News Highlights for Southwest New Brunswick: March 2-9, 2021

It's March Break, and many New Brunswickers have found a new southern holiday destination in their own province--St. Andrews by the Sea. To accommodate visitors to town this week, The Algonquin Resort collaborated with Town of Saint Andrews and the St. Andrews Chamber of Commerce to ensure local businesses were open this week to offer guests an array of town-wide activities and also infuse the local econony with welcome shoulder-season business. Many local shops, restaurants and attractions extended their otherwise limited seasonal hours, some opening their doors for the first time since the Christmas season.

The wharf at Market Square is St. Andrews is getting a complete facelift. On Monday, Saint Andrews Town Council made the motion to support the Concrete Pillar Model as the preferred option out of the three proposed designs for wharf refurbishment. The Concrete Pillar Model was selected because it harmonizes with the look and feel of the Historic Business District while providing longer term sustainability than the Wood model, without the potential of tidal interference, which was the concern with the Armour Stone Pier. The project will cost just over $5 million dollars, with $4.3 million coming from funding for Climate Change Adaptation from the federal and provincial governments. The project will begin in the fall of this year and is expected to take 2-3 years to complete without interfering with the commercial wharf season.

A fire on the 127 in Bayside that began around 2pm on Monday severely damaged a family home. The Saint Andrews fire department was aided by fire departments from St. Stephen, St. George and Oak Bay over the course of the six hours it took to put out the fire. While all members of the family were able to get out of the house safely, the family dog sadly perished in the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the provincial fire marshal's office.

Mayfield's Veternary Clinic is opening a new location in St. Andrews. Mayfield's will move into the old medical centre at 108 Sophia Street provided the property is rezoned to commercial, which is a condition of the sale.

Finally, students from St. Stephen High School premiered the second episode of Spartan TV this week. The show deals with issues students are facing during COVID-19 including coping with increased screen time. The episode also features an interview with New Brunswick Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Russell.