The River View, Volume One, Issue Four

Maple Glaze for Salmon Fillets

Canada’s Most Active Community

A bright future for covered bridges

At the turn of 20th Century there were a thousand covered bridges in New Brunswick. Today there are fifty-nine; most although not quite all are still in operation. Nine of those are in Albert County and a tenth, the Hasty Bridge, is on the outskirts of Salisbury.

Says Ray Boucher of Riverview, president of the Covered Bridges Conservation Association of New Brunswick, “some were lost to arson or disaster, but also governments back then had a policy that as covered bridges wore out (the government) would replace them with steel and concrete bridges.

“At the time nobody was putting up any fight for them, so the bridges were pretty much torn down. There was nobody working for the province who understood what a covered bridge was and how it worked. There were not any timber bridge people.”

Boucher recounts the story of one bridge that was considered too far gone to be saved. It came loose from its moorings and sailed twenty miles downriver. When it did run aground “a crew had to be brought into break it up. You tell me how a supposedly broken down, sixty-five foot bridge can float twenty miles and not break up! It could have

been repaired, I think.

“There’s no reason why those bridges could not have been looked after better.”

The covered bridge began in the age of human transport and the horse and buggy and has survived into the present day, the age of the automobile.

Of the ten that remain in Albert County and Salisbury, says Boucher, there are two that need to be restored or repaired – one is on the Midway Road and the other is on the Mitton Farm Road in Riverview, which is in sufficiently poor repair to be out of commission.

The conservation association sees bright spots and a steadily reversing trend away from replacing timber bridges and toward

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Bramford Colpitts Bridge

Higgs Brook Bridge

Forty Five River Bridge

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

PUBLISHER: Eric Lawson

DESIGNER: Rachel Sheldrake

Published the first Thursday of every second month by A View of the Tides Communications

Distributed free in public buildings, retirement residences, convenience stores, and retail and service waiting rooms from Alma to Salisbury.

For advertising information, please contact Eric Lawson at 506 863 7324 or via viewofthetides@gmail.com

OUR PEOPLE

OUR STORIES

Welcome

Spring – is here. We hope everyone can get out and enjoy the steadily improving weather.

In this issue we look at one of New Brunswick’s most iconic and picturesque landmarks, the covered bridge. Ray Boucher of Riverview, president of the Covered Bridges Conservation Association of New Brunswick, helps us understand their history and continuing importance.

We also feature the Friends of Fundy and executive director Micha Fardy, the PRO Kids program in Riverview that helps kids who may not otherwise have the opportunity to get involved in healthy activities and get an update on the town of Salisbury’s all-out effort to repeat as national champions in the Participaction Challenge.

Our Q&A is with local broadcaster (and podcaster) Tosh Taylor.

Riverview held its annual Recognizing Riverview evening in April; we discover the history of the event, which recognizes those contributing to the community in a broad range of fields.

And please note: our next issue, originally scheduled for July 4th, will publish a week early on June 27th instead, to allow us to bring you stories related to Canada Day.

Enjoy!

Thank you.

Eric Lawson Publisher

2024 PUBLISHING DATES

JANUARY 4, 2024

MARCH 7, 2024

MAY 2, 2024

JUNE 27, 2024

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

repairing and conserving them instead. Boucher says government seems to be more willing today to consider restoring covered bridges as they age rather than replacing them with steel and concrete construction.

“The approach at DTI (the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure) has changed considerably. They now have timbered bridge experts on staff, which they did not have before.

“They are giving instruction in timber construction now to their summer students. That is another plus. Of the forty-six bridges the province is responsible for and that are still in operation, thirty-three have received major repairs in the last three years. We have also had our first complete restoration of Bayswater Bridge in Kings County, and a dual lane bridge built in St. Martin’s to replace the old Vaughan Creek bridge.”

That bridge is a featured aspect of the Fundy Trail Parkway and includes a

covered walkway for pedestrians, which was also a feature of the former bridge. “That makes sense for tourists.”

Covered bridges are an important tourism draw across New Brunswick.

“People come to New Brunswick specifically for the covered bridges,” says Boucher. “St. Martin’s will get sixteen or seventeen tour buses a day when cruise ships are in the harbour in Saint John. Hartland can get

twenty-seven or twentyeight tour buses a day.”

At 1,282 feet, the Hartland covered bridge is the world’s longest and has long been an important tourist destination. It is protected as a heritage site.

Boucher notes that many touring organizations like motorcycling and car clubs and, three years ago, the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges in the United States regularly organize tours of New Brunswick’s covered

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bridges, including those in Albert County and Salisbury.

The origin of the covered bridge was practical, no different than placing a roof over a house – the cover protected the bridge deck from the elements.

Covered bridges became picturesque aspects of the landscape with time.

“If you don’t cover a wooden bridge, you might be lucky to get sixty years out of it,” says

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at

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Point Wolfe Bridge

Shepody River Bridge

Peter Jonah Bridge

Continued from page 3

Boucher. “But we have covered bridges in New Brunswick that are more than one hundred years old. There are covered bridges in Europe that are more than four hundred years old.”

As covered bridges became part of the landscape, lore began to accumulate around them. Notes Boucher, “sometimes they were called kissing bridges. In the days of the horse and buggy, you might stop in the middle of the bridge and steal a kiss or two.

“My favourite story is about bridges in Kent County. The story goes that sometimes they would cut a hole in the middle of the roadway, in the middle of the bridge, to fish through it in harsh weather. I have heard that story often enough that I think it may be true!”

Boucher acknowledges that covered bridges will not suit today’s modern highways and their heavy vehicle traffic. “They are side road bridges, but they can be preserved on those roads to meet today’s requirements. “The only one we are in

TOSH TAYLOR

danger of losing right now is the Mitton bridge here in Riverview.”

He cites one covered bridge that was replaced by a steel and concrete bridge at a cost of “over one million dollars. We could have restored the covered bridge for three hundred and fifty thousand.”

Boucher maintains that all the materials for a covered wooden bridge except for the lower cords can be sourced in New Brunswick. He notes that in some circumstances it would make sense economically to build new wooden, covered bridges

and not just to repair existing ones.

“Just imagine all the local work that would provide.”

The association sells a calendar each year as a fundraiser, and also publishes a touring guide.

Asked to name a favourite among local bridges Boucher is initially non-committal, saying only “go see them all!” He does eventually admit, however, that the bridge at Crooked Creek holds a special place for him. “Any time of the year, it is absolutely beautiful.”

of Riverview hosts Moncton News with Tosh on K-94.5 and is the owner of The Podcast Hub

The River View: What brought you to the work that you are doing today?

ToshTaylor: You could say that I grew up as a nosy person, because I grew up in a small town and that is just inherent! I knew from high school that I wanted to be a journalist. I started out wanting to write. When I went to discuss my school placement my guidance counsellor said, “I will allow you to do your co-op placement at the newspaper, but I assure you that when you are done you will realize that print is not for you and that you will not want to waste your voice. I want you to go into radio or TV.” And I thought, “you’re bonkers,” because I was really shy then. But he was right. I enrolled at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, in the broadcast journalism program. But I did not immediately do

anything with it.

What eventually brought you into radio?

True story – the girl who was doing my hair for a friend’s wedding said, “you have a great voice, you should be on the radio.” I said, “that’s what I went to school for.”

And she said, “what’s even funnier is that my best friend works at K-94.5; you should give me a resume.” Within a week I was working at K-94.5. It just serendipitously fell into place, and I did seventeen years as the morning show host on K-94.5. About two months ago I moved into the news department, and now I cannot believe I have not been doing this my entire career. I love it.

You have an interesting arrangement with the station.

Twelve years ago, I

told the station that I did not plan to return from a maternity leave. The station said, “let us do one better. We will set up a studio in your home.”

But it did mean that I was no longer an employee, so I have been self-employed since then, with a contract at K-94.5. I also have a podcast company called The Podcast Hub. That started about six years ago when Jenna Morton from Pickle Planet approached me about starting a podcast. Then, people started coming to me asking for advice on podcasting, so I decided I should do something with it.

The media landscape is changing rapidly. Where do you see the future?

I know that people still tune in to find out what the traffic is like on Vaughan Harvey every morning, and to connect with what is happening locally. I know

people who say “I want to know what is going on around me before I get into work, whether that be traffic conditions or what the government did overnight or where gas prices are going.” We still have that voice.

Where does journalism fit today?

Remember when life was simple, and you did not have to worry about what was real and what was fake news? That may be something that gets people back to reading and to traditional media, that people are sick of being fed misinformation. That applies to journalists as well. We need to make sure that all the information we are putting out is accurate. Even something as simple as me reporting on gas prices in the morning, I need to make sure that that is the truth. Maybe I am too optimistic, but people understand information has to come from a credible source.

Tell us about The Podcast Hub

I love that when my grandmother was growing up, they sat around the radio and listened to stories, and that is what families are coming back to. When I started The Podcast Hub, my

initial thought was that I had to do a podcast on everything. I have used it to get to know people, I have used it to learn more about things I am interested in, but as the business has grown it has turned into an incredible gift for helping people tell their stories. Jenna and I do podcasts for the Premature Babies Association of Canada, for the Neonatal Association

of Canada, the Canadian Confederation of Neonatal Nurses, and others related to women’s health and wellbeing. It seems that medical podcasts just find me! To be able to hear the stories of babies who came home from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, for example, for me it has become an incredible honour to be part of helping these people tell their stories.

Tosh Taylor

Crooked Creek Bridge

EVELYN’S KITCHEN

This month’s recipe is for

Maple Glaze for Salmon Fillets

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon fillets

• ½ cup maple syrup

• ½ tsp. ground ginger (or 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger)

• 2 tsp. soy sauce

Optional:

• Freshly ground pepper or steak spice

Instructions:

1. Whisk the maple syrup, ginger and soy sauce together in a small saucepan. Reduce the mixture by bringing it to a boil and maintain a continuous low boil while stirring for three minutes until the mixture is smooth. Let cool for twenty minutes to allow the glaze to thicken.

2. Set aside ¼ of the glaze to drizzle on the fillets just before serving.

3. The fillets can be prepared on an indoor grill (pictured), in a large frying pan, or on a baking sheet in the oven.

4. Heat your very lightly oiled cooking surface to a medium low heat. If your fillets have the skin on, place the fillets skin down to begin. Generously brush on the glaze. Sprinkle lightly with fresh ground pepper or steak spice. Cook for eight minutes, flip, remove the skin and brush on additional glaze.

5. When the thickest part of the fillet reaches a minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from heat. Drizzle on the glaze you set aside just before serving.

6. Maple glazed salmon also works well in an air fryer. Heat to 370 degrees, place the fillets on the tray and brush on the glaze. Total cook time will be ten to twelve minutes – cook times will vary by fryer. Just prior to serving, drizzle on the glaze you set aside.

7. Enjoy!

Salisbury aims to defy the odds and repeat as

Canada’s Most Active Community

“If you look historically at the Participaction Community Challenge, despite the success of winning communities in the year after they won, (the organizers) do not usually award the title of Most Active Community to those municipalities again.

“We want to change that trend.”

With those words, Salisbury’s Regional Director for Recreation, Massimo Caracristi, lays down the gauntlet.

“We want to really force it, to say ‘hey, we deserve it two years in a row.’”

In 2023 the town won the Participaction Community Challenge to be named the country’s Most Active Community, beating out municipalities from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic. Salisbury received a prize of $100,000 as champions.

The town also still had $15,000 from winning New Brunswick’s Most

Active Community the year prior.

Under the Challenge, municipalities engage in physical activity throughout June, tracking their results and submitting them to the national competition. Provincial and national winners are announced in late July.

After last year’s triumph, residents were surveyed as to how they would like the prize money spent.

Says Caracristi, “there were a number of ideas –an outdoor skating rink, outdoor fitness equipment, an amphitheatre in Highland Park, smaller projects like purchasing playground equipment and equipment for community rentals, ping pong tables, and shuffleboard courts.

“But by far, beating out everything else, was trail expansion. We are still considering some of those ideas, but it looks like expanding the trail network will be a top priority.”

He acknowledges that topping the town’s own high standard from last year will be a challenge, as the town marshalled what were a lot of resources for a small community during the 2023 effort.

Last year’s strategy

will inform this year’s, with successful practices maintained and new ones added. Caracristi and this year’s co-ordinator Marni Golemba both credit former co-ordinator Donna Hunwicks-Hopper, who has since retired, with

guiding the town through its journey to the national crown.

“She was there from the start of our Participaction journey,” says Caracristi.

While Golemba and Caracristi hesitate to single out any one group or activity, they note that “with an older crowd, pickle ball was a huge hit, and they put their minutes in right away!

The Learn to Play baseball clinics last year were a huge hit. Boys and Girls Club (now know as BGC) was fantastic. We had a successful ball hockey tournament.

“But really, everyone was great, about their activities and about recording their minutes, which is so important.”

Many communities plan well for their challenges; Caracristi and Golemba agree that the key to Salisbury’s wins has been a growing sense of community buy-in.

Says Caracristi, “differ-

ent towns have different personalities. Caraquet, for example, leans into its arts, culture, and heritage vibe. Salisbury seems to lean into the physical activity side of things, of being outdoors and being active.

“This has been a four or five year process. It started with a bit of buyin, that grew to greater levels of buy-in, and then two years ago when we were New Brunswick’s most physically active community, residents saw that they said, ‘oh, we got fifteen thousand dollars for this, the one hundred thousand dollars is possible.’ From that, we got almost double the number of residents involved.

“So, winning New Brunswick’s award ended up being the catalyst for a large number of residents getting involved. And in Salisbury, when people start something, they stick with it.”

Both Caracristi and

Regional Director for Recreation, Massimo Caracristi, and this year’s co-ordinator Marni Golemba.

Youth baseball was also a popular contributor in 2023.

Golemba point to the universal benefits of physical activity as well – enhanced mental health and longer life are tied to better physical health and to the social connection that even something as simple as community walks provide, and last year’s win even increased

local tourism.

“One group came from Dieppe just to walk in Highland Park after hearing about our win.”

The town devoted its entire Community Days Festival in August last year to celebrating the Participaction win and plans to celebrate again this year.

While the official challenge takes place during June, the town endeavours to extend the benefits of physical activity throughout the year. Says Golemba, “we feel like everyone just kept going with it. It got everyone into the groove.”

Do Caracristi and Golemba

have a particular challenger keeping them up at night?

They say they look forward to “a gentle competition” with neighbouring Three Rivers (formed from Petitcodiac, Elgin, Elgin Parish, and a small slice of Salisbury during 2023’s local governance reforms in

New Brunswick) and wish their neighbours well.

“It is just good that everyone is participating.”

And they note, “Red Deer, Alberta was with us neck and neck last year, and they won the previous year. We were worried about them!”

One of the many successful events during last year’s winning effort was the fast-rising sport of Pickleball.

The Participaction Challenge is meant to embrace a range of activities and all age groups. Salisbury embraced that philosophy by ensuring that seniors were active participants.

Reconnecting with a sense of place

Micha Fardy has served as Executive Director of Friends of Fundy since January 2018.

The organization, officially incorporated as The Fundy Guild Inc., serves as a liaison between Fundy National Park and surrounding communities at both the east and west ends of the park.

As such, Friends of Fundy’s outreach crosses many boundaries, linking environmental initiatives, outdoor activities, tourism, history, and arts and culture by harnessing the expertise of Fundy National Park and other organizations throughout the region, spanning communities from Hillsborough to St. Martin’s and Sussex.

But, says Fardy, the connecting idea is always community, built on that deep sense of place for which Atlantic Canada is famous.

“There is a real opportunity, and a necessity, to reconnect with our sense of place. There have been many advancements and learnings, thanks in part to technology, which have brought us to a greater understanding of the rest of the world. That is not a bad thing.

“To borrow a phrase from our friends at the UNESCO Stonehammer Global Geopark, the geology of this area is the foundation of the livelihoods in this region and the ecosystem that has evolved from it.

“We also need to refocus on local, to rebuild any capacities that have been lost. That can be done from a strength-based sense of place. It cannot come from outside communities; communities themselves have to be at the core of this work.

“Communities need to be deeply connected and involved. A focus group is not going to do it.”

It is an understatement

to describe the organization’s activities and programs as diverse. Friends of Fundy, which came into existence in 1982, operates three gift shops to help raise funds and, in conjunction with a range of community partners, either hosts, helps to host, or supports community outreach as diverse as the Rising Tides Trails and Tunes festival each autumn, the summertime Music on the Street program in Alma, the Fundy Challenge for walking one hundred kilometres in Canada’s national parks, the Alma Fleet Launch, Fundy Park’s pollinator garden and regional Fundy Pollinator Trail, and an eco-awareness program about the importance of native plants to pollinators entitled Let’s Talk About the Birds and the Bees.

The Friends of Fundy is also actively involved in destination development, including the Rural Upper Bay of Fundy Destination Development and Stewardship Strategy. A community-led initiative rooted in United Nations sustainable development goals, the Destination Development and Stewardship

Strategy works to ensure that tourism development in the region contributes to the wealth and wellbeing of communities.

Fardy acknowledges that in small communities hosting hundred or thousands of visitors each year can be a high wire act; too many people can be damaging to ecologically sensitive areas, while tourism remains essential to the local economy.

“But that balance can be found. We can co-create regenerative initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of communities. This requires all types of businesses and organizations, not just tourism operators.

“Our connection to place, our connection to nature, is reflected in how we feel about ourselves and how we see ourselves in the world. There is a lot of autonomy that comes from saying, ‘I can be making a difference in this one space with this one thing.’ And then we discover that other people care about it too. That is the basic connection that serves as the basis for broader engagement and action. Often a large part of the work is

helping to ‘translate’ how ‘we’ describe what we care about.”

One of the ways Friends of Fundy supports this work is by presenting the Molly Kool Award each May.

Friends of Fundy operates the Molly Kool Heritage Centre at the eastern gateway to Fundy National Park. The centre is housed in the ancestral home of Molly Kool of Alma, famed for having become the first female Master Mariner in North America in 1939.

The annual Molly Kool Award is given to a woman in southeastern New Brunswick for outstanding contributions to the community in areas such the arts, culture, the environment, conservation, and community development. Since its inception Resurgo Place Moncton and Armour Transport have supported the award.

The 2023 recipient is Albert County Exhibition director Cheryl Anderson, who is also known for her leadership with Albert County Homecare and the Girl Guides. She will be honoured at an event at the Heritage Centre on May 25th; the 2024 winner will be announced

at this year’s Rising Tides festival.

In 2023 the board of directors of Friends of Fundy refreshed the vision for the Molly Kool Centre: “The Molly Kool Centre is an interactive event and education hub designed to inspire present and future generations to live with the determination and ingenuity displayed by Molly Kool, Canada’s first female sea captain. The Centre honours a cultural icon and trailblazer who embodied the character and values of the people who built the Fundy region, while showing us a path to the future, learning from and building on those strengths.”

Friends of Fundy thrives on partnerships. Fardy notes that when its representatives sit down with partners they try to think, “How are we creating and fostering relationships with municipalities, residents, organizations, businesses, and governments to collectively work toward addressing the issues that our region is dealing with? How can we share what we are learning?”

“It becomes a rethinking of how communities thrive. And it starts with the communities themselves.”

Of Fundy Park and its neighbouring communities, Fardy says, “collectively, we are the stewards of this place.”

Friends of Fundy Executive Director Micha Fardy

Molly Kool

The Molly Kool Heritage Centre

PROVIDING POSITIVE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS

Through PRO Kids (that’s Positive Recreation Opportunities), Riverview offers an opportunity for kids whose families are facing financial difficulty to participate in a range of youth programs they might otherwise miss.

Ash Arrowsmith, Community Recreation Coordinator with the town, has been overseeing PRO Kids since the winter of 2021.

He emphasizes the level of teamwork and cooperation between the town, participating organizations, and donors, which underlies the success of PRO Kids. “It is a really positive ecosystem that makes the model work.

“The Albert County Hunters Association, for example, has been donating for twenty years.”

Participating sports, arts, cultural and recreation organizations offer free or subsidized program spaces for kids up to age eighteen. Individual and corporate donors also donate. All of the donors’ contributions go to paying registration fees for the kids.

“We have had families where a parent is not well and cannot afford to pay fees, or where a child may not have a lot of support. They are going to programs where their fees have been paid for and they are finding positive role models, they are meeting new friends, they are finding structure, a lot of positive things.

“Our part in this is knocking down the doors

so that the kids can get to these activities. We are just pulling away that financial barrier. There are so many kids sitting at home and their parents may not be aware of the program.

So, we give access to those families so that those kids have equitable access to activities.”

By far one of the most fulfilling programs I have ever been involved with.

Karen Thompson, manager of community engagement, originated PRO Kids in Riverview after becoming aware of the same program in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She says that youth organizations and the community at large were supportive from the beginning.

to get behind.”

She says her time shepherding PRO Kids, which stretched over twenty years, represents “by far one of the most fulfilling programs I have ever been involved with.”

There is a formal application process to qualify. This process typically is undertaken online; however, fam-

Continued on page 10

“Organizations had been doing something similar on their own, sometimes straining their own resources without a central method to ensure that those who most needed the help were the ones receiving it.” PRO Kids provided a formal system of “checks and balances” that made the program “a win-win for everyone, and an easy thing for the community

Ash Arrowsmith

Am I really this cute? Why yes, yes I am.

Continued from page 9

ilies without access to the internet or email can meet with Arrowsmith for assistance filling out the required forms. There are four application cycles each year.

Leading up to the pandemic, PRO Kids was helping between five hundred and six hundred kids per year, says Arrowsmith. “Right now, we are down to about two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty as program registrations slowly track back up, in Riverview and across the country.

Between the program’s inception in 2001 and 2023, PRO Kids Riverview placed 8,524 youth in programs they might not otherwise have been able to enjoy.

While athletics represent the majority of programs participating in PRO Kids, the pro-

gram works with cultural organizations as well. “We have placed kids in piano lessons, actually a lot of music lessons, art lessons, programs with the Capitol Theatre, Atlantic Ballet, and DancEast, and many others. In all, we work with about eighty youth organizations in the Greater Moncton area.”

PRO Kids respects the families’ confidentiality; kids participating across all the programs do not know that they are receiving financial support.

While a contact at each participating organization will work with Arrowsmith and the town to register children, coaches and instructors also generally do not know that a particular child’s spot has been paid for.

“That helps again to remove barriers. Every kid is treated the exact same way regardless of their situation.

While the program is

confidential, one former participant agreed to speak with The River View about his experience with PRO Kids.

Jordan Maxwell today

wanted to be a goalie. My mom told me that she got me in. Next thing I know I was going to the Riverview hockey rink. They brought me upstairs, they

Our part in this is knocking down the doors so that the kids can get to these activities. We are just pulling away that financial barrier. There are so many kids sitting at home and their parents may not be aware of the program.

is a firefighter and paramedic with the town. As a youth, support from PRO Kids allowed him to play hockey.

“One day I came home from school and my mom asked me, ‘do you want to play hockey?’ I said yes, absolutely. I always

hooked me up with all the gear that I needed, and before I knew it I was on the ice playing hockey.

“I did not know what I was involved with at the time, until I was older. But I was given the opportunity through hockey, that was given to

me through PRO Kids, to go a lot of places and do a lot of things that I would not otherwise have been able to do.”

Maxwell says that hockey prepared him for the occupation he practises today. “All those skills I learned helped me become a firefighter and a paramedic. How to handle situations, how to be part of a team, how to put yourself out there for others, those are things that you learn in that environment.

“I use those skills every day. Somebody out there went out on a limb for me. It built the foundations of who I am today. I owe that program a lot. I am thankful for it.”

Notes Arrowsmith, “going back to what we call the ecosystem – the organizations that participate in this program do so much work. Those volunteers really go above and beyond. There

is a lot of paperwork, a lot of back and forth to make this work. Those organizations provide a tremendous service.

“I really appreciate it and the families really appreciate it.”

Arrowsmith says he “took the reins” for PRO Kids in the winter of 2021. Asked what he enjoys most about the job, he says, “it is being part of a huge team of caring individuals who want to knock down the doors to ensure every kid has an equitable opportunity to discover new skills, meet new friends, have access to positive role models, and build a sense of belonging.

“Being a witness to the kindness and gratitude that happens in our community year-round via this program is a privilege. I love being part of the team that makes it all happen.”

The summer application deadline is May 31.

Finally, spring! Photo courtesy of Linda G. Manship

Getting rural Albert County ‘up to speed’

By John Wishart

Southeastern New Brunswick is leading the province in economic growth by a wide margin – population growth, immigration, building permits, GDP.

But not all areas of the southeast have shared equally in our growth spurt. There remains an urban/rural divide in our capacity to generate the kind of economic progress we all seek and deserve.

I’ve been doing some consulting work with the Southeast Regional Service Commission (SERSC) which is focused on ensuring the benefits of growth

are seen by everyone in the region. While preparing a recent presentation for the SERSC, I came across some data that illustrates part of our challenge in the southeast’s rural areas.

Talk to business owners, residents, and municipal leaders in rural Albert County, and they will tell you broadband internet and cell coverage is still lacking. This is 2024; surely it is time everyone had access to quality digital infrastructure.

COVID-19 was a wakeup call on the importance of high-speed internet. With people working from home, accessing schoolwork from home, and

trying to connect to medical and banking appointments online, our rural digital shortcomings came to the forefront.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) says that all Canadians are entitled to the same minimum highspeed standards: 50 megabytes per second download and 10 megabytes per second upload speeds.

In New Brunswick, the CRTC reports the average download speed in urban areas is 74.2 megabytes per second while in rural areas, it is just 13 megabytes. While customers in urban areas can rely

on major telecommunication carriers like Bell and Rogers and an abundance of cell towers, rural residents are often limited to Xplornet and Starlink.

As the federal auditor-general said in a 2022 report: “Connecting online is no longer a luxury but a basic essential service for all Canadians.”

I would suggest highspeed internet and cell reliability is as essential infrastructure as good roads, public transportation, water and sewers. It’s time the federal and provincial governments, working with the telcos, erased the digital divide.

John Wishart

Recognizing Riverview honours those contributing to the community

On April 17 Riverview hosted its second annual Recognizing Riverview event. Honourees are recognized in this issue of The River View.

This is the second year the town has gathered what had been several separate community recognition events into one.

Karen Thompson, Riverview’s Manager of Community Engagement, served as the principal organizer for Recognizing Riverview in 2023 and 2024.

She credits the predecessor events and the many staff members and volunteers who made those events a success

for many years.

“The signature events that created Recognizing Riverview were the Volunteer Recognition Awards, which has been around since 1984, the Youth Appreciation Awards, and the Sports Wall of Fame.

“Then during the town’s fortieth anniversary eleven years ago we created the Jim DeWolfe Community Spirit Award.

“There had also been a lot of interest in having business awards. Over the past four to five years, there started to be discussion about joining forces. A lot of Parks and Recreation department staff were involved in each of those different

award programs.”

Thompson acknowledges there was concern that a combined event could be unwieldy. Town staffers also worried that not everyone who deserved to be recognized could be given appropriate attention in a single event.

“We wondered, ‘would it be too long?’ Those were the things that were holding us back.”

But, says Thompson, Riverview’s fiftieth anniversary in 2023 provided the perfect opportunity to plan a joint event. “That’s what gave us the push.”

“Let us make it into this big, wonderful, spectacular celebration of all of these great things

that are happening in Riverview. Then, if it does prove to be too big an undertaking, we can revert to what we were doing before.

“Everyone loved it. All of those things that had been holding us back were dispelled. Because there were more eyes on it, more people in the room, more people aware, it had a bigger impact.”

Thompson notes that the inaugural event last year featured a dinner, which was switched to what she calls “an Oscar-style event” this year that “was even better because it allowed us to invite more people.”

Thompson points to

that ability to invite more people, and the increased awareness of the range of community activity, as the key benefits to the new format.

“Recipients from each group of awards get their moment to shine, but also get to hear what’s happening elsewhere in the community.”

She says response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

“When you have someone who is toiling away at whatever it is that they are doing in the community to try to make a difference, it gives them that extra push to keep going knowing that the community cares about

what they are doing, that it is not going unnoticed. “It is important to recognize that, with volunteers and also with the businesses who have chosen to set up shop in Riverview, to acknowledge what they have done.”

Thompson notes that the 2024 event has set a template the town will follow in future. “We think have hit the right mix; we think we have hit something that works. Working with the Riverview Arts Centre is wonderful, it is a great resource right here in our community.

“We have hit on a good formula here. Next year there will be a diversity and inclusion award as well.”

Recognizing Riverview 2023 Honourees

Volunteer Recognition Recipients:

Genevieve Machum

Elderdog Canada

John Mark Hanson

Riverview Knight of Columbus

Amanda Devison

The Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women

Rodney Steeves

Fundy Hiking Trails Association

Tammie Wilcox-Carrier

Riverview Arts Centre

Mary Holt

Riverview Scouting

Anne Bissonnette

Riverview Parks & Recreation

Greg Trites

Riverview Fire & Rescue

Sean Rollo

Riverview High School

Duane LeBlanc

Riverview East Karate

Geoff Cowan

Riverview Ringette Association

Keith Lane

Riverview Pickleball Club

Julie Hopkins

Albert County Food Bank

Jillian Forsey

Girl Guides of Canada

Mike Stone

Riverview Lion’s Club

Wendy Marney

St. Paul’s United Church

Robert Gould

Riverview Veterans and Armed Forces Association

Diane Belanger & Nora Johnson

The Salvation Army Lakeview Manor

Youth Appreciation Awards:

Sports & Athletics

Kate Hughes & Cohen Perry

Arts & Culture

Peter Bayerle & Jessie Cudmore

Community Service

Alex Harris & Keira Knowles

Academics

Isabelle LeBlanc &

Kiril Bourakov

Jim Dewolfe Community Spirit Award recipient: Rob Taylor

Sports Wall of Fame Inductees:

Lesley A. Smyth

Jeremy A. Steeves

F. Bloyce Bulman

Robert “Buzz” Betts

Business Awards:

Best in Service

JEM Beauty Salon

Best in Retail

The Covered Bridge Quiltery

Best in Food & Beverage

Five Bridges Bar & Grill

Business Longevity

The Homestead Restaurant

Karen Thompson

GAMES