Isle Madame Councillor Lone Opposing Voice to Paper Ballots in Upcoming Election

ARICHAT - The vote wasn't unanimous when Richmond County councillors chose the method that county residents will use to mark their X's in this fall's municipal elections. 

District Two Councillor Michael Diggdon opposed his fellow councillors' decision to stick with traditional paper ballots, during the latest regular monthly council meeting held on January 31 at the Richmond Municipal Building in Arichat. 

Despite voter turnout of 70-plus percent in four of the county's five municipal districts in 2020, Diggdon suggested that electronic voting could allow previously-disenfranchised younger voters to drive these numbers up. He added that the county-wide desire for change that saw five new councillors elected four years ago may have inflated the turnout, and suggested that the municipality cannot expect the same enthusiasm for two straight elections. 

Also on this week's Roundtable: 

* 11:18 - Telile LJI journalists Adam Cooke and Jacqueline Gerroir sought answers from municipal officials on inconsistencies in telephone service during medical emergencies, following a lengthy council conversation about confusion between two similar-sounding road names in the community of L'Ardoise. 

* 24:18 - Richmond County will continue consulting with the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) and the Environmental Studies program at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Strait Area Campus to address Isle Madame residents' concerns about a rise in deer sightings. 

* 29:28 - Acting on the advice of District Five Councillor Brent Sampson, Richmond officials will continue to research a potential Low Income Tax Exemption for those struggling to make ends meet this year. 

* 33:05 - The Petit de Grat branch of the Eastern Counties Regional Library will receive $2,000 in emergency funding from Richmond County to assist with rental fees over the remainder of the winter, while the library temporarily relocates within its current home at Centre La Picasse to allow for repairs to a portion of the building that was damaged by Hurricane Fiona in 2022. 

* 35:09 - Richmond municipal staff will work with an all-terrain vehicle club in eastern Richmond County to map out the safe use of lands adjacent to the former municipal landfill site in L'Ardoise. 

* 37:17 - The St. Peter's Village Commission will receive a lone guarantee of $185,000 from Richmond County to cover any shortfall that may occur from repairs and upgrades at the village's landfill and other infrastructure serving St. Peter's and the surrounding area. 

* 38:32 - The Raising The Villages early-childhood initiative will receive $2,500 in grant money from Richmond County, as opposed to the $5,000 it sought from the municipality earlier this year. The move comes after multiple Richmond councillors questioned the presence of Raising The Villages and its public activities within the county boundaries earlier this winter.