I like to welcome all students back to school. Stay alert & be safe especially now with Public Health Orders to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 Coronavirus. Your education is important for you to succeed in life. All motorists need to be extra careful with students walking, cycling, commuting or travelling by school bus.

Eastern Shore Recreation Commission (ESRC) is a not for profit organization incorporated through an Act of the Provincial Legislature in 1971 and currently provides stewardship to the Eastern Shore Community Centre (ESCC) & Arena. The ESRC has operated the rink in Musquodoboit Harbour since its inception in 1973. The ESSC is a 37,400 sq. ft. facility, with a full-size arena, community hall, and a heated mezzanine. HRM purchased it from the ESRC back in 2002 and an Agreement was put in place for the overall management and stewardship of the facility. The ESCC is one of the nine arena facilities, being managed by a community partner on behalf of the Municipality. Under the renewed Facility Operating Agreement, HRM will continue to be responsible for and pay all costs associated with capital work, major facility repairs and major building operating equipment. And the www. ESRC.ca will continue to be responsible for and pay all costs associated with the delivery of the services including, staffing, programming costs, utilities and general maintenance of the facility. For more information on this Facility Operating Agreement, go to:  www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/  documents/city-hall/regional-council/200623rc913.pdf

HRM has approved the following 2020-21 grants to support Rural Transportation services in our region. $10,000 Lump Sum Grants for operational core funding to: BayRides (Hubbards-South Shore): East Hants Community Rider; MusGo Rider Cooperative (Musquodoboit Harbour), MusGo Rider Cooperative (Musquodoboit Valley-Sheet Harbour) and $5,000 to Chebucto Community Transportation Service. Furthermore, a Flat Rate Grant of $0.50 per in-service kilometer up to a program maximum of $425,000 to be used by the aforementioned rural transit providers.And if there should be any residual funding remaining at the end of the fiscal year, then supplementary funds can be distributed pro-rata based on in-service kilometers to the approved applicants. More details at:  www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-  hall/regional-council/200707rc1111.pdf

The HRM Property Tax Exemption and Deferral Program is now part of a combined Affordable Access Program. If you need help paying your property taxes, HRM offers a few choices. You can apply for Rebate, Deferral or Payment Plan:

Rebate: if your household income is less than $34,000, the Municipality will pay a portion of your property taxes. The amount of rebate varies with income and residential taxes billed.

Rebate and a Deferral: after the rebate has been applied to your tax account you can postpone payment of the remaining current year taxes. The interest rate is Prime -2% for customers in the program and Prime +2% for those who did not reapply.

Deferral of local improvement charges: Local improvement charges may be added as a lien against a property for services such as sewer, water, or road work. These charges are paid once a year. If you need help paying for a local improvement charge, you can set up a payment plan or apply to defer the charges.

A payment plan: rather than two large semi-annual payments, you can pay in smaller monthly amounts.
Details can be found at:  https://www.halifax.ca/home-  property/property-taxes/exemptions or  https://www.halifax. ca/about-halifax/affordable-access-program

Back in May 2013, HRM Council directed its Department of Parks and Recreation to continue to engage youth, both in their communities and on-line, to better understand the current trends and issues of youth across the municipality. In January 2018, HRM Council approved a two-year pilot project to establish a Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) and they will advise HRM Council on municipal matters that impact youth. In April 2019, HRM staff were directed to provide an annual report regarding trends, issues, best practices, and actions taken with respect to youth programming.  www.halifax.ca/  recreation/programs-activities/youth-programs-services

The latest 2020 annual report provides an overview of the YAC is available on-line at:  www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/  documents/city-hall/regional-council/200707rc1116_0.pdf

The Aid-to-Municipality Program is an agreement between the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (NSTIR) and other Nova Scotian municipalities including HRM to upgrade provincially-owned and maintained gravel roads, (“J” class only) to asphalt or chip-seal. The Province defines “J” class roads as local residential roads with a design speed of 50 km/hr. There were approximately 90 “J” class gravel roads located throughout rural HRM. The new agreement will have HRM & NSTIR to select which provincial gravel roads to be paved each year, by eliminating the requirement for HRM to conduct surveys and petitions. Now we can target a cluster of streets that are close in proximity to one another and hopefully can be linked in with some local improvement capital roadwork the Province is already doing within the same area. NSTIR will continue to cover 50% of the construction cost, the affected property owners will only pay 33.33% of the cost, and HRM will fund the remaining 16.67% of costs. This now coincides and matches HRM Paving Policy for its own gravel streets within the Urban Service Core. For details, go to:  www.halifax.ca/sites/default/  files/documents/city-hall/regional-council/200609rc914.pdf

Nova Scotia Property Tax Rebate program is for seniors who have been receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement in January of the application year. Criteria requires you to have paid your property taxes from the prior year in full. A receipt from the municipality showing property taxes are paid in full is required by the program. Applicants to this program receive a rebate on half of their taxes paid up to a maximum of $800. Applications are accepted from July 1st to December 31st when the program closes. For further information please visit  https://novascotia.ca/sns/access/  individuals/consumer-awareness/property-tax-rebate-for- seniors.asp.

Applications must be post marked by December 31st and are available from Service Nova Scotia by calling 902-424- 5200 or toll free at 1-800-670-4357 or at any Access Nova Scotia Center.

Back in 1980, Terry Fox took his Marathon of Hope through our Eastern Shore communities along Highway #7. Now we can keep his dream alive that cancer can be beaten. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be “virtual runs” on Sunday, Sept.20th in Lake Echo, Musquodoboit Harbour and Sheet Harbour. The Theme is “One Day – Your Way! We Will Unite In Spirit – Not In Person”. Register at www.  terryfox.org/Run  . If you can’t make it to a run, please sponsor someone who will be participating. Or you can text “terryfox” to 45678 to donate $5. #TryLikeTerry @terryfoxfoundation #terryfoxrun

Craig’s Cause Pancreatic Cancer Society will have its 14th Annual NS Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Walk – Run – Bike Trek, in support of Pancreatic Cancer education, awareness and research. Come out to the Porters Lake Provincial Park on Saturday, Sept. 26th. Registration opens at 9 AM and event starts at 10 AM. This bike, walk, run trek event is for all ages and abilities. For more details about registering or donating for this event, call Toll-Free: 1-877-212-9582 or go to: www.  craigscause.ca/page.asp?ID=50