Councillor retires with good memories

Evans sat as councillor for District 7 for 17 years, which also includes time with the former Municipality of the District of Queens. It was for health reasons that he did not re-offer this past municipal election.

Evans retired from TeleGlobe Canada in 1987 and ran a general store in Mill Village for five years. Seeking a new challenge brought him into politics. At the time the previous councillor was stepping down. “I threw my name in the hat and before I knew it, I was on the council,” he says.

During those years, he says as long as they were accomplishing good work, he wanted to stay.

He has fond memories of council, and especially enjoyed the debates while he sat next to Ken Wilkinson. He praised Wilkinson as being a wonderful speaker, and they worked together on issues. “I used to brew up the spitballs and he would throw them. We made a pretty good team,” he says with a laugh.

The people also kept him going as a councillor. “You find that you meet a lot of people from different walks of life, not only from council but out in the streets.”

But Evans says that a few could make the job less enjoyable. “All people are good people. There’s always the odd one who’s not so nice. For me that was the embarrassing part.”

However Evans is very proud of the fact that throughout his career, the Municipality and after amalgamation the Region always had a budget surplus. “All the years I was there, we never had a deficit, and the tax rate change was very minimal,” he says.

Over his career, Evans has chaired many committees, including public works, tourism, the manor board and Hillsview Acres. He hasn’t been able to chair any committees during the past few years, but was still very active in Queens County projects.

In a letter from Mayor John Leefe, some of the more recent projects he is praised for include the harbour clean-up, creation of the Second Generation Solid Waste Facility, expansion of the sewer and water project, and Queens Place.

In a separate interview, Mayor Leefe has nothing but positive things to say about Evans. “He is a consummate gentleman, a very funny man, and just a joy to be able to call a colleague and friend.”

He adds, “Freeman’s health for the past few years has not been the best. In spite of that he has never wavered in his interest in council. Only excepting when illness forced him to stay away he was a regular attendee at Committee of the Whole and council.”