2011 - Year in Review

The following post is The Shiretown Blogger's ways of looking back on the year 2011. The stories and highlights of the past year will include a combination of local, national and international happenings.

January:

• January 1, 2011: Woodstock's annual Mayor's Levee took place in ceremonial fashion at the historic Connell House. Mayor Art Slipp looked back on the year 2010 and what it was like for the town, and handed out awards to members of the community who travel the extra mile to make it a better place. There was a special twist to the ceremony, though. A time capsule which had been placed in the cornerstone of the Carleton Memorial Hospital in June of 1954 was opened. The contents, which had been hidden for over five decades, were revealed to the public. 

Kellie Blue-McQuade, the Executive Director of the Carleton County Historical Society, and John Winslow look over one of the items from the Carleton Memorial Hospital time capsule, while Upper River Valley Hospital administrator Dean Cummings looks on. The contents, which had been hidden sinze 1954, were revealed and donated to the historical society.

February:

• February 7, 2011: New Brunswick's Finance Minister Blaine Higgs held a meeting at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 11 in Woodstock as part of the provincial government's efforts to consult with New Brunswickers prior to unveiling his government's first budget on March 22nd. 

From left: Victoria-Tobique MLA Wes McLean, Finance Minister Blaine Higgs, and Premier David Alward. Minister Higgs is seen here answering a question at the pre-budget meeting in February.

March:

• March 22, 2011: David Alward's administration tabled their first budget in the New Brunswick Legislature in Fredericton. Every government department had been asked to trim their spending by one per cent for the first budget. When the Alward government took office, New Brunswick was facing a spending deficit in excess of $800 million, and a net debt of approximately $8.3 billion. In their first budget, the Alward government reduced the deficit to $420 million through spending cuts and increases to the gas and tobacco taxes. 

April:

• April 29, 2011: Approximately two billion people worldwide watch the royal wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminister Abbey in London, England. 

May:

• May 1, 2011: American President Barack Obama announced that Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama bin Laden had been killed by a team of United States Navy Seals while on an American military operation in Pakistan. bin Laden is noted for his involvement in the planning and carrying out of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon, among other targets.

• May 2, 2011: In a general federal election, Stephen Harper, incumbent Prime Minister of Canada, was re-elected and received a majority government. Harper led a minority administration from 2006 to 2011. Another federal election was held in 2008 and the election in 2011 was caused mainly by the opposition voting against the Conservative government's budget. 

June:

• June 6, 2011: It officially became illegal to use a cellular phone or program a GPS device while operating a motor vehicle in the province of New Brunswick. New Brunswick was one of the last few Canadian provinces to implement such legislation. 

July:

• July 19, 2011: The Shiretown Blogger was launched by sixteen-year-old Woodstock resident Nathan DeLong. The blog had 200 pageviews in its first month of being up and running. It now has over 4,400 hits and more than 190 posts, although it has only been operating for five months. 

• July 29-August 6, 2011: The 64th Annual Old Home Week was held in Woodstock. Evidently, the event was a success, as it has been for the past six decades (and counting). 

August:

• August 10-13, 2011: The 3rd Annual Dooryard Arts Festival was held in Woodstock. The festival's organizers, who are also members of the Woodstock-based River Valley Arts Alliance, make attempts to have a bigger and better festival every year. The Shiretown Blogger enjoyed covering the festival this year, and looks forward to the festival in 2012. 

Woodstock native Colin Kelly Brewer, who now resides in China, can be seen here performing one of his original songs on August 10, 2011 at the Dooryard Arts Festival in Woodstock. 

• August 22, 2011: Canadian federal New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton lost his battle with cancer. His death was mourned across the nation, and Bath native Rev. Brent Hawkes spoke at Layton's state funeral. 

• August 23, 2011: The famous RCMP Musical Ride made a stop in Woodstock, performing at the Connell Park racetrack. There were few seats in sight as the grandstand and hill behind the Carleton Civic Centre were packed with people. The event was done in support of the Western Valley Special Olympics, and was named in memory of RCMP Sgt. Mark Gallagher, a Mountie from Woodstock who perished in the Haitian earthquake in January 2010 while on a UN mission. 

September:

• September 16, 2011: The Woodstock Slammers opened their 2011-2012 season with a 7-2 win over the Miramichi Timberwolves. The Slammers remained undefeated into mid-November, and have climbed the ranks to become the top-ranked junior A squad in Canada. At the time of this writing, they also top their division rankings. 

October:

• October 20, 2011: Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was shot to death near his Libyan hometown of Sirte, following a civil war and painstaking search for the longtime ruler of the African country. 

November:

• November 11, 2011: Despite wet weather, large crowds still came out for Remembrance Day services across the region. This is a sign that the memory of the brave troops who made the supreme sacrifice for our freedom is still alive and well. Let's keep it that way. 

This was the sight at the Woodstock cenotaph during the Remembrance Day ceremonies of 2011.

December:

• December 2011: The month of December was filled with unusual weather. For at least a week at the beginning of the month, temperatures seemed unseasonably mild. Any snow dumped on the region did not last long as the area received more storms consisting of rain and/or freezing rain.