Amherst Ramblers Toonie Draw

After serious consideration the last few days, and with today’s announced Provincial State of Emergency, we will be holding our last draw on Tuesday March 24, 2020 until further notice.
ALL PREPAID NUMBERS WILL BE ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY DURING THIS TIME.
The toonie boxes will be picked up and removed from all locations at the regular time on Tuesday March 24, 2020 (12:00 NOON).
The toonie office located at 26 C Industrial Park Drive will be open Monday March 23, 2020 10am-5pm and March 24, 2020 10am-5pm. We will be limiting the number of people to two (2) in the office location at a time. During these times, you can also pay by VISA or MASTERCARD of payments of $10.00 or more over the phone.
The toonie office will be closed at 5:00pm on Tuesday March 24, 2020, until further notice.

Government of Nova Scotia

Schools across Nova Scotia will remain closed for at least another month.
The NS government introduced a new at home learning plan for students, which includes both online learning and at home educational packages delviered directly to students who don't have internet access. Student and families will be contacted directly by teachers and schools with further details.
All school trips planned for May and June are cancelled.
Provincial Assessments, Nova Scotia Exams and final exams in all courses are cancelled
A dedicated learning website for families is available at https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/learning-home

Friday Night Men's Bowling League

The has been suspended until further notice.

Amherst Masonic Hall

All activities at the Masonic Hall have been canceled until further notice

Christ Church Anglican

The Office at Christ Church Anglican is now closed.
Phone Messages will be checked regularly.

Church Services at Christ Church Anglican are cancelled until April 3rd.

Live prayers will be offered on Wednesday(s) at noon and on Sunday mornings (8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.)
via the Church's Facebook page.

Cumberland Public Libraries

Closed for 3 weeks. On line services are avilable .. audio books, ebooks and magazines.

First Baptist Church

There will be no public worship or gatherings until further notice. Please use front door only. The office is now closed to the public but communication is still possible through the mail slot, through emails and by calling the office 902-667-2001.

Office hours are 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.

Donations can be mailed or placed in the office mail slot. Please check the website for updates : www.firstbaptistamherst.com and Facebook (First Baptist Church Amherst).

Joggins Fire Hall

Wednesday night bingo has been canceled til further notice

L.A. Animal Shelter

The Shelter will be open to the public BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! Please phone the shelter at 902-661-7297 if you’d like to make an appointment to visit with our animals.

Little River United Baptist Church

Services are suspended until further notice.

RCAF Club

Closed til further notice

The Amherst Food Bank

The Amherst Food Bank will continue to serve those in need in our community.
Due to the COVID-19 your food requests will be taken by phone.
Please call 902-661-0677 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings
between 9:30 am to 11:30 am. until further notice.

United Way of Cumberland County

The United Way of Cumberland County office will closed to the public, but the Executive Director will continuinue to work from home and the office until April 17, 2020.
The office will re-open on August 17, 2020.

Canadian Red Cross

The office is closed. Assistance will be provided by appointment only between 9 and noon Monday-Friday. To receive or return equipment call 902-667-8794.

Cumberland Mask Brigade

A number of people are responding to a shortage of masks. Cumberland Mask Brigade is making fabric masks, for the Cumberland Regional Health Care Center, that help reduce the spread of droplets. You can help out too.
Masks will be collected on Fridays from 11 to 1 at the Amherst Centre near the Sobeys entrance and delivered to the Cumberland Health Care Foundation for distribution to healthcare workers. If you need fabric or more information, go to Cumberland Mask Brigade on facebook.

Dr. Bobadilla's Office

Dr. Bobadilla's Office is closed to the public as of 18 March 2020. Services will be provided over the office phone.

Drs. Halina and Kris Bienkowski

Considering "SOCIAL DISTANCING" as one of the most important elements in the fight with CoronaVirus infection, Drs Halina and Kris Bienkowski suspend traditional "face to face" office visits for indefinite time. These visits are going to be replaced with telephone consultations. The patients who do have visits scheduled can expect to be called around the scheduled time. The telephone lines are in operation as usual. Doctors Bienkowski will return to traditional work as the situation stabilizes.

Mental Health and Addition Services

effective immediately all of their group programs have been cancelled until further notice. This decision has been made in order to protect the health of clients and staff. Anyone with questions regarding other services should call 902-667-3879.

Three collaborative emergency centers in Cumberland County have changed up services

Three collaborative emergency centers in Cumberland County have changed up services as part of what the Nova Scotia Health Authority calls adjustments to service delivery during COVID-19.

All Saints Hospital in Springhill and North Cumberland Memorial Hospital in Pugwash will switch from an emergency room to an ungent care center.
Officials with the authority says urgent care centers injuries or illness that require immediate care but aren't considered an emergency.

Parrsboro’s South Cumberland Community Care Centre has been switched to a family medicine/general practice clinic.

Cumberland Regional in Amherst will continue to provide emergency room care.

Amherst Police Department

Amherst Police Department has made several administrative changes in regards to services:
1. Front counter/reception services will not be available until further notice. We encourage people to call the APD dispatch at 902-667-8600 for any non-emergency assistance or service. For emergencies, call 911.
2. Access and bookings for the Francis Smith Community Room has been suspended until further notice.
3. Non-essential services, such as local criminal record checks and other applications will be temporarily suspended. This includes licensing renewal requirements for current taxi licence holders. Existing licences will be extended until further notice.
4. The department will not be providing civil fingerprinting for work/volunteer purposes until further notice.

Amherst Town Hall

Amherst town hall will be closed to the public – effective immediately.
For the time being there will be a reduced staff presence in the building, with many employees working remotely. Customers with an urgent service need may call our reception line at 902-667-3352. Service requests will be evaluated and addressed in terms of priority and staff capacity. In some cases, an in-person appointment may be arranged.
Interest will not be added to outstanding accounts for the month of March 2020. Should further such arrangements become advisable an announcement will be made at a later date.
The town will continue to accept payment of accounts by mail by. Send your cheque to: Town of Amherst, PO Box 516, Amherst, N.S. B4H 4A1. Online/telephone banking payments may also be made via your financial institution. The town also accepts credit card payments through the third-party credit card provider, Plastic. A service fee, payable to Plastiq, applies to credit card transactions.
In order to encourage social distancing and discourage gatherings that may facilitate the transmission of the virus, all meetings of Amherst town council and committees for the month of March are cancelled.

Bars, Restaurants, gatherings.

Effectively immediately, there are to be no gatherings of more than 50 people.

The measures below come into effect at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, March 19:
-- restaurants are restricted to take-out and delivery only and no in-person dining
-- drinking establishments, winery and distillery tasting rooms and craft taprooms must close
-- private liquor stores can continue to operate and craft breweries, wineries and distilleries can continue to sell their product from their storefronts

CANSA-Nova Scotia Works

Nova Scotia Work CANSA office is currently open for online and telephone services only. Our services to job seekers and employers alike can be accessed by calling or emailing staff. Our regular line 902 661 1509 ext 0 or via the internet email at www.cansa.ca to access the e mail. We are working remotely with existing and new clients Monday -Friday between 8:30 and 4:30. We, appreciate the opportunity to continue to maintain a level of service at Nova Scotia Works – CANSA at this time and will make every effort to do so in a safe and secure manner.

Cumberland Central Landfill

Cumberland Central Landfill facilities will be closing to the public on March 23 at 3:00pm. The site will also be closed on Saturdays. For the time being collection will take place as usual.

Municipality of Cumberland.

On March 22, 2020, the Province of Nova Scotia declared a state of emergency to help contain the spread of COVID-19. The province announced the closure of all provincial and municipal beaches and parks. Effective immediately, as directed by the Province of Nova Scotia, the Municipality of Cumberland parks, playing fields, and other such areas are closed to the public.
This includes, but is not limited to:

Springhill Lion’s Park Parrsboro Partridge Island Trail & Park
Springhill Basketball and Tennis Courts Parrsboro Dog Park
Springhill Baseball and Soccer Fields Parrsboro Baseball Field
Springhill Outdoor Arena Parrsboro Tennis Court
Springhill Gazebos, Main Street & Pit Pond locations Parrsboro Bandstand
Springhill Miners Memorial Park, including the trails in the park

Municipality of Cumberland

All Service Centers and the Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Center are closed to the public. There will be no in-person meetings with staff. To make arrangements with staff or for information on bill payments call 902-667-2313 or email info@cumberlandcounty.ns.ca

Municipality of Cumberland

There are continuing reports of people not following physical-distancing guidelines Cumberland County has released a list of closures to clarify what falls under the state of emergency.

All sports fields, tennis and baskeball courts, gazebos and bandstands in the county are closed.

In Springhill the Miners Memorial Park, including the trails are closed as well as the Partridge Island Trail & Park in Parrsboro.

Under the health protection act anyone entering these areas could face a fine.

NS Legal Aid

to the Amherst branch of Nova Scotia Legal Aid is restricted to staff only.
If you wish to apply for Legal Aid, please visit www.nslegalaid.ca to complete an online application, or call our office at (902)667-7544 during business hours.
While we are limiting in-person contact with clients at this time, we continue to work on your files and are available to answer any queries you might have via telephone. We also continue to attend court.

NSLC

Open 10-7 Monday thru Saturday, but 10-11am is reserved for seniors.

Personal service and fitness establishments

Effective midnight Thursday, March 19, personal service and fitness establishments such as hair salons, barber shops, spas, nail salons, body art establishments and gyms must shut down.

Town of Amherst

All parks within the Town of Amherst are closed, effective immediately.
Persons found to be on park premises will be trespassing and subject to fines.
To read the minister’s order, please go to: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/Direction-of-the-Minister-under-a-Declared-State-of-Emergency-March-22-Signed.pdf

Town of Amherst

The Town of Amherst has started a dedicated web portal for residents contaning updates on how COVID-19 is effecting town services.

Status updates on things such as facilities, programming, council meetings can be found on the dedicated page.

Residents are encouraged to check the page regularly. It can be found at
amherst.ca/covid-19 or accessed through the Amherst Facebook page.

Town of Oxford/ Town of Amherst

The Town of Oxford and Amherst, like many other Nova Scotia municipalities, is
asking the public to refrain from flushing disposable sanitizing wipes and other unacceptable
items down the toilet.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been encouraged to use the wipes to
clean common touch surfaces like counter tops, door handles, and light switches but flushing the
wipes can harm sanitary sewer systems. Many are using disposable paper products for frequent
handwashing and flushing these products into the sanitary sewer system.
Many common household items are being flushed down the sewer system that shouldn’t go
there. By placing these things in our system, it creates blockages and damage as the items get
caught in the Town’s sanitary sewer system. This requires employees to physically remove them,
which increases costs for repairs and creates service disruptions for customers. These items can
also become clogged in private homes and business sewer pipes, causing sewer backups into
private dwellings.
All wipes should be placed in the garbage for safe disposal.

Town of Oxford

Town-owned facilities, including Oxford Town Hall, will be closed to the public – effective
immediately.
For the time being there will be a reduced staff presence in the Town Hall, with several
employees working remotely. Customers with an urgent service need may call our reception line
at 902-447-2170. Service requests will be evaluated and addressed in terms of priority and staff
capacity. In some cases, an in-person appointment may be arranged.
Interest will not be added to outstanding accounts for the month of March 2020. Should further
such arrangements become advisable an announcement will be made at a later date.
The Town will continue to accept payment of accounts by mail. Send your cheque to: Town of
Oxford, PO Box 338, Oxford, NS B0M 1P0. Online/telephone banking payments may also be
made via your financial institution.
In order to encourage social distancing and discourage gatherings that may facilitate the
transmission of the virus, all meetings of Oxford Town Council and committees for the month of
March are cancelled.

Town of Oxford

All March Break Activities and Fun Hockey are canceled. The Oxford Arena is closed to the public.

Town of Oxford

The Town of Oxford is keeping their transfer station open for its regular hours of Thursday through Saturday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

It will remain open as long as haulers are able to continue to remove or pick-up solid waste.

Cumberland County has closed transfer stations in Pugwash, River Hebert, and Advocate.

Advocate Fire Hall

Closed to all public access/functions until further notice. That does not include emergency reponse. Continue to call 911 if needed.

Bridge Adult Service Center

The Bridge Adult Service Center will no longer take donations of any kind, including refundables. The Bridge wants to thank you for your donations, and will let you know when you can resume your donations.
Bargains at the Bridge and the laundry are closed, and the Bridge Auction is on hiatus.

Bordertown Jam

Canceled for the next 2 weeks. They will re-assess at that point.

Amherst Center Mall

The Amherst Center will be open Monday-Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 8-5. Music at the Mall events are canceled. Artisans Gallery is closed. The Market Cafe is open for take-outs.

Amherst Vet Hospital

Effective Monday, March 23:

Being able to continue to care for patients, the health of our team and the well-being of our clients are AVH's top priorities during the covid -19 pandemic. We very much appreciate the patience and support that our clients have shown over the last week. We are making some more necessary changes this week. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this unprecedented situation.

1) Call first! We may be able to help you over the phone. We are practicing social distancing. If we are able to help you over the phone, we will!

2) We will no longer be allowing clients to enter the building. When you arrive for an appointment, please call us (or ring the doorbell) and we will be out to get your dog or cat. We will communicate with you via phone after we’ve examined him/her. Don’t worry, we will be sure to stay connected throughout the process.

3) We will no longer accept cash. Please pay with credit card over the phone, if possible. If that is not possible, we can accept debit in the parking lot.

4) We are dividing into two care teams containing Veterinarians, RVT’s, Veterinary Assistants and Client Service Representatives. If one team is exposed to covid 19, our hope is that the other team can continue to provide care for your pet. This might mean longer wait times for hearing back from your favourite veterinarian. We apologize, but see this as an important part of keeping our team safe and here when you need us!

5) Unfortunately, we are not booking routine surgeries and appointments right now. We need to save our resources for sick and injured animals that are in discomfort. We appreciate your understanding.

Thank-you all for your continued patience as we try to navigate this difficult situation and continue to offer quality care.

Bargain Bennies

Bargain Bennies is closed until further notice. If you have inquiries call 902-669-1832 or 902-297-0838.

Canadian Tire Amherst

In an effort to help keep our customers and staff safe , effective Friday March 20, until further notice
Store hours at Canadian Tire Amherst are:
Monday to Saturday 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sunday 10:00am -5:00 pm

We are also encouraging our customers to use debit or credit cards to pay for their purchases.

Fundy Bay Tractors

Fundy Bay Tractors is closed to walk-in traffic. They will still provide parts, service and sales by phone. Call 902-667-8624

Highland Market

Highland Market will be operating under some new procedures effective Friday, March 20.

We will only allow a max of 8 customers in at a time. If you are shopping with your family, please consider having just one family member enter the store. As it is a small space, shopping times are quite quick. Please be respectful of each other’s space when shopping. We have lines down the middle aisle to stand on while waiting for your turn to pay. We have bags on the counter and ask that you pack your purchases yourselves to limit the amount of handling by staff. Please do not enter the store if you are sick.

Please be assured that we have ordered a lot of stock and you will be able to get your grocery needs, you may just need to wait a few extra minutes. We appreciate your business and this was a very hard decision to make; we put a lot of thought into our new procedures. As we are a small store and space is tight, we feel that this is for the best interest/safety of our staff, families and customers.

McDonalds

All First Responders, Fire Fighters, Police Officers, VON, Nursing Home Workers, Cumberland Regional Hospital workers. Who show your staff id to receive a free McCafe drink. Danny Moore and McDonalds want to show some love to those on the frontline of the covid-19 outbreak. Good at the Amherst, Sackville and Shediac locations til March 31.