Pugwash Village Appreciates Volunteers

The Pugwash Village Commission responded, last night, to calls for financial help to a pair of community organizations.

The commission increased its annual support to the Pugwash Fire Department. The village has traditionally contributed one thousand dollars to the fire department as part sponsorship of the annual Mackerel Fishing Tournament, set to go this weekend. 

In the past, the contribution was matched by the Bank of Nova Scotia, but the bank withdrew that funding program. While the commission could not replace the bank contribution, they did increase their support by five hundred dollars.

The Mackerel Tournament commits all proceeds to the purchase of a much needed rescue boat.

A request from HarbourFest proved a little more difficult for the commissioners. The group asked for twenty-five hundred dollars, five times the usual donation.

Commissioner Carl Purdy said, “I wouldn’t like to see HarbourFest fold up,” and commissioner Tracey Mundle quickly added, “I would too, but I’d hate to see the village fold-up because we overspent our budget.”

The commission appreciates the tourism benefits of HarbourFest, but the request was too heavy. The village agreed to give the group an additional thousand dollars for this year.

Many Community organizations are beginning to feel the financial effect of the decision made by Scotiabank. Earlier this year, the bank announced they would no longer match fundraising efforts by local groups.

Many organizations had counted on the support of the bank which offered up to five thousand dollars to worthy groups.