Latest news with #Stewiacke
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Headstone jack hard to replace after rural cemetery theft
There's been an outpouring of community support after a cemetery theft in the Stewiacke area. As Luke Ettinger reports, new security measures are being taken to prevent future thefts.
CBC
27-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Stewiacke slows development pending new water treatment plant
A Colchester County town has created new rules intended to curb a development boom, citing concerns over its aging water treatment plant. Stewiacke Mayor Doug Glasser said the capacity of the current system is unknown. He said the plant is at the end of its lifespan and the measures are needed to uphold the water supply for customers. "We want our community to continue to grow, but we have to do it responsibly," said Glasser, who was acclaimed as mayor of the town of more than 1,500 people in October. Previously, the municipal planning strategy said there was "significant capacity" to support future development. Water advisory However, that has not been the case in recent summers, including this week. On Thursday, the town issued a water-use advisory recommending residents take shorter showers and avoid watering lawns, among other conservation measures. The St. Andrews River, the town's water source, is currently low and when it does rain, silt is stirred up in the river, according to Glasser. "The water that's coming into the system is so murky that we can't treat it fast enough. And the machines that are treating that water, we don't know if they're going to last for another week, a month or a year," the mayor said. Following a public hearing on June 9, council approved amendments to temporarily slow the speed of residential development. There are also new restrictions for commercial uses that are water-intensive, such as car washes and laundromats. Under the rules billed as temporary until a new facility is built, development permits for apartment buildings cannot be issued in the serviced area. There are also new limitations in unserviced areas of the town, with only three lots able to be created from an area of land each calendar year. Joely Killen, owner of Ruby's Way Developments, said she was surprised the slowdown of development was the only option the town considered. The developer has about 10 lots that have been grandfathered in under the old rules, but the changes have curtailed a second phase of nine lots and a third of up to 50. "If the town doesn't have growth, then it starts to die and Stewiacke has just in the last few years started to see that development and is ready for more," said Killen, who also owns Winding River Homes and the local Home Hardware store. "As a developer I'm gonna move outside of Stewiacke into other areas that we own land and maybe I don't invest my money back in Stewiacke," she added. Killen said the move by town council feels contrary to priorities of the provincial and federal governments, which have been fast-tracking construction to deal with the national housing crisis. New facility years away Scott Armstrong, the PC MLA for Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, said he supports the interim measures, which will have to be approved by the minister of municipal affairs. "One of the issues around growth is you have to have the infrastructure in place, water and sewer being part of that, in order to have new housing, new developments. And we want our communities to continue to grow," he said in an interview. Armstrong said he will voice support for a new water treatment plant once the town makes an application for funding. The town is applying to the Environment Department for a permit to drill a well, rather than continue to rely on the river. Glasser hopes the federal and provincial governments will each contribute a third of the project costs. Still, he said it could be three to five years before a new water treatment plant comes online.
CBC
11-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Stewiacke property bylaw ruffles feathers of chicken keepers
Social Sharing A Stewiacke resident wants the town council to change a bylaw she says has people who raise chickens walking on eggshells. Two weeks ago, Lynann Wamboldt received notice that she had 15 days to remove the 10 chickens she keeps on her property because they contravene a town bylaw. The bylaw requires that anyone keeping chickens must have a property of at least one acre (0.4 hectares) and can have no more than five chickens on the property. "The panic kind of set in for everyone when they found out. And we thought, OK, maybe we should start some action and see if we can maybe start talking with council and see if we can change to match what we have in HRM and Digby County and Chester areas," said Wamboldt. In the Halifax Regional Municipality, residents on land amounting to less than an acre are allowed to have up to 10 chickens. Wamboldt has started a petition seeking support for a new bylaw she intends to propose to council that emulates HRM's rules. Marc Seguin, Stewiacke's chief administrative officer, says council will respond to complaints about the bylaw at its meeting on Thursday. He said the town doesn't actively seek to enforce the bylaw but in this situation was responding to a noise complaint about a rooster on Wamboldt's property. Roosters are not permitted according to the bylaw. But other chicken keepers in Stewiacke who live on small properties are concerned. "I think it's quite silly, actually. When I heard that Lynann was starting a petition, I was very excited to go out in the community and get as many signatures as we could," said Amber Ratté, who also raises chickens in Stewiacke on a lot that's less than 0.4 hectares. Ratté said tending to her chickens brings her and her neighbours a lot of happiness, as she shares the eggs they produce. "They're my favourite part of my day," she said. "Currently my husband's away on deployment and they really keep me company and they keep my son engaged and they just are very educational." Wamboldt shares her passion for poultry and wants to continue what she's doing in the community as well. "I sell the eggs to co-workers, I gift them to families in need. If I know that someone's having a tough time, I may show up at their door and surprise them with a dozen of eggs and have that conversation starter," she said. Wamboldt said she hopes her proposal to council will start productive conversations. But as the 15-day deadline to remove her chickens looms this week, she said her options are limited. "I don't want to euthanize my animals. I've had them for over four years. Some of them are older and no longer laying and I'm just giving them this place to live until their time comes."
CTV News
23-05-2025
- CTV News
N.S. woman dies following motorcycle crash in Stewiacke: RCMP
An RCMP detachment can be seen in this file photo. (David Prisciak/CTV News) A Nova Scotia woman has died following a motorcycle crash in Stewiacke Wednesday. Colchester County District RCMP responded to a report of a crash on Highway 2, between Main Street and George Street, around 9:30 p.m. 'Officers learned that the motorcycle was travelling on the highway when it left the roadway and went into the ditch,' reads a news release from the Nova Scotia RCMP. Police say a rider, a 46-year-old Salmon River woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, a 61-year-old man from Shubenacadie East, was taken to hospital by ambulance with what police describe as life-threatening injuries. The highway was closed for several hours but has since reopened. The investigation is ongoing. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
