A local Jr. A team will be getting a financial boost from the Municipality of the County of Pictou.
County councillors agreed Monday to recommend to council that the county give the Weeks Jr. A Crushers a $1,000 in sponsorship money.
But it wasn’t handed over without some debate from councillors on whether this would open the door for the county’s others numerous sports teams to ask for similar sponsorship.
Coun. Debbie Wadden said the Crushers are one of the Pictou County Wellness Centre’s biggest customers and its request for sponsorship stated that if it didn’t get support it might have to move outside the county.
The Jr. A Weeks Crushers play in the Maritime Hockey League with their home games at the Pictou County Wellness Centre. It usually announces a paid attendance of about 800 people each week.
Coun. Ron Baillie said he didn’t believe giving the Crushers money was opening the doors for other sports teams to apply for similar sponsorship because this Jr. A organization is different from any other hockey.
“We have to think about what the organization takes into the county,” he said, adding that people come from outside of the area to watch games.
He said such requests can be dealt with individually.
Coun. Andy Thompson, who put the $1,000 motion forward, said the county gives money to the Pictou Lobster Carnival, New Glasgow Jubilee and other events and this is an organization that also attracts people to the area who spend money at restaurants and shopping when they are in the county.
“I think a $1,000 is not an overly abundant or exuberant amount of money,” he said.
The motion was accepted in a vote of 10 for and three against.