An Identity Crisis ; 2009 Kentville Grand Street Parade
.
Spectators await the 2009 Kentville Grand Street Parade
.
An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last major transportation humiliation to be forced onto a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from an outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? And so this long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? A cold hearted eviction had also left our young Air Cadets at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and the next generation will have to grow up without this valuable nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so what was once a thriving Aviation center that had taken decades to build and establish, was suddenly transformed into a barren lifeless plot of land where unsupervised children ride bikes on the deteriorating asphalt runway that had once served as a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, the calculated forced closure and loss of a very important member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that would greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and an uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end a devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a gain for Greenwood, and Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, the existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to now be bused to a nearby town of Canning ? This left only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify with Kentville as their home school, a student education situation that still remains in Kentville ? There is no movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and it was never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it was never replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now theres just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace Wandlyn's many hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a good exchange for the community ?
The July 1st Canada Day traditional town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is known to be one of the most identifiable entitlement provided by town utility services ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges customers 10,000 dollars just to turn their water on at roadside ? And then after this large up front financial layout by the brand new customer, he still has to handle all yard trenching and household plumbing work himself ? And in return for this large initial investment, the valued new customer is rewarded with the receipt of a water bill from Kentville each month ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge that traverses Cornwallis River ? And so now the local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created a safety hazard ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own parade returned home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom week ? No explanation was ever given and no replacement or apology ever offered by the Town for this devastating loss taken by the citizens of Kentville ? And Kentville has lost the most identifiable of all its citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess, after the newcomer ABF Directors showed uncommon disrespect, disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by many other nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or included in the Parade ? Kentville has lost yet another well known identifiable citizen as well as a wonderful Ambassador that performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, steps backwards, cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for the Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the ongoing absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys burgers, the loss of one of 2 Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and the heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and end of Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and has been symbolically married for decades to the Town name Kentville ? There also remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists that was created when the Wandlyn hotel complex had burned down and not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues was ever replaced ?
And in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments have been taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, in a recent Town election, it looks like most candidates that ran are relative newcomers to this area after recently moving here and as such might be unfamiliar with many of the Kentville traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates have even naively described the town as a kind of blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville type movie set location with busy happy go lucky villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and international eateries ? And apparently the new Mayor, also a newcomer, and new local business owner, appears to have befriended and may have been influenced by ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to illegally shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, skydiving academy, a national flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulations to himself on the enlargement of the size of his downtown retail store and his own personal happiness over having a new (taxpayer funded) sidewalk installed in front of it, while failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and unemployment, the opioid crisis, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the loss of Princess Kentville, tourists complaints of no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There has also been the recent sad eradication the historic all Valley Apple Blossom Festival and the local Parade, and also the current Town housing crisis and high rental increases, and the growing rate of downtown business bankruptcies, and the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum display ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also the severe deterioration in the quantity and quality of Kentvilles famous Grande Street Parade, and one unsafe situation where normal residents (incl Seniors) were perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also a plea to 'bring our local high school students back home' , and also the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events that exceed grade school level ? There was also the controversial hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance of the famed heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course their was the recent flood crisis ? There was also the question of why would a Provincial Government force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then not offer to replace it but just leave the area without one ? And there's also the urgent need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of unopposed takeovers of so many local small businesses by newly arrived foreigners when locals can't find work, and then there's the ongoing growing establishment in Kentville of an exclusive Ontarioville type town situated within a town ? And there's also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There were also concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that made some of the streets unfit to drive on, while a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that's smooth as a baby's bum, and then the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, is it now the time to stop the influence of newcomer mentality and unfamiliarity , and to make it mandatory that all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect and retain the Town's unique character, diversity, identity, and many of the longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ! ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...
An Identity Crisis ; 2009 Kentville Grand Street Parade
.
Spectators await the 2009 Kentville Grand Street Parade
.
An Identity Crisis ;
Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?
A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?
Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last major transportation humiliation to be forced onto a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from an outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? And so this long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? A cold hearted eviction had also left our young Air Cadets at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and the next generation will have to grow up without this valuable nearby aviation training and education facility ?
And so what was once a thriving Aviation center that had taken decades to build and establish, was suddenly transformed into a barren lifeless plot of land where unsupervised children ride bikes on the deteriorating asphalt runway that had once served as a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, the calculated forced closure and loss of a very important member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that would greatly improve and benefit the local area ?
After months of homelessness and an uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end a devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a gain for Greenwood, and Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?
When the original KCA town School closed down, the existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to now be bused to a nearby town of Canning ? This left only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify with Kentville as their home school, a student education situation that still remains in Kentville ? There is no movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and it was never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it was never replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now theres just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace Wandlyn's many hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a good exchange for the community ?
The July 1st Canada Day traditional town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is known to be one of the most identifiable entitlement provided by town utility services ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges customers 10,000 dollars just to turn their water on at roadside ? And then after this large up front financial layout by the brand new customer, he still has to handle all yard trenching and household plumbing work himself ? And in return for this large initial investment, the valued new customer is rewarded with the receipt of a water bill from Kentville each month ?
They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?
They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge that traverses Cornwallis River ? And so now the local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created a safety hazard ?
In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own parade returned home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom week ? No explanation was ever given and no replacement or apology ever offered by the Town for this devastating loss taken by the citizens of Kentville ? And Kentville has lost the most identifiable of all its citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess, after the newcomer ABF Directors showed uncommon disrespect, disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?
In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by many other nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or included in the Parade ? Kentville has lost yet another well known identifiable citizen as well as a wonderful Ambassador that performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, talent and beauty wherever she went ?
After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?
And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, steps backwards, cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for the Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the ongoing absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys burgers, the loss of one of 2 Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and the heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and end of Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and has been symbolically married for decades to the Town name Kentville ? There also remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists that was created when the Wandlyn hotel complex had burned down and not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues was ever replaced ?
And in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments have been taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?
And, in a recent Town election, it looks like most candidates that ran are relative newcomers to this area after recently moving here and as such might be unfamiliar with many of the Kentville traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates have even naively described the town as a kind of blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville type movie set location with busy happy go lucky villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and international eateries ? And apparently the new Mayor, also a newcomer, and new local business owner, appears to have befriended and may have been influenced by ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who doesn't live in Kentville but resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to illegally shut down and evict the local municipal Airport, skydiving academy, a national flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And then there's the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulations to himself on the enlargement of the size of his downtown retail store and his own personal happiness over having a new (taxpayer funded) sidewalk installed in front of it, while failing to mention town issues like the terrible poverty and unemployment, the opioid crisis, the cost of living crisis, the homeless problem, the loss of Princess Kentville, tourists complaints of no place to stay, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witnessing a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There has also been the recent sad eradication the historic all Valley Apple Blossom Festival and the local Parade, and also the current Town housing crisis and high rental increases, and the growing rate of downtown business bankruptcies, and the need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum display ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also the severe deterioration in the quantity and quality of Kentvilles famous Grande Street Parade, and one unsafe situation where normal residents (incl Seniors) were perched precariously aboard a stop and go, open air, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also a plea to 'bring our local high school students back home' , and also the Town failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events that exceed grade school level ? There was also the controversial hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance of the famed heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course their was the recent flood crisis ? There was also the question of why would a Provincial Government force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then not offer to replace it but just leave the area without one ? And there's also the urgent need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to the customer by Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of unopposed takeovers of so many local small businesses by newly arrived foreigners when locals can't find work, and then there's the ongoing growing establishment in Kentville of an exclusive Ontarioville type town situated within a town ? And there's also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks still in need of attention ? There were also concerns over the Spring pothole epidemic that made some of the streets unfit to drive on, while a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that's smooth as a baby's bum, and then the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? There was also the inconvenience felt by local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at a three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?
And so, is it now the time to stop the influence of newcomer mentality and unfamiliarity , and to make it mandatory that all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to respect and retain the Town's unique character, diversity, identity, and many of the longtime local traditions ?
OUCH ! ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?
www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...
The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?
Meet the newcomer directors,
Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"
www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...