Baseball NL Launches New Introductory Program
Baseball NL has launched a new Step Up to the Plate program to help increase interest and participation in the sport across the province.
Minor Committee Chair with Baseball NL, Kristyn Coley says they put the program together to allow people interested in baseball get all the information they need.
Baseball has grown tremendously in the province in recent years, and Coley says they want to see it grow even further—especially ahead of the 2025 Canada Summer Games.
NL will be the first host of girl’s baseball across the country says Coley. They’ve also included information on their Challenger baseball program for players with diverse needs.
Baseball NL is also hoping to expand into new areas like Labrador, the west coast and central “and we will be reaching out to some local recreation programs in the coming months to set up some programming in those areas.”
Capital City to Begin Collecting Yard Waste
The capital city will begin collecting yard waste tomorrow.
Yard waste will be collected on the same day as recycling until the end of November.
Things such as leaves, grass clippings, plants, shrubs, weeds, twigs and small branches can be collected.
All items must be placed in paper yard waste bags, or, in the case of twigs and branches, be tied together in bundles (measuring a maximum of 60 cm by 60 cm by 30 cm.)
Yard waste can also be dropped off at Robin Hood Bay.
Organ Donor Recipient Encouraging Others to Consider Organ Donation
An organ donor recipient is raising awareness about the importance of organ donation to help save lives.
Robert Lundrigan of Spaniard’s Bay has been living for 15 years with a kidney donated by his wife.
He encourages others to consider organ donation, whether it be a living donation to someone close to you, or to agree to organ donation after you pass.
Families often don’t know a person’s wishes and are forced to make the decision to donate organs at a difficult and stressful time.
Lundrigan says awareness is key, as is communicating your wishes to family members.
He admits, some people get their backs up about suggestions of having to opt out of organ donation at the time of license renewal, but he thinks awareness and education is what makes the difference.
Government Issues Call for Accessibility Grants Applications
The provincial government has issued a call for applications for the 2024/25 Accessibility Grants.
The program replaces the Inclusion and Capacity Grants to align with Accessibility Act to remove barriers and ensure people with disabilities can participate in all aspects of society in Newfoundland and Labrador.
$325,000 has been set aside for Accessibility Grants in this year’s budget.
The Criteria for the grant program is split between two funding streams.
Stream 1 provides up to $15,000 for small to medium projects to improve accessibility in organizations and municipalities. This could include infrastructure work—such as building ramps or paving walkways—or accommodations in events—such as sign language interpretation or captioning services.
Stream 2 provides up to $25,000 for medium to large projects with a focus on developing innovative solutions to improve accessibility. This may include research projects, awareness campaigns or workshops.
The deadline for applications is May 31.
More information can be found online.
Traditional Musician Gerard Hamilton Passes Away
The Newfoundland music community is mourning the loss of Gerard Hamilton, a renowned figure in the traditional music scene.
Hamilton died on Friday at the age of 73.
A longtime fisherman from Petty Harbour, he transitioned to music during the transformative years of the fishery. In 1994, he joined “Folk of the Sea,” a group comprised of displaced fishers from across the province.
Over his career, Hamilton released three albums featuring a blend of original and traditional songs. Notable songs from Hamilton include Salt in his Veins and Jingles the Christmas Cat.
A funeral service will take place at St. Kevin’s on Monday, April 29 at 10 a.m.
Iceberg Alley Riders Urging Safety as Motorcycles Return to Roadways
As the weather improves expect to see more motorcycles taking to the road.
The Iceberg Alley Riders Association wants to make sure that safety is front of mind as riders pull the tarps off their machines after a long winter.
Motorist Awareness Coordinator Les Snow says it’s been a long few months, and you need to “shake off those cobwebs” to make sure you’re ready for the road.
“The bike’s got to be properly prepared to be on the road,” says Snow, with a “thorough spring maintenance and make sure your bike is ready to ride, just like yourself.”
He says the same is true of those driving four wheels. Car and truck drivers have to be prepared to see more bikes on the road and to make sure everyone is safe.
They want drivers not just to share the roads, “but look for motorcycles.”
36-Year-Old Man Arrested Following Incident in St. John’s
A 36-year-old man was arrested for mischief following an incident in the capital city last night.
Police responded to a call of two vehicles driving through the city in a “suspicious manner” shortly after 11 p.m.
They say one of the vehicles had damages that were reportedly caused by the driver of the other vehicle.
Following an investigation, the man was charged and released to appear in court at a later date.
Downtown St. John’s Street Cleaning Resumes Tonight
Downtown street cleaning in the capital city resumes tonight for the summer months.
That means cars parked on scheduled streets will have to be removed before street cleaning operations begin at 10 p.m.
A searchable street cleaning schedule can be found on the city’s website.
Province Marks National Day of Mourning
Today is the National Day of Mourning to recognize and remember those who lost their lives, were injured or became ill while on the job.
The National Day of Mourning is recognized on April 28 each year.
Patrick Dunne of the St. John’s Labour Board says it is important to recognize the day for the families left behind, and to highlight why stronger occupational health and safety requirements are needed.
He says workplace injuries and illness remain a big issue.
He says people are dying because workplace policies are either being ignored, or were never in place to begin with.
Championship Game This Afternoon for Don Johnson Memorial Cup
It will be Nova Scotia vs. PEI in the championship game of the Don Johnson Memorial Cup at the Glacier in Mount Pearl.
The Antigonish Bulldogs, the defending champs, knocked off the St. John’s Caps last night, while the Kensington Vipers eliminated host Mount Pearl in the other semi-final.
Puck drop is 1 p.m. this afternoon.
Province Expands Funding for Community Housing Sector
The province is making funding available to help support community housing.
$1.5 million is available for not-for-profits, co-operatives, organizations and registered charities with the cost of planning and pre-development work in the creation of affordable housing.
Funding is available to help with things like professional appraisals, site surveys, planning fees, preliminary design, environmental assessments and legal fees among other things.
More information can be found on the CHTC website.
Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s Community Members Honoured at Best of PCSP Awards
The Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s has announce the winners of the 2024 Best of PCSP Awards.
MP Joanne Thompson, MHA Fred Hutton and Mayor Carol McDonald hosted the eighth annual awards ceremony this week.
McDonald says the she is proud to be the mayor of such a wonderful town, and thanks the award winners for making a difference in the community.
The 2024 award recipients are as follows:
- Artist of the Year – Kate Dutton
- Business of the Year – Stable Life Inc.
- Coach of the Year – Erin Gallant
- Employee of the Year – Jane Walker
- Female Athlete of the Year – Julia Butler
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Ruth Bugden
- Male Athlete of the Year – Simon Perry
- Municipal Scholarship Recipient – Dawson Finlay
- New Business of the Year – The Mortgage Missus
- Senior of the Year – Vera Churchill
- Service Group of the Year – The PCSP Lions Club
- Team of the Year – Team Perry Curling
- Volunteer of the Year – Alana Giovannini and Bonnie Morgan
- Youth of the Year – Terra Wadman
SPARKS Literary Festival to Celebrate Emerging and Established Local Writers
It’s a weekend for writers and book lovers across Newfoundland and Labrador with the SPARKS Literary Festival on the go.
Set for Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the LSPU Hall, the event will celebrate the region’s literary scene.
Hosted by Memorial University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of English, SPARKS 2024 will feature a wide range of writers from genres like fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and theatre.
It’s an annual event and author and participant Allison Graves, who moved to the province ten years ago, sees it as a great opportunity to read with the old guard of Newfoundland writing. She says there’s also a lot of other cool stuff going on such as an events table where books are on sale.
Graves says live readings are important. She only wishes they happened more frequently. She says it’s very special to hear someone live read something that is new.
Province Mourning Loss of Athlete, Coach Michelle Healey
The province is mourning the loss of an accomplished Newfoundland athlete and respected coach and mentor.
Michelle Healey passed away on Tuesday at the age of 51.
Healey, a native of St. Joseph’s, St. Mary’s Bay, was a star basketball player with the Memorial University Seahawks—being named All-Canadian in 94-95 and 95-96. She was known as the greatest shooter in AUS history, and was named AUS First Team All Star, AUS MVP, she played in the first ever AUS Championship for MUN, she was a CIS Academic All Canadian and was named to the Athletics Honour Society.
She was an athlete in the Canada Summer Games, and was involved in planning for the 2025 Canada Summers Games in St. John’s.
She also played football and soccer, and shared her knowledge and skills with countless developing athletes as a respected coach.
Healey previously served as Athletic Director at Memorial University and most recently as the Director of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Sport and Recreation Division.
The funeral mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in St. Mary’s Bay.
Licensed Insolvency Trustee Encouraging People to Spring Clean Their Finances
A local licenced insolvency trustee is encouraging people to spring clean their finances as a means to keep up-to-date on mounting debt and get rid of payments you don’t need.
Delinquencies are up dramatically across the country, and more so in this province as people suffer the strain of rising inflation and interest rates.
Host of Your Money on VOCM, Nancy Snedden of BDO says spring is a time when a lot of people declutter and clean up after a long winter.
She says many people are struggling and a lot are turning to credit to fill the gaps.
The latest Equifax Consumer Trends report shows that delinquencies—those are payments that are three months behind—are on the rise says Snedden. “It shows that non-mortgage delinquencies are also up, and here in Newfoundland, delinquencies have spiked by 15.25 per cent.”
She says with the rising cost of living, it’s a good time to give your finances the once-over.
“Especially when there is so much changing in regards to finances right now,” says Snedden, “so really looking at your budget on a regular basis and…figuring out…what do I need to do to get my finances in order?”
Restaurants Canada: Industry Still Struggling Following Pandemic
Restaurants Canada is looking for some form of relief from various levels of government to deal with the lasting impacts of the pandemic.
Restaurants were among the hardest-hit by public health measures that were imposed to prevent the spread of COVID.
During that time restaurants had to pivot, providing curbside pickup and other measures, but they lost a lot of employees as well who haven’t come back.
Jordi Morgan says restaurants are operating on razor-thin margins, with 62 per cent across the country just breaking even, or losing money while the rest are only reporting two to eight per cent margins.
“This is really the echoes of the pandemic that we’re dealing with,” says Morgan. That’s why Restaurants Canada is working with federal and provincial governments to find “some relief” against inflation, labour costs, and other pressures that are “really squeezing restaurants quite a lot right now.”
29-Year-Old Woman Arrested Following Disturbance in Capital City
A 29-year-old woman was arrested following a disturbance in the west end of St. John’s last night.
Around 10:30, the RNC responded to the report of an altercation between two women outside a home.
Police spoke to the two women when they arrived on scene, when one become combative. The woman then spit on the two officers.
The 29-year-old was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer.
She was held for court in the morning.
Supreme Court of Canada Will Hear Challenge of NL’s COVID Travel Ban
The highest court in the land will hear a challenge of this province’s move to restrict travel during the height of the pandemic.
The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to hear the case brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on behalf of Kim Taylor. She was denied permission to travel to Newfoundland for her mother’s funeral in May of 2020, as COVID-19 was taking hold.
The province, in an effort to limit the spread of the virus, all but closed its borders on April 29th of that year. Residents were allowed to return while non-residents, like Taylor, who lives in Nova Scotia, needed special permission to do so.
(Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Newfoundland and Labrador, issued the travel ban being challenged at the Supreme Court of Canada.)
But she was refused, leading to court challenges at the province’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, both of which were unsuccessful.
Among other things, the challenge alleges that the travel restrictions were unconstitutional and violated Taylor’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The province’s Supreme Court ruled the legislation was constitutional, adding the decision to deny entry into the province did infringe her right to mobility, but that it was justified under the Charter.
The Court of Appeal then declined to hear the case, saying the arguments were moot because the travel restrictions were no longer in effect by the time the matter came before them.
The Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear only a small percentage of cases each year, weighing the importance of the issues to the public and laws of the land.
It could still be months before the case is heard and the court delivers its decision.
Registered Nurses’ Union Renews Call for Independent Health Sector Safety Council
The Registered Nurses’ Union says now is the time for an independent Health Sector Safety Council to be implemented in this province.
The call comes on the eve of the National Day of Mourning for workers who have been injured or killed on the job.
President Yvette Coffey says violence against health care workers is higher than in any other sector in the province.
She says every other day a Registered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner makes an injury claim with WorkplaceNL, and if LPNs are factored in, a claim is made every day.
According to the union—they and the Federation of Labour—have been asking for an independent health sector safety council for several years.
However, despite the evidence presented, progress has been “glacial.”
Coffey says workplace injuries and deaths are “100 per cent preventable” and “there should be nothing preventing [them] from striving to reach that goal.”
Section of T’Railway Provincial Park in Clarenville Closed Due to Landslide
A section of the T’Railway Provincial Park in Clarenville has been closed due to a landslide in a retaining wall.
The park will be closed from Harbour Drive to Gardiner Place until further notice.
The provincial government says the landslide is being investigated.
Advance Polls Open Today for Paradise By-Election
The advance polls open up today for the by-election in the Town of Paradise.
The race is to fill the vacancy left following the passing of long-time councillor and former Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Laurie.
The advance polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at the Paradise Double Ice Complex and at the St. Thomas Community Centre.
There are four candidates in the running for the seat: Erin Furlong, Jennifer Hiscock, Tony Kelly, and Tommy Maher.
Election day is Tuesday.
Southern Shore Breakers Advance to Final at Allan Cup in Ontario
The Southern Shore Breakers are into the championship game at the Allan Cup senior hockey playdowns in Dundas, Ont.
The Breakers advanced by knocking off the Stoney Creek Tigers 4-1 last night in the semi-final.
Kris Hodge, Jeremy Nichols, Kevin Reid, on a penalty shot, and Stephen Oates scored for the winners, while A.J. Whiffen picked up his third win of the tournament.
The Breakers will face the hometown Dundas Real McCoys in the final this afternoon at 4:30 Newfoundland time.
The game can be seen on CHCH TV and streamed online.
Rogues On Verge of Postseason With Crucial Win Over Lightning
The Newfoundland Rogues moved a step closer to the playoffs with a 110-104 win over the London Lightning at the Mary Brown’s Centre on Friday night.
The Rogues need to win two of three games against the Lightning this weekend in order to advance to the Basketball Super League postseason.
Armani Chaney scored 38 points for the Rogues who outlasted the Lightning despite being undermanned due to injuries.
The Rogues can avoid a must-win situation tomorrow with a win tonight at Mary Brown’s Centre.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
Long-Haul Truck Driver From Stephenville Gone Missing in Ontario
A mystery is unfolding in Ontario where a Newfoundland long-haul truck driver has gone missing, leaving family members back home desperate for information.
Fifty-one-year-old Brian Lush of Stephenville reportedly parked his transport truck at a Petro Pass truck stop in Summertown, Ont., near Cornwall, on Wednesday, but he hasn’t been seen since.
Lush was captured on surveillance video that day, wearing a blue hoodie, jeans and a ball cap.
Family members have taken to social media in the hopes that someone has seen Lush and can provide information on his whereabouts.
Ontario Provincial Police with the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry detachment also issued an advisory in the case.
Weight Restriction Continues on Pitts Memorial Drive During Construction
There is a weight restriction on Pitts Memorial Drive today due to ongoing construction.
The restriction will be in place from 8 a.m. today until noon tomorrow.
The maximum load limit has been set at 12 tonnes, or 15,000 kgs.
Highway enforcement Officers will be on site to enforce the changes. All trucks in excess of the weight limit will be told to use an alternate route.
Wakeham: Mackerel Bait Fishery Decision a “Slap in the Face” to NL
Opposition Leader Tony Wakeham calls the latest decision on the mackerel bait fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence a “slap in the face.”
Federal Fisheries Minister Diane LeBouthillier this week announced a 470-tonne personal use bait fishery in the Gulf despite reports from harvesters and the union that the stock is healthy.
The quota is being split between the Atlantic provinces and Quebec.
Wakeham accuses the provincial government of being “silent on another critical fishery issue.”
One Adult, Five Children Taken to Hospital for Smoke Inhalation Following House Fire in St. John’s
One adult and six children were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation following a fire at a home in the capital city last night.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the St. John’s Regional Fire Department responded to the blaze on Pennywell Road around 11 p.m.
Police say the home was filled with smoke when crews arrived on the scene.
Six residents were home at the time of the fire. The Canadian Red Cross assisted the family with emergency lodging.
The home was significantly damaged, and the fire remains under investigation.
Lotto Max Ticket Worth $100,000 Sold in Whitbourne
If you bought a lotto ticket for last night’s draw, you may wish to check your numbers.
A ticket sold in Whitbourne for the April 26 Lotto Max draw is worth $100,000.
The holder matched all six digits on the TAG portion of the draw.
The jackpot did not go, so that climbs to $31 million for the next draw, which is on Tuesday.
RCMP Investigating Theft of Pickup Truck With Plow in Gander
RCMP are investigating the theft of a truck with a plow from a commercial lot in Gander earlier this week.
The pickup was taken from Killick Tire and Automotive on Roe Avenue sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
The truck is described as a 2006 rusty, grey single-cab Ford -350, with a red Boss snow plow, a back rack, and metal toolbox. The license plate number is COG750.
Thousands Await Lifesaving Transplants as Canada Marks Organ Donation Week
With over 4,000 people in Canada awaiting a lifesaving organ or tissue transplant, organizations across Canada are stressing the importance of signing up to be a donor.
This is National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week across Canada. Barb Gibbons, coordinator with the Organ Donation Program in Newfoundland and Labrador, estimates that there are 60-70 people in the province currently on the waitlist, plus patients who need a heart or lung transplant have to move to Ontario if they are on that waitlist.
About 244,000 people in this province have signed up, but only roughly 5 per cent of those remain eligible at or near end-of-life stage.
To become a donor, you can sign up through MCP. Gibbons says, equally important is to have a discussion with family members so that everyone is aware of a person’s wishes.
