The Town of Carbonear has been named a winner in its population category for the 2012 Tidy Towns competition.
The winners were announced Oct. 5 during an awards ceremony hosted during Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador annual convention in Gander.
Carbonear took the top award for municipalities with a population of between 2601-6000, beating out municipalities such as Clarenville, Bay Roberts and Bonavista.
Carbonear Mayor Sam Slade said he was "delighted" with the award.
"A lot of work was done over the last year, and we're very pleased with the outcome," he said.
Carbonear has won this award twice before, Slade added.
Meanwhile, Carbonear also received an award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation for raising the most money in its population category for the foundation.
It was the second consecutive year that Carbonear claimed the award, which was earned based largely on the success of the annual Claude Garland Memorial Walk, which is held in honour of the town's former mayor.
In 2011, the event raised some $6,000. This year's walk is scheduled for Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
Outstanding achievement
President of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, Mayor Churence Rogers, described a Tidy Towns win as an outstanding achievement for a municipality and their volunteers.
“It is a great victory for the residents who have commitment and pride for their local environment and work really hard to keep it clean, tidy and sustainable,” Rogers said.
The municipalities of Postville, Appleton, Burin and Corner Brook have been announced as 2012 Award of Excellence winners.
The following is a breakdown of other award winners:
• Pacquet (population 1-350);
• North West River (population 351-500);
• Dover (population 501-700);
• Flatrock (population 701-1500);
• Glovertown (population 1501-2600);
• Gander (population 6000-plus).
The awards were presented by Municipal Affairs Minister Kevin O’Brien.
“Our government is pleased to support the Tidy Towns program again this year and to extend congratulations to this year’s recipients,” he said.
“Throughout our province we have so many beautiful and scenic communities. The Tidy Towns program honours the towns and community partners who work together maintain their communities and create awareness around the importance of protecting our environment.”
Criteria awards were also given out to the communities for a strong effort in the following areas:
• St. Lawrence — heritage conservation;
• Rocky Harbour – environmental action;
• Wabana — community involvement.
The Tidy Towns program is funded in part by the Department of Municipal Affairs.
I walk every inch of Carbonear from the Hospital to St James Anglican every summer. Sure there are potholes aplenty on Bond Street and the downtown isn't what it used to be and I hear reports of the odd mattress somewhere lying around but overall these are comments that fit a lot of places in the era of small government--an awful lot of places. I walk ten times in fourteen days when I'm home--a 2 1/2 mile circuit--and like the fresh air along "the Beach" and the greenery sprouting behind Kenealy's area, not to mentjon the new Community Garden. I am always proud of the Tidy Towns sign from the 1990s and am glad to hear Carbonear won it again. Well done.