Firefighters, community members and local masons have been helping fix up the Smith’s Cove firehall and community centre.
The Masons of the Keith Lodge #16 of Bear River donated $2,000 to the project; Smith’s Cove fire chief Marc Bastarache says they have used the money to buy siding, insulation, new windows for the upstairs, fascia and soffits, drywall, doors and paint.
The labour for the project has been all volunteer work with the Masons, the firefighters and other community members all lending a hand.
Bastarache says the windows were all original from the 1950s—“It was high time for them to be updated,” he said. “The rest of the building was not only looking bad, it wasn’t very energy efficient, so these upgrades will pay off in reduced operating costs.”
Bastarache says the roof is also missing a few shingles and he hopes “phase two” of the project in the fall will let them fix the roof.
The fire department is also talking about adding showers and fixing up the washrooms to handle campers for the Wharf Rat Motorcycle Rally in September.
jriley@digbycourier.ca
