Oxford Town Council Almost Faceless Without Facebook
Oxford Town Council met virtually tonight, in the midst of a global blackout of social media platforms.
The council meeting is usually broadcast on Facebook, from a Zoom videoconference, but with Facebook out of service, the viewing public could not see anything at all.
Media outlets like Six Rivers News have access to the Zoom call directly, which is why we're able to tell you what happened.
The agenda included a few items of note, among them an issue that has much of the county in an uproar—the provincial health authority's plan to move six nursing positions from Springhill to Amherst, which will close Springhill ER service and divert patients to a community half-an-hour up the road.
Mayor Greg Henley informed councillors that there are major concerns among people as to where they should go for medical care, with the lack of staff and facilities sending many people to the ER for care that isn't urgent.
He and his counterparts in Amherst and the County have been meeting with local MLA Tory Rushton, and petitions are underway calling on the health authority to change its plan.
Deputy Mayor Wade Adshade says this simply moves the problem from one community to another, and will increase the wait times at the Amherst Emergency Room as more people are added to the queue at that facility.
RCMP Update
Council also received the RCMP's response to concerns about a lack of visible law enforcement in the town. That's a recurring theme among other communities in Cumberland County. When queried about police presence, RCMP spokesperson, Staff Sargeant Craig Learning submitted an eleven-page report to the Police Advisory Board, detailing officers' activities over the past four months.
Town Clerk Linda Cloney noted that RCMP staffing in Cumberland County is currently facing the challenge of several officers on medical leave—including one assigned to Oxford; two vacant positions in Springhill; and three officers on "graduated return to work”.
Chasing the river stink
Mayor Henley delivered an update, of sorts, regarding August's stinky river issue. Black River and the River Philip, both of which pass through the heart of Oxford, were contaminated with a foul-smelling substance that led to several days of complaints.
As reported last week on Six Rivers Radio on Morning Talk, MLA Tory Rushton said the Department of Environment has not been forthcoming with details of the incident, as their investigation progresses.
Mayor Henley says Oxford has been informed that samples taken for testing by the department have shown nothing that is toxic or dangerous, but exactly what that substance was, is not being revealed. Nor is the source of the contaminant—something the department is expected to reveal once its investigation concludes.
Waste Education and Enforcement
In a special Town Council meeting held immediately after the Committee-of-the-Whole, council reviewed a proposal from the County and Amherst to cooperate on solid waste education and enforcement. With the impending sale of waste management facilities in the region to GFL Environmental Inc., the matter of education and enforcement of waste disposal falls to the three municipal bodies. Council will be asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate with Amherst and Cumberland County at the next regular council meeting in two weeks.
The proposal will see Oxford paying two percent of the costs of education and enforcement, with Amherst picking up 38% and the County, 60%. Funding to pay for those programmes will continue to be drawn from Divert-NS, the non-profit corporation which operates the area's Enviro-Depo facilities.
The Town of Amherst is taking on much of the administrative responsibility, including operating a hotline for the public's questions on solid waste matters, and the production of educational materials to be used by all parties.
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