When Nancy and Larry Jennings bought a piece of land on the Little Dyke Road back in 1989, there were farm fields and woodlands as far as the eye could see. Nancy’s father had owned a farm house in the area since 1970 and she had always loved the peacefulness and tranquility of country living. Nancy says they hoped to start their own legacy with a country home to leave their children or grandchildren, so they started construction of their "forever" home in 1990. Little did they know those farm fields would eventually become gravel pits and tranquility would become just a memory.

The farmlands next to the Jennings property were transferred from AA Putnam & Sons, a well-known farming family, to MSD Enterprises (one of the brothers of the family farm operation) in the early 1990’s. Gravel excavation later began in the field about a quarter mile down the road from the Jennings boundary line. "It was a family owned business, with one dump truck and we knew the family so we weren’t bothered by things in the beginning," says Nancy. "The excavators eventually chewed their way close to our boundary line. Since we enjoyed good rapport with our neighbours, we still didn’t want to make waves, even though there were inconveniences."

Nancy and Larry Jennings said they put up with the day to day operations of a gravel pit in their back yard by telling themselves the gravel would surely run out soon. They hoped the pit would be cleaned up and life would return to being at least quiet, if not as scenic as when they bought their land.

Things continued to go from bad to worse. Pit one was just the beginning and the small family run business was eventually bought out by Irving owned OSCO. Pit 2 and Pit 3 were added in 2007. "Since the mid-1990’s we have watched the land around us being devoured more and more, by bigger and bigger machinery," says Nancy. "The few locally owned dump truck operators who used to travel the road have now been replaced by a steady, daily caravan of large tandem haulers and belly dumpers. We are, however, truly appreciative of the courtesy and respect most of these independent truck drivers demonstrate on their many runs in such close proximity to our house each day. Occasionally, there will be some overzealous use of jake brakes."

Nancy and Larry continued to live with the idea this would soon be over when the gravel ran out. It was at an information session held in April, when the Jennings’ first learned the gravel washing/crushing equipment was permanent, the pit operations would be expanded to another 75 acres and there was no end in sight. "That’s when it became personal," says Nancy. "When will enough be enough?"

The Jennings family says they have watched neighbours forced from their home due to the dust, noise and contaminated well water. They listen to a wash plant/screener running from 5:30am until dark each day and endure increased truck traffic by their home at all hours of the day.

"We feel imprisoned on our one acre of rural land and can’t imagine what this expansion will mean for us," says Nancy. "But we are no longer alone. The entire community is affected by the noise and increased traffic." Members of the Glenholme/Little Dyke Residents Association have called on the province to put a stop to the 75-acre expansion of the nearby gravel pit by Irving-owned OSCO. They have approached Community Council recently and signs of protest are being erected throughout the community. Putting up a sign on her lawn is what got Nancy thinking it was time to speak up. "When you stick your neck out to make a statement, you fear retaliation in such a small community but it must be done," she says with sadness. "People ask why we never spoke up before, having lived close to the gravel pits for many years and so we both decided it was time to tell our story. We honestly kept hoping it would come to an end but now we see it isn’t going away. Larry and I don’t want people to think we weren’t bothered by it because we certainly were. And most importantly, we want it to stop so we can retire here, have our grandchildren come and visit, and enjoy peace and quiet in our new screen room."

The communities of Glenholme and Little Dyke certainly have more than their share of gravel pits and it leaves many concerned citizens saying, "Enough is enough"!

Colchester council at its meeting on August 31^st is expected to wash its hands of involvement in or responsibility for the condition of provincially owned streets in sub-divisions. Council committee at its August 17 meeting decided to recommend to council the municipality not proceed with a new three year agreement with NS Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

CAO’s office received a copy of the province’s proposed new Three-Year Cost Share Agreement for Subdivision Streets. Council has entered into similar agreements in the past, with the last agreement covering fiscal years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18. The proposed new agreement covers fiscal years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The agreement applies to subdivision streets which are provincially owned and were created prior to 1995. It proposes 50% cost sharing for the paving, re-paving or double chip sealing of any provincially owned subdivision streets in the County of Colchester. Historically, provincial subdivision streets in Colchester County which were paved under this agreement have been funded 50% by the province and 50% by the fronting properties, based on a successful petition process.

The proposed new agreement covers not only paving of gravel roads, but also paving and double chip sealing of previously paved roads. The three year cost sharing agreement for fiscals 2015/16 to 2017/18 also covered paving, repaving and double chip sealing, however the agreement for fiscals 20012/13 to 2014/15 did not include repaving or double chip sealing.

The province has requested a response to the proposed new cost sharing agreement by September 15, 2017. The previous agreement has been a contentious issue with council, with many councillors feeling the municipality should not be responsible for 50% of the cost of provincially owned streets in sub-divisions.

With a poor record of successful completion of the petition process, which created hostilities towards staff at the public meetings when explaining the proposed projects and the cost implications to taxpayers for the 50% share, council committee decided on motions by Councillors Cooper and Gibbs it was approved not to renew a three year agreement with the province.

With Council declining to enter into a new agreement, Colchester would not be eligible for cost shared paving of provincially owned subdivision streets for three years. Around the table during discussion on the matter, it was suggested in future a sub-division developer would be responsible for street construction, paving plus laying the water and sewer lines.

The resignation of Councillor Doug MacInnes from District 9, which was formalized at a special meeting of council on August 2^nd has necessitated a by-election be held to represent a councillor for the area. Council committee is recommending to council at its August 31^st meeting, the election be held Saturday, October 21, 2017.

The Municipal Elections Act (MEA) requires an election be held on a Saturday within 11 weeks from a council position becoming vacant. The maximum time would have been October 28^th.

A recommendation brought forward by staff to council committee included the CAO be authorized to hire Lorraine Dawson as the Returning Officer. Estimated costs of the by-election, including those related to labour, space rental, advertising and signage, and other consumables is in the range of $13,000 - $20,000. An acclamation scenario would result in a lower cost.

A by-election date of Saturday, October 21, 2017 determines the following key dates to fulfill MEA requirements (working forward to the by-election date):

• Tuesday, September 5 – First Mandatory Public Notification of By-Election
• Tuesday, September 12 – Nomination Registration Open
• Tuesday, September 19 - Second Mandatory Public Notification of By-election
• Tuesday, September 26, 2 pm – Nomination Registration Closed
• Wednesday, September 27 – Last Day of Nomination Withdrawal
• Thursday, September 28 – Determination of Election Race vs. Acclamation
• Saturday, October 14 – Advance Polling Open
• Sunday, October 15 – Advance Polls Closed
• Monday, October 16 to Friday, October 20 – Advance Polls Open
• Saturday, October 21 – Election Date (if necessary)

Council committee approved October 21, 2017 as the election date and the CAO be delegated to hire Lorraine Dawson as the returning officer.