Last week, Sheldon Peddle took to Twitter asking the mayor and four members of council who use the social media site if anything was being planned.
“It came about just by happenstance that I was on the City of Corner Brook website looking for some other information and I saw the link there for the fire department,” said Peddle.
It wasn’t one he’d notice before, so Peddle decided to take a look at it. A greeting from fire chief Neville Wheaton made reference to the 50th anniversary of the department in 2003.
“It very quickly dawned on me that this is 2013 and it would be the 60th anniversary of the fire department,” said Peddle.
Peddle was particularly struck by the fact that the department was formed three years before the city was incorporated in 1956. So he went on Twitter to ask about that fact, and ended up in a discussion to encourage a recognition of the anniversary and to find out if the council members would support doing so.
“To me, 60 is another fairly significant milestone,” said Peddle. “The queen gets it, and I bet the City of Corner Brook will get it in 2016.
“The more I thought about it the more I thought that there really should be (something done), especially with the recent history of strained relations between the city and its fire department.”
“To me, 60 is another fairly significant milestone ... The queen gets it, and I bet the City of Corner Brook will get it in 2016." - Sheldon Peddle
Peddle said it could be a goodwill gesture on behalf of the city to bring everyone together for a positive event.
In the end, Peddle was told that the issue would be brought forward to a council meeting for discussion, which happened on Monday night. Council was in agreement on marking the milestone, and on Wednesday the fire chief said the department is in the midst of trying to set up a small committee to get feedback from members on how they would like to see the anniversary recognized.
“I’m pleased to see that something will be happening,” said Peddle when informed of the chief’s response. “Pleased to see that council agreed that a 60th anniversary warranted some sort of recognition.”
He was also happy that the planning would involve consulting with the department on what it wanted, versus asking it to plan something on its own.
“I hope whatever it is that is planned is something that allows the larger community, all the local residents, to also come out and show our support and appreciation for the 60 years of service,” said Peddle.
dcrocker@thewesternstar.com
Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
