• |home
• |community noticeboard
• |features
• |local business
• |visitor information
• |

Our High Speed Future

by Mary Kierstead

Not long ago, about twenty community members gathered at the Masonic Hall to attend a workshop conducted by the N.S. Department of Economic and Rural Development. It was entitled “Planning for a High Speed Future: Setting Your Community’s Goals and Priorities”. So far in North Queens, our goal has been to actually HAVE high speed capability throughout the community. With Aliant offering high speed access within the village and Eastlink getting closer to establishing total availability of wireless high speed internet in the wider area, we have just about reached that goal. The purpose of the workshop was fourfold: (1) to identify our hopes for high speed; (2) to develop a community profile; (3) to identify our community’s capacity; and (4) to set our community’s priorities and goals for a high speed future. The idea was to establish goals and priorities that will increase jobs and new business opportunities, improve community-based services, and improve quality of life. In identifying our hopes for high speed, it was clear that the participants looked forward to our community becoming a destination point for new business and new residents as a result of having high speed capability. The next step was to enumerate our community’s strengths and opportunities. Well, this was something we could sink our teeth into. It didn’t take long for the participants to come up with an extensive list of great things about North Queens, all of them good reasons for people to want to live and work here. We are, after all, in the middle of everywhere! It became clear that the community has made a good start. There are two public access (CAP) sites in our area, an internet café, and this website, which serves as a community bulletin board as well as a tourism information source. It was felt by many that it is important as a community to make training available to the general public and to “de-mystify” computers and the internet for those who feel they are on the outside looking in when it comes to this technology. To this end, it was felt that the North Queens Board of Trade (which was the sponsor of this workshop) was the appropriate agency to identify key community stakeholders who will form an ad hoc Committee. This committee will establish goals and objectives, and develop a plan in collaboration with other organizations and with municipal and provincial governments. With high speed internet capacity, North Queens is in a position to offer an opportunity for individuals to operate sophisticated, high-tech business while enjoying the lifestyle that comes with being in “the middle of everywhere”.

• members
• privacy
• sitemap