EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was changed from the version which appeared in the January 11 edition of The Reporter and which was then posted on-line. The segment which required correction is below in bold type.
MONASTERY: After surviving a financial struggle that threatened to scuttle the organization, Strait Area Ground Search and Rescue (SAGSR) is starting the New Year on a high note.
SAGSR president Cecil Cashin has confirmed that the 37-year old volunteer network completed the purchase of its new headquarters in Monastery prior to the December 16 deadline set by The MacLeod Group, which was overseeing the sale of the former Delorey Brothers Bingo Hall to SAGSR.
While Cashin had warned last summer that delays in funding commitments from the organization’s member municipalities could result in SAGSR missing the payment deadline and threatened the future of the 80-member team, he told The Reporter that the grand majority of the municipalities approached by SAGSR had come through with their share of the necessary funds.
“It’s paid for, and now all we need to do is hopefully get some grants to fix it up,” Cashin said Tuesday afternoon.
“Now that we own the building, we can go to the federal and provincial governments and see if we can pick up some grants.”
While the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s and the County of Antigonish were the only two municipalities served by SAGSR that did not contribute to the building purchase, Cashin noted that former Antigonish County municipal councillor Pierre Boucher arranged for $10,000 to be directed from his own district fund, prior to his electoral defeat in mid-October.
“We’re very grateful for that,” Cashin beamed, pointing out that Boucher has a history with the organization.
“He used to be with [Strait Area] Ground Search and Rescue at one time, but he got defeated [in the municipal election]. So now he’s back with us.”
Despite the commitment of municipal monies from other regions served by SAGSR to assist with the building purchase, Cashin pointed out that he and his colleagues will be returning to the council tables in the Towns of Antigonish, Mulgrave and Port Hawkesbury, the Districts of St. Mary’s and Guysborough, and the Counties of Antigonish and Inverness within the coming weeks and months. He noted that, with the exception of Richmond County, none of the municipal councils approached by SAGSR over the past two years have responded to a request for $3,000 per municipal unit to assist with the upkeep of the rescue group’s new building.
“We’ve got to go back and do the begging all over again,” Cashin remarked.
“Out of the 24 teams in the province, there are at least 16 that get money from the municipalities. For what little we’re asking for – we’re talking six or seven [municipal] units, asking for $3,000 a year per unit – that’s not a lot of money.”
In the meantime, SAGSR has launched a new Facebook group to promote the team’s activities, as the team members hope to catch their breath from a “busy, busy, busy” Christmas period, Cashin added.
“We were down in Eskasoni for at least four days, we were down in Big Baddeck during the holidays,” he recalled.
“A lot of people don’t realize that, when they’re down there sitting in the house, we’re out trying to find people.”