THE TOWN of Windsor has lost a valuable partner. After 30 years of managing the visitor centre, the Windsor Junior Chamber of Commerce recently bowed out.

"I consider it a huge loss to the community. They definitely will be missed," Vanessa Roberts, the town’s community development and tourism co-ordinator, told Jennifer Hoegg of The Hants Journal. "They have made a great contribution to Windsor and serving our community and visitors."

The chamber built the visitor information centre, maintained it, hired students and took care of the two hectares of land.

A lack of young members forced the chapter to close. "It’s unfortunate that to be a JC, you have to be under the age of 40. The chapter aged out," Ms. Roberts said.

Unless a new sponsor is found, the regional tourist associations, sponsoring agencies and municipalities are looking at spending a lot more to operate the Windsor tourist bureau this season.

Another volunteer-run program is in jeopardy. Junior Achievement may not offer its Economics of Staying in School program at Hants East Rural High School.

"It’s a really hard school to fill because it’s hard to find volunteers out there," program manager Beth Leadbetter told Jessica Davey-Quantick of the Weekly Press.

She said the Junior Achievement school programs give students a local perspective. "It’s an opportunity for students to see what’s going on in their local communities, what jobs are available and how people got there," she said.

"I know plenty of growing up in Pictou County. You say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing around here’ but once you start looking around there is a lot actually going on, and so that’s why it’s also great for the volunteers as well because it’s a chance for them to promote what’s going on in the area."

The long curly wool of Cotswold sheep is in demand these days, but there aren’t many around. The breed is on the national endangered species list with only about 350 in Canada.

No wonder there was great rejoicing when two black rams were born this spring at Ross Farm.

"They will be registered and sold as breeding stock and could go anywhere in Canada and beyond," Barry Hiltz of Ross Farm told Adam Jacobs of the Bridgewater Bulletin.

Thom Hutchinson of the Canadian Cotswold Longwool Association estimated there may be as few as seven black rams in the country, including one born on his farm this spring and the two at Ross Farm.

He said it’s a rare breed because the black gene that determines the colour of the sheep’s wool is recessive. The second reason goes back hundreds of years.

Farmers often killed black sheep because the wool couldn’t be dyed and wasn’t in demand. But Mr. Hutchinson said that’s changed.

"Spinners are very keen on black wool," he said. "And a good Cotswold of any colour will give you 22 pounds of excellent-quality fleece."

Dillon Garland’s first film, a reality comedy titled Dukes of Haggard, has been three years in the making. The premiere will be April 26 in Barrington.

"It’s just about me and my friends having fun," the Grade 10 student at Barrington Municipal High School told Carla Allen of the Coast Guard.

"I just kind of experiment and make little videos and ask people what they think of it."

Dillon plans to make DVDs of his movie and other features and sell them. He will donate some of the proceeds to the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of his grandparents.