The warden of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough says Blair George was the finest kind of councillor.
George died in an ATV crash off Hwy. 16 in Halfway Cove.
Police say members of the Canso RCMP detachment were called after a man drove his ATV off a large embankment on his property at roughly 8 p.m. Saturday.
They say he was pronounced dead at the scene; there were no other people or vehicles involved.
The 59-year-old, who was first elected to represent District 4 on council in 1988, was acclaimed in the last municipal elections in 2016.
Vernon Pitts, Guysborough’s warden, tells The Hawk professionally, George will be missed at the council table, but personally, he’ll be missed for his friendship.
“We certainly had our differences here and there, but Blair was the type of person once you left chambers, he’d leave the argument in chambers,” he says. “We were friends, we did some hunting and fishing together over the years, he was just a good, all-around guy- I know the residents, as well as council, are going to miss him immensely.”
Pitts says George took an active role in council- he was fully aware of where the municipality stood in the present, and where it was going in the future.
He says he was a driving force behind the new Chedabucto Lifestyle Complex.
“If he wouldn’t have got involved, that project wouldn’t have got off the ground,” he says. “He was involved with the fundraising, he did very well- in fact, council well knows that Blair raised more dollars in regards to that facility than anyone else.”
Pitts says it’s unclear what will happen with George’s vacant council seat.
He says municipal officials have to determine if there will be a byelection to fill it, or if they’ll wait until the next municipal elections in Oct. 2020.
