball players here next summer.
The association is already growing and improving competitively. Mount Pearl won the Peewee AAA in Corner Brook and came fourth in the nationals, the Mosquito AAA team won the provincial gold in St. John’s, the Mosquito A team won all three tournaments they played this summer and the Bantam AA squad won gold for the second year in a row. That tournament was hosted in Mount Pearl. The club’s Under 12 Girls team won the silver medal at the provincial tournament, which they hosted. And a Peewee A team won a silver medal in Grand Falls. “It was an awesome year,” said Hunt.
He is hoping to see the success continue this weekend when the Mosquito AAA team plays in Dieppe, New Brunswick and the Bantam AA plays at the Baseball Atlantics in St. John’s.
Last year, Mount Pearl Minor Baseball teams won two gold medals provincially. Before that the last time the association won gold was in 2007.
Hunt attributes the improvement in performance to efforts to professionalize the association and instill a sense of pride in the players. That includes using major league replica jerseys and hats imported from the United States for house league players to wear during games and to keep afterwards.
“Eight years ago we decided to brand the league, so ‘Mount Pearl Minor Baseball’ is on everything,” Hunt added. “We bought all new All Star uniforms.”
Another strategy has been to reach out to other baseball associations in the province to build relationships, Hunt said.
“As that progressed, our (registration) numbers started rising,” Hunt said. “Once our numbers started rising, we started to get the athletic kids into the system. Once we get the athletic kids into the system, it’s only a matter of coaching those kids to get them to the next level.”
Mount Pearl Minor Baseball is attracting top athletes from other sports including hockey and soccer, Hunt said. He hopes to make the Mount Pearl ‘Blazers’ as synonymous with provincial baseball as the Corner Brook ‘Barons’ and St. John’s ‘Caps.’
Hunt said the association is selective about who it appoints as coaches. The 400 player club has about 80 coaches and volunteers.
“The big thing is getting the numbers… If you build it, it will come,” Hunt said.
The Blue Jays organization has not yet committed to holding development camps in Mount Pearl but is awaiting a formal proposal, said Hunt, who has been talking with Roberto and Sandy Alomar.
Another major plank in his ‘Strategic Plan’ is to establish a Challenger Program for disabled children to play baseball. “That’s a big thing,” said Hunt. “A lot of government money comes with that.”
The Paradise baseball association already has a Challenger program, Hunt said, but it has only 14 or 15 children and they are playing on fields that have not been specially fitted with asphalt between the bases to properly accommodate wheelchairs.
A major feature of the plan is the building of a new club house for Mount Pearl Minor Baseball. “We need a place where the kids can gather,” Hunt said. “That’s a big piece of the puzzle.”
He estimates the cost at some $400,000. Hunt is hoping the Challenger field and wheelchair accessible clubhouse can be located next to the new field under development at St. Peter’s Junior High.
St. Peter’s field is a major part of the club’s future plans and will be the home base for all house league play for peewee aged players and younger. The handful of other fields, including Smallwood, Squires, Team Gushue and Greenwood fields, will be well used too. The club has reached an agreement to take over the scheduling and maintenance responsibilities at the Smallwood pitch next season.
Hunt is also hoping to organize a provincial Pony League next season to offer players who might otherwise not find a game anywhere else once they reach their late teens and early 20s.
The Mount Pearl club is also applying to host Baseball Canada’s Eastern National Peewee Championships next summer. That would bring some 2,500 baseball players, coaches and family members to the city.
Hunt has compiled a list of requests to improve the fields throughout Mount Pearl, which he intends to present to city council’s Community Services Committee. “Most of what I’m looking for from the City is repairs to existing facilities,” he said. “Anything else, I figure we can get government funding along with our own funding, the Jays helping out, that kind of thing.”
Hunt figures the Blue Jays camps could add some $150,000 to the association, money that could be used for the club house.
“The biggest thing we want the City to do is to get a mortgage for us (for the club house), because we can’t get one ourselves,” Hunt said. “We’ll pay it off.”
Hunt is hoping to drawn together the parts of the master plan in tandem. Like play in baseball itself, timing is everything. The leverage for funding that could be provided by a provincial election, obtaining a commitment from the Blue Jays at a time when they are making an historic run to the playoffs, and getting the City onside to invest in the various baseball facilities is akin to having the bases loaded.
“This is why I’m trying to do everything the one time here,” said Hunt. “Now’s the time… We’ve got to jump on this while the iron is hot and make something happen.”
Fire safety centre raises questions for council
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.