Port Hawkesbury Mayor Named New President of Municipal Lobby Group

PORT HAWKESBURY - As she marks her tenth year as a municipal politician and her sixth year as the town's mayor, Brenda Chisholm-Beaton is taking on a new challenge that will see her work as an advocate for municipal units across the province. 

Chisholm-Beaton was acclaimed as the new president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM) at the organization's Fall Conference last week in Halifax. Having served as the NSFM vice-president for the previous year under the tenure of outgoing president Amanda MacDougall, the mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Chisholm-Beaton jokes that she'll have MacDougall "on speed-dial" as she settles into her new president's post. 

Simultaneously, the mayor is grateful to her Port Hawkesbury council colleagues and municipal staff for working with her to enable a smooth balance between the NSFM and the operation of the town. She praised incoming Deputy Mayor Hughie MacDougall for being willing to chair meetings and serve in other mayoral capacities at times when Chisholm-Beaton is away from the area on NSFM business, and she also expressed gratitude to outgoing Deputy Mayor Jason Aucoin and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Terry Doyle for their support. 

Also on this week's edition of TELILE 24/7:

24:33 - Town councillor Hughie MacDougall reflects on his sixth go-around as Port Hawkesbury's Deputy Mayor during his 21 years in municipal politics. 

26:18 - Port Hawkesbury CAO Terry Doyle says a major fire at the town's main Public Works depot on October 30 has caused significant damage to town equipment that has significantly impacted everything from street repair to solid-waste collection. 

30:42 - The YMCA of Cape Breton held a morning-long networking session at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Strait Area Campus on November 2, bringing together community organizers and service providers from across the Strait Area and around Cape Breton to see how they could work together in the communities they serve.

37:11 - While Nova Scotia's Department of Public Works (DPW) was hoping to make a final presentation to Port Hawkesbury Town Council in November concerning data collected about the effectiveness of the Destination Reeves Street project, town CAO Terry Doyle now says this presentation may be delayed until the New Year. 

40:00 - From her vantage point as the new president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton looks at the recent votes by Antigonish Town and County Councils to consolidate the two municipalities into a single municipal unit. 

41:58 - Deputy Mayor Hughie MacDougall and Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton reflect on the life and legacy of Port Hawkesbury accessibility advocate, archivist and community volunteer Rilla McLean, who passed away on November 4, a month shy of her 78th birthday. 

This week's episode of TELILE 24/7 concludes at 44:29 with the lighthearted "Fast Five" segment, which features Port Hawkesbury Mayor and new NSFM president Brenda Chisholm-Beaton.