The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

    When Jill Monk first sent me an email on her plan to nominate Clarenville‘s Elizabeth Swan Park for the Kraft/TSN Celebration Tour, I have to admit that I knew little to nothing about neither the plan nor the tour.  But it intrigued me. I did not need to be convinced of the value of Elizabeth Swan Park.  Quite a few years ago, when our children were younger the Moody family and our family proposed to the Town that we upgrade the town’s playgrounds. With a lot of work it happened.  Elizabeth Swan’s playground was renovation #1 and we feel good about the work we had done there to make the park better.  Having been a park user for so many years, and having seen other similar community parks across the country; I am always interested in dreaming up ways to improve our park.  I noted in an earlier blog the opportunity to add a new multipurposechalet .  Jill’s thinking was truly aligned with my way of thinking.   After a bit of research (anyone can be an expert on any is

Random Thoughts...: Arts Under the Stars Unveiled : Arts Under the Stars, a series of free arts performances Thursday nights in Clarenville, was started seven years ago by me and Dave Strong, ...

Arts Under the Stars (AUS), our Town's outdoor summer concert series, starts the first week in July. More on that in a later post. AUS reminds me of Reg Pretty.  Reg was a stall-worth in the early years of AUS. He was the sound man, the lights man, the spare instrument man, and the goto man. I had the privilege of helping him. Reg passed away earlier this year after a battle with cancer. It was a loss to his family, the school system where he had taught for years before retiring in 2001 (He was my kid's favorite substitute) and the community. He was one of the, what we call "usual suspects" of volunteers that you know will be there if you need them. Clarenville was better because of Reg - and we miss him. Last weekend his family put together a Memorial Concert that served to remember him and to mark the beginning of the Reg Pretty Memorial Scholarship . It was a great celebration of his life and his legacy. I hope you enjoy these selected clips found below

Random Thoughts...: Rootin', Rantin' and Roarin' in September : Last year, volunteer work prevented me from attending the Roots, Rants and Roars Festival in Elliston. And from all accounts, it was a roa...

  "...nothing happens in a community unless you (are) were a part of it"                                                                                                                                                  Mayor Fred Best His name is synonymous with Clarenville.  He's been mayor forever and he's been on Council before that.   In his previous life he was a teacher, a principal and he and his wife raised their family here.   Fred is know across this province as being the mayor from Clarenville.  He has, quite literally, overseen the growth of this town for close to 40 years (He's been mayor for 31). Having served on Council, I know that that job is not always the most pleasant and certainly not the highest paid. Regardless of one's political viewpoints of the job, the people in it do their best - because nothing happens in a community without such people's efforts. To do that for 4 decades, like Fred has done, is something worthy of

The Shoal Harbour River is a relatively short river by Newfoundland standards.  It's a 19km network that captures water from Shoal Harbour Pond and Andrew’s Pond as it flows into the ocean at Random Sound. Despite its short length, it is an important habitat for seven species of fish and it is the sole source of drinking water for the 6000 plus residents and 250 businesses of Clarenville.  Its security is vital to our town. In recent weeks, information has surfaced that there is a proposed quarry development along the river system that Council is going to be asked to consider.  Council (and the public) had been silent on the request until the river’s conservation group; the Friends of the Shoal Harbour River (FOSHR) raised the alarm in the PACKET .  This project, located at the start of the river and within approximately 500 feet of it (150 feet minimum), is deemed a “discretionary use” project meaning that Council has the right to turn down the project.  Unfortunate

Over the past couple of weeks I've been experimenting with editing video and playing it at high speed.  You see, I am developing course related videos and this sideline gives me the opportunity to learn new tricks and techniques.  So, here's my "Pitch to Aways" and "Treat to Tourists".  If you are neither Away nor a Tourist, just sit back and enjoy the ride...