History of Nova Scotia
with special attention given to
Communications and Transportation

Chapter 54
2000 March 1-19


Index with links to the other chapters


2000 March 1

High Speed Internet Comes to Sydney

A $3,000,000 investment by the EastLink Companies will bring high speed Internet services to Sydney's residential market through cable modem technology. Company president David Caldwell made the official announcement Wednesday, March 1st, in Sydney. "With the expanding knowledge economy here in Cape Breton, it simply makes sense for us to make this market a priority," said Caldwell.

Beginning immediately, the service will be offered to those cable subscribers living within the former boundaries of the city of Sydney. Service for the remaining EastLink cable subscribers and for business will be phased in over the remainder of the year. Caldwell expects by the end of the year, 90% of the company's 17,000 subscribers in the regional municipality will be offered the service.

While EastLink is the first to provide the service in Sydney, other Cape Breton communities have been speeding down the information highway for about three years. Communities like Glace Bay, New Waterford, Low Point and Dominion have coverage provided through Seaside Cable. EastLink, a privately owned Nova Scotia company based in Halifax, is the sixth largest cable provider in Canada and has 175,000 customers across Nova Scotia.

[Cape Breton Post, 2 March 2000]

Reference: EastLink website at http://www.eastlink.ca/

2000 March 1

Summerville CAP Site Opens

On the evening of Wednesday, March 1st, a public ceremony at Dr. Arthur Hines School in Summerville, Hants County, marked the opening of the Hants Shore Community Access Program (CAP) site. The new facility features computer websites for individuals living in the area, internet job search, children's encyclodedia, and community archives.
[The Hants Journal, Windsor, 1 March 2000]

2000 March 1

Interhop/Auracom Points of Presence

ISP (Internet Service Provider) Interhop Network Services Inc.
including Auracom Internet Services
Points of Presence in Nova Scotia
as of 1 March 2000 
                  902-661-1115       Amherst
                  902-863-1444       Antigonish
                  902-756-2169       Baddeck
                  902-637-1404       Barrington
                  902-275-2105       Blandford
                  902-665-5022       Bridgetown
                  902-624-1705       Bridgewater
                  902-624-1705       Chester
                  902-235-2031       Cheticamp
                  902-245-6953       Digby
                  902-883-3401       Elmsdale
                  902-533-5005       Guysborough
                  902-429-5757       Halifax
                  902-492-0277       Halifax (56k)
                  902-684-1609       Hantsport
                  902-258-2274       Inverness
                  902-678-1189       Kentville
                  902-527-5908       LaHave
                  902-354-7007       Liverpool
                  902-354-2327       Liverpool (v.90)
                  902-624-1705       Lunenburg
                  902-624-1705       Mahone Bay
                  902-624-0243       Mahone Bay (v.90)
                  902-261-2691       Maitland
                  902-248-2023       Margaree Forks
                  902-833-2040       Melrose
                  902-825-5105       Middleton
                  902-527-5908       New Germany
                  902-752-9353       New Glasgow
                  902-275-2105       New Ross
                  902-485-7501       Pictou
                  902-625-4702       Port Hawkesbury
                  902-762-0197       Pubnico
                  902-527-5908       Riverport
                  902-875-8092       Shelburne
                  902-833-2040       Sherbrooke
                  902-527-5908       Springfield
                  902-562-5582       Sydney
                  902-897-8052       Truro
                  902-657-9701       Wallace
                  902-624-1705       Western Shore
                  902-837-4045       Weymouth
                  902-798-6006       Windsor
                  902-749-4554       Yarmouth
Source: The Interhop website at
    http://www.interhop.net/members/pop.html#nova_scotia

The above list of POPs has been accurately reproduced here, from the source website. I have a few observations about the POPs in Lunenburg County:
902-624-1705     Bridgewater
902-624-1705     Chester
902-624-1705     Lunenburg
902-624-1705     Mahone Bay
902-624-1705     Western Shore
Customers in Bridgewater, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Western Shore and Chester are all assigned to 902-624-1705, the Mahone Bay exchange, which seems reasonable.

902-527-5908     LaHave
902-527-5908     New Germany
902-527-5908     Riverport
902-527-5908     Springfield
Customers in Riverport, LaHave, New Germany, and Springfield are all assigned to 902-527-5908, but 527 is a Bridgewater exchange, while Bridgewater customers are assigned to 624, Mahone Bay.

902-275-2105     Blandford
902-275-2105     New Ross
Customers in Blandford and New Ross are assigned to 902-275-2105, but 275 is the Chester exchange while Chester customers are assigned to 624, Mahone Bay.

Perhaps these arrangements came about because of the historical stages of the development of the service in this area.

2000 March 1

SolutionInc Limited

MicroAge Ottawa has signed a reseller agreement with SolutionInc Limited of Halifax. This agreement gives MicroAge the opportunity to distribute SolutionIP VBN servers in the national capital region. SolutionIP VBN Servers enable plug and play connectivity to the Internet in a variety of environments — from hotels to condominiums to airport lounges. "MicroAge Ottawa is a very well respected organization, and we're pleased to establish this partnership," said Michael Jewett, Vice President Business Development with SolutionInc. "This agreement will help SolutionInc build our presence in the national capital region, and will ensure that MicroAge is able to meet customer demand for easy-to-use, secure access to high-speed Internet services as well as advanced networking solutions." "In our research to determine the best solution for our customers, we quickly saw the potential for the SolutionIP VBN Server, not only for the hospitality industry, but in other markets as well," said Mark Sigouin, Manager of Professional Services with MicroAge Ottawa. "We look forward to a long and successful relationship with SolutionInc."

About MicroAge Ottawa

MicroAge Ottawa is a franchise of Hartco Enterprises Inc., a publicly traded company located in Montreal, with annual revenues exceeding $500,000,000. MicroAge Ottawa's connection with Hartco — and its 120 franchise locations across the country — make it part of the largest computer reseller network in the country. An international affiliation through MicroAge International lends MicroAge Ottawa the strength of 1,700 business centres worldwide. MicroAge Ottawa maintains long term customer relationships with some of Canada's largest corporations, including Bell Canada, TD Bank, Stentor and the Department of National Defence.

About SolutionInc Limited

SolutionInc Limited designs and manufactures the SolutionIP suite of high performance, Linux-based products to enable advanced networking capability. SolutionIP VBN Servers provide a seamless solution for connecting and managing nomadic users of broadband and wireless networks in public access areas such as hotels, multi-dwelling units, multi-tenant units, campuses and airports.

Source:
SolutionInc Limited media release
    http://www.newswire.ca/releases/March2000/01/c0039.html

References:
SolutionInc Limited website at
    http://www.solutioninc.com/
MicroAge Ottawa website at
    http://www.microage.ca/
Hartco Enterprises Inc. website at
    http://www.hartco.com/

2000 March 1

Gasoline Prices Set New Record in Nova Scotia

Gasoline prices across Nova Scotia soared to a historic high yesterday. Prices jumped three cents a litre to a record-high 74.9 cents for regular self-serve at most stations. Refineries have raised their prices and the increase is being passed along to consumers, said Dave Collins, vice-president of Wilson Fuel Co. Ltd., which supplies gas to sixty stations in Atlantic Canada. "It's good old-fashioned greed," he said. Refinery prices for gasoline have been climbing steadily for nine days, Collins said. Imperial Oil spokesman Pierre Desrochers of Montreal said he couldn't confirm that. "I will have to verify that," he said. No one from Irving Oil, which has the largest refinery in Canada, could be reached for comment. "At these margins, there is a lot of money being made at the refinery level," said Collins, who is also president of the Independent Retail Gas Marketers Association of Canada. Gas prices also shot up three cents a litre at many stations in New Brunswick. Furnace oil and diesel prices didn't go up. Collins said those prices are starting to come down. Heating oil was selling for 45.9 cents a litre Tuesday and diesel was down to 71.9 from its recent peak of 78.9.
[The Sault Star, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, 1 March 2000]
Reference:
The Sault Star website at http://www.saultstar.com/

[A longer version of the same item appeared in The Kitchener-Waterloo Record 1 March 2000]

Gasoline Prices Continue to Rise

Gas prices continued their record climb Wednesday, reaching nearly 78 cents per litre for a full-service fill up of regular unleaded gasoline at most Cape Breton service stations. While Sydney and Glace Bay area stations charged an average of 77.9 cents per litre for full-serve gas, some island stations were charging as much as 78.9 cents per litre. In the Northside one station was pumping gas for 78.9 cents per litre, as was a Port Hastings retailer. Prices across the province have jumped by about three cents a litre since February 25th, when the price of crude oil topped US$27.50 per barrel. While the cost of a barrel of crude remains the same today, the refined product is not, sparking growing criticism from retailers and politicians who say big oil companies are responsible for the bloated gas prices. Furnace oil and diesel prices didn't go up.
[Cape Breton Post, 2 March 2000]

2000 March 2   1:00pm AST

CIBC Annual Meeting to be Broadcast Live
on the Internet

Canada's normally stodgy banks have lumbered into the Internet age by sending audio broadcasts of shareholders' meetings over the Web, but Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will be the first to attempt real-time video. "Live video means live right on the Internet, like you're there, just like TV," said Shannon Bowness, spokeswoman for CIBC. "And to the best of our knowledge, we're the first to do live video." The other major banks have not ventured into that tricky technical territory, sticking so far to Internet audio feeds and slide presentations to satisfy the outcry from stockholders for more openness and information. But CIBC, the country's third-biggest bank in terms of assets, will be showing its annual meeting, held thisyear in Calgary on March 2nd, on its website starting at noon eastern time. Royal Bank of Canada, which gathered shareholders on February 23rd in Toronto, stuck to videos and slides, but still had problems. Some question whether the herky-jerky video stream of a talking suit is worth the while.
[National Post, 25 February 2000]

Live Videocast of CIBC's Annual Meeting

CIBC will broadcast its annual meeting of shareholders live in audio and video formats over the Internet beginning at 12:00noon (EST) on Thursday, March 2nd. The webcast of the meeting, to be held this year in Calgary at The Westin Hotel Calgary, will include presentations by CIBC executives to shareholders and a question and answer period.

How to Access the Webcasts

Quarterly Analyst Call

CIBC will also release its first quarter results on Thursday, March 2. The conference call with bank analysts and institutional investors will also be carried live on the Internet at 4:30pm EST on the same day via an audio webcast. The webcast will include presentations by bank executives, followed by a question and answer session for analysts and institutional investors. A telephone recording of the analyst call will also be available for all investors. The recording will be available to the public following the completion of the analyst call at approximately 5:30pm EST. Those interested in listening to the tape of the analyst call can access the recording by calling 416-695-5800 and entering the passcode 414850. The instant replay of the analyst call will be available until midnight March 16, 2000.

CIBC media release, 24 February 2000
    http://www.newswire.ca/releases/February2000/24/c7269.html
and   http://www.cibc.com/download/99annmtgnoticeeng.pdf
and   http://www.cibc.com/english/about_cibc/
                investor_relations/events/annual_meeting/index.html

Reference:
CIBC website at   http://www.cibc.com/

2000 March 3

Last-Minute Travel Website Launched

On this day, a last-minute club for travel in Atlantic Canada was launched in Halifax. Atlantic Explorer Travel Club is an Internet-based service being offered free of charge to consumers. It will list last-minute deals on discounted rooms at hotels and inns around the region, and will even allow members to sign up to have the travel information of interest to them sent to them via e-mail. Tony Thibault of Momentum Marketing Group, the parent company of Atlantic Explorer, said the participating companies, who will pay fees on a commission basis, will be able to update offers directly to the Web site through a password-protected system.
[Halifax Daily News, 4 March 2000]

Reference:
Atlantic Explorer Travel Club website at
    http://atlanticexplorer.com/travelclub/

2000 March 3

Strait of Canso Superport

A new era has begun for the Strait of Canso Superport. On this day, Transport Canada officially handed over the port and its facilities in Mulgrave and Port Hawkesbury to a private Mulgrave-based group. The deal includes a $10,500,000 federal contribution to fund repairs and operational and maintenance costs of the wharves, including $6,600,000 for major repairs to the south berth of the Mulgrave Marine Terminal and the Port Hawkesbury Government Wharf.

As the transfer ceremony ended, the team that negotiated the deal with Transport Canada — Mulgrave Mayor Leonard MacDonald, Paul Crissman, Tom Hall, Ken Anderson, and Basil Ryan — made a beeline for the Mulgrave Credit Union to deposit the federal cheques. Extensive work remains to be done on the Mulgrave wharf to bring it up to current commercial and safety standards. The oldest part of the terminal was built in 1944, and three separate additions have been built since then. Both Transport Canada and Superport officials, however, say the terminal is not an expensive white elephant.

The deep-water ice-free Strait of Canso Superport, located strategically on the "great circle route" favoured by international shippers between North America and Europe, is already Nova Scotia's number one port in terms of gross tonnage. In 1998, about 14,500,000 tonnes of goods were shipped via the port. Major commercial users include Martin Marietta, Georgia Pacific, Stora Enso, and Statia Terminals.

[Guysborough County Journal, 9 March 2000]

Located at 45°36'N, 61°22'W, the main harbour of the Superport is capable of accommodating Ultra Large Carriers of the 500,000 tonne class. The Strait Superport is 20km long, up to 1.5km wide, with a limiting depth of 27m.

References:
Strait-Highlands Regional Development Agency
    http://www.strait-highlands.ns.ca/
Map of Canso Superport area
    http://www.strait-highlands.ns.ca/strait_of_canso_superport.htm
Strategic Direction 5: Effective Management of the Strait of Canso Superport
    http://www.strait-highlands.ns.ca/strategi.htm#STRATEGIC DIRECTION 5
Strait of Canso Superport Authority, news release, 1 November 1996
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/ecor/press/1996/11strait.htm

2000 March 6

Devco Pleads Guilty to Charges
Under Atomic Energy Control Act

A federal Crown corporation pleaded guilty Monday, March 6th, in Glace Bay to seven charges under the Atomic Energy Control Act. The Cape Breton Development Corp. — which operates coal mining operations on the island and is known locally as Devco — was original charged with eleven violations of the act but during a provincial court appearance Monday, the Crown withdrew four counts. The corporation is scheduled to be sentenced on the charges May 12th.

The charges were filed after inspectors with the Atomic Energy Control Board discovered a faulty radiation device known as a fixed gauge at the Phalen Colliery in Lingan last July 23rd. The underground mine has since been flooded and is no longer in operation because of recurring roof problems. It is believed that at least ten miners were exposed to excessive levels of radiation, some of whom had no indication what they were handling was dangerous. The bowling-ball-sized device uses a beam of radiation to identify obstructions in the coal chute.

[Cape Breton Post, 7 March 2000]

Process to Determine Radiation Exposure Flawed

Methods used to determine the amount of radiation miners were exposed to over a 12-year period are flawed, says a union representative. Hugh MacArthur, health and safety officer for the United Mine Workers District 26, said the only way radiation levels will be accurately determined is by looking at medical evidence down the road.

Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) officials gave miners forms to fill out this week so the board's health physicist could calculate an exposure amount. "They changed the exposure rates twice so far," said MacArthur. The form uses time versus distance to determine a number. An employee's memory is also crucial in figuring an accurate rate, he continued.

Upwards of 43 Devco miners are now reporting they were exposed to radiation while working at Phalen Colliery in Lingan. In previous reports, ten men claimed they worked near a faulty fixed gauge that exposed the workers to excessive levels of radiation. The round, bowling-ball-sized device uses a beam of radiation to identify obstructions in the chute. MacArthur said Devco is responsible for the exposures because the workers were never properly trained on how to use the device.

[Cape Breton Post, 18 March 2000]

2000 March 9

Fuel Oil Prices Hurting Schools

The Southwest Regional School Board says the higher oil prices of recent weeks are really pushing up the Board's operating costs. Jerome Tanner, director of finance and operations, said today the Board is paying and extra $750,000 for fuel that wasn't budgeted for. Tanner said the figure includes the extra cost of gasoline for running school buses, and for heating fuel for the Board's schools and other buildings.
[Halifax Daily News, 10 March 2000]

Reference:
Southwest Regional School Board, Yarmouth
    http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/boards/southwest/

2000 March 9

Halifax Airport Set For March Break Traffic

The new Halifax International Airport Authority is ready for its first busy season since taking over the airport last month. "We're anticipating a twenty to twenty-five percent inrease in traffic over normal numbers because of March Break," said Dennis Rogers, president and CEO of the airport authority. On an average Friday, Rogers said the airport handles about 13,000 passengers. But tomorrow, Friday, March 10th — the beginning of the annual week-long break in Nova Scotia — that number could rise to 17,000. The private, not-for-profit organization officially took possession of the airport from the federal government on February 1st.
[Halifax Daily News, 10 March 2000]

2000 March 9

Tall Ships 2000

Plans for Tall Ships 2000 Celebration at Halifax

Bigger than the combined fleets
at Battle of Trafalgar

At least 100 ships from 23 countries expected

Halifax is battening down the hatches for the three-quarters of a million people expected to come see the Tall Ships. Tall Ships 2000, this summer's gathering of majestic sailing ships, may rank as the largest gathering of its kind in history, says Alan Abraham, the event's chairman, a former lieutenant-governor. "We are talking world-class numbers (of ships) ... in terms of tonnage and length, this will surpass anything Halifax has ever seen," he told a news conference today in Halifax.

Halifax will be playing host to more wind-driven vessels than ever gathered together at one time in its history. Organizers expect at least 100 ships from 23 countries on July 19th and 20th — everything from towering square-riggers to sleek schooners — to descend on the port in mid-July before undertaking a transatlantic race to Amsterdam. The numbers may swell to as many as 140, eclipsing the fifty vessels that called at Halifax in June 1984.

Up to 25 will be A-class vessels — the largest sailing vessels afloat, exceeding 36 metres in length. One, the 90-metre Kaiwo Maru from Japan, has never before sailed in Atlantic waters. Only a half-dozen A-class ships were on hand sixteen years ago.

The ships begin arriving July 18th and will be tied up along the Halifax waterfront until July 24th, when they will line up for a three-hour parade up and down the harbour before departing. Ships will be berthed along the waterfront from just south of the cruiseship terminal to just north of the new casino site, said Agnes McLean, who is responsible for ship-related needs while the fleet is here. In Halifax, deliveries to the ships will take place at night, and part of Lower Water Street will be closed to vehicle traffic, except for emergencies, during the day. The event is expected to attract 750,000 people over five days and inject about $30,000,000 into the local economy. The ships will be open for tours. Concerts, dances and ceremonies are planned for residents, visitors and the 5,000 young men and women who crew the vessels.

Halifax is only one port of call for vessels taking part in what's billed "the race of the century."

The race begins April 18th in Southampton, England, while ships from the Mediterranean set out from Genoa, Italy on April 23rd. They will assemble at Cadiz, Spain, for a race — likely to take three or four weeks, working against the prevailing wind — across the Atlantic to Bermuda. After touring ports along the United States Eastern Seaboard, they gather in Boston with ships based in North and South American ports, then head to Halifax. From Halifax the fleet will embark on the last and longest leg of the voyage, the eastbound transatlantic race from Halifax to Amsterdam.

Battle of Trafalgar
21 October 1805

As the last stop before the return race to Europe, Halifax has the distinction of hosting the fleet at its largest, Mr. Abraham said. He expects the sailing fleet assembled in Halifax will be larger than the combined fleets at the decisive Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and maybe as large as the Spanish Armada of 1588.

He's checked the history books and found there were 130 ships in the Spanish Armada and only 68 ships did battle at Trafalgar.

Interest has been building for many months, says Gerry Lunn, a curator at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the Halifax waterfront. "We could have someone at the front desk all the time answering tall ships questions."

[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 10 March 2000]
[Halifax Daily News, 10 and 13 March 2000] 


Dates of Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race 2000 Race
    Gdansk                     5 -  8 July
    Helsinki                  14 - 17 July
    Mariehamn                 21 - 23 July
    Stockholm                 26 - 29 July
    Flensburg                  4 -  7 August

Dates of the Tall Ships 2000 double Transatlantic Race
    Southampton, England      12 - 16 April
    Genoa, Italy              20 - 23 April
    Cadiz, Spain               4 -  7 May
    Hamilton, Bermuda          9 - 12 June
    Boston, Massachusetts     12 - 16 July
    Halifax, Nova Scotia      20 - 24 July
    Amsterdam, Holland        24 - 28 August
Source:   http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/or01/tradtall.htm


Tall Ships 2000 The Race of the Century
    http://www.poundbury.co.uk/tradboats/links02.htm
The Tall Ships 2000 voyage has been called the Race of the Century, and justifiably so. The entire voyage will take 139 days from Southampton to Amsterdam, or 131 days from Genoa to Amsterdam. The first leg of the race has a dual start; from Southampton, England and Genoa, Italy. The two fleets race towards Cadiz, where they cross the finishing line of the first leg. The ships assemble in Cadiz for the westbound transatlantic race to Bermuda. From Bermuda the ships cruise in company to Boston. When the ships arrive in Boston they prepare for the penultimate race of Tall Ships 2000 from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia. From Halifax the fleet will embark on the last and longest leg of the voyage, the eastbound transatlantic race from Halifax to Amsterdam.

References:   A brief search on 10 March 2000 turned up the following active websites. No doubt there are many others.

Tall Ships 2000

    http://www.tallships2000.com/
    http://www.tallships2000.ns.ca/
    http://www.tallships2000.bm/
    http://www.tallships2000.org.uk/
    http://www.tallships2000.southampton.org.uk/
    http://www.ista.co.uk/
    http://www.jst.org.uk/lord_nel/ts2000/
    http://www.hel.fi/port/ajankohtaista/tsr2000/index_en.html
    http://www.geocities.com/ts2000genova/index_eng.htm
    http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stands/2518/ts2000.htm
    http://www.sailboston.com/
    http://www.seaislandboatworks.com/charleston_tall_ships_2000.htm
    http://www.tallshipscharleston.com/
    http://www.tallshipsnewport.org/
    http://www.tallshipsnewport.com/classa.htm
    http://www.sail2000amsterdam.nl/
    http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/or01/tradtall.htm
    http://www.brigantineinn.com/tall_ships.html
    http://www.grandbanker.com/tallships.html
    http://www.cadiz-regata2000.com/
    http://www.burningelectrons.com/TallShips/wwwboard/
    http://www.morningstar.org.uk/mst_special.html
    http://www.libertystatepark.com/opsail_2000_tall__ships.htm
    http://www.tallships2000.com/news.htm
    http://bahrs.com/jaycos2/noname9.html
    http://www.schoonerman.com/
    http://www.travellady.com/articles/article-tallships.html
    http://www.startext.net/travel/stories/tallships.htm
    http://www.spacestar.net/users/cruiser/tallship/tallship.htm
    http://www.jst.org.uk/lord_nel/ts2000/
    http://www.smallships.com/muse-link.html
    http://www.bostonboating.com/TallShipsBoston2000.htm
    http://www.apparent-wind.com/tall-ships-faq.html
    http://www.massbaylines.com/tallships.htm
    http://www.spiritcruises.com/opsail/opsail.html
    http://www.tide-mark.com/tall-ships.html
    http://pub1.ezboard.com/fbermudashortsforumtallships2000.html
    http://www.hel.fi/port/ajankohtaista/tsr2000/
    http://www.yachting.cz/re/plavby/plv_5.html
    http://www.maritimeheritage.org/tallships/home.html

Related Websites

    http://www.freefoto.com/pictures/the_sea/tall_ships/index.asp
    http://www.hd.org/Damon/photos/tall-ships/
American Sail Training Association
    http://tallships.sailtraining.org/

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805

    http://broadside.napoleonicwars.com/battle-of-trafalgar.html
    http://www.luna.co.uk/~hawkesm/dmcc/trafalgar.html
    http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.luna.co.uk/~hawkesm/dmcc/trafalgar.html
British Ships at the Battle of Trafalgar
    http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Trafalgar/Ships.txt

The Spanish Armada, 1588

    http://www.cfcsc.dnd.ca/links/milhist/armada.html
    http://tbls.hypermart.net/history/1588armada/
    http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~hip01c/armada.htm
    http://ukdb.web.aol.com/hutchinson/encyclopedia/17/M0013917.htm

Kaiwo Maru

Kaiwo Maru 
                           Kaiwo Maru
Rig:          4 masted barque
Launched:     1989
Home port:    Tokyo
Length overall:      110.1 m       361 feet
Beam:                 13.8 m        45 feet
Draft loaded:          6.6 m        22 feet
Max. mast height:     55.5 m       182 feet
Total sail area:          2,750 square metres   29,600 square feet
   18 square sails        1,780 square metres   19,160 square feet
   18 fore and aft sails    970 square metres   10,440 square feet
Displacement:        2,879 gross tons
    http://www.maritimeheritage.org/tallships/kaiwo.html
    http://www.osakawtc.or.jp/sailosaka/shipdata/kaiwomaru/kaiwomaru.html

Preserved Square-rigged Ships
    http://pc-78-120.udac.se:8001/WWW/Nautica/
        Ships/Preserved_Squarerigged_Ships.html

Pogoria

Pogoria
Pogoria was designed by marine architect Kygmant Choren and built by the Gdansk shipyards in Poland. She was launched in May 1980. Her first Captain was the famous Polish lone sailor Cris Baronowski. Pogoria is 47m 154 feet long with accommodations for up to 50 crew and students, and can be provisioned for 30 days or more. Pogoria is 342 gross tons displacement with a beam of 7.9m 26 feet and a draft of 3.6m 11 feet 6 inches carrying 1000 square metres 10,700 square feet of sail and will reach speeds of 15 knots 28 km/h. It is not uncommon for Pogoria to sail more than 250 nautical miles 460km in 24 hours.
Reference:
Pogoria's website (in Polish, English not available)
    http://www.wsm.gdynia.pl/pogoria/

2000 March 9

Public Prosecution Service Gets Computers

In March, 2000, the Nova Scotia government bought 73 desktop computers and 58 notebook computers for the provincial Public Prosecution Service. The computers were bought from Dell Computer Corporation of Round Rock, Texas, for $303,235. Compatible Computer Services, Quinpool Road, Halifax, bid $313,899 and did not get the order.
[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 13 April 2000]

The lack of computers in the Public Prosecution Service in the mid-1990s has been cited as an important factor in the repeated bungling of the Westray Coal Mine disaster investigation and the failed prosecutions of the mine managers.

Tender ID#60066082
Tender for 73 desktop and 58 notebook computers
for the Public Prosecution Sevice in Nova Scotia.
Awarded 9 March 2000 to DELL Computer Corp., $367,032.85

Source: Nova Scotia Government website at
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/tour/awd2.asp?tender_no=60066082



Note: These two sources disagree by $63,798
about the cost of this purchase.


2000 March 10

Theodore Too Captain Named

Tugboat veteran Bill Stewart of Halifax has been signed on as captain of Theodore  Too, a real, ocean-going version of the star of the popular childrens' television series. Stewart has been a real tugboat captain with ECTUG (Eastern Canada Towing Limited) for 25 years. He has also been Officer in Command with the Canadian Coast Guard cutter Number 117, part of the Search and Rescue unit. In his new job, Stewart will be responsible for the safe and effective operation of Theodore Too. The real wooden tugboat, to be launched next month, weighs 105 tonnes, measures 19.5 metres from bow to stern, and is powered by a 400 horsepower 300 kilowatt engine. It is being built in Snyder's Shipyard in Dayspring, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. "I have spent my entire life around boats of all shapes and sizes,"says Stewart, who is originally from Fortune Bay, Newfoundland. "I quickly became a fan of the series. I am honoured to have been selected as the captain for Theodore Too. "We're very, very happy to have him," said Andrew Cochran, creator and executive producer of the series, which is produced in Halifax. Theodore Tugboat is seen on CBC-TV weekday mornings, and as part of PBS's Ready to Learn lineup of shows in the United States.
[Halifax Daily News, 10 March 2000]

Theodore Always Wished He Could go to Sea

A life-size replica of Theodore Tugboat, the star of the famed TV tugboat series, is a dream come true for little Teddy, says his creator Andrew Cochran. "Theodore always wished he could go to sea," he said, glancing affectionately at Theodore Tugboat the large hull under construction at Snyder's Shipyard in Dayspring, on the eastern shore of the LaHave River near Bridgewater in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Big Theodore will be ready to steam into ports on the Eastern Seaboard of North America, and the Great Lakes, powered by a 400-horsepower diesel engine capable of pushing the boat to speeds of up to 20 kilometres an hour.

The million-dollar project is in response to the legions of little viewers who want Theodore to visit their harbours, Mr. Cochran said. Cochran Entertainment Inc. is footing the bill for the big tug. The 20-metre-long, seven-metre-wide, 95-tonne vessel. Ocean-going Teddy will have a captain and two full-time crew members. Even though Theodore will look like a tug, it won't act like one. Instead, it will be a dockside showboat that people can tour. The vessel was designed by two Nova Scotians, Fred Allen and naval architect Marius Lengkeek. The hull and wheelhouse are being made of Nova Scotia spruce, oak, birch, pine and maple. Theodore's face, hat and smokestack will be fibreglass.

"This boat is totally different from what we ever did," said shipyard owner Philip Snyder. Snyder's mainstay for more than half a century has been fishing vessels. Theodore Tugboat is an award-winning children's show produced in Halifax. Designed for preschoolers to explore feelings, fairness and friendship, it's televised in more than 70 countries.

Source:
The Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 27 May 1999
Cached article
    http://www.canoe.ca/TelevisionShowsT/theodoretugboat.html

Theodore Tugboat

Theodore Tugboat website at
    http://www.cochran.com/theodore/
    Traffic on the Theodore website exceeds 5,000,000 hits a month.
Theodore Tugboat at PBS
    http://www.pbs.org/tugboat/

Snyder's Shipyard

Snyder's Shipyard (book)
    http://www.dal.ca/~tpress/TBP.Snyders.html
The Master Builder of the Avon Spirit is Philip Snyder of Snyder's Shipyard
    http://www.glinx.com/~arhs/spirit.htm#builders
The launching of Avon Spirit, hull number 216 at Snyder's Shipyard
    http://www.outdoorns.com/launchin.htm

2000 March 10

Historic Machinery Relocated

Locomotives became freight this week at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, when cranes loaded them on flatbed trailers for the trip to a storage facility in town. The five vintage engines and other historic machinery also being moved weren't part of the musuem's display. They had been under wraps outdoors near the old Stellarton railway station on the museum grounds. Concern about weather damage and plans for using the outdoor space prompted the move to indoor quarters on Bridge Avenue. "The relocation provides new opportunities for the museum to utilize the railway station to attract more visitors to the museum and to enhance their experience here," said museum director Debra McNabb. Making the move are a 101-year-old locomotive built for the Sydney and Louisbourg Railway and used by Stellarton's Acadia Coal Company from 1955-63; a 94-year-old switcher that spent its final years at Westville's Drummond Mine before retiring in 1964; a 23-tonne engine donated to the museum in 1991 by Bowater Mersey Paper Co.; a gas-powered locomotive used to build the Cape Tormentine ferry terminal and at the Wallace sandstone quarry; and a 60-year-old Devco 20, one of Canada's oldest diesel locomotives.
[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 10 March 2000]

2000 March 11

Gasoline Price Nears 80¢ a Litre

The Daily News did a random survey of gasoline prices at ten service stations in the Halifax Metro area today, and found the following prices posted for a litre of regular gasoline. All but one are for self-served fuel — the Shell station on Herring Cove Road does not have self-serve pumps. 
               Regular Grade Gasoline, per litre
       75.9¢   Ultramar, 397 Windmill Road         self-serve
       78.0¢   Wilson's, 655 Sackville Drive       self-serve
       78.0¢   Superline, 3451 Barrington Street   self-serve
       78.5¢   Treaty Gas, 600 Caldwell Road       self-serve
       78.9¢   Esso, 6020 Young Street             self-serve
       78.9¢   Shell, 977 Cole Harbour Road        self-serve
       78.9¢   Petro-Canada, 105 Main Street       self-serve
       78.9¢   Ultramar, 873 Bedford Highway       self-serve
       80.9¢   Irving, 5620 South Street           self-serve
       81.9¢   Shell, 385 Herring Cove Road      full service
[Halifax Sunday Daily News, 12 March 2000]



Here's the breakdown on an average 75.7-cent litre of gasoline sold yesterday in Nova Scotia: 
       13.5 cents   provincial road tax
       10.0 cents   federal excise tax
        9.9 cents   BST (blended sales tax)  4.6 cents federal
                                             5.3 cents provincial
       26.5 cents   cost of crude oil
        8.8 cents   refinery
        7.0 cents   retailer
       ----
       75.7 cents
Thus, on a $30.00 fillup, you pay $16.76 for the gasoline, and $13.24 in taxes.
[Halifax Daily News, 24 March 2000]

2000 March 12

Availability of Competitive Local Telephone Service

A large display advertisement in today's Sunday Daily News lists several suburban locations near Halifax, in addition to the Halifax peninsula, where competitive local telephone service is now available. That is, residential and business customers in these suburban areas now have a choice of two — at least two — competing companies which offer local telephone service. One company is Maritime Telegraph and Telephone, which has been the monopoly supplier of local telephone service here since 1910. The other is EastLink Telephone, which placed the ad. These areas are: [Halifax Sunday Daily News, 12 March 2000]

EastLink Telephone is a division of EastLink Cable Group, a prominent owner of cable television systems in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. EastLink the first company in Canada to commercially provide local and long distance telephone, high speed internet and cable television services through its own network. On 9 November 1999, an agreement was signed between EastLink and Nortel Networks Corporation to officially launch a new era in telephone service for Atlantic Canada. Under terms of the multi-year agreement, Nortel Networks will supply Eastlink with an end-to-end network platform designed to enable local telephony service equivalent to or better than traditional phone service through its existing Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) network
Sources:
    http://www.eastlink.ca/telephone/tel-intro.html
    http://www.eastlink.ca/telephone/media05.html

References:
EastLink website at
    http://www.eastlink.ca/
EastLink FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
    http://www.eastlink.ca/telephone/faq-ans.html

EastLink Telephone [RJSC ID#3029021] has its registered office: c/o Oxford Frozen Foods Limited, 4881 Main Street, Oxford, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. No directors, officers, or partners are listed by the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies [RJSC].


EastLink Telephone Customer Information
July 6, 1999

The requirements for providing competitive local telephone service are set out in Telecom Decision CRTC 97-8 (which is available on the CRTC website www.crtc.gc.ca). EastLink Telephone has committed to adhering to the terms and conditions included in that decision. EastLink Telephone provides equal access to other telecommunications service providers. EastLink Telephone customers are free to choose their long-distance or enhanced service provider...

Maps of Eastlink Telephone Serving Area

Maps showing the serving area of EastLink Telephone are available for viewing at the Company's business office...

Directory Policy

Customers will receive, without charge, up to one copy per telephone, of the most recent telephone directory for their district, both white and yellow pages. Updated directories, as they are published, will also be provided. The contents of directories released by EastLink Telephone may not be published or reproduced in any form without the directory publisher's written consent...

Disclosure of Subscriber Listing Information

In accordance with CRTC requirements, EastLink Telephone makes names, addresses and telephone numbers available to publishers of paper and electronic directories. Your listing can be removed from such lists by requesting a non-published telephone number...

Non-Published Numbers

Non-published numbers do not appear in the telephone directory and are not available from Directory Assistance Operators. Non-published numbers are included in the Nova Scotia emergency 9-1-1 database...

Source:
CRTC website at
    http://www.crtc.gc.ca/INTERNET/1999/8180/JULY6-99.DOC

2000 March 13

Multimedia Students Preserve Century
of Cape Breton Post

Multimedia students are using the technology of the future to bring history to life. Upwards of ten students attending Marconi Campus, Nova Scotia Community College have participated in the creation of a CD-ROM encompassing a 100 page edition of the Cape Breton Post that highlighted top stories from the 20th century. Once completed, the CD-ROM will be donated to schools and libraries across the island. It will also be an impressive resume for the students who participated on the project. "What a resume to have," said Owen Fitzgerald, a multimedia product development course teacher at the campus who is helping the students with the creation. Fitzgerald is also known for his CD-ROM work on the history of Alexander Graham Bell and Fortress of Louisbourg. The students began planning the effort in January and have the project about half completed. The deadline is April 3rd, the day the multimedia course ends. Rosemary MacIntyre, program co-ordinator, said the students are adding additional stories to the selection and have added pictures. Cape Breton Post is partnering with Fitzgerald and the students to develop the initiative.
[Cape Breton Post, 13 March 2000]

2000 March 13

Inverness County Cell Phone Service

Inverness County residents will receive expanded cellular service this year. Inverness municipal council was recently informed by MTT Mobility that the company intends to expand cellular service in the Inverness-Cheticamp area this year. Three new cellular towers will be installed to provide coverage in that area. The towers will be erected in Cheticamp, in the village of Inverness, and outside Inverness at a site known as Kiltarity. The new sites will cover the western leg of the Cabot Trail. The sites are expected to be in service by the end of June. The company indicated that improvements to cellular service will also be made in eastern Cape Breton. MTT Mobility has committed about $650,000 this year to improving cellular service on Cape Breton Island.
[Cape Breton Post, 13 March 2000]

2000 March 15

CAP Society Website

The CAP Society of Cape Breton County, a non-profit organization formed in May, 1999, is a regional working group of Community Access Program (CAP) sites committed to the social,economic, and cultural enhancement of our communities through the use of Information Technology. Source: The CAP Society of Cape Breton County website at
    http://www.perc-cap.ns.ca/capsociety/

Reference:
Map showing locations of the fifteen member CAP sites
    http://www.perc-cap.ns.ca/capsociety/locations.html

2000 March 19

Municipalities Want the Front Plate Restored

At least nine municipalities, from Barrington in the southwest to Inverness County in Cape Breton, are calling on the province to bring back front licence plates for ordinary automobiles and other vehicles, citing school bus safety and policing concerns. In a cost-cutting move, the province dropped front plates from passenger vehicles in November 1995. The Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association did not object. Eliminating one plate has saved the province about $160,000 per year, says Robyn McIsaac, director of communications for the Department of Business and Consumer Services. "Is a child's life worth $160,000?" asks Barrington Municipal Councillor Angus Atkinson, who is also a school bus driver. He says the number of oncoming vehicles passing his bus when its red lights are flashing — meaning he is stopped to either let off or pick up children — has doubled to about 15 a year since 1995. Mr. Atkinson believes drivers know there's little chance of police charging them when his only means of identifying them is trying to read their rear licence plate "through my rear-view mirror."

Kelli Wolfe-Enslow, transportation analyst for the Southwest Regional School Board's western zone, says a board study in Lunenburg County over a two-week period last month showed 22 instances in which vehicles passed a bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing. Most of the violators approached the bus from the front. "I think inattention is probably the main cause," Ms. Wolfe-Enslow said. "But knowing they're not likely to have their licence plate number recorded is also an important factor." Drivers were identified in fewer than six cases. The standard fine for passing a school bus with its red lights flashing is $387.50. The board will do a wider study from April 3rd to 14th, Ms. Wolfe-Enslow said. Sgt. Mike Leighton, detachment commander of Barrington RCMP, has written to Barrington council saying the two-plate system enhances officer safety at traffic stops.

Ms. McIsaac said Waldale Manufacturing Ltd. of Amherst produced about 106,000 single plates for the province last year at a cost of $530,000 — $5 per plate — and 2,200 double plates, still required for heavy commercial vehicles.

Eight of the 13 licensing jurisdictions in Canada require only a rear plate on passenger vehicles, Ms. McIsaac said. The five still insisting on a front plate are New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Municipalities supporting Barrington's stance include Inverness and Cumberland counties and the towns of Shelburne, Bridgewater, Trenton, Parrsboro, Bridgetown and Mahone Bay. Queens and Colchester counties are opposed. Colchester Municipal Councillor Ray Merriam argues that "one plate gives people what they want. It'll be going back to the Dark Ages if we have to have two licence plates."

[Halifax Sunday Herald, 19 March 2000]
[Windsor Hants Journal, 5 April 2000]

Bridgetown Supports Return to Two Plates on Automobiles

The Town of Bridgetown is among a growing number of organizations which would like to see vehicle license plates displayed at the front as well as the rear of vehicles. At the February meeting of Town Council, a motion was adopted to write a letter to the Nova Scotia Minister of Transportation indicating support for a return to the two-plate system. Several years ago, a change was made requiring that a license plate be displayed only at the rear of the car. The motion was in response to a letter received from the Municipality of the District of Barrington, expressing its concern about the difficulties the one-plate system creates for law enforcement officials. In particular it is concerned about the problems school bus drivers often have in obtaining the license numbers of vehicles which pass buses when their stop lights are activated. Barrington Council has sent a letter to all municipal units in the province as well as to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Sgt. Baxter Upshall of the RCMP Bridgetown Detachment, who was present at the council meeting to present his annual report, said that the one-plate system creates difficulties. "It was a regressive step," he siad. "It causes a 70 per cent impediment to our job. The chances of apprehending a vehicle are significantly reduced — it has caused a lot of problems."
[Bridgetown Monitor, 15 February 2000]



Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine
http://web.archive.org/index.html

"Use the Wayback Machine to view web sites from the past."


Archive of This Document:
History of Nova Scotia, Chapter 54

The Wayback Machine has copies of this webpage from the early days:
Archived: 2001 June 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20010619114802/http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625nshist54.html
Archived: 2001 November 22
http://web.archive.org/web/20011122060149/http://www.alts.net/ns1625/nshist54.html



Index with links to the other chapters



Go To:   History of Telegraph and Telephone Companies in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625telephone.html
Go To:   History of Automobiles in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625automobiles.html
Go To:   History of Electric Power Companies in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625electric.html
Go To:   History of Railway Companies in Nova Scotia
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625railways.html
Go To:   Index to other online Nova Scotia History
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625histindx.html
Go To:   Home Page
    http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/300/nova_scotias_electronic_attic/07-04-09/www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625index.html

Valid HTML 4.0 webpage
W3C HTML Validation Service
http://validator.w3.org/

Valid CSS webpage
W3C CSS Validation Service
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

Latest revision: 2001 April 24