Thorburns of Nova Scotia

10/07/2024

This man is a legend; like so many ambitious hard-working fishermen.

09/28/2024

 YOUR voice matters. It matters who represents this district at the council table.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION WILL BE SOUGHT IN THE NEAR FUTURE ON MUNICIPAL PLANNING AND OUR BYLAW REVIEWS. The Province Of Nova Scotia has mandated minimum planning of all 49 municipalities in the Province Of Nova Scotia.

How do you envision your community into the future?
Lend your voice to this upcoming public process. Be involved.

05/31/2023

To the community members of the District of the Municipality of Shelburne:

As of Saturday, May 27, there is an out-of-control fire covering close to 19,000 hectares of our community and beyond. The fire is extremely active and community members should prepare to be in this wildfire situation for an extended period.

We are very grateful to the many individuals and resources that have been deployed to protect our community and its residents. This includes over 50 Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) staff, over 40 volunteer firefighters, four helicopters, two CL 415 air tanker, and much more. Crews have recently arrived from PEI to join us in fighting this fire.

We understand residents are worried about their homes and properties, and while we have confirmed that some structures—including homes—have been destroyed, and some are still threatened, there are no firm details on the numbers yet. Right now, the main priority is the safety of residents and fire crews. Updates will be forthcoming once it is safe to access the affected areas.

Power has recently been shut off on Shore Road. We understand community members were checking in on the status of their homes and properties via security cameras, however, it is important to note that camera feeds may stop due to ongoing power outages.

We will post separate updates regarding food, shelter, accommodations, and evacuation registration. We appreciate the help being provided by various organizations and community groups. Please check this page and www.novascotia.ca/alerts often for continued updates.

We all must abide by the evacuation notices and not return to the evacuation zone unless authorized to do so. It is important residents do not use waterways in the evacuation zone as this can impede fire suppression operations. These waterways are for access by the water bombers only. Please stay out of the waterways.

Drones must not be flown anywhere within the evacuation zone. They are extremely dangerous to aircraft and personnel. Drone use results in the grounding of air resources and fire suppression operations.

Earlier today, some residents of Birchtown received misinformation from the RCMP about a possible evacuation. The RCMP asked that we extend apologies on their behalf to residents for this miscommunication and reiterate that no new evacuation orders were announced today.

We strongly encourage residents to have go-bags and emergency kits prepared. We will give as much notice as possible for any new evacuations, but please be prepared so you can evacuate in a safe and timely manner.

We have heard from residents that more information is necessary and have increased our resources and approach to delivering timely and relevant information to the public in a more efficient manner. Please be mindful that this is a fluid situation and updates can only be provided once all information has been confirmed with the relevant authorities. Please refer to information on this page and from emergency officials for accurate information and do not spread misinformation.

Please continue doing your part in supporting one another and be prepared to evacuate if necessary.

04/03/2023

10/31/2022

Community building, community connections, community sharing it’s history and building it’s future.

Please join our fishermen and families for our first SANDY POINT annual BLESSING OF THE FLEET with a community potluck supper at the LIGHTHOUSE afterwards 4 - 7 p.m.

Contact Mike Holmes or any other St Peter’s By The Sea executive for further information; Bev Burke, Wayne Butler, Agnes Abbott, Ruth Thorburne, Ellen Nickerson, Phyllis Antonio or myself.

Please share.

10/03/2022

I received a phone call this morning from our County representative, Nolan Young- MLA for Shelburne County. I have received these calls consistently since NOLAN has taken the reins, representing Shelburne County.

I am heartened by his work ethic and by his acknowledgement that his allegiance is to the residents of Shelburne County. There will always be competing interest in politics and as a new counsellor myself, I fully understand this.

This morning Nolan was checking in with our municipal position on recycling out of the construction and demolition site. As a municipal unit and a council, it was decided that given the risk and liability to the municipalty as the only remaining unit in the province of Nova Scotia, we were the only unit to remain open to scavenging. The risk was decided to be too great.

Out of this, in my district, there is a citizen that started a recycle Facebook group and cudos to that individual for that initiative, and ultimately at the C&D site, there is no sourcing material from this site.

Nolan and I discussed healthcare, some of the current challenges and some solutions. I think as citizens generally, we can see the challenges that we face. It is not good enough to complain. We need to bring solutions to the table and then ultimately land these solutions with the appropriate decision makers.

The last thing we talked about was offshore wind developments. This is a particular concern of mine, particularly given the prospect of a wind development project in Sandy Point, that was not given the greenlight on this phase of procurement.

REGARDING ANY OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENTS, it is critically important as the feds move forward with the province that OUR fisherman are at the decision-making table, the Canada Nova Scotia offshore petroleum board will be incorporating big wind, as well, into this board. As I write this, I do not know what stage the decision makers are at, if wind is now incorporated into this decision making body.

It is important fir me to recognize citizen scientist John Davis who requested advocacy from our Municipality on this matter. Our municipal unit did connect on an advocacy level with Jonathan Wilkinson, federal minister for Natural Resources. As citizens, we need to understand that our fisherman are protected, protected through recognition that there must be no disruption to our lucrative fishing grounds. Our fishermen require a voice at that particular decision making board, the CNSOPB. Our fishing grounds are a NATURAL RESOURCE asset that we must protect, from an economic sustainability perspective, as we move forward on the energy front. Our fisheries must not be collateral damage.

I wish to recognize our MLA NOLAN YOUNG for his service, his work ethic and his representation of his constituents at the provincial decision making table.

Thank you, NOLAN YOUNG.