CN/Windgate Drive; Comfort centre at BBKCC; HTB driveway; Chase the Ace returns
BEAVER BANK: The Laker News sat down with Upper/Middle Sackville-Lucasville-Beaver Bank District 14 HRM Councillor Lisa Blackburn for her own Councillors Corner interview to discuss several topics that we had on our list to question her about.
CN RAIL/WINDGATE CORNER
Blackburn said her contact with CN has left the company, so she has brought the new person taking over the file up to speed on the issue through a couple of recent conversations.
“He’s doing a little bit of digging, but last I heard it is still under a court process which is certainly slowing down CN’s ability to do anything major at that intersection in the foreseeable future,” she said.
The contact did commit CN to doing the short-term repairs, as necessary.
“He did indicate that a longer-term solution is being engineered and planned for right now,” said Blackburn. “The hope is that a more robust repair will be done in the spring.”
COMFORT CENTER AT BBKCC
During the recent ice storm that left some residents without power for days, the Beaver Bank-Kinsac Community Centre (BBKCC) was opened as a warming centre.
“That’s the exact use that we wanted to see for that building from the moment it was designed,” said Blackburn. ‘We always knew that we wanted to be able to have it open to serve the community when we needed extra assistance during storms, power outages, that sort of thing.
“I’m really glad that we were able to open centre as a comfort area.”
She said they were able to in coffee n donuts, give people a nice warm place to hang out.
“The games are all there for the kids to play and it’s a good spot to go and charge up your devices,” she said.
Blackburn was unsure how many residents took advantage of the BBKCC being opened.
“I know I sent a number of folks in the community to that center when they reached out to me with concerns about when they were going to get their power back,” she said.
HTB DRIVEWAY
While the driveway at Harold T. Barrett Junior High isn’t exactly in her field to get fixed, as it is a HRCE/Provincial thing, Blackburn said she has been fielding many calls about the HTB driveway.
She sits on the school’s SAC so is very aware of the issue.
“The driveway itself is completely the responsibility of the province and the HRCE,” she said. “Now that said, I’ve been working with the principal to get some service to that road and the snow clearing crews have assured the principal it doesn’t matter how many times they have to come back to get it right, they’ll keep coming back after every storm to make sure.”
She said it’s her understanding that the issue is also being looked into by Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank MLA Brian Wong, who is also the Minister of Advanced Education.
“It’s my understanding he is now working on a permanent repair job for that driveway so we can get the kids to and from that school safely, because it is definitely tricky,” said Blackburn. “Even buses are having a hard time getting up that driveway.”
COMMUNITY THINGS
Blackburn said she knows of a few residents who had gotten together to put a beautiful skating rink on Duck Pond in Beaver Bank, which was an attraction for families to get outdoors. (This was before the recent mild temperatures and rains that melted snow and ice away).
She is also aware that the Lions Clubs Chase the Ace has started back up.
Checkout the Lions Club’s Facebook page for more information.
