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

Chapter 60
2000 June 1-15


Index with links to the other chapters


2000 June

Aboriginal Fisheries Agreements

Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)

Complete text of the final drafts available on the Internet

This is a PDF document (984kby) which can be downloaded from the DFO website
    http://www.ncr.dfo.ca/COMMUNIC/Marshall/agreements/
        Eskasoni%20Interim%20Agreement.PDF

2000 June

Large Local Bus Company

Lunenburg, Queens, Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby Counties

5,000,000 km a year

The Southwest Regional School Board's 200 school buses are driven more than five million kilometres a year. There are 174 full-time drivers and 16 mechanics in five bus garages across the region. The Board operates the public schools in five counties: Lunenburg, Queens, Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby.
[Bridgewater Bulletin, 7 June 2000]

Reference:
Southwest Regional School Board website
    http://ednet.ns.ca/educ/boards/southwest/

2000 June 1

Sympatico Dialup Numbers

MTT Sympatico Dialup Numbers in Nova Scotia
1 June 2000
All Sympatico local dialup numbers in Nova Scotia now allow connections of 56 kilobits per second, and support V.90 and x2. Use the number that is closest to where you want to connect from. Remember that if you need to call long distance to one of these locations, don't forget to include 1 and area code 902 in your dialer settings, if needed, before the appropriate phone number. If you dial long distance you will incur long distance charges.
Location Local
dialup
number
Amherst 661-4980
Antigonish 863-2977
Baddeck 295-1823
Barrington 637-2831
Bridgewater 527-0120
Canso 366-2519
Chester 275-5467
Cheticamp 224-1920
Digby 245-6513
Goldboro 387-2447
Guysborough 533-2776
Halifax 455-1088
Ingonish 285-2846
Inverness 258-2998
Kentville 678-1074
Lake Charlotte 845-1058
Liverpool 354-2674
Middleton 825-2751
Musquodoboit 384-2869
New Glasgow 755-0292
Noel 369-2610
Parrsboro 254-2813
Port Hawkesbury 625-0167
Saulnierville 769-0788
Sheet Harbour 885-2738
Shelburne 875-2160
Sherbrooke 522-2660
Shubenacadie 758-1895
Sydney 567-6762
Truro 893-0100
Wallace 257-2758
Windsor 798-0246
Yarmouth 742-1046

Source:
Sympatico Dialup Numbers for Nova Scotia webpage at
    http://www.ns.sympatico.ca/help/Account/dialupnsprint.html

2000 June 1

Two Giant Cranes Arrive in Halifax

Unloading post-Panamax cranes at Halifax in 2000

Halterm takes delivery of Post-Panamax cranes

A slow but steady pull with pulleys, cables and winches moved the first of two 1,250-tonne cranes from the deck of the 220-metre vessel Zhen Hua to the Halterm container pier in Halifax on Thursday, June 1st. Specially trained workers from crane builder Shanghai Zhenhua Machinery Company gently moved the first behemoth to its new home.

First, pulleys were connected to four ballast containers on the dock, each weighing 60 tonnes. As the crane moved slowly on four rails, the ship's ballast was carefully controlled to ensure its deck remained level with the dock. The actual moving process took about 25 minutes. The second crane will be unloaded today, June 2nd. Once unloaded, the cranes will be jacked up, their wheels properly positioned and then lowered into place on the dock rails.

Halterm has invested $23,500,000 in the two cranes, five yard tractors, two rubber-tired gantry cranes; and pier improvements required to support the massive lifting equipment.

Made in Shanghai, China

Xiaoyun Qi, project manager for the crane manufacturer, said Thursday the voyage from Shanghai to Halifax, via the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, was the longest ever for the company. Travelling at about ten to eleven knots 20 km/h, the trip took about two months. She said the Zhen Hua was an oil tanker redesigned to transport the cranes. Fully loaded, the ship draws about nine metres of water. The company has four such vessels soon to be in service.

Ship's Extremely High Lading Required Flight Path Clearance

The vessel carries 20,000 tonnes of ballast water in its hull to offset the weight and height of the cranes, which, with boom raised, reach to a height of about 108 metres 355 feet — about the height of a 38-storey building.

Coming into Halifax Harbour, the vessel had to get clearance from Transport Canada because it was moving through a flight path to Shearwater.

With the arrival of the big cranes, Halifax becomes only the second port in Canada to have equipment that can fully service post-Panamax ships, which are too wide for the Panama Canal.

Long Reach

The new cranes can reach across 22 containers on a ship and, with twin lifting equipment, they can move two containers at one time. Each crane will be able to move about 45 containers an hour, roughly 50 per cent more than the existing cranes, says Doug Rose, Halterm's vice-president.

Ms. Qi said her company has built the largest cranes in the world, which can reach 26 containers across, an outreach of about 67 metres 220 feet. Employees of the Shanghai firm will stay in Halifax for several weeks to commission the electrically powered cranes and train dockworkers in their use. The equipment is expected to be fully operational by early July.

[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 2 June 2000]

Crane specifications:
Outreach: 58.5 metres 192 feet
Gauge: 30.48 metres 100 feet
Lift capacity (under spreader): 65 long tons 66 tonnes
Hoist height: 36+21.5 metres
Hoist speed: 53 metres 170 feet per minute
Trolley speed: 240 metres per minute
Drive system: General Electric, DC (direct current)
Source: http://www.zpmc.com/record-4.htm

One long ton   =   2240 pounds   =   1016 kilograms   =   1.016 metric tonnes

References

Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd. (ZMPC) website at
    http://www.zpmc.com/

1998 Annual Report — Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co., Ltd.
3470 Pu-Dong Nan-Lu, Shanghai, P. R. China
    http://www.csrc.gov.cn/CSRCsite/eng/ebshare/e1998ar/e900947_ml.htm
"Notice: The Board of Directors of ZPMC guarantees that this report is free from any significant omissions, false or misleading statements, and will take the individual responsibility and consequent responsibility for the accuracy of this report."

Ports on the East Coast of North America
    http://www.containershipping.com/ports/eastcoast.html

World-Class Ports on the Internet
    http://www.informare.it/harbs/link/p%2Dam1uk.htm
Halifax, Nova Scotia
    http://portofhalifax.ca/
Mulgrave, Nova Scotia
    http://www.tc.gc.ca/atlanticregion/h&pinter/mulgrave.htm
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
    http://www.tc.gc.ca/atlanticregion/h&pinter/nrthsyde.htm
Pictou, Nova Scotia
    http://www.tc.gc.ca/atlanticregion/h&pinter/pictoue.htm
Sydney, Nova Scotia
    http://www.tc.gc.ca/atlanticregion/h&pinter/sydneye.htm


Shanghai ZPMC was established in 1992 and has supplied shoreside container cranes to ports around the world. Wilmington, Delaware, was the first US mid-Atlantic port to take delivery of a ZPMC crane, on June 22nd, 1999. The Port of Miami currently has three ZPMC cranes and the Port of New York/New Jersey has ordered several as well (Summer 1999).
Source: http://www.portofwilmingtonde.com/s99art1.html


Zhenhua Port Machinery Company is number nine on the 1998 List of Asia's Best-Managed Companies.
Source: http://www.gdkelon.com.hk/news/n17.htm

2000 June 1

High-Speed Ferry Begins Third Season

The Cat made a slow but grand entrance into the harbour at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on Thursday, June 1st, carrying 250 people and 100 vehicles for the start of its third season of operation. The twin-hulled ferry, owned and operated by Bay Ferries Ltd., zips along at about 80 km/h, halving the crossing time between here and Bar Harbor, Maine, to three hours. It used to take the former ferry Bluenose six hours.

Allegations of fast speeds near both ports, where smaller vessels operate, have been a concern since The Cat began its run in 1998.

Bay Ferries said Thursday The Cat will enter both harbours at 26 km/h this year and slow down even more in the inner harbours. That's slower than entrance speeds the first year of operation, said Bill Scott, regional director of marine services for Transport Canada. "We never recorded the speed, to tell you the truth, but it was operating at higher speeds than 14 knots (26 km/h) in the outer parts of the harbour," said Mr. Scott.

In January, the State of Maine dismissed charges against The Cat for allegedly travelling too fast in the outer reaches of Bar Harbor. In another case, Bay Ferries agreed to pay $4,100 to five parties for wake damage to small boats supposedly caused by The Cat in 1998. Maine's transportation department is examining data from studies of wakes made by The Cat outside Bar Harbor. This year, Transport Canada will do similar studies. "We'll be monitoring this year to see what the actual wake is ... in Yarmouth," said Mr. Scott.

"We currently operate inbound at 14 knots," said Don Cormier, Bay's vice-president of operations, referring to the Porcupine Island area of Bar Harbor's outer reaches limits. "Outbound we operate at full speed," he said Thursday in Yarmouth. Thursday the Cat came into the inner harbour at Yarmouth at 16 km/h, said Mr. Cormier. The Cat must hold a minimum speed of 15-17 km/h to maintain steering ability, said Mr. Scott.

This year The Cat will also operate a bit longer. "We've extended our shoulder season somewhat, operating a few days later into the month of October," said Mr. Cormier. The ship will run until October 21st. "We added more days in which we do two round trips during the shoulder season," he said. The extension is aimed at encouraging day trippers to come early and leave on the last crossing of the day. Bay Ferries is also imposing a fuel surcharge of US$5 per vehicle each way because of skyrocketing fuel prices. Notices at both terminals say if fuel prices drop, so will the surcharge.

[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 2 June 2000]

2000 June 1

Cape Forchu Light Sold for One Dollar

Seems lighthouses these days are cheaper than a big bag of potato chips. On Thursday, June 1st, the Canadian Coast Guard handed over Cape Forchu lighthouse to the Municipality of Yarmouth for $1. It's the first time the federal agency has transferred ownership of an operating lighthouse. "It's wonderful news," Yarmouth Municipal Warden Chris Perry said following the announcement at White Point, where an international lighthouse conference is taking place. Formal documents will be signed within a week.

The transfer, however, comes with a price tag steeper than $1. Land surrounding the light station — which includes the light tower and a few buildings — is contaminated with lead paint and mercury. Lead contamination came from paint and the small amounts of mercury came from the mercury bath that was used to turn the light. It has since been replaced by ball bearings. It will cost at least $80,000 to clean up the property, but municipal taxpayers won't face an increase in taxes, Mr. Perry said. "We've built this into our budget ... We're financially in good shape for this."

About 45,000 people visit Cape Forchu every summer, said Gert Sweeney, vice-president of the Friends of the Yarmouth Light Society. The society has operated a museum on the property since 1996. Transfer of the light station has been in the works for about four years. "There were a lot of i's to dot and t's to cross," said Nancy McNeil, the coast guard's director of marine programs.

"This special mechanism (the federal agency worked out) allows us to transfer it for $1 in exchange for services rendered so the municipality is going to continue to maintain the light ... for the next ten years," Ms. McNeil said. "We know ten years from now ... we won't need the light station, so we weren't going to put a lot of money into maintaining this structure," Ms. McNeil said. "This way, we can get it in (the municipality's) hands while it still is in a decent state."

Cape Forchu has been a light station for 162 years. The concrete light tower is the property's second lighthouse, replacing the original wooden structure in 1962. As well as the lighthouse, the property is home to the museum, a gift shop and a picnic area.

[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 2 June 2000]

2000 June 1

Now Showing: Death of a Drive-In

Valley operation can't secure long enough lease

The Valley Drive-in Theatre in Cambridge, Kings County — one of only three in Nova Scotia — may have seen its final carload of moviegoers and its last steamed-up windows. Glen Lloyd, who operated the facility last year, said he wanted to run the profitable operation again this summer.
Valley Drive-In Theatre
Click on image for full size view
But he couldn't get a long enough lease from Kings County, which owns the land and the adjacent municipal airport, and the Waterville Airport Co-operative, which manages both properties for the county. Mr. Lloyd, who worked at the drive-in for a decade before taking over last year, said he wanted a lease of five years because he needed to buy equipment and make upgrades for the coming year. But the county and co-operative preferred a lease of three years on the 3.5-hectare site. Mr. Lloyd said that wouldn't be enough to pay off financing for work on the screen, sound system and canteen, the purchase of a new projector and other improvements. "A bad year, bad movies or bad weather, and you'd be sunk," he said.

Mark Bowler, president of the airport co-operative, said the group has its lease only to operate the airport and theatre property until September 2002 and wanted a lease for the use of the theatre property to run as long as theirs. Nor was the county keen on a long-term agreement. Mr. Bowler said he told Mr. Lloyd he could try to persuade the county to agree to a longer term, but negotiations seemed to peter out after that. "I said we could probably make a pitch," he said. "If it was lucrative enough, we wouldn't want to lose the revenue."

Another tenant for the property has since been found, but it won't be used for a drive-in, he said.

The theatre opened in 1952. Mr. Lloyd, who went from a cleanup and maintenance position to ticket sales and then the canteen before taking over last year, said he's "sad to see the end of an era and the end of something I've put 11 years into. "I started at the bottom, and couldn't get any higher than I was at the end."

Attendance and sales were up last year, he said, with up to 100 cars pulling up in front of the screen each night. "If I could ever get the money to open one, I'd do it in the future," he said.

Last August there were only 69 drive-ins left in Canada, compared to 238 in 1961. The first opened in 1946 near Hamilton, Ontario. New Glasgow and Sydney are the last bastions of under-the-stars movie-watching in Nova Scotia. Quebec, where the drive-in is still popular, has 19 of the theatres.

The county purchased the theatre property about 10 years ago to establish a buffer zone around the airport in order to clear trees and brush for clearance around the airfield without getting into disputes with property owners over removal of the foliage.

[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 1 June 2000 and 10 August 2000]

2000 June 3

Theodore Too in Great Demand
Up and Down Eastern Seaboard

Unexpected popularity

If any tugboat has the right to toot his own horn, it's Theodore Too. In just six weeks since his launch at Snyder's Shipyard in Dayspring, the 20-metre tug — with the 1.5-metre smile — has become the most sought-after boat on the eastern seaboard, Andrew Cochran, Theodore's creator, said Friday in Halifax.

The big, friendly tug already has two titles. In May, the Canadian Coast Guard named him Canada's safe boating ambassador and the U.S. National Safe Boating Council christened him its new icon of safety in and on the water. Children kiss him, grown-ups laugh their heads off and at least one real tugboat captain claims he's Theodore's biggest fan.

Mr. Cochran, producer of the award-winning television series, Theodore Tugboat is overwhelmed by the $1,000,000 replica's appeal. (In the series, Theodore, at 56 centimetres, is the most popular tug in a bathtub-size harbour.)

"I never imagined the level of reaction," Mr. Cochran said.

Here's his favourite story — so far. "When the crew was en route to Washington, D.C., in May, they were just entering Chesapeake Bay and they saw a great big tugboat come steaming out to them at high speed,
Tugboat Theodore Too
Click on image for full size view
kicking up a big bow wake to the point where they were a little concerned about what was going on," he said. "The captain got on board and was so excited to see Theodore he got our crew to go on board his tugboat and up in his wheelhouse he had all the toys from the (television) series."

Mr. Cochran's second favourite story took place once Theodore arrived. "We were invited to participate in the blessing of the fleet, which is an annual event in Washington, and we arrived to discover that we were not only participating in it, we were leading the parade of about 300 boats."

Mr. Cochran has a picture of Theodore in the Washington Post to prove it.

Today, Theodore chugs into Annapolis, Maryland, where he will be a guest of honour in that city, renowned as the sailing capital of the United States.

Next Saturday, Theodore will steam into New York Harbour. He'll be in port for about a week of public viewings and for a major American licensing trade show where he'll schmooze with the likes of the NBA, WWF and 20th Century Fox.

The tug will return to Dayspring to take on more equipment at the end of June, then head for Halifax and later for Boston for a parade of sail in Tall Ships 2000, an international gathering of tall ships to celebrate the new millennium. Theodore will return to be with the tall ships when they arrive in Halifax in July. Mr. Cochran, who visits his tug as often as his schedule will allow, has daily contact with Theodore's captain, Bill Stewart. "He says he handles beautifully and feels just like a great big boat," Mr. Cochran said.

Mr. Cochran is now in the midst of finalizing the details of Theodore's extended Eastern Seaboard cruise, tentatively set for early September. The tug will travel as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, taking part in events all the way down the coast. In December in Fort Lauderdale, Theodore will finally get a chance to be in the Florida city's Winter Fest. "The organizers have asked us for the last two years to lead their parade of boats and of course I've told them the problems of leading the parade when you're just 22 inches 56cm long. Now, we'll be able to do it and there will be 800,000 people on the shore watching," Mr. Cochran said.

As for next year, Theodore will likely toot his horn farther afield. Mr. Cochran is working on the logistics of taking his tug to Australia, either on a type of floating dry dock, or on a container ship.

[Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 3 June 2000]

2000 June 5

Agreement on Transfer
of .ca Registry

CIRA will begin operating the .ca Registry
by the Fall 2000

A Vital Part of the Internet

Ottawa, June 5, 2000 — CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority), the University of British Columbia and the Government of Canada today announced they have reached agreement on the terms under which CIRA will assume responsibility for the top-level .ca registry. The transfer from UBC will give the not-for-profit CIRA complete responsibility for managing the .ca domain, part of the system used to manage Internet addresses.

The transfer will be implemented in three stages over the next several months. The first stage, prior to CIRA's assuming responsibility for the registry, will enable .ca domain name registrants to apply for registration of their existing domain names in the CIRA system. The second stage, when CIRA takes over operational control of the registry, will see CIRA activating the registry it created in the previous stage. At this time, new .ca domain requests will also be accepted through CIRA certified registrars, although the rules governing the registration of domain names will be similar to those currently in effect. Finally, in the third stage this fall,CIRA's new rules for operation of the registry will come into effect.

"This is an important milestone for the top level .ca domain. It's the first step to ensure that the .ca domain remains a Canadian resource operated and managed by Canadians," said Glen Bloom, Vice-Chair, CIRA Board of Directors. "We've been working very hard during the past year to ready ourselves for a smooth transition."

In recognition of UBC's fundamental role in developing the .ca domain space over the past twelve years and the goodwill established during that time in the .ca domain space, CIRA agreed to compensate UBC $4,348,800 for the transfer.

"The opening of the .ca domain name to all Canadians confirms Canada's place on the global Internet map," said Indira Samarasekera, UBC Vice-President, Research. "The .ca gives you a Canadian identity."

Since 1988, Mr. John Demco of UBC, has been voluntarily managing the database, which has grown to over 80,000 names. "CIRA is grateful to UBC for the tremendous work they have done to nurture and maintain the .ca registry to date," said Mr. Bloom.

The new process and rules will make Internet domain name registrations in Canada swifter for anyone wishing to establish a presence on the Web.

"UBC has long recognized the need to expand the service to the public so when CIRA and the federal government approached the university it was seen as a tremendous opportunity to expand the registry," said UBC's Samarasekera.

The Government of Canada, through Industry Canada, has supported this private sector initiative in an advisory capacity since the 1997 inception of the Canadian Domain Names Consultative Committee (CDNCC), which ran a public consultation that led to the formation of CIRA. In today's agreement, the Government of Canada formally designates CIRA as the new administrator of the .ca top level domain and will take the necessary steps to ensure that this transfer is recognized by the appropriate international bodies.

CIRA is the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. It is a not-for-profit organization mandated to operate the .ca top level domain. As a registry, CIRA is responsible for setting policy managing and operating the .ca domain database and registering domain names.

Source:
CIRA; Canadian Internet Registration Authority press release, 5 June 2000
    http://www.cira.ca/release.html

Nybbles:

CIRA was incorporated on 30 December 1998, as a not-for-profit corporation with the intention of managing the .ca domain space in the public interest.

As of 9 May 2000, there were 86,976 .ca registrations in effect.

Once CIRA begins registration, domain names will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis, provided that the applicant and its certified Registrar meet all the conditions for registration as well as CIRA's rules.

References:
The Umbrella Agreement, 9 May 2000
    http://www.cira.ca/umbrella.html
The Transition Agreement, 9 May 2000
    http://www.cira.ca/transition.html
The Backgrounder — transfer of the .ca registry
    http://www.cira.ca/backgrounder.html
Questions and Answers about this transfer
(Sample: Q. Why was UBC responsible for the .ca registry in the first place?)
    http://www.cira.ca/qa.html
FAQ
    http://www.cira.ca/faq.html
CIRA Board of Directors — names and brief biographies
    http://www.cira.ca/boardmembers.html
Minutes of meetings — CRIA Board of Directors
    http://www.cira.ca/minutes.html
Framework for the Administration of the .ca Domain Name System
    http://www.cira.ca/documents/cdncc.html

Background on the Domain Name System

The Domain Name System (DNS) has become an essential part of the Internet as its automatic address translator. Any Internet user who uses an alphanumeric address instead of a specific numeric Internet address to identify a system is a DNS user (e.g. XYZ.CA instead of 215.24.23.17). Both of these could be valid Internet addresses pointing to the same computer but the average user finds the alphanumeric version easier to remember.

An additional advantage to using domain names is that users cannot usually keep their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses when they change connectivity suppliers (mainly due to technical reasons) but they can keep their domain name. The same domain name is easily re-programmed to point to the new Internet address. For example if the ACME Company currently uses the domain name ACME.CA which points to a specific IP address associated with its connectivity provider. Should ACME decide to change its Internet service provider (ISP), it would probably lose its current IP address. It could however ask that its domain name point to its new IP address, making it transparent to its customers who use this domain name (which should be most if not all of its customers).

Background and history of the CDNCC
Canadian Domain Name Consultative Committee

The recent evolution of the Internet, the nature of the current .ca policies and the delay involved in obtaining a .ca registration (usually about one week) relative to other DNS administrations such as NSI for .COM, generated widespread dissatisfaction within the Canadian Internet community. It was in this context that many members of the Canadian Internet community met in Halifax in June 1997 (as part of the Net97 conference) to discuss this situation. Following the meeting it was generally agreed that the CDNCC should be created to address the transition from the current management of the .ca domain to a more commercial type of operation. The CDNCC would be composed of representatives from the .ca Committee (current administrator of the .ca domain), the Canadian Internet Society (CISOC), Canadian Association of Internet service Providers (CAIP) and the Federal Government.

Source: http://www.cira.ca/documents/cdncc.html

2000 June 7

Lunenburg and District Fire Department
Celebrates 180th Anniversary

Antique Fire Truck Parade

Bytown Antique Fire Truck Cross Canada Tour Group

LUNENBURG — To celebrate the 180th anniversary of the Lunenburg and District Fire Department, on the 247th birthday of the founding of the Town of Lunenburg, the department has planned a special parade to take place June 7th. The parade will consist of the Bridgewater Firemen's Band, antique fire apparatus, currently used fire apparatus and marching personnel. The Bytown Antique Fire Truck Cross Canada Tour Group will also be in Lunenburg for this event. The Bytown Antique Fire Truck Parade is an official Millennium Bureau of Canada event.

The parade will start at the Lunenburg Community Centre (exhibition grounds) Green Street at 7 p.m. It will proceed through the town via Falkland Street and Lincoln Street to the bandstand. The antique fire apparatus will be placed on display here for the general public. In case of rain the antique fire trucks will be displayed inside the Lunenburg Community Centre Arena.

During the early years, following the founding of the Town Of Lunenburg in 1753, families and neighbours assisted one another when there was an outbreak of a fire, using the best resources at hand, namely buckets, pots, pans, wells, brooks, ponds, etc. In essence they formed their own unorganized bucket brigade.

1757 Fire Devastates Lunenburg

There was a terrible fire in 1757 that razed and destroyed considerable property within Lunenburg and the surrounding area. Through the efforts of Colonel Patrick Sutherland, a grant of monetary assistance was given to the Lunenburg community by the Halifax City Council, to the amount of Seventy Pounds (approximately $200).

The first officially organized fire company was formed in 1820, and in 1829 was given the name of "Crown Fire Company," this being a bucket brigade. The 32 members of this brigade apparently, responded from their homes at the sound of an alarm. Each member had his own leather bucket which bore a crown and the firefighter's name embossed on the front. One of these original leather buckets is on display at the present fire station, in the name of J. Jo's Rudolf. The bucket is approximately 180 years old.

In 1838, the fire company was reorganized and assumed the name of Lunenburg Crown Fire Company this still being a bucket brigade. In 1842 a hand pumper was purchased. This was the first mechanical firefighting device used by the Fire Company. This acquisition prompted plans to build a fire house. Records are unavailable as to the date the first fire house was built, however, we know it was constructed on the corner of Cumberland and Prince Streets sometime after 1842.

In 1886, as the fire company outgrew its facility on Prince Street, a new fire house was built on Cumberland Street in close proximity to the present Firefighters Monument beside the Town Hall.

Horse-Drawn Steam Fire-Engine Bought

Following construction of this new fire house, a horse-drawn, steam-powered fire-engine was purchased. It was a water pump with steam engine and boiler, mounted on wheels, and was named "On Time". The name of the fire company was changed to Relief Company No. 2. In 1886, the motto "deeds not words" was adopted by the fire company and remains the motto of the Lunenburg and District Fire Department today.

Other apparatus such as a ladder wagon, two hose reels, hose and other equipment were added. The fire hall at this location had to be enlarged in 1888.

In 1888 a second fire company was formed. It was known as the Fire Protection Company. The situation of having two independent firefighting agencies lasted about six months after which time it was felt that an overall force of one unit would produce better results. On October 9, 1888 the Fire Protection Company merged with Relief Company No. 2 and became known as Relief Company Number 2 of The Lunenburg Fire Department.

In 1889 following the 1888 incorporation of the Town of Lunenburg, the fire department was placed under the jurisdiction of the town council. Certain reservations and conditions were laid out by the fire department members with mutual agreement of town council. The first water system in Lunenburg was installed in 1895 with hydrants coming into use in 1903. This changed the concept and methods of firefighting again. In 1915, a 60-foot 20-metre bell tower was added to the fire house.

In 1928, as a result of the planned purchase of a fire pumper with gasoline engine and chain drive as well as the ever increasing need for more space to house the fire department's increasing list of equipment, another new fire hall was planned.

The cornerstone for this fire hall was laid June 7, 1928. It was built during the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Town of Lunenburg. This new fire hall was located on the corner of Cumberland and Duke Streets. The fire department was again reorganized and took on the new name of Lunenburg Fire Department.

This fire hall served the community and surrounding area for 48 years. Renovations to increase the size of its four bay doors, to accommodate the ever increasing size of apparatus, was carried out on three separate occasions. Numerous pieces of older equipment were replaced as the years passed; with newer, more modern pieces of firefighting apparatus.

1928 Gasoline-Powered Chain-Drive LaFrance Pumper

Upon acquiring the 1928 gasoline-powered chain-drive LaFrance pumper the old steam pumper "On Time" was sold for fifty dollars for scrap metal.

The 1842 hand pumper and the 1928 LaFrance pumper is on loan to the Nova Scotia Firefighters' Museum in Yarmouth. A 1932 Dodge hose truck is still in the hands of the fire department and is in operational condition. Two old hose reels are on display in front of the present fire station.

During the 1980s after a number of expansions to the fire hall at 42 Duke Street and the need for more space; it was being realized, that a new, larger fire hall was again required.

After severe structural problems arose with the apparatus bay floor; and the need to relocate fire apparatus to the Electric Light Department it was determined that a new building was a priority. In 1993, the planning process was put in high gear and by 1996 a new state-of-the art fire station was built at a cost of $1,700,000.

During this period of time the Lunenburg Fire Department name was changed to Lunenburg and District Fire Department to reflect the important role the District #1 and #2 Fire Commission plays in the operation of the fire department. The parties involved in financing this new building project were the federal and provincial governments, the Town of Lunenburg, District Lunenburg #1 and #2 Fire Commission, and The Lunenburg and District Fire Department.

The new fire station, at 25 Medway Street, was officially opened May 4, 1996. It is located on former Canadian National Railway property where the locomotive turntable once was located. Between 1996 and the year 2000 three new pieces of fire apparatus were purchased through the efforts of the Town of Lunenburg, the District #1 and #2 Fire Commission, and the Lunenburg and District Fire Department.

[Fire department history prepared by Retired Fire Chief Robert Parks, active service 1957 to 1997]

[Lunenburg Progress-Enterprise, 7 June 2000]

Reference:
Bytown Antique Fire Truck Parade
    http://www.fire.ottawa.on.ca/bytown.html

2000 June 7

Centennial Trail Work Continues

The Centennial trail, an eight-kilometre-long recreational corridor running along the former CN rail line through Bridgewater, should be "pretty well completed by the end of July," said town engineer Harland Wyand. Last year, the trail was upgraded for recreational use from York Street to the foot of Silvers Hill, across the former rail overpass. It linked the east and west sides of the town for about 2.1 kilometres.

This year, crews and equipment are at work completing the remainder of the trail in a $168,000 project. The project was given pre-approval for the year 2000-2001 budget. This was done so that people will be able to enjoy the trail this year, said recreation director Carol Pickings-Anthony.

The former rail trestle, just south of Victoria Road, has already been decked in a fashion similar to the renovation work down on the main overpass. A gravel parking lot has been created and the rail route is being altered slightly so that trail users can cross Victoria Road at the High Street intersection.

The parking lot will provide "a good safe place for people to get on the trail," said Mrs. Pickings-Anthony.

Meanwhile, in late June work is to be done from Silvers Hill to Aberdeen Road. Atlantic Shopping Centres, owners of the Bridgewater Mall, are to have the section that passes through the mall upgraded.

Work is also being carried out to bring the trail on past Apple Berry Farm Market behind the LaHave Field and on to the town line at Dayspring. Trestle When completed the trail will run from the town limits at Wileville to the Dayspring line. Completion of the trail is "an exciting time" said Mrs. Pickings-Anthony. It will offer interesting sights and views, she said. The railway trestle on Bridgewater's Centennial Trail has been decked in a fashion similar to the former CN overpass across the LaHave River. The trestle is located in a western portion of the trail just south of Victoria Road. The entire trail should be completed this summer running through town from the Wileville to the Dayspring borders.

[Bridgewater Bulletin, 7 June 2000]

2000 June 7

Adventure Trail Group Seeking Public Participation

BLOCKHOUSE, LUNENBURG COUNTY — In an effort to get public support, the Adventure Trails Association held its first open meeting June 7th at the Blockhouse Fire Hall. The association, established to develop and maintain a trail along the abandoned rail line between Mahone Bay and Bridgewater, is now hoping to get the public involved. Their meetings, held on the first Thursday of each month in Mahone Bay, are going to be open to the public, and the members say they want to hold more meetings in the areas that the trail runs through.

Lunenburg-Queens trail co-ordinator Laura Barkhouse said the meetings are for people to raise concerns about the trail and its use. "Any issues that arise between trail members and adjacent land owners gets addressed," she said in front of a crowd of about 15 at the meeting. The members want to emphasize that all questions put forth will be answered, either at future meetings, or by a phone call or letter from the association.

Along with future meetings, the association is hoping to hold trail walks for the public to see the rail line as it exists now, and as work develops. A few new members signed up, and the association is hopeful that support will continue to grow. Also, Jackie Langille was elected president during the meeting. The association will follow a ten-step guideline for proper development and maintenance of the trail. Some of those steps include designing a plan with the input of the public and then securing funding. Members pay a $10 yearly fee, and will help with everything involved in the association from fundraising to trail maintenance.

[Lunenburg Progress-Enterprise, 14 June 2000]

2000 June 7

Covey's Celebrates 40 Years of Auto Recycling

BLANDFORD — When Hale Covey left his Blandford home to join the Canadian Air Force in 1955, he said he'd never be back. "When I left, I was going to be in the big time," he said.

Forty-five years later, during the 40th anniversary of his Blandford business Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd., Hale said he's learned one thing: "Never say what you'll do because you might do the exact opposite." Which is what he did. After serving as an aircraft technician for the air force, Hale wanted to do something with his knowledge of mechanics and passion for cars. Opening an auto salvage seemed a good idea. "I always wanted something of my own," he said.

Limited funds brought Hale back to Blandford with his idea in tow. There he had free board with his parents, and just next door a building and a lot where he could start his business.

Hale opened shop in 1960, shop being a small 16 feet by 20 feet shack. He worked solo, starting out with no cars and no money.

In 1961, he met Donna Marie, a Halifax girl, at a Chester Basin dance. The couple dated for three and a half years before, Hale joked, visits to Halifax became too expensive Hale and Donna Covey and it was cheaper just to marry her. They moved into a house across the street from Hale's business and his parents' home. Donna said she had to become acclimatized to a country lifestyle and auto mechanics, both foreign worlds to her. She took over the administrative reins of her husband's business, she said.

After ten years in the business, Hale had accumulated about 100 cars. He would repair vehicles and recycle parts for sale. Recycled car parts went for about $2 a wheel, $10 a hood and $125 an engine. Still, business wasn't booming. "There was a shortage of cash and a shortage of automobiles," he said. "It was always a struggle."

Over forty years, this has changed. Word of mouth and advertising have spread, something Hale attributes to satisfied customers and bargain prices. "Why buy something new when used would do? Why put a new car door on an eight-year-old car?" he asked. Covey's used car parts are about 30 per cent cheaper than new car parts.

With more demand, the business grew. Three additions have been made to Hale's one-time 16 feet by 20 feet shack: a 35 feet by 40 feet piece, a 40 feet by 40 feet piece, and another 40 feet by 40 feet piece. The Coveys' last move was to purchase a neighbouring unused fire hall, once Hale's schoolhouse, to use as a storage facility. There are also daily drop off centres in Halifax and Bridgewater.

Employee numbers have also jumped. Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. today employs 14 staff members.

In the meantime, Hale and Donna's family has grown. Born were Debra, Derek and Denise, now grown with families of their own. "Being in the business took its toll on family life, trying to keep the kids going to all their activities," Donna said. But while the kids were growing up, she said, Derek made all his hockey practices, and Debra and Denise were both able to take track, skating, gymnastics and ballet.

Derek has followed his father's footsteps. He is now vice-president of Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. Hale is, of course, president and Donna is secretary-treasurer.

Donna said it's not always easy working together. "The hard part is you work together and you play together. Sometimes it's hard to separate family from business," she said.

Forty years after opening its doors, Hale said, Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. now has over 900 cars and a large client base. The business is totally computerized — Hale uses online and satellite locating services to find car parts all over Canada and the United States.

Also keeping with the times, Covey's is now environmentally friendly. Waste oils are burned in a furnace and used to heat the building.

Although Hale isn't exactly "in the big time" he dreamed of in his youth, he said he has "absolutely no regrets" about opening his Blandford business instead. Donna is planning to retire in two years. But Hale stressed he has no plans to throw in the towel yet. "I'm having too much fun," he said.

[Lunenburg Progress-Enterprise, 7 June 2000]

Covey's Keeps Up with the Times

BLANDFORD — Though it's a 40-year-old business, Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. is current with today's environmental and technological times. Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd., Blandford Hale Covey, Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. president, remembers the first three vehicles he purchased — 1949, 1950 and 1951 Fords. In the early days of his business, Hale said, he picked up vehicles like these using an ex Riverport Fire Department Ford two-ton truck in which he installed a home-made boom and hand winch. Although this system may seem archaic today — Covey's now uses a tilt and load that handles two vehicles — he said the idea of recycling in the 1960s, no matter how you did it, was ahead of its time.

"We auto recyclers were really the recycling pioneers when parts were reused from cars. Paper, cardboard and other recyclables came much later," he said.

Though Hale didn't immediately recognize the environmental benefits of recycling auto parts, today's Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. is an environmentally friendly business.

Not only are more and more auto parts being reused than before, Hale asks why use up all our raw materials and energy to remanufacture something we already have?

"The end of the salvage yard life of our vehicles sees a press come in the yard, pressing the vehicles for shipping out to a shredder where they sell the various metals all over the world to manufacture new parts," he said. Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. also reuses waste oils, which are collected and burned in a factory waste oil furnace.

Environmental awareness is one way Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. has changed to keep up with the times.

A more significant change over the years, Hale and his wife Donna agree, was the business's technological advancement towards computerization.

When Hale started his auto salvage shop in 1960, he said, everything was done manually. Without many vehicles and parts back then, he said, it wasn't difficult to keep inventory this way.

But today, Covey's Auto Recyclers Ltd. now has over 900 automobiles and a large client base. And Hale said the only way to keep track of the business's vehicles and parts is by computer. So, 11 years ago business became totally computerized.

The business has contracts to purchase vehicles and Hale's son, Derek, goes to auto auctions to purchase salvage vehicles.

The business also uses an on-line locating service called EDEN and satellite locating service called ORION to find vehicle parts all over Canada and the United States for its clientele.

It's a technological advancement that has helped Covey's Auto Recyclers to stay a success after 40 years in business.

[Lunenburg Progress-Enterprise, 7 June 2000]

Reference:
Covey's Auto Recyclers Limited, Blandford, Lunenburg County
    http://www.coveys.com/
    Email:   coveys@ns.sympatico.ca

2000 June 9

NDP Leadership Candidates' Websites

The 25th Provincial Convention of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is scheduled to be held in the Dalhousie Student Union Building, Halifax, July 14th -16th, 2000. Delegates to this Convention will choose the next Leader of the NS NDP. The following members have declared their intention to run for the leadership of the NS NDP (in alphabetical order): Source:
NDP website at http://www.ns.ndp.ca/leadership2000/index.html

2000 June 12

MP3 Controversy: Cape Breton Teen's Site had Group's Unreleased Album

Tragically Hip pulls plug on student's site

An MP3 Web site developed by a Cape Breton high school student was shut down Monday, June 12th, after drawing the wrath of rock group The Tragically Hip, Universal Music Canada and the Canadian Recording Industry Association.

The site, www.3mc.spydar.com, offers free, unauthorized downloads of tracks and albums by a variety of artists, including Canadian groups. Two months ago, 3mc began allowing users to download Music@Work, the latest album by The Tragically Hip — even though its official release date was only yesterday.

That discovery prompted an angry reaction by the band's manager, Jake Gold, and its label, Universal Canada, both of whom complained to CRIA about three weeks ago.

"The whole issue was compounded by the fact that it was an unreleased album," said said Brian Robertson, president of Toronto-based CRIA. "Either a master was stolen or someone misappropriated something in the manufacturing process ... Obviously there's a high degree of priority to do something about it."

Brad Touesnard, 18, of Dundee, Nova Scotia, started 3mc last year, but gave the site to a friend after the MP3 controversy heated up. "I was the former owner of it, but it's gotten so controversial. It is illegal, so I got out of that and one of my buddies took it over. But I still own the spydar.com."

After gathering evidence for a few weeks, CRIA's lawyers sent a letter to 3mc, warning them that what they were doing was illegal. A subsequent letter was issued, after which 3mc agreed to suspend its operations. Visitors to the site yesterday were greeted with the following message:

      Account Suspended!
      The account "3mc" or link "http://3mc.spydar.com", has been
      suspended indefinitely pending a statement from the
      Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).
      The owner of 3mc, Hot4tea, has offered to
      respond to emails about this issue. You can email
      him at <countdown1@hotmail.com>

While the music labels may feel as though they've scored a victory in their effort to combat online music piracy, the original developer of 3mc isn't so sure. Mr. Touesnard said he was informed by CRIA that they would not sue if the site was taken down, which he has done. Still, he's not sure the closure of 3mc will stem the exchange of free music, much less discourage its new proprietor (who goes by the sobriquet Hot4tea) from launching another free music site from scratch. "He might decide to put another one up. That's the thing — in my reply email to CRIA I told them it would be better if I left the URL redirection up, because I'm not hosting the pages, I'm just providing a link to those pages. "I provide a redirection service for anyone that wants to sign up, so I'm not liable for the content of the site," said Mr. Touesnard, who said 3mc currently boasts about 1,200 users, a number which is quickly multiplying.

Hot4tea, who admitted to being slightly older than Mr. Touesnard, would not say how he managed to grab The Tragically Hip's latest album a full two months before it was released.

[National Post, 14 June 2000]

References:
Spydar Redirection Service — owner: Brad Touesnard
    http://www.3mc.spydar.com/
3mc.spydar.com Information
    http://3mc.mp3dd.net/information.shtml
Hot4tea site (cached in Google)
    http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:headup.virtualave.net/
        sofa/main.shtml+Hot4tea&hl=en
MP3 Top List
    http://www.mp3toplist.com/
TheHip.com — Official Home Page of the Tragically Hip
    http://www.thehip.com/

Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) website
    http://www.cria.ca/main.htm
CRIA Anti-Piracy Division
    http://www.cria.ca/anti.htm
Definitions of   piracy   bootlegging   counterfeiting
    http://www.cria.ca/define.htm
Internet Piracy
    http://www.cria.ca/internet.htm

What is MP3?

For starters, the "MP" is a shortened form of MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group).

MP3 is a commonly-used term for MPEG-1/2 Layer-3.

MPEG — officially known as ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/ WG11, but commonly known by its nickname, Motion Picture Experts Group — was set up by the ISO/IEC standardization body in 1988 to develop generic (to be used for different applications) standards for the digitally-coded representation of moving pictures, associated audio, and their combination.

Since 1988 ISO/MPEG has been undertaking the standardization of compression techniques for digital video and audio. The original main topic of MPEG was video coding together with audio coding for Digital Storage Media. The audio coding standard developed by this group has found its way into many different applications.

The proliferation of MPEG coded audio material on the Internet has shown an exponential growth since 1995, making ".mp3" the most searched for term in early 1999 (according to http://www.searchterms.com). "MP3" has been featured in numerous articles in newspapers and periodicals and on TV, mostly on the business pages because of the potential impact on the recording industry.

While everybody is using MP3, not many (including some of the software authors writing MP3 encoders, decoders or associated tools) know the history and the details of MPEG audio coding. Karl-Heinz Brandenburg's paper (see below) explains the basic technology and some of the special features of MPEG-1/2 Layer-3 (aka MP3). It also sheds some light on the factors determining the quality of compressed audio and what can be done wrong in MPEG encoding and decoding.

The MPEG Home Page — This is the home page of the Motion Picture Experts Group...
    http://www.cselt.it/mpeg/
The MPEG Audio Page
    http://www.tnt.uni-hannover.de/project/mpeg/audio/
MP3 and AAC Explained, by Karl-Heinz Brandenburg.
Presented at the AES 17th International Conference, Florence, Italy, September 1999
    http://www.cselt.it/mpeg/tutorials.htm

2000 June 12

$114,285 Contract Awarded for Local Area Network

Novell versus Microsoft dispute boils over in Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, LUNENBURG COUNTY — A local businessman is questioning the town's commitment to Bridgewater's marketing plan after his company lost a bid to a Halifax firm. "If they're serious about building a high-tech community here then how do they justify awarding a contract to a more expensive bidder that's not from the South Shore and will not create any jobs or cause any money to be spent here," said Rick Hamilton, a Microsoft certified trainer. His company, Hamilton Net Solutions 2000, was runner-up in the bid to manage Bridgewater's local area network (LAN). "I certainly have the certifications, qualifications and experience to manage the town network," he said.

The $114,285 contract was awarded to MITI Information Technology Inc. on June 12th. Although Mr. Hamilton's bid was $30,000 less, MITI scored higher in every other category. The criteria used to evaluate the proposals were personnel experience, firms experience, knowledge of system, quality assurance and quality control, project description and cost.

Mr. Hamilton was particularly concerned, he said, because the contract was awarded the same week the Bridgewater Marketing Plan Steering Committee presented its plan to the public. The town has been one of the driving forces behind the project, which created a technology-related marketing plan for economic growth.

"I don't see them supporting, fostering local high-tech business. They're not creating an atmosphere for us to grow, for us to build," he said. "Infrastructure isn't just highways or hospitals or the big pipeline for the internet. It's also the technical support staff that you need. They just don't miraculously appear in your community."

But town manager Ken Smith said that's part of the plan. "The whole thing has to grow at the same time. If you have a strong information technology (IT) environment here it provides more business therefore it makes it more economically viable," he said. "Right now we don't have a framework within which to operate. That's the advantage to this (plan)." There were many factors involved in the town's decision, he said. MITI is an established company and has a diversified knowledge. Staff felt that company would provide the best value for money. "With a smaller firm there can be a drastic change in service with the loss of just one person for the short or long term," said the report to council. While MITI's rates are fixed for three years, the town can cancel the contract with thirty days notice. Bridgewater does not have a preferential purchasing policy.

"Unless two bidders are equal we cannot pick local over outside. In most municipalities that's a thing of the past," said Mr. Smith. "His proposal scored highly among the staff here. It's just that MITI scored higher."

Mr. Hamilton, a Microsoft certified trainer, also expressed concern over the community college's decision to remain with a Novell network. That means he doesn't have a place to train. It also means students aren't graduating with the skills they need to compete in a high-tech world because the majority of all non-internet business networks sold in North America over the past few years have been Microsoft networks, he said.

"If you were to poll businesses in Lunenburg County on what networks they've purchased in the last two years you would find that 90 per cent figure would hold true for this area as well," said Mr. Hamilton. "If the community college is not training local people to maintain, operate, administer, fix, troubleshoot the networks used by the businesses in Lunenburg County, then the businesses in Lunenburg County are certainly at an economic disadvantage when they have to pay a Halifax firm to come out here to fix it."

Mr. Hamilton, said he and his partner Liz Andrews, a Microsoft certified systems engineer, are both being recruited to other areas because there's a shortage of Microsoft trainers. She is a long-time resident and he has lived in the area about five years.

The college's principal Cathy McLean, a member of the Bridgewater marketing plan steering committee, said it's recognized that the infrastructure is not yet in place. The Lunenburg campus is set to offer one of the province's first e-commerce diplomas this September. "The programs that we currently offer at the community college reflect the needs of industries that currently exist in the area. Our ultimate objective is for students to find employment," she said. "This plan though will position us in such a way that there may be opportunities for employment in these areas. If that's the case, then we'll certainly be looking at Microsoft certified training."

[Bridgewater Bulletin, 21 June 2000]

2000 June 13

MP Pension Calculations Available OnLine

On this day, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation posted, on the Internet, calculations of pension benefits for each sitting Member of Parliament. For example:

Casey , William D. (Bill)   Cumberland-Colchester
Total years of service: 8 years 3 months 6 days
Age: 55
Best six years: 1988- 1993/ 1997- 2000
Basic pension amount at age 55: $24,044.74 per year
Total pension payment, age 55-75: $614,214.63

Notes:
(1) Years of service and age are calculated as of September 2000
(2) The pension calculations are based on a series of assumptions, such as:
(a) MPs are defeated or retire (and begin collecting their pensions) in September 2000.
(b) Indexing for inflation is calculated at 2.5% per year.
The assumptions are stated in full at the bottom of the CTF document.

13 June 2000, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Source: http://www.taxpayer.com/newsreleases/federal/June13-00.htm


Current Members of Parliament representing Nova Scotia districts: Source:
    http://www.parl.gc.ca/36/senmemb/house/
        MemberList.asp?ProvCd=NS&Lang=E&Home=SenMemb

2000 June 13

Mahone Bay Buying New Fire Truck

Mahone Bay is getting a new fire truck. Town council agreed June 13 to release up to $80,000 held in a reserve equipment fund to the fire department to assist with the purchase. The department will also chip in money, plus they have secured a bank loan for $125,000. The cost of the new pumper will be about $225,000.
[Lunenburg Progress-Enterprise, 21 June 2000]

2000 June 14

Centre CAP Site Opened

CENTRE, LUNENBURG COUNTY — The South Shore's link to the world is now open to the public at Centre Consolidated School. The new community technology access site, called Centre CAP (Community Access Program), offers opportunities for area residents to learn about and use advanced computer technology.

Bruce Shisler is the CAP co-ordinator for the site. He says the community will benefit from being able to keep up with the fast-paced world of computer technology. "We are catering for people who've never been on a computer before," he says. The site houses several new iMAC computers that are also used by Centre students.
sentry CAP site
CAP co-ordinator Bruce Shisler helps
Grade 7 student Matthias MacLellan with
one of the new iMAC computers at the
Centre Community Access Project site.
The program started about three weeks ago with limited hours and will expand those hours during the summer. Along with the open access, Mr. Shisler says he will be running several programs for all ages throughout July and August. Children might be interested in weeklong workshops on digital cameras or making your own calendar. Short programs will be run Monday evenings throughout the summer on such topics as gardening on the Net, travel planning and genealogy. Wednesday afternoons have been designated for seniors and every Friday a graphics workshop for adults will be run. Also, site users can find out information on anything from basic Internet skills to designing your own web page. "We're very flexible," Mr. Shisler says.

With the help of two students, Mr. Shisler expects a busy summer at Centre CAP, being open for 40-50 hours a week. The Community Access Program was developed to bring the best in computer technology to rural communities through their schools. Mr. Shisler hopes people will drop by and see the multitude of things available, especially on the Internet. "There are some useful things on here," he says. "So many businesses and services use the Net." He also points out that people can save money on long distance telephone costs by sending e-mails to friends and relatives around the world. "It's easier to send an e-mail than go to the post office."

Until June 26th, the Centre CAP is open 2:00pm - 6:00pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Throughout the summer, the site will be open on Mondays from 12:00 noon - 4:00pm and 6:00pm - 9:00pm, Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00am - 4:00pm and 6:00pm - 9:00pm, Fridays from 9:00am to 4:00pm, and Saturdays from 9:00am to 12:00 noon.

[Lunenburg Progress-Enterprise, 14 June 2000]

Reference:
Centre Community Access Project website at
    http://centrecap.ednet.ns.ca/
    Email:   centrecap@staff.ednet.ns.ca

2000 June 14

New Germany Trail Picking up Steam

NEW GERMANY, LUNENBURG COUNTY — The abandoned rail lines from New Germany to Middleton, and New Germany to Caledonia are the centre of attraction for a group of trail enthusiasts. Over the past few months trail users, trail developers and municipal representatives have been meeting in Springfield to discuss the potential of the trail. It was concluded at the last meeting that there is enough interest in seeing the trail developed that the group will move forward. A steering committee has been formed to develop an association who will start the ten-step process outlined by Department of Natural Resources in developing the abandoned rail lines into multi-use trails. The first stop is to form the association. The steering committee is looking for people who share their same belief that this multi-use trail should be developed. An association is forming and that here is your chance to get involved. If you or an organization you belong to believe that the trail should be developed and you would like to be involved, this is your invitation. A meeting is scheduled for June 27th at the Springfield Fire Hall starting at 6:30 p.m. Everyone interested in working on this project is invited to attend.
[Bridgewater Bulletin, 14 June 2000]

2000 June 15

The Awful Truth Scheduled for Bravo! Canada in September

Produced by Salter Street Films

The American who directed Roger & Me and Canadian Bacon has created another "Canadian" TV show.

Salter Street Films, the Halifax company behind such productions as This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Made in Canada, announced at this week's Banff Television Festival that Michael Moore's new show, The Awful Truth, will debut on the Bravo! cable television channel in Canada in September.

The series, which has aired on Bravo! in the U.S. and on Channel 4 in the U.K., features more of Moore's left-wing satire. Like his film Roger & Me and previous TV series, TV Nation, it combines staged mischief, ambush journalism and tenacious muckraking.

"I wanted this to be a Canadian show," said Moore, the indie icon and social satirist whose screening was the only sold-out event at the week-long conference. "The only way to tell true stories about America was to leave the country so we could come back."
Michael Moore
The first season of The Awful Truth was produced by Channel 4. It is now co-producing the show with Salter Street, which owns and produces the show. Salter Street Films has its main office at 1668 Barrington Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Moore said he approached the big Canadian broadcasters — Global (which carried TV Nation), CTV and CBC — but The Awful Truth didn't have the requisite Canadian content.

Moore says the key creative and technical people, 13 of them, are Canadian — including the editor, writer and producer, as well as executive producer Michael Donovan. Moore himself is one-quarter Canadian; his grandfather was from Ontario and Moore knows how to sing the national anthem in English and French. To prove it, Moore opened a screening session of The Awful Truth at the festival by singing O Canada, whereupon the entire audience stood up and sang with him.

Moore said two of The Awful Truth's twelve episodes include Canadian segments. In one, he targets Molson, which Moore said told laid-off workers in Barrie, Ontario, they could not be transferred to Toronto (70 kilometres away) because there was too much of a "cultural difference."

"They made it seem as though they were as far apart as Newfoundland is from the Yukon," said Moore. He trained the Barrie workers to be more Toronto-like, then took them to Toronto to show company bosses the Barrie workers can make beer just as well as any Torontonian.

The other Canadian segment was based on an incident in which it took New York subway riders five hours to notice a man had died. Moore placed a dead-looking dummy on Queen Street in Toronto, on South Kensington in London and in Times Square in New York to see which passersby would respond fastest. Canada won. But not before a number of people stepped right over the body without stopping their conversations.

The remaining segments in the 12-show series are American. "I hope this show is a weekly warning signal to Canadians, especially the shows we do about America, that says don't be like us. It's not that happy a road," said Moore.

Moore said the big U.S. networks won't back his shows because his stuff scares off advertisers. In Canada, he said, "they get it. They're not frightened to take risks, or by things that deal with political issues and they have a sense of humour."

Moore played clips from two shows, including one that prompted Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes' famous mosh-pit dive. Travelling with a "roving mosh pit" — a truck full of teenagers dancing to Rage Against the Machine songs — Moore asked every candidate to join in. Only Keyes, on the urging of his teenage daughter, tried it. He was later criticized by opponents.

On some of the other shows in the series, Moore holds a pep rally outside an execution in Texas, runs a ficus tree as a candidate for U.S. Congress and gets back at a British-owned Holiday Inn in Minnesota for deporting its Mexican maids for trying to start a union.

The Awful Truth will air Saturday nights at 11:00pm ET.

[Halifax Daily News, 14 June 2000]
[National Post, 15 June 2000]

References:
Salter Street Films Limited's website at
    http://www.salter.com/
Bravo! Canada website
    http://www.bravo.ca/
Bravo! United States website
    http://www.bravotv.com/

Michael Moore FAQ (Part 1 of 3)
    http://www.faqs.org/faqs/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part1/
    http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part1.html
Michael Moore FAQ (Part 2 of 3)
    http://www.faqs.org/faqs/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part2/
    http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part2.html
Michael Moore FAQ (Part 3 of 3)
    http://www.faqs.org/faqs/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part3/
    http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part3.html

Michael Moore
    http://www.bravotv.com/MM/index.html
Dog Eat Dog Films &$150; Michael Moore's production company
    http://www.dogeatdogfilms.com/middlepage.html
The Awful Truth
    http://www.theawfultruth.com/
Michael Moore Open Letter: Kayla Rowland, Flint, and Us
    http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/msg00051.html
Michael Moore, biographical notes
    http://www.pibooks.com/moore/bio.html
Interview with Michael Moore
    http://mrshowbiz.go.com/interviews/408_1.html
Talking with Michael Moore
    http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue06/features/mmoore.htm
Rage Against The Machine Shoots Video With Michael Moore
    http://www.mtv.com/news/headlines/000126/story13.html
Downsize This! by Michael Moore
    http://www.oxfordbooks.com/bs/downsizethis.html


Index with links to the other chapters



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 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 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

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Latest revision: 2000 November 26