L'ARDOISE - A long-time municipal councillor who also served as Richmond County's Warden from 2012-14 is now helping his home community launch a year-long celebration of the 200th anniversary of its Roman Catholic parish. 

Steve Sampson is the organizing committee chair for the anniversary celebrations at Holy Guardian Angels Parish in L'Ardoise, which held its first official baptism on January 8, 1823. Two centuries later, parishioners, supporters and clergy from across Cape Breton Island gathered at Holy Guardian Angels Church for a special Mass service that launched a lengthy and multi-pronged celebration, which will include a commemorative booklet charting the parish's history, concerts celebrating L'Ardoise and its Acadian heritage, and a follow-up anniversary Mass in September that will include the participation of Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick, the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish. 

For Sampson, who left municipal politics in 2016, the presence of the parish in so many aspects of day-to-day life in L'Ardoise showcases the profound impact the Catholic Church and its governing bodies have held over the past two centuries. 

'We're a community that has a fair number of community organizations and causes that they're fundraising for, but at the end of the day, I often think of how they came about, and much of it had to do with Holy Guardian Angels Parish," said Sampson, pointing to the L'Ardoise Mens' Club and the annual parish fundraiser known as the Festival Acadien de L'Ardoise, one of the Strait Area's longest-running summer community festivals. 

"I've had a pretty length commitment to the parish in terms of many activities, and I feel it's a debt that I owe to some great mentors along the way."

This week's edition of Roundtable also begins with a recap of a discussion about Richmond County's municipal boundary review that took centre stage at council's Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday evening. Several councillors expressed concerns that the municipality did not use all available channels to promote open houses on the subject, which are scheduled to wrap up this weekend, just as an internet survey on the issue prepares to go offline.