Category: Sydney

They threw a party for Billy Joe on the weekend, and it seemed everybody came.

Billy Joe MacLean stepped down as Mayor of Port Hawkesbury this fall and Saturday about 400 people turned out for a party for him at the civic centre.  There were people who came from as far away as Yarmouth and New York.

MacLean told the Cape Breton Post it was marvelous, a very emotional time for his family.

Maclean has been in politics in the area for over half a century as an MLA and provincial cabinet minister and then Mayor.  His retirement comes just before he celebrates his 80th birthday Thursday.

Preparations to reopen the Donkin Mine will continue despite yesterday’s federal announcement regarding an exemption on coal use by Nova Scotia.

Jame’s O. Bunn, Vice-president at Cutlass Collieries; says there’s a market for coal outside of the two nearby generating stations at Lingan and Point Aconi.

He said his company always considered closure of those two power stations as a possibility, but now it appears they will continue to operate after 2030 under an exemption for Nova Scotia.