On Tantramar Report for Monday, February 7:

The Sweetest Little Thing 2022 is here

For the second year since 1999, the Sweetest Little Thing is online. The annual art auction fundraiser, co-produced by the Owens and Struts Gallery, goes live online today, with over 100 art works open to bidding. The auction closes after The Sweetest Little Thing online event on February 14.

We speak with Owens Art Gallery director and organizer Emily Falvey to find out more about Sackville’s Valentine’s Day tradition, and we also hear the latest ‘jingle’ created for the event, this time by Shotgun Jimmie, featuring Chad van Gaalen and Julie Doiron.

And also on today’s show, CHMA’s daily news and information briefs:

Reduced hours at today’s Sackville vaccination clinic

Saturday’s Vitalité vaccine clinic at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre had a late start due to the storm, with appointments scheduled for the first two hours cancelled and rescheduled. A clinic scheduled for today has been shortened to a half-day, from 1pm to 4pm.

Appointments for kids aged 5 to 11 are available from 2:30pm to 4pm today. Vitalité has also booked the Visitor Information Centre for February 24th, but has not opened up that date to appointment bookings yet. People can book a vaccine appointment on gnb.ca/bookavaccine, or through Jean Coutu or the Corner Drug Store websites.

Decision on make up of Entity 40 council delayed

The deadline for a decision on how many councillors will govern the new Entity 40, as well as who they will represent, has been delayed. Government-appointed facilitator Chad Peters had informed Sackville town council that a decision would happen by this Friday, February 11th, but has since informed them he will take more time on the decision.

A meeting of the advisory committee appointed by Peters is also delayed. It will now happen next week, on February 15. The original timeline proposed by Peters allowed no opportunity for public consultation, something that garnered much criticism last week from Sackville town councillors at a meeting of their municipal reform committee. That committee will meet again this week, on Wednesday evening.

Meetings of the provincially appointed advisory committee are not open to the public, but meetings of the municipal reform committee of Sackville town council are.

Sackville town council meeting tonight

Municipal reform is also on the agenda for tonight’s meeting of Sackville town council, but at the end of a long list of other matters.

Council will hear the RCMP’s quarterly update, and three presentations from community members, including one from Les Hicks on the Animal Control By-Law. That by-law has been up for discussion at council in recent months, with one resident asking that cats be covered by similar regulations to those that apply to dogs.

Council will also discuss community development grants, a possible street closure for this year’s Levee on the Lake, the renewal of the Visitor Information Centre contracts with the Craft Gallery and Robert Lyon, and the town’s CAO bylaw and hiring policy.

Tonight’s council meeting starts at 6:30pm at Town Hall, and via Microsoft Teams or livestream on Youtube. People who wish to attend in person should contact town clerk Donna Beal before 4pm.