Last ditch effort for Newport Corner Community Hall

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

The Newport Corner Community Hall will host Oct. 14 what some members have coined “The Last Supper”. The decision to go ahead with a fundraising dinner was made during a meeting Sept. 24 where the question was raised concerning the hall’s survival, “Do people care?”

The hall’s future came into play when the issue of heating was applied. In essence, the furnace, oil tank and chimney liner must be replaced at a cost of almost $6,000, according to treasurer Wendell Carroll. With costs that high, along with general operating costs of well over of $5,000 per year, executive members wondered if it was worthwhile to raise funds for a hall barely ever used.

“To sum it up, can we utilize the hall enough to make it worthwhile to fundraise that much or is it ‘throw in the towel’ time? That’s a lot of money for two days a week,” Carroll said. He said the hall is used on average only 20 times per year.

Although almost two dozen members were in attendance that evening with plenty of fundraising ideas, it came down to a show of hands for immediate action. “The same people are getting tired of coming up with the means to keep this hall running,” Carroll said. “We've got a major hurdle here and we can't do it on one supper alone.”

Members even questioned whether to try and hold the supper in a building with no heat. There is currently about $1,300 in the till and an offer of a used furnace has been made, which would save the hall a few thousand. However, the question persisted: “Is it feasible?”

“We don't have much more time before we need to turn the heat on. It’s great to throw out ideas, but we need to come up with a plan tonight and make a decision,” Carroll said. “It’s a Catch-22 situation when we don't even have any heat.”



Shut down for the winter?

The group toyed with the idea of shutting the hall down for the winter, allowing time to fundraise and reassess the situation. However, to avoid freeze-up, heat would still be a factor whether the hall was operational or not.

And that plan didn't sit well with some members. “Where will we go to quilt?” asked Merle Dunbar, who once taught school in the original building. “Are you going to let us use your front room? This hall has a purpose,” she said.

The quilt sewn by her guild was the winning piece at this year’s Hants County Exhibition and is being raffled off to benefit the hall.

Carroll said he would help organize alternatives for those using the hall on a regular basis should it close. The Ardoise United Church holds it Sunday school at the hall and many of the churches fundraisers are also held there.

“I've had my day,” he said. “I'll continue to do what I do now, but we've got a big problem here, folks.”

Deputy Warden Gary Cochrane was in attendance that evening. He had seen first-hand the crisis community halls face when one in his jurisdiction was torn down in favour of a park.

“There are really very few funds available,” he told the group. Some monies are available through Sport Nova Scotia, he said, which would amount to about $1,000. The Municipality of West Hants already gives grants of $1,000 per year to each active community hall.

Cochrane cautioned that should the hall choose to close, it could be difficult to reopen. In those scenarios, he said most halls are sold and the monies kept in trust for other community groups. “The municipality doesn't keep the money from any sale; it would be held onto and other groups from the area could apply for funding from that.”

After much debate, the decision was made and two committees were formed: one for fundraising; the other in charge of developing further uses for the hall.

Peter McClair now chairs the social committee. He said it was crucial to find more groups interested in using the space. He suggested hosting weekly 'jam sessions’, which are popular in many areas.

Hall president Laurenda DeWolfe said the dinner will be their “last-ditch attempt.” Once monies from the supper are counted, a special meeting will be held to decide the future of the hall based on what was raised that afternoon.