RVS Sept 2024 Vol 6 Iss 9

RIVER VALLEY SUN

Police chief resigns to lead Fredericton force

Popular

Woodstock Police Chief Gary Forward leaves post to return

to Fredericton; Deputy Chief

By Jim

Mark Bennett

named interim chief

Woodstock

Police

Force Chief Gary Forward is going home.

Fredericton City Council confirmed in an Aug. 28 news release that the former Fredericton police inspector will become the Force’s chief effective early September.

The Fredericton announcement came one day after Woodstock council announced Forward’s departure at its Council in Committee meeting in Sam’s Room at the AYR Motor Centre

on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

With hugs, handshakes and kind words, Woodstock council members displayed heartfelt emotion upon hearing the news that the popular Woodstock chief is resigning to accept a role elsewhere.

“Although we would have loved to see Chief Forward stay with us for the remainder of his contract, this step for him in his career is logical and, from my perspective, was inevitable,” said Mayor Trina Jones

in making the shocking announcement.

In the Fredericton release, Forward called it an honour to take over the role from retiring Fredericton Police Chief Martin Gaudet.

“I am deeply honoured for the opportunity to return to this incredible community as Chief of Police,” said Gary Forward, Fredericton’s newest Police Chief.” I extend my gratitude to former Chief Martin

See CHIEF on pg. 4

Carleton County healthcare nearing crisis point

Severe doctor shortage destined to grow worse if not addressed

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

What does the future hold for primary health care in the Upper Saint John River Valley? The local medical community, municipal leaders, and Upper Valley patients say the future is dire without immediate action.

Concerns about the dwindling level of primary care in Woodstock, Carleton County, and the entire region served by the Upper River Valley Hospital aren’t new. Municipal leaders and the medical community have been seeking solutions for the past decade.

While potential solutions appeared within reach during that time, they remained just beyond their grasp.

In the wake of the government’s failure to address the concerns as they near crisis levels, Upper Valley residents stepped up their pressure to demand action. Earlier this summer, 650 people signed and delivered a petition to Premier Blaine Higgs and Health Minister Bruce Fitch demanding “action and leadership to address the crisis in healthcare in Carleton

Carleton Country resident Erin DeLong, who spearheaded the petition drive, included a letter to Premier Higgs explaining the region’s dire family physician shortage and its residents’ expectations.

“We are in crisis,” wrote DeLong in her letter accompanying the petition. “We implore you to step in and address the serious issue facing New Brunswickers in Carleton County and the Woodstock area. There

Chief Gary Forward, left, announced his resignation from the Woodstock Police Force on Aug. 27. Deputy Chief Mark Bennett, right, took over as interim chief on Sept. 6. (Jim Dumville photo)

Carleton North, Woodstock and other Upper River Valley communities are nearing a primary care crisis. (Jim Dumville photo)

Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The election race is on in Carleton ridings

Carleton-York,

Even before the writ officially dropped, candidates for most political parties hit the campaign trail in the three Upper St. John River Valley encompassing Carleton County and portions of York and Victoria Counties.

The ridings of CarletonYork, Woodstock-Hartland and Carleton-Victoria provide the ruling Progressive Conservatives with one of the strongest footholds in the province. All three incumbents hold seats in Premier Blaine Higgs’ cabinet.

Carleton-York MLA Richard Ames has served as Transportation and Infrastructure Minister since replacing former Minister Jeff Carr in June 2023. Carr moved to the backbenches after falling out with Premier Higgs over disagreements regarding the government’s proposed changes to the Education Department’s Policy 713, which affected how schools dealt with trans students.

Woodstock-Hartland (formerly Carleton) incumbent MLA Bill Hogan, who sits as Education and Early Childhood Develop-

Woodstock-Hartland, Carleton-Victoria campaigns begin before writ is dropped

ment Minister heading into the Oct. 21 election, found himself at the forefront of the Policy 713 debate. He moved from Public Safety to take on the highprofile education portfolio to replace Dominic Cardy, who resigned from cabinet and caucus in October 2022.

Hogan, a retired Woodstock High School principal and former Woodstock councillor, became one of the province’s highest-profile cabinet ministers as he dealt with several hot-button issues, including Policy 713, staff shortages, and other education issues, which will be one of the election’s significant issues.

Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Margaret Johnson, who joined cabinet shortly after winning the CarletonVictoria seat in 2020, will seek re-election on Oct. 21.

All three ridings are historically Tory strongholds, but challengers hope to make inroads in this election cycle. In Carleton-York, Ames will face a challenge from

Liberal candidate Chris Duffie, a one-time staff member of former Tory MLA Carl Urquhart. Duffie, a resident of Jewetts Mills, is a familiar face in the riding’s political circles.

Dow Settlement resident Sterling Wright, another familiar face in the Carleton-York political process, will carry the People’s Alliance of New Brunswick’s colours into the race.

He will attempt to restore the party’s fortunes after it took a significant hit when PANB leader Kris Austin and only other sitting member, Miramichi MLA Michelle Conroy, crossed the floor to sit with the Higgs government.

The Green Party of New Brunswick nominated longtime community volunteer Burt Folkins to run in Carleton-York.

The NDP are yet to nominate a candidate in any of the three Carleton ridings.

In Woodstock-Hartland, the Liberals nominated Woodstock’s Marissa Pelky, a veteran of the criminal justice system in her hometown, to challenge Hogan for the seat.

Charlie Webber will carry the PANB banner, while the Greens and NDP are yet to choose a candidate.

Carleton-Victoria has only one candidate nominated at press time to challenge incumbent Johnson for the seat.

The Liberals selected 34-year-old Negotkuk (Tobique First Nation) band councillor Julian Moulton to carry the Liberal banner into the Oct. 21 election.

With the election date established for several months, party leaders and candidates were in election mode for several months.

Most pundits and candidates see healthcare, as has been the case in most elections over several decades, as the most significant issue heading into the campaign. The problem has taken on even greater focus in the current campaign, as more and more New Brunswickers find themselves without a family doctor and emergency rooms find themselves in crisis.

Higgs, Liberal leader

Susan Holt and Green Leader David Coon travel across the province to promote policy announcements and support local candidates. New and unknown leaders, the PANB’s Rick Deslauriers of Fredericton and the NDP’s Alex White of Saint John face an uphill battle to grab the public’s attention.

Holt has already visit-

ed Woodstock on Sept. 4 to offer support to Pelkey. Check out RiverValleySun.ca for ongoing election coverage, including an interview with Holt and Pelkey during the leader’s Woodstock visit. The River Valley Sun hopes to provide election information, interviews and news from all candidates in the lead up to the Oct. 21 vote.

RCMP officer under investigation for stolen evidence Woodstock

By

An RCMP officer based in Woodstock remains under paid suspension as the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) investigates allegations of evidence theft.

SiRT director Erin Nauss told the River Valley Sun that the

member on paid suspension since SiRT called to investigate in April

RCMP asked the agency to investigate the matter on April 15. She expects investigators to deliver a report “relatively soon.”

SiRT is an agency which works independently of government and police to investigate serious allegations

against police officers, or matters involving death, injury, sexual assault.

Based in Nova Scotia, SiRT opened an office in Fredericton last year to investigate New Brunswick incidents.

Nauss said SiRT typically issues a press

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release surrounding its investigations but didn’t in this case because investigators determined such a release could hinder the investigation. She explained that the SiRT investigation team would deliver its report to her when it was complete. Then, she

would determine if the officer’s actions warrant criminal charges.

If SiRT decides against criminal charges, Nauss explained the RCMP will determine whether the situation requires other disciplinary measures based on the force’s code of conduct.

Neither SiRT nor the RCMP released the name of the officer under investigation or the type of evidence involved in the case.

Nauss expects to issue a public summary upon completion of the investigation.

Stop by and chat with the team (L to R) Greg MacPherson, Senior Financial Advisor, Melissa MacKenzie, Office Manager, Jacob Tompkins, Associate Advisor, and Beth Ruff, Client Service Manager.

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

CHIEF

Continued from page 1

Gaudet for his unwavering dedication and outstanding service to our city. Our focus, moving forward, will be to build upon the Force’s strong foundation and, as always, strive for excellence in serving and protecting our community.”

Woodstock Mayor Jones praised Forward as one of “the very best leaders,” who understood the value of succession planning and preparing for his eventual exit.

Jones explained that Forward’s four years as chief improved the Force, built a strong team, cultivated new leaders who expounded the same work ethic and commitment to excellence and established a healthy work environment.

“Chief Forward has been a tremendous leader for the past four years and has worked to build a high functioning police force that has resulted in overall high job satisfaction, low turnover, and low customer complaints,” she said. “He has been continually building leadership throughout his organization and as such, he has prepared us for an overall smooth transition.”

Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers noted Forward’s wealth of experience and leadership when she announced his appointment as the city’s new chief.

“We welcome Chief Forward back to the Fredericton Police Force. His experience and expertise in complex policing issues and his commitment to com-

munity policing will be instrumental as we continue to grow and develop a modern police force that serves and protects our beautiful city,” said Rogers.

Jones also announced that Deputy Chief Mark Bennett would be appointed interim chief, effective Sept. 6.

The council held a special meeting in the former council chambers at town hall to formally approve the appointment on Sept. 5. The room now serves as the offices of the WPF Street Crime Unit, a police meeting room, and its media centre.

She said Deputy Chief Bennett shares Chief Forward’s policing philosophy and has demonstrated his strong leadership capabilities in his current role.

“Our deputy chief has been involved heavily in the day-to-day operations since he was hired, and he has built a great working relationship with the staff and has already earned the respect of the council for the projects that he has taken the lead on, including recently the Total Solar Eclipse public safety plan that he led for the entire Upper River Valley.”

Jones said Bennett, town staff and council will work together to “ensure the path forward seeks to continue the success we have today.”

Before the announcement at the Council in Committee, Forward and Bennett updated the council on the latest developments, including the addition of three new officers hired and trained through the Force’s re-

cruitment programs.

Following the Council in Committee meeting, Forward shook hands and hugged most of those present at the meeting.

Forward called it an honour to serve the community and expressed confidence that Deputy Chief Bennett would continue the Force’s advances in recent years.

Bennett said he and the outgoing chief share similar philosophies in leadership, transparency and the role of a police force.

Under Forward’s leadership, much of it done with Bennett serving as second in command, the Woodstock Police Force underwent significant expansion, including the formation of new divisions, including the Street Crime Unit, expansion of its community outreach and enhancement of its transparency.

Forward also oversaw the development of the potential plan to expand the Force to cover all five wards of the expanded town of Woodstock under municipal reform.

New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin has already accepted the plan, which the council is studying to determine whether the town will proceed with it.

Deputy Mayor Mark Rogers praised both Forward and Bennett, describing them as “great men who do great jobs.”

Coun. Jeff Bradbury, a senior council member, praised the outgoing chief’s efforts to build a solid and efficient force.

He also noted that Chief Forward leaves behind the leadership and staff needed to continue his legacy.

“The most valuable leaders are those who can teach,” Bradbury told Forward. “You certainly brought that.”

Mayor Jones ended her announcement by congratulating Chief Forward and Deputy Chief Bennett as they prepare for their new roles.

“Chief Forward, we wish you nothing but the best, we will miss you, and I have no doubt at all that you will be successful in your new role,” she said.

Forward carries 35 years of dedicated public safety experience into his new role with the Fredericton Police Force.

He began his career in 1989 as a constable with the Fredericton force, rising to inspector in 2007.

He has worked in the RCMP’s J-Division and the Department of Justice and Public Safety for the Province of New Brunswick and took on the role of Chief of the Woodstock Police Force in 2019.

Serving on multiple boards and committees over the years, Forward currently serves as President of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police (NBACP) and sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP).

He graduated from the Atlantic Police Academy in 1989 and completed a Master’s degree at the University of New Brunswick in 2016.

The Fredericton media release said Forward will be sworn in as Fredericton Chief at the next City Council meeting in September.

Help for DRUG ADDICTION

785

Woodstock. Woodstock Addictions and Mental Health 506-325-4419 Mon to Fri 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Perth-Andover Addictions & Mental Health 506-273-4701 Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Mental Health Mobile Crisis Unit 1-888-667-0444 - 7 days a week from 2 to 10 p.m.

Inpatient Detoxification Services: access by self-referral only; all admissions are voluntary. The detoxification unit provides inpatient treatment for the withdrawal from mood-altering substances such as alcohol, cocaine, opiates and other drugs. Fredericton Detoxification Unit 506-452-5525 Located at 65 Brunswick St., Fredericton, NB. A 10-bed unit that provides medical support, education, and recovery planning for substance abuse and gambling. Phone 506-452-5525; accepts messages only, calls are returned to plan admissions Mon-Fri. Miramichi Detoxification Unit 506-623-6175 Located at 500 Water St., Miramichi. NB.

Moncton Detoxification Unit 506-856-2333 Located at 81 Albert St., Moncton, NB. Ridgewood Addiction Services 506-674-4300 Located at 416 Bay St., South Bay, Saint John, NB provides a range of services for individuals, youth and family members affected by substance abuse and gambling.

Other Residential rehabilitation facilities

Ridgewood Centre (Saint John) 506-647-4300 Located at 416 Bay St., South Bay, Saint John, NB. Campbellton Regional Addiction Services 506-789-7055 Located at 53 Gallant Dr., Campbellton, NB.

Rising Sun Treatment Centre (First Nations) 506-627-4626 Located at 31 Riverview Rd., Eel Ground, NB.

Portage Atlantic 1-888-735-9800 Located at Cassidy Lake, NB, is a non-profit organization established in 1995, operates a residential drug addiction rehabilitation centre for Atlantic Canada youth (14-21) in New Brunswick.

Early Recovery Group, Woodstock - each Wednesday (unless school is closed due to weather) from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. at Bicentennial Boardroom (1st Floor), 200 King Street, Bicentennial Place, Woodstock, NB.

Early Recovery Group, Perth-Andover - each Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Mental Health and Addictions at 35F Tribe Rd., Perth-Andover, NB.

Harvest House Woodstock MAMA Meetings (Mothers Against Meth Addiction) on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. This is a women-only group, providing a safe place for women struggling with family members whose lives are being destroyed by drug abuse. For more info, contact Natasha Smith at (506) 323-9315. Harvest House also offers other recovery programs. For more information, contact them at (506) 594-5000. *IN

NBCC’s Special Admissions disappoints student, parents

Woodstock family says NBCC policies discriminate against students with special needs

By Paige Morgan

After high school graduation, most students continue their education, working toward university degrees and college diplomas.

For many, their biggest stress is whether or not the school they apply to will accept them for their grades.

For students with disabilities, their biggest fear is whether their dream school will accept them despite their learning differences or physical challenges.

Daniel Kuwertz has autism. This spring, he graduated from Woodstock High School. Last spring, he applied to the Truck and Transport Service Technician program at NBCC Woodstock through the college’s Special Admissions service but was denied a seat.

Special Admissions gives applicants who have graduated high school but don’t meet NBCC’s entrance requirements a chance to apply to designated programs. The biggest hurdle is that most of NBCC’s programs only allow one Special Admissions student per course.

“It just goes to prove that the word ‘inclusion’ is just a word and not a policy,” said Daniel’s father, Kurt Kuwertz.

Kurt said the news that Daniel wouldn’t attend college this fall devastated his son.

NBCC suggested that Daniel get more experience with the industry and then reapply for registration in Sept. 2025, but there is no guarantee

that he’ll get in.

His parents worry he won’t pass the interview process again, noting their son was denied admission into the program this year based on his answers being “too much of a niche.” Daniel loves school buses and wants to eventually work exclusively with them.

The assessors noted his knowledge base needed to be broadened within the entire industry.

Even if the only Special Admissions seat in the course is vacant, Daniel may still need to get it, even if he is the only person to apply. The NBCC Special Admissions team can leave the spot empty if they deem an applicant unqualified for the seat. Special Admissions students must also sign an understanding agreement stating they are financially responsible for any extra help needed.

“But the college says they can’t afford to have more than one seat available for special needs students because of additional costs involved - but the student is required to pay for the extra costs. Why is the college allowed to display this level of discrimination?” said Daniel’s mother, Catherine Kuwertz.

Daniel is applying for jobs to afford the extra expenses that NBCC will require if he can get in, but no one has yet hired him due to his lack of experience.

“The jobs that Daniel would qualify to do would be more limited than an ‘average person’. This,

combined with a lack of jobs available right now, really creates hardships on him,” said Catherine.

The Kuwertz family is also critical of the college’s lack of a waiting list for Special Admissions.

In an email to the River Valley Sun, an official with NBCC’s Strategic Communications noted that “due to the limited number of seats available and to ensure a fair and equitable process for all Special Admissions applicants, NBCC does not offer a waitlist.”

Catherine and Kurt want to see a change in the NBCC admission process to ensure a fair chance for all who apply to the school’s programs.

“Go by the date the application was received and interview the first x number of students. Would they be a good fit?,” said Catherine.

Daniel’s parents say the way NBCC organizes Special Admissions applicants is blatant discrimination. Catherine believes all applicants should be treated the same.

“Why just special needs students?” said Catherine.

NBCC says it is currently reviewing its Special Admissions services.

“We are evaluating existing support services and exploring new pathways to meet the needs of diverse learners throughout the province. Formal recommendations will be made following the completion of this review,” said an official with NBCC’s Strategic Communications.

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Woodstock High School graduate Dan Kuwertz wasn’t able to get into NBCC Woodstock this year. His parents say that’s because of the way the college handles applications from special needs students. (Submitted)

New program hopes to help ‘keep everybody safe’

Southern Victoria to provide security camera rebates for property owners

By Paige Morgan

Theft and vandalism have been an ongoing issue in the River Valley. To ensure the safety of their community, the council members of Southern Victoria have decided to take a step forward and provide a security camera rebate program for property owners.

Southern Victoria is the first municipality in New Brunswick to adopt a security camera rebate program. The village council has been discussing the program since 2023. Southern Victoria mayor Cindy McLaughlin is eager to see how the new security program will impact the village.

“We are just starting this program, so we’re just trying to see how it goes, and we’re hoping it’s a saving,” said McLaughlin. Participants in the program will receive a suggested rebate equivalent to 15 per cent of the total purchase price, with a maximum rebate of $200. Recipients will receive their refund via cheque or directly deposited into their municipal services account. All video security systems purchased after April 1, 2024, will be eligible for the program. The program could assist the RCMP in their investigations. The council can invite participants to voluntarily share their security footage with the RCMP to help further their research.

HEALTH

Continued from page 1

are thousands of citizens without family physicians and nurse practitioners needed to manage their health care needs.”

The petition, which demanded the creation of a walk-in clinic and enhanced physician recruitment for the area, included comments from many of the signatories.

One comment encapsulated the feelings expressed in many of the comments.

“Too many people I know and care about, including myself, have no family doctor. People need access to good and consistent health care and not to feel like a burden if they need to access the only help they can get by going to an overcrowded hospital with overworked staff. It’s beyond time to start making changes. Change must start somewhere!”

DeLong asked the premier to explain how the

“We’ve seen a great

changes to leadership in the Health Department, including the minister, and Horizon Health Network helped address the ongoing primary care crisis.

DeLong’s letter quoted the premier’s own words when he removed thenHealth Minister Dorothy Shephard in 2022.

“We have a plan. It needs to be implemented. The situation we’re in today is the result of many, many years of successive governments refusing to deal with urgent situations.”

She asked whether the government implemented that plan, and to explain what steps it took to address the crisis.

“Are you standing proudly as a successive government who has dealt with this urgent situation? What have you done to recruit and retain Nurse Practitioners in this province? Physicians? Have you explored other provincial models for care?”

The River Valley Sun

initiative. We’ve seen a lot of success from a police perspective,” said Sgt. Dan Sharpe of the RCMP.

Sharpe says video surveillance can help the RCMP identify fine details, such as license plate numbers, facial features, and height and weight, which can help prosecute culprits.

McLaughlin believes crime rates are rising due to large amounts of drug addiction in the area, and people are breaking into businesses and homes to find objects to exchange or sell for money for drugs.

“I wish there were more programs out there to help people with rehabilitation. It seems like there is more of it in our area,” said

contacted the Premier’s office, the Health Department, Carleton MLA and Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan and Carleton-Victoria MLA and Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Margaret Johnson for comment on the petition.

Only Hogan responded.

“I am aware of the health care challenges here,” he stated in an email. “I support the petition and have signed it. I am actively working with Horizon Health to find solutions.”

Former Woodstock Mayor Arthur Slipp, whose efforts to address the community’s healthcare crisis date back to 2016, said Hogan is familiar with Woodstock’s healthcare crisis from his former role on the Woodstock council and as the riding’s MLA.

The former mayor offered a history of Woodstock’s efforts to address the physician shortage, referring to efforts that

McLaughlin.

The RCMP encourages home and business owners to take advantage of the rebate program and invest in security equipment to ensure safety.

“In today’s world, with the technology we have access to, I think it’s a critical piece of equipment that every community should have,” said Sharpe.

Sharpe recommends a security camera that is easy to install and operate. Sharpe suggests purchasing trustworthy, inexpensive equipment online.

Home and business owners are responsible for protecting their property. Sharpe advises people to avoid sharing on social media while

began in 2016 when Dr. Roseanne Goodine, with support from Doctors Gary Beatty and Bill Mutrie, approached the town. He explained their input led to the creation and completion of the Carleton County Health Needs Assessment, which identified primary health care and mental health as the two most significant areas of concern.

Slipp said the assessment led to the creation of a steering committee, which, in consultation with Horizon Health and Minister Dorothy Shephard, almost succeeded in creating a walk-in clinic in Woodstock. He said COVID and a change in direction within the health department scuttled those efforts.

The current Woodstock Council recently expressed a commitment to continuing the efforts of previous councils to secure a walk-in clinic and improve primary care.

During the Aug. 27 council meeting, Mayor

away from their property for an extended period and emphasizes the importance of lighting. Properties off the main roads should have lighting that covers the whole property. Correct locks for doors and other easily accessible items are essential as well.

Trina Jones and council members responded to a letter from DeLong with a commitment to support the petition’s goals.

Council reached a consensus on writing a letter to the premier expressing the town’s support of the healthcare initiative.

While efforts are underway in Woodstock to create a walk-in clinic to ease the primary care crisis, similar efforts are underway in Carleton North.

The District of Carleton North council has long expressed concerns outlined in a recent letter from Dr. Paula Keating, President of the New Brunswick Medical Society.

Keating’s letter explained that a recent NBMS analysis identified Carleton North as an atrisk community.

She explained that of the 33 active family physicians in Carleton County, 23 are over 50, with seven in their 70s, nine in their 60s, and seven in their 50s.

“If physicians over the

McLaughlin is optimistic that the security camera rebate program will help create a safe community.

“This to me, will help everybody around, keep everybody safe, and help the RCMP to be able to move further on cases,” said McLaughlin.

age of 55 choose to retire within the next three to five years — a possibility that could materialize at any moment — primary care in Carleton County will be at risk of collapsing,” Keating wrote.

As the Oct. 21 provincial election approaches, healthcare is the primary issue. Liberal leader Susan Holt hit the road running, announcing a comprehensive plan to create 30 walk-in clinics across the province, including one in Carleton North among the top 13 priorities.

“Where we have willingness, the healthcare professionals, the readiness to go and adopt this model, that’s where we’ll be able to move the fastest,” Holt told the River Valley Sun during a tour of Woodstock with Woodstock-Hartland Liberal candidate Marissa Pelkey on Sept. 2.

Check the RiverValleySun.ca webpage for further healthcare stores and election information.

(File photo)

Council officially appoints interim police chief

Deputy Chief Mark Bennett assumes role as chief, Woodstock posts job for new deputy

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Woodstock council officially appointed Deputy Chief Mark Bennet as interim chief of the Woodstock Police Force during a special noon-hour council meeting on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Effective Friday, Sept. 6, at 4:30 p.m., Bennett took over for Chief Gary Forward, who accepted the position of chief of the Fredericton Police Force.

The council also announced the appointment of three new officers to the force, officially adding Eric Duguay, Emily McCready and Karsen Howell to the force.

At the request of Mayor Trina Jones, Chief Bennett addressed the council.

He thanked the council and praised Chief Forward for “how far we’ve moved forward” under his leadership.

“Moving forward, quite frankly, my goal is to continue the trajectory Chief Forward has put us on,” he told the council.

At the request of the new chief, the council agreed to post a job opening to hire a new deputy chief.

“The deputy chief will help continue our operational efficiency, fulfilling the objectives identified in the 2024 strategic plan and provide vital support to myself in overseeing local

initiatives.

With a council motion not required, the mayor said she believes council unanimously agrees to post the job opening immediately.

Following the meeting, Bennett said he hoped to have a new deputy chief within a month and a half or sooner but noted they will take their time to find the “right person,” who fits in with the force’s current ideology.

Bennett, hired by the town to serve under Chief Forward a year and a half ago, said he plans to build upon the predecessor’s foundation. He noted the 97 per cent satisfaction rate among WPF employees.

“We want to see that culture continue,” Bennett said.

Bennett takes over from chief as the council considers a significant expansion of the Woodstock Police Force to stretch its coverage area from Ward 4, the former town boundaries, to all five wards in the expanded community.

Bennett said he was part of the expansion planning.

“Chief Forward has built a very robust foundation and provided me with the blueprints I helped develop,” he said.

Bennett expressed confidence that the

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force would be in a “good place” to move forward if the town proceeded with its expansion plan.

Forward, who also attended the special council meeting, expressed confidence in Bennett’s ability to lead the force. He said they built a strong relationship during Bennett’s hiring to serve as deputy chief approximately a year and a half ago.

He said Bennett arrived with a good understanding of the contemporary leadership model and described him as a good communicator who is always ready to sit down and talk with citizens and staff.

“No doubt we’re going to see the same type of approach that has proven very effective in Woodstock will continue without interruption,” Forward said.

Bennett said the force has already laid several bricks of a foundation for an effective force, whether it continues as is or expands to cover the entire community.

He said the three new officers, hired through the force’s recruitment initiative, will allow the creation of the Community Engagement Unit (CEU) and the addition of a domestic violence coordinator to the recently created Street Crime Unit (SCU).

Bennett explained that the new units and officers would enhance community engagement, crime prevention, and proactive policing. He said the CEU officers will work under the supervision of Community Relations Of -

ficer (CR)) Sgt. Shaun Kimball.

Bennet explained the CEU would address problematic areas of town, enhance communication, promote crime prevention, conduct traffic oversight and other proactive measures.

He explained the new domestic violence coordinator would streamline investigations, provide greater support for victims and better address a significant policing issue in the area.

Interim Woodstock Police Force Chief Mark Bennett. (Jim Dumville photo)

Judge appointments, promotions ease court burden

Brian McLean appointed chief justice, Karen Lee becomes provincial court judge

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Woodstock-area legal community welcomes last month’s judicial announcements involving the promotion of two judges and the appointment of two new judges to provincial court in Woodstock and Fredericton.

New Brunswick Justice Minister Hugh J. Flemming announced the appointments in a press release on Aug. 14.

Minister Flemming announced that Brian McLean will serve a seven-year term as chief judge, replacing Marco Cloutier, who was appointed to the trial division of the Court of King’s Bench by the federal government in July.

McLean has served as the associate court judge since 2022. Mélanie Poirier LeBlanc will replace McLean in that role.

Flemming also announced the appointment of Karen Lee as a provincial court judge in Woodstock and Pierre Gionet as a provincial court judge in Fredericton.

Tim Culbert, a Woodstock lawyer and member of the CarletonVictoria Bar Association, welcomed the news, saying he hopes it will ease some of the heavy burden on the region’s court system.

“I think it is a really positive step in the right direction,” said Culbert, who, along with fellow bar association members, has pushed hard over the past several months to add judges to Woodstock’s overburdened court system.

“I’m not sure our lobbying had anything to do with it, but it’s good news,” he said.

In February, Culbert and 13 other members of the Carleton-Victoria Bar Association contacted Flemming, stressing that the dire shortage of judges serving the Upper St. John River Valley posed a significant threat to the delivery of justice in the area.

“Lawyers practicing in the Woodstock Judicial District are experiencing especially significant delays, which we fear will be more pronounced following the transfer of Justice Richard Petrie from the Woodstock Judicial District to the Judicial District of Fredericton on Dec. 12, 2023,” the lawyers wrote.

Members of the bar association referred to a memorandum, dated Sept. 27, 2023, from Chief Justice Tracey K. DeWare to Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, Marc Richard; the Honourable Justices of the New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench; the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of New Brunswick, Ted Flemming, and to Members of the New Brunswick Law Society.

In this memorandum, Chief Justice DeWare warned that vacancies in the New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench had caused delays in many of New Brunswick’s judicial districts.

DeWare explained that the delays are especially pronounced in the Family Division because of frequent adjournments of

“non urgent matters to accommodate child protection hearings and criminal matters, which must be adjudicated within strict timelines.”

In its letter to the justice minister, the CarletonVictoria Bar Association members stressed the vital need to address the appointment and retention of judges and clerks.

“First and foremost, we ask that you lobby for a judge to be quickly appointed for the Woodstock Judicial District,” they wrote. “The lack of a King’s Bench judge in this judicial District will cause serious delays and will further impact the administration of justice. Our justice system is already plagued by significant delays, and we cannot afford more of the same.”

While the appointments won’t erase all the systemic problems in the justice system, he hopes it will ease the ongoing delays in cases and the immediate threats to the system.

While Lee’s appointment to the Woodstock provincial court bench will help, Culbert said it’s vital she remains in place long-term. He explained that “the revolving door” of judges, which saw appointments quickly transferred to other jurisdictions, failed to reduce the caseload before the courts.

“Our major backlog is still here,” he said.

Culbert said the system is failing their clients, whether in family, civil, or provincial courts.

While the appoint-

ments add highly qualified legal minds to the bench, he said the judges’ workload remains overwhelming.

He said most lawyers face frustrated clients as court dates and trials are continuously bumped, noting he had one case delayed more than a year after being rescheduled three or four times.

The new appointees bring impressive legal resumes to their new positions.

McLean graduated from UNB with a law degree in 1995 and was appointed to the bar in 1996. He practiced law in Carleton County for almost two decades before being appointed to the bench in 2014.

Lee of Woodstock, who most recently served as executive director of Public Prosecution Services, graduated with a

law degree from UNB in 2000 and was admitted to the bar in 2001.

Poirier LeBlanc, a Université de Moncton law graduate in 2003, served as assistant deputy attorney general of Public Prosecution Services before her appointment to the bench.

Gionet, a Université de

Moncton grad, has served as a crown prosecutor since 2000.

With these changes, Minister Flemming said the court has its full complement of 25 full-time judges, including the chief judge and associate chief judge, in addition to four supernumerary and four per diem judges.

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Chief Justice Brian McLean and his wife Kathleen Trevors McLean after he was sworn in at the Woodstock Provincial Courthouse. (Submitted photo)

DISPATCHES FROM A MESSY DESK

By Theresa Blackburn

The River Valley Sun operates in an area considered a ‘news desert.’ Journalism in our region consists of us, one Post Media reporter who provides news to a provincial paper, and national news outlets in Fredericton (CBC, CTV, and Global) who only send reporters here when there is ‘big news’ to cover. While we have a private radio station, it does not employ radio news reporters.

The price tag to publish a newspaper is staggering, which is why large corporations have gotten out of the local media landscape in rural Canada. No corporation would invest in a region with little financial return. And yet, providing reliable and trustworthy news to Canadians is more important than ever. The rise of ‘fake news’ and misinformation across social media platforms has skyrocketed.

Just last week, YouTube removed two far-right Canadian influencers, Lauren Chen and Lauren Southern, from their platform after it was discovered they were involved with a Russian propaganda scheme. The two were with Tenet Media, founded by Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan. The U.S. Justice Department accuses the media company of setting up the conservative outlet as a front for pro-Kremlin propaganda.

A CBC report looking at the U.S. indictment against Tenet Media described

Making the case for supporting local journalism

the company’s content as a constant stream of anti-immigration, anti-LGBTQIA+ rights, and anti-feminism posts. Chen was a popular guest on Fox News and the Daily Wire.

The investigation found that Chen was working for Russia’s state-run news agency and was directed to produce content that blamed the U.S. and Ukraine for the March 2024 terror attack on Moscow that was claimed by ISIS.

Southern shared Canadian-focused content on Tenet, with posts like “Canada Is Becoming A COMMUNIST HELLHOLE,” which tried to compare Canada to communist Russia, and “Mean Tweets = Life in PRISON in Canada,” which was about the proposed Online Harms bill, which is supposed to create more robust protection for children online and protect people from online hate.

This case is our canary in a coal mine, reinforcing the need for credible, trustworthy journalism produced by trained journalists. A News Media Canada report published in Dec. 2023 noted that 82 per cent of Canadians feel that reliable journalism is an essential part of a democratic society. That number increases to 87 per cent for online readers.

The Trudeau government has tried to support local journalism (albeit too little, too late). The Department of Heritage provides funding to the independent organization News Media Canada, which then distributes grants to small publications like ours across the country.

Our senior reporter, Jim Dumville, is employed by us, but his salary comes from the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) Fund. The program is earmarked explicitly for regions with news deserts — like ours. News Media Canada decides who gets funding related to regional needs, and we must re-apply to that organization each year. Without that funding, the River Valley Sun would not be the robust paper you’ve come to expect. With last year’s printing bill for 12 issues pushing well over $30,000, this paper would have been thin and bereft of much news con-

Letter to the Editor

tent without our LJI grant. That fund freed up the income to hire our court reporter, pay freelancers, hire summer students, employ delivery drivers, and contract out some of our graphic design work.

To keep things going, I work a dozen jobs. I am in charge of ad sales, ad design, invoicing, newspaper layout, some writing, payroll, GST and government remittances; I answer phones, do most of the banking and mailing, help deliver the paper, coordinate staff, and post stories to the web. My friends and family think I am crazy for doing this, but I know how vital the paper is to our community. Western New Brunswick has had a newspaper since 1848, and, God willing, that history won’t end on my watch.

We have applied to become a Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization, which would give us access to the Canadian Google Media Fund. That fund is expected to start distributing money next spring. It was created to help journalism organizations make up for the massive advertising losses in the industry since the onset of online platforms like Facebook. Social media has made it cheap and easy for everyone to advertise, and while that’s great for the consumer, it’s been the death knell for local news.

If we qualify, the funding COULD give us up to $34,000 a year, which MIGHT mean that when I retire in a few years, someone MAY want to buy us. Right now, that’s our main focus – to ensure the paper continues to serve our region beyond my retirement. With the current economy, we can’t continue to cover local news without government help, and we need the public to voice their support of journalism organizations like ours, both federally and provincially, so we can continue to serve you.

Readers could help by encouraging the province to support local news. While our MLAs give us the odd ad here and there, the government has provided little in advertising revenue. Since taking office, provincial departments within the

Dooryard Arts and the making of local history

There has been, in the past year or so, some local controversy in Carleton County around LGBTQ people’s struggle for recognition, support, and acceptance.

This short note does not intend to revisit these issues.

However, I do intend to make some general comments based on what little I know of history as it relates to Carleton County, which has been my home for most of my life. I also intend to recount this summer’s experience through the Dooryard Arts Festival.

I did not follow the local media buildup for the Dooryard Arts Festival’s events. I knew it was on and wanted to attend at least some event.

When I surveyed the schedule from my rural perch in Debec, what caught my eye was ‘Drag Trivia with Armour Love and Julia Jeffries at Cross Creek Brewery.’

Why? Why this event?

Well, I knew about the local controversies and something about local Carleton County history, and it seemed to me that this would be an important historical precedent with a touch of politics. Why not be there for the making of history in Woodstock.

Now, a little personal note — back in the ‘90s, on a visit to Toronto, I resisted

the invite to see the live theatre version of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” At a later date, my phone call got through to the CBC’ Cross Country Check Up’ radio program, which was discussing Gay Marriage.

My position at the time was that gay couples should be supported as ‘civil unions’ with all the same legal spousal rights and benefits as heterosexual couples.

However, the term ‘marriage’ should retain what I believed at the time to be its religious significance.

This somewhat conservative position did not win the day in the public debate and caused significant divisions with close friends and family.

We nonetheless moved on … and we learned … and, in certain respects, ‘got over it.’

In the trivia game on LGBTQ history and struggles, I learned again that our local history has its ambiguity, especially around the sensitive issues of tolerance and prejudice.

The very racist KKK at one time had chapters in a few communities through Carleton and Victoria Counties, causing great divisions and very hard feelings among neighbours.

One of the tremendous positive

Higgs government have purchased just 10 ads from us in four years and only one since the Bugle-Observer ceased printing in Feb. 2024. Where is the provincial support for papers like ours? Once-amonth ads would go a long way in helping us and others like us serve our communities.

While we sell monthly ads to our local MP, we recieve no federal advertising support. When the government announced it stopped buying Facebook ads, we and other newspapers hoped the feds might start advertising locally, but nothing materialized.

As Trudeau’s popularity continues to plummet and Pierre Poilievre’s poll numbers continue to rise, journalists across Canada fighting to keep rural newspapers going are worried. It’s no secret that Pierre Poilievre dislikes journalists. He often rallies against us, telling the public that journalists are in the ‘pocket’ of Trudeau, which, for the record, is fake news. The River Valley Sun has no time to be in anyone’s pocket. We work long hours covering municipal council meetings, local events, and other ultra-local issues important to our readers.

Journalism remains a pillar of democracy. We provide the public with accurate, timely stories about local issues, ensuring the news is relevant to our readers. If you value what we do, please remind our political leaders why you want to see ultra-local community journalism supported throughout rural Canada. Explain what your local paper gives your community, and remind them of what gets lost when local news organizations shutter.

More than 450 Canadian news outlets have closed since 2008. Journalists and publishers know what’s at stake, and our readers know the risks when people don’t support their local paper. I just hope our politicians understand the dangers.

movements that helped rural people to overcome and heal from some of these divisions, where people learned that they had much more in common than not, was through the cooperative movement and its struggles to establish coops and credit unions in the area.

The National Farmers Union was once a great force for progressive popular education. Much more recently, Carleton County has taken great pride in its exceptional record of promoting and supporting persons with disabilities. At one time, it was a national leader in this area.

Nevertheless, this positive light has a definite shadow side in history. Our Drag Trivia Game, with an energetic and joyful full house at Cross Creek Brewery, conducted in a ‘family friendly’ manner and in the spirit of good humour, effectively showed some of the positives and the negatives in this history. It is a history that is still unfolding.

We could not help but recall something we learned in our own work with persons with disabilities. Prejudice and even hatred increased during the fascist’s rise in Germany with the Nazis Party. Persons with disabilities and homosexual men were some of the first groups specifically targeted for repres-

sion and elimination by the regime. Drag may not be everyone’s ‘cup of tea,’ but tolerance and advocacy for fundamental human rights should be.

And a final note—Stephanie and I surprisingly won second prize in the Drag Trivia Game, but I can’t tell you what we won. It’s a private matter.

Hugh Williams Debec, N.B.

Theresa Blackburn, with her husband Stephen Chisholm, publishes the River Valley Sun and ageless New Brunswick magazine.

TAKONUTOMAKONUWAL

Indigenous News and Features Sponsored by Wotstak (Woodstock) First Nation

Don’t be ‘headstrong’ on title claims, says former judge Graydon Nicholas says Premier’s

stance on title claims will have to change

By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Fredericton Daily Gleaner

Graydon Nicholas says it’s obvious what the New Brunswick government should do as it faces lawsuits from Indigenous nations seeking Aboriginal title to all the province’s territory.

The former judge and lieutenant governor from Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) believes the attorney general’s office also has the answer at its fingertips, dating back to a case he worked on in the early 1980s that made it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“Eventually, this is going to get down to negotiations,” said Nicholas, who was the first Indigenous person in Atlantic Canada to get a law degree, in 1971.

“The premier is headstrong about his position. But somewhere down the road, that will have to change. It’s what you call a modern treaty process. And when these things have happened in other places, the courts have always said, sit down and negotiate. Unfortunately, you can’t force parties to sit down, that’s for sure.”

Premier Blaine Higgs and Attorney General Ted Flemming have warned that the Wolastoqey Nation’s title claim, for the entire western half of New Brunswick, creates a whole lot of uncertainty for most of New Brunswick’s 850,000 population and puts the rights of private landowners at risk.

It also questions what the Wolastoqey

Nation would do if it successfully gained possession of Crown lands and the property of eight big firms, mostly timber companies, that it says should be returned to them.

So far, the Progressive Conservative government has not commented on the Mi’gmaq case for Aboriginal title over the entire northern and eastern sections of New Brunswick, other than stating on its website that the overlapping claims also tread on the traditional territory of a third nation, the Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) Nation in the southwestern corner of the province. It has not formally asserted an Aboriginal title claim.

Eight of nine Mi’kmaq First Nations in the province filed the lawsuit last week (the other, Elsipogotog, filed its own in 2016), but their lawyers say they would prefer negotiations.

Nicholas says there’s case law that affirms that a series of Peace and Friendship treaties signed in the 18th century between the British Crown and the Wabanaki - including the three Indigenous peoples in New Brunswick - that shows they are still in force and they never ceded their land.

He points to Simon v. The Queen, a Supreme Court judgment in 1985 that ruled in favour of James Matthew Simon, a Mi’gmaq from Nova Scotia who had been convicted by lower courts for carrying a shotgun and rifle, plus ammunition, off his

reserve when hunting season was closed.

In that case, Nicholas, a lawyer at the time, teamed up with the defendant’s lawyer, Bruce Wildsmith and also acted as counsel for an intervener, the Union of New Brunswick Indians. Besides the Nova Scotia government, lined up on the other side were interveners that included the attorney generals for Ottawa, New Brunswick and Ontario.

On the late afternoon of Sept. 21, 1980, Simon was driving his Chevy pickup truck on West Indian Road, a highway just outside what was then called the Shubenacadie Indian Reserve, just north of Halifax. RCMP stopped him and found him in possession of a loaded rifle and two loaded shotguns.

It was a favourite spot for deer and moose hunting, and the authorities charged him with illegal possession of the weapons and ammo during a closed season, contrary to the province’s hunting laws.

He lost the case in a lower court and at the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, but when it made its way to the Supreme Court, the justices acquitted Simon.

Chief Justice Brian Dickson and the rest of the court were convinced that a Peace and Friendship treaty signed in 1752 was “validly created by competent parties” and that it contained “a right to hunt which covers the activities” of Simon.

The justices also dis-

counted previous court rulings that the treaty had been terminated by a violent band of Mi’gmaq that had killed eight British settlers in the following year, in 1753.

“The province knows this stuff,” Nicholas said.

“And the premier, I’m sure, through the minister of justice, is aware of this. The province made an intervention in the case I was involved in and ruled in the favour of Matthew Simon.”

Now in his late 70s, Nicholas said the case was similar to one he won as a lawyer in the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in 1980, representing Gregory Paul.

The Mi’gmaq trapper from Metepenagiag (Red Bank First Nation), near Miramichi, N.B., was caught by a Department of Natural Resources officer with a beaver pelt off-reserve, as Paul was hoping to sell it to a fur dealer in Newcastle.

The conviction was set aside after Nicholas used the Peace and Friendship treaties to argue his case.

“The premier always says we have to respect the rule of law,” Nicholas told Brunswick News.

“Well, when the Supreme Court of Court says the Peace and Friendship treaties, which is what we have here in the Maritimes, are in effect, that statement speaks for itself.”

Historian Ken Coates, who’s also a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said there were plenty

of examples to draw on across Canada of modern treaties that have been negotiated between provincial or territorial governments and First Nations, including in northern British Columbia, northern Quebec, Labrador and Yukon.

But he said in those cases, private interests didn’t already have possession of large tracts of land. He thinks a better comparison for New Brunswick, whose forests are half privately owned, would be in New Zealand.

The island country in the southwestern Pacific negotiated with the Maori Indigenous people in the 1990s over its title claims. The difficulty was New Zealand, a mountainous country with steep river valleys, had very little arable and timberland, most of it privately held.

Instead, the two sides negotiated that the Maori would get possession of federally-

owned lands, such as former military bases and university campuses.

By 2008, the New Zealand government had controversially provided over the equivalent of CAD$735 million in settlements, mostly giving them chunks of land.

“As a negotiation or legal tactic, it makes perfect sense for the Mi’kmaq of Wolastoqey Nation to claim as much as they possibly can,” Coates said.

“But a claim is not the same thing as a victory.

“You can make a claim and go through the court process, and sometimes the court says yes and sometimes it says no. So that’s where we sit. In Canada, generally, all land claims have respected private ownership of land. So that would be a major, major transition and change in Canadian policy if it moved in that direction.”

Former judge Graydon Nicholas says New Brunswick should negotiate with the Wolastoqey Nation and the Mi’gmaq chiefs to come up with modern treaty settlements.(Submitted photo)

Mayor hopes policing meetings help council make

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Woodstock Mayor Trina Jones admits she and council members face a tough decision as they consider expanding the Woodstock Police Force to the entire community at a significant cost to taxpayers.

She said the council will give community feedback significant consideration as it makes the tough decision.

The town hosted three open forums over four nights to discuss the policing plan in detail publicly. The events on Aug. 19 in Richmond Corner and Aug. 21 in Northampton attracted more than 50 residents each. The forum on Aug. 22 at the McCain Community Theatre in Woodstock welcomed a smaller but equally engaged crowd.

“This is a really important topic,” Mayor Jones told the audience at the Northampton Rec Centre as she and Woodstock Police Chief Gary Forward explained the policing plan and fielded questions.

She said the council hopes residents will respond in high enough numbers to the open forums and surveys available online or delivered through the post office to paint a clear picture of the community’s point of view.

During the open forums, the mayor explained the background to the council’s consideration of expanding the Woodstock Police Force to cover all five wards.

Following the provincewide municipal reform, which included expanding Woodstock’s boundaries

to include the outlying local services districts, New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin requested the town submit a plan for the Woodstock Police Force to expand its police coverage.

The detailed plan, developed under the guidance of Chief Forward, included a policing structure, a cost breakdown and a potential timeline.

When the plan is complete, the proposed expanded force would grow from the current 24 officers and 10 support staff to 45 officers and 22 support staff.

The plan’s cost estimates will see the town’s annual policing budget grow from its current $5.3 million to $8.7 million. In accepting Woodstock’s policing plan, Minister Austin committed an additional $1.8 million in transitional funds from the province.

Jones explained that the minister had agreed to hold discussions regarding potential additional transition funds.

The policing plan also includes a property tax rate hike of five cents per year over the next three years, for a total of 15 cents per $100 of assessment in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 5. Taxpayers in Ward 4, which includes Woodstock’s former boundaries, already pay for Woodstock Police Force services.

During the open forums, Jones explained that the timeline for the changes if the council decides to move forward with the expansion plan is tentative. She noted that

the RCMP remains under contract to provide policing in the outlining wards. She explained that the federal force requires a one-year notice of the termination of their contracts.

The submitted plan tentatively calls for the Woodstock Police Force to replace the RCMP in Ward 5, the Grafton and Northampton area, in October 2025. The town force will expand to Ward 3, the Jacksonville area, in October 2026, then to Wards 1 and 2, Woodstock LSD and Richmond Corner, in October 2027.

Jones and Forward fielded a wide array of questions at each meeting, including policing costs, models, recruitment, and challenges to meeting modern policing demands, including diversity.

Questions surrounding costs focused on capital and operational expenses, noting the need to expand the existing policing station to handle a force which will double in size.

Jones said the plan includes expected capital costs, adding the town is already taking steps to provide additional space for the Woodstock Police Force. She said the town will also face infrastructure challenges to meet demands beyond the police budget.

Jones said the police are already using Woodstock town hall’s former council chambers as their new Street Crime Unit headquarters, boardroom, and press room. She explained that the Woodstock Police would eventually take over the

entire town hall and fire station complex.

Before the meeting in Northampton, Jones told the River Valley Sun the town is reviewing requests for proposals (RFPs) which would see the town signing a long-term lease with a private developer to house a new town hall.

Jones added that the council is also well into the process of eventually building a new fire hall on Deakin Drive.

Forward detailed the model of policing outlined in the expansion plan, noting the Woodstock Police Force had already implemented many of the changes. He said the WPF model, which is already in use, focuses on proactive policing, including 24-7 patrols in each ward, community engagement, transparency and cooperation with other police departments such as the RCMP, the Department of Public Safety, the Fredericton Police Force and other provincial and federal police agencies.

Forward stressed that the policing plan focused on the tools, training, and personnel required to deliver the quality of policing residents expect and deserve.

He said the plan “looked at what we had and what we needed.”

Ward 5 resident Cara Paul, a former RCMP officer, asked service questions during the meeting at the Northampton Recreation Centre. She said she knows from experience the challenges to meet language and diversity demands. She also noted recruitment chal-

lenges.

Forward acknowledged that “recruitment won’t be easy,” and the force is committed to meeting diversity demands.

Following the Northampton meeting, Paul told the River Valley Sun she holds Forward in great esteem. She explained she worked with him while he was a member of the Fredericton Police Force and she served with the RCMP in the capital region.

“I really like Gary,” Paul said. “I think he is doing a fantastic job with the Woodstock Police Force. His results speak for themselves.”

On Tuesday, Aug. 27, the town announced Forward’s resignation from the Woodstock Police Force to become Fredericton Police Chief.

Deputy Chief Mark Bennett will take over as interim Woodstock Police Chief on Sept. 6.

Following the council meeting, Forward said he and Bennett share similar policing philosophies and expressed confidence that his successor would be the right man to lead the force into the pending changes.

During the open hous-

es, a couple of audience members suggested that the mayor and council had already decided to expand the department.

“Is there a no-go?” one asked.

Mayor Jones stressed that the town has not made any decisions, and the council will weigh all factors before making one.

Some residents, in addition to those at the public forums, reached out to the River Valley Sun, raising concerns about the survey. They noted that several people did not receive the survey brochure in the mail or couldn’t access the survey online.

Some, including at least one at the Woodstock open forum, questioned whether Ward 4 residents, who already have WPF services and don’t face a related tax hike, could sway survey results.

Jones explained that the survey date will include the respondent’s ward to allow that information to be included in the analysis. She added that survey results so far do not indicate that all Ward 4 residents agree on how the council should proceed.

We can help with paver stone pads, steps, walkways, retaining walls, garden beds,

in our hearts, Loved and remembered by wife, Estelle, daughter, Catharine, and son Scott

Former Woodstock Police Chief Gary Forward fields questions during the open forum. (Jim Dumville photo)

Nackawic-Millville council welcomes growing RCMP presence

Three officers living in Nackawic, with another coming soon

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Four RCMP officers joined West District RCMP Keswick and Nackawic Detachment commanding officer Sgt. André Lauzon in Nackawic-Millville council chambers Sept. 3 as he updated the council on policing the rural community.

He explained that three accompanying officers already live in Nackawic, and the other is moving to the area soon.

Lauzon added that members regularly work out of the Nackawic RCMP detachment station next to the town hall. The station was rarely used in recent years, with officers responding to Nackawic-Millville from other areas of the district.

Mayor Tim Fox welcomed the increased police presence.

“This is a big change

from a year ago,” he said. “This is wonderful.”

Several council members also welcomed the greater police visibility throughout NackawicMillville.

“I’m hearing a lot of comments that we’re seeing more cars,” said Coun. Bob Simpson.

Coun. Colin Trail, who sits on the protective services committee and lives in Millville, said he hears similar sentiments throughout his community.

Fox noted Lauzon and the RCMP are delivering on commitments made at previous council presentations.

During a similar presentation on Feb. 5, Lauzon and West District Staff Sgt. Jeff Peters promised to increase police visibility in the rural community as the district adds staff.

Fox appreciated the officers’ response to the community’s concerns and committed to working with the force to improve public safety for everyone.

“It’s a two-way street,” he told Lauzon. “If you need anything from us, we want to support you in the community.”

Pointing to Trail as a protective services committee member, Fox said he and the committee would work with the RCMP to enhance communication.

Lauzon asked the mayor and CAO Kathryn Clark if the rural community website could share RCMP links to better inform the public.

He explained that while the RCMP posts advisories and information on its site, sharing the link on the NackawicMillville site could poten-

tially reach more eyes. Lauzon said the RCMP tries to educate the public about potential scams, such as those directed at homeowners.

He said the scam artist would provide a quote and set a date for house repairs. They will ask for a deposit but never return to do the job.

He said scam artists also target seniors in several ways, including phone calls suggesting a grandchild or a close relative needs money immediately.

“We want to educate the public,” Lauzon said Lauzon also agreed with Fox’s suggestion of an open house, where residents could ask questions and talk directly to RCMP members. He said the RCMP would happily attend if the town sets up such a meeting.

Clark said she would

contact the NackawicMillville Wellness Committee to see if they would host such a meeting.

Lauzon said he didn’t come prepared with crime stats but would make them available as soon as possible.

He acknowledged mental-health calls are on the rise in the community, adding they responded to only a slight increase in break-andenters.

Lauzon suggested residents ensure their property always looks occupied.

“Criminals will look for unattended houses,” he said.

The RCMP also reminded people never to leave their keys in the car, noting that insurance companies often refuse to cover the loss in such cases.

Update outlines optimism, frustration in starting a credit union Nackawic-Millville receives report from man leading effort to get bank in community

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Nackawic-Millville could have a credit union in place to serve the community’s financial needs this year, but the man leading the effort acknowledges frustration with the process.

Patrick Kemp attended the Aug. 19 NackawicMillville council meeting to update councillors about his team’s ongoing efforts to establish the credit union.

He explained that despite a solid business plan in place for a profitable financial institution to serve Nackawic-Millville and Riverside Fundy Albert, they face further steps to gain the required approval of the provincial banking regulator at FCNB (Financial and Consumers Services Commission of New Brunswick).

Kemp explained that the proposed credit union’s five- and 10-year business plans surpassed the regulator’s requirements.

“The only downside is the regulator keeps changing requirements,” he said.

Kemp explained the survey of potential business and personal clients indicates the credit union would show a profit well under the regulator’s time requirements.

He said credit unions lose money in their first two years as they build up

the money on deposit.

Kemp said a highlight of their business plan was how quickly it could turn a profit. Based on the communities’ demographics, he said their business plan projects breaking even as early as the second year of operation and $1.5 million “to the good” by the fifth year.

While the regulator saw nothing wrong with the research and business plans two UNB MBA students created, it eventually required an accredited accounting firm to “sign off.”

Kemp explained that finding a New Brunswick accounting firm that didn’t already have a competing credit union as a client became a challenge.

He said they eventually found a Moncton accounting firm willing to audit the plan under the agreement their new credit union would not compete within their clients’ jurisdiction.

Kemp explained that the New Brunswick regulators also changed the proposed credit union’s initial investment requirements from the original requirement of 10 founding members investing a minimum of $50,000 each for a total of $500,000.

He explained that the regulators now want an initial investment of $1.5 million to ensure the required funds for a branch

lease and two years of guaranteed salary for a qualified manager. He said the higher numbers are achievable.

“It’s all fine,” Kemp said.

He added that the proposed credit union could also meet the regulator’s staff requirements for a qualified branch manager, loans manager, and mortgage manager, noting potential savings by offering part-time employment or dividing time between the Nackawic and Riverside Albert branches.

regulator also opposed the number of tellers out lined in the plan, noting that financial organiza tions are reducing these positions.

reducing teller staff, not ing that one reason for establishing a credit union branch is that many se niors are unfamiliar with online banking.

seniors are more suscep tible to fraud and identity theft,” he said.

and small business own ers in both NackawicMillville and Riverside Fundy Albert stepped up to say they would support a credit union.

bank earlier this year when the Scotiabank branch at the Nackawic

Mall closed. Riverside Fundy has been without a bank for several years.

The proposed credit union hopes to use the vacant Scotiabank as its Nackawic branch.

Kemp explained that the proposed credit union not only requires New Brunswick regulator approval but also must deliver all policies and procedures required throughout Atlantic Central, which oversees credit unions throughout Atlantic Canada from its Halifax office.

While the plan already meets those demands, they will have to re-do the study once they gain provincial approval.

Kemp described the numbers used in their credit union plan as “ultraconservative,” utilizing only two-thirds of the calculated numbers. Even those numbers showed the credit union could be profitable within two years.

“The whole goal is to make sure there are no surprises,” Kemp said.

Responding to questions from the council, Kemp said the application to establish the credit union will proceed as soon as the accounting firm “signs off’ on their plan.

Noting that banking institutions’ fiscal years run from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31, Kemp said the best-case scenario would see the credit union open its doors in Nackawic by Nov. 1 of this year.

He said Riverside Fundy could face a longer wait.

The RCMP Detachment station in Nackawic-Millville is regularly in use as the force stepped up its presence in the community. (Jim Dumville photo)

Did you KNOW?

Space does not begin at a specific altitude above the Earth, but the Kármán line is a commonly used definition.

• The Kármán line is the boundary separating Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. The line isn’t well defined, but is located between 80 to 100 km above sea level.

• There is no sound in space because molecules are too far apart to transmit sound.

• There are an estimated 100 to 400 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

• The universe is believed to be 13.8 billion years old, and has been expanding since it’s formation in the Big Bang.

RVS TONGUE TWISTER

Fall fell fast, full of fine, feathery fun. We found the freedom to frolic fully in frosty Fosterville on Friday.

CARLETON COUNTY Colloquialisms

By John Morris

case \’kays\ noun - A commercially packaged box of twelve bottles of beer; “We purtineer drunk a whole case before we even got to the Legion.” Everywhere else in the world a case is twenty-four beer. See also: flat, two-four.

Hear this word pronounced at www.dooryard.ca.

Hosted by the District of Carleton North at the R.G. ‘Bun’ Veysey Active Living Centre Activities include Washer Toss, Bocce Ball, Tennis, Pickleball, Floor Curling, Darts and Cards MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE AT THE AYR MOTOR CENTRE! Cost: $5 (INCLUDES LUNCH!)

WOMEN’S BOXING FITNESS

Saturdays - 8:30 to 10 a.m. All Fitness Levels Welcome! $8 for drop-in; $68 for 10-punch card ayrmotorcentre@town.woodstock.nb.ca (506) 325-4302 Starts Sept. 14

COED BOXING FITNESS (all fitness levels)

Mondays 6:30 to 8 p.m. - 16+ years

Tuesdays 6:30-8 p.m. - 10+ years

$8 for drop-in; $68 for 10-punch card

INTRO TO SENIOR BOXING FITNESS

For 60+ Runs from Sept. 4 to Oct. 23

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Low-impact exercises, strengthen muscles, enhance flexibility, improve balance and coordination, increase energy levels

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Advance Registration by Parent/Guardian REQUIRED Call 506-325-4302 or email caitlinallison@town.woodstock.nb.ca You can also register in person at the AYR Motor Centre

McCain Walking Track

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From vehicle sales to service, whether you’re purchasing new or certified

with every aspect of our sales and services, providing you with the best in vehicles and the parts options to keep your vehicle on the road! Visit our showroom at 323 Connell Street, Woodstock. Visit us online at www.connellchryslerdealer.com or follow us on Facebook! (506) 328-9243

NEIGHBOURHOOD NEWS

Hazardous Waste Day

Southern Victoria residents can dispose of hazardous waste at the River Valley Civic Centre between 8 and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Security Camera Rebate Program

The Village of Southern Victoria is thrilled to introduce the Security Camera Rebate Program, designed to encourage property owners to install video security systems to help deter theft and vandalism. Visit the village website, vilsv.ca, to learn about the program.

Hazardous Waste Day

The District of Carleton North’s Hazardous Waste Collection Day is Saturday, Sept 28, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Town Office, 19 Station Road, Florenceville-Bristol. For a complete list of acceptable items or any questions, call (506) 276-3610 Ext. 201.

Drive-in Movies

Drive-in Movies will be held at the Bath Fairgrounds in September, starting at Dusk! Check out the Explore District of Carleton North Facebook page for more information and movie listings.

Buttermilk Creek Fall Festival

On Saturday, Sept 21, stop by the R.G. Veysey Active Living Centre from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for this year’s Buttermilk Creel Fall Festival. For more information, visit https://mccainartgallery.com/.

Special Garbage Collection Day

The District of Carleton North’s big garbage pickup is scheduled for the week of Oct 28 to Nov 1. Your special garbage will be collected on the same day as your regular pickup that week. Special and regular garbage are collected separately, so one may be picked up before the other.

Arena Advertising Available

Hartland is offering advertising opportunities at the Central Carleton Community Complex. Space is available on the walls, dasher boards, and the ice surface to showcase your business. For details on location and pricing, contact John Nigro, Director of Facilities & Operations. at john.nigro@townofhartland.com or 506324-3822

Hartland Farmers Market

The all-new Hartland Farmers Market takes place every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hartland’s Pavilion Park, lo-

cated next to the Hartland Baptist Church and will continue through to Oct. 12. For information about becoming a vendor, contact the organizer at hartlandfarmersmarket01@gmail.com, hartlandfarmersmarket.ca, or https://www.facebook.com/ hartlandfarmersmarketnb.

Seniors Cards Drop-In

Seniors can visit the Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club every Wednesday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. to play Tough 13 cards.

Big Garbage Pickup Dates

The autumn dates for big garbage pickup in the municipality of Hartland are Oct 22 and 24, at the same time as your regular garbage collection schedule.

Hazardous Waste Day

Woodstock area residents can drop off their hazardous waste at the AYR Motor Centre between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Market at Old County Courthouse

The Old County Courthouse in Upper Woodstock will host the Gathered for Fall Market on Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will include live music, festive food, a vendor market, and crafts.

Community Breakfast

On Saturday, Sept 28, bring your friends and family to the Debec Trinity Church Hall for a delicious breakfast sponsored by the Debec Recreational Council. The breakfast will run from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Touch A Truck

On Sunday, Sept 22, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., stop by the Community Centre for the Touch A Truck and have a chance to support local business vendors.

Terry Fox event in Meductic

Meductic will host its annual Terry Fox Run/Walk on Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Meductic Memorial Park.

Canterbury Community Days

Canterbury will celebrate community from Sept. 20 to 22, beginning with a barbecue, corn boil, Karaoke, live music, bonfire and fireworks on Sept. 20, with the parade, vendors market and family events at the park on Sept. 21.

WANT TO SHARE AN EVENT? Email theresa@rivervalleysun.ca

Car show at the Nackawic Arena

Check out antique, vintage and unique cars and trucks at a car show on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nackawic Arena. Admission is free, with a rain date set for Sunday, Sept. 15.

Are you putting your returnables in your curbside recycling bin?

Donate them to local Breakfast Programs through VAIL’S BOTTLE EXCHANGE IN WOODSTOCK!

Vail’s will donate the proceeds to local breakfast programs! Just tell them where you want your returnables refund to go when you drop them off!

ADVERTISING DEADLINES:

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AYR Motor Express CARES about our community, which is why we are proud to support the River Valley Sun and other community strengthening initiatives in our region.

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RVS SUNSHINE KID

Meet sweet Iyla Lee! This adorable 21-month-old is the light of her parents lives ((Jared DeMerchant and Taylor Hallett). Little Iyla loves reading books and being anywhere mama is. She is always on the move and keeps her parents busy. This summer she enjoyed the warm weather and swimming in her pool!

If you’d like your child included in our Sunshine Kid feature, please send a little bio and a photo to the email below.

Submit your sunshine kid(s) photos & info to theresa@rivervalleysun.ca

“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.”

River Valley Sunshine Kids are sponsored by Angie’s Little Peeps Early Learning & Childcare Centre in Woodstock. Look them up on Facebook.

CLIC still going strong in Lake Country

Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy reports solid turnout for two important events

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

CLIC, Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy, officials report solid turnouts to two of the advocacy group’s high-profile summer events, indicating the interest in protecting the St. Croix Watershed and five surrounding lakes remains strong.

CLIC Secretary Frank Bolton said the organization welcomed more than 225 people to its annual picnic on July 27 on Half Moon Island at the northern end of East Grand Lake in Orient, Maine.

On Aug. 10, CLIC members turned out in force to the Danforth Fire Hall for the organization’s annual general meeting.

Founded in 1992, Bolton described CLIC as “a group of people which advocates for those on and around the Upper St. Croix River Watershed’s five Chiputneticook Lakes:

North, East Grand, Mud, Spednic and Palfrey, as well as for those on Deering Lake in Orient and Bracket Lake in Weston.”

Bolton explained that inclement weather delayed the 2024 annual picnic, noting that CLIC initially scheduled the family event for Saturday, July 6. He said heavy rain forced the delay, but it didn’t hurt attendance. He said CLIC has hosted the picnic, which is open to all, not just CLIC members, for decades.

Bolton described the preparations for the event.

“Volunteers gather at several people’s camps to load and ferry equipment and food to the island,” he said. “Once there, some erect canopies to offer shade while others fire up the grill and the fryer or load ice and beverages into coolers.”

He said the boats with those attending began arriving at 11 a.m. He said the guests included a U.S. Customs officer who checked Canadians in as they arrived on the island.

“By noontime, over 180 of the red hot dogs had been served along with trays of what some call the best French fries they’ve ever eaten,” Bolton said. “By the end of the event at around 1 p.m. more than 225 people had come to the island, more than double the number who came the previous year.”

He said the turnout convinced the CLIC board to schedule the picnic for the last Saturday of July 26, 2025. Next year’s rain date would be Aug. 2.

During the CLIC AGM on Aug. 10, President Kathy Conley reported to CLIC members about the organization’s activities over the previous

years.

She recounted a May event where students from five middle schools released salmon fry they raised into Grand Lake by the bridge crossing the border between Orient, Maine, and Fosterville.

The CLIC committee chairs gave brief reports on their concerns and actions, including fisheries, water quality, and the status of the Forest City dam.

Bolton explained that the Forest City Dam committee noted nego-

tiations with FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, about future licensing of the dam through the St. Croix International Waterway Commission (SCIWC).

Neal Berry, a representative of SCIWC, a more than a centuryold organization funded equally by the State of Maine and the Province of New Brunswick, spoke about the ongoing negotiations.

Conley also used the AGM to extend special thanks to Jerry Wilson,

District of Carleton North Council news

Doug Callnan, Pete Chase, and Jeremy Michaud for their service to the group and the lake communities.

Sister Barbara and Theresa Glanville, guest speakers, offered details about the invasive plant Eurasian milfoil and the Zebra mussels.

Bolton said anyone interested in joining CLIC could email CLICBoard@gmail. com or write CLIC at 82 Schoolhouse Road Unit 30, Orient, ME 04471 for a membership application form or to donate.

School Street address changes and rezoning for snowmobile clubhouse

By Sandra Hanson

Changes to School Street in Bath

The District of Carleton North (DCN) Council voted in favour of multiple changes to School Street in Bath, including creating a new municipal lot located at 128 School Street for the existing Bath swimming pool and wellhead, extending the municipal boundaries of School Street, and creating a new lot where the Bath Middle School used to be.

Mayor Harvey explained that the Department of Education currently owns the land on which the swimming pool and wellhead are located. Because of this,

the property lacks a designated street address, which negatively impacts emergency response and administration services.

The Department also owns School Street, beginning at the swimming pool. Extending the municipal boundaries of the street will allow the district to create a new lot for the new Bath Step Ahead Early Learning Centre, which will be constructed on the old Bath Middle School grounds.

“I want to be clear,” said Mayor Harvey. “This isn’t costing us any money. The lots are being transferred to us from the Department of Education for zero dollars. We will

then turn the [old school] lot over to Step Ahead.”

Rezoning hearings for Snowmobile Clubhouse

Public hearings will be held for the proposed rezoning of 10 Station Road in Centreville, NB.

Two hearings will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 pm via video and teleconference and Tuesday, September 24, at 6:30 pm at the Stickney Recreation Centre.

The rezoning will allow the construction and operation of a snowmobile clubhouse facility.

Deputy Mayor Karen Hargrove told councillors that she’s heard concerns from residents who

are worried the facility would be a warming hut that would be open to the public.

Mayor Harvey told his council that was not the case.

“The storage facility is for their groomers with the capability of hosting club meetings or occasional club functions, similar to Johnville,” he said.

Love Atlantic prepares for annual drive in support of food banks

Woodstock

area churches hope to surpass 11,000 pounds of food collected last year

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As the Valley Food Bank faces the challenge of feeding struggling Upper St. John River Valley families, Woodstockarea churches are once again reaching out to their members and the community to show their “love and generosity.”

This September, churches across the Maritimes, including the Woodstock area, will host the third annual Love Atlantic food drive.

Rev. Neil Horner, associate pastor of Woodstock Wesleyan Church, said several local churches hope to build upon the past two years’ success.

“Love Atlantic is a movement of Maritime churches to get out and serve their communities

with love and generosity and service,” Horner explained.

He said that over the past two years, several area churches have worked together to organize a food drive to support Valley Food Bank.

“With the support of our community, we have been able to collect over 10,000 pounds and 11,000 pounds of food the past two years.” Horner said. “We will be doing this again in September, with flyers to notify the community going out on Sept. 22, and food being picked up between 5:30 and 7:30 (p.m.) on Sept. 25. “

As she accepted the donations raised through Love Atlantic last year, Valley Food Bank execu-

tive director Monica Grant said the food bank could not fulfill its mandate without the generosity of churches, service organizations, businesses, individuals, and others.

Horner said the Love Atlantic organizers understand that the Valley Food Bank’s year-round challenges increase significantly heading into winter and the Christmas season.

“We can’t wait to partner with our community to give our food bank a lift as they head into the fall and Christmas season,” he said.

Grant explained that while providing food security to struggling people and families remains the Valley Food Bank’s core

mandate, their clients’ needs stretch well beyond the dinner table.

She said clients need personal grooming items, noting deodorant as an example.

Grant said soap, shampoo, body wash, toothbrushes, razors, laundry soap, and Kleenex are always in short supply.

While can goods are a staple in food hampers, their clients need can openers.

Whether it’s a donation of the needed items or cash to purchase what’s in short supply, community support helps the VFB meet the growing needs of its clients.

Site of fatal motor vehicle collisions to get new speed limit

Hartland council votes for lower kilometres along dangerous Rockland Road turn

By Doug Dickinson

Hartland Council has decided to lower the speed limit to address concerns of a dangerous turn that has been the site of fatal motor vehicle collisions.

The council spent about 30 minutes during a regular council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13, discussing ways to address the turn on Rockland Road, which connects the town of Hartland with the community of Coldstream.

Public Works Director Jed Giberson recommended lowering

the speed limit to 50 kilometres per hour for the entirety of the road rather than changing it from 50 to 80 and back to 50 again.

Deputy Mayor Stewart Fairgrieve asked if the town had consulted with the farming operations on the road, to which Giberson said no consultation had taken place. Coun. Sam Walton noted there is a private driveway at a gravel pit and Coun. Jason Smith added nobody would want speeding vehicles approaching areas with large equipment coming onto the roadway. Smith said he spent

an hour taking photos and video of the turn the previous day and observed speeding vehicles and deteriorating road conditions. He noted the shoulder of the road surface is broken down, with crowning in the centre.

“There is no safe way to navigate that turn,” said Smith.

The councillor noted he also wants to see more bus loading zone signs entering the turn.

After reviewing what he witnessed, Smith said he saw over 80 vehicles navigate the turn in an hour, with trucks travelling above the current

speed limit.

Coun. Walton noted that motorists are in danger no matter which direction they enter the turn, with “no time to stop for a bus if you are travelling 80 kilometres per hour.”

Walton said there is also a high volume of wildlife crossing the roadway due to running water and corn fields in the area.

“I think the 50 [speed limit zone] is a great idea from the top of the hill,” said Walton.

“It’s going to take some education. I think we need to put out to

the public that this is going to happen. It’s going to take some time for people to get used to traveling down that hill 50 kilometres per hour but it’s a much needed change.”

Coun. Walton said the town should go to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) with the plan to lower the speed limit in order to keep good faith. Coun. Wayne Britton and Coun. Smith both brought up the time-sensitivity issue, with school starting in the coming weeks.

Britton asked about possibly fixing the road

conditions before school starts in the fall. Giberson said it would be a capital project and wouldn’t be possible this calendar year.

Hartland Mayor Tracey DeMerchant said council could make a motion on signage for the speed limit change and leave discussion of the road condition to the infrastructure committee.

Fairgrieve agreed with keeping good faith with DTI. Council amended the motion, ultimately passing a motion to consult with DTI about additional signage for the reduction in speed limit.

Local churches will participate in the annual Love Atlantic food drive aimed at keeping the Atlantic Food Bank’s shelves full as it strives to meet growing demands. (Jim Dumville photo)

Over half a century of ‘Hillbilly Hoedowns’ Debec hosts 52nd Debec Days with no signs of slowing down

By Connor Barry

Despite the cool, misty weather, the 52nd annual Debec Days held on Saturday, Sept 7, was brimming with joy and cheer with the people of Debec more than making up for faults with the weather.

This year’s theme was “Hillbilly Hoedown,” meant to harken back to the town’s grassroots and the origins of the event.

Debec Days is a staple of the community and was founded in 1972.

Since then, the annual event has been a beacon of community spirit for the small town, routinely drawing hundreds of people to partake in the celebration, to sit down for a spell, chat with their neighbours and have a burger or two.

“Five hundred or more attended this year’s De

bec Days,” said Debec Recreation Council president Donna Carson. Carson went on to say that the event was important because “we are losing that sense of community.”

Going around the event, you could feel the positive energy and that sense of community actively thriving.

Many activities and events were held throughout the festivities, ranging from live music to food competitions and a parade.

Six vendors attended the Saturday market at the Debec community park with various wares such as local produce, hand-sewn purses, and custom-made Christmas tree ornaments, among many others.

Approximately 15 ve

hicles participated in this year’s parade, comprising vehicles such as a horse-drawn carriage, fire engines, classic cars, and many others.

Carson believes that Debec Days and events like it help preserve a sense of community and unite people.

The Debec Fire Department’s clever and creative children’s activity was a prime example of this community spirit.

Young kids were given real-life fireman’s hoses, to their cackling delight, and had to push a target using the hoses to their opponent’s side. Their furrowed brows focused on putting out the future fires of Debec.

These actions and others like this ensure that Debec Days are around another 52 years to come.

Riverside has many opportunities to come together and socialize! Residents enjoy time in our dining room,with great food and great conversation. Call Carolyn today! 870 Main Street Woodstock, N.B.

The feeling

A horse-drawn carriage was part of the parade and delighted all in attendance. (Photo submitted)

Joan Anderson, owner of Anderson Creations, was one of the many vendors at the Debec Days market. (Connor Barry photo)

Laughter echoed as volunteers from the Debec Fire Department and local kids pushed the ball back and forth with water from fire hoses. (Connor Barry photo)

Meductic celebrates with ‘Blast from the Past’ Community spirit riding high as hamlet hosts summer festival events

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Asmall but colourful parade highlighted Meductic Community Days on Saturday, Aug. 24, as the riverside community celebrated its annual summer festival.

Colourful floats and families, with a generous political presence, took centre stage as the parade rolled from the Sabian Cymbal parking lot to Meductic Park.

The entries embraced this year’s parade theme, “Blast from the Past,” with many paying homage to music, events and styles of bygone days.

Rock and roll music blasted from an elabo-

rate float created by the Alward and Stairs families, paying tribute to hits from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

New Brunswick natives but longtime Calgary residents Jim and Elenor McLellan paid tribute to their days as newlyweds, downing a hat, wedding veil, and Flames jersey while riding in a cart emblazoned with a Just Married sign. Jim explained that he grew up in Meductic, while Elenor was a native of Fredericton. They moved west to Alberta shortly after their marriage. As part of their summer visit “back

Nackawic-Millville’s

home,” they loved participating in Meductic’s community celebration.

Diane Schriver and Jackie Walker got to sit high in their Mustang convertible driven by Wayne Walker as the parade’s Mustang Sallys.

Hauley Cummings, owner of Cummings Brothers and Sons, served as parade marshal.

The parade enjoyed plenty of political support, with PC, Liberal and PANB candidates in the upcoming October election walking the route, tossing out candy and sharing time with

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The head of the organizing team for Nackawic-Millville’s 2024 Festival on the Bend thanked the hardworking team members and the hundreds of people who turned out to support the community’s annual summer celebration.

“I must say that all the hard work paid off when you look around and see so many people from the start at bingo, Little Miss Nackawic-Millville, the baby contest, wrestling, Miss Nackawic-Millville and onto the best and busiest Saturday there has been in years,” said committee chair Donna Gagnon.

She said Saturday’s arena was full of vendors and entertainment on the stage, including magic, music, and Elvis, and brought the young and the old.

The festival, which ran from Aug. 13 through Saturday, began with a bingo night and ended with dozens of activities

through a busy Saturday in the Nackawic Arena and on the waterfront.

The arena hosted the Little Miss NackawicMillville on Wednesday, followed by the baby contest at the Lions Club and CCW Live Pro Wrestling at the arena on Thursday.

Friday evening saw Kayla Grant crowned Miss Nackawic-Millville 2024 at the pageant featuring seven contestants.

Saturday offered a series of events, entertainers and activities from morning to late evening, highlighted by the parade at 11 a.m. and the fireworks over the famous Big Axe after dark.

Entertainers at the arena throughout Saturday included the Logan and Leah Milburn magic show and Jessie Campbell magic, musical performances by Ryker Veins, Kylie Watson, The Millworkers Union and the acclaimed Elvis impersonator Mike Braven-

community residents and visitors along the parade route.

The parade featured antique cars, ATVs and lawn tractors, many pull-

Popular local band Double D performed on the Big Axe before and after the fireworks to close out the festival.

“How would one pick their favourite highlight when everything was so good?” said Gagnon. “I loved it all and I must say we might be small but we are mighty and I am so glad to be part of this community.”

During the Monday, Aug. 19 council meeting, Nackawic-Millville Mayor Tim Fox and several council members praised the committee for their efforts.

He noted the large crowds in attendance for the parade and other events.

“It’s the most people I saw in a long time at the festival,” said Fox.

Under the theme “Festival on the Bend gets spooky,” the parade featured numerous entries, including many who embraced the theme.

ing carts and floats, and fire vehicles from the Meductic and surrounding fire departments.

Other Meductic Community Days events in-

cluded a corn

and fireworks on Friday

ning and various events throughout Saturday at the Meductic Park on the village’s waterfront.

The Howell family’s skeleton-laden Jeep earned an honourable mention and $50 for its parade entry. (Photo submitted) See more photos at rivervalleysun.ca

The float, Myrtle’s Beach After Dark, earned the $500 first prize, while Stewed in Hawkshaw took the $250 second prize. The Hawks Hockey Team captured the $100 third prize, with the Howell family entry garnering an honourable mention and $50.

“The fireworks I think were the best I’ve ever seen,” said NackawicMillville Coun. Steven Meldrum.

A large crowd gathered on the Nackawic waterfront Saturday evening to enjoy the music from Double D and take in what several people described as a spectacular fireworks show.

boil

eve-

The Alward and Stairs families’ Blast from the Past float feature hits from yesteryear. Front, Rhonda and Keiran Alward. Back, from left, Rhonda Stairs, Briar Bedard and Bennett Bedard. (Jim Dumville photo) Visit www.rivervalleysun.ca for more photos.

River Bend Balloon Festival takes flight despite cancellations

Hot air flights, live music, and other events keep attendees happy

By Sandra Hanson

Despite the weather’s reluctance to cooperate, the River Bend Balloon Festival, held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 in Bath, managed to soar above the challenges.

While wind and rain cancelled seven out of 10 scheduled balloon flights, tethered flights, and glow night, the festival’s spirit remained undeterred.

Pilot coordinator Jen Odeeah said that despite their challenges, they still managed to launch three flights, including one from Bath, a feat they couldn’t achieve in 2023.

While Sunday’s car show had to be cancelled due to rain, Saturday’s market went ahead as scheduled and was well attended.

“We had lots of vendors this year,” said Odeeah. “Some of the pilots were there and pulled out their baskets, handed out cards to the children, and answered guest questions.”

Odeeah said cancellations are just part of running an outdoor festival.

“We prefer not to cancel but with an outdoor festival unfortunately that’s something that’s part and parcel of those events. You’re at

the mercy of the weather.”

Local musicians, including John Cahill & Friends, Shelley Graham, and Norm McGuire, were on hand to entertain the marketgoers.

Despite this year’s festival’s challenges, Odeeah said organizers were happy with it and incredibly proud to offer several new activities. On Saturday night, the festival held a free outdoor concert at the fairgrounds featuring the music of Down River Band.

On Monday, the festival hosted “Fun on the Fairgrounds”. Activities included lawn games such as washer toss, bubbles, parachute games, and a potato picking relay race which Odeeah declared “a hit!”

The festival finished on Monday night with a fireworks display.

The festival’s expansion was not limited to activities and events. The village was decorated with balloon flags featuring photos of previous attendees, a project initiated by one of the festival subcommittees. Their goal was to increase community involvement, which they achieved by including the daycare,

early learning centre, and Riverview Manor in an art creation project. The resulting works of art were displayed in the pilot’s lounge and at the market.

Odeeah said organizers have been trying to grow the festival to appeal to families.

“A lot of people have a warm feeling in their hearts about the Bath Fall Fair, so we are trying to look at ways we can grow the festival while keeping our roots in mind.”

She hinted that there may be more additions to next year’s festival.

“Hopefully, we’ll continue to grow and be bigger and better next year.”

The Trevors Goodine Lumberjack Competition returned this year, with the claim to fame of having been voted the “Best Competition in the Maritime Lumberjack Association” in 2023.

Odeeah said there is pride in achieving that title, especially for being “such a small place.”

Over 300 adults paid at the gate to attend the event, and Odeeah said actual attendance was even higher since kids under 12 were free.

The event winners were Brittany McLean for the women’s divi-

sion, Ben Cumberland for the men’s division, and Donald Lambert for the overall master’s division.

Odeeah credited the

festival’s success to their organizing committee and the “amazing support from our sponsors and phenomenal volunteers.”

She noted that seeing how such a small community could produce so much volunteer support was remarkable.

From left, Kenny Blackburn of Quebec in Sky Crazy, Randy Lee of North Carolina in Spellbound Spirit III, and Mike Lavoie of New Hampshire in Schmedley. (Jennifer O’Donnell photo)

Fun on the Fairgrounds: Denise Pickard and Katharine Brennan have fun competing in the Potato Picking Relay Race. (Jennifer O’Donnell photo)

From beloved school to vibrant community centre

Juniper Community Centre celebrated, and volunteers feted at 10th anniversary of

By Jim Dumville – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Adecade ago, the residents of Juniper could have accepted defeat when their efforts failed to keep the Juniper Elementary School open. Instead, they held their heads high, worked together and turned a now-former school into the heart of the community.

On Saturday, Aug. 17, Juniper Community Centre board members, volunteers, community residents, visitors and special guests gathered to celebrate the centre’s 10th anniversary.

A large crowd — including the Honourable Brenda Murphy, New Brunswick’s Lieutenant Governor, and her partner, Her Honour Linda Boyle, Carleton North Mayor Andrew Harvey, Coun. Angel Connor and Tobique-Mactaquac MP Richard Bragdon — celebrated the success story and paid tribute to the volunteers who made it possible.

“I’m so impressed,” Lt.-Gov. Murphy said after a tour of the centre. She spoke to the crowd gathered under and around the big tent erected behind the centre for the celebration.

While acknowledging Saturday’s visit was her first time in Juniper, Murphy said her partner Linda visited friends in the com-

munity several times.

“Linda and I are delighted to be here today,” she said.

As someone from small-town New Brunswick, the Lieutenant-Governor said she recognizes the importance of community-based initiatives and volunteers.

“Volunteers are the lifeline of communities like this,” she said.

Murphy praised the centre, noting all it offered to visitors, including the second-hand and knickknack shops.

Over the past decade, the Juniper Community Centre revitalized the former school, offering a meeting area, specialevent space, breakfasts, lunches, shops and an attractive tourist destination.

The efforts of the board and the community volunteers became the central theme of the celebration, which included live music from Melissa White and Friends, free burgers, hot dogs, corn and anniversary cake and children’s games and activities.

Board Chair Jessie Cosman thanked fellow volunteer board members and the many community members who made the centre a success story.

“Nothing can be accomplished without our loyal community members, so in reality it is you

FIVE GENERATIONS

we’re celebrating here today,” Cosman said.

Bragdon echoed the views of all special guests,

“The strength of our rural communities is the volunteer base,” the MP told the River Valley Sun before reiterating it during his short speech to the families on hand.

Mayor Harvey noted his close connection to the former school and its rebirth as vital to Juniper’s community spirit. The former Carleton-Victoria MLA recalled that one of his first duties as a provincial government member involved transferring ownership of the provincial building to the newly formed community board for one dollar.

“It was a dollar well spent,” Harvey said.

The mayor recalled his days attending school in the building, noting how Saturday morning’s tour brought back memories of classrooms, teachers and fellow students. He noted that one of his former classrooms is now Millie’s Tea Room.

Harvey praised the community centre’s homage to Juniper’s history, including the sculpture of Fred Grant’s Fly standing tall in front of the building.

Built by local artist and businessman Mike Cummings, the Grant Fly stands as a tribute to

the late Fred Grant, a renowned fly-tier, fishing guide, trapper, furniture maker and artist. The oversized sculpture of one of Grant’s fishing flies also recognizes the sport and economic importance of Juniper’s location next to the Miramichi headwaters.

“It’s important we recognize who came before us,” said Harvey. The Juniper area’s council representative, Angel Connor, joined Mayor Harvey and other special guests to present the Juniper Community Centre board with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the District of Carleton North. Connor, who recalled attending Juniper Elementary School in the building, congratulated all past and present board members for their efforts.

Juniper Community Centre board members join special guests Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy and Her Honour Linda Boyle in front of Grant’s Fly during 10th-anniversary celebrations of Saturday, Aug. 17. Front, from left, Marcianne Brown and Beth Brown. Back, from left, Stephen Prosser, Donna Prosser, Barb Myles, Barb Somerville, Her Honour Linda Boyle, Sophia Connor, Her Honour Lt.-Gov Brenday Murphy, Board chair Jessie Cosman, Rosanna Mazerolle, Ava Roussellle and Pam Laing. (Jim Dumville photo)

The District of Carleton North presented the Juniper Community Centre board with a certificate of appreciation. From left, Tobique-Mactaquac MP Richard Bragdon, Carleton North Coun. Angel Connor, Lt.-Gov Brenda Murphy, Board Chair Jessie Cosman and Carleton North Mayor Andrew Harvey. (Jim Dumville photo)

Five generations gathered at the Central Carleton Nursing Home in Hartland in August of this year, From left are great-grandfather Stephen Amos Laskey, great-great-grandmother Doris Laskey holding her great-great-grandson Oakley Morgan, Ocean, who is mother of Oakley, and Stephen Robert Laskey, father of Ocean. (Submitted photo)

Flambé for firefighters

Local Chambers of Commerce honour community firefighters with event

By Paige Morgan

Florenceville-Bris -

tol is hosting the first-ever Chefs on Fire Cook-Off on Sunday, Oct 12, at the Florenceville Inn.

The event aims to support and raise awareness of local volunteer firefighters. The Chefs on Fire Cook-Off will educate the community on fire safety and highlight the importance of firefighting equipment.

“As a recently amalgamated Chamber, we were thrilled to organize this event as a way to unite the businesses and communities of the District of Carleton North and Central Carleton,” said organizer and President of Florenceville-Bristol

CHAMBER NEWS AND VIEWS

By Chamber Members

Welcome to the Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce (GWCC) ‘s new column. We will bring you chamber news here every other month. If you are looking for regular updates on what’s happening, please sign up for our mailing list at www. gwcc.ca.

Tuesday Night Market

Have you been to the third annual Tuesday Night Market yet?

The GWCC invites you to catch the last

Chambers of Commerce & Central Carleton Chamber of Commerce, Pamela Brennan.

Brennan and her organizers have decided to feature only the district firefighter teams because of their continuous volunteering, assistance in emergencies, and dedication to helping the community. The event will also reward the firefighters for their constant training to stay in shape.

Money from the event will go towards equipment that benefits the community and supports health issues firefighters might encounter during work.

“We are also excited about the opportunity to

raise funds for the departments and teams,” said Brennan.

The Chefs on Fire Cook-Off takes place during Fire Safety Week and highlights a firefighter’s knowledge, skills, and ability to work under pressure.

“With the positive feedback we have received so far, we are confident that this event will be a success and will continue to grow each year, eventually becoming an annual tradition that includes other emergency service teams and communities,” said Brennan.

Details of the event are still being worked out.

The Chefs on Fire Cook-Off needs more

corporate sponsors, volunteers, and vendors. For information on sponsorships, con -

tact Pamela Brennan at pam@shamrocksuites. ca or (506) 391-6226.

Please see the Fire

Cook-Off advetrtisement on page 31 of the this month’s issue of the River Valley Sun.

Night Market, drone shows, and introducing members

one of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. Mark your calendar! Find us along the boardwalk on King Street, beside the beautiful Meduxnekeag River and Woodstock’s Downtown Farm Market.

Come for supper, mingle with friends, take in some tunes from local musicians, pop into the farm market and enjoy a stroll along our picturesque downtown boardwalk. Shop for fresh produce, fabulous plants, delicious baked goods, unique artist treasures like pottery and ironworks, and chat with various other vendors.

Festival of Lights

Once the market wraps up, we will be full steam ahead with our Festival of Lights planning. Is it too soon to mention Christmas?

Nah, it’s not like we said that horrible S word, snow! We are excited about something new and cannot keep it in any longer. A drone light show is coming! Yes, you heard it here first, a River Valley Sun exclusive. It’s going to be AMAZING, and your pets will thank us! Mark your calendars for the Santa Claus parade, local shopping, and Woodstock’s first drone light show.

Learn more about us

The Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce fosters an environment where business owners can connect, exchange ideas, and support each other while building a stronger and more vibrant community. Access unique events, take advantage of members-only discounts, and network

with members who are eager to help you succeed. We would love to have you and your business join us.

When you contact the chamber, you might not even know who is behind the scenes. We will introduce our board members over the next few columns, but first up is our organizer of ALL the things and the person replying to your emails. We are so very grateful to have her on the team.

The person who gathers facts after we brainstorm, makes sure we get legible meeting minutes, handles business mailouts, and, most importantly, collects your membership fees so we can continue the work we do. Please meet Hannah Cantafio. You might recognize her from being at events around town and her

various business ventures, including Pilates with Purpose. A reminder that for all things chamber-related, you can visit our

website at www.gwcc. ca, find us on Facebook by searching Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, or email us at info@gwcc.ca

Greater Woodstock Chamber of Commerce member Hannah Cantafio. (Submitted photo)

The Chefs on Fire Cook-Off event organized by the District of Carleton North and Central Carleton Chambers of Commerce will be held at the Florenceville Inn on Oct. 12. (Submitted photo)

SCAMS: DON’T TAKE THE BAIT!

By Cherie Linder

“Home is a shelter from storms-all sorts of storms.”-William J. Bennett

As summer draws to a close, people are getting their properties ready for the colder months. Due to housing costs, many upgrade their current homes rather than sell and buy new ones. Enhancing or protecting your home involves hiring professional contractors and compa-

BEAUTIFUL BUMBLES

By Linda McHatten

What amazes me are some of the hidden gems that we come across while out on bumbles.

On July 6 of this year, a group of 23 met and unloaded our buggies at the trailhead in Perth-Andover. We were headed on an adventure.

It was overcast, but we bumbled on anyway, expecting we would get rain. Our first stop was

Beware of home service/renovation scams

nies. Fraudulent activities regarding these activities have reached an alarming level.

Unscrupulous vendors may pad quotes, cut corners, and use substandard materials. These scams result in stress and financial strain. While many homeowners are aware of such scams, many continue to fall victim to well-spoken or aggressive people.

Here are a few examples of home service scams and how to protect yourself.

A scammer pretending to be a contractor or an expert in building inspections comes to you with an unsolicited inspection report of your home. The chimney is dangerous and needs to be repaired. They threaten to file an

official complaint if you do not complete the repairs immediately. Their company can do the work. They have one opening, although they are booking up quickly. They take your money and run.

A scammer places an online ad for home improvements. You contact them, they give you a quote and request a large deposit for the work. You pay them, and they stop returning your calls. On the date that repairs are to begin, no one shows up at your home. The company was not legitimate.

Scammers posing as contractors go doorto-door selling services. They offer discount materials that they have left over from another job. You must pay up-front

and in cash. They pressure you to make a decision.

In any of these examples, work may begin, but it will probably be of poor quality or unfinished. Once the first part of the job is done, the scammers may tell the homeowners that the damage is worse than they thought. They will request more money to pay for additional supplies or to finish the job.

If you need home repairs:

Get recommendations from people you know and trust. Ask for proof that your contractor is licensed and insured. Do not hesitate to call local officials to learn about regulations regarding payments, licenses, inspections, and other homeowner and contractor

obligations. Do not pay in full upfront or make a final payment until the work is completed. Check for online reviews of contractors and businesses.

Get multiple estimates and read any contracts carefully or have an outside party in the home repair industry read it with you. Ensure that all of the spaces are filled in.

Our home is our castle, but it is also a huge

investment. Taking a few extra steps can save you huge heartache and financial loss.

with

Bumbling with beautiful scenery and important history

the largest pine tree in New Brunswick. It is over 400 years old. I have seen it before, but we had some with us who had not.

Leaving there, we bumbled down through Perth-Andover to meet the trail that takes us up along the St. John River. What a beautiful river! We travel on the ATV Bridge, which crosses the St. John River and joins the Aroostook River.

Our next stop is the Aroostook Lookout, also known as Ted’s Mountain. Miles and miles of farmland can be seen, as well as the St. John River on one side and the Aroostook River on the other. We see the Tinker Dam in the distance. It is the most beautiful scenery.

We blow the horn, and everyone heads back to their buggy to continue back down the mountain, across the other side of the highway and up along the Aroostook River, which takes us by the Tinker Dam. I love this trail in the woods!

It’s pouring rain when we reach our destination for lunch. Tomlison Lake is a beautiful little body of water with a new log shelter. We all scrambled inside with our food for the potluck. Oh my, we have so much food and quite a selection.

Tomlison Lake is the northernmost route on the Underground Railroad. It was a passageway used by slaves migrating to New Brunswick between

1850 and 1865.

The trail they used to get to freedom was three kilometres long.

No one in our group seemed to mind the rain as they read the interpretive boards. Every year, on the first weekend of October, the Tomlison Lake Hike to Freedom is held to remember the history of this historic stretch of land.

It was a pleasure standing back and watching everyone mingle while chatting and eating. It was such a relaxing way to spend time on the trail.

After cleaning up and the horn blown again, we settled back into our buggies and headed back to the trailhead.

Needless to say,

some of us were pretty wet, and a nice hot shower waiting at home was looking pretty good.

Thank you, Norm, Golda, Anthony, and Grace, for being our hosts. It is a very enjoy-

Cherie Linder is an administrative assistant

the Woodstock Police Force. She collaborates with Community Resource Officer Cst. Shaun Kimball for this column. A reminder that if you have been scammed, DON’T be embarrassed, but DO contact the police.

Linda McHatten is a retired LPN who now nurses her love for the outdoors. She and her husband live in Rosedale.

able bumble. Until next time, happy trails, and stay safe!

The new log shelter at Tomlinson Lake helped the Bumble crew get out of the rain and eat their lunch. (Linda McHatten photo)

IN A ‘MANOR’ OF SPEAKING

By Jane Jones

AtCarleton Manor, we’re not waiting for the New Year to kickstart our exercise and activity goals. We’re taking a proactive approach to our health and wellbeing.

Our Neighbours have diverse interests and needs, and staff are on top of delivering spiritual, cognitive, and fun events for all.

Mirna Rodriguez, Activity Coordinator, has noticed a new trend lately —our Neighbours have been channelling their inner Olivia Newton-John and are super focused on getting physical!

In addition to using the Carleton Manor bus for going to and from events, drives, and shopping excursions, our Neighbours can now hop on the bus and go to the AYR Motor Centre walking track to enhance their already busy physical fitness schedules.

Staying active and on the move at Carleton Manor

Visits to the walking track are a fabulous addition to the activity requests. Last year, our Neighbours asked for and received a designated gym space to do their exercises and hold exercise classes.

Earlier this year, our neighbours shared that they’d like to spend more time on exercise bikes and going for walks.

Our staff, along with our Neighbours, hashed out some ideas and the volunteer-oriented SAVER (Seniors And Vol-

unteers Enhancing Rehabilitation) project was born.

And now, a third activity helps keep our Neighbors fit and fabulous—tackling the walking track and racking up those steps!

If you’d like to volunteer for our SAVERS project or volunteer in general, contact Mirna at activity1@ carletonmanor.ca or 506325-4390

The River Valley ATV Club is located in Carleton County, and is a member of QuadNB. Our motto is to promote safe recreational ATV use while developing and maintaining a trail system in an environmentally responsible manner. Our club is located in Zone 7 of the Federation, in the beautiful St. John River Valley. Meetings are 7 p.m. on last Tuesday of the month from March to Nov. at the Y’s Men Club in Woodstock Upcoming meetings: Sept. 24, Oct. 29, Nov. 26. email: info@rivervalleyatv.com web: rivervalleyatv.com or like us on Facebook: River Valley ATV Club Inc

Jane Jones is a mom, wife, business owner and volunteer who lives in Woodstock.

Activity Coordinator Brenda Grant, bus driver Heather, Neighbour Mike D., SAVER volunteer, Neighbours Weldon, David and volunteer Stacey Serrano wait for the elevator to take them to the walking track. (Jane Jones photo)

SAVER volunteer and Volunteer Stacey Serrano get in a couple of laps with Neighbours Jane and Lois. (Jane Jones photo)

Activity Coordinator Brenda Grant and Neighbour Elva - already up to 5 laps! (Jane Jones photo)

Of course, one needs a good rest and recovery period after waking laps as Neighbours Mike and Weldon happily demonstrate…great job guys! (Jane Jones photo)

COURT NEWS

A roundup of cases processed through Woodstock Provincial Court

By Judy Cole-Underhill

Limestone man charged with attempted murder

Riley Cowper, 19, of Limestone, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Aug. 27 for a bail hearing in connection with an alleged violent attack on another local man.

RCMP charged Cowper with attempted murder by using a hammer and a wrench to assault Rodney Butler, mischief causing property damage to a car window, uttering threats, and robbery of a vehicle in connection with an incident on Aug. 10 at Jackson Falls.

Cowper was without legal counsel for the charges on Tuesday, so the matter was adjourned for monitoring until Sept. 10 at 1:30 p.m. At that time, a date for his bail hearing and plea will be set. He remains in custody.

He was arrested on Aug. 13 and ordered to have no contact with Butler, who police said was treated at hospital for injuries and later released.

Cowper is also facing a separate charge of assault with a weapon (a hammer and tire iron) involving another man on March 23, 2022. That trial was adjourned to Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Butler verdict on Sept. 9

A verdict in the Rodney Butler trial will be handed down on Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m.

Chief Judge Brian C. McLean was scheduled to render his decision on July 2. However, McLean told the court he needed more time to complete his written deliberations. Crown Prosecutor Rodney Jordan and Defence Counsel Alex Pate agreed to the delay.

Butler, 50, of Bulls Creek, was charged by RCMP with intentionally discharging a firearm while reckless as to the life and safety of another person, indictable assault, uttering threats, using a handgun to kidnap Chris Demerchant, unlawful confinement, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, possession of a firearm without a licence, and illegal possession of a firearm in a vehicle on Nov. 13, 2021, at Bulls Creek.

No charges have been laid in relation to the killing of But-

ler’s partner, Christine Pelletier-Thibodeau, who died as a result of her injuries following a shootout outside Butler’s residence on the day of the incident. Police tape was erected around the property, which was surrounded by a vehicle salvage yard.

Members of PelletierThibodeau’s family were in court on July 2 for the verdict and left the proceedings disappointed by the delay. Butler was also in attendance and exited the courtroom quietly to await his new court date.

The River Valley Sun will have complete coverage of the verdict on our website rivervalleysun.ca

3D-printed firearms seized

Kevin Manuel Cedros, 42, of Aroostook Junction, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Sept. 5 for a bail hearing on nine charges related to the manufacture of firearms using a 3D printer.

Cedros was released with conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle. He returns to court for plea on Sept. 24 at 9:30 a.m. Judge Henrik Tonning also placed Cedros under house arrest. He will live at a residence in Aroostook Junction and follow a curfew. The judge said police would check on him regularly, and all 3D-printer software and supplies must be surrendered to the authorities immediately.

RCMP arrested Cedros after receiving a report on Aug. 15 about a person manufacturing and selling 3D-printed firearms at a residence on Route 130 in Aroostook. Search warrants were executed, and police uncovered 3Dprinted firearms, ammunition, numerous firearm parts, a 3D printer, prohibited magazines, and electronic devices.

Sentenced to 26 months

Dustin Robert Davenport, 40, of Aroostook, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Aug. 26 and was sentenced to a total of 26 months in jail, minus time served. He was also placed on probation for 24 months.

Davenport had been in custody since January when he was denied bail. He changed his plea to guilty on several charges laid by RCMP. The court

heard he avoided a federal prison sentence due to nine months served in remand. He had a prior criminal record for violence.

Davenport must also register with the federal DNA database and was prohibited from firearms for 10 years. He must also seek counselling for addiction, anger management, domestic and family violence. He cannot have contact with three female victims.

Davenport was charged by RCMP with aggravated assault involving a female victim, uttering threats, unlawful confinement, possession of a prohibited weapon (a handheld torch), and breach of probation for an incident on Dec. 12, 2023, near Perth Andover when a woman was seriously burned during a domestic dispute.

Davenport pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of indictable assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats, and the crown withdrew breach of probation and the remaining two charges.

The court heard Davenport used a handheld torch to burn the victim on her back and then physically assaulted her. She was punched and kicked and suffered two black eyes, cuts and bruises in addition to the burn wounds on her back.

Davenport was also charged with uttering threats, breach of probation, breaching a nocontact order, assault involving another female victim, and forcible entry at a dwelling house in connection with a separate incident on Sept. 4, 2023, at Carlingford.

He pleaded guilty to the assault, breach of probation, and breaching a no-contact order and the remaining two charges were withdrawn by the crown. The court heard he was inside a residence when he jammed the victim with a door.

Davenport was also charged with dangerous driving for an incident on Oct. 13, 2023, at Perth-Andover when a man was allegedly dragged by a moving vehicle. The crown will withdraw this charge at his sentencing. Sentence pending for Cloverdale man

A Cloverdale man was expected to receive a federal prison term on

Aug. 2 for shooting at a police officer. His sentencing was adjourned until Sept. 10 at 1:30 p.m. with the consent of both the crown and defence counsel.

Wyatt DeLong, 28, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm with intent at a police officer, flight from police, dangerous driving, and indictable breach of probation in connection with an incident on July 14, 2023, at Florenceville-Bristol. DeLong has been in custody since his arrest.

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a conviction for discharging a firearm with intent (to endanger the life or safety of another person) carries a potential prison sentence of five years for a first offence.

A co-accused, Janis Buchanan, 28, of Perth-Andover, appeared in provincial court in custody by video in September 2023 and pleaded guilty to robbery with violence for an incident on May 29, 2023, at Florenceville-Bristol. She was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

RCMP arrested DeLong and Buchanan after a manhunt in Victoria County following a series of incidents in the Upper River Valley.

Jacksonville man sentenced to 17 months

Shayne Everett Cameron, 30, of Jacksonville, was sentenced to a total of 17 months in jail, minus time served, when he appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Aug. 28.

Judge Henrik Tonning also placed him on two years of probation and ordered him to register with the federal DNA database. Cameron was also prohibited from firearms for life and was ordered to seek counselling for addiction. He had been in custody since his arrest in January and was denied bail.

“This is my last chance,” Cameron told the court before hearing his sentence. “I’m going to do everything in my power to do better.”

Cameron pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm while prohibited (a sawed-off shotgun) for an incident on Jan. 24, 2023, at Juniper. The court heard the incident involved an argument over an eviction notice. RCMP laid the charge.

Woodstock Police charged him with two

These pages contain some of the court coverage we provide for the community. Find all court stories at rivervalleysun.ca

counts of assaulting police with a weapon (a knife), robbery, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, possession of a stolen vehicle, theft of mail, uttering threats, assault with a weapon; flight from police, dangerous driving, resisting arrest, and breach of a release order concerning an incident on Jan. 22.

Cameron pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle, one count of assaulting police while threatening to use a weapon, assault while threatening to use a weapon (a knife) on another man, flight from police, dangerous driving and breach of a release order. The crown withdrew the remaining charges.

Woodstock Police laid the charges after locating Cameron in the passenger seat of a vehicle at Tim Hortons on Connell Street around 7 p.m. He threatened the driver with a weapon, attempting to encourage the driver to flee. Police gained entry to the vehicle and tried to remove Cameron when he grabbed a knife and attempted to stab the officers.

Two officers sustained minor injuries in the incident. The driver then exited the vehicle, and the man got into the driver’s seat and fled the scene. A short time later, the RCMP located the vehicle in Perth-Andover. A police dog located Cameron, and he was arrested without incident.

Cameron also pleaded guilty to breach of a release order (curfew) on Nov. 16, 2023, in Woodstock; guilty to failing to appear in court on Oct. 31, 2023, and guilty to breach of a nocontact order in connection with a disturbance at an apartment in Perth-Andover on Nov. 4, 2023. He received a suspended sentence for those offences. The crown withdrew several other charges. Cameron also agreed to sign a 12-month peace bond on other separate charges.

Woodstock woman handed five days Jessie Jeanette Sharp-Yerxa, 28, of Woodstock, was sentenced to five days in jail on Aug. 27 after pleading guilty to two charges laid by Woodstock Police. Sharp-Yerxa pleaded

guilty to two counts of driving while suspended for incidents in 2023. She came to court to answer one suspended driving charge, but shortly after leaving the building, she was spotted behind the wheel again. Neqotkuk man gets house arrest

Trevor Lee Bear, Jr., 26, of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation), appeared in provincial court on Aug. 27 for sentencing after pleading guilty to two of four charges laid by RCMP.

Bear was handed a 12-month conditional sentence of house arrest, including a curfew and 12 months of probation. He must also register with the federal DNA database and seek counselling for addiction, anger management, and intimate partner violence. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim.

Bear was charged with prowling, breaking into a dwelling house, assault causing bodily harm involving a female victim, and taking possession of a minor without having lawful care or consent in connection with an incident on Feb. 1 at Neqotkuk. He appeared in provincial court in custody for a bail hearing on Feb. 5 and was released with conditions.

He pleaded guilty in April to assault causing bodily harm and breaking into a dwelling house. The crown withdrew the remaining charges.

The court heard the incident involved a domestic dispute with Bear pushing his way into a residence and punching a woman in the face. She was bruised and bloodied as a result of the attack. Photos of her injuries were submitted into evidence by the crown. Bear had no prior criminal record.

Defence Counsel Jonathon Martin told the court Bear was remorseful and struggled with mental health issues as a result of heavy cannabis use.

Sentencing set for October

Brandon Cecil Armour, 34, of no fixed address, appeared in provincial court in custody on Sept. 5 and changed his plea to guilty on several charges. He returns to court in custody by video for sentencing on Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m.

Woodstock Police See COURT on pg. 29

Continued from page 28

charged Armour with prowling at night and resisting arrest in connection with an incident on March 24, 2023, in Woodstock. He pleaded guilty on May 1.

On Sept. 5, he also pleaded guilty to breach of an undertaking and failing to attend court on July 11, 2023, guilty to theft of a vehicle and resisting arrest on Aug. 14, 2023, in Woodstock, and guilty to two counts of breaching a release order by violating electronic monitoring on Jan. 2 in Summerfield and on Feb. 6 in Johnville.

Armour appeared in provincial court in custody by video April 11 and was sentenced to one year in jail, minus time served, after pleading guilty to another charge. He was also placed on probation for 12 months.

Armour was charged by RCMP with breaking into a dwelling house, committing mischief causing property damage to a door, and assaulting a female victim, stemming from an incident on June 8, 2022, in Beechwood. He pleaded guilty to breaking into the dwelling, and the crown withdrew the two remaining charges.

Plea delayed, accused in rehab

Douglas Thomas Defazio, 36, of Woodstock, appeared in provincial court in custody via teleconference on Sept. 5 from a rehab facility in Moncton. He was scheduled to enter a plea on several charges, but at the request of his defence counsel, the matter was adjourned until Sept. 26 at 11 a.m.

Defazio was released with conditions following a bail hearing on Aug. 22 and was ordered to enter rehab. He was arrested by Woodstock Police shortly after a stolen boat crashed on the rocks of the Meduxnekeag River on July 10, where the vessel was abandoned and the suspect swam to shore.

Defazio faces two counts of breaking and entering a dwelling house, mischief causing property damage, and breach of probation in connection with breakins at two different residences on Grant Street and Houlton Street on July 10. More charges are pending, including possession of stolen property, theft, and breaching a recognizance.

Two years in jail on multiple charges

Kyle Lucas Stairs,

25, of Temperance Vale, appeared in provincial court in custody on Aug. 19 and was handed a total of 960 days in jail, minus time served, which resulted in a sentence of two years behind bars.

Stairs has been in custody since April. He pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle and theft of fuel for an incident on April 5 at Perth-Andover.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen laptop, possession of a weapon while prohibited from having it (brass knuckles), mischief causing property damage to a police vehicle, and breach of probation concerning another incident on April 8 in Nackawic. The crown withdrew three other charges. The RCMP laid all of these charges.

Stairs also pleaded guilty to charges laid by Woodstock Police, including flight from police, dangerous driving, driving while suspended, and breach of probation for an incident on April 8 in Woodstock. He also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of failing to report to probation between Dec. 5 and Dec. 8, 2023, in Woodstock. The crown withdrew one other breach of probation charge.

He also pleaded guilty to several charges from Edmundston court, including theft of a cell phone and breach of probation on Feb. 26, two counts of breaching a release order on March 24 and April 25, resisting arrest and breach of probation on Feb. 27, and theft of merchandise from the Pronature Store on Feb. 26.

Fined $2,000 on two charges

Trevor York, 32, of Centreville, was fined $2,000 when he appeared in provincial court for sentencing on Aug. 28 on two charges laid by RCMP.

York pleaded guilty to impaired driving and failing to stop for police for an incident involving an ATV on May 13, 2023, in Centreville. He was prohibited from driving for one year. York had a prior criminal record. The court heard he had a good work history and was employed full-time.

Fined $3,250 for impaired

Theresa Dorvil, 47, of Woodstock, appeared in provincial court on Sept. 3 and pleaded guilty to an impaired driving charge. She was fined $3,250 and was prohib-

ited from driving for one year.

RCMP charged Dorvil following an incident on May 6 near Woodstock. The court heard police received a report of an eastbound vehicle swerving on the Trans Canada Highway near the Connell Road exit around 7 p.m.

Police located the vehicle pulled over on the side of the highway with Dorvil asleep behind the wheel. She had a passenger with her. Her blood alcohol reading was over three times the legal limit. She had no prior criminal record.

Grafton man fined $2,600

Matthew Allan Dukeshire, 33, of Grafton, appeared for trial in provincial court on Sept. 4 and changed his plea to guilty on a charge of impaired driving. He was fined $2,600 and prohibited from driving for one year.

RCMP charged Dukeshire following an incident on May 9 in Lindsay. The court heard he was found drinking behind the wheel of a parked vehicle around 7:30 a.m. He had a bloody lip due to an altercation he tried to avoid with another man earlier that morning. His blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit. He had no prior criminal record.

Suspended sentence, $600 restitution

Shelby Paul, 28, of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation), pleaded guilty to mischief and appeared in provincial court on Aug. 27 for sentencing.

She received a suspended sentence and 12 months of probation. She was also ordered to pay $600 in restitution.

Paul was charged by RCMP with mischief causing property damage to a door at the tribal council office at Neqotkuk on Aug. 23, 2023. The incident was caught on video surveillance. The accused had a prior criminal record.

Rehab helps Woodstock man

Julian Cassius Atherton, 18, of Woodstock, appeared in provincial court for sentencing on Aug. 30 after changing his plea to guilty on several charges laid by Woodstock Police. The court heard he quit drugs and had turned his life around since entering rehab last spring.

“But for the drugs, you wouldn’t be here,” Judge Henrik Tonning told the accused. “What they’ve done to your life is proof of the dam-

age they cause. You’ve made some mistakes, but you have your whole life ahead of you now. Don’t fall into the same trap.”

The judge handed Atherton a conditional discharge for spraypainting several buildings in Woodstock with graffiti. He pleaded guilty to three counts of mischief causing property damage at Cook’s Construction on Dec. 18, 2023; the Knights of Columbus Hall on Dec. 19, 2023, and Dixie Lee in downtown Woodstock between Jan. 26 and Jan. 29. He also pleaded guilty to one count breaching a release order on Dec. 30, 2023, in Woodstock. The crown withdrew several other charges.

In addition, Atherton received a 12-month conditional sentence and 12 months of probation for possessing methamphetamine and carrying knives. Six months of the conditional sentence will involve house arrest with permission to attend work or school. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to have no drugs or alcohol in his possession and cannot carry any weapons.

He was charged with possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace (knives). He pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of indictable possession of methamphetamine and guilty to possessing the knives.

Those charges were laid following an incident on Jan. 29 at 4:30 a.m. when Woodstock Police observed an adult male

and a young offender prowling in dark clothing. The two were arrested, and a quantity of crystal meth, meth pills and a number of knives were seized. Police believed one of the individuals was linked to a series of property crimes and graffiti incidents in the town.

On April 2, Atherton was released from custody with conditions, including full detention at a rehab facility near Moncton. He had just completed two months in jail on remand.

On Aug. 30, the court heard he had two weeks of rehab left to complete and then planned to leave Woodstock to avoid the drug culture.

The rehab facility submitted a glowing report to the court about Atherton’s success in overcoming drug addiction. It was so impressive that the crown encouraged him to frame it.

Sentenced to house arrest

Logan Chase Campbell, 30, of Woodstock, appeared for sentencing in provincial on Aug. 28 and received two months of house arrest, after pleading guilty to one charge laid by Woodstock Police. He was also placed on 12 months of probation and ordered to have no contact with the complainant.

Campbell will be permitted to attend work during his house arrest. He pleaded guilty to breach of an undertaking by violating a nocontact order on Nov. 6, 2023, in Woodstock.

The court heard the incident involved a flurry of text messages to an exgirlfriend over a two-day

period.

Campbell agreed to sign a 12-month peace bond in relation to another charge of assault by choking involving a female victim on Nov. 5, 2023, in Woodstock. The peace bond will result in the assault charge being withdrawn.

Fine and probation on two charges

Jacob Alexander Roy, 26, of Windsor, appeared in provincial court in custody by video for sentencing on Aug. 30 after changing his plea to guilty on two charges laid by RCMP. He was fined $300 and was placed on probation for 18 months.

Roy was charged with breach of a no-contact order for an incident in Woodstock on Oct. 20, 2023. RCMP also charged him with assault involving a female victim and unlawful confinement concerning an incident on Sept. 11, 2023, in Woodstock.

He pleaded guilty to assault and breaching the no-contact order, and the crown withdrew the confinement charge. An additional charge of breaching a release order on Jan. 7 was also withdrawn.

Roy remains in custody on other charges. He was charged by Woodstock Police with possession of methamphetamine and cocaine, both for the purpose of trafficking, breach of a release order, possession of a prohibited weapon (brass knuckles), and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace in connection with an incident in Woodstock on Aug. 3. No plea has yet been entered.

Highlights and Features of Local Sports and Sporting Events

Get knocked down, get back up

Woodstock teen’s determination, love of game keeps him pursuing hockey dreams

By Andrew McCormick

MICHAEL LEECH

IROQUOIS FALLS STORM

Position: Forward

Shoots: Left

Birthdate: 2004-03-25

Hometown: Skiff Lake, N.B.

Aspirations after hockey: Boxer

Okay, I admit I made up the last line about future aspirations: Boxer.

Michael Leech didn’t tell me that.

But after speaking with Leech for 45 minutes on a telephone interview, I’m certain he’d make a terrific boxer after his playing days. Every time this young man is knocked down, he stands quickly back onto his feet again.

I first noticed Leech in the fall of 2020, at the beginning of his Grade 10 school year. At that time, he had left home to attend school and play hockey for the Mavericks at Ontario Hockey Academy in Cornwall, Ontario.

This was one year after being cut from our region’s AAA Bantam hockey program, the North West Bulls — for the second successive year! That’s a knockout punch for most young hockey players. However, it was only a knockdown for Leech.

He jumped to his feet, and bobbed and weaved his way to an Andrews Hockey School showcase event on Prince Edward Island, in the summer of 2020.

“Ontario Hockey Academy (OHA) were one of the programs at the showcase. I met with the coaches. They watched me play. They told me I wouldn’t be a top player in year one but I’d be given an opportunity to develop and play”, Leech explains.

“I thought about staying home and playing high school hockey at WHS. All my friends were there, it was a tough decision. I felt I owed it to myself to go and try to be the best I could be and improve my game,” Leech states.

“At OHA in my grade 10 year we were on the ice everyday and in the gym almost everyday. I saw a lot of ice time,” Leech continues.

Of course, March 2021 brought COVID. For Leech, it meant saying goodbye to hockey and OHA for the immediate future. Leech returned home and finished his school year online.

Another knockdown. But again, Leech sprung

to his feet.

“In September I returned to OHA (pronounced O-HA for short). I’d considered staying home. COVID had put a stop to regular activities. But I had friends now and great teammates at OHA. I needed to go back,” Leech explains.

“I connected with a great coach (Kevin Rawlick) and we made the best of a difficult situation that whole season. We couldn’t play games against other teams. We practiced, worked on skill development and scrimmaged amongst ourselves. I really missed games and the competition”, Leech recalls.

One of the interesting facets of a “hockey academy” such as OHA is that student-athletes may come from several countries.

“I had team mates and met guys from Cape Breton, Germany and Australia. Friends for life.”

In September 2022, Leech returned once again to Cornwall.

“I felt I had unfinished business there,” he said. Leech used his Grade 12 year to build a hockey resume and work on his skills and overall game.

As a senior, he thrived as a leader.

Leech applied to some Universities but badly wanted to continue to play hockey somewhere.

“I built a hockey resume and included my school grades and video clips of my game. My coaches did some networking for me, and I began to reach out to speak to teams myself,” he said.

Impressive.

“Espanola of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League invited me to a camp and eventually offered me a spot on their team. Then a few months into the season (21-22) I was traded to Cochrane.”

Another knockdown? For Leech, it was only a stumble.

“It was tough being traded, but it was the right move for me,” said Leech. He finished the season on a positive note in Cochrane.

Cochrane moved operations to Iroquois Falls for the 2023-24 season. Leech explained.

“It’s great here,” he said. “Our games are well attended, and people recognize us around town. The billet families appreciate us.”

Leech used last season as a springboard to grow his all-around game.

“I can play all three forward positions and responsibly at each end of the ice. I was an assistant captain last year which I was proud of.”

Leech thanks his parents, Andy and Andrea, for their ongoing support.

He also praises Coach Rawlick, with whom he remains in touch, as a hockey influence.

When speaking to Leech, you hear him use words such as “leadership” and “teamwork.”

He hopes to wear a letter once again this season.

“But I’ve learned I

can’t take anything for granted,” he states matter -of–factly.

I get a sense this young man loves the sport and has learned from the knockdown punches hockey has landed him. The 2024-25 season will be Leech’s final Junior A hockey season, and he wants to keep playing beyond this year.

Leech concludes, “Maybe in the low-tier professional levels or in Europe.” I’m open to any opportunities.

I’m 100 per cent in Michael Leech’s corner. Everyone who’s been knocked down needs a good cut man.

Baseball, hockey, and basketball become raffle teammates

Three sports organizations launch monthly raffle to lower costs for families

By Andrew McCormick

Three prominent Woodstock area minor sports associations hope they found a winning formula to reduce costs for kids to play minor sports.

Social Media and Promotions Coordinator

Mandy Boone McCartney of Woodstock Minor Basketball (WMB), V.P. Daniel Wishart of Western Valley Minor Baseball (WVMB), and V.P. Jordan Currie of Woodstock Minor Hockey (WMH) have combined efforts to initiate a monthly 50/50 raffle, with proceeds split between the three organizations.

“Mandy Boone McCartney gave me a call with this idea,” said Currie.

Currie said the draw will follow the weekly Woodstock Fireman’s draw model, with a few prominent differenc-

es. The minor sports draw will be monthly, and the number of tickets a buyer can purchase is unlimited.

Raffle tickets are available: one ticket for $5, five for $10, 20 for $20, and 100 tickets for $50.

Launched on Sept. 6, the winning ticket will be drawn at the end of each month.

“We plan on having posters up and out and about in the area. Each will have a QR code which can be scanned for purchase,” Currie continues. “We also plan to make it possible to purchase online.”

Boone McCartney and Currie felt it important to bring Western Valley Baseball into the mix.

“Our goal is to help as many area families as possible. We’ll split up proceeds based on regis-

tration numbers for each association. For example, if WMH has 400 kids registered, WMB has 300 and WVMB has 300, 40 per cent will go to hockey and 30 per cent to basketball and baseball,” Currie explained. Plans on how to best utilize the funds remain under review.

“It’s early in the process to say where money will go exactly, but savings could be applied to purchasing equipment and lowering registration costs,” said Currie. “If the raffle is as successful as we hope it is, it makes sense to consider adding more sports into the proceeds.”

The annual Woodstock Recreation Information and Registration Night for all area recreational groups was held on Sept. 11.

Currie was optimistic

about their WMH Early Ice participation.

“We were up about 40 kids, from 140 to 180. We also had nine register for the “new to hockey” program, which is an encouraging number,” he said.

Currie recently completed a successful baseball season as a public address announcer and a sponsor of the new Woodstock Shiretowners Intermediate baseball team.

“I never played baseball myself but I had a blast helping out. As a team, they had a great summer of ball!”

That may be putting it mildly. The Shiretowners, a first-year squad, walked away with the Fredericton Intermediate Baseball League championship, defeating the perennial champion Expos in the league final in two straight games.

Both teams had already qualified for the New Brunswick Provincial Intermediate Baseball Championships held in Saint John from Sept. 6 to 8.

The six-team field is also made up of Dieppe, Newcastle, Tracadie and

Kennebecasis Valley.

The River Valley Sun has a complete wrap-up of the provincial championship tournament and insight as to what the future may hold for the Intermediate Shiretowners on its website at www. rivervalleysun.ca.

Matthew Leech. (Submitted photo)

New Brunswick

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